Overwhelm Interrupt

Do you even notice your cup overflowing? 

You wake up to an annoying alarm, kick the pile of laundry you step over every day, trip on a toy, step on a lego. Sleepily, you move into your kitchen and shuffle the pile of papers you left the night before so you can eat a rushed breakfast before you head off to conquer the day. 

We forget that, as humans, we are constantly seeking homeostasis and recreating what homeostasis even is for ourselves within the execution of our daily habits. 

Imagine walking into your home and every item is shifted 6 inches in any direction. You would know. Even if everything was shifted in a completely succinct way. It would be complete overwhelm and even if it took you a minute, you'd know something was wrong. 

Now, imagine each item was shifted separately, day by day... moving you into a new normal without you even realizing it. This is how we become overwhelmed. 

This is why when the baby starts crying or you don't get the promotion, it feels like just too much. 

Now, let's take it to a biological perspective - little by little your cortisol (stress hormone) creeps up, now your insulin isn't regulated, your fat cells which have a healthy function are unruly and your testosterone isn't doing what it's supposed to. You start to feel like shit and don't even really know why... 

Ok, back to your day... as you rush out for work, you realize you missed your workout- again, you are auto calculating the next opportunity you'll have to eat without even realizing it. 

You remember you have dinner with clients tonight and were committed to not drinking this week. Fuck it, guess it starts next week. 

You blink and it's 3 pm, you're cranky and your brain is foggy. With work and wife and kids, you didn't pack a lunch - what's easily accessible? Turkey slices and mixed nuts... that seems healthy. 

4 pm - still so tired and so much to do... I'll throw some more coffee on the day. 

Dinner... finally... 3 glasses of wine, a starter salad (+1 for veggies, right?), pasta and steak... one bite of dessert. 

Kids in bed, skip the sex and straight to bed - 3 am... mind racing. 

Wake just in time to get a workout in (+5 for sure!). Go through the routine I know and love: 

A little light cardio 

Hit the weights a bit

Do a little of what the jacked guy in the corner is doing, he looks like he knows what's up. 

Rinse, Repeat, Wonder why nothing's changing... Feel Defeated. 

Dive DEEPER into the work I'm "good" at, detach from my body, detach from my desires, Rinse, Repeat. 

It's literal warfare on your self. Think about it - historically how we would try to stress our opponents to the brink and then attack... 

Now think about how you stress yourself to the brink and then don't understand when life attacks and you can't handle it. It's no wonder. 

----

What's wild is we don't even feel it happening and don't see the minor shifts in the "right" direction that will turn the downfall on it's heels. 

There has to be an interrupt, an outside perspective on the potential we've lost in our daily hustle and grind.

When someone introduces the concept of nutrition and training being life changing, it's easy to balk at but as I demonstrated earlier, when you look at it objectively, it makes a ton of sense. 

Everyone feels better with a clean and organized house, desk, etc. Why would you balk at a healthy internal biome of the right hormones and proper regulation.  Seemingly overly simple and wildly profound, minor shifts translate to a healthy routine and daily function and how you interact with your life. 

Regardless of whether you are fueling for cognitive function behind a desk, a paintbrush, holding a trombone, winning the Super Bowl or just want to have enough energy for sex at the end of the day, balanced blood sugar, normal Testosterone production, hormone release, muscle recovery and appropriately functioning body fat cells will benefit your life. 

Developing slow and fast twitch muscles, increasing your postural chain strength, flexibility and nerve health will have a profound effect on every aspect of your day. 

How you interact with your peers and family, your internal and external growth, overall happiness, how you process pain, sleep and ultimately... your success.