This morning I told my husband about how lazy I am to exercise. I keep on thinking about other things and am not able to concentrate on workout properly. He reprimanded me and recommended that instead of thinking about other things, I should concentrate on exercise. Further, he asked me to put my imagination to better use. I should use positive thinking and imagine that I am getting fit and healthy while exercising.
He is absolutely right, positive thinking actually helps in improving health in many ways. As opposed to this, negative thinking does more harm to health. If we keep on thinking that nothing is helping in losing weight, then it will become difficult for us to lose weight. There are so many ways to put your imagination to better use and even for better health.
I remember that when I was young, I used to visit my grandma often. For some reason, I was not able to attend her for a couple of weeks. Once I had an inkling that I should visit her. When I knocked on her door, she told me that she was actually thinking about me. Her thoughts about me created a positive vibration that made me feel that I should visit her. I think the same works for health. It is like when you think about someone or something, the person gets signals for the same. When we think about our health and how it is improving, our body gets positive signals and this improves our health. Let’s find some ideas to use positive thinking and imagination to improve our health.
1. Eating the Right Way
People consume food in so many manners and styles. And I am not talking about cuisines or varieties here. What I want to throw light upon is the way people eat food. While some like to watch television while having dinner, some others like to check their e-mails. There are many others who would rather prefer gulping down their lunch, seated in their car, on the way to a meeting. Many parents have inculcated an interesting habit in kids – make them watch rhymes on youtube to make them eat. I remember my mom used to make us sit in the balcony and show us different birds while we ate. One thing that is common in most of the meals is the presence of entertainment. I think food is entertainment in itself. While consuming food, we should be enjoying every morsel. The entire focus should be on food.
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For instance, you are eating an orange. Imagine a tree full of ripe oranges. Bring the orange closer to you, after plucking it. Visualize cutting it using a knife. While cutting, the juice of the orange flows through. Now imagine eating it, bite by bite. Believe me, you will actually feel as if you finished up an orange. Experts even suggest that you can curb hunger this way. Whenever you eat something, be grateful for the food. Visualize that every bite that you eat is making you healthy. It is giving you energy and your body is getting alive. Do not think about calories while eating. Think about nutrition. Every food has some kind of nutrition – think about that nutrition with every bite. You will feel full and happy.
2. Cooking the Right Way
Instead of switching on some shows while cooking, concentrate on just-food. At times, while kneading dough or chopping veggies we contemplate on the day that went wrong. A couple of years ago, someone told me to focus on the good things in life while preparing food. We should imagine that the food that we are preparing will make us healthy. It will help us think better and make us take good decisions in every situation. The things we think about while preparing food has a major effect on it.
There’s a folklore on this. A king once complained to the doctor that he has been dreaming about buying a house since past few days. Although he has a palace to live in and all kinds of wealth, he dreams about running from pillar to post for renting or buying a house. The doctor couldn’t help. After a couple of days, the cook of the king asked him for financial help in buying a house. When the king consulted one of the wise men in the court, he told the king that the thoughts of the person preparing the food flowed into the food. The cook must have been thinking about the house all the time and you dreamt the same. This is the power of imagination. Hence, it is advised that always imagine good things while preparing and eating food. Now, it is not possible that we prepare the food every time. Like in the case of the king, we might have a cook to prepare it or we might as well eat at restaurants. So, while consuming the food, imagine that the food is good and positive and will make you healthy.
3. Exercising the Right way
If we continually think that our weight is not reducing even after dieting and exercising, then definitely the exercise will not help us reduce weight. While working out, visualize that exercise is making us fit and fine. The parts that we are concentrating on are getting better with each step. Exercise as if you are meditating – at one with the body. Do not think about exercises of the past that went wrong and didn’t give any results. Focus on the present workout that you are doing and imagine that it is the best for you and benefit you in every way.
4. Taking the Medicines
Yes, you can use imagination for better health even while taking your medicines. While popping up the pill, think that your body is accepting that medicine and healing you in every way. Imagine that the medicine will go to the right place in your system and cure the ailments that you are suffering from. Some people think about the side effects of the medicine or whether it is giving any results at all. Such thoughts do not go well with the system and the medicine does not give any positive results.
Many studies also show that the placebo effect also impacts the success of treatment. If a doctor says you that a particular pill heals your headache – even if the pill is just a sugar pill, you are more likely to find the treatment useful. Power of positive imagination will help you get good results even in lesser time. Even research suggests that people who imagine better health show improvements faster than those who do not.
5. Before Sleeping and After Waking Up
The time just before you go to sleep and just after you wake up is quite important. At this time, you should focus on good things in life. Be grateful for good health. Just before you sleep, dedicate fifteen minutes on all things that went well that day. Also, think about the good things that you will do the next day. When you wake up the next day, imagine that you will make informed choices and make your way to better health. Some people will laugh this off. However, the time after we wake up and just before we retire to bed are quite powerful. Our positive thinking has a ripple effect on our body and health.
6. Making Kids Eat Good Food
Not all kids are the same. While some like eating food, some are completely fine even after not eating a morsel the entire day. For instance, my kiddo is not fond of milk and fruits. I have tried it several times without any success. My mother then advised me to make her drink milk with positive thoughts. Firstly, I should leave the notion aside that she will not drink it. While preparing the milk, I should think that the milk is very nutritious and she will accept it. Then, while making her drink, imagine that she likes it and every sip that she takes will make her fit and healthy.
First I laughed this idea off. However, when nothing turned out successful, I tried it and to my surprise, this works. That was the first time I understood the power of positive thinking and a healthy imagination. An afterthought – do not worry if this idea does not work. Your kid might not be eating food as he might not be hungry at all or he might be focusing on some other thing. Let your kids be themselves and make informed food choices on their own.
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In the End
You might not know that power of negative thinking is much more than that of positive thinking. If you are not able to think positively then at least stay away from the negative ones. Negative energy flows faster than the positive one. Hence, use your imagination and visualization better. Create a positive ambiance at home and let good positive thoughts prevail to boost the health of your family. Happy positive thinking!