Healthy Habits = Happiness

It has been a while since I have sat down to write. The last time I wrote for the blog, our son was about to be born. Now he has four teeth, is about to start walking and has learned how to sign for milk, wanting more, and can headbutt like a champion. Life with him is better than life without. I really can’t imagine an alternative where Cyrus isn’t the focal point, nor do I want to.

Life hasn’t been smooth sailing since his birth, though. I mean, he has been happy and healthy, but teaching, coaching, speaking – raising a human – among other ambitions has put stress on things at home. My one word for this year with my students was “model,” as in I want to model the expectation of what I want to see. One of my most commonly-used phrases with them is harshly: you’re entitled to nothing and nobody cares if you sleep under a bridge. Harsh, I know, I already admitted that. I share this with them to basically say, take ownership for your life because nobody will do it for you. If you are sad and want to be happy, it’s up to you. If you’re poor and want some affluence, it’s up to you. If you’re unhealthy and want to be healthy, it’s up to you. And, before you hit me with any “yeah-but” reasoning, I know. Sometimes life isn’t fair. Sometimes the causes for your sadness, misfortune, and/or bad health are out of your control. Still, ownership beats excuses. DM/email me if you really have no idea where to start. But for the majority of us, our outcomes are primarily, almost exclusively, dictated by our own inputs, choices, and efforts.

Today, March 31st, we recorded the 23rd episode of The G Cast (find it on iTunes or SoundCloud) which will be one of three lifestyle episodes that cover three basic fundamentals to feeling content with where you are, i.e., health, relationships, and finances. Today’s episode covered the basics of health.

If you have health locked down, meaning you’re mentally and physically in a good place, great! Keep doing your thing. If you’re not, listen here, or keep reading.

This is not exhaustive or a complete set of instructions. Also, I am not a doctor. With that said, I am practitioner of these suggestions and I really can’t find fault in them. We break down health into two categories – mental and physical. I have two suggestions to improve your mental health and three for your physical health.

Mental – Two things to implement in your life to see an increase in mental clarity less stress:

First, READ. Read just 10 minutes a day. Don’t read garbage. The newspaper, beauty magazines, and other grocery-store-checkout literature is NOT suggested reading. Read something that interests and uplifts you. It doesn’t have to be a book. It can be a blog or an article, just make sure you’re physically reading something. There is power in it that I cannot explain. But if you read just 10 minutes a day, you will feel a little more mental clarity, I promise.

The second thing to implement for your mental health is a positive conversation with somebody that you enjoy. Preferably face-to-face, but phone calls or otherwise are good too. But, Keep. It. Positive.

Sounds simple. Too simple. In fact, as Jim Rohn says, “If it’s easy t do it’s easy not to do.” The simplicity of it will make some people scoff. That’s fine, let them. But you, you need to read 10 minutes a day and have a positive conversation with somebody you enjoy. Do those two things and you will see improvements.

Physical – There are three processes to implement for your physical health.

First, pick out your clothes for the next day the night before. This alleviates stress in the morning. Simple, but sooooo beneficial.

Second, you have to eat breakfast. If you are not eating breakfast you are not optimizing your bodies ability to give you what you need to perform at its optimum level. You’re not exempt from the laws of biology so don’t give me any I-don’t-eat-breakfast-and-feel-fine bullshit. You’ve grown comfortable with being less than your physical best. Not eating a simple, nutritious meal in the morning is a factor in your lack of energy and sharpness. It is costing you, and you’re mistreating yourself by not eating breakfast. I eat oatmeal mixed with fruit or cottage cheese mixed with pineapple and almonds plus a fruit smoothie. It takes me about 7 minutes and less than $3 to make this incredibly simple yet beneficial breakfast every morning. So whatever excuses you have for me (time, money, energy), take them and throw them in the blender.

Third, activity. 20-30 minutes of increased-heartrate activity a day. Again, biology. You’re not exempt. You have 20 minutes. Don’t believe me? As Rev states, how much screen time does your phone show? That’s what I thought. Go for a brisk walk, a light jog, maybe add some air squats, pushups, and/or jumping jacks… whatever you do, get at least 20 minutes of activity in.

So, to recap:

10 minutes of reading – 10 minutes duh
Positive conversation – even just 5 minutes
Prep clothes – 5 minutes
Prep a nutritious breakfast – 7 minutes
Be active – 20 minutes

​That is 47 minutes of your day to start some massively beneficial processes. If you don’t have the discipline to structure 47 minutes of your day, you don’t deserve 23 hours and 13 minutes of satisfaction. There is more to all of this, but this is a simple starter-kit to a better health outcome. If you have suggestions or processes that you practice, I would love to hear them!