What's up and welcome back to this week's episode of the God Empowered Podcast. I'm really excited to dive into this week's topics because this topic is coming from fan mail that came in. Shout out to the anonymous amazing listener who had submitted a request for us to talk about something that I thought was so powerful. Now this listener is coming in from Cambridge, Massachusetts. So if you're listening to this and you know you submitted this topic that I am about to mention, then huge shout out to you. I so appreciate you not only being a dedicated listener, but just being intentional in submitting a topic idea. We value that. We want to make sure that we are producing the kind of content that you are wanting to learn more about or feel encouraged by something that is just helpful, uplifting, and gives you a sense of hope. So thank you for submitting. Now, what is that topic? My friend, today we are going to dive into how you can finally shift from having A negative consistent mindset to having a positive consistent mindset. I love this topic so much because it is so easy to stay in a negative headspace more often than you think. It's easy to have negative thoughts. It's easy to feel insecure. It's easy to feel like we're not good enough all the time. And it can become so frequent that we start to view that negative headspace as our norm. We start to attach it to our identity. Like that's just who we are. That's just how we think. And sometimes we even trick ourselves into thinking that that negative headspace is us having logic. Let me give you an example. You might be struggling with negative thoughts that have to do with you having self doubt around your purpose in life. You're doubtful about your purpose. You don't know why you're here. You're struggling in what God is even calling you to do in this world. And ultimately, what is the point of your existence? You struggle with self doubt. Now. You might not realize that you are allowing your brain to think these negative thoughts and therefore allowing yourself to marinate in it and view it as your norm. Because to you, it feels like logic. feels factual that you don't, quote unquote, have a purpose. Or you, quote unquote, aren't good enough to pursue the specific calling, therefore, you have self doubt. And you don't even realize that the self doubt that you're dealing with, you are believing that it's just logic and you're just being smart and wise and factual, when in actuality, you are viewing negative thoughts as your norm to the point where it is becoming your identity and you can't see a way out. This is where a lot of times we just get stuck. And I always like to say this, God calls us to get unstuck. We are not meant to be stuck, trapped in a negative headspace, believing that we aren't worth it, that we aren't good enough, having self doubt, feeling insecure. We were never meant to be stuck. to remain in that headspace. God calls you to get unstuck. On the other end, you might be struggling with having a nonstop negative headspace, talking down to yourself, thinking all of the toxic thoughts unintentionally. Because of all the experiences that you've had in life so far, maybe you've got a story, okay? A testimony of all of the bad and tough circumstances that you have gone through and maybe everything that you've experienced in your story up until this point has cultivated the kind of mindset that is just straight up negative, where you lost hope. Where you lose this sense of who you even are and what you're here for. You lose the belief that joy and peace are available to you. And it is possible to have consistent joy and peace in your life. If that is you today, if you've got a story and you know that your experiences is what shaped you to have a negative mindset, or if you're on the other end and your negative mindset is more so you thinking that it's logic and that's, this is just how it is when in actuality it's not. No matter what side of the spectrum you're on in regards to a negative mindset, if you're just straight up struggling with one. There is a way out. You can have a much more positive mentality consistently that can ultimately transform not just your life, but your perception of it. Now, I want to be clear, because what I'm about to talk about in this episode today is not toxic positivity. We're not talking about you putting up a facade and trying to make yourself believe that you're positive, everything's good, you're just happy, when deep down in your heart you know you are far from that. And God sees that more than anything. Putting on a facade and acting like everything's okay when it's not, acting like you're just so positive and everything's great when it's not. Putting on that facade because you think that wearing that attitude will eventually shape your mind to believe that things are positive and things are good. Without even realizing it, you're really straight up not just lying to yourself, but also lying to God. He sees it all. He knows how you're really feeling. He knows the headspace that you're really in. And eventually, trying to put up that facade is going to exhaust you. You're gonna burn out. You're gonna crash. And you just might be digging yourself a deep hole of depression. Why am I saying that? Because I've been there. I have been that toxic positivity person, super optimistic and everything's fine, everything's gonna work out perfectly fine, I'm good, I'm