Health Hints 2009
January -
Many New Year resolutions fail simply because they are about loss, giving up something rather than aspiring towards a goal. For example instead of stopping smoking or giving up chocolate being your resolution try ‘I am want to be healthier’ or ‘I want to be a size 14’. Goals are more successful when they are moving towards a target and achievement – when they are about positive gain for you. If you’re not convinced try this. Make two resolutions – one about giving up something and the other about gaining something. Let me know which one works.
February – Many of us live in the ‘doing’ world, busy getting lots done but never actually changing and feeling fulfilled - and its why many New Year’s resolutions end in failure! Real, long lasting change begins with ‘being’ then ‘doing’ and eventually ‘having’ - you have to ‘be’ different rather than simply ‘do’ different things. Think about wanting to change your body weight – you can do all the right things yet without wanting to be ‘healthy’ you will struggle. You achieve more when you focus on what it is you want to be.
A client suggested one way to be is to choose a word that sums up how you want to feel and be during the year; you actually make that your focus often without being aware of it – he chose ‘sensational’. That means in every aspect of his life in 2009 he wants to be sensational – his career, relationships, health and holidays. Others have chosen splendid, joyful, connected – mine is successful.
Sometimes you know your word instantly, sometimes your word leaps out at you, you may have to sit quietly for a while or you may notice you are using a ‘new’ word recently and you choose that. Let us know which word you have chosen and anything that changes for you as a result. What do you want to ‘be’ in 2009?
March - All of us have a natural body clock that varies as we move through our lives and in our 24 hour society living against your body clock does has consequences. Your body clock controls your body and governs many aspects of your life including your energy levels, the time you need to sleep and the quality of your sleep, the optimal time to exercise, the period in the day when you can get the most done at work and even the best time to eat.
For example research shows that when the same meal is eaten in the morning and the evening, the evening meal leaves more glucose in the blood – a significant factor in the development of Type II diabetes. The old saying ‘breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper’ really does seem to be the way forwards and skipping breakfast isn’t a good idea!
Regarding activity, it appears it’s safer to exercise in the evenings when blood is less ‘sticky’, blood vessels expand and contract easily and blood pressure is lower than in the mornings. And for most people in adulthood – unsurprisingly teenagers are on a very different body clock setting compared to adults J – the optimal time to get your work done is between 10 and 12 in the morning.
Although individual body clocks can vary maybe it’s time to check if you living in sync with yours? Clocks go forwards an hour at 2.00am on the 29th March 2009.
April -
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. His son asked him, ‘May I ask you a question?'
‘Of course?' replied the man.
‘How much do you earn an hour, Dad?
The man replied 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?'
'I just want to know,’ the son replied.
The man answered, 'If you must know, I make £50 an hour.'
'Oh,' the little boy replied and then asked, ' Daddy, may I borrow £25 please?'
The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard every day for such childish frivolities.'
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that £25 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
'Are you asleep, Son?' he asked.
'No Daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.
'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier', said the man, 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the £25 you asked for.'
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Thank you Daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up notes. The man saw that the boy already had money and started to get angry again. The boy slowly counted out his money and then looked up at his father.
'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.
'Because I didn't have enough but now I do,' the little boy replied. ' Daddy, I have £50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'
This story is a reminder to spend some time with those who really matter to us. Who will you spend your £50 worth of time with today?
May - Recently I was with a client and exercise wasn’t happening. As we discussed why not he told me that although he felt he should exercise and thought about it, he often let the moment pass and then he could justify not exercising by ‘not having enough time’ and ‘he’d do it tomorrow’.
The trouble was he knew this wasn’t true, it was an excuse, and that in reality he spent more time thinking about exercise than actually doing it! The result was he felt guilty and this lead him to feel he was failing and he’d didn’t feel good about his day; never feeling he could relax and enjoy whatever he was doing. He is not alone.
By ‘thinking about’ rather than ‘doing’, the client was spending his energy in thought about the future rather than action in the present – in some ways he’d done his exercise in his mind before he’d taken one step! It was time for him to stop wasting energy in future thinking and simply do the action – and this applies to everything not just exercise!
