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| The New York Optimist March 2009 |
By: Nina Mistier
Studies on health, wealth and happiness have all shown that a person’s outlook determines their ability to heal and thrive. In any
situation, if a person believes things will be great, chances are things will be great. I remember when my grandmother was
diagnosed with colon cancer and the doctors told my mother she had six months remaining, my mother made it clear to the doctor
not to tell my grandmother she had cancer. To make a long story short, my grandmother lived another eleven years. In those eleven
years, she went dancing every week, saw four great-grandchildren born, attended many family events and lived a very quality filled
life because she had no idea she had cancer. Grandma had the surgery and my mother took her for radiation therapy every week, but
assured her it was for precautionary measures. She constantly reassured my grandmother that she was fine. My point is that
whatever we think about, whatever we choose to believe is what we create in our lives. There is a wonderful expression Wayne Dyer
uses “Energy Flows Where Attention Goes”.
It is important to have some sort of control over your thoughts, because they do indeed help to create your life. If you are always
negative and consistently think how bad things are, then you are bringing more of that into your life. Shift your thoughts to happy
and positive ones you will begin to notice a shift in the events in your life. In last week’s article, I mentioned the twenty one day rule
where you can create or break a habit. Take twenty one days out of your life and begin to focus on positive things, not negative.
When you awaken tell yourself this will be a great day and feel it in your gut. Go about your day, notice when good things happen
and be grateful. If something negative happens, like your coffee spills all over the floor or the dog poops in the house, don’t get
caught up in the feeling of the negative situation. Just clean the mess, say “oh well” and go back to the happy feeling. When you
hold on to the negative feeling that everything goes wrong, then more things will go wrong and it will be a downward spiral. If you
choose to hold the happy feeling, it will be an upward spiral.
Our minds are sometimes like silly puppy dogs; all over the place. You don’t need to give attention to all the chatter in your mind.
Learn to gain some control over your mind in the same way you take time to program your computer so it performs the way you
need it to. Your mind is like a computer that needs to be programmed properly so you can perform effectively and live a happy and
healthy life.
Begin to gain control of your thoughts by noticing what they are. Pay attention to positive and negative thoughts, speech, feelings and
inner dialogue. Keep the good, throw away the bad. Acknowledge all your thoughts and hold on to good ones like “I feel no pain
today”, “I have a job”, I know what direction I need to follow”, “life is exciting; I wonder what today will bring”, “I have a great
family or good friends”,etc… It is the feeling you hold inside that emanates energy out to the world. This will help to determine what
comes next. you notice them, the stronger they become. It is important to remember, there are always positive and negative forces
at work everywhere, including ourselves. Whatever we choose to feed will become stronger, so feed the positive, think good
thoughts, be happy, be grateful and take some control of your future.
Focus on your breathing to help quiet your mind for just a few minutes a day. Sit comfortably in a chair at home, work, in the park
with your back straight, eyes closed, shoulders back, pelvis tucked under and begin to notice your breathing pattern. Observe the
breath as it enters and leaves your body. Allow the breath to comfortably and gradually deepen, but continue to focus on it for just a
few moments. You will notice a greater sense of calm, control and being a little more relaxed. Now you are in greater control of
yourself and your day. Keep breathing…
Nina Mistier is a Holistic Counselor, Yoga Instructor, College Instructor and mother who holds a Master of Science degree in
Counseling Psychology, Counseling Supervision, Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Yoga Certification and studies nutrition, positive
psychology, energy psychology, spiritual and holistic healing.
Studies on health, wealth and happiness have all shown that a person’s outlook determines their ability to heal and thrive. In any
situation, if a person believes things will be great, chances are things will be great. I remember when my grandmother was
diagnosed with colon cancer and the doctors told my mother she had six months remaining, my mother made it clear to the doctor
not to tell my grandmother she had cancer. To make a long story short, my grandmother lived another eleven years. In those eleven
years, she went dancing every week, saw four great-grandchildren born, attended many family events and lived a very quality filled
life because she had no idea she had cancer. Grandma had the surgery and my mother took her for radiation therapy every week, but
assured her it was for precautionary measures. She constantly reassured my grandmother that she was fine. My point is that
whatever we think about, whatever we choose to believe is what we create in our lives. There is a wonderful expression Wayne Dyer
uses “Energy Flows Where Attention Goes”.
It is important to have some sort of control over your thoughts, because they do indeed help to create your life. If you are always
negative and consistently think how bad things are, then you are bringing more of that into your life. Shift your thoughts to happy
and positive ones you will begin to notice a shift in the events in your life. In last week’s article, I mentioned the twenty one day rule
where you can create or break a habit. Take twenty one days out of your life and begin to focus on positive things, not negative.
When you awaken tell yourself this will be a great day and feel it in your gut. Go about your day, notice when good things happen
and be grateful. If something negative happens, like your coffee spills all over the floor or the dog poops in the house, don’t get
caught up in the feeling of the negative situation. Just clean the mess, say “oh well” and go back to the happy feeling. When you
hold on to the negative feeling that everything goes wrong, then more things will go wrong and it will be a downward spiral. If you
choose to hold the happy feeling, it will be an upward spiral.
Our minds are sometimes like silly puppy dogs; all over the place. You don’t need to give attention to all the chatter in your mind.
Learn to gain some control over your mind in the same way you take time to program your computer so it performs the way you
need it to. Your mind is like a computer that needs to be programmed properly so you can perform effectively and live a happy and
healthy life.
Begin to gain control of your thoughts by noticing what they are. Pay attention to positive and negative thoughts, speech, feelings and
inner dialogue. Keep the good, throw away the bad. Acknowledge all your thoughts and hold on to good ones like “I feel no pain
today”, “I have a job”, I know what direction I need to follow”, “life is exciting; I wonder what today will bring”, “I have a great
family or good friends”,etc… It is the feeling you hold inside that emanates energy out to the world. This will help to determine what
comes next. you notice them, the stronger they become. It is important to remember, there are always positive and negative forces
at work everywhere, including ourselves. Whatever we choose to feed will become stronger, so feed the positive, think good
thoughts, be happy, be grateful and take some control of your future.
Focus on your breathing to help quiet your mind for just a few minutes a day. Sit comfortably in a chair at home, work, in the park
with your back straight, eyes closed, shoulders back, pelvis tucked under and begin to notice your breathing pattern. Observe the
breath as it enters and leaves your body. Allow the breath to comfortably and gradually deepen, but continue to focus on it for just a
few moments. You will notice a greater sense of calm, control and being a little more relaxed. Now you are in greater control of
yourself and your day. Keep breathing…
Nina Mistier is a Holistic Counselor, Yoga Instructor, College Instructor and mother who holds a Master of Science degree in
Counseling Psychology, Counseling Supervision, Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Yoga Certification and studies nutrition, positive
psychology, energy psychology, spiritual and holistic healing.
“Optimism Is One of the Keys To a Successful Life ”
