The Battlefield of the Mind2 mins read

Last week, I wrote about choosing to believe.

It’s been a rollercoaster. An important aspect of choosing to believe despite odds is the mindset. I have realized this much more this week as I navigated life and all that comes with it. A lot really goes on in the mind.

In a bid to recenter my mind, I spent the week listening to some recordings of Joyce Meyer, the author of the Battlefield of the mind. The woman was actually brutal in her teachings. Lol, I spent a good while laughing as I felt subbed at several points in the tape.

One point that Joyce emphasized severally was how this ‘battle’ is a continuous process. It is easy to feel energized in the few hours after listening, and I did. But the real test of understanding is in the days and weeks after. And I was tested. I passed on some days and failed on others. But I keep pushing.

‘We suffer more in our imagination than in reality.’

The quote above is one that a friend posts regularly on his status. And it has made much more sense in this period. I laugh at myself sometimes when, after stressing and thinking over a ‘simple’ thing, it ends up going way easier than I had pictured. We truly suffer more in our imaginations.

Some of these stem from overthinking. Although this may have some pros as it can allow us to avoid certain mistakes, I have found that it may have more cons. It’s ‘overthinking’ that can make one dwell endlessly on either a thought or a task without making much progress.

While Joyce Meyer is a Christian preacher, making her book fall under the ‘Christian books’ category, I believe the book has general lessons that can be applied by anyone. Here are some quotes/tips that I think stand out:

• Our past may explain why we’re suffering but we must not use it as an excuse to stay in bondage.
• You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.
• One of the greatest revelations of my life is: I can choose my thoughts and think things on purpose. In other words, I don’t have to just think about whatever falls into my mind.
• You can suffer the pain of change or suffer remaining the way you are.
• You’re not crazy if you talk to yourself. In fact, your thoughts are “talking” to you all the time. And the way you talk to yourself is one of the most important things in your life. You can never get beyond what you think—especially what you think of yourself
• If you only do what is easy, you will always remain weak.
• Positive thinking doesn’t just happen. It’s something you have to do on purpose.
• Anytime we step out boldly to make changes, we take a chance that we might fail. But the only way to get better is to try.

Winning the battle in the mind is a continuous one, not a one-off. I’d say it’s like a war with multiple battles that we fight through our lives. It’s not enough that we won it last year, we must win it today. And tomorrow. And every other day after.

To positive thinking,

Sisikunmi