Fostering a Healthy Mindset
Content Courtesy of the Forever Young Podcast with Christiana Egi and Cherrie-Marie Chiu.
We were fortunate to be joined by Dr. Uche Odiatu again, to discuss how to foster a healthy mindset. Dr. Odiatu is the author of The Miracle of Health, a professional member of the American College of Sports Medicine, and a practicing dentist in Toronto, Ontario. He has been an invited guest on over 400 radio and TV shows from Atlanta to Alaska and is also an NSCA-certified personal trainer, and certified boot camp instructor. Dr. Odiatu has given over 400 lectures in England, Canada, the US, the Bahamas, Denmark, Bermuda, and Norway.
We always have a good discussions with Dr. Odiatu and this one was no different. So remember back in 2019 - pre pandemic - when everything just felt right, you felt good about yourself, work your family life, everything was great, you just felt great. That's the power of a healthy mindset. Today, we're going to talk about how to get ourselves back to that feeling. Listen to the full podcast below or keep reading to find out more about cultivating and sustaining a healthy mindset.
We always talk about purposeful movement, eating all the colors of the rainbow, and those gigantic bowls of salads, avocado, olive oil, and so on. These things assist in healthy living and also cultivating a healthy mindset. We now have access to all the secrets, the flat stomach, the best hair, and how to have white teeth without going to the dentist. However, there's still the element of procrastination.
Even in spiritual practices, focusing on God, the universe, or what you are happy about can force more of that energy into your life. Gratitude, acknowledging your blessings, and having a grateful heart can bring you closer to having a positive and peaceful mindset. Gratitude is a beautiful magnetic force that most of us do not use to get healthy and as well as wealthy.
Nowadays with the online world, we have become obsessed with perfection and doing all or nothing. Your mind has so much power and it is essential to recognize that. If you are not there yet, it is actually easy to trick yourself into a new mindset or a new way of thinking. Starting a gratitude journal is a great method to remind yourself of the things you are grateful for on a daily basis. Reflecting can help shift your mindset as repetitive journaling or even just saying out loud can bring positivity into your life.
There's also an element called paralysis by analysis. With the internet and the online world, we have multiple experts championing their own version of wellness which can make people confused. Psychologist John Ezel said that human beings are very poor parallel processors, we have too many choices. We have never had as much obesity, mental illness, dementia, depression, and anxiety, but we have access to information that kings, queens, and emperors did not have 500 to 3000 years ago, we're confused. It's too much.
A big part of getting fit and healthy is reclaiming your energy. The process of getting fit also involves adjusting your attitude and level of expectation. Having a good mindset toward your fitness journey can do wonders - exercise as part of a healthy mindset.
If we celebrated hitting fitness milestones more often, it would be a fun and sustainable way to stay consistent toward our goals.
Having motivating friends is a huge factor in fostering a healthy mindset. Having an accountability partner can help you stay consistent in your journey. It can also be helpful to have friends that have more knowledge in an activity you are interested in participating in. It may be beneficial to get one on one advice from a friend rather than the Internet. Spending time with your friends or a community with similar interests can help foster a healthy mindset and overall a healthier version of you!
Don't try to compare yourself to others because our blessings come in different shapes and forms. Sometimes just by association with your community, blessings can trickle down to you too. So comparing yourself to other people's successes or whatever they are doing is not a positive way of living or thinking. With social media, young people are more likely to compare themselves to the lives of people on the internet that aren’t even real. We see a highlight reel of people’s lives and barely see the bad. Comparison is a thief of joy, with physique health, money with life in general. We are all on different journeys.
We talk a lot about being able to share how we can make our lives better and stay forever young, but what happens when you have a best friend, an aunt or uncle, and you see them not taking care of themselves? How do we help them grow without punishing them or being overbearing?
Some ways we can help our loved ones foster a healthy mindset are by encouraging them to get out of the house, bringing in healthy food to the house, and creating interesting activities around healthy treats which make it all the more fun! Add a new hobby, go dancing, or look for ways to insert their minds without letting them know what you’re actually doing - don’t forget to make it fun!
Don’t forget that we can always fail, but we should use it as an encouraging stepping strong rather than throwing in the towel. Use failure as encouragement and do not give up on your goals! Be a reflection of what you want to teach. Let people see how you are and ask what you are doing differently!
The Forever Young podcast was created and produced by Christiana Egi and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.
