You can’t outwork doubt, fear and low self-esteem. You can’t create a happy life whilst feeling resentment and bitterness. You will never be loved when you hate. There is no way to be optimally healthy when you are anxious, stressed and worrying. On the other hand, you will fly to joy, happiness, optimal health, blissful relationships, wonderful achievement and total fulfillment in life when you are in a state of gratitude, love, excitement, empowerment and desire. That being the case, why do we spend so much of our time in a negative emotional state?
The sad reality is that we seem to be conditioned to think the worst, and human nature seems to take us down a negative thought path. I posed this statement and asked the question to a group, at an organisation, I was speaking to the other day. After I spoke, the CEO of the organisation came up to me and gave me an answer. She explained that, in the beginning of time and for many thousands of years, the focus of the human species has been survival. Survival from wild animals, survival from attacks by neighbouring tribes, countries or civilisations and survival from the forces of nature. Because of this preoccupation with survival, we have been conditioned to look for the potential problems and dangers. This focus on the negative seems to be hard-wired into our very being. That being the case, we need to work very hard to create a new conditioning.
The reality is that nothing moves without emotion, and it will move us in a direction. The direction it takes us, and the end result of that direction, is dependent on the nature of the emotion experienced, because of the thoughts we create, and, focus on. Can you see why our emotional state is the most important thing we need to control? You may have heard of the phrase, emotional intelligence, well, let me tell you, I have been without it for much of my life, and allowed my thoughts take me down a negative path. The result, in these situations, has always been bad!
If we are constantly driven by negative emotion, I’m here to tell you that it won’t end well, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, emotions drive our actions towards either; joy, happiness, achievement and fulfilment, or, pain, suffering, devastation and regret. I know which I want, and I’m pretty confident I know what you want, so be very careful of the thoughts you choose. Secondly, the thing that I am very focussed on, at the moment, is my mission of creating a wave of wellness around the world. What I have learned is that our emotional state will seriously impact our physical health & wellbeing. Obviously, the actions we take as a result of our emotion will impact habits that affect physical health. But even more significant than that is the immediate chemical, hormonal and physiological impact of emotion, both positive and negative, on the body. Negative emotions are devastating health and lives all around the world.
Bring it into the light…
I think the main reason why negative emotion is devastating so many lives, is because too often we don’t deal with it effectively. As males, we are taught to be tough, not show emotion and just get on the job. Even many females, these days, are ashamed of and hide negative emotions because they want to be seen as strong and in control. So, the common reaction for many people, when experiencing a negative emotion is to either lash out, and do something they later regret, or even worse, stuff it down into the darkness and not deal with it. Stuffing negative emotion is like setting a time bomb and just waiting for it to go off and destroy health, relationships and lives. So, how do we effectively deal with it? Great question!
The answer is simple; capture any and every negative emotion and bring it to the light, before stuffing it into the darkness or doing something you may later regret. Every time you experience any type of negative emotion, such as; anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, hate, guilt, bitterness, insult, or the like, consciously and deliberately capture it and bring it to the light. I like the visual of capturing it in your hands, and, lifting it up to examine it. Let me give you an example; let’s just say your friend says something that causes you to be angry. Have you ever blamed that friend for your anger? The reality is, you chose a thought about what they said or did that led to anger. So, in fact, you are responsible for your own anger.
The key is, as soon as you feel the anger, capture it, bring to the light and ask; Why I am angry? The reason you give for the anger is your own perception of the situation, right? What if you could change that perception? What if, instead of thinking how rude your friend is, you could ask your friend if everything is okay, because the behaviour is not like them? What if you chose empathy instead of anger? Can you see how that would strengthen your relationship, and, be a much healthier response for you? Whenever you feel anxiety, capture it, ask yourself what you are thinking to lead to this feeling, and, then find a way to look at it differently and give you a positive response. Any time you feel any or all of; anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, hate, guilt, bitterness or insult, stop, capture it, identify the thought, change the thought and you will immediately diffuse and remove the dangerous negative emotion.
