5 ways you can improve your life right now! Tips from our guests on Crackin’ Backs

1)      Movement is life. Take it from mobility expert, Emeril McCutcheon, most people, young or old don’t move enough or even move correctly. Can you get off the floor without using your hands or lift your big toe without using the other four? Mobility is not stretching, its not flexibility. Its proper joint movement along with proper joint awareness. Minimum, you should work 5 patterns daily: Push, pull, hinge, core/carry, squat to increase your functional health. ACTION: Spend 15 minutes every morning working on these 5 basic principles.

2)      Mental Toughness- This is a tough one, as everyone is different, and everyone has different issues. However, we have learned some gems that can help you out. Matt Hughes was struck by a train and his life was immediately changed. He had a career and family, and life was great, until it wasn’t. How has Matt handled it? Well one tip he gives, is to focus on the little things, for these are the things that truly matter. Take each victory as just that, a victory.  Then we learned from Robb Bolton, an athlete struggling with Cancer. You think you have it tough, just listen to the strength from this man. He uses exercise as his motivation. If he can move, even a little, he is winning. But I think one of the best set of tips came from Rocker, Cris Hodges, when he gave us 3 simple tricks to help you get out of your mental cave: 1) meditation- realizing you are not your mind, your body or your thoughts. 2) Forgiveness- learn to forgive people in your life as well as yourself and 3) You can do anything you want to. ACTION: Spent 5 minutes every day, when you first wake up reflecting on these 3 things.

3)      You are what you eat! Food does not just fill your stomach; it is the fuel that runs all the cells of your body. You take time to research what you put in your car, what clothes you will wear out, yet how many of us take the time to really look at what is going into our bodies? We learned simple tips from Dr. Grace Hameister on how to read labels and how bad anything with the word CORN in it is. Why is it, we always want to take short cuts, to look better or have that perfect body? Tamra Dae will tell you that just doesn’t work, in fact, short cuts can shorten your life! The best tip for eating: if God made it, you can probably eat it. ACTION: Go through your refrigerator and toss all foods with the word CORN in the label. Drink an extra 2 glasses of water on top of what you are doing and plan your meals every day with purpose.

4)      We all need to be inspired to achieve more than we think we can. I read somewhere that 80% of our daily thoughts are negative. 80%!! No wonder we gravitate to all those self help posts. Turning off the negative inputs: The news, SM, and your negative neighbor- and focusing on inspiration and turning words to action. The more someone tells you that it is unattainable, the more you need to fire up all your engines. Get tips from Navy Seals, Monty Heath and Alex Othmer if you truly want to hear what the human body/mind can do when you push it. However, there is one person that stood out that gave the best advice. When you want to be inspired, SERVE another! It’s simple, yet so powerful. Thank you, Jim Sayih. ACTION: Read a book about something that inspires you or teaches you something you know little about. Read 15 pages a day!

5)      Be a leader.  You don’t have to be General Patton; you just have to stand up for who you are and what you feel is right. Be creative in how you lead, be appreciative of those whom you are leading.  Remember, someone is always watching you, make them proud, by doing your job. As small or as big as it may be, focus on doing the best you can at that job. Dr. Dana Sinclair teaches us to be peaceful under pressure and to focus on doing your job. If done well, the emotional accolades will follow. Action: write down 5 things you want to achieve during your day at breakfast or first thing. Don’t go to bed until you check all 5 off your list.

For more inspiration, listen to the show as each guest, will educate you, inspire you and improve your life.