Wasn’t sure what to include as my second piece for this newsletter so I’m going to steal a little bit from the Wear sunscreen song by Baz Luhrman, which was actually an essay written by Mary Schmich but that’s a different story.
During the last few months I have been doing an exceedingly deeper dive into ways I can live a better life, feel better, be better, add more value and basically just maximise who I am from a physical and mental point of view and pretty much any other way I could find.
A lot of this came from working with amazing people during coaching sessions and wanting to add more value to them but then, while working and reading and researching I found myself wanting to know more. Needing to do more. Needing to know more.
So with all that said, here is some random advice that you may or may not find valuable. That you may or may not want to explore in more details. That you may or may not want to take to heart and use.
And now to quote the Sunscreen song… 😉
My advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice… now.
Gratitude – Just shared some thoughts about it above. It’s a big deal. Huge. Look for reasons to be grateful. Look for the good in life.
Write – Writing stuff down works. Journalling works. I have been using the Day One app which is super easy to use, reminds you to journal and the templates make it pretty straight forwarded to get started. And no, you don’t have to be a helluva writer to start. Check out this journal entry for a bit more on managing negative emotions through journaling. Just start.
Read – Anything. Get a book, read articles, research stuff that interest you and go down a rabbit hole. The more you know, and this goes pretty much for everything in life, the better it gets.
Mindfulness – As with journaling, this is something a lot of people don’t do cause they don’t understand it. Mindfulness is, at base level, your brain being aware of what your brain is doing, without judgement. It’s allowing your brain to run free for a bit and you then taking control of it one step at a time. You do physical exercise for your body. Should you not also be doing something for your mind? I’ve been using the Balance app which is one of the best meditation and mindfulness apps I’ve found. If anything, the guy who guides you through the various breathing and mind exercises doesn’t sound like he just woke from 5 day weed and mushroom bender somewhere in the forest where he danced around naked under a full moon.
Move – Lift weights. Do it often. Yes, cardio is good for you but the benefits of strength training is by far more valuable especially as you get older. By far!
Food – There is no such thing as an unhealthy food. Only an unhealthy diet. Keep that in mind, think balance and make sure you keep an eye on your calorie intake to stay in a deficit and you’re good to go.
Supplement – I’m not talking about protein shakes and fat burners. I don’t do any of those and most of the time you’ll just be wasting your money. I’m talking about things like NAD+, adaptogens, GABA, nootropics, magnesium (especially magtein), lion mane mushroom and a solid B complex. I’ve been digging very deep into these things, use most of them and feeling great! Go and do your own research, figure out what you need and what works for you. It’s so worth it!
Social media – Social media, and the way the online world is playing out, is designed to tap into and manipulate the worst parts of the human psyche. Keep this in mind if and when you decide to get involved. I wrote this post about why I decided to get off Instagram.
Get cold – This is a new one for me but one I’m super keen to explore in more details. Deliberate cold exposure has a dramatic effect on dopamine levels, without an increase in cortisol, and has been shown to increase energy and focus, enhance your mood, help you recovery from physical activity and also increase your metabolism. It also helps you to build resilience because, and this I can confirm, overcoming the straight terror you feel just before closing the warm water tap hits you deep in your soul and when you eventually get through the cold part of the whole exercise, you feel a little better, a little braver and pretty invincible. It’s terribly delightful.
Sleep – It’s never been something I’ve done well but the last while I have focused on ways to get better at sleeping. And it’s been working. Gaba, magnesium, lights, timing, standardise wake time. Still working on this but it feels great. Sleep affects literally every single part of your life, so make sure you give it the attention it deserves.
Alcohol – Since 8 June I have not had a single drop of alcohol. I woke up at 4 that morning and made the decision. Along with a few others. It didn’t have anything to do with overconsumption or heavy drinking or anything. It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while and with the guiding life and travel it’s very easy to clock up 8-10 units per day, day after day and I just reached a point where I said, enough. And that’s really it. And not sure whether it’s purely coincidental, but since 8 June I have been sleeping 7 hours or more a night. And for me, that’s huge!
Be selfish with your fucks – This is a big one and something I’ve been working on more and more. Imagine, if you will, you only have 10 fucks to give each day. Then something at work demands 3. Do not give it 5. Keep those for yourself and use them to things that matter. We seem to have gotten to a point where we feel we need to get involved in everything, have an opinion of everything and say something about everything. You don’t. Keep your fucks for the things that really matter in life.
One is better than zero – We all need to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves. It’s not worth it. If you don’t feel like doing an hour of hard training, don’t. Do 15 minutes of easy walking. 1 is better than 0. And that goes for everything in life. Just move the needle, regardless of how much. And then keep doing it. And then do it again. As much as you can.
When it comes to being better, feeling better, I am willing to look at and try anything.
Why wouldn’t I?
Why wouldn’t you?
All the research you need is out there so make time and go down rabbit holes. It’s fun, the more you know the better it gets and if it can make you be and look and feel and function better… why not?
In future newsletter I’ll be sharing a but more on what I’ve found, learnt, tried and experienced with regards to maximising my quality of life.
Until then, I’d love to hear your thoughts as well! 🙏🏼
