Healthy High Achiever Blog

Living like a Pro, is easier than living like an amateur.

It’s true…

When you look at the pro’s (* the most visible being athletes or many former athletes) and how they live, you will notice that they don’t struggle for the most part, when it comes to taking care of themselves - managing their energy, eating or exercise… When and if they do struggle it’s for far less time, and, they get far better results in terms of how they perform, look and feel.

They also live with relative ease, with more grace, in contrast to the average person who is struggling, trying to stick with rigid diet and exercise program’s alone that make far more out of stuff than it needs to be.  (Challenge periods notwithstanding)

You see the difference between the pro’s, whom we also refer to as * Health High Achievers in the top 3%, and achievers of all other types in the 97%, is their level of inspiration, their depth of "education" (awareness) and the kind of support they have in their life.

Yes, athletes have incredible talents in their sport, but so do you in your life and business. A big part of the difference is they live in a forward moving culture with a mindset that has "healthier living" as a given, not a goal, and that, is a culture the average person is not living in.

For example…

The amateur (no shame) is dealing with issues like "needing permission" to take a nap or acknowledge that they are not up for exercising the way they planned. Or, they’ll get depressed when they don’t eat perfectly according to the program they’re "on". They go into a shame spirals, and feel guilty. Imagine this, maybe you’ve experienced it?

I know, I experienced that earlier in my life and the reason why, is the culture I was hanging out in was "about" that. It’s the way they thought about stuff, it was the concept of things they bought into and it was reinforced. It was almost as if the "being stuck" and chasing your tail is what what gave the culture it’s reason for being.

Weight Watchers is a perfect example. "Let’s all struggle together!" - Great and valued organization, but I wouldn’t buy into those concepts.

How about getting "points" for eating nutrient poor food; that’s called chasing your tail.

Meanwhile, the pro’s for the most part, people who are in the know about healthy, successful living, aren’t caught up with any of this stuff.

Why? Because in the culture they live in, the conversation is different, the concepts are higher, better and more in the know. They aren’t focused on losing weight and getting healthy, that’s not the goal, living healthy at or near their ideal weight is a given. They are focused on performance and because they do, they make by far, much healthier more successful decisions every day of their life, without even thinking about it.

How would you like to make lifestyle choices and decisions you struggle with every day, without even having to give a second thought?

Healthy Healthy High Achievers, have learned and continue to learn over time, from the culture(s) they were in and are in, what works and what doesn’t and they develop lifestyles that work for them because they want to be able to perform well in their life, which is quality of life.

Looking and feeling better comes with it!

You only experience high performance in a sustainable way, when you are healthy. As far as losing weight, sure, pro’s may  need to lose weight from time to time, but its not a momentous event in their lives or something that consumes their focus. They know how to make lifestyle changes that create that result while their health and performance gets better.

They also know how to challenge themselves.

When you hear terms like "pro" and "high achiever" you might think people in the top 3% are constantly challenged and "efforting" their way through life taking on big goals. Nothing could be further from the truth!

You may feel outclassed, or that living like a pro is outside your reality. I can appreciate this. But let me ask you this… who would you rather learn martial arts from, a green belt or a black belt?

While the answer is clear, what you will also discover is these people aren’t that much different than you, they have simply developed their mindset further.

The reality is, it is the amateur who is constantly challenged and struggling, because they‘re miss the boat on so much about lifestyle that they are unaware of. It is negatively affecting them and they don’t even know it. That’s why they struggle.

You don’t have to be a pro, as in an athlete or the best in your field or anything of that sort… to live like a pro. But when you living like a pro you will perform, look and feel better and get far better results.

Action Tip.

Answer these questions for starters…

1. What culture of thought are you buying into?
   
2. Is the philosophy of that culture really moving your forward or keep you stuck?

If you are struggling, this is the place to start. 

Stay open minded…

 Live Like a Pro!

