Meditations on the Thought Life

God knows my sitting down and my rising up. God understands my thoughts afar off. God’s thoughts are precious to me. (Ps. 139:2, 17)

The thoughts of the righteous are right. I am righteous in Christ and my thoughts are right. (Prov. 12:5; 2 Cor. 5:21)

I commit my works to the Lord and my thoughts are established.  (Prov. 16:3)

God’s thoughts toward me are thoughts of peace that give me a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:11)

I cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor.10:5)

The word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thought and intents of the heart.  (Heb. 4:12)

I think only of those things, which are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report. I think of those things, which have virtue and are praiseworthy. (Phil. 4:8)

God keeps me in perfect peace because my mind is stayed on Him and I trust Him. (Is. 26:3)

God puts His laws in my mind and writes them on my heart. He is my God and I am His child. (Heb. 8:10)

God puts His law in my heart and writes them on my mind. (Heb. 10:16)

I gird up the loins of my mind. (1 Pet. 1:13)

I arm myself with the mind of Christ. (1 Pet. 4:1)

The peace of God, which passes al l understanding, guards my heart and my mind through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

My mind serves the law of God. (Rom. 7:25)

I am not conformed to this world but I am transformed by the renewing of my mind, that I may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom. 12:2)

I live according to the Spirit and mind the things of the Spirit. I am spiritually minded and have  life and peace. (Rom. 8:5, 6)

I know the mind of the Lord for I have the mind of Christ. (Rom. 11:34; 1 Cor. 2:16)

I am renewed in the spirit of my mind. (Eph. 4:23)

I let the humble mind of Christ be in me. (Phil. 2:5)

I am mindful of the words spoken by the servants of God. (2 Pet. 3:2)

God has not given me the spirit of fear but He has given me the Spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:7)

I set my mind on the things above and not on the things on this earth. I set my mind on the things of God. (Col. 3:2)

Always Have A Plan B

We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. Because many things don’t go as well as we would like them to, it’s a great idea to have a “Plan B.” Having fallback plans can’t help but make you feel better about the  outcome  of  any  situation,  and  it  is  a  common denominator among very self-confident people.

Anyone  who  has  had  more  than  one  failure  in her  life  can  tell  you  that  having  another  path  to  take probably saved her bacon a time or two. I’m a big one for  contingency  plans.  If  you  are  an  entrepreneur,  in the  arts  or  media,  or  you  have  all  your  eggs  in  one basket, a Plan B is essential.

Knowing that if you lose the farm you have a condo you can go to makes you feel safer in the world. I know a number of people who have motor homes, and one of the reasons they do is, as they jokingly say, it’s their “in case” home. During the last big earthquake here in Los  Angeles,  many  people  who  had  them  were  very grateful—and those of us who didn’t were envious.

With the world economy in turmoil, creating some kind of additional income stream is also a good idea. The jeweler who is also a great designer or builder, the computer  geek  who  can  also  teach  school,  or  the  PR person  who  is  a  closet  novelist  can  all  find  a  way  to thrive even if their current position disappears.

Backup  plans  don’t  have  to  be  new  ideas—I continue  to  use  aspects  of  everything  I’ve  ever  done. My days on stage playing guitar have made me a better public speaker, which makes me a good radio host. The energy  I  put  into  songs  and  poems  has  helped  them become columns and books.

The years I spent running my  own  business  give  me  the  insight  to  help  others streamline theirs. 

And all of my experiences have made me  a  confident  and  successful  therapist.  Every  talent and  ability  you  have  can  be  built  upon  and  also  used again.  Not  that  I’d  ever  again  want  to  be  on  a  tour bus with six smelly guys for eight weeks, but if I had to I could still put food on the table by humming and strumming.

There’s  another  potential  upside  here:  Sometimes your  original  plan  and  your  backup  can  work  at  the same time. I still counsel, consult, write, and speak to groups all over the world. In years when the speaking business  got  very  slow  (such  as  after  9/11  and  then the  financial  crisis),  I  spent  more  time  writing  and counseling.

When  there  was  a  lull  between  books, I  put  more  energy  into  my  radio  show  and  business consulting, and did pro-bono events. Having multiple options gives you the sense that, if any one thing went away, you’d have other gigs that would more than fill the gap.

So get a little creative. Look at your past accomplishments and your current talents. A Plan B is only an idea away. By the way, this Plan B thing works in life, but not in relationships. Having a backup mate is only going to erode your current relationship and cause heartache for everyone involved. Enough said.