**Post your most powerful life wisdom/ health tips in this thread**

[LiftedMind]

I just wanted to share some things that I've learned over my life that I feel bring the most improvement towards health and quality of life.

Some of these are lifelong habits, some of them are changes to your environment.

Some of these tips make a small difference, some of them make a big difference.

Some of the tips may seem trivial/ unimportant, but every little change adds up.


Family-

I would try my best from a young age to make sure my family eats together, at the dining room table, away from the TV. There is so much disconnect in our modern world and I've learned through my experience that relationships can break apart and not feel as enriched/ deep because of something so simple as this. Communication is so important. If possible, it's such a great idea to connect deeply with your family, and to work on this if it's not a habit as things may break apart over time.

I would make sure everyone is open with each other and talks about their feelings and things that bother them/ challenges they are facing, as a family we can use our collective mindset to bring love to each other and solve any problems we might face rather than keeping them hidden/ inside.

I would make sure that we as a family understand each others dreams and goals, to help support and make them happen, and understand why they are important to that person.

Relationships can be tough, but if you put in the work early on then you can build lifelong quality bonds rather than having things just slowly break apart.

From a young age, I would spend time cultivating the following virtues (and more if possible). When you train your brain on them, you become that virtue and those feelings are a way of life. These are overlooked, but they can honestly improve the quality of your life dramatically.

Honesty: Always truthful, Never lies, deceives, steals or takes advantage of the trust of others.

Respectfulness: Treating others and their property with care, honor and respect. Never rude, abusive or malicious.

Generosity: Giving to others. Thinking more of someone else's needs rather than your own.

Authenticity: To be sincere, genuine, true, and reliable.

Loyalty: A personal commitment to support, protect and defend family, faith, friends,

Modesty: To dress, speak and act in ways that promote pure, clean thoughts and actions. Always humble. Never selfishly seeking attention.

Patience: Calmly waiting. Putting up with pain, troubles, difficulties, and hardships without complaining. To wait or persevere without losing heart or becoming bored.

Forgiveness: Forgiving others

Kindness: The quality or state of being kind to others.

Responsibility: The quality or state of being responsible as in moral, legal, or mental accountability.

Those are a few examples of some of the virtues. There are many more, but imagine if you acted out on every one of those virtues in one way or another, how good your life would feel. From a young age, that type of programming would take a child far.

I would try to get my family involved in exercise as a long term lifestyle habit.


Mental-

Mental training for a strong brain for life, see examples of what I mean in my thread here http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1433812811 These can just be incorporated lightly. The point is to use your brain often in novel challenging ways to build up your cognitive reserve, and build a well rounded brain.

I would spend time reading more books & less time on my PC. Books are really good at improving your brain health and keeping you sharp. I recall looking back on my life reading books like "The giver", "cat's eye", and many others. It felt so magical and adventurous, I wish I had continued reading books like that to maintain my imagination.

Cultivate gratitude by waking up each morning and think of three things you are deeply grateful for. This will add so much value to your life when you are appreciative of the things you have in your life. You never know when you could lose your job, lose a loved one, etc. Have an attitude of gratitude.

Find ways to connect with yourself, and deepen your sense of self.

Diet-

I would try my best to eat a plant based diet with various root vegetables including eggs, fish, and meat. If I had the option, I would go for organic vegetables and grassfed meat / wild caught fish.

These are the foods that I would aim to eat when possible (the key is to use this as a roadmap and not stress about lesser quality food choices if you can't afford them):


I would just always be mindful wherever I go and try to choose meals with more vegetables.

Again, life doesn't have to be so perfect and picky but in the long term, the more consciously you choose better food choices it will impact the rate at which you age and your quality of life. This is pretty obvious but easy to forget.

Lifestyle-

I would make sure I adopt really good sleep hygiene. This is probably one of the most important things in this list. Good sleep = good life. Don't break your sleep quality. See my thread here http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1403239913

Just prioritize any form of exercise and do it for life, be adaptable. Walk, body weight exercises, yoga, sprinting. At the very least just get out for a walk or move your body each day.