* (Note: Not all athletes are healthy)

John Allen Mollenhauer is the founder Performance Lifestyle Solutions, the better healthier, more successful ways to achieve your goals in life, business and sport. As a former worn down workaholic turned Healthy High Achiever, John Allen (aka “JAM”) will teach you how to Live Like a Pro, optimizing your lifestyle the way athletes do for better results. He is the creator of the Healthy High Achiever - Unleash the Full Potential of Your Lifestyle to Perform, Look and Feel Better!

Now doesn’t that sound narcissistic!

A couple of years ago, I would have had that point of view. I would have never said anything like that… that was for those "spiritual" people who aren’t focused on success.

I was a high achiever…

Little did I know that I didn’t love myself, much at all; which really meant, I wasn’t self accepting. No wonder I didn’t feel whole.

In retrospect, no wonder I felt shame. No wonder I avoided so many things. No wonder, I wasn’t in touch with my feelings, had difficulty with intimacy, and was driven to seek love and respect on the outside and in ways that drove me further into the downward trend. Not just energetically, but emotionally and spiritually too. No wonder I was addicted to performance, and obsessed with exercise. I was spiritually bankrupt.

Do you love yourself?

I am asking you this today for a reason. Because progress around managing your personal energy, diet, fitness, working out, performing, looking and feeling better, goal achievement etc, will always be a struggle if you are being driven by shame, those scenes of the crime that reinforced it and continue to do so. 

Shame can bind your thoughts, feeling, needs and drives (Ref: John Bradshaw) and distort your thinking in countless ways. It makes everything a struggle.

It’s not surprising how much of the diet and fitness industry covertly knows this, and leads you with shame-based vocabulary, concepts and approaches to "wellness", health and fitness. Its all about keeping you stuck, "sticking" to stuff. It reinforces perfectionism and sets you up to fail and repeat the cycle. That’s good for that business, but usually not for you.

I was never a proponent of that shame-based approach. I knew intuitively what it was designed to do and I wanted no part of it. But I must admit, my own sense of self was so fragile, that I could rarely deal with the underlying issues myself, much less with clients. It was all about the external stuff.

You can only identify and work through that which you have identified and worked through yourself so to speak.

Reflecting on it, I can see why it was so much harder for me to coach, than it was for me to train. It was easy for me to deliver a message and direct others, but difficult to lead people through self discovery, which underlies every aspect of your lifestyle.

How can you lead people through self discovery, when you haven’t discovered yourself to a point that gives you that confidence. For  years now, I have been working on this. It has been challenging and liberating and today I can say, I know what it means to say, "I love myself". It has new meaning because it represents a new level of awareness.

"I love myself" isn’t some feel-good sort of affirmation. It can be that if you want it to be and avoid doing the work, but if you learn more of what it really means it can influence your present moment and your life.

I would like to share some of that meaning with you, right now.

It means to accept all parts of yourself. (Yes, even that haunting voice talking in your head as you read this).

You have many selves, those you identify with and those that you have split off, out of shame and pain. If you don’t learn to accept them, and work with them in your life, peace of mind is a forgone thought and energy depletion, poor lifestyle, and it’s physical manifestation are virtually guaranteed.

As you try to avoid the negative consequences of that state of being, you will be driven a little crazy by a band of energy thieves who are chasing you down. Healthy High Achievers, are not driven this way. These are not the drives we want if we’re going to achieve our goals successfully.

Let me know your thoughts… this conversation is paramount.

John Allen Mollenhauer is the Founder of Performance Lifestyle Solutions, the better healthier ways to achieve your goals in life, business and sport. As a former worn down workaholic turned healthy high achiever John Allen (aka “JAM”) will teach you how to Live Like a Pro, optimizing your lifestyle the way athletes do. He is the creator of the Healthy High Achiever - Unleash the Full Potential of Your Lifestyle to Perform, Look and Feel Better!

You know, I get this question all the time and it’s not unusual because a Performance Lifestyle is a new concept. New concepts require explanation.

So today I am going to give you the "plain "explanation.

