Mind Over Body
Motivational cliches may come from the insecurity of feeling the need to say something or a point of perceived relatability, and they are endless in variety. Some stick to those that go well with sporting events like you’ve got this or hang in there.
Others make daily human struggles into raging wars with never surrender or we will prevail. And yet others attribute the many possibilities of life as an act of god and believe that everything happens for a reason. These phrasings feel good because they’re easy to digest and may have played an important role in some specific moment of life. Results heavily depend on how the phrase is related to and what you choose to believe. Will they simply stay words, provoke an emotion, or awakening into action?
One phrase stands above all and provides either life-changing potency or unreceptive eye-rolling:
Mind Over Body.
As with emotion, the way we choose to express a thought may be elegant or messy. The reaction, too, may be elegant or messy. What’s important is that the act of choosing is the foundation. Any phrase can be taken with positivity and motivation for good results. The same phrase can be met with resistance and disgust to insure failure.
Mind Over Body has the potential to change your life, if it doesn’t already.
The relationship we create is heavily dependent on the perspective used to relate. The locus of control is how one perceives and relates to the main causes of events in life.
An internal locus of control places the power and control in your own hands.
While an external locus of control leaves it with external forces like fate or luck.
Everything happens for a reason and this is what was meant to happen place this power externally. It is out of your control. You’re along for the ride and what you see is what you get.
Mind over body places the power internally. What you think is what you make. This concept can be taken very far. So far, actually, that what you think is stronger than your genetic makeup.
A name that frequently comes up alongside Mind Over Body is Wim Hof. He ran a marathon in the Nambi Desert without food or water. He successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts. He ran a marathon in the polar circle — barefoot. He was even injected with a dead strain of E. coli to show that the body’s immune response is dependent on our thoughts and practices (article).
These are wild feats of possibility and require great discipline and training to accomplish. It’s accompanied with breathing exercises, meditation, and intense cold exposure.
The relatability of these ideas may seem out of reach because it is a specific kind of person who wants to endure such extremes. But, most importantly, Wim Hof has an internal locus of control. These extreme concepts can be simplified and applied to daily life by simply controlling the way we want to think.
You don’t earn the designation “Iceman” for nothing.
Our genes used to be mechanisms for survival. One gene could be all the advantage needed to procreate. But now if feels as though many consider genes the enemy standing between them and an ideal self.
Some genes may simply be another external locus of control.
Consider this: What if the words spoken and thought could change your physiology? Would you speak to yourself differently? Would you be kinder?
More and more research is suggesting that this is the case (to dive deeper into these ideas check out Dr. Dave Robson. I listened to the podcast Modern Wisdom #456 for the following examples).
Expectations that come with food are frequent points of distress and duress. The words used around food begin to change hormonal reaction and effect physiology. If your expectation of the food you’re about to eat is one of deprivation, as it may be for anyone dieting, then your body will begin to burn fat at a slower rate. The body is receiving messages based in starvation so it elevates a hunger hormone (ghrelin) and slows fat burning. It’s a survival mechanism. The body is preparing to be starved.
Gluten-sensitivity is a hotly debated topic that recently saw a large increase in number. But when people were told something contained gluten when it really didn’t, they still had the physical reaction. Similarly, individuals were given decaf coffee and told it was regular, only to experience the boost expected from caffeinated coffee. Or, conversely, they were given regular coffee (with caffeine) but told it’s decaf, and experienced a slump in energy.
It doesn’t end there. The sleep we perceive is just as potent as the sleep we receive. Individuals who slept 8 hours and woke up once or twice within those 8 hours have the power to interpret the waking as a reason to suffer from insomnia. So, the next day, the effects of insomnia are felt. Just the same, someone deprived of sleep but waking to the idea of being rested and refreshed will feel just that.
This is not to say that there aren’t baseline needs within the body to stay healthy and feeling good. But it is to say that you have control over your narrative and the story chosen becomes very real within you.
