Beliefs are powerful!
You probably have many experiences of the power of beliefs in your life.
Perhaps you were determined to achieve something, that seemed daunting. It felt like you had to move mountains. And you did it!
Or maybe, you were convinced that something wouldn’t work out the way you wanted it to, and you were right.
Henry Ford said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
People go to war because of their beliefs.
The placebo effect illustrates the power of beliefs.
Give a group of people an inert pill, and tell them it’s a powerful drug, and at least some of the people will report positive effects.
What are your beliefs about ME/CFS?
I see people post comments online like ‘People don’t recover from ME/CFS/FM’.
Well that can’t be true, as people have posted their recovery stories.
Consider this. If something is not impossible, then it’s 100% possible.
If a person doesn’t believe that they can recover, then they won’t take any positive action.
The fact that you are reading this email suggests to me that you are not in the category of people not taking positive action.
That is an important step that not everyone with ME/CFS takes.
When I had ME/CFS, I met people who seemed to be waiting for scientists to come up with a cure, rather than asking themselves the question:
‘What positive steps can I take?’
Don’t get me wrong, I know how tough having the condition is.
There were times when I felt despair.
Of course it is reasonable to have periods of doubt.
However, some of us do what we can to take positive action, no matter how small.
If you are doing that, you are already ahead of the game.
We can change our beliefs, and our thoughts in general, if we recognise that they are not helpful.
How?
Well, the first step is to look for the evidence that challenges our beliefs or thoughts.
So if I believe that I am stupid (which is something I used to tell myself a long time ago), then I need to look for the example when I demonstrated that I was intelligent.
The second step is to take action to dismantle unhelpful beliefs and build more useful ones.
So start to think about what your beliefs are about ME/CFS/FM.
If you recognise that they are not useful, you know what to do!
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ME/CFS: A Piece Of The Jigsaw? FREE Report
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If you haven’t read it yet, I would invite you to. It’s not a long read, around 15 minutes or so.
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SIMON PIMENTA is a hypnotherapist, coach and trainer working with people to boost resilience, and minimise stress. After working in a demanding job as the Director of a Housing Trust, he went off sick and remained unable to work for the next 8 years.
He discovered mind/body techniques that he believes helped him recover his health, and developed the Building Resilience course, designed to help others achieve their goals.