I often find it hard to discuss some of the main ideas of what I might call personal development or self improvement given that everyday words and language are inadequate. By way of example, do the words ‘universal energy’ adequately explain the reality that we are energy, living in a world and universe made of vibrating energy and that energy is responsive? Does the sobriquet ‘Law of Attraction’ mean different things to different people? And where do the limits lie between mind, body and spirit?

In fact, of course, there are no borders between mind, body and spirit in the same way that there are no limits between us as individuals and the universe of which we each comprise an indispensable and intergal part. We are not just part of a whole, when it comes to us individually, there is just one – mind, body and spirit are simply artificially imagined aspects of the one. It’s important to understand this because, when we consider the facts of the matter, it becomes clear that what we’re thinking has an immediate effect on how we feel physically and mentally. By way of example, when one examines the apparent reality of stress and its very real physical consequences, we realize that our thoughts directly result in changes in body temperature and heart rate, shifts in the creation and distribution of a whole range of chemicals all of which, if unchecked, lead to serious illnesses – such as heart attack and stroke – and, if seriously out of control, will result in untimely death.

This is my key point. Our state of mind has a direct impact on the state of mind of those around us – this has been proven many times by research in the field of psychology. How much more does our state of mind affect us, ourselves? Your health, fitness and wellbeing are all directly related to your state of mind. Even your weight – your ability to put on too much of it or a whole range of dietary disorders from bulimia to anorexia – is a direct consequence of what you’re thinking.

And what is going on in your head is directly within your own control – or can be if you bother to make the simplest and, ultimately, most liberating decision that any one of us can make as grown ups – choosing your own thoughts. The normal mind is tortured by toxic thoughts, most of which emerge from the subconscious. Research concludes that the normal subconscious focuses on the events of our formative years and is more likely to focus on negative thoughts. This is our default state of mind. That is not to say that we can’t choose as to what we will pay attention to, however.

You are your own boss. Your life, in all its aspects, is dictated by what you’re paying attention to – whether you know it or not. That ultimate and liberating choice that I’ve just mentioned can be taken, day to day, each moment, by deciding to pay attention to the actual reality of the here and now. That’s the only cast-iron way of preventing your own subconscious focusing on self-sabotaging thoughts. No other way is as effective, no other way has the power to completely transform your fitness, your health, your wellness, your personal effectiveness and, most importantly, your ability to have a life of happiness, peace and incredible success.