In short

Many say money talks, however, the truth is, the movement, of money talks. There needs to be an undercurrent of flow in our assets. Similarly, my friend knows I love them when I make a move in hugging them, or I move air through my mouth & say I love them, or maybe I just move my eyes, looking at them & they know. When we understand the simplicity of internal to external movement, we can utilise friction to maintain energy perpetuating the existence we wish to experience.

The currency of movement

Trillions of movements within & among the cells of a living organism, explain the enlightened state of every physiological function. Internally energy in motion leads to awareness of a feeling, we think to ourselves this sensation probably means… & after weighing up the evidence we make a decision of which meaning we are most certain about & will attribute that belief to in future experience of that feeling. Externally the emotion is expressed in our physical actions, from looking direction to posture & larger more complex motions like walking. The observed performance is equal to the collective qualities of consecutive micro-actions.

We’ve all reacted in a situation then later thought if only I had responded with a better reply. If possible, I’d prepare for similar circumstances & respond better in the future. To have this kind of control over how we respond, we first need to identify what actions or words personally create an upward or downward feeling within us. Then we can use the words & actions that drive us, to move us toward the responses we want.

In this process, one challenge is recognising when downward emotions begin because we often become focused on all the negative, spiralling down, not noticing till we’ve said words or taken action on things we can’t take back. Accepting we are human & these errors are what it means to be alive, isn’t giving up on striving for greatness but accepting we don’t have negative without positive because, without friction, life ceases to be.

Constructing a health movement

Understanding that to be living is to be moving at a sub-cellular level, we’re reminded that this is fundamental to all health creation. A common misunderstanding is expressed by saying people don’t understand how to be healthy, but they do. Eat less, move more & be present; we know this much, the basics. This is often followed by, but they don’t know specifically, but again they do. Eat a fresh fruit or a packet of dry, sugar & salt-covered substance. Walk slowly so you’re not out of breath versus gradually push yourself further so you feel out of breath. If we look at the pattern of internal to external expression; we can understand that we think we know an answer, we tell ourselves that … is the answer & act in response to that.

What’s the actual problem? It seems to me, like many things there is rarely one answer & there are at least two sides to every story. Several challenges include habitual thinking patterns, an environment of others with similar thinking & media that perpetuates distorted beliefs. For example, it’s often said healthier eating is more expensive. While fresh foods are usually faster to perish & therefore more expensive, they contain longer-lasting fuel, keeping you fuller for longer, therefore eating smaller portions & costing less. Cooking food for less time keeps more nutrients & saves energy too. There are also benefits to doing smaller shops regularly, having to physically move to the shop getting some steps in, actively choosing to value yourself enough to make repeated quality choices & using our mind rather than pressing repeated on an online order; maintaining neural pathways. The saying use it or lose it really rings true here. 

These two ideas suggest we distort the truth to comfort ourselves; ironically, we know we could be more, & that’s in fact why it hurts. We feel a deep sense of knowing that we could & are made to be & contribute more. If we want to break the cycle of thinking to put it on pause, & check for errors; we have to allocate time to do just that. Some call it journaling, other variations could involve mediation, both of which may result in new hypotheses for testing. I’ve found myself becoming faster at reviewing my thinking through journaling, I write without thinking, focused on flow rather than constructing grammatically correctly, & then reviewing it with many questions. A few key questions such as, what are the facts, what do I feel & think so far, do I know anyone who knows or might have a new perspective? When I’ve reviewed & decided on a new belief I use the most fitting language for me, helping myself remember it. I use it throughout a few weeks & review it. Language is a vehicle that helps me package an idea & transport it, internally to externally; whether I express it in behaviour or articulate it to explain it to another.

Language that moves

Now back to the main ideas I wanted to bring here. What is required is to practice changing gears from downward to upward spiralling . As we do this, our mind becomes better at noticing when we’re on a downward spiral & as we practice upward spiralling, we get better at it, spending more time there. Language is a great way to trigger our physiological response. Like when we hear someone has been sick, we have a very different sensation compared to if we hear someone just brought you a gift!

