The Power of I Am

“We could live several lifetimes and never exhaust the power of our minds.” – Denis Hachey

I would like to tell you a quick anecdote about how easily we can be influenced by the words of others, and also the beliefs that can be created from these interactions.

The turn of the seasons is often accompanied by an increase in cold and flu outbreaks.

For the past several weeks, seemingly everyone I know has had some sort of illness.

I remember thinking week after week, “I am not going to catch a cold…I don’t have time to be sick!”

And aside from developing a mild cough, I didn’t come down with anything.

I felt pretty great and a little cough was something I definitely could live with.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and this mild cough was lingering.

Hanging around like my new BFF.

Even though I was feeling good otherwise, I decided to go have it checked out.

The doctor came into the exam room, placed the cold stethoscope on my back and told me to breathe in deeply.

As I inhaled, we both heard a mild wheezing, rattling sound.

The doctor immediately told me that I needed a chest x-ray to determine if I had pneumonia.

I looked at her like she was crazy.

There was no way I was that sick…I mean, I felt fine!

But, I agreed and off to the lab, I went.

She came back to the exam room and announced that I was not suffering from pneumonia…but that I had developed bronchitis.

She then went on to say how lucky I was that I caught it when I did, and began explaining all of the medication that she was going to prescribe me.

I sat there, in that sterile room thinking how weird it was that I had bronchitis but was showing no other symptoms other than a mild cough.

But, I believed her when she gave me the diagnosis.

I went to the pharmacy and filled the prescriptions and by the time I got home, I was not feeling well.

I was fatigued, my skin felt like pins and needles, I felt feverish even though the thermometer read a stable 98.9.

It was all I could do to just lay in bed and feel miserable.

The next morning, while still feeling pretty bad, I decided to listen to an episode on Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations podcast.

This particular episode was all about the power of the words, “I Am”.

As the discussion between Oprah and her guest progressed, it hit me:

The only reason why I was feeling miserable, was because I believed that’s what I should be feeling.

When the doctor had diagnosed me with bronchitis, my mindset changed from:

“I am a healthy woman, with a mild cough.”

To

“I am sick.”

My body then began to immediately reflect what I believed to be true.

So, instead of thinking, “I am sick.” I changed my thought pattern to say, “I am healing and I am healthy.”

By early afternoon, that same day, the body aches, chills and fever-like symptoms that I had been experiencing since they day before, were completely gone.

Not only that, but my cough began to retreat too.

This experience ended up being a great example of the power of thought and how our beliefs shape our reality.

There is an insane amount of power behind the language in which we use to talk to ourselves.

Whatever we place after the words, “I AM” will determine the kind of experience that we have in this life.

Everything from how we’ll react to a doctor’s diagnosis to how successful we are in business, family and love.

How we talk to ourselves determines our entire life.

I’d like you to pay attention to your own, “I Am” statements, for just one day.

Write them down as soon as you think them.

Notice the thoughts that are rolling through your mind in the background.

Are they predominantly positive or negative?

If they are mostly negative “I Am” statements… thoughts that are holding you back rather than encouraging you to move forward…that’s ok!

We all have negative belief systems that have been deeply engrained into our psyche.

But, the amazing thing is… once you bring your awareness to these “I Am” statements that you tell yourself every day, you can start to change them.

You can re-write the agreements that you have with yourself surrounding these beliefs that are limiting your progress in life.

You can change them to something positive that propels you forward, instead of holding you back.

Something as simple as changing the words that follow, “I Am” can shift the trajectory of your entire life.

So, take note of your own internal dialogue.

Rephrase those statements into ones that are gentle and kind.

Into ones that help you, instead of hinder you.