Letting Go of Negative Thoughts for Better Writing

by Emme Gannon @GannonEmme

How often do we sit at our computer, ready to write, but are blocked by faraway thoughts—mindless wanderings that pull us off subject into an unfamiliar abyss. This often occurs when our world is jolted by change. Life is good. Comfortable. Then God moves us to a new place. Unfamiliar. An unknown world bereft of our knowledge and control. Life tilts away from the familiar and we become emotionally off balance. We can’t concentrate. Our mind becomes mush. We doubt our calling.

Research tells us that the average person has between 60,000 to 80,000 random thoughts per day, of which 80% are negative. Negative thoughts are often accusatory—reminders of a bad choice or a situation that we deem hopeless. They could be musings of a dream that failed to occur, despite our best efforts. Or what-if thoughts that project a scenario of darkness that has the potential to render us defenseless. Truth is often hidden by a self-imposed wall, guarded and held in place by fear. For the writer, negative thoughts have the potential to be scene stealers, in a bad way.

These spontaneous reflections are chaotic and can be repetitive. They produce inner congestion that often stands in the way of our ability to connect with the world. It is believed that this is a rather recent phenomenon that began to occur after the advent of our modern technological age and has only increased with our dependence, and often misuse, of social media. As we become glued to our computers and cell phones and our minds explode with information, much of it negative, we can take on mindless wandering.

Our thoughts have three inputs: sensory information from the world, sensory information from the body, and self-generated thoughts from our minds. That means that messages from either of these inputs affect all of our choices, from what we eat to how we spend our day, including what communication our brain sends to our body. Fight or flight. Or peace and calm. Each input competes with one another and the information most pronounced survives. If thoughts drive feelings, and we know they do, then we have the potential to self-destruct. Or overcome.

However, we need not fear. There is help. And hope. None of this takes God by surprise. Before the beginning of time, He knew us and chose when we would arrive on planet earth, and where. We are here for such a time as this. His goal is to make us into the image of His Son. That always requires yielding of self. Letting go of the picture of what you thought life would be and learning to find joy in the story you’re living.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive.” We are admonished to allow God to tear down the barriers that exist apart from His truth. And take every thought captive.

This is not always easy. But the Lord never asks His children to do the impossible. We can start by being conscious of what we are thinking. Reject any thoughts that lie about who you are, who others are, or who God is. Thoughts that make us feel hopeless, worried, or afraid are not from God and will steal creativity. Take such negative thinking to God in prayer and let Him replace your thinking with His.

By directing our minds to go deeper—to the place where God speaks, and by yielding our thoughts to God and allowing Him to harness our senses, our minds are free to explode with the creative gifts He has uniquely placed within each of His children. As our minds de-clutter, our stories go deeper, our characters become more believable, and we are bold to dwell in the place where God whispers. His words. His story. Told to us so that we can write from a heart uncluttered by time and space and yielded to the One who creates all things new.

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Letting Go of Negative Thoughts for Better Writing - @GannonEmme on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Emme Gannon is a wife, mother, and grandmother who loves to write stories that stir the heart. Her award-winning writing has appeared in Focus on the Family magazine, several anthologies, and numerous newsletters. She just completed her first novel.