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According to Marcel Schwantes, writing in the Inc.com, a fascinating study by the University of Scranton showed that 92 percent of people who set goals for life (including critical health goals) never actually achieved them. The remaining 8 percent were a group of enviable goal-achievers. What was the difference between these two groups?
Researchers found that the secret success ingredient of the 8 percent of achievers was a “positive or growth outlook”. Likewise, the 92 percent that never achieved goals had a “negative or self-defeating mentality”.
Studies like these show us the importance of this concept called “mindset”. What is it? Where does it come from? Is it possible for us to sabotage our own chances of success through poor attitudes? And here’s the more important question … if this is all true, can we afford to have a state of mind that works against us to keep us in ill-health?
In this article, we have aimed to explore our inner orientations in a bit of detail, to see if we can successfully change them. We have also examined the effect of poor cerebral conditioning on the heart, and outlined a few changes to aim for in rewiring the brain toward greater health. Read on.
According to Dr. Gary Klein, PhD., writing in Psychology Today, “A mindset is a belief that orients the way we handle situations—the way we sort out what is going on and what we should do. Our mindsets help us spot opportunities, but they can also trap us in self-defeating cycles. It is about the beliefs that make a difference in our lives—the beliefs that distinguish people who are successful at what they do versus those who continually struggle.”
In short, at your core, you may have a set of rules, attitudes, and world views, knowingly or unknowingly. You may have acquired all these from your own experience in life, or from the experiences that people you trust and believe talk about. The beliefs in your mind support all decision-making and action.
For example, if your bias is towards optimism and success, you may believe that any health issue you may have in life, including even serious disease, is conquerable. If you think it can be overcome, you will try to take action to reduce or eliminate the ailment.
If, on the other hand, your psychological makeup is either pessimistic or counterproductive, you may believe there is no immediate potential for beating the disease, and nothing you do can really make it go away. Thinking this way, you may get apathetic about the action you need to take to get the disease under control or get rid of it.
It’s time to change the way you automatically think if you find you are unable to sustain the action you must take to remedy a serious situation in life. The sooner you become aware that your inaction or lethargy is being fed by a negative ethos, you can question why your belief is the way it is, and why the opposite cannot be true. From there, you can begin the journey to a healthier viewpoint, purposeful actions, and eventual well-being.
There is an extremely interesting article that talks about the direct connection between your mind’s way of being and your health and heart.
According to Dr. Monique Tello, MD, MPH, writing in the Harvard Health Blog:
“Can being positive protect against heart disease? Yes! There is a lot of evidence suggesting that having a positive outlook — like being optimistic, cheerful, having gratitude and purpose in life — can be heart-protective. Researchers in the UK looked at psychological characteristics of over 8,000 people, and found that those who scored high on optimism and a sense of well-being enjoyed a 30% lower risk of developing heart disease. Other studies report similar findings: in a study of over 70,000 women followed for over 10 years, those who scored highest on an optimism questionnaire had a significantly lower risk of death from heart attacks (38%) and strokes (39%).”
In a medical paper by Laura D. Kubzansky, PhD, et al, in the National Library of Medicine, the findings also emphasize the deep connection between inner orientation and heart disease. The study has consistently found that self-assuredness and having a purpose in life are psychological traits associated with significantly lower risks of having a heart attack.
All this is also great news for those suffering from ailments like obesity, cholesterol, diabetes, and hypertension – which along with other hereditary factors, can all have a multiplicative effect on the heart. Healthy inner programming can help address almost all of these problems, individually and collectively.
According to David DiSalvo, writing in the Neuronarrative section of the Psychology Today blog, challenging the way we think in small but significant ways can help perk up health benefits … plus, we can ease ourselves into the mode of creative ideation where we become less resistant to change. Here are some simple examples.
Endless postponing of vacations doesn’t help, no matter how good your intentions. A research paper by Bryce Huska et al, in Taylor & Francis Online, shows that taking vacations may lower the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, a condition strongly linked to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Many of us need to relearn how to breathe correctly … and simply slowing down breathing can be a good start. According to a medical study by Chacko N. Joseph et al, in the AHA Journals, slower breathing lowers heart rate and blood pressure, reduces stress response, and even boosts the immune system.
You should walk, not just at exercise time, but all the time if your destinations are within manageable distances. According to a medical paper by Prabha Siddharth et al, in the IOS Press Content Library, walking improves cardiovascular and brain health. That improved brain health in itself produces an even better turn of mind.
According to an article by the Harvard Health Publishing, from the Harvard Medical School, rethink the way you eat lunch outside the office to take a break from work. Instead of doing a round of local eateries, brown bag your lunch prepared with healthful ingredients – loads of vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains – and eat it outside the office.
Are you always able to say why you do what you do? Does your every action have a purpose? If there’s no purpose, you accumulate a lot of stress from listlessness. According to a medical paper by Aliya Alimujiang et al, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network, having a sense of purpose lowers levels of inflammation, and thereby decreases risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression.
Not really knowing your deep belief systems is the first problem. So, do some introspection. Then take some small steps to change towards self-confidence – or you’ll encounter inner resistance. Once changing your thinking patterns becomes familiar territory, focus on all the changes needed for health, and especially, prioritize those cheerful expectations that are good for the heart. Stay heart-healthy. Be a Zinda Dil.
