HEALTH VALUES AND WELLNESS

Health and wellbeing is one of the key areas of our lives, but what does being healthy mean to you? In order to achieve goals in this area it is vital to give some thought to this.

Ask yourself the question - What does being healthy mean to me?

Write down the first answer that comes to mind - perhaps it might be, living longer

Then ask it again, noting down your answer - perhaps, feeling fitter or avoiding serious illness.

Keep going until no new repsonses come to mind.

Now look at your list. Which is the most important to you of the answers you have written? The aim is to rank your responses and achieve a list, in order, of your health values.

Does your list surprise you? Look at your highest values. Is this where you are putting your energy right now? If not..... why not?

For me, the concept of wellness encompasses much more then just physical health. It means achieving balance in the areas of emotional and spiritual wellbeing too. At the root of all of this is loving yourself - if you do this you will feed your body the right foods, nourish it with the right drinks, exercise it and look after it every way that you can.

You need to start doing this, you need a healthy body - where else are you going to live?

AT THE END OF THE DAY

When you think about your life, how satisfied are you with it right now?
Can you look in the mirror at the end of the day and really feel proud of who you are?
Are you being your true self - living an authentic life, or spending your time living up to other peoples' expectations and dreams rather than your own?

If these questions make you stop and think......when are you going to do something about it?
It's never too late to be the person you always dreamed of being.

We all want a happier more peaceful world don't we? One in which we can all work together towards a better future, supporting eachother rather than fighting. Well you can start today by contributing one happier, more peaceful person to that world-YOU.

All change starts with you. By improving your own small corner of the universe, not only do you make your own world so much better but you contribute to making the larger whole a better place too. In my last post I talked about which areas of your life might get your attention first. Over the next few posts we'll be looking at various areas in more detail and considering how changes can be made.

Sometimes making changes can seem daunting, but I'll leave you with this thought - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.....

BALANCE - THE OIL RIG

Do you think that your life is balanced?

What do I mean by that?

Do you devote too much of your time and attention to an area of your life that maybe shouldn't be getting quite so much of it? Such as your job? Is this happening at the expense of other areas - like your relationships, your spiritual development or your contribution to the wider world?

A much loved former colleague of mine used to speak about what he called the oil rig analogy. He'd say, imagine yourself as an oil rig, with each of your three legs representing an important aspect of your life. He used to label them as work, family and friends. He'd talk about how if there was a problem in one area, strength in the other two legs would still support you. The trouble came if more than one area had problems at the same time.

This always stuck in my mind. I might argue that to be really stable the rig should have had a few more legs.... but the concept is very valid - balance across many areas of your life is the key to happiness.

It's all too easy to pursue our career goals at the expense of our health or relationships. When looking at making changes in your life it is vital to take what coaches call an ecology check - that is, to look at how changes in one area affect other areas and also other people.

Next time you have a few minutes to yourself (and if you read yesterday's post that should be soon) - make a list of what you feel are the most important areas of your life. Most people include areas such as relationships, family, wealth and health. Think longer and you'll probably add contribution, spirituality, personal growth and hopefully fun to your list too. Look down that list and think how happy you are in each of those areas at the moment.

Now do you feel your life is in balance? If so - fantastic, what steps can you take today to make things even better? If not, what can we do together that will improve things? Keep reading.

BARRIERS IN YOUR MIND

Have you ever had the experience of putting off doing something because you thought it was going to be a really big deal? Whenever you thought about it, it seemed like it was just too big to even try and do? Of course you have.....

What did you do? Probably, like most of us, you kept putting it off. Doing this causes several problems, not only does the task not get done but it reinforces your perceived difficulty of achieving it. Every time you intend to do something, but bottle out...... you build up those barriers in your mind. Before you know it, you believe you've got a real mountain to climb.

So much of the difficulty involved can be exaggerated in your head. Why not just do it - just imagine how good that's going to feel!

Don't let what you think about a task affect your ability to complete it. Try and see it for what it is, grab it by the scruff of the neck and get it done. Not only will you have achieved it but you'll be able to bask in the feeling of conquering those barriers in your mind.

TAKE TIME OUT FOR YOURSELF

Have you ever made great plans to get things done and then somehow found that things just didn't work out? Did other things get in the way? Did you let them get in the way?

