23 Comments

    • melissa

      You are so right. For some people who may not have been brought up Christian all their life or are new to faith, learning those truths and combating negative thoughts is a hard process! Once there is knowledge and faith in Christ’s love, the negative thoughts are so much easier to fight! Thank you for reading and commenting!

  1. I’m re-reading Stasi’s Becoming myself. I think I will probably do this a couple of times a year for the next few years. Even being raised in a Christian home and church, the negative self talk and lies can be powerful!

    • melissa

      Oh my they absolutely can. It is a great book that I plan on adding back into my ever-growing reading list. We really do need to immerse ourselves in God’s truths in as many ways as possible to fight the negativity. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  2. I am a firm believer that we can not control everything that comes into our mind, but we can control how long we entertain those thoughts. Letting those negative thoughts go and refocusing on something else is a huge skill that I get to practice.

    • melissa

      And it is a skill that requires practice because our thoughts are so automatic. Thankfully we have the truth about who we are, we just have to read it and believe it! Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  3. I’ve had negative self -talk for a long time. The pain from my childhood directed that kind of thinking. I’m working on re-learning what is the Truth about me. God is showing me what I experienced is not the truth about me!

    • melissa

      I’m so glad you are having the opportunity to be shown your truth worth! It is certianily a process but one that can be so freeing! Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  4. This is definitely something I struggle with, so I completely relate to what you’re saying! I have memorized Philippians 4:8 to help me out with my negative and worrisome thoughts.

    • melissa

      I love Philippians 4:8. I add on verses 6 and 7 as well since I’m a bit of a worry wart at times! Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  5. Wow! (Do I start comments on your blog with that exclamation a lot? just wondering) You bring it out from me! What a wealth of encouragement from a professional. The “where’s the evidence” is so hard to work through for those that grew up hearing and believing the negativity from important people in childhood……. never-mind positivity that comes along from others, and later. BLOGGING has finally help me block out some of the negative messages that creep up from the past pains. I am so grateful that I live with HOPE in Christ!! With Him, I can be happy in the Sonshine. Thanks for another awesome post Melissa! I am sharing on my blog facebook page.

    • melissa

      Tammy you are always just so sweet and encouraging! I’m so glad that blogging has been a beneficial tool for you to move beyond some of your past pain. It is amazing how writing for others can be eye-opening and bring us closer to God! Thank you for reading and your oh so sweet comments! God bless!

  6. So good! I sense a little bit of Transformational Prayer Ministry here. Honestly, learning how to locate the lies I believe and invite Jesus to tell me the truth has been the foundation of most of my healing journey.

    • melissa

      I’ve seen this be so helpful in my clients and I’ve used it as well to be rid of negative thoughts that continually bombarded me. Once I was able to understand where they were coming from and why/how it was a lie, it was so freeing. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  7. Marlie L.

    Love everything about this!!! Positive speaking is so essential to our everyday lives. I tell people, get radical with positive thinking and speaking. Sometimes if those negative thoughts don’t leave, you may have to shout some scriptures lol. Thank you for advocating for it!

    • melissa

      Shout, sing, dance, fall to your knees! Whatever it takes to realize the negative is a lie. It is absolutely a process. Thank you for reading and commenting! God bless!

  8. I love how you have intertwined science and Scripture! I think too often people focus only the science and procedure of changing negative thoughts to positive ones, not realizing that it also takes a healthy dose of God to support that process of change and make it lasting! Along with your book recommendation, I also want to recommend Power Thoughts by Joyce Meyer; it will only add the resources for those needing a better thought-life! By the way, I’ll be posting this on Facebook next week:)

    • melissa

      It is such a balance both ways. Science by itself certainly isn’t complete. At the same time, we know God can heal and make new all things, however, we are also called to take action as well when we are capable. Thank you for the book recommendation. My book list just keeps growing! Thank you for reading, commenting and sharing. God bless!

  9. Dear Melissa

    Thank you for sharing your thoughts in “Positive Self-Talk: Ways to Combat the Negative” with us.

    It was an encouraging read for me this morning.

    I sure do a lot of self-talk also.

    I can relate to what you write about when you say:

    “Self-talk happens during everything we do. From taking inventory of how we are feeling – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We use self-talk when we are interacting and observing other people.”

    Your blog post reminded me of the dangers that follow from negative self-talk.

    How often haven’t I said as you write:

    “You’re such an idiot. There’s no way you’re going to get that promotion. You don’t matter. You’re worthless.”

    It’s more often than I like to think about.

    It has helped me much to stay around positive people and stop consuming mass media.
    I still struggle – but much less than I did before.

    My favourite sentence from this particular blog post:

    “So the goal then is to switch our negative self-talk with more positive messages.”

    You suggest that we sit down and write what we think about ourselves. This is a great way to get conscious about our self-talk.

    Once again, thank you – I appreciate your post.

    I’ll give it a share Tuesday, November 14 on my social media channels.

    Cordially
    Edna Davidsen

    • melissa

      Thank you, Edna, for your comments and social media shares. Our thinking pattern can become so stuck from lies and negative experiences that it takes time, focus, and energy to intentionally change it. And as God’s creation, we are called to love ourselves because of Him. Thank you again! God bless!

  10. What an amazing, comprehensive post. I love that you are providing solid, instructional advice on how to combat negative thinking as well as providing the scripture to build of up our self worth in Jesus. I’m excited to write these questions down and start going through this mental process myself. I struggle a bit with anxious thinking and worry about what others perceive about me. I know this has to have started somewhere. Thank you so much for this post; Jesus is using you and your knowledge in therapy in amazing ways!

    • melissa

      Thank you for such kind words. Combating negative self-talk is a process. I pray the process I outlined is beneficial for you and that you are able to replace them with God’s truths. Thank you for reading and again for your encouraging comments. God bless!

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