The thoughts you have can create disease or can create health. Have you ever noticed that when you’re suffering, you tend to develop unhealthy thought patterns?

You could be suffering in a physical, mental or even emotional way. But no matter what the source, our pain has a tendency to manifest into negative thinking.

Next time you feel a great deal of angst or feel that you’re in pain, try to stop and recognize the unhealthy thought patterns you might have developed.

If you find it difficult to notice any, you can ask a friend or family member if they’ve noticed any new unhealthy habits you’ve picked up.

Have a friend or family member take this short quiz about you. Often times we don’t realize the negative tendencies we have until someone else brings them to light which is why you can take this PDF to a few of your close friends or family members to complete based on your personality as of late. This is a gentle way to become more self aware and create room for personal growth! The feed back will allow for you to create a healthier environment for you and the ones around you.

A negative mindset or negative thoughts will result in a cascade of changes to your entire body from changes in your hormones and neurotransmitters, impaired digestive function, and even interference to your cardiovascular system and detoxification capabilities. Repetitive negative thought patterns such as anger, fear and inadequacy may lead to negative changes in your physiology, which can be a precursor to many chronic diseases.

Thankfully, we can control our thoughts and the power they have over our bodies!

If you already know that you’re someone who has repetitive negative thoughts, try to simply “stop thinking.” It may sound silly, but consider this: if you have a negative and damaging thought that creates an emotional response, don’t allow that thought to re-enter your consciousness. Simply drop the thought. It’s the constant replaying of the thought that keeps your emotions high, which leads to more negative thoughts, which leads to more emotional responses, and so on. To stop this perpetual pattern, stop thinking the thought(s) altogether.

This technique takes practice, but is entirely achievable! Then, you can try and replace your former negative thoughts with one of the following mantras.

The mantras in this article are designed to help you make the switch from an unhealthy mindset to a healthier mindset.

We encourage you to review these mantras and pick one or two that you really feel you need to focus on. Then, make a daily commitment to review your new mantra and strive everyday to develop this new pattern of thinking.

Healing has to take place in the mind before it can ever take place in the body.

Changing your mindset can take time, but with effort and consistency, it is possible.

Enjoy your new mantras for a better life!

     1. You can change, but it takes time!

How long do you think it is going to take to achieve your goals?  (It’s a longer process than you may think!) Do you truly believe you can improve your health and wellbeing?  The more we understand our health, the more we understand the importance of believing we can change for the positive, to have hope.

Every person in the world, despite their limitations, circumstances and health issues, has the ability to improve their mindset. It takes work, determination and consistency, but if you want it badly enough and take consistent action, you will make improvements. You didn’t get this way overnight and you’re not going to get better overnight.

We see patients who quit trying to do the right things for their body because they aren’t seeing results fast enough and their expectations aren’t realistic for how long the healing process is going to take.  Remember, the only way you can truly fail is if you quit trying.  Eating healthy, exercising, taking the proper supplements and eliminating your mental blocks are never something you should quit doing no matter what your excuses are.

     2. Focus on what’s right instead of what’s wrong.

Do you tend to focus on what’s wrong instead of what’s right?  If someone is late do you tend to think the best or the worse about the reason why? It’s easy to get caught up in all of your problems and what’s wrong, because those things are much more noticeable and irritating.  However, the truth is, you probably have a lot more going right than wrong.  You have been given an amazing life, even if it is hard—most of us lead lives others would only dream of; we have beds to sleep in and homes to keep us warm and an abundance of clean water and food.

Count your blessings every day. You are a good person and your worth is not the sum of your accomplishments or items checked off your to do list.

     3. Adopt an attitude of gratitude and appreciation.

Do you yearn for a different career, a different partner, a different life? Are you happy with where you are in your life? Do you wake up and think to yourself “I hope I get through the day”? When was the last time you told your spouse, your boss or the mail man how much you appreciate them?

All too often, we feel like we aren’t good enough, we aren’t making enough of a contribution, that we don’t have enough, or do enough. We feel like our coworkers or friends aren’t good enough, or that our partners don’t love us enough.