Sometimes, to achieve what you really want to - you need to put yourself first. In our culture, this is often seen as selfish..... but think of it like this, if you don't look after yourself, who else is going to? What good will a burnt-out you be to your family, your friends.... let alone to you?

Think about being on a plane. Once you've been shown where the emergency exits are and how to do up a seat-belt (can there be anyone left on the planet who doesn't know how to do that?), next it's the bit about the oxygen masks. We are told that if travelling with children, to put our own mask on before theirs - for the very same reason. If you can't breathe what good are you going to be at helping them?

How often do we do this though in our everyday lives?
How often do we set aside a few minutes just for ourselves...... to be.... whatever we want to be and do whatever we want to do? Why not try it, not just today but on a regular basis. Try and get into the habit of setting aside a regular bit of time just for yourself. Maybe to do an activity that you really enjoy, or maybe just for a bit of quiet "me time".

You'll soon notice the benefits, believe me. When now is a good time to start?

STOP TRYING & START ALLOWING.

Inspiration......Think about the best decisions you've ever made....

Have you ever struggled to make your mind up about something or struggled to work something out..... only to find that the answer just came to you when you weren't even trying to find it? That's what I mean by inspiration. 

How did it happen? What changed when you stopped trying to force the solution? Maybe something else took over, some other part of you, or some higher power? How did the answer get through to you? Ever thought that maybe it was there all along and that when you stopped trying to force it and just allowed it to bubble up..... there it was.

How often have you decided to sleep on it or go out for a walk before deciding something, or when stuck with a project? This does more than just change your environment for a while, it disengages your conscious mind and let's your unconscious mind (the clever bit) take over.

Most of us spend our days just using our conscious minds, deliberately thinking our way though life. So much of our brain power goes untapped when we do this as we literally block our unconscious mind from guiding us to the right solution.

So next time you are struggling with a decision, stopped trying to force a solution. Take a step back, listen to what your unconscious mind is telling you and allow the answer to come through to you.

Sometimes life can seem hard enough. Any excuse to try less hard has got to be worth a go!

MAKE IT EASY - USE YOUR VALUES

There's an easy way and a hard way to do everything....... so why not choose to make it easy for yourself? Learning to use your values is one such way.

Values are the things that are really important to us, the real bottom- line things that we stand for. As a coach, values elicitation is a really valuable exercise to do with a client. People are often surprised at what is most important to them - when someone really pushes them to focus in and decide.

Once you know your values, you can combine them and use fulfillment in one area to help you in another. Let me explain.....

As a doctor, you'll probably not be surprised to hear that health is one of my highest values. Striving for wellness and all that that involves is very important to me. I adore training in the gym, but those who know me know that I'm not exactly a great athlete! Yes, I once ran the London Marathon but I don't think Paula Radcliffe lost much sleep over my time....

Anyway, I love it and I know it's important for me but everyone needs something to help keep them on track when the going gets tough. It's always easier not to.......

I'm also a huge fan of personal growth and self-improvement. I love reading and listening to the work of those who really inspire me. I find that listening to my I-pod whilst cycling or on the treadmill, playing Anthony Robbins, Joe Vitale, Jay Abrahams etc. really fires me up as I train.
The time flies by, the physical effort seems much less and I've stretched my mind as well as my body. This simple tip might help you too.

Wellness is all about balance. Take a good look at what you are trying to achieve and think how you can make it easier for yourself. When now is a good time to start?

STOP COMPLAINING AND SET AN INTENTION INSTEAD

Regular readers will know of my love of sport. I signed in to write this blog with the intention of basking in the sheer wonderfulness of a winning return to the football season at Watford and a truly fabulous day for Great Britain at the Olympics....... I'll keep that for another day though because as I did so, an email came in that made me stop and think.

I subscribe to Joe Vitale's blog. You may know him from the film The Secret and his site at www.mrfire.com is worth checking out. Today's email from Joe was about complaining and intentions. It urged people who are about to make a complaint, to stop for a minute and turn that complaint into an intention. What a better place the world would be if we could all do that.

Just try it. Here's what I mean. Next time someone cuts you up on the road, don't waste your time yelling at them - they won't hear you and it probably won't help you feel any better (OK, maybe a tiny bit, but it won't last!). Instead, set yourself the intention of being more courteous to other drivers during the rest of the journey. What have you got to lose and who knows, you might even enjoy it.

Oh, and did I tell you that Watford won.......!

