Starting point

Initially, I want to include perspective, if you have read any of my previous blog posts you have started to get a decent idea on my background and what makes me tick.

Now I want to get into the good stuff, enough about me, now about what matters – the mission.

Optimising performance through Health.

With Hence, as with Greens Stack, we want to have a noticeable impact. Greens Stack has you covered in the micronutrients, adaptogens from all-round, quality nutrient dense plant/root/algae extracts. “Phytonutrients an Adaptogens”

Takeaways

1. Allowing yourself to become obsessed is fine, just make sure it’s a Health Obsession

2. This approach of a Health Obsession can work in a variety of areas

3. Where the importance lies and where to just apply the common-sense part of you to how the goal – plan – obsession – execution all fit together.

But there is more we can do, obviously.

One, is the topic of this post…

Healthy Obsession.

A “Healthy Obsession”, is not just a measure of Instagram followers or reps at a squat rack. Its everything around performance – Physical ability, mental focus, professional attitude, social integration, self-work and many more areas we focus our energy in the hunt for more.

“Wanting-more-from-whatever-we-are-doing” Performance.

Pushing myself/yourself. That is the Healthy Obsession.

Whatever your starting point is, in whatever your measuring yourself against.

It could be Blogging 😉

It could be eating a balanced and healthy diet

It could be learning a foreign language, whatever it is, at whatever level you start at, as long as it’s a positive for your personal growth and performance, It’s a Health Obsession.

“Hurry up and fail” – Tim Kennedy (MMA fighter, UFC contender whilst serving as a US Green Beret Sniper) I love this quote because when he says it (and he is fairly famous for saying it) he really means it!

Our Healthy Obsession is pushing ourselves to the limit, sometimes past it, understanding and benefiting for next time you can go further.

But don’t just think about sweating, heavy lifting and chest pounding exhaustion. That’s Physical exercise. Think about the same quote in relation to any other goal you might have right now, non-fitness related. Fat loss as a popular example, and one I’ve covered before.

A lot of people want to lose an amount of fat. For health, aesthetics and performance.

Now, think of the fat loss goal, however big or small. You know how much you want to lose (goal), your going to cut down on say, alcohol and refined sugar (plan) and you have been doing pretty well for a few weeks (execution).

But not got the results you were after! Why?

The definition of insanity by Einstein – “keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results”

This is where the ideas need to collide with a little common sense*. These steps are the process I go through to finding a Healthy Obsession and making it work for me.

1. Understanding. A lot of people set a goal, but have done little to any research into it. Watching a TV programme with a bias doesn’t count by the way. Understand the goal, what the people that have achieved had to do and where you are in relation

2. Healthy Obsession. The 1st steps helped you here. You’re not just putting a whimsical plan together from stuff you overheard, so the confidence and knowledge have crept past minimum commitment. From here it’s an easy ride to becoming Obsessed. When you understand it, you will enjoy it more so the obsession is self-fulfilling. Who doesn’t love self-fulfilling??

3. Reach the limits of what you can do to be as “good” as possible for a week before you fail. Conscious effort towards a specific focus or goal. Not safety blanket pondering, not a crazy attempt at peak performance 1st time, but pushing, increasingly harder to a set point.

*Notes. (where common sense applies)

· Don’t fail in everything you try – in nutrition, unlike muscular hypertrophy, there is no benefit.

· Notice I didn’t suggest eating as little as possible? This isn’t the plan. The plan is above, so don’t deviate.

· A person with a Healthy Obsession for their diet might get a few jokes about them when they first air their obsession amongst long standing or colleagues, but trust me, after that its respect.

I’ve over simplified this example but hopefully you get my point.

A Healthy Obsession needs to start to rule your mind and your actions, don’t fight it.

Understanding this idea further

I believe we are simply wired this way as humans.

We try, fail, try again, obsess, try more, succeed and then potentially - be defined.

(and it many cases eventually move on)

We are made to do more and get more from life. If we still hung out with other animals in the wild, then this would be true.

We think of things we want, material or otherwise, and the people that get it, follow this process.

Something in our brain is designed to make us want more.

How many people do you know that are genuinely content? Sure, there are plenty that aren’t doing much to help themselves, but they are rarely content.

As humans we obsess, and when we do, we get things we obsess over - good or bad. Napoleon Hill’s Book Think and Grow Rich is all time classic in the self-growth/financial growth. Written nearly 100 years ago, how is it still relevant? Simple, the ideas are timeless but effective! Think… and grow rich.

Hill’s steps involve

Find it – Desire it – commit to it – achieve it (or as I put it, Obsess on it!)

Examples

My favourite example of this thinking is Spartan racing or Tough mudders (Obstacle course racing, OCR for short).

We want to do more.

Our lives are NOT physically strenuous or physically stressful so we take pleasure from punishment.

“Fun-ishment”

Would these people enter these races without at least the starting point of obsession for some attribute gained from finishing?

And once you have done one race? You are a lifelong member of the OCR community! You are defined by it (at times).

Joe DeSena (founder of Spartan) spends his life discussing - The need to push, fail, repeat, push, fail and so on.

Once you get a run of this Healthy Obsession – the harder it is, the more you want it.

Back to me briefly (for some examples!)

So…I said the blog has move on from me, Luke Backhouse.

Unfortunately, though, the best way I can provide examples are with my obsessions own right now. It’s also helps me by sharing them, often I realise a lot when I share this stuff!

Some of current areas with Healthy Obsessions…

· Self-work – awareness and mindfulness. (I find it helps me in so many areas of my life! But I’m still level 1…)

· CrossFit (why I CF – taken fitness programming out of my mind, health focused workouts, it pushes me, the community, like-minded people around me)

· Ingredient testing and product development.

· New skills and business focus – new skills, relationships, worlds, position, video production etc.

Takeaways

1. Allowing yourself to become obsessed is fine, just make sure it’s a Health Obsession

2. This approach of a Health Obsession can work in a variety of areas

3. Where the importance lies and where to just apply the common-sense part of you to how the goal – plan – obsession – execution all fit together.

Our Healthy Obsession - Personal Performance

Starting point

Takeaways

Healthy Obsession.

Understanding this idea further

Examples

Back to me briefly (for some examples!)

Takeaways

Further reading/ resources