Identifying Counterfeit Thoughts

Counterfeit. According to the dictionary definition, it means something that is made to look like the original of something, usually for fraudulent or illegal purposes. To deceive. To defraud. So counterfeit thoughts are thoughts that seem real and genuine but are actually fraudulent. It came out sounding like the truth but it wasn’t.

My therapist shared a story with me about how bank tellers are able to identify counterfeit money. They stay in a room and count countless bills of real, authentic cash. They do it day in and day out. The purpose of doing this is so that when their hand brushes against a bill that feels different from the rest, they immediately question it. They know that it is counterfeit.

Likewise, we can do the same thing with our thoughts. The brain is programmed to think that both true and false thoughts are the same. I have a difficult time distinguishing between the two, due to a negative bias about a lot of things in my life. It has caused me to experience bouts of depression, which I struggle with a great deal.

The only way to be able to identify counterfeit thoughts is to be so overwhelmed by truthful thoughts that counterfeit thoughts are insanely obvious. Just like bank tellers touch real money day in and day out, we should fill ourselves up with truth day in and day out. That’s what guarding your heart means.

So how do you fill yourself with truth day in and day out in a practical sense?

Well, for one, you have to identify your triggers for dark thoughts and get REALLY honest about them. You’ll need to radically decide what you are willing to have to cut out or fast from in order to determine what is triggering counterfeit thoughts. And yes, it has to be incredibly radical.

And you need to decide, is feeling like THIS worth it? Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out how your life would be if you felt the opposite? Where would you be? How would your life change?

Here are some practical ideas I’m currently working on implementing:

1. Unfollow most people on social media. Like, delete your account if you have to, just cut conversations that you know are leading to counterfeit thoughts. If you care deeply about changing this area, it has to be radical.
2. Moderate your media consumption: delete music, delete books, delete apps and delete shows. Get rid of anything that encourages counterfeit thinking.
3. Avoid lengthy conversations with the wrong people: Set boundaries with people who are leading to more counterfeit thoughts.
4. Replace all these things with content that will increase true thoughts – usually Biblically-based thoughts. You should try it and see what happens.
5. Prayer and Bible study.
6. Church and the Godly community.
7. Write your truth consistently.

It’s through this ruthless elimination, that we can eliminate gateways that feed counterfeit thoughts. We can replace them with so much truth in our life, that we unknowingly just KNOW what is true and what is false. Why not take action on that right now instead of waiting to do so later? If you knew this was the secret to undoing misery in your life, then why not make that change?