You’ve probably heard the phrase, “You are what you eat.”  That’s true in a sense.  But you know what is even truer?  You are what you think.

No question that our physical diet directly affects us, right?  I have found that as I age, my body doesn’t seem to respond very well to things I could eat when I was younger.  When I was younger I was really not that concerned with what I ate; but I am now.

However, equally, if not even more so, we all ought to be very concerned with what we are feeding our minds, or, what our minds are feeding upon.   Most people feed on a consistent diet of negatives, and in addition actually anticipate negatives.

Want An Example?

What do you expect to hear when someone asks you, “Did you hear what happened?”   Are you expecting to hear something really good and positive?  Are you expecting to hear of a miracle and someone receiving healing?  Are you expecting to hear something really good?

I wonder what the person asking would think if you responded to that question by saying, “If it’s something negative I don’t want to hear about it.”  They might look at you like you’re crazy or something.

But honestly, outside of something negative happening to family and close friends, what good does it do you to hear yet another negative?  And we hear them all day long, don’t we?  On the news, at work, with family and friends, we constantly hear about negative events.

How Much?  Try This Out.

Take a piece of paper and pen with you wherever you go, and for just one day, make a check mark every time you hear something that is negative.  And make a check mark on the other side of the paper every time you hear something that is positive, uplifting, or encouraging.

Try it for one day.  You will be amazed.  Talk about a diet of junk food!  And guess what?  That does not even include any negative self talk, or the negative things you think and say to yourself, about yourself.

Now I realize that everyone is different; some people hear less negatives in a day than others; others have trained themselves to eliminate destructive self talk.  But, if you know someone who is very, very negative, now you know why.

Room For Improvement

All of us, myself included, no matter where we are today, can improve our attitude, and thus improve our lives.  Start by listening a lot closer to your own self talk.  Is there more positive self talk, or more negative self talk?

Some people go as far as to suggest that you shouldn’t listen to any negative thoughts that you are having, but I disagree. Whatever those thoughts are, you need to get to the bottom of it. Once you do, you will be able to change your core beliefs.

For example, if you are having thoughts of failure; thoughts of not being able to do this or do that, then the question is, why do you think that way?  Ask yourself that question. Then, listen to the answers.

Whatever the answers are, you next need to ask yourself why you think those are valid answers or reasons.  And, then do the same with the next answers.  The point is, keep digging until you get to the bottom of it.  

I can guarantee you that when you get to the bottom of it, whatever it is, it will be opposite to what God promises you in the Bible, and who He made you to be as a Christian.  At that point, make a conscious effort to release it, put it off, cast it down, and then replace it with God’s promises.

Make The Time

You may need to repeat this simple exercise over and over for specific issues.  It may take some time and effort.  But what you are really doing is changing your core beliefs, and our lives are a direct result of our own core beliefs.  So, isn’t it worth it to make the time and effort to get our core beliefs to work for us and not against us?

Finally, what do we allow our minds to feed on?  I know we can’t lock ourselves in a closet with our fingers in our ears.  But, we can control how much of the “news” we listen to, and instead, replace that with an uplifting, encouraging inspiring book.  (I’m highly in favor of the Bible, by the way!)

If you’re driving you obviously can’t read a book at the same time.  Instead, utilize a media player of some sort so that you can expose and feed your mind that which is uplifting, encouraging and inspiring.  It’s your time and it’s your mind.

Most everyone knows what changes can happen when we have a very good physical diet.  But very few have ever explored how dramatically ones life can change from a very good mental diet.  Every day, every minute, every thought, the choice is ours.

Mike Verdicchio
2012

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