10 Things Your Healthiest Friends Have Given Up - and Where They Still Indulge.
Your Healthiest Friends Have Given Up: Monotony
Yes, it is easy to fall into grooves in the way we live our lives because the brain doesn’t need to think. So we follow the same routines, eat the same foods and meals day in and day out, do the same exercise regime, and react in the same ways to stress, irritations, limitations, failure, and heartache.
What is the secret to unlocking more health in not only your body but in your mind and emotions as well?
Variety. Everywhere you bring in variety with mindfulness and self-reflection you will earn yourself more health and vitality. Your healthiest friends have given up living on auto-pilot.
They’re seeing out a vast array of plant-based foods to nourish themselves with each week- even up to 30 different kinds of nuts, seeds, legumes, beans, grains, fruits, and vegetables. New meals, with all of the nourishing different kinds of plant-based foods, encourage them to discover what gives them the best energy and well-being.
They’re seeking out new ways to exercise their bodies, stimulate their brain with new knowledge, skills, or capabilities, or they’re finding new adventures, people to meet, or experiences to savor.
Your Healthiest Friends Have Given Up: Too much time indoors
Did you see that one coming? Your healthiest friends are spending more time outdoors. Whether they are hiking up a mountain, swimming in a lake, wandering through a park, or just sitting in the woods at the base of a tree, your healthiest friends get outside often and for hours.
Yes, they get outside in every kind of weather, rain or shine, snow or summer. We weren’t made to spend so much time indoors and it is weakening our vascular fitness. When we are stressed by the elements outdoors- when we get cold or too hot, it forces our body to regulate to the normal range around 98.6°F (37°C); this boosts the immune system and vitality of the body.
Adequate intake of oxygen into the lungs is critical to health and feeling vibrant and well. Outside we tend to breathe deeper and the air, particularly in forests and near trees, is richer in oxygen. The chemicals given off in the forest have also been proven to reduce our blood pressure and stress levels just by sitting there and breathing deeply for a few hours.
Getting enough sunlight on your face during the day not only boosts your mood but increases your likelihood of getting adequate levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is critical not only for immune system strength but getting too little Vitamin D is associated with not only depression but cancers as well.
Last of all, spending time outdoors increases a sense of connection and meaning, whether you are outside alone communing with nature, or socializing with others.
Your Healthiest Friends Have Given Up: Things they hate to do
Yes, you read that right. Your healthiest friends have given up doing things they hate and are enjoying better health as a result. Forcing ourselves to do things we hate uses up willpower that we need to excite ourselves into undertaking healthy activities, such as mastering a new skill, going to that yoga class, cooking a homemade meal, or reading a book instead of watching mindless television.
So protect your willpower and energy by taking a lesson from your friends. Pay, trade, barter, or exchange with other people to do the things you hate.
Your Healthiest Friends Have Given Up: Spending time with people that…..
Your healthiest friends have given up spending time with people who pull them down.
Yes, this topic may be touchy for a lot of people. Notice that I didn’t say your healthiest friends have given up spending time with people they don’t like. There is a natural tendency in most people to gravitate and like people who are like us, like what we like, or share our viewpoints. However, spending time with people we don’t like can open us up to new perspectives, ideas, and untapped parts of ourselves.
No, I’m not talking about spending less time with people we don’t like, but with people who pull us down. What is the difference? If you walk away with new ideas, and insights, and are challenged to think in new ways, then that is completely different than walking away from someone feeling bad about yourself, less motivated, or deflated.
Some people can be quite clever and insidious in causing you to feel less than, incapable, and perhaps like your goals and dreams can’t come true or are impossible.
Your healthiest friends understand how important it is to stay motivated in continuing forward toward living their best life, and they’ve said goodbye to people who act like weights to their vitality, motivation, and confidence.