Living Splendid with the Help of your Thoughts
“The biggest difference between a successful person and the one who struggles in life is the way they think”
Elise Heikkinen-Johnstone, a Heal Your Life® Practitioner & Coach and our guest this week on the MYD Show talking the power of positive thinking has outlined for us some of the ways in which positive thinking can transform your life.
According to Elise “The power of positive thinking can be truly life changing. The biggest difference between a successful person and the one who struggles in life is the way they think. If your thoughts are all negative, (doom and gloom) that is exactly how you can expect your day to pan out. On the other hand, if you welcome the day with open arms and choose to see every day as a new beginning, life tends to respond to you that way.”
Positive thinking, as a practice, has been associated with many life improvement benefits. These include stress management and an improvement in your health. Research is revealing how positive thinking is much more than a sunny disposition; it’s a tool that can create serious value in your life. Barbara Fredrickson a positive psychology researcher at the University of North Carolina published a landmark paper that states that “evidence suggests that positive emotions broaden the scope of attention, cognition and action, and that they build physical, intellectual and social resources.”
However, while we would all like to reap the benefits of positive thinking, can simply smiling more have the ripple effect that creates the positive thinking and thereby positive emotions? Elise explains that “We were not born with our thoughts, they are learned from society and our families. Because thoughts are learned, we can also learn new more positive ways of thinking.”
The Mayo Clinic notes that “Positive thinking often starts with self-talk. Self-talk is the endless stream of unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.”
Elise goes on to explain that to get involved in the process to be able to steer away from the murky waters of negativity it “starts with a simple process of becoming aware of your thoughts. As many of our thoughts are on the subconscious level most of the time we have no idea what do we actually think.”
As we explored the subconscious last week on MYD, we learnt that between 85 and 99% of our thinking happens on the subconscious level. While this may make us give up changing our thoughts before we even start to try, Elise suggests we take up the challenge through dedicated one day to uncovering what our thoughts actually are. “Set aside a normal day when you constantly listen to your thoughts and your inner dialogue from morning till the time you go to sleep. Write down during the course of day what you are thinking from the moment you wake up, to when you get dressed and ready for the day, to the people you interact with, to work or study situations that come, to your family and friends, to the thoughts you are having when you eat and the ones you have just before you go to sleep.”
Elise notes that “This list will make you aware of your thoughts and beliefs.” Awareness gives us the opportunity to respond. As Elise explains “Often our thoughts are much more negative than positive. It is the negative ones that we need to work on to turn them to positive ones. When you look at your list, ask yourself how would l like my life to be, and what would I like to belief about myself and others? Then write down those dreams and desires and start practicing thinking them and saying them aloud.”
If addressing your thoughts in this manner seems too simple, then Elise says “Well that is exactly what happy and fulfilled people do to manifest the life they want. It takes daily work and practice, but the results are amazing. The more we work on ourselves the better we feel and it starts showing in our lives.”
Elise is a Heal Your Life® Practitioner & Coach, who explains that “One of the icons of the effects of positive thinking is Louise Hay. For over 40 years the teachings of the bestselling author, metaphysical lecturer and teacher, Louise Hay have helped many find a better way of living. Her bestselling book “You Can Heal Your Life” with more than 50 million books sold worldwide brings across the fundamental message of the importance of loving yourself and how your thoughts create your future.”
Elise notes that ”Louise Hay’s methods enable people to realize that the power to change their lives lies within themselves. By identifying and resolving issues from the past, releasing negative thoughts and behaviour patterns and finally embracing the healing effects of love and forgiveness that allows us to turn the negative thinking to positive thinking, she has mapped out a path to life transformation. Her work encompasses many well established disciplines including meditation, positive affirmations and the development of self-approval.”
Elise, an avid supporter or the transformation that positive thinking can bring about proudly states that “Since March 2015 the licensed Heal Your Life workshops have been available in Namibia and are open to anyone wanting to create positive change in their lives.”
If you would like coaching on how to enhance your life with your thoughts or want to attend one of Elise’s workshops, you contact her via her website here : Life Connections Namibia or her Facebook page here : Heal Your Life Namibia
