If It’s Important, Write It Down And Repeat It Until It Changes You

May 15, 2018

There is power in repetition! Because of how the brain works, if something is truly important, it must be repeated until it changes you. How many times have you heard something really important in a sermon, in a book, in a conversation… and then you forgot about it and went on your way unchanged? But if you capture things that you think are truly important and repeat them over and over, the brain begins to change in important ways to give you “ownership” of that important truth. In addition, the brain's Reticular Activating System will also search out and identify additional truth that will help you live out that very important truth in increasingly powerful ways. For example! I remember reading the Dallas Willard quote: "The main thing God gets out of your life is the person you become; the main thing you get out of your life is the person you become." I thought to myself, “Oh, man… is that ever important! I need to 'own' that.” So I wrote it down. Then, later, I added: Therefore, I am committed to becoming the most I can become, in God’s eyes, before I die. I determined that if I could become all that God wanted of me, I would automatically do anything God wanted me to do. So, I have this affirmation written down and review it daily: The main thing God gets out of my life is the person I become; the main thing I get out of my life is the person I become. Therefore, I am committed to becoming the most I can become, in God’s eyes, before I die. I would say that that is now my life purpose… it’s the thing that holds me on track from day to day, from tedium to tedium or crisis to crisis. It is the thing that keeps me focused on being faithful to what God has given me to do, even when it is something I don’t like or takes longer than I want. After all, it is the negative things that God typically uses to make us more like Him (James 1:2-4). Being committed to achieving our God-given potential in this way is consistent with Scripture:

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18
“Grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ. “ Ephesians 4:15
“Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” 1 Timothy 4:7
“Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things… Therefore… I discipline my body and make it my slave. 1 Corinthians 9:25, 27

Then, after writing down that affirmation, my Reticular Activating System flagged this C. S. Lewis quote as "IMPORTANT" because it supported the idea of focusing on achieving my God-given potential: “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. [Great Christians of old] left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”; aim at earth and you will get neither.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 118) In reading this, I thought to myself, “As I focus on becoming the most I can become in God’s eyes before I die, I am ‘aiming at heaven,’ and I will get earth thrown in.” I have been reviewing that affirmation for some years now, and its power to guide and accelerate my spiritual progress continues to increase. You can multiply the power! That is just one example of the power of writing down things that are very important and repeating them until they change you. You can multiply the power of the principle by multiplying the number of things you write down and repeat until they change you. I have done some reading and learned that some people find it helpful to have just a few affirmations written out fairly completely, while others find it more helpful to have more affirmations written out very succinctly. I have about 25 (the maximum my brain wants to handle) written out succinctly. I have reviewed them, on average, once a day for years. It has been one of the most powerful spiritual disciplines I have ever exercised. Conclusion When you hear something that seems really important, don’t let it pass. Write it down. Then repeat it until it changes you. Don’t worry about trying to find the "right" things to write down... or trying to find equal meaning in something someone else thinks is important. Write down the things that you think are important! And don’t start with 25. Start with one! Or however many come naturally to you. The next time you hear something that seems extremely important, write it down and review it daily. Your list can change as you add and subtract things that “hit” you. As you do, the Holy Spirit will guide you, illumine your mind to truth, and change you in ways you are not likely to change otherwise. If you haven’t downloaded it already, I’ve created a 15 minute video with some tips on not merely knowing verses from the Bible, but on repeating them until they change you. You can still get that video for free here: Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You.

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