Health Transformation by Inspiration
Live for the moment, with gratitude for each one.
‘Today is not just another day, today is a gift.’
Beautiful video by Louis Schwartzberg that teaches us the importance of gratitude and the beauty that is here in each and every moment.
‘It is never about the destination, it is always about the journey. Live for the journey in each and every moment.’ – M.L.Adams
‘To keep the body in good health is a duty otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.’ ~Buddha
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future but something you design for the present. ~ Jim Rohn
How can positive thinking help you?
The answer is in every way possible, you can without doubt transform your life by changing your way of thinking.
The difficult part is often recognising the negative thinking cycle in the first place but you can train yourself to recognise this by recognising where you are at with your feelings and responses to situations in your life.
Firstly lets recognise the effect of the opposite, negative thinking.
Negative thinking will cause or contribute to;
One thing positive thinking is not about is being perfect, that as we know is not possible and does not really exist. However it is certain that it will make your life a whole lot better and easier.
How? Well our thoughts affect a lot in our life, some would say everything. As our thoughts affect how we feel and then the actions we take. They also affect how we choose to view others and the world around us, all of this in turn will affect the outcome of our lives.
The list above of the effects of negative thinking can act as indicators of when we are thinking negatively, they are signs that we are thinking negatively often in repetition and also in reaction to events or circumstance and one thing is for certain thinking negatively will not improve any outcome in anyway. As Zig Ziglar stated;
‘Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will.’
Nothing could be more true, negative thinking can become a like a spiral that can lead us in to the depths of despair if we do not become aware of it in time. The best defence against it then is to ensure you stay in charge of your mind and feed it with as much positive thinking as you possibly can, once you begin doing this you can be sure that both your life and health will begin to improve because what you focus on you get more of,because it becomes constantly in your awareness. For example if you suffer with any form of chronic pain and you focus on this continually, the pain will fill much worse than if you choose to take your mind off it and focus on something positive. I know this because I have experienced this myself and realised the power of positive thinking over pain. In addition to this feel good hormones (endorphins) are natural painkillers.
Another major advantage is the results you can achieve in your goals through positive thinking. At the very simple level if a part of you is telling you that you cant achieve what you have set for yourself then the out come is likely to be poor because the efforts you make will be in line with your thinking. This as well as to counteract all the problems associated with negative thinking is the reason positive thinking and coaching is used in all of our health programmes. The results you will achieve whilst using positive thinking in line with a healthy lifestyle will far outreach the results you will achieve if you don’t.
For more info on our health programmes, positive thinking and health coaching please email me at info@miralahealth.com
Wishing you all the best in health and happiness, Miranda. L. Adams.
Keep thinking positive, remember; ‘ You, yourself as much as anyone else in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.’ ~Buddha
Developing a regular training pattern in the gym or with any sport has its challenges. The challenges we face within our training are like teachers (the kind that are cruel to be kind). They teach us discipline to build resilience, to overcome the struggles and to grow.
Throughout my time in regular fitness training, since I was young, I have always found these lessons I have learnt and the development gained has helped me tremendously in life to overcome any challenges that life brings. Without this as a basis I think I would have found these far more difficult.
Without the discipline built in the gym I may likely not have learnt to do the same in other areas of life, it is certain that it has helped in many ways. Regular Training in whichever form you choose also builds your self-confidence and self-belief, I have seen people’s confidence transform from exercising regularly and it also happened to me. Self-confidence and self-belief are two things that without which we will struggle very much in many areas of life. Regular training is in no way a magic pill for this because there are many elements to it, but it certainly helps a lot.
The Energy and Focus you also gain from your training will also help in all other areas of life, whether you are working or studying , you will be able to think much clearer and feel much better due to the increase in energy and concentration. As a result you will be able to get far more done in a shorter space of time, who wouldn’t want this?:)
Because exercise training is initially quiet difficult and to form a regular training pattern takes discipline this builds a strength of mind, we have to learn to persist and be disciplined with our training to reach the results we want to achieve. Persistence is important in training to achieve our goals, without it we would not get there or keep going at all. This is the same with any goal in life, if we do not have persistence we will not get there. The good thing is persistence can be built and exercise training is the perfect training ground to do this.
We always start off small and build up, therefore we learn to adapt and progress from there you get stronger and stronger. You can apply this principle to any goal and it will then develop your persistence muscle because this way you have broken your large goal down and you then build up from there. Each step has a reward and self belief gets stronger, you will keep going to get to the next step (as long as you want it enough) and so build persistence from within. From there you can then use this strength when you need to, for any goal or task that requires it. You will always keep going because in training you have to.