positive, yes, yes, yes. Will everything work out fine? Absolutely, because the Bible says everything works out for the good of those that love God. However, my viewpoint of that at the time was acting like I believed that when I really didn't. When deep down I was hurting, I was struggling. I was just headspace of feeling like I wasn't good enough and never will be. And that caused me to be depressed. God had to work on me so heavily to dig me out of that hole. And my hope is that this episode today can help either pull you out of that hole that maybe you feel like you've been in for a while, or just help you to get unstuck in transitioning from a consistent negative mindset to a consistent. Positive one. So how do we do that? I'm going to give a summarized answer and then I want to dive deep. So stick with me throughout this entire episode today if you can. Summarized answer in shifting from negative to positive and being able to finally do that consistently. You have got to build your confidence. Now, I know you might be thinking, really Angel, confidence? That's the answer. That's it. Stick with me because I'm not just talking about any confidence where you just feel so good about yourself and all of that. No, I am talking about deeply rooted confidence. Okay, I'm about to pull up my notes and we're going to dive deep into it. I want to talk about what you should have competence in, in the first place, because I'm not talking about competence in yourself. I'm talking about competence in specific, stable, secure, foundational things that naturally will shape your mind to think more positively. First point. You have got to have confidence in God. Tuning into your spirit. Tuning into who God is. All that he says that he will do. All that he biblically promises us. And how well he will care for you. You need to have confidence in that. Now, you might be thinking, I already have confidence in God. I believe in him. I know he's God. But, I want you to check your actions. I want you to check your thoughts. Your current actions and your current thoughts will tell you everything you need to know about just how strong your confidence in God really is. You could say you have confidence in God and all that he is and all that he can do. You can verbally say that all day long. But what are you really thinking? How do your actions reflect that? If you are in a headspace where you're always worrying. You're worrying about money. You're worrying about your calling. You're worrying about how you're going to do this and how is this going to work out. If you find yourself in a constant state of worry or stress, then you do not have enough confidence in God. I know that's a hard reality check, but I'm right there with you. I have to check myself on that a lot more than I would like to admit, but it's true. I've struggled with worrying my entire life. It's my norm. It's a negative part of my brain that has become my norm and God has been really working on me when it comes to that. Because, think about it, if you're worrying that much, you don't fully trust God. You don't fully believe that He's got you, that He will take care of you, and therefore you lack confidence in Him and what He can do. This is especially essential. When we are so low, you know, those moments where you're, you're just straight up low, you're down, you're struggling financially. You feel like you're not good enough. You feel like it's too late. You feel like you're not worth it. You're feeling super insecure. You're just feeling low. When we feel like we are at our lowest points, it's that much more easier for us to marinate in a negative headspace, which pulls us away from growing in confidence in God. We're so busy thinking negative thoughts when we're in those low moments that we don't even give our spirit the space to supersede those negative thoughts, rise above it, And build confidence in God that can help transform your negative thoughts into more positive trusting ones. You have got to work on finding confidence in God. Read the promises that he mentions in the Bible because those promises that he has mentioned, which by the way are all throughout the Bible, those promises weren't just good for that time being. Those promises are still good to this day. God's word is yesterday, today, and forever. It's strong. It pierces, it is the most stable thing that you will ever have in life. Lean into that in order to develop your competence in God and how much he's got you. You need to start viewing him as bigger than your problems. When we're in a negative headspace, no matter what the reason is. We start viewing our problems as so massive that we cannot see beyond it. You have to position your spirit to see God as bigger than any problem you will ever face. Because God's perception of the problems that you're going through that are keeping you in a negative headspace, God's perception of that is like, psh, that tiny little thing right there, I know it feels big to you, but that is so small in comparison to my power. But you have to decide to believe that. And as you grow in faith, as you grow in trust, as your confidence in God grows, you would be amazed at how naturally your thoughts start to transition from negative to positive, all because you've allowed your spirit to supersede those negative thoughts and help you grow in confidence with God and all that he can do. Whew, that was a deep one, and