We hear a lot these days about accepting responsibility for our actions and it is about time we did. Time is out for casting blame and pointing righteous fingers at others to cover up for our own inappropriate behaviors. We have got to “nip it, nip it, nip it in
bud” if for no other reason than our own mental health.So, let’s begin by taking a look at process that ultimately leads to outlandish, out of control behaviors exhibited by otherwise “normal” individuals.
We begin with premise that our thoughts trigger our emotions; our emotions stir up our desires; and then our desires produce our actions. So if we could catch our negative thoughts when they first occur, we could stop whole chain reaction before it even begins and we would be able to prevent things from getting out of hand.
Negative thoughts are culprit. Thus, to get out of way of yourself, you need to take a good, long, hard look at your negative, growth stunting, crippling, self-defeating thoughts.
Getting out of way of yourself is not simply changing your thoughts, but actually deleting all old, negative thoughts and replacing them with new positive ones. As Apostle Paul asserted, you must “renew your mind.” You must be willing to sacrifice our own self-centered thinking. Hal Lindsey points out that “to renew” means to exchange one thing for another. In other words, when we delete and replace, we’re exchanging our thoughts. If we’re not willing to yield, set aside and relinquish our own thoughts however, then our thinking process will remain negative, our lives un-transformed, and our behavior undisciplined.
There are many reasons why “mind renewal” is critical. It is within our power to discern everything that happens to us from a spiritual vantage point and not get bogged down and buried by our own negative thoughts and feelings or by what we can “see” going on around us. If we can see with spiritual eyes, then we’ll be able to "soar" above our circumstances, our problems, and our trials and not get buried under them.
From a realistic and practical perspective, it takes constant discipline to not give in to negative thoughts and emotions that are trying to crush and drown us. Often, it seems like it would just be easier to give in and let our own feelings rule. But, you know what happens if we do that? Negativity is spawned and we become negatively toxic. And, like any toxin, if not immediately treated can have devastating effects.
