Strength Training – a Healthy Mind - the Foundation for a Healthy Body

You might be wondering what Emotional Health has to do with a successful nutritional plan and building a stronger body? How about everything! 

If you are working towards a healthy body, start with a healthy mind.  Many commit a tremendous disservice to themselves by dismissing the importance of their thoughts and emotional health.  The quality of our thoughts and emotions are major factors in the quality of our lives.  Your mind is like an invisible foundation that you build your life upon.  The integrity of this foundation determines the heights you will be able to reach.  Do not overlook this point and assume it is “sissy stuff.”   Every champion regardless of his or her field has developed a mind whose power equals or surpasses their level of achievement. – I cannot stress this point enough.

You’ve probably heard it before, but it’s worth hearing it again, your outer world is a manifestation of your inner world. In other words, you are where you are in life because of the consistent thoughts you have bouncing around inside your noggin.  And no, it’s not as simple as simply thinking about something, you’ll notice I said ‘consistent thoughts,’ as in the majority of the time. 

Also, I’m not trying to tell you that thoughts create things on their own, actions do, more specifically; consistent proper action in a certain direction do, however, thoughts are the seeds and roots of those actions.  This is also a point of major importance.

Since we can only consciously think of one thought at a time, if you’re thinking negative thoughts, you can’t think positive thoughts.  And if those negative thoughts are strong enough, and have been with you long enough, you’ll have them lurking around in the back of your mind causing you stress and tension.  Most are too busy to notice, or have become used to it.

Another key point is that positive thoughts tend to create positive results.  It’s hard, if not impossible, to do positive things if negative thoughts make up the majority of your thinking.  Even if your negative thoughts aren’t directed towards the specific goal you want to achieve, they still undermine your efforts to achieve your desires.  That’s an important point worth repeating.  Negative emotions can cause resistance in achieving your goals, even if they don’t have anything to do with your goals.  

Resentment, anger, hatred and other negative emotions towards others, past situations, yourself etc. will seriously slow down if not totally block your progress.  An unhealthy emotional state will rob you of not only your current quality of life that you can be enjoying, but seriously hamper any increase or progression/improvement you want to enjoy – including building a stronger and healthier body.

So, if you’re trying to improve your nutrition plan, negativity, regardless of where it’s directed, can make it very difficult to see any progress.  Even though it may not stop all of your progress, ask yourself, do you really have time to meander around with your life and goals?  Sure there are times for slowing down and smelling the roses, and I’m all for it, when it’s appropriate.  But when it’s a determent to my life, I don’t get what you’d consider ‘excited.’

Also, the stress associated with the negative feelings causes levels of catabolic hormones to rise in your body, which causes your body to break down, diminishment in muscle mass, weaken your immune system, and even makes it more difficult to lose body fat.  This is obviously not a positive state for improving health and physical abilities. 

Dr. Christiane Northrup coined the term “toxic emotion”. In Women's Bodies, Women’s Wisdom (Bantam, 1994) She writes, “A thought held long enough and repeated often enough becomes a belief.” That belief then becomes a biology in which emotional stress causes our adrenal glands to produce corticosteroids - hormones that weaken our immune systems. -

Sibitri Ghosh, writer of the “Emotional Health” section in the revised Alive Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, says, “What was once speculation has now been firmly established as fact: A healthy body cannot be divorced from a healthy mind or a healthy spirit. Emotional health, it can be said with certainty, is an integral part of our overall wellness. Yet many people continue to neglect their emotional health and damage their physical health in the process. Stress caused by unresolved emotional issues, for example, remains one of the leading contributors to illness.”

Positive emotions are like the accelerator in your car, while negative emotions are like the brake.  The quicker you can diminish and eliminate negative emotions, the faster you’ll get to your destination.  In our instance, the quicker you’ll get the body and health you desire.

Action Steps

Developing the “Attitude of Gratitude”

I think it’s important to work on increasing the positive in your life at the same time that you are reducing the negative.  One of the simplest, but most powerful ways is to think of all of the things you’re grateful for in your life.  Even feeling thankful for the most simple things like having a bed to sleep in, or clean water to shower with, or the body that you have; and the ability to build strength, stamina and health will develop the attitude of gratitude. 

Doing this before you get out from under the covers is a great way to start your day.

If you find it difficult at first to come up with a list, think of only one thing that you’re grateful for. Take deep, calm breaths and really focus on it and savor the positive emotions.  Add to this list as the days go by, always think of new things.  Working up to about 10 seems to work best for people.  You can even try this during different times of the day.

Increase the quality of your environment

Reading inspiring books, biographies and autobiographies of your heroes and people who’ve achieved what you want to achieve is one of the best habits you can develop

Listen to uplifting music, audio books, and programs. 

Watch quality programming, the type that has you taking mental notes, or better yet, real notes.  When was the last time you watched something that engaging?

Try the above everyday for the next 21 days and see how you feel.  I’d love to hear about what it’s done for you.

© Raymond Toulany