Seminary
Lesson 183: Developing Healthy Thinking Patterns—“Whose Mind Is Stayed on Thee”
young woman sitting, looking off into the distance

Physical and Emotional Health: Lesson 183

Developing Healthy Thinking Patterns

“Whose Mind Is Stayed on Thee”

Visit “Studying the Scriptures” to help prepare yourself spiritually to learn.

Positive thinkers live longer! A recent study found “people with a family history of heart disease who also had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within 5 to 25 years than those with a more negative outlook.”

As Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know and understand our thoughts (Psalm 139:1–2), focusing on Them can help us create healthy thinking patterns.

Lesson Purpose: To help you look to the Savior as you establish healthy thinking patterns.

Learn How

The impact of focusing our thoughts on God

Think about the following statements. Rank how you feel, from 1 (less true) to 3 (more true).

  • I usually have positive thoughts about myself and my actions.

  • I usually have positive thoughts about my situation.

  • I believe that things in my life will get better.

tag iconRead the following, looking for teachings about focusing on God. You could tag these passages as “look to God.”

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught us how we can focus our minds on Jesus Christ.

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Elder Neil L. Andersen

Filling our mind with the power of Jesus Christ does not mean that He is the only thought we have. But it does mean that all our thoughts are circumscribed in His love, His life and teachings, and His atoning sacrifice and glorious Resurrection. Jesus is never in a forgotten corner, because our thoughts of Him are always present and “all that is in [us adores] him!” We pray and rehearse in our mind experiences that have brought us closer to Him. We welcome into our mind divine images, holy scriptures, and inspired hymns to gently cushion the countless daily thoughts rushing through our busy lives. (“My Mind Caught Hold upon This Thought of Jesus Christ,” Liahona, May 2023, 92)

tag iconfocus on God, focus on Jesus Christ

mark iconMark phrases that stood out to you. How could this counsel help you focus on Jesus Christ?

Dig Deeper: To learn more about thinking patterns, read Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience (2021), chapter 2, “Healthy Thinking Patterns.”

Overcoming unhealthy patterns by focusing on Jesus Christ

When we have unhealthy or unhelpful thoughts, we can change! The Lord has given us agency, and He can help us change even the way we think. To help ourselves overcome unhealthy thoughts, we can:

  1. Recognize thoughts as they occur and the emotions that result.

  2. Reframe our thinking.

  3. Move forward with faith in Jesus Christ.

Here is an example of how to use these steps to help you develop healthier thinking patterns.

a young woman in Ghana

While studying math, Imani struggles to understand concepts that make sense to other students. She thinks to herself, “I am not good at math. Everyone is smarter than me.”

Recognize

Look at the following chart. See if you can find the patterns Imani is using.

Thinking Patterns

Explanation

Example

Thinking Patterns

All or Nothing

Explanation

Seeing something or someone as all good or all bad. Look for phrases with words like always and never.

Example

“I always say the wrong thing.”

Thinking Patterns

Mislabeling

Explanation

Taking something that happened and making a broad or incorrect statement.

Example

“The relationship ended, so I’m not good enough.”

Thinking Patterns

Jumping to Conclusions

Explanation

Interpreting others’ thoughts or assuming the worst possible outcome.

Example

“I bet everyone is laughing at me.”

Thinking Patterns

Personalizing

Explanation

Blaming yourself or someone else for a situation that in reality involved many factors.

Example

“They didn’t call me back, so they must be mad at me.”

Thinking Patterns

Emotional Reasoning

Explanation

Judging a situation based on how you feel.

Example

“I feel guilty. I must have done something bad.”

Thinking Patterns

Discounting the Positive

Explanation

Rejecting all positive experiences because you don’t feel like they count.

Example

“It doesn’t matter if my daughter ate breakfast. She threw so many tantrums throughout the rest of the day!”

Dig Deeper: To learn more about unhealthy thinking patterns, read Finding Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience, chapter 2, “Healthy Thinking Patterns.”

Imani was mislabeling and jumping to conclusions. How could thinking this way impact her ability to learn or interact with others?

Reframe

Once Imani has identified unhealthy thinking, she can reframe her thoughts. She can do this by asking some of the following questions:

  • Is this thought accurate?

    • Possible reframe: “No. I don’t know how to do math right now, but I am still learning.”

  • Is it helpful?

    • Possible reframe: “No, these thoughts do not help me learn math.”

  • How could thinking of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and Their teachings help me with this thought?

    • Possible reframe: “Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me. They want me to succeed. They will help.”

Move forward

Now that Imani has reframed her thoughts, she can use her new perspective to move forward, focusing on Christ.

Imani recognizes that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want her to succeed. She decides to say a silent prayer before studying math at school and at home. She also decides to begin her study by reminding herself that God will help her.

Now What?

notebook iconLook back at the unhealthy thinking patterns chart. Which of the patterns have you used? Write in your notebook two examples of how you could reframe unhealthy thoughts you have had.

Share Your Thoughts

Lesson Purpose: To help you look to the Savior as you establish healthy thinking patterns.

share iconShare the following with your teacher or class:

  • The unhealthy thoughts you chose, an explanation of reframing, and the new thoughts you wrote.