I am making this sound easy, aren’t I? Is it? No way! It is simple, just not easy, but, with practice and determination it will transform your mindset, your health, your choices, your relationships and pretty much every area of your life. How do I know this? It has transformed my life. I am now much better at looking for the good and creating positive emotions than I have ever been. I still have a long way to go, but I want to encourage you to make the necessary changes in your own life. It will help you deal with people better. It will enhance your work and ability to earn income. It will make you a more influential and allow you to help more people. It will definitely increase your health & wellbeing. It will – and you’ll have to trust me on this one – help you become a happy and purposeful person.
As soon as you feel any negative emotion start to rise up, capture it, and, don’t let it go until you have worked out why you are feeling it, and, where the original thought came from. You are in control of this. It is no-one else’s fault that you are in a negative emotional state, and, blaming them will only keep you there and keep you down. Have the courage to take responsibility for your own thoughts and emotions, and, know that if you chose the thought that led to a dangerous negative emotion, then you can change it to a thought that will empower and enhance your life. For your own sake, don’t stuff it down, or react to it, instead, capture your negative emotions.
There is an inspiring man, who is a very successful businessman, speaker and author, named Skip Ross. He has created a full day seminar he has been delivering for many years, called the Dynamic Living Seminar. Straight away I was interested. I mean is there anyone who truly doesn’t want to live a dynamic life? I know I surely do. I devoured the audio series and listened to it time and time again. One of the things Skip said, that has stuck with me over many years was this; ‘You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be unhappy. It’s always better, it’s always wiser, it’s always smarter to choose to be happy!’
The last week was an amazing week for me. As you may have heard me say, or write about, my determined mission is to create a wave of wellness all around the world. I have been working very hard, with the release of my latest book, The Wellness Puzzle, to get my message out though; radio interviews, book sales and speaking opportunities. So, as a result of this work, in just the last working week, I have done; two radio interviews, two book launches, spoken three times for two companies, and spoken five times in three schools. I have spoken to well over 750 people from Monday to Friday last week. It has definitely been a wonderful week, living on purpose.
On Tuesday, I was arriving at a school to speak to their year 9 students. I had spoken to the year 7’s and 8’s in previous weeks, so I was starting to know the school and some of the students. As I walked to the main office to sign myself in, I walked past a group of students who had obviously been in one of the previous sessions I had presented. As I got closer, I overheard one of the students say something about me. He said to his friends, ‘Hey, there is the positive man.’ As he said it, I smiled, I turned and said hello, and, I kept walking to the reception area.
As I was signing into the school, I was still smiling, and deep down I felt really good. Why? Well, If I am going to be seen in a certain way, and if I’m going to be called anything by a group of teenagers, ‘the positive man’ is better than many of the other ways they could have described me. I like being known as ‘the positive man’. It sure beats the alternative! That comment was gratifying in several ways. Firstly, it was an indication of how I was perceived by a group of people, and, that I was authentic in what I was telling them. Secondly, it was evident that my message was getting through, because it was several weeks after I had presented to this particular group, that the comment was made. Thirdly, it made me feel happy and proud deep inside, because being ‘a positive man’ is something I have been working on for many years, and, I haven’t always acted or been referred to that way. It was recognition that all of my hard work and focus were paying off, and, it was another reinforcement to me that we all need to be recognised on a regular basis.
The benefits of positivity…
I don’t know where you are currently sitting on the positivity spectrum, but I would like to encourage you to work and strive become known as ‘the positive man or woman.’ The moment you can start to swing over to a more positive outlook on your life, and the things that happen in it, is the moment your life will change for the better, forever. I want to share with you just three reasons how being ‘a positive man’ benefits me, and why being ‘a positive person’ will help you in your life.
You will live a longer & healthier life.
