What impact do your thoughts have on your heart?

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We all have our own values, beliefs, thoughts and attitudes that have been developed over time from our life experiences and the important people around us.  Acknowledging that deeply personal element of ourselves is an important part of life and the health of our heart. 

 

Reflecting on our thoughs and the health of our heart is a very positive, healthy and enabling process that builds capacity to achieve what we want in our life.  Finding out what really touches our heart and reconnecting with what deeply matters is really at the core of self reflection. 

 

If we understand how values and beliefs impact how we think, feel and act then we are in a great starting position to make change. 

 

Understanding our thoughts, whether they serve us and working to changing our thinking is an exercise worth considering.  It can help us overcome self-doubt and negative thinking and develops the power of self-belief and can assist in clearly defining your goals (that we focused on last month.)

 

One of the great models I like to use when talking about our thoughts and the imact they have on our heart is from cognitive behavioural science.

 

What I love about this model is that it is so simple

 

Your thoughts create feelings, your feelings create behaviour and your behaviour can create thoughts.

 

                                                                 

 

If you have a negative belief for example, ‘I’m not fit enough’, your thoughts might be, ‘I’m unhealthy, I’m a poor role model, I am not whole, I am not good enough’, your feelings may be sadness, depression, helplessness and your behaviour could be to give up, not try, show anger, withdraw or be antisocial.

 

The good news is that the flow on effect works for positive thoughts  

 

For example when I started my wellness journey my thoughts were, 'I am nourishing myself, I am resilient, I am strong.' My feelings were excitement, hope, optimistic and my behaviours were proactive, energetic, purposeful, positive, constructive.

 

I challenge you to think about your beliefs, are they serving you?  Identify one thought, one feeling and one behaviour you had as a result of that belief.   Is it positive or negative?  If you were to change the belief, what would be the positive mindset version?  Write down your thoughts, feelings and behaviours you might have as a result.

More good news 

 

We can take action on all of these areas and we can achieve more positive outcomes.  

 

If we work on our mindset, we can have more positive thoughts then more positive feelings and then more positive behaviours.  If we work on our feelings, we can have more positive behaviour and more positive thoughts.  If we work on our behaviour, we can create more positive thoughts and more positive feelings.

 

As Valentine's Day is all about the heart, relationships and feelings, think about what you want most for yourself and your loved ones.  Notice how it generates some lovely positive feelings, and more positive behaviours will result.  Positivity generates more positivity, its catchy.

 

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart – Helen Keller

 

Happy Valentines Day! 

 

About the Author

NICOLE MCAULIFFE B.Ed. MBA, Dip LC

An executive wellness coach and facilitator with over twenty years experience in the corporate world, Nicole has worked with companies such as Telstra, ANZ, NAB and Westpac, inspiring professionals to ‘be at their best’ during times of change and transition.

An active member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), Nicole has a B.Ed (University of Melbourne) and an MBA (Monash University). Nicole also has a Diploma in Life Coaching, a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment and is qualified Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner.

Nicole is passionate about wellbeing, loves to keep fit, is a foodie and enjoys travelling. She lives and works in Melbourne with her beautiful family. 

To learn more about Nicole, read you can read her bio and to learn about her workshops and mentoring programs, please visit Nicole's website www.createwellbeinggroup.com