Got Negative Thoughts?

Anyone else struggle with negative thoughts? I have to admit that I’ve been hit kinda hard with this lately. While I like to say I have a “realistic” outlook on life, the truth is I often fall into the scarcity mindset trap. When I see a problem arise that I can’t easily find a solution for, I tend to allow the negative thoughts to run wild in my mind. True, it is sometimes healthy to play out a bad outcome in your mind and think through how you would respond, but when those negative thoughts just spin over and over and continually lead to stress and anxiety, then we’ve got a big problem!

There’s a balance we have to find between being prepared and willing to take action, versus allowing God to bring us peace while we trust Him for the outcome, but that’s definitely more easily said than done! How do we navigate both?

The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God” and “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” When we know that we have taken the necessary actions that God has called us to take, then it’s time to rest in Him. Sometimes He calls us to wait, pray and seek His direction. Sometimes He wants us to surrender, and THEN He steps in. Why would He make us go through that? So there would be no doubt at all that it was HE who delivered us, and not ourselves (Deut. 8:17-18).

So while we’re waiting on Him, how do we deal with these negative thoughts? The Bible says to “take every thought captive”, but how do we do that?

One exercise that has been helpful for me lately is used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to actually rewire your thinking!

Try this:

1. Write down the situation or problem to be fixed (just the statement with no emotion).

2. Then record the first thought that comes to your mind about it (usually it’s negative).

3. Then list the emotions that arise by thinking that thought.

4. Then record the behavior that results in you when those emotions arise (e.g. procrastination, heart racing, acting sulky or depressed).

5. Now create an alternate thought based on TRUTH from Scripture that can replace the negative thought from number two (above).

Then, whenever that thought arises again and you recognize what you're feeling, actively choose to replace the negative thought with the true thought. Do this over and over to rewire your brain and it’ll actually start to work!

This activity has helped me so much that I created my own little doc for it, and I’d love to share it with you. Simply reach out to me via this website and request it, and it’s yours. Definitely a good tool in your mindset kit!