What in the world could thoughts and Snickers bars have in common?
They are both good things that could run amuck.
Let's start with the obvious: an occasional Snickers bar is a treat, while an addiction to them is harmful to our health. If I can't say no to a Snickers bar when occasional becomes daily, then my relationship with Snickers has run amuck--I have lost my self-control. How do I turn this around?
Perhaps my next step is to create a protocol or strategy to regain my self-control. If that daily dependence is an energy pick-me-up, then maybe I decide that for today, I pack a healthy energy snack and pray for the strength to say no through that critical period. Then, one day down, I tackle the next day with planning and prayer. Victories of self-control come through "tortoise" training--slow, plodding, one step at a time.
What if we can have a similar relationship with our thoughts? Perhaps you have some thoughts on a painful issue that seem to keep running in circles on the track of your mind. Are you forever stuck in this hurtful mode or do you have the power to exit?
Is there a protocol or strategy to regain self-control over my thoughts? Just as my way of overcoming a Snickers dependence may differ from yours, people can succeed at thought management in a variety of ways. Here are tips to get you started:
1. Write out the pain in detail. Go to Write Where It Hurts for excellent writing tools and support.
2. When you realize your mind is trying to immerse itself in the painful mode, look at a clock and give yourself 5 (five) more minutes to think about the issue and then purposefully think elsewhere. You may have to do this a number of times per day in the beginning. Painful thought "addiction" takes effort to break.
3. See yourself as a new person separate from that person who gets immersed in the pain. Look in a mirror and introduce yourself to the new self that is managing his/her thoughts. "Mary, meet the new Mary who doesn't have to revisit the pool of pain." Again, do this as many times a day as you need to in order to get the traction of self-control.
Who knew that thoughts and Snickers had anything in common? Perhaps God does, because He knows that every day on earth for us is a struggle with self-control. He lends help if we ask, so perhaps the best tip of all goes something like this: Lord, you know how this pain (or this Snickers bar) is ruling my life. I give you my problem and ask for your help in regaining my self-control. Help me take one day at a time and share the victory with You.
Here's to occasional Snickers and more pain-free minds.