He was also practising the art of self deceit; a skill many of us are masters at. Being honest with ourselves about the reasons we are not exercising is part of the solution to exercising. And incidentally if you feel you really don’t have the time to do a ‘full’ exercise session, anything that means you are being more active – even for ten minutes - is helping your become fitter and will be more effective than nothing.
Time to live in the present and stop spending time thinking of excuses and just do it?
June -
Whether you travel on business regularly or are looking forward to an overseas summer holiday, there is some new research by Harvard University that suggests there is a way to ease, and maybe beat, long haul jet lag. Anyone who has ever suffered from jet lag will appreciate the value of such research.
The rule is from the moment you leave your home and during your flight don’t eat until you arrive at your destination. Then you eat the meal you would expect to eat in that time zone as soon as you can i.e. if you arrive early morning eat breakfast. You can drink water but no alcohol either. The idea behind this is we all have a particular internal body clock that is virtually dormant normally yet is awakened by periods of not eating. This clock regulates your body to the time zone you are in; you get into synch with the country you are in and are more alert faster.
Next time you are flying avoid the in flight cuisine, selection of alcoholic drinks and calorie laden snacks and stick to water and you might find that your business trip or holiday starts with a good night’s sleep.
July- When you feel your mood is low or you’re below par you need to HALT- HALT is an acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. By pausing to check whether you are experiencing any of these feelings you can take steps to change your day. And it’s probably no surprise that each of these is linked.
In our time poor society, we often eat on the go, skip meals or eat high sugary and fatty foods and have poor sleeping patterns. These result in inconsistent energy levels which give rise to bad moods, frustration and fatigue; when we are tired our perspective shifts, often meaning feeling angry is never far away; in turn we then feel we are having to handle the world on our own; events in our life that we usually handle easily, or may not even notice generally, become more demanding and draining and we get tired quickly, feeling life is an uphill struggle; this gives rise to more anger and.....well you get the idea.
To break this cycle, next time you feel your day could be going better HALT. Make time for some high quality, low sugar food that you can eat in peace and quiet with your mobile turned off and take 30 minutes to relax by sitting in a park or going for a walk. You may tell yourself it’s impossible initially but once you notice that afterwards you return to your day recharged and refreshed, more effective and efficient, happier and empowered, HALT will become a valuable tool in your daily life. Time to check for HALT today?
August -
Holidays mean a change in our routine. Maybe it’s the fact we get up at a different time to the rest of the year, make time for reading or going for a walk; or we eat different foods. Whenever we make a change in our lives we notice the difference it makes; we become more aware and feel more in control. Taoists believe that change creates opportunities that we miss if we always repeat the same routine; we become numb and desensitised to the world we live in and simply go through the motions.
Change doesn’t have to be restricted to our holidays or be a major event. You could walk along a different street on your way to work; get up ten minutes earlier or later; try somewhere different for your lunch; start your weekly shop at a different place in the supermarket; start your gym session on a different piece of equipment; buy a different newspaper. The list is truly endless. And by changing one thing notice what else in your life changes.
Change really is as good as a rest! Now what will you choose to change?
August's Quote
"If you want things to be different, perhaps the answer is to become different yourself." Norman Vincent Peale
September - Often it’s the simple things that make all the difference. Before the shorter days of winter begin, this time of year is a great time to de-clutter and get lots of those odd jobs done - those little jobs we leave are always in our minds and can have an impact on our energy levels. Each time we get something from that untidy cupboard or sit at our cluttered desk our mood sinks and we feel less inspired - we continually tell ourselves ‘I really must sort that out’.
Begin small by setting aside 10 minutes of today to clear up or finish something off. How about sorting through the pile of papers next to your desk or getting into a cupboard that annoys you every time you open it and removing anything that doesn't need to be there? Notice how you feel afterwards. Does your mindset change? Does your mood lift? Are you more inspired and happier as you sit down to work at your organised desk? Do you use less energy when you can find that favourite spatula from your cutlery drawer?
When my desk is organised I feel organised and efficient. I feel sorted and clear mentally and charge through all I want to get done, feeling satisfied and inspired.
