The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude

-Oprah Winfrey

If we want to change how we walk through the world, it starts by letting go of unconscious behaviors of how we carry ourselves. These habits can result in physical manifestations, including premature aging, illness, and skeletal discomfort if left unchecked.

What we think we become. Our thoughts manifest into physical attributes, changing how we look and feel. Our bodies transform, becoming the image we show the world.

Actors illustrate this mind/ body connection clearly. Assuming a part’s persona, an actor often begins by physicalizing the character’s movements and carriage. Then, they transform their body into the role they portray by altering their carriage. We can easily read others by how they carry themselves.

We witness people who have become their thoughts and behaviors daily.

11 Let Go’s to Transform You

Let go:

1) The Weight of the World Upon Our Shoulders. We can’t change the world by carrying it around, so let’s put it down. Hunching, sloping, and rolling our shoulders forward to carry the burden often creates a rounded back, aging us beyond our years. In addition, it compresses the spine and our lovely necks, which can manifest into back pain, headaches, and joint discomfort, to name a few.

2) A Scowl or Frown. Who remembers hearing, as a child, wipe that look off your face, or it will stay that way? If you consistently wear either, you may unknowingly imprint a permanent look on your face. It is said that at 40 yrs old, you have the face that your attitude has created. Choosing a smile outshines a frown any day.

3) Looking Down Your Nose. When you look down your nose at someone, your eyes become harsh, sometimes even a bit crossed. It projects an air of judgment, superiority, and disapproval. Letting go of those attitudes allows us to see with an open and accepting mind.

4) A Stiff Upper Lip. A tight-lipped response is a mask we wear when we deny our emotions, shoving down our feelings or suppressing our needs and replacing them with an air that all is ok. A rigidity coincides with the lip’s tension that unknowingly tightens the neck and shoulders into the back.

5) Expectations Others Place Upon Us. Wearing the expectations we have allowed others to place upon us takes us away from living our truth. Let those people who put their expectations upon you take them back.

6) Wearing Disappointments as a Plea for Sympathy. Holding on to disappointments for too long will restrict our growth. Bad times will pass if we understand we are holding on to something we cannot change. Living in the past robs us of living in the present.

7) Grudges and Resentment, just like disappointments, limit our growth. These emotions can be toxic to ourselves as well as those around us. Holding on to slights, perceived or otherwise, keeps us chained to that moment that no longer exists.

8) Rose Colored Glasses: We have all worn them at times. Shielding reality by being overly optimistic, naive, or oblivious about a situation is just as detrimental as being negative. Our ability to see exists if we let go of the fear of realistically seeing ourselves.

9) An I Can’t Attitude. Not a great look. When you carry a dark cloud and a defeatist attitude, it contributes to a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure and a lack of success. The slumped profile can contribute to neck, shoulder, and back pain. This attitude always propels me to ask. “But if you could do it, how would that feel?”
The alternative Can Do attitude fits all body types.

10) A Know it Attitude. No one likes a know it all. This attitude is often a mask for insecurity and concerns about others perceive us. It can be deeply ingrained in family dynamics, serving as a defense mechanism. However, because it was, it does not mean it needs to continue to be. The energy is destructive to relationships, so best to drop it. Learning to listen is a place to start.

11) Our Super Hero Personas. These have been popular items for years. We thought we could and had to do it all. We can lose the costume, understanding it is not the end of the world to ask for help; it is a sign of strength.

The connection between body, mind, and spirit is paramount in the philosophies of Eastern medicine. Our illnesses and injuries indicate what is happening at a profound and usually unrecognized subconscious level. Because we cannot see it doesn’t make it untrue.

It has taken a lifetime to create some physicalities we end up with, but we can shed them instantly once we become aware. So it is never too late to let them go. What never hinders how we look is an open heart, an easy smile, a straight back, a flexible approach, a zest for living, and a positive attitude.

It begins with the courage to look at who we are. The word courage initially meant to speak all that is in one’s heart. Are you ready to love yourself enough to look deep inside, to undo the looks you have become accustomed to wearing?

The full and joyful acceptance of the worst in oneself may be the only sure way of transforming it.
— Henry Miller