Your Monthly Dose: February
Health comes in many forms. Keep learning, keep it simple, and enjoy it.
Sleep: do you have too much to do in the day, leaving you with not enough time for sleep? Consider this quote from Why we Sleep (Matthew Walker) “without wanting to be combative in any way whatsoever, I respond by informing them that perhaps the reason they still have so much to do at the end of the day is precisely because they do not get enough sleep at night.” So what can you do? As discussed in the past, consider a stop doing list - what is unnecessary in your life? Consider implementing one tiny habit from the list of good sleep habits.
Grub: it was cool for me to hear one of my brothers considering/doing a plant based diet. A plant based approach to food appeals to me for a number of reasons. 1. It doesn’t have to be complicated - “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Michael Pollan 2. It is not overly restrictive - meat is still eaten but in less quantities and much less often 3. It is a rational choice. It curbs the environmental cost of eating meat and it is cheaper for the consumer. 4. It is also a way of eating that I think is worth sharing because we all need to consider small things we can do for the environment. A blog going a little deeper into this simple approach to food.
Exercise: Start slow. I know I have been guilty of ramping exercise up too quickly for myself and my clients. To maintain the habit of exercise, stay healthy and see the greatest gains start slow. Starting slow ties into our discussion last month on consistency. When we start slow we lessen the likelihood for soreness, injury, and exhaustion. Exercise doesn’t have to be a grind. When we take a long term view on our health we see that by start slowing, being consistent and gradually increasing the intensity in 6-12 months we can go a long way. If you are struggling to maintain your January pace, slow things down and find a more modest tempo. The results will come, be patient.
Mental health: Creating Space a book by Thich Nhat Hanh Change. Definitely a new favourite. Small, concise and actionable. This little book discusses the need for need for us to create space in our homes so that we can free up space in our minds. Its cheap on amazon or free from the public library:)
Quote to consider: However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The faultfinder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man’s abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.” Thoreau in Walden.
The month long challenge is just coming to end. I had a lot of fun putting it on and I hope those involved learnt about their eating habits and potential ways to make eating simpler and more enjoyable.