Washington Informer

It takes three steps to be a thought engineer.

Emotions are created by thoughts. The pioneers of a school of psychotherapy called discovered that depressed and anxious people had a distorted perspective on their world. When they learned to correct what was coined “stinking thinking,” many were able to master their depression.

Untwist Negative Thoughts. It is hard work, but each of us can begin to challenge the thoughts which bring us down. This doesn’t mean that we can’t acknowledge problems. It just suggests that when we are facing a challenge, we seize our areas of weakness and vulnerability, as great opportunity for improvement.

We can use weakness as a springboard to healing and growth by being courageous enough to ask for help and follow through on it. We can choose to systematically look at what we need to work on as our own personal or professional roadmap to growth.

Rather than getting depressed about our list of growth areas, we can see that owning up to legitimate issues is a way to catapult ourselves forward. We can recognize that yes we have issues, but so do the other six billion people who populate the earth.

Choose Your Thoughts. Since we know that thoughts are the engines that drive our feelings, we can pause and reflect on how we want to feel. There is nothing magic about this approach. We can choose how we view our lives. We decide how we view our problems. Instead of holding onto a perspective that is filled with negativity, and expecting the worse from ourselves and others, we can expect the best. We can look at our challenges and say why not? We can say today, I will put myself on my path to achieve my dreams.

Dr. Dan Collins, a licensed psychologist and ordained minister, is author of the bestselling book, “The Trauma Zone: Trusting God for Emotional Healing.” Visit him at www.drdan7.com to view sample chapters of his book.