"All of us attempt to change our thoughts."

A thought by H. Norman Wright from his book, When the Past Won't Let You Go (p. 42). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

And it's not easy.

Norman says, "We’ve tried different approaches or programs, prayed about it, been prayed over, and so forth. But we still struggle. It’s not that easy."

He goes on, "If a new thought coincides with what we already believe about ourselves, it will be accepted by us with open arms. If it doesn’t, it will have a difficult time finding a place to fit in and be accepted. Isn’t it interesting how we even resist thoughts that are new, positive, and in line with biblical thinking? We resist giving up old mental messages because we’re comfortable with them, even if they’re not the best, not true, not helpful, or keep us stuck in the past. Sound familiar? I’m guilty of doing that. In my office I have filing cabinets filled with files. In my mind, I probably have hundreds of files, and just like the ones in my office, I need to go through them from time to time to clean house. I need to get rid of those I don’t use, don’t need, and that are detrimental to healthy growth. I have stuff in my office files that reinforces what I think is good, is right, and is truth. Some of it doesn’t. It’s outdated and inaccurate. It’s the same way with the storage of my thoughts. I may think what I have stored in the receptacle of my mind is good, is best for me, is truth—but not all of it is."

He continues, "Some new information or biblical truth is better, but the longer I’ve had the other thoughts and beliefs stored away and I’ve added to them, the more difficult it is to change the old beliefs and let the new thoughts become active in my life. Sound familiar? I’m going to admit something to you. I carry on conversations every day. Yes, I do. I talk to people on the phone. I talk to others face-to-face. I also carry on conversations with myself within the confines of my mind. And this is completely normal.

"Our unspoken thoughts can involve words or sensations. I heard one person say, 'I’m a thinking machine, and my "'on'" button never shuts off.' Are you aware of all your inner conversations? Probably not. Sometimes our thoughts and conversations are feelings, which can be difficult to put into words. Some are only partially formed while others are fully thought out."

He then says, "Our thoughts and pictures in our minds are usually connected to something else we already know. Let’s say you have a thought you’ve never had before. When I’m writing a book such as this one, I will have ideas or thoughts that I’ve never had before (or at least I don’t remember having). When this happens, my brain jumps in and tries to connect the new thought with something already in my brain to help the thought fit. Whatever you think has to fit in somewhere in your mind’s storage system."

And that's why it's so difficult to change our thoughts, isn't it?

Yes, yes!