I last wrote about the importance of a positive state of mind for good health.  Our emotional state has a powerful effect on our bodies.  Even when we do our best to maintain a high vibe, we don’t always have a choice in some situations or people we must interact with.  

How do we keep our high vibe when we’re constantly bombarded with negative energy throughout our day? 

The impatient driver behind you.  Bad news on the radio.  A call from your child’s school.  The rude server at the coffee shop.  An off look from a friend.  Just like that, our energy can shift. 

Our thoughts, words, and intentions have power.  When we allow a situation or person to change our mood, our disposition, we are giving away our power to another.

When we feel discomfort from our circumstances, it often has more to do with what we have going on within ourselves than the situation at hand. When we’re stressed, our bodies react as if we’re in danger.  Our fight or flight response kicks in.  Stress response chemicals are released into our bloodstream to prepare us to fight or flee.  Our bodies do a good job preparing for it but are we really in any danger from the rude driver on the road or the snarky comment by a friend?  Our mind connects to our programmed beliefs, memories, pain and the body reacts as if we are. 

It’s not always easy but we can set ourselves up with an intention to feel positive minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day to prevent the body from reacting. 

The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but your thoughts about it.  -Eckhart Tolle

We can train our brain to feel good but it’s a whole lot easier if our body feels good first. 

Practicing healthy habits and sticking to daily rituals as consistently as brushing our teeth.  Having a no-excuse mindset to feel our physical best and to make our mental health a priority, as if our life depends on it.  Even if we must set an alarm for bed to resist watching one more episode of Netflix. 

For me these habits/rituals are a choice between feeling good or feeling off; living with medication or without.  

My Daily No-Excuse Rituals

Getting 7-8 hours of sleep

Exercise 30 minutes (sweating required)

Clean eating with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables

Staying hydrated (drinking 1/2 my body weight in water with minerals)

Starting these rituals years ago greatly improved my physical and mental health.  After my mid-life reset, I added a consistent mindfulness practice and discovered that my day flowed much better.  Slowing my mind down with a few deep breaths and paying attention to how I’m feeling in the present moment allowed me to assess situations far better.  I gained more clarity and control over my emotions and reacted far less than before.  

Hitting my internal pause button allows me to notice how my OWN attitude, habits, and beliefs affect how I perceive others. 

Mind·ful·ness.  a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.

Becoming more mindful slows down thought and allows the mind to turn-off the stress response.  Taking pause and breathing before our body is flooded with stress chemicals (norepinephrine, adrenaline and cortisol).   We can train our brains to pay attention to the present and assess what’s happening under the surface.  Understanding our circumstances without reacting to them.