I'm sorry if that slapped you across the face with all the love in the world that I got, but we are just on point number one. Let's move on to point number two, okay? Point number two, and what your confidence should be in to help you transition into more positive thinking. You need to have confidence in your gifts. God has uniquely created every single human being on this planet. Not a single person is a mistake. I don't care if your parents meant to have you, your story of how you got here. At the end of the day, your story is valid. I am not downplaying that. All I'm saying is that God meant for you to be here. He knew that your existence was going to be in this world at this exact time in this specific generation. He had it all planned out. And he didn't just create your existence. He created specific gifts to live inside of you for you to use and put out there into the world. You might be the most introverted person, the most awkward person, doesn't matter. You have gifts. You have specific gifts in you that God placed in you to use in this world. Gifts that bring glory to God, that praise God. Gifts that make an impact to other people that need it. Gifts that really showcase how purposeful you are in your unique calling. Your gifts are not meant to be wasted. And so many times, people waste them. Because we get scared, or we don't know how to do it, or we start playing the comparison game, or we start trying to chase way too hard after money when it comes to putting our gifts out there into the world, and not focused enough on impact or mission. In any of those examples, those gifts are ultimately being wasted if they're not being used for His glory in the way that God is calling you to use Think about your gifts, and I know that your specific gifts are coming to mind right now as you're listening to this episode. Do you have gifts of teaching, of preaching, of creating? Gifts when it comes to certain expertise, certain ways of serving people, certain hospitality, certain way with your words or advice. Gifts when it comes to skill sets. And experiences, you have gifts and they are not meant to be wasted, but you, my friend, have got to build up the confidence in the unique gifts that you have. And this can be really hard to do. Why? Because the only way to build up your confidence in the gifts that you have. Is one, to steward your gifts well by using them and managing them for God's glory and to make an impact in the world, whether it be to one person or many. And two, you've got to practice them. You got to use them. Rather than pushing it off, putting it on standby, putting it on the back burner, you have to consistently practice using them. Even if you have no idea how or where to start, just start somewhere and it's probably going to look like a hot mess, but that's okay because you started and God will meet you in the middle of that mess to help pivot your steps. You got to practice them. I'm going to give you an example. I knew that I had a gift for speaking. However, I was terrified. Whether this surprises you or not, I was an extremely shy and insecure child. That carried with me into my early adult years when I got my first corporate job and a part of my responsibilities at this job were to speak at conferences and events on behalf of the company. Now, I knew that I had a gift for speaking. However, actually speaking terrified the heck out of me. I did not want to do it. I get, sorry if this is TMI, but I get nervous poops, okay? I went to the bathroom like 10 times before I had to speak anywhere because I was that terrified. So it came time for my first speaking engagement with this company. I was newly hired. It was my first speaking engagement. I'm like 23 years old. I get up on that stage. I start my presentation. It's like 30 minutes long. The whole time, shaking. My body is shaking so bad on that stage that I know that it was visible to everyone in the audience. On top of that, to make matters worse, my voice was shaking so horrendously to the point where after the presentation was done, I had an audience member come up to me giving me water because he said I sounded like I was sick. I sounded like I was really struggling up there. Do you know how embarrassing that was? I am a professional, I am speaking on behalf of this company and someone comes up to me offering me water because my voice sounds that bad? It was embarrassing, but, I knew that if I was going to get better at using these gifts, getting more comfortable with it, getting more confident with it, and leveraging them more and more, then I needed to keep practicing. I needed to keep showing up, I needed to keep speaking, even when it was awkward, even when I was shaking, even when I had nervous poops all day, I just needed to keep showing up and practicing them. And over time I got better over time. I got way more confident over time in using my gifts showing up in them and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through me. Now when I speak, especially on stage, it feels natural. I'm confident and I'm ready to keep using these gifts for God's glory. That is just an example of my story. You have your own story. You need to practice your own gifts. You need to put them to use and you need to steward them well so that you can grow in your confidence in them. And as you do, you start to think more positively about yourself because you have confidence in your