by Martin Collis, Ph.D.

In the first issue of WELL, the acronym MELLOW was introduced as a way to reach personal and professional wellness. This issue, the letter M is discussed in detail — The Magic of the Mind.

This is a subject that could fill libraries, so it will be hard to do it justice in a few hundred words. In the last issue of WELL I used the quotation from Proverbs "As you think, so shall you be." To me this is pivotal. If you believe this, and about 90% of my audiences claim that they do, why would you choose negative, self-defeating, destructive thoughts? Negative thinking is stressful, unattractive, and unproductive, and yet we all slide into its embrace at one time or another.

Shakespeare noted that "Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so." This suggests that we can choose our view of the world, and we can. Much of my adult life has been spent rewriting the negative script I learned as a child, and I still think of myself as a 'recovering Brit'. There is an old song, which says, "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative" and it sounds so facile and shallow, as does Bobby McFarren's "Don't worry, be happy". Yet the ability to see the positives in any situation is a mood enhancing, life-affirming skill which is far from facile. Albert Schweitzer noted that, "we move from naïve simplicity, to profound simplicity", and the concept of making intelligent positive choices reflects the latter part of that statement.

Seeing the positives in a situation is a skill and like any skill gets better with practice. In the article "Illusion and Well-Being" by S.E. Taylor and J.D. Brown it was pointed out that people who saw themselves as "realists" were often mildly depressed. It is important to remember that you can see through the eyes, and not with the eyes. It is the mind behind the eyes that determines how you see things. Therefore the positive mind sees a better world and sees possibilities rather than obstacles.

It is also important to remember that it is not what goes on around us that determines our sense of balance, happiness, well-being, and satisfaction. Dr. Dean Ornish in his book Reversing Heart Disease noted that "Nothing makes you happy" which breaks down to "No thing makes you happy". Elenor Roosevelt said that "nobody upsets you or embarrasses you without your consent." And Shakespeare summarized it all in Julius Caesar "The fault dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves." Although he might well have said, "but in our minds".

When considering the impact of circumstance on happiness and mental state I'm always struck by P. Brickman's study in which he compared the happiness rating of recent big lottery winners with recent accident victims who were rendered paraplegics. Shortly after the events the lottery winners scored in the high 8's on a 10-point scale whereas the paraplegics scored in the 3 range. One year later both groups scored in the 6 range. The most dramatic external events in the end had little impact on the participants' life view.

The Magic of the Mind is a major factor in deciding:

1. How tired you are.
2. How stressed you feel.
3. How long you live.
4. How healthy you are. (Remember that "A merry heart maketh like good medicine.")

Some other features of a successful mindset for the 21st Century can be summarized in my acronym H.A.W.A.I.I.

Humble (ego eats brains)

Accepts change (change is inevitable and exciting, those who try to hold back change will be no more successful than King Canute)

Wellness/Wholeness oriented (look at life and problems holistically and be mind/body aware)

Action oriented (Just do it! It's only by doing that you learn)

Intuitive (trust your gut feelings)

Inventive (seek creative solutions to new situations)

So there you have it, the Magic of the Mind in a few hundred words. But how do you turn those thoughts into actions? Stephen Covey's suggestion is. "To make a promise and keep it." In doing so you will move towards 'profound simplicity' and allow the magic of the mind to impact your life in an incrementally positive way.