Constant movement. Our bodies, our minds, our environment, our friends, our families, our jobs, our pets, our bellies... all of our experiences involve the constant of change. In denial of this, are those whose worlds are rocked when change is more abrupt than the average day. A few examples; the company you work for re-orgs, your best friend divorces her spouse, your group fitness instructor moved out of town, or maybe summer is ending and the gray days are upon you. We pre-label these events as something negative which directly teaches us to respond with negative emotions. But I can't judge, the day will come when my parents sell the house I grew up in, and chances are there will be tears. The memories in that house are too many to let go of at once. I will never again pull around the corner and see the driveway full of familiar cars and open the front door to be greeted by a barking papillon, two 8x10 very dated school pictures of my brother and I on the wall, and the glorious smell of homemade chile cooking in the kitchen. Of course, following any kind of loss comes a grieving period but at some point there comes a time to open the heart to the gifts or blessings that are on their way to you. There is something really cool that simultaneously happens at the instant of change or the realization of a change that has already occurred, which is the new beginning. Space. Opportunity. Bravery. Growth. Healing. The results of change have the potential to be more powerful than the change itself. If something big is happening in your life, focus on the fact that is also the beginning of something powerful- that will probably have a permanent and long term impact at the core of YOU.
Or maybe not much is going on and most of your days you are feeling very comfortable, but you are missing out on the subtle shifts happening in your body, heart and mind causing you to be disconnected and unaware of what your needs are. I'll never forget one of my clients a few years back and every day I asked him how his body was feeling. He never knew how to answer this question. He didn't know if he was rested, hydrated, achey or sore. His body was a mystery to him. Without knowing the ways that your body is shifting from day to day, how can you modify and adjust for optimal health? Or maybe you have a difficult time identifying when your energy resources have been exhausted and you keep pushing, instead of clearing your calendar and getting to bed early for some quality rest. A higher level of consiousness of how it feels to be in your body from day to day, empowers you with the knowledge to take care of it!
On the other end, it's possible that you are working very hard to keep things the same, because you are uncomfortable or fearful of change. Perhaps so much so, that you eat the same bowl of cereal every day, drive to the same job, listen to the same radio station, wear the same watch which then reminds you it's time to pack up and head to the same gym, get on the same treadmill dot dot dot, you get the point. If that's you, there are many reasons why breaking that inundated cycle is crucial for optimal happiness. I will name the three that I think will have a higher probability of resonating with the majority of my readers.
Number one: If you do everything the same, your brain will get lazy. Change stimulates neurons and keeps brain processing running at peak performance. Simply put, be smart enough to not need to control everything. Allow people around you to recommend new foods, new places and give others the gift of helping you make decisions.
Number two: If you do everything the same, your belly will not shrink, thus your 6 pack will never show. Eating the same foods, repeating the same workout is a fabulous recipe for Yes, staying the SAME . Do not underestimate the ever-evolving biology and physiology that you are working with. Metabolism can be like a 2 year old- a new toy is very exciting... for all of 2.75 minutes. If you eat the same thing every day, even if it's very healthy, your metabolism is saying 'Hey guys... he's doing the oatmeal again. I'm gonna take a nap. Fat storage department, cover for me?' Same goes for exercise. Did you know that you could be missing out on a 30-50% strength gain if you are doing the same workout routine every day? Let me explain. Your muscles are contracted by the firing of motor neurons that are clumped together, making a motor unit. One motor unit can run the length of an entire muscle and allow you to perform that bicep curl- but if you slightly change the angle, rotation or the equipment that you use, you can access the other motor units in that bicep muscle and BAM! More motor units = more strength! Additionally, mixing up the exercise selection will challenge your brain to work a little more closely with your body to perform the new exercise- which is great because simply thinking about the muscle your working can recruit more motor units! Pretty cool huh?
Number three: If you do everything the same, you might be missing out on the love of your life or the best friend you always wanted. From the outside, people will assume you have everything you need. You will appear to be content, 'with it', or maybe even stubborn. Perhaps none of that is true but you are just scared to step outside your comfort zone. I encourage you to be vulnerable, ask for directions, learn about the new class on your gym schedule, try out the new coffee shop around the corner... suddenly the possibilities are endless and new people can come into your life!
To recap:
Embrace and receive the gifts that come in result of change.
Pay attention to the subtle shifts in you and around you each day so that you can better take care of you.
Break out of your normal routine in order to strengthen your mind, your body and to meet awesome people!
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