Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life

by Craig Groeschel

MORE THAN 500,000 COPIES SOLD! Are your thoughts out of control--just like your life? Do you long to break free from the spiral of destructive thinking? Let God's truth become your battle plan to win the war in your mind! We've all tried to think our way out of bad habits and unhealthy thought patterns, only to find ourselves stuck with an out-of-control mind and off-track daily life. Pastor and New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel understands deeply this daily battle against self-doubt and negative thinking, and in this powerful new book he reveals the strategies he's discovered to change your mind and your life for the long-term. Drawing upon Scripture and the latest findings of brain science, Groeschel lays out practical strategies that will free you from the grip of harmful, destructive thinking and enable you to live the life of joy and peace that God intends you to live. Winning the War in Your Mind will help God has something better for your life than your old ways of thinking. It's time to change your mind so God can change your life.

Genres: Christian, Self Help, Nonfiction, Faith, Christian Living, Psychology, Audiobook

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 16, 2021

About the author

Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of Life.Church, a multisite church with locations throughout the United States and globally at Life.Church Online.

Craig and his wife Amy started Life.Church in a two-car garage in Edmond, Oklahoma in January 1996. While Life.Church has grown over the years, its mission remains the same: to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Today, the church is known for its innovative use of technology to spread the Gospel, launching the first fully digital church experience in 2006 and the most downloaded Bible app in history, YouVersion, in 2008.

As a widely respected leader in the Church, Craig speaks frequently at leadership events and conferences worldwide. He is a New York Times best-selling author with books about topics like dating and marriage, social media, purpose, direction, church leadership, and more. He also hosts the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast, a practical tool to spark new ideas and prompt innovative thinking in leaders at every level within any organization.

Craig and Amy married in 1991 and have six children. They live in Oklahoma where Life.Church began.

Visit www.craiggroeschel.com to be the first to hear about new podcast episodes, books, leadership events, and more.

Reviews

[Zach Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craig does a great job with this book. At times felt a little “self-help”, but this book drips Bible all over. Great concepts and ideas, backed by solid research. Excited about the Appendix of verses he encourages people to memorize to help fight lies. As always, Craig is clear, concise, and compelling.

[Stefanie Sugia · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. What we think shapes who we are."

I've read several books by Craig Groeschel in the past and each one left a lasting impression on me, especially Hope in the Dark . I always enjoyed his writing style because it's easy to read yet also thought-provoking at the same time. I also admire how he's not afraid to be vulnerable in the books that he wrote and shared his personal struggles that readers can relate to. So when it was announced that he will be publishing a new book, I immediately put it on my to-read list. I was also intrigued by the title of this book, because there are times when it's really difficult to change our way of thinking or to break a bad habit that has become a part of our lives for a long time.

This book is divided into 4 parts: the first one encouraged us to examine our thoughts and identify the lies that we've come to believe, next we are guided to understand how our brain works and how to rewire it. The third one, we start to learn how reframe our thinking; and lastly identify our mental triggers and overcome them through prayer and praise. At the end of each chapter, there's an exercise page which includes a short summary and a series of questions to help us reflect—so we can immediately put into practice the strategies that we just learned. The questions in these exercises prompted me to examine what I usually think about and work on replacing the negative thoughts with God's truth.

"You cannot change what you do not confront. If you ignore the battle, you lose the battle."

I certainly learned a lot from this book and I'll be sharing a few of my favorites so that you can have an idea what this book talks about. The first one is about cognitive bias, which is a term that refers to a standardized, consistent pattern of deviating from reality in how we see and process things. It creates a subjective reality that affects how we respond and behave. Craig Groeschel gives some great examples that makes it easier to understand. One of the example is when a boss gives the same feedback in the same way to two employees. One receives it as fair, constructive criticism; while the other person is totally offended. The difference between these two is cognitive bias. We are encouraged to analyze and identify the root problem that causes our cognitive bias. It is crucial to do so because a lie believed as truth will affect our lives as if it were true.

