You are You: Watch Your Thoughts

The first book I think I ever read on the subject of positive thinking was called "The Little Engine that Could."  We can all remember how this little engine was trying to get up over a big hill.  The problem was clear.  The engine was small, and the hill looked too big.  But, after a bit of coaxing and encouragement from the passengers (clowns and dolls I think)--the little engine managed to climb up the hill, little by little by repeating the words "I think I can.  I think I can."  Once it got over the hill, the engine then said "I thought I could."  This defines the power of  POSITIVITY, which is simply the power of positive thinking and how it can affect and help create a desired outcome.  First, we think something.  Then, we repeat it to ourselves a few times or more.  Then, we act on it  

This is different from magical thinking.  For example, just wishing I could win the lottery and move to Paris will not make it so.  There are too many unknowns and outside forces to make that happen. Instead this is about exerting personal control in one's life which can create amazing outcomes.
Our thoughts are very powerful.

Let's keep this topic in mind when it comes to our bodies.  A touchy subject if there ever was one. Some of us grew up with negative messages about body image.  "You can't wear that...what were you thinking?"  "You need to cover up...those arms look like bat wings."  "Those pants are too tight." This is not helping cultivate a positive body image.  Instead this is about shaming and saying that the body we got at birth, which is the body we live in today, which is the body we will die in, is somehow not good enough.  Since we are not our bodies--our bodies are an extension of ourselves literally and figuratively, and since we carry it around wherever we go, it is up to us to cultivate a positive outlook. It is up to us to rewrite this negative storyboard and appreciate the body for what it can do, for how far it has come, for the children it may have produced, for the miles it has walked, for the arms that have hugged, for the mind that can be changed.

This is an important step on the path to self improvement.  Discovering how we can positively adopt a healthy body image which then helps us make positive changes to preserve and promote that image is key.  We do not want to spend our days thinking harsh, critical thoughts about a part of us that is so important.  We do not want to listen to negative tapes that we create about what our bodies can and can't do.  If you decide to climb a tree, then you can climb a tree.  If you decide to walk 15,000 steps, then you can walk 15,000 steps.

We are not our bodies.  We are not our minds.  We are not our thoughts.  We are not our feelings.  We are that intangible vessel of greatness that came with us at birth.  It is always there like a crystal that doesn't change color no matter what it comes into contact with.  Unfortunately, as we grow up and have normal life experiences and listen to external messages, we can forget that what's deep down inside, what is good, is always there.  The best of us is always there.  It hasn't changed.  It's been covered up.

Like the Little Engine that Could, we can too.  Watch your thoughts.  Watch what you say.  Watch what you do.  If you want more for yourself, go positive and appreciate the best in you.  Always.