When did health lose it’s meaning?

I've got a challenge for you today:

Say the word "flower" 15 times in a row.  

Now try "flashlight" (I had to.)

What happened on the 15th repetition? Was the word still familiar? Did it feel like it stopped making sense? 

Many of us have experienced saying words over and over again only to realize that after lots of repetition, the words seem to lose their meaning.  But why is that? 

This phenomenon actually has a name: Semantic Satiation.  

Leon James, a professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii’s College of Social Sciences, coined the term in 1962. In his thesis about the subject, he stated: “It’s a kind of a fatigue called reactive inhibition: When a brain cell fires, it takes more energy to fire the second time, and still more the third time, and finally the fourth time it won’t even respond unless you wait a few seconds. So that kind of reactive inhibition that was known as an effect on brain cells is what attracted me to an idea that if you repeat a word, the meaning in the word keeps being repeated, and then it becomes refractory, or more resistant to being elicited again and again.”

Very interesting... and relevant - especially to health and wellness.  As a long-term wellness pro (who just aced her practice health coaching board exam ) I understand that the vast majority of us generally are aware of what we need to do to achieve health and wellbeing.  It involves eating more whole foods, moving our bodies, getting rest, finding meaning and purpose in our work and lives and connecting with others.  It's really simple on paper, but why is it so DANG hard? 

I believe that part of the challenge IS the simplicity.  Some would argue that we're distracted and removed from our health and wellbeing endeavors by junk food, media and being sedentary. While and those elements certainly factor in, I think the bigger issue is that we've heard all of the healthy things repeated so much that they have lost their meaning.  Granted, the science may not work exactly in tandem with Semantic Satiation, but the concept is kind of same/same. 

There's a reason why people jump on the latest fitness or wellness trend and I believe it has A LOT to do with NOVELTY.  Why else would someone commit to 30 days of planks or going sugar free for 6 weeks? It's a new thing.  The problem is, once you start repeating that new thing over and over again... well, the novelty is lost and wellness becomes like Charlie Brown's teacher all over again (wah wah wah, wah)

Repetition is GREAT for the learning process, but without a sense of novelty in your approach to it (read play & curiosity,) you run the risk of losing the meaning (and the intended habit.)  So how do we address the brain's tendency to lose interest?  We do 3 things: 

1. We stop expecting perfection and acknowledge that each day will hold it's unique set of adventures.

There are too many factors at play each day to expect our health and wellness efforts to be static.  We've got to be able to roll with the days happenings and that means in simple terms, staying fed, hydrated and connected. 

2. We stop over complicating mindfulness. 

This week in the Fall Renewal Challenge, we dove into some of the most common hormonal imbalances and let's just say they all have one major component in common: STRESS.  We've got to prioritize moments of recalibration in our day and you don't need to have spent time at an ashram or even at Kripalu to achieve them.  It can be as simple as remembering the acts that bring you peace.  And I'm willing to bet that none of them happen on your phone.  Taking a stupid walk for our stupid mental health (IYKYK) can be the simplest way to recalibrate our nervous systems.  Breathing, listening to music. watching a flickering candle. rolling around in the grass, laughing, dancing, resting, petting the dog, hugging a tree - they are all options that can help. 

3. Lastly, we stop conflating health and wellness with optimized performance.  

I may be repeating #1, but we've got to get back to basics with our support systems.  Competition can be a great motivator but if you're competing to achieve someone else's definition of health and wellbeing, does that mean that you'll ever *actually* achieve your own?  I urge you to take this opportunity to define what health and wellness means to YOU and then consider how your movement, nourishment, rest and connection are supporting these things. 

In the health coaching paradigm, we use a tool called the Circle Of Life.  In it, we factor in our levels of satisfaction with areas such as work, home life, finances, social connections, creativity, education and spirituality to name a few.  The goal is never to form a perfect circle - this is unrealistic with a REAL life.  Instead, we look at the areas of high satisfaction and unpack the details to see where we might be able to recreate this type of fulfillment in other areas.  This, to me is health.  Supporting ourselves to  the best of our ability each day with the intention of satisfying ourselves with our experience. 

That's it. That's the goal: Satisfaction.  

I hope that some of this inspired you to get playful with your support systems in the week to come. And if you need some motivation, there's still time to register for the Fall Renewal Challenge (link below.)

Now say "calories" 15 times in a row...

It doesn't make any sense, does it?