Your thoughts matter

sounds like an advertisement for completing a survey but it’s not. Read on…

Your mood affects others in more ways than you are aware!

Too often, we assume that our mental battles, whether with self worth or struggles with temptations. or whatever they might be, are simply our own problem.  We believe (mistakenly) that they concern nobody else; that is simply not true. 

The more I read about neuroscience (still in the middle of reading Anatomy of the Soul) the more I realize how connected we are to each other.

We, human beings, are linked on a neurological level, so “when Mama ain’t happy; ain’t nobody happy” is true of more than just Mama!  It is crucial to those around us that we win the battles with our demons, that we have a healthy self image.

By healthy self image, I mean that we are able to grasp the things we do well, and do them without expecting applause and likewise that we are able to see our flaws/ imperfections and honestly assess how they affect the value of our efforts. Both of these are a struggle for perfectionists.

So, your perfectionism is negatively affecting those around you. Did you know that?

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 

2 Corinthians 10:5

Your perfectionism is negatively impacting those around you

Sometimes this is because we hold the bar too high for others, as well as ourselves. Sometimes the negative impact takes the form of being unwilling to do a task that needs doing, unless one can do it perfectly enough.

But the bottom line is that we need to get our perfectionism under control along with our demons of bad self worth.

The other day, I felt myself sliding into feeling fat and stupid. Things had not gone well with a lesson I had and my demons came to remind me that I’m fat and stupid.

“NOT so! I am strong and courageous!!” I replied, reveling in my new-found identity.

I’d not thought of myself as particularly courageous but a friend pointed out that some of my actions were courageous. Since then, I have noticed other courageous actions of mine and am actively adding “courageous” to my identity.

Strong is a better adjective than”fat” to describe large muscles that I don’t particularly admire, but there they are!

I am strong and courageous!

I am strong and courageous! Therefore I will act out of the place of courage and strength, to cause those around me to be blessed. I will not pout and feel blue about being counter cultural/awkward and having large muscles in places where it is not considered feminine. Pouting benefits nobody. Least of all, me!

I’m unique. This is fascinating to me: seeing the greenhouses where they grow those peppers and tomatoes in the Netherlands year round… Infrastructure and farming, they fascinate me!!