BE CONTENT

How to be Content

Our temptation to quit is enormous. Anxiety is disheartening if not completely disabling. Because pathological anxiety was my experience for most of a decade, I know something about what you're going through. I certainly don't have all the answers but I know this: Hope and recovery are real and possible. Our struggles are not a waste and can even become a platform for intense joy.

My Warnings

Here is my first warning. It's a lot of work. If you are at all satisfied with your emotional and spiritual life, this may not be a good fit for you.

My second warning is this: This is a faith-based and worshipful approach to anxiety. I suspend the religious lingo as much as possible, but this approach keeps returning to our faith in God.

Study Overview and links

Choose Joy

Joy seems to be for other people. Anxious minds can't even see it on a distant horizon. But we will learn that:

Joy may not be what you think.
Joy is a choice.
Joy is a byproduct.
Finding Joy is for us even in desperate circumstances.
We can stop sabotaging our joy.
There are actionable steps to start and finish our day with joy.

Choose Joy

Obtain Reason

We will discover reasonable thoughts for:

Our perfectionism and overthinking.
Our anger and forgiveness.
Our need for certainty and control.
Our expectations.
Our responsibilities.

Obtain Reason

Neglect Worry

WORRY is worthless. An acrostic study in Luke 12:22-26.

We will learn to neglect worry as a liar and redirect our attention to voices of truth.

Neglect Worry

Tell God

This goes way beyond the "just pray more" advice we're all sick of hearing.

We've gone about panic praying entirely wrong.

We will discover prayer as a way to change ourselves instead of trying to change God.

We will know exactly how to pray effectively and meaningfully.

Tell God

Express Gratitude

Gratitude is the most powerful anti-depressant... ever.

We will move beyond "doing" grateful and into "being" grateful.

Express Gratitude

Nurture New Thoughts

We will pick up on tools to retrain our brain and turn from thinking the same old things.

We will discover new thoughts to think and learn how we rebuild our brains to be calm and content.

Nurture New Thoughts

Train and Practice

Great. We know what to do! But how will this be any different from every resolution I've ever made?

How do we consistently and successfully live it out?

We will learn how to build new lifestyle habits that will last. We will set sail for our new destination of being content.

Train and Practice

Every section page will eventually include:

A Snapshot version (A very short version)
A video lesson (The recorded lesson by author)
A Portrait version (The extended written version)
An outline and resources to use in teaching situations.

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