image courtesy of: alisanagnostakis.com

What does this really mean? This means realizing that the way that we tackle our world is the lynchpin to how we will change our lives. The mind is an amazingly powerful thing, it has the power to not only change the way that we perceive our world and the importance that we place on different things, but also our own physicality and biochemistry. Since we can control how we think and how we put that amazing power to use, we can take control of our own reality and shape it into what we want. So today is the day to take total control over the most powerful thing in our lives, our own mind and our decisions.

Today is the day to think and believe that the world is a wonderful place to be in, that we are living a wonderful life and that it is getting better every day and in every way. In fact, that is mantra I say to myself dozens of times each day: “Every day, in every way, I am becoming happier and healthier!”.

So what does this really do for us? How can this actually change anything about our world when we are stuck in traffic due to an accident down the road, or on a Monday morning when that alarm goes off and we have to drag ourselves out of bed on too little sleep? There are a couple key ways that it affects our lives. The first of which is to remind us to view our world through the perspective lens that we want to see life. For me, that is a lens of seeing the wonder and joy in my world. That lens enhances my daily experience as I focus on those things that enhance my life and my well being which helps to put me in a mood that the overcomes any of the challenges. So I have taken control of my perception to change my life today.

Next up, it reminds us of our sphere of influence. There are things in our lives that we can’t change, such as the traffic or the weather. What we can change is how we interpret that input into our lives. We can be angry or frustrated at the situation and rail against the inconvenience or stress that these things add, or we can accept that we can’t change the event itself and take control of our reaction to that event. We don’t have to feel angry or frustrated at it, instead we can see joy and opportunity in it. Maybe that time stuck in traffic gives us a chance to listen to another chapter in our book, or more great songs. Maybe it is time to reflect on ourselves and how we want to change and grow. It is no longer a headache, but an opportunity.

Finally, taking control of our outlook on life actually changes our physiology. This can be best see in the placebo effect. This is the effect that is the mind believes that the medicine it is given will fix the problem, even if that medicine is nothing more than a sugar pill, it will still help the problem. The mind’s belief in something doesn’t just allow things to work, but will actually create the results we believe in with no outside influence. If we decide that we are happy and in a good mood, we will be happy and in a good mood and the reverse is also true, but it goes to the body chemistry as well. If we believe we are depressed, out serotonin levels will decrease and our blood flow will stagnate and we will become depressed. If we believe that we are happy and energetic, our body chemistry will support that and we will feel it physically as well. The best example I have is with coffee. I drink a cup a coffee every day and have been physically addicted to the caffeine for many, many years. I get terrible headaches on days that I don’t get caffeine. The strange thing is, when one of those headaches starts in and I grab a cup of coffee, that headache goes away after the first sip. Physiologically, that caffeine hasn’t done anything chemically to my body yet, but my brain thinks I got caffeine, so that caffeine headache has gone away. We can use this phenomenon activity to improve ourselves and our lives.

So take today and believe that everything and is wonderful and your life is a joy that is getting better all the time. Than do it tomorrow as well, and the day after and keep at it. Soon you will find that your life is wonderful and improving! Take control of yourself!