Our mind
has an amazing ability to process a tremendous amount of information. Our brain
then filters the information to focus on what is most important based on our
intrinsic values.
When it comes to how you initially process information… What is your worldview?
Are you an optimist or a pessimist by nature?
Do you always expect good things to happen or are you
waiting for the other shoe to drop?
Our
mental attitude affects how we interact with those around us and also how we
respond to events in our daily lives. Remarkably, our mental attitude also
affects our health and well-being. How we feel, not only mentally but also
physically, is significantly impacted by what has been termed our
"internal guidance mechanism".
Back in
the 1960s a plastic surgeon named Maxwell Maltz wrote the classic book
Psycho-Cybernetics, a groundbreaking book that has been continuously in print
for almost 50 years. Psycho-Cybernetics, one of the original self-help books,
popularized the idea that the subconscious part of our mind is a goal-seeking
mechanism. Maltz famously compared the subconscious to a guided missile,
stating that the subconscious would do exactly what it is programmed to do. If
you want to achieve a goal, Maltz proposed, visualize its successful
completion. Visualize yourself driving that red sports car. Visualize the fun
you and your family are having on your trip to Hawaii or Italy. Visualize
living in your beautiful home. Provided that the instructions are clear, your
subconscious will go to work to cause your goal to manifest in your life.
This
wasn't jibberish! Maltz was a scientist and made a very strong case for his
theory, backed up by decades of interaction with his patients. Since then, of
course, hundreds if not thousands of self-help gurus have sprung up, publishing
books, giving seminars, and being interviewed in broadcast media. Maltz,
Napoleon Hill, and Norman Vincent Peale were the originals, the pioneers who
introduced the concepts and precepts of taking charge of your own life.
In terms
of health, for example, attitude is critically important. How do you respond,
internally, if a nearby co-worker coughs or sneezes throughout the day? Have
you noticed that if you think that you, too, are going to get sick, that in
fact you do? But others, exposed to the same environment, do not. Is it
possible that these others paid no attention to the ill co-worker, that they
did not internalize the notion that they were being exposed to contagion? Such
a scenario is not 100% necessarily true, but it is possible. The conclusion
could be that our thoughts matter. As Earl Nightingale, one of the pioneers of
the personal development field, famously stated, "You become what you
think about".
So what
should we do? Think happy thoughts all day long? Not really, but it is
important to remember that attitude counts! If we are more frequently seeing
the glass as half-full rather than half-empty, it is possible that we are going
to have a more productive, more successful, more fulfilled day. And,
unbeknownst to us, our subconscious mind will build on those successes and help
to bring us more success, personal growth, happiness, and well-being.
References:
Matsunaga
M, et al: Association between perceived happiness levels and peripheral
circulating pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in middle-aged adults in Japan.
Neuro Endocrinol Lett August 5, 2011 (Epub ahead of print)
Layous
K, et al: Delivering happiness: translating positive psychology intervention
research for treating major and minor depressive disorders. J Altern Complement
Med 17(8):675-683, 2011
Sadler
ME, et al: Subjective wellbeing and longevity: a co-twin control study. Twin
Res Hum Genet 14(3):249-256, 2011
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