‘Enjoy the process, then the outcomes simply happen.’ 🙏💛💫
All real faith and motivation comes from within, situations, people and experiences from the outside can take us to this point but ultimately it is ourselves that drives us to keep going towards any goal, or any important task. This poem is wrote with that purpose, we all have that place within, find it and you’ll be on fire, then nothing will stop you reaching your goal.
Feel the fire come up within you
There is nothing to hold you back
Just believe in yourself and you’ll win
Bring up the force from within you
Believe in yourself, this is true
There is nothing that can hold you back now
Nothing except for you
Feel that force from within you
All is possible from there
There is nothing , or no place stronger
Just believe in yourself and your there
All is possible from here and now,
Listen to that place from within
All you have to do is believe in yourself
There is nothing to stop you from there.
-M.L.Adams
This Post is specifically for anyone who is in the process of recovery from any long term health condition. I wanted to share my experience and expertise in this particular area to offer some useful insights for those who are on a recovery journey. Having overcome an anxiety condition as a child, and been on the recovery journey from chronic fatigue syndrome I wanted to share some of what I have learnt in this process with you.
The meaning of recovery in this post is not necessarily going back to how you were, but in many ways of becoming more, through a process of learning and change. You can become far more empowered as a person and what you may once have perceived as a really difficult time can turn out to be one of your greatest gifts.
The first key is to remain hopeful from the beginning, without hope you have nothing because you have essentially given up. Whatever prognosis/ outcome you have been told it is important to remain hopeful in your heart. Hopeful of something more and in yourself most of all. Recovery from chronic health conditions is a journey and it can consist of many ups and downs but I firmly believe that as with any challenge in life that there is much you can learn about yourself and life through this experience, If there is any purpose to it at all then it would be that of learning and self reflection.
In the initial stages of being told you have a chronic health condition it is a perfectly normal and understable response to feel anger or frustration at the new limitations that you now feel you have to live with. It is a proccess of change and also of letting go of your previous perceptions and finding new ways to manage as you go through this life transition. The hope you have will then become determination, when you begin to find your way and the lesson in each experience.
‘We never really know what a future outcome will be, but how we live now is what matters most.’
Secondly is that now more than ever your body needs an immunity boost and the the best way to do this is through your diet. Eating wholesome and natural foods is the best way to get the most nutrients out of your diet. A diet high in fruits and vegetables is heaven to your immune system and will also improve your energy levels. As a guide also lower your intake of white refined carbs, sugars and fatty foods. Organic foods are also excellent as they do not have the chemicals and pesticides that are added to other foods. Please research the alkaline diet for a specific example of a high energy and nutrient dense diet to follow.
Thirdly is exercise, exercise regularly but dont overdo it. 3-4 x a week is ideal. Regular exercise will help in many ways physically and also to help you feel stronger and more confident emotionally. Any form of exercise that you enjoy and find physically beneficial is good. It is essential in fact that you do find it enjoyable. If you find yourself very fatigued then yoga is excellent and you will feel much better for it after, swimming is also very good.
Fourth is relaxation and meditation both are equally important. Stress can build up in our lives sometimes without us realising and have significant impacts on our immune system and therefore our ability to cope with any illnesses/ health condition. By learning relaxation and meditation tools we can learn to effectively manage stress and also improve our overall calm and focus. Enabling us to manage our day to day lives far more effectively. These are both valuable life skills to have.
Take time to laugh and feel good , this gets us out of any negative thinking cycle that can often happen when you feel ill or tired. Do something regularly on a daily basis that you know makes you feel good and takes your complete focus, Just getting in to this habit will reinforce habits of positive thinking and help to release more endorphins (feel-good hormones). Taking time to laugh in any and everyway can also help the healing process, Laughter is the best medicine:)
Lastly surround yourself with people who support and encourage you and who also believe in you and your abilities, this will help you to feel to feel stronger and face things easier. If you dont have these people at the moment then find them where you can, places of interest etc. Support groups can sometimes be good also but be careful not to focus on symptoms too much, as this can bring about a negative thinking cycle, it is all about what we focus on. We can have many things going on in our lives but it is what we are focusing on that effects how we ultimately feel. In addition always look after you, as you are most important in this all, never forget your own needs and how much you deserve your own love as well as the love of others.
Beginning on the path of improving your health and fitness is rarely if ever straight forward and easy. To expect it to be so would be setting yourself up for dissapointment.
