Several years ago, I was going through a very difficult time in life. I was discouraged and feeling a little hopeless. I had several long talks with my sister, expressing my disappointment, and more than once I expressed my outlook as giving up on everything and joining the Peace Corps. She would immediately stop my tirade and tell me to be careful about what I was saying, because I may just end up doing that exact thing. I thought little about it at the time but have often since then.
We have certain things in life that we cannot control such as illness, death, the family we are born into, earthquakes and other types of experiences or events. We also have things we can influence such as how we respond to situations, which in turn, usually has a reciprocal response. And finally, things that we do control and where our reality begins by how we think about our life and respond with our behavior. This is where you are in total control, as no one can choose your thoughts or actions.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny.”
This is such a strong and true statement. The mind is powerful, but most of the time we don’t pay attention to our thoughts, and we should, especially the beliefs about self. What we think has a direct influence on our behavior. Our thoughts reinforce the beliefs and once we draw conclusions, we continue to strengthen the belief, discount anything that may oppose it, and create a cycle that directly influences how we feel and behave.
These thoughts and beliefs affect our lives in many ways, including careers, activities, and relationships. The mind can do some incredible things, even like shaping our health and well-being.
Stanford assistant professor of psychology, Alia Crum said, “Our minds aren’t passive observers, simply perceiving reality as it is. Our minds actually change reality.” Crum, and other Stanford researchers are connecting medicine, psychology, education, business and more, to understand not just what our minds can do, but also how they do it.
Here are a few of findings these studies have found and how we may just want to pay more attention to our thoughts.
Scientists have used placebos in studies for years and have seen how the mind shapes reality if people believe they are being treated for a disease. But these studies also found the placebo had underlying mindsets that create other effects on health such as reducing anxiety and blood pressure or reducing pain and improving immune systems. This has led to studies on self-perception and lifespan, pain management and other programs.
Furthermore, a mindset, or our thoughts go beyond to traits like intelligence, sense of belonging, realistic expectations and more. It’s not that our positive thoughts have magical powers, but it can lead to productive behavior and increases successful outcomes.
Perhaps you need to look at the thoughts you have been thinking and see if you have a pattern that should be examined or changed. Challenge yourself – are your beliefs, thoughts, words, actions, habits, values, controlling your destiny? Remind yourself this doesn’t mean you can’t change. You can alter your perception and change the direction.
To do so, look for times your thoughts are flawed or not true. Begin new habits of changing your thoughts. If you have a tendency of going to a negative thought, practice training your brain to think differently. Change comes from within.
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” – Norman Vincent Peale
Robin Anne Griffiths – Owner of ReChargeMe Zone * Behavioral Change Specialist * Yoga Instructor * Meditation Facilitator * Personal Trainer * Author * Speaker * Helping people on a journey for change to live a fuller and healthier life. Click here to find out more about Robin.
