Our Brains Have a Negative Bias, Part 3 (TMF:2420)

Friday, August 16, 2024

Peace to Live By: Our Brains Have a Negative Bias, Part 3 (TMF:2420) - Daniel Litton
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But my understanding is that it can actually cause physiological changes in our brains where they can actually rewire themselves overtime so that they have more of a tendency to think positively. So, when God told us to do this in the Bible, he had good reason behind it because it works toward really improving our bodies. In thinking about good things, it can really be anything good that we think about. It doesn’t have to be things we find in the Scripture. Those aren’t the only good things. We can think about nature, people who have loved us, people we love, pets we care about, good vacations we have taken, whatever, they all can work to give us good, positive, happy thoughts. The key is that we need to focus on these things for prolonged periods of time. Only thinking about something for five seconds isn’t really going to do us any good. I mean, think about it. When you think about negative things, you often dwell on those things for prolonged periods of time. Well, what if when you thought about positive things, you set your mind on them for prolonged periods of time?

Our Brains Have a Negative Bias, Part 2 (TMF:2419)

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Peace to Live By: Our Brains Have a Negative Bias, Part 2 (TMF:2419) - Daniel Litton
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It is so much easier for us to remember the bad things that happen, and so easy for us to forget the good things. I know this personally to be true because I have a habit of keeping track of good things that happen in my life. I will make a note of them when they happen to look back on at a later time. Sometimes, when I go back to read those records I have kept, I don’t even recall the good thing that I noted until I re-look at it. This just goes to show how the positive easily escapes the mind. The beautiful thing is, is that we can re-gear, or re-wire our brains more toward the positive overtime. “That sounds interesting” someone might say. “How do I do that? I want to do that.” Interestingly enough, we accomplish this by doing what the Apostle Paul instructed us to do. “What’s that?” Well, it’s thinking about the positive, thinking about the good things. When we set out minds on the ‘good’ things, this not only makes us feel better, but my understanding is that it can actually cause physiological changes in our brains where they can actually rewire themselves overtime.

Our Brains Have a Negative Bias, Part 1 (TMF:2418)

Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Peace to Live By: Our Brains Have a Negative Bias, Part 1 (TMF:2418) - Daniel Litton
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I wish it wasn’t the case that in this world are brains tend to default toward the negative. But, unfortunately, it is the case. Now a lot of scientists will tell us that this is due to our evolutionary ancestry. Well, I personally don’t believe in evolution. I believe God created humans to begin with, and even created each one of us individually. God certainly didn’t mess up when he did that, but what I believe is the problem is that we all have a ‘sin’ nature within us that makes us go toward the negative. This means that there is sort of a slope in the channels of our minds where the thought processes will flow in a downward direction. We will likely have a tendency to at first think the negative, or think the worst even. There will be a natural skepticism, a fearfulness that we better watch out. We better be careful. It is so much easier for us to remember the bad things that happen, and so easy for us to forget the good things. I know this personally to be true because I have a habit of keeping track of good things that happen in my life. I will make a note of them when they happen to look back on at a later time.

Attacking Reoccurring Thoughts, Part 2 (TMF:2417)

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Peace to Live By: Attacking Reoccurring Thoughts, Part 2 (TMF:2417) - Daniel Litton
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So, in the case of someone saying something against us, we could think, “They spoke something against me” and just focus on that feeling and ignoring all the thoughts. But it’s also important in dealing with reoccurring thoughts to have a plan of attack in that you have a series of ‘dialogues’ you go through when that particular thought or feeling emerges. This model was demonstrated for us when Jesus was tempted by Satan in desert. Jesus’ plan of attack was to have a Bible verse ready to say back to Satan that contradicted what Satan said. Now, we too can use Bible verses, or really anything that is true—it doesn’t necessarily have to be a Bible verse—to attack our negative reoccurring thoughts. So, again, in the case of the person who has spoken something against us, we could hold in mind the thought that we forgive that person every time it comes to mind. We could say, “I forgive this person for speaking against me and making me look bad, just as Jesus has forgiven me for my wrongs.”

Attacking Reoccurring Thoughts, Part 1 (TMF:2416)

Monday, August 12, 2024

Peace to Live By: Attacking Reoccurring Thoughts, Part 1 (TMF:2416) - Daniel Litton
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And thoughts can even be ignored, where, one focuses on the ‘feeling’ as a whole instead of the thought. What this means is that when we have a series of thoughts about an event, let’s say, someone said something against us in a public setting, we have different thoughts about that—different camera angles if you will of the event. So, instead of trying to tackle all those thoughts, what can be done instead is just to focus on the overall feeling that the thoughts represent. So, in the case of someone saying something against us, we could think, “They spoke something against me” and just focus on that feeling and ignoring all the thoughts. That allows for the ‘feeling’ to pass, and that in turn stops the onslaught of thoughts associated with it. But it’s also important in dealing with reoccurring thoughts to have a plan of attack in that you have a series of ‘dialogues’ you go through when that particular thought or feeling emerges. This model was demonstrated for us when Jesus was tempted by Satan in desert.