Billy Madison said that to a rubber toy in the bath. It doesn’t take much to expose our insecurity.

“That person just looked at me funny. I wonder what they’re thinking. Are they talking about me? She hasn’t called me back—she must have chosen sides. They aren’t reaching out—they’ve abandoned me. He didn’t ‘like’ my post—I guess it offended him.”

It’s thoughts like these that fill our brains. Thoughts that are actually assumptions about the thoughts of other people. You get that? They are thoughts about the thoughts of other people that we don’t actually know if they are being thought or not.

Thus, they are figments of our imagination.

The more vibrant your imagination, the more dangerous your thoughts can be.

How much of what you fear is a figment of your imagination? The things that bothering you, even torturing your mind, but not even real. It’s not a fact or event.

How do you know?

Can you take a photo of it? Can you record it—on video or audio?

If yes, it’s real.
If no, it’s not real.

The fear might be true, but it also might not be. Why torture yourself over a “maybe”? Why do that to yourself? You have to live in that head of yours. No one else… just you. But as you’re trying to get into the heads of others you’re making your own brain a living hell.

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” -2 Corinthians 10:5

Take the thought “captive.” Grab it. Evaluate it against the things we’ve said above. Most thoughts are likely nonsense. Just stick with thoughts that align with this:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

It’s simple; not easy. But it’s better this way. One thought… one moment at a time. Over time, we’ll retake our brains. And we’ll just smile at all the swans.