[Neurons] 2009 Meta Reflections #31

[L. Michael Hall]

From: L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

Meta Reflections #31

July 20, 2009

 

NEURO-SEMANTICS

AND PHYSICAL FITNESS

 

 

 

During the past couple months the subject of physical fitness seems to
repeatedly keep coming up in conversations.  It naturally and obviously came
up in the Unleashing Your Health Potentials in Montreal in May.  After that
came up in a couple of radio interviews as I've been asked about my energy
level and how I maintain it in trainings and in traveling.  It has arisen as
I've been talking with several trainers who training or are planning to
train "Games Fit and Slim People Play."

 

Then this last week it came up in a corporate setting on several occasions.
It arose both when I was talking to the senior managers and then when I
presented to the whole company about becoming a self-actualizing company.
How did it come up in that context?  It came up on one of the first
characteristics of a self-actualizing company.  First of all leaders and
managers have to "take care" of their people, that is, meet their basic
needs (e.g., survival and safety needs).  Companies generally do this with
salaries, perks, and the compensation packages.  And if you want to know why
that is important, it is if because survival and safety needs are not met,
employees will be operating from a level of stress (worry, apprehension,
tension, preoccupation) preventing them from being fully present and engaged
in their work.

 

That's why leaders in self-actualizing companies focus on creating an
environment that is conducive to the health and well-being of their people.
If the company is large enough and has its own cafeteria then it aims at not
merely feeding people, but creating a context of nourishing food in a
pleasant and relaxing context.  Google has eleven gourmet cafes on their
campus, along with tennis courts, a fitness center, walking trails, and so
on.

 

In speaking about these things, I asked the people of one of the firms I was
working with recently to imagine a Vitality Meter at the front door when
they came to work.  If they stepped onto the Vitality Meter each morning
when they arrived and each afternoon when they left, what would it register?
If you step on to the Vitality Meter, would it indicate that you are full of
energy, health, vitality, inspiration, and passion?  How much well-being and
vitality would it register from 0 to 100?

 

If in arriving at work your vitality is low, is that your personal problem,
is that a system issue due to the structure of the work and work place, or
is that a relational problem with a manager, supervisor, or colleague?  If
upon leaving your work at the end of your day, your Vitality Meter indicates
that your vitality and well-being has been extinguished or devastated, what
does that say about you, your work, the work context, the relationships
there?

 

A self-actualizing work will not feel like "work" in the sense of effort,
drudgery, or being hard, or life draining.  It is full of effort but it is
more the effortfulness that a child puts into play.  You are fully there,
you are fully engaged, you are giving it your all and the tiredness that
comes is a good tiredness.  And you have the sense of accomplishing, "A job
well done!"  So a self-actualizing company gets the right people on the bus,
then into the right seats for them, and then supports and takes care of
those people so that they are energized by their work.

 

Physical fitness is important in all of this because our states are
mind-body states.  It is never just a matter of thinking right, thinking
positively, having a good attitude, understanding things, operating from
good principles-it is just as equally a matter of feeling good, taking care
of your health, eating good food moderately, exercising regularly, and
sleeping well.  To actualize your highest and best requires that you have
the energy to do so and that means strength in your muscles, cardio-vascular
system, and flexibility in your movements.  All of this comes together to
define your level of "fitness."  And fitness endows you with the energy
reservoir that you need to be a fully functioning person.

 

A disciple and student of Maslow, Robert Carkhuff wrote Toward Actualizing
Human Potential (1981) and included physical fitness in his descriptions in
a way that Maslow did not.

