Did you know that what you think directly affects how you feel?
The concept of a mind-body connection is mind boggling, but study after study proves it is so. Researchers not only say that positive thinking and optimism improve specific aspects of your health, but they also improve overall health.
These studies indicate that optimism results in stronger, healthier relationships and better physical, emotional, and mental health.
It is no secret among numerous researches that your perceptions affect your mind and that your mind influences what happens in your body. Study after study show that people with a more positive mentality have healthier physical and mental health compared to those with a more negative mentality.
Perception is a very personal thing. Two people can view the same thing very differently. An optimist can find an unseen benefit or a silver lining even in the darkest of matters, while a pessimist can find a negative in the most positive situation.
How does this happen? It has everything to do with how you perceive the world.
Mind Over Matter
When unexpected or otherwise significant things happen in our lives, we typically have a gut reaction. This reaction is often full of emotion, whether it is anger or joy or sadness or disbelief. We often do not realize that our perceptions affect this emotional reaction because it is such a natural process.
Significant or unexpected things that could happen include losing your job, receiving a promotion, watching your child pack up and move away to college, encountering financial problems, or having a baby. The list goes on and on.
It seems completely natural and ordinary to feel sad when you lose your job, and there is nothing wrong with that, but if you let that sadness block you from moving forward or dwell in it for an extended period of time, then it negatively affects your health. You can become depressed, anxious, overly stressed, neglect your hygiene, lose, or gain weight, etc.
An optimist will see the job loss as an opportunity for something better, while the pessimist may think it’s the end of the world.
You must be able to overcome negative feelings by focusing on how you can improve your situation. By focusing on the positive, on what you can do for yourself (such as applying for new jobs), or how others can help you, then you can prevent harmful effects to your health.
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How To Change Your Perceptions
How you perceive particular situations in your life, as well as life as a whole, directly affects your emotions, your day-to-day mentality and your health. Start on a path towards a healthier lifestyle by changing the way you perceive things.
1.Seek balance in your life: Rid your life of any instabilities and stressful commitments. You need time to relax and have “me” time. You need to seek peace and balance by maintaining an appropriate work-life balance and taking time for yourself daily.
2. Intentionally say positive things when you have negative thoughts: As soon as something negative floods your mind, immediately say something positive. This both stops the negative thought in its tracks and helps focus your mind on the positive.
3. Develop a resilient mind: Adopt techniques that will help you better cope with unexpected situations and more importantly, overcome those unexpected situations. People with a “can-do” attitude are more resilient to trauma and have more positive perceptions of the world around them.
4. Practice relaxation: You may be surprised by this one, but relaxation helps you to obtain inward peace and balanced emotions, which in turn improves the way you perceive yourself and others.
5. Practice meditation: The meditative state induces peace, clam and clarity of mind. It lets you clear away all the outside noise and focus on your inner self. This practice results in less stress, a more positive outlook, and a simply calmer view of the world. This in turn allows you to better handle day-to-day stresses and pick your battles so to say.
6. Surround yourself with positive people: This is key because when you don’t know how to do something, a role model is your best way to learn. Join a group and get support from a coach so that you can intentionally and regularly share your feelings. They can give valuable feedback or share their own experiences, which in turn help shape your perceptions.Your perceptions affect your thoughts and feelings, which send signals throughout your body, and stress hormones that can affect your health. Your mental, emotional, and physical states are all impacted by these signals.
Unstable nerves do a lot of damage, from mental breakdowns to physical pain. Make an effort to perceive yourself and the world more positively, and you will significantly strengthen your health. There is a silver lining in every cloud, there really is.
[info_box]Improve Your Health And Wellness With Positive Thinking…IT REALLY WORKS! Get your FREE Ebook here: The Power of Positive Thinking for Optimal Health and Wellness [/info_box]
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Jill Celeste
16 Mar 2016Tip #2 – POWERFUL! If everyone did this, the world would be so different. Thank you so much for this wonderful blog post! xoxo
Josee
16 Mar 2016I agree. Intentionally saying positive things when you have negative thoughts would make a tremendous difference in the world.
Reba Linker
16 Mar 2016Great post! I love this: “How you perceive particular situations in your life, as well as life as a whole, directly affects your emotions, your day-to-day mentality and your health. Start on a path towards a healthier lifestyle by changing the way you perceive things.” We may not have total control over what happens, yet we do have so much control over how we RESPOND. Thank you, Reba
Josee
16 Mar 2016So true Reba. How you respond is an important factor to our overall wellbeing.
Andrea
16 Mar 2016I am SO happy that the relationship between mind, body and spirit is making its way into mainstream media, consciousness, and medicine. Thank you for the part you play. xoxo
Josee
16 Mar 2016As am I Andrea. The more people become aware how mind, body and spirit must all be taken care for overall health and wellbeing, the healthier our world will be.
Zeenat
18 Mar 2016I’m all for positive thinking Josee! So this post is my favorite :) All the ways you share to get over a negative mindset are perfect. I especially love : “Intentionally say positive things when you have negative thoughts”…i use it and recommend it all the time.
Much Love,
Z~
Josee
18 Mar 2016Thanks Zeenat. I do the same.
Bonnie Nussbaum
23 Mar 2016I love all the holistic suggestions, Josee! There is so much we can do to improve our own wellbeing and you did a great job of capturing that. And I LOVE the Winston Churchill quote!
Josee
24 Mar 2016Thanks Bonnie. It’s one of my favorites.
Chris
23 Mar 2016Wonderful post. I especially appreciate the recommendation to develop a resilient mind. Life is ever changing and having resilience can help in so many ways. Thank you for sharing.
Josee
24 Mar 2016Ah yes, resiliency – the power or ability to return to the original form. It’s a great way to be.
Joanne Barian
23 Mar 2016Perception is reality
Josee
24 Mar 2016Got that right. :)