Think of the last time you visited your doctor. Did they ask you about your eating habits (notice I did not write “diet” - more on that later)? Did your doctor talk about how significant your eating habits are and the impact on your health? Did they walk you through a thorough nutrition plan or recommend you to an expert?

Most of the time when I pose those questions I get a simple response - “no.” Which is disappointing because balanced and healthy eating provides numerous benefits, both to the body and mind. Healthy eating improves brain function, elevates your mood, provides more energy, and promotes overall well-being. Good nutrition is also vital for maintaining good muscle mass, reducing body fat, and achieving optimal body weight.

Henry Ford stated, “thinking is the hardest work there is which is a probable reason so few people engage in it.”

Metacognition is a fancy word that can essentially be defined as “thinking about thinking.” But think about this (see what I did there?) - we have approximately 50,000-75,000 thoughts per day; roughly 90% are the same as the day before and 80% are negative.  Did you realize that you may have tens of thousands of negative thoughts each day?

Many of our negative thoughts, however, are nothing short of lies we sell ourselves, inaccurate, unproductive, and unnecessary, so it’s important to take the time and make the effort to talk back to yourself when you experience them. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Practice positive self-talk, and begin the second you wake up - it can be a game (and mind) changer!

Many of us have seen a quote similar to the one above - "you can't pour from an empty cup" and immediately thought, “that is definitely me.” You think about yourself and your nearly empty cup for all of five seconds, then focus on your full plate; the kids, your job, keeping up with the house, and balancing many other areas of life. You do so much to keep everyone and everything going while neglecting yourself. You're smart enough to realize you need to be on your own "To Do" list but can't imagine how that is even possible.

I truly believe there is no greater investment than the one you make into yourself. When you invest in yourself you hedge against most scenarios, there are no losses, no inflation, you grow personally, and you fill your proverbial cup. While this is where you will enjoy the greatest rate of return, a very small percentage of people actually do it. And before we move further, please know that it is selfless, not selfish, to invest in yourself. You will be able to best impact and elevate others when you are operating at your optimal YOU. Investing in yourself benefits you, your family, your friends, your colleagues, those that you lead, and society as a whole.