How We Talk to Ourselves

How We Talk to OurselvesI blew it.” “I’m a failure.” “I’ll never amount to much.

Sound familiar? Voices like these are how many people talk to themselves. It is important to note that everyone has self-talk. But sadly, most people talk to themselves negatively.
Every person talks to themselves throughout the day by planning, acting, evaluating, and judging their behavior. Because this is so much a part of a person’s life, it becomes essential that everyone monitors their self-talk just as they would their bank account.

Psychologists say that it takes seven positive comments for someone to erase one negative word. It’s also valid for how a person speaks to themselves—one negative thought such as “I’m unworthy of love,” and there will need to have seven positive self-talk statements to erase it! (more…)

Filling the Emptiness

God has a plan to deal with that sense of lack in our lives. – Steve Arterburn

Do you feel empty? You’re not the only one. We all struggle with emptiness from time to time. In the Bible, even David struggled with loneliness and emptiness. He cried out to God, “Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress,” (Psalm 25:16, NLT).

Feelings of emptiness can give us a desire to turn to God as David did. But it becomes unhealthy when we turn to addiction to fill our emptiness.

Some people who struggle with codependency may turn to an unhealthy relationship in an attempt to fill the void in their lives, while others go shopping or binge on food to make themselves feel better. Still others turn to a bottle of pills or alcohol to numb their feelings of hopelessness.

No matter how hard your situation may seem, if you’re trying to fill the emptiness through unhealthy ways, you’ll relapse and things will get worse. To recover, you have to learn how to fill your inner emptiness in healthy ways. How? Here are a few tips to help you get started. (more…)

How to Live Shame-Free

How to Live Shame-FreeShame is an emotional terrorist—it holds us hostage. – Steve Arterburn

Do you struggle with negative thoughts about yourself? Maybe you had a difficult childhood. Or, perhaps you were in an abusive relationship. And now you feel like you’re a prisoner to these negative beliefs. Shame, no doubt, is a very dangerous negative emotion—it will hold you in bondage and take away your freedom.

Your thought life determines the direction in which you live your life. The Bible puts it this way, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, KJV). (more…)