Diets never Work!

Earlier today, I was invited to comment on an article titled ‘Positive Thinking in your daily work environment….’ written by Solveig Ellefsen on LinkedIn. It was about the power of positive thinking. Solveig’s article started by asking the question ‘How could positive thinking impact our daily business life’? She then went to set out the benefits of positive thinking and shared some tips and ideas about how one can change one’s view to think more positively. Solveig ended her article by saying ‘…The more you practice positive thinking every day, the more you will enjoy going to work every day, the more happy events during your business day will happen to you…’ Hard to disagree with any of Solveig’s thoughts and ideas. Below is my response to her article.

‘Perhaps the question that then follows is 'why don't/can't/won't most people live their lives like this? Is it because they don't believe there are any real benefits to positive thinking? They don't believe that it will make a difference to their lives? Because they’re overwhelmed with 'stuff'? They're not in control of any aspect of their lives? Maybe, but I think that it's as much about how they've not considered positive thinking within what I call the 'Ecosystem of Wellness'. There are lots of scientific definitions of what an ecosystem is, but for this purpose, I see the definition as 'a complex and interconnected system'. So, for the notion of positive thinking to have any lasting benefit, it cannot be seen or practiced in isolation. It must be interconnected with one’s overall commitment to wellness, which includes paying attention to ones health with regular exercise, good diet (non-meat?), hydration, sleep and alcohol intake. Then connecting these to one’s spiritual, emotional and psychological health with the inclusion of meditation, mindfulness practice, then adding in the human factors such as removing toxic and negative people from your life, seeking communion with people and so on. Like being vegetarian or vegan, establishing and maintaining the ‘Ecosystem of Wellness’ is a lifestyle, not a diet! It’s a way of life!