Thought is power. One of the greatest examples of this is the placebo effect. Give someone a sugar pill, tell them it is a drug that can help alleviate or cure what is ailing them, and their belief in the effectiveness of the “drug” will create statistically relevant changes. The reality is that the pill did nothing. It was all the patient’s own positive thinking that they were going to get better.

The associated press wrote an interesting article entitle “Better think positive: Pessimism can block therapy” in which they introduce the “nocebo” effect. If believing that a drug, or placebo, will help you actually helps, then the opposite holds true. Believing that a drug or treatment will not help you will keep it from working. Treatments that should be effective for some patients can be nullified by the patient’s negative thinking. Thinking negatively could potentially do harm. This means that a doctor’s job becomes more than just diagnosing and treating. They must also convince the patient that they are trustworthy and get the patient to believe.

Extrapolate this concept to any area of life. Your thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes have real ramifications in your physical reality.

I love the quote by Henry Ford: “Whether you belive you can do a thing or not, you are right.”

Thinking positively is not always the easiest thing to do; however, it is always the best thing to do.

Have you had any experiences with the placebo or nocebo effect? Leave a comment below and let us know!