Mind Your Health

First, here's my story....
Back in July 2008, we celebrated our daughter's first birthday - what a milestone, we'd survived the first year! Time to come out of my box and have a look around.

Other than having a beautiful little girl, things weren't too flash. I'd just been made redundant from my part time job and I was still carrying around a lot of 'pregnancy weight' - I was a size 14 to 16. Now I know that's not huge, but I wasn't comfortable or healthy at that weight so I decided to do something about it.

As I thought about my options, I noticed something that had been in front of me for a while but I hadn't paid attention to. There was someone in my extended family who always ate a lot, but was thin and never gained weight. I started to think about how that could happen.

In talking to another family member about it, we came up with the idea that 'that's just how she is' and she was somehow 'lucky'. But with a bit more thought, I realised that the main difference between her and me was that she believed that that was 'just how she is'..... so maybe I could believe that about myself and I could be lucky too....

I realised that I had a major hurdle to overcome. I actually believed that because I had had a child, I would naturally be a bit heavier. That was just 'how it was' for me. I even remember being pregnant and saying 'goodbye' to clothes when I wore them for what I thought would be the last time, as I got bigger.

I had given myself permission to be big!

Having realised that this was 'just a belief', I then wanted to change it so I looked around for evidence that I was wrong. Yes - I knew other mums who had re-gained a trim figure and were active and healthy! I soon saw how silly I had been to condemn myself to being 'a bit heavy' for the rest of my life!

So I made a conscious decision to BE someone who was fit and healthy and could eat anything I wanted to, without affecting my weight.

This decision opened my mind to opportunities:

A few days later a friend told me about a gym she had started going to and she suggested I have a look. Now I'd been to gyms before and I hadn't really enjoyed them. But because I had made the decision to change, I was open to the idea and it seemed like the right thing to do.

So, I took ACTION and joined Curves, a local circut gym.

And I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed it. I made it part of my weekly schedule - two times a week was all I could fit in, but it made a really big difference.

That is probably the main thing I actually changed to get the result I wanted. I never consciously changed my diet, but in hindsight I can see that I began to eat smaller meals more frequently. My better eating choices were quite subconscious because of the decision I had made to become more healthy.

Now I eat when I am hungry and I don't have any positive or negative feelings about food. If I want it and it's there I will eat it. I don't consider whether it will be 'good' or 'bad' for me.

What I have done is applied the basic formula for success in any area. It comes down to a simple idea:

BE, DO, HAVE

BE the person you want to be,
DO the things that they would do, and you will
HAVE the things that that person deserves to have.

Most people try it the other way - they say, when I HAVE more ______ (time, money, health etc) then I'll be able to DO those things that will make me BE that person.

Sorry if I'm bursting your bubble but, IT JUST DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!

The only way that anything becomes reality, is by imagining it is possible first. By changing the image of myself in my head, I could then imagine myself BEING someone who eats anything and stays thin and healthy.

Then, because I expected to BE that person, I was naturally inclined to DO the things that that person would do - exercise and eat sensibly. I never had to force myself - doing these things was easy because they fit with my new image of myself.

Only then, did I actually find that I started to HAVE the results that that person would have.

There is a logical explanation behind this idea that I hope will make sense to you.

When I change my focus and decide to BE something other than what I have been in the past, I am actually reprogramming what is called my RAS or Reticular Activating System.

My RAS is a part of my brain that is like a filter. It takes all the information that comes in through my senses and 'decides' what I become aware of.

Here's an easy example of your RAS in action. Last time you bought a car or decided on a car that you wanted, all of a sudden, you saw those cars EVERYWHERE!!! Has this happened to you? Of course, those cars were all there before, but your RAS was not programmed to bring them to your attention.

Advertising works in the same way - repeatedly making you aware of something so that you will notice the opportunities to buy their products.

Your RAS will make you aware of anything that you have an emotional connection with or that you have thought about consistently. It is designed to help you identify opportunities to turn your thoughts into your reality.

This all sounds great - all we have to do is think about something and create a good feeling about it and we will see all sorts of ways to make it happen!

