Another weekend went by way too quickly, full of things. Almost forgot to look what this week's challenge is. Only one caught my attention this time.
If you had to give three physical health tips, and three behavioral tips, for a better life what would they be and why?
Physical Health
Sleep
Not a surprise. But sometimes it's hard to fall asleep. I noticed a few patterns with myself that corrupted my sleep. Besides the regular ones (no caffeine 5h before sleep, no alcohol 4h before sleep, no eating 3h before sleep, no screens 2h before sleep, no exercise 1h before sleep), I noticed that thinking helped me to fall asleep. Picking a topic, and let my mind beat it up from all possible directions. For one, it leads to great ideas and resolutions, but for two, the memory of those ideas fade away and are gone the next morning. Gotta wait until my subconscious lets them out again.
Regular eating
I was never one for that. Coffee in the morning, bare bread around 11, lunch/dinner (huge amounts) sometime before bed. Luckily, that's just not how it goes with a child. Gotta be watcha preach, so in order to raise her healthy, I have to be healthy. And surprise, it works. My energy is a lot better by giving into what mainstream science has been repeating for years. Shocker, I know. Recommended!
Think 4 steps ahead
As a health tip? Actually, yes. In a society with deteriorating values, as it is the case in most countries these days, erratic behavior free of consideration becomes the norm. Thinking 4 steps ahead means to recognize patterns in traffic, behavior, handling machines and whatever, and foresee possible outcomes and with that possible danger to one's integrity. Seeing the speeding car 1 mile away and passively evading it. Recognizing the tenseness of the angry guy at the bar who's just looking for an excuse to beat someone up. The stoned dude leaving an open glass of 80% alcohol in the fridge. Stuff like that.
BeeHiveior
haha. ugh.
Listen
The most underrated form of communication. And the more powerful one. Knowing how to listen and being able to connect the words under consideration of the speakers situation has become way too rare. But not as rare as...
Take your time
... not spitting out an uninformed opinion right at the moment you see something that creates an emotion. Emotions are not facts. They're easily manipulated and if you feel the urge to say something right away, that's usually what's happening. Take a step back, analyze, see if you can actually contribute something constructive. And yes, saying "Well done!" if something is well done counts as constructive. You don't have to hold a speech or write an essay.
Question your coherence
That one is a btch. We all have values. And some people actually try to live up to them. Adding the sphere of "am I coherent with my values?" to your decision-making will add a whole other level to those decisions, and to your state of mind - and happiness. Being coherent with your values will take that annoying voice from your subconsciousness out of the picture, nagging you everyday for not being what you consider "good". Oh, don't forget to question your values, too. You might be wrong about them. I was. Many times. Still might be.
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