The Importance Of A Positive Mind For Good Health

The body can be compared to a car in the sense that it requires regular maintenance, servicing, good fuel and care to operate optimally and survive the bumps and unpredictable turns that the journey of life can take us through. Imagine if we tried to go about our lives driving a car around without a stable foundation…with one wheel missing, it would be an unbalanced and uncomfortable ride, to say the least! Likewise, if our bodies don’t have a solid foundation, we’re not giving our bodies a fair chance to run to full capacity…driving us toward happiness and health!

I believe that a positive mental attitude is the best foundation for optimal health. Your habitual thoughts and emotions can greatly influence your level of health and the quality of your life. But let’s face it; life is full of events that are beyond our control. However, we do have control over how we respond to these events. Our attitude goes a long way in determining how we firstly view an event and then secondly, how we respond to all of the challenges of life. In general, adopting a positive mental attitude where you can, will be more beneficial to your well-being than having a predominantly pessimistic view. Obviously, we can’t all be positive and “up” all the time, but it is about being conscious about our mindset and its impact on our well-being and energy that is a good place to start seeing how it can change how you feel.

If you are a pessimist, learning how to be optimistic is important. Studies have shown that optimists are healthier and happier and that they enjoy life at a much higher level than pessimists do. Learning to be optimistic means getting in the habit of thinking with a positive attitude. Our attitude is just like our physical body, in that it requires constant conditioning to stay fit. Just as you won’t find yourself in peak physical condition after just sporadic exercise sessions, positive thinking will take training and persistence.

Positive affirmations can make changes in the subconscious mind to create a healthy, positive self-image and existence. A health-related example is ‘Every Cell in my body vibrates with energy and health’. By consistently repeating positive affirmations to yourself (ideally by implementing them into a morning routine), you can then create positive subconscious thoughts. These new, productive thoughts will then hopefully replay automatically throughout your life and each time they replay, they’ll reinforce the new positive inner-image you have of yourself and your life in general. By replacing old, negative thinking with positive subconscious thoughts, you’ll be able to create a new, positive reality for yourself.

Now for my all-time favourite tool to harness the power of positivity – laughter. I live to laugh. Whether a good giggle or a full-throttle laugh, the kind where tears are rolling down your face and maybe even the odd snort escapes as you can’t control the emotion engulfing you. I remember when I was bedridden for years with an illness during my teens, and a good friend of mine would come and sit on my bed and chat away, and she’d always get a chuckle out of me. Despite being otherwise devoid of energy when she left, Mum would always say that I had more colour in my otherwise ashen face and a ‘sparkle in my eye’. That’s when I first started giving meaning to the term ‘Laughter is the best medicine…’

By laughing frequently and taking a lighter view of life, you’ll find that life is much more enjoyable and fun. Recent medical research confirms that laughter;

• Improves the immune system
• Enhances blood flow and improves cardiovascular function
• Releases natural mood-elevating and pain-killing chemicals (‘happy hormones’)
• Improves the transfer of oxygen and nutrients to internal organs

Surround yourself with people who make you happy, comfortable, and confident. They’ll be the ones you have the best laughs with, and when you are comfortable, you don’t have to take yourself so seriously, and you can often open up to even have a laugh at yourself.

While the reality is that life isn’t always one big laugh, we should remember that it’s not what happens in our lives that determines our direction; it’s our response to the challenges that shape the quality of our lives. Hardship, heartbreak, disappointments, and failures are often the fuel for happiness, compassion, and success.

Build on the positive foundations of the most powerful vehicle you will ever own…yourself…and you’ll open up new avenues as you embark on a healthy and smooth road to wellness.