Roll the sleeves up and let’s get started on addressing your stress management tools.
What gap?
On one side there is: the observed reality
On the other side there is: what you think the reality ‘should’ be or you ‘want’ it to be
Here is a personal example:
My WANTS: I want to ride on my motorbike from home to my morning yoga class. I want it to be peaceful and free of any stress or near death experiences (perhaps a little melodramatic).
Here’s the scenario:
I met with a client of mine who had just finished a month long yoga training course. It is pretty full on. Lots of physical stuff, lots of emotional stuff, lots of stuff to learn. Long days and only one day off a week. Pretty grueling by anyone’s standards.
When I met them them were slumped in their chair, and telling me they were so exhausted and could hardly function. Let alone, pay attention or get excited about the coaching I was about to do with them.
But then it changed…
This is a need to know. It is what I mostly work on with clients. It is what shapes the results we get in life. It determines where we are, and where we are going. Whether we are winning or whether we are losing. Whether we are in pain or full of energy. Whether we uncover the best of us or whether we take it to the grave.
I am talking about our ‘stories’.
Also known as: beliefs, statements of ‘fact’, the ‘reality’, home truths, sayings, etc.
What they all have in common is this: they are not 100% true, 100% of the time (or anywhere near it). They are ‘true’ because we make them ‘true’. But they are not universal laws like gravity for instance. Which works in 100% of cases, 100% of the time, if you are heavier than air.
Our stories become our self-fulfilling prophecies.
Who wants to talk about pain? Not really a subject we gravitate towards.But what if it could be our health and happiness golden ticket?
What if it could be converted into the rocket fuel that leads to your evolution and a fuller expression of your potentiality? I know it is possible. I have experienced it time and again.
But here is the problem…
Reason 1. It has lasted over 3,000 years. I think that definitely rules it out of the ‘fad’ category. How can something survive 3,000 years? My guess is because it is a ‘difference maker’. It works – on so many levels.
When I talk Optimum Health (physical and mental) I talk about the 6 essential pillars: physical activity, nutrition, detoxification, rest, mindfulness and wholeheartedness. I also talk about choosing activities or habits which have the biggest ROI (return on investment). It turns out that a single yoga session ticks 5 out of 6 optimum health boxes – which makes it a SUPERFOOD for the mind and body.
In 1999 I started doing yoga. It was an important part of the biggest course correction in my life. It was – LIFE CHANGING.
I have been doing a number of presentations and workshops of late and asking people how much sleep they get a night.
The current research suggests that 7.5hrs to 9hrs is ideal for about 80% of the population. Some can get a way with less, and some need more.Far too many people put their hands up for less than 7hrs sleep and many of these have less than 6hrs sleep a night – consistently. You just cannot sustain optimal living on limited sleep.
The real cost
Many people ‘think’ they can function on less sleep, but may be unaware of the real consequences. For instance many may have less positive health, reduced resilience to illness, and slow recovery from sickness.
But one of the worst consequences, I suspect, is they are achieving less than they are capable of. I think if they had more sleep of a night-time they would be able to perform more effectively, efficiently and creatively. One of the many results of getting more shut-eye of a night-time.
As I already said. The first thing to realise is we all have doubts. We are not broken, or a loser, or a failure, or damaged goods because we have doubts. We are human. We all have doubts sometimes. It is when we have too much doubt, for too long, which paralyses or stresses us, that it is time to do something about it.
My recent experience with doubt was before I delivered the presentation the other day. It is normal to feel some nerves before a talk. I always do. But those I can breathe through. This was doubt with a capital D. I started second guessing my ability to make an impact, to connect with the audience, to keep the energy going in the room, to teach and to entertain. And this doubt followed me for 30 mins into the presentation. The doubt I experienced left me when I did some of the following:
Our life is shaped by our choices – conscious and unconscious. The things we choose to do or choose not to do (with our willpower muscles) are shaping your future and those around you. What follows are three of the best things I think you can do for yourself, if you want to have a really successful last quarter.
1. Slow down It might sound counter intuitive, if you want to achieve ‘more’, but slowing down is the first step to making better decisions. Picture a wise person or sage. Do you imagine them running around like a headless chicken? No. Calm. Collected. Slow. Purposeful thought, preceding a decision and decisive action.
When you slow down you get the chance to breathe. When you breathe you energize your body. You rejuvenate it. It allows you to build up energy for when you most need it.
These Tips are in no specific order, and drawn from The Guidebook to Optimum Health, which I am strongly suggesting you check out.
By the way. You do know there is a cure for cancer, right? 1000’s of people every year cure themselves of cancer – and not through radiation, surgery and chemotherapy. They make radical changes (and choices) in their thinking, their lifestyles, their emotions, their mindsets, their internal beliefs and how they manage stress. But that is a bigger topic for another day…
Calcium
1. Did you know that the calcium found in dark green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach is processed by the body better than the calcium in dairy products (which you know I am not a fan of anyway)? Eat more green leafy vegetables.
These lessons came as a result of the recent MindBody Detox Retreat.
I love how I never stop learning and I learn off every new person and experience I have. So don’t stay in the comfort zone, or your learning and growth will miss out – plus your sense of personal fulfillment. Step into the unknown and experience what the best of you is truly capable of achieving.