Do you want to create more vitality for yourself? And what does vitality mean for you in your life?
I’ve been doing a lot of research on vitality, embodiment and neuroscience, and the research strikes me, E.g. How our body knows before our brain does.
If you meet someone, your nervous system will instantly, in a nano-second, react. When it is safe, your brain gives a heads-up: okay, you can connect with the other person. When unsafe, your heartbeat will go up, you get sweaty, and you may even physically move back. All this is before your brain thinks I don’t trust this person; this does not feel safe. It makes me realize even more that our body is forgiving but is never forgetting.
I challenge you with your next meet-up to be more conscious of what your body tells you. Consciousness is crucial to growth.
What if you turn your perspective around and realize that everything you do, do not do, and think is regulated by your body and then your brain gives meaning to it, not the other way around? This was a new and upside-down perspective for me as an analytic and left-brain person. In my leadership training, participants sometimes become aware that they are walking heads without consciousness about their bodies.
I was one once, too. Now, I’m more aware of what my body is telling me, and listening to what my body is saying brings me more self-regulation, calmness, and more capacity to oversee things. In my perspective, self-regulation is a crucial trait for leaders now and in the future.
These days, there is a lot of talk about being conscious about your body and how vitality can serve us. But can it? What does vitality mean if we bike on a treadmill to get some “healthy” juice or have a chair massage at work to release our neck and shoulders? We live in a world of quick fixes, and I believe vitality is not a quick fix but is a mindset.
Are you conscious of what you eat and drink? Do you sleep enough, eight or ninehours, to be rested? Do you give yourself permission to be still and meditate? Do you work out a couple of times a week? Do you focus on getting some new inspiration or innovative ideas? All these things get your neurons moving in your brain. And that is what keeps your body healthy sustainably, and that takes a different mindset.
So, the neuroplasticity that keeps us healthy in the long run is about food, sleep, focused attention, exercise and novelty.
It’s not about judging anything you do; it’s all about awareness.
Be loving and kind to yourself first, and take care of your beautiful body.
