There are many ways to live life. One approach is to stay healthy by recognising that everything is food. The experiences we encounter each day can affect our system. Bearing this in mind, I can be useful to:
Put positive things rather than
poisonous things into our system.
Looking at your own life, what are the experiences you expose yourself to each day? Who are the people you meet? Are they positive, negative or a mixture of both?
Where are the places you spend your time? Are these stimulating, sapping or a mixture of both? What is the kind of work you do? Is it satisfying, something to endure or a mixture of both?
People can also affect themselves by the attitudes and actions they take. They know what they can do to increase their chances of feeling happy or unhappy. One approach is to ask themselves the following question.
“What are the kinds of experiences – the kinds of food – that I want to put into my system? How can I take in more positive food? How can avoid or deal with the poisonous food?”
Different people will answer these questions in different ways. Much also depends on their particular situation. Bearing this in mind, let’s explore these themes.
Positive Food
What is the positive food that you put into your system? You may choose, for example, to do some of the following things.
Eat healthy food … Be with encouraging people … Listen to your favourite music … Spend time in the countryside … Surround yourself with beauty … Do stimulating work … Set aside time to reflect.
Some people proactively choose to do positive things that feed their body and soul. Some may take this approach after having a shock. One person described this in the following way.
“My Eureka moment came one morning on the Motorway. Sitting in the traffic jam listening to politicians arguing on the radio, I found myself getting more depressed.
“So I switched off the radio, put on my favourite music and let my mind wander. It didn’t shift the traffic, but something changed within me.
“Now I start the day by listening to music, rather than arguments. Instead of ‘garbage in, garbage out’, I go for ‘good things in, good things out’.”
Let’s return to your own life. What are the positive things you put into your system? If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentence.
Poisonous Food
Are there any negative things you may experience in your life or work? Do any of these have the potential to be poisonous? How may these affect your system?
Different people answer these questions in different ways. A person may find, for example, that they do some of the following things.
Listen to negative people … Feel out of control at work … Neglect their health … Work with dispiriting clients … Have back-to-back meetings during the day … Be addicted to doom scrolling and focusing on negative things in the world.
One person decided to answer this question literally. They explained this in the following way.
“For years I ate unhealthy food. My job involves long train journeys, often accompanied by bags of crisps, chocolate and fattening drinks.
“The wake-up call came from my doctor. He said that I was overweight but added the rider that he didn’t think I would do anything about it.
“Maybe that was the kick I needed. I aimed to prove him wrong and lost 8 kilos. Now I look after my diet, walk more often and feel much better within myself.”
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to describe the potentially poisonous food you may sometimes experience in your life and work.
Positive Food In The Future
There are many kinds of experiences that affect our system. These can include the attitude we have, the people we meet and the situations we encounter. The old rule applies:
“What we focus on, we become.”
If we focus on positive things – and possible solutions to challenges – we become more positive. If we focus on negative things we become more negative.
Imagine that you want to take care of your body and soul. How can you continue to do positive things – and get positive food – in the future? How can you avoid doing things that may be poisonous?
Different people take different steps when taking this approach. They may aim:
To get enough sleep … To count their blessings … To encourage their loved ones … To listen to their favourite music … To spend time walking, gardening or just pottering around.
To do work they enjoy … To play to their strengths … To do stimulating projects … To get some early wins … To encourage themselves on the journey … To achieve success.
To spend time with positive people … To focus on the fertile ground rather than the frozen ground … To avoid negative people … To try to do their best during their time on the planet.
Let’s return to your own life and work. How can you continue to get positive food – and avoid poisonous food – in the future? What may be the benefits of taking these steps – both for yourself and other people?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentence.
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