(The following was originally published at CareyGreen.com.)
We are God’s most complex creations… which means there are TONS of things to get us off track in any given day. But there’s ONE THING I’ve discovered that derails my mindset more than anything else. Can you guess what it is?
It’s not life’s circumstances. It’s not things people say to you. Nor is it the way you are treated by others.
It is… your feelings.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those guys who recommend suppressing or ignoring your emotions or that having feelings is a bad thing.
In fact, for myself, I’m thinking of my marriage – I love my wife and I love the feelings that I feel when we are together or apart. All the emotions I feel in regards to my bride are wonderful. They’re like icing on a cake!
But they’re not the cake itself.
You see, we live in a culture that promotes feelings a lot – to the point where even in too many people’s marriages, their feelings become “the cake”. But feelings are not the be all / end all. There are other things in life that matter WAY more than how we feel. It’s because of this worldview that people’s feelings get in the way and derail their mindset in regards to the commitments they have made, the decisions they make and the type of person they set out to be.
Here’s an example:
Imagine you are sitting out at a campsite. It’s early in the morning and you’ve got breakfast cooking for your family. As you bask in the early morning light with the smell of bacon in the air, you look down and you see a snake! What are you going to do? Most people will react and jump up to higher ground.
Once you are standing on top of the picnic table, you look again and realize that it’s not a real snake, but a rubber snake your kids brought and left outside.
My point is this: when you first see the snake, your feelings hit the roof and you react out of pure emotion. But the reality of the situation is that the thing on the ground that got you all worked up is actually just a toy and can do you no harm at all.
But, even after you are aware of and KNOW that fact, your feelings will still be running on overdrive. It always takes a little time (sometimes a lot of time) for your emotions to sync with the life’s truths.
If nothing else, this illustrations depicts how feelings can govern how we view the world around us and how we live our lives. This is why feelings are often the one thing that derails your mindset.
You’ll be right on track doing something with a proper, truthful mindset. Then, mid-stream, someone tells you something, or some circumstance occurs, that causes you to feel differently than the mindset you had in place to begin with. Then, you find yourself vacillating back and forth.
You see, feelings are powerful “convincers”. They convince us that what is going on in a certain situation is different than what is actually taking place. They even redefine truth – if only temporarily.
This is why we need to take charge of our feelings and maintain a proper, truth-based mindset.
Sometimes even the “strongest” of people are struck with paralyzing worry or anxiety.
Or, if you find yourself feeling inadequate, or full of fear, or you feel condemned – hearing voices in your head from long ago telling you that you’re not worthy or good enough – WHAT DO YOU DO?
Without a fixed mindset, any of these emotions can completely derail you from your task, your day, your week, or worse.
Well, here are a few helpful tips on how to address these potential emotional obstacles:
Firstly, accept the fact that feelings are often the things that derail you the most. I don’t care how stoic or unemotional you think you are, every single person falls prey to their emotions from time to time. Sometimes it’s simply the feeling of “I don’t want to get up” when your alarm goes off in the morning. Combine this feeling with your tiredness and the “good feeling” of staying in bed and your mindset has a battle in front of it. Your mindset needs to be stronger than those feelings in order to get your body up and start to take on the day.
Secondly, list out on paper the most common feelings that you battle with. Once you have your “enemy” named, dig deeper and write down what those feelings are all about – where do they derive from, what avenues of life are you typically hit by these emotions? By writing these things down, you become specifically aware of what feelings you need to be aware of and on the watch for, so that you can see them coming before they have a chance of overwhelming you.
Next, make a list of God’s truths that are contrary to those derailing feelings. For instance, if you battle with inadequacy or a lack of confidence, you can write in your “truth list” 2 Corinthians 3:5-6,
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
According to this truth, written in God’s Word, we should have the confidence that we ARE competent to accomplish what God has put before us. Once you make your own truth list, you will have an arsenal of weapons to fight those overwhelming feelings with.
Fourth, embed those truths that you just wrote down into your soul. This may come through memorization, it could be done through 3×5 cards or sticky notes placed strategically throughout your home or office, or it can be something altogether personal so long as there are tangible ways of reminding yourself throughout the day of God’s truths. Reading God’s Word in the morning simply isn’t enough to sustain you through the day. You leak. You leak affirmation. You leak God’s truth. By dinnertime, you don’t remember them as clearly as you did at breakfast. It’s just a hard truth.
And finally, prepare yourself EVERY SINGLE MORNING. Get your mind ready for action, as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:13,
Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
This verse tells us to set our mind ever day, being alert and on guard, with full anticipation for what God has promised in the future, knowing that what we do with each day today is not in vain, but according to God’s plan!
I know it sounds like a lot, this daily battle. But, with God’s help, you can overcome the tyranny of your feelings that sprout up at any given moment and derail your mindset