gifts, which can ultimately help showcase your calling and why you're here and what God wants you to do. Get confident in your gifts, my friend. It's time. It's time. Point number three in how you can transition from a negative to a more consistent positive mentality. You need to get confident in the fact that everything is temporary. A lot of times we have such a negative headspace. Because, as I mentioned earlier, we're viewing our problems as bigger than God. And when we view problems as bigger than God, it feels like forever. It feels like we're in this super low season of feeling stuck, feeling insecure, feeling doubtful, feeling not worth it. We start to just feel like it's forever. We're always going to feel like this. Why can't this go away? But you have to get confident in remembering and believing the fact that everything is temporary. Every season you go through is temporary. Why? Because if you're in a low season, and as you trust God in that low season, and put in the effort to get out of it while growing your faith in getting out of it, That season is temporary because there is a higher season coming, a season where there is joy and peace and opened doors and success God's way on his timing. In addition to that, if you're already in more of those higher seasons, guess what? God wants to continue growing you. So he might bring you to a higher one, or he might take you low afterwards to challenge you, to teach you to shape you, and then bring you high again, everything is temporary. Even this life, our lifespan on earth is temporary because when we believe in God, when we trust in the name of Jesus as Lord, and when we do life God's way, heaven is waiting for us in eternity. Your life is so short on earth in comparison to eternity that's waiting for you in heaven. Everything is temporary. And it's so hard for us to remember that because we just get caught up. We get caught up in our problems. We get caught up in our low moods. We get caught up in feeling like things are forever and oh my goodness, why can't I get out of this? But when you realize that things are temporary and you know that God's got you. You start to have confidence in that and having hope and peace even in the lowest moments. Even when you are trying to work through a negative headspace, there's peace there because you know it's temporary and you know you're working through it and you know that there's a better side coming. Quick story time just to kind of help give a little analogy here. I had the beautiful, amazing experience of witnessing my best friend give birth to her first baby. This girl is my best friend since we have been like five years old. And when it was time for her to give birth, she wanted her husband and she wanted me in there as her support systems. So I was, I was there. She called me saying she went into labor. I got my butt on a plane and by the grace of God, I made it there in time for the birth of my little niece. But I will never forget that while she was having contractions and she had a natural birth by the way. So just straight up pain that I can't even begin to imagine because I don't have kids yet. Throughout that whole time, she kept telling me to remind her that this is temporary. Any time a contraction would come, any time she'd be hit with this unimaginable pain, she would tell me. Angel, I need you to remind me that this is temporary. Tell me that over and over again so that I remember it because it's going to help get me through this pain. So I did. I held her hand and I kept telling her, it's temporary. It's not forever. You can do this. It's temporary. It's not forever. You can do this over and over again. And me telling her that. That has stuck with me ever since, because it is such a beautiful reminder to live by. When you are going through pain in your life, physical, mental, emotional, even confusion when it comes to your calling, why you're here, what's your next step, anything like that. It. This is temporary. This is not forever. You will be okay. You just need to push through by taking one step at a time and working your way forward even when it's painful, even when it's confusing, even when you're not sure of what's next. You just keep moving forward and allow God to hold your hand and guide you in moving forward. The reminder of it is temporary can help keep you going. And it can help you build the kind of confidence that there is another season coming. There is a next coming. The season you're in, what you're dealing with, the headspace you're in right now, it is not forever. It does not need to be your forever, as long as you build up the confidence that it is temporary, you are working through it, and you build up confidence in God that He has got you. He will help you work through it. He will help you figure it out. Everything is temporary. Everything. Okay, last thing, last point that I want to make in where you should be growing your confidence in to help you transition from negative thinking to more positive thinking. You have got to get confident in stewardship. I had hinted at the word stewardship earlier, and I want to bring it up again as a main point because it is that important. A lot of times we pray to God for answers. We're praying for more of this or clarity here. We're just praying for him to do something right. It's good that you're praying to God about anything and everything, but a lot of times we pray to God