Healthy Lifestyles

by: Jeffrey O. Anderson

Though written with every attorney in mind, this article is most specifically directed at anyone who may suffer from fear, anger, depression, an overriding burden of responsibility, or dispair - all in varying degrees from nearly non-existent to acute. For those who feel burned out, stalled, or nearing the end of their rope, you should know that there is a realistic way out. It is not new and it is not untested. It takes no emotional strength to begin, but rather presumes a drained reservoir of that commodity. The only thing required of the reader who wishes to benefit is a willingness to keep going. Read on.

Our environment of legal combat, strategy, dealing with difficult clients and, sometimes, difficult opposing attorneys can have a profound impact on our physical and emotional well-being. Such an effect is often insidious in that can lurk quietly, build quietly, scream quietly, until those screams drown out everything else in our lives.

The manifestations of these lifestyles are truly issues that we deal with every day in our practices and with our clients. So few of us, however, are ever willing to admit that we might possibly suffer these same afflictions - we have been so conditioned to think of them as weaknesses; personality traits to be hidden from the world. The very nature of our chosen profession tends to create physical, mental and emotional stress, depression, anxiety, drinking, drugging, sleeplessness, heart disease, strokes, weakened immune systems, and weight issues, to name but a few symptoms.

We don't have to live like that. There is an alternative; a way out. We will call it a healthy lifestyle - a way of living that balances the body, mind and spirit such that we can take on our jobs without fear of those symptoms which plague so many of our lives.

The concepts below, with the obvious modern exemplifications, are ideas that mankind has been struggling with for thousands of years. None of this is new to the world, though it may be new to many, if not most, Americans.

BODY

Our bodies lead our lives and follow our leads. Clean air, water, food and exercise are essential to physical health. This certainly is not a new concept. What may not be known to everyone, and certainly was not known to me a few years ago, is the profound impact that the treatment of our bodies has on our lives and on the balance we are now seeking.

Exercise

Most doctors will tell us to get at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 to 5 times per week. What exactly does that mean? Could that mean that we should get half an hour of cardiovascular exercise, where we are raising our heart rates for the benefit of our systems? Could it be strength training or stretching?

The last time I saw my doctor for a checkup, he suggested to me that I get one half hour of cardiovascular exercise 3 to 5 days per week. He was thinking about my heart and how to keep it healthy. Certainly that is an important goal and I would not try to defeat the intent of his advice. But what about exercise fitting into an overall healthy lifestyle - a lifestyle of the body balanced gracefully with that of the mind and spirit?

There can be little doubt that exercise helps us handle stress. We lead modern, fast-paced lives. Most of us can't remember very many days in the last few months that we didn't experience stress of some form or another. If exercise, whether it be cardiovascular, strength, or something else, can help us handle stress, why would we consider anything but some form each and every day.

This sounds like a tall order: 30 minutes out of every day to do nothing but exercise. Most of us don't even like to exercise. Keep reading. No one said this was going to be easy. In fact, no one said it should be 30 minutes every day. On those days that we experience a greater degree of stress, shouldn't we be considering more exercise. One of the best relievers of anxiety, short of having a jury trial settle, is working out to the point of exhaustion. Walking, running, the treadmill, the elyptical machine, Pilates, yoga, aerobics, tennis . . . the list is endless.

This subject is about healthy lifestyles and adjusting our lives to handle our professions. Though this paper cannot be and is not intended to be the definitive work on the subject, it would not even be a good start without some mention of the importance of each primary area of fitness: Cardio, Strength, and flexibiltiy.

Cardiovascular work strengthens the heart, cleans out the arteries, increases stamina and does wonderful things for the mind and spirit. Unless the type of cardio work we are doing is harmful to the body due to injury, technique, or in some cases, overuse, there is virtually no down side to it.

