Tag Archives: Health

On never being 37

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This is a bit of a personal post, so if that’s not your thing, then feel free to head back off to somewhere else. Of course, it’s actually a post about avoidance and how the big events of our lives sometimes impact us in strange ways unless we realise it.

I am actually 37. Despite the title of the post, I didn’t get to skip the year. Aliens did not kidnap me nor did I get frozen in time. I have been 37 for many months, but from the day I turned 37, I started saying I was nearly 38. Not nearly 40, or some other universal milestone event. 38.

Why?

When I realised I’ve been doing it, it was immediately obvious. My mother was 38 when my dad died. His death was, hands down, the most monumental and life-altering moment of my existence. The effects of it have reverberated across my family and through the years. At the heart of it, I couldn’t imagine being so young and losing the love of your life. Losing, in the process, your own, in a very real way.

Being 38 has become symbolic to me of something deeper. Something terrifying. Something I am drawn towards and yet don’t really want to arrive. Something that is now, after months of saying that I’m nearly at it, I actually am beginning to approach.

We inherit the things that go before us, whether we want them or not. We can let them define us, or we can acknowledge them and accept them, before walking our own path. I am trying to cling tight to the idea of the latter, even as the clock ticks down towards a time that has become something of a monster in the back of my mind.

My Top 5 Podcasts of 2014

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They say you become an approximation of the five people you hang out with most. Given that I’m a writer who works from home three days a week, that would be two actual other people, followed by me, myself and I. Luckily, I listen to a lot of podcasts. Yet I know a lot of people don’t, so here’s a few reasons why you should.

Firstly, there is a whole heap of them out there, so you’ll be able to find something to suit your mood. Secondly, because there are so many, if you have a niche interest, with a bit of hunting around, you will find one about your odd subject of choice. If you don’t, you can always start one yourself. There’s even podcasts on how to make podcasts. See what I mean? Plethora of information. Finally, in order to get you to listen, people essentially give away a condensed version of their content for free. This is a great way to try before you buy, especially in the world of business, where conferences and books can cost a fortune. Go on. Give it a try.

So, without further ado, here they are (with twitter links to their creators/presenters):

Top podcast of 2014

The Pen Addict with Myke Hurley & Brad Dowdy

See what I mean about a niche interest? My long-held secret crush for pens and notebooks finally blossomed into true love due to these men. Which sounds much nicer than calling them the pen-pushing enablers they really are. The shows are always fun and informative, and for anyone who does a lot of longhand writing (or drawing), just knowing some of the best pens out there can make your life so much easier. They do the hard work so you don’t have to. Plus, they are a super nice pair of guys following their dreams, which I always admire (you can check out Brad’s Nock Co pen cases here. They are awesome – my Hightower goes everywhere with me).

Top Businesses Podcast

This is Your Life by Michael Hyatt

I’ve put this under business, but it is so much more than that. Michael’s tagline is that it is a podcast about intentional leadership, but I think it goes much deeper. It certainly deals with brand and platform, alongside how to be a better leader, but it is not actually all career specific. A lot of what Michael focuses on is the principles and ethics which lie beneath these decisions, and in a cut-throat world where a lot of people will do anything to get one foot further up the ladder, it is a refreshing reminder that honesty and integrity on the things that really matter. It is about achieving your goals and ambitions in the right way, not ‘at any cost’.

Top Writing Podcast

Writing Excuses with Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, Howard Taylor and Mary Robinette Kowal

In my humble opinion, anyone who is – or wants to be – a writer should be listening to this podcast. I’ve actually been listening to it for years, but during my little writing sabbatical at the beginning of the year I was able to go back and re-listen to many of them to get the really good stuff out. For a podcast which is only 15 minutes long, it is amazing that they manage to get so much useful information into an episode with four people talking. Each of them brings a different perspective to the topic, meaning that even if one person’s tips and tricks don’t work for you, there is a good chance that someone else’s will. Also great if you like reading in general, comics and occasional buffoonery.

Top Getting Up Podcast

5AM Miracle with Jeff Sanders

Now, you might not think that ‘Getting Up’ is a category, but let me assure you it is. It might never have been called that before, but early rising has been a hot topic in 2014. I’ve been getting up at 6am to write for years now. I’ve not made it to 5am yet, but I think 6 is a pretty reasonable compromise. It’s not easy, even when you’re getting up to do something you love. Jeff’s podcast is a good way of not only finding that motivation, but also tips and tricks to make it easier once you’ve dragged your sorry backside from under the duvet on a cold, dark Monday morning. Covering productivity and healthier living, this podcast has matured greatly over the past twelve months and it has been great to follow Jeff’s journey through this.

