Last night someone said to me, “You haven’t aged one year, Carol (though I haven’t seen this person in 30+ years). Can you help me stop eating so much? Tell me what’s your top secret to looking so young?” …As they whispered in my ear, “What’s your favorite treatment?”
I laughed, and didn’t attempt to defend my 30-years of get-healthy effort, or express my objections for “treatments,” but the answer is salient, and perhaps unexpected…
The Irony
Someone recently contacted me. Before our call, they said via email that they wanted to discuss the chronic digestive problems that “have plagued them all their life.” They said that they wanted to “discuss new ways of dealing with the chronic symptoms they experience.”
I went to the call with the same Spirit of generosity I go to every call — I wanted to be of contribution. I wanted to make sure this person left our call with at least one new insight to weigh in on, one new action to take, some bit of knowledge that could make a difference for them.
But ironically, from hello, this person held center stage on all that they know about poor digestion, so I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I didn’t get to share anything. Nothing.
I didn’t get to weigh in on one new action they could take.
And though I tried, I didn’t get to share not even one bit of knowledge that I know could help.
I felt dumfounded, and still find myself shaking my head wondering, “why did this person want to talk to me?”
The experience left me thinking of something George Bernard Shaw said, “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
The Juxtaposition
I’ve got this AWESOME client. He’s both a highly trained leader and a Harley guy.
He hired me to help him with a serious diagnosis.
And though he put some ‘serious skin in the game to work with me‘ (financial investment), and though he’s got a very compelling reason why he wants to beat his diagnosis, once, when we first started working together, skepticism about rose up when I explained to him our next and necessary steps.
But I heard his skepticism, so encouraged him to take some time to process my recommendations.
He came to our next call and said, “Let’s go.”
And though the reflective time proved advantageous to our work together, I I know he rightly examined his skepticism. I know he smartly researched my recommendations, and I trust he thoughtfully weighed in on his faith in me.
But I also know that though he’s a highly trained leader, and though I know he loves burning the reasons that try to stop him from playing full out, he’s a Harley guy that I’ve asked to invest into his healing in ways others invest into a Mercedes Benz or a tropical vacation.
But he came back to our call ready and open.
The Path to Looking and Feeling my Best
I said to the pharmacist at the CVS drugstore, “Can you lower the dosage of this medication? It’s too strong for me. I can’t get out of bed.” She agreed, but said she’d have to call my doctor.
With chronic digestive issues and a multitude of other problematic symptoms, I experienced acute anxiety years back, so my doctor recommended I take Xanax.
As I waited for the pharmacist’s response, I could tell she was first talking to the receptionist, then the nurse, then the doctor.
When the doctor asked to speak to me, I thought “Oh good. He’ll understand.”
My doctor said, “I thought you said you trusted me? If you don’t take the medication the way I prescribed, the anxiety will lead to panic attacks, and you know what happens after that, right?”
I stood there confused and full of fear, “No doctor, I have no idea.”
“Suicide.”
“If you do not take the medication the way I prescribe, panic attacks will lead to suicide.”
I stood there speechless, as tears welled up in my eyes… but, like a small, barely visible light in a thick and heavy fog, amidst the real fear I was feeling, the thought “I need to find someone who can help me understand why my body is breaking down,” rose up like a fierce and mighty warrior within me.
The Answer: The Insider Advice You Need to Look and Feel Your Best
Thirty years later, I offer you the answer to my friends’ question, “What is your top secret to looking so young? with 100% certainty. My answer would be the same answer for the person who reached out to me earlier this week with the hopes of learning a new way of dealing with the lifelong, chronic symptoms they experience. It would be the same answer for you, and whatever the health problem that challenges you. It’s the same answer that differentiates the client who puts autoimmune disease in remission, goes off anti-depression medication and skyrockets their energy. It’s the same answer my Harley guy embodies.
You must develop a curiosity for new ideas, new ways of doing things. You must be willing to let go of what you believe to be true. You must challenge what everyone around you says is “right.” You must develop and openness to the thoughts and ideas of others, without fear of losing yourself.
In a nutshell, to look and feel your best, you MUST open to the unfamiliar, the out of the ordinary, the new, the fresh, the unconventional, even the exotic.
When I look back over my life, it was my ability to create and expand an open-way of being and thinking that was the most powerful driver for literally changing the whole course of my health and my life… And is perhaps the single most important piece of advice I may likely ever offer you, to look and feel your best.
For me to reclaim my health, heal my digestive system and every other symptom I ever experienced, including anxiety, I had to challenge every mainstream idea I had been taught about a typical “normal” diet, food choices and even ideas of fun. I had to look more deeply into what caused illness and how I was taught to think about healthcare. I even had to challenge who I thought I was, without other’s definitions of “what’s good and acceptable and what’s not,” constraining the choices I wanted to make for me, my health and my life. And more, I had to challenge what I had been taught about my Faith, and what it meant to me and the choices I needed to make to be my Highest Self. I literally had to open to new ways of being, perceiving, understanding and doing, to get to all that I’ve learned about living inside a vibrant and healthy body.
But like Robert Frost said… “Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
The Possibilities for You
But, I did NOT eat this elephant of looking and feeling my best in one bite. My goodness it took me 30 years to get to where I’m at now… So it would be unrealistic for you to think you can eat this elephant all at once. Unless of course you want to expedite your results by working with me. If yes, you can learn more here. If no, or just not yet, your next step to healthy begins here. I’ve organized my top 5 best steps to help you increase your energy and build a very solid foundation to your get-healthy game!
Any questions? Feel free to post your questions below, or email me here. I’d love to help… If you’re open!
