Written by Silvia Boric Oakes-Wilson

Despite often being told that it is beneficial to think positively, many of us struggle to do so. It is also often argued that it is what we do that counts, not what we think.

What you think about, you bring about
Being able to act differently to how we think or feel can definitely prove helpful in certain social situations. Sometimes, it may even save our life. Still, if what we present as the truth differs from our internal reality over a longer period of time, it inevitably leads to inner tension. This is because our thoughts trigger the same chemical processes as our actions.

The best way to illustrate this is perhaps when we are attempting to do something relaxing but find it impossible because our mind starts racing. Sometimes these intrusive thoughts can become more and more intense to the point of actually making us nauseous or gasping for breath. Sound familiar?

Your self-talk creates your reality
In the privacy of our own mind we allow ourselves to think whatever we like, maybe because we do not know that our thoughts eventually become part of our belief system. Moreover, our negative thoughts accumulate and are stored; in hypnotherapy we call this collection of negative thoughts our “stress bucket”. So, if we dwell on negative thoughts, we encourage our body to produce a lot of stress hormones which, once our stress bucket is full, will turn into anxiety and start waking us up at night. It sounds like a vicious circle, doesn’t it?

Words are alive
But we can stop this impacting our health.The first step is to become more observant of our self-talk. Now if we remember that even water crystals change their consistency when talked to nicely, imagine what effect this would have on your own life? Everything thrives with love, and there is no better love than self-love.

Practice can make it perfect
Now, I know it may not seem easy to suddenly switch this polarity around, but everything is achievable with practice! You can start by rewriting your negative thoughts into positive ones as this will direct your thought energy towards how you want things to be. By training our mind to think positively, we are actually acknowledging the potential for improvement and instinctively steering our actions towards solutions.

Every cloud has a silver lining
Even in challenging situations, instead of just labelling them as negative, adopting a positive attitude will boost our resilience, help us to persevere in the most difficult of times and even reveal some hidden potential.

Silvia Boric Oakes-Wilson
Oakes-Wilson Hypnotherapy
30 Alma Vale Road
Bristol
BS8 2HY
07827 061637
www.oakeswilsonhypnotherapy.com