Best Health & Wellness Podcast

Jillian Michaels with Jillian Michaels and Janice Ungaro

Another misleading header, as although this podcast started out as health and fitness, it has now grown into having a nice catchup with friends talking about whatever the topic of the day is. And that is just fine with me. Janice gets a mention here because although she’s technically the producer, she has become the other half of this comedy act. The thing that I love the most about this is that Jillian talks with complete honesty – there is no hiding behind the PR company here. It’s like sitting round in a coffee shop with a bunch of friends that you know are slightly crazy but you love them anyway. The serious stuff gets slipped in there somewhere along the way without ever sounding too preachy.

So that’s my roundup. It’s been a good year for consuming audio material and seriously, if you haven’t tried podcasts before, then go find one. Free and easy, just like libraries. What do you have to lose?

Book Review: How To Be Happier by Paul Jenner

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Another great library find, How To Be Happier by Paul Jenner was one of those rare self-help books that made me laugh out loud.

Disclaimer: I am not currently suffering from depression. I am not ungrateful for my lot in life. I have many things that so many other people do not. Nevertheless, I think there is a pervading sense of dissatisfaction that is sweeping its way through our culture.

It is strange, in the Western world where we have ridiculously large amounts of everything, that people seem consistently less happy. I listen to a podcast call The Productivity Book Group (you should check it out if you’re into that kind of thing) which introduced me to Shawn Acher’s amazing TED talk on happiness. So my mind got to thinking and this was the book it found.

How To Be Happier

It could, in theory have a subtitle in keeping with the current trend, of get naked more often and touch each other. The author is keen to stress that this is probably best done with a consenting partner, but that is the one thing I seem to remember most about it.

On a serious note, this book was useful whilst being lighthearted, informative without being preachy. Each chapter had practical sections and exercises to implement and review. I naturally lean towards cynical and pessimistic, so for me it was a pleasant surprise to at least come out in the middle. Normally, whenever there is a personality-based multiple choice quiz, I come out looking like a sociopath or suicidal. Moderately happy was therefore something of an academic success, and shows how far I’ve come in the past few years.

The hardest part of the book is the bit that always sounds the most simple. In order to be happy, we must, at some level, choose to be happy. For anyone familiar with Tony Robbins and NLP, this will ring a bell. Of course, when you are chronically depressed or very, very unhappy, the concept of choosing to be happy doesn’t seem like one you can necessarily bring yourself to do. How To Be Happier gives you some small baby steps to work through to help you build up to the choice. This is something I have seen reflected countless times in my friends and family (and myself). The logic of knowing what to do is nothing like the ability to actually do it.

The book works through other key topics, such as the impact of food and exercise on our mental state (without any extreme diets or workout routines being forced on the reader), meditation and mindfulness. There was also a chapter which seemed fairly innocuous but I suspect is actually a key foundation: be yourself and learn to accept this. Today’s world, with blogs and twitter and the book of face, seems to funnel us into only showing the best of ourselves. The parts we think other people will want, or envy. In the worst case scenario, when we don’t feel we have these things, we over-embellish or outright make them up. We post pictures of ourselves from angles that make us look good but our best friends wouldn’t recognise. We talk about amazing nights out when really we’ve been sitting in front of the TV chomping through a family size bag of M&M’s to make ourselves feel better, washing it down with a bottle of wine. No wonder being ourselves is becoming harder and harder. And with that disconnect comes continued unhappiness.

So, eat well, exercise, think positive thoughts and learn to accept yourself for the unique individual you are, so-called flaws and all.

Then get naked and touch someone some more…

Tracking Goals: Going Analogue

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Along with Lift (edit: now coach.me), I’ve also found something analogue to help with my habit formation and personal development. This is the cool Goals Journal from kikki K.

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It takes some time to set up, but the process of doing so is really worthwhile. Instead of just coming up with random goals, it starts with the premise of trying to define your dream life. There are several helpful examples that talk you through the process, for example, stating your core values:

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The dream life itself has a few key factors, one of which is explicitly stating when you want to be living this. That took me a bit of thought. I obviously wanted to pretend I could get my dream life as soon as possible. Next week! But reality kicks in. So setting the balance between plausibility and so far in the future you’re not actually motivated to start straight away is a thought-provoking act in itself.

 

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Once you’ve worked out where you’re going to be, there is a section for each month where you define 4 goals. Only four for the month, so as long as you do it sensibly, it always feels achievable. The key part here is stating why you want to do this – how does it propel you further towards your vision?

