Originally published April 29 2014
Mind-body connection: Simple attitude proven to lower risk of heart failure by 73%
by Mike Bundrant
(NaturalNews) It turns out that what you say to yourself is massive factor in determining your health, according to a four-year research project published by the University of Michigan in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.
In collaboration with investigators from Harvard University, the research team followed 6,802 heart patients over a four-year period. They discovered that those who consistently adopted optimistic thoughts tended to take better care of themselves and experience significantly less stress.
An optimistic outlook on life steers you away from the chronic stress that contributes to heart disease. A pessimistic outlook keeps you locked into a steel cage of chronic stress that taxes all of your biological systems and shortens your life.
How optimism and pessimism work
All people have some form of inner monologue running. In other words, you talk to yourself, and these thoughts affect your life in far reaching ways. Optimistic thoughts lead you to conclude that the best possible outcome will come to pass. Pessimistic thoughts anticipate the worst possible outcome and cause stress as if it were actually happening.
If you're a pessimist (even a closet pessimist, as most pessimists are) then you might say the following to yourself when contemplating a new goal or a positive outcome.
I can't do it.
It will never happen.
It's not worth it.
Something is bound to come along and screw things up, like always.
I don't deserve it.
An optimist would think along these lines:
I can do it.
Good things happen to people all the time, so why not me?
It will be more than worth the sacrifice.
When things go wrong, I'll be ready.
I deserve it.
Can you transform pessimism into optimism?
Yes. Optimists engage in different thought processes than pessimists. If optimistic thoughts don't come naturally, you can begin to transform your natural pessimism by engaging in one of three levels of intervention.
First level intervention: Simply begin saying positive things to yourself
If it's never occurred to you to consciously talk optimistically to yourself, try it. Tell yourself you can do it. Remind yourself of your strengths and that you deserve good things as much as anyone. Do it on purpose. It might just stick!
Of course, as is the case with all positive affirmations, you might immediately rebel against these 'Pollyanna thoughts.' Your pessimistic thinking may be so ingrained that it has a mind of it's own. It will counter every positive input with a negative response. No you can't do it. This is stupid. Don't be an idiot!
If simple optimistic thinking fails you, then move on to a slightly deeper intervention.
Second level intervention: Change your thought structure
NLP practitioners have observed for decades that getting mental distance from problems and bad memories has a profound healing effect. Now, this discovery is backed by research.
Here's the deal: All of us are a mixed bag of positive and negative memories. Nobody's life is perfect. Optimists treat bad events differently than pessimists, though.
Optimists view problems and bad memories from a mental distance. Optimists view exciting, positive events and memories up close, as if present.
Pessimists view problems and bad memories up close, as if present. Pessimists view positive events and good memories as if from a distance.
So, push the bad images into the distance and get a broad, less attached perspective on them. Pull the good times up close and optimism will feel more natural to you.
Third level intervention: Confront the granddaddy of inner pessimism
If you're still at a loss, then you could be psychologically attached to pessimism. Negative psychological attachments are the granddaddy of psychological angst. In other words, negativity has become so familiar to you that you can't imagine living without it. Becoming optimistic would be like becoming another person entirely.
If this is the case, you will resist every attempt to install optimism into your thinking and default to a negative view, as if some part of you simply refuses to let go. You are psychologically attached to negativity and you need to deal with the issue at this level.
When this is the case, it's as if you have a deeply embedded subconscious goal to remain pessimistic - feeling hopeless, helpless, rejected, deprived and out-of-control.
Psychological attachments, once understood, can be overcome. However, you must learn what they are and how they work. If you don't, then you are setting yourself up for an internal war whenever you try to make a positive change. This is self-sabotage.
To learn how psychological attachments create self-sabotage and what to do about them, watch this enlightening free video.
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About the author:
Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.
The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. Click here to watch the presentation that will turn your world upside down.
Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.
Follow Mike on Facebook for daily personal development tips.
Watch the free video The AHA! Process: An End to Self-Sabotage and discover the lost keys to personal transformation and emotional well-being that have been suppressed by mainstream mental health for decades.
The information in this video has been called the missing link in mental health and personal development. In a world full of shallow, quick-fix techniques, second rate psychology and pharmaceutical takeovers, real solutions have become nearly impossible to find. Click here to watch the presentation that will turn your world upside down.
Mike Bundrant is co-founder of the iNLP Center and host of Mental Health Exposed, a Natural News Radio program.
Follow Mike on Facebook for daily personal development tips.
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