Why improving your wellbeing is like getting a pay rise.

This conversation is a little bit curly on purpose, to challenge the way you might think about your well-being.  It's work I do with my clients when they want to break free of the patterns that keep them stuck. Strap in and hold on for the ride!

Do you like money? I hope so! There are so many wonderful things you can do with money.

If I said that at the end of the year, you could have a 5% pay rise, would you like that? Let's assume you wouldn't have to do anything extra.

What about a 1% pay rise? It’s not as much as 5% but would you still think it's worth it?  

I hope that you're swaying towards "yes" at this point :-)  Lots of 1% increases can really add up.

What if you were to think about your well-being in a similar way?  You could give yourself a pay rise – but instead of money, what you’re increasing is your health. Remembering, just like the pay rise, you wouldn't have to do anything extra than you do now.

Some people might argue that a pay rise is quantifiable and health isn't.  Yes, health is less tangible but is that a good enough reason to discount a 1% improvement? 

Imagine some of the ways that a 1% increase in wellbeing would be:

• Living a bit longer.

• Taking less medications.

• Weighing 1kg less.

• Having more energy or mobility

• Having less pain or anxiety.

The problem is, a 1% increase in health could be easy to not notice, so lots of people think that it's not worth it. They forget how the 1%'s really add up.

Say you weigh 1kg less.

Which means there's less weight on your knees.

So you can walk a bit more.

Then you feel less sluggish.

Which gives you more mental clarity.

This is how the journey of a bigger health shift starts with a 1% improvement.  

Now I'll up the ante – would you say “yes” to a 1% health rise for doing less?

You just need to stop doing one small thing that gets in the way of your health.  You see, your body's natural state is a state of health.  To allow it to go back to the way your body wants to be, you just need to do less things that keep your body in poor health.  That means less:

• Going to bed after your bedtime.

• Consumption of junk foods.

• Sitting.

• Focusing on things that make you feel stressed / angry / sad.

• Putting off that massage or yoga class.

• Less ignoring your body's call for a drink of water.

It’s possible to get your 1% increase, the question is: are you willing to let go of something? 

My recommendation: choose an action that's less loaded with emotion and attachment.  You'll be able to more easily "kick the habit to touch" which will build your confidence and willingness to tackle another health-limiting habit.  

Step 1: Identify which ONE thing you'll do less of.

Step 2: Identify the barrier(s) that make it harder to do that thing less.

Step 3: Solve the barriers.

Step 4: Stop doing that thing. Over and over until it becomes normal.

It's time to stop diminishing the benefit of small improvements - you wouldn't say no to a pay rise, how about you also say YES to a wellness rise.

Arohanui / with much love,