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Release Emotional Baggage with Saahil Mehta - E55
24 Plays16 days ago
We carry more than we realize: mental, emotional, and even physical baggage weighs us down as we strive for health and fulfillment. We can find ourselves investing energy in habits, routines, or beliefs that no longer serve us, leaving little room for vitality or joy. This isn’t new information, but the challenge is knowing how to let go of what’s unnecessary.
In this episode, learn how simplifying your “backpack” - in everything from nutrition to mindset - can help you move more efficiently toward your goals, making space for what truly matters and energizing every summit you climb.
Saahil Mehta is an entrepreneur, coach, author, and mountaineer known for helping individuals declutter their lives and optimize well-being. After a near-fatal car accident and ongoing health struggles, Saahil overhauled his lifestyle, prioritizing personal health, plant-based nutrition, and functional routines for peak performance. He is recognized for his work with business leaders and his Seven Summits framework, which encourages defining and striving toward holistic life goals. Saahil's practical approach to health and clarity has influenced international teams and audiences, blending lessons from his own business leadership and mountaineering pursuits.
“I'm going to do this because I'm going to make me a priority.” - Saahil Mehta
In this episode you will learn:
- Why Saahil believes identifying and removing “clutter” is key to personal growth, energy, and reaching your goals.
- How a wakeup call about hidden food intolerances and vitamin deficiencies transformed his health, productivity, and outlook on life, and the practical steps he took to recover.
- Saahil’s approach to nutrition as a lifelong plant-based eater, including insights from blood sugar tracking and the importance of lean muscle for healthy aging.
- The daily routines and stress management techniques he uses, from morning movement and meditation to “cup of time” breaks and mindful meal practices.
- Strategies for maintaining physical fitness throughout the day, including “walking pads” in the office, habit stacking, and training for purposeful challenges like mountaineering.
- The significance of defining your personal “seven summits” in life for clarity and fulfillment, and how cultivating strong social connections and clear priorities can keep you energized and at peace.
Resources
- Connect with Saahil on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saahilmehtaofficial/
- Find out all about Saahil’s offerings: https://www.saahilmehta.com/
- Buy Saahil’s book, ‘Break Free: A Guide To Decluttering Your Life’: https://www.amazon.com/Break-Free-Saahil-Mehta/dp/1922456209/ref=sr_1_1
This podcast was produced by the team at Zapods Podcast Agency:
https://www.zapods.com
Find the products, practices, and routines discussed on the Alively website:
https://alively.com/
Recommended
Transcript
Essentialism and Joy
00:00:00
Speaker
what am I carrying in my backpack as I go up these mountains? Because if I'm carrying a lot of baggage with me that has no purpose or function in getting me to my summit, why on earth am i utilizing all this energy to carry it up with me?
00:00:14
Speaker
I start to identify things, whether it's mental, emotional, physical, whatever, I would remove that clutter from my backpack and ensure that the tools and items that I'm carrying are super functional and or bring a lot of joy, which is why I carry it with me.
Podcast Introduction & Guest Welcome
00:00:34
Speaker
This is the Home of Health Spam podcast, where we profile health and wellness role models, sharing their stories and the tools, practices and routines they use to live a lively life.
00:00:47
Speaker
Sahil, it is wonderful to have you on the show. You're one of those people that we've had online relationship for a long time, going back and forth, communicating. And even though this is not in person, can't wait to get to Dubai or go to Kashmir and summit some mountains with you. It is amazing to be with you live today. So thank you for joining us.
00:01:07
Speaker
Awesome to be here, Andrew.
Sahil's Multidimensional Identity
00:01:09
Speaker
Now, before we jump in, and you certainly do a lot and provide a lot to the world, how would you define yourself? I'm a lively entrepreneur,
00:01:21
Speaker
code arthur and mountaineer Amazing. And I'm excited for this show. So a lot of the guests that we have on could be professional athletes, professional physical coaches specific to health. And what I like about you, because our whole point is healthspan role models, people people finding people that resonate with them and saying, hey, I want to live that healthy life.
00:01:45
Speaker
And you're, as we were were starting the recording, we're talking about the whole point of health is to enable your life, right? Like a lot of our listeners, that's not your full-time job, but you're so much better everything else you do because of how you invest
Health Wake-Up Call
00:02:01
Speaker
in your health.
00:02:01
Speaker
So can you talk about how you said kind of, you referenced three years, what may have been a wake-up call or a change for you that said, hey, you know, this is something I need to prioritize differently than maybe I have in the past.
