You are what you EAT!

MOTIVATION FOR SUCCESS By Milton Kamwendo.

It is easy to just get anything and pop it into our mouths without thinking about the significance of what we are doing. For some people eating is a form of recreation or hobby. Just because food happens to be there does not mean that it should be eaten. Just because we have been served a certain portion does not always mean the food has to be finished. While it is true that there are people who are starving, there are others whose problem is compulsive eating.

There are people who complain about their weight but never take time to think about the foods they eat, how and when they eat. Unfortunately there are so many items that are promoted as food when they are simply junk — they will amuse our palate but have little nutritional value. There is a difference between feeding and nutrition. We can literally feed on anything but it may not have the right nutritional value we require to fuel and repair our bodies. We become what we eat — one wishes there was a more complicated formula. It is true that we are not all the same genetically and we process food differently but this does not change this basic rule.

What is true for the body is also true for the spirit and for the mind. Greatness is a product of what and how we feed. A starving body is a weak and sick body. A starving mind negative, small thinking and abused too. A starving spirit characterises a life that is not vibrant, inspired and purposeful.

Nutrition for the body

There are so many diseases today that are associated with our eating habits. These include a variety of cancers, stomach illnesses and heart diseases. Most of the fashion fast foods and additive substances are not good for our health. They drip with fat, are not balanced and contain many artificial preservatives, and colorants. While these foods may fill our tummies they do not do a lot of good for our bodies. Their manufacturers would care no less. Before we pop anything into our mouths it is important for us to pause and think what it is and what it will ultimately do to our bodies. We are personally responsible for caring for our bodies — they are the temples that we carry around. Poor eating habits can be likened to dumping junk into the most sacred of temples.

What then should we be eating, drinking and inhaling? Water is the most important part of any diet. Drinking water is very beneficial. Some people would prefer to just take a fizzy drink instead of water. Fizzy drinks are laden with sugar, preservatives and other chemicals.

Water, plain and simple, is the best drink we can ever take. Fresh fruit and vegetables have great nutritional value and are a wonderful source of vitamins. Roots, nuts, bulbs and tubers like peanuts, potatoes are also useful. Grains and cereals are useful as energy foods and roughage. Salads are great sans their dressing which usually offsets their benefits.

Much has been talked about red meat. If one decides to eat it smaller quantities would help. The general rule is that food that is as close as possible to its natural state is best.

There is enough literature on good nutrition and I will now turn to mental and spiritual nutrition.

Mental nutrition

Parents would do anything possible to ensure that their homes have food for their children. However, it is unfortunate that a home that does not have any good books is a starved mental environment. What we feed our minds determines our attitudes, knowledge, beliefs and execution. We think with what we know. The more we feed our minds the more resources we make available for our minds to use for creation and problem solving. When we feed our minds with junk we become mentally obese — full of mere words but devoid of wisdom.

There are times when we work under pressure and have very little time in our hands for reading and personal study. This should never be an excuse for failing to feed mentally. Mobile learning is a very wonderful opportunity that modern technology has made even more convenient and accessible. I have found that an iPod is a wonderful little tool in this regard. It is easy for one to get virtually free a myriad podcasts in one’s area of interest. Besides one could also record audio books and other programmes on this little gadget. What I find amazing is just how much one can store and carry around to listen in the gym, at a doctor’s appointment or in the traffic. For those who are conservative the traditional tape or CD Walkman can be useful. Listening to audio books and presentations turns our cars from being mere vehicles into learning laboratories and universities.

Nothing however beats the charisma of a good book. Anyone who does not read has no real advantage over anyone who cannot read. Books are to the soul what fuel is to a motor vehicle. Apart from books attending seminars, workshops and conferences is a brilliant way to feed the mind with new ideas, thoughts and trends. Certain community groups like Toastmasters, Rotary, and BNI have small segments in their meetings where various speakers are invited make presentations. These can be very useful mental "snacks".

The Internet is a powerful engine for mental nutrition.

The Internet provides an ocean of knowledge on virtually any known subject and an opportunity to interact with like-minded people from every known place in the world. Frequent surfing of subjects of interest is a useful exercise. The Internet carries good, junk and poisonous mental food. It is useful to think about what we are surfing.

Spiritual Nutrition

Spiritual nutrition is an important if not the most important form of nutrition. Being part of an inspiring group of believers in the context of a Church is an important vehicle to continued spiritual nutrition and growth. It is also important to develop personal spiritual practices like prayer, study and reading of the Bible and consistent fellowship. Some people have found that they grow faster spiritually under the guidance of some mentor, teacher or pastor. Spiritually we become like that which we are feeding on.

Life is not just about eating but without eating there can be no life. We need our spirits to be awake and agile in our pursuit of greatness. We need our minds to be alert and prepared. We need our bodies to be healthy and fuelled for the greatness journey.

What we choose to feed the spirit, mind or body determines what we eventually become.

Please note Milton Kamwendo is the Managing Consultant of Innov8 – The Motivation Company. He is a motivational speaker and author of three motivational books: It’s Time to Unleash Your Greatness, Dance and Pursue Your Dreams and Let the Lion in You Roar. For more information visit: www.innov8motivation.com Email: info@innov8.co.zw. Or write to: P.O. Box CY 1993, Harare. Tel: 739867. Blog: http://innov8motivation.blogspot.com