After the age of 30, we begin to lose muscle mass at the rate of about ½ pound per year.1 Without strength training, by age 60 we are 15 pounds lighter in muscle. Muscle burns fat - less muscle, more fat, less health - a pretty simple equation. Strength training builds that muscle to counteract the natural loss. It also strengthens the bones, lessening the chance of osteoporitis. Stop reading if you think any of this sounds bad for your (keep reading if you only think this sounds like something you don't feel like doing - remember, knowledge is power no matter what you do with it).

Stretching is important to avoid injury, particularly as we age. Short, tight muscles don't give with our movements as well as stretched, loose ones. As we bend, fall, hit, turn, sit, swing, swim, and keep all the balls in the air, muscles that are toned and stretched work with our bodies, not against them.

Diet

There is no advocacy here of one diet over another. Quite to the contrary, healthy eating and rigorous exercise will, over time (not over night) likely do more than cutting carbs or shaking hands with a dead guy named Scarsdale. This paper is also not the sort or the length to go into a deep recitation of exactly what a diet should consist of, particularly since everyone is different and has different nutritional needs. There are, however, some basics that each of us, as attorneys, should know.

Caffeine has a half life of seven hours.2 That means that if we each have two cups of coffee in the morning (with an average of 80 milligrams of caffeine per cup), there are still 40 milligrams of caffeine in our systems when we go to bed. It is essentially gone by about the time we wake up the next morning. How many of us don't sleep very well and wonder why?

Alcohol is a depressant and will put you to sleep. It's also a drug and everyone who drinks alcohol will experience withdrawal just as with other drugs. One drink is matabolized per hour by the body. During that metabolizing process, we get tired and may fall asleep. Once the alcohol is metabolized, the withdrawal kicks in. That withdrawal has just the opposite effect of what the alcohol had - it causes wakefulness.2 How many of us don't sleep very well and wonder why?

Healthy food, rather than refined grains, sugars, and chemicals, will tend to strengthen cell walls, increase energy, sharpen the brain, and cut down on the negative aspects that our bodies, minds, and spirits experience. The same goes for clean water and a lot of it. Sorry to be course, but if you're peeing yellow, you're not drinking enough water.

Organic foods are always better than those with hormones or pesticides. The more time that goes by, the more the grocery stores are realizing the demand for organics. The more organics those stores carry, the cheaper they become. Even Wal-Mart just opened a store which carries organic foods.

Rest

Rest can fall into two categories: sleep at night, and short breaks during the day. Studies have been conducted over the past several decades indicating the effect sleep has on life longevity. The studies vary so much and are constantly changing. Some suggest that 6 ½ hours per night is plenty. Others say that without 8 hours per night, our lives are shortened by some years.2

We might find that what this all really means in the end is that we each need a different amount of sleep. Some of us work better on 7 hours and some work better on more or less. The quality of rest almost certainly must play a role in the amount of sleep we get. The point is to get the best rest possible for you.

Sleep hygeine (not my favorite term, but an industry standard nonetheless) might be evaluated by someone who feels they are not getting enough rest or poor quality rest. Here are the major factors of a good sleep hygiene routine:

• eat a light dinner at least 3 hours prior to bed
• work out no less than 4 hours prior to bed;
• no sweets before bed;
• cut out caffeine;
• cut out alcohol;
• don't watch television in bed;
• your bed has only 2 purposes - sleep and sex - don't abuse the sanctity of those purposes by doing anything else;
• take a hot bath or shower just before bed (the body sleeps better as it cools off);
• sleep in a cool room and as dark as possible;
• start using table lamps 2 hours prior to going to bed, rather than overhead lights;
• when you wake up in the morning, don't stay in bed. Studies tend to indicate that staying in bed when you're not sleeping can lead to depression.

Although this paper divides body, mind and spirit into individual sections, please keep in mind that these three are twisted together to form our existence. As you read on, consider the interchange between a healthy body, a healthy mind, and a healthy spirit.

MIND

When speaking of the mind, we are really talking about happiness. The secret of life escapes philosophers and housewives, but the purpose of life is to seek happiness. "In order for an individual to be able to fully utilize (the source of happiness) towards the goal of enjoying a happy and fulfilled life, your state of mind is key. It's crucial."3

It makes sense. Why else would we do what we do every day in this profession. Hopefully we enjoy our jobs and have a sense of purpose by doing them, but would we have ever started them if our ultimate goal was not our perception of happiness.

