So, what does healthy actually look like?
Maybe a better question is what does it feel like?
I asked the question why last week, then spoke about looking for a positive feeling state being the why behind what we do. If you were paying attention, hopefully you picked up where I was going with it. If you can figure out why you do stuff, you can figure out how to make it work better for you (in case you missed it).
The next question is, what makes us feel good? Crack and hookers obviously, maybe some booze and blood thrown in. But how long does that last? And what are you left with afterwards? Hangovers, an angry pimp and a hospital bill. Was it worth it though? Maybe. But it begs the question about why you do it if you know the price is rough and getting steeper.
If I told you that there’s a way to feel good ALL THE TIME, without the dopamine addiction (yes, that’s why those obvious things that typically make us feel good are fun: your treacherous brain and its goo!), would you believe me?
Well, this is what health is supposed to feel like. Yes, crappy things happen, and that’s why your WHY is important, but your body and mind are supposed to feel pretty snazzy more than just when its wine o’clock. But healthier, for the most part, means better. Better life. Figuring out what that actually looks like is the trick though.
Mindset
This is why that WHY is important. Because as the ever light-hearted Frederick Nietzsche once said last week, a man with a WHY can bear any HOW. If you want to feel good and life be better, you need to have the right mindset to push through the less fun stuff to get it. Basically, you need to think right to act right. And that WHY needs to be there to reinforce the thinking right. Otherwise it all falls down and results in another health kick that just doesn’t do what you hoped it would…
Now, no doubt there are some out there thinking “ugh, sounds like effort and work. Hard no…” but I guess it depends on how much fun you aren’t having right now compared to how much you are. Like I said last week, if you are having a blast, feeling awesome and genuinely content, don’t fix a thing. Keep winning. Maybe brag a little bit less on Facebook though, it’s harder for the people in the back who can’t hear over you.
Now, I am aware this is very easy for me to say. Especially if you consider it in the context of something as complex, intricate and potentially debilitating as mental health. I’m not trying to pretend like that doesn’t exist and isn’t a factor. I’m simply asking the question, what are you currently doing that’s better than whatever else you can think of that’s out there?
Again, easy to say. And if you genuinely can’t find something to get out of bed for in the morning… I’m genuinely sorry to hear that. I wish there was something I could do for you. And if this IS you, well… I hope someday there is something you find that you can ask for help with. Because I promise you, help is out there, it just needs your help in figuring out what that help might look like.
Sleep
Frankly, I don’t have enough words to overstate how important sleep is to health, let alone just feeling good. Improvements in memory retention and learning, hormone regulation, fat loss, inflammation reduction, gut health, emotional integration and regulation (Yes, I know this one sounds weird, but its true. Promise), energy levels, productivity and performance, sex drive, skill acquisition, insulin resistance, immune system function, gut health, are you still reading, good, thanks for that, skin health, digestion, food selection, tissue repair, healing….
Look, the list goes on. A lot. Take the list lengths word for it, sleep is cool. But if you don’t prioritise it, you can only feel so good. So, the think right act right stuff helps you prioritise sleep, which is great, because it pays you back right away by making it easier to think right some more. Don't worry, ideas on how to get better sleep are coming.
Gut Health
You may have heard some stuff about gut health lately, and the epic little bugs in it. You should pay attention, its kind of a big deal. Turns out, when people call it the second brain, they might be underselling it a little. There are more communication connections from your gut to your brain than there is connections from your brain to the rest of you body. And that’s not even attempting to count your guts connection to the rest of the body. Brain handles the boring thinking stuff, maybe a reaction or two. The gut? The gut does the actual grunt work.
The short version is, if your gut isn’t healthy, you suck. Riddled with inflammation via leaky gut (look, it sounds gross, but it doesn’t come close to doing what actually happens justice). If you are dealing with inflammation on a body wide level… well, its not good. Its considered by the progressive medical community at large that all disease is impacted if not directly caused by inflammation. And it’s your own damned body doing it to you as well… Rude.
Your gut is where nearly all your hormones are produced. Some exceptions, but mostly. Which matters, because hormones are how various bits of you body talk to one another. Well, maybe not movement and senses. But still. If you’ve ever struggled with irregular hormones, tell everyone else reading how much fun it isn’t.
Lifestyle
This is how things get put together. Mindset and its habits that reinforce and grow positivity, sleep to help you heal and repair, gut health to keep the you machine running smoothly, the diet and routines that get you feeling good again. Mostly though, this is how we try to fight off the dreaded S word….
No, not snakes (I mean, fight them off if that’s a thing for you).
But I meant STRESS. What I said before about inflammation? Well, this is the thing that brings most of it on. Chronic stress is… a bitch. If you leave it that way anyway. The lifestyle and its build out matters because it’s trying to minimise stress as much as possible on a day to day basis. And let your natural repair and defence systems do their job. Recovery from your own demanding life? This is how we do it.
Training
What I said before about stress? Yeah, that nasty stuff is mostly because of chronic stress. Acute stress though? That’s actually good for you. Well, when it’s not adding to that fun chronic stress anyway. Your body does all sorts of cool things when you challenge it with a bit of exercise. A s
tronger, bigger, better, faster, leaner, life living machine is what it is when its allowed to be. Hormones run smoother, jeans fit better, hotter people wink at you, the mirror is a waaay bigger fan of you.
So, that’s what healthier could look like.
Or better yet, how healthier might FEEL like.
Is it worth it?
Be kind, be smart, be your best you. No bar fights.
“In order to carry a positive action, we must first develop a positive vision” Dalai Lama
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