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Twenty years of propaganda has an impact. We
come to believe that cravings are good for us, a part of normal life. No
point fighting them. It’s time to strip away the mask and see the raw
ugliness hidden below. Cravings are powerful forces leading us to death
and destruction.
To overcome cravings, you need to run an
anti-brainwashing program to clean out the junk from childhood. Not only
was your mind filled with reading, writing and arithmetic, but
mind-washing thoughts as well, skillfully placed by the mentors of
negativity. Like a computer virus, they infect your life by infecting your
thinking. With cult-like force, they infiltrated the education system.
Your teacher, your guidance counselor, or your school janitor may have
been one of them. Even your parents may have fallen under the spell.
The only way to detect this hideous fraternity is by
their common language. If you say "it's a beautiful day,"
they respond with, "what's good about it?" You mention
singing birds. They complain about bird poop. You mention sunshine; they
grimly suggest skin cancer. Every word carries the dark force of
criticism, fear and complaint. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is cherished.
Nothing has value.
They have stubbornly made a decision to think the
worst. You can't change that, but you can defend yourself against the
onslaught of these malignant thoughts.
It is time to put the brakes on defeatist thinking and
alter your mental dialogue. Evaluate what you are thinking. Are your
thoughts inspiring, uplifting and encouraging or a stewing cauldron of
worry, fear and doubt? Watch your thoughts. (No converter required.) Is
your brain signal positive or negative? You will quickly realize how the
negative thoughts have a far greater impact than the positive thoughts. If
the thoughts you are thinking are negative, it's time to replace them with
positive, uplifting, warm, fuzzy, nice thoughts.
It's not easy. You can start out encouraging yourself
and end up thinking weird and depressing thoughts. You may think a
positive thought like "It's all going to work out." And
there is this depressing response saying, "no it's not, my life is
falling apart." It is here that the battle is fought. Stop
fighting and negativity wins because you have decided to believe it. You
have to fight with truth, repeating the uplifting thought until you
believe.
The desire for comfort carries us on the path of least
resistance. It is the easy way out. Who wants to swim upstream, when we
can go with the flow? But the flow is going downhill to end in a stagnant
cesspool of fear, worry and obsession. Going with the flow has a pay-off;
we are doing something that is easy. And if we don't, we have to face our
fear. It is easier to be consumed with worry than to do something
constructive. You need to strive against the current of negative thinking,
facing its power. It may feel like a raging current but the strength will
come. Success is upstream, a place of freedom, joy and hope. It is the
place we want to be.
Negative thoughts are hard to fight. They are like that
floating pink elephant. The more we try not to think of them, the more
they barge into our thinking. The solution is to deflect obsession to
become encouraging thoughts. We have to re-channel the energy of
obsessive, fear-ridden thoughts toward confidence-building thoughts.
Here are some craving defense thoughts.
"I can face this craving. I refuse to be
controlled by food. I am staying on my diet. I hate junk food. It tastes
like cardboard. It is addictive and steals my health. I feel weak, but I
am making it. I am a fighter, not a quitter. I have control of what I eat.
I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. I am filled with
joy. I am at peace and relaxed. I have no worries. I have abundance in all
things. All my needs are met in Christ. I am living in the peace of God. I
am safe in His arms. I have abundant health. I recover quickly. I hardly
ever get sick. God has done so much for me. I am truly blessed. This is
going to be a glorious day!."
Imagine waking up to those thoughts. Imagine your
attitude. Would your life be different? Wholeheartedly, I can say, yes,
it will. Depression fades, insecurities evaporate, and worry
transforms into challenge. Dreams become larger, as if built on new
strength, because inside you know you can do it.
Your thoughts define your limits. Think defeat and
you're defeated. Think you can't and you won't.
A small child at a circus was amazed to find such huge
animals tied to a stake by a small rope tied around one foot. His father
smiled and said, "when the elephant was young they placed a chain
around its foot. No matter how hard the young elephant struggled, it could
not break free. Eventually the elephant gave up trying and a rope replaced
the chain." Elephants and humans are the same; they are held in
place by thin chords of attachment because they believe that they are
unbreakable chains.
Believe you can. Perceive, believe then achieve.
Become your own cheerleader. (No pompoms required.) Kindle the fire
within. The Bible is a book of encouragement. A million angels are
shouting you can do it. God Himself, is cheering. You are a star in
His universe.
Negative thinking gets negative results. If your
present brain software isn't working, it's time to lap link your cerebral
cortex to the most positive terminal in the universe, download a new
program and reboot the system. Warning! Wear rubber boots for insulation;
this is going to be one huge blast of positive voltage! |