The key word here is perception. No one can make me happy except myself. To a degree, perhaps a great degree, I'm talking about self mind control. If I believe that I am happy, then I am, whatever the circumstances. That does not mean that I can constantly be happy. Life and the human condition simply doesn't allow for this. If I were to expect happiness all the time, I would be most sorely disappointed a great deal of the time. "Once [I] have learned how to perceive life more realistically, [I] will experience an enhanced emotional life with a greater appreciation for genuine sadness-which lacks distortion-as well as joy."4 "Happiness is a way of life-an overriding outlook composed of qualities such as optimism, courage, love, and fulfillment . . . it is nothing less than cherishing every day."4

Moreover, as a human being, would I really want to be happy all the time? If I were, then how would I possibly define what happiness is. In order to understand that I am happy, I must have some knowledge of unhappiness. "Happiness isn't the art of building a trouble-free life. It's the art of respondinig well when trouble strikes."5

"The biological circuitry of fear is the greatest enemy of happiness . . . this fear system is our repository for past trauma, current tribulation, fear of the future, and archaic instinctual terrors. It comes from the amygdila; what some call the reptilian brain, formed before our higher brain functioning existed. Luckily, we have been blessed with an almost magical source of compensation: the human neocortex."5 This is the reasoning center of the brain. It has the power to overcome the reptilian brain and stop the cycle of fear.

"The panic that is created by the amygdala feeds upon itself and obliterates reason. Negative thoughts begin to come out of nowhere and overwhelm the neocortex. Fear begins to develop a life of its own. The brain, in effect, gets hijacked by fear."5 Once hijacked, the cycle of fear, creating perception and feeding upon itself can overwhelm its victim.

That cycle is broken by using the tools of happiness. Time need not go by before the tools are used and we don't have to live with fear. In his book, What Happy People Know, Dr. Dan Baker describes the happiness tools.

Appreciation - The antidote for fear is love and the greatest form of love is appreciation. One cannot exist in the mind when the other is present. Fear and appreciation may alternate, but cannot live together. Throughout history, mankind has prayed to a higher power and given thanks. Through this simple act, whatever the higher power, the presence of appreciation obliterates fear, sometimes for a few moments and sometimes for a few days or longer.

Choice - When we do not perceive that he have choices we feel trapped and fear grips us. Each of us to a person has choices every day. The choice to get up, the choice of whether we go to work, the choice of which television show to watch, the choice to turn right or turn left, the choice to look this way or that. It really doesn't matter what the choices are, so long as the individual understands that he or she has them.

Although many of us would be afraid of quitting our careers and starting a new one, don't each of us have that choice? We can recognize that our choices have consequences and may choose not to make a change because of those consequences, yet the choice remains.

Personal Power - We give up that important power when certain thoughts enter our minds: "I've been victimized - I'm entitled to more - I'll be rescued - someone else is to blame." These beliefs are poison darts to our personal power.

Being a victim, in the psychological and emotional sense, is a matter of choice. The only person who can make me a victim is myself. If I don't choose to be a victim, then I don't need to be rescued. Indeed, there are few of us who have a rescuer, save and except for a spiritual higher power.

Particularly in the United States, there is a pervasive sense of entitlement. The promises of our forefathers ring in our ears - we have the absolute right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Somehow, we have come to believe that means "life, liberty, and happiness". Happiness is a pursuit, a goal, and something to be worked for. It is not something we are entitled to.

When we blame someone else for our happiness or lack thereof, we are surrendering to them our personal power. If your spouse leaves you or your partner says he doesn't want to work with you anymore, it might and probably will evoke some emotions of sadness, abandonment, anger, or fear. We have those emotions because we perceive that is what we should be feeling. It is not written in any legitimate source that you must feel devastated by the loss of a parent. We can choose, instead, to take the power of our own emotions and celebrate the life of that parent, be excited for him or her because of the incredible journey they are now on (if you believe in an afterlife), or we can plan for ways to carry forward the best of our parent in ourselves and in our children. We don't have to be devastated, depressed, scared or angry. It's our choice.