Less time watching TV and more time reading, exercising, connecting with family/ friends, being playful, getting outside, etc.

Stress management-

I would take up meditation and do it 10 minutes before bed every night, as consistently as I can. This single habit will make your life so much richer if you stick with it. Your brain will grow in wonderful ways and you'll sleep better too.

Yoga and light stretching before bed is a wonderful habit to induce relaxation.

Cultivating mindfulness is a powerful habit similar to meditation, but more focused on the present moment.
Here are a few good books on the topic
http://www.amazon.com/Mindfulness-En...ds=mindfulness
http://www.amazon.com/Wherever-You-G...ds=mindfulness


Environment-

I would try to build a natural, healthy home.

Many indoor plants to clean the air

I'd have halogen lights vs fluorescent (research the negative effects they cause)

No household chemical products

Natural deodorants and toothpastes.

A water filtration system that removes flouride/ chlorine + many other contaminants.

Miscellaneous-

No porn. Can't stress this enough, porn will manipulate your brain and destroy the natural beauty of connecting with real women. If you're addicted, get help even if it means going to an addiction rehab facility. It's hard to do it alone.



A few pieces of wisdom that led to lots of growth in my life:

"The pain of discipline is always better than the pain of regret" Do the hard things in life more often, and you'll grow in ways you never imagined. Wake up each morning and do the hard thing.

Your reality is shaped by the environment around you. The people you spend time with, and the information you take in. In today's society we are filled with so much fear and negativity from news and other sources. Imagine if you were oblivious to this, and on an island somewhere without a care in the world. It will take effort, but you can shape your reality by changing your environment. Think about the information you consume and the effect this is having on you. Think about the relationships you have, and if you can improve them through communication.


That's it for now, post your ideas.

Repping everyone ITT, good posts or bad.

[ninjapimp]

"it's lower than you think"

[OrbitalDropKick]

Actual GOAT advice, anytime something bad happens, just remember this cheeky grandpa's grin and you'll get through it.

[WhoWasFeel]

STRONG post

[LiftedMind]

"it's lower than you think"

reps all around

Actual GOAT advice, anytime something bad happens, just remember this cheeky grandpa's grin and you'll get through it.

repped

[JamesAmbition]

"never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death"

[LiftedMind]

STRONG post

Tried to get you out of the red but not this time. You are strong brah

[LiftedMind]

"never sleep, because sleep is the cousin of death"

This attitude gets many people to the grave much quicker, google "ariana huffington sleep"

[HazemJ93]

That nutrition chart is totally misleading IMO

[LiftedMind]

That nutrition chart is totally misleading IMO

I wouldn't say it's entirely misleading, its got some pretty sound research to back it up, but yeah it doesn't have to be followed to a T. Like eating white potatoes won't kill you.

It's just a roadmap based on what foods have the best source of calories, best nutrition, and least amount of toxins/ negative affect on the body.

I'ts like choosing blueberries vs banana. The former has more antioxidants/ more benefits etc. Nom sayin'?

I respect your opinion totally, what are your thoughts on it?

[WhoWasFeel]

Tried to get you out of the red but not this time. You are strong brah

thanks brah i am 3 mod negs deep

[JamesAmbition]

This attitude gets many people to the grave much quicker, google "ariana huffington sleep"

lol that's not the point, that sentence has double meaning. i'll give you a good example of this:

1. For example, say that you want to become wealthy. Then you would need to work hard and smart to gain money. Instead of doing that, if you are lazy and don't do anything "sleep" then you may find yourself living in poverty "death", since sleep and death are "close"
2. The state of being asleep is similar to being dead in that the person is "unconscious"

[HazemJ93]

what are your thoughts on it?

I think its just a tool to sell their Bulletproof products. You see many totally fine foods labeled red and orange, like aspartame is red while some other artificial sweeteners are green, I know this is very controversial but they are taking it to an extreme. Why is table salt that much worse than sea salt ? sodium is sodium, and why are paprika and powdered black peppers are nearly red ? what are the scientific backgrounds for such claims ? Why is cantaloup red ? I understand it has a high GI, but it is one of the least calorie dense and vitamin rich fruits.

