Innovate the Way You Live

There is something about you that you are trying to improve, change, or eliminate all together. Maybe it’s your physique, a bad habit, or pent up emotions you cannot seem to let go of. Go ahead you can admit it to yourself. All of us are drawn to faith and fitness because we realize something in ourselves that is unfit or ready to get into better shape. Isn’t that why we read this magazine? Yeah we all know we should floss daily, sit up straight, and use the turn signal. But I am not talking about stuff like chewing ice or put-ting the seat down. You can change those any time you want. What about not giving in to those crispy creamy cravings? Imagine being able to consistently hear God instead of just talking to an invisible someone? Why is it so hard to succeed at that “other stuff”? Tough to commit stuff, got to get it right stuff, can’t seem to follow through stuff, easier said than done stuff. Life is full of things that are “easier said than done”. If you have tried time and time again but all to no avail, then it is time to innovate the way you live!

Let’s prepare your head for innovation. First of all can we please stop belittling that other stuff? Candor is great and all, but it has not gotten you very far. It is not selfish or ‘unhumble’ to focus on and succeed at improving something about you, which is in fact important to you. Your “easier said than done” is important so roll out the red carpet and start to recognize it. If you do not attach some emotional or spiritual purpose behind doing something about it, then it is no different than chewing ice. There is no Surgeon General’s warning that chewing ice may be hazardous to your health. While something in your head always wonders how safe it is, until you crack a tooth or meet someone who has, it is not going to matter a whole lot. The Bible says, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” In order to even have a fighting chance the spirit must first be willing otherwise what is the point?
After recognizing your “easier said than done(s)” get around the right people. Start by asking God to accompany you throughout your endeavor, but you cannot stop there. You cannot beat alcoholism at happy hour. You have to get out of there, and discover other people who know how to have a good time sober. Same goes for the fast food joint, the poker table, and the couch; I suggest Subway, an investment seminar, and a treadmill accordingly. Stop changing and start innovating. When you change the batteries, air filters, or curtains, it is just a shiny new version of the same thing you had before. Even if you put up fuchsia curtains, you can always change back to the green ones you had before.
Innovation is an upgrade, technology improved. No one says, “Forget Wii; I’m getting a brand new Super Nintendo.” True innovation can only move forward. So stop changing your mind all the time about the things that really matter and start innovating your mind toward a new lifestyle. A conformist lifestyle is always the result of a conformed mind. Consider your stagnant workout, marriage, bank account, job, liver, lung, heart, it does not matter the situation. You are there because you let your mind conform rather than innovate. You stopped rotating your exercises, or leaving love notes, you stopped researching investment opportunities, or networking at company outings… Those are all innovative things to do. To innovate your life you have to keep your mind innovating.
To shift from a lifestyle change to a lifestyle innovation means transforming how your mind approaches the ‘easier said than done’. This is what Paul meant in the Bible when he said, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. When you looked in the mirror and said, “I’ve got to do something about this mess,” you changed something in your mind. That was a good change. Three weeks later, when you said, “I can’t resist a second helping of mama’s…,” you changed your mind again, but not for the better. The mind is always changing. They say variety is the spice of life and that could not be truer for our thought life. Your mind needs and craves ‘new’.
When it comes to our ‘easier said than done’, ‘new’ comes in two varieties; settling with whatever life deals you (Paul calls this conforming), or transforming into a better version of you (we call this innovation). It may not seem like there is anything new about relapsing into your old lifestyle, but it sure does feel new and invigorating in the moment you are quenching the craving. A conforming mind is very susceptible to ‘Grass-is-Greener Syndrome’. That is when you quit and you are on a roll, then three weeks in you decide to join your old smoking buddies on their break, “Just to get some fresh air.” The moment they light up you realize you are standing downwind. Just two feet away on ‘your side of the fence’ you could be enjoying the fresh air you came out for, but that just does not seem very appealing anymore. Besides they will notice and the whole thing will get awkward. So you stay downwind praying they exhale at the same time so you can get a decent second hand puff. On the way home you feel an unbearable need to fill the quarter tank of gas you’ve used since Sunday, to your surprise the carton’s of mild blend are half price, and it’s another six months before you try again. An innovative mind is not so susceptible to Grass-is-Greener Syndrome. It would have found new friends with whom to get real fresh air. At the very least an innovative mind would have found newness in moving upwind since you have never taken your endeavor to quit to this brand new level.
Lifestyle innovation is activating your mind to consistently seek out three essentials; motivation, inspiration, and dedication. Seems simple enough? The catch is, every time your mind is look for something new you have to replace the three essentials with something new. For example: you will go to bed tonight motivated by this exciting article, inspired by your “Lifestyle Innovation” (it’s catchy, I know), and dedicated to the ‘wwjd’ bracelet you found in a scrap book. But you will wake up tomorrow having forgotten this article, cursing the alarm, and craving only a Willie Wonka Jaw Dropper. You could change your mind, like all the other times you conformed. But you will not, not this time, not ever again, you are an innovator.