I have spoken many times, ad-nauseum to be precise, about the impact our emotional state has on our physical health and wellbeing. When we are happy and more positive, our immune system, DNA and brain capacity improves, and, our body produces hormones that lead to better wellbeing. I have previously mentioned the study that was done on 50 people who lived happily and joyfully beyond 100 years of age. The common thread, to their healthy longevity, was not sensible eating or regular exercise, as many would have expected. Instead, it was; gratitude, positive thinking and forgiveness. Positive people live longer, happier and healthier lives. That’s not a bad place to start!
You will have more friends and impact more lives.
Think about this; who would you rather hang around, happy people or cranky people? Now, think about this; which type of person has a more profoundly positive impact on your life? I’m sure you came to the same conclusion I did. I would much rather hang with positive, happy and encouraging people than those who criticise, complain and make excuses. My mother has been dead for more than 15 years yet she continues to have a positive influence on my life, every single day. Her attitude, as she dealt with a life-threatening disease, inspires me every day. As a result of her positive and solution-minded focus she outlived a two-year death sentence by 15 years. I will forever be impacted by her and my life is better because of her. Can you think of people who have had that same inspirational impact on your life? Would you like to be that person for others? I know I would.
You will overcome challenges and create more in your life.
A positive person has the attitude that; things don’t happen to them, instead, things happen for them. They believe challenges come to help them learn, change and grow. A positive person doesn’t see a problem, instead, he or she sees a gift. Once solved and unwrapped, the gift is there to be enjoyed… the bigger the problem, the greater the gift. My mother was faced with secondary cancer in her liver and a life-expectancy, from the time of diagnosis, of two years. She looked at her problem and decided it would be a gift. She found solutions, she learned valuable lessons, she made significant changes, developed powerful habits, became a happier, healthier person, and, if that wasn’t enough, the gift she received was an additional fifteen years of joy, love, inner peace and travel. I know for a fact that I have overcome more, learned more, persisted more and achieved much more in my life because of the positive outlook I have chosen to nurture.
Honestly, I could list many more benefits of choosing to be ‘a positive man or woman’, but then, you already know them, right? You just need to make the decision that you will start to change the thoughts you create in your own mind. It will be the best decision you will ever make. I will carry the label of being ‘the positive man’ around with me with pride, knowing that as a result of my own positivity, I will live an extra abundant life and have a far more profound impact on the lives of others. I like being known as ‘the positive man’!
Yes, I’ve spent 30 years in the health and wellbeing industry. Yes, I spend most of my life talking to people and encouraging them to make better choices about their own health and wellbeing. Yes, I focus every day, and with every decision, on my own health and wellbeing. Yes, my mission right now is to create a wave of wellness all around the world. Having said all of that, health and wellbeing isn’t what I’m passionate about. Does that sound weird? Does that seem like a total contradiction? Are you confused? If I am not passionate about health and wellbeing, what I am I passionate about? Well, that’s an easy one. I am passionate about my life!
I love my life. I love my wife, my family, my mentors, what I do, the things I learn, the people I can impact, the places I travel to, the books I write and almost every single experience every single day. I can honestly say, when I wake up, even before my alarm goes off every morning at 5:30am, I am excited, expectant and passionate about the day ahead. I bounce out of bed. When it comes to my health and wellbeing, I have come to the realisation that, without it, I can’t do or enjoy any of the things I am passionate about to the extent I desire. So, I now know I just need to do what it takes to be lean, fit, and healthy. I don’t have to love it, I don’t have to be passionate about it, and I don’t even need to want to do it. If I want to stay passionate about my life, I just need to do it.
After 30-years in the industry, can I tell you how bored I am about talking about good nutrition and the importance of regular exercise? Can I tell you how over I am trying to convince people to start making some simple changes to improve their own health & wellbeing? Can I tell you how tedious it gets writing about things that people already know? I am talking to myself here, as much as to you. I am just as guilty as anyone of doing things, I know I shouldn’t do, that are actually eroding areas of my life that are most important to me. Am I agitating you a little at the moment? Are you feeling a little uncomfortable? Are you tempted to stop reading any further and go and find something else to do that’s less confronting? Please, for your own sake, and that of your family, please suck it up and bear with me.
