"Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?"

~Winnie the Pooh

I think we all underestimate the power of our thinking. Our brains are busier than the air traffic control center of the Atlanta airport. There is constant activity, even when we’re sleeping. The flight patterns in my brain get backed up every now and again and many times there are long delays before traffic clears.

Something I’ve learned in the last couple of years about my thinking is this: how I start the day generally determines how it unfolds. If I get out of bed complaining and dreading more often than not, it turns out to be a challenging day. I heard a friend say recently, “Nothing is going right today. I guess that’s just the way it’s going to be.” And sure enough, it was a mess all day long.

Chuck Swindoll once said, “I truly believe that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it. I watched two women diagnosed with the same type of breast cancer fight the disease with different attitudes and different thinking. One was grateful it was caught when it was, said it was fun to put a wig on every day because she didn’t have to mess with her unruly, curly hair, and made a decision to be an encouragement to other women in the battle. The second woman was horrified she had cancer and focused on herself and her pain. It took her twice as long to get to the point of being cancer free.

Our brains are never empty even though men usually say, “Nothing” when asked what they are thinking about. Our thinking can paralyze us and side track us or it can push us on to do great things with a positive attitude even in the midst of overwhelming circumstances. We get to choose.

Don’t get stuck in negative thinking. If you stop and wallow in it, it’s tougher to shake it off and get moving again.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things.” Philippians 4:8