Hey Folks,

Just wanted to let you know that even in middle age, minor lifestyle changes can make big improvements in overall quality of life and health.

As part of his treatment program, my husband was required to quit smoking cigarettes. It was one of the hardest things he's done but his health has radically improved - no morning cough, very little overall cough, complete cessation of progression of COPD, more energy, better able to withstand effort like stairs for an extended period, etc. Not to mention things like adding years to his life and significantly reducing chance of heart attack and stroke.

I was having a minor problem in midlife with ever increasing weight. I just decided to start eating a few less snacks and a few more veggies and in about three months I was down almost 10 pounds and feeling a lot better.

Finally, recent checks have shown my blood pressure to be rather high. Simply by increasing meditation and reducing salt in my life I've gotten it back down into a very healthy range again - no medication needed. And, ironically, food tastes better than ever.

It's good to know that it is still possible - lifestyle changes pay off - in as little as six weeks and as much as a few months.

Important to note that this also saves money. fewer tips to the physician (if they are even a possibilty) more cash for yo self!

A trap I have repeatedly fallen into is that it's easy to envision a perfect model of oneself. And working towards that is so daunting and ultimately seems (and probably is) impossible. And then we get discouraged and lose hope, fall back on familiar behaviors... but small steps in the right direction are surprisingly easy and oh so rewarding.

Just imagine how rewarding big steps would be!

But then you'd have to challenge yourself.

Not everyone is up for that.

I sum this up as "aggregation of marginal gains". Just google it and you'll find a great article by James Clear and the Sky Cycling Team and how he used 1% marginal gains across the board to bring victory to the team.

I'm currently trying to apply this to my DMT extractions as well as other "health" related areas of my life.

Peace

.. yes, agreed. I'd also like to add the significance of rewiring or training oneself to enjoy foods one would otherwise avoid because it is healthy. Completely possible to do so ime.

I can agree that minor changes can make big improvements too. However, to be 'that guy', I would like to say that to quit smoking cigarettes isn't a minor change, but rather I think it's quite a major one, so I can see how that would make a massive improvement

Yes, you know the adage about old horses and new tricks. Hopefully, we know it's a bunch of bull$#!+.

Both behavior and thinking changes can occur in later life, time. It may be harder to change the thought patterns associated with habits the longer we apply them, but adjustment is possible, that's why I continue to experiment with psychedelics, because the chance to look at the world and myself without the disadvantage of the veil of the same ol same ol in the way, allow me to identify needed changes and the route to do so with greater ease than without.

Ditto. lol

This is inspirational. I just recently decided to make two minor changes (apparently we're applying that term loosely so ) for myself: I'm quitting smoking after I run out of cigarettes (which should be like, today or tomorrow, I don't smoke that much anyway so hard to say how long those 4 cigarettes will last) and I'm completely changing my diet. As in, none of the things I'll be eating will be same as anything I've been eating so far. Well, one things, but it's a healthy thing. That's a good thing, because so far I've mostly been eating really unhealthy. I'm not overweight or anything (quite the opposite) but I can feel that my eating habits haven't really been good for me. More so with the smoking.

If anyone's interested, I'm going on a raw berry/fruit diet! It's not a fad diet ( or maybe it is but that's not how I decided to go on it), I just feel like it's the best diet for me right now. I'll get vitamins, some fiber, and no salt other than what the fruits/berries contain (which are healthy amounts). I don't really eat meat (I don't mind it, I just almost never end up eating any, though lately I've been rekindling my connection with all living things and not eating meat just makes me feel better) so not eating meat won't be a problem, and I've never seen things like bread/pasta as anything but unhealthy junk food so all in all mentally it's not a huge step (and I've done it before).

We should all feel good about the small changes we make for the better, be it for our minds or our bodies Well done, Pandora! Ps. I'm dropping salt from my diet too. It seems like I use too much of it if I use it at all ("what's the point of using it if you can't taste it" = add more salt), I think this will also be a really good thing. No salt and no smoking should be a load off my heart, as well as the diet change