Inspiration From Eva in Economy

Inspiration From Eva in Economy

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On my flight back to Hong Kong, I sat next to a 40-something year old woman who was dressed in business attire and somewhat flustered as I assume she rushed to get to the plane on time. I didn’t think anything of it.

After one movie and a meal was complete, she removed her bag from the overhead compartment and took out a book and a pen. When she put them on her tray table, I quickly glanced over and couldn’t help but smile because I had recently recommended the same book to a friend of mine. It was a book called, “What Color is Your Parachute?” – one of the best selling books for job hunters and career changers.

What is most interesting about this book is not the tips for finding a job, but rather the deep probing questions and written exercises that help the reader think carefully about what is most important to them. These exercises are a personal audit and are meant to help the reader to figure out the characteristics of a job or career that is best suited to them.

As an executive health coach, I often tell my customers to engage in a similar personal audit – something I call a self-assessment. Too often when trying to improve our health we jump into an activity immediately because it’s what we ‘assume’ is best. For example, signing up for a fitness club membership, following the latest fad diet, or taking a weekend retreat to Thailand. Unfortunately, many of these activities fail to address our long term needs.

If you take even just a few minutes to do a proper personal audit, then it will be relatively very simple to determine the activity that will address your need. In a recent blog post called “Why Annual Health Checks Are Insufficient,” I discuss the importance of daily self assessments as way to mitigate long term health concerns and the FCO Assessment as a tool to help you do so.

Why Annual Health Checks Are Insufficient

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Annual physical exams and employer-sponsored health risk assessments are excellent tools for assessing your physical and mental wellbeing. However, these checkups tend to be administered annually, or bi-annually at best, and administered only by medical professionals.

For executives and busy professionals who experience stress on a daily basis, a new paradigm is required. I suggest that we look at health assessments from a completely different perspective. We must gain control of our own wellbeing and not wait for a medical professional to identify areas in which we are lacking.

How do we do this?

We do this by engaging in a frequent self-assessment practice.

Your body talks to you all the time. The problem is, most people don’t even realize that their body is sending messages. Even if we recognize some of the messages, most of us don’t know how to assess them. And even fewer of us have the extensive health vocabulary necessary to select the best response.

For example, the rumbling in your stomach – does that mean that you’re hungry? Well, that’s what we were taught to think ever since we were children. However, that’s not the only way to assess that message. In many cases, the hungry feeling is your body’s way of telling you that you’re dehydrated. Respond first by drinking a glass of water and seeing if the hungry feeling disappears.

Many people drink coffee, even several cups per day, to give them boosts of energy. But a lack of energy may mean that you should include frequent afternoon stretch breaks to improve oxygen flow to your brain and body. It may mean a change is needed to your evening rituals to enable deep sleep.

And, of course, there are food cravings – one of the most commonly discussed messages our body sends to us. A craving is your body’s way of telling you that it lacks some kind of nutrient. Sweet cravings. Salty cravings. Crunchy cravings. Cold and creamy cravings. A craving may mean that your blood sugar is low, your body lacks minerals, or you need some emotional support.

Here are 5  metrics that you can monitor daily. You can also complete the FCO Assessment for more ideas on how to start a daily self-assessment practice.

5 Daily Health Metrics:

1) Are you dehydrated?

2) Do you get enough deep sleep?

3) Do your energy levels fluctuate drastically?

4) Are you thinking clearly?

5) How well are you managing stress?

Do not wait for your employer to sponsor your medical exam. Do not wait for your doctor to give you shocking news. Ask yourself these simple questions and if you feel the need to address your situation, then take action!

The above post contains excerpts from Edwin’s book: “Fit for the Corner Office: An Executive Health Guidebook to Achieve Peak Performance at Work and in Life.”

Find the Root Cause and Fix It

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Blog - Cause not Symptoms 1On a recent flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai, I was flipping through a newspaper and noticed this headline: “Beijing recruits scientists to wipe out pollution.” The article went on to taut all the great scientific research that China is doing to clear air pollution and the fact that “scientists had yet to find truly effective measures to reduce smog.” While some may have read this article with relief or optimism, I was a bit bothered and disgusted.

This is a perfect example of addressing symptoms and not dealing with the root cause of the problem. Now, I’m not a pollution scientist, but I think I have a solution – stop the factories and automobiles from spewing out pollutants in the first place.

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Unfortunately, this type of behavior is prevalent. Doctors do it when they blindly write prescriptions after asking the patient only a few basic questions. Teachers do it when they help students with rote memorization techniques to score well on standardized exams, as opposed to helping students gain a deep understanding of the content.

When it comes to our personal health we’re all guilty, including myself. Too often we want the quick fix. We come up with a solution that ‘temporarily’ fixes a symptom of a problem we’re facing and we think we’ve solved it. Yet the problem returns. We drink coffee to stay awake, when really we simply need to sleep more the night before. We take pills to stop headaches, when we should just drink more water since the root cause of many common headaches is dehydration. As an Executive Health Coach, I hear many such examples on a regular basis.

So what am I suggesting? 

I’m suggesting that if you have a nagging recurring issue with your health (mental, physical or emotional), take time to properly assess the situation. Dig deep to find the root cause of the problem even if it uncovers more pain. Because once you address the root cause – all of the symptoms will go away. Yes all of them!

How do you do that? Three suggestions:

1) Ask Yourself Questions: Assess your situation frequently by asking yourself what you may have done this morning, last night, or last week to have caused the problem? And what are you doing on a regular basis to add fuel to the flame to create the recurring problem?

2) Answer Your Questions Without Bias or Judgment: Only when you are true to yourself will you uncover the deepest problems

3) Take Action: Once you’ve figured out the problem you’ve completed the most difficult task. Now don’t just stand there complaining, do something about it.

No Status Quo

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I do a lot of my creative thinking in the shower or while sitting in a taxi stuck in traffic. (Yeah, I know two seemingly unrelated environments.) But like writing song lyrics, sometimes all you need is a few minutes of time to yourself and a moment of inspiration. Take action. There is no status quo.

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Manage Your Energy Levels

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In the “Manage Your Energy Levels” program, you will learn the key reason why your energy drops in the afternoon. You will also learn to assess why your energy levels are low in the morning and actions you can take to take control of your energy levels.

COMING SOON!

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