Attitude and Your Health

Is the glass half full or is it half empty? How do you look at life on a daily basis? Can how we observe and take in what is around us affect our health? Does listening to the news affect our sense of well being? How about reading the newspaper? Does the type of book or magazine we read affect how we look at life? There is an old saying “garbage in….garbage out”. Are you drawn to the positive or the negative? Can prayer affect your daily well being?

I thank God I am an optimist. I believe I inherited this trait from my mother. She was cheerful and happy as I remember her. Is optimism something we inherit or pick up from our surroundings? Maybe it is a little of both.

Approximately twenty five years ago I read Dr. Norman Vincent Peale’s Power of Positive Thinking. It had a real impact on my life. I was going through a rough patch. This book, borrowed from the library, gave me hope. I read and applied the principals and found new strength within me. The darkness which was enveloping me faded away. I soon found a new lease and direction for my life. I walk closer with Jesus Christ, my Savior as a result. This book has affected millions of people worldwide, the same way. Let us look at some of the principles which make up a positive lifestyle.

How do you greet the day? Quiet time with the religion of your choice is important to get the day started right. It will stay with you during the day. In fact positive thinking must be carried out throughout the day or the negativity of the world will drag you down.

According to Dr. Peale the secret to a happy positive life is to fill your mind with faith, security, and confidence. Thoughts of doubt, lack of confidence and insecurity are pushed aside by using this method.

It is also important to form a mental picture of yourself succeeding. Hold this picture strongly in your mind. Never consider failing. If a negative thought tries to come into your mind, a positive thought should be stated out loud to cancel out that negative thought. Do not borrow trouble and build up barriers in your mind. Keep in mind you are an efficient person and don’t let others overwhelm you. You can repeat positive scripture to reinforce this. Hold yourself in high self-esteem. Put yourself in God’s hands. Reading The Power of Positive Thinking may do wonders for an individual when these powerful principals are applied to every day life.

Daily exercise may help lift depression and enhance your positive lifestyle. The wonders of a good exercise routine can actually reverse aging. It has been proven in Younger Next Year, a book written by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D. that daily exercise can not only lift the spirits, tone the body and improve circulation but improve the mobility of senior citizens in nursing homes. Certainly being able to move around would lift one’s spirits. A study was done in a nursing home. Weights were introduced to all the patients in the nursing home. It didn’t matter if they were bedridden or on walkers everyone did daily weights. Some of these people were in their nineties. All of the residents improved. The patients on walkers improved to canes and most of the bedridden improved to walkers. It proves that weight training may be very good therapy for halting and reversing the aging process.

How about the foods we eat? How would that affect our attitudes? Wholesome foods are full of good energy. How do I know this? It is evident to me when I eat anything processed or refined. My body becomes tired and I my energy drags. Quite the opposite of when I eat lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean meats. Good energy results from healthy eating.

Sometimes despite everything we do we may find ourselves depressed. Are you getting enough of the happy vitamins? B- Complex. According to Jane Kinderlehrer who is the author of How To Feel Younger Longer we may get many maladies from lack of the B vitamins. Are you fearful, moody, cranky, depressed or apprehensive? Many times a daily dose of the vitamin B-complex will help. It seems that depression may be the most common of all diseases in the world. Many times along with it comes lack of energy, thus laziness.

Sometimes nervous conditions may be connected to blood sugar levels. Low blood sugar may affect as many as twenty million Americans, who are totally unaware they have it. Many psychiatrists have their patients take the glucose tolerance test before any counseling begins. Blood sugar fluctuations may be responsible for depression, irritability, insomnia, forgetfulness, being overly nervous and other related symptoms. If diagnosed with low blood sugar, simply following a prescribed eating program. Eating six small meals a day containing high protein and low carbohydrates may solve this problem. No white sugar or flour should be eaten.

The subject of our attitudes and how they affect us consume volumes which have been written by many good authors of very good books. Keep an open mind and explore the possibilities of your approach to living your best life.


This information is not meant to diagnose, prescribe or treat anyone. Until next time I am wishing for you, good health.

Eva may be reached at littleherbshoppe@hotmail.com