Rick Osborn | Life Coach, Nutrition, Fitness & Graphic Designer

Descartes wrote it long ago - this philosophical statement designed to describe how the very act of thinking indicates the existence of self. Many quote it today, myself included, almost in jest as a means to sound like an erudite. In my estimation the statement, “cogito ergo sum - I think, therefore I am” is nothing more than one philosopher’s pursuit to understand reality. That’s pretty much all I care to say about it here. In fact, the only reason I even mention it is because the phrase “I think, therefore I am” is easy to remember and can be used to positively move us in the right direction if we keep in mind, with a couple of adjustments. With that in mind, let me delineate how this phrase can be used to keep ourselves on track in the midst of making difficult and right decisions.

What we think about ourselves makes us who we are.

Labels and words - we all use them - for everything. Using labels and words to categorize and compartmentalize things gives us a sense of comfort and wards off ambiguity. Don’t get me wrong, I believe that labels have a proper place in our lives, helping us to identify things and people and to put them in proper perspective.

However, words and labels can also be very detrimental with regards to successful and joyful living, as well as towards achieving our full potential in life. Let me explain. For the purpose of brevity, I’m going to get right to the point. We’re all guilty (at one time or another) of using names and word descriptions to degrade or insult others. In fact, the very words that we utter do one or two things - they can either edify or destroy. In my opinion, words and labels have the power to create or to kill. My purpose here is not to reiterate the obvious - that words and labels (wrongly used) can hurt others. My point here is to show that our thoughts, which become words which become labels, applied to ourselves, can either help or hurt us. They quite literally, create who we are. With this in mind, let me just give a couple of biblical references about the power of thoughts/words/labels.

It really comes from the heart. Christ stated in Matthew 15:18-19,

“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man unclean. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

How do you talk to yourself?

For a moment, imagine how the above verses apply to the way that you talk to yourself, that is, the thoughts, language and words that you use to label or describe yourself. And, I don’t necessarily mean the way that you describe yourself to others, but to you. More to the point, ask yourself this question,

What do I tell myself about me?

Let me rewrite Descartes’ phrase “I think, therefore I am”, and make it more applicable and practical. If you will, think of it this way:

“I think _________________, therefore I am ___________________.”

How would you fill in that phrase? Maybe it’s something like this:

“I think I’ve made so many mistakes, therefore I am a loser.”

Or, maybe you don’t say things like that, but maybe you’re constantly down on yourself saying things like,

“I’ve made so many mistakes, I’ll never get any better.”

My point is this - your thoughts, your self-talk, the words you use internally about yourself, become your actuality, your reality.

If you want to succeed, if you want to get past your current circumstances, if you want to be a winner, an overcomer, a survivor, a thriver, then you must begin to change the way you think about yourself.

“I think I am capable and smart, therefore I am a success and a winner.”

“I think (GOOD, POSITIVE THOUGHTS), therefore I am (A SUCCESSFUL, HAPPY, THRIVING PERSON).”

On the other hand, when you constantly are focusing on the bad, the negative, on what’s wrong with you, you’ll continue to have a bad, negative, pathetic reality.

When you think of yourself a certain way, when you label yourself a certain way, when your self-talk is a certain way, your actions will become what your thoughts already created. This was very much the point of my last blog entitled “Begin Each Day with the End in Sight.”

Before you act, before you react, before you respond, before you even move in any direction, stop and already see yourself in a positive light, where you want to be. Visualizing yourself in a good positive light will lead to actualizing yourself in a good, positive, successful light.

Next time, I’ll write about how to make an inward change (the heart), which will make the outer you - your reality, much better - how to clean up your act from the inside out and positively affect your future.

An Exercise in Visualization to Gain Perspective and Achieve Goals

Sometimes in the midst of life, we tend to become overwhelmed with the difficulties of the moment, to the point of being paralyzed with fear and confusion.

Perhaps this is the case with you. Maybe all you see right now is problems and not solutions -

• the stack of papers that need to be reckoned with on the edge of your work desk,
• bills that are ever mounting and need to be paid,
• family and personal issues that are growing by leaps and bounds,
• clothes that fit too tightly due to recent weight gain or being overweight.

It’s summertime and you feel miserable, but there is hope. It takes focus.

Think of it this way. You’re like a submarine - perhaps too deep down in the dark water to even raise your periscope to look above and beyond where you are.

Whatever your problem is right now - and God knows we all have problems - I’d like to offer you some encouragement for staying on track and moving towards solutions for your life.

