Rewire Your Brain and Get Unstuck in Your Life

A menagerie of black walnuts has fallen from above and is crushed on our gravel road. I walk over the coffee-colored streaks and consider the months ahead. When the walnuts fall, summer is nearly over. Looking ahead, no part of me is ready for the long winter months to come. Just how do you rewire your brain when your future feels bleak?

I cringe at the thought of long evenings inside the house, whiteouts rolling in from the west, and evening walks down this same country road with toes numb from the cold.

How to Rewire Your Brain

I’m mulling it over when the words of Dr. Caroline Leaf come to mind: “Change in your thinking is essential to detox the brain. Consciously controlling your thought life means not letting thoughts rampage through your mind. It means learning to engage interactively with every single thought that you have, and to analyze it before you decide either to accept or reject it.”

Neuroscientists like Dr. Leaf have been studying the human brain for decades. Their research shows that our thoughts form matter in our brains. Intentional thinking triggers the release of amino acids, which form proteins that look like trees in our brains.

We can choose to build healthy trees in our brains, or we can choose to add branches to the toxic trees of negative thinking.

This is astounding brain research.

Research also suggests that we can rewire our brains and tear down the toxic trees. This is the process of renewing our minds.

How to Tear Down Toxic Thoughts

As I walk past the walnuts, I consider the thought that tells me that winter is terrible.

I begin listing the benefits of this slower, quieter, inside season: More time close to my family, a less frantic pace of hurrying from one event to the next, time to read good books and play board games, a deeper appreciation for the summer months, time to step back and see if the rhythms of our lives are still working for us, and more.

Rewire Your Brain by Shifting These Toxic Thoughts:

Maybe there’s a habitual thought pattern that is stripping the joy from your life as well. It might be something like this:

I’ll never measure up.

I can’t do this.

I’m never going to make it.

I’ll never get over this.

I can never be happy if this one thing doesn’t change.

My dream will never come to fruition.

God doesn’t care.

I’ll never break free from this behavior.

Food is my comfort.

I’ll never find a godly man.

My kids are so annoying.

I just want this to be over.

Without this relationship (or behavior or crutch in my life), I just can’t go on.

No one cares.

I’m always left out.

I’m not spiritual enough.

I don’t have any friends.

When You Feel Stuck in Life

Whatever it is, it’s something you hear in the silence of night, and maybe you ignore it because you’re embarrassed by it. Or maybe you list all the reasons why it’s true. Maybe you feel stuck and defeated and depleted and alone with it.

May today be your first step toward freedom.

You hold the power to break down that toxic thought and replace it with what is true from God’s Word. According to brain research, it takes 21 days to build a thought and 63 days to create a new habit.

Open a Bible and ask God to lead you to the truth that will replace your toxic thoughts. Write it down in a concise sentence and memorize it.

Spend 21 days attacking your negative thought by replacing it with your memorized truth whenever it comes to mind. Every time the negative thought comes to mind, speak the Truth. Imagine tearing down the old tree of negativity and nourishing a new, healthy tree. This is the process of renewing your mind.

Rewire Your Brain with These Truths:

Let’s look at some common toxic thoughts and biblical truth to replace these thoughts:

Thought: I give up. I cannot go on. Truth: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

Thought: My life is awful, and no one cares about me. Truth: Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)

Thought: Food (or fill in this blank with your go-to escape: social media, sex, work, perfectionism, codependency, etc.) is my source of comfort. Truth: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

Thought: Why is God allowing me to suffer? Truth: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)

You Are in a Battle

If you are feeling stuck in some area of your life, or if discouragement has crept in, pause to realize that you are in a battle.

The battle is for your mind. You hold the power to rewire your brain and take back the mental real estate that has been overtaken by toxic thoughts.

The battle is for your mind, and you hold the power to rewire your brain and take back the mental real estate that has been overtaken by toxic thoughts. Share on X May today be the first step toward a new beginning.

A Free Devotional for You:

Does the idea of slipping away to a beautiful place to recharge and refresh sound inviting? Space for Your Soul to Stretch is your personal invitation to create space to rest in God’s presence. You need only 12 minutes per day for this 8-day journey. Each day invites you to encounter God’s created world and spend time in his written Word. You will walk away from this journey replenished and refreshed each day. It is my free gift to you by clicking here.

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Calling all moms and daughters!

Additionally, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section after each devotion.

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