The Maximal Life

Many of us know that water makes up 60% of our body weight. Over 50,000 different types of proteins, including antibodies, hemoglobin, and all of the hormones, make up another 20%. Protein helps us heal, grow and carry out every essential task in our bodies. It provides energy in the form of calories. Maximal Achievers are starting to realize how important protein intake is to sustained performance and high productivity.

Your body is a reporter and will tell you what it needs. It does not send out a feel full signal until it receives the protein that it needs. Protein poor foods will make you want to eat more and more, raising your carb and fat intake way beyond what your body requires. If you have a protein-rich diet, you will feel fuller faster, and stay satisfied longer, and will actually be eating smaller amounts of food. You need to figure out how much protein you need. Make note of what you are eating, how much of that is protein, and how do you feel that day. Adjust your protein intake accordingly. Find a protein-rich diet that works for you. Increased energy, better focus and maintaining a healthy weight will be a positive side effect of living a Maximal Life.

When we talk about architecture, some think of city skylines and towering buildings. Others may think of ancient buildings, monuments, or ruins. We may ask ourselves how much influence architecture has on our thought processes and decision making. The answer simply is that it influences EVERYTHING. Humans didn’t invent architecture, we adapted it out of necessity. Since the dawn of man, we have made great advancements in architecture. It is no longer just for shelter and food. It has become ART and evokes emotion, even cultural conditioning. They have the power to influence us in positive and negative ways.

The same can be said for willpower and motivation. Our environment can influence our decisions and even our willpower over what and how we eat. Every single day we make decisions about how and what we are going to fuel our bodies. We may choose what is familiar or readily available. This is called default decision making. The three motions that will refine your default decisions to support your health goals and make choosing positive food choices easy are, pre-commit to keeping healthy options ready, use visual cues by removing unhealthy food from your view, and be specific, Maximal Achievers decide what they will do and what they won’t do. They architect their environment so that it serves them.

We have all had experiences when we are brainstorming with colleagues for that brilliant new idea or a solution to a problem without any success. Only to have an idea pop into your head when you are in the shower, or walking the dog. So, what is it that prevents us from finding that answer when we are trying our hardest? There are studies that show how certain areas of the brain slow down and decrease their activity when you are demanding the most from yourself. The study also found that the cognitive problem-solving capabilities were higher when the individuals were in a state of rest.

What we learn from these studies is that we need to oscillate between states of working and resting. The next AHA moment could be just around the corner when we take a rest, Because Breaks...Boost...the...Brain. When you leave work, disconnect completely. Take the time to rest, be with your family, spend times with friends, or even just do nothing. Prioritize restful sleep at night by going to bed at the same time. Maybe you can take a power nap during the day. As Maximal Achievers, you move mountains. You can also move your own body from a busy routine to your rest and rejuvenation.

We have all heard the expression "laughter is the best medicine". Numerous studies have shown that laughter boosts your immune system, alleviates pain, and strengthens your heart, and improves your circulation. Laughing just 100 times is the equivalent of a 10 to 15 minute aerobic exercise. Babies laugh an average of 400 times a day, people over 35 may laugh 15 times a day, and even less than that during the weekday. People with high stress levels, anxiety, and even depression have less connectivity between the frontal lobe and the reward centers of the brain. Laughing directly re-establishes those connections.

Laughter reduces stress and increases energy. It engages people and makes them feel good. We can all use those feelings in the workplace. When you laugh with someone, you get to know them better, it can ease stress during crunch time. Quick to laugh people are a joy to work with. The relief we experience from a good laugh is long lasting and rejuvenating. Maximal Achievers are often in leadership positions. Studies have shown that executives who were ranked as outstanding, used humor twice as much as others. Today think of three things you can do to make your culture and environment more fun. Challenge yourself and others to make laughter an everyday practice, at work and at home.

Our culture seems to wear the "I’m busy" phrase, around like a badge of honor. And we sometimes mistake being busy for being productive. Researchers have found that people have reported feeling happier when they are busy, even if that busyness was not really warranted. Society has conditioned us that we have to be busy to be successful. And thus we feel happier when we are busy and feel guilty when we are not. The implication becomes that if you are that busy, then you must be doing work of value. However this busyness in generally self-imposed and ultimately meaningless.

Beat the busyness trap NOW. Examine the worthiness of the task you are working on. Will it bring you closer to the objective? Then look at the urgency of the task. Is it necessary in the large scheme of things? And examine the work habits and culture in your work space. Do you attempt to create the image of being busy? By applying a few simple rules, you will be able to identify the time traps that are a huge source of needless busyness. Then eliminate the things that are keeping you needlessly occupied, and get busy doing the things that actually matter in the bigger picture of your Maximal Life.

Adopting a morning ritual is the key to starting off the day with peak performance. What you may not realize is that you probably already have one. Your alarm goes off and the first thing you reach for is your phone. You check emails or text messages from work. You may shower and then skip breakfast so you can get to work right now. This go go go culture of today’s economy was born from the industrial revolution and is very much alive to this day. When there is more to do we invest more time. We are living with a perpetual sense of time poverty.

To be a Maximal Achiever you need to adopt a renewal routine. Our body is a reporter. It is our job to read the report and give the body what it needs. Our body tells us throughout the day when we need a break to replenish our energy reserves. But we often override those signals with caffeine, sugar, etc. Set an alarm every 90 minutes to go from productivity to renewal. Step out of the office, go for a 20-minute walk, get some sunshine. Make this your new habit. The truth is this: You operate at your highest performance level when you optimize your renewal and recovery.