I heard Dr Sarah Lidstone, a neurologist at UHN, speak many years ago at a TEDx talk in Toronto. Her talk, “It’s all in your head,” mentioned the placebo effect and how, at times, it really boils down to the issue of mind over matter. The mind-brain-body connection is so intertwined that the power of your beliefs (your mind) really do affect you physically (your body). In this blog, I describe five tips on using the principle of mind over matter and how to harness the power of your beliefs.

The power of wishful thinking

According to Dr Lidstone, treating the mind, brain, body as a whole can lead to some pretty miraculous results. Through the power of your beliefs, and your mind, you can cure ailments that affect the body.

Are thoughts so powerful that they can change reality?

Is it enough to believe in something so strongly that it ends up happening?

If you think that your thoughts would materialize into reality, some might call it nothing more than wishful thinking, and at worst, self-deception.

But that’s the power of wishful thinking, otherwise known in the self-help circle as “manifesting.” Popular self-help gurus (a dime a dozen) have created a whole practice of manifesting your dreams into reality. A lot of people believe in it and swear by it, attributing their success to the simple power of thought.

For example, some people swear by vision boards. Vision boards are a collage of images and phrases that you assemble onto a board and look at everyday to stay motivated and on track to meeting your goals.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. So if it’s mind over matter, how do you harness the power of your beliefs?

The power of imagination

The imagination is powerful stuff, I would say. I know because I’ve been the victim of my own imagination, like projecting what people think onto my reality, when it’s very far from the truth. So much that my actions were being controlled by my thoughts. For example, I’d think, “Oh no, that person doesn’t like me so they’re avoiding me.” So I start avoiding them instead, and it turns into a big avoidance thing where we don’t ever talk to each other.

We all care, to some degree and at some point in our lives, about what people think.

I have to admit, sometimes I’m the type of person who lives too much in their head. Someone who thinks too much. I care about what people think, too much sometimes, that it controls the way I act and think. I try not to do anything that invites ridicule. I strive for approval, for the pat on the head. You could argue that it’s just self-preservation. Who wants to act in a way that will quickly lose your friends?

But these thoughts are just thoughts, sometimes not even mirroring reality, not in any meaningful way.

Mind over matter: is it really all in your head?

Is the imagination, the power of the mind, so powerful that it can change reality?

Can we make the impossible happen by sheer willpower? That would be awesome, wouldn’t it? If we could make all of our dreams and our goals come true just by thinking very hard about it.

Like the placebo effect, the mind is so powerful that it can convince us of things that are or aren’t true, and it can spur us into action with either positive or negative consequences.

You’ve probably heard of how the self-help gurus promise that you can manifest your wants and desires using the power of your own thoughts. Is this all hogwash, snake oil? Before you dismiss these claims, consider that there may actually be scientific proof to back them up. Dr Lidstone recounted how a patient with Parkinson’s disease, who was dependent on his wheelchair, was able to get up and walk after taking a placebo.

Can you really trick your mind into doing whatever you want it to do? It’s possible. By harnessing the power of your beliefs, similar to what we call “faith”, we can literally make our thoughts turn into reality.

Here are five tips on how to harness the power of your beliefs:

1.  Your beliefs must be grounded in reality.

It’s all great to say that you want to make a million dollars within the next six months, but that would rarely work if it’s so far-fetched that it’s not grounded in reality. Money doesn’t appear out of thin air. Ask yourself whether you can achieve your goal and whether you can take the necessary steps to get started. If you find yourself giving up after a short while, or a few half-hearted attempts, it’s time to re-evaluate and re-adjust your goals so that they aren’t so wildly out of reach.

2.  Consistency is key.

You’ve heard of how faith can move mountains. Similarly, tiny actions can lead to big results. People never reach their goals, like losing weight or starting to write a novel, because they lack the follow-through or are blocked by how daunting and overwhelming a task can be. Discouraged, they never start at all. Don’t quit before you start! It’s the number one killer of dreams, the misconception that everyone must be ready before they start a project that they’ve always wanted to accomplish.

3.  Think positive.

I might be criticized for toxic positivity which is a term I see floating around a lot, but has anyone’s life ever been negatively affected by a bit of cheerfulness? We can use more of the bright side when things fall apart, fall down, or are all doom and gloom. Believe me, this will happen often in any undertaking that is worth achieving.

4.  Treat happiness like it’s a habit.

Just like consistency is key, happiness becomes second nature when you find more things to be grateful for. Can you become happier just by thinking you are happier? Maybe not, but give it a try. Changes to your mindset start by believing in the power of your thoughts.

5.  Dare to dream.

You’re a unique individual and you have ideas and thoughts that no one else has. The imagination is limitless. Thinking outside the box is always a good and useful quality to have. Creativity is what leads to that next big idea, so tap into your hidden genius.

The above tips on how to harness the power of your beliefs might actually prove to you that it’s all about mind over matter. Thoughts are powerful and mysterious entities. Some call them delusions or wishful thinking. Some call these thoughts faith. But it’s been scientifically proven that what’s in your mind can manifest physically in your body. Treating the mind can treat the body. If thoughts are so powerful, then who can guess what you can achieve just by thinking it? Maybe it really is just mind over matter.