Researchers say people have approximately 60,000 thoughts a day. That about 42 thoughts a minute. That is a whole lot of thinking. But from retail advertisements to tabloid news, from personal issues to social media posting, how can people manage distracting and negative thoughts to produce healthy thoughts that translate into real success?
“We were created for success, but we have to train our brain,” said Cheryl Williams, a certified professional biblical counselor. She hosts the interactive workshops “Achieving Success In Life Using Your Brain Effectively” as part of Lifebuilder’s Counseling Services Institute’s Biblical Enrichment Series Training (BEST) is hosted at Crenshaw Christian Center, 7901 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles.
Founded around 1998, Lifebuilder’s provides counseling and training to become a certified faith-based bibilical counselor. Many of the graduates are pastors, lay people and formally-trained licensed marriage and family therapists who also work with the church community. The BEST training series was created to train leaders from all walks of life about psychological principles from a biblical perspective, said Sue Borne of Lifebuilder’s.
Williams said that when people don’t mentally focus on thoughts that can bring them a fulfilling life, their negative thoughts recklessly drive them to unhappy destinies.
“Your brain is an organ,” said Williams. “The mind tells your brain what to do, and the brain carries out the order because the brain is connected to every organ in the body. The mind is invisible. Man can’t see it or touch it because it’s spiritual. You have to train your mind to pay attention to negative or self-destructive thoughts so you can discard them, deal with them, or have an answer for them.”
Williams said research has proven that a positive thought is 100 times more powerful than a negative thought. Moreover, thoughts lead to beliefs. Beliefs lead to actions. In order to start recognizing those toxic thoughts, Williams recommends keeping a “thought log” as a regular spiritual practice.
“A thought log is a lot like a journal,” she said. “Take the first five minutes when you wake up to write your first five thoughts. Maybe in the middle of the day, you could write another set of five thoughts. And then later before you go to bed. Then examine it. Ask yourself what does that mean? The objective is to challenge negative things like, ‘why aren’t I pretty?’ that can help you improve yourself.”
Williams also has a Thought Log. She said it helps to develop greater self-awareness by stepping outside of yourself and becoming an observer. This spiritual practice is a lifelong commitment to identifying where you are stuck in your life so you can take action to deal with unresolved issues or simply weed out that negative thought permanently.
For more information about Lifebuilder’s for counseling services or to become a Certified Professional Faith-based Biblical Counselor visit http://lifebuilderscs.com/.