 

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Of course, we all know that setting out goals is not enough. If only it were. But no, you actually have to take action to achieve them. To combat some of the most common excuses (I don’t have time etc etc), for each month there is a timetable. This urges you to set time aside for your goal work in the same way you would schedule an appointment for all the other areas of your life. This highlights how much time you really do have in your life if you want it badly enough.

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So, tomorrow being the 1st of March, I have completed everything and now it is all set up. At the end of the month, it’ll be interesting to see the progress I’ve made on my four defined goals (and if I gave myself the reward regardless…).

Lift App: Building Habits For Success (Review)

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So, I have started using the Lift app to try to get into the habit of doing the little things that count.

Research has shown that having small goals, such as to drink more water daily, can have a big impact on your overall success. The thinking is that by making small changes and succeeding, you gain a sense of momentum that spreads to other areas of your life. Plus drinking more water is really good for you.

I know from personal experience that having a routine and using habit to achieve a goal can work. So, from a personal development perspective, I like the idea of having a tool that reminds me and rewards me when it comes to habits.

The ’21 days’ thing has been pretty much debunked as a myth, so there is no definite habit formation period that is universal to human experience. With my morning writing, it started to move from pain to pleasure after about two weeks, but I had a strong emotional attachment to the goal to start with. Other things, like going to the gym, I’m going to do because I know the benefits, but there is still an underlying sense of doing because I have to, not because I want to. Logic tells me that this habit will take way longer to cross over from the pain threshold.

The rewards feature (don’t break the streak! High Five!) are nice little touches to keep you engaged. Many of the preset goals have plans attached to them, so you don’t even have to figure out what you need to do from the get-go. This gives you a nice motivational sense of support that you can do the first few steps.

I’ve been using it for around two weeks so far and like the results. I have been to the gym more, read more and have done things to take myself out of my comfort zone. So, even if I haven’t achieved daily perfection I have still made progress, and that is what this kind of thing is really about.

You can read more on the blog here, or follow the guys on twitter.

Gorgeous Daily Planner

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Despite the fact I’m currently on a writing sabbatical, I still have a lot to do each day. Get up. Get dressed. Drink Coffee, that kind of thing.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t treat myself to a little reward every now and again. Whilst out and about, I stumbled upon kikki.K – an amazing stationery store (international shipping appears to be available).  So, in a true effort to combine creativity and productivity, I bought myself this notepad:

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There are just enough fun elements in there to keep it interesting and reduce the friction of looking at a boring old ‘To Do’ list. I like the idea of tracking water intake as a default, as this is a habit I try to keep up with – a handy little reminder is always good.

It’s impossible to deny that this is aimed at a female market, but as I’m a woman I don’t massively care. There were no real male equivalents though, even though the concepts on there are just as applicable. I know many men who are trying to drink enough water, narrow down their top three priorities and manage an ever-growing task list. I am not sure they are so intentional about rewards, but then maybe I’m the one perpetuating gender stereotypes here too?

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Anyway, after all the hard work of writing this post, it’s apparently time to reward myself with a glass of wine…

New Zealand Healthcare

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In an attempt to keep things interesting and give me a broader perspective of life here in New Zealand, my body decided to give itself a bacterial infection. In my foot. No idea how, but within a few hours it looked like a red and angry balloon.

Cue my attempt to access New Zealand healthcare having done absolutely no research into this (given my rapid departure over here). I have to say, luckily for me and my foot, the whole process has been remarkably simple. Not to mention cost effective.

First stop: Pharmacy. Amazing (my sister is a pharmacist so I already knew how great they were, but nice to see that it is universal). She gave me a free antihistamine to prevent me from cutting my own foot off to stop the burning, confirmed it definitely needed medical attention and gave me directions to the walk in centre where I would get it seen the quickest.

Second Stop: Medical Centre. Again, excellent service. Put me on IV antibiotics straight away and then arranged a follow up for the next day. All for the sum of NZ$77 (around £40, or US$65).

Third Stop: back to the pharmacy again to fill my prescription for a week of oral antibiotics. Prescriptions here seem a bit more expensive than back home, at around NZ$23. But if it stops my foot falling off, then great.

So, overall, the entire cost of getting my infection under control came to NZ$100. If I have any US followers, I would imagine they simply can’t get their heads around being able to rock up unregistered and get that level of treatment (not using any insurance cover here either) for that price. All done with amazingly friendliness and grace too, which is always priceless.

A giant thumbs up then to the New Zealand Health Service (but thumbs down to its native bacteria which tried to kill me).