Introduction
Hi everyone, It’s time for some wellbeing wisdom with the ‘Be Well’ Project. My name is Ricky Brown and I’m a Registered Osteopath in Doha with over 20 years experience in Injury rehabilitation, elite sports performance, chronic disease management and Health Coaching . I have a Masters Degree in Osteopathy, a Diploma in Naturopathy, a Diploma in Sports Therapy and Personal Training, amongst other qualifications. My passion and mission is to help people help themselves overcome injury, lifestyle related disease and improve their overall health, happiness and performance.
We are currently in the grip of increasing rates of non-communicable lifestyle related disease and sickness such as Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity and various forms of Cancer. Worldwide our medical knowledge, expertise and resources are improving, yet we are getting sicker! Unfortunately, medical health care is designed to react to disease and sickness as opposed to prevent disease and improve our health status. This is our responsibility, however there is so much conflicting information out there, it can be difficult to know where to start.
With the ‘Be Well’ project I’m going to provide you with some of the most effective and ‘easy to engage with’ methods and habits that have been proven to significantly improve the way people feel, look and perform. These interventions will be categorized under the 5 pillars of health, which i regard as the foundation of good health and the root cause of most, if not all of today’s major disease epidemics.
These 5 pillars are:
Mindset/Stress Resilience/Nutrition/Movement & Sleep
I’m really excited to have been given this platform as an Osteopath in Doha, to share my passion and knowledge with you, so let’s get stuck in!
MINDSET
The first component of health I want to talk about is our mindset and the importance of preparing and tending to the way we think and view the world around us, in order to experience greater health and happiness. Now, because our mindset is so critical to our success, health and happiness, I will dedicate the first 2 days to this pillar of health.
If we are going to be successful in our attempts to achieve and sustain better health we need to start our journey by cultivating the right mindset. To use a simple analogy – you need to prepare and fire up your engine before you can drive to your destination, and your mindset is the engine that will carry to your desired goals! A well-prepared mindset will help you stick to healthy behaviours until they become unquestionable habits, and a normal part of your everyday life.
As an Osteopath in Doha, I use my treatment as a platform to help patients cultivate a health orientated mindset, which is underpinned by a strong compelling reason or set of reasons for wanting better health. These reasons will keep us anchored to our new habits in the face of life’s inevitable distractions and temptations. We should all have a strong enough ‘WHY’ before we attempt any lifestyle or habit changes.
We can clarify our ‘why’ by firstly identifying our values. Now you may have never been asked to identify your values in your life but we all have them and live by them whether we are aware of it or not. They act as our inner compass and drive our choices and decisions. They are the principles, standards and qualities that bring meaning to our lives such as family, honesty, fairness, being of service to others, being a role model, having good health etc. The values we stand for and live our lives by can provide us with the most genuine reasons for wanting to be a better version of ourselves.
We may want to be more dynamic parents, partners, role models to our children, more productive for others etc. If our reasons for change are bigger than ourselves we can create a strong network of accountability and support amongst friends, family and anyone else we want to have a positive effect on. We are also less likely to give up on our quest with support and accountability.
I’m sure you’ll agree that reasons such as ‘I want to lose 20 lbs or ‘I want to get fitter’ are just not as inspiring or compelling as those that are driven by our values!
When you have identified your reasons, write them down in a personal affirmation. For example- ‘I want to improve my health in order to feel more physically confident and capable. I also want to be a better parent and role model to my children. ‘
When you read your affirmation out loud it should feel both personal and meaningful.
Now you have cultivated the fuel for change its time to get out of your own way!
When it comes to achieving our health goals our greatest obstacle is most often ourselves. Many of us tend to be highly self-critical, which influences our choices, endevours and life experiences. Not being enough is a common theme to many people’s self- narrative and mindset. Not confident enough, attractive enough, fit enough, intelligent enough, thin enough, not enough time, are all common self-beliefs that get in the way of our efforts to experience greater health and happiness!
Tune in tomorrow for part 2 of Mindset, and learn how we can cultivate a health orientated mindset.
