What’s getting the best of you?

We sometimes speak of someone in a sad, negative sense; “It finally got the best of them.” That statement is packed with meaning, and I would offer you another form of it.

“Whatever you let get the best of you means that everything else you have to offer is less than your best. So, wisely choose what gets your best.”

What’s got the best of you right now? You can only give one best, what is it?

What gets your best thinking?

We spend every waking hour concentrating on various mental challenges necessary to sustain our lives. However, we also spend hundreds of hours per week meditating on matters, not at hand, and some are not helpful. Consider some of these thought patterns.

·      Negative self-talk

·      Victim Mentality

·      Carrying grudges or hatred

·      Worrying about the future or situations beyond your control

Do any of these thoughts sound familiar? Perhaps one pattern is a good friend.

The quickest way to make any of these mental lies into a reality is to spend quality time cultivating them in your mind. Tell yourself you are not good enough, long enough, and you will become that person. Live as a victim, and you will become a victim, not of someone else but of the person you see in the mirror. Cultivating a grudge is like eating three fast food meals a day; your waistline is bound to grow. Grudges grow into hatred which turns us into the ugly thing we begrudge. Worrying about what is beyond your control is like, well, worrying about matters beyond your control!

These thought patterns can sneak up on you; they are stealthy and exert more control over you than you consciencely realize and occupy the best of your thought life. Do you really want to feed your best mind with negative thoughts, grudges, gossip, hatred, victimization, or fretting?  If you honestly conclude, “Yes, I love to indulge these passions, and I have no intention of trying something else,” then go for it. Let these passions define the best you. But if you want more productive thoughts occupying your intellect, emotions, and spirit, here are some suggestions from someone who gets it – God.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then, you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:6-8)

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

(Romans 8:5-6)

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24)

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:25-33)

 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. (1 Peter 1:13)

In my kitchen, I have a little aquaponic planter. I place little seed pods into holes in the top, and their roots sink into fertilized water. Meanwhile, bright lights shine from the top onto the plants many hours each day, and herbs and flowers sprout through the little containers before long. I enjoy watching the slow process of my farming unit, especially when I pick a few basil leaves for my favorite Thai or Italian dish.

One thing I’ve learned: If you plant basil, don’t expect to grow much else in the vicinity because it grows fast and large. In a few weeks, sizeable fragrant basil leaves block light for all the other plants, which eventually shrivel up and die.

Basil steals the best light and outgrows them all.

“Whatever you let get the best of you means that everything else you have to offer is less than your best. So, choose wisely what gets your best.”

 What is getting the brightest light on your thinking right now?

You might say, “Don, that is easy to say, but it is much more difficult to change my thinking.” You would be correct but consider this.

You likely spent the last five to ten minutes reading this article and will hopefully spend another five to ten minutes dwelling on the ideas presented to you. That means you might spend ten to twenty minutes of your day not worrying, caressing a grudge, telling yourself you are not good enough, victimizing yourself, or hating someone or something.

You deliberately started changing your thought patterns. What if you kept this article and others like it at your rapid disposal to access any and every time you start down a negative routine, replace it with these thoughts? What if you searched the words, grudges, hatred, forgiveness, worry, or “who I am in Christ” in Bible Gateway or something similar and copied some of the suggestions that apply to your thought life? Then every time you start down the counterproductive mental path, you pull out these thought changers and think about them instead.

I guarantee your best thinking will begin to change for the better.

Live Inspired!

Don Mark