A friend told me how she ‘meditated her head off’ to get better from a cold. Well what made me healthy again was a straight physiological fix: I slept for 16 hours straight, and then felt fantastic.
It made me appreciate that even the most mentally robust of us get hit for six on occasion and optimistic and positive as I had been leading up to my illness, I’d allowed myself to become physically run down.
I’d underestimated the part a healthy body plays in my overall wellbeing. And I bet I’m not the only one.
So to keep the old bag of bones fit and well this summer, here’s what I’m going to do.
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Get more exercise and eat more pulses and greens. Currently, I’m with the majority and ‘could do better’ on this front.
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Continue to improve ergonomics. I’ve got The Fear on this after Heather Smith told me “My friend is out of pocket $12,000 and three operations on her neck because of not using her laptop ergonomically.” No more laptops on beanbags for me, then.
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Give up assisting work days with “caffeine on take off, alcohol on landing” as Alain de Botton (who I have a crush on) so wonderfully described it. I doubt I’ll get further than half way.
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Take preventative steps in the form of a daily cup of tea with my feet up. Provided this doesn’t compromise point 2.
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Give in with grace. If, after all this, my body lets me down I’ll take to my bed.
Might you join me in one or more of the above ways of keeping healthy? Make the commitment below.
Also, do you agree that a positive attitude is only part of the picture? Or perhaps you have, in fact, successfully overcome a treacherous body with the power of the mind?
I’m going to start my health kick right now by walking to the shops to buy some lentils. And definitely not a flat white.
Sam Leader is a director of Flying Solo and the co-author of Flying Solo - How to go it alone in business.
