The Power of Positive Thinking

Living a healthy lifestyle is no simple task.  Actually, that’s probably the biggest understatement ever.  Living healthfully is FAR from being a simple task- it’s just down right difficult.  It’s often hard to find the time for physical activity, eating a balanced diet, and on top of all of that STILL manage to do the other things that fall under the umbrella of ‘life’.  So the question remains- if this journey to a healthy lifestyle is already so difficult, why do so many of us sabotage ourselves with negative thinking?

It’s been said before, and oh boy is it true!  We really are our own worst enemies.  Unfortunately, this is especially true for women.  Why is it so hard for us to accept a compliment?  Or more so, to simply not put ourselves down for just one day?  It’s time to put an end to the self-hating sabotage!

The truth is, everybody has flaws.  E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y!  Regardless of what some self-righteous people may think, nobody walking this earth’s surface is perfect.  In fact we are all far from it.  The sooner we accept this fact and stop beating ourselves up over it, the better we will all be.

Aside from stopping the negative, we must also start thinking positively.  You may be surprised at the difference a simple change of attitude can make.  Go on, give it a try!  Not sure where to start?  Try a few of these simple suggestions Taylor from Lifting Revolution provided in her recent post, “I’m A Big Fat Fatty McFatterson: Why You Sabotage Your Own Results“. (Where do we submit nominations for best blog title ever?)

Alternatives to Negative Thinking:

• Focus on what you are going to do to change things.
• Focus on all of the awesome things going on in your life.
• Give yourself mental pep talks.  Think “YES I CAN!”
• Think about the positive results that will come by taking it day by day.
• Focus on what you love about yourself.

That last one may be hard for some of you.  It’s sad to say but many people think that focusing on what you love about yourself makes you conceited, cocky, or overly confident.  Let me assure you, giving yourself some love is by no means any of those negative presumptions.  So why not start that positive thinking today?  Make it your goal to give yourself at least one compliment per day.  Think of something that you really love about yourself.  It doesn’t have to be a certain physical feature.  You could simply love the fact that you are a dependable person, or that you have a great laugh that inspires others to laugh along with you.  Aside from starting the positive thinking, ultimately the negative thinking must come to an end.  Practice also eliminating certain words from your vocabulary- particularly the ‘I can’t’ phrase.  Believe in yourself and believe in the power of positive thinking!

What do you love about yourself?

An Intern Behind the Plate,
~Elizabeth

Lifting Revolution is a blog written and maintained by Taylor Ryan.  Taylor is one of Around the Plate’s Healthy Eating Champions and is a member of thePlate Community. As a Healthy Eating Champion, Taylor runs a complete lifestyle blog dedicated to helping women better understand how to live a healthier life for their families and themselves.  Find other Healthy Eating Champions, Nutrition Experts, and Recipe Guru’s on our community blog network.