As the saying goes, “Health is Wealth.” It's true! Your health affects everything else in your life - from your relationships to your career.
You can't be successful or happy without good health. And if you're healthy, it will make it easier for you to do all of those other things well too!
But how do we know what our best health looks like? There are many different ways that people define "health."
Some people think that being active and eating nutritious food is important for their own definition of health. Others believe that they need to focus on mental wellness first. And the truth is somewhere in-between, but in this article, we’ll focus on what we refer to as “The big 3 of human existence.”
In our eyes, those big 3 of human existence are - Mindset, Movement & Recovery.
The Big 3 Of Human Existence
Let’s face it - the modern-day ways of living have kicked us out of balance across all three fundamental aspects of our existence. This, in turn, is perhaps what gave rise to a variety of chronic mental and physical conditions. You are not guilty here because after all, in a world where most jobs are sedentary and we get the chance to get bad food delivered to our doorstep… It’s impossible NOT to fall for certain temptations.
But let’s have a look at these “big 3” and then make use of some cliff notes that provide tips on how you can optimise each aspect!
The Mindset
Your mindset is the sum total of all your beliefs, perceptions, and thoughts. So a mindset is a set or system of beliefs that guide your way through life. The mindset leads to thoughts, feelings, actions, and in turn, habits, and emotions. It can be a belief about oneself, a situation, a habit, a way of thinking, or anything else in-between.
There are two primary mindsets recognised in today's world - The Fixed Mindset & The Growth Mindset. In short, the fixed mindset is quite closed to the world's opportunities, sees the effort as fruitless, and is generally pessimistic both about themselves and the world around them.
On the other hand, the growth mindset is quite unlimited - It recognises and takes massive action towards opportunities, loves challenges & knows that effort is always rewarded. The difference here in terms of health? The growth mindset is always willing to do the necessary things that will support and optimise the body’s innate ability to stay healthy!
So how can you bust the cloud that the modern-day ways of living have generated over our minds? Here are our three best tips
Stay aware of your thoughts, feelings & behaviours.
Ask yourself questions such as “Why am I doing this? How does this affect my body? What can I do better?”
Leverage your most powerful tool - Awareness. Use it to make powerful, conscious decisions.
Movement
As you just learned, it all starts from the mindset because that is what drives thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, which turn into habits the more you repeat them. (You have mental habits, too.) Because the modern world has such an impact on mindset, it also affects the way we move our bodies.
And think about it - We all have access to the most complex biological machinery in the known universe - The human body! But the truth is that this machine has been left in vain - It’s just sitting there, begging for its full potential to be unleashed.
The modern-day sedentary lifestyle has turned the human body into the equivalent of a high-end sports car that just sits in a long-forgotten barn. The truth is that you can get back at it, as long as you realise that fitness is something innate in all of us - We were BUILT to move and to perform well physically.
So here are our best three tips to get back on track with your movement:
Engage in both low and high-intensity training (cardio activities/resistance training)
Do a multitude of movements - Jump, crawl, climb, swim, dive, sprint, balance, and coordinate!
Believe that your body is a very capable machine, not just something to use when you want to reap the pleasures of life!
Recovery
Last but not least, we have recovery. That is - How you eat, how you sleep, and how you manage stress. Without a doubt, the majority of people experience frequent burnouts, and this has turned into the new normal. But it does NOT have to be that way…
Though we’re bombarded with processed foods and a myriad of stress factors, you can in fact go against the river and find YOUR place on the shore. A place where recovery is nourished and not destroyed. A place where your thoughts, beliefs, actions, emotions, and habits all work in synergy to do what they would otherwise do in nature - Keep you healthy, alive, and sharp as a razor.
Take-Home Message
Analyse your thoughts, beliefs, and actions and stay aware of your habits. Move in as many ways as possible and enjoy your body's innate abilities for high performance. Focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods, minimising toxic habits, and drinking plenty of water. Stay aware of the stress factors, and don’t let them pass straight to your mindset unchecked. Make powerful decisions for your health because this is where everything starts.