Try this little visualization exercise -

1. Stop what you’re doing right now, just for a moment, and close your eyes.
2. Imagine you’re a submarine deep in murky water.
3. Mentally, turn your engine off.
4. With your eyes still closed - take in a deep breath and hold it.
5. Allow yourself to be perfectly still and fully absorb where you are for the moment. (Feel all the pain of your current situation.)
6. Exhale slowly.
7. Now inhale again and as you do so, imagine your periscope beginning to ascend through the dark water towards the lighted surface. Higher and higher it goes - eyes still closed, body relaxed.
8. Imagine your periscope breaking the surface of the water into the sunlight and turning towards a beautiful island. The breeze is blowing, the palm trees are swaying. (refer to image above)
9. With the above site fixed in your crosshairs, exhale slowly.
10. As you exhale, envision starting the engine on your submarine. With that island in view and in focus through your periscope, imagine your vessel moving upwards to the light surface and forward towards the island.
11. Inhale as you keep the island in sight and exhale, allowing the escape of air to propel you towards your destination.
12. As you reach the island, your vessel surfaces and the top door opens.
13. Step out onto the beautiful beach, inhale the clean air and take in the landscape of paradise.
14. Open your eyes and begin your day.

Read the keywords below and plug them in to the above visualization scenario to make it practical for your situation.

Keywords

Deep, murky water = problems, tasks, issues, fears, frustration, being overweight, personal issues, etc.

Submarine/vessel = you

Periscope = your mind, your soul, your spirit

Crosshairs/view/sight = your focus, your intent

Raising of the periscope = planning, praying, setting goals, strategizing, etc.

Island/destination/paradise/beach = goals, end results, rest, hope, relief, where you want to be

Engine = work, mind, intelligence, wisdom, talents, synergy

Breath/Inhale = inspiration, fuel, knowledge, empowerment, balance, spark, ignition

Exhale = expelling the negative thoughts, problems and emotions; propels you forward and helps fuel your engine

Now that you understand what the above keywords represent in this visualization exercise, apply them to your particular situation. If you have trouble doing this, feel free to contact me and I’ll help you. That’s what I do. If you’re confident to do it on your own, write down what each particular part of this exercise involves for you and allow it to bring your vessel back to the surface and towards your dreams and goals.

Don’t worry about tomorrow or the next day, but focus on today. Focus on what you can do today to make a difference. Focus on getting to this one island today, because getting there will bring you closer to the mainland - where you want to ultimately be. It’s not your final destination, but this island - now in the crosshairs of your periscope, is where you can get to today. Once you have it in view - once you have in your mind what you can do today, you’ll begin to move through, past and upwards towards your dreams and goals.

Designate an island for each day. You’ll do a bit of island hopping until you get to the mainland, but if you follow this strategy with good planning, you’ll eventually get there.

There are certain foods and herbs that we can eat on a daily basis that will help us maintain a lean and healthy body. Unfortunately there are also certain foods or ingredients in foods that have the opposite effect - making us fat and sick. Many may think they know what these bad foods are - high fructose corn syrup, trans fats, saturated fats, etc. But one ingredient that most aren’t aware of is SOY.

Did you know that soy products can actually cause weight gain, PMS, bloating, stubborn fat, contribute to prostate enlargement, cancer and other disorders?

Many think that soy is the new dairy. It may be used as such, but what most people don’t realize is that it actually has a metabolic estrogenic effect in the body. If you’re male, you may want to think twice before consuming soy products, as soy can be feminizing. Do you want to be increasing the estrogen content in your body when excess estrogen is a known cause for gynecomastia (fatty breasts in men), prostate enlargement and cancer? Or, if you’re female, do you really want excess estrogens circulating throughout your body when estrogen dominance is a known cause for bad PMS, breast cancer and other female disorders? It’s important that we all understand the consequences of consuming soy based foods. I’ve spoken to numerous people who think they are eating “healthy” by replacing all dairy with soy. Some may initially lose weight, but at what cost? Furthermore, many can’t figure out why the stubborn fat and metabolic disorders increase or persist. The problem very likely lies in the soy. Whether it’s soy milk, soy ice cream, veggie burgers, tofu or other soy based products, all overwhelmingly contribute to an excess of estrogen in the body.

Why soy causes estrogen dominance or excess estrogen

Briefly, soy actually contains phytoestrogens. Although natural, phytoestrogens have an estrogenic effect on the body. In a world already overwhelmed by estrogenic chemicals, the last thing needed is to mistakingly consume a food or ingredients that contribute to the problem. One of the most obvious signs of excess estrogen in the body is the formation of stubborn fat, particularly in the belly in men, and more commonly in the hips and thighs of women.

In addition, here’s what the Weston A. Price Foundation lists as some of the dangers of eating soy:

• High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
• Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
• Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
• Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
• Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body’s requirement for B12.
• Soy foods increase the body’s requirement for vitamin D.
• Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
• Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
• Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods.
• Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

But soy is only the tip of the iceberg. There are many other particular estrogenic chemicals that we are ingesting on a regular basis that are causing us problems. I’ll write more on these later.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about soy and the estrogen issue now, you can check out the book that I co-wrote with Ori Hofmekler - The Anti-Estrogenic Diet: How Estrogenic Foods and Chemicals Are Making You Fat and Sick, by North Atlantic Books - available at Amazon.com.