In a recent newsletter, I shared how self-limiting mindsets can keep you stuck. I also challenged you to name harmful thoughts hindering your ability to move forward. In this newsletter, we’ll discuss specific ways you can rewrite and replace your limiting mindsets with more helpful ones.
Once you identify a deeply rooted lie, it can be difficult to remove. Just like an established dandelion in my garden, it is tough to dig out on the first try because of its deep taproot. In the picture above, the taproot was severed. The partially remaining taproot, still in the ground, often produces several new plants. The stubborn weed will only be gone when we pay attention and continuously remove any new plants as well as the entire taproot.
The best defense is to remove the lie or the dandelion as soon as you are aware of its existence. Then the lies or weeds will not become firmly rooted. Unfortunately, we do not always notice the existence of either one right away.
To establish new pathways in your brain, rethink, rewrite and replace those nasty lies you believe. Understand the healthier thoughts take time in order to keep and sustain a new pattern of thinking. Ortberg notes, “Deep change takes more than willpower. It requires God renewing our minds. It requires surrender.”
Rethink the lie
If you’re locked into a hopeless view of a situation, ask yourself, “Is there another way I can look at what’s happening?”
Jill, a recently divorced Christian woman, stepped away from ministry as she grieved and began anew. However, she kept telling herself she was too broken and made too many mistakes for God to ever use her again.
This perspective kept her stuck in the past. Then one day a friend helped her to realize how her pain and destroyed marriage had drawn her closer to God. Because of her divorce, she experienced how God can heal our broken hearts and bind up our wounds (Psalm 147:3). She has a newfound hope of how God can still use her to comfort others.
As you rethink your lie, ask yourself: Is this a perspective that keeps me stuck and looking at the past, or will it help me move forward?
Rewrite the lie
When Stu lost his job, he felt he’d also lost much of his identity, value and worth. Yet, losing his employment gave him the opportunity to put his hope and security in the Lord rather than in being an executive at a Fortune 500 company. Like Jill, he is realizing how his pain and experiences can encourage others who struggle with loss and challenging transitions.
How can you rewrite your lie into something that will empower you to thrive? How can you revise your mindset in a way that does not include your identity in a bank account, career, relationship, or a degree?
Replace the lie
One of the best ways to replace a life-draining mindset that keeps popping up like a weed is to ask a trustworthy friend or a safe person to keep you accountable. Let this person know you want to establish a new, healthy way of thinking, but it has not become deeply rooted yet. Also pray that the Holy Spirit will remind you when the old pattern emerges once more.
Self-doubts filled Meg at her new job because her father always told her she would never amount to anything. If something hinted that she did not meet her manager’s expectations, she became anxious. One of her prayer partners gently reminded Meg at those times, “That is your insecurity trying to discourage you.” Or “Just keep persevering, I can already see how you are growing in this area.”
Also remind yourself of how you rewrote your lie. Stu, who felt he did not have what it takes to land a great position, reiterated that his identity, hope and security were in Jesus, not in getting a specific job.
While a mindset takes time to replace, be willing to take one small step after another toward thinking and living differently. As Thomas Edison said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Paying attention and not giving up has helped me successfully removed some persistent dandelions as well as besetting lies over the years. With God’s help, you can do that too.
