Tag Archives: red light thinking

Removing the I Can’t From Your Vocabulary

While attending a youth ministry trade school in Minnesota, I was first introduced to the term “red light thinking.”  Growing up everyone hears the words I can’t.  This may be spoken by adults, siblings or teachers.  Whom ever spouts out this expression is suggesting that you can’t accomplish what you hope for, think about and want.  Anyone who begins to believe this will be limited in what you accomplish in life.

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” Matthew 19:26.

To combat red think thinking I was trained to practice a simple exercise.  After you have taken an assessment of a dilemma, problem or situation, spend any where between five to fifteen minutes to write down as many possible solutions as possible.  This time involves a collection of ideas without rejection, known as green light thinking.  When every angle is considered, then you can go back and scrutinize the unrealistic.

For nothing will be impossible with God, Luke 1:37.

The older I become, the crueler and harsher critics get.  Subsequently, the young, adolescents and adults are bombarded with daily chants of you can’t.  Debbie downers and negative Norman’s pound away dramatically impacting self-esteem.  Instead of facing a world full of challenges with hope, individuals struggle to believe in their dreams.  If this mindset is not stopped, spirits of doubt will eliminate the American dream.  May prayer, a supporting church and voices of optimism propel the hopeless toward a sense of with God I can.

by Jay Mankus