ASK YOURSELF BETTER QUESTIONS

Which parts of your body can you feel an ache or pain in right now?......
How did that question make you feel? I bet it made you stop, focus on your body and notice niggly little things that you'd barely noticed before. Am I right?

Contrast that to - What is the most peaceful time you can remember?
I bet that gave you a completely different feeling didn't it.?

Answering the question forces you to relive the experience. In the first example, not only did you have to actively seek out the aches and pains but you felt them too. In the second one, just by thinking about that beautiful, peaceful time..... you were back there. Your breathing slowed and got deeper, your blood pressure fell slightly and the pressures of your day seemed to ease away somehow.

What was the difference? You didn't change. You were still sat there in front of your screen. You just asked yourself a better question.

If you ask yourself a better question - you get a better answer.

Anthony Robbins loves this technique. He advocates choosing five great questions to ask yourself first thing in the morning. Answering these makes you relive the good feelings associated with them and gets you into a great state of mind for the day ahead. Try it...... whay have you got to lose?

WHY WAIT?

After almost 20 years as a doctor, I'm still amazed by how differently people react to illness. In a typical week I see lots of peole with minor illnesses - coughs, colds, sore throats. Most people see the few days that they are sick as a minor inconvenience and just get on with their life, whilst for others, the illness seems to become their life. They spend their time ruminating on how poorly they feel, tell everyone about it and seem to enjoy comparing their symptoms with those around them.

Contrast this with my terminally ill patients, or the housebound elderly who are forced to depend on others for help in a way they never imagined. Many of these are incredibly positive in their outlook. When I talk to them about this, they'll often say something like - "now I know I haven't got that long left, I really try and make the most of what I do have." They are able to find pleasure in small things - a sunny morning, beautiful flowers, a warm smile. Often their situation helps them focus in and appreciate what they have right now. They are a pleasure to spend time with and I always learn a lot from them.

Hopefully as you read this, you're in good health...... so why wait to start appreciating what's around you? I believe that when you feel good, you start to look out for other good things around you. In other words - you get more of what you feel.

One way to kick start this is to ask yourself better questions - more of this tomorrow.

APPRECIATE WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE

"You prove to me that there is a God and I'll come to mass!" announced my son this morning as we were getting ready. It was an attempt to be allowed to stay at home and watch the Olympics. As regular readers will know, I love sport and I adore the Olympics, but he wasn't going to get round me that easily....

"OK then", I said, "can you prove to me that there isn't a God? Who do you think is responsible for all the wonderful things in your life?" His initial blank look (think of Harry Enfield's Kevin character) was soon replaced by a more thoughtful one. I asked him how he thought he got his good health, ("yeah"), his food, ("whatever"), his home,("money"), his family, (no reply), his friends, (struggling now),his education, his opportunities? For once he said nothing.

I told him that it doesn't have to be about God in a formal sense. It's about the acknowledgement of the presence of a higher power - does it matter what you call it? I see attendance at a place of worship as a time of quiet reflection and a chance to say thank you for all that is great in your life. We have so many blessings. He got dressed without another word.

Just stop reading this for a second and think on this.....
I bet that wherever you are, you are warm enough and that you've eaten and drunk pretty recently. You are probably well clothed and the fact that you are reading this at all is testimony to that fact that you have internet access and the education to make that reading possible. That immediately puts you far ahead of a huge proportion of our world.

It's easy to forget as we dash about our busy lives, that we have so much to be gratfeul for. I think Socrates had it right when he said,
"He who is not contented with what he has, will not be contented with what he would like to have."

By all means aim for something better, but never forget to appreciate all that is already yours.

PEACE AND FREEDOM BEGIN WITH YOU

A powerful statement......

In my last blog I spoke of the need to ensure that your own happiness is not in the hands of others. Too often I see people who are allowing their present to be ruined by what happened in their past. The replaying of these past memories can be so destructive. You really do have a choice in this...... to draw a line in the sand, right now..... and move forward.

Richard Bandler, co-founder of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), uses the phrase, "You can't change the past, so why live in it?" For me, this encapsulates the idea of concentrating on the here and now, on what we do have the power to influence - ourselves.

Remember this - all change begins with you.

