Health

Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates

By ALICE O’BRIEN Churchview Psychotherapy, Millstreet

Forrest Gump gave us some very wise advice when he told us “ life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get”. He showed us that anything can happen as we navigate life’s twists and turns. Forrest was a carefree, happy kind of chap who made the most of what he got. Was he born like that? How much of our happiness is genetic? Have we a happiness gene or is it determined by our path in life?

Research shows that we are all born with a happiness gene, that we should all start off happy and stay happy for the rest of our lives- sounds great- so why is that not the case? Because genes only tell us some of the story.

There are other factors to consider before we can see the true picture. • 50% of happiness is determined by our genetics. The genes we inherited can play a role in how fulfilled we feel, how we view things and how positive we feel in general. The genetics side of things are out of our control, we cannot influence what we inherit. • 40% of our over-all happiness is set by our actions, how we deal with situations, what we do about life’s obstacles. In other words, our internal state of mind. We have a choice in how we view things- if we chose to have a glass that’s half empty or half full. • 10% of our happiness is down to our circumstances. Factors like age, income, race all play a part.

So, can we choose how happy we are? To a certain degree we can but we are all individual- what makes one person happy can be misery to another. Life is not as simple as a set of percentages, we are all different. The key message is, search for your own happiness- you are not guaranteed it will make you completely happy but it’s worth a try right?

Decide on your non-negotiables

By SIOBHAN O’SULLIVAN SOS Fitness

The summer months can be a time when there is less routine. Kids are off school. The weather is better (hopefully!) This lack of routine can often lead to increased snacking, less exercise and poor sleep habits. In order to live a long and fulfilled life, we have to learn ways we can manage situations where we are out of routine. If you think about it, kids are on holidays for about 5 months a year. You will take a few weeks holidays. Christmas. Easter. There are so many opportunities for routine to be thrown out throughout the year. How to manage this? Have a few non-negotiables each week and you can still maintain some structure to your diet and exercise. Some nonnegotiables I follow during times of less routine:

1. Get 30 minutes of fresh air daily. This can be a walk. A cycle. Running around after the kids. This will allow you to get some activity in your day.

2. Plan your meals 80% of the time. This can be helped by ensuring you do a food shop a few times a week to have food in the house. Batch cook meals. If you’re out and about, take snacks with you so you’re not going for the convenient food which usually isn’t nutritious.

3. Keep alcohol to the weekends. Alcohol not only adds calories to your week, it can also lead to increased appetite and poorer sleep. Your non negotiables may be different to this. Find what works for you. Learning to manage the unstructured times will lead to a healthier life in the long term. For more information on nutrition coaching, check out my website https://sosfitness.ie/nutrition/