00:02:14
Speaker
but If I go back a little bit in time, I had a near fatal car accident, Andrew. And at the time I did what every entrepreneur would do is just ignore it and and not drive at night anymore.
00:02:26
Speaker
But many years later, i was feeling unwell. As in, it's not bad enough that I need to go see a doctor or a specialist, but I know something's wrong. I can feel it.
00:02:38
Speaker
And I was in a safe space with some folks at in Jordan having breakfast at a friend's wedding. And I said, you know, guys, I feel my energy levels dipping a lot to the point where I feel I'm about to fall asleep during the you know random times of the day.
00:02:54
Speaker
I feel bloated. i felt, you know, I'd wake up with a heavy head. My nose would be blocked. And they said, sim you know, you might actually have some vitamin deficiencies and or in intolerances.
00:03:08
Speaker
So why don't you go see this specialist? was like, oh, I've never heard of this before. So I went and lo and behold, i was intolerant to stuff that I was eating every single day. Right.
00:03:21
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, a funny story because i've been vegetarian all my life and I used to make fun of vegans saying, thank God I'm not vegan because if I was, I'd shoot myself. and and And two things that I was highly implored to were eggs and dairy.
00:03:35
Speaker
I had to leave them. And so essentially I had to go vegan for a year. Apart from that, I found out I was... And this is something very important. You see these reports and you're within the range for the vitamin.
00:03:49
Speaker
But what I found out later through this specialist Sahil, you don't want to be in the range. You want to be in some of these in the top 50%, right? Because that's when you perform at a more optimal level.
00:04:01
Speaker
And so even though I thought, oh, I'm good, I'm within the range, I was not good.
Prioritizing Health for Productivity
00:04:06
Speaker
So a combination of my body fighting because I was eating foods that were harming me and low vitamin levels in certain key vitamins and and minerals,
00:04:17
Speaker
That combination led to being lethargic, sleeping issues, nose being blocked, and like I said, just constant inflammation in the body.
00:04:29
Speaker
And I didn't realize how much that was affecting me, Andrew, until I took care of it. I'm like, you know what? I'm going to do this because I'm going to make me a priority. I keep prioritizing other people and other things like work and this and that.
00:04:41
Speaker
How about me? you know yeah let me Let me make myself my first priority. And that's kind of when the journey began. and I realized, ah my God, I can feel so much better.
00:04:53
Speaker
ah can feel so much more alive. I can feel be so much more productive. It was mind blowing to me. That's the, I think the thing a lot of people miss if they don't have, they think health is absence of some serious disease. so So I don't have diabetes. I don't have cancer. I'm healthy.
00:05:10
Speaker
And they don't necessarily recognize when they wake up every day, what that difference can be. I had an office made was seem very in shape, athletic And we worked together in McKinsey for years. And I met him after. And he said, you know, I actually every single day,
00:05:27
Speaker
woke up basically hungover and he was, he was, uh, had a gluten intolerance. And he said, I am so much smarter now. I, when I was working with you, i I wasn't very good, but I am so much better at everything now when I took that out and not everybody has a gluten intolerance or dairy or eggs, but we think because it's every day, Oh, this is normal.
00:05:48
Speaker
But maybe normal is not what we should aspire to. Maybe there's something better out there. And so it's amazing. You had those friends that that turned you on and said, wow, there's a different way to wake up. There's a different way to feel through the day.
00:06:01
Speaker
Absolutely. And the beauty is, Andrew, when I started on this journey, now I keep asking myself, what can I do better? Because I'm loving this. I'm buying back time or freeing up time, however you want to call it.
00:06:15
Speaker
I'm getting more done in less time. I get time for my hobbies. I get more time for a family. It's interesting because the last three years, which have been quite turbulent in the world,
00:06:26
Speaker
have been the three best years we've had in our company. And it's with the least amount of hours that I've actually spent in the company. Yeah, it's it there's a funny thing, Stat, for the NCAA, which is the the collegiate athletic association in the U.S., that athletes have better grades during season than out of season.
00:06:46
Speaker
So when they have way less time to study, they're more efficient. And so I think it's a similar thing with less time. we could be so efficient and we we could fill up the time with anything, but are we doing the things that move the needle and are we doing them well?
00:06:58
Speaker
And when you're mentally clear, you're present, you have a totally different effectiveness in those times.
