During the past several years, I’ve found myself doing more and
more public speaking—something I thoroughly enjoy. What’s
interesting is that every time I walk into the room, it’s a new type
of audience, and in the case of one particular engagement, it was
an entirely new age group.
I recently was asked to go into a school system where I would
be speaking to children between the ages of seven and 12.
We called it “Superhero Week,” and it was all about finding your
inner superhero. So, in our eyes, whether you were an athlete,
someone with a love for art and music, or even a passion for
school work, you could tap into your inner Superhero. It didn’t
matter what you did.
So, I went in with the intention of trying to help every child
do just that—find his or her inner superhero.
I thought hard about how I was going to present. I wanted to
make sure that it was extremely relatable and easy to follow.
I came up with four points that I wanted these kids to leave
there with. Here they are:
POINT NUMBER ONE WAS SLEEP.
I went into detail on the importance of sleep and how
by getting the recommended amount of rest, your brain
function would be optimal and your body would recover
so it can become strong.
THE SECOND POINT WAS HYDRATION
AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PUTTING
THE RIGHT FLUIDS INTO YOUR BODY.
I discussed how water helps flush out toxins and went into a quick
few points about the meaning of recovery and how hydration
assists. I also explained how this would help improve sleep, skin
and hair. For a lot of the young girls out there, I was able to relate
to a few superstar celebrities and show how their main drink
of choice was water.
POINT NUMBER THREE GOT INTO
NUTRITION.
A big part of my approach to nutrition is to never relate
to something as being “bad.” It’s always good to discuss and
explain what the good foods to eat are, but instead of using the
word “bad,” I would use the words “in moderation.” Unless it’s
a specific extreme case, I never believe in taking anything away
from someone completely. What I do like to do is tell them that
they can have it—but in moderation. Then I give them guidelines
to follow. By taking this approach, we are not depriving our body
and our minds of specific things that we just truly enjoy in life.
There should be no reason why optimal health can’t be achieved by
having certain foods or drinks that you love—just in moderation.
LASTLY, POINT NUMBER FOUR
WAS ACTIVITY.
Not everyone is (or wants to be) a superstar athlete. I think that
sometimes kids see other kids being athletic, and if they don’t have
that same skill, then they tend to get discouraged. What are we
really trying to preach and promote here? What am I trying
to tell kids? I’m not telling them they have to play five sports,
but what I’m telling them is to move around, break a sweat,
be active—even if it’s for 10 to 15 minutes a day. We can promote
hikes or swimming or walks or maybe fun games outside where
they’re just running—something non-sports specific.
When looking at how I laid this format down, I felt I did a very good
job of relaying my message to these kids. I then realized that this
is the exact same message we need to be promoting for adults.
I feel it’s our job, as parents, to provide the best avenues of life
for our children. With my kids, I’m trying to give them everything
in their power to be successful in all aspects of life. We can help
our kids adapt and implement these four simple principles, and
it doesn’t have to be perfect.
So, write down these four simple points, and try to be a good
influence on your children. Who knows? This may even be
a great way to influence yourself toward improvement.
Vol 28 • Extraordinary Health ™ 39