A Positive Attitude... Better than Medication...

Be happy! A Positive attitude is better than an apple a day.
It’s true; a happy, positive outlook can do more wonders for you than any medication, food or even chocolate.
Now like most, I much prefer chocolate to any medicine or even most foods for that matter. So maybe I'll keep eating chocolate but I'm happy to ditch the medicine and keep my upbeat, optimistic and positive attitude.
A recent article in the Stamford Advocate found that a number of Doctors (yes those very same people that like to hand out prescriptions), scientists, and medical researchers are giving full support to the power of a positive attitude and now it can help overcome some of the toughest and most challenging setbacks.

The more positive and upbeat you are, the longer you'll live and the better your chances for recovery.
Some of you might remember legendary actor and comedian, George Burns (if you don't - Google him). He's a classic example of how a positive attitude can keep you going longer than most would expect.
And that's not coming from me, it comes from Dr. Steve Jones with the Center for Healthy Aging in Greenwich, CT.

Jones said Burns was able to live past 100 mainly because of his healthy and positive attitude, along with his sense of humor.
Burns was so optimistic he planned his 100th birthday long before he even got close to the milestone. "He also outlived about seven of his Doctors... (he) may be the best example of how optimism can keep you alive."

Wow! Optimism and a positive attitude can keep you alive, and keep you healthy!
I've been saying it for years, now there's ample, scientific proof. Even my own Doctor recommends a positive attitude (my old Doctor used to love writing prescriptions, that's why I left, he couldn't come up with one for healthy living).

But even therapists agree, saying it can often be the difference in overcoming setbacks. "Even in my practice, where I see people dealing with issues like bad marriages, unemployment and depression,
I see attitude constantly make a difference in how people overcome those things" said psycho-therapist, Maude Purcell.

Now having a positive, healthy attitude is often easier said than done.
You may have a chronic negative attitude and all you have to do is look at your past history and you may feel you can easily justify having that attitude.
Changing it would be great but how do you start? What do you do?

The only reason you have a negative attitude or can't generate a positive, healthy attitude is because you're not used to looking at the positive things in your life.
It's easy to focus on the negative, there's so much re-enforcement to support it.
But believe it or not, there are many positive factors in everybody's life. And once you focus on them, think of them regularly you'll begin to shift from being negative to being positive, upbeat and happy.

It's not going to change overnight. It's a gradual shift that will take place until one day you'll realize you're not so negative anymore (and you'll probably live a lot longer so make sure you have some kind of savings).
People who are positive, upbeat and happy live longer, healthier lives because their subconscious is working on attracting positive situations that allow them to live healthier, and happier lives.
This happens because their mind is constantly feeding their subconscious happy, optimistic thoughts and beliefs.

So start focusing on positive, upbeat thoughts. Begin feeling happy again. Change what you think about regularly. Feed your subconscious healthy, optimistic thoughts and beliefs and you'll begin to enjoy life a lot more.
Put an End to Struggle.

But wait there's more.

Not only can a positive attitude help you live a longer, healthy life, Doctors say it can be the difference between healing and struggling.
Now that's something to sit up and pay attention to.
Put an end to struggling, begin healing simply by shifting your attitude, and its not coming from me it's coming from the medical community.

"I see the impact of attitude all the time in cancer patients," says Dr. Steve Lo, an oncologist at Stamford Hospital. "You can take someone and give them a devastating diagnosis, tell them they are terminal and yet months, years after getting that diagnosis they are still around defying all the odds. They are the ones who say, 'I don't care what the odds are.

I am going to live,' and somehow they do." That's what a positive attitude will do.

A negative attitude will lead to struggle and an early visit from the Grim Reaper.

A positive attitude will keep you alive, help you recover, bounce back from setbacks and let you live a longer healthier life.
Jones says he constantly stresses how outlook can affect the aging process. While there are no studies proving that being happy can lower your cholesterol or reduce your cancer risk, Jones says there are subtle ways it can help keep us healthier. "I think all of us now recognize that there is a mind-body connection," Jones says.

"And without sounding too New Age or mystical, I just try to put it in perspective. If you have a good attitude, you are more likely to get up and do a little exercise, you are more likely to eat right, you are more likely to enjoy your life and want to live it to its fullest"
Live life to the fullest - okay I know not everybody can do that, at least not everyday. We have obligations, commitments and responsibilities that don't always allow us to go out and play when we want.

But that doesn't mean that you always have to take life so seriously.

You need to make time to enjoy life, to live life, to do the things you enjoy.

Can you remember the last time you went out and did something just for the pure fun of it?
Or the last time you laughed so loud and long you almost cried (or wet your pants). My kid put me in that state just about every day - we make sure we take time to laugh out loud.
You need to go out and do things that you enjoy, laugh and have fun.
This allows your mind and subconscious mind to relax and work on bringing more joy into your life.

The goal is to feed your mind and subconscious mind as many positive thoughts, beliefs and feelings as possible.
When you do this your mind and subconscious mind begin to attract more positive situations, situations that will help you enjoy life, people who will want to bring out the best in you and help you achieve your goals. And it happens because that's what you're telling your mind and subconscious mind that you want. By having fun and enjoying life (having that good laugh always helps) you attract more of what helps you to be happy.

What can you do - how do you turn things around.

Keep at it and don't give up.

Keep focusing on what you want. Keep filling your mind with positive thoughts and beliefs.
Keep having fun as often as you can. Remember - practice makes perfect.

Purcell says sometimes it just takes practice. "It can even mean taking really bad situations and forcing you to find the good in them," she says.
Look for that silver lining. Purcell drew upon a recent case to emphasize how finding an opportunity in adversity can turn things around. In this case a person had recently lost their job and was depressed. "He had a family to support and he was feeling suicidal really," she says.

Through therapy, the man came to realize he had hated his old job, had wanted to leave and his firing was in reality, an opportunity. "He always had wanted to start his own business, and even though it was difficult, he found the way to make it happen," she says. "He took something devastating and found something positive to do with it."

Changing the way you see things can also help overcome major medical setbacks, the key is to never give up.

Dr. Lo tells a similar anecdote about a terminal breast cancer patient he treated for years. "I mean the kind of cancer she had, it had metastasized to the liver; it was really bad, most people in her situation wouldn't have lived six months, a year tops," he says. "She told me, 'I don't believe that. I won't believe that. I'm going to live.' Not only did she do that, she went out, started a business and turned it into a bigger business and then an empire. And the whole time, she would tell you, with this incredible determination, "I'm going to fight it." And, he adds, "She laughed a lot."

Keep laughing and keep finding ways to enjoy life.

We all experience setbacks. I've had some myself. I recall losing a job years ago, only to go on and do something completely different, that allowed me to excel and build new, more powerful alliances.
Setbacks will happen but when you believe you can overcome them, when your mind and subconscious mind are programmed to create success, happiness and push you to enjoy life, wonderful things begin to unfold.

Don't waste time thinking about what went wrong or why things didn't work out.
Start enjoying your life. Focus on the positive things that are going on. Look for that silver lining. Get your mind and subconscious mind working on creating more happiness, and joy in your life.
Doctors, researchers and scientists now agree, a positive attitude will let you live a longer, healthier and happier life. Start the shift today.

Have a nice day.