May 26 2010

Two Wolves Two Choices

Category: Health & Well-Being,Positive Thinkingadmin @ 6:55 pm

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people. He said, “the battle is between two ‘Wolves’ inside us all.

One Wolf is Negative. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other Wolf is Positive. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

We always have a choice about what we focus upon. Every moment of the day, we are making choices about what emotions we are experiencing…what we are feeding. When we choose to nourish ourselves and others with positive thinking and positive actions, we all win.

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May 26 2010

Happiness Research

Category: Health & Well-Being,Positive Thinkingadmin @ 6:47 pm

Research by Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at the University of California Davis, has described gratitude as the “forgotten factor” in happiness research. Keeping a gratitude journal (as recommended in The Mind Matters Manifestation Manual) can produce the following positive results.

  1. Relieve Stress: “Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress,” Emmons said in a WebMD article. Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, vitality and life satisfaction and lower levels of depression and stress.
  2. Acquire a Sense of Emotional & Physical Well-Being: People who keep gratitude journals tend to exercise more, feel better physically and be happier and more optimistic about their lives in general.
  3. Achieve Your Goals: People who kept gratitude lists for two months were closer to reaching their personal goals than those who did not. Gratitude kept them more focused and positive.
  4. Positive Moods: Emmons found that a 21-day gratitude intervention produced more high-energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and quality.

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