Carlyn Hansen: Forget dreaming of being a superhero, the path to happiness is in your head

Most of us dream of being a superhero. Getty Images

Ever dreamed about being a super-hero endowed with super-natural powers? You know, the kind of super-strength that saves lives in danger, becomes invisible in a flash, climbs tall buildings with ease, flies across mountain tops and miles of oceans or creates out of thin air exactly what is needed in the moment? Most of us do.

But, those are supernatural powers and the reality is, we are real people in a real world.
We may not be able to climb tall buildings or fly across mountains and oceans the same way our superheroes do … however, we do have power greater than any supernatural power, it is the power of the mind.

The human mind is what separates and distinguishes us from any other beings in the world. That alone indicates that there is something very special about it.

It empowers us to mould our personality, to create our own destiny, to shape our future and determines exactly who and what we are. Truth is, the power of our minds can make us more supreme, invincible and indestructible than any superhero ever was.

It's like a wild horse that needs to be tamed and trained. Once tamed, it can make anyone a hero.

Your mind is like a wild horse that needs to be tamed and trained. Getty Images

Unfortunately, for the most part, as humans, we tend to look outside of ourselves for the answers to our issues. We keep our lives and minds busy with nonsense to avoid looking inside for fear of not liking what we might find (we are just not comfortable exploring the unknown).

This causes us to make comparisons, evaluations and judgments against ourselves based on what the world thinks. These damaging comparisons can lead us to conclude and accept the fact that we are inferior to others. This is very destructive to healthy self-esteem.

The mind is empowered to reverse this type of destructive thinking. If the outside world says we are losers, we can employ the power of our minds to shift that destructive thought to "we are winners." When the world says we can't, our minds are empowered to say we can.

Choice is where the real power lies. Many people wish their circumstances would change and improve but they are unwilling to improve themselves! They remain bound to their destructive thoughts and unhealthy habits.

Creating your ultimate destiny and living the life of your dreams is about becoming master of your life and the first step towards accomplishing that is to master your thoughts because the results we achieve in life are a direct reflection of the inner progress we have made. They are a direct reflection of our thoughts.

In other words, thinking creates images in our minds. These images control our feelings, like happiness, sadness or joy. These feelings eventually express in our actions and actions are what create results.

Exercise promotes positive attitudes, builds confidence, and releases chemicals called endorphins that provide positive feelings. Getty Images

We are what we think. Our minds generate both positive and negative thoughts and there is always conflict between them. Positive thoughts are ideas in the mind that bring confidence, optimism and focus. Optimistic thinking includes thoughts such as "I am smart," "I am healthy," "I am strong and confident."

In fact, simple "I cans" and "I ams" is a great way to cultivate positive thoughts in our minds. If we trust that we will succeed and focus only on those thoughts, then we can draw success to us.

Negative thoughts are the opposite of positive. They cause us to be pessimistic or adopt an undesirable outlook on life. They include don't, can't, what if, no and won't type of thoughts. These types of thoughts cause us to fail because our subconscious gets to work producing actions to support these destructive, disempowering beliefs.

Everything we see without, has been created from the laboratory of the mind. The mind weaves a powerful tapestry together – every bolt and nut in creation was put there through the power of the mind.

Since our behavior is the result of the thoughts that precede it, we must quit trying to change our behavior. It's not our behavior that needs working on, it's the thoughts driving the behavior. We can create our own destiny and love our life simply by making positive mindful decisions to become all that we are capable of…one day at a time.

We must consciously decide what road we are traveling down – the road of complexity and mind confusion (we give our power away to the beliefs of others), or one of simplicity and mind control (we are in control of what manifests in our lives through the power of our conscious positive thinking).

There's no better way to boost the power of positive thinking than exercise. The benefits of exercise offer a lot more than just strong muscles and weight loss.

Exercise promotes positive attitudes, builds confidence, and releases chemicals called endorphins that provide positive feelings. It is even empowered to boost the immune system.

Healthy people are happier people and happier people live longer, fuller lives.

■ Carolyn Hansen is co-owner of Anytime Fitness.