Bandwidth + Balance = Breakthroughs

Today, we discuss how Bandwidth and Balance bring Breakthroughs.

I had the most mentally restful holiday I’ve ever had recently, and did some pretty creative work as a result of it. This is coming from someone that only a few short years ago was such a workaholic that I struggled to even have a hobby/interest of any kind. In hindsight I was probably experiencing a level of anhedonia and was so deep into my world of darkness that I wasn’t even aware of it. Does this sound familiar? When your head and heart is so weighed down by the cares of life (relationships, finances, responsibilities, dependents, illness, etc.) that you feel unable to get excited or motivated to do anything new, let alone keep your head above the waters of everything that is currently clamouring for your immediate attention?

The funny thing is that I work in the field of mental health and depression is no stranger to me. Years prior, I had already worked on practising strategies for “peak mental performance” within the context of a Depression Recovery Program. The great thing about non-pharmaceutical strategies for mood issues is that they promote wholistic wellbeing in general, and so the program I engaged in taught me that we don’t have to wait to be depressed/sick to seek out wellness strategies. Learning to practise self-care would boost my resilience for future challenges to my overall wellbeing.

We don’t have to wait to be sick to seek out wellness strategies.

So the word that resonated with me as I experienced the unfamiliar “lightness” in my soul and physiologically felt the “creative sparks” firing in my brain after my recent restful break, was: Bandwidth.

It was like the narrow congested traffic lanes of my neural pathways were suddenly upgraded to become 4-wide highways in each direction and there was room in my heart for Love to be in charge, instead of being crammed into a dark corner by the bullies called Fear, Resentment, Powerlessness, and Anger. I was able to come up with new ideas and think more freely without the usual “cloudiness” in my head. It suddenly became easier to recognise the signs of a fellow earthling operating out of fear instead of freedom. More importantly, instead of reacting with the thought, “That’s really despicable behaviour, I don’t want any part of that,” I had the emotional bandwidth available within me to be able to come alongside them and support them in their moment of “ugliness”. I was able to say…

Sounds like you need more Bandwidth. What’s taking up your Bandwidth right now?

Because I too knew just how despicable my life and behaviour was when I lacked Bandwidth: the capacity to operate out of love instead of fear, and make what I call our “true choices”, i.e. the choice that we would make if we were free from suffocating stress and fully functioning as our best selves.

Building up Bandwith

A simple formula I’ve been using for years is NEWSTART. I’ve added two more letters to emphasise additional aspects of life that impact our health – see if it works for you to be a NEWSTARTER:

• Nutrition – eat “what and when” well – choose clean fuel (wholefoods) for your body type, and time your intake (e.g. intermittent fasting, no heavy meals close to bedtime)
• Exercise – move your body regularly without hurting yourself
• Water – drink plain, clean water often and much, and shower regularly (contrast showers, anyone?)
• Sunlight – enjoy the outdoors daily (if you’re in a no-ozone zone like me, make sure you use sun protection also)
• Temperance – avoid harmful substances like tobacco, alcohol, processed sugar, etc.
• Air – breathe with your belly, not your chest
• Rest – broken sleep = broken brain. Don’t deprive yourself of sufficient rest
• Trust – have faith in an external Divine power that sustains your life
• Environment – live clean, remove toxins (energetic, physical, chemical) as much as possible
• Relationships – live aright with others, repair any brokenness as soon as possible.

Having been on a journey of seeking health and wholeness for some years now, I know how easy it is to become a little obsessive about particular health methods. Orthorexia is a real thing. Hence…

Balance

It’s one thing to apply strategies to keep our Bandwidth wide and expansive – expansive enough to take the weight of the world as it hurls itself at us PLUS have the creative power to flourish and bring new ideas, works, and content to Beautify the world.

This is a life of Resilience Plus (R+).

It’s another thing to allow yourself the pace of grace. To have balance even as you pursue with full determination the course of a NEWSTARTER.

I celebrate my humanity even as I publicly share my failure to fully practise the NEWSTARTER principles 100% of the time. I certainly failed to build up my resilience in the years preceding my slow descent into a dark tunnel of unwellness. And I’ve paid the price for it.

And

I choose to not let my past define me.

Because focusing on my failures will only paralyse me and keep me in the past. Acknowledging that life is a constant balancing act – constant experimenting and adjusting, as I figure out what works for ME – helps keep me propelling forward as I refine the details of what a NEWSTARTER life looks like for me.

For example, with nutrition, some people thrive on grains, and others less so. Some people have medical conditions that restrict their fluid intake. Some people need more hours of sleep than the ‘recommended’ 6-8 hours. I love researching what “the experts say” and getting into all the science behind why certain health methods are “the way to go”, but I also know through experience that beating myself up for failing to “be as good as others” – that whole devil of “comparison” thinking – results in a life lost in a sea of chasing ‘perfection’ and then drowning in self-proclaimed failure.

Breakthroughs

In short, do everything you possibly can to address all aspects of your life (NEWSTARTER) to optimise your Bandwidth. This upgrades you to the R+ version of life.

At the same time, make sure to also apply some Balance and give yourself grace in the areas that take a bit longer to optimise. It’s OK to do things a little differently sometimes to what the “experts recommend”, because your body is unique to you, and what works for someone else may not work for you. Keep testing your limits, increasing your bandwidth, whilst staying in tune to how your body is reacting, because you want to ensure the circuitry doesn’t overheat and collapse.

Then, enjoy the Breakthrough that is the natural outcome of Bandwidth + Balance.

Interested in another take on getting Breakthroughs? Check out this short vlog by a fellow enthusiast of life optimisation.

Monthly challenge update

Well, I’m happy to report I managed to stick to my habit swap of “green juice instead of hot bevvy” through the month of Jan. I’ve even managed to introduce a new habit to my mornings of at least 1 minute of rebounding/skipping rope in the last 10 days. I could take it easy and make the rebounding my new challenge for February, but in keeping with today’s topic on Bandwidth, Balance and Breakthroughs, I am going to tackle a long-time adversary in my health journey: Sleep. I have always been a night owl to my own detriment (broken sleep = broken brain, true story) and I’m finally ready to COMMIT to doing something radical about it. I’ve tried many many many times to improve my sleep hygiene, but never got further than 1-2 nights of success.

My Feb challenge: Be in bed by 9pm every ‘school’ night. Because I’m applying Balance, thanks, and I’m realistic enough to know that weekends are a social time and when out with a crowd, it’s a lot harder to physically extricate myself and get to bed by 9pm.

There are a lot of letters in NEWSTARTER. What’s been your biggest enemy when it comes to protecting your bandwidth? What’s stopping you from living your R+ life? Maybe February is the month you experience Breakthrough in that area. Don’t forget you are allowed, in fact encouraged, to apply Balance and adjust the details to suit your individual circumstance. Do what it takes to claim your success in the Breakthrough! Then check back here in a month’s time and let me know how you went. Growing is better together.

#reset your bandwidth by choosing healthier habits balanced to suit your individual circumstances

#release yourself to experience a breakthrough in that one area of your life that’s been sub-optimal for the longest time