It may seem an illogical and impossible statement, but it is truth none-the-less.  Regardless of your circumstances, you choose your thoughts, and subsequently, your state of mind and personal well-being.  People throughout history have proven it true, usually in circumstances far worse than what most of us will ever experience.

One of my favorite examples is Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, whom I have mentioned before.  He is an Austrian Jew who was sent to a concentration camp with his family during World War II.

We who lived in concentration camps can remember men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.  Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

Whatever circumstances you are presently you going through, any situations you may yet face, even if they are horrifically unthinkable as those experienced by Frankl, inside you is still the power to choose the state of your personal well-being by choosing your thoughts and perspectives.

Scripture reinforces this truth that your well-being is determined by your choice of thoughts.

All the days of the despondent are made evil by anxious and foreboding thoughts, but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast regardless of the circumstances.

Notice the days of the despondent are made bad by their thoughts; in contrast, the person who takes authority over his thoughts, uses his personal power to control his perspective and have a glad heart, will experience continual good regardless of his or her circumstances. 

You alone have the power to choose your thoughts.  Choose ones that will ensure your well-being!

Regardless of the stresses you are facing, you have the power to choose your thoughts and, as a result, choose your well-being.

It may seem an illogical and impossible statement, but it is truth none-the-less.  Regardless of your circumstances, you choose your thoughts, and subsequently, your state of mind and personal well-being.  People throughout history have proven it true, usually in circumstances far worse than what most of us will ever experience.

One of my favorite examples is Dr. Viktor E. Frankl, whom I have mentioned before.  He is an Austrian Jew who was sent to a concentration camp with his family during World War II.

We who lived in concentration camps can remember men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.  Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

Whatever circumstances you are presently you going through, any situations you may yet face, even if they are horrifically unthinkable as those experienced by Frankl, inside you is still the power to choose the state of your personal well-being by choosing your thoughts and perspectives.

Scripture reinforces this truth that your well-being is determined by your choice of thoughts.

All the days of the despondent are made evil by anxious and foreboding thoughts, but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast regardless of the circumstances.

Notice the days of the despondent are made bad by their thoughts; in contrast, the person who takes authority over his thoughts, uses his personal power to control his perspective and have a glad heart, will experience continual good regardless of his or her circumstances. 

You alone have the power to choose your thoughts.  Choose ones that will ensure your well-being!

Table of contents for Stress

1. Stress – Its Effects on Your Health
2. Stress – How to Cope
3. Stress – How to Cope Part 2

To avoid living in a constant state of stress and the resulting physical consequences, implement some daily habits to better cope with stress.

These steps on how to alleviate stress come from Dr. Don Colbert’s book, “The Seven Pillars of Health.” If you missed the information on the physical reactions to living life in a repeated state of stress, please read Part 1, “Stress – Its Effects on Your Health,” by clicking this link here or the one at the top of this post.

Practice Mindfulness: This is the concept of letting go of any thought that is unrelated to the present moment and finding something to enjoy in the present moment. Most people do not live well in the present moment; they are always wishing for a different moment in the past when things were happier or simpler, or wishing for a moment in the future when they think they can be happy, such as by getting a promotion, getting out of debt, or buying a new house. Find something enjoyable to focus on in the immediate moment all throughout the day, such as the warmth of the sun, the breeze, music. During breaks at work, don’t think about goals or projects; enjoy your cup of coffee or a magazine. If a stressful thought comes to mind, choose to move on to a thought that is related to what you are presently seeing, hearing, smelling, or feeling that is pleasant. Instead of complaining about what you don’t have, be grateful for what you do have, air conditioning in your house or a car to get to work. Dr. Colbert suggests that his patients go for a walk or go to the zoo to practice focusing on all that can be enjoyed in a moment. “To have complete mental and physical health, mindfulness must become a way of life, a continual pattern for practicing relaxation during your day (p.236).”

Reframe Your Perspectives: Reframing is learning to see the past, present, and future in a positive light by shifting from one’s present point of view to see another person or situation from a new perspective. You cannot control all that happens to you, but you can control your perceptions of those things. Psychologists say that your perceptions and reaction are more important to your physical and mental health than the actual events in your life. “We must learn to reframe every event in our lives that we perceived as tragic, painful, traumatic, or in any negative way.” For patients who had been through the experience of seeing a family member killed or had almost been killed themselves, he asks them to quit re-living the bad experience and start focusing on the positive aspect that they are alive. Albert Ellis, who pioneered this concept, said when negative thoughts pop up automatically, challenge and assess them; don’t just accept them.

This is basically the same concept God speaks of in 2 Cor. 10:5, “Pull down imaginations …and carry every thought away into captivity and make it obedient to Christ.” In other words, do not allow your thoughts to control you. Control them by putting out of your mind ones that are not beneficial to your mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual health. God then instructs us to replace negative thoughts with good ones, “Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy, think of these things (Phil. 4:8).” One may think this is an impossible task, but Dr. Colbert says that often reframing does not take a lot of time as long as you are willing to let the old belief go. Here’s his word of wisdom, “You may feel that it’s not safe to let the belief go, because if you do, the hurtful event might happen again. If you don’t let that distorted belief go, it’s as if the hurtful event is happening to you over and over.”

Have 10 Belly Laughs a Day: This is a prescription that many of Dr. Colbert’s patients find startling, yet true laughing offers one of the most powerful and natural healing methods without any side effects. God states this fact in Scripture, “A glad heart makes a healthy body, but a crushed spirit makes the bones dry (Prov. 17:22).” This is an interesting quote, especially considering how many autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis, come from stress-a literal drying of the bones, or at least the joints in them!

