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Welcome!
In this month's
issue:
Read and enjoy!
Imagine that your immune system has a "mind of its own"
Remember Dr. Alfred
Bandura: In last month's newsletter, we reviewed his list of 3
ways that being an effective problem-solver supports the health of
your immune system:
- Greater
ability to cope with stress; uncontrolled stress decreases immunity
- Decreased
likelihood for depression (which lowers immune function)
-
Mere thoughts
about your perceived ability to cope with life directly influences
your immune system
(From
Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control)
Let's consider the
value of this information in your life. Your immune system
protects you from --- what? Colds, flu, viruses, infections --
certain types of heart disease, pneumonia, cancer, and on and on and
on.
Bottom line:
stuff you don't want. Problems that will influence not only
your quality of life, but your longevity itself.
There's little doubt
you want a healthy immune system. Now let's think about how you
communicate with it. As one of your component pieces you do, of
course. Every single day.
What if your
everyday behavior models for your immune system the type of protection
you expect it to provide you? Wouldn't that be interesting?
Let's look at how
you "be" in your everyday lifestyle. Which approach offers a
better model for your immune system? This one:
- You hold
yourself high
- You take
advantage of as many opportunities as you can find
- You order your
life on the principles of honor and integrity
Or this:
- You "buckle"
in the face of challenge
- You overlook
or pass up opportunities (due to inattention or fear)
- You order your
life on lies (intentional or not) and manipulation (no matter how
unconscious)
A little side note
about lies and manipulation. Most of us don't wake up in the
morning saying, "What should I do today? I know! I think I'll see how
I can lie, cheat, steal, and manipulate my way around my relationships
with everyone I meet!"
No. It's
largely unconscious. But guess what? Unconscious or not,
it still counts. The "unconscious" excuse just doesn't cut the
mustard with your immune system. You see, some part of you
knows. And it knows you can do better than that if you really
put your mind to it.
So who's in charge
of your immune system? You are.
When you conduct
yourself with courage and integrity, your immune system gets the
message that you believe you're worth protecting.
When you hide behind
lies and manipulation (even the so-called little ones like "I simply
can't imagine that I would ever have such a nasty little
lapse of integrity..."), your immune system figures it's gonna have a
real easy day.
I'm going to be very direct
The conflict that
comes form not doing what you know you should be doing in life
will (not may, but will) compromise your longevity.
Don't care? I
doubt it. Most of us care quite a bit about staying alive and
healthy.
So how about
polishing your skill? You can learn to be more effective in
life. It's a learnable skill. regardless of whether
you need a major overhaul or simply a little tweak, I can't think of
anyone who wouldn't benefit from upgrading their effectiveness skills.
(Even me -- you guys
keep me on my toes!)
We'll quote Dr.
Bandura again -- he lists 7 direct lifestyle effects that come from a
person's belief that they can (or cannot) be successful at making a
desired change in their environment.
Efficacy beliefs
influence:
- The courses of
action we pursue
- How much
effort we're willing to put forth to reach a goal
- How long we'll
persevere to get past obstacles in our path
- Our resilience
to adversity
- Whether our
thought patterns help or hinder our lives
- How much
stress and depression we experience in dealing with difficult
circumstances
- Our levels of
accomplishment in life
(From
Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control)
Pump up your
"effectiveness muscle"
Think about how it
might look in your life if you set out to pump up your "effectiveness
muscle." Come up with just one thing you know you should be
doing, but for whatever reason, you're not.
Go ahead.
Think of something right now.
Something like
this:
- strengthen my
relationships with my family
- start a
business
- write a book
- clean the
basement
- create a
website
- get in shape
- set up a
long-term investment strategy
- go back to
school
- find a better
job
- find mr. or
ms. right
Want to polish your
effectiveness skills and kick your life up a notch at the same
time? I'll support you in taking on the project of your
choice, starting April 1st.
Watch for a special
update on the next Wellness Challenge (which starts April 1st).
You'll find the update in your "inbox" about the middle of next week.
If you're currently
experiencing any sort of unresolved health problem (or want to avoid
that experience in the future), I strongly suggest that you pay
attention when it arrives.
Next Month
In next month's
newsletter, we'll talk about how being an effective problem-solver
influences body posture and, in turn, the functional longevity of your
muscles and joints. |
