I have an issue. Well, I have many issues, but the one I’m referring to here has to do with the culture of quick-fixes. I can’t stand it. When will we ever learn that what goes away quickly comes back even faster if the proper foundation at the root of the problem is not taken care of? When will we stop sleep-walking like zombies towards miracle diets, expensive so-called life-saving supplements and masochistic exercise routines, being completely unaware of what happens to our bodies and mind from the inside? Let me put it out there, there is a way to achieve long-lasting changes to your state of health and wellness, but it requires work, commitment and methodical thinking.
Enter Macro-Wellness. A well-being philosophy with practical tools that everyone can apply to optimise their wellness state and manifest peak performance for good, day in, day out. At the heart of it lie a few simple principles centred around the science of behaviour change. They are not rocket science, most great ideas are not. They are just good advice based on solid evidence you can start using tomorrow!
1. Start with a clear motivation
Based on science-backed motivational theory, being very clear on the ‘why behind the what’ lays the foundation for any desired behavioural change. “Motivation is what gets you into the game” says Steven Kotler (a two-time Pulitzer nominee, mind you) in his latest book on how to achieve peak performance. This means we need to dig deep and explore why, for example, we want to lose weight. The more clear we are, the more trigger points we can identify to intervene and fuel that motivation. Also, being aware of the type of motivational profile you fall under, can help you focus on the right interventions. Do you know if you’re more likely to get motivated by peer pressure (e.g. running with a friend), or purely by tracking and seeing the results? Or both? There is a way to find all that out!
2. Turn your well-being journey into a learning game
Neuroscience studies have shown time after time that learning and stretching your skills to a new level releases dopamine, the molecule of more. Even the anticipation of an activity that is fun and shows you something new and surprising about a subject you care about, makes dopamine shoot up in your brain. This is why we get so passionate about hobbies. Combine that with activities that are social and you get a double-whammy of dopamine with serotonin (the contentment hormone), reinforcing your internal drive. So, finding ways to turn your health regime into an accelerated learning skills game will allow you to continue to play, for long!
3. Get into the groove
Speaking of a health regime, if there is one thing you can do to support your wellness journey is to get into a routine. Hugely underestimated as a tool. I’m showing my age with the Madonna classic, but it is truly like getting into a groove. Routine is not about doing the same thing everyday; you don’t want to contradict the previous principle of continuous learning, stretching and surprise. Routine is about prioritising and scheduling a certain activity and then committing to it. Being realistic and knowing what works for you and only you is critical here. I’m a morning person, for example, hence I pack my morning routine with a gratitude diary writing, meditation and breathing exercises to kick start my day. My nighttime is empty of such activities, it doesn’t work for me, no matter what experts say. For some, tracking results and progress reinforces the routine. Others are allergic to spreadsheet metrics! Whatever works! You just have to play with it.
4. Focus on small bio-hacks with big impact
Perhaps one of the most important principles in Macro-Wellness is the ability to identify critical triggers and barriers in achieving a certain wellness goal and then intervene with small, nature-driven changes in your habits and behaviour – aka bio-hacking. Don’t be afraid of the term, you have been bio-hacking forever, for example drinking coffee is a way of hacking your energy system by flooding your brain with caffeine. There are hundreds of little life-hacks you can easily introduce to your everyday life which, when accumulated, can have a tremendous long-lasting impact on your well-being. They all start by fighting the root, not the symptom of a problem. For example, having sleep issues? Instead of just focusing on sleeping aids, you can hack your morning routine (amongst other things) with certain simple actions to modulate your circadian cycle and optimise your cortisol and adrenaline secretion. It sounds counterintuitive to take action in the morning in order to sleep better, but when you look at the evidence and understand the reasons why, then it all makes sense.
5. Apply an ‘in-with-the-good-stuff-first’ approach
Want long-term results and life-lasting changes in lifestyle? Then avoid restrictive methods, like diets that force you to cut out all the things you might enjoy. When this happens, chances are, as data shows, you’ll relapse back to the old habits. Instead, find small opportunities to get the good stuff in – be it nutrition and exercise for your body, or food for your mind, aka mindfulness – and you will experience that your body/mind craves the bad stuff less and less. Fed up with sugar cravings? Don’t focus on cutting out sugar. Instead, increase other energy related nutrients, like amino acids or fatty acids, especially omega 3, and your smart system in your body will do the rest. It will slowly decrease the craving of simple carbohydrates. Think of the previous principles of bio-hacking here to make it easy. For example, add a fruit to your mid-afternoon craving as you ravage your cupboard for a biscuit. Sprinkle chia seeds and walnuts on every meal, regardless of the healthiness of the meal. Make a cruciferous veggie of your choice a side with 50% of your meals. Try it, commit to it and you will reap the rewards.
That’s it, beautiful people. I view these principles as a summary of the Macro-Wellness protocol, to realise long-lasting lifestyle changes and live a life full of health, vitality, emotional resilience and peak performance. And by the way, aiming for long lasting changes doesn’t mean that you don’t see improvement immediately. You do. Ask any professional in any field and they will tell you the same thing: an approach of small incremental changes with big impact is the key to success. You might not agree with all of the thoughts laid out here, but even if there is one thing that makes you think, then purpose achieved.
I better run to hack my energy with 5 minutes of the Wim Hof breathing method to spike my adrenaline and increase my alertness. See you all in a month!
Macro-Wellness 