How Are You Thinking?

I think a more common question we ask is probably - "What are you thinking?" But there is an additional aspect to what we are thinking, and that's how we think. Do we think with a negative perspective or a positive one? Do we think intentionally, patiently, or chaotically?

These are some questions addressed by Dr. Caroline Leaf in the video below: "How to Train Your Mind to Avoid Burnout."

After the severe stress I experienced in May-July, I felt like there was a level of burnout. Praise God that He is healing me day by day. I'm thankful He walks with me in the stressful times and in the healing process. And He knows exactly what I need each step of the way.

The body and the mind are connected - stress to one affects the other. And when there is stress on both, it's even harder.  

Sometimes it can feel like there are no easy answers. Your life may seem like a 3000-piece jigsaw puzzle...believe me, I understand. But don't let that stop you from continuing to put in one more piece at a time. =)

So for myself this week, I found Dr. Leaf's video informative and encouraging. We can recover from burnout, and we can learn tips to help us prevent it as well.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to watch this. (It's about 18 minutes.) Then feel free to share in the comments anything you found helpful or quotes from the video that stood out to you.

Here are some quotes that I wrote down to think about further:

"A toxic thought life will make you feel drained and exhausted."

"You can't change anything until you're aware of it."

"You're brilliant."

"You control your brain with your mind."

"How to Train Your Mind to Avoid Burnout"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRiM5NEYEJ0

I know that changing our thought patterns won't necessarily change our circumstances or "fix" the problems we face...please don't think I'm saying, "Just think better and your life will be great!" We know life is hard and much of what happens is outside our control.

At the same time, I think we can all agree that healthier thoughts are certainly a wise and long-term investment in our health and our lives.

May God continue to give us grace and strength for the challenges, and may He help us change how we are thinking, perhaps even starting today.

Blessings,
-Joanna

Brief Update

Hello friends. I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I was extremely ill, as some of you know. Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for me! I'm slowly recovering. I lost a lot of weight, and I'm still trying to work back to eating a normal diet again. I'm able to eat turkey once a day now, and I ate some organic crackers today, which tasted really good. =) I'm also still resting a lot and catching up on sleep.

God is faithful and He is answering prayers. He is giving progress day by day. It's slower than I hoped it would be, but today I had to pause and remember that my body has actually been through a lot of stress and problems since early May. So it's understandable that it will probably take time to recover from the whole thing, not only the last couple of weeks. I'm very thankful that I've been breathing well the last few weeks, praise God! So I'm taking one day at a time and trying to allow myself the time I need to heal and trust God to restore health and strength according to His timetable.

I didn't think I'd ever go through something like this again...I thought the past health problems were the end of that particular trial. But the truth is that God is with me through every situation, and He always has my best interests at heart. I know He will be faithful to bring good from this very difficult time. Thank you again for your prayers!

Today if you find yourself still in a difficult situation, or once again facing challenges that you thought were behind you, I pray God will encourage your heart.

He created you. He loves you. He knows you. He is with you. He thinks of you. He holds your life and your days in His hands.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well...all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand--when I awake, I am still with you." -Psalm 139:13-14, 16-18