Keeping It Together In Troubled Times

If you pay close attention to the news, print media or simply chat to people out there on the streets, you will hear a general negative vibe out there.  You hear words like economic crisis, recession, unemployment to rise and general problems to name a few.

If you read and listen enough, you too will feel an overwhelming sense of concern, as it’s hard not be affected on a sub-conscious level from what we read, hear and discuss.  This could lead to you not feeling and performing at your best.

Now, I am not denying that there is financial trouble on a global scale – evident by the fantastic purchasing opportunities of great companies that are undervalued!  However, for the regular punter (that’s us) we can either choose to embrace the negativity, which is fuelled by things that are simply out of our control, alternatively you can choose to think differently.
You might agree that much of the current world financial crisis is out of your control, however we buy-in to the problems and they can start to have an impact on you.  So what’s the solution?  You need to focus on things that you can control.

Can you shift your mind from a sad thought to a happy thought?  My word you can!
Can you shift your mind-set from absorbing events that are out of your control (eg; world financial crisis) to things that you can control (eg: your health and wellbeing )?  You better believe it, because you can!

Here are a couple of examples recently that points out there are things that you can have control over.  When you make some minor adjustments, you can certainly gain ownership of the things that you can control;

1)    I have a client who was feeling the pressure of the current market, he started skipping his regular workout as he was finding it harder to sleep, thinking about business and personal change.  His weight was shifting up alongside this, and was making him feel worse!  We found that simply altering the intensity of the training (making it a bit easier) was much better than missing all together, as he felt great (by actually doing something – as opposed to nothing), and those few kg’s started to shift.

2)    A Corporate Client recently resorted to sleeping tablets as a last-ditch effort to fall asleep when he wanted.  Problem is that this is not a long term solution, sleeping tabs are highly addictive.  We trialled swapping the sleeping tablets with a 20 min guided meditation CD.  The first few nights he struggled, however to his credit, he persevered.  After a week, his mental state was far more relaxed and he was sleeping much better.

3)    Another client has found her ideal week involves 3 AFD (Alcohol Free Days), therefore 4 days available to drink.  She found that she slipped back into an old pattern of drinking daily.  Not much, just a few wines.  Consequently, she noticed her clothes started to get a bit tighter, and measurements indicated that he had increased in size.  Simply re-setting the goals and sticking to the plan was enough to get her back where she wanted in a few weeks!

You task is to make a list of some of the negative messages that are currently influencing you, then see if they are out of your control.

Secondly, make a list of the things that are in your control (exercise, nutrition, quality sleep) and make an action plan of just 3 things that you will implement over the next week.
Example;

1)    Exercise 5 days next week for at least 20 mins each session.
2)    Have 4 AFD’s next week, and make sure I have a nutritious morning tea (the most skipped meal!)
3)    Spend the last 30mins before bed with no TV, dimmed lights and a relaxed atmosphere

Breakthrough?

I would love to hear of any personal breakthrough’s in this area, so please email me This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any feedback or stories!