It doesn’t matter what habits and actions you try to change and put into practice, it is only with the right mindset that a long-lasting difference will happen- and the changes will be a lot easier to make too. Mindset is sometimes called “the story we tell ourselves.” It’s our attitude toward things in our life and is something that we have all the control over.
Mindset is far from a woo-woo concept. Research is showing that it may be far more powerful than we thought. Here’s a quick story about a fascinating study.
Researchers at Stanford University looked at a bunch of people's health and wellness lifestyle habits, as well as health markers. What they found was that the people who thought they were a lot less active had a higher risk of death than the general public. And, they also had up to 71% higher risk of death than people who thought they were more active- even if they actually weren't less active!
How is this even possible that people who simply thought they were less active had higher risks, even if it wasn’t true?
There are a couple of ideas why. One is that maybe if we feel like we're less active, it may make us feel more stressed. And stress isn't good for our mental or physical health. Second, there may be a bit of a mind-body connection where the body embodies what the mind visualises.
Researchers don't know why, but what is important is that there is a good mindset. So, let me give you a couple of strategies to boost your mindset so the next time you make changes to your health, they actually stick!
