There are two ways to think.  You can be a reactive thinker.  This is the 8:4, upside down thinker. This requires no effort.  This is just sort of like our dog, Gracie.  Last night, she started barking and guess what happened with the neighbors’ dogs?  They started barking.  And almost always, when the neighbors’ dogs start barking, she starts barking.  And it’s just a condition response.  It’s an instinct with the dog.  One dog starts barking, the other one starts barking.  But…this is a dog.  That’s how God made… dogs. 
 

That’s not how God made humans, but sometimes we act like dogs.  Somebody barks at us and we bark back, like we have no control over the matter.  Our spouse throws a hand grenade at us; we throw one right back at them.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  You don’t have to live that way.  You can focus on the good stuff. 
 

You can condition yourself and train yourself to be the other type of thinker. The other type of thinker is a proactive 4:8 thinker.  This requires a lot of effort.  When you’re a reactive thinker, you’re just like the dog.  When you’re a proactive thinker, you have to think ahead.  You have to think about your responses ahead of time, outside of the heat of the moment. 
 

You have to decide that “no matter what is going on around me, I’m not going to change what’s going on inside of me.  I’m going to keep my thoughts lined up with God’s promises despite negative outer conditions.  Despite how somebody treats me, I’m going to treat them with respect and with kindness.” 
 

How about you?
 

Give this approach a try, just for today!
 

Have you listened to The 4:8 Principle on audio yet? Experience the difference the spoken word can make!

When I was a kid, one of my coaches told me a story about circus elephants. When these elephants are still little and weak, they are chained to iron stakes in the ground, which prevent them from breaking free and running away.
 
This allows the circus trainers to keep them close, work with them, and prepare them for their routines. What’s strange is that even after the little elephants grow into huge, powerful animals capable of lifting a ton or more with their trunks, they remain restricted by those same miniature stakes in the ground. Even when they are more than strong enough to yank the stake out of the ground and roam free, they don’t do it. They don’t even try. They remain limited by the old boundaries.
 
Sometimes we demonstrate this type of helplessness as well. We focus on that little stake (or mistake) from our past and forget that, with God’s help, we have the power to release whatever has been holding us back.
 

What might be holding you back right now?
Give this question and its answer some quality thought in the next 24 hours!
And to help your child build high levels of self-confidence, visit 30 Days To A Self-Confident Kid.
Coach