Daily Gratitude: I think the keyword here is “if” as in “if you can change your mind”. Why? Because even when we realize that changing our thoughts can, indeed, change our lives, we often don’t see it happening. Mostly that is because we don’t actually change those thoughts, OR, even more surreptitiously, we may change some of our thoughts, but not all of them. So we end up with conflicting ideas, concepts and thoughts. When this happens, your life doesn’t change because everything has to be in alignment. For instance, you can’t proclaim that you want peace in some place in the world that’s at war while you’re not happy in your home life (or work or school). The disharmony there contradicts the “harmony” you’re professing to believe and want. Peace is peace no matter where you’re looking. Until you look at your entire world and thought processes (in other words, your core beliefs), you won’t manifest the things you say you believe in. You can eat “healthy” all day long and exercise for hours every day but if you still believe you’re fat and you’re not pretty/handsome, nothing permanent will occur. I know one thing that has come to mind since I injured my clavicle. It has forced me to slow down (I’m not sure how much more I can slow down now that I’m retired but that is part of the universe’s message to me, I’m sure). But I think it also has a message about balance in my life. Balance has become a key factor for me in the last 14 months or so. I need to look at that. It would have been easier had I been able to recognize this without having to bust my bones. But it’s been proven in the past that I don’t listen well. Sigh. Anyway, take a look at your life and see what it is you want to change (if anything). Then take a long and earnest look at ALL aspects of your life to identify any inconsistencies you might find. Work on all of them and see if that helps change your external results.

Daily Gratitude: I’ve written about this many times before and I’m always surprised that more people aren’t clamoring for more info. There are more than 51.6 million American adults (21% of the population) live with chronic pain. 17.1 million American adults live with high-impact chronic pain, or pain that frequently limits life or work activities. Chronic pain is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. About 83% of people with high-impact chronic pain are unable to work. People with chronic pain have at least twice the risk of suicide compared to those without chronic pain. But it can be changed. Most chronic pain is not caused by structural conditions no matter what you’ve been told. Of course, there are structural conditions that can cause pain like cancer, infections, tumors. But the majority of CHRONIC pain has been learned by your brain. Your brain has simply reacted to a threat – real or perceived – OR, one from the past that is triggered by something happening in your life right now. How dare I say these things? Because even though I’m a doctor and it’s all contrary to what I was taught, I could be a poster child for this. Notice a similarity here. These are truths but they are not what I was taught during my training. My brain learned one thing and it took major effort for it to develop new neural pathways that unlearned all that and then embraced the new way of thinking (which, by the way, is not new at all). It takes a lot of work and a lot of willingness to pry open your past to do this work but it saved my life and can save yours too. The brain can establish new pathways that are pain free. Did you know that the areas that control emotional pain are almost adjacent to those that cause physical pain? It’s pretty easy to understand how one can “decide” (it’s in quotes because it’s a subconscious decision) that it’s preferable to experience physical pain rather than the emotional pain. Neuroplasticity means you can change all this and get rid of your chronic pain. But you have to be willing to do the work. This isn’t something you can just get a pill or a shot for. It’s your journey.

Daily Gratitude: This is another way of saying that you only need to see 200 feet ahead of you. Have you ever felt totally overwhelmed by something you’re working on? So overwhelmed, perhaps, that you’re just spinning your wheels and not really getting anything accomplished? The first thing to do is stop and take some deep breaths in an attempt to calm your nervous system. Then see if you can decide what the very next thing you need to do is. Something small. So small that no one would notice unless they knew the process. When it’s that small, it takes the pressure off you a bit since you aren’t as worried about all the eyes that might be looking at you. But the pressure is also lessened because this is probably something pretty simple and you know how to do it. Once you finish that one thing, you can feel more confident and also then decide what the next step is (remember to make it small) and continue on like this. Vol state (the 314 mile race I do in July) is a great example. If we look at having to run or walk 314 miles, it seems impossible. But if we look at it as only 16 miles in the next 12 hours, it becomes more attainable. And sometimes, if you’re like me, that 16 miles becomes “I just have to make it to the next guardrail”. You just have to make your big project into lots of little projects. I also call it “chunking”. Take a goal or project you have going now and think about what the next small step you have to take is. Now do that small step and you’re on your way.