THE BATTLE WITH FOOD BEGINS IN THE MIND!

CONQUER YOUR MIND

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

Have you ever wondered where that voice inside your head came from and who in the world gave it permission talk to you in the first place?  How did we get to the point where we are always negotiating or justifying our decisions with it?  Or even contemplating our future?  And who controls this voice anyway?  Does God speak to me through this voice?  Certainly these are all good questions and ones that I don’t have a definitive answer to, but I do think the biggest contributor is our own thoughts and contemplations.  I also think that for a lot of people our mind or this so-called ‘voice inside’ has developed into a tool for self-criticism and judgment towards other people.  We have to learn to control this voice or it will control us.

I know that we have already touched on this subject before but we have to continue to bring to light the problems that have the biggest impact on us and the solutions to defeat them.  So this idea of our struggle with our own thoughts is just that, it’s a battle we fight in our mind and the war is ultimately won through self-discipline.  Just as the verse above says “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” it is through Christ that we can restore our thoughts.  Our best weapon for this battle is the word of God and we must spend time in it each day and allow His words and knowledge to fill this voice in our mind.  It will be through prayer and meditation on His word that we hear the voice of God and see His restorative power.

One of the most detrimental things that can happen is when this voice inside fills us with self doubt and feelings that we can’t do something.  Thankfully God has shown me a great way to learn how to conquer this problem.  When I first started to run I heard that voice all the time, saying I can’t run any further, my legs are killing me I have to stop, or I am breathing so heavy I think my lungs are going to explode, I have to stop.  But I didn’t, God told me that if I can learn to ignore that voice when things are this difficult I could learn to control it at any time.  I learned to tune out the negative thoughts that would develop in the face of challenging decisions and relied on God’s strength to succeed.

But remember, this change and the winning of the battle only happens through action – not the desire alone.  Like this quote from Richard Pascale that says “we are much more likely to act our way into a new way of thinking, than to think our way into a new way of acting.”  It is about action. 

Let's Get Healthy,

Coach TIA