The Glass Half Full - By Kim Otteby

Although a healthy diet and lifestyle are very important, I would like to argue that a positive mental attitude is the real foundation for optimum health. There is growing body evidence that your habitual thoughts and emotions largely determine your level of health and life quality.

Life is full of events that are beyond our control. However, we do have control over our response to these events. Our attitude goes a long way in determining how we view life and respond to all these challenges.

Keep in mind that our attitude is just like our physical body, in that it requires constant conditioning to stay fit… and it might not be easy at first! We all have our days when we feel the world is unfair - bad things do happen to good people. But it is not what happens in our lives that determines our direction; it is our response to the challenges that shapes the quality of our life.

To really be healthy and happy we need to become optimists. Fortunately, according to Dr. Selgman Ph.D. (one of the world’s leading authorities on optimism), we are optimists by nature! Indeed, there is now detailed evidence supporting the fact that optimists live longer, suffer from fewer diseases and are much healthier than pessimists.
 
Learning to be optimistic means getting in the habit of thinking with a positive attitude. If we are pessimistic it is only because we have gotten into the habit of thinking in a negative framework. One great way to help us get out of this is by becoming aware of negative self-talk. We all talk to ourselves. There is a constant dialogue taking place in our heads, which makes an impression on our subconscious mind. Once you become aware of this negative self talk you can stop it by consciously imprinting positive self-talk instead.

One way to do this is through positive affirmations that you repeat to yourself (works even better if you look at yourself in the mirror when saying them!). Another way is to ask better questions. I’m taking about the questions you habitually ask yourself, like: “Why does this always happen to me?” or “Why am I always so stupid?” Whatever question you ask your brain, your brain will answer. Therefore better questions would be for example: “This may not be the best situation, but what can I learn from it so that it never happens again?” or “What can I do to make this situation better?”. Regardless of the situation, asking better questions is bound to improve your attitude.

…And don’t forget to laugh! By laughing and taking a lighter view on life, you will find that life is much more enjoyable and fun (and it will also improve your immune system!).

Ultimately though it comes down to taking personal responsibility for your own positive mental state, your life, your current situation and your health.

The Lowdown Vol 13, No. 11 2007