“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

I am NOT a Shakespeare geek, and I’m convinced I’d do pretty well on Jeopardy if it weren’t for the endless categories based on him and his work.  Like him or not, there’s a lot of truth to the above quote.  

Falling prey to a negative mindset can sabotage your relationships, keep your goals out of reach, and disrupt your general sense of wellbeing.  Harnessing the power of a positive mindset can have just the opposite effects – enriching the roles of friend, partner, and parent; pushing you toward your goals; and establishing the clarity of mind on which wellness is based. 

Studying the importance of mental toughness inspired me to seek out other tools to help set a positive mindset.  The essay “As A Man Thinketh” by James Allen focuses on just that – cultivating positive thinking to attract what you want: fill your mind with negative thoughts, and a negative outcome will follow.  Treat your mind like a garden filled with beautiful, positive thoughts, and reap the positive results.  This quote in particular applies to our physical selves:

“The body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the operations of the mind, whether they be deliberately chosen or automatically expressed.”

This passage brings to mind the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy – our expectations (thoughts) about what’s to come subconsciously shape our actions and behavior, causing that expectation to come to fruition.  Essentially, you can expect a positive outcome and therefore act positively and proactively toward that outcome, or expect the worst and utilize a “doom and gloom” mindset to take you there. 

There are few things in the world over which you truly have control.  Your precious mind is one of them.   Utilize that control wisely.

Stay positive, and Stay Vibrant!

This post originally appeared on greensuperfoods.us.