Your Mental Diet

All day, every day, our “inner voice” chatters away at us in a monologue in our minds. This “discussion” can be positive or negative, and it greatly impacts our lives in many ways we might not often think about.

Psychologists call it “self-talk.” It is something we all do, and research has shown that it can have some interesting effects—for good or ill. We may tell ourselves, “You can do this!” Or we may tell ourselves, “You have no options, no chance of success. You will fail.” Assuming defeat limits outcomes.

Athletes use self-talk to enhance their performance, using mental exercises to “program” their minds and bodies to properly execute actions like serving a tennis ball, jumping hurdles, or performing a competitive dive. I have watched with keen interest as an Olympic high jumper bobbed his head in “self-talk” while imagining himself successfully going through each motion necessary to properly execute the jump and clear the bar.

I have also watched as a professional golfer engaged in negative self-talk, sabotaging his performance. He “psyched himself out,” allowing negative self-talk to defeat him.

The technique of positive self-talk is known to enhance an athlete’s performance, be it on the track, field, ski slope, or diving tower. Athletes use this technique to “see” themselves performing physical actions correctly and successfully before their attempts. They tell themselves to keep the head down, keep the arm straight, tuck and twist with the knees locked, and much more.

You Are What You Think

There is a biblical principle involved in this technique that we would do well to follow. It is not a matter of accomplishing great things through our own power or effort or by some mental trick, but of having a proper mindset.

We are what we think. We read that “as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Great athletes control not only their physical diet—what they eat—but also their mental diet. They exercise their thoughts as well as their bodies. They train their minds as well as their muscles.

Likewise, those who follow Jesus Christ must control what they think. The Apostle Paul compared the Christian life to that of an athlete: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:24–25).

What we feed our minds and what we allow ourselves to think are vital. Our mental diet consists of what we see, read, and hear—and what we allow our own imagination to feed us through self-talk. The television shows, the radio programs, the words of the music we hear, and what we read are our mental “food.”

Paul also compared a Christian’s life to that of a soldier in warfare, writing that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5). It requires mental effort and discipline to control our minds and exercise the right kind of thinking.

To have a healthy mental diet, we should follow Paul’s advice: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Talk to yourself positively. But know that you can also talk to God—and His words are the most positive of all. If you haven’t already, please read our free study guide Twelve Keys to Answered Prayer. You’ll find it online at TomorrowsWorld.org, and you can also order a free printed copy online or from our Regional Office nearest you.