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.32). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) That is a great place to start. Norman says, “Just identifying the ten to fifteen most common phrases we say to ourselves is a good beginning. Then we can disarm those negative thoughts. “What do you tell yourself frequently? That you’re always stressed? Always late? Always forgetting things? That you should be more organized? More disciplined? More patient? “You might not even be aware of the automatic thoughts that damage your perception of yourself. You can start identifying them by challenging negative thoughts and purposefully putting them through the verification process… “When you begin to recognize them and realize how frequently they pass through your mind, you may be shocked. When they begin to identify their negative self-talk, people freq

A thought by H. Norman Wright DMin. from his book, A Better Way to Think: Using Positive Thoughts to Change Your Life (p.29). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Norman continues, “They’re rigid beliefs, things we believe to be absolute truth. Often, they’re negative. Often, they’re untrue. Yet we believe them wholeheartedly." He says, “Isn’t it interesting that the first place human beings turned away from God was in our thoughts? Genesis 6:5 says, ‘Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually’ (NASB). “It’s also in our thoughts that we need to turn our lives back toward him. While we can’t always choose our thoughts, we do have freedom to choose on which thoughts we dwell. But because we’re ‘dead in trespasses and sins,’ according to Ephesians 2:1 (KJV), we can’t simply determine to banish all toxic thinking, unl

A thought by H. Norman Wright DMin. from his book, A Better Way to Think: Using Positive Thoughts to Change Your Life (p.28). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) As Norman says, “We don’t intentionally think them. We might even rather not think them.”   They are automatic. He goes on, “They can be positive or negative. But they jump into our consciousness without any planning or conscious prompting. And they often carry a specific message. “For example, a young woman who’s afraid of being rejected by men frequently tells herself, after meeting an interesting young man: He isn’t interested in me. I’m not attractive enough. “By repeating this thought to herself over and over, she reinforces her belief in it—whether it’s true or not. She doesn’t intend to think it. It just pops into her mind when she considers her romantic possibilities. It has become automatic. “Often, an automatic thought surfaces, not in com