"All actualizers maintain rigorous fitness programs.  However they do not
make a fetish out of it. ... the real question for the actualizers is:
Fitness for what?  They draw upon their physical resources to serve other
more important purposes in their lives.  They value their fitness highly
because they recognize it as a necessary but not sufficient condition of
their life purpose." (p. 55)

"The effective helper must develop a high energy level that enables him or
her to be strongest at the crises of life; a high level of motivation to
accomplish a mission that directs and sustains him or her throughout life."
(p. 67)

 

Regarding the physical factors in self-actualization, Carkhuff set out
levels of functioning.  He even put numbers to the levels in the scale: 1)
Sickness, 2) Survival, 3) Adaptability, 4) Intensity, and 5) Stamina.  This
was the vertical scale.  Then along a horizontal scale he had four
dimensions of physical functioning: 1) Cardio-respiratory functioning, 2)
Endurance, 3) Strength, and 4) Flexibility.  With this matrix, you can then
identify your level of functioning in each of these dimensions.  

"The fitness level based on exercise will ultimately infleunce the fitness
level of application.  Whatever a person's reservoir of energy initially,
over an extended period of time, the level of fitness will relate to level
of energy. ... High functioning people are able to mobilize energy when
needed." (p. 74-75)

 

How is your fitness level?  Do you wake up each more ready to go?  Do you
look forward to the activities of the day?  And throughout the day, do you
have enough vitality and strength to handle the challenges before you?  At
the end of the day, do you have a good tiredness of mind, body, and emotions
and have a sense that the energies you devoted to your tasks resulted in "a
job well-done?"  To be fully engaged in life, to fully play at the things
that are important to you, and have a good time doing so requires energy.
It requires that you have the strength, stamina, well-being, and flexibility
to handle it.  How can you actualize your highest and best without physical
fitness?  How much potential are you ignoring, sacrificing, or wasting by
not having the physical fitness that you need?  May your Vitality Meter be
at the top in the red zone more and more often!

 

 

 

Coming Soon in 2009 --- Meta-Coach Training

 

                                    

1) Sweden

       Sept. 15, 16-23 - Coaching Mastery.  Sweden: Stockholm

       Sponsors: Sara Lee, Niklas Daver, and Helene Nordgen

        <mailto:niklas.daver at gmail.com> sara.m.lee at gmail.com
niklas.daver at gmail.com helene-nordgren at tele2.se 

 

2) New Zealand

      October 1, 2- 9 - Coaching Mastery.  Auckland, New Zealand

     Sponsor: Ignition - Colin Cox and Lena Gray - www.ignition.co.za
<http://www.ignition.co.za/>  

     Lena at ignition.co.za                                               

 

3) South Africa

     Oct. 22, 23-30 - Coaching Mastery.  Pretoria, South Africa

    cheryl at peoplesa.co.za                                

    Cell : 083 267 1412   Tel: 012 362 6542    Fax : 088 012 362 6641

    Skype: meta coach   www.psacoaching.co.za 

                        

4) Australia

       November 19, 20-27 - Coaching Mastery.  Sydney, Australia

      Sponsors: Laureli Blyth and Heidi Heron                  

      Heidi at nlpworldwide.com              Laureli at nlpworldwide.com 

 

5) Australia --- 2010

     March 19 (Leadership Team training) and March 20-27 ACMC Training


     Gold Coast, Australia --- Martin Urban:  61 7  5500 4175

       martin at urbantrainings.com
www.UrbanTrainings.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.  Michael Hall, Ph.D.

International Society of Neuro-Semantics

Meta-Coach Training System

P.O. Box 8

Clifton, CO.  81520 USA

1 970-523-7877

1 970-523-5790 fax

      <http://www.neurosemantics.com/> www.neurosemantics.com 

       <http://www.neuro-semantics-trainings.com/>
www.neuro-semantics-trainings.com 

       <http://www.self-actualizing.org/> www.self-actualizing.org

       <http://www.meta-coaching.org/> www.meta-coaching.org

       <http://www.ns-video.com/> www.ns-video.com 

 

To sign up for a free subscription to the egroup of Neuro-Semantics
(Neurons) go to  <http://www.neurosemantics.com/> www.neurosemantics.com ---
you can  subscribe and unsubscribe there.   Meta Reflection articles by Dr.
Hall are sent out every Monday and meta-Coach Reflections sent out every
Wednesdday to the Meta-Coaches egroup.

 

 

 

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