We often think about the ‘what ifs’ in life and how our lives may have turned out differently if only certain things had not happened. And when our actions have negative consequences, we blame ourselves for them. We give the green light to the negative thoughts in our heads, and they take over. Sounds familiar? If so, you are not alone. I had to learn to deal with negative thoughts to prevent them from eating me alive. So, when I was approached last summer about talking at a summit on overcoming negative mindsets and renewing our minds, I happily shared what has helped me. So how can you transform your mind?
The Virtual Summit ‘Overcoming negative mindsets and being transformed by the renewing of your mind’ was organised by Lauren Roskilly from Mindful of Christ. Lauren is an author and mother of two, living in England. She is a born-again Christian who went through many storms in her life. On her journey, Lauren learned how to turn her focus from negativity whilst leaning on God. And so through words, written and spoken, she is sharing how to be mindful of Christ. When Lauren asked me to speak at the summit, I was a few months into my own therapy and happy to share what I learnt about overcoming negative thoughts and mental health more generally.
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Overcome negative thoughts with God’s truth
I started my therapy after a terrible accident towards the end of 2020. After the accident, when a van hit me as I was crossing a road, I was left in hospital with a fractured back. Shortly after also diagnosed with PTSD. On my recovery journey, I had to deal with many PTSD-related symptoms such as blame, negative thoughts, flashbacks and anxiety, amongst others. I knew how those feelings had made me feel and was keen to share what I learned about managing them.
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So, how to transform your mind and overcome negative thoughts? It definitely is not easy. Instead, it’s a journey with inevitable setbacks on the way, we are not robots and experience all kinds of emotions. You cannot blame yourself for feeling what you feel. Whilst I always encourage people to be honest with themselves, and with their feelings, I am not a fan of toxic positivity. But this isn’t about never having any negative thoughts entering our minds. It’s natural that doubts and negative thoughts appear from time to time, we are human beings with emotions. And, it’s ok not to feel ok when we experience grief, loss, pain or suffering. Let those feelings go through you, feel what you need to feel and then move on, don’t let the feelings consume you.
Because the reality is that you cannot transform your mind if you are not honest with yourself. Write your feelings down, whenever you need to get them out, but don’t beat yourself up for feeling what you feel. It’s not about stopping negative thoughts from coming into your mind. It is about how we react to them. Turning doubts, negative thoughts and criticism into positives is an uphill battle and takes practice. But it’s also a game changer. After all, God didn’t promise that it would be easy. He just said that He would never leave or forsake us. His spirit is not of fear and worry, but of power, love and a strong mind.
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Transform your mind with this virtual summit
Are you struggling with negative thoughts or are you stuck trying to figure out how to overcome them? Are you wondering how to transform your mind? At this Virtual Summit, speakers share how to examine our limiting beliefs, challenge them and set ourselves on a journey of transformation. Because even if some days are hard, there is hope for a better day.
So let’s tune in and be encouraged by some inspirational speakers. I feel honoured to be amongst them and am grateful for this opportunity to share my knowledge and experience.
Watch the Virtual Summit here.
Thank you and till the next blog post,
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Thank you for using your experiences to help other people as they walk through difficult seasons!
Thank you so much, Kirstin! I really hope it helps those who need it the most. Blessings!
You’re right about life having ups and downs. I’ve always said, it’s okay to feel what you feel, but when you’re down, staying there too long is self-neglect. But we’re all different and some take longer to fully deal with negative emotions than others. Great article!
Thank you so much, Susan! You are right, I totally agree with it. As long as we move on… Blessings!