A mindset is not fixed — it’s formed.

This is a core teaching episode where we go deep so you can be fully supported in the application that follows.

In this episode, we move beyond surface-level thought management and uncover the identity-level mindsets that keep many believers stuck. You’ll learn how toxic thinking patterns are formed, how they become wired into the brain through repetition, and why awareness alone does not create lasting change.

Rooted in 2 Corinthians 10:5 and supported by neuroscience, we lay the theological and neurological foundation for true mind renewal. You’ll understand what it really means to take thoughts captive, how your spiritual “benefits package” in Christ is already yours, and why renewing your mind requires intentional participation.

This episode builds the framework. Episode 38 walks you through applying it in real time using Catch–Shift–Thank–Release (CSTR).

• A thought is momentary; a mindset is a repeated pattern that becomes a lived way of showing up.
• Mindsets are learned — which means they can be unlearned and rewired.
• Neuroplasticity explains why repeated thoughts strengthen neural pathways and begin to feel automatic.
• Salvation makes your spirit new instantly, but mind renewal is the ongoing process of aligning your soul (mind, will, emotions) with God’s truth.
• 2 Corinthians 10:5 is action language: identify the wrong thought, arrest it, and bring it under Christ’s authority.
• Your “benefits package” in Christ includes identity, peace, authority, purpose, and the Holy Spirit — but your mind must be renewed to consistently receive and live from it.

Many believers aren’t stuck because they lack faith. They’re stuck because an identity-level mindset is still running the show.

Heaven says yes. But the soul often says not yet.

Mind renewal is how your thinking begins to agree with what heaven has already declared — so you can live from your inheritance instead of striving for what God already provided.

In this episode, you’re introduced to Catch–Shift–Thank–Release (CSTR) as a framework for mindset-level transformation.

CSTR is not about managing one negative thought. It is a structured way to identify the deeper identity agreement driving your reactions, shift into Scripture-aligned truth, reinforce gratitude, and surrender old patterns.

This tool helps you interrupt toxic thinking at the root, align your mind with your spiritual inheritance, and strengthen new neural pathways through repetition.

Download the companion handout and become familiar with the process. The more comfortable you are with CSTR now, the deeper you’ll go in Episode 38, where we walk through a real-time mindset reset together.

DOWNLOAD ➡️ CSTR: Taking Mindsets Captive

• 💰SPECIAL DISCOUNT on Dr. Caroline Leaf's 21-Day Brain Detox Course Use BRENDA50 for $50 OFF
• 📬 Join the Day One of Sobriety Insiders to receive the weekly email newsletter!
• 💬 Mind Renewal Solutions Made Simple Facebook Community–Engage with other Overcomers and access all episode resources.
• 📝 Explore the Day One of Sobriety Blog for more encouragement.
• 👥 Go Deeper with 1:1 coaching support! Get the details ▶️ Mind Renewal Coaching.

📧 Email: brenda@day1ofsobriety.org

📘 Facebook: @day1ofsobriety

📷 Instagram: @day1ofsobriety

The Day One of Sobriety podcast is for educational and spiritual growth purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, please seek help from a licensed mental health professional.

In this Application Episode, we move from understanding to practice. Many believers begin to notice unhelpful thought patterns after learning about mind renewal — but then feel unsure what to do next. This episode gently guides you through the how of awareness, helping you identify the mindset lenses that have been shaping your thoughts, emotions, and reactions, often without conscious awareness.

Rather than rushing to fix or change anything, this episode slows the process down. Through nervous system regulation, intentional pauses, and a Positive and Negative Mindset Inventory, you are invited to observe your patterns with curiosity and compassion. This approach honors how God designed both the brain and the soul to heal — through safety, awareness, and truth.

Blending neuroscience and Scripture, this episode reinforces that mind renewal is not about effort or performance, but about partnership with the Holy Spirit as He brings clarity, conviction, and transformation over time.

• Awareness is the foundation of lasting transformation
• Mindsets are learned patterns, not character flaws
• Multiple mindsets often operate at the same time, creating an overall lens
• What you notice most often reveals where renewal is needed most
• God invites observation before correction

Many believers feel discouraged when they understand truth intellectually but still struggle emotionally or behaviorally. This gap is not a spiritual failure — it is often the result of automatic thought patterns that have not yet been brought into the light.

Learning how to identify your dominant mindset lens removes shame and restores hope. When awareness increases, choice expands — and transformation becomes possible.

In this Application Episode, listeners are invited to actively engage with the Positive and Negative Mindset Inventory introduced in this episode.

