You Can Rewire Your Mind With God’s Help

Feeling stuck in prayer, purpose, or your daily walk with God? Let's change the script. We talk about the trap of a fixed mindset and map a clear path toward a growth mindset that is honest about weakness and bold about progress. You'll hear how humility and persistence fuel fundamental transformation, and why the words "not yet" can reshape your inner world.

We connect the dots between Scripture and science to show how minds actually renew. From Romans 12:2 to research on neuroplasticity and the work of Carol Dweck, we unpack how repeated practice literally rewires the brain. That means your habits in prayer, Scripture memory, and service are not just religious chores; they are the training ground where God partners with your effort to build resilience, focus, and hope. Along the way, we tackle the lies of shame and comparison, replacing "I can't" with "not yet" and letting grace power small, steady steps.

You'll leave with ten practical ways to grow spiritually, including welcoming challenges, cultivating curiosity in the Word, seeking wise feedback, journaling by hand to lock in learning, and setting measurable goals that you can keep. We talk about integrating Scripture into daily choices, visualizing faithful responses before pressure hits, and staying connected to a life-giving church community. Simple acts, done consistently, compound into a flexible mindset and a stronger faith.

If this spoke to you, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the show. Tell us: what's one small habit you'll start this week?

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Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Resilient Solutions Shortcast, Episode 80, From a Fixed Mindset to a Flexible Mindset. Well, hello. My name is John Thurman, and you're listening to my podcast, John Thurman's Resilient Solutions Shortcast, where I help you become more resilient in your personal life, your relationships, and in your faith. And today we're tackling a question that a lot of us may frankly wrestle with from time to time. Do you ever feel stuck in your prayer life or spiritually or emotionally, or even in how you maybe serve in your church or volunteer? Well, over the next few minutes, I want to offer you some hopeful, helpful, practical ways to move forward. Moving out of a fixed mindset into a growth mindset. And this shift in your thinking will not only bless you spiritually, but it can bless you across all sorts of areas in your life. Just depends on your perspective. Well, I am John Thurman. Thanks for joining me. To learn more about me, check out my website at John at JohnTurman.net. And by the way, we'll have show notes and links to some other things that you can do to enhance your developing an open and growth mindset. Let's jump right in today. Maybe sometimes you felt that, maybe about your prayer life or about sharing your faith, doing Bible study and quiet time, scripture memory, some of those normal routines or disciplines we think about. And sometimes you might get caught in this whole stinking, thinking trap that uh maybe I'll just always struggle with this. Maybe I'll never change. Maybe I'll never overcome this hang-up habit or attitude or mindset that I have. I just feel so, so defeated by it. Now I need to tell you something, I need to speak to myself here too. If you get caught in that type of stinking, thinking trap, then you are automatically shutting doors. That's right. You are shutting doors for opportunity and growth, whether it be business life, personal life, professional life, your entrepreneurial life. If you have that kind of mindset that I could never change, but today I'm going to unpack some things that you can use to break out of that stinking-thinking, fixed mindset into a mindset that invites growth and grace and invites the Lord to do great new things in your life and to really help you and I move more towards the lifestyle he's called us to live. But to do that, first of all, we have to talk about some definitions here. And I've written about this several times and I've podcasted about it a few times, and that is understanding the difference between our mindset. And you have one or two types of mindsets. You have a fixed mindset, and this is what a fixed mindset looks like. This fixed mindset says something like, Well, it's just me. I can't pray like that. I'll always fail here. I can't do this because of that. Uh I'm just a loser. I'm not as sure of my salvation. I do need to do better about reading my Bible. Well, yes, to all that you do. But if you stay in that mindset of just, I can't do this, I can't do that, then quite frankly, you're denying the power of God for changing your life. If you believe that I'll always fail here or I'll never get ahead here, that's coming straight out of the pit of hell. And that is a thought that you've allowed to rest in your mind. The good news is you do not have to stay there. It won't be easy to