Doctor Scott Zarcinas from Unlocking Your Life is living proof that thinking positive is key to health and wellbeing. Here, Dr Scott gives us his secrets.
Revolutionary industrialist Henry Ford once said, “if you believe you can, or you believe you can’t, you’re right!”
In my youth, my mottos were: “Nothing good ever happens to me,” and “I don’t deserve to be happy”. I suffered all kinds of ailments – loss of hair, insomnia, excessive worry, weight gain and more.
Now, my mottos are “Better today than yesterday, better tomorrow than today,” and “I Can! I Will! I Am!” I’m fitter and healthier in my forties than I ever was.
Where does Negative Thinking Start?
The three most devastating negative thoughts are: I can’t, I won’t, I ain’t. These self-limiting beliefs are the triggers for unhappiness, procrastination, apathy and resentment – the cycle of failure. There are three main causes for our self-limiting beliefs:
- GRATIFICATION
It’s human nature to run to that which will give us pleasure. But the need for instant gratification – ‘I Want It Now!’ leads to desensitization. We require more and more and more of that which used to give us pleasure, until we believe we will never be satisfied. By delaying gratification and savouring the rewards of our efforts, we can change our need for “I Want It Now!” and our negative expectations.
- FEAR
Fear can paralyze us and keep us in the cycle of failure for a lifetime. The truth is we are only born with three types of fear: The fear of falling, the fear of loud noises, and the fear of abandonment. That means every other fear is learned. When we face our I can’t, I won’t, I ain’t fears [fears such as ‘I can’t get better’, ‘I’ll never be well’ and ‘I’m not a healthy person’] we can start to unlearn them.
- ISOLATION
Time and again I see that people who believe “Life is a jungle,” are more stressed, illness-prone, unhappy, and unfulfilled. The reality is we are all dependent upon one another – from the smallest to the largest organisms on the planet. To isolate ourselves from this reality is to isolate ourselves from life itself. This cannot be healthy. When we change the destructive belief that life is a race, or survival of the fittest, we become in tune with the greater reality of interconnectedness.
Can we change fast?
Yes, of course we can change overnight. But what’s more likely is a gradual, willing change that slowly gathers momentum until a tipping point is reached: we wake up one morning thinking more positive thoughts than negative ones.
The most amazing change I see is when somebody who has been mired in self-limiting belief for most of their life starts saying, “I CAN do it!” and “I WILL do it!” and eventually, “I AM doing it!”
“I CAN! I WILL! I AM!” are very powerful words. I recommend you try them. You’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.
Love Heals
It has been scientifically proven that the feeling of being loved has a positive effect on health and wellbeing, especially medical recovery. A heart attack victim who feels loved and needed (and this is most evident in males) has a shorter recovery period and better long term outcome than someone who feels unloved and unwanted.
Dr. Scott Zarcinas is the founder of Unlocking Your Life seminars, and the author of Your Natural State of Being.
This story was commissioned by Goodlife Health Gyms.