Your health is a glass ball. It will shatter if you drop it. Rebuilding is hard and sometimes impossible.
A wealthy man worries about many things. A sick man worries about one thing.
A dying billionaire would give away his fortune to be young and healthy.
Youth and vitality are priceless. Use it wisely.
Imagine this clip wasn’t about sport. Imagine it was about academics and encouraging a young kid at school. It’s a little hazy now but I can’t recall ever hearing a teacher talking like this to me or anyone else when I was at school.
Marry someone who believes in you, work for people who believe in you. Then pay it forward and make sure your kids or young people in particular hear that you believe in their potential.
Kick the coffee. Drink herbal tea.šµ It’ll regulate your moods.
Drop the booze at night. You’ll sleep deeper and wake up rested
Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning.
Exercise for at least 25min every day. Get a balance of anaerobic and aerobic exercise.
Phone a friend and catch up. Don’t text or post something. Phone the person. Connect with them, don’t just communicate with them.
Get lunch outside of the office. It’ll get you walking, and you’ll probably eat with someone else.
Drink lots of water.
Avoid sugar, especially during the afternoon slump. Same with coffee.
Eat oats in the morning. You’ll also lose weight. Avoid toast for breakfast, especially with sweet jams, etc. are not ideal for breakfast. Toast is an efficient food delivery system, so be careful what the cargo is. If you must have toast, then have it with some butter.
Spend time with positive people.
Smile š
Be kind and shrug off grudges and slights. Grudges suck up a ton energy.
Be thankful for one thing every day.
Be social. We are pack animals. A community is a powerful thing.
Giving is energizing. Be a giver.
Put on your oxygen mask before helping others. An essential air safety trip and a useful metaphor for everyday life.
In other words look after yourself first. If you are taking care of yourself, spiritually, mentally and physically, then you will be much better placed to listen and assist others.
Work hard every day. Turn up and go deep on stuff, but donāt ignore what brings you joy and what you are proficient in. Listen for feedback. Do people want to work with you again, is it satisfying, is it valued, are you proud of the product?
Double down where your proficiency and joy intersect. Thereās no point working away at something in a mediocre way that makes you miserable.
Use what talents you possess, the woods will be very silent if no birds sang there except those who sang best – Henry Van Dyke
Exercise and learning are cumulative. The benefits accumulate like climbing a stairway, one step at a time.
Watch a baby learning to walk. First it’s about tummy time which strengthens the neck and stomach muscles. Then it’s about learning to roll over, strengthening muscles and gaining a sense of gravity. Sitting up and crawling comes next to toughen up knees and strengthen the wrists and neck. The arms slowly get strong enough to grab a stool and hoist up the body. Pulling up and sitting down gets the legs working and toughens up the glutes. The first step finally comes after many tears, false starts, knocks to the head and LOTS of laughs.
What I love about the process is that baby never gives up. Failure is not an option or in the vocab and no amount of falling deters the kid. Every little milestone is celebrated with a toothless laugh and ear to ear smiles.
As adults we need to remember how we learned as infants. Small changes every day and results are cumulative. Don’t give up so easily! Practice, practice, practice. Laugh and celebrate the act of practice.
A lot of people skip daily exercise because of unpredictable schedules, family responsibilities or long work hours. The thinking goes if you can’t get in a proper workout then it’s not worth it. I disagree. Try this instead:
If you’re feeling swamped and can see that exercising isn’t going to happen that day then shorten the exercise window and do one piece of exercise really well. Break your routine into parts like Lego blocks and pick one. Maybe it’s one good stretch or a one set of pushups or five sit ups. Just do that one thing, do it slowly and be present and focused.
Being all in on one thing is way more effective than rushing through a half-assed routine. Most of the time that one thing leads to two things which leads to three things that are all done well and not rushed.
As we enter the first days of Spring, there’s an urge to make big decisions about the upcoming season. It’s anything from career, family, finances and personal growth. Before we make a big decision, we get physically and mentally fit.
When we are fit we have less stress and are more present. Our muscles and brain are oxygenated and we think more clearly. Worries and fears are less magnified and we have a good sense of what is real vs. imaginary (most of it’s imaginary, by the way).
Going for a walk, meditating, taking deep diaphragm inhales and exhales…as well as toe breathing, where we feel the inhalations inflate our toes – are fun exercises we enjoy to breath more deeply.
When fit, we find decisions emerge from a more grounded and present place.
markbartels.org 