Why Don’t You Think Positively?
By Aaron D’Anthony Brown
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)
What’s your story? Not your testimony, but your other story. The one you tell yourself at various points throughout the day. Perhaps when you first awake, as you get ready for work or school. Maybe the story that pops into your mind when you try to fall asleep. This is not a positive story, but a negative one. Ideas about ourselves that develop because of disappointment, hurt, or even sin. There’s a certain narrative I tell myself, depending on the situation. Lies about who I am, what people think of me, or how God sees me. These are all stories I have believed, but they are lies all the same.
If you’re human, then you’ve probably struggled with some form of negative thinking. We tell ourselves that we aren’t good enough to apply for a job, not worthy enough for marriage, unseen by God, and so much more. The negative thinking is only limited by our imagination. If we decide to live life this way, then we neglect all the good we should say.
The truth is that with all the negative things we tell ourselves, we aren’t trapped in the lies. Not if we choose to be unstuck.
There are a lot of bad things we tell ourselves, and rewriting that negativity is no easy feat. Sometimes, we don’t know how to rewrite those thoughts because we don’t know what good there is to say. I don’t know who you are, but if I had to take a guess, there’s something good about you. Many things.
If you’re ever in doubt that about those things, then God has something to say to you. Inside His Word you will find verses letting you know that you’re loved, protected, made with purpose, and so much more.
That’s the truth, but rewriting those deeply ingrained thoughts is no easy feat.
Intersecting Life & Faith:
If you’re vying to think more positively, consider each of these steps to rewrite your negative thinking.
Pray
God wants to hear from me, just like He wants to hear from you. Prayer is our way of coming to the Lord and inviting Him into our minds. If you want God to expose your negative thinking, pray about it. If you want to think more positively, pray about it. God answers prayers, and Scripture informs us that He grants wisdom to the one who asks (James 1:5).
Read Scripture
While we can pray for wisdom, we can also read the Bible and find such knowledge. God’s Word helps us understand how we should think as believers, while also revealing the natural temptation to believe lies. The enemy is actively after our minds (1 Peter 5:8). Therefore, reading Scripture gives us a better perspective of God and with that, we can better discern how He sees us. Understanding how God views us inevitably changes how we see ourselves.
Reflect on Your Strengths
As you grow in awareness of how you ought to think, take note of what is good about you. The more time you spend recalling your strengths, the less time you will dwell on your weaknesses or, worse, the lies you have been telling yourself. Reflecting on strengths perpetuates positivity in your life instead.
Perform the Jennie Allen Method
Praying is helpful, so is reading Scripture, and so is reflecting on your strengths, but maybe you believe you need something more practical. Something more didactic. In her book Get Out of Your Head, Jeanie Allen outlines a four-step method for tackling negative thoughts. The method starts with you first catching the negative thought. Identify what you are telling yourself. Secondly, take a step back and objectively ask yourself if the thought you are having is true. If you’re like me, you might say yes, even though yes is not true. Next, go to Scripture and see what God’s Word has to say. Then, lastly, Jennie says to ask yourself who you want to believe. If God’s Word conflicts with the lie, who are you going to believe?
Keep a Motivational Board
No matter how much progress you make in turning your negative thoughts into positive ones, there will always be moments when negativity creeps in. Maybe as a result of being hurt by a loved one, experiencing disappointment, or falling into the throes of sin. Negativity will find you again. Know that when that happens, you can be prepared. Much like learning a subject in grade school, without putting that knowledge into practice, you forget. And if our human tendency is to forget, then make a plan to remember. Keeping a motivational board, journal, or some sort of visual reminder is a great way to have a resource to fall back on when all else fails. By keeping a motivational board, you put in writing the truths you have discovered. And if you believed them before, why not now?
Further Reading (or Listening):
“I’m so Blessed” by CAIN
“I Am” by Kirk Franklin
Photo Credit: © Unsplash/elisa-ph
Get in touch with him at aarondanthony.com and check out his debut short story anthology Honey Dreams on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
