How to Boost Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health

Episode Overview:

In their BIG 4-0 podcast, Larry and Shawn go even deeper into 3 of the 5 Mountains introduced in episode 28’s interview with Sealfit’s Founder, Mark Divine. Packed with life-changing take-aways, the guys discuss immediately actionable ways to improve your daily life.

Key Takeaways:

The Physical, Mental, and Emotional Mountains of our lives are intertwined. Let’s face it: if our body is out of whack, our mental and emotional states aren’t going to fare too well, either. Easy to say, but working on these Mountains can be a task if you don’t know how to address them. So, take out your pick axe and let’s climb them.

Breathe in, breathe out. Sounds simple enough, but many of us only use 50% of our breathing capacity throughout the day, aggravating our fight or flight response. Feel edgy during the day? It might be the way you’re breathing. Try inhaling deeply (using your diaphragm-you know, that muscle right below your ribcage) for a count of 5, then exhaling deeply for a count of 5. You just might find your stress levels decrease significantly.

As much as we need air, we need sleep. We may think sleep is over-rated, but even The Guiness Book of World Records won’t allow any entries related to sleep deprivation. Yeah, it’s that important. Our bodies truly need 7-8.5 hours of sleep per night, but the quality of sleep we get is just as important. The “magic hours” (as Shawn coins them) are between the hours of 10pm and 2am. This is when our bodies get the most regenerative benefits from sleep. Not convinced? Sleep deprivation is proven to lead to lower testosterone and is directly related to erectile dysfunction. Yikes! The lack of those Z’s can really mess with a guy.

So how do you get that quality sleep? It’s starts the minute you wake up.

1. Try exercising upon waking; it could simply be a brisk walk.
2. Get your room as dark as you can (in other words-no iPad time in bed)

How you start your day is just as critical as how you finish.

1. Begin with 20-32 ounces of water
2. Think about 2-3 things you are grateful for
3. Spend a couple minutes a day deep breathing
4. Adopt a positive mantra like, “I got this”
5. Dirt drive your day-what do you want to accomplish?

Once your day’s going, how do you deal with your stress and emotions? Keep in mind that your emotions don’t define you; they are simply felt thoughts. The trick is not letting them control you. So, create some space to shift your mind-set. Is this a reactionary emotion? If so, think about what the best course of action would be in the situation. What is going to lead you to victory in that moment?

Ahhh. Finally, the end of the day. Sometimes we don’t have the best days. Even on our worst, we should take some time to reflect on the top 3 things that really made an impact. If you didn’t have the best day, what are 2 things you learned from that day? This mind set helps to get us to appreciate the epic moments and learn from our not-so-stellar times.

Happiness-we have 40% control over this (50% from genetics and 10% circumstance). So take the 40% you can control and direct your focus on what brings you happiness now-don’t postpone it!
Part of your happiness resides in your relationships with others. Biologically, we view isolation as a threat. Let’s say you have a disconnect with your spouse. Your mind sees this as a biological threat. In order to overcome this, look at the 3 pillars of an emotionally healthy relationship: Accessible, Responsive, Engaged (ARE). ARE you there in these ways? See? Knowing how to use the skills you already have in your arsenal will help you climb your everyday Mountains. Of course, there are 2 more that need to be addressed in more depth, but we’ll climb them another time.

Free Resources:

Check out a free chapter from: THE DAD’S EDGE on UNLIMITED PATIENCE HERE

Check out this free resource on: CONNECTION WITH YOUR SPOUSE

Check out this free resource on:  CONNECTION WITH YOUR KIDS

Links

• Amazon Bestselling Book: The Dad’s Edge – 9 Simple Ways to Have: Unlimited Patience, Improved Relationships, and Positive Lasting Memories
• Larry’s New Course:  The Dad’s Edge – 6 Strategies to Achieve:  Unlimited Patience, Improved Relationships, and Positive Lasting Memories
• Larry’s Twitter Page
• Larry’s Facebook Page
• Larry’s Instagram Page
• Shawn’s Website
• Shawn’s Twitter Page
• Shawn’s Facebook Page
• Shawn’s Instagram Page

Links Mentioned in the Episode:

• How to Create an Unbeatable Mind with Mark Divine  <- Click the link
• Sealfit.com <- Click the link
• Unbeatablemind.com <- Click the link
• Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson <- Click the link
• This blog is also featured on The Good Men Project

If you enjoyed this episode How to Boost Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health let us know. Leave your comments below as we would love to hear your thoughts so we can continue to provide you with content you enjoy.