How many times have you heard that you are what you eat?  How about that you are what you think?  There has been a lot of research over the years on this topic.  Motivational speakers like Tony Robbins and Zig Ziglar have been talking about the positive or negative effects of your thought pattern on how you interact with others and how you treat yourself. 

There is a lot more than just an emotional response to the thoughts that a person has.  The interesting part is that it does not matter whether the thought originated inside the person or whether the thought was initiated by an external source.  The reaction tends to stimulate a hormone response within the body that can have physiological effects.  On example of this is to have you sit with your eyes closed and imagine that you are holding a bright yellow lemon in your hand and imagine that you just took a great big bight out of it.  Many people will feel that their salivary glands get stimulated and their mouth actually start to water.  Some people will even go to the extreme of having chills go up and down their backs from it.  Now let’s take a look at the average student studying for an exam.  Have you ever told yourself:  “Oh, I can’t remember this”,  “Oh, this class is so hard”, “There’s too much stuff to learn”, or “I will never learn all this information”. Listen to yourself what are you saying?  Are you setting yourself up for failure or are you preparing yourself to succeed? 

Here is an easy experiment that you can do with your friends.  You will need a stop watch or a second hand on a regular watch- but often time the difference will be so major that you will be able to tell without one.  Go to the fitness center and grab a free-weight that you can hold up comfortably without straining your back.  Hold the weight in your hand and move it out away from your body so that you are holding it in an out-stretched position.  Start the stopwatch and began telling yourself negative comments… “I’m a loser,” “I’m good for nothing,” “I’m worthless,” etc. and keep repeating these comments until you can’t hold your arm out anymore.  Stop the stopwatch when this happens.  Record the time.  Now after resting your arm for a few minutes, repeat the procedure but now do it with positive comments like “I’m a great person”, “I’m smart”, I’m good looking”, etc.  Record the time and compare the two.   This is a great example of what psychological stress can do to you.  It does not matter where the source of stress is coming from, external or internal, you react to it!
Change the thinking and all else will follow.  Break up the studying into smaller segments: instead of trying to memorize the whole book, work on 1 chapter at a time.  Prioritize and budget your time, it’s the most valuable thing you have right now.
If you need a little boost of energy or need to improve your memory, call me. I have some great solutions for you! If you feel your health is hindering your intellectual growth, contact me NOW!
You are also welcome to join us for a FREE lecture on “Living Healthy with Diabetes” that will be held at Anne’s Wellness Center, 49 Main Street, Whitesboro on Monday, March 27 at 7pm. Bring a friend! For more information on this and other health concerns, contact Anne Pyrda at (315) 736-4516 or email her at anne@anneswellnesscenter.com.