Leading with your strengths - This is a place where we can use our higher brain function to it's ultimate potential. Our lower brain - the reptilian brain - offers an automatic fear reaction which causes us to automatically focus on our weaknesses. When we work to enhance our intellect and spirit, the energy of our positive resources is naturally emphasized. "People often think that fixing their weaknesses will save them, but it rarely works. It's just too painful. Leading with your strengths feels good, and that's why it works. Simple but true. You'll never be complete until you learn to lead with your strengths every day."5

The power of language and stories - "We don't describe the world we see-we see the wold we describe. Language, as the single most fundamental force of the human intellect, has the power to alter perception. We think in words, and these words have the power to limit us or to set us free; they can frighten us or evoke our courage. Similarly, the stories we tell ourselves about our own lives eventually become our lives. We can tell healthy stories or horror stories. The choice is ours."5

Multidimensional living - Dr. Baker describes three primary components of life: relationships, health, and purpose (which is usually work). This goes hand in hand with the idea of a balanced life. One must have sufficient amounts of all of these components in balanced order if one is to attain happiness. Sufficiency is, of course, dependent upon the person, but the existence of each element is essential.

"More often than not, fear doesn't emerge as nail-biting, cold-feet terror, but surfaces instead as anger, perfectionism, pessimism, low-level anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation."5 Contemporary fear can be fixed into two categories: fear of not having enough, fear of not being enough, and fear of losing something you already have..

Given the idea that happiness is the ultimate goal of human existence, let us explore some of the ways that we try to achieve that happiness. Many of us look for some tangible thing called joy, believing that there exists some panacia, which once found will save us from our own minds and free us from our disharmony. It doesn't exist. We have to work for it.

So, instead, we sometimes substitute distraction for despair, oblivion for bliss. Alcohol, drugs, sex, overspending, gambling, overworking, overeating, compulsiveness, and a hundred other forms of substituted happiness pervade our lives. It has come to the point that we even venerate some of these substitutions. Have I ever been proud to say I'm compulsive about the way I keep my car, my house, or my office? When I did so, did I ever think that I was merely occupying my mind with compulsion to keep it from thinking about unhappiness? "Perfectionism: you will set yourself up for discrediting yourself endlessly because whatever you do will never measure up to your exagerated expectations."4

Five happiness traps have been identified by Dr. Baker. These represent ways that people try to create joy by means which generally lead to further unrest and fear.

1. Trying to buy happiness - We joke about how a woman (sorry for being schovenistic - just trying to make a point) can go shopping for an hour and it's as good as a weeks worth of psychotherapy. We see something, we want it, we believe it will make us happy to possess it, so we pursue it. We put all of our energy into getting it. We sacrifice that which we know we should not in order to get it. Once we've got it, the distraction, the thrill, and the happiness are gone. We are left with a hole in our bank account or never-ending debt.
Our mothers told us that money can't buy happiness. Our mothers were right.

2. Trying to find happiness through pleasure - We're not talking about love here. Love can last, pleasure is transient. In this great country, most people experience more creature comforts than the kings of a few hundred years ago. We have become accustomed to having our needs met on a daily - even hourly - basis. Before, humans would get relief from the heat by a swim in the river; a short lived detour from the oppression of summer time. Now we have air conditioning. Before, there was no running water, no electricity, no movies to entertain us, and often food was even a luxury. That is usually no longer the case. Most of us derive no significant alteration of our perception from bad to good just because we have, as a manner of modern living, all of these amazing and wonderful benefits. We take them for granted.
Instead, we find pleasure in other things - some of which are healthy in moderate quantities, and some of which are unhealthy in any amount. If we indulge ourselves in creature pleasures all the time - sex, alcohol, eating, spending, taking, using, experiencing - then those pleasures, like the treasured swim in the river a hundred summers ago, will lose their effect.