Think about your last 24-48 hours. Have you done anything you know you shouldn’t have done, or not done something you know you should have done that is impacting or will impact your health and wellbeing? Have you skipped breakfast, and justified it? Have you hit snooze because you were tired? Have you had a cigarette because you were stressed? Have you cancelled your personal trainer, visit to the gym or exercise session because you were too busy? Have you put anything into your mouth that you know is not great for your physical health? Have you reacted poorly to a situation because you were angry or frustrated, and later regretted it? Have you reacted to a craving with a choice that you felt guilty about afterwards? Well, if you are a human, then you have answered yes to one of more of those scenarios, right?
Wellbeing is not a pillar, it’s the foundation
Why am I so bored with talking about this stuff? Because you and I know it. We have heard it for so many years, and we can; explain it, teach it, preach it, attempt it, ignore it, make excuses why we’re not doing it, mourn the loss of people we care about because they disregarded it, and, suffer the consequences and then regret not having acted upon it. I know what people say, and I know what you may even be saying. ‘Exercise is not fun. I can’t seem to find time. I feel sick eating breakfast. I can never remember to eat. I can’t seem to stick to anything. I don’t like vegetables. I can’t walk at night alone. I can’t afford organic food. Blah, blah, blah, blah!’
The bottom line is, what people, and maybe even you, are saying is; I’m really not passionate about my wellbeing, nor can I find time to prioritise being healthy, and, I’m okay anyway!’ So, I’m here to suggest to you that; you don’t need to be passionate about your wellbeing, you don’t need to prioritise time and if things don’t change, you won’t be okay. All I want to ask you is this; are you passionate about anything? Your partner, yourself, your children or grandchildren, your career, your calling, your church, your financial position, your faith, your hobby or your social life. If you answered no to all of those, you have a much bigger problem than I can deal with here. I’m guessing there are things you are passionate about. So, forget about being passionate about your health and focus on what you are passionate about.
We must realise, as I have, that without your wellbeing, those people or things that you are passionate about will suffer dreadfully. The mistake I had made, and many people make is thinking that health and wellbeing is one of the pillars in life that we get to choose whether we prioritise time for, or not. When we place wellbeing alongside the other pillars, then we believe we have to steal time from other important things if we are to invest in it, and, we see it as something that steals time from those same important things. We can’t give 100% to all of these pillars. We have to prioritise and sacrifice. Unfortunately, many people are compromising and sacrificing their wellbeing, as disturbing rates of mental and physical disease, all around the world is providing evidence of.
When we understand that health and wellbeing is not a pillar, but the foundation upon which all of the most important pillars in our life stand, and, that compromising our wellbeing impacts everything that is important, then, hopefully, we will start to make different choices. The simplicity of understanding this model, is that it helps people make straightforward choices that will not compromise, instead enhance and add value to all of the most important priorities in life.
I hope this blog has made some sense to you. I hope it has made you aware that, without even realising what you are doing, you may be compromising the things and people most important in your life. You don’t have to love exercise, you don’t have to be passionate about eating healthy and natural foods, you just have to be passionate about your life and realise that your health & wellbeing is the foundation upon which it all stands.
With every new day that goes past, with every different person I speak to and with every fresh insight I learn, I am more and more convinced of one true and undeniable certainty in life. That is; nothing moves in the direction we really want, without a purpose. I speak about this often, and I talk about how important finding your purpose is, but I really want to bear down on it this week, to help you get into action and start the journey of finding and following your true purpose in life. I think too many people see the concept of purpose as one too ethereal to take seriously. It does sound a little woo-woo. I understand, and for many people, life is just too full, hectic and busy with the urgent things that they don’t have time to worry about something so ‘childish’. Well, let me tell you in no uncertain terms; nothing great – and I mean nothing great – will happen in your life until you find your purpose.