So the question is what words trigger certain sensations within you? We can begin by writing a few thoughts, testing them over a week, & checking at various times throughout the day. For me right now, I really dislike the word hate, I don’t perceive any benefit from its use because I see benefit in everything even negative parts of a day. I really like the word go because it suggests action should take place, it’s highly associated with the start of a race; in my head, I hear an air horn, & using the word go makes me jump off the starting blocks & begin taking action with a good pace. As I move, I get more confident & continue; before I know it, the task is complete. Being aware of words I wish to reduce & others that I want to increase helps me trigger prompt action at will.

Commanding myself to commit to taking action before I am perfectly ready, ensures I stay in the flow of the game of life. When I’m slow my thinking slows down, & I momentarily forget that perfect timing won’t arrive. The most perfect timing is always now, it’s here & it’s gone; there’s no time to do extensive planning or reminiscing; we’d need two more entire lifetimes to watch all the action replays. Although I do spend time reflecting on the past & future, the old is in the present. So any way to implement the type of language that grounds you in the present is worth welcoming. Songs, phrases & nicknames are a great way to sow these thoughts into our daily lives.

3 Proactive steps forward

1.          My experience in healthcare has been that we’ve become overwhelmed with where we want to go (saving the people), rarely stopping to ask some key questions. Why are people requiring so much so regularly? To what extent do people need help? Am I really helping if I resolve their perceived problem for them? I have spent many hours reflecting on these questions & get the impression that increasing numbers of people are extreme ruminators. To ruminate is often thought of negatively but dictionary definitions don’t suggest negative or positive. More accurately I’d suggest ruminating can be either positive or negative within the thoughts themselves. However, remaining in a cycle of either, for a prolonged period is a negative result of ruminating; at some point one needs to pause, take action & test the hypothesis. This increase in overthinking seems to have been encouraged by our environment where we have so many options; we now have concerns we might make a “wrong” choice. Or while we journey down one route, we begin to fear missing out (Fear of missing out) on the other options.

2.          Just as language creates a sensation within me, how we use language for each other will create sensations within the reader, those hearing or overhearing; regardless of whether they understand the language, the tone used carries a lot of energy within it. Because words can be misinterpreted, the least I feel I can do is use them optimally for myself, therefore when I use words I will reflect within my tone, body language etc I will emanate the energy of hope to share. I’ve found this to be most obvious when I’ve worked with a patient who doesn’t speak English but I comfort them when they’re unwell & they can at least say thank you, hold my hand & show gratitude with a look. Other times, later that day they may report to family who thank me. We all got thanks I’m no special exception, I’m just observing the situation. I know my meaning is transferred via my energy.

3.          As I become increasingly specific with the words I use, those around me hear & may use similar language, testing it out for themselves. I know this to be true as I hear similar language used by healthcare professionals all the time. We’ve created another language of sorts. When else do we use words like unremarkable or deranged? We can choose to spend time reflecting on the most optimum language to use & then take an action to increase our use of that word, sticking a label on a pen or drinking vessel, or changing a regularly used password. One of my favourites is to think of a regular complaint said at work & then come up with a comical response & turn that into a habit. I hear someone use the phrase ugh…but that’ll never happen & I say “That’s the spirit!”.

FREE 3-minute practical’s

• Reflect for 15mins minimum; on the question, To what extent do people need my help? If I only have a short time with them, What is the most important gift I want to give them?
  •            What body language do I use? List as much as you can in 2mins. Which one or two help you connect the fastest with the most amount of people?
  •            What is the most popular negative phrase you find yourself saying? What responses would be most beneficial to turn this perspective around? Go share this with someone, in person, via text or voice note; it’ll help you remember it for when you need it.

Interpractive nurture consultant Ltd