I have experienced my own example of Mind Over Body, devoid of research. I was 29 years old and having dental work done by students at a dental school. I had four wisdom teeth in a variety of states. It was recommended that I remove them all because they were not being cared for properly and may cause other consequences. Since I was on a budget, I went through the process without anesthesia and was fortunate enough to have the instructor ok the removal of all four at once (the original plan was to do this two at a time).
Since local anesthetic can only do so much, I was able to both hear and feel these teeth being removed from my jaw. As the final tooth was being extracted I heard a crunch and much less pressure release than the other three. This tooth had cracked. It was internally decaying and weak. The instructor took complete control at this point because the anesthetic clock was ticking.
As the final portion of this tooth was extracted I felt a pull on my sinus, which was later explained to me via x-ray. Part of the tooth rested on a sinus cavity and the removal of it may have irritated it or caused a bit of damage. Probably nothing serious.
I was told to immediately go to the pharmacy and fill a prescription for Hydrocodone and when I get home to take two of these pills. The doctor made it clear that there is a lot of trauma in my mouth and that the pain may be terrible, especially where the sinus was concerned. He told me, “don’t be a tough guy because it won’t be worth it.” So I listened. I got home, took two pain pills, and went to sleep.
Before falling asleep I told myself there is a lot of healing ahead and that I will be patient with the process. I accepted the four open wounds and whatever pain needed to accompany them. I should also add that my body does not enjoy opiates. My preference, from the beginning, was to avoid taking such medication because my body reacts adversely (dizziness, nausea, vomiting). But I happened to wake from the two pills I had taken without any discomfort or unsureness. I went the remainder of the evening doing the simple maintenance of changing the gauze frequently and drooling on myself.
The next day was free of any major pain, just minor discomforts. What I had hoped for and expected. After the initial pain pills there was no need for more. My wounds healed without issue and the students and instructor were surprised to see how quickly the convalescence took place.
I understand that I may be the exception to the rule and was spared the pain, or that my body was so ready to be rid of those teeth that the appreciation came in the form of low-pain healing. But this was four gaping wounds in my mouth and nothing more than discomfort. I try not to separate my self from my body, but I attribute this healing to my mind telling my body please do what you need to do, and saying it with complete openness. No ideas of I need or I would like, just trust in the process.
The story I chose to believe is that my body knows how to heal in this unfamiliar situation. I also chose to believe that I could do it without avoiding pain. If pain had been there I may have changed my mind and I’d be telling a different story. But my beliefs worked to my advantage. The body felt the story and believed it too.
We are an animal of story. It’s why we have dominion over all else in the world. It’s the root of our success and why we are able to continue moving forward as a species.
It’s why we watch the news, read and write books, listen to and have conversations, and share our experiences with others: to tell a story.
We feel story more than the food we choose to eat. We feel story more than the drugs we take.
Story is our strength and power. Story is where we choose a locus of control.
As we move ahead in years there is a change in reactivity. The connections between the amygdala (fear center) and frontal lobe become more developed and richer. We call this maturing.
Imagine combining this natural maturing with story. The result is wisdom.
We have mastered the art of self-deprivation and -deprecation. We seek out ways to be insufficient and distrust the attempts to love ourselves. We push and pound and punish until something breaks and what’s left is an open wound.
Let these wounds heal. Tell each one to take the time it needs.
Forgive the misunderstanding that went so deep.
Much like the teeth we’ve so aptly named, our words experience an extraction of wisdom.
But unlike the teeth that will never return, the stories we believe may begin to restore strength and power.
Consider where your locus of control may be. Think about how this begins to direct your narrative. Are you being kind? Is the thought helping or hurting?
Now you can begin to gain control. Choice can be seen everywhere. And the reframing begins to feel good. The words and ideas begin to feel good. And your body will closely follow what the mind says.
Or maybe all of the wisdom has been ripped out of my skull… who knows?
