The Come Alive Project

Category: Aging

  • Energy Bite 266 – What Come Alive Really Means

    I have been focusing this blog almost entirely on aspects of exercise, food and other fitness related topics. The email comments have been positive. But fitness is just a part of an active Senior lifestyle.

    I must remember that The Come Alive Project is about far more than physical fitness. It’s about the ENERGY that physical fitness provides. It’s about the benefits of good health and fitness, waking up to life and the experience of being alive! It’s about the things you can DO as a Senior because you are healthy and fit. It’s about saying yes to life! It’s about being in the Flow of Life!

    You can’t be truly alive unless you are fundamentally healthy and fit. That’s why I have focused so much on health and fitness in these weekly articles. You have to feel physically good to feel alive. There are very few exceptions.

    Mindset is critical. A positive attitude toward life is what lets you Come Alive. And it must be in keeping with your  identity. We see news reports of military veterans with missing arms, legs and both, who don’t identify with their disabilities. Instead they identify with their potential and often fit back into the real world better than many who have returned uninjured. Many don’t consider themselves victims and they get on with their lives on the terms that life has given them, with an attitude of optimism about their possibilities.

    We must not let age or our perception of aging, determine our identity. We too, must identify with our potential. We are not victims of aging, nor should we wish to be identified as such. Sadly, many Seniors do. Many adopt the “poor me, I’m too old” attitude.

    I’ve written before of what our capabilities as Seniors can be, if we only let them come out. We are stronger than we think we are. We can do much more than we think we can. And we can continue to remain independent and do the things we want to do in life, even as we get older. And yes, we need to be healthy and fit to do them.

    So, for a while I’ll be focusing more on Coming Alive, staying alive and being alive without forgetting the importance of fitness and food as the way to get there. Review the about page of this website to see what I had in mind when I set it up.

    I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving or holiday and I hope all are ( or will soon be ) healthy, fit, and “Alive” with energy and vitality!

    Thank you for reading.

     

     

  • Energy Bite 216 – “The Resistance”

    I’ve written a great deal about how we know what we should be doing for our Health, Fitness and Personal Energy,  but don’t do it. Wouldn’t it be nice to know the reasons why we don’t.

    Steven Pressfield might just have an answer. You may remember Steven Pressfield as the author of the book and movie, The Legend of Bagger Vance. In his more recent book, the War of Art, which has become sort of a cult classic among many solo and independent entrepreneurs, he writes about what he calls —  “The Resistance”.

     What is “The Resistance” you ask? Pressfield describes it as that indefinable “thing” that keeps you  from doing the things you know you should be doing, but don’t do for one reason or another. And that’s the overriding problem for many of us who know we should be moving more,  eating better, and taking better care of ourselves, but don’t. He says that “The Resistance” is an invisible force with the aim of distracting us and preventing us from doing the work we know we should be doing.

    In the forward to the book, Fulbright Scholar and Screen-Writing Teacher, Robert McKee, calls the Resistance:

    “. . . That destructive force inside human nature that rises whenever we consider a tough, long-term course of action that might do for us or others something that’s actually good.”

     What activities commonly elicit “The Resistance”? In the book, there is a long list. I have extracted four from the list that are appropriate to Health, Fitness and Personal Energy. Pressfield suggests that “The Resistance” pops up in these activities:

    • Any diet or health regimen.
    • Any activity whose aim is tighter abdominals.
    • Any course or program designed to overcome an unwholesome habit or addiction
    • Any program of spiritual advancement [Ed: meditation, visualization, affirmation, etc].

    Pressfield says that “The Resistance” is fueled by Fear. It has no strength of it’s own; it comes entirely from within us. We feed it with our fear of it. We must master that fear to conquer resistance.

    It usually keeps us from getting started, even when we know absolutely that we must do certain things to keep up our health and energy, or else become ill, or cut short our regularly scheduled lifespan. But Pressfield says that “The Resistance” is at it’s most powerful “. . . at the finish line. The danger is greatest when the finish line is in sight. At this Point, Resistance knows we’re about to beat it. It slams us with everything it’s got.” So we say to ourselves, “I’m really starting to look and feel better. I have more energy than ever. I guess I can cut back or stop now.”

    So how do we beat “The Resistance”? Steven Pressfield says that the way to beat it is to “Be a Pro”. What does a pro do? He or she shows up every day no matter what. A Pro is committed for the long haul and sticks with the program. For example, we are coming up on the New Year and are making our health and fitness resolutions now. Gym owners love the surge of new members at the beginning of each new year, and they know that the new members will give up around the middle of February, keeping their memberships active, believing they will start again soon. Sure they will.

    Some other attributes of a Pro: A Pro is patient. A Pro acts in the face of fear. A Pro ACCEPTS NO EXCUSES. A Pro does not show off. A Pro dedicates himself to mastering technique. A Pro doesn’t hesitate to ask for help. A Pro endures adversity. A Pro recognizes limitations. Pretty good list.

    So the reasons we don’t do the things we know we should be doing to build and maintain our own health, fitness and personal energy have been codified by Steven Pressfield in his book, The War of Art.  I’m not trying to “shill” his book here, but you might benefit by reading it. And while it’s primarily written to provide answers to entrepreneurs, writers and creatives as to “what’s stopping them”, it applies to all of us who are trying to start a program of action and just can’t or won’t get started, or stick with something we actually do start.

    The answer is to: BE A PRO AND DO WHAT THE PROS DO!

    New Year’s Day, 2018 – Coming Soon!

    Thank you for reading.

  • Energy Bite 201 – What Turns Off the Flow of Energy

    Two weeks ago, in Energy Bite 199, I wrote about what we know as Flow, and how powerful a mental and physical effect it has on the way you live your life, particularly as you get older.

    In his book, In the Flow of Life, author Eric Butterworth cites Emerson, who he said:  “had this consciousness of the flow of life which indwells each person as a Presence and which is forever bubbling forth through each person as a fountain.”

    So, when I talk to groups, I use the term “Fountain of Youth” or “The Flow of Life” or sometimes “Feeling Alive”, interchangeably. It’s a mental and physical state of being  that provides you with an abundance of health and personal energy. It’s that state of mind where you are fully alive . . . and are “bubbling forth as a fountain.”

    But sometimes the flow seems to shut off. Sometimes the energy leaves you. Sometimes you feel low, even depressed. What causes the flow to slow or stop?

    • Negative People, places and things. Whiners and complainers. Other people’s drama. When you are around them, they seem to drain the energy right out of you. Unpleasant surroundings can also sap your energy. The same with clutter and noise.
    • Fears and resentments.
    • Physical deterioration . . . POOR EXERCISE AND EATING HABITS. Even poor posture.
    • You don’t use the tools that keep your Fountain of Energy flowing . . . Movement, Good Food, Deep Breathing, Meditation, Visualization (mental imagery), and even Affirmations.
    • And finally, when you write your own story, you’ve let someone else “hold the pen”.

    And writing your own story? That’s how to turn the flow back on. That’s how to age with energy and to feel alive! And that’s the topic for next week . . .  Stay tuned.

    Thank you for reading.