What is your Default Emotion?
Kyle D Christensen DC 2019
Ever notice the guy or gal who always seems to have a smile on their face? Even when things are rough, they don't stay down long but before you know it are smiling and cheerful again. How about you? What is your default emotion - frustration, irritation, melancholy or JOY!
Children, by nature, fail time and again in their attempts to walk, talk, feed themselves and just about every other new pursuit. They never quit trying AND are never discouraged for very long. Why, because it is in their nature. They do not base their attitude or emotions on their past experience but rather on becoming like their parents. They see mom and dad, brothers and sisters, walking and talking and just know they will someday do the same. They accept correction, not as criticism but as encouragement and teaching.
Those on the Christian path unfortunately fail to realize that we too are striving to become like our heavenly parents. We are taught to look forward with faith. Faith is visionary. Faith looks to the future through the eyes of our imagination. Far too many of us see ourselves through the lens of our past, our weakness, our troubles and failings. Our lives are fraught with anxiety, stress and depression because we fear our future may be more of the same. However, the gospel path teaches us that we are to become new creatures in Jesus Christ. We, like the growing child, are in the process of becoming. Failings and fallings are all part of the process. Too many look to the objective of "be ye therefore perfect" that they cannot experience the joy and the victories of the process of becoming. Just as good parents do not critically judge the tumbling toddler, so too Heavenly Parents do not condemn the faltering fledgling wannabe disciple who stumbles.
We are taught that it is through our mind that a total transformation of who we are can occur. (Romans 12:2) The mind is made up of two parts; The conscious mind (what is readily accessible to our awareness) and the subconscious mind (the part that controls everything behind the scenes such as the beating of the heart, our breathing and our emotions). The conscious mind is trained by learning, observing and experiencing. This is what we have direct control over. I choose to read the book, watch the movie, think about baseball, etc. The subconscious mind learns or is directed by practice and repetition. This is why the athlete or musician practices, repeating again and again until the performance becomes a reflex or a subconscious response. Once something becomes ingrained into the subconscious, it does not become dislodged or replaced easily.
Developing the Subconscious Mind
The great American Philosopher, Henry David Thoreau said "As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."
Giving attention to and focusing on an event that causes strong emotions (fear, shame, anger or love, joy and deep satisfaction) will build strong neurologic pathways in the brain. Persist in your chosen line of thinking and these neurologic pathways can grow into neurologic super highways, which can become the theme and tone of your emotional state. The more you focus on and experience the emotions as a result of your thoughts, the greater the neural pathway will be developed in your brain. In training or re-training our brains, we must allow our minds to dwell on the positive joyful thoughts long enough for positive emotions to arise. It is vitally important that emotion is achieved. Repetitive affirmations without emotional intensity will not our desired result especially if there is an undercurrent of disbelief. For example: I repeat the affirmation "Good things happen to me" - but the subconscious mind says "Who are you kidding - don't you remember what happened last time you tried this."
Neural pathways are built through rehearsing and re-imagining. Unless you rehearse the joy of success, you lose the impact for it to help develop your identity. Remember, it is the emotionally charged memories and thoughts that most effectively create neural pathways!
The Secret to Lasting Joy and Happiness
Herein lies the secret to lasting joy and happiness. If you wish to be happy you MUST rehearse in your mind again and again thoughts of joy and happiness with emotion. If in your mind you repetitively repeat past traumas, disappointments, injustices or sorrows your subconscious mind will appropriately generate the fruits of these thoughts, which are fear, anxiety, worry and stress. Duh! If on the other hand, our mind looks forward with the eye of imaginative faith to blessings promised by God, then we will reap joy, peace and hope. You must see yourself living in the future described for those who fully accept what is scripturally promised. The fruits of joy, peace and hope that all will be as it should be in the end can be yours. Mind you, we are in training and often training can be rigorous and difficult.
Hope, joy, and peace are meant to be the natural state of being for born-again Christians. If we want to have those emotions as our default or natural state, then our beliefs must be based on God's Word - who He says we are. Most peoples identities of themselves are based on their past experience, performance and what they are told by others.
How do we develop faith in Gods promises? The key is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us instead of allowing our emotions to lead us. We are not who our emotions say we are. In reality, we are not battling who we are, but what we believe. Your actions and your past does not create your identity, your Heavenly Father does. You are who God says you are, not who the world says you are. The goal is to develop into your eternal identity.
The Role of Your Imagination
What would happen if you submitted your imagination to God? If you made it your course of study to ferret out who God says you really are, particularly in view of your Christian beliefs, then ponder or let your imagination run with it.
Too often we try to make changes in our lives based on willpower. What I have discovered is that willpower or working on yourself doesn't work. What does work however, is imagination, visualization and faith. It is only when we can vividly imagine or see our future through the eye of faith that we almost effortlessly gravitate into that reality. When the will and the imagination are in opposition, the imagination always wins. Our will has great difficulty trying to change something that our mind cannot imagine changed. Sheer willpower is hard work and is difficult to obtain and maintain.
Imagination is the womb of faith. Faith is visionary and needs the imagination.
Most people tend to mostly rehearse past negative events; therefore, their subconscious can only imagine a negative future. It is time to dwell on and rehearse a future with freedom and joy. This will bring about a renewed mind!
Leading the Charge vs Defending your ground
The solution is not fighting off the negative, but emphasizing the positive. Instead of defensively trying to stop believing negatively about ourselves, our focus should be on the truth that we are who God says we are. Strive to fill your mind with so much good (positive) that there is no room for the bad (negative). Stop fighting against something and begin fighting FOR something.
Why You are so Tired
The number one source of energy loss for people is negative emotions. When we change what we believe (that you really are a child of God and that all things will work together for your good), we not only stop the energy drain, we also become energized by what we do. It is worth the effort to work to establish the belief that God still has a future and a hope for you. The goal is to challenge our experiences with the Word of God, not challenge the Word of God with our experiences. (Read that sentence again and wrap your mind around it!) You will know that you have the right perspective and mindset when your fears and worries melt away and you feel like you can handle anything with God!
So spend some time in self-assessment. What is your default emotion? If you are really brave, ask someone who knows you well. If you are not where you'd like to be, I invite you to get to work. Remember, the subconscious mind does not change or shift quickly. This will be a process and take some time. But keep at it. I promise, it will be worth it and truly transformative.
Here are a few Strategies to Begin with
- Remember a time in your life when you experienced joy. The joyful pinnacles of your life (to date). Re-imagine and re-experience with all the emotion and detail you can. Spend 10 minutes each day with the emotions of the experience. Re-live this event for at least 10 consecutive days.
- Spend 10 minutes each day dreaming with God. Imagine in your minds eye your bright and joyful future. Create (through the help of God and the Spirit) what your life could and will be as your God-led life unfolds. Do this for 30 days.
- Write down 5 things you are thankful for. Spend at least one minute reimagining one thing on the list and bask in the emotion of gratefulness.
Recommended Study:
Victorious Emotions: Creating a Framework for a Happier You by Wendy Backlund
Victorious Emotions Journal: A 30-day Journey to Rewire Your Brain by Wendy Backlund
Blessings,
Dr Kyle Christensen 2019
