How to Focus in the Midst of Distractions (Part 2): Discipline Your Thought Life

Overcoming distractions can be difficult, especially in moments when your focus really matters. There are so many things competing for our attention. Today we’re going to dive into the topic of disciplining your thought life so that you can effectively overcome distractions. But first…

Here’s the 3-fold system to overcoming distractions:  

1. You must become more emotionally stable.
2. Discipline your thought life.
3. Determine to be steadfast in the purpose God has for your life, even when it makes no sense.

Now, we’ll look into part 2 of this series on how to focus:

Discipline your thought life.

Did you know that we have the power to think what we want to think? This is the overflow of true emotional development and maturity.

I’m pretty sure that we all would agree that sometimes distractions or competitors are subtle and can come in the form of our very own thoughts or what we allow our minds to focus on or attempt to analyze. If we play into the temptations that arise from our own thoughts to make us stop our progress by considering a person, situation or dilemma that is outside of the portion that God has given us we automatically begin to work against ourselves from the inside out. I would assume that any normal person would NOT want to work negatively against themselves and their own personal progress, right?

So, how can we overcome the distractions that invite themselves into our lives through our very own thoughts?

The answer is, discipline!

Contrary to popular belief, our minds where designed by God to be renewed and our thoughts were designed to be managed. We are the masters of our own minds! Which means that we have the power to consistently import or export thoughts that support or drain the vision that God has given us for our lives.

Thought Management is not a technique that we are naturally born with. As we mature to know more of ourselves (the good and the undeveloped) we begin to recognize the power we have to either hurt ourselves or heal ourselves by allowing our thoughts to rule over us or by ruler over our thoughts.

Here are a few strategies on how to focus that you can practice to become a greater Master of your Mind:

• Actively tell yourself what you will focus on day to day, hour to hour and minute to minute and hold yourself accountable to it by interrupting any negative thought with a verbal affirmation of the thoughts your mind will think and why. (i.e. “My mind will only think thoughts of good things happening to me today because God is with me and He has never failed me and never will…”)
• Be unruly with negative thought patterns until they know not to invade your mind again by resisting their entry through switching your focus and energy on something productive (i.e. reading a book, exercising, painting, reading over your goals or helping someone in need).
• Spend time in quite meditation daily, filling your mind with right thoughts and disconnecting with wrong ones.

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 NLT).