Simply put…

A Performance Lifestyle goes beyond health and fitness (sleep, eating and exercise) to also include personal wellness, energy management and goal achievement concepts to round out a successful model for living.

All concepts are taught in the "context" of performance and success, which are what people are focused on. Health and sustainable success go hand in hand, they are one and thus, should be taught and learned that way.

The main reason people don’t focus on their health, is because they are naturally not focused on their health. Weight loss and Health are not natural goals.

Goals are those things we achieve in life, business and sport. Having to regain your health… and lose weight,  are distractions from your natural inclination.

If we are to take action consistently, and sustainably and achieve our real goals, we had better take a lifestyle approach that maintains personal wellness, high levels of energy, is fueled by quality food, reinforced by strength and endurance, and is effectively focused.

None of these concepts is optional if we want to be effective and happy in life. Quality of life at the core, is the ability to enjoy the activities in life with little to no limitation, able to function at a high level.

That is why we call this Performance Lifestyle. It bridges the gap between health and success.

When you have these respective areas of your life working for you, your lifestyle works for you, and propels you forward in a
position of strength.

John Allen Mollenhauer is the Founder of Performance Lifestyle Solutions, the better healthier ways to achieve your goals in life, business and sport. As a former worn down workaholic turned healthy, high achiever John Allen (aka “JAM”) will teach you how to Live Like a Pro, optimizing your lifestyle the way athletes do. He is the creator of the Healthy High Achiever - Unleash the Full Potential of Your Lifestyle to Look, Feel and Perform Better!

One of the things I take very seriously, is understanding what things mean. In other words, what the words and phrases we use actually mean. Wellness is one of those terms that eludes most of us, because it’s far more expansive than health or fitness and when it comes to achievement, once you lose wellness the achievement is far from satisfying or sustainable.

There is a big difference between performing well, and being able to perform "well".

Wellness, is the integration of many different elements (social, emotional, mental, spiritual and physical), that expand ones potential to live (quality of life) and work effectively and to make a significant contribution to society. - Ref: Charles B Corbin Concepts of Fitness and Wellness.

Wellness reflects how one feels (a sense of well being) about life as well as ones ability to function (perform) effectively.

I bet you were expecting me to talk about the physical right off the bat, right? Well, our physical bodies are important without question, but the physical comes up more when we talk about health, energy management and fitness.

The foundation of personal wellness is social (interpersonal), mental and emotional and spiritual… it has more to do with how you think and the benefits supportive community  you are also contributing to, than it does working out or eating the right foods.

And anyone who thinks they are going to to be physically well, lacking psychological strength and emotional fitness is kidding themselves. It’s really hard to do much when you are not feeling well.

Think about your experience. Do you experience much success taking care of your self, let alone business when you don’t feel well? Likely not…

Yes, feeling well is the opposite of illness, but that’s only one definition and a limited one at that. In a deeper sense it’s about those aspects of our lives that are not that noticeable, notably our relations with other people, finances, where we live, etc.

In a Performance Lifestyle, one of the mainstay tactics of Healthy High Achievers is their ability to take a step (s) back to gain perspective and deal with structural life problems or issues that are causing challenges further up the chain; for example; in your lifestyle which will ultimately affect your ability to achieve your goals and sustain success.

Wellness is our personal foundation. Conceptually is represents the present state of things in our lives. Are you addressing the present state of things in your life?

Are you feeling overwhelmed? If you are, that’s the sign to take a step back begin taking action accordingly.

Wellness is not some "feel" good term it is at once the foundation and the result of our health and success and our ability to perform.

John Allen Mollenhauer is the Founder of Performance Lifestyle Solutions, the better healthier ways to achieve your goals. As a a former worn down workaholic turned Healthy High Achiever John Allen (aka “JAM”) will teach you how to Live Like a Pro; how to look, feel and perform better by optimizing your lifestyle the way athletes do. Achieve your goals in life, business and sport and take your life to the next level!