On Being a Healthy Professional

I am honored to have been asked to give a presentation to a class of working professional master’s students. The theme is: being healthy. These are the general notes I put together for the presentation. 

What are your values?

• In other words, what are your priorities?
  • We can only maintain a few priorities at the very top
  • Find your values, and stick to that
    • You are being who you want to be
• Self-discovery takes a lifetime

What happens when you live your values?

• You feel good about yourself
• You feel more meaning and fulfillment
• You forgive yourself and others more
• You are more willing to do the hard work
• You channel more positive energy
• You help the world

A more healthier you is a more healthier world

• We are all connected; we are all One; we are all part of the same whole
• When you hurt yourself you hurt others, and vice versa
• When you are doing the best for yourself, you are doing the best for others
• Your state of being impacts everyone, everywhere, every single moment, near and far

Stay Present

• The Present is a gift, that’s why they call it the Present
• Honor your gift of being here
• How do you honor it?
  • By living fully. Live the moment as deeply as possible
  • The moment is a miracle

Mindfulness

• You have to be aware of yourself, of your mind, of your emotions
  • Emotion regulation; equanimity – healthily manage your emotions
  • Being aware of your thoughts allows you to stop negative thinking in the moment
• Positive thinking leads to healthy life and positive results
• How do we increase mindfulness?
  • One way is meditation….

Meditation and breathing

• It’s all about the breath
  • Always focus on your breath
  • Slow breath in 
  • Just as slow, breathe out
  • Breathe into the bottom of your stomach (the diaphragm)
    • Diaphragm breathing is calming
    • Chest breathing is for fight-or-flight
• Feel the breath fill every part of your body. Be physically present
• Do not judge your thoughts, let them go
• Always come back to the breath
• There are many types of meditation. This is based on the zen way (zazen)

Benefits of meditation

• Eventually adds pauses between thoughts
• More present
• More centered. Accessing answers that are inside of you
• Observing the thoughts, instead of identifying with them
• You are not your mind
• When you can “catch” yourself thinking, you can better direct your thoughts

The practice of meditation

• Meditation is a practice, not a perfect
• Commit to 2 minutes every single day!
  • Practicing every day creates geometric growth like compounding interest in a retirement savings
• Good talk therapy is a fantastic compliment to meditation
  • Meditation and therapy will illuminate each other

General wellness tips

• Keep your connections with loved ones strong.
  • This helps to give you meaning
• Meditate every day, for at least 2 minutes. Every single day
• If there is something in your life that you know needs a change, make the change.
• This has a ripple effect on other parts of your life
• Show Life that you have the courage and commitment for growth and Life will respond to you with rewards and more opportunities
• Turn off all screens at least 1 hour before going to bed
• Do NOT look at your cell phone in the middle of the night
• Do not look at the cell phone when first waking up
• Use blue-light blocking lenses
  • Reduces eye strain
• Detach from social media
• Give yourself breaks from external stimuli
  • Your subconscious needs space and time to process things
• Balance mind, body and spirit
  • They each affect the other
• Get out into nature
  • Nature is a fantastic teacher of wisdom
• Consider allowing things to happen, instead of forcing them happen
• Don’t burn out! You are no good to anyone if you burn out.
• Burnout often is permanent. Once you burn out you may be completely done with this industry
• Maintain health and balance. You cannot continue a sprint indefinitely. You must go at a pace you can keep.
• Have compassion for yourself and others. This reduces the chance of burnout
• Sleep
  • Learn your sleep cycles
• Start the day in calmness
• Start and end the day by thinking about what you are grateful for.
• Keep a journal and / or a dream journal
  • Journaling helps you understand your subconscious
• Replace whatever you are drinking with water
• Don’t skip meals
• Eat your last meal early, so there is time to digest before going to bed
  • You will feel lighter in the morning
• Chew completely. Your stomach doesn’t have teeth
  • Eat in peace. Eating is a spiritual practice.
• Treat people like humans.