Stop rehearsing lies

• “Stop increasing doubts by rehearsing them to doubters.” Elder Ronald Rasband. I add that we are doubters of ourselves.

How often do we repeat the same terrible thoughts about ourselves to ourselves? We don’t recognize them as lies, but they are. Things like “I never get it all done”; “My kids need me to…”; “I can’t say no”; “I am never there for my family”; “I got drug into doing …”. We say these types of things to ourselves regularly!

They keep us from really being aware of or accountable for what we are doing. This cycle brings negative thoughts, negative actions and negative results. If we want change, we have to stop rehearsing these lies to ourselves.

Same thoughts, same life

• “If you have the same [terrible] thoughts, you’re going to have the same [terrible] day” -Meadow Devor

Break the cycle

• “Many of us tend to think the same thoughts, have the same feelings, and follow the same routines in our life. The rub is, this causes us to keep using the same patterns and combinations of neural circuits in our brain, and they tend to become hardwired. This is how we create habits of thinking, feeling, and doing.

“For example, say a person lives much of her life in a repeating cycle of thoughts and feelings related to unworthiness. The moment she thinks about not being good enough, smart enough, or enough of anything, her brain releases chemicals that produce a bodily feeling of unworthiness. Now she is feeling the way she was just thinking. Her brain notices that, and she begins to have thoughts of insecurity that match the way she was just feeling. Her body is now causing her to think. If her thoughts and feelings continue, year after year, to generate the same feedback loop between her brain and her body, she will exist in a state of being that is called “unworthy.” These repeated chemical signals causes the cells of the body to function in undesirable ways, making us sick”. Joe Dispenza

2 Questions

• What are the thoughts or beliefs that could lift my sights beyond the ways of the world?
• What things matter to you?

1 Truth

• Elder Ronald A. Rasband taught:

“Third, love yourself.

This is where many struggle. Isn’t it curious that loving ourselves seems to come less easily than loving others? Yet the Lord has said, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” He values the divinity within us, and so must we. When we are heavy laden with mistakes, heartaches, feelings of inadequacy, disappointment, anger, or sin, the power of the Savior’s Atonement is, by divine design, one of the things that lifts the soul.”

1 Application

So imagine, if we repeated the cycle of thoughts related to worthiness, for example, we can rewire our circuitry.

First we need to be aware what our beliefs/thoughts are. This where thought downloads are helpful. Take 5 minutes and write down whatever is bugging you, unfiltered. Then look at them and sort facts and thoughts. We often think our thoughts are facts, and that’s where we get stuck.

If you’re more aware of your feelings than thoughts, you might have more feelings than thoughts in your download. You can remind yourself, that feelings are caused by sentences in your brain not by the facts. (I know, mind blown!)

Second, we need to be willing and able let go of these thoughts. Even if it is just to loosen our grip on them for a few minutes a day. Ask yourself “why am i thinking this?” Or ask, “Is there an unspoken “should” in that thought?” If yes, challenge it.

Third, talk to your brain! Tell it you are in charge. Think a truthful thought!