How important are our thoughts?
I have recently been able to visit Logic Study Halls and one of the things we talked about was how our thoughts can affect our emotions and our emotions can affect our behavior. Our behavior can then, in turn, affect our thoughts. It’s a never-ending triangle. For example, if I wake up in the morning and think to myself, “Man, today is going to be awful. I don’t have any friends. I don’t want to go to school.” I will probably feel down, discouraged, and frustrated. Once I arrive at school, I will likely be reserved and do the minimum to get by. I won’t be overly friendly or seek to enjoy the day since I have already decided it’s going to be a bad day. This may cause people to not engage with me, which feeds my belief that I don’t like school and don’t have friends. Then I wake up the next morning and the cycle begins again. It is not a fun triangle to be stuck in.
The way to break the cycle is with our thoughts. The Bible emphasizes the importance of our thoughts. Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.” Romans 12:2 talks about being transformed by the renewal of our minds. Colossians 3:2 commands us to set our minds on things above. We have to choose to set our minds on the truth. Satan wants to feed us lies about ourselves and our worth. We have to be able to recognize those lies and combat them with the truth.
One way to do this is with positive affirmations. By using them, we can affirm the truth. Some examples are, “I am deeply loved just as I am,” “God has a purpose for me that only I can accomplish,” “I have faith in myself and my ability to reach my goals,” “God is working all things together for good,” “I am brave,” “I can do this,” “I am loved, worthy, and enough,” “I am important,” “I am irreplaceable.” I encourage students to read through positive affirmations on a regular basis. I personally say them with my grammar school-aged children in the car on the way to school each morning, with them repeating them outloud. I know many students who make a list of affirmations and put it on their mirror to read while getting ready before school. As our theme verse of Colossians 3:12 says, “We are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.” Sometimes we need to remind ourselves just how amazing that is. We are dearly loved, just as we are.