about future things when we're not prioritizing putting effort into the current things. And when I say effort, I'm talking about stewardship. What does it look like to steward your life well now? Steward your gifts, steward your time. By managing it better. Stewarding your health by caring for yourself. Stewarding your spirit by growing in relationship with God and prioritizing that more than you have been. Stewarding your money by managing the money you do have in your bank account. Spending your money the way that God would want you to. You need to build up the confidence to steward things well. And when I say competence in this regard, I'm talking about the strength, I'm talking about the assurance, I'm talking about the drive to actually steward. When you steward things well now, you naturally transition into more positive thinking because your current season of life starts to look not so bad. Think about it. The current season of your life where you are struggling and just that negative thinking. A lot of times it's because we just don't like where we're at. We don't like who we are or how we are and we just kind of envision a different future for ourselves. We want to be somewhere else. We want our season to look different and therefore our brain is in the future. But when you flip it and you allow your brain to be in the present moment, deal with your problems head on and simply say, okay, how can I just steward what I have now and do it? You start to have a different perspective on them. You start to look at them differently. Why? Because when you steward things well, your character naturally starts to improve. Because you're handling things, you're managing things, you're doing a better job of being God's vessel in the life that he gave you. For example, let's say you work a 9 to 5 job and you hate it. Maybe it's a toxic work environment. Maybe you don't like the work that you do. Maybe you are so desperate to get out of it. It's easy to have negative thinking when you don't like your job, right? But what does it look like to steward the job well? To put on Jesus's attitude of hard work and compassion and impact and humility to put on that attitude when you go to that job because you want to steward it well even though you don't like it. When you do, your perspective on the job changes. Now that's not to say that you're not putting in effort to find another job or a different situation or anything like that, it's just to say while you're doing that, you're not hating the season of life that you're in, your perspective around it just changes. You start to view the job as the blessings it does give you, like, Financial stability, or um, community, if you enjoy your coworkers, or even valuing the learning lessons. What you're learning at that job that's helping you build your skill sets, even if you don't like it. Or, what you're learning in that job that helps you to see what you will not do in the future. Because of the experience you're going through now. All I'm trying to say. Is that perspective can change so much and changing your perspective can come from you having confidence, the strength, the drive in stewarding the season of your life better. And as you do, you naturally start to transition into more positive thinking. So, I know that this episode probably left you with a lot to reflect on and to think about, and I just want to encourage you to take your time with that. Growth does not happen overnight. Having a positive mindset consistently, a sustainable one, does not happen overnight. It takes time. Give yourself grace to make the transition. From a negative headspace to a positive one and allow God into that journey with you. It is truly a daily battle. I'm going to be real with you. It is not something that you work on and then a few months from now you're good. No, you're probably going to work on it. You're going to get better over time. One day you're going to have moments where you are consistently positively thinking. And then you're going to find yourself in a rut where now you're struggling with negative thoughts again. But when you do, you know how to get back up quicker. Based off of what you've learned, what you've been implementing to help you think more positively. Because you found competence in God, competence in your gifts, competence in the very real fact that everything is temporary, and competence in stewardship. You can do this. If I was able to get through it, if I was able to accomplish it, even now, I still struggle with negative thoughts. But I'm quicker to bounce back into positive thinking. If I can do that, you can too. You can too. Thanks so much for tuning in to this week's episode and again, a huge thank you to our anonymous listener who submitted this topic request. I pray that it has blushed your ears for those listening. And hey, if you have a topic that you would love for us. To dive into on this podcast, please submit a request at the link down below in the podcast show notes or in the YouTube description where you're watching this video. We put a lot of those requests into our upcoming podcast episode backlog. So feel free to submit it. We'd love to see it. We'd love to hear it. We want to value it and hopefully make it a topic in a future episode very soon. Thanks for tuning in. God bless you. I am rooting for you, always, and I will see you next week for another episode of the God Empowered Podcast.