Most of 7 The Ground Rules for Healthy Living are pretty straight forward and… most of them come from the outside. (See July 22, 2016 Blog)
What does this mean? It means that most of the Ground Rules are external factors - what you eat, drink (or don’t eat and drink), how you exercise, what high grade nutritional supplements you take and the monthly chiropractic / kinesiological treatments you receive etc.
However, two of them #5 & #6 - Live One Day at a Time and Maintain an Optimistic Attitude come from the inside… they come from YOU! I want to touch on these here.
While I feel all these 7 Ground Rules are important; I have seen in my 31 years of providing Applied Kinesiology Treatments to nearly 9,000 people that a person’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs are an integral aspect of health and happiness.
In other words a positive, grateful and optimistic attitude does wonders and can be the elixir most people are feverishly looking for outside of themselves.
While a positive attitude WILL NOT put a bone back in place or alleviate pain and fatigue from a B12 deficiency (which many people have) it does set the stage so when the appropriate therapy is administered it can mean the difference between success and failure. You can equate it to trying to start a fire with top quality firewood or damp logs. The same match can start a warm, roaring fire; or do nothing... depending on the timber.
Here is a story to illustrate how the difference between a pessimistic and an optimistic attitude (and therefore happiness) is totally under your control regardless of external circumstances.
A couple had twin boys. One had a persistently pessimistic attitude and the other son had an over the top optimistic outlook. The parents were concerned about this stark contrast and wanted to balance them out. They sought professional help… all to no avail.
Finally, they went to a therapist who, upon hearing this interesting scenario proposed a drastic course of action. He said, "Look I know this may sound crazy but hear me out. You say their birthday is coming up. I suggest you buy your son with the deeply pessimistic attitude every possible toy you believe he can ever want. No matter how many. Then for your son with the exuberant optimistic attitude, I suggest you get a big pile of horse manure and plop it the middle of his room. Like I said I know this seems extreme but it might just do the trick."
Reluctantly, the loving parents did as the therapist suggested. Upon returning from school on the day of the twins' birthday they showed the boy with the constant negative attitude his room filled with toys. He looked at them and cried out, "Oh no look at all these toys! Where am I going to put them all? And now when my friends come over I am going to have watch them so that they don’t try to steal them or worse yet break them. This is horrible."
Shocked and disappointed by the failure to elicit the desired positive response they walked their other son into his room. He opened the door and was greeted by the foulest stench he had every experienced. He looked at the pile of manure and then a big grin and a look of joy radiated from his face. He began running around the room, looking under his bed and flinging open his closet doors. The confused parents asked what he was doing. With a big smile he exclaimed, "There’s a horse in here somewhere!"
Perhaps the key word to The 7 Ground Rules of Healthy Living is the word living. Some days Life hands us the object of our desires; other days we might be handed a big pile of manure. The key to health (and happiness) appears to be to keep living as richly as possible…regardless of external circumstances. How do we do this? One way seems to be to keep our attitude as positive and optimistic as possible! We don’t know what is necessarily good or bad until the day, or life, plays out. So we might as well maintain an inner exuberance and expect the best.
It is not necessarily the external circumstances that dictate our happiness; it is largely our impression of it. So stay optimistic, grateful and positive and regardless of what you are handed you will be happy… and if scientific studies are correct you will also be healthier. These 2 rules will help you in living as richly as possible from the inside out. If it turns out this suggestion is wrong and an optimistic attitude does not work; who cares… you were too busy being happy. And who knows you just might find that horse.
Dr. Eugene Charles
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*Along these lines here is a new study showing how a vacation and meditation (Rule 5 - recreation) can change your gene expression and make you healthier http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/869068?src=wnl_edit_tpal&uac=129669BT