We know that stress and anxiety can have an adverse effect on our mental well-being and happiness but it can also manifest itself in unwanted physical symptoms too.
I treat many clients for their emotional well-being and often use the following analogy to help them to understand the link between their thoughts and their health.
The flat tyre.
Imagine that you are already running late for an important work meeting, when halfway there you get a flat tyre. You break out in a sweat, yet you are not too hot, you get an immediate headache, but you have not been hit on the head, your stomach hurts and you feel sick but you have not ingested poison. Has a flat tyre given you these symptoms? No. Your thoughts regarding the flat tyre have, these thoughts mainly consisting of worry, frustration annoyance and panic.
Take another scenario. You have very reluctantly been asked to attend an event which you’d rather not go to but couldn’t think of a reasonably excuse not to go. On your way there you get a flat tyre. A smile spreads across your face, you thank fate for this very welcome intervention and you call to say you won’t be coming after all, gleefully backing up your story with photographic evidence. You feel happy, relieved, smug even.
Two very different outcomes, yet the same car, same problem, same you.
We are not in control of outside nuisances such as the reliability of our cars, but there is one thing which we are always, always in control of; our thoughts.
We can’t change our attitude to our outside world overnight, but when you feel that first sign of stress rising through something out of your control, close your eyes, take a deep breath and look for even the smallest glimmer of something to feel positive about. The impact of just the tiniest smile to yourself in a negative situation can be all that is needed to turn it around.
Finally, the photo below reminds you that you can have fun with this – there is always a reason to smile ?