change it, but you can change it. The New Testament book of James warns against double-mindedness, that is, asking God for wisdom, but then doubting He can help you. And it leaves you unstable, leaves your brain unstable, and causes you to doubt and to have that fixed mindset that things will never change. However, if you're stuck, that's not proof you're beyond help. We're never beyond help. It's a sign you just need a different approach. You need a shift in your thinking. And what does that shift need to be towards? Well, towards what we call an open mindset or a growth mindset. And a growth mindset looks like this. A growth mindset says, Not yet, I'm learning. With God's help, I can grow. I haven't arrived yet. I'm not the praying person I need to be. I'm not witnessing like I need to be. I'm not giving like I need to be. I'm not thinking like I need to be becoming these hang-ups and habits and things like that get in the way. But I don't have to stay here. With God's help, I can grow. When you say that, you begin to reframe your brain a little bit. You begin to help your brain begin to think a different direction. And what it means is I reframe mistakes as feedback and trials as training. Rather than being defeated and go, oh man, I'll never get ahead of here. Instead, you go, I got knocked down on that one, made a poor choice, did a face plant. But Paul puts it bluntly in the book of Philippians. But I press on. He said, I don't get stuck in the rear view mirror. I don't get hung up with my past. I get up off my fanny and I move forward. I press on, he says. You see, growth-minded faith isn't pretending to be perfect. If anything, it's an awareness that I am so imperfect that I need help. But what it is, is it's humility plus persistence. Did you get that? Lord, I don't feel like I pray like I need to pray. Help me do that more. Be humble, but be persistent. That's the key to spiritual growth. That's the key to breaking out of that loser stuck mindset, that fixed mindset, into a growth mindset that says, Lord, I've blown this a lot, but I'm willing to learn. And that's really the right attitude to have. We're going to continue to fail on our life from time to time. But the good news is that Jesus loves us, forgives us, not only gives us grace, but gives us power. Now, you need to think about your spiritual growth as a marathon, not a sprint. And in personal growth, lots of times it's slow and steady, uh, going through opportunities, challenges, and just exposing yourself to the word of God and the things of God. Well, let me give you some good news here because there's some great research, recent scientific research, that validates this whole idea. And I love the fact that in my training as a cognitive behavioral therapist and a positive psychology practitioner, one of the things that we've learned about is the power of an open mindset. And uh Dr. Carol Dweck has done some great studies on this. And it really shows us that our brain is rewires itself with practice. A lot of neurological studies, particularly of people who've been through trauma, mention a thing called post-traumatic growth. And they say the key to that post-traumatic growth is what's called as neuroplasticity. And that means that our brains are wired, but they're not set in concrete, that our brains are malleable, they're teachable and trainable, and that the way you rewire your brain is through neuroplasticity. The scripture echoes this in Romans 12, 2, and it says we're to transform our thinking. We're to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And that requires A, the Holy Spirit, but B some work. You just can't take a Bible, put some water on it, rub it on your head, and expect you to get it all by osmosis. But the practical takeaway here is as we use the spiritual disciplines of prayer, scripture memory, being connected in a local by-believing church, with all those things, God gives us the power to literally shape our brains. And we can do it, but it takes work. It takes intentional practice to rewire those habits and those hearts. It takes learning new behaviors. But the neat thing about it is Jesus is in us through the power of the Holy Spirit to do that. And the word of God gives us the principles that we can do that. So let me encourage you, don't give up hope. Acknowledge where you are, but realize you have it with you through the Holy Spirit and through making a few simple adjustments in your thinking, you can open your mind, heart, and spirit up to exciting new things. Well, I'm really excited because in the next few minutes, I'm going to give you 10 ways a growth mindset can enhance your spiritual life. So you're ready? Let's jump into this. Just a reminder, this will be in the show notes. So be sure to click the show notes, or you can find this in the blog, and I'll have links to both of those later on. Well, let's jump at these 10 ways, okay? You ready? Let's go. Just as a reminder, if you look on the blog, you'll see a