Every emotion you experience creates a chemical reaction in your body. And your cells have matching receptors to receive those dispersed chemicals.
We have neuropeptides in our brain. These are molecules used by neurons to communicate throughout the body. Every time we have a thought or feel an emotion these neuropeptides create an assortment of chemicals. These chemicals get dispersed and attach to matching cell receptors throughout the body, most notably in our heart, digestive and immune system.
Our systems and our cells are in constant communication. And our thoughts and emotions play a key role in how these function and are expressed.
The good news is those receptors aren’t stagnant. Just like we can train our brain to learn a new language or a new skill we can also train it when it comes to our thoughts and those chemical responses. So we notice when we’ve fallen into an old story or an old default script that causes self-doubt, anxiety or feelings of depression. Once we start to notice those old patterns we can begin to choose thoughts that are more positive and supportive in the way we want to feel and live our life.
The goal isn’t to only ever have positive, happy thoughts. That’s not realistic. It’s to monitor those thoughts. To pay attention to where our mind goes. To not let our minds run on autopilot. To notice when we’re in an old script or a dialogue that isn’t serving us and course correct.
We think about 70,000 thoughts per day. We need to monitor those.
This, to me, is the beauty of co-active coaching and why I love the work that I do. It’s not to be confused with therapy. There’s a definite time and place for that. Co-active coaching is placing focus on the part of your brain where you hold creativity, possibility and your own inner resourcefulness. The things we often forget we even have when we’re stuck in places of anxiety or depression.
Coaching takes you out of your head and into your heart. You know when you have a new idea you initially get super excited about. That quiet voice of how this new idea could be made possible quickly gets drowned out by your ego - the part of our brain that rapidly responds to and squashes that quiet voice of what’s possible for you. The ego list all the reasons of why you can’t or why it’ll never work. It worries about what others will think. You know, that voice.
Simply by where we place focus, our emotions can make us feel well. How often do we get to place dedicated focus on that quiet little voice of ‘hey this is what I want to do, this is how I want to feel, this is what I want to experience in my life?' This is what coaching can do.
From my own personal experience and road to better health, coaching, mindfulness and proper nutrition have been invaluable. It’s the combination of body with the mind. The two are always in communication with each other and have such an impact our health and wellbeing.
Now it’s your turn. What one thing do you do for your wellbeing to help you feel well? Share with me in the comments below.