Understanding that pleasure should be reserved, cherished, and even ritualized will keep it new and, therefore, keep it an effective tool for warding off fear and anxiety.

3. Trying to be happy by resolving the past -The freudian view of the mind was something like exploring the dark abyss of our history and then somehow resolving it by acknowledgment. The past can be full of unhappy memories, traumas, and things which we might not want to know about. Bringing them back up means bringing them back up. No one can change the past and bringing it up just to relive it tends to create more drama, not resolution.

4. Trying to be happy by overcoming weakness - We all are endowed with strengths and weaknesses. Trying to conquer the weaknesses simply serves to place focus on them. We have been talking about improving our perception of reality and of life. Would we not be better served by focusing on our strengths rather than dwelling on a weakness. I do not suggest that we fail to expand our horizons by trying new things. I am merely stating the obvious. Focus on the positive (the strengths) and don't focus on the negative (the weaknesses).

5. Trying to force happinesss - We can't just decide to be happy and - "poof" - it happens. In fact, it's much easier to be miserable than it is to be happy. Have you ever been in a bad mood and heard someone tell you to "snap out of it"? Could you? Of course not. We can fake being happy and by faking it eventually, maybe, change our mood, but we can't just decide to be happy and by sheer will make it happy. "That's because happiness is not a finite entity unto itself, but is the sum of the 12 most important qualities of happiness"5 Time to pay attention, these are important. If we study these happiness tools, think about them and use them they can and probably will change our lives: "love, optimism, courage, a sense of freedom, proactivity, security, health, spirituality, altruism, perspective, humor, and purpose. These are the things you should make up your mind to achieve."

Attorneys have one of, if not the highest rate of alcoholism of any profession. Can there be any wonder why? Our jobs are, by their very nature, aggressive, conflictual, and antagonistic; words few of us would equate with happiness. We tend to "suffer from a paralyzing and burdensome sense of responsibility that forces [us] to carry the whole world on [our] shoulders. [We] have confused influence with control over others."4 A bottle of oblivion cures the fear and anger for a while. Then the bottle becomes the thing which takes over. The fear still exists, but now it lives in a nightmare of altered, negative perception.

This fear, this anger, this dreadful perception is the direct result of a lack of balance in our lives. Therefore, our search to find balance is really a search to be happy most of the time and minimize the depth and time that we are unhappy.

"Every bad feeling you have is a result of your distorted negative thinking. Illogical pessimistic attitudes play the central role in the development and continuation of all your symptoms."4

Our reality is created by our perceptions. If we change our perceptions, we change our realities. In a way it's like going down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. Perceive a reality that is pleasant and a pleasant reality exists. Perceive more and more exists. Just how far down the rabbit hole you go is entirely up to you.

So just what is the key to happiness? Balance! On to Spirituality.

SPIRITUALITY

"It's been clearly established that a belief system that adds spiritual meaning to life helps people thrive."5

We're not talking about religion. Such discussions have started wars and this article is about healthy lifestyles. Spirituality is a sense of conscious connection with a higher power. It is the basis of every religion and, to one degree or another, every religious philosophy. Whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Pagan, Wickin, or any other religion, the fundamentals are still the same: live a life in balance and moderation, be kind to others, have compassion for all things, be of service to your fellow man, contemplate your existence and place in the universe and the existence of your higher power.

Christians have The Sermon on the Mount. Jews have the Ten Commandments, Hindu's have the teachings of the Dalai Lama. The list is endless and, indeed, timeless.

So why is spirituality so important to a healthy lifestyle? Believing in and having a relationship with a higher power opens up possibilities, it takes the burden of tomorrow off of our shoulders, it takes the guilt of yesterday away, It helps to minimize fear and brings our lives into that illusive balance.

Possibilities for our future exist only to the extent that we believe in them. A higher power lets us expand those possibilities, lets us dream better dreams, let's us believe in a better future than we would otherwise.

