Thoughts create your reality, your body chemistry and most important your wellbeing.

Photo by 五玄土 ORIENTO on Unsplash

A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes

— Mahatma Gandhi

We get approximately 60,000 thoughts a day. Earlier in human history, survival was at stake and hence paying attention to potential dangerous and harmful situations that may impact our survival was of prime importance. Even though we have evolved and have developed a frontal lobe for better cognitive ability, because of our brain’s hard wiring we still get a higher percentage of negative thoughts a day. In psychological terms this is called the negativity bias.

Every thought we have creates a chemical reaction in our bodies. If we have positive thoughts our body creates positive chemistry, increases the level of hormones Serotonin and dopamine. If we have negative thoughts it creates negative chemistry, increases the level of adrenaline and cortisol.Cortisol and adrenaline play vital roles in imminent danger. But engaging in negative thought patterns for an extended period can affect our wellbeing. Our negative thoughts happen automatically due to our survival hard wiring. Therefore, being mindful of what we are thinking about is important to produce positive chemistry in our bodies.

Since our wellbeing is connected to our thoughts, we can work on incorporating these simple ideas into our daily practice to improve our thinking and wellbeing:

1. Be mindful of the quality of your thoughts: Notice how you feel inside your body with the thoughts you are currently thinking. Notice if you feel in harmony or disharmony. Get familiarized with that feeling. The more you get familiarized with how a thought feels inside your body, the more you will be able to choose which thoughts to entertain mindfully.
2. Reframe the thought: Redefine an obstacle as an opportunity for growth. By doing this you can turn a negative thought into a positive one. Eg. You get a completely new project and you have no experience in the area. Instead of getting frustrated and worrying about all the things you don’t know look at it as an opportunity to learn a new skill.
3. Gratitude Journaling: Writing a daily gratitude journal helps you to focus on what is working in your life. This will allow you to focus on the positive instead of the negative.
4. Writing I am statements: Think about what you would like to manifest in your life and write down I am statements. Feel these statements inside your body as if you are already that. Eg. I am harmonious, I am loving, I am creative.
5. Enjoy your favorite recreational activity: Enjoy your favorite song, daily prayers, a walk in nature, drawing or anything else you choose. Choose an activity where you feel you are in flow. Replay fun and positive interactions/events so they get coded in your memory for later use.

thoughts create your words, your words create your actions, your actions create your habits, your habits create your character and your character creates your destiny. — Mahatma Gandhi