Gilly Chater Which comes First? Healthy Body or Healthy Mind
There is so much discussion as to what comes first.
A client had been working with a counsellor to reduce her stress levels. The change in diet and getting her into better
eating habits was the recommendation by the counsellor, and as my client quoted “Healthy body means healthy
mind”. When I suggested to her the opposite, “healthy mind, healthy body”, it raised her curiosity. She wanted to
know more.
Think about an occasion when you went to your fridge late at night because you thought you were hungry. There on
the shelf is a large slice of your favourite rich chocolate dessert – ‘ah, leftovers needing to be eaten’, ‘just one more
small piece won’t hurt’ or ‘I’ll keep it for tomorrow I’m not really hungry’. Your decision may be random, yet if you are
fully conscious and alert to your thoughts would you eat the dessert or not? The decision will relate to your state of
mind in that moment. And you may change your mind several times.
A colleague said to me that she hadn’t been happy for several months. I took her to mean this literally. “Every moment
of day” I asked? “Have you not laughed and felt happy at any time in six months?” She laughed and said “Oh no I didn’t
mean that, of course I’ve had happy moments”.
Thought is the most powerful asset we have. What’s not so commonly understood is what underlies our experience of
life is due to our thoughts in the moment. A clear mind can create space for new insights about leadership and being
the best leader you can be in the work environment, as a parent, as a partner, spouse or leader in your community.
State of mind is temporary
Whether a positive or negative thought, it’s not long before another one comes along – FACT! That is the point.... our
thoughts change all the time and we have between 50 to 80,000 thoughts a day. Some thoughts we pay a lot of
attention to, while others we ignore. The more you leave those thoughts alone the healthier your thinking will be. It’s
ok to feel frustrated, but remember that feeling is coming from your thinking about the situation or person.
We all have a Personal Feedback System (PFS) to let us know why we feel in a certain way. It’s always the same
because. It comes from the way we are thinking about something or someone, in that moment.
Beating yourself up is a waste of time
Ruminating about what we could have done, and didn’t do, keeps us stuck. Failure is ok. Some of the most successful
people tell us how many times they have failed. Be compassionate with yourself and others. Get clear about what you
want to achieve now. A new moment is a new opportunity.
Insights are the precursor to change
Never underestimate a realisation or ‘aha’ moment. It can be simple yet also profound. This is true for everyone. As a
leader, it’s important to remember everyone has the capacity to have insights and change their mind... just like you.
The debate continues as to which comes first – a healthy mind or a healthy body - because we live in a world of
separate realities. Think of it this way. Thought first then everything else follows. Change your thought and you may
eat the chocolate dessert or change your mind again and leave it for the next day.
Gilly Chater speaks, facilitates, writes and coaches leaders to become more insightful,
more productive and to create healthy high performance cultures. An award winning
President of the Auckland Chapter of the National Speakers Association of New
Zealand 2012 to 2013, Gilly was voted by industry peers as ‘2012 Inspirational Speaker
of the Year’. Contact her at [email protected] or http://www.gillychater.com
Or phone +64 9 425 4540