A Check Up from the Neck Up
I spend a great deal of time throughout the year giving you advice on nutritious food-for-your-stomach, today I’d like to talk candidly about what you’ve been feeding on in your private thought life. You see, sound health for a promising future is not just physical well being, but it includes mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness, as well.
If you often find yourself feeling overwhelmed, anxious, angry, or sad—boy, do you have company! Many of my friends and patients express the very same, chronic, emotional struggles. It is my belief, that central to this issue (for most people) is the daily management of their thought diet.
When I introduce this subject to friends or patients they often respond with the (incorrect) premise that a person cannot control the thoughts in their heads. My response is that you may not be able to control a thought from entering your mind unannounced, but you do have the choice as to whether you will invite it to stay for tea or show it the door.
In the Bible, 2 Corinthians 10:5 instructs us to: “Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.” And in Philippians 4:8 we read, “Whatever is true, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Scripture is showing us that we, in fact, hold the key to our own mental freedom and peace.
When practicing a new skill, the more times you do it the easier it becomes to perform. Same with a habit: the more often you give into it, the easier it is to become derailed by it the next time. And so it is with your own thoughts. Practice the good ones—the ones which bring you joy and contentment. Don’t waste a half-second on the ones that will bring you down the dark road of self-doubt, self-condemnation, or fear. Stand guard, be quick to change the “thought topic”, and your mind (heart and body) will be at peace.