Last Saturday, I had the absolute pleasure and privilege of speaking at a men’s event, called ‘Stuck?’, alongside two incredibly accomplished speakers, and, men in life; Dr Allan Meyer and Dr Adrian Turner. Yes, both with PHD’s! I was last to speak and after following these two champions, which was by no means easy, I had to state the obvious. I said; ‘I apologise that I am not a doctor. But I once went to a doctor, and, my goal in life is to never need to go to a doctor!’ That broke the ice and off I went. It has nothing to do with this week’s message, but again, I’m just breaking the ice!
Between the three of us, we covered the areas of; spiritual, relational, mental and physical wellbeing. Allan started the program, and spent much of the time talking about purpose, and his amazing session reinforced to me the undeniable necessity, if living an amazing life is your goal, of identifying your purpose. He had some wonderful perspective and spoke a lot about the erroneous belief of many people, largely men, that pleasure and happiness are the same thing. He said that the constant pursuit of pleasure is what destroys many people. When we experience pleasure, we get a hit of the ‘happy hormone’ dopamine, resulting in feelings of well-being. This obviously drives pleasure-seeking behaviour to experience more of the same feelings. The problem, as Dr Meyer explained, is that the more pleasure we seek, the more addicted we get, and the more dopamine is released. The more the dopamine receptors work, the smaller they become, so the more the addiction is compounded to keep any dopamine coming.
The potential end result of this futile pursuit of pleasure is a serious addiction to drugs, porn, gambling, and, incredibly anti-social and inappropriate behaviour. This destroys health, relationships, bank accounts and lives. So, then, the goal is not to seek pleasure, but to identify and live your purpose.
Go for purpose, not pleasure!
The key is to find your purpose, so, off you go!! Well, we all know that is not necessarily an easy thing to do… or is it? The mistake many people make is thinking that their purpose needs to be some kind of earth-shattering, world-changing, life-altering passion that seems to many people to be too far out of their current reach. I thought that same thing, and I struggled for a long time identifying my own purpose in life. In fact, many people feel so overwhelmed with this idea of purpose identification and pursuit that it can actually have a negative and reverse effect on them, and, be the reason they may lose hope, then, spiral into fear, anxiety, depression and even feelings of wanting to end it all.
Dr Meyer, last Saturday, spoke about a man I have spoken about before, Dr Viktor Frankl, author of the book, A Man’s Search for Meaning. Dr Frankl was an Austrian-Jewish psychologist, and during the second world war, was captured by the Nazi’s and spent 4 years in concentration camps. He described how every single pleasure was stripped from the prisoners and only pain and suffering replaced it. The only prisoners who endured the torture were the ones who could find meaning in their lives that wasn’t attached to pleasure, and, those who couldn’t, would not survive. He depicted the example of one prisoner, who had it in his mind that liberation would happen on a certain date, and, when it didn’t, he was dead within 24 hours.
After his own liberation, Dr Frankl went back to practicing psychology, and became much more equipped and prepared to help people with the most severe mental and emotional issues. He would always work to help them identify their purpose and meaning in life. Many people who came through his office would hopelessly explain their desire to end their own lives. Dr Frankl used a very simple method to help these people find hope and identify their purpose. After a patient admitted the thoughts of suicide, he would come straight out and ask, ‘So, why haven’t you done it?’ After the initial shock of the question had been accepted, the answer would come. Some said it was because of their children, others because of ageing parents and others explained different things that had prevented them from actually following through on their attempts.
The reason these people had not committed suicide was the foundation of their purpose in life, and from there, he was able to build on and work with these people to help them through their issues to become happy, loving and functioning members of society. As you can imagine, while Dr Meyer was talking about this, I was spellbound. I hope this has intrigued you and maybe even prompted you to stop, reflect and truly identify what is most important in your life. When you do, things will start to make sense, and, everything will flow in the direction of love, health, happiness and abundance.
