How Can You Maximize Your Potential?

All of us are dealt a genetic hand of cards at birth. There are some things that you cannot change, such as height, eye color, or the sex you were born to be. Some people have a genetic predisposition to certain diseases of modern civilization, like heart disease, obesity, and cancer. Unfortunately, many people use that as an excuse. Just because your mother suffered from osteoporosis (which is completely preventable) doesn't mean that you have to follow the same path. Even if you are predisposed to a condition, that doesn't make it inevitable. Lifestyle and personal choices will go further toward determining your physical appearance and health (or lack of health) than your genetic predispositions. Everyone has the potential to be strong, healthy, and free from chronic disease; the question is, what are you going to do about it?

I am a firm believer in being in charge of your own destiny. All of us have the capacity to accomplish great things, based on the gifts we have been given. In the realm of learning, there is what is referred to as the fixed and the growth mindset. The fixed mindset states that our abilities are essentially set in stone, while adopting the growth mindset means that you believe anything is possible with the right attitude, desire, and work ethic. In order to maximize your physical and intellectual potential, one must adopt the growth mindset and maintain it going forward. Not all of us can be astrophysicists or Olympic athletes, but if we think positively, live with purpose, and strive to challenge ourselves mentally and physically, we can be the best possible versions of ourselves and reach heights that we thought were impossible.

How can you maximize your potential?

Keep an open mind and a learner's (beginner's) mindset. Don't be satisfied with what you think you know, or with your current level of achievement. Celebrate your accomplishments, but don't rest on your laurels. In the martial arts, even those who acquire high level black belts speak of having a "white belt mentality." Always try to learn something new, and find a way to relate it to your everyday life. This will stimulate your brain and keep you sharp. In order for life to continue to have meaning and for us to be at our best, we need new challenges to face, even when we reach retirement age.

Eat a diet consisting of single-ingredient whole foods. Go organic, whenever it is possible. Contrary to what we've been told by the big food industry (and a lot of clueless doctors), consuming refined and processed carbohydrates, rather than saturated fat, is what makes us fat and causes chronic disease. Here is a little-known fact: our brains are made up of about 70 percent fat, so consume plenty of fat from quality sources (animal meat, eggs, coconut oil, olive oil, butter, nuts). Eat lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, drink alcohol in moderation, stay hydrated, and avoid sugar as much as possible.

Perform regular Total Results workouts once or twice per week. No other form of activity can match the metabolic effect of a high intensity, slow speed weight training workout. Muscle tissue has the greatest impact on determining your body's shape (within your genetic blueprint), and working at a significant level of effort is what is required to stimulate the growth mechanism. This will also enable you to build healthy bones, stabilize connective tissue, and keep your joints properly lubricated. This will make the performance of everyday tasks that much easier, in addition to protecting you against injury (it's hard to reach your potential if you are regularly injured or sick). Every workout is an opportunity to meet a challenge head-on and set a new goal for yourself.

Incorporate supplementation into your lifestyle. Eating a diet similar to our paleolithic ancestors is certainly more nutritious than the typical modern Western diet, but not all of us are perfect, and some deficiencies can occur (particularly if you suffer from chronic disease). I recommend supplementing with Vitamins C and D, fish oil, magnesium, and zinc. If you are over the age of 50, I would also recommend taking Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which will enable your body to effectively manufacture cholesterol, another substance your body needs in order to optimize cell and brain function. This is critically important if you are taking a statin drug, which brings me smoothly to my final recommendation.

Get off medications! Unfortunately, modern conventional medicine has devolved into simply handing out prescriptions to patients. I could go on and on about the pharmaceutical industry, but space is limited. Suffice to say, ALL prescription medications merely treat symptoms rather than correct the underlying problem at the cellular level. In addition to only treating symptoms, prescription medications (and many over the counter drugs) carry with them nasty side effects that create other problems in your body. Be your own advocate, do your own research, and have a frank conversation with your physician about taking charge of your health.

Anything in life that is worth dreaming is worth doing. If there is something that you want, you can do it if you want it badly enough and are willing to pay the price to get there. The price does not have to be that steep, but it does require patience and dedication. Take charge and get started today.