Wherever you may live and whatever your profession might be, chances are you lead a hectic life. It’s no secret that the world we live in is far cry from that in which our parents grew up and spent their younger years. With advancement in transportation, communication and technology, the world has become so intertwined, noisy and utterly competitive place – so much so in fact, that it’s easier to feel overwhelmed and stressed than remain calm and in control of yourself.
Fierce competition aligned with people’s innate need to belong and try to keep up with Joneses, isn’t helping the matter in the least, quite contrary in fact – it all adds up to your stress and makes you more irate and unbalanced. So what if anything can you do to change that and lead a well-balanced life? Well, you’ve got to give your mind, body and soul a daily intake of nutrients required for optimal performance, literally. So how do you do that?
1. Mind
For a healthy and happy mind, you’ve got to use it and make the most of it. You also have to protect it from indoctrination and negative vibes broadcasted via mainstream media and society at large.
One way to do this is by reading good books on a daily basis, solving riddles, crunching numbers, planning your life or career 5 to 10 years out, whatever really comes to you naturally but requires more than basic use of mind. For me, reading does it although I enjoy planning my life and business alike.
To protect your mind, you’ve got to be very vigilant for we’re surrounded by a continuous barrage of indoctrination of the highest order. Just think of the news for example, all you can hear and see is negativity such as wars, terrorism, poverty etc. like there’s nothing positive in this world of ours to report on. The truth is there’s much more positive to report than negative but mainstream media focuses on the negative and frames it the way they please.
All of things you read in the paper, watch on TV or hear in society are subconsciously affecting you, your mood and ultimately life, personal and professional. Your mood is probably volatile in that it fluctuates hence, some days you feel great in a top-notch mood while others not so much and perhaps you’re even down and low.
This isn’t normal and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, for you can program your mind to alway keep you upbeat and positive. In the words of John Milton “mind is its own place and in itself can make a hell of heaven or heaven of hell” so it’s really up to you.
I can tell you from a personal experience that getting rid off the TV and newspapers permanently – as in you don’t watch the TV at all nor read a paper – which I’ve done 12 years ago and never looked back, can most certainly put you in a zen state of mind and make you happy and high on life every single day. People who know me well and deal with me on a daily basis can attest to this 100%, no bullshit.
I’m no better than you or anyone else – if I could get rid off the TV and newspapers so can you. No one is suggesting you live in a cave and have no contact with the outside world but rather you pick and choose the content you want to feed your mind with – what I like to call a ‘content on demand’ via Google search engine. This way, you control what goes in your mind and guard it from all the negativity they want to feed it with.
2. Body
It’s been said time an again that we are what we eat and for a good reason. Our eating habits are formed over time and usually originate in our family homes we grow up in. Therefore eating habits differ from one person to the next, with some being healthier than others.
While I pick and choose what I eat and try to eat healthy at all times, sometimes I too succumb to an occasional junk food but this is very rare, once or twice a year. I wasn’t alway a healthy food eater for in my younger days having left home country at 17 and lived on my own practically since, I’d mostly eaten out at a fast food joints and casual dining restaurants. Burgers, fries, steaks and sodas were my diet for the most part until I’ve learned better. Today I’m proud to say that last 15 years I’m clean from junk food, sodas and sugar.
Once again, if I can do it so can you but the question is should you and more importantly do you want to change your eating habits? Perhaps your eating habits are much healthier than mine and need no change. Either way, talking about someone’s eating habits is too personal hence, it should be treated as such. It’s up to you to decide what your feed your body with.
Another important part of keeping the body healthy is physical activity. “Use it or lose it” adage is very applicable in this context, for if we don’t use our muscles on regular basis, we tend to lose them over time. I’ve realized that age is nothing but a number and that people tend to get old mainly because of their complacent and undisciplined lifestyles.
Youthful looking people we all know, who are in their mid 40s and 50s are youthful because they remained children at heart and refused to fully ‘grow up’ or take life too seriously. In addition, they managed to keep their physical activity at a high level – be it through daily or weekly outdoor activities such as jogging, cycling and climbing or yoga, health and fitness centers.
Keeping your body healthy and in good shape is simpler than you may think but you’ve got to develop a habit. Psychologists tell us that to form a habit – any habit you can think of – it takes only three weeks or 21 days of repetitive activity, after which that activity becomes a second nature and the habit is formed. So, for example you can decide today to wake up one hour earlier than usual and start to jog for 30 minutes each morning for the next 21 days. If you manage to pull it off, you’re one step closer to building a healthy body.
3. Soul
It doesn’t really matter what religion you were born into and whether or not you practice it – as a matter of fact, you don’t even have to be all that religious. What you absolutely must be is spiritual and practice it on a daily basis.
Since spirituality is all about connectedness between you and the higher self, you’ve got to be connected for the soul to achieve the highest level of satisfaction and fulfillment. The best and the only way I know possible to establish a connection is through meditation. Meditation in the early morning hours at the crack of dawn is the most fruitful although some people prefer the late nights, just before the bed time.
Meditation is the process of quieting your mind and senses until there’s nothing left but tranquility deep within. Once you’ve achieved that, you then control your mind by focusing on the things that make you happy and fill your soul with utmost joy. This act of mediation needs not be long, for 10-15 minutes daily will suffice but must be consistent if you’re to remain in zen state of mind and have a happy and fulfilled soul.
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