Have you ever heard the phrase “you become what you think about?” Or how about “what you think about you bring about?”
And here’s another question…
Do these two phrases simply refer to material things in your outer world, or can it also refer to your inner self such as the state of your health?
I first heard those phrases about twenty years ago when I started going through my personal development stage.
I read all the latest books on the subject and even some of the old classics like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, As a Man Thinketh by James Allen, and The Strangest Secret by Earl Nightingale, to name only a few.
And I must admit I was intrigued.
I started paying attention to my thoughts and really started making a concentrated effort to keep them positive and upbeat.
But of course, life doesn’t always make it easy to do that…
Life Will Throw Curve Balls
Life has a way of throwing you a curve from time to time.
So when a curve would come my way (because let’s face it, that’s life), instead of simply reacting to it like I would normally have done, I would try to find something positive in that negative situation.
And that’s not always an easy task. Life’s little hurtles are one thing…
But what do you do when a real whopper comes along? How do you keep a stiff upper lip?
How do you keep your thoughts positive, and how on earth do you not get upset and lose that positive demeanor?
Well, I’m Going to Let You in on a Little Secret…
It all comes down to your habits.
And what have habits got to do with this you ask?
In a nutshell it is your habitual way of reacting to situations that will win out over your attempt at remaining positive under negative situations.
It takes a concentrated effort to see the brighter side.
It takes constant reminding that things could be worse. It takes a lot of practice to be able to outshine your fears.
Is all that effort worth it? YOU BET IT IS! And does this positive habit affect your health? YOU BET IT DOES.
You Become What You Think About
Everything you feel, everything you say and everything you do starts in your mind.
Your thoughts — negative or positive — trigger your feelings.
And it is your feelings and your emotions, that ultimately affect your health.
Studies have proven that negative emotions produce a negative immune response. Negative emotions make your body produce too much cortisol, which is the stress hormone.
Negative emotions also affect your brain in a negative way. Brain scans have actually shown that people who continually think negative thoughts have a smaller brain.
Wow, that’s a wakeup call isn’t it? These are really good reasons why you should not think negatively. It all starts with your thoughts.
So as long as you are going to think anyway, why not think healthy thoughts and get healthy results?
The Strangest Secret![The Strangest Secret]()
In the classic recording by Earl Nightingale, The Strangest Secret, Earl asked this question: Why do we become what we think about?
He then goes on to tell a story that parallels the human mind…
He compares the human mind with a farmer’s field.
A farmer has a very fertile field that he is getting ready for planting. He has worked this field for many years and he knows it will yield a good crop.
You must keep in mind that the land doesn’t care what the farmer plants.
It is a good fertile field and it will grow whatever the farmer wants to plant.
So the farmer has some corn seeds and he has some nightshade seeds. Nightshade is a poisonous plant.
The farmer decides to plant both and they both grow very well because remember the land doesn’t care what it grows. It will return poison in abundance, just as it does corn.
He goes on to tell us that the human mind is even more fertile than the land but it works the same way.
It doesn’t care what we plant, success or failure, health or dis-ease, love or fear.
Whatever you plant in your mind must return to you. The human mind will return anything you want to plant.
So What Has Your Mind Returned to You?
If you have a life full of pain and dis-ease, I would really encourage you to change your way of thinking.
It will change your body chemistry, which will change your health.
If you are feeling low, change your thinking.
Keep focused on what you want, not on what you don’t want. Keep a positive attitude and never, ever give up.
The key to success and the key to failure is the same… “We become what we think about.”
Throughout history the great wise men, scholars and prophets disagree about many things but they all seem to agree that “we become what we think about.”
Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman Emperor said “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson said “Man is what he thinks about all day long.”
And here’s a gem from George Bernard Shaw. “People are always blaming their circumstance for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstance. The people who get on in the world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, make them.”
That’s why it’s so important to truly understand that you literally become what you think about.
You must learn to control your thoughts before you will be able to control your life. Your limitations are self-imposed.
Every one of us is the sum total of our thoughts.
So here’s my qustion to you….
Where have your thoughts taken you? But more importantly, where are your thoughts going to take you in the future?
About the Author:
Diana Wood, the author of The Pain – Brain Alternative, is a pain coach who explains that there is life after middle age and that pain and illness are NOT inevitable as we age.
After years of suffering excruciating pain herself with Lupus and RA, and finding what works and what doesn’t work, Diana has made it her mission to help others overcome their pain problems by teaching them a systematic approach that will encourage their body to initiate the repair mechanism that is within each of us.
Learn more about Diana and receive a free copy of her eBook at: www.painpaingoaway.com.
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Thank you
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