How to Change Your Mind to Change Your Body

I was reading my daily dose of Everyday Sacred by Sue Bender this morning and came across a story called  "The Pupil as Teacher."

During the Q&A after a talk, a young woman in the audience said, "Sue, I don't think it is wise for you to be so hard on yourself. Each time you say something critical about yourself you are making that message to yourself more real."

I started thinking... how many times a day does some little voice creep into the back of my head and say something like "well, there you go again" or "what were you thinking?" or "that was so stupid"... You might have noticed I've been taking note of these little voices more often... they're totally fascinating!

Problem is, we DO make those little criticisms more real every time we say them.

Try this Mind Game: Say these two statements out loud to yourself. Act them out as if you really mean it:

#1: I am unattractive and stupid. I'll never look and feel the way I want because I have no self-control. I don't like the way I look and I don't know how to change that.

Take a moment to notice how you're feeling, mentally and physically.

#2: I am a kind, caring, beautiful individual who is capable of creating anything I want in my life. I love my body and am learning to take excellent care of it. I deserve the best.

Now notice how you're feeling, mentally and physically. Big difference, isn't it?

Approaching the critical voices with curiosity and fascination is one way that I shift my focus. We have to be aware of what we're thinking about in the first place if we want to be intentional about being more positive.

Creating positive power statements, affirmations or mantras is another way to practice a more happy, healthy mindset. Make beautiful signs. Put them in your home and your car, set them as your computer or phone backgrounds.

Here's the juicy bonus sauce:
When we're feeling more positive, grounded, and kind with ourselves, guess what happens? Healthy choices become easy and compelling because they feed that positive message about who you are. I deserve that expensive awesome salad because I deserve to feel good. I'm aware that I'm full, satisfied, and feeling good, so I'm going to take the rest to go. Our mind feels lighter, we're more confident, our body releases extra weight all by itself, our energy skyrockets.

Change your mind about how you want to think about yourself, and your body will reflect those changes. Win-win.