Negativity Detox

I’m currently going through the Bible Study Plan “Soul Detox.” So far, it’s focused on toxic thoughts and spoken words. Negative self-talk is something I really struggle with, and I’ve found the included scripture pretty educational and helpful.

Some of them:

The path of the righteous is like the morning sun,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know what makes them stumble.

Proverbs 4:18-19 (NIV)

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 4:8 (NLT)

We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself

James 3: 3-6 (NLT)

When I remember to stop the negative thoughts and focus on something else, life doesn’t seem as difficult. I don’t have the same weight upon my shoulders.

So, I’m trying to distance myself from all negativity right now. Here are some things I’m doing and some questions to ask yourself.

Do some people on Facebook just bother you with what they post? I don’t know about you, but when I looking at Facebook, I want to be relaxed. The constant political arguments can be tiresome. So, I’m unfollowing some people (for the time being) that post a lot of that kind of thing.

Negative people are all around us, and we can’t always avoid them.

You may even have very close family members that gossip or complain a lot. If you find that their negativity is draining, why not at least distance yourself for a little while? Or ask them to be a little more positive?

Speaking of gossip…its just bad. We all know it’s bad but can sometimes just be hard to resist. Those scriptures above certainly illustrate the damage a tongue can do. I read a comment from someone recently who was trying to stop herself from even thinking any judgmental thoughts about anyone; including their bodies, their fashion choices, their personalities. Everything. She said she was feeling a lot better inside!

I’m hoping by focusing less on negativity in general, that I can really improve my negative self-talk most of all. I think a negativity detox is just what I need. Maybe it could be useful for you too!