New Start

Today I went to the doctors.  After lots of prodding, poking and testing, plus a procedure under general Anaesthetic, I was given a clean bill of health (finally).  The feeling was overwhelmingly of relief, and excitement that issue which had preoccupied me for so long was over.

Unfortunately, I was given no reason as to how I became unhealthy, but I can guess that demanding high performance from my body, whilst not nourishing it properly, and sometimes even poisoning it might have had something to do with it.

Yesterday I went to the chiropractor that had got me (I believe) onto a line of cure for various physical issues, using a combination of treatments in her rome, plus some supplements.  I told her that I really felt a sense that I needed to make some dietary changes, and wondered whether a detox was in order.  She muscle tested me (check out kinesiology if you want to find out more), and said that a major detox would just make me sicker.

I have always loved the radical detox in the past, such as the 10 day challenge that one does on the back of Unleash The Power Within, or the 10 day reboot recommended in "Fat , Sick & Nearly Dead", but my body was saying that it needed something else.  In the end I was told to forego gluten, sugar (yes, that includes alcohol) and dairy produce until further notice.  Coincidentally, those are the substances that I overindulged in, especially over Christmas.  I look forward to seeing the results.

I have also decided to exercise at a lower intensity for a month, to give my body some recovery time.  Most importantly, I now have the headspace to tackle other things in my life.

Recovery

After 5 weeks off work, my first day was spent at the dentist's.  Whilst being grateful for the technology that will fix the abscess that has plagued me, I have also been keenly aware of the lack of balance in my life with regards to consumption.

I will never judge another person for their habits, whether they smoke, eat junk, couch sit all day - WHATEVER.  It all just takes away from our journey.  The best thing I can do for anyone is to be healthy, be happy, be wealthy, be helpful.  We have all heard the phrase "Be The change you want to see in the world".  It always made sense, but now it makes sense on a cellular level.

It's funny though how opportunities come our way.  As a result of staggering around being unable to run, my achilles has healed 90%.  Unbelievable.

Also, my face aches whenever I think about unhealthy food (processed, sugar etc.)

Nature is taking care of itself!

How to Achieve 10 out of 10 for Health

Without a doubt, the biggest challenge is health.  If you are unwell, and especially if you are in pain, it is extremely hard to concentrate on anything else.

Since Friday night I have had a tooth abscess, which became excruciating on Saturday.  This coincided with having to pack and drive for 3 1/2 hours back to Sydney.  By the time I got home it was straight off to a doctor for antibiotics and pain relief.  The pain was reduced to a dull roar, and I managed to sleep with a few wakeful periods.  Today the swelling is reduced and I am almost sane again.

How did it happen?

Quite simply, things got out of balance.  Holiday food, holiday drinking have taken their toll.  Despite exercising quite a bit, the ratio of good foods to bad was not good.

Lesson Learnt? This has been a lesson that I have needed to learn for quite some time.  Instead of waiting until I'm sick to adjust my behaviour, it would be better to keep my balance of good food and good habits in the black.

Otherwise its like you're a husband who neglects his wife until she thinks of leaving, or a businessman who lets his concern almost go bankrupt before taking action.

Prevention is far better than cure.

First Steps

So I've been really wanting to improve my heath and fitness.  Today I went for a 45 minute run, and did 45 minutes of Yoga.

Bottom line was that the idea of doing them excited me, but the reality of starting each of them did not thrill me. Having said that, within 10 minutes of starting each of these activities, I was enjoying them.  The more present or in the moment I was, the more I enjoyed them.  I love the saying that to achieve happiness, you must happily achieve.  Being present really helped make that happen.

I've also been working on finding out more about what is important to my wife.  What I am discovering is that it''s the way in which things are done that is just as important as what it is that is being done.  Lizzie has certain ways of working, and if I take the time to do things in a way in which she feels comfortable, then it has a much higher chance of pleasing her.

Only took 17 years to work that one out!

What is it really worth?

Yesterday I looked at a balance sheet, toting up assets and Liabilities.  The end result was very encouraging - I have a net worth of about one and a quarter million dollars!

But then I had a look at things more closely.

Most of the things that were of value were not really assets.  I have a house, but it does not earn me any money (although the fact that it is Mortgage Free means that it is saving me rent!).  My car does not earn me money either.  Both in fact COST money for upkeep.

I looked at my various investments - my retirement fund is growing at 10% PA, but is inaccessible for 14 years. I have money in an index fund, and it is growing (and earning franked dividends which I am re-investing). I have money in an online account, which is earning 3.75% PA, and a term deposit, which is earning 3.8% PA.  All in all, I could liquidate everything and have $1.25M, but in its current form, my assets earn me a grand total of $5000 PA (before tax!).

Looking at this in the cold hard light of day, I am getting a return of .4%.

I know that I want to get more out of my assets, and grow them exponentially.

In other news, my body is responding to the training, and my heart rate is staying lower, whilst I am running faster.  The dog is starting to find it a bit harder to stay with me on the run!

Footnote:  After looking at my finances yesterday, a cheque for $95,000 arrived in the mail!  ENergy flows where focus goes.  I have given myself until July to work out what to do with it.

 

Fit & Fat?

Jumped on the scales today - 85kg. Whaat is interesting is that although I have had the usual Christmas Cheer (alcohol, sugar, heaps of food), I have also done an hour's exercise 6 times a week. Goes to prove that what goes in is just as important as how much I burn - as I am not training 20 hours per week, my calorific intake is a factor in it all.

Despite doing the same physical workload, I feel as if my fitness has diminished - I think because I am running around with an extra 5kg. I will be interested to see how my "fitness" improves as I get to my goal weight.

Tomorrow I go on holidays for 10 days, and probably won't be near any internet. Number one is to spend time with the family and friends, number two is to keep physically active. In the down time I will do some planning for the year, making a road map for perfect ten's in every facet of my life. I definitely plan to do "The power of Momentum", a yearly exercise for many Tony Robbins Graduates.

See you on the 21st!