You will discover your own NEW motivation, seek out a NEW inspiration and apply a NEW measure of dedication, and keep your lifestyle innovation moving forward. You will have an excellent day motivated by morning radio, inspired by your new yellow bracelet, and thoroughly dedicated to ‘living strong’. Until you get home to screaming kids and a disgruntled spouse and realize that even professional athletes and rock stars have life coaches, marriage counselors, and personal trainers. So you innovate again finding motivation in your new trainer, oddly enough their yelling inspires you, and that is just the push you needed to keep you dedicated. That is until your sessions run out then you innovate with new essentials. . . Motivation . . . Inspiration . . . Dedication . . . Repeat.
This may seem like a collection of flawed or weak essentials, but I assure you that it is not. Nor is it a sign of poor resolve. Your resolve is tied to purpose and as previously mentioned your purpose must be rooted in some emotional or spiritual foundation. Otherwise it will be impossible to keep up with the demand for new essentials. So given you have a functioning purpose; some essentials like hiring a trainer for motivation, may hold your attention longer than say, wearing a trendy bracelet; but that does not make them permanent solutions. If Lance Armstrong’s amazing feats as an athlete and cancer survivor can motivate you or inspire you for any length of time then it benefits your lifestyle innovation as long as you are prepared to find a new essential the moment your mind goes looking for ‘new’.
Innovate your spiritual thought life. Hearing from God is as simple as getting the mind to understand what the heart is receiving. The problem with a conformed spiritual thought life is that the mind is looking for ‘new’ wherever it pleases. You know how it is when you sit down to have a conversation with God and two minutes in you are rehearsing how you will ask your boss for a raise. You refocus by asking God for favor in your work place and thirty seconds later you are thinking about what to wear, whether your car has gas, and how many e-mails you have. Frustrated you try reading the Bible, “What should I read God?” The ‘Bible-In-A-Year’ thing says you should be in Leviticus this time of year. Interesting stuff in there but somewhere between the kosher bread and preparing the sacrifice you got to making your grocery list. It is amazing how you can be reading words, while your brain is doing something completely different. You cannot get it in tune to the ‘new’ God is whispering because every time you try to listen your brain gets ADD.
The fact is that most of the time He will use His, “Still small voice,” and not the big Morgan Freeman one. So get used to it as this is just an exercise in training the mind to find the three essentials. The Bible is the logical place to start. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,” is where most people start and it is also where they fall off. It leaves the conformed mind with more questions than answers. You already know God is all-knowing, that is why you are trying to hear what He has to say in the first place. Move on; search the Bible to find more essentials.
The Bible is a huge collection packed full of motivating people, in inspiring circumstances that were extremely dedicated. Do not get hung up on just a couple passages if your brain is not in it, you can come back to it later. When the mind is trained at efficiently finding the essentials it needs we can effectively and more consistently hear from God. Instead of trying to cram as many verses possible before your mind drifts away, just pick one. This is called meditating, proverbs are short, simple, and practical; ponder the significance of one or two as it applies to you. If it does not apply then read a little bit more until you find one than does. When you find one that hits home memorize it, try to bring it back to your recollection as your go about your day, maybe even try applying the precept. If this loses its newness another option is meditating on the names of God. Again just pick one, find all the places it is used in the Bible and understand why, then see if God has ever demonstrated that attribute to you. Maybe that is what He is trying to get you to hear. Like any other exercise it takes time and practice to get the form right, but once you have it down the rewards are priceless.
Innovate your mind and you can innovate your entire life. Make a big deal out of your innovations, reward yourself and celebrate those achievements with the people around you. Never stop looking for new, different, interesting, and invigorating ways to keep your mind tuned into the life you want. The essentials motivation, inspiration, and dedication are everywhere from the Bible to Hollywood and sports the possibilities are endless, but you have to keep discovering them. Most of all never forget to celebrate twice as hard when someone else accomplishes their, “easier said than done.”

Alberto J. Medina is a Lifestyle Innovator, master trainer, consultant, and freelance writer. He has a degree in Human, Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise, a concentration in Exercise and Health Promotion, and certifications through ACE and ACSM. This Virginia Tech Alumni has developed innovative health and wellness programs for collegiate, corporate, commercial, and religious organizations both at home and abroad. He blends a unique style and fresh approach to lifestyle modification as embodied by his firm’s motto: “Advance the way you move. Enhance the way you eat. Innovate the way you live.” Alberto can be contacted at plinnovation@gmail.com