HEALTH IS THE NEW HAPPY! Positive Vibes

Positive Vibes

BY TIFFANY McNEELY

Have you ever noticed how your energy changes after you think about situations or people that make you upset? Your heartbeat changes, you get hot, your mood is down, and you just don’t feel excited or happy.

Negative thoughts send you down a spiraling staircase of other negative thoughts that cause physical changes in your body. These very thoughts can cause stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, fatigue, changes in sleep patterns, and inability to focus. Sometimes I find that if I allow one thought then in comes the second, third, and fourth. They don’t stop. Hours later and you have just put yourself through hell on earth. For what reason? We have to learn how to control our minds so that we can remain in a healthy environment mentally and physically. Our thoughts create our reality.

We have to take time to protect ourselves from self-sabotage. Now notice what happens to your body when you think of things that bring you joy and happiness. You become energetic, light feeling, excited, motivated, your body relaxes, and overall you’re inspired.

Positive thoughts make us feel good. Growth comes when there is positivity. We can do more when we are happy and feel alive. People with a family history of heart disease who also had a positive outlook were one-third less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event within five to 25 years than those with a more negative outlook. Those are the findings of Johns Hopkins expert Lisa R. Yanek, M.P.H. and her colleagues.

You can take daily steps to keep yourself in a positive place and ditch those negative thoughts.

1. Recite powerful affirmations daily. Take 15 minutes in the morning to recite them to yourself.

2. Keep a journal to write down all positive thoughts and goals.

3. Surround yourself with people who are uplifting and love life.

4. Add more fruits and vegetables to your diet. Heavy carbs and sugars can weigh you down.

5. Take time out for you! Take a bath, run a mile, go to your favorite restaurant, go laugh with friends!

6. Replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts. Don’t go down the spiral staircase.

7. Best of all: love yourself and give yourself grace!