01 Dec Tip-78: My Top 10 Tips for a Healthy 2011

Tip #7 of My Top 10 for 2011

When I was overweight and unhealthy, my thought patterns were as unhealthy as my body. When I saw my image in a mirror, I would make a negative comment to myself, such as, “Wow, those pants are really tight” or some other snide comment.

According to research, the average person has about 60,000 thoughts per day, with 80% of those thoughts being negative. I heard a great quote from one of my mentors, she said, “your life will move in the direction of your most dominant thoughts”. Yikes!  I was in trouble if my life was moving in the direction of my most common thoughts. According to that quote I was destined to be overweight, tired and grumpy for the rest of my life.

I needed to tame my mind and it felt like a daunting task. So instead of getting overwhelmed by trying to change all of my thoughts, I started small and decided to just work on my first thoughts of the day. Instead of starting the day saying “I’m so tired”, I changed my confession to, “I feel energized and I am excited about my day”. It took some practice but eventually it worked and my health and attitude began to change.

My favorite tip to change a negative mindset? Never say anything to yourself that you would not say to your best friend or spouse. It’s amazing how we say, or think, negative thoughts about ourselves but we would never say them to another person.

Here are more tips to help you create a positive attitude:

• Can’t sleep? Instead of allowing my mind to run wild with negative thoughts, I now say the following to myself, “I’m so tired, I’m really relaxed, I’m already asleep”.

• Did you just binge at the buffet? Instead of beating yourself up about overeating, focus on a positive health change you may have made in the last 24 hours. For example, you may have eaten too much at dinner, but maybe you did go to the gym earlier in the day.  Focus on the positive.

• Feeling tired? Do not focus on your feelings of fatigue or you will continue to feel even more exhausted. Instead focus on a positive, for example: “I’m healthy and strong and am feeling more energetic”.