But here's the trap. How easy is it to feel bad or negative about something?

If I consistently focus on things I don't like, and dwell on the negative emotions attached to them, my RAS will make me aware of all the opportunities to bring about those things

Have you noticed how bad things seem to happen to people who are generally negative anyway? They complain about their situation, then it gets worse and they have more to complain about! This downward spiral is all too common, but I'm sure you can see how doing the exact opposite, can create an upward spiral.

It's just a choice and everyone has the ability to control their thoughts, if they choose to. But most don't.

So if I let my circumstances control my thoughts, it is easy to default to thinking about everything that's wrong with me (not to mention the rest of the world as well!). My RAS is programmed to 'beware of bad foods' then it will make me aware of them and think negatively about them which creates a negative feeling in me.

But if I choose to control my thoughts and focus on the results that I want to see, then my RAS is re-programmed and the opportunities to keep me trim and healthy for example, become really obvious to me. Only then can I see where I need to take action.

Now the important point about who we decide to BE, is that we need to BE that person with complete confidence and with absolutely no doubt. Doubt will allow your RAS to bring the negatives to your attention. It is only when we work to remove doubt that can we truly attract the right opportunities, take the right actions and have the results.

So how do we eliminate the doubt?

The way to eliminate doubt, is to find evidence for yourself. Talk to people who have done what you want to do. You may have even achieved similar goals in the past that can give you the confidence to know that you can BE this new person. Build up an overwhelming stack of evidence that this is not only possible for you, but that it IS your future reality.

It's a good idea to keep this evidence somewhere you can refer to it. This needs to be something that works for you. It could be a list on a piece of paper you carry with you, it could be a collection of pictures, a screensaver on your computer, a video on your phone. Anything you can refer to when you find yourself focusing on negative things. This is the best way to change your focus and change who you are being.

Everything is energy, including your thoughts. Think about when you've had to concentrate really hard, maybe when you've been in an exam. You're exhausted just from thinking! Good thinking is actually the hardest work there is, but the best news is that all that energy is not wasted.

The energy and emotion in the thoughts that you have, create a feeling or put you into a certain mood. This emotional feeling is recognised by your mind, your RAS, and the feeling programs it to make you aware of how you can get more of that feeling by getting the things you are thinking about.

As we know, our feelings can go both ways, positive and negative.

So one thing I would suggest you start with is to avoid talking about and focusing on things you don't want. When I was losing weight, I never focused on 'weight loss'. I focused on having a healthy, trim body that I was proud of and I celebrated every step in the right direction.

I regularly said to myself (and others) "I keep getting lighter!" and it made me feel GREAT! Yes, I was showing off, even with the smallest of changes on the scale, but that great feeling created positive energy and emotion which lead to more and more results. After around 6 months I got to the point where I was happy to maintain my weight, which I have now done for almost 2 years.

When I started going to the gym, I quickly made it part of my weekly routine - it is actually easier for me to go, than not to go. I also don't have any negative emotion attached to the gym. It's almost neutral - I just go, do it, and come home. It's not a chore, I don't have to make myself go. Once, I was actually unwell and I caught myself getting ready to go and had to kick in my rational thinking and decide that it's probably best if I don't go today!

Many of my friends and family have asked me to explain what I have done to improve my health. It's been quite challenging to find a way to tell people how I made it happen because it's wasn't a special diet or pills or supplements or anything like that.

That is one of the reasons I've written this all down. I'd like to pass on this powerful information so that you can start to understand the part that your mind plays when you decide to change your reality. And it doesn't just apply to health. This concept works for finances, relationships, anything that you would like to change about the reality you currently experience.

What it came down to was a change in my belief. A change in the way that I see the person in the mirror. Changing my belief lead to a change in behavior that lead to a change in results.

BE, DO, HAVE

BE the person you want to be, DO the things that they would do and you will HAVE the things that that person deserves to have.

I truly hope that you can BE all that you want to BE!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6131435

Posted in: Healthy,Mind