“Why live an ordinary life, when you can live an extraordinary one?” – Tony Robbins.

What are You seeking today?

1. Do you want to live in a peak state of health and wellness?
2. Do you want to level-up and take your health and wellness to the next level?
3. Do you want to reduce any fears that may exist around the current situation we face?
4. Do you just want to feel great?

The last one is my personal favourite and desire; I just want to- and to help other people to- feel great all of the time! I wrote this article to help shift us into a positive state during these strange times.

Unprecedented times.

The topic of health has been on my list of articles to write for a while now. Given our planets current state of affairs, there seemed to be no time more appropriate to discuss it than the present.

It goes without saying that all of us are currently living through a time that none of us have yet to experience in our lifetime. Although many of the previous generations have undoubtedly gone through more hardship than that which we face today; this pandemic certainly appears to be a completely unique and challenging circumstance than none of us foresaw, or really know how to deal with.

COVID-19 has changed life in the modern world as we know it. The foreseeable future is very uncertain, with over a third of the planet currently in some form of lockdown. But why has the Coronavirus provoked such drastic measures? And how can we as individuals, as families, as communities, and as humanity combat the fatal prospects of the virus?

A few things to note.

Firstly, before I continue to write I would just like to acknowledge the fact that I am most certainly not a doctor, a scientist, or a psychologist. I merely read the information shared by the experts and develop my own perspective and conclusions based on that. The principles I recommend, are ones I implement in my own life and that have worked for many others, but as with anything, take them with an open mind and find out what works best for you.

Secondly, the impact of this virus and the subject of health is such a vast topic that it would be impossible to discuss every single principle in a reasonably sized article, this is just a summarised view with a few take away points that may spark your interest to make some positive changes if you feel they are needed.

And finally, nothing written in this article is conveyed with the intent to make any of this okay. My thoughts and love go out to anyone who has suffered, or who has been in any way impacted by this virus. I also have the upmost respect for the health professionals and volunteers around the world that continue to give their efforts and support to those in need. Thank you, on behalf of us all.

COVID-19.

Ever since the knowledge of this virus hit mainstream media and it was marked a global pandemic, I have had many questions. The main one being, why is the world reacting so extremely to it?

Some people are suffering from the worse symptoms and some people are unfortunately and tragically losing their lives. However, this is not the only disease that causes members of humanity to suffer.

Just to give this some perspective, each year, millions of people die from hunger, from obesity, from cancer, from smoking, from alcohol, and nearly a million people die from suicide.

Although the statistics from Coronavirus are increasing at an exponential rate currently and it is clearly a serious issue we have to get through, is there really that much to worry about?

Fear and the Media.

In my opinion, the effects of COVID-19 have been far worsened by the way in which the media communicates information. Or should I say, attempts to startle you and engage you in their content?

On a daily basis we are informed of how many new cases there are, how many deaths there have been, the circumstances around which these deaths occurred, both in our home countries and around the world. We become engrossed in what we are being told because it sparks something in our survival instincts that are inherent to our human nature. We’re told we might die, therefore we must find out how to survive, so we await that crucial information.

It is no great secret that the media does a fantastic job and playing on your mental health and contributing to feeling of stress, anxiety and depression – something we all wish to avoid.

What if each day we were told how many people are not experiencing any symptoms, and how many people have recovered and what if we were persistently told that as a population, we have less than a one percent chance of the virus becoming fatal? Would we be less fearful? Would we live in a more positive light? Probably…

I limit the amount of media I am exposed to, refuse to read articles that pop-up on social media and only choose to read and absorb information given by credible sources. The most recent article I read explains the fear injected into the masses by the media and why we do not need to be that fearful of the coronavirus. It will aid putting your mind at rest, leaving you the capacity to focus on things that are far more important during these times… and life!

What can we do?

Firstly, any guidance or recommendations given by our government or any health professional we should absolutely stick to. They have put protective measures in place for a reason; we must look after each other, protect those most vulnerable and get back to ‘normality’.

So, no I’m not here to give you some drastic new measures, but I do believe our focus has been in the wrong place and evidence suggests that a lot of people have neglected something for far longer than they should. Yes, Your health! Nowadays more and more people seem to be fuelling their body with toxic substances, failing to nourish it sufficiently, and adopting exceptionally unhealthy and unsustainable lifestyles. 

Now, more than ever before in our lifetime, it is paramount that we prioritise our health and wellness!

Your most prized possession.

“It is Health that is your real wealth, not pieces of gold and silver.” – Gandhi.

Your health is your life. Your body is the vehicle you use to explore this world whilst you’re here; your mind is the one you use to experience it. If we fail to treat them nicely and look after them the likelihood is, we will suffer the consequences.

