Mindset Matters: 5 Days of Inspiration for Positive and Optimistic ThinkingSample

Nick Castro, the owner of Nick’s Extreme Pest Control in California, has been in the pest control industry for over 20 years. He has seen many bizarre things in his career, but recently he came across a discovery that left him stunned.

Castro was called to a house to deal with a woodpecker that was causing damage to the siding by storing acorns in holes it created. The bird had stored acorns all over the house, creating clear woodpecker holes everywhere. The bird had destroyed the exterior of the house with the holes it had made.

When he cut into the wall to remove the acorns, he was met with a never-ending stream of acorns pouring out. Acorns were thought to be only about a quarter of the way up the wall. Turned out, they were piled high up in the attic of the house. Acorns went from the lower floor to about 20 feet up into the attic.

Acorns were stored all over the siding and trim. The bird had even put acorns through the chimney stack after making hundreds of holes in the wood siding surrounding it and then it came through the attic ventilation port holes.

Castro opened more holes around the house. He removed the air conditioning vents. And the acorns kept spilling out, the total weight of the acorns was around 700 pounds. There were so many they filled eight large garbage bags.

It’s remarkable that 700 pounds of acorns were inside the walls and ductwork of a home. The homeowners knew there were issues but never considered the house was filled with thousands of unseen acorns.

Proverbs 4:23 tells us, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” What is inside your home? Not the physical one you live in but the one that houses your thoughts. Are your thoughts helping you or hurting you?

Are you thinking, “I’m not good enough,” “I’ll never break this addiction,” “I’ll never see my dreams come true,” “I’ll never get out of debt,” “I’ll never find my soulmate.” You can’t fill your mind with these negative thoughts. They will determine the course of your life.

Maybe you don’t realize how this thinking has filled your mind. The negative is easier to believe than the positive. And negative thinking is contagious. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up anxious, fearful, and worried.

Each day you must think thoughts on purpose. If you don’t control your thinking, negativity will. Have positive, faith-filled, can-do thoughts. Believe what God says, not what you see or feel.