"An old quote states, "Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny." The journey to your destiny starts with your thoughts. The right thoughts lead to the right life. Automatically."

No matter how hard we try, we cannot control what's happened in the past or what will happen in the future, but what we can control is how we perceive it. Social psychologists call it cognitive reframing, which will be helpful to encounter cognitive bias. One of my favorite chapters in this book is titled 'What God Didn't Do', which guides us to reframe our past. As Craig Groeschel states, this is the shortest chapter in the book but it might be one of the most powerful—which I completely agree. I relate so much to the part that says 'I am so thankful for what God didn't do in my life'. When I was going through it in the past, it was definitely not pleasant. Now I am able to look back and see God's divine protection over my life and I have to agree that His plans are always better than mine. Sometimes we need to thank God for what he didn't do. Developing that discipline helps us reframe our past and see it from God's perspective instead of ours.

There are many more practical strategies from this book that have inspired and encouraged me to start changing my perspective which will renew my thoughts. I am reminded that when we continue to look for God's goodness, we will always see it regardless of the situation we're in. In the last few chapters, Craig Groeschel emphasized on the importance of prayer and praise, because doing so will also change us, our perspective, and our brain as well. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish and appreciate how practical it is. It's amazing how the writer digs deep into God's Word and also use science to support what the Bible says. Now all I need to do is intentionally practice what I've learned from this book and start winning the war in my mind 😉.

"If you look for what's bad, you will find the bad. If you look for what's negative, you will find plenty to be negative about. If you look for things to be critical of, there is always going to be something to criticize.
On the other hand, if you look for God's goodness, you will see it. You'll start seeing his fingerprints and occasionally feel like he's winking at you. As you pay attention to how God is working, you will also find yourself seeing the good in people. This practice will change your relationships. Your attitude will be transformed, and the right attitude always precedes the right actions."

Read my full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2021/0...

[Jody Hedlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Super practical! Highly recommend!

[Peivand · Rating 4 out of 5]

نقطه قوت کتاب اینه که دعوتش به مثبت نگری و آرامش از روی کلیشه ها نیست ، حقایق علمی و تحقیقات مدرنی رو شاهد میگیره که کاملا علمی و مبتنی بر شواهد انجام شدن
برای مثال یک جمله از کتاب رو نقل میکنم :
«با روشهای اسکن مغزی و f MRI مشخص شده که دوازده دقیقه دعای متمرکز در روز ، در یک دوره هشت هفته ای ، می تواند مغز را به قدری تغییر دهد که با اسکن قابل اندازه گیری است»
«دکتر نیوبرگ ثابت کرده که ستایش ‌و شکر کردن خدا باعث تغییرات قابل اندازه گیری در حجم و متابولیسم قشر سینگولیت در مغز می شود . ظاهرا افزایش حجم قشر سینگولیت منجر به افزایش ظرفیت مغزبرای فکر کردن و احساس همدردی می شود
»

در کل با کتاب حال کردم و درک ارتباط دعا و توکل روی بخشهای آمیگدال، قشر فرونتال و سینگولیت واقعا برام شیرین و قابل تامل بود 😍✌️

[Bradley Somers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Winning the Battle for Your Mind tries to wed Theology with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The author attempts to do this through a tone of motivational speaking. The greatest value of this book is several of the self-analysis questions. In the end the book is full of self help pop-theology and pop-psychology. The offering ends up being a lite version of both of these; be positive, God will make you feel more like a winner as you work harder at doing better. The only way to do this is to take scripture out of its proper context. There are much better offerings for the spiritual fight of the mind out there than this one.

[Gabrielė Bužinskaitė · Rating 2 out of 5]

“You cannot change what you do not confront. If you ignore the battle, you lose the battle.”

Although promising at the beginning, the book did not live up to my expectations.

