How About Giving Your MIND a Makeover!!!

Sometimes our MIND and BODY are so wrapped up in each other,it's difficult to work out if our THOUGHTS are creating our FEELINGS, or our FEELINGS are creating our THOUGHTS! I think it's fair to say that if we treat our MIND well, our BODY feels GOOD but if we treat our mind BADLY, our body feels BAD. Same goes for treating our mind BADLY...our BODY feels bad and if we treat our BODY badly then our MIND suffers!

Most of us realise that we tend to feel LOUSY when we are a) full of tension, b) not exercising, c) eating badly and d) having difficulty sleeping. In turn, all of these areas can affect how we feel about life in general and therefore affect our CLARITY of thought...

If ever you are feeling OVERHWELMED with your work, personal life or even your finances, take time to think about your REDS...What on earth are my REDS you ask?!!


R Relaxation

E Exercise

D Diet

S Sleep


RELAXATION

Always remember that RELAXATION is the OPPOSITE of TENSION!!! A muscle that is relaxed cannot be tense! Therefore a BODY that is relaxed cannot be tense!! Find your own method of reducing all the tension inside you. Then practice it until relaxing becomes a strongly learned behaviour and feeling calm and relaxed becomes the norm rather just something you do for five minutes a day...(when you remember)!!

Why not try some of these forms of relaxation: MEDITATION, VISUALISATION, PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION and DEEP BREATHING.


EXERCISE

Exercise will keep your BODY in good condition. It offers many other benefits too, like relieving anxiety, anger and stress to some extent.Exercise can actually give you back some of the ENERGY that your body has become depleted of when your MIND is exhausted from sorting out the many issues that face us every day.

PUSHING yourself just that bit harder whilst exercising (once you've built your stamina up slowly!) and learning to cope with the pain and tiredness which can arise from it - spills over into our day to day lives. This can build mental strength and resilience to the stresses of life and the FEELINGS of achievement it gives us, can EMPOWER us and boost our self esteem. Think how sportsmen and women seem to have that "FEEL GOOD FACTOR" and be at ease with themselves. Well, everything's relative and you too will soon be walking on air!

DIET

When faced with the CONSTANT hassles, stress and technological nightmares of modern day living,the last thing we need is anymore pressure on our system.

Straight forward advice for everyone is simple....Cut down on REFINED and PROCESSED food. The MORE something is processed, the LESS we should eat of it! Eat fresh wholsesome foods which include the six essential nutrients we need: WATER, MINERALS, VITAMINS,CARBOHYDRATES,PROTEINS AND FAT.

Remember your five a day! Cut down on caffeine, drink in moderation and BIN the cigarettes. Of course...dont't do all of this at once...remember..set your goals but make your changes slowly in small increments. Don't be too obsessed with the scales...listen to your body and you'll know what to do!


SLEEP

If we don't get enough sleep, most of us feel irritable, on edge, unable to concentrate and even confused. Most of us need 8 or 9 hours sleep to feel on top of things and whilst it may be difficult to get that amount of sleep EVERY night, you should aim to get your hours in more often than not.

Try not to drink either coffee or alchohol just before bedtime...they can interrupt the sleep cycle and make you wake up early.

Don't eat too heavily late at night because the food causes the digestive system to be overactive during the night

It's also not a good idea to do exercise regimes late in the evening or use your brain too much....otherwise it's very difficult to "wind down"!

SLOW DOWN about an hour before you go to bed
ENGAGE in soothing activities like having a bath, reading a light
book or listen to your favourite music.
TRY and go to bed and get up at the same time each day.
MAKE SURE your room is neither too hot nor too cold or too
light/dark.



If you slowly try to CREATE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE and incorporate all these things into your routine, then hopefully you'll be able to take control and practice a more positive way of living. This in turn will give you back your ENERGY to help you make CHANGES you want to ACHIEVE in other areas of your life in order to BECOME THE BEST YOU CAN BE!!



Soooo. GO FOR IT... GIVE IT ALL A TRY and don't forget ....


IF YOU WANT TO KEEP A CLEAR HEAD,FOCUS ON YOUR DAILY REDS!!!!