How do your expectations determine if something is good or bad?

The famous 17th-century English poet John Milton wrote in his epic poem, Paradise Lost, "The mind is its own place and in it self can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."

Your assumptions, beliefs, and mindset determine and shape your mental, physical, and emotional health.

Not convinced? Consider a Harvard University study published in 2007 where hotel housekeepers were told the energy they expend at their job was equivalent to a gym workout. 

A month later, the researchers found the housekeepers' fitness levels had noticeably improved, as evidenced by positive weight and blood pressure changes.

This study's results clearly show that our expectations are not set in stone.  Once we understand the influence our expectations hold over our lives, the research offers psychological practices that we can use to improve our mental and physical health.

Alia Crum, a researcher from Stanford University, said, "Our minds are not passive observers simply perceiving reality as it is; our minds actually change reality. In other words, the reality we will experience tomorrow is in part a product of the mindset we hold today."  

Science is learning more about how our brains and the thoughts in them function more like "predictive organs," simulating the future and giving us what it expects we want. 

Notably, this "prediction machine" can alter our body's chemistry and composition, which can turn our lives from a heaven to a hell or a hell to a heaven.

Please comment on your thoughts on how your brain can be used to make your life better or worse.