These feelings make us feel inadequate, deprived and downright miserable.  To stop this cycle, start reflecting on all the great things you already have in your life. Think about how great the people are in your life and overtime this will bring more joy and happiness to you. We get so focused on ourselves, we forget to be appreciative and grateful for all that has been given to us.

Start finding small things to be grateful for and appreciative for every day. What you think about you bring about: the more grateful and appreciative you are, the more you will see those things reflected in your life.

     4. Be present and happy with where you are!

When someone is speaking to you, are you more concerned with what you are about to say or what the other person is saying?  Have you said to yourself that you will be happier when x-y-z is completed or that big goal is accomplished?

We spend so much of our life thinking it’s going to get better when we get to a particular place in our life.  The truth is, it’s not going to get better than right now…until it gets better right now. We also have troubles being present with where we actually are and really enjoying it.  When we are working, we are thinking about getting off work, and when we are off work we are thinking about work. Try your best to stay in the present and honor each moment—don’t let life pass you by while you’re rushing through it!

     5. Have a servant’s heart.

Do you wake up with the idea that today you are going to make a difference in someone else’s life? Happiness isn’t about having or getting, but is instead about giving.

Donate time to an animal shelter, volunteer at a hospital, clean your spouse’s car, help your neighbor with their yard, or do something as simple as to give a huge smile to everyone you encounter during the day. Stop asking “what can I get” and start asking “what can I give?”

     6. Look for solutions, not excuses.

Have you blamed your diagnosis, your injury, your loss of job, or anything else for your excuse in giving up?  Stop blaming others, your circumstances, life events or your doctors for how your life has turned out.  When you cast blame it relinquishes you of your responsibility and dis-empowers you to take action.

You can’t let circumstances outside can of your control dictate what it is you control. Instead of making excuses or blaming others, start looking for ways that YOU can make positive steps forward.

     7. Do something good for yourself every day.

Do you feel that you do something good for yourself every day?  Do you have a hobby (besides watching tv), play sports or do something fun on a regular basis? Do something good for yourself every day!

Read a book, stretch, exercise, eat healthy, clean your room, organize your refrigerator, say something positive to yourself, or anything else that will bring a little more balance and joy into your life. Try focusing on a new hobby or exploring a passion of yours. Instead of over thinking and worrying about things, you’ll have something else to focus on.

Often times, your worries will melt away, and then in other areas of your life you may feel more creative, balanced, and joyful.

     8. You become what you think and do.

What kind of thoughts and behaviors do you do regularly?  If you do brave things you become brave, if you do considerate things you become considerate, if you show acts of love you become loving. If you exercise you become fit, if you eat healthy you become healthy, if you write in a journal you become self-aware. If you judge and are critical of others you become judgmental and critical, not only of others but also yourself.

What kind of thoughts do you have consistently?  What kind of habits do you have?

     9. Be the best version of you possible.

Do you ever feel bad about yourself after seeing what someone else has done or accomplished?  A common cause of unhappiness and feelings of inadequacy happen when we compare ourselves to others. It’s not about being as good as or being better than someone else, but about being the best version of you that you can possibly be.

Many times we have expectations about what it is we can accomplish. When we don’t accomplish those predetermined expectations we feel like a failure.

The only expectation you should have of yourself is that you are going to try your best to be the best you can be. And, if you fail, no biggie—just try again tomorrow. At least you’re trying. The only way to fail is to not try.

     10. You are not in control of anything in this life except how you respond to it.

Are you a self-admitted control freak, a Type-A personality? Do you constantly offer advice to others even when they don’t ask? Do you get easily stressed when things don’t go the way you would like? Do you get upset with how others act or treat you?

Stop trying to control everyone and everything, or worrying about things you have absolutely no control over. We cannot control crime, natural disasters, other people, politics, our family members or any other negative event that can happen daily. Focus on the present, on what you can control, and respond in proactive, positive ways!

A wonderful way to overcome the obsessiveness to control everything is to surrender control and trust that in the end, it will work out the way it is supposed to.  Marianne Williamson said, “surrender means the decision to stop fighting the world, and to start loving it instead. It’s a gentle liberation from pain…to relax, to feel the love in your heart and keep to that as your focus in every situation.”

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