愛與夢飛行

Think Positive

Clearly, the power of thought can have a big influence on our lives, for the better or the worse. We all hold a constant inner dialogue, or self-talk, that can switch from positive to negative and back again. We often choose the negative path, telling ourselves that we are going to fail or that things won't go right. This prevents us from looking forwards to events with happy anticipation and we may even end up bringing about the very thing we fear.

That negative inner voice can not only prevent us from having the optimism to try to achieve our full potential, but it can also affect our health. Research in Canada carried out over 30 years shows that patients who expect to do well after an operation recover more quickly than those with a pessimistic attitude.

So how can we change our attitude to use the beneficial power of the mind? The first step is to become aware of the nature of out own self-talk. Psychologists believe that an average person experiences 20 000 and 60 000 thoughts a day. None of these thoughts is neutral: they are either positive or negative, and they will reinforce themselves day after day.

If you are one of the people who always sees a glass as half empty rather than half-full, you need to make a change to positive self-talk to describe your life as you would like it to be. A good way to be reprogramming your self-talk is to repeat positive affirmations. Make them realistic, so that you can say them with sincerity, and make them in the present tense. Instead of saying, "In six months' time I shall be fit enough to tackle a marathon", say, "Each day I am fitter and stronger."

You will greatly increase your chances of success if you not only believe 100 per cent that you will achieve your goal, but you have a goal that is realistic and achievable, one that is challenging for you, but not impossible.

However, it is important to remember that positive thinking will not magic away all bad things, and it won't do your training for you! Nevertheless, it will help you stick with the programme and deliver the results you want.


*Forgive yourself for your mistake and think of the successes that can be balanced against it.


<Walking for Health> 2012.3.1 @ KL Library.


PS. Was happy enough to find two books of the same name which talk about how walking benefits human body. How intriguing! XD No wonder I like to walk around when I'm dealing with stresses and depressions, even anxieties. LOLs!


PSS. Saw a familiar face at the library lobby today. Just... look alike. Hmm, how I wish...

Emperor Penguins
The female lays her single egg in early May but almost immediately passes it to the male. He carefully balances it in a brood pouch just above its feet, which keeps it warm at a temperature that can differ by 80 degree Celsius from the temperature outside. The female then heads straight back to sea to feed up through the winter. She will not return for 65 days, leaving the male to survive the long nights of winter darkness. With temperatures down to -70 degree Celcius and winds of 160kph (100mph) the males huddle close together. The huddle is constantly shifting slowly round so that all the penguins take their fair share of the exposed positions. At the heart of the huddle, heat loss may reduced by 50 per cent.

It's not until mid-July that the females finally return from the open ocean. The sun has only just begun its journey south from the northern hemisphere, and the males still see only an hour or two of distant daylight each day. The sea ice is also still near its maximum extent, and the females have to walk 160km back over the ice to reach the colony. They must time their return perfectly. Once the chick has hatched, the male can only give it a single feed with a special meal he preserves all winter in his gullet. He can only maintain his chick for 10-15 days before his own near-starvation forces him to abandon it and head for open water. By the time he finally makes it back to sea, he will have fasted for 115 days - a record for any bird - and lost half his own body weight.


P.S. 處於暴寒險惡的環境，要兼顧養兒育女和自身飽飯真不容易。原書裡的皇帝企鵝集體marching的那一幕太滑稽了，發現有一隻的頭好像不見去，險些大笑！


<BBC Planet Earth> 2012.2.29 @ KL Library