A popular health industry catchcry is “You are what you eat.” The link between the quality of the foods we ingest and the condition and performance of our bodies is well established and accepted by most. The kitchen equivalent is the expression “Junk in, junk out.” Cheap ingredients can only result in a cheap feed.
But while most people are quick to grasp that concept many fall short when the focus shifts from physical health and wellbeing to mental condition and shape. We can struggle with the idea that “as we think then so shall we be.”
It’s all too easy to feed fears, anxieties and negative self-images to the point where they assume proportions well beyond realistic boundaries and manageable levels. Too many people reach a point in their lives where they are their own worst enemies. They become convinced about personal short-comings that are often of their own creation. A self-defeating attitude is a danger in the short term and can become a locked prison if ignored.
We are all a mix of positive and negative, good and bad, conservative and impetuous, happy and sad. At different times on different days and in different circumstances darkness can block the light. We can become apathetic and defeatist. But that doesn’t make us beaten.
It’s possible to survive and thrive; to become our own best friend rather than our own worst enemy. Efforts to find the good in every situation and every individual; to make the most of every day; to accept and love ourselves; to replace the negativity in our thinking with positivity – all these things and more give us balance and a greater grip on reality.
Time should be spent thinking about what we’re thinking about and then deciding if the outcome is beneficial or detrimental. Change is always possible…and that’s an encouraging reality.
Gary Bentley Counselling 