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Practices. Habits. Actions.
These three things are the common theme of discussion in my coaching with clients. Here's some facts that we know in general in our modern world:
What we've been doing for our health and how we've been approaching it IS NOT working in general (otherwise, there would be alot more healthier people wandering around)
Quick fixes are NOT the answer to health and longevity
Everything works for someone
Humans are COMPLEX
That about sums it ALL up. 🙂
Here's something else that sums it up, from one of my favourite movies The Matrix. Remember when Neo is going to see the Oracle, and this young child is bending a spoon with just the mind. 😮 While teaching Neo about how this can happen the child says;
"There is no spoon"
*I'm getting chills just thinking about the awesomeness of that line*
As with any good movie or show (eg: Seinfeld, the Matrix...) it not only entertains, but pertains to REAL LIFE at times. This scene from the Matrix is one that we need to incorporate into our health practices to create more positive change and progression for ourselves.
We tend to Focus on the WHAT way too much
If you scroll up to see my initial four facts, pay particular attention to the "Everything works for someone" fact. Every diet works... Every exercise program works... You get the picture. HOWEVER, these things DO NOT work most often when the person is NOT being realistic with himself/herself as to whether or not their choice is sustainable for the LONG HAUL.
You can find ample proof of this fact easily now a days;
-A successful elite athlete who is vegan and another who is doing keto.
-A well respected strength coach (Dan John) who prefers NOT doing single leg work and another (Michael Boyle) who does.
-Someone who has lost weight on a low carb diet and someone who has lost weight on a high carb diet
(Side note: This is another good reason to STOP kidding ourselves in anything in life really. You can search literally anything and there is a 99% chance you'll find an argument going against it. Which poses the questions again - why do we keep searching? And why do we keep looking for answers from everywhere but within ourselves?)
I'll say it again - the WHAT is NOT what will make you see positive change.
The practices and habits AROUND that 'what' WILL!!
Shift Your Focus to Habits that Surround your WHAT
I'll even argue that practicing this shift in focus helps eliminate stress surrounding your chosen practice/plan/action.
If you follow the Zen Blog or perhaps have worked with me past or present, you've seen or had the conversations surrounding CONSISTENCY and SUSTAINABILITY being the overall target to positively impact deep health. Therefore, the foundational thing we need to focus on in whatever we choose is doing it consistently, over time... ideally for the rest of our life. That's when you know you've hit the jackpot. "Can I see myself doing this, easily, the rest of my life?" But honestly, we can CHOOSE whatever we WANT. We just need to CHOOSE and TAKE ACTION.
In Dan John's book "Easy Strength for Fat Loss" he's discussing at one point the importance of sleep and the importance of NOT using the snooze button and has the perfect line that eludes to my point here:
"If you find yourself sluggish throughout the day because of using the alarm clock, maybe the issue isn’t the morning… it’s the night before that will give you the answers to your sluggishness."
This is EXACTLY what the little child in the Matrix was sharing with Neo. Focus beyond the target and you'll find not only the answer but possibilities! In Dan John's example, this is a common theme when discussing sleep with clients; "it's the early mornings", "it's the stupid alarm clock"... You name it and we can place blame. Yet we ignore the fact that it may be...
When (what time) we go to bed and wake up?
What we do leading up to sleep time?
What we do for regular movement during the day to help our sleep?
Do we get out in nature and get sunlight on a regular basis to help our sleep
Do we often work AGAINST our circadian rhythms most days? or perhaps against our chronotype?
How do we manage our stress?
How do we tend to eat during the day? When do we tend to eat during the day?
And so on...
See? It's NOT the morning that is the potential issue.
The same principle works with nutrition. An easy example is someone wants to eat more vegetables, but ends up "falling off" their plan quickly because "they just can't do it"...
How easily accessible are veggies in the house?
How easily visible are vegetables in your house?
Do you have many vegetable options in the house?
What veggies do you like? Have you considered starting with THOSE?
Have you begun to explore different ways to include veggies in your nutrition (recipes, dishes to ADD veggies to etc)?
Have you begun to explore different ways to prepare veggies?
Have you tried starting SLOWLY vs "salads all-day" kind of approach?
Do you have a weekly planned grocery shop to ensure your veggie stocks are available to you at home TO eat (once per week, twice per week...)?
See? It's NOT "just eat more veggies" that will help create a new habit. It's everything surrounding the actual eating of the veggies!
Let's do one more example with exercise. Let's use the example of someone who wants to walk more during their days/weeks, but is constantly putting it off after a week or two of regular walks:
Have you considered playing with WHEN you choose to walk?
Have you considered WHERE you choose to walk?
Have you thought about any possible barriers / things that may pop up that might prevent you from getting your walk in? And how could you work around that?
Have you prepared any walking shoes, clothing etc AHEAD OF TIME so that you can just 'grab and go' when you are ready to walk?
Have you TALKED to loved ones, co-workers, even your boss to say "I want to go for my walk on my lunch at Noon each day, so I'll be unavailable from Noon-12:30pm"?
Have you looked at options of saying "No" to some things that may help open up time options for you to go walking?
Have you considered asking a friend/family member or co-worker to join you?
Have you consisdered the duration/distance of your walk? Maybe consider doing LESS right now so that you can fit it in more easily?
See? It's NOT the walking itself that is holding you back.
Habits, Practices and Action Create our Deep Health
My clients here this all the time, as do our followers here on the Zen Blog. I find it REFRESHING and EXCITING that human beings can CHOOSE anything they want to do to become healthier and cultivate a deeper life!! How amazing is that, knowing we have SO MANY options and opportunities to explore and experiment with to see what works for ourselves?
This also means we can take the pressure off of ourselves in deciding our WHAT and focus on the habits that SURROUND it to make it happen long term, so we can reap the health benefits. That's why quick fixes are just that. They focus on the WHAT. "Do this, for this amount time, and life will be amazing!". How much more do we need to continue to do this before we ACCEPT the fact that this approach and mentality is HARMING our health, not HELPING.
If you like what you hear and you feel like you've tried everything to try to lead a healthier lifestyle, why not connect with us to have some discussion about how we can help guide you to focusing on the habits SURROUNDING your choices that will help you build new, life long habits for your health and wellbeing.
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