Mind Over Matter

"First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." - Epictetus

Our minds are a powerful tool when comes to our pain, moods, our ability to go on, our resilience and our overall health. Having a positive attitude has numerous health benefits too:

• Lower levels of stress
• Lower levels of pain
• Reduced risk of stroke
• Reduced risk of heart disease
• More likely to achieve your goals
• Less likely to be sick
• Reduced risk of cancer
• Increased life span

These are all great reasons to have a great positive attitude and a great outlook on life.

However, the mind is so powerful that you can convince yourself into things and out of things. For example, if you have the hiccups and tell yourself that you do not have the hiccups they go away, and it has worked every time for me.

If you don't believe me there is this simple exercise that you can do take your finger and point as far as you can to your left or right (depending on if you are left-handed or right-handed) and go as far as you can. Then, close your eyes and imagine how much further you can point and do it again. Did you manage to get further? See? it is so simple on how far in life you can go, it's like that quote "Shoot for the moon and even if you miss you will land amongst the stars".

Believing in yourself is one thing. However, you can convince yourself of anything. Think about the last relationship that ended in your life, did it end because they were toxic? Did it end because you became different people? Did it end because it just was not working? In my case, it was because I convinced myself I could fix him, so I spent five years with the wrong guy, I convinced myself that I needed someone like that in my life, but once I let go, I realized the truth: that I made myself think that I needed him, so I stuck with him longer than I should have. As soon as I was out of that relationship, I felt happier than I had in a really long time. This also applies to little things in life.

I love going to the hot springs, taking a vacation, soaking in the minerals and relaxing. There is one thing that I love more, it's going into the freezing water and sitting there for a full minute and coming back into the hot springs and feeling the tingles all over your legs and body. However, in order to sit through the freezing water, I tell myself in circles "mind over matter", "Mind over matter" I chant it to myself, and it gets easier every time you go back and forth from hot to cold. Same thing if you ever have a hot tub and you go from the snow to the hot tub or sauna in winter. Your body can do amazing things.

Every decision we make in our lives is driven by our minds. For example, I made the conscious decision to come into work, even though I wanted to call in sick, I made the decision to pack my own lunch, Do I prefer eating out? of course, but every little decision was made with my mind. I know it sound stupid and so simple, but really think about your everyday decisions.

We can also control our emotions, I know that women can be more emotional than men, but if you are self-aware about your emotions your partner will have an easier time and honestly, so will you. Your mind can control your emotions, sure there are things that happen in the moment and some reactions can be a bit too harsh or big, but that's because you did not take a minute to think about it, you reacted to something that could have surprised you and in that moment you reacted poorly. That still happens. You hear about drunken mistakes such as sleeping with someone else but given that you put yourself in that situation that is still on you. No one made you drink five tequila shots; you did that decision on your own, no one made you hit on that waitress or male stripper, you did that on your own as well as entering that bar you did that on your own. There is obviously a line to be drawn though because some women do dress more provocatively than others, but other women are more comfortable with their bodies than others, but that does not give a man a right to say "She decided to dress that way, that's on her" no. No. You decided that on your own buddy.

Remember, your mind is reponsible for everything. The good, the bad and everything else. Your mind can drive you forward or pull you back.