The author claims to have a method of decluttering your mind that relies on modern science (cognitive behavioural therapy) and old wisdom (the Bible). Even if these two can go together nicely, it eventually ties down to trusting God and eliminating negative thoughts by embracing wishful and positive thinking.

I see how it can work for some people, but this approach is not for me.

[Amanda NEVER MANDY · Rating 2 out of 5]

Analyzing the bookshelves in my home is like an archeology dig into our family’s past. What I have discovered is that you can see a person’s life changes visible in their reading preferences.

ME: What once was a couple of shelves that mostly contained Stephen King mixed with a few classic favorites has expanded to multiple shelves of pretty much the same.

MY GIRLS: What once was four shelves of picture books changed to middle school aged reading, and then decreased to a half shelf of the favorite books mom and dad once read to them. It wasn’t that their reading stopped but that they wanted to take their young adult books to the privacy of their bedrooms where mom and dad are not allowed to venture.

MY HUSBAND: What once was a shelf of outdated sports related books changed into a bursting at the seams bookcase full of the latest and greatest coaching and team building books. It wasn’t that he didn’t read a lot before but that he began the process of refining a career and pursuing a passion to its fullest.

That is a very large amount of backstory to get to my main point which is that change happens. I could see a lot of change on the shelves of my loved ones but not much on mine. I picked this book up thinking it would be an interesting way to investigate my supposed stagnant shelf situation further. I promised myself that I would go into the read with an open mind and actually give the advice a fair shake, which I did. At the completion of the book, I realized that my shelf had actually changed over the years and that I needed to stop being so damn critical of myself.

Did the detailed steps for change given in the book get me there? NOPE

What did get me there was seeing the author be way too hard on himself at various points in his life which duh, was exactly what I was doing to myself.

The book contained very basic self-improvement concepts presented from a religious viewpoint. The core of it was a lot of stuff I have heard many times before in various formats. It wasn’t the worst version of it, but it wasn’t the best either.

Two stars to a mediocre read.

[Asher Bueno · Rating 2 out of 5]

An exemplary book when the author fails to cohesively back up scientific facts with biblical truths. It’s quite disappointing that the author required to misappropriate biblical text to support his claims. This book does not even scratch the surface of psychology when it comes to cognitive topics.

It also fails to be a Christian book as the author horrendously uses biblical text and stories out of context and failed to exegete the Bible in the correct manner.

Nonetheless, if you want your ears to be tickled. This is the book for you. This book will definitely give you hope and at the same time it will condemn you and it will be your fault.

[Joshua James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

Craig, you really hit it out of the park with this one!!

I love how you go into a fairly in-depth scientific explanation and then follow it up with, basically:

- I have no idea what any of that meant, but here's how we can apply it to our lives. 😀

Again, awesome book, brother!

[Donna Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very encouraging book for Christians to change their thinking from negative to positive. Not necessarily earth-shattering, but very uplifting.

[Melanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think because I’ve read a lot of personal growth books, grew up in a Christian home, have a strong relationship with Jesus, have been in church leadership for 2/3’s of my life, and an enneagram 8, I didn’t find much new here. I’m going to guess I’m not the target audience. 😂

I think there are good reminders in these pages. And likely some good lessons to take home for those who struggle in areas of worry and anxiety.

Craig is a pretty solid teacher overall. One little thing I need to push back on is in an example he talks about noticing a woman as a sin. Can we please all stop calling the noticing of women sin? It’s not the same as lust. If men stop noticing my presence, if they remove women from their life for fear of sinning we all lose. Please let me be in the room. I promise I’m not a temptress just because God made me female. And though I don’t think that’s at all what Craig meant to imply, every time we repeat lies we start believing them as truth (hey! He covered that in this book!).

