Victim Or Victor—It's Your ChoiceSample
Symptoms of the Victim Mentality
The first thing we have to do to counter this mentality, is face up to the facts of what these lies are. There are five main categories of symptoms.
People who are victims
1. Feel all alone
2. Feel sorry for themselves / life isn't fair
3. Feel powerless / stuck
4. Don't trust anyone
5. Don't forgive / hold grudges
Are there other things? I'm sure there are, but these are five core symptoms of the Victim Mentality. I have felt every single one of them. Would you like to admit it also? You can feel these feelings without giving into the Victim Mentality. I still feel alone sometimes, or powerless, like I don't know what to do. You can have the feeling but not go into a Victim Mentality. Why? You can be a Victim or a Victor; it's your choice.
You might say, “Well, I didn't choose all the stuff that happened to me.” None of this has to do with the trouble you’re in. It has nothing to do with how hard life gets. It has nothing to do with how difficult the things you are facing are. It doesn't matter what you're facing—you can be a victim in that situation, or you can be victorious in that situation. It's a matter of your choice.
I admit I have spent most of my life dealing with these thoughts. You may think I’m a positive person because I preach faith. Let me tell you behind the scenes, in my mind, in my heart, most of my life I’ve dealt with the Victim Mentality in this sense: I was filled with anxiety, worry, with fear and doubt, almost to the point that I would constantly be thinking, “I know it's going good but, it’s just a matter of time. It's inevitable. It's going to fall apart, something bad is going to happen. I'm not going to get all excited about right now because I know it's not going to work.” I would repeat it constantly in my mind and I had to keep trying to battle it. It was a stronghold. A core lie the enemy had given me, doomsday victim mentality, "everything will fail, and you are doomed”. That's the stronghold that was in my head. Until God came in and began to replace that lie with His truth, to push out and cut out that Victim Mentality from inside of me.
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About this Plan
We all go through tough times. We all struggle and even suffer, even as Christians. The real problem comes when we allow the negativity of these events get into our head and produce in us a Victim Mentality. The good news is that with the help of God’s Word, you can overcome!
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