A few years back I learnt a very valuable tool which I have seen imitated in various different ways since. The original idea that I came across was from one of my favourite people in the medical and wellness world – Dr Dean Ornish. Asides from being the spit of Gene Wilder, Ornish has been a powerhouse in the functional medicine world in the U.S, a huge advocate of a wholefood plant-based diet and a holistic approach to healthcare. He developed the first medical program in the world to be fully endorsed and covered by Medicare (the VHI equivalent in the US) and his program has helped thousands of people heal, prevent and even reverse their heart disease and diabetes.

The program stands on 4 pillars – Diet, Exercise, Stress Management and Love and Support.

Interesting right? I think it’s so cool and useful to be able to boil your health and welfare down to a few basic buckets like this.

I frequently use this tool to help me see where I am off balance in my life. So, for example, today, I scored myself as Diet – 7/10, Exercise – 6/10, Stress Management – 4/10, Love & Support – 9/10. So lots of love going on which is great but the exercise and stress areas need attention.

So now that I know what I need to focus on, I can take action in that direction to address the imbalance and get my scores up.

So starting today, in an effort to improve my stress management score, I am taking on the 7/7/7 challenge. For me, this means meditation for 7 minutes at 7am for 7 days straight. I have always struggled with being consistent with meditation so setting a short-term goal like this helps keep me focused. Meditating in the morning is the best option and can help you set up the day for success. I’m adding one safety net to this challenge – if I miss the 7am commitment, I have one more chance to get it done at 7pm. The key thing is being consistent and showing up each day to do it.

Do you think you could do your own 7/7/7 challenge? Comment below if you are interested.

Yours in health and happiness (and zen),

JP

Credits: https://www.ornish.com/