How can this relate to you? I certainly hope you are not feeling as hopeless and helpless as the people Dr Frankl had to work with. I also hope you have been able to identify what your purpose is. If you haven’t, I urge you to spend some time reflecting on the following questions. What or who is it that gets you out of bed in the morning? What or who is it that gets you to do things that you really don’t want to do? What or who is it that you would give up certain things or sacrifice yourself for? When you can answer these questions, you are on the right path to identify your purpose in life.
I drone on about this stuff all the time, for one and only one reason, it is the only thing that matters in life. Everything you are struggling with, at the moment, will be cured when you identify your purpose. Everything you are stuck on right now, will start moving again when you identify your purpose. You will start making better choices regarding your health & wellbeing, your relationships will improve, your work will become more meaningful and your bank account will start to grow. Yes, my friend, just know; nothing moves without purpose!
Every few weeks, I need to write a blog for one person. That person is me! Too often, I realise there are still things I need to improve in my life, and, writing this stuff helps me get really clear on my own limiting conditioning, and, moving through it towards abundance. Along the way, hopefully you will relate to this issue, as I believe it’s one of the most common afflictions of the human experience. It is the; leave it to the very last minute, panic and deal with the mess then!Do you know what I’m talking about? Have you ever been there? Have you ever regretted being there? Are you open to trying a new way of doing things and getting better results? Well, I for one, am absolutely ready, and that it why I am writing this; for me. So, please join me on this journey…
One of the hardest battles I’m continually fighting against is the ‘she’ll be right mate’ attitude. It’s an attitude in which I just believe things will be okay. I become blasé so put things off, and often find myself stressing at the last minute. Now, don’t get me wrong, believing things will work out is a good thing, but, some planning, preparation and balance are needed if abundance is a goal. This is an attitude which has become such a deeply entrenched pattern of thinking of mine, for such a long time, that, whilst I am making some change and traction, it is still impacting my life. In my last blog, I wrote about the need to power-down, and, let me tell you that for a week in Bali, that’s exactly what I did. Unfortunately, it was more because my body said, ‘enough-is-enough’ than me actually allowing myself to power-down before I got to the point of no return.
I will continue from the moment I finished writing last week’s blog, so you will see what I mean. I wrote, ‘I now have another three and a half hours flight time to Bali, and so I am just about to put on a movie and power-down.’ It was not more than 30-minutes after switching off my computer, turning on a movie and relaxing, when my body started rebelling. I had just had a full-on two weeks prior and I had pushed myself physically just past that point of no return. I kept doing things right up the very last minute, because that has always been my way, feeling like I was slacking off if not productive. Well, my body decided to take control and make sure I rested.
I started aching, sweating and congesting, and by the time I got off the plane in Bali, I was feeling very below par. Laura was waiting to greet me, and my plan was that I would be full of energy and ready to spend some quality time with her, but instead, I collapsed and had to sleep, which is just what I did for the for 18 hours out of the next 24. Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, I woke up the next morning with three cold sores on my lips. I was a congested, snotty and swollen mess! I spent the next few days recuperating and finally, after much of my stay was gone, I started feeling normal again. I am grateful I was in Bali and with Laura at this time, but I was mad at myself for pushing myself right up to that last minute.
Create a sense of urgency every day!
One of the things I am working on, at the moment, is to resist the urge of thinking I have plenty of time to get things planned, implemented and done. I am doing the very best I can, clearly not always successfully, to create a sense of urgency every day, and take action immediately. There are things I am great at acting on every day, and they continually bring blessings and abundance into my life. There are, however, other things, I just seem to put off thinking that I have all the time in the world, until all that time in the world disappears and I am left with the last-minute dash to the finish line, or even worse, the point when it is too late! Do you relate at all to anything I am saying?
