How To Break Out Of A Negative Mindset

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

A negative spirit is always in search of fellowship. Misery loves company. When the ten spies came back with the negative report, they weren't content until they got the whole community thinking like them. Negative people attract negative people. If you always talk about how bad the economy is, how hard your job is, or how annoying your spouse is, stop and look at who you are talking to. Are you surrounding yourself with negative people?

People who have a negative spirit are experts at shooting down reasons why they ought to be happy. Negative people are comfortable in their beds of complaining and self-pity and don't want someone to come and challenge them to change their mindset. They think they have good reason to be unhappy. They will defend their depression and dysfunction. Pessimistic people seek to gather evidence and over-emphasize bad information. The Israelite spies brought back clusters of grapes so large it took two men to carry them, but they fixated on the giants. They placed all their focus on the obstacles. They had even researched the genealogy of the giants, saying, "They are the sons of Anak." They knew every detail of the bad information but could barely remember one good thing that they saw. When someone asks you how your day was, do you tend to highlight the good or bad?

You know you are with a negative person when they can give you their whole life story and can amazingly overlook every good thing that has happened to them. They will list in detail all the bad saying, "When I was five, someone stole my bike, and then when I was sixteen, someone stole my girlfriend, and now that I'm forty, someone stole my job." If they looked at their life's calendar, they could certainly find some good days. But a negative spirit overemphasizes the negative. 

Philippians 4:4,6-7 offers an anecdote for a negative mindset. "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all He has done. Then, you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." If you are currently in a negative spiral, take some time every day this week to get a small journal and write down five things that you need God's help with and then five things that you are thankful for. They can be things God has done for you in the past, things He is doing right now, or things that He promised in His word that He will do in the future. This practice will retrain your thinking and lead you back to having the mind of Christ. It is the will of God for you to rejoice and be thankful "continually" no matter what circumstances you are in. God wants His people to be full of joy!

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