Month: November 2024

When your overthinking gets in the way of what you want

Do you tend to overthink?

Are you your worse critic?

Does your overthinking “speaks” so loud that it gets in your way?

When I saw the title of the podcast – “The Surprising Solution to Overthinking”, I didn’t think twice to listen to it! It was Andy Stanley’s interview with Jon Acuff on his book, “Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking”. He chose the title to depict how a soundtrack can change the entire emotional feel of a movie without changing the movie. Similarly, our thoughts can change how we feel without changing the circumstances we are facing.

Jon Acuff defines overthinking this way: when what you think gets in the way of what you want. When thoughts get in the way of what you desire, and it turns into bitterness and haunts you.

This overthinking habit tends to stop you taking action, leading to undesired results of not achieving your hopes and dreams. You can hear the same “soundtrack” when you encounter the same circumstance. For example, when you want to lose weight, your soundtrack constantly reminds you of how many times you’ve failed.

This is the Trojan Questions that Jon Acuff suggested in his book:

1. Is it true?

2. Is it helpful?

3. Is it kind?

These three simple questions help us to seek truth and clarity in our thoughts. Many times, our thoughts are assumptions of what other people think, or scripts that we have narrated from our childhood, e.g. I am bad with numbers or I am not bright. Next, we need to find out if these thoughts are helpful to what we want to achieve. Lastly, we have to be gentle to ourselves and not let our thoughts overwhelm us and keep us in an infinite loop of self-sabotage. I think the last question is the hardest to answer.

This is my invitation to you today – be aware of the soundtracks that are playing in the movie of your life. Let the soundtrack be a crescendo of courage and excitement as you reach for your hopes and dreams.

A Journey of HOPE – Sharing My New Book

Is your tendency to be HOPEful or doubtful?

Do you believe HOPE is wishful and based on fantasy?

Or is HOPE something you are confident of?

Hope is sometimes a double-edged sword. Hope gives us something to aspire to, to look forward to and to cling onto. But when we lose hope, it is a desperate situation that can lead to despair. When Hope is based on what we want, but we are not in control of the situation, then the feeling of hope can easily turn into feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. On the other hand, when Hope is based on a sovereign God, we can trust Him to make all things good, according to His plan.

This year, I decided to write my third book based on HOPE – Living in Humility, Obedience, Power and Endurance. It is a small book with four main chapters on Humility, Obedience, Power and Endurance – each chapter consist of a story from the Bible, a personal story, ending with practical applications – to bring Hope to a world which longs for something unshakable and unbreakable.

It has been a journey of reflecting on my Hope which relies on a sovereign God, a Hope that is based on WHO HE IS – a loving, compassionate and faithful God. I realise that a hope based on my effort and status will always fall short. A hope based on how I feel will always be wavering and unstable. A hope based on circumstances out of my control will result in anxiety and uncertainty. Through my many trials and tribulations, I found only one Hope beats them all – that is the confident divine Hope of a faithful God who never fails us.

I am thrilled to announce that I have published my HOPE book on Amazon Kindle today. Another thing you can shop for on this 11.11 day sale!!!

This is my invitation to you today – to place your Hope in a God who is ever loving, full of compassion and always faithful. He is always with us, and never abandon us in our time of need. He has great plan to grow us in strength and maturity, and for us to live a full and abundant life.

Do You Have 8 Minutes?

When you need help, do you ask for help?

Or would you keep quiet for fear of troubling your friend or family?

Or would you ask indirectly and hoping they would figure out it’s your cry for help?

This was what transpired during a video interview with Simon Sinek. He was talking to his friend and found out she had gone through a terrible time. He was unhappy that his good friend didn’t reach out to him when she was going through the challenging time. She said she did – she had asked him if he wanted to come over? But how could he tell that it was a cry for help!?

He found out through a study that it takes 8 minutes for someone who is struggling to help them get back on track. So he came out with this code for help – Do you have 8 minutes? It means, I need you.

In another video by Simon Sinek, he said: we don’t build trust by offering help, we build trust by asking for it. We avoid asking for help from our family and friends for fear of troubling them. Yet we don’t realize that we are denying them the opportunity to help you in your time of need. Just like how they were there for you, you want to be there for them as well. Friendships are two-way street. Friendships are give-and-take. Friendships require vulnerability and courage.

It is oftentimes difficult to ask for help. Sometimes, it is with good intention for not troubling others. Other times, we are embarrassed to let people know the situation we are in, especially if it is a shameful or awkward or complicated situation. However, when we don’t ask for help, we are trapped in a dire situation alone. When we feel we have no one to turn to and nowhere to go, we feel desperate, despair and hopeless, which might lead to undesirable consequences.

This is my invitation to you today – give a trusted friend or family an opportunity to help you when you need help. You don’t need to go through life alone. There is always someone who is willing to help you. Show all your trusted friends this post so that they will understand when you ask: Do you have 8 minutes?