I was just having this conversation with my insurance guy, Steve, this week. By the time you are reading this, the end of the Australian financial year is imminent or has passed. With a few days left, I finally decided to read a letter I received from my life-insurance company. There is nothing more tiresome to me than insurance mail, so I find it easy to throw to the bottom of the pile. Well, I opened it and it said, If I don’t contact them by June 30, my account will be cancelled. Whoops! Panic! I urgently rang Steve, and when he rang me back, he was telling me how busy he was, because so many people left things to the last minute. One guy had just bought a home, and, had only 4 days to get financing and so wanted Steve to fix it for him. I breathed a sigh of relief and thought, ‘at least I’m not that bad.’ We both had a laugh at how this last-minute panic thing is very commonplace.
The issue with the last-minute rush is that, whilst you may get the job done, it’s very difficult to create any real abundant success when you are always chasing your tail. When you are chasing your tail, guess what you are looking at? Certainly not where you want to be or what you want! The thing I am working hard on developing is the daily habit of focussing on what I want, and then with this clarity comes a sense of urgency. This stimulates immediate action, and then, doing a little bit every day, rather that most of the work in the last few moments. It’s funny how there are areas of my life that I have this mastered, yet others when I feel right out of control. I am guessing you are feeling the same way in certain areas of your own life.
Often the things we put off are either the things we don’t enjoy, perceive as too hard, or don’t place a high priority on, right? I mean, if you got a phone call and were told that if you paid to fly to a city 5-hours away tonight, there would be a million dollars waiting for you, you would probably find a way to make it happen, right? Well, that is unlikely to happen, however, if you were to prioritise time every day on your savings plan and income strategy, it would probably be worth much more than a million dollars to you in a few short years. So, the key then seems to be to get really focused on what you want and know that the sooner you get active and into the right habit patterns, the sooner you will be enjoying success and abundance in that area.
As I said at the start of this blog, I am writing it for me, and, I am already feeling better. What about you? I have just spent some thinking about the life I currently live, which I am grateful for and excited about, and, the life I am still working towards and destined to live, it’s got me focussed again. I know it won’t happen by chance, and I know it won’t happen with a last-minute panic. What I do know is that; with clarity, a plan and daily action, anything is possible. So, for me, I am getting started now on things that I would normally put off, and as I am doing them, I will be visualising how amazing it will feel when they are done, and, success is achieved. Abundance will come in the first minutes, not the last, so get started now!
I am currently sitting on a flight to Bali to spend some time with my beautiful wife, Laura, who has been there a month already getting her bags made for New York fashion week later in the year. I am sitting next to a very nice man, named Ken. We introduced ourselves to each other, found out a little about what we each did and then asked each other what we would be doing in Bali. Ken is catching up with his girlfriend and some other friends, and then, he asked me. I told him that I am going to meet Laura, spend some time with her, but really, my main aim is to rest, regenerate and enjoy my wife and the beautiful island of Bali. In fact, the words that came out of my mouth were, ‘I’m going to power-down.’
I love the phrase ‘power-down’. It is so descriptive and creates the visual of going into deep rest, and full recovery. This trip is the culmination of a full-on and frantic two weeks. Don’t get me wrong, it has been amazing and absolutely on purpose, and I am grateful for the incredible opportunities that have opened themselves to me, nevertheless it has been full-on. Two weekends ago I spent an amazing weekend in Newcastle attending an inspirational weekend conference. Then last weekend I had a wonderful three days in New Zealand and now, as I write this, it is Thursday at 7:30am, and I am flying high above the ground on the way to Bali.
Let me just talk about the last six days. I was up at 4:30am last Friday to get to the airport and catch an early morning flight to Christchurch, NZ. Saturday morning I did two 50 minute presentations in Christchurch and then caught a plane to Auckland, NZ, where I did another two 50-minute presentations, that evening. On Sunday morning I was on a plane to Wellington, NZ to do another two presentations that day. At 6am the next morning I was on a plane back to Australia.