[Cannon McClain · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book claims to be for Christians and non-Christians alike. Hint: it's not. At all. It's a glorified church sermon. This on its own is not the problem. Unfortunately, this book falls into the trap that many other Christian books do. It is full of "let God be your strength when you are weak," "be thankful that God has a plan for you," and countless other sentences that ultimately mean absolutely nothing. Overall, the actual, actionable advice given can be summarized in two sentences: A lie believed as truth will affect your life as if it were true. You can't control what happens to you, but you can control how you frame it. Congratulations. You have just read every piece of useful advice that this book has to offer. If you like to hear "God loves you," "praise God," "put your trust in God," "God put you here for a reason" over and over again, you will love this book. Otherwise, if you want a book that will change your life in the slightest, you won't find it here.

[Becca Langbehn · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was the first book in a long time that I did not finish. I loved the idea of it. However, the practice felt "try harder". It felt like a self help book with verses scattered throughout the text. Craig made it seem that if you couldn't overcome the lies, then you didn't try hard enough and you should simply try harder and make more lists. He didn't leave much room for God. He didn't even mention praying about it until the 5th exercise. I would not recommend this to anyone.

[John Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the right book at the right time for me!

I appreciated the author’s transparency, and that made his writings credible. This will be a reread book.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! It’s exactly what I needed to hear and I liked his analogies. Plus, his relationship with money is very similar to mine, so hearing how working through those financial perspectives will allow you to give more generously was motivational.

[Isobel Middlebrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

helpful ways to shift negative thoughts into true and biblical ones!

[Jessica Sarbu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The devil attacks right there where we are the weakest, he tries to put thoughts of doubt in our mind or make us believe false ideas (usually sugar coated, like they would be the truth). We may create a rut of negative thoughts, but we have to change it by repeating His truth to ourselves. We can rewire our brain by praying, praising Him, declaring His Word.

Amazing book and greatly written! Learned how important it is to declare God's truth over my life and renew my mind everyday. It's a daily battle, we may stumble and fall, but with God we can get back up, get stronger in faith and praise Him for who He is and what He has done for us!

A must read book!

[Michael Willcox · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just listened to Craig Groeschel read a book written by Craig Groeschel about Craig Groeschel thinking about Craig Groeschel. And there were a few cute stories and he quoted some bible verses. Life is too short for this stuff. Not void of value, but could have been so much more than the surface skimming.

[Toni Parvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts.”

That line alone made the entire book worth reading. I’ve been thinking about the effects of what we think about and how it impacts our day to day lives.

[Cieńka_zapałka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takiej książki się kompletnie nie spodziewałam. Jestem miło zaskoczona.

[Heef · Rating 5 out of 5]

About to immediately re-read it

[QuestBoundReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

my rating: 5/5

Hey friends, I know this is a different style of book compared to what you see me review, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Aside from the Bible, I have only ever read few books on Christ. Craig does a fantastic job about integrating the teachings of Christ with modern psychology and combines it into this gem of a book. What originally led me search for this type of book was, I think a long list of darker fantasy books that I was reading which on a side note, affected my mental health more than I care to share. This was just the book I needed to get back on track with my normal state of mind. That's a lie, ok it started with this book and eventually led to lots and lots of prayer, which honestly helps more than you can imagine.

If you are in a rut and need some guidance back to Christ or if you feel like you are losing a mental struggle with yourself, then I highly encourage you to read this book. It might not be for everyone, but if it helps you, then I'm glad I recommended it.

I wont get into to heavy details on what the book is about, but I will say that it will guide you through 4 ways to restructure your brain to change your thinking from what the enemy want you to think, to what Christ has already freed you from. Also, I would encourage you to do the exercises following most of the chapters.

Stay safe friends, I hope to catch you on the next one!

[Ryan Rench · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book, and I can see why many might use it for a small groups curriculum. There was a bit of the think-your-way-to-success mentality present, but it didn't border on any Eastern Mysticism stuff. Just out of the box of my traditional thinking, and a few red flags that I have to chew on a bit.