Commitment to a Plant-Based Diet
00:07:04
Speaker
So today you you mentioned you were vegetarian. you, had that intolerance to to eggs and dairy and so for a year didn't have those what does your nutrition profile look like now i mean how how do you feed yourself kind of day-to-day week to week yeah so i i it eventually became part of my belief system so i i've now decided to live on a plant-based life ah diet for life and i just feel really good and like i said it's part of my belief system so
00:07:34
Speaker
What I do is I've consulted with the nutritionists because have to ensure I'm getting the right balance between the good fats, some carbs and and protein because I'm also building muscle.
00:07:46
Speaker
you know As I climb mountains and I realize more and more that for longevity, lean muscle mass is key. Well, it's not the only thing, but it it it certainly makes life a lot better in the future years.
00:08:00
Speaker
And I know that the older I get, the harder it is to build that lean muscle mass. So I've started on that journey now. And so I'm very conscious about what I eat. You know, one thing I've learned is you can modify existing meals and just add something to it.
00:08:15
Speaker
Yeah. It's not about getting a big chunk of, for example, everyone talks about protein. it's not i don't ever get a huge amount of protein every meal, but I can keep adding in the meals that I have a little bit here, a little bit there, a little bit there. It all adds up to a lot.
00:08:29
Speaker
So, you know, i'm making I'm more conscious about what I eat. I'm more conscious of the order in which I eat my food because I've been tracking blood sugar as well. And I know that, for example, if I eat the fiber first, then the protein, then the carbs, that has the best result on my blood sugar.
00:08:47
Speaker
When I just change the order and have carbs first, for example, then the protein and the fiber, it's spiking a lot more. So just by using all this technology that's readily available for us, you know like wearing the glucose monitor,
00:09:02
Speaker
I've learned so much. you know After every meal, I go for a 10 or 15 minute walk because that helps to prevent spikes or to have bring the blood sugar down. Now, again, simple hacks.
00:09:13
Speaker
It's not that difficult. Anyway, after meal, don't want to rush back into work or rush into anything. So like, let me just walk around. And if it's bad weather outside, I'll walk inside the house or in the office. But just go up and down the hallway for 10 minutes and then get, you know that gives me a little bit of a break before I get back into work.
00:09:29
Speaker
But all these things mean that I'm not going to get, as you know, with the glucose going higher, i might get tired. And that, again, impacts my efficiency at work. So taking 10 minutes off is probably going to give me half an hour more in in buying back time because I'll be doing things more efficiently.
00:09:47
Speaker
I want to actually double click there. the The walk after work, certainly there's the physical movement part. And I think we'll come back to fitness and physical movement your mountaineering and yoga and everything else.
00:09:58
Speaker
But I'm curious on the stress management benefits there. Because one of the things you said is, hey, after having this meal, having this week, I don't want to rush back into work.
00:10:09
Speaker
And so what are your daily or weekly practices to maintain that mental presence and clarity and manage stress? Because you're you're running an international business, you're doing speaking, you have a lot going on, but you don't seem highly stressed, right? You seem at peace with it, enjoying it. And so what are the things that you put in place to to maintain that equanimity?
00:10:32
Speaker
I love that question. Well, let's start with the beginning. When I wake up, I don't pick this up. I don't pick up my mobile phone. Okay. Because sometimes I used to read things that just...
00:10:44
Speaker
Let's just say it took me to a bad place. And I said, I want to control my morning. I want to decide and energize myself every single morning. So I focus on movement, breathwork, meditation. I'll do my workouts.
00:10:58
Speaker
I'll sit for breakfast with the kids before they go to school. So, you know, things that are just bringing a lot of joy and smiles in the morning. So by the time I've energized myself, even if some bad news comes, I feel a lot more prepared because my battery is full.
00:11:15
Speaker
versus being quite empty when I wake up. Then during the day, what I make sure is have lots of herbal tea. I don't take too much caffeine because that's going to affect my sleep. So I take herbal tea.
00:11:27
Speaker
And every hour, hour and a half at work or something, I'll just step up and make myself a herbal tea. And what that does for me is it's not a cup of tea. It's a cup of time.
00:11:39
Speaker
and So that gives me about like a five or 10 minute break. where I can just enjoy and sip on this this drink. i usually have it by the window, so I'm staring outside and just appreciating the view.
