A glance in any book shop today is bound to reveal a ton of autobiographies. Successful people explaining how they made it in life. From glamour models to empire builders, they all have a different story to tell. But each has a common thread – they overcame adversity by focusing on the positives. This is the only way to achieve anything we’re aiming for. We have to consume ourselves with positive beliefs, and not allow negative a foot-hold!
And so for someone attempting to reduce their weight, a positive mind-set is fundamental. You can only do it if you think you can! An up-beat, affirmative viewpoint harnesses the right results. On the other hand, a negative outlook blocks us and numbs our ‘can-do’ receptors.
It’s all down to our mental apparatus – something called the reticular activation system that automatically prompts our thoughts. Think of how many things that were key issues in the past have now become distance memories – that’s because thoughts that are no longer pressing are moved to our sub conscious mind.
When we consciously attempt to do anything, our Reticular Activation System (RAS) will search the sub-conscious mind for any relevant information it holds, and bring it to our attention. If we’re walking down a street, we’re only made aware of things that have meaning to us – the rest is just background noise.
Therefore, if our conscious mind has generally been transferring positive, upbeat messages to our sub-conscious mind, that’s what it will send back. But if our sub-conscious has been given loads of downbeat messages, then that’s equally what will be sent back.
We have an element of control over this. Successful people have generally worked on their attitude and restricted the amount of negative being stored. And so the reticular activation system emerges as a brilliant mechanism for fulfilling our dreams. The sub conscious has no way of knowing whether information sent to it is imaginary or not.
Accordingly, we must consciously focus on a positive representation of our ideal target. This will then pass on to our subconscious via the RAS – and help us to achieve our goal. It works because at the right time, the relevant information for say weight reduction has been positively affirmed.
A positive mental attitude has long been understood. Abandon negative thinking and keep the focus on hitting the goal. On the other hand, if we set our mind on doubt and failure, we have very little chance of reaching our goals.