So what about you? What projects are unfinished that would leave you feeling more positive and inspired if you tackled them?
September's Quote - "Don't tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I'll tell you what they are." James W. Frick
October -
All of us have an internal dialogue with ourselves and a significant part of this dialogue is concerned with our intentions – the way we believe, think or feel an event in our lives will happen or is happening. How often do you wake up and say to yourself ‘I have a lot to do today’ or ‘it’s hard to lose weight’ and then find out your are right. You struggle through your day, feeling tired and stressed or the weight never shifts even though you are eating only lettuce leaves and drinking warm water! Your intentions become your reality.
Does your day become easier or harder when you tell yourself I have a lot to do? Does your cake turn our badly when you create it knowing it will be perfect? Are you energised when you tell yourself throughout the day you are tired? Does your gym session become easier when you tell yourself it will be hard? The effects of our intentions can make a real difference to how we feel about ourselves and the lives we live – and once you are aware of this you can change your intentions.
Try this. Next time you are dreading doing something change the way you are viewing it – change your intention about it. I know that when I am running if I start to think the hill coming up is going to be tough I slow down before I even reach the hill!
We all have intentions about our lives. They are an integral part of who we are. And because we have them anyway why not make them a positive affirmation of our lives rather than creating struggle, zapping our energy and destroying our confidence?
What are you telling yourself about your day today? Are you intending a day that flows and is full of joy or a day or drudgery and dullness? You choose.
October's Quote - "You have been criticising yourself for years, and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens." Louise L. Hay
November - Sometimes people are unaware they are stuck in the cultural judgement game and spend lots of energy judging others and, of course, themselves. They struggle in a world of rights and wrongs - mainly focusing on how wrong they feel - and are always trying to fix themselves to be ‘right’. If they get angry its wrong; if they feel sad they are failing; even when they are happy they are uncertain they should be!
There is another way. Ariel and Shya Kane, in their book ‘Working on Yourself Doesn’t Work,’ use the example of anthropologists to overcome continual self judgement. When anthropologists observe they are aware of events and simply notate them. ‘A tribe ate roasted grubs at 6 a.m.’ rather than ‘first thing these people did today was eat those disgusting grubs’.
When we judge our feelings and compare them with how we feel we ‘should be’ we are deferring our feelings to the ‘imaginary committee’ of others. We become addicted to fixing, self doubt and finding fault.
To step out of the judgement world become aware and simply observe that you are feeling anxious, upset, happy, joyful, and let it be. Our judgement needs energy to survive and without giving it energy the habit fades; we become empowered, have more energy for other areas of our lives and we approve of ourselves. Time to become your own anthropologist?
November's Quote - "Mindfulness can be summed up in two words: pay attention. Once you notice what you’re doing, you have the power to change it." Michelle Burford
December - At this time of year, it’s natural to reflect, to look back at the events that have happened in our lives over the past twelve months. There will probably be some aspects you feel great about and others you’d rather forget – this year though change the way you reflect and focus on the things you feel great about, the strengths of your year if you like. Recall the places you visited, the amazing people you’ve met throughout the year; the successes, the big and little things that cause you to smile.
Doing this means you are focusing on your achievements and strengths and that is the secret of accomplishing what you want for you in your life in 2010. Many people feel they should work on their weaknesses which means they tend to forget about their talents and abilities. When you put your spotlight on your strengths you have confidence, self belief and a pathway to follow – you achieve your potential as the person you want to be in all areas of your life.
When Muhammad Ali’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, was asked what weaknesses of Ali’s he was working on, Dundee asked ‘Why would I work on his weaknesses? He is fast, strong and wins. What good is it to focus on what he is poor at?” When you focus on what you can’t do you take away the energy you could use to focus on what you are good at: you doubt yourself and your abilities; and you play safe and never make the moves you truly want to.
As you reflect on 2009, give yourself a genuine pat on the back for all you have achieved and enjoyed. You are an amazing person, with strengths and talents like everyone else and recognising it starts with you.
December's Quote - "I can change. I can live out my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past." Stephen Covey
2008 Health Hints
