This is the third day of snow here in the upper plains. Even though it melts on the roads by afternoon, it is tiring to see so much snow this in spring. I would believe since Sunday we have had at least six inches. The upside of all of this is the moisture that we are receiving will be great for the ground. I am concerned that my daffodils which were coming up will not be frozen. Such is the life in Nebraska and especially in the sand hills.
I am copying this from Serving Strong. I have found the newsletter to be inspiring for me at different times. What he as to say about distorted thinking is something that I used to have people look at when I was a counselor. It is easy to fall into what AA would call stinking thinking. Sometimes it may help us recognize when we have fallen into this type of thinking.
Distorted Thinking - Pt 1
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that..." (Romans 12.2 NASB bold mine)
Hey Eldon, don't you know a lot of the struggle in circumstances comes not from the circumstances themselves, but from what takes place between our ears. The mind is a terribly wonderful organ of the body. It can imagine the greatest of inventions. Yet it can keep the best person chained down like a slave, inhibiting what God desires.
Over the next several issues, we will be looking at 15 types of distorted thinking*. We will take 3 or 4 types per issue. I encourage you to pray first, then read the description of each type, asking God to search your being. See if any of these types of distorted thinking are getting in the way of serving strong.
Filtering. People who do this take the negative details and magnify them, while filtering out all positive aspects of a situation. A single detail may be picked out, and the whole event becomes colored by this detail. When the filtering person pulls negative things out of context, isolated from all the good experiences around them, they make them larger and more awful than they really are. Are you a filterer?
Polarized Thinking. The hallmark of this distortion is an insistence on dichotomous choices. Things are black or white, good or bad. The polarized thinker tends to perceive everything at the extremes, with very little room for a middle ground. The greatest danger in polarized thinking is its impact on how a person judges himself. For example, they feel they have to be perfect or they're a failure. Are you a polarized thinker?
Overgeneralization. The overgeneralizer comes to a general conclusion based on a single incident or piece of evidence. If something bad happens once, this person expects it to happen over and over again. "Always" and "never" are cues that this style of thinking is being utilized. This distortion can lead to a restricted life, as this person avoids future failures based on the single incident or event. Are you an overgeneralizer?
Can you identify with any of these types of distorted thoughts? If so, lay your mind before the throne of an Almighty God who wants so desperately to work with you and restore you to health. If you need professional help, seek it. There is no shame in journeying to wholeness with the help of others.
Stay tuned. Next week we'll continue with "Mind Reading", "Catastrophizing", and "Personalization". Stay strong!
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