Change your thinking, change your life …

You might have heard the old joke …

A guy goes to see his doctor and says, “Hey doc, it hurts when I do this …”

The doctor replies, “Well stop doing that!”

Sounds like an easy fix, right?

You also might have seen the hilarious skit featuring old-school comedian, Bob Newhart, playing the role of a mental health counselor. His advice to his client is simply, “STOP IT!” (you can watch the skit here).

It sounds all too simplistic to think that some of the best things we can do for ourselves physically, mentally, or spiritually is to stop something we’re doing, but truth be told, that is often exactly what we need to do.

Especially with our thinking.

No, I’m not suggesting anyone stop thinking, but I am saying what we think and how we think cause us more problems than almost anything else in our lifetime.

That certainly is true for us spiritually. The way Adam and Eve thought when tempted by the serpent in the Garden would lead to sin. And the way we think leads us to sin as well. That’s why we read in scripture that one of God’s primary objectives for us is to change our thinking:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect,” Romans 12:2.

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes,” Ephesians 4:21-23.

But even when we surrender our lives to God so that He can renew our minds, we can still create problems for ourselves with faulty thinking. Some of the ways we demonstrate faulty thinking include:

Entertaining sin or losing our focus on holiness. Even after becoming a Christian, we can find ourselves at times thinking incorrectly about sin. James describes what happens when we stoke thoughts of sinful desires: “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death,” James 1:14-15.

If you look closely, you can see the Bible is filled with instructions about things we should stop thinking about, and content that should be the chief components of what we do think about. For example, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise,” Philippians 4:8.

Thinking irrationally. A pervasive problem most of us deal with, often unconsciously, is flooding our minds with irrational thinking. It’s one thing to have an occasional irrational thought, but it becomes a serious issue when thinking irrationally becomes a habit and goes on to craft irrational beliefs and even irrational core beliefs. For example, an irrational thought can be a student thinking that because he failed one quiz that means he will fail the semester. An irrational belief is more encompassing, such as “no one is honest.” What can be a serious (sometimes dangerous) problem is to develop irrational core beliefs, such as “I’m unlovable.”

Adopting patterns of cognitive distortions. Cognitive distortions are simply ways that our mind convinces us of something that isn’t really true. These patterns of distorted thinking often become habits that then negatively impact the way we view ourselves, others, the world around us, and even how we view God. I’ve described the 10 most common cognitive distortions in a previous post that you can read here.

Develop a habit of negative rumination. When we “ruminate” on something, we think the same thought over and over again. Ruminating on negative and irrational thoughts can be detrimental to your mental health. Some people are compulsive and struggle with compulsively playing negative thoughts over and over again in their minds.

The above are some of the ways our thoughts can be faulty and cause us problems, a great deal of emotional pain, and have seriously negative impact on our relationships.

What to do?

Stop thinking that way.

In some cases, it can be that simple. But for many, changing the way they think is difficult because their faulty thinking has become well-worn patterns and habits, and some people are driven in their thinking by compulsivity. Even so, to change their life they will have to change their thinking. Sometimes people need help learning how to first identify, then change, patterns and habits of faulty thinking and/or overcome compulsively driven irrationality. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has shown to be very effective in helping people identify their faulty thinking and to be taught how they can change their faulty thinking to consistent patterns of rationality. If you struggle with faulty thinking, don’t hesitate to seek help from a competent mental health professional.

If you change your thinking, you can change your life.

Scotty