The best way to remove fear from your mind is to replace it with PMA. Emile Coue, the French psychologist, gave us a very simple but practical formula for building PMA and maintaining a health consciousness: “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” Repeat this sentence to yourself many times a day until your subconscious picks it up, accepts it, and begins to carry it out in the form of good health. This is a simple yet astounding form of autosuggestion. It depends on your belief in the statement, but the best way to build that belief is to make the statement a part of your mental environment. Remember that your mind is strongly influenced by its environment, and by filling that environment with the right thoughts, you will come to believe them.
Eating Habits
The purpose of food is to supply the body with the things it needs to maintain itself in good repair. Your eating habits must be guided by this goal alone.
Think of your digestive system as a factory. To function efficiently, it has to have a supply of a variety of materials in varying quantities. If you provide the wrong mix of materials, some jobs will never be completed, some will be done with jerry-rigged parts, and some materials will simply be stored up in every corner until the walls of the factory begin to swell. Finally the walls burst, the roof caves in, and the factory is either out of business or in need of serious and expensive repair.
Information about nutritional requirements continues to evolve as scientists work to understand more and more about the body. Pay attention to new information (but do not be swept along by fads) as it becomes available. In the main, however, some simple points will keep your diet balanced:
1. Fresh fruits and vegetables should make up the largest portion of your meals. They supply complex mixes of vitamins and trace elements, and your body is designed to avail itself of them easily.
2. Complex carbohydrates, such as breads, grains, and potatoes, should be the next largest.
3. Protein, in the form of lean meats, fish, and dairy products, is important, but it should not be the center of your meals. Select small amounts of foods you enjoy, rather than gorge yourself on steak at every meal.
4. Avoid fats; limit your intake of butter and oils, and stay away from deep-fried foods. Also avoid sugars, like candy and colas, which provide little but calories.
Seek variety as well. Your body’s nutritional needs run a wide gamut, and the best way to serve those needs without becoming a food chemist is to be sure that you eat a wide spectrum of foods. Don’t say, “I can’t eat that way,” for all you are really saying is “I don’t want to eat that way.” It is a very glib bit of mental gymnastics to make yourself believe that it is impossible to do what is really only unappealing or different. Why should all your efforts for success stumble over your ill health because you don’t like broccoli?
Never eat while angry, frightened, or worried. Your body is simply not in a position to make use of the food when it is on a defensive footing. Worse, you can make eating a habitual response to stress, which can lead to overweight.
Moderation in food and alcohol intake is important, both because your body can be overwhelmed by an excess of either and because overindulgence can become a trick to avoid dealing with some problem that urgently needs to be faced. If you find that you cannot control either, seek the help of professionals or a worthy organization like Alcoholics or Overeaters Anonymous.
Rhythms in Relaxation
Relaxation entails completely forgetting the worries and problems of the day. As desirable as this may seem, many people have trouble relaxing.
Your conscious mind selects objects on which to concentrate, and this concentration means the exclusion of other thoughts. You cannot just collapse into a chair and announce, “I am relaxing,” because your mind will select some object of focus, most often the very item you wish to forget about for a time. You need to select an object of relaxation for your mind to concentrate on. It can be kite flying, gardening, reading a novel, or anything else which will absorb you.
Television and the corner bar are not the answers. Cultivate a variety of interests that take your mind to new places. Practicing controlled meditation will do wonders for your mental powers. Physical activity can be a terrific thing to immerse yourself in; not only do your relax your mind, but you strengthen your body.
Short periods of relaxation throughout the day can break tension and give your subconscious a chance to work. Read a magazine article; listen to a language tape; work on a crossword puzzle. This is not wasting time; it is keeping your mind in top condition through relaxation.
Sleep
Your body needs time to rebuild and revitalize itself for the next day. It is sheer stupidity to try to increase your productivity by cutting your sleeping time. Six to eight hours a night are all you need. And remember that even while you sleep, your subconscious is working.
Insomnia is often caused by a failure to relax before going to bed. Don’t work until you drop. Instead wind down at the end of the day by doing something you enjoy that doesn’t overstimulate you. (For this reason, exercise is not good just before you go to bed.) Perhaps quiet small talk with your spouse is all you need, or an easy routine of brushing your teeth, stretching for a few moments, or making your bed. A habit which signals your body that it is time for sleep is a valuable aid.