This guide is designed to help you:

• Notice which mindset patterns show up most frequently
• Begin to see whether your overall lens tends to lean positive or negative
• Observe which mindsets are situational and which feel more familiar or automatic
• Practice awareness with curiosity, grace, and no pressure to change

The inventory is not meant to label or diagnose you. It is a tool to help you see clearly — so renewal can happen gently and intentionally. DOWNLOAD ➡️ Mindset Inventory

• 📘 Tools for Mind Renewal eBook, 2025 Edition -- Book Excerpt
• 💰eBook discount when you leave a podcast review! It helps others find the podcast and join us on the healing journey (Romans 12:2). Send Brenda a copy or pic of the review to info@day1ofsobriety.org. As a special thank you gift, she’ll send you a Coupon Code to purchase the 80+ Tools for Mind Renewal eBook for only $20 (save $17!)
• 📬 Join the Day One of Sobriety Insiders to receive the weekly email newsletter!
• 💬 Mind Renewal Solutions Made Simple Facebook Community–Engage with other Overcomers and access all episode resources.
• 📝 Explore the Day One of Sobriety Blog for more encouragement.
• 👥 Go Deeper with 1:1 coaching support! Get the details ▶️ Mind Renewal Coaching.

📧 Email: brenda@day1ofsobriety.org

📘 Facebook: @day1ofsobriety

📷 Instagram: @day1ofsobriety

The Day One of Sobriety podcast is for educational and spiritual growth purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, please seek help from a licensed mental health professional.

Many believers love God deeply — yet still feel stuck in old patterns of thinking, reacting, and coping. In this Core Episode, we explore a disconnect many believers experience but rarely talk about: salvation is complete, yet transformation often feels slow.

Scripture tells us that in Christ we are a new creation — our spirit is made new in a moment. But our soul — our mind, will, and emotions — must be renewed over time. That renewal process is where many of us get stuck, not because we lack faith, but because of the mindsets we’ve learned and carried with us.

Blending Scripture and neuroscience, this teaching reframes renewal as a grace‑filled process rather than a performance‑based one and invites you to begin noticing the lens you’ve been living through.

• Salvation makes you new instantly, but mind renewal is a process that unfolds over time
• Mindsets are learned patterns — not moral failures — and they quietly shape identity and behavior
• Knowing truth is not the same as living free when mindsets remain unexamined
• Limiting mindsets can block our ability to receive what God has already given us at salvation
• Awareness, not willpower, is the starting point for lasting transformation

When salvation and lived experience feel disconnected, many believers assume something is wrong with them. In reality, the issue is often unrenewed thinking — not lack of faith.

Understanding how mindsets form and how God designed the brain to change removes shame and restores hope. Mind renewal allows us to align our thoughts with truth so we can walk in peace, freedom, healing, and wholeness.

Because this is a Core Episode, listeners are provided with a Reflection Guide, designed to help you review and digest the content of this episode and prepare your heart and mind for application in the next episode.

The Reflection Guide is not meant to fix or diagnose you. It is designed to help you slow down, become familiar with mindset language, and gently notice the lens you may have been living through.

Inside the Reflection Guide, you’ll find:

• Clear references to the biblical and neuroscience principles taught in this episode
• A simple rhythm of pause, prayer, and awareness to support safe reflection
• Mindset language lists to help you notice patterns without judgment
• Reflection questions that prepare you for deeper application in the next episode

DOWNLOAD ➡️ Reflection Guide

• 📘 Tools for Mind Renewal eBook, 2025 Edition -- Book Excerpt
• 💰eBook discount when you leave a podcast review! It helps others find the podcast and join us on the healing journey (Romans 12:2). Send Brenda a copy or pic of the review to info@day1ofsobriety.org. As a special thank you gift, she’ll send you a Coupon Code to purchase the 80+ Tools for Mind Renewal eBook for only $20 (save $17!)
• 📬 Join the Day One of Sobriety Insiders to receive the weekly email newsletter!
• 💬 Mind Renewal Solutions Made Simple Facebook Community–Engage with other Overcomers and access all episode resources.
• 📝 Explore the Day One of Sobriety Blog for more encouragement.
• 👥 Go Deeper with 1:1 coaching support! Get the details ▶️ Mind Renewal Coaching.

📧 Email: brenda@day1ofsobriety.org

📘 Facebook: @day1ofsobriety

📷 Instagram: @day1ofsobriety

The Day One of Sobriety podcast is for educational and spiritual growth purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional therapy, counseling, or medical treatment. If you are experiencing significant emotional distress, please seek help from a licensed mental health professional.