Soon after landing in Melbourne on Monday morning, I was home and getting organised to speak in a school to 300 year 11 students at midday. On Tuesday, I was in another school during the day, talking to 150 year 8 students and then talking that evening to a business group. Yesterday, I spoke at yet another school, to 200 year 9 & 10 students and then came home to pack for this trip. I was up at 3:30am this morning, to get a 7am flight to Bali. I have loved every second of the last two weeks, because everything I have been doing has truly been helping me fulfil my purpose, and, has energised me to get through the demanding schedule. It is time, however, to power-down. This blog is that last thing I do before I recline my seat, lift up the footrest, put on a movie and just let my body recover and regenerate for the next wave of purpose-driven activity as Laura and I prepare for our trip to the USA in September. At that time Laura will be showing bags on the catwalk at NY fashion week, and I will launching my new book, The Wellness Puzzle.
Powering up, requires you to power-down…
I have, for so much of my life, believed I needed to be ‘on’ all the time. Watching both my mother and father go non-stop was the example for me that being active and productive was the way to be, and resting or taking time out was laziness. To compound that, playing professional football in the 1980’s, again, reinforced to me the whole concept of no-pain-no-gain and that all-or-nothing is the only way to be. So I did. I worked hard at sport and then in my business, with very little down-time, only to find myself broke and broken!
Have you noticed that when you leave your computer, or phone inactive for a short period of time, it powers-down? It does this to conserve battery-life and save power for the next period of activity. How come technology gets it, but many people don’t? My beautiful little dog Joia loves to run and chase her ball, her squeaky toy, a sock, a toilet roll, or pretty much anything I throw for her. She will keep going as long as I throw something for her, but, as soon as I stop, and within seconds, she has laid down, curled up, powered-down and is re-charging for the next session of funness! How come animals get it, but so many of us don’t?
Make no mistake, the only way you will ever achieve your best life is to ensure you have regular and intermittent periods of powering-down. It just makes logical sense, doesn’t it? If you keep driving your car non-stop it will eventually run out of petrol. If you leave the torch light on, the battery will eventually die. If you try to keep going, without those periods of power-down, you too will run out of petrol, wear-out and die! It is tragic that so many people learn the lesson through a painful experience, when it all could have been avoided.
If it is true, we cannot continually perform at our peak performance without periods of rest, and, in this day and age we often have a very demanding and hectic schedule – even if it is doing things you are passionate about – how do we find time to power-down? Flying to Bali is a nice thing to do, but not a regular strategy to continually power-down when we need to. So, let’s look a few simple power-down strategies to help you get the most out of your body, your performance and your life.
Sleep is a good one. I love sleep and I love my bed, and I make sure I am in bed as early as possible to get at least eight hours of sleep. I am up early every day, because I want to get lots done before the world is waking up, and so it is imperative for me to get into bed and sleep well every night. Could you squeeze another hour or so into your nightly sleep by, spending less time in front of the TV, on social media or on low priority tasks?
Power-naps are the best. I try to arrange my appointments so I am not rushing to get from one to the next. Now, I am not always successful, but I get it right most of the time. Then, when I have 10-15 mins up my sleeve, I park in a quiet place, recline my seat, lock my car and power-down for those 10-15 mins. It is amazing what that short nanna-nap can do for your energy and effectiveness for the remainder of the day.
Meditating under a tree, deep breathing at the lights, sitting in a place with a beautiful view and looking with awe and gratitude for the beauty of the world, going for a relaxing walk with a pet, partner or by yourself, or just spending a moment in gratitude, are all wonderful ways of powering-down for a period of time. Yes, you are busy, and, I understand you don’t have heaps of time to rest, but please for your own health, relationships, purpose and happiness start to implement one or more of these ideas.
Well, let me tell you, I now have another three and a half hours flight time to Bali, and so I am just about to put on a movie and power-down. When I get off this plane in Bali, I want to be at my best for Laura, and I know that the only way I can be at my best is to take regular time periods of powering-down, resting and regenerating myself. Enjoy your power-downs this week.
