Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by H. Norman Wright DMin. from his book, A Better Way to Think: Using Positive Thoughts to Change Your Life (p.44). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) It seems that daydreams, creativity, and potential go together. Norman says, “Do you dream by day? I do. In fact, some days, I do it a lot, especially when I’m in the process of crafting a book. Or as I prepare for a presentation, I go over the material in my mind, adding ideas as they come to me. Or as I anticipate a vacation or an encounter with someone, I imagine what might happen. “God gave us this wonderful gift—a twofold ability to see. We can visually observe what goes on around us. We also can ‘see’ pictures in our minds. The latter ability, especially, can help us achieve wonderful things… or that same imagination can hold us back when we use it in a negative way...” He goes on, “Our imaginations are busy with pictures and ideas all day long. It’

A thought by H. Norman Wright DMin. from his book, A Better Way to Think: Using Positive Thoughts to Change Your Life (p.36). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Norman finishes the thought and then moves on.   He says, “It may be helpful to give your toxic self-talk a name, and then use that name when you recognize those thoughts. You might call them Pollution Words, Hopeless Words, The Critic, The Enemy, Satan’s Agent, The Liar. When we use a label like one of these, it helps us see these thoughts as occasional visitors, rather than permanent residents. It helps us remember that these visiting enemies don’t represent who we really are. “Consider what Peter McWilliams writes in You Can’t Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought : “For many, negative thinking is a habit, which, over time, becomes an addiction. It’s a disease, like alcoholism, compulsive overeating, or drug abuse. “A lot of people suffer from this

A thought by H. Norman Wright DMin. from his book, A Better Way to Think: Using Positive Thoughts to Change Your Life (p.32). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) And this is very important for each of us to see. Norman says, “It can be reframed as a realistic, positive statement. Like a boat that’s been moving in the wrong direction, you can turn your self-talk around and start moving your thoughts—and your life—in another direction.” He goes on, “Have you struggled to change your thought life? Of course, you have. We all have. Maybe you’ve tried different approaches or programs, prayed about it, been prayed over, and so on. But you still struggle. “The brain follows patterns of habits established over the years. We can’t expect this unique organ of the body—with its billions of neurons and millions of pathways, circuits, and memory cells—to erase what it’s built over years, replacing it with entirely new thinking