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers superstar and arguably the most decorated basketball player of all time_ is an icon and perfect role model of health and wellness. You don’t have to follow basketball, or even like the guy, to appreciate his accomplishments in health and fitness. LeBron is thirty-five years of age, older than ninety-five percent of the other athletes in the NBA and he is still the best player in the league; nobody else even comes close! I use this example because it is acclaimed, he spends $1.5million every year on his health, whether than be on his body, diet and nutrition, or his mental wellbeing. Of course, the majority of us do not have this kind of money to spend, but the principle is that he prioritises his health and continues to invest in it, despite being at what most would determine the end of their playing careers; and he continually and consistently achieves greatness. And in fact, $1.5million in relative terms, is less than 5% of LeBron’s annual income; from that perspective it would seem a bit more feasible for us to invest the same in our health.

I am not saying you should follow the above example as a role model, find your own inspiration and influence and use them to motivate to prioritise and optimise your health and wellness. But remember, whilst we can seek motivation from anything externally, we are all accountable for our own self-discipline. We can elevate our health in many different ways, it’s just about finding what we get the most joy and fulfilment from in doing so.

Eleven ways to optimise Your health.

I take personal pride in valuing my health and wellness as the highest priority in my life. I believe that if we do not as individuals look after ourselves, love ourselves and take time for ourselves, then how can we create positive influence in others’ lives; more importantly how can we be there for others, those we care about especially, when they need us most?

Below I share with you ten things that I do consistently to ensure that I optimise my health and wellness, or for a better term, to make sure I feel great!!

1. Wake up and make sure the first minute of thought it around gratitude and visualising a great day to start your day positive.
2. Stretch your body for five to ten minutes to get the blood flowing and awaken your bodily functions and immune system.
3. Exercise and train hard, however you choose to do this, whether it be a sport or going to the gym, just develop your physical body and fitness.
4. Embrace Yoga, or for those that are ‘afraid’ of this concept, just stretch and be aware of your breath (that’s all it really is). This keeps you flexible, mobile and will serve you well in later life.
5. Eat right and fuel your body with the good stuff to make sure your immune system continues to operate at its highest level allowing you to continue to function and live life to its fullest even when fighting disease.
6. Use spices!! This seems random I know, but spices are full of great nutrients, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that enhance both your physical and mental health.
7. Quit drinking, or at least have alcohol free days. Alcohol is a toxic substance that our body has to work seriously hard to get rid of and it serves absolutely zero nutritional value. Leave your body the energy it needs to fight off what it needs to most, not something you chose to inject into your system, it will harm your immunity.
8. Meditate daily; no this does not mean you have to sit like a Buddha and ‘Om’. Meditation is simply having the awareness of your breath through your body, although there are many different forms. Anyhow, it is proven to relax the mind, alleviating stress and tension both in mind and body.
9. Detox from technology and social media; give yourself a break from the demands of society and focusing on too many things that exist outside of ourselves. Take some time to be grateful for where you have and to ground yourself in your current environment; the present moment.
10. Rest well, sleep and recover; I have never been one for sleeping long hours, but now more than ever I believe it’s essential for us all to get eight or nine hours of sleep each night to allow our bodies and immune system the maximum opportunity to recover and keep us in optimal health.
11. Give Love and SMILE; sometimes we forget the power of a single smile, it can change the course of someone’s day, as well as shifting our own mood in the meantime. Love those around you, show them how much they mean to you. Our emotions directly affect our health and physiology, so you can imagine what making people feel love and happiness and joy, can do for their health.

Everything I mentioned above could quite easily have its own article, and there are many other sources of information that has done so; I wanted to keep it short and powerful, in hope we can all take something from this and elevate our health and wellness during these unprecedented times.

“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” – Tony Robbins.

Six great sources of health knowledge.

There are some incredible online sources that discuss health and wellness topics in more detail than I have; I simply have a passion for health and love researching how I can continue to optimise and improve upon how I treat myself.

Below I have included six sources I read regularly to feed myself with the best knowledge on health and wellness. And no this is absolutely nothing to do with earning a commission (these sites won’t even know of my existence), it’s simply about bringing awareness to everyone that we all have access to great sources of knowledge that will empower us and help take our health to the next level.

1. Healthline.
2. Healthy magazine.
3. Well + Good.
4. Mind Body Green.
5. DailyOm.
6. LinkedIn.

The last source might seem odd and is very generalised but if you get on LinkedIn you can almost guarantee you’re getting knowledge from credible sources. Find the people, businesses and movements that resonate with you most; there are thousands.

A few final words.

I really hope you found this article somewhat useful, whether that be less fearful, or more knowledgeable on how we can all elevate and optimise our health and wellness. If not, hopefully it at least pointed you in the right direction to discovering the source of inspiration you need to embark on- or shift- your own health journey and take it to the next level.

“Health is your greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.” – Buddha.

You have your health your whole life, look after it – I just want us all to feel great!!