Radiant Physical Health - Manifesto Part 2


Introduction

This piece is part of our Manifesto about 7 areas of our personal life: (1) Education (2) Physical Health, (3) Mental Health & Mindset, (4) Relations, (5) Work & Career, (6) Personal Finance, and (7) Personal Development (coming up). In the midst of this COVID-19 global pandemic, where our society and our lives have come to a halt, we were inspired to write this Manifesto. For every area of our personal lives, we will challenge the way we viewed it “back then” and articulate a vision on “how we should go about it in the future”. Our Manifesto is meant to open up discussions. We don’t intend to stereotype anyone or anything, but just want to give a generic perception of our lives and society as a whole and the systems behind it.


Looking back

Exercise & Sports

We always had resolutions to go to the gym more and eat better. Sometimes we succeeded, but often it turned out not to be a priority in our lives. Let’s face it: our health only truly became important to us when it got bad. 

Exercising became one of those to-do’s, whilst in our time as a child, moving our bodies in every way possible felt amazing – we couldn’t get enough of it. Now exercise was no longer intertwined in our daily life and sitting had become a serious health problem. We didn’t have active lives anymore, as our ancestors had for centuries.

Nutrition

And let’s be real: the food industry wasn’t there to feed us, but to make money off of us. They added things like sugar and preservatives in everything and made our food less nutritional so we would consume even more. Most of this we knew, but still, we didn’t make eating consciously a must. We become what we eat, so how important was our body really for us? 

Most of us prepared food in the fastest and easiest way – not looking at what we needed in terms of nutrition. We prepared our meals with pre-made boxes, sauces, and other packages that are full of sugar and salt. Or worse, we didn’t cook at all and ate fast food or delivery – not knowing and caring what we actually consumed. We could’ve eaten ourselves healthy and strong, but we ate ourselves fat, slow, and weak instead.

Sleep & Relaxation

We saw sleep as a waste of time. Long workdays, busy lives, and short nights were still seen as a badge of honor. We had forgotten that sleep is how we charge our battery, store memories, remember what we learn, and regenerate our creative capabilities. We stopped listening to our bodies and sent the last email at 11 PM. Deep down we knew relaxation and restoration are needed to thrive again, but being on your phone or Netflix was really not that. And then lay awake for hours because we didn’t turn off. The next day we would wake up drowsy and need an overdose of coffee and sugary snacks to get through the day. 

Some used alcohol for enjoyment, but many abused it to numb out and to forget their problems. And, too many of us were still addicted to destructive habits like smoking and the use of drugs. Just the fact that we couldn’t see the negative consequences immediately, made us think we weren’t going to suffer from it.  

If we are such rational and superior creatures on this planet, why are stress, burnout, destructive habits, obesity, and fatigue everyday reality? If our thoughts, routines, emotions, and foods are making us sick and miserable, isn’t it time to change them for the better? 

 

Vision for the future

What if we would all acknowledge that our level of health & fitness determines our quality of life? And that our body is the vessel that we use for everything we do, from the beginning until the end of our lives. So we give it what it needs to thrive – the right food, relaxation, exercise, and sleep. 

Active lives

We would switch to active lives. Biking and walking to work or to the city. Cars will be prohibited for short distances. They are not needed for shopping and groceries since all the things we buy will be delivered to our homes. Car ownership will be discouraged with higher taxes, and there would be electric shared cars parked at strategic places that can be used for longer distances. Our inner cities will be freed from cars, trucks, and fumes – taken over by pedestrians and cyclists. 

There would be much fewer chairs than people in our offices, schools, and institutions. Helping us to stand and walk more, and decreasing the number of hours sitting down.

Know the food & sleep we need

We would eat and drink primarily nutritional things. We can make it ourselves because we all learned at school how to make healthy food tasty. We all have a personal health plan. We know which foods we should and shouldn’t eat, and how much of each type of food. How much sleep we need and our ideal sleep schedule. What kind of exercise we need on top of our active lives, to be even leaner and more energetic. It’s going to be normal to take deep relaxation moments of sleep or meditation throughout our day at work and at home. 

We would protect our energy and mood against addictive (social) media and toxic people. We are aware that our vibes are influenced by external stimuli and the people we surround ourselves with. We would choose our environments wisely, surround ourselves with people who inspire us, care for us, and challenge us. 

This all will give us radiant health & fitness and a much better quality of life. 

 


Check out our whole overview page on Physical Health, including (video) podcast here.


Want to comment or give your input on Physical Health? We’d love to hear your opinion. Click here to share it with us. 

Do you know or are you a Physical Health expert? We’d love to talk to you about the above and your vision. Click here to talk with us.

Growtribute is an international community and platform for personal growth and professional contribution. Behind it are Lennart van der Ziel and Rachelle Leerling. They are entrepreneurs, speakers, and coaches.

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