You may not stop to think about this everyday. Our lives are so full. We're busy and sometimes we tend to get overwhelmed with our work, our relationships, our commitments, and just life in general. There are never enough hours in the day, right? Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months. You turn around one day and you come to the realization that you just may have not been giving enough time for yourself. You haven't been doing the work that makes you.....the best that you can be and at the top of your game. Being at optimum levels requires daily effort that must come directly from you.
So let's talk about the Big Four. It's these four aspects of life that can determine a great deal; our entire perspectives and the eyes that we look from daily. How we look at, prioritize and deal with these four aspects largely determines who we are. The Big Four creates on a daily basis who our friends, our co-workers, our families/loved ones will receive on any given day. The reality is if you are at your "Personal Best" and making your best effort at the Big Four, all of these important people in your life will receive the best of you.
You may from time to time think about these aspects separately. You may address each one intermittently. And...you may think of yourself as "selfish" if you put this much attention on yourself. But here's the deal: if you make the best of the following four aspects in your life, if you maximize your efforts here, you will thrive and everyone around you will as well.
1. Smart, time efficient EXERCISE.
2. My Nutritional Life Plan. (this is not a diet!)
3. Proper Rest
4. Stress Management
Think about it. If you are "off" in any one of these areas, you're just not up to your game. You're not at your best, you're slightly off. If one of these gets too far out of sync, you'll be way off your game. Think about the days when you did not get enough sleep the night before. How is your perspective? Are you tired? How's your attitude? Are you productive? What if you miss a couple of workouts? Or better yet, those of you that don't work out regularly must make the effort so that you CAN reap the benefits. Are you stressed out? How does this affect your day? Your outlook. And finally....do you eat junk? Are you putting less than optimum fuel in your tank on a meal by meal basis? Are you skipping meals?
The answers to these questions and many more will tell the tale of your status in these areas. Do you see now how you can look at the world differently depending on how you maximize these four basic aspects of life? Here's a brief breakdown of some of the main bullets points of the Big Four:
1. Smart, time efficient exercise:
- Strength train regularly. Work all major muscle groups. Muscle dictates the rate and efficiency of your metabolism. Continue to build, develop and maintain lean muscle!
- Move your body. We have a genetic predisposition for locomotion. We are not engineered for sitting all day. Find activities that you love that you can perform on a regular basis. Sports, going to the gym, mall walking, playing with your kids.....get creative. Find ways to incorporate bursts of activity throughout your day.
2. My Nutritional Life Plan (Reminder: This is not a diet!)
- Don't go on a diet. With the 95% failure rate of diets, you're likely to become yet another statistic of the yo-yo factor. You lose the weight, then gain it back...with interest! The folks you know who control their weight for a lifetime aren't on diets. This is just the way they live and the daily standards they hold for themselves. At the end of the day, it's all about choices.
- Eat five meals per day; three major meals and two small snacks. Do not skip meals.
- Have a source of lean protein at each major meal.
- Eat unlimited quantities of non-starchy vegetables. Eat a couple of servings of fresh fruit per day.
- Get plenty of fiber in your nutritional plan...daily.
- Enjoy foods in as close to their natural state as possible. Studies show that consuming foods primarily from plant sources is a key to optimum health and longevity.
- Enjoy small quantities of "good fats." Omega 3's from salmon, tuna and halibut are fabulous. Enjoy nuts, seeds and use olive oil on your salads and to saute vegetables.
3. Get proper rest
- Enjoy 8-10 hours of restful sleep per night, every night.
- Sleep with the room fully darkened for best quality.
- Try to sleep generally around the hours of 10pm and rise at 6am. This time frame is in sync with our normal circadian rhythms.
- Incorporate naps into your day.
- Try to separate the day from your bedtime. Take 20-30 minutes prior to bedtime and participate in something that relaxes you; a book, a cup of chamomille tea or just gaze at the stars.
- Improper rest will almost always result in cravings for sweets and excess consumption of starches.
4. Stress management
- This ties in a great deal with quality and quantity of sleep. If you are not rested, your "fuse" is definitely shorter.
- Don't over-commit. Know your limits and you won't end up being in a situation where you can't deliver the goods. Challenge yourself in areas that you want to excel, but keep it real.
- Have a "glass half full" attitude towards all aspects of life. Think of your good fortune, the good life you have and the opportunities. There are folks out there who wish they had your life. A great deal of optimum stress management has to do with your "perception" of a given situation.
Yes, making the best of these four aspects WILL put you at your best. Do you see how if just one of these is "off" how you could and most likely will experience your world differently? Start now if nothing else to be conscious of the Big Four. We all have this, and we all can benefit from taking a look. And again: making the best of these will keep you at your personal best. Those around you and in your life will also receive the best of you.
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For more information on these factors and much more, check out Robert's book Make Over Your Metabolism and www.robertreames.com.
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Posted September 25, 2007 | 08:00 AM (EST)