It’s so easy to resort to faulty thinking when it comes to our physical appearance. What I discovered about my calves shocked me.

“Don’t you remember when the Roman soldiers came to the door?” I asked my older sister about thirty years ago.

“What?! Roman soldiers? What in the world are you talking about?” she answered.

“You know,” I said, speaking more slowly, wondering at my memory, “Mom would turn the lights off, shut the curtains, and we’d have to be really quiet so the Roman soldiers wouldn’t arrest us.”

My sister burst into laughter. “I remember nap time each afternoon, and Mom turning the lights off and closing the curtains so we’d fall asleep more easily.”

“No,” I insisted. “I distinctly remember knocking at the door, peeking out the window, and seeing Roman soldiers.”

“That’s some crazy faulty thinking,” my sister assured me. The Jehova’s Witnesses or Mormon missionaries would come by every couple of weeks, and Mom always ignored them.”

“Why did I see Roman soldiers?” I wondered.

“Mom always played the Bible in Living Sound records during our nap time,” my sister reminded me. “You must have confused the missionaries at the door with the records.”

I still shake my head at the convoluted thinking five-year-old mind came up with. Not just faulty thinking, but faulty interpretations of events. Even worse, I waited over 20 years to share my ‘memory’ with anyone. For some reason, I thought I had to keep it a secret. Most likely because we were supposed to stay quiet during nap time.

But how often do we have faulty thinking in other, not-so-amusing areas of our lives? I can attest to how easily I fall prey to cognitive distortions in my life. The devil likes to present distortions as the truth in areas we feel most vulnerable. For me, it’s my weight and my overall appearance. For others, it might be something else.

In order to take care of ourselves mentally and emotionally, we need to learn about faulty thinking, also known as cognitive distortions. It’s also helpful to understand the role of emotions in our lives.

Listen to today’s podcast and let me know in the comments section if you’ve ever fallen prey to any of the ten distortions. How have those distortions prevented you from living your best life?

If your struggle with faulty thinking has led you to depression, seek professional help immediately!

This book by Dr. David Burns is easy to read and full of ways to deal with our cognitive distortions: Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy.

Next week I’ll share what I’ve learned about the role of doing brave things in order to take care of myself.

• Welcome to the Inspire Me Monday Community! The link-up opens Sundays at 4 pm, Arizona time.
  
• Link up your family-friendly inspirational posts (no more than two, please).
  
• Visit the person who links up BOTH before you and after you and leave a comment. This helps keep our community vibrant!
  

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!