An Exercise for Taking your Thoughts Captive

A huge theme in the Christian faith is the practice of renewing your mind.  To make things simpler, here is a compiled list of questions.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”  Romans 12:2

“We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”  2 Corinthians 10:5

Step 1: Identify a thought that pops into your head often, and what your typical reaction to it is.

Here are some thought examples: 

“No one loves me.” “

Responses might be: 

“I seek love to validate myself and often end up in harmful relationships because of this.”

Step 2: Ask myself some questions about that thought:

1. Is it true? If it feels true, then ask further questions: Is this 100%, absolutely true? Is it ALWAYS true? Would I think that were true if someone I loved told me they had that thought about themselves?

1. If it IS true, is it necessary for me to think about, or is thinking about it helpful to me or others at all? (In other words, some things that are true aren’t helpful or necessary, we have no control over them, or now is not the most appropriate time TO think about them, etc.)

1. If it IS true, then do I often have follow-on thoughts I need to examine? This is important, because sometimes the first thought is rooted in something true, but our following thoughts are less true or even untrue. This is dangerous, because we’ve lowered our guard when the first thought was true, and we may now react to following, untrue thoughts without examining them.

Here’s an example: “My husband left me, now I’m unlovable, and I’ll always be alone.” (The first is TRUE.) Second thought: “I’m unlovable, and I’ll always be alone.” (The second thought is NOT true, and we should not react to it as if it were true.)

1. If it IS true, is it compassionate or harmful to me or others for me to think about it?
2. If it is NOT true, then I need to cut the thought out and replace it with a true, helpful, and compassionate thought in its place. Use Scripture or declarations to replace.

Step 3: Process Thoughts

Once you’ve identified a thought that is true, necessary, and needs a response, OR you’ve identified one that is false and needs to be removed and replaced, it’s time for a new way of processing our thoughts.

A common thought that pops into my head is: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My typical reaction to this thought is: 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, take a moment to think about this thought. Let’s see if it’s true.

Result: [__] This thought is true. [__] This thought is NOT true.

Time for Renewing. 

If the thought was true:

Is it necessary for me to think about it, at least right now? [__] Yes [__] No

Is it compassionate to myself or others? [__] Yes [__] No

Is it helpful or unharmful? [__] Yes [__] No

What are some common follow-on thoughts I have when I think about the above thought? 

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________

What are some typical actions or reactions I take when I think about the above thought? 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What are some better ways in which I could react to that thought? 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If the thought is NOT true, what are some better thoughts (Scriptures, Affirmations, Declarations) I could put into my mind to replace that thought? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Follow up: After you practice taking your thoughts captive for a week, write down some ways you can see changes in your ability to recognize automatic negative thinking, and if there is any difference in your overall level of hopefulness or joy.