Does Quality Matter?
Look around you. Yes, right now, stop what you’re doing and take a look at your life. Take your time and think about what you have, what you’ve done, and where you are. Are you happy with what you’ve created and the life you’re living?
Do you nourish yourself with high quality, nutrient-dense foods? Do you have healthy, functional relationships with the people that surround you? Do you make it a point to communicate with love and honesty, even when it’s difficult? Is your environment organized, clean, and clutter-free? Do you breathe clean air and get regular sunshine? Does your career energize you rather than drain you?
I could go on and on…..but you get the point, right? The point is to look at your life on a regular basis and decide if it’s what you want it to be. The key word here is “decide”. This is YOUR life, so YOU get to decide how it goes. Create your life, sit in the driver’s seat, and steer it in the direction of your dreams. Be very careful not to drift over to the passenger’s seat and allow life to happen to you. Always stay in control and pointed in the right direction.
QUALITY FOODS
We may not be able to control society, the media, our neighbors, or the kids our own children sit next to in school. We may not be able to control the weather or the violence that’s reported on the news every night. But one of the things we have control over is the two feet between our hand and our mouth. We still get to decide what foods we put in our bodies and how we feel at the end of each day as a result.
Even without changing the foods we’re eating, if we simply upgrade the quality, we are taking huge strides to increase our metabolism and digestion. With every bite we take, we are either improving our health or contributing to its demise, so it’s worth an extra few seconds to think about the quality of the foods we are consuming. To me, quality means real, fresh, whole foods, maybe organic, locally grown, and even prepared with love.
Think of a tomato that you might buy at the local grocery store. It was likely mass-produced and delivered in a large truck after traveling thousands of miles. When you cut into it, it might be sort of whitish, and when you bite into it, it might lack flavor. But if you grow this tomato in your backyard with your own hands, in nutrient-dense soil, it will be a beautiful red in the center and when you bite into it, it will have a sweet, juicy flavor and taste like candy, so much so that you could eat it like an apple. Not only is the homegrown tomato more nutrient dense, but it makes you happier to eat it and therefore provides you with more nourishment (different than nutrition).
When the bulk of our diet is mass-produced, low-quality foods, we are starving ourselves, even when we’re eating all the time. The reason we overeat isn’t because we’re weak, or because we lack willpower. We overeat because our food is deficient in nutrients and our body continues to crave the nutrients so it tells us to keep eating. Starting today, choose foods full of nutrients that also provide you nourishment, foods that make you feel better and stronger and happier.
QUALITY RELATIONSHIPS
Who are the five people that play the biggest role in your life? Are they supportive, healthy relationships? Do you speak to each other with love and honesty? Are there any incomplete communications out there? In other words, are there unresolved conflicts or any things that are on your mind that need to be said (with love and honesty)?
Dishonest, non-authentic, relationships cause a lot of stress. You create these relationships when you don’t say what’s on your heart, or when you turn yourself into a person that you think someone else wants you to be, instead of staying authentic and true to who you are. When someone hurts you, talk about it. When you’re confused by a loved one’s actions, ask them what happened, don’t create a story in your mind.
It is really important not to “bury the hatchet” and choose not to talk about things that bother you. By sweeping things under the rug, they don’t go away, you just get a really bumpy rug! Take some time to pull those things out and look at them. What responsibility can you take for all of this? Own the end result and the responsibility for where you are, remove all blame, and just look at it with a curious mind. What is left that you need to talk about? Make phone calls or write letters to people and say all the things you need to say, just remember to say it all with love in your heart.
QUALITY ENVIRONMENT
What is your home environment like? Are your belongings well cared for, or are things broken and falling apart? Does everything have a place, or do you live in chaos? Is your home fresh and clean, or are there dust and cobwebs in every corner? Do you live in an area where there is fresh air and sunshine, or do you live in a city with traffic, and noise, and smog? Do the people that share your home all get along and treat each other with respect, or is there tension and stress? Simply take a minute to notice your home environment, and then do the same if you work outside the home. This process is not to place blame. In fact, quite the opposite. Just acknowledge where you are and take responsibility for it. Once you take responsibility, you can start to make positive changes.
WHAT'S NEXT?
For support and accountability in accomplishing the first steps in making positive quality changes in your life, download my FREE "Does Quality Matter?" Tracker. Print it, fill it out, and then head on over to my Facebook page to let us know what quality changes you plan to make this week. We will personally hold you accountable this week! Can't wait to hear from you!
