You have access to adequate information. In certain cases, too much of it. And along with it, there are your prejudices and preconceived notions about a few things, especially nutrition. Finally, there are your blind spots which you don't know.
Today, I'd like to share a few fundamental truths that I've learned for myself and they will apply to you as well.
Activity / Exercise
It helps if you enjoy it.
When you enjoy it, you will look at finding the edge of your comfort zone. You will hit your flow, your zone. You will be physically and mentally engaged with it.
Think of an activity you excel at. Your mind and body work in tune with it. You are emotionally aware and you are intuitively doing it, whatever it might be. The same applies to lifting weights or going running or physical activity.
If you don't enjoy an activity, it is worth your while to find one that hits this sweet spot. There is one out there.
Sleep
You have work to do if:
- you don't sleep 7 hours (at least.)
- you don't feel well rested when you wake up.
- your day does not function with doses of adrenaline and caffeine.
- your energy crashes at a certain time.
I've misunderstood feeling wired when I wake up early to mean that I am ready to go. Rather, my body has figured my routine out over the past decade and the juices are flowing. But give me any complex task to do after 7 pm and my IQ is at 50%.
Paying attention to energy crashes, even if I am getting the other stuff right, has been a good tool. It means I am getting something wrong. That something could be:
- poor nutrition the night before
- too many energy-sucking activities during the day
- poor nutrition during the day
- poor goal setting and planning
If you aren't sleeping well, pay attention to it. And sleeping well is qualitative and quantitative. Your brain does a lot of cleaning up and resetting while you sleep. It is important.
Food
You have a lot of emotional attachment to food. And that affects your choices and opinions.
For example, I grew up eating rice for breakfast. And I felt sluggish every day during school. So, I told myself that carbs were the enemy and stopped eating carbs for breakfast for many years. Until recently, when I had to spend 10 days eating nothing but simple carbs. For breakfast and lunch. And my energy levels were pretty amazing.
Food is simple. Eat real food. Eat vegetables. Eat protein. Don't eat too much crap. Don't eat too much. That's about it.
Remove your personal opinion and emotional baggage and learn to look at food as a simple, core process and see how you can optimise it.
Busyness
We all act too busy. We've cluttered our lives with objects and activities and apps that make things worse.
My wife and I were re-watching an old favourite movie of ours shot in the 1980s. In the opening few minutes, one of the characters remarks how "time is money" and we need to stay ahead at all times. Well, 40 years on, this phenomenon has continued. With modern tech, we should've succeeded in shaving hours from our day from mundane tasks (faster washing machines, dishwashers, Roombas, mobile phones, Zoom etc). But we all seem to have lesser time than ever before.
This is a choice.
Of course, I am speaking from a place of privilege. But in all probability, you are in the same place. Unless you are in a place where your daily meal is under threat, do you need to be part of the hustle culture?!
We hide behind busyness.
Your Turn
The 4 things I've mentioned are all stuff I realise I have/do. And I work on and remind myself to work on.
You might not be in the same place. But the unfortunate definition of a blind spot is that you don't know what it is. By asking for feedback from the people I spend a lot of time with, by journaling and by reading those journals, I've been able to decipher these rather fundamental things.
What comes to your mind when you read this?