00:11:52
Speaker
So that just takes my mind off everything and gives me a bit of ah a break. It's like you know having a
Daily Fitness and Movement
00:11:58
Speaker
break between sets and the gym. You can't keep at it nonstop. It's just going to tire you out. During lunch, I make sure that it's at least half an hour to 45 minutes, including the walk.
00:12:09
Speaker
I don't want to rush, I don't want to talk about work, I don't want to watch any screens. I just want to enjoy the food, be present, appreciate what I'm eating. Because I realized when I chew my food better and it goes down more as a liquid, I'm making it so much easier for my stomach to digest it and to process it.
00:12:28
Speaker
Right? Versus gulping it down as fast as I can so I can get back to my computer and send out the next email. So I'm just a lot more present. I think being present helps me relax a lot more. Yeah, these are good lessons for me. I could be much better with lunch. In the morning, I'm good.
00:12:44
Speaker
But that throughout the day, maintaining that mindfulness, that presence. And, you know, just to finish it off because I want to share it in the evening, i make sure that, and this impacts sleep. This just allows me to be more peaceful. Again, all electronics off one hour before going to bed.
00:13:02
Speaker
getting into a nice sleep routine, maybe some calming music, spending time with the family, dimming the lights, Just things to start telling my body, hey, we're getting ready to go to bed and rest so we can heal and recover and start again the next day and be fresh.
00:13:19
Speaker
There seems to be something there of rituals and signals, right? Like the tea, it's it's not just cup of tea, not just a cup of time, but it's it's this ritual. It's this process and the bedtime and the routine of getting your mind, getting your body into the environment that is most conducive to what you're trying to achieve, right? Yeah.
00:13:36
Speaker
You mentioned going to the gym
Personal Goals and Seven Summits Metaphor
00:13:39
Speaker
and that's certainly part of it. But I think for you, if I understand, right, you you talked about the walks. I've seen some pretty amazing yoga poses you do. You do the mountaineering.
00:13:48
Speaker
It's not just about going into a room and picking up heavy objects. I mean, it ah seems like for you, movement is more life, right? Like it's a, it's, you want to maintain the lean muscle. So you're investing in strength training, but there are all these other aspects. So how do you view fitness and how does that fit in to your objectives and in your life?
00:14:07
Speaker
It's exactly what you said, Andrew. it's I used to think, oh I've gone to the gym, I've done one hour, and I'm done for the day. But that's not the case. i mean, we're a mobile species.
00:14:19
Speaker
We're meant to move. And so in the office, for example, I have ah i have a walking pad. And when when i when I'm in a meeting where I'm not the one presenting and my head can kind bop from side to side,
00:14:34
Speaker
when i when i'm just listening i get on that walking pad and i raise my desk and i start walking and i end up getting a couple thousand steps in and i call them free steps yeah yeah i keep a pair of sneakers in my office every time i'm about to get on the walking pad get out of the whatever work shoes i might be wearing something very comfortable and i put on a slow speed i'm walking maybe one mile an hour So it's not that fast. I'm not breaking a sweat or anything.
00:15:02
Speaker
I'm just getting those free steps in. If I get a phone call, I go on the walking pad if I know it's going to last at least 15 minutes or I'll just walk up and down the hallway in the office.
00:15:13
Speaker
Something. it and and And that's what I like. It's about breaking it down into bite size. Because when you do a little bit here, a little bit there, by the end of the day, you're like, wow, I walked a lot.
00:15:26
Speaker
versus I need to do 10,000 steps today. Oh man, it's going to take me an hour. I don't have that time right now. Yeah. I mean, we the there is the the habit stacking, right? So that they' as you're doing a call, as you're working on something, being able to do it. And I think these walking pads, I i had one in one. My early office had a treadmill desk.
00:15:48
Speaker
And treadmill desks could be more expensive, right? The the big complex. But I was on the call with a friend. It's like, oh these walking pads. mean, it's $100 or something on Amazon, some of these. So as soon as I got off the call, I said, wait, that's that was what had been holding me back was this little piece that fits right under my desk. i a standing desk anyway.
00:16:07
Speaker
And yeah, so anybody listening to this, if you're on the fence, it is a much more accessible investment than you might realize. Not only that, you get folding ones. So they they tuck away easily as well. It doesn't even take up much room.
00:16:21
Speaker
yeah Yeah, that's true. And I mean, I would love to hear, you know, we talk about our five pillars. You have your seven summons. You use a lot of mountaineering terminology.
