It almost sounds like an obvious phrase to say you want to live well. I think people say it all the time, with the best of intentions. I mean, everyone wants to live well, right?
Perhaps.
And yet not everyone has a clear understanding of what “well” is, or how to really achieve it. But I would guess that many people want to be able to say they feel well, and that they love their life.
I’m just not sure how many really can or do say that.
Feeling well, living a life you love, is conscious act. To live well and love your life it requires you to live, think, “do” in a way that brings a feeling of fulfillment, health and happiness to your everyday, even in the face of setbacks and the imperfections of life.
And you do so deliberately.
Living this way happens because of a combination of things. It is never one thing that we did or ate that is the sole cause of our feelings of unwell. And there is never just one answer to solve or untangle the mess.
How we heal in order to feel well is first about believing that living well – whatever “well” is to you – is actually possible. And I am not just talking about positive lip service we give to that goal. I am talking about a true understanding about and belief in what the body can and can’t do.
The body is a machine.
A really smart, intuitive, all-knowing machine. It was designed in a way to be able to process certain things and protect accordingly by sending out certain messages.
Our job is to pay attention to the signals being sent out, be grateful for them actually, and listen up. We get signals all the time that something we are doing, eating, saying, and thinking just isn’t quite jiving with what our body, mind and soul can deal with and need in order to live well.
Our body tells us when it can’t thrive.
And that inability to not thrive is not a death sentence. It is merely a message sent to us, letting us know that something must change. Something must be added in, or taken out, in order to get us on the track towards living and feeling well.
And then it is about consciously doing what needs to be done.
It can be a hard concept for some to believe that you alone have the power to determine what your body needs and the ability to then make changes to heal it.
We don’t give our awesome machine enough credit. Instead, we tend to ignore the signals and chalk it up to age or just how life is supposed to go.
If people really did start to believe that with the right tools – like healthy food and lifestyle practices – the body can do wonders to heal and to thrive, it would make us a much stronger population as a whole.
Certainly a much healthier one.
When I work with people who want to make a change so they can create a life they love, we start by un-peeling the cluttered layers of their health and determine what common denominators can be avoided or worked on, and what can be added in or taken out, so the messages sent from the body can be read more clearly.
To help you live well, you must avoid these three things:
1. Negativity
This is not to say you can’t have a bad day or that everything has to be positive all the time. On the contrary, it is not that negativity happens, rather whether we let it stay in our thoughts. Avoiding negativity means being aware of where it lurks, with whom it lurks, and when it happens. Being aware of how our energy gets sucked away is a first step in stopping it.
How can you do it?
Step away from social media for a day, and carve out specific, short amounts of time when you will check in on it. It will help you limit ineffective comparison with others (which leads us down an unhealthy road). And it will definitely give you more time do any number of other things to aid in your health. Add in something positive by reading something uplifting or funny. Laughter is a good antidote to negativity.
2. Processed food
The saying, “if your food contains ingredients your grandmother wouldn’t eat, leave it on the shelf” applies here. In fact, it, along with Michael Pollan’s rule “eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables”, really gives you the basic rules by which to determine what you should eat. There is something very simple about eating well and we complicate it. Processed foods contain chemicals and preservatives that add layers of unhealthiness; our body can not process them. If our body can’t process them, we don’t get the nutrients we need to live and feel our best and therefore be our best.
How can you do it?
Pass on the packages. Make a meal plan and shop for those foods. Then cook! Cook healthy, nutrient dense, real food meals that your body will devour. My advice is to start small, perhaps with breakfast, by taking out packaged, quick eats and adding in eggs, a side of greens and fresh berries. That kind of meal will help you start your day off on the right foot.
3. Stress
Eating well and exercising consistently are only part of the equation to live well – and to live a life you can really say you love. Keeping stress at bay is really the rest of it. And when I say keep it at bay I don’t mean to shove it down and ignore it or pretend that all is good if it is not. I mean to deal with it, see what causes stress, and do the work necessary so you are able to look at your life through a more beneficial lens.
How can you do it?
Meditate by sitting quietly for 2 minutes while focusing on your breath. Or go for a long walk and focus on deep breathing and the wonder of nature around you. Give your brain the chance to chill and slow down. Adding in more calm allows you to re-frame the stress and change your vibration to a more positive one.
Living well is something we all deserve. And we can all attain.
Getting there takes time. It takes patience.
But most of all it takes willingness. A willingness to strive for wellness and to listen to what your body is telling you.
With that, there is almost no limit to the wellness you can achieve.