longer explanation of these with some scriptures. But number one, embrace the process. Growth takes time, so give yourself some grace. I hear people talk about, well, I prayed and this hadn't happened yet. Well, if you've ever gardened or farmed, you know that at least I grew up in the south where you grow a lot of corn and soybeans. That farmer can plant that seed in the ground. He can stand there and say, seed, multiply in the name of Jesus all day long, but it's going to take that seed a while to germinate. And it's like that with faith. So many times in our instant culture, we want things done instantly, instant spiritual growth, instant spiritual maturity. Matter of fact, sometimes instant painless spiritual maturity, that doesn't happen. Just realize it's a process. Growth takes time, and give yourself some grace and give yourself some wiggle room. And if you struggle with that inner perfectionist, just don't listen to it for a while. You'll be okay. Number two, welcome challenges. The book of James, the first chapter, second through fourth verse, say trial builds endurance. Sorry, guys, the only way you grow is with pain and endurance. It's right there. So number two, welcome challenges. Number three, create and cultivate curiosity. One of the fun things about growing as a Christian is being in the Word. And part of spiritual growth and developing that open mindset is to bathe your mind in Scripture. So you want to learn to be a learner of Scripture, not a judge, not someone who just reads it, clicks it off, and checks, and it's done. But you want to be someone who's an active student of scripture. Number four, you want to build resilience. How do you build resilience? Well, you realize that resilience is based on setbacks and failure. Because when we have these setbacks and failures and these opportunities for growth, it causes us to reflect. It causes us to call on Jesus, try on what we understand about Scripture, to pray, but also to take some next steps. And as we take those next steps, we get stronger. The fifth part of spiritual development and growth, the fifth part of developing that open mindset, that teachable mindset, that flexible mindset is to seek feedback. You and I need mentors in our life to speak into us, to encourage us where we're doing things right, and maybe where we need some correction and encouragement. And accountability is a great thing because you have men and women in your life who have your best interests at heart. That they also see some of your blind spots in the places you need help. So be willing to seek feedback. Number six, set growth goals. You say, Well, I have a hard time praying. Well, set a goal. Maybe you set a goal to pray one minute a day. That's better to think about doing it for five minutes. So think about some measurable goals. Turn those vague wishes into habits. Maybe kick up your quiet time in Bible study time a little bit more. Maybe try to go to four days a week out of seven. That's not bad. Maybe spend a little bit more time praying, but smallest tip, you want to make sure you set some growth goals. Make them measurable, make them a little bit stretchy, but not unattainable. Number seven, pray for teachability. If you're hard-headed like I am, if you're a little bit butt-headed from time to time, and you tend to kind of like things your way, it's okay because it's completely all right to ask God to soften your stubborn spots. He has to use a jackhammer on me sometimes because I am that pig headed. Number eight, journal regularly. And I know a lot of people don't do this, but there's so much research that shows that if you write with a pen and paper, uh your thoughts in a journal, maybe your struggles, things you're learning in your quiet time, things that you're learning from sermons and teachings you get that when you actually write it down, it locks it in at a deeper level and you're able to hold on to it. I know so many times we like to do instant everything, uh, but when you go through the physical act of writing those letters out, there's some magic that happens in your brain. You're feeling part of your brain and your thinking part of the brain work better together to help give you peace and solve some issues. Number nine, you want to learn to integrate scripture and practice. Living baby steps. I like the navigator's topical memory system. It's a plan to help you to learn to memorize scripture in a way that you can really hold on to it. And as you hide that word of God in your heart, it helps you become more flexible in your mindset because you actually give the Holy Spirit more data to work with as you hide the word. And 10, and to me, this is really one of the most important parts of all, is stay connected. Community, being tied into a local church, a by-believing church, a if you're in a small group or a small group that is life-giving, not life-sucking, but life-giving, when you do those things, that puts you with other people where you can encourage