The Simplest Thing

What’s the simplest thing you can do to improve your health today?

If you’re starting from a relative 1, 2, or 3 on a scale from 1 through 10, then the answer is not a complex action step that’s an 8, 9, or 10.

Here are four examples, one for each of Paul Chek’s ‘4 Doctors‘:

Dr. Diet

Yesterday: You ate mostly processed foods and did not cook anything.

Today: Don’t try baking organic sourdough bread from scratch while preparing a three-course dinner. Instead, just try making one simple, easy meal at home, like an oatmeal breakfast, or a dinner with one protein + one vegetable in the oven.

Dr. Quiet

Yesterday: Your day was filled with rushing, multi-tasking, eating while working, over-scheduling, constant low-level stressors, and late night television.

Today: Don’t add a one-hour morning routine of yoga and breath work. Instead, try adding one minute of deep breathing at a few key transition moments, such as upon rising, before lunch, or before bed.

Dr. Movement

Yesterday: You spent most of the day sitting, driving, or lying down, indoors, and did zero exercise.

Today: Don’t commit to going to the gym for one hour, especially if you’ve got no experience of regularly doing so. Instead, just take a walk outside for twenty minutes.

Dr. Happiness

Yesterday: You fought with someone in your family, chose not to speak up about things that bother you with colleagues at work, and spent the whole day at a job which you hate.

Today: Don’t quit your job or look to mend all fences in one felled swoop. Instead, try something like ‘schedule 20 minutes on your calendar to work on your resume’, or ‘practice counting to 3 after the other person is done speaking, before you reply with a quick, angry response.’

These are just examples, and even these can be broken down into smaller, simpler actions if needed.

Of course they can be built up, complexity added, and the degree of difficulty increased.

Before you try more complex, however, master the simplest thing for a week or two.

Consistency is king.

(Credit to Precision Nutrition for the concept.)

(For more about Paul Chek, see either his book or podcast.)