Exactly How Full is Your Glass?

Picture a big glass goblet filled to the halfway mark with water. How do you see it – half-full or half-empty? Consistently finding the glass half-empty – and the world as a difficult place – is a hallmark of negativity.

Research has found that a negative outlook can contribute to everything from depression to heart disease to lowered immune system function. It can affect sleep, weight maintenance, the quality of your relationships, your social life, and even your ability to hold a job. This is one area I touch upon with my clients as we journey through my 3 month program. Your body believes everything your mind thinks, so we need to be aware of what we are telling ourselves.

Your thoughts may be fattening. You have heard the saying, “Just thinking about food makes me gain weight”! This could actually be true. Your body believes what your mind tells it! If your thoughts are on how much weight your going to gain by eating something, you probably will. But not only that, eating in a rush or between emails putting your body in a stressed state or feeling bad about eating something you ate and then beating yourself up about it can actually affect part of your digestion that starts in your head. Yes, that’s where digestion starts. And when you are stressed, more cortisol is produced and as a consequence more insulin. Not only is insulin responsible for getting sugar out of the blood but also for fat storage. So if you are in a totally negative frame of mind, stressing out over eating, or stressing over not being able to lose weight, losing weight can be difficult.

Now imagine what it would feel like to approach life from a place of positivity, fun, connection, health, and possibility. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Not only will you feel better but weight loss will become much easier.

With that in mind, here are some simple tips to make a positive switch. To help wipe out negativity, try one or more of the following action steps:

• Go complaint-free. Try going an hour without complaining and see the positive things in your life. Next, try a day, a week, and so on.
• Keep a gratitude journal. Each evening or morning, list 3 or more things that you are grateful for.
• Give compliments freely. Notice the good in others. Praise every person you interact with.
• Find beauty everywhere in your world. Notice its gorgeousness.
• Share your good news. Studies show that sharing happy events brings even more happiness.
• Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
• Take deep breaths, pray, feel gratitude when sitting down to eat. By enjoying your meal in a relaxed state, you can actually increase your metabolism, and end up eating less in the process.
• Even praising yourself for taking healthy steps can affect your positivity, so go ahead and praise yourself!

Maintaining a positive outlook takes practice, and the more you do it, the easier it gets. The payoff – a happier, healthier life – is absolutely worth the effort.

Get Even Healthier!
Want to learn how to make positive choices in your own life? Want support in creating your healthiest, happiest life ever? Let’s talk! Schedule a complimentary health coaching consultation with me today – or pass this offer on to someone you care about!