It’s the Small Steps

As reports from all over the globe continue to reveal the increasing health risks of the industrialized world, individuals have taken it upon themselves to get educated about how to maintain a physically and mentally healthier lifestyle on a day-to-day basis. Every new person you meet these days is guaranteed to have a tried and true tip or two about what works and what doesn’t. And with access to more information than ever before, it’s a good time to take note.

Over the past few years I’ve had the honor of being a guest in the homes of many different kinds of people all over the world. Every single one of these experiences has offered me valuable data for my unofficial research in the anthropological field of How to Live a Happy and Healthy Life. Most of the time it’s the simple things that stand out as the most revolutionary: staying for dinner somewhere and discovering that avocado oil is a delicious and nutritious high-heat cooking alternative to olive oil, or visiting somewhere with nearby jogging trails and realizing that a good pair of running shoes is an essential traveling companion for exercising and exploring at the same time, or even seeing an impressive To-Do list posted on someone’s fridge and being inspired to get organized.

In the end it all comes down to paying just a bit more attention to the small things, to observing your most basic needs and learning different and creative ways to fulfill them from those around you. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

● First things first: Take control of your life and start prioritizing your health. As a friend of mine likes to remind herself, “This ain’t no dress rehearsal.”

● Organize your time and set goals. Make lists for anything from errands that need to be done before the end of the week to the things that you dream of doing before your next birthday. Motivate yourself to check these off by sharing them with friends or colleagues and celebrating when you do.

● Team up. Enforce some health-conscious rules with your family or housemates and support each other.

● Make your social life healthier. Waking up with a pounding headache and a hacking cough will be even less manageable when you have plans to spend that day going for a run with a friend.

● Quit smoking, for goodness’ sake. Physical exercise will make smoking’s detrimental effects on your body even more apparent. If you’re trying to help someone else quit, be willing to do whatever it takes. A friend of mine intervened with her husband’s habit by pulling out a box of string beans in public every time he pulled out a box of cigarettes, pretending to smoke them until she embarrassed him enough to stop altogether.

● Try new things. Find out what people around you are doing and sign up for classes in anything from samba to aikido, pilates to capoeira.

● If getting into sports or a full-on workout is too much for you, at least get your heart pumping with cardiovascular exercises like jumping rope or climbing stairs at home or at a local stadium.

● The same goes for breathing exercises. Fight stress and anxiety with some controlled breathing exercises or, better yet, a morning dose of yoga.

● Tackle aches and pains one at a time and you’ll find that one thing leads to another. Your posture is a good place to start, especially if you spend a lot of time at a computer. Incorporate small exercises and stretches into your daily routine.

● Get yourself a reusable water bottle – stainless steel is best, not all plastics are made for long-term use – and make it part of your daily routine to drink and refill it as much as possible. If you’re just one of those people that doesn’t like the taste of plain water, supplement it with anything from a bit of fresh lemon or ginger.

● Take an interest in what you are eating. Get a copy of Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions and get back to the basics of nutritional needs.

● “Healthify” indulgent foods. For example, make whole wheat waffles for breakfast and eat with fresh fruit and yogurt. Conversely, “Glamorize” healthy foods. Steamed vegetables with tahini and lemon juice makes for a delicious gourmet breakfast.

● Try your hand at gardening. It’s therapeutic, good exercise, gets you outside and is even better if you can grow things you can eat, even if it’s only a few herbs in a planter. Chances are you’ll never go back to buying the wilted supermarket variety.

● Get a juicer and get experimental to fulfill that 5-a-day quota of fruits and vegetables.

● Consider excluding sugar from your kitchen. There is the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar in a can of Coca Cola. Do you really need to add 2 teaspoons to your cup of coffee?

● Make a point of getting out of the hustle and bustle of the city on a regular basis for a “reality check.”

● Get rid of your TV or at least only allow yourself to watch a certain amount of it. Start by moving it to a less central position in your house. That thing is making you paranoid, dumbing your senses and wasting your precious time. Keep in touch with the world by listening to radio Podcasts on the web. That way you can choose what you want to listen to, and multitask while listening.

● Keep your brain active. Even if it means doing a little sudoku, crossword puzzles or online chess.

● Designate some quiet “Me Time” for yourself every day whether for stretching or reading.  

● Exercise your creativity. This doesn’t mean you have to sit in front of a canvas and trying your hand at painting. You could redecorate your home, learn to play an instrument, experiment with your digicam. According to Kafka, this is the secret to staying young: “Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”

● Get back in touch with your sense of adventure. Plan to do more on your vacations than lounging by the pool at a resort.

● Explore! Be sure to remind yourself of what an amazing world you live in and maybe it will inspire you to start feeling more alive.

+ Hana Miller

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