I believe if we all take responsibility for ourselves and be the best that we can be, the world will be a much better place. Modern culture seems to encourage just the opposite - it looks for someone to blame for the problems of the world. I believe we should just work on what we are able to change - ourselves - and put our trust in a higher power to look after the rest. Call this God, Divinity, The Universe - fill in the blank for yourself. It's not a religious thing as such, just an acknowledgement that there is something out there more powerful and more knowing than we will ever be.

There is a great prayer in Wayne Dyer's book "The Power of Intention", it goes like this:

Good Morning,
This is God,
I will be handling all your
Problems today.
I will not need
Your help so have
A miraculous day.

I think that says it all....... enjoy your day.

THE SPACE INSIDE YOUR HEAD

It's funny how some things you read stick in your mind isn't it?
As a teenager in the late 70's I read George Orwell's 1984. I always remember the first few pages in which the lives of the two central characters are described as being under constant surveillance from all angles.

The only little bit of freedom they had under the oppressive regime were the few square centimetres inside their own heads. Inside there, their thoughts were their own. They could retreat there, untouched and safe from observation.

The world around us can sometimes seem not too dissimilar to this. On my way home tonight, the news told of a pensioner found dead in his home, having been there for over two years - nobody thought to check on him. There was also the story of the woman pushed onto railway tracks for asking two lads to stop smoking. She broke her collar bone.

My friend is on holiday at the moment in this country and sent me a text to say the weather was cold - like midwinter. This reminded me of the Orwell passage, so I sent back a message to say, that it can always be summer in your head! My friends are used to my eternal optimism.....

My point is this though - how we feel is up to us. It doesn't depend on the weather or on the madness happening around us. How you feel depends upon how you decide to feel. Don't let anyone else control your happiness. Let today be the day that you decide to feel how you really want to feel.

Use those few centimetres inside your own head, right now, to create your own reality. Take control and start living the way you've always wanted to.

TACKLE THOSE TASKS

Do you ever have days when you have a long list of tasks stretching out in front of you....... and you don't really want to do any of them? Of course you do......

I had a day like that yesterday at work. I had a whole string of things I had to do, none of them could be delegated. They were all going to take time, my time, and at first glance it was hard to see how they were all going to fit into the day. Sounding familiar?

How do you respond when faced with that situation? The least productive way would be to look at the list as a whole and let it stress you out. Getting stressed is about allowing external pressures to dictate to you, rather than taking control of the situation for yourself.

Prioritise what you need to do and do what absolutely can't wait first. Done, over with. How does that feel? Starting to make some headway into that list now? Look at what's left. Do some of the easier tasks to get them done but be sure to do some of your least favourite ones too - these are the ones that will really please you to have got done and over with.
As you complete the remaining tasks, notice how much better you start to feel. Bask in the accomplishment of achieving more than you thought you would. Find some small way of rewarding yourself for hanging in there and getting it done. Go on..... you know you deserve it!

Now you can look back and think - yes, I did all of that. Next time you're in the same situation you'll know that you are capable of doing it again..... and more. Try and make even your most routine of tasks enjoyable by finding some way to challenge yourself as you complete them. Focusing your mind like this really will make the time pass quicker and make the whole thing seem easier and more enjoyable.

BEHIND THE CLOUDS, THE SUN IS ALWAYS SHINING

A sad start to today. I dropped my father at the airport for his flight back to Thailand. He had been staying with us for a month and after some great times, the day finally came for him to return home.

He has been a huge influence on me, a real hero in my life and one of the most resilient people I've ever met. Lucky really - you need to be tough to survive a month in my house!

As I drove home in the pouring rain, I reflected on all the fun we'd had, the places we'd been, the people we'd visited and entertained. I began to think about all the great things coming up in the next few weeks. Even if you're not a sports nut like me, you can't fail to find something to love about the Olympics. Not only is it the showcase for phenomenal physical achievement, but it represents so much more. The coming together of people from all over the globe in the spirit of peace and harmony is a real cause for celebration. It really reminds me that we are part of one world.

And then there's the new football season about to start......fans all over the country will dream of bigger and better things for their teams this year. Yes even Watford fans like me!

As I pondered on this, the sun came on and my mood brightened. Like my state of happinness and eager anticipation for the future, the sun had been there all the time - just temporarily hidden behind the clouds.

So remember, in times of sadness, focus on what's great in your life. Think of all the things you've got to look forward to. Feel the love of those around you and share it around. Bring a little sunshine into your life today.