And 1 serving a day of either starch or fruit is fine but a lot of assumptions are being made there. Low carb/high fat isn't for everyone. High fat instantly fuks up my stomach badly.

[LiftedMind]

lol that's not the point, that sentence has double meaning. i'll give you a good example of this:

1. For example, say that you want to become wealthy. Then you would need to work hard and smart to gain money. Instead of doing that, if you are lazy and don't do anything "sleep" then you may find yourself living in poverty "death", since sleep and death are "close"
2. The state of being asleep is similar to being dead in that the person is "unconscious"

Yeah I get what you are saying but there is a balance of sleep vs productivity. At a point in my life I was sleeping less and working too hard and this negatively impacted my life and sleep quality. It was not a fun time.

Some people are genetically predisposed to more effecient sleep patterns though, some can get away with 5, others need 8. But quality sleep is important since it's so rejuvenative. They say its the fountain of youth, and it is for so many reasons.

[miscgang]

The world doesn't meet you half way, you must be willing to go all the way.

More motivational quote but this saying I've carried with me my whole life and I think it's helped me become who I am.

[LiftedMind]

The world doesn't meet you half way, you must be willing to go all the way.

More motivational quote but this saying I've carried with me my whole life and I think it's helped me become who I am.

I like this one a lot, thanks for sharing. Repped!

[Bo_Flecks]

Once I was seven years old, my mama told me. Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely.

[LiftedMind]

Once I was seven years old, my mama told me. Go make yourself some friends or you'll be lonely.

Deep truths here, great physique btw

[SilverSpork]

Maybe state your age while you anoint me in your wisdom.

[LiftedMind]

Maybe state your age while you anoint me in your wisdom.

27 years on this planet

[Sociopaticus]

Realize that no one is coming to save you. You are responsible for your own happiness

[phailboat]

"Always try to act rationally and logically in life, while emotional health is important, sometimes it's important to put your ego and your views aside and learn from others. The world is illuminated through knowledge and our brains are all that we will ever have in this life." -phailboat

"The unexamined life is not worth living." -Socrates

[juicebrah92]

High carb low fat vegan, best thing ive ever done for my health fam.

[LiftedMind]

Realize that no one is coming to save you. You are responsible for your own happiness

This is so true, as hard as it is. Some die trying.

"Always try to act rationally and logically in life, while emotional health is important, sometimes it's important to put your ego and your views aside and learn from others. The world is illuminated through knowledge and our brains are all that we will ever have in this life." -phailboat

"The unexamined life is not worth living" -Socrates

First quote = amazing. Logic and rationality are so freaking important as they will help you understand things better when you have a framework to work with.

And to add, it's so important to acquire knowledge on both sides of the story so you can provide valid arguments. People argue about topics they know nothing about. For example, flat earth believers lack logic and rationality for the most part, and they refuse to look at the knowledge of the other side of the argument. In the end they lose out on finding a higher truth that will empower them.

[wave_length]

Be good looking, rich, intelligent, and, most importantly, lucky.
Unfortunally, not much you can do about any of that.

[phailboat]

First quote = amazing. Logic and rationality are so freaking important as they will help you understand things better when you have a framework to work with.

And to add, it's so important to acquire knowledge on both sides of the story so you can provide valid arguments. People argue about topics they know nothing about. For example, flat earth believers lack logic and rationality for the most part, and they refuse to look at the knowledge of the other side of the argument. In the end they lose out on finding a higher truth that will empower them.

Yes you summarized the point I was trying to make brilliantly repped

[TougeWarrior]

Op is the best poster in misc (srs). Always provides quality threads.

You helped to stick with my smoking quit. Now 50 days smoke free (posted under AK420Alpha name but u probably dont remember)

[OcHmAn]

don't stick your fingers where you wouldnt stick your pecker

[proudmanlet]

best I can do I put in this post http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1354872691 basically cliffs on reprogramming ur mind positively

[Talius]

Good thread OP, I agree with a lot of your points you made. Thanks for putting it together, repped.