Eat, Live, Thrive DietSample

Take Every Thought Captive

One of the most practical ways to begin the process of changing your thinking is to get in tune with your self-talk. Have you ever thought things like these?
 

I’m so fat and ugly.

I know God loves me.

I hate myself!

I deserve this chocolate.

I’m so stressed.

Such statements reflect a mix of both positive and negative thoughts and feelings. Most of us are oblivious to the power these messages have in our lives. When we become intentional about guarding our minds and taking our thoughts captive, we can make tremendous positive steps toward dynamic and lasting change. 

It helps to identify and write down healthy self-talk. To make those messages take root, you need to repeat them often until new dominant thoughts form. A useful technique that will prompt you to repeat your customized self-talk several times each day is called trigger talk. This is how it works: Identify an activity you engage in one or more times each day. For example, every time you start your car or look at your watch, repeat your scripture or new statement. Just imagine how your focus in life would change if three times a day you were triggered to say or think statements such as these:

I choose to honor God with my body. I know that His power is within me and will ask Him for help in dealing with temptation and changing my lifestyle.

I am an ageless woman, full of vitality and health because I choose to nurture myself well every day in how I eat, live, and thrive. 

Find creative ways to remind yourself to use your trigger until you get into the trigger habit. You can tape your messages on the inside of your medicine cabinet, refrigerator door, or cupboard. You could put a Post-it note on your steering wheel. 

You will know that your trigger talk has become permanent when your mind automatically focuses on that specific statement or scripture whenever you experience the trigger. Secondly, your feelings and behavior will start to change. Because your mind believes what you tell it most often, your behavior and feelings will reflect that new belief. The challenge is to practice long enough for those changes to take place. 

Write down one positive message you could tell yourself. What trigger will you use to remind you of this statement?