Nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. - Wm. Shakespeare
Have you ever been having a perfectly great day then something happens or you get reminded about something that pushed all your buttons? Then that one thought built and before you knew it, you'd been dwelling on that one thought all day long. And what started as a perfectly great day now has you all up tight and stressed out.
I like to call that the snowball effect. And sometimes other thoughts get caught up in our giant snowballs. You begin to fret about all the things you need to get done, the fight you had with your co-worker, and the disc drive you haven't had time to fix in your laptop.
Pretty soon you begin the internal dialogue. "I can't believe how busy I am. Why does this always happen to me?" You start re-living every bad confrontation you've had with your boss. And each thought gets you more and more upset until you find yourself in meltdown mode. Before you know it, it's impossible to find that good mood you started the day with.
“My troubled thoughts prompt me to answer because I am greatly disturbed.- Job 20:2 (NIV)
I can't tell you how many times something like this has happened to me. Yep, even yesterday. And I seem to let my mental snowballs shower havoc all over my life. But it doesn't have to be that way.
The key is to catch yourself before the mental snowball even starts. If you don't let it get out of control and gain momentum, the snowball will fall apart before it even gets started.
If you're having trouble shifting out of those horrible feelings, try listening to music or watching an episode of your favorite television show. Getting yourself distracted from your old thought process is the key.
My prayer for you is that you focus on how grateful you are that you have a great family, a satisfying job and a great God who will always have your back. Build yourself a reverse snowball of every good thing you'll have in your life. Sometimes mental snowballs can work in our favor,
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me. - Psalm 13:2 (NIV)
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