Mental Pep Talks

I have this pesky tendency toward pessimism. I'm a worst case scenario kind of thinker, a worrier, and in general, an overly anxious and sensitive person. Needless to say, these tendencies cause me a great deal of stress, and I really don't enjoy the way that my mind works much of the time. My thoughts often lead to physical symptoms as well such as stomach problems and tension headaches.

My struggle to control my mind has been ongoing for many years. Over time, I have accumulated a few "tools" that help me to rein in the anxiety beast. The trick seems to be catching a thought before it runs away with me, and combating it with several truths that help put it into proper perspective. In some cases there is full on spiritual warfare going on, in others, I simply need to give myself a mental pep talk. I do believe that by inviting God into our thought struggles, we can literally "take every thought captive to the authority of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor 10:5) simply by commanding the thought to be captive to Him and asking God to bring that thought under His authority.

I'm going to share some of the mental pep talks I use in the hope that they may also be helpful to others. A lot of these stem from a single quote that rings true with me. When I find such a quote I memorize it (or a close approximation of it - no need for legalism, just function!), and when an applicable situation arises, I simply think of the quote until my perspective resets.

"The world will little note, nor long remember..."-Abraham Lincoln (Gettysburg Address)

I picked this one up from my dad. He says this all the time, specifically when I am stressing way too much about something that won't matter in the big scheme of life. When I was working, my department had reviews that needed to be completed every quarter. We were always in a tizzy at the end of a quarter; frantically worried that we wouldn't finish on time. I would be very stressed, and my dad would say to me, "The world will little note, nor long remember whether 2nd quarter 2009 was completed one week late. In 5 years, no one at the company will even remember or care." Very true!

Along this same line is a blurb from Don't Sweat the Small Stuff... and it's all small stuff by Richard Carlson. "Almost every day I play a game with myself that I call "time warp." I made it up in response to my consistent, erroneous belief that what I was all worked up about was really important. To play "time warp,' all you have to do is imagine that whatever circumstance you are dealing with isn't happening right now but a year from now. Then simply ask yourself, "Is this situation really as important as I'm making it out to be?" Once in a great while it may be - but a vast majority of the time, it simply isn't. Whether it be an argument with your spouse, child, or boss, a mistake, a lost opportunity, a lost wallet, a work-related rejection, or a sprained ankle, chances are, a year from now you aren't going to care. It will be one more irrelevant detail in your life."

"Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda."

My husband is to thank for this one. I tend to beat myself up over mistakes I've made, or things I wish I had done or said differently. His invariable response to my mental torture, is to shrug, and nonchalantly say, "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda." Basically, you can't change it, so let it go.

"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened."- Mark Twain

Think about that for a second..... How often do we put ourselves through the mental, emotional, and physical turmoil of what we fear, only to never end up facing it? Our minds and bodies take the real toll of a theoretical threat. It's pretty crazy that we do this to ourselves when you think about it.  Jesus himself addresses this in the book of Matthew when He says, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (6:34) and "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (6:27) Worrying about perceived threats has no value.

So when those anxious thoughts begin to creep in, take a deep breath, think about whether what you're tormenting yourself about really matters, and remember, most stuff is small stuff, so don't sweat it!

~Heather