What a year!
There are many words that can be used to describe 2020!
A year of devastating disaster, upheaval and uncertainty.
I choose to use: Re-Imagine
There has been an extremely significant impact on our lives as a result of this pandemic, but also a substantial impact on our minds.
I have found this an opportunity to reflect on priorities and reframing my world.
This year I started this blog, I have run over 1000 Kms, read more than 30 books, turned fully vegetarian, adopted a minimalist lifestyle and tried to practice mindfulness, patience and humility more than ever before.
It has been essential during this time of sequestration to ensure that our lives are full of love, inner peace and mental stability.
As we approach the end of a year that marks the beginning of a whole new way of life to come we must take stock of our habits and master our wellbeing.
Set audacious personal goals and achieve them by taking the smallest manageable steps, one at a time but consistently.
Take simple ideas seriously
Running 1km per day
Doing 10 push ups or saving 10% of your income are all simple ideas - if done consistently will have an enormous impact on your future.
Your current behaviours are simply a reflection of your current identity.
— James Clear
There are 3 levels of change:
Outcomes are about what you get. Processes are about what you do. Identity is about what you believe.
Changing your identity.
This level is concerned with changing your beliefs: your worldview, your self-image, your judgments about yourself and others.
Decide whom you want to be, what your beliefs and values are. As you begin to enact the person you envisage yourself to be, the tiny actions that will motivate those beliefs will become habits.
For example; If you would like to be a minimalist, stop buying stuff that you don’t need!
This is a great time to reflect on your personality and decide to become the type of person your future self would like to embody.
Just take that first step.
Thought Provoking...
One of the most inspirational learnings this year has come from reading Derek Sivers.
If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about something, say “no”.
The reasoning is this:
If you say yes to the things that are not that important, you won’t have time for the hell yeah things in your life. The more you say no to things, the more time, energy, and focus you will have for the things that will really excite you.
Other interesting approaches to daily life I learnt from the book are:
Subtracting. In a society where we are constantly adding things (adding experiences and projects to our resume, adding possessions to our home, adding dollars to our bank accounts), it is a good reminder to think about where we can, in our lives, subtract to make us happier.
For example, the minimalist or essentialist movement and getting rid of things that you really do not use or ‘bring you joy’.
Or fasting to reduce the food you eat for health benefits. Or work (delegating, eliminating) so that you are really focused on the work that truly matters or that you enjoy.
Slow Thinking. In a world of instant gratification we are motivated to be impulsive, like this, tag that. Actually intellect is better demonstrated by thinking through a scenario and responding with ease. It's OK to say “I don't know” when asked a question and then think about the best response.
Quitting. New habits require space. This is not about only quitting habits that are bad for you, but anything that creates a dependency or you are getting used to. It may be an addiction to mints, or a place or a job. Try to reframe and imagine a life without these “addictions” and in a different way. Become accustomed to change.
I really hope you grab a copy of the book and/ or read his blogs.
Books to read this holiday season...
Wisdom/What I'm Reading...
Superlife - Darin Olien
The 5 Simple Fixes That Will Make You Healthy, Fit, and Eternally Awesome
Focus on the Five Life Forces and your body will do the rest.
Quality Nutrition, Hydration, Detoxification, Oxygenation, and Alkalisation.
Each of these “Life Forces” is explained in extreme detail and with a very practical and easy to apply to your daily life way.
The key takeaways I had were:
Eat plant based and raw - focus on Broccoli, nuts, sprouts and salads.
Drink lots of water, add a pinch of Himalayan salt for better absorption of electrolytes.
Focus on breathwork.
“With our eager cooperation, food manufacturers and restaurant chains and fast-food giants get rich by making us sick. Then the pharmaceutical giants and the insurance companies and hospitals and other health care providers get rich by making us better. Not healthy, mind you, but well enough to work and pay the bills we’ve just run up. If we ate our broccoli and quinoa and salads and berries and almonds and drank our water and green tea and took long, vigorous hikes and got enough sleep, we might feel great, but who would profit? Nobody. What kind of system is that?”
— Darin Olien
“Water deficit is the primary cause of many other disease symptoms too. Chronic pain, digestive distress, migraines, depression—all may be attributed at least partly to a lack of cellular hydration.”
— Darin Olien
“All chronic pain, suffering and diseases are caused from a lack of oxygen at the cell level.” — Dr. Arthur C. Guyton
The Secret Force – Exercise As well as the five forces, Darin introduces a secret force associated with the other five forces. This secret force is exercise.
Add movement into your day, whether that is just going for a walk somewhere rather than driving.
Darin emphasises that exercise does not have to be done in a gym. Outside exercise is better as it improves your body’s oxygenation.
“Darin has a sincere passion for health, and has proven that by creating this easy to follow manual for achieving our greatest life possible. He doesn’t just write about eating, moving and feeling great―he lives it with every breath, and it shows.” Laird Hamilton,
Darin is a highly recognised exotic superfoods hunter, the Indiana Jones of Superfoods, supplement formulator, nutritionist, creator of Shakeology, and co-host of the Netflix docuseries Down to Earth with Zac Efron.
Darin is one of the founders of Barukas™, a new super nut from the Savannah “Cerrado” of Brazil.
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