I have read several secular authors who talk about the same things that Groeschel mentions about the brain, and there are compelling cases for how we rewire our brains based on what we think about. Plus, his personal experience as a chronic over-thinker led to a two-year study on the topic that obviously means he's had more personal experience thinking through the nuances. But there were still aspects of it that were less than convincing.

Still, being renewed in our mind is a great deal of what makes us grow spiritually, and I appreciate anyone who's emphasizing purity and clarity of mind. I might use some of this in a lesson series in the future, but it won't be a huge go-to book for me.

[Mindy Tharnish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book by Craig. He presents the material in this book very plainly and provides clear next steps for the reader. This book is filled with lots of scripture and lots of science about our minds. He brings both sides together well. My only wish is that I would have read the paper copy of this book so I could do the worksheets right away (I listened to the audiobook). If you listen like me be sure to get the free worksheet download to go along with the book. It’s full of practical tools that really enhance the material of the book.

[Julia Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great tips!!! Creating new neuro pathways in our mind can be done with careful and focused work. I love how he incorporates his faith and testimony with anxiety as well!!

[Ashley Provencher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! Pastor Craig is a great writer! “Replace the lies you believe with God’s unchanging truth. Change your thinking. And let God change your life”

[Stephany Parkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Proverbs 23:7, “as a man thinketh. . .”, and Philippians 4:8 are life verses for me. How we think and how what we allow our mind to dwell on affects EVERYTHING. I read a book years ago entitled, “The Battlefield of the Mind”. I would say this is a more practical (Greg Groeschel style) version of that book. What we allow of our minds to sweep in and the power of how we think is huge.

[Brian Austgen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was painful to read, but it was heavily recommended to me so I decided to finish it.

Ultimately, this book confuses proven techniques of cognitive behavioral therapy and convolutes them with the author’s hyper-specific worldview. Instead of promoting mindfulness, the author advocates repeating something to yourself until you believe it. Instead of encouraging a mental attitude of learning and curiosity, he promotes the idea of adoption through repetition, which is really just indoctrination through choosing your own propaganda. If you don’t closely align with the author’s viewpoints, sorting out the good in this book would be quite tedious.

Every topic in this book is polarized. This weak approach for explaining things that have complexities completely misses the nuances key to developing our thoughts towards truth.

The author talks about the concepts of catastrophizing, distorted thoughts, and cognitive restructuring but alters each one enough to direct the attention towards God and a relationship with him. This is unempowering to the individual. Furthermore, these concepts aren’t complete without the supporting ideas of emotion regulation and communication.

Lastly, the author misrepresents falsehoods as facts, despite talking throughout the book of how he believes our untruthful thoughts hurt us and his recommendations for how to change them. This leads to his misunderstandings around key topics like meditation (why it is beneficial or not).

Here are a few recommendations of books I believe do a better job of helping the reader improve their thought patterns:
1. Atlas of the Heart by Brene Brown.
2. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt
3. Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant

[Julia King · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve become pretty critical when it comes to Christian-y self-help books. Many times I find that they reference the gospel, or a very selective/out-of-context verse in scripture, and then use that to justify the principles set forth to change your life. Often these books try to add to the Gospel with a “God helps those who help themselves” theology. I’d like to think the author intended to reach a broad audience, believers and non-believers alike, but in doing so trailed off from solid theology and view of Christ. The last sentence in the summary sums it up well “time to change your mind so God can change you life.” I think it was well meant, but in a backward way led to another form of….pride?

[Gervais · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t even begin to explain how extraordinary this book is. I whole heartedly believe that if you go slow, work through the exercises, and do some true self reflection that this book could help you fundamentally change your perspective on life. I won’t lie and say that this books is a quick fix, filled with easy ideas. It’s a deep, sometimes ugly, pick yourself up by your boot straps kind of soul work. It’s not easy looking into the deepest darkest corner of your mind, but I believe it’s the kind of work that could truly set a person free.

5 stars. Hands down. Would Recommend to ANYONE!