Thinking – The Power of the Mind
Spring 2023
It seems as though there is no limit to the power of thinking and the focused mind. The great, apparently humanist writer and motivational speaker of the 60's and 70's, Paul J. Meyer, has said that "whatever we vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon must inevitably come to pass." Or more simply, "what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
He also goes on to say that "one needs to develop supreme confidence in yourself and your own abilities." Further, he states we need to crystallize our thinking. These statements can be so true and represent a philosophy on which I have put "a lot of weight" over my career.
I have come to realize that they represent a powerful philosophy but one that has serious limitations and defects. The biggest problem with this approach is that it leaves out the most important dimension, which is the spiritual. We are body, mind, and spirit, and our lives must reflect this truth. The humanist approach to motivation can achieve goals. The humanistic motivational philosophy is syncretic as it brings along some biblical principles but confuses the rightful position of God in our lives.
For a Christian, our goals and objectives should come from a prayerful experience of discerning God's plans for our life and the unique role we play in living for Him. Our main purpose in life is to grow in our maturity with Christ and become like Him as our end goal. As we use sound principles of motivation and clarify our thinking, we can accomplish great things and humbly realize we are becoming mature and helping to "bring the kingdom to earth as it is in heaven".
We can ask God to help us crystallize our thinking. Good thought processes help us to clarify exactly what we need to do and to stay focused. However, we need to get rid of self-defeating ways of thinking.
Bruce Baldwin and Claire Warga suggest a few ways that can help eliminate unfavorable thinking:
Verbalize your thoughts. You might be surprised to see how negative your thoughts really are.
Do not project negative thoughts onto your spouse or loved ones. Take full responsibility for your thoughts.
Don't habitually focus on the failure gap, which is the difference between what has been accomplished and absolute perfection.
Work on one deficient thought pattern at a time.
Use thought-stopping as a technique. Make a meaningful signal when you are aware of going into distorted thinking.
Practice positive affirmations.
Don't think in all or nothing terms. Most situations in life have many shades of gray.
Don't over-generalize by turning one event into a feeling of gloom and defeat.
You should not over-personalize by interpreting every event as if it pertains to you.
There is a great story that illustrates the value and power of thinking. Henry Ford once hired an efficiency expert to go through his plant and find non-productive employees. When the expert finished his evaluation, he stated that he was particularly concerned with one of his administrators who, while observing, noticed that he was sitting with his feet propped up on his desk. "The man never does a thing. I think you should get rid of him." Ford was curious who was using his time that way. Then the expert identified him, and Ford shook his head. "I can't fire him. I pay him to do nothing but think, and that is what he is doing."