I have a suspicion that we came to this life with more than we realize. Your DNA knew exactly how to form your body, your organs, and brain tissue. All without your help. What keeps us so susceptible to holding onto the concept that we didn’t also arrive with an ideal strategy, cognitive game plan and soulfully imprinted tactics for living an amazing life?

The goal then should be to come into contact with this insightful metaphysical content. How do we do that? I feel that’s in large part what Zen meditation and the yogis of old have been trying to explain to us. If we continue to live a life disconnected to the internet, how do we expect to pull down data and have it available?

Anything that clouds our ability to think clearly disconnects us from this information. We can easily call this “Source” information as it comes from something other than your current physical manifestation. You may feel more or less comfort imagining this as God, the creator. There has been mention of this Source for thousands of years in various religious works and I think it works perfectly when talking about accessing your higher levels of thought and knowledge.

Keep the channels clear of static. Free from useless noise. Avoid nonsensical patterns that don’t suit the highest “you”. Eat foods that allow you to feel energetic and keep your cells healthy. Every cell is a sentient entity that constantly responds to it’s environment. Honor that cell by building in the most ideal garden of Eden with clean rivers and beautiful valleys that provide nourishment and enrich that little being.

Probably the single most important ingredient to remembering who you fully are requires an open and observant heart. One that practices loving unconditionally, wants not, drives intention, and acts as a guide in the dark by lighting the path of your true plan. When this is in place, your reactions become less about satisfying you and more about the greater good of those around you. I’m not suggesting you become a victim and solely rule with your heart; that’s a path to imbalance and heartache along with abuse and trauma. I am suggesting that with respect to your needs and healthy balance goals, to use your heart as a means of interaction and always let the logical heart lead the way.

Practicing the art of remembering requires a quiet mind so that you can hear the subtle whispers in the wind. It requires a nonjudgemental perspective deriving from self love as well as love for others and all things. Find the right station and you’ll hear the song you’re looking for.

“You’ve got to be it before you can become it.”- Nick Saban

There’s a belief that you magically reach a certain level of achievement or excellence, then the rest of what is necessary will emerge. I will be great then…. “I will have the necessary mentality. I will have the skills. I will have great habits. I will have the work ethic.”

The exact opposite is true.

I heard Alabama Football coach, Nick Saban, say this in an interview, “You’ve got to be it before you can become it.”

This means your mentality, your beliefs, and your habits have to become the standard necessary before you can become great. The focus on the inputs and process are the path to the becoming.

I spoke with a priest, Father Alex Steinmiller, recently and we talked about human behavior. Most harmful behaviors, we already know are harmful. Yet why do we do them? Lack of information?

People know they should exercise…. But they don’t, even if they want to.
People know they should eat healthy… but they don’t, even if they have good intentions.

We have unlimited information on most subjects, so it’s not that. Are we just not disciplined enough to change our own behavior? My mom always says that most “people would rather die than change”…. Even when they want to.

Father Alex told me, that if we want to change our behavior we need to analyze and eliminate the lead-up actions that trigger the undesired behavior. What situation, people, events, or patterns trigger this undesired behavior? Eliminate the lead-up actions that trigger the undesired behavior.

Analogy: If you don’t want to eat junk food, don’t have it in the house.

This makes sense, as Dr. Robert Cooper says, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” Relying on our own discipline to change our behavior is nearly impossible if we keep following the same routines and patterns. This might mean altering where we spend time and who we spend our time with, ect. But it gives us a significantly better chance of making the behavior change we desire.

I am 77 years old and I have always been physically active. I box and lift weights 3 times a week. I go on walks with friends. I also make sure that I eat well. I enjoy taking care of myself, but more importantly, I enjoy what being fit gives me the freedom to do.

At my age, many of my friends who are close in age are starting to experience some health issues. Back pain, hip pain, cancers, heart issues, dementia, and even death. I want to acknowledge that I feel blessed and lucky that I haven’t had many of these issues, but I strongly believe a big part reason is, how diligently I have worked to stay fit.

When you invest money, you make deposits so that the money can grow and compound. It’s the same thing with your health and fitness. Each time I exercise and choose to eat healthy, I am making a deposit in my current and future “health account”. Over time, all those individual choices (deposits) will hopefully compound into a life of better health.

Life is busy and if you do not prioritize your physical activity, it will fall behind other things. So, I make sure to protect the time I need for my workouts. Some people might think this sounds selfish, but it goes on the calendar and I make sure to keep that time for the exercise.

I create a structure in my life that encourages accountability and makes the workouts more enjoyable. I work out with a trainer. He pushes me and keeps me accountable. Prior to having a trainer, I would still exercise but I would maybe do half of the work I do with him. If I felt tired or bored, instead of doing 50 reps, maybe I would only do 20.

I also have young friends that I walk with regularly. Without them, I most likely would not do it as often as I should. Also spending time with these young men, keeps me mentally sharp and curious.

Most people think that as you get older, you should slow down. Since 50, I have ramped up my workouts. I know that as we age, it’s harder to maintain muscle mass and stay fit. So I know that I just have to work that much harder.

I genuinely believe that has been a secret to my life and I cannot stress the importance of this enough to young people. If you want to stay active and healthy so you can enjoy your older years, regularly make “deposits” into your health.

Consistent inputs are truly the key to success. With them, momentum builds and life changing outcomes start to occur.

