Have you thought about what you think about lately? Life’s too busy for that kind of self-analysis – right? Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D. and Joyce Meyer would disagree. Their weight-loss and stop-smoking success stories may have you “thinking” differently too. Let’s start with Dr. Helmstetter’s amazing discovery.
It was Dr. Helmstetter’s work that led him to study European athletes competing in the Olympics. These Olympians had full-time self-talk trainers helping them use positive self-talk strategies to win gold medals. Impressed by their remarkable results, Dr. Helmstetter decided to do an experiment of his own. His experiment was what he calls, “the Olympics of weight loss.”
Dr. Helmstetter had a personal struggle with obesity. He tried so many different diets, he called himself a “diet expert.” The problem was not so much the dieting as what happened after each diet. He regained the weight and said each pound “brought friends along” (resulting in even more weight regained than lost).
Dr. Helmstetter created his own self-talk audio tapes with positive, encouraging messages to replace the message of failure embedded with each failed diet. The new messages voiced statements like, “I love eating healthy foods.” “It’s OK to leave food on my plate.” “I enjoy exercising.”
Once the tapes were recorded, Dr. Helmstetter simply began playing them for 10-12 minutes each morning while he shaved. That’s it. Did it work? Absolutely! After just ten-and-a-half weeks, Dr. Helmstetter lost 38 pounds! And better yet – the weight-loss was permanent.
The story doesn’t end there. Mrs. Helmstetter was “eavesdropping” on the self-talk as she put on makeup just a few feet down from her husband each morning. She wasn’t officially part of his experiment yet lost 25 pounds herself!
Dr. Helmstetter continues to help in numerous areas of struggle through his website www.SelfTalkPlus.com and books on self-talk.
But there’s more. Here’s what Joyce Meyer did when she faced failure in her attempts to quit smoking.
Mrs. Meyer says, “I started smoking when I was 9 years old and smoked for many years. I liked it! So when I decided to stop, it was really difficult. Every time I tried to quit, I’d last a few hours and then I’d be digging cigarette butts out of the trash. I didn’t have success until I got a revelation: I had to stop talking myself out of victory.”
She goes on to say, “I finally realized that I was causing myself to fail through the negative things I was saying to myself.” She would say things like, “I just know I could never quit smoking and if I ever did, I’d probably gain a lot of weight.” God helped her see that if she didn’t change the way she was talking, she wouldn’t change. So, she started saying things like, “I can’t stand to smoke. These things stink and they’re expensive. I don’t smoke anymore.” “It felt silly at first,” she says, “because I was still smoking; but within about a week I realized I now had grace to actually quit smoking.” That’s exactly what she did and she didn’t gain weight either. She says, “God taught me to talk like him!”
Talking like God sounds to me like “God Talk.” What if we learned to say the things God says? “Life and death are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). God’s Word has tools we can use to combat fear, stress and any other problem we face. What if we could use truths from God’s Word to change our flawed self-talk into God Talk regarding each of the 12 new habits we’re making in this series?
In the next video we’ll discuss “God Talk in Action” with personal examples of how I transform Self-Talk into God-Talk as we continue our discussion of the first Healthy Habit that Heals, “Stress Less, Pray More”.
Here’s my personal confession using Philippians 4:6-7 and other verses that encourage me to Stress Less, Pray More. Write your own or print mine and read it each time you feel stress or worry trying to steal your peace.
Confessions of a Former Worrier
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:6-7 NIV)
- I don’t worry about anything (Philippians 4:6-7).
● I am not fearful.
● I don’t entertain anxiety.
● Jesus, I’m bringing all my concerns to you – big and small.
● I trust you to lead me with your wisdom (since your ways and thoughts are much higher than mine. Isaiah 55:8-9).
● I trust you to help me know and do my part (since you say if I trust in You and lean not on my own understanding and acknowledge you in my way, You will direct my path. Proverbs 3:5-6).
● And I thank you too! There is so much to be thankful for.
● Thank you that you listen and always know what to do.
● Thank you that you love me and want what’s best for me.
● Thank you that you care about the little things I’m concerned about (like a parent that wants good things for their children – and I am your child).
● Thank you for my food – it’s yummy and you made it healthy too!
● Thank you for family – I love Paul and my kiddoes and their kiddoes. (They remind me of how much You love us.)
● Thank you for friends – and help me be a good one too.
● Forgive me for things I do, think, or say that displease You; and help me grow in the Fruit of the Spirit.
● Thank you for peace that’s beyond anything I can imagine no matter what’s going on.
● You are AMAZING! You are GOOD! You are FAITHFUL! I LOVE YOU!
● OK – Now I’m getting on with my day and I’m bringing You and Your immense peace along! Thank you so much! Let’s hang out all day!
