Health & Wellness

We live within one of the most complex systems imaginable, our body and mind, and we constantly interact with equally complex systems. What keeps our system functioning optimally and what is required to make our interactions with other systems rewardable.

A very obvious fact about life is that it is difficult. Getting out of bed can be difficult, getting to sleep can be difficult, going for a run can be difficult, eating properly can be difficult, work can be difficult, interactions with others can be difficult, dealing with aging can be difficult. How we deal with difficulty will determine our experience of life. We will win and we will fail. That is also a fact of life.

What helps make our journey a fulfilling one?

1. A strong body
2. A strong mind
3. Awareness; self, other, situational
4. Purpose, or meaning
5. Community

Another fact of life is that our minds can be very tricky when it comes to making decisions. Take health as an example. We tell ourselves that we are healthy because we have not yet seen the signs of disease. We knowingly make bad decisions that are hurting our health but we devise ingenious excuses for doing so. We project our present health onto our future self and imagine that we will be able to do most of the things we do now, when we are old.

Unfortunately, nature doesn’t care how good our excuses are for a poor diet, lack of exercise and sleep, or our stressful lifestyle. Poor health choices cause diseases and they are often at advanced stages before we recognize the warning signs.

Even if we are fortunate enough to avoid a major disease, our health and fitness will deteriorate over time. If you are in poor condition now, and don’t change, you will be one of the more fragile old folks. For example, your strength is going to decline by about 8-17% a decade, so if you want to pick up a 15-kilo grandchild at age 75, you will need to be able to pick up 30 kilos at age 40.

The good news is that it is never too late to grow, but it will require some work. At Thrive Academy we understand that the bad decisions we make, are made because they fulfil a need or purpose. We also understand that getting healthy and well requires motivation. What is going to motivate us? What is going to sustain us during difficult times? Changing behaviours is far more complicated and difficult than making a new year’s resolution. Change must happen at a subconscious level and for this to happen, we must expand our awareness. At Thrive Academy, our goal is to help you achieve your goals. There is no thriving without health and wellness.

There is also no thriving without community; family, friends, colleagues, etc. Our systems must interact with other complicated systems and the success or failure of these interactions largely depends on our understanding of ourselves and our ability and willingness, to understand others.

If we are unable to manage our own system well enough to keep it healthy, how can we expect to manage interactions outside of ourselves? Imagine the benefit of self-mastery when dealing with relationships. Imagine the benefits of awareness and self-control, in the moment, vs an emotional response. Is it more important to project our identity or attain our goals?