The Movement Mindset
The human body is an intricate and complex machine and like all machines it can be optimized to full potential or it can fall into disrepair. As Steve Jobs famously quoted “You can employ someone to drive the car for you, make money for you but you cannot have someone to bear the sickness for you.” To be the best leaders in both the work place and industry, it is essential we maintain, train and influence ourselves to optimise our health. People copy what you do, not just what you say!
From my coaching experience there are two key drivers to optimize the full potential of the human body. Number one is. adopting a movement mindset of non-negotiable movement everyday. Number two is to influence your brain-body connection through the information you feed your brain.
The movement mindset fuels your brain, creating a monopoly of positive feedback that will spill like dominoes into all aspects of your life. Humans are built to thrive on movement – it’s in our DNA! Think about it … have you ever done a workout and felt worse after than you did before? It goes beyond changing your outlook on life, it broadens your horizons. It expands them beyond what you thought was initially possible. Through movement we can fuel our brains in a positive way.
I’m a keen triathlete and when I train it allows me to be present, to switch off from the pressures of running my business. It allows me to be in the moment. It’s important to find the off switch, because if we go all out 100% of the time we just burn out. Having that off switch means that when we switch on it’s more powerful: we can be more creative, better leaders and more focused.
Simply find a movement, sport or activity that resonates with you and commit to it with non-negotiable consistency. It can be 10 minutes or it could be an hour each day, choose what fits with your fitness level right now. Creating health and fitness for ourselves is not a part-time job, it’s a full time job! It takes work and time, but the positive multiplier effect on all aspects of your life is more than worth it!
How can we influence our body through the information we give to our brain? The brain is the CEO of your body and your body the employee. Information is collected by the eyes, vestibular system and proprioceptive network, then sent to the brain to be processed and interpreted. The brain then sends out signals according to the interpretation. So to maximise the results from your body, optimise the inputs from your senses!
The most powerful way to influence the body-brain system is through the eyes. Our body follows our eyes. When we look down, our body hunches over and creates poor posture. When we look up, our back extends and bodyweight shifts to the back of our foot. When we look side to side, we tend to twist the way we look. In the workplace and as industry leaders the most powerful solution to improving your posture right now is simply to look straight ahead. Try it as you sit, stand and walk. By standing taller, not only will your spine be in a better alignment but you’ll also feel more confident. Body language influences how others see us so, to be seen as a leader, we need to stand like one!
Vision is the most powerful input to change as it contributes 70% of information to the brain. Our eyes are controlled by muscles and to make them stronger we need to train them just like we would any other muscle group in our body. For more ideas on how to optimise the visual inputs into your brain I’ve put together a free e-book about vision training (www.thebodybraincoach.com).
Set yourself up for success with a movement mindset and optimal inputs to influence your brain. Lead from the front and lead by example. After all, health is wealth!