00:16:32
Speaker
And so I'd love to hear about the seven summons. But also the the walking is hard to move your body. But you have these things. that you're kind of training for life and training to do some of these excursions i i just i've seen a lot about them and you've written a lot about them but i'd love to hear more about those absolutely well let's start with the seven summits so the seven summits in the world of mountaineering is the tallest mountain on each continent that's you know and i always tell people you know there's this thing if you conquer the seven summits it's like you've conquered the world right in the mountaineering world it doesn't mean that the hardest mountains by the way it's just something cool right a feather in your cap
00:17:09
Speaker
Now, I don't define the seven summits for people. I let them define it for themselves because ultimately a lot of people don't have a definition of success. You might hear things like, yeah, want to be rich.
00:17:21
Speaker
I want to be healthy. I want to have great relationships. But what does that mean? It's very vague. And so I tell people, let's start to define what that summit looks like.
00:17:35
Speaker
Let's be clear on what it means. And by the way, it's from your perspective in life today. You know, 10 years from now, you might see the world differently. That's OK. You can you you give yourself permission that it can be modified along the way.
00:17:48
Speaker
But you need your North Star. you need direction. And by classifying your seven summits, it allows you to make decisions because a lot of people face challenges and decisions.
00:17:59
Speaker
Andrew, should I do this or that? Now you can just ask, well, is it taking me up any of my summits? Yes, let's do it. If it's not, no, let's say no. And if it's going up more than one summit, which one is a higher priority at this stage of my life?
00:18:15
Speaker
The one on health is more important than the one on social impact right now, for example. Okay, let's let's climb that one right now and we'll put the other one on pause. But why seven?
00:18:27
Speaker
If i ask someone for three, they would say the three that I mentioned, health, wealth, and relationships. But when I tell you, think about seven things that are very important your life, now you're like, ah, let me dig a bit deeper. What else really matters to me?
00:18:42
Speaker
Like one that came up for me that I wasn't expecting was fun and recreation. And I said, and and and that was like a light bulb went off because now when I make a decision, for example, let's say i can increase my wealth a lot more.
00:18:57
Speaker
but it meant that for the rest of my life, fun and recreation went down. I would say no to that now. Because it's not that I don't have enough money to live. I have, you know, that the needs versus desires is very different.
00:19:13
Speaker
I have more than enough to for my the needs, the the necessities of life, right? Shelter, food, nowadays, internet, clothing. But basically, i'm i'm I realize that i want to look at my whole self, that when I make a decision, how is it impacting all the summits that matter to me And based on that, I will now say yes or no.
00:19:35
Speaker
So there's a lot more clarity in my life. And when there's more clarity, i get rid of a lot of the fluff that was eating up my time, which was just getting me nowhere. It's like I'm traveling without moving, right? I mean, sorry, i'm I'm moving, but I'm not moving any forward. It's like oh now i'm not I'm on a treadmill.
00:19:54
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. I mean, you can be busy busy and productive, or different things and then productive on something that matters to you versus not because you can be very productive on things that have no meaning to you.
00:20:06
Speaker
Absolutely. And then to take it one step further, I would even say, OK, what am I carrying in my backpack as I go up these mountains? Because if I'm carrying a lot of baggage with me that has no purpose or function in getting me to my summit, why on earth am i utilizing all this energy to carry it up with me?
00:20:26
Speaker
So got I started to identify things, whether it's mental, emotional, physical, whatever. And I would, let's call it clutter. I would remove that clutter from my backpack and ensure that the tools and items that I'm carrying are super functional and or bring a lot of joy, which is why I carry it with me.
Unintentional Burdens and Tools
00:20:47
Speaker
So again, that helped me to reduce a lot of weight and allowed me to move faster to get to my summits. I'm hesitant to even bring it up because I don't want to go off on super tender, but I'm really curious at some point, I'd like to talk to you on these things that we carry in our bag.
00:21:04
Speaker
And as you go through them, understanding how they got there in the first place, like, Hey, did I put this here? Right. You know, when you check into the airport, Hey, have your bags been with you? Did you pack them?
00:21:16
Speaker
Cause I imagine there's some things that you're carrying and you start pulling them out You're like, well, I didn't put this here. You know, mean where did this believe this came from my parents or this came from the school I went to or this came from my first employer.
00:21:29
Speaker
But it wasn't something I put here. I just ended up with it in my bag and I've been carrying this whole time. Or it could be a tool I imagine that you put in intentionally. And it serves you really well. And they give an example of, i heard someone whose father was would hurt the mother.
