It can be surprising what we can accomplish when we simply change the way we think about things. For example, we may enter into a challenging situation full of fear of failure and find that we perform poorly. However, if we enter into the same situation full of confidence, we find that we do much better. There are countless examples of people using the power of their mind to overcome obstacles that they may have been unable to deal with previously. As we enter into a life of sobriety, we may find that our shift in perspective and thought allows us to rise to meet challenges in ways we never previously thought possible. Monique Tello, in a 2017 Harvard Healthy Blog entitled Mind Over Matter? How Fit You Think You Are Versus Actual Fitness brings up a scientific study suggesting that the mind may play an important role in our risk of death. Researchers at Stanford University examined “questionnaire responses, medical history, physical exam, and physical activity data from over 60,000 very diverse people” collected by the National Center for Health Statistics between 1990 and 2011. The results of the study found that people who thought they were less active than their peers had at least an 18 percent higher risk of death than the general population, and a 71 percent higher risk than subjects who thought that they were more active than their peers. In a 2006 study from Canada, 220 female students were given a fake news story that told them that men had a 5% advantage over women in meth performance. One group was told that the 5% advantage was genetic, while other group was told that it was the result of incorrect stereotypes by teachers. The subjects were given a math test and the women who were told that the difference was genetic scored lower than the women who were told the difference was based on false stereotypes. Dr. Joe Dispenza, in his book You Are the Placebo, explained, “In other words, when they were primed to think that their disadvantage was inevitable, the women performed as if they truly had a disadvantage.” These two examples illustrate an important point: they way we think about ourselves will influence the way we live. If we accept the false notion that we are somehow ‘less than’, we will live as if we are ‘less than.’ However, if we work to build self-confidence and strive for personal and spiritual growth, we will overcome obstacles that we had previously believed were impossible to overcome.
Your potential doesn’t have to be held back by the chains of addiction. You can begin building a life of serenity and peace of mind by making the courageous decision to seek help today. Oceanfront Recovery, a licensed dual diagnosis treatment center in the heart of beautiful Laguna Beach, is staffed with caring and compassionate professionals dedicated to providing perfect environment for men and women to begin the process of healing from addiction. For information about individualized treatment options, please call today: (877) 279-1777