The goal is to get 1% better each day or 1/10th of 1% or whatever incremental improvement makes sense for you. This is how the process works and as much as we might want to skip a step this cannot be done.

The reality is that you have to lose the first pound if you want to lose 50 pounds, and you have to first get second faster if you want to get one minute faster in a mile run. Each step in the process is important as you move towards your goal.

So do what needs to be done to improve each and every day, and then over time you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. The key word here is consistent, which I think may be just the word that separates the pros from the amateurs.

Even when you don’t want to do it, you get it done and postpone rewards until later. The plan will work if you work it.

Maybe you’ve been trying to lose weight without positive results, but it’s never too late to get in shape. Unfortunately, most of the advice on the internet promising quick and easy results can be unhelpful and even misleading. So, if you are unsure of where to start, listen to your gut.
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The collection of bacteria living in your gastrointestinal tract has a lot to say about the food you are eating and its effects in your body. We know now there are clear connections between the foods we eat and the growth of specific bacterial species in the G.I. tract.

For example, when you eat the food preferred by the healthy bacteria in your gut, you end up with a diverse gut microbiome that helps prevent obesity and other health conditions. But the opposite could spur chronic inflammation and irritate your gut, making it harder to lose weight.
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In a study published in April 2021 in BMJ Journals, scientists found that certain foods in the Western diet (large amounts of meat, processed foods, sugar and alcohol) are more likely to promote harmful gut bacteria and increase inflammation.

But those who ate more fish and plant-based products in line with a Mediterranean diet appeared to be less likely to experience elevated levels of inflammation.
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And last but not least, good news for coffee lovers! They are more likely to have a type of bacterium that has anti-inflammatory properties. Cheers!

When you sleep less, you are more likely to eat more the next day, as you have probably experienced. This relationship has been consistently shown in previous research.

But up until recently, no study had examined the effects of training individuals to sleep more on changes in food intake and body weight.

A recent study* published in JAMA last month did just that and the findings are quite intriguing.
The participants, who all reported getting less than 6.5 hours of sleep a night, were randomized to receive sleep hygiene recommendations or to a control condition.

After 2 weeks, the participants in the intervention group reported sleeping 1.5 extra hours each night. These participants also reported eating approximately 270 fewer calories per day and losing about 1 pound of body weight.

If this reduction was maintained over time, a relatively large weight loss could occur just from sleeping a bit more. In addition, the participants who slept more reported having more energy during the day, feeling more alert and being in a better mood.
So, it seems a little extra Zs can pay huge dividends.

All it takes sometimes is a small lifestyle change to set you on the path of weight loss and greater well-being.

*JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 7, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8098

Every time we eat, our digestive and metabolic systems communicate with our brain when to stop eating. This mechanism, called satiety, is critical for our survival: without it, we could eat until our stomach bursts.

In contrast to this homeostatic system, our hedonic system allows us to consume large amounts of food just because they are available and taste great. This also makes evolutionary sense: if our ancestors ever encountered calorie-dense foods, even if not hungry, the body would not want us to pass up this opportunity to stock up on nutrients. Thus, consuming more than was needed for satiety could represent a hedge against times of scarcity.

This strategy may have been effective for our ancestors but in today’s day and age, we are surrounded by good tasting, high calorie foods and not likely to experience scarcity.

So how can we turn the tables?
First, we need to recognize that foods high in sugar and fat could hijack our appetites and undermine our body’s better judgment. These hyperpalatable foods, which are typically high in sugar and fat, such as donuts, cakes, cookies, seem to have the ability to override our homeostatic system and allows our hedonic drive to be in full control.

To keep our temptation levels down, it’s good to consume nutrients that promote high levels of satiety, such as protein, fat, and fiber at each meal. Regular movement throughout the day coupled with good quality sleep can also keep our levels of temptation down.

Have you seen people at the gym who are very strong but also very stiff? Although most of us want to become stronger, the potential for weight training to make us stiff and less mobile could discourage us from lifting.
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While post workout stiffness cannot be fully blamed on lifting (it is also associated with lack of adequate nutrition and proper recovery), it’s still a very common experience. If the muscles are not properly stretched before or after a weight training session, there is potential for them to become constricted and tighter.
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Fortunately, there is a way to become stronger while still maintaining or even enhancing our mobility. Pre-workout dynamic movements, such as hip opening exercises and active stretches, are great ways to warm up our muscles before training, helping us have a greater range of movement.
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Additionally, focusing on a full range of movement during training sessions is also an important key to maintaining or improving mobility.

With better mobility, you will feel less stiff, and will be able to move better while lifting.In short, think of lifting as having four important variables: mobility, stretching, strength and stability. Ultimately, to get the maximum benefits from lifting weights, we need to give attention to all.

Why does this matter? Especially with our long to-do lists and the constant feeling that we’re each so busy…

The hard-wired brain mistakes “being busy”–the feeling of non-stop effort–with making more progress on priorities. Unfortunately, that “progress” can be mostly an illusion. It”s easy to get lost in this cerebral and sensory swamp of automatic and mostly mindless “doing.”

Let’s interrupt this pattern. Glance at today’s schedule. Commit to completing one specific task or meeting today five minutes earlier than planned–and devote this time to creatively streamlining and the remainder of today and tomorrow so that you can make greater measured progress on your top priorities… Note: Devote the final minute of these five minutes to reviewing and re-committing to your “To Don’t List”–which can matter even more than your To-Do List.