By: Rex Stump
“Believe you can do it!” “Think good thoughts!” “See it, and it will happen!” These are just a few phrases used to empower athletes to success.
Sport psychologists firmly believe that if you’re looking to improve your mental toughness, build confidence, or stay focused, then having the right mindset is highly valuable.
There’s a book written by James Allen called, called As A Man Thinketh, based on Proverbs 23:7. (NKJV, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”) Allen wrote, “Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results, bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles. Men understand this law and the natural world, and work with it, but few understand it in the mental and moral world.”
The point is we are what we think, and our lives run in the direction of our thoughts. If you think negative thoughts, you’ll be negative. If you think positive thoughts, you’ll be positive.
I believe in positive thinking and optimism, but I’m not a fan of the self-help sections in the bookstores. I want the truth behind my optimism. Solid scripture.
There’s a lot of good quotes and mantras out there, but without the truth of God’s word behind them, they are temporary.
For example, when I challenge a team to say, “All In”, I’m basing that from Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do it heartily (all in) as to the Lord, and not for men.”
As God’s children, we should be the ones who are difference makers, positive, encouragers, hope-filled, constructive, and affirming. Just as you would study for academics, train for work, or lift weights to get strong, we should saturate our minds with that which is positive and true.
Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.”
2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
The Apostle Paul told us in Colossians 3:16 to let the word of God dwell in us richly! In Deuteronomy 6:4-7 and 11:18, we were told to memorize God’s Word!
Make a commitment this year to read, study, meditate on, and memorize God’s Word. It will change not just your mindset, but your heart and soul!
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Rex Stump is the Area Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and serves as a Pastor at True North Church in Wauseon, Ohio.
