More lessons from 10,000 feet… On this flight, I am sitting near Russ who travels frequently for business. While distracting Emily from her flight anxiety, Russ told her and I about a flight he experienced during which the oxygen masks fell. He shared that all the passengers automatically turned their heads right and left like the flight attendant does during her pre-flight spiel. He and I both found it interesting how such things can be ingrained into our consciousness. I would venture that few to none of the passengers had ever had to utilize an in-flight oxygen mask prior to that incident.
Unless your flight anxiety is high, my guess is that you tune out the spiel after your first flight or two (even Emily didn’t seem to be paying much attention); I know I don’t consciously pay attention and didn’t realize how the flight attendants turn their heads. Yet, almost everyone mimicked the flight attendant automatically.
What are you learning subconsciously? What messages are being integrated into your understanding subliminally? This is just one of the many reasons that I encourage people to turn off the TV for better sleep. Did you realize your brain is still attentive even when you are not consciously paying attention? How can you be aware of this ability and utilize it for your health?
Surround yourself with positive, healthy people. It is said that you are the average of the five people with whom you spend the most time. Are you spending time with those you wish to emulate? Do you have a workout buddy? Don’t forget to find a few health experts to follow on Twitter.
If you must fall asleep to something, find a positive, motivational, health-related podcast or turn on a yoga dvd.
Place yourself in healthy environments. Even if you only spend a small amount of time in the gym, you will receive a more powerful mental message at the gym then you will running the streets.
Take every opportunity to watch sporting events. Parents, go to your children’s games and practices. Rather than tailgating, go to the football game early to watch how the players stretch and warm-up. (It’s also a great opportunity to get some nice photographs.)
How else can you casually expose yourself to health-focused messages?