Global Health Starts with Your Head
By Vincent Anthony, MD
http://kcareonline.com
As we move into yet another year of our lives, many of us undergo the same old ritual of setting New Year’s resolutions. These resolutions are usually neatly categorized into distinct compartments that make up one’s life. For instance, health is one category and spending time with family is another. Yet another is working “smarter not harder” at one’s place of employment, while time spent on personal hobbies and interest makes up another. Some of the resolutions fizzle where others last most of the year…well…at least until the next holiday season. The challenge this year is to move forward into the dawning of a new, beautiful you.
Taking a more pervasive look at one’s health usually engenders thoughts of “I will eat better and exercise more this year.” But really….what the heck does that really mean? The goal setting gurus (two of my favorites are Zig Ziglar and Les Brown) would tell us, “Your thoughts are not specific! They don’t have the time stamped on them!” Knowing this, most of us would proceed to create an elaborate plan for reaching our health goals; others would simply hop to it fearing analysis paralysis. Many of us then join weight reduction programs aimed at helping us to “learn” how to eat better. We also sprint to the sporting goods store – out of breath when we get there – to purchase new workout gear. Lastly, many will spend money on new gym memberships feeling that “if I spend the money, it will force me to go work out.” All of this impulsive activity aimed at “getting the fat off,” or simply “getting my weight down” to the arbitrarily chosen goal. As we hastily get down to the health business, each knows “good and darn well” (as my mother used to say) something isn’t right…but we press on.
Hold on!!!!! Stop!!!!! Think!!!! Cut yourself some slack!!!! This year lets deal with health in a more rational and global way!!!!
Let’s look at health from a very teleological perspective; let’s rationalize why certain things happen the way they do. The first aspect of health this year should be to recognize that your brain has a lot to do with the way you function…not the physiological functioning of the brain per se, but the psychological part of the brain. Think back to your childhood for a moment. Were you playing in the field when you smelled grandma (Big Ma) or mamma cooking some delectable treats?! Were you on the stoop when the sound of the ice-cream or water-ice truck triggered an impulse to run in the house to get your change ready?! Did the sound of a dixie band make you long for plarines (sorry, pralines)? Did you enjoy watching the athletes do their thing or were you yourself a competitor in the activity arena of life? Did you like to dance or skip rope or go swimming or hiking?
Most academic, psychological circles believe that if certain events are played over and over in the mind, they become habitual—not instinctive, but habitual. Some habits are formed more quickly than others. Some habits have multiple aspects that “trap” the habit in the subconscious. Let’s look at our food consumption, briefly.
The most obvious aspect of our food consumption is the palate. More to the point…what do we like and what do we not like? This is shaped by our culture in general and our immediate family more specifically. At the cultural level, each group has an over-riding ethos that shapes the thought process regarding various aspects of life. This includes the food we eat and the portions we consume. Remember, also, that this idea also takes into account the atmosphere in which we eat. The genius’ behind the Starbucks brand capitalized on this aspect of life to make one of the largest coffee companies in the world. (Think about it…you could make coffee at home for no bucks but Starbucks is an experience all to its own!) Thus, the way certain foods smell or appear or even sound raises our subconscious experience. This almost places us out of control of certain impulses to eat certain things. Therefore, reprogramming the mind for success in our goals as it relates to food is consciously trying to evaluate our own individual psychology. Once one begins to do this, certain patterns of behavior will unfold. The beauty is that no single person will have the identical cadre of triggers. After these are discovered, share your ideas with a close friend and write them down. By doing this you raise the habit to the level of the conscious, making it easier to deal with. Guess what?!!! Solomon’s Temple was not built in a day. Relax! Your habit took years to sink deep (I mean, really deep) into your subconscious mind. Cut yourself some slack and make a conscious effort to identify behaviors for a while. You—and don’t forget your friend—will find it easier to break the bad eating habit and replace it with a good one.
Our exercise should be tackled in the same way as our food. Sure…everyone needs to get that heart rate up for extended periods of time to begin reshaping blood vessels, strengthening muscle and increasing stamina. Who said that stair master or elliptical or running is the only way. If you were an avid dancer at the family parties, simply pick a night to go out dancing! (or pop-lock in the mirror at home to Cybotron, Soulsonic Force or Planet Patrol!) If you enjoyed double-dutch as a kid, then try your hand at some slow jump rope to start! If you used to chew bubble-gum and roller skate then guess what? … rock skate, roll bounce, baby!
The whole idea is to learn yourself better this year and apply the health to you rather than beating yourself up and applying yourself to what you think health really is. The spirit, mind and body must be unified in order to succeed at anything. Make this your year of discovery of self. For once you truly discover the three persons of your own being, meaningful, global change will take place.
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