This article is part of my series, Recollections from 22 Years as a Father
Introduction
Google Search and I are really tight. I love to research topics and learn more about how our human body works and stays healthy. A great deal of my research has focused on living a healthy life, conserving our resources, and exploring new places and ideas. My quest led me to start the web page, AspiringSteward.com. I also collect Healthy Living stories here on Flipboard.
No matter what I am researching, when it comes to being healthy, I constantly circle back to three major areas of focus:
- Challenging your mind through learning and experimentation
- Pushing your body to stay physically fit
- Maintaining your body with natural rest, cleaning, and fueling
If you don’t focus your efforts in these areas, the health of your body and mind will deteriorate. For example, there are numerous studies that have identified linkages between Alzheimer’s Disease and dental hygiene, physical fitness, gut health, and sleep patterns. You need more than a brain puzzle to fight off the disease and stay healthy. You need a comprehensive plan.
Situation
Recently, I stumbled upon research John Lilly performed in the ’60s and ’70s. Lilly was a scientist, inventor, and writer. He coined the term human bio-computing, meaning the brain and all of our body’s tissue represents the hardware designed to create our very own operating system. Our life is determined by how we develop and program the system through living, learning, and experimenting. That really resonates with what I have been researching and I pass it along as an analogy to the point I am attempting to make.
In summary, Lilly proposes, “We are all born with some “programs”–such as eating, sleeping, and feeling pain–ingrained in our genetic code. Our ability to take in new information and to develop ideas beyond these innate programs depends on our capacity for “metaprogramming,” or learning to learn.”
The analogy triggered me to think about the first iPad we purchased. It was great and performed beyond our expectations. We still have it but it is not nearly so miraculous. We have updated some elements but it is mostly running on the same technology it came with out of the box. Now, even Apple doesn’t support the operating system with upgrades. Our iPad is a device on the decline and will be unusable at a future point.
Problem
Our lives are similar. Out of the box, we come equipped to learn and grow, voraciously at times. But, as we age, we have more things vying for our time and we settle into a pattern. Our brain, which is our “operating system” functions great when running all of the normal applications. It’s happy to continue with its routine and to stay in the familiar. It likes to repeat what has worked in the past, whether it is a healthy behavior or not. Upgrades, changes, and new applications slow it down (even if only in the short-term), so it pushes them away. We tend to program our brains to run the same applications over and over with increasing velocity, rather than learning and experimenting with new ideas or activities which would benefit and enrich our future lives.
Then, stress enters the picture. Stress demands speed and response and pushes all else to the side. We continue our focus on the known and push what we really want down the road. Who has time for trying new exercises, experimenting with different, nutritious foods, grabbing coffee with a new acquaintance, or taking a crack at a NY Times crossword puzzle? Instead of doing things we might really enjoy, we focus on what worries us. That stuff is typically now the stuff we will remember when we get old.
Outdated Applications
Our lives are so busy that we don’t take time to rest, relax, reflect, and learn. Instead, we spread our downtime all throughout the day. We sprinkle it here and there. So, our downtime becomes a time to check e-mail, Facebook and other applications on our phones, rather than relaxation and reflection time. Our phone becomes our rdowtime companion. It’s a rather flawed friend and it does not challenge our mind or our body.
Without positive applications added to your operating system, your brain takes the stress and creates its own applications. It looks for behaviors that relieve the stress and attempts to recreate those behaviors to relieve the stress and make your body feel better. We refer to these new applications as habits, and if they are pursued without you thinking about them, they are very likely to be unhealthy or unproductive. Some examples we see today are chronic phone usage, overusing social media, drug or alcohol abuse, binge-watching TV, etc. None of these activities challenge our mind or body is a constructive manner.
Program a New You
To be constructive, program your brain to stop, think, and develop ourselves in mind, spirit, and body. Instead of being stressed into engaging in routine tasks, program yourself to contemplate healthy activities for your life. When you stop and focus on thinking, you override your normal operating system and engage your mind, which “lights up” new and different areas of your brain. This is what sets us apart from animals. We need to be thinking differently on a very regular basis. It is the pathway to our passions, happiness, and our uniqueness as human beings.
How do we stop and push ourselves to focus on the things that really matter to us and our long-term well-being? Start by listing 3 things that are uber-critical to what a future, better version of yourself looks like to YOU. For example, here are my three:
- Great gut health, including one terrific, daily poop!
- Find creative outlets to experiment, to learn, and to express
myself - Experience our natural world whenever possible
Let’s Create Your List
If it’s helpful, think about things you wish you had started a while ago. Here is another way to look at it. Bronnie Ware was a palliative care nurse and she heard 5 similar refrains from all of her patients, which she collected and documented. Whatever you find helpful, document 3 items. Once you have your list, write them on your bathroom mirror using a temporary marker. Then, use one or several of the following activities to interrupt your repetitive brain pattern and recognize the behavior. Now, you can p
#1: Embrace boredom
Getting bored allows your mind to escape its mundane day-to-day activities. It’s critical to contemplating your current experience. You need to really think about it and really delve into why you are so bored. I find some of my best ideas come when I am bored and at my wit’s end. You know what else? How many times, when you are bored, do you finally realize where you left that lost item or recall that name that has been rattling around your brain all day. Getting bored is similar to day dreaming and it gives your brain the free space it needs. Try it.
#2: Talk to Yourself
Do you know that reading aloud boosts your brain’s ability to proof, correct, and retain information to a much greater degree than when you read silently? The same applies when you talk to yourself. It forces you to string together your logic and to cement your “why”. Your ears will take in the argument and allow your brain to reprocess it like a third party. Have you ever caught yourself saying something out loud that you have believed to be true in your mind? Then, as soon as you hear it, you are like “that doesn’t sound right.” Well then, you understand exactly what I am talking about. Next time you want to think through something, talk about it with yourself. I guarantee you will feel better about the decision.
#3: Feed your Body (literally and figuratively)
Your body requires nutrients to function at its best. You will never meet your goals without the proper fuel. If you want to improve your stamina and you feed your body junk food, your results will likely be junk. Same goes for your mental well-being. If you surround yourself with forgiving people and you read about people practicing radical forgiveness, your results will be dramatically better than watching people being hateful and decisive. The old adage holds true, “garbage in, garbage out.”
Actively seek and experiment with new types of learning, whether it be for your career, personal life, or your spiritual well-being. Learning and certification programs exist on-line or through community portals to study and take classes from experts in virtually any field. All of these programs and materials will act as a springboard to you learning more about yourself and the world around you to enhance your life experiences.
#4: Jot Things Down
I am not the best at this one. Sit down with paper and a pencil and jot down your thoughts. What are you thinking, feeling, etc.? It doesn’t have to make sense. Who cares who reads it? Just allow your thoughts to wander and make notes. Do this as often as possible. The interesting thing is you will go back and look at them and it will take you down a different path. Follow it.
#5: Tune into your Senses
Take some water and maybe a snack but leave the headphones in the drawer at home. Just get out into nature or a new place and immerse yourself. Find a comfortable place, close your eyes, and try out your other senses. What do you hear, smell, feel? We rely on our vision to the detriment of our other senses. We do not develop them the way other animals do, but we can. Whatever you do, try to experience it from a different perspective and put your brain to work and make sense of it. It’s a worthy challenge.
Get Programming!
If you do not take control of your life, it will control you. Time will pass and you will not have done the things you always thought you would do. Don’t miss opportunities to live your fullest life due to stress and happenstance. Take advantage of your time and gifts and get prescriptive. Decide what is important and go out and live a healthy, exciting existence. It’s within your control; you just need to go out and program your own bio-computer into the finest on the market.