Most people believe that our mind can affect our physical state.  That’s not wrong.  However, can the same be said for the opposite?  Can you alter your mind through changes in your physiology?  As a matter of fact, yes.  It’s been proven through research that your thoughts and feelings can be changed by simply adjusting certain aspects of your body.

For example, let’s take smiling.  Most people think that smiling must be triggered by your thoughts, but not the other way around.  In fact, if you choose to smile, you will automatically feel happier.  Try it right now.  Just make the muscles of your face curl up into a smile.  See how you suddenly feel better.  This is no accident.  Your physiology has a direct impact on your psyche.  If you find yourself feeling down and sad, force yourself to smile, and you will notice the change in your thought patterns and emotions.

The same can be said about people with bad posture.  If you are slumping around, or not sitting straight in your chair, you will not feel in tip top shape!  By standing properly or sitting up straight, you let your body send signals to your mind that it needs to tweak its state as well.  It’s truly a case of “matter over mind”

Breathing better is also another way for your physical state to alter your mental state.  Exercise and yoga, both of which help your breathing, are known to improve people’s moods and research has proven that happiness is more prevalent in people that indulge in such activities.

Anthony Robbins uses this technique of “matter over mind” extensively in his seminars.  People in the room jump up and down, pump up their fists in the air, and go crazy, all because he makes sure that they do so.  Sure, the experience would be fine if they would be just sitting there, but by improving their physiology (which then helps improve their state of mind), it takes the seminar from being good to being extraordinary.

Robbins explains this as acting “as if” you have already succeeded.  It’s a very powerful point.  The audience in his seminar, are jumping up and down as if they won the lottery, because acting as such will help align their mind within that same wavelength.  This takes me back to when I worked in sales many years ago.  I remember my coach telling me “walk around here as if you own the place”.  By acting as a successful person, your mind can more easily assess how to get there, because by acting as such, your mind thinks you’re already there.  Therefore, success becomes much easier, because your mind does not see it as an insurmountable challenge anymore, since your physiology tells it it has already succeeded.

Think about people that you admire & look up to.  If you want to experience some their successes, model your actions in regards to theirs.  How do they speak?  How do they walk?  What do they do with their hands?  How do they use their facial expressions?  By mimicking the physiology of someone that you admire, you put yourself a step closer to experiencing what it’s like to be them.

I’ve noticed that in most people that I speak with, it’s very hard for them to conceive that they can change their thoughts easily.  If you are a frequent reader of this blog, you know that there are countless number of ways to easily alter your thoughts.  Of course, most people are skeptics, especially when I tell them I simply “choose to be happy”.  So if you are one of those people, then forcibly change your thoughts via your physiology.  If you feel depressed, start acting like someone that is happy.  If you feel tired and lack energy, start acting like someone with an abundance of it!  What would these people do, and how would they act?  This will trigger the tweaking needed to change your thought patterns, which in turn will tweak your physical state, and so on.  Next thing you know, you have just created yourself immensely powerful momentum for positive changes in your life

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