Imagine Success

If you've spent any time reading my blog you know I'm a huge fan of positive thinking.  I believe we tend to underestimate the power of our brains, of our thoughts, and their ability to both influence how we feel and behave.  Just think about a friend or co-worker you have who is a negative-nelly, isn't s/he sort of a downer to be around?

Positive thinking can turn bad days into decent days, decent days into good days, and good days into great ones.  It can't keep you from feeling down when things go really bad but it can help you recover afterward.  And when it comes to diet/exercise I think positive thinking is HUGE.  How else can you handle that gain when you were so "good" all week?  Think positive - pat yourself on the back for a job well done despite what the scale says (remember, it lies) and look forward to a better number on the scale down the road. 

When it comes to exercise, visualize success.  I recently read in an article that people who imagined themselves exercising regularly worked out for almost an hour more each week than people who didn't see themselves reaching their fitness goals.  If you're starting out a new exercise plan, imagine yourself a month from now, still at it and going strong.   If you find your mind going to, "Eh, I don't really feel like working out today" - imagine yourself at the gym or on your walk/run.  See what kind of feeling you get by envisioning that.  Hopefully it's a positive one.  I'm going to start imagining myself crossing the finish line at the Kaiser half-marathon.  And I'm going to remind myself that every day is a success as long as I'm making a real effort to follow my plan.