Are you happy with your health?
Oct 08, 2023
One of my teachers once reminded me that our bodies are the vessel through which we achieve our goals and our dreams. So I am wondering if you are happy with yours? It saddens me that in the golden age of AI and new technologies that chronic diseases are eating up an increasing share of healthcare resources in every healthcare system across the world in ways that are not sustainable. It is quite a contradiction that in an age of extraordinary technology advances our average lifespans are beginning to decline.
Arianna Huffington talks about the much-neglected miracle drug right in front of us: our daily behaviours. There are five foundational daily behaviours that make up this miracle drug: sleep, food, movement, stress management and connection. Because the science is clear that when we improve these daily aspects of our lives, dramatic improvements in our health and well-being follow and our potential results sky-rocket. The breakthroughs this can bring in our health aren’t over the horizon — they’re here right now. According to the UN, the combination of maintaining a healthy weight, regular exercise, a healthy diet and not smoking can reduce the risk of developing the most common and deadly chronic diseases by as much as 80%. In other words, how long we live and how well we live are in large part governed by the choices we make each day. To truly change we must focus on the power of life-transforming habits within each of these foundational behaviours.
Yes I know what you are thinking... behavior change is hard. The good news is that habits aren't destiny. That is one of my favourite quotes from 'The Power of Habit' by Charles Duhigg. Habits emerge as our brains are always trying to look for ways to save effort. And, the neuroscientists tell us via 'temporal discounting' that we will always prefer a reward now rather than one that comes in the future. This is why binge watching a Netflix series is always easier than going for a run.
Yet, it can be done. If you start with a small change it can often end up changing many bad habits. Duhigg calls this a 'keystone' habit. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change. For example, even exercising as infrequently as once a week can lead to other changes such as improving diet, sleeping better, experiencing less stress, improving productivity etc.
NLP is also a great tool-kit for helping you to shift those bad habits and behaviours as it changes your mindset about what is possible for you and helps you to set compelling goals that you consistently achieve. I have a question for you...what can you do this week to start to make a small improvement? Maybe even create a new keystone habit?
We have our next NLP Practitioner starting on the 29th October. It's run flexibly online with a mix of pre-study and live taught sessions with me and my team of amazing trainers. Find out more here:
Have a great week.
Lindsey and all at Team NLP
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