Healthier Happier You
What a difference a year makes.
This time last year, the world was thrown into turmoil with the outworkings of the first global pandemic since the Spanish flu 100 years ago.
The first thing I did last year was to read up on what happened 100 years ago, how did people react, how long did it last, and what was the overall imapct on the world at that time.
It was a fascinating exercise and helped me understand what the next twelve months might have in store for us.
Interestingly enough, what happened 100 years ago, pretty much repeated itself this time around in terms of resistance to masks, school closures, businesses closing down and going bust, hospitals being over run and off course people succumbing to the virus. The one very positive difference being the Spanish flu was a much deadlier virus in comparison to Covid19 with the death toll way in excess of 50 million people.
One of the things I have noticed in the last twelve months is that people seem to be more concerned about their own health. There is no doubt there is a renewed focus on health, and a spotlight has been shone on how unhealthy humans have become.
This is something we all need to start talking about more often, and try to figure out a better way forward.
Illness and death is a pretty sobering experience for most, and it is a good thing that some people might come out of this experience by actually starting to prioritise their own health and that of their families. I really do hope so!
For me I didn’t need a pandemic to kick me into gear and change my whole approach to life.
Many of you already know, it was a diagnosis of MS in 2007, which can lay claim to that, and in some ways, I have a lot to thank the onset of a very difficult illness, for making me realise I had to change the way I was living, or otherwise my health was going to deteriorate very quickly and very badly.
March 2021, Lils & Conor #Hope
Conor, can you help me ?
Everyday I get emails and messages from people, from all across the world, generally looking for some advice on how they can improve their own health.
People who engage with me come from a very broad church, but include people who are suffering from MS and other neurological conditions, to people who are suffering from mental health challenges, obesity, relationship challenges, to those suffering from being under financial duress.
The fact that I own a business which helps business owners solve a wide range of problems, opens me up to a huge demographic of people, something I genuinely enjoy, as helping people overcome challenges is now something I get so much out of, on a personal capacity.
Off course the plan of attack for each of these scenarios can all be very different, but the mindset and approach has to be the same every single time.
You see I have come to understand that pretty much every problem in life can be solved, remedied or managed. Maybe you won’t be able to change things entirely, however you can change how you choose to live with and manage such challenges, and changes in your own circumstances.
In “Man’s Search for meaning”, Viktor Frankl, the Austrian neurologist, talks about how he was able to get through the days in the german death camps in Auschwitz. It’s an incredible read, very inspiring and educational, and I encourage all of you to read it.
Basically Frankl sets out, that regardless of how the Nazi soldiers treated him on a daily basis, it was up to him to decide how he would choose to process this, and continue to get up everyday.
For me everything comes back to Attitude, and your own attitude and approach to CHANGING things in your own life.
We live in an incredible age when all of the information we need is at our fingertips through the worldwide web. We are coming down with information, self help books, netflix documentaries, websites on plant-based diets, fabulous books on how we can reverse disease, illness, deal with misfortune, illness and so on.
It’s all there, all available, but the real question then is - how badly do you really want things to change for you - for the better?
I spend alot of my time responding to people, but to be honest, I’m not sure how many people I engage with, are actually prepared to do what is required to change their health outcomes, and their own journey through life.
5 years drug free
Next month I am 5 years drug free.
It's a really big deal for me, as living with a neurological problem that effects your brain and your whole life, is pretty difficult at times, particularly when you go against the grain, and against the advice of your medical team.
Thankfully the decision I made in April 2016 to change the way I was living, transition to a plant based lifestyle, and throw the medication in the bin, has paid massive dividends for me.
Five years into my new life, I have to say, my mind and body is strong, and I now have loads of great days, and very few bad days. This is huge, as not that long ago, it was the other way round, when what I called a good day, were few and far between.
The moral of the story being life is a gift, and I now realise that for a life to be well lived, we have to experience every emotion, including pain, trauma and loss. It’s all part of the experience and adds to the gift of living.
My advice to people is to STOP being passive, STOP sitting on the fence, take back control, educate yourself on nutrition, become a student of life, understand your own biochemistry, keep asking questions (of everyone), stay curious, follow your passion, exercise everyday, and here is the thing - you must believe that things can improve… that’s where the magic really happens.
Trust me!!
Attitude Is Everything
CD ☘