I mentioned a quote from Viktor Frankl, Holocaust survivor, the other week. Dr. Colbert shared in his book some specifics of that story I had not heard. Frankl encouraged the other prisoners to tell at least one funny story each day about something they planned on doing after they were freed. Not only was the humor a healthy therapy, but it also gave them a vision of being freed. Frankl went on after the war to develop a therapy which incorporated humor.

Forgiveness: When you re-hash in your mind a wrong done to you, or even misperceive that a wrong has been done to you, your brain does not distinguish between short-term and long-term memories when producing a biochemical stress response. If you have not forgiven and re-hash that moment, your body will respond as if the situation is occurring now even if it happened 30 years ago. When you think you have been wronged, or have been intentionally hurt, being offended is always optional—just like accepting a package that is delivered by courier to your door. Dr. Colbert quotes Joyce Meyer, “Bitterness and unforgiveness are like drinking poison and wishing the other person would die,” because the harm from those thoughts is coming solely to you. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you weren’t hurt, but that you are not going to live tied to that incident. For more on forgiveness, read my post, “Forgiveness or Reconciliation.”

Build Margins into Your Life: A margin is a buffer to keep you from being overwhelmed. Give yourself extra travel time for an appointment. Spend so that you will have a margin or “buffer” of a little bit left over each month out of what you earned. Build a margin into your list of commitments, so that you have personal free time and family time.

The research on this topic came from chapters 44-48 of Dr. Don Colbert’s book, The Seven Pillars of Health. For more detailed reading, see his book, ISBN#1-59185-815-1

Depression is the result of external pressure getting inside and weighing down your thoughts/emotions.

There is a depression that has its root in physical causes, such as a deficiency of certain naturally occurring chemicals in the brain, the 3 main ones being serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Sometimes, in mild cases, these chemicals can be replaced by protein drinks with tyrosine and phenalylanine. I read that the late Dr. Atkins has such a diet available. If you suspect you’re your depression is physically related rather than from circumstancial pressures, you may want to see your doctor for a blood test to determine a proper course of treatment. Probably the most common form of depression, however, is due to allowing the pressure of circumstances to conform one’s thoughts. I’ve mentioned this quote before, “Above all else, guard your heart [mind and will], for it is the wellspring of life (Prov. 4:23).” We must admit to the absolute necessity of controlling our thoughts for the wellbeing of our lives. Another passage says, “For as the thoughts of man’s heart are, so is he (Prov. 23:7).”

Thoughts form our emotions.

The other week I referred you to a new book out, called “Eight Steps to Create the Life You Want.” I quoted the premise for the chapters in this book of how the whole course of one’s life starts with the positive or negative words we speak; those words form our thoughts; our thoughts create emotions, etc. I’ll reference the post below if you still need to read it. The eight steps in this book illustrate how the whole direction of one’s life is altered by words, thoughts, and emotions. I listened to a talk today on depression by the author of that book, Creflo Dollar. He used to be a professional therapist in a ward for suicidal teens before becoming a pastor.

Here are the 4 steps Dr. Dollar mentioned for recovery from depression due to external circumstances:

1. Watch over your heart. Jesus said in Jn. 14:1, “Do not let your heart be troubled…believe in [trust in] Me.” You are not always in control of your circumstances but you can control what thoughts get into your heart [mind]. If you plant seeds or thoughts of trouble, you will grow trouble. If you plant thoughts of trust in God for what you need, you will grow peace.

This is not much different from Dr. Wayne Dyer’s “Laws of Intention” or the philosophy of the Law of Attraction. You must take responsibility for your thoughts, for positive thoughts, to properly and effectively direct the course of your life.

2. Speak to your problems instead of about your problems. In Mk. 11:23, 24, Jesus said, “I truly tell you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt at all in his heart [mind], but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him. For this reason, I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe-trust and be confident-that it is granted to you, and you will receive it.” (AMP) Speak to your circumstances about how they will change; make it a one-way conversation. Do not let the circumstances speak to you.

3. If something is missing in your life, ask God for it. How do you receive? By believing when you ask that you have already received it, that God has answered. Faith is believing whether or not it looks like you have received it yet. Ask, receive, and the joy will come.
Supporting verses:
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Mt. 21:22).
Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete (Jn. 16:24).
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Heb 11:1).

4. Thank God for everything that is good in your life. Thankfulness pushes back depression. If you have a job, be thankful that you do; some people do not. If you have a working car, be thankful that you do; some people do not. Be thankful for your health, home, friends, family, good weather, a day off work, etc. Expand it to anything imaginable. I had a college professor who used to say, “Be thankful for toilet tissue. I mean really!” Thank God for every aspect of His personality, such as His unending love for you, His mercy, His faithfulness, His watchfulness. Even if the worst of circumstances, there is good to be thankful for, even if it is just that you have the breath of life.

As I mentioned earlier, though this process may sound oversimplified, these religious concepts have been used by many people in secular vocations, such as Life Coaches, to achieve restoration. I’ll end with a quote by Viktor E. Frankl, an Austrian Jew who was sent to a concentration camp with his family during World War II. He discovered the truth that the ultimate freedom is the freedom to choose your attitude. Similarly, we have the freedom to choose the thoughts which create our emotions.

Frankl says, “We who lived in concentration camps can remember men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl

Click here to read the article on Determining Your Destiny which lists Creflo’s 8 steps to direct the course of your life to your goals and restoration.

If you are interested in reading the whole book, click here for 8 Steps to Create the Life You Want by Creflo A. Dollar.