I was in a great class recently with Dr. Richard Boyatzis. He spoke at length about a word I love- renewal. It is something we must constantly be engaged in to live a happy, thriving, meaningful life. A life of well being. This idea of constant renewal fits in well with my study and application of reinvention mindset and principles.
Always anticipating what might or will change, creating a strategy for being ahead of those changes on the horizon and then implementing the strategy. In our case today, and easy way to say it is to not wait to have a health problem to finally decide to take on healthy habits. Do it while you are well. At the Reinvention Summit in Dublin recently, a statistic was shared that when told by their doctor that they needed to make changes now or they would die, only 9% of patients were able to follow through and make the changes. Be one of the 9% only make adjustments to maintain health and well being long before a doctor has to give you that warning.
Renewal is the way to stay on the path of health and well being. Every time you to something that makes you feel uplifted, even for a second, that is a moment of renewal. A quick laugh or a long walk- both moments of renewal. In the world of positive psychology it is well known that in order to maintain healthy relationships, you need to have 5 positive interactions for every negative one. This holds true all over your life. We encounter negativity every day- news, people, things that don’t go well, challenging events. To keep our well being and mental health in a great place, we need to make sure we are engaging, on purpose, with the things that help us to feel good, to combat the negativity that comes at us whether we like it or not.
Start to think of planting these little seeds into your days. Plan your week out on Sundays and schedule in things to look forward to in the coming week. And when you do encounter something negative, start to build the awareness to go do something that is positive for you to counteract it. This IS something you have control over. It’s time to start experimenting with renewal
Some of the things you can do to bring about renewal are this (most I have written about before)
Meditation, Physical exercise, prayer to a Loving God, massage, yoga tai chi, somatic movement, playing and listening to music, having hopeful thoughts about the future, being in a loving relationship, help those less fortunate or the elderly, petting your pets, walking in nature, being playful, initiating inspiring conversations, and practicing mindfulness. What else would you add to the list?
This week, make a renewal plan and start experimenting this week!