I used to think that life was so hard.

I used to believe that it just happened to me; life was a crapshoot that I had absolutely no control over.

I would witness the crazy ebbs and flows of life—if I was in a wonderful, “flow” time in my life, I was certain that the bad “ebb” time wasn’t far behind. I would anxiously wait for a bomb to drop whenever I was having a great time in my life. I would sit there worrying about what bad thing was going to happen to me next—thus ruining the present moment of happiness that I was experiencing—and, just as I suspected, the “ebb cycle” would begin.

As I’ve grown, both mentally and spiritually, I have realized that I have way more power in my life than I was giving myself credit for. I have come to realize that my thoughts play a major role in my life—both now and in the past. I had been influencing my life all along!

If I think back to the “ebb cycles” that I would experience immediately after or during a “flow cycle”, it becomes pretty clear that my fear of the ebb cycle itself was causing it to manifest in my life. It came just as I had predicted—or, you could say, just as I had wished for.

Our thoughts are one of the most powerful tools at our disposal; and, at the same time, they are one of the most underused (and misused) tools too. I am not saying that we can directly control the events of our lives, but we do have full control over how we respond or react to those experiences. Additionally, we can actually create and attract certain experiences to our lives with our thoughts.

A study conducted by Harvard scientists in 1989 researched how an individual’s perception of being old affected his or her health, height, and memory. A group of volunteers over the age of 70 went on a 10-day retreat in an environment that was recreated to mirror 1959. Participants were asked to act like it really was 1959 and to converse on current affairs from that time. They also played music, wore clothes, and watched TV programs from the 1950s.

The results were pretty amazing.

The scientists recorded a variety of physiological measurements at the start of the research study, including height, finger length, strength, mental cognition, and eyesight. After ten days in the center, they took those measurements again and discovered that the volunteers had gotten physiologically younger by several years just by acting as if they were younger. They grew taller, their fingers grew longer, they had improved mental functions, and their eyesight improved. Some of the volunteers had become mentally and physiologically younger by 25 years!

When I found this out, I was amazed. This study clearly demonstrates the power of our thoughts on even our physical bodies, with the ability to improve our health and reduce the chance of disease!

It makes sense though: Thoughts and emotions are actually forms of energy that travel out into the universe through time and space (as all energy does). Our thoughts can literally shift the universe on a particle-by-particle basis to create the physical life that we see all around us.

In quantum physics scientists discovered that atoms, when broken down to the very smallest form, were made of only empty space and energy waves—nothing solid was left. This discovery also proved that the observer could shape matter. In experiments, these waves actually behaved differently depending on the observer. In humans, this is filtered through our five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.

Scientists have also proven that thoughts are what put together and hold together this ever-changing energy field, transforming into the physical “objects” that we see.

For example, think of television; it’s simply a tube with heaps of electrons hitting the screen in a certain way, creating the illusion of form and motion. Our five physical senses allow us to perceive this sea of energy from a certain limited standpoint and make up an image from that. What is perceived is based on individual interpretation; these interpretations are based on the internal reality that we have created from our personal collective experiences.

So, you can see that you literally become what you think about. Your life becomes what you have imagined and believed in. In essence, the world is literally your mirror, and whatever it is you believe to be the truth becomes your physical reality.

You can understand then how important it is to be mindful of your thoughts and your belief systems. They can make or break the life that you so desire to live.

What are some things that you can do to create the life that you want to live?

Here are a few tips:

1) Thought Review

What do you think about most? Now, look at your life—specifically, the more challenging experiences; can you trace them back to a recurring fearful thought or belief? If you can, work on unraveling the belief by really getting to the root of the fear behind it. You might have to do this review on a daily basis, as some fears have been set into our subconscious from years back and can be harder to find. A good coach can also help you find the limiting beliefs that may be overtaking your daily thoughts. This is something I work on with my clients on a regular basis, as their thoughts affect their health just as much as diet and exercise do. (And if you’d like help with this, I’d love to support you too!) When we expose fear to the light, it will usually begin to fall away.

2) Visualization

Visualization is a key tool that I use to keep my thoughts focused on the life that I desire. I have done this in various ways: with photos that remind you of the life you want to live pinned on a board, or through a photo slideshow with music that makes you feel good about your life, or it could be journaling your future as if it is already happening. Just know that it is important to feel the positive emotion that you want to feel along with visions that you have created. I’ve also used guided meditations specifically for visualization that have been helpful in bringing up the positive emotions I need to really manifest what it is I want.

3) Meditation

Meditation helps to clear out any “baggage” that may have gotten trapped in your brain from the day. The goal is to keep these thoughts from snowballing into worse thoughts the next day, then creating negative physical situations and outcomes. If we can clear this negativity from our minds on a daily basis, it helps keep a good flow of positive thoughts in our minds. Meditation also allows us to start our days fresh and open to creativity and new experiences!

4) Pure Space

Be very aware of what you are “feeding” your brain. Limit the amount of news, music, movies, video games, or anything else you may hear or see during the day that has a negative tone or objective. This includes the people you surround yourself with, and the conversations that you might have. These things do influence our brains and thought patterns. Instead, try to fill your life with people, experiences, and other input that contributes to positive or constructive thoughts. I often listen to audio books that help me to grow as a person or learn something new instead of watching news or mindless TV.

I hope it is clear to you now what a powerful role your thoughts play in creating your life. Try a few of these tips to help keep your mind on track and, before you know it, you’ll be shaping all of that energy into a physical reality that will be satisfying and happy for you!