Let’s play a little game… think back to a time when you felt confident, excited, engaged, and driven. Got that picture in your head? Maybe it’s a memory of success in your career, school, family life… whatever it may be, let that thought sink in for a few seconds.
1……2……3……
OK STOP! Now… think about a time when you were upset, angry, sad, or overwhelmed. Got that one? This might be a time when an expectation wasn’t lived up to, you experienced some kind of loss or failure, or maybe you just had a lot going on!
Pretty boring game, right? Yeah, I thought so too. However, did you notice how you felt when you thought about that time of success? What about that feeling when you thought of a time when things weren’t so good?
As we have discussed before, HRV is directly correlated to your physical health. But, did you know that it’s also tied directly to your mental and emotional health? Much research has proven that, while measuring HRV, if you think back to a time where you experienced significant joy, happiness, or success, your HRV improves!
In fact….
The same actually applies all the time. People who generally focus on positive thoughts rather than negative experience increased feelings of productivity, performance, and physical well-being! Along with those things, their HRV improves substantially.
So let’s talk about your mind… what’s going on in there? What kinds of thoughts are you allowing in, dwelling on, or referring back to? Are they helpful or harmful to you becoming who you ultimately want to become?
Application time… try thinking back to a time of great joy or … simply practice gratitude right now, in the moment. What are you thankful for? What excites you? What is it that draws you out of bed in the morning? Try focusing on these things and watch how your ability to focus, think and perform improve!