What you think you become. What you feel you attract. What you imagine you create. – Buddha
As defined by World Health Organization (WHO) back in 1948, health is a “…state of complete physical, mental, and social well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This basically means our health is not one dimensional. And our health is not lost if we have an ailment or diagnosed disease! {My favorite part!} Our health requires nourishment of the mind, body and spirit.
When researching for today’s topic I stumbled on Jack Canfield’s concept he calls The Hour of Power. Amazingly, we are already doing two of the three portions of Jack’s hour: 20 minutes of exercise and 20 minutes of meditation, thanks to Day 10 and Day 20. {High fives all around!} Today’s habit is the third part of his equation: add 20 minutes of reading positive content to your day. I’m gonna upgrade this a smidge and say read, listen (my fave) or watch positive, uplifting content for 20 minutes each day. {Side note: I just had crazy deja vu as I typed that…shew}.
The 20 minutes you spend nourishing your mind with uplifting content will help re-frame (and retrain) your mindset. Having a positive mindset doesn’t mean that you ignore life’s problems and are obliviously happy. {I wish!} What it does is this: when unpleasant things happen (and they do, to EVERYONE), you are able to navigate it in a more positive way. Additionally, most of us don’t realize how much negative self-talk goes on inside our heads each day. It’s been chatting away in there so long it’s just normal. Reading and listening to motivational content can help change that bad habit into a more positive one. I want to give you some of the Mayo Clinic’s (potential) health benefits of a positive mindset:
- Increased life span
- Better cardiovascular health
- Lower rates of depression
- Greater resistance to the common cold {yeaaaahhhh!}
- Better physical and psychological well-being
- Better coping skills during times of stress
Jack suggests doing all three of these together each day (in no particular order and at no particular time), and that’s great if you can, but I usually have to spread them out. I’ve learned that, for me, meditation has to happen first thing in the morning, or it just won’t happen. I usually jump on my rebounder for 30 minutes every day AND listen to my favorite uplifting podcasts or audio books (or even listen to videos about specific wellness topics) while I’m bouncing away, but it usually happens later in the day, not right after I meditate.
So work these 20 minutes into your day where ever you can… if you have a wait at the dentist or you’re waiting for your oil change, instead of getting annoyed and mindlessly scrolling Facebook, seize the opportunity, find a good podcast (or audiobook), pop in your ear buds and get some positive juices flowing. It’s bound to change the rest of your day.
Light and Love,
♥k