With regards to our health and wellbeing, there’s a shift that’s emerging in modern society, not just in the industry itself but in the general collective consciousness…
… And it’s a move from surviving to thriving.
You see it wasn’t very long ago that people were mostly focused on surviving.
Things have changed dramatically in the last 100 years, and when you think about it, that’s only 2-3 generations ago!
It was pretty common in the early part of the 1900s for people to have many children, and one of the reasons wasn’t just because of lack of contraception but it was also for families to hedge their bets because it was very common for children to not survive due to illnesses or birthing complications.
It wasn’t until the mid 1940s that antibiotics became widely available to the general public!
Unless you were wealthy, people survived on very little money without any of the luxuries that we have these days such as indoor heating (other than real fires), a decent fridge/freezer, washing machines etc.
I remember my Grandma telling me how she used to scrub my Grandpa’s work shirts on the rack with soap and water, before they had a washing machine!
I have a friend in his late 50s who grew up in Queenstown, NZ and he remembers how they didn’t have a fridge when he was young!
You could actually argue that people were healthier in many ways – they ate far less sugar or food in general and they were far more active.
In fact, I remember my Grandma also telling me how when she was little, the only place you could get chocolate was at the train station where there was a small coin machine and you got a really small bar of chocolate that was very expensive for what it was, so her Father used to treat her to this once a month!
Yes, that’s right, a small bar of chocolate once a month!! Comparing that to the children of today and it’s mind-boggling when you think about how much more sugar they are consuming. Plus we’re not even factoring in all the modern day sugar laden cereals, sodas, and even savory foods liked baked beans!
Back in the days they also used to home cook all of their meals, there was no other option (again unless you were wealthy and had staff cooking for you). It would be mostly be broth, soups and stews with bread or meat and veg, which I always find ironic with the current craze for bone broth being sold in fancy cafes for £6 a mug meanwhile asking for the bones from the butcher all those years ago was what you did when you were desperate and trying to pull some semblance of a nutritious meal together!
Obviously, the type of food I’m describing above also depends on which part of the world we’re talking about but regardless, food was fresh and without additives or preservatives because that’s all that was available other than smoked, cured or fermented foods.
So, although we might say in some respects people were ‘healthier’ because they probably ate better (as long as they had enough food) and were more physically active, they were also most likely working very hard to make ends meet and focusing on surviving in every way.
Then look at the last 60-70 years and we can see how society became more and more focused on convenience and ease…
The basics of food and shelter were standard yet for many people, their mindset was still based on surviving – of feeling safe and secure – i.e. buying a house, getting a decent job you’ll stay in for years with a good pension, getting children in to a decent school and seeing them off into the world on a good footing.
Many still look at the world in this way, and if you’re one of those people, that’s absolutely fine and there’s no judgement here at all.
But for some there’s a next level of awareness opening up and this is all about ‘thriving’ – particularly in relation to your health.
You could say surviving is about feeling okay – that everything is in place and you have no major illnesses or aches and pains, maybe you get the odd cold from time to time, or perhaps you expect a sore throat or bout of the flu once a year on average, perhaps you also have a minor ailment like a skin issue or mild gut issues, maybe you get migraines or perhaps your eye-sight is waning…
But you take it as part and parcel of life because when you think about it, compared to some other unfortunate people you know, you’re doing pretty well. These issues are tolerable, and perhaps you even accept them as something you ‘just have’.
Yet, would you say this is you ‘thriving’?
It’s not really is it…
So, what does thriving mean to you?
Maybe take a moment to think about that. If your health and body was thriving what would that look like for you, how would you feel, and what might be possible if you were thriving?
For me, it means: I feel great, I look great, I smell good, my skin is clear, I’m standing tall, I’m a healthy weight, my digestion is good, I’m comfortable in my body, no longstanding aches or pains, my nails and hair are healthy, my eye-sight & hearing is good, I’m sleeping well, I am not taking any medications, I’m active and I feel limber, agile and healthy.
Yet we can actually take this a step further again now with modern science…
For example, I’m going to be able to run DNA tests soon for my private clients that will tell me whether or not they can tolerate caffeine, whether or not their body responds better to endurance or more high intensity exercise, whether or not their body can handle dairy, whether or not the body prefers carbs or fat for fuel and there is even a gene that shows how a person handles stress.
With these results imagine how a person could enhance their wellbeing based on their genes!
There are also ways to ‘biohack’ your body.
Biohacking is somewhat of a buzzword in the health and wellbeing world right now, it essentially means that you can enhance (or hack) your health, your overall wellbeing and your mind health to a greater level through certain practices or supplementations.
Much of what I do with clients is actually teaching them how to biohack their health.
I don’t call it biohacking though, from my perspective, we’re creating new healthy ways of being …
For example, meditation is not necessary for us to survive (although I’m sure some fans of meditation would say it changed their lives) but what I mean is, you won’t die if you don’t meditate. Yet, in its most simplistic sense, mediation boosts your mood and lowers stress in a profound way when done well.
I won’t go into the science behind what meditation is capable of but in brief you can reach certain brain wave states that having amazing benefits for your brain health and overall health.
Breathing techniques are also very good for you on a number of levels because the majority of people aren’t breathing properly, which does have negative consequences. So, practicing breathwork is a biohack.
Eating certain types of the right foods in the right way is biohacking – if you choose organic meat and veg you’re getting more of the right nutrients and less chemicals.
There are also certain ways of eating and exercising and living life that help us de-age on a cellular level and then of course the opposite is also true – there are certain foods, habits, exercise methods that age us on a cellular level.
It is possible now to go one step further again by having tests done to determine your current state of health and then we know exactly how to supplement our bodies and what to work on, the most sophisticated version of this would involve treatments with stem cells and highly individualized supplementation.
This is ultimately, as I believe it, the way health care is going. And I have no doubt that the very, very wealthy are already having these kind of personalized in-depth treatments.
… But what I want you to know is that you don’t have to be super wealthy and look into your health in such a complex way to thrive.
Ultimately, it all starts with your frame of reference … Do you want to feel better, are you happy with feeling okay – or do you want to feel great?
Would you like to make your health and wellbeing such a priority that it not only improves your quality of life, but also extends your life expectancy?
If you do, my first piece of advice would be to plan your life with your wellbeing in mind. So, you want to be proactively building wellness ‘biohacks’ or ways of being in and around your life.
Secondly, if you need support, go and get it! …With the above in mind there’s no question it’s not a worthwhile investment … (and lastly, you know where to find me if you do)!
Love,
Kate x
