A Positive Attitude – The Key to Good Health

This is the first of our articles on how I maintain a great lifestyle and remain in vibrant health. At the time of writing I am 57 and have seen many friends, relatives, and acquaintances lose their health and vitality. This concerns me, as in my opinion, there are many ways to prolong your life and vitality.

Statistics reveal that at age 65, 50% of Australians are disabled. It would be the same for other western countries. If you are not following strategies such as those listed here, you are likely on the road to the same fate. The problem is that it is much more difficult to reverse a serious health disability that to prevent it happening in the first place.

Yes, these strategies will work regardless, but they will work much better as a pre-emptive strike! I started down this path some 30 years ago.

If you think I am one of those elite athletes, or naturally healthy people, think again. At age 7 I was drugged by Doctors placing Ether over my face and my tonsils cut out. At 14, I acquired Rheumatic Fever and was bedridden with useless legs for nearly 4 months. I was given bucket loads of penicillin, enough to ruin any colon! It was at this time I made a decision to spend my life focusing on benefitting others, and following my spiritual path, although I had no clue what that was!

I have no sports trophies in my cabinet, didn’t get selected in any interschool teams, and ran slower with less strength than most boys my age.

I think you get the idea. After all, how many sports stars do you see advertising the latest product for good health. I sometimes wonder if they ever actually take the products at all!

The Beginnings Of Vital Health

In my opinion, your ability to live a long, vital life starts with your mindset. I have seen many people overcome the most deadly diseases with the right attitude. Conversely, most people who are continually whinging and whining about their situation don’t survive. This is no accident.

We all know the old glass half full story. Some see it as having half a glass of goodness, while others lament the half a glass that is missing. The first step to developing a positive attitude is to focus on what is working in your life. Let’s say you complete a test. Some will be ecstatic with a 10% success while others will complain about only 98%. Who do you think has a better attitude?

When you think positively and have gratitude for everything good in your life, it creates endorphins. These fill your body with positive vibes and your systems operate much better. When you complain and whine all the time, your body systems clog up with toxins. This is the physiological part of the equation.

When you focus on gratitude for what you have, you get more of it. Focus on what you don’t have and you get more of that too! This is the law of attraction in action. If you view “The Secret” you will find that the message is contained in this paragraph. It is very simply. You create what you focus on. Most people spend their time focusing on what they don’t want – and they get it!

How Can You Change To A more Positive Attitude?

 Here are a couple of basic tips I use. Adopting the strategies for vibrant health will each increase your ability to think positive thoughts.

1. Meditate on gratitude. One of the biggest robbers of our energy and time is worrying about the future and regretting the past. When you focus your energy in the present all of that goes away and you can feel very happy and positive. Ultimately in meditation you want to reach the point where you feel totally in the present. This is the space of nirvana the mystics reach and everyone of us can get there. Tibetan Buddhist monks in India taught me to focus on breathing while meditating. Allow thoughts to pass through the mind and practice non-judgment. This means that thoughts are thoughts, not good or bad. As you practice this, little by little you will notice less thoughts, particularly less thoughts that you emotionally react to. In time you will get to a point where you realize thoughts are thoughts, and they mean nothing about you. At this point you may experience a millisecond when your mind is still – without thought. This is what we are seeking. Once there, the period gets longer with practice. In this state, you can receive clear insight and direction for life. Once you trust this, you are in a position to think positively, because you know the world is as it should be, and by following your own guidance, your life will progress as it should. Then you can be grateful for every experience!
2. Try to intercept your thoughts. You could write a diary every day where you log your thoughts without filtering them. How many are positive, how many negative? Awareness is the first step to change. Once you notice a negative thought pattern, write a contrasting statement or affirmation. Use this every time the old thought pattern comes into your mind. Affirmations are very powerful change agents for the mind. I used them in my early days to transform seemingly negative situations into positive. An exercise to uncover your negative thought patterns is to write a list on a sheet of paper. “What I think about…” Write 100 or more responses without thinking on your answers. You will see repeated thought patterns. These are your deeply held beliefs. Write an affirmation on each of these and spend a week or more declaring your new belief before you start your day. Write it or say it many times. Record it on a loop tape or Ipod and play it to yourself over and over. Repetition absolutely works with the mind. When I look at my responses now and those before I started my Personal Development journey, I am shocked at how negative I used to be. Using this process, your attitude and life will change for the better.
3. Monitor your thoughts through the day. When you notice you are feeling negative, acknowledge this and then change to a positive thought. Doing this continuously will make a huge difference in your attitude. In time the new patterns will become a normal part of who you are. Yes, it is difficult to accept or recognize when you are not being positive, but achieving this level of awareness, and continually reprogramming your mind will change your outlook very fast.

There are many more ideas on how to maintain a more positive attitude. The important thing is that as your attitude changes, life becomes easier, more good things seem to come your way, your desires manifest, and you feel much more vibrant and happy. Yes, you start producing more endorphins and less toxins too!

John Gaydon has been researching and applying strategies to enhance life in every way for over 30 years. Starting with Colonic Irrigations and fruit and vegetable juicing, he progressed to Breath work and Personal Development training and for 6 years organized major Mind Body Spirit Festivals throughout Australia. John believes in living a life of passion, and at 57 he is following his dream of enhancing the lives of everyone he connects with. John is a very healthy 57 year old, with a 3 year old daughter, takes no pharmaceutical drugs, and lives in Kariong one hour north of Sydney Australia. John can be contacted at john@pems.com.au or 61 2 4340 2711 (02 4340 2711 within Australia). You can Skype using john@pems.com.au