Rewire Your Brain and Get Unstuck in Your Life

The black walnuts falling to the pavement have been crushed on ashen gravel. There are coffee-hued streaks across the limestone, and as I walk through the minefield, the coming winter feels just a little bit like a death of its own. 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 with winds that literally blow our hats across the yard, and evening walks down this same country road with toes numb from the cold.

How to Rewire Your Brain

I’m mulling it over – dreading it and trying to conceive of ideas for breathing life into it all – when the words of Dr. Caroline Leaf come to mind. Dr. Leaf writes: “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.”

We literally hold the power to choose whether we will walk in joy or frustration, gratitude or grumbling, abundance or emptiness. When we choose to dwell on and perpetuate unhealthy thoughts in our minds, we literally add toxic material to our brains.

Cognitive neuroscientists like Dr. Leaf have been studying the human brain for decades, and research shows that our thoughts actually form matter in our brains. Intentional thinking triggers the release of amino acids, which form proteins that literally 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 consisting of our negative thoughts. This is the process of renewing our minds.

How to Tear Down Toxic Thoughts

As I walk past the walnuts and toward the creek bottom, I take a hard look at my toxic thought that tells me 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 abundance 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 thought. Write it down in a concise sentence and memorize it. Spend 21 days attacking your negative thought by replacing it with your memorized truth every time it comes to mind. You will literally rewire your brain.

Rewire Your Brain with These Truths:

Let’s look at some Biblical truths to replace our toxic thoughts:

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)

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)

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, and you hold the power to rewire your brain and take back the mental real estate that has been overtaken by toxic thoughts. Click To Tweet 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.

These Two Books are Free on Kindle Unlimited as eBooks and Also Available in Print:

God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or for 12.99 in print right here. (You can sign up for a free three-month Kindle Unlimited trial if you are not a member.) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!

Calling All Moms and Daughters!

Additionally, my 12-year-old daughter, Bekah, and I wrote a mother-daughter devotional book to help mothers and daughters grow closer together while connecting with God. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith includes 60 devotions with Scripture, commentaries from both of us, conversation starters, and even a shared journaling section. Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by this book! You can find this book in eBook form for free on the Kindle Unlimited Plan or buy a print copy for 11.99 right here.