Who among us has never done something we would rather not have done? Do we maintain guilt for that? Usually we do. This higher power, once brought to action, can forgive and absolve us of those guilts, so long as we are willing to make amends for them.

Fear of the future is probably the greatest obsticles to a healthy lifestyle that we, as attorneys, face. Our next client is not guaranteed to come in the door. Our next trial, no matter how well prepared, is not guaranteed to be a win. Next month, we're not guaranteed the money to keep our doors open. A belief in a higher power lets us trust in something other than the abyss. We can trust that there is a force capable and willing to handle our future for our ultimate benefit. We can choose to believe that there is a being somewhere inside or outside of us that is saying "trust me", so we do. We can choose to believe that we are not alone - are never alone no matter what the circumstances. We are forever joined by a power greater than ourselves which has our best interest and our greatest good at heart. As we trust, the fear dissipates. Our minds clear. Focus is easier. Balance is attainable. Peace exists.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

Given this brief explanation of balance and how it relates to a healthy lifestyle, one might want some simple tools to get started.

Life Coaches/Executive Coaches - A new phenomina has come about over the last few years. These life coaches help by teaching us how to live in balance, how to achieve happiness, how to be at peace.

Yoga - This ancient form of exercise is good for the muscles, the organs, the mind and spirit. Though there exist hundreds of varieties of yoga for working out, toning and relaxing, the original and still primary purpose is to prepare the person for meditation.

Meditation - There are as many ways to meditate as there are people. The most common initial teaching of meditation is to concentrate on the breath. Notice how it feels to breathe in and out. Let go of other thoughts as they come into your mind. It is restful and refreshing and only takes a few minutes. Guided meditations are available at most major book stores and can be pleasant experiences with little effort from the participant.

In the end, the purpose of meditation is to slow the mind and allow it to rest - to stop the person from thinking all of the thoughts that we think throughout every other minute of the day. The Dalai Lama said "Sleep is the best form of mediation". Indeed, when we are asleep, we are not thinking of ourselves or our problems. We are setting our minds free to rest or to roam.

Exercise - Every day we experience stresses. Every day we should be exercising to help relieve those stresses. Every exercise routine should include cardio, strength and stretching.

Diet - Eat healthy and drink lots of water.

Conscious Contact With a Higher Power - Though essential to a balanced and healthy lifestyle, the idea of a higher power is so personal to each individual, I dare not suggest more than to explore some form of contact in your own way.

Recognize Negative Thoughts and Shift them with Gratitude - Each time a negative thought comes to mind, do something to shift the focus from that thought to something positive. Go to a movie, role down the window of your car and breathe the fresh air, notice the grass, remember the last time (or the first time) you heard your child laugh. Anything that shifts your perspective from the negative to the positive will work.

Help Others - Is it better to give than to receive? Absolutely! The next time you see a transient on the street asking for change and you feel like that person is sincere, don't give them a couple of quarters or a dollar. Give them five dollars and see if the feeling you get isn't worth the price.

The Happiness Tools - love, optimism, courage, a sense of freedom, proactivity, security, health, spirituality, altruism, perspective, humor, and purpose

A FINAL WORD

We lead exceptional lives, but most of us don't see it. A healthy lifestyle - healthy in mind, body and spirit - will awaken the senses, free the soul, and quiet the storms of thought. Some of us can naturally turn off the pressure like turning off a switch. Many of us can't, so we are left with a choice: continue to live the life we've been living or change to something better. It's all about choices.

1. Growing Older, Staying Strong: Preventing Sarcopenia Through Strength Training, Robert N. Butler, MD, Issue Brief Sep.-Oct. 2003, International Longevity Center-USA.

2. Wake Up Call: Sleep for Good Health, Phil Eichling, MD, MPH, FAASM, Canyon Ranch, 2004.

3. His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D., The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living, Riverbead Books, New York, 1998.

4. David D. Burns, M.D., Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, HarperCollins publishers Inc., 1980, 1999, 2000.

5. Dan Baker, Ph.D. and Cameron Stauth, What Happy People Know, 2003.