one another, where you can edify one another, and where you can walk through life together. And even though we are more connected than we've ever been in any time in recorded history, there is an epidemic of loneliness. Now, if you're looking for a perfect church, you're never going to find one. But don't look for a 10 out of 10. Go for a place that seems friendly, it seems connected, and where the word of God is preached. So let me just give you a couple more things to think about. Because many times when you start to look at this, you realize you've got a lot of obstacles and some stinking thinking. So I want to give you some practical things you can do. First of all, remember, shame always whispers, you're hopeless, you're beyond help. How could God use you? You're such a weasel, you're such a horrible person. That's coming straight out of the pit of hell, folks. But if you hear that in your head, name it. Just call it what it is. But then Romans 8.1 cancels condemnation. And I want to pause here for a second because I want you to hear that Bible verse. I want you to listen to it right now. This is what Romans 8 says. Romans 8.1 cancels condemnation. Paul in Romans 8.1 says, so now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Did you hear that? There is absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Comparison steals joy. Focus on your walk. Learn to love Jesus. Learn to be comfortable with Him walking with you. Just remember, comfort zones will keep you small. They'll keep you stuck. What I want you to do is rather than staying stuck, is begin to take some practical steps to move forward to help your mind become more of a flexible growth mindset, a growing mindset, growing spiritually. So let me give you some real practical tips here. Number one, just choose one growth area, maybe prayer, Bible study, fellowshipping, and others, and give it five minutes daily. Just five minutes. This next tip's really important. It's two words that if you can shift the use, it'll change your life. Learn to reframe your language from saying, Well, I can't, to not yet. You hear that? Well, I can't. But not yet. That's the more positive things. That's not condemning yourself in perpetuity to being a loser and not be able to do something. It says that right now, I don't know how, but that doesn't mean it's not going to happen. So that's more of that positive sin, more of a positive mindset. Next, ask a wise friend for a specific tweet this month. Maybe a pastor, a leader, a brother or sister of yours in Christ who's growing and say, hey man, what's thing, what's one thing you're doing to really grow spiritually? The next, this is really important. A lot of people don't do this, but I want to encourage you to do it. Journal weekly and practice spiritual rehearsal. You tend to forget what you don't write down. And what you write down with a pen and paper, you remember better than something that you just load into a device. So write it down in a journal on a piece of paper. And what you'll begin to realize is you'll begin to learn some of these lessons and realize that you want to look at those areas where you have that weakness, maybe that habit, a hang-up, a pattern that's not doing too well that you've given into. And begin to respond to it positively in faith. Begin to choose to go, okay, I'm going to work on this. And begin to visualize yourself getting a victory over that. In the military, we had to do battle drill battle drills, and those battle drills were designed to help you know what to do when conflict comes. And you can do that spiritually. You just have to rehearse. Well, let me begin to wrap up here. It's been a great day being with you today. I want to just really encourage you, pick one thing, one small habit this week. Maybe five minutes of prayer, scripture reading, or reaching out to someone for feedback. Learn to say to yourself, not yet, instead of I can't. Despise not small beginnings because small beginnings matter. Just think about it. If you know anything about the Apostle Peter, he did not have this thing figured out. And if Peter could become a rock of the church despite his stumbles, there's hope for you and I. Well, let me just wrap up with this. If you need more information, check out my website, John at johntherman.net check out my website at johntherman.net, or you can email me personally at john at covertmercy.com. Let me just wrap up today. Let me close with a short prayer. Father, thank you for the work you are doing in all of us. Help us to be teachable, open, patient, and persistent. Give us grace for the smallest steps and the courage to keep pressing on in Jesus' name. Hey, if this episode encourages you, share it with a friend or consider subscribing. My name is John Thurman, and you've been listening to my podcast, John Thurman's Resilient Solutions Shortcast. Take care, God bless, and remember, this is the day that the Lord has made, and I'll make a choice to rejoice and be glad in it.