You have to expect some hard work and effort if you are to get the results that you want to achieve. In the beginning most days you may not feel like exercising or following your healthy eating plan but do it anyway and keep doing it because it will become easier and you will eventually feel like doing it.
Achieving a good state of health and fitness is the same as any success goal, you have to push yourself, really focus and give it all you’ve got and the rewards will come. The beginning is often the toughest part and we all have to start at the beginning at some point. This is where you need the most support and encouragment so surround yourself with people who do that for you and don’t forget to do this for yourself also. Associate each exercise session with a reward of feeling good from it or a chance to meet new people, (but not a chocolate bar afterwards:)
The reason I wanted to identify the struggle in the beginning is because, when we are aware of something we can deal with it much better, as with any challenge in life. Do whatever helps you to overcome it and you will eventually feel like doing it. (Please refer to my post on exercise motivation for more on this.)
Remember though that almost everyone goes through this phase when they begin exercising so you are not alone. The super fit people you see and the instructors all had to start somewhere.
A little bit about my health and fitness journey; I wasnt one of those kids who did loads of sport at school, in fact I did little P.E at all. I began my fitness journey 13 years ago at the age of 17 when I was introduced to martial arts and started going to the gym regularly. My goals back then were fairly small, just to improve my fitness and feel good, but these gradually changed and became more defined.
I specifically remember to this day, the feelings of really having to push myself to go to a session, at this time my mind and body where not accustomed to the benefits and this took a few months to kick in. This would also happen if I were to have a break at any point. Our bodies become accustomed to that which we habitually do, so it is very important to maintain the habit as much as possible, Particuarly in the beginning.
What began to happen was that I noticed after a while I was becoming naturally more motivated and excited before my exercise sessions, getting my kit ready in advance (the day before) and planning everything around my exercise sessions.
It had become a habit and one that I loved, no two people will have exactly the same experience with health and fitness, but the process of motivation is always the same. It is tough in the beginning but if you keep at it and stick to your plan and goals you will soon become more motivated. Your goals and plans will adapt but make sure the habit sticks.
Things do come up such as holidays, illness or injury and when they do , do your best to maintain what you can and perservere through any setback. Don’t let it stop your progress to achieving your goals. As soon as you can get straight back on to your plan and then push yourself to get back in to the habit.
It is a journey to optimum health and fitness and there can be some tough points, but each and every bit is worth the effort and the more effort you put in, the more you will gain from it.
Ultimately in the beginning it is you that has to push yourself but do what you can to gather support from friends, family, a coach or trainer. Most importantly from the very beginning believe you can do it, because you can.
‘Use everything you’ve got to get to the top.’
You can have a teacher, coach or trainer and this helps a lot with motivation and guidance, but it is you that does the work and gets yourself there and you that will have the victory in the end.
I hope you find this guidance helpful, particuarly if you are new to exercise. Please contact us for further guidance, motivation and information on our exercise plans.
Do you ever get frustrated at not achieving your goals as quickly as you would like?
I know I have been guilty of this and then I have to remind myself that its not about the destination but it is about the journey. The pure act of setting goals can make it easy to forget this and to continually focus on the future of where we want to be, but if we do this for too long we can lose touch with who we are and where we are now. This is important because happiness is in the NOW not in the future.
If we approach our goals in a way of being purely focused on getting there, then we lose all the joy of the journey and often make it harder for ourselves to get there as well. Relating this to exercise I always think of the famous Bruce Lee saying of ‘Dont think Feel.’ When you go in to the feeling place you become in the moment and one with that journey you are on. You are still growing and moving forward but you are enjoying it much more than if you are constantly thinking about what you are doing and where you are going. Perhaps why it is so much easier when we have an instructor there telling us what to do;)
But ultimately when you are only focused on the end result of your exercise effort or of any other goal you will not enjoy the journey. The reason that happiness and success are about the journey and not the destination is because this is where the growth happens and where we learn the most, if we do not focus on the moment we are in, we miss out on all of this.
‘Be happy in the now but seek to grow as a person.’
Accept yourself as and where you are with love, but seek to grow out of self- love also as a desire to grow and give more. Self- love is an important factor, if you are rejecting who and where you are now, you are ultimately rejecting yourself, this is not good of course and not the idea of goal setting. Also we all need to love ourselves, in the healthy sense of course:)
Enjoy being who you are and the PROCESS of becoming who you want to be.
You will get there and you wont even notice because you’ll be too busy being yourself and enjoying the moment you are in and as a result of your journey of being and becoming, you can go far beyond the results of what you originally imagined.
Miranda Adams Coaching