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How Our “Thinking” Impacts Our Overall Health
Have you
ever noticed that when a friend "slights" us, or a work project doesn't
go as planned, it can ruin our whole day? It's normal to be upset, hurt
and even angry when a friend betrays our trust, or says something
hurtful. And who doesn't feel disappointed, frustrated, and embarrassed
when the boss isn't pleased with our work? We experience feelings of joy
and happiness at the birth of a child, or love and pleasure when in the
presence of family. We're human, we feel different emotions based on our
mind's perception of the different events and interactions with others
that occur in our lives everyday.
Perception
(how we think) has a great influence on how we will react or feel in any
given situation. Our way of thinking also has a great deal of control
over how long we will feel a particular emotion and in consideration of
our health - the impact we will allow negative feelings to have on us.
How does
the way we think have an impact on our health? Recall the last time that
someone said or did something to upset you. Maybe it was on your way
home from work today. The driver ahead of you at the traffic signal was
focused on something roadside instead of the traffic light
straight-ahead. The light turns green, but they didn't notice and sat
idly by. You have things waiting to be done at home, your patience grows
thinner, second by second. Finally, you can't stand it any longer and
honk your horn loudly to get them moving. You most likely honk to get
them moving. What thoughts, feelings, and physical reactions were you
having? Very likely you were thinking: "Idiot! Green means GO! Some
people shouldn't be allowed to drive!" With these thoughts it's quite
likely that you felt aggravated and impatient because of the
rude-inattentiveness of this driver. With that it would be no surprise
that your blood pressure was raised several points, or that you might
have even been gritting your teeth.
You make
your way home but you're still stewing about being delayed by a minute
or two. Then you begin thinking about all of the things you need to get
done, and before you know it youre snapping at everyone over the
slightest of things. To make things worse, you end up with a headache or
stomachache all thanks to a driver who couldn't concentrate on the
business of driving, right?
You're
angry, negative thinking and feelings may have begun with the
inattentive driver ahead of you at the stoplight, but you made a
conscience choice to react to the situation with negative as opposed to
positive thinking and to carry that negativity home with you. That
driver might have had a good excuse for seeming not to notice the light
change and accelerate as quickly as you thought they should. And is the
delay of a minute or two really all that big a deal? Is letting your
emotional and physical health suffer from the affects of negative
thinking worth a moments venting of frustration?
Take
control of your overall health by making the conscience choice to not
let negative thinking rule your life and damage your health. When a
negative thought comes into your mind immediately replace it with a
positive thought. This may be hard at first, especially if you tend to
think negatively quite a lot. But you'll be rewarded for your efforts
with the openness to experience more of the happier moments in life,
less stress, far fewer physical aches and pains, and best of all, better
overall health!
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