We live in a world that promotes negativity. If you don’t believe that’s true, take a cursory glance through the news headlines. Sure, there is plenty of bad news, but it’s rare to see anything good. No matter how hard it is to believe, there are still plenty of good people doing good things in the world today. It’s easy to fall into the trap of negativity. If you’re struggling to break free from negativity, there is hope.
Would you consider yourself to be a positive person? Some people always seem to be optimistic. They can find the good in virtually any situation. While their hearts are in the right place, it’s difficult for people who aren’t as positive by nature to find the same source of everlasting optimism. Even if you’re not perpetually optimistic, you can still be a positive person.
However, there’s also a chance that you’re a negative person. If so, don’t feel bad. Don’t beat yourself up over your negativity. However, you should open yourself up to the fact that you probably need to make some changes.
One of the first steps to overcoming negativity is to understand that everything isn’t always bad. When we use the terms “everything” and “always,” we’re pigeonholing ourselves into a perpetual mindset. When you believe that everything is always bad, it’s difficult for you to ever break out of a cycle of negativity.
Negativity, whether it’s in thoughts, words, or actions, is a dangerous habit to fall into. However, there is hope! Today can be the day that you shake free from the chains of negativity. Doing so will not only give you a better view of yourself, but it will strengthen your relationships, and increase your faith.
Changing How You Think
Philippians 4:8 (AMP)
Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].
Most of the negativity that we’re forced to deal with comes from our own minds. We have a tendency to focus on the negative, allowing everything that is going wrong to fill our thoughts. Those thoughts then turn into our words and our actions, leaving us in a perpetual state of negativity.
When you’re trying to break the chains of negativity on your life, you should start with your thought patterns. It’s easy to sit back and say, “There’s nothing I can do about what I think. The thoughts come in before I have time to stop them.” That’s simply not the case. No, you can’t stop negative thoughts from popping up in your mind, but you do not have to give them a permanent place to dwell.
Instead, spend your time and energy thinking about the things that Paul laid out in this passage to the Philippian Church. Everything that Paul said you should think about are attributes of God. That means that He should be at the forefront of your mind. When you spend your time focusing on him, you don’t have to give into negativity.
Changing How You Talk
Proverbs 18:21 (ESV)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.
You may not be aware of it, but your vocabulary has a great deal of power of your life. Do you remember how we just talked about the way that thoughts turn into words and deeds? While the words that you speak may start with a thought, the words that you speak also have the power to completely change the way that you think.
Have you ever met someone who complains all the time? Perhaps you’re someone who complains all the time. Nothing is ever right, nothing is ever good enough, and there’s always something wrong. When you spend all of your time and energy focusing on everything that is going wrong around you, you’re more likely to spend all of your time talking about what’s going wrong around you.
How different would your life be if you refused to speak negative words? That’s a far-reaching concept, so go with us on this one. What if you made a pledge that for the next seven days, you weren’t going to say anything negative about yourself? What if you made a vow that for the next week, you weren’t going to say anything negative about anyone else? What if you made a promise to yourself that you weren’t going to complain about anything for the next seven days?
For many of us, that would be equal to a vow of silence. We often spend so much time talking about the negative things in our lives that we can’t fathom the idea of not being negative about something. However, if you took those steps, you would see a change. You would see a change in the way that you think about yourself, the people around you, and it would even change your relationship with Christ.
The Bible teaches us that the power of life and death is in our tongue. What kind of words are you using? Are you using words that promote life? Or are you using the kind of words that produce death? The choice is yours.
Escaping the chains of negativity is truly a two-fold process. First, you’ll need to change the way that you think. When you spend all of your time thinking about how unfair life has been to you, how you deserved better, how nothing ever works out the way that you wanted, and other negative ideologies, you will find yourself relentlessly running in the hamster wheel of negativity.
Additionally, those thoughts produce words which produce more thoughts, creating a vicious cycle. Once you’ve started getting your thoughts in order, you need to change the way that you speak. Make a commitment today to remove negativity from your vocabulary for the next seven days. At the end of that timeframe, examine how different your life is.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, help me to break the chains of negativity. Show me areas in my life where I’m allowing negative thoughts and words to derail the plans that You have for me. In Christ’s name I ask these things, Amen.