00:21:48
Speaker
And the son learned that if he pretended he was sick and throwing up, the dad would stop and try to come take him in. So he he had this tool of deception. Deception kept people safe.
00:22:01
Speaker
But that tool, when you're an adult and you're trying to build healthy relationship, that's not a tool to use anymore. So understanding, OK, this is a tool that was and it served me at a time, but it's not serving me now. And now I need to put it to the side.
00:22:14
Speaker
Absolutely. It's you raise such an important point, because sometimes. Whether it's a belief system or a tool that we developed that helped us at a certain stage in our life.
00:22:28
Speaker
Today it may not have any functional purpose, but we, like you said, we haven't decluttered it, so we're still carrying it with us, perhaps unintentionally, or maybe we're afraid to let it go. That could also be the case.
Nighttime Reflection Routine
00:22:42
Speaker
Yeah. And so a very powerful exercise, Andrew, that I encourage people to do, which only takes a couple of minutes every single day. Before I go to bed, I ask myself, what took me away from peace today?
00:23:00
Speaker
Okay, and I'll just write it down. Sometimes i may not have that aha moment where I know why it happened, but I just note down what took me away from peace. and And then I say, what gave me a lot of peace or joy today? Because I want to end on a high, right?
00:23:12
Speaker
And I note it down. And by noting that down every day, as I kind of do a review at the end of the week or perhaps at the end of the month, I start to see patterns that every time this happened, whatever that is It took me away from peace.
00:23:29
Speaker
And that then allows me to identify that, hey, this is clutter in my life. These situations, every time I get into them, it's putting me in a bad space. And then I also notice the opposite, that whenever this other thing is happening in my life, it's bringing a lot of peace and joy.
00:23:46
Speaker
I'm like, how do I do more of that So it's all about discovering these patterns because you may not see it in an instant or you might because you know you're being honest with yourself and like hey every time this happens is I lose my top or whatever it is. But sometimes we don't know and so we need a tool to help us to identify.
00:24:04
Speaker
I really like that. I do it on an annual basis, but I think you lose the micro over time.
Sleep Philosophy
00:24:10
Speaker
So whether it's daily or weekly, I mean, the daily, it'd be fresh. You brought up a couple times, you know, when we talked about your your mindset and how you, from the morning to through the day, through the night, preparing for bed, this of, hey, before I go to bed, I capture this and and document it.
00:24:26
Speaker
You mentioned the prioritization of sleep and resting and recovering your body. What are your routines around? I mean, is are you an eight hours night guy? Like, how do you view sleep as part of your life?
00:24:38
Speaker
I'm not a big fan of number of hours. I just want to say that up front. And I also want to say that there are people, you know, based on the knowledge that I've gained by reading literature, by listening to podcasts, it's not just the quantity of sleep, it's also the quality of sleep. Like, am I getting enough deep sleep? Am I getting enough REM sleep? Because if a lot of that time is light sleep, that's not really giving me the recovery and the healing that my body needs to be able to function more effectively the next day.
00:25:09
Speaker
What I also realize, it's also the time that you sleep, from what I understand from the circadian rhythms, is that even if I slept at three in the morning, for example, and then woke up at 11 and I got eight hours, from what I understood, the
00:25:24
Speaker
10 p.m. till 2 a.m. It's more physical recovery. and then from 2 to 6, it's more mental recovery. So if I go to bed very late, I'm missing out on the physical recovery. So I could wake up. Mind is fresh, but the body is tired.
00:25:37
Speaker
Now, is that going to help me function as ah as a father, as a boss, as a friend, as all the different labels I play? Probably not. So I started becoming more conscious of the time I go to bed.
00:25:49
Speaker
And i stopped using an alarm. I haven't used an alarm for, I think, four years now. I only keep it as a backup if I have to catch a flight or something.
00:25:59
Speaker
but other than that, I just stopped using alarm. So when the body is ready to wake up, it wakes up. And that way, I'm not waking up in with an alarm when I'm in the middle of a some cycle where, had it been an extra five minutes, it'd be the difference between fresh and gross.
00:26:16
Speaker
yeah And I found that this really works for me because you get into a rhythm once you sleep at a similar time and you just end up waking up at a similar time. And in my case, I sleep around seven hours.
00:26:28
Speaker
That's what I found. OK, it's somewhere around there. And are you pretty consistent the bedtime and the wake time? Because that's that's I understand is they call it social jet lag where a lot of people have a kind of sleep schedule during the week and maybe different on the weekend.
