Murky waterIt was that Hippocrates dude that said it right when he made the eternal comment ‘let thy food be thy medicine’. So of course nutrition had to be one of the key pillars to optimum health. The thing is we all know it, but with the proliferation of the diet industry, media, an industry worth well over a trillion dollars (the US industry alone is about 1 trillion dollars), it is pretty hard to work out what the ‘real’ message is. So I am going to share with you some of my basic philosophies and the biggest tips I have taken away from following nutrition and researching it for the last 15 years. My views have definitely changed over the years too.
No surprises
The first Pillar (or key) to Optimum Health is – no surprises – physical activity. I can just imagine you reading this thinking, yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don’t know. Did you know that physical activity actually helps with your memory, your cognitive functioning and neurogenesis (development of new neurons)? Physical activity is just as important for the brain as it for the body and internal systems. Sometimes we forget that. You are also likely to score better on tests or be more creative after you exercise. Now have I got your attention? 😉  Tal Ben-Sharar, a leader in the positive psychology field, said ‘Not exercising is like taking a depressant’. Oops. It turns out that exercise is one of the best stress management and stress resilience strategies we have. In many research situations exercise performs just as well as anti-depressants (without the side-effects).  Â
Are you being realistic?
Picture this. Two people born in two different cities. Two different parents. Two different sets of beliefs installed. Two very different behaviours at play in the family environment. Two different schools. Two different groups of friends and influences. Two very different life experiences. Two different physical appearances. Two different interests, talents, and hobbies. I could go on, but I am sure you get the picture.
Now here is the big question: What are the chances that when these two people connect they will think, feel and behave in exactly the same way?
If your answer was anything other than NONE or VERY UNLIKELY then you definitely need to give me a call and we definitely need to chat. So we agree (apart from the people calling me shortly) that the chances of two people from two different places, families and life experiences having exactly the same values, beliefs, skills, mindsets, perspectives, outlooks, etc. is very very low.
Back to basics
Over the years I have done a bunch of work and traveling to Singapore. Great food, nice and orderly especially after coming from Indonesia, and a bucket-load of shopping centres. Plus people working their butts off to make more money so they can buy stuff that they actually don’t need (and haven’t got the time to enjoy).Did I hear someone say ‘but what about retail therapy’? Well here is a question for you. Was the term ‘retail therapy’ introduced by the retail industry or by a team of the worlds leading therapists on emotional intelligence and stress management? Research does suggest that shopping is actually likely to make you feel worse, in the long run, as opposed to better. Having said that, if you drop the shopping for stuff you don’t need and catch up with friends for meaningful conversations, that is a different story entirely.
Here is my theory
When you look about your house, how much stuff do you see that you really ‘need’. That contributes to the quality of your life and the lives of the people around you?
There is no such thing as failure (or being ill), only FEEDBACK.
What is the feedback telling you?
The biggest opportunity we are given when we are sick is pretty clear communication from our body. And since our brain is hard-wired into the body, you can assume when the body speaks, it is our subconscious mind communicating with us. Dr Darren Weissman – one of the leaders in mind-body field – tells us, if we did not consciously choose something, then it is coming compliments of the subconscious mind. What might your subconscious mind be telling us when we get sick?
Could it be saying to slow down? Or ease up on the Oreo’s. Or get more sleep? Or let go of the worrying about things you don’t control? Or accept that change is inevitable. It is time to sit up and pay close attention especially before the symptoms get really serious. This is the greatest opportunity we have whenever we are sick. The best thing we can do is to listen to it when it is just a tap on our shoulder, rather than ignoring the tap, and setting ourselves up for something a whole lot worse.
The reasons why these are so transformative physically and psychologically is they are also acts of Self Love. And sorry dudes if the ‘L’ word makes you look over your shoulder to make sure no-one see’s you reading sensitive new age stuff, but in my experience, coaching numerous people from CEO’s to athletes and single mums, we could all do with some more self love in our lives. It is healthy on so many levels.
Daily Ritual Number 1: Shake that booty
Also known as ‘physical activity’. We all know it is great for us. But it is not just great. It is ESSENTIAL for our physical and mental health. We will never be our best if we don’t move our body. It impacts our ability to remove toxins from our body, and optimize the immune and circulatory systems. It gives us more energy. We will live longer. It reduces stress and builds up our resilience to stress. We recover more quickly from illness. That is just the body. At a mental level in increases cognitive functioning, the growth of new brain cells, improves our memory, positively affects our moods, and a whole lot more.I know you know a lot of this stuff.
So you are like the rest of us and know at some level there is more of you to come? Sometimes realising we are holding back, or playing too safe a hand, or letting fear stop us, is an incredible opportunity for growth. So let’s look at 5 ways to tap into even more of your potential.Â
Tip 1: Look in the mirror
This is about accountability. Not beating yourself up. It is having an honest look at yourself and asking if there is more in you. We have already realised there is. When we look at ourselves and acknowledge that we might actually be holding ourselves back (as opposed to something or someone outside of ourselves), it also makes it very clear we have the power to change the situation. This is you seeing what physics calls ‘potential energy’. Know it in every fibre of your being (as scary as it is to acknowledge) you have a LOT more in you, waiting to be liberated and utilised to create an even better life.
To keep the momentum going I am going to just jump straight in. How is that for momentum!!
Momentum Tip 1: Don’t make it about yourself
This is first and I think most important. It is what got me moving to write this newsletter when the other option was to kick back and read a book on this wet Bali morning (which for the record was VERY appealing). When I stop thinking about myself and start thinking about how I can help others, or serve others, or support others, it makes me dip into a source of creative energy much bigger than me. Quite often we will do more because of another person or for another person than we will do for ourselves. So focus on how you can help others. When you focus on serving others, you are also likely to be liberating some healthy brain chemicals to turn up your emotional energy.
Momentum Tip 2: Connect to the bigger picture
This is for two reasons really:
1. When you put things into perspective and given you are going to live for about another 50 years or so, is the two weeks where you worked at 40% productivity instead of 80% really going to matter? As much as I would like to think I make that much difference, the reality is my 2 weeks at half pace will mean nothing to me in 6-months time. So stop beating yourself up and just consider how you can change things from today forward. Which takes me to the next point.
This simple set of exercises – called Energization Exercises – are designed to wake up body and mind at the start of a day or any other time that you need to increase your energy. You are effectively increasing the blood flow throughout your body, getting oxygen to all of the cells in your body, waking up your amazing mind, stimulating your immune system by stimulating the lymphatic system and performing an act of self love because it is wonderful for the whole body and mind.
Below is a video to show you one series of exercises we teach at WorldsBIGGESTGym and is an integral part of the success our clients get when they do the transformational Coaching program, the 30-Day Happiness Challenge.
What do you do to wake your mind and body up in the morning?
Let us start with a question. Put your hand up in the air if you are using 100% of your potential? For all of those who have not still got their hand in the air then I encourage you to read on. For the record, my hand is down too. Firstly, it really is in our best interests to take the time out at the start of the year (or month / week / day) to get clear about where we want to go. If you took an entire day or even an entire week at the start of the year to get clear about what you want, it would be a very intelligent investment. You ROI would likely be huge. Your results would be worth the time you committed at the start of the project called ‘Your Incredible Life’. So know that old saying (which was drummed into us in the military) ‘time spent in planning is rarely wasted’ actually makes a wee bit of sense.
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