You are an athlete. Try saying that simple sentence to yourself and see how it feels. Believe that you are an athlete, at whatever level, and you may begin to make the behavior choices of an athlete. If we frame ourselves this way we may change how we view food, exercise, rest, and a whole host of other things. As has been said, if I have a body, I am an athlete. As we have seen dozens of times here at AGEIST, a mindset change can shift everything.
If we believe in a positive future we tend to cause it to happen. If we are optimistic, we tend to be proactive about our health. The reverse seems to also be true — if we believe that living at an advanced age must be to accept some sort of grim reality, then we will tend to bring that on. This is not by any means universal, but it seems to be a trend.
It is not so much our self-knowledge that matters, nor is it being fully versed in the latest medical science — the average physician would be exhibit A for failing this test. It is more our appreciation for happiness and the joy of living, and excitement about the future, that seems to really matter. If we feel the future is bright, we tend to eat better foods, exercise more, and in general take better care of ourselves. A bit of optimistic denial that there will be an end out there goes a long way. It may also be true, and I am just guessing here, that some of our positive health outcomes are the result of emotionally triggered epigenetic signaling of our DNA. That is a long way of saying: smile at your body and it will smile back.
One’s outlook on life is within one’s power to change. It is really as simple as saying to yourself: I am worth it and I can change my health. Boom, with that statement one is now self-empowered to move forward with positive energy.Â
Until next week,
David
