Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
Transform: Why Your Personal Affirmations Don’t Work and the Mindset Hack to Fix Them!

Transform: Why Your Personal Affirmations Don’t Work and the Mindset Hack to Fix Them!

Last updated on: December 30, 2015 at 9:14 am by Christian Podcast Central

Transform: Why Your Personal Affirmations Don’t Work and the Mindset Hack to Fix Them! 2015-12-30T09:14:20-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Transform Slider

(The following was originally published at www.CareyGreen.com.)

This one’s about personal affirmations. You know, the “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and dog-gone it, people like me!” things people are being encouraged to say to themselves each morning.

Image: Hashtag Hockey

Don’t get me wrong, I think personal affirmations are a powerful way to start the day, at least as part of the morning routine – they are even Biblical…

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 43:5)

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. (1 Samuel 30:6)

But the way personal affirmations are created and practiced today is not working. And there’s one good reason why… they aren’t TRUE! Too often, these “affirmations” are merely phrases that we wish were true, when in reality, there may be things in your life that simply prohibit (or at least get in the way) of these things being true. It’s one thing to think positively about yourself, it’s another to make stuff up! I’ve heard the most self-centered person say that they are generous – all in the name of “personal affirmations.”

Another reason why many of today’s personal affirmations don’t work is because they are based on the desire to feel something: confident, good about yourself, healthy, strong, powerful, determined, generous, etc. However, mindset is not about emotions. In fact, feelings often derail our mindset.

Mindset is about setting your thinking on truth. And the truth that matters is God’s truth.

If personal affirmations are going to work it’s vital that they are true, because truth is what’s at the root of a healthy strong mindset.

We Christians have long been encouraged to do what we call a “Daily Quiet Time” or “Daily Devotional”. At first, these moments were designed to be a Christian version of “personal affirmations” – a time to dive into the Scriptures, read God’s truth, and allow that truth to feed your soul. But, over the years, the Christian “quiet time” has become an obligatory drill and a guilt ridden exercise in futility. Many 21st century Christians read their Bible, do their devotion time each morning, and get absolutely nothing out of it.

This is due to the fact that we don’t think about God’s truth in the right way.
So, instead of beating yourself up each morning, engaging in a “quiet time treadmill”, re-think your time of learning and being encouraged by God’s truth as a Morning Mindset Reset, where you hit the “reset button” on your thinking every day!
And, we need to do this every day because, to put it simply, we leak. We leak truth, confidence, and certainty that God is there. Not to mention, life circumstances hit us from all sides each day, which erode away at the fortress of our mindset and foundation of truth. This makes it incredibly hard to maintain a proper mindset throughout the day.

This is why we need to hone in our mindset reset and understand why we do it.

We do it to reset our thinking each and every morning. We need to set it on the foundation of God’s truth. Every day we need to start off with a fresh attitude and mindset toward God and His promises.

To achieve this, we need to daily think truth about ourselves, God, other people, and life situations. Say them out loud to yourself in a manner that, like David in the Old Testament, encourages yourself in the Lord!

And be honest. Because it really doesn’t matter what we hope we are or what we hope we might be. What matters is what God says we are and what is true of us. And, when we read God’s outlandish statements about us and rest in their truth, we are then able to set our minds on real truth! This helps us live in a powerful way each day.

Here’s one (out of hundreds) example of God’s truth from the Bible:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Now, let’s slow down and read this verse and realize how personal it is. Just like the author, Paul, we Christians have also been “crucified with Christ”. So, when Jesus died on the cross, over 2,000 years ago, somehow part of me died also. What part died? According to the Scriptures, the “old part” that is prone to sin, habitually fails, doubts nonstop, and sets its mind on wrong things that are contrary to God’s will. That’s the part of me that died with Christ.

So, when feelings of doubt, failure and condemnation creep up, I have to remind myself – based on Galatians 2:20 – that I have been crucified with Christ and that is not me anymore!

Reading on…

I no longer live, but instead Christ lives in me! Jesus lives INSIDE of me! Stand in front of a mirror, look at yourself and realize that Jesus lives in you! Say it out loud!! This is truth. It isn’t wishful thinking.

Continuing in the verse…

Gods Perspective

Image: Jessica Perales

The life I now live today, and all the things that I fill my day with, I live by faith in the Son of God. This isn’t some mystical “otherworldly” sort of thing. It’s belief. I have a firm conviction in the Son of God and in what He says: that He has made me into a new creation; that through Him, my old self is dead; that He lives in me today; the list goes on and on. And, I refuse to let life’s circumstances or my emotions pull this belief away from me. It is anchored to God’s truth!

Finally, imagine that you are going to go on a diet and get into shape. You don’t go onto a diet by studying the menu at your local Dairy Queen, so that you know what not to eat. If you did, in no time, you’ll be shoveling a three-scoop sundae into your mouth! Likewise, you don’t beat the devil, when he throws doubts and accusations at you, by focusing on the doubts and insecurities.

The way you defeat Satan and his lies is by focusing on God’s truth instead. Focus on what God has said about you.

Now, you may have to do this multiple times throughout the day – not just once a day in the morning or during a lunch break. Write the verse or verses on a 3×5 card or sticky note and keep it with you throughout the day; and whenever the opportunity arises, pull it out and remind yourself of God’s truth – even when something tough is NOT happening to you. At any and all moments, it’s good to remind yourself who you are!

Previous Post

December 30, 2015

Reflections of Grace 106: Entering 2016 with Faith and Assurance

Next Post

December 31, 2015 Jesus in HD 138: "THE Feast"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz