Can I Stop the Drama in my Brain, and Get Positive?

Time for another true confession. I hate to admit it, but I am one of those people who consistently anticipates worst-case scenarios.

Some embarrassing examples:
 
I forget where I placed my purse and instantly assume it’s been stolen.
Or I leave the house and then remember I didn’t turn off my curling iron– and in my mind’s eye, the house burns to the ground.
 
Have these things ever happened to me? No! So why does my brain go there?
 
Maybe you can relate to this. Maybe your mind works overtime on creating drama and dwelling on potential negative outcomes, too.
 
If so, you’re not alone. Ever since our ancestors got kicked out of the Garden of Eden, we have struggled with this issue.
 
Our human nature’s default is now worry, anxiety and control. But that’s not how we were wired in the beginning.
 
We were meant to live naturally in a state of love, joy and peace.
 
This is what we lost by deciding that God couldn’t be trusted. That he was holding out on us. That it would be better for us to take things into our own little hands.
 
It was foolish then. It’s still foolish when we do it now.
 
I’ve read that more than eighty percent of what we worry about never comes to pass.
 
Fear and anxiety are a tremendous waste of valuable emotional energy!
 
But bad things have happened to me, you might think. I’m worried about possible future problems.
 
Have you noticed the difficulties that do happen to us seem to happen when we’re caught off guard anyway? We can’t see the future!
 
So you and I have a choice.
 
We can either try to control all outcomes, thus expending massive amounts of energy warding off imaginary stuff that most likely will never happen (and that we can’t control, even if it does).
 
Or we can place our faith in God to take care of us.
 
Here’s a thought: What if you took all the mental and emotional energy which you’ve been investing in fear and worry, and instead, invested it in love and trust?
 
What if your default could change to assuming best-case scenarios?
 
What if you took your thoughts captive to obey Christ and exercised your imagination in a new way? What if you fixed your mind on positive outcomes?
 
I Corinthians 2:9,10  says, “ ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him’—  these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”
 
Now there’s a great way to exercise your imagination in a positive direction. God has such wonderful things in store for believers that it’s beyond our capability to imagine — but why not try?
 
How about if we stretch our brains to think of wonderful outcomes, and shut down the anxious thoughts?
 
Research shows that we can change the way our brains behave.
 
Dr. Caroline Leaf, brain scientist, explains this in her book Switch on Your Brain.
 
It’s good to know that scientific research and Scripture both tell us it is indeed possible to drop the drama and focus our imagination on the positive.
 
I want to say no to needless nervousness and wasted adrenaline.
I want to say yes to faith and peace and joy.
I want my imagination rooted in love, not in fear.
 
How about you?