Toxicity: Positive Thinking

Faith is being sure of what we've hope for and certain of what we do not see (Heb 11:1).  I love this definition of faith because it hits the nail on the head for me.  We don’t see what the future holds, but we can have faith that it will be a great one.  When we are having bad days, we don’t know how long we will suffer, but we can have faith that darkness will pass and not before it molds us into something wonderful. 

Toxic thoughts, like all other toxins in our life, can break down health.  Toxic thoughts can cause stress and excessive stress can cause illness.  This is one of the things I LOVE about holistic doctors.  When you are sick they don’t just want to know your symptoms, they want to know what is going on in your life.  They know that the stress in your life plays a big role in your illness.  It has been said over and over again in health article after health article that there is a link between stress and health.

Positive thinking can also have powerful impacts on our life and health.  In my opinion, Viktor Frankl was the superstar of all the theorists of Existentialism.  He was also a holocaust survivor.  Frankl closely examined the other holocaust victims’ attitudes.  He observed that the victims who affirmed that they were going to survive the holocaust usually were the ones that survived and the ones who would say that they couldn’t go on another day usually lost their life.  Now I can’t possibly begin to imagine how much perseverance, faith and courage it could take to think positively in a situation like the holocaust; but that is why Frankl, from the day I heard his story, has been a hero that I’ve looked up to ever since.  He is by far one of the best examples of the power that positive thinking can hold.

Do you have thoughts that are toxic?  How can you cleanse your mind with positive thinking?