00:26:43
Speaker
and it's that consistent bed and wake time that it can be really important.
Community and Social Connections
00:26:48
Speaker
So usually I go to bed between 10 and 1030. That's the that's the goal. And I would say 80, 85 percent of the time that works.
00:26:58
Speaker
Of course, sometimes it's a birthday. There's a special event. Maybe there's an emergency. Who knows? yeah We're not robots at the end of the day. Right. and And I wake up again. I wake up around.
00:27:10
Speaker
5.30 ish plus minus. And you just talked about, you you know, we're not robots. There's a reason we're investing in our health and we're doing all this. And you just wrote some about the tying your team to the rope, right? Your your rope and and tethering together. And it seemed, and you talked about your family and as a friend, as a boss, all these people in your life that it's not this solo endeavor of my health, my, my, my. It's why are we doing it and how we engage with our tribe, with our community, with the group that we're doing.
00:27:46
Speaker
How has that informed how you design each of these elements of your life or what you do with each day, understanding the importance of community and and social connection to yourself?
00:27:59
Speaker
Well, first, I just want to say I prioritize me, right? I'm my first priority. And I say that not from a selfish point, but if I'm the best version of myself, I can be the best father, the best husband, the best son, the best friend, the best boss, et cetera, in terms of energy levels, in terms of productivity, in terms of kindness. Because I found when I'm not in in a good space, I would unleash a lot more, right? I'd be more anger, et cetera.
00:28:25
Speaker
So I'm just a lot more calm, a lot more peaceful. So I do it with the intention to be a better role a role model for the people around me. And what I find is the one of the mistakes I made was when i started getting all these benefits, I would tell my wife, hey, do this, do that.
00:28:43
Speaker
And I realized telling anyone what to do is bad, bad, real bad. No one likes being told what to do. But what I do now is I just share. I just share the benefits that I'm getting as a result of the actions that I'm taking.
00:28:57
Speaker
And what I've noticed slowly but surely, the people close to me, like the people who work for me, they're now starting to make better decisions around health. the The people at home are starting to make better decisions around the health, about well-being.
00:29:12
Speaker
And so, and it's not just the people, but it's also the environment we create. So in the office, we make sure there's good sunlight. We make sure we have a lot of plants around. It's a very warm atmosphere.
00:29:24
Speaker
you know In the house, it's the same thing. How do we focus on creating that environment? So as a result of all of this, I find that relationships have blossomed and and ultimately we're social species.
00:29:38
Speaker
and I can't do everything on my own, nor do I want to do everything on my own. I want to have friends. I want to have family that I can be with, laugh with them, cry with them, share stories with them.
00:29:49
Speaker
These are all the fun moments in life. And I remember my and my mentor, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, saying, don't make your work God. Right. I mean, yes, it's important.
00:30:00
Speaker
And I never say that it's not. But if that's my only focus, I'm going to start sacrificing all these other things, including health and relationships and social impact and community.
00:30:11
Speaker
But those things matter as well. That's why that's what the seven summits highlighted to me, that I have to ensure I'm giving time to all the seven mountains that I want to climb
Holistic Life Balance Reflections
00:30:20
Speaker
in my life. Otherwise, it's not providing me with fulfillment.
00:30:24
Speaker
And without fulfillment, I'm going to have regret. And that's the latter. I don't want to wake up one day and go I should have, would have, could have. That's not me. Yeah.
00:30:36
Speaker
mean, I think that's a really beautiful place to close. It's not about. optimizing any single thing. It's about looking at a life in your life, holistically, and how it can and should come together. And I think You've done a beautiful job thus far in what you share and how you coach people to be able to bring the same to their lives is a true gift.
00:31:02
Speaker
And I don't say that lightly. And i appreciate not just the work you do, but also the the time you took today to to join us and share your story with us. So thank you. It's an absolute pleasure. i feel that we all have a story to share and if the story we share can improve the lives of other people, even if it's one person, we should share it. So thank you for providing this platform where great speakers or mean great individuals come on to share their stories and benefit the audience that are listening.
00:31:32
Speaker
Thank you for joining us on today's episode of the Home of Healthspan podcast. And remember, you can always find the products, practices, and routines mentioned by today's guests, as well as many other healthspan role models on Alively.com.
00:31:45
Speaker
Enjoy a lively day.