Breaking Busy: How to Find Peace and Purpose in a World of Crazy by Alli Worthington

Author:Alli Worthington [Worthington, Alli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: religion, self help, stress management
ISBN: 9780310342229
Google: sfEQBwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0310342228
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2016-01-26T05:00:00+00:00

WHEN WE FOCUS ON OUR FLAWS, WE LOSE SIGHT OF THE TRUTH THAT GOD DOES GREAT THINGS THROUGH FLAWED PEOPLE.

The habit of thinking about (and beating ourselves up over) our flaws is a deadly trap to fall into, especially for women who grow up seeing airbrushed, Photoshopped, and surgically enhanced, idealized “role models” in magazines, on TV, and online. Whether we are focusing on our fears or focusing on our flaws (real or imagined), we are focused in the wrong place. When we stay focused on our flaws and weaknesses, we lose sight of the truth that God is the one who is great, and he does great things through flawed people.

How Negative Thoughts Make Us Busy

The more we worry, give in to fear, or think negatively about ourselves, the busier we get. We are driven to do more, be more, and prevent whatever it is we are worried about.

For me the busyness of life, the hamster wheel of trying to perform and “be good enough” (whatever that even means), kept me constantly spinning in a cycle of worry and anxiety, which in turn increased my striving, my need to do more, to accomplish more, to be more. Not only that, but my anxiety also led to a lot of fruitless frittering away of time, especially in those black holes called Pinterest and Facebook.

It wasn’t until that day with my forehead on the table that I was quiet enough (or desperate enough!) to listen to God remind me who I was and who he was and why it was important for my thoughts to reflect that distinction. The difference between misery and happiness for me came not through circumstances, but through the quality of my thoughts. I needed to make a decision to walk in faith and trust God with my thoughts, not just my outward behavior.

How to Overcome Negative Thoughts

I bet you’ve experienced something similar with your thoughts as well. The way we think about things will determine whether we live peaceful lives, or whether we live in a busy rush to prove ourselves, please others, and strive to be and do more. So how do we break our own pattern of destructive thinking?

1. Abide in Christ

The most important way to battle negative thoughts is with the power of Christ. We do battle by using the weapons given to us all as believers: abiding (staying) in the Word of God and keeping a relationship with him through prayer and through worship.

I’ve learned through the years that no matter how bad I feel, no matter how negative my thoughts, if I spend time in the Word, in prayer, and in worship, I can get my thoughts right.

I may be stretching the truth, but I believe it’s physically impossible to be bummed while singing “10,000 Reasons.” (That’s my go-to song to remember God’s presence each day. Apologies to the songwriter, Matt Redman, for how I butcher it when I sing it!)

2. Stay mindful

A great way to break the impact that negative thought patterns have on you is to be aware of them.

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