Worthy: 10 Mindful Moments to Bring Peace to Your DaySample

The Science of Renewing Your Mind

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ROMANS 12:2 ESV

If practice makes perfect, what thoughts have you perfected by repeating them to yourself constantly? These are becoming your automatic thought patterns.

Renewing your mind literally means creating new, stronger neural pathways in the brain. This process is called neuroplasticity. You can think of it as trying to pave a new path through solid ground. The more you tread this new path and create deeper tracks, the easier it will become to identify and walk down that path. Like building muscle, the more we strengthen certain pathways in the brain through practice, the easier it is to access those pathways.

In that same light, as we adapt to practicing healthier ways of thinking, new thought patterns can become a more consistent way of life for us. Today, as a simple practice, I encourage you to make note of a negative thought that typically comes up for you and write down at least two alternative ways to think about it. Sometimes just opening your mind to another option can help with perspective. It doesn’t mean that we’ll have perfect thinking, but it does mean that we can move through life differently and that there is real hope for getting better at renewing our minds.

AFFIRMATION:

I can pause and practice a different response to renew my thought patterns.