Do you remember coming home from school starving?  I do!

And I was always irritated.

When I was a boy I was constantly hungry, and massive Italian dinners supplemented by cereal for breakfast and a lame public school lunch did not provide me with the sustenance to learn or behave well.

By my early 20s I realized how my mood was severely influenced by my diet.  So I changed it, radically.  For the past 20 years I regularly eat six small meals throughout my day.  This has played an important part in transforming a grumpy boy into a rather positive and affirming, albeit kooky, man.

But then I thought, what else affects my mood, and if I tweak these others “variables” would my emotional well-being improve even more?

Now I am talking about the everyday stuff here.  The things we overlook and take for granted.

So I identified five critical anti-irritations, and of course created yet another acronym called B-SANE.  We take anti-inflammatories to reduce physical pain, why not B-SANE to reduce emotional irritation and pain? (Note: This is a new acronym Kinetic is using, formerly it was called SSEAS and/or BASES, but rest assured, same concept, just a better acronym.)

So, B-SANE stands for . . .

B = Body . . . how is your overall physical health (any chronic or acute illness, pains, etc.)?

S = Sleeping  . . . what is enough for you?

A = Attention . . . what are you focusing on in our topsy-turvy 21st century world?

N = Nutrition  . . . how often and what kinds of food/drinks work for you?

E = Exercise . . . how often, what kind, and what intensity works for you?

And of course we created an innovative and effective tracking system for our clients.  I use it all the time.

Understanding what keeps our B-SANE score high is critical for it contributes to a more fruitful and less volatile life.

For example, reflect on the last time you lost your cool.  To what extent was it an unfortunate and regrettable reaction amplified by inadequate sleep, or poor nutrition, or aches and pains?  I would wager that more often than not this is as true for you as it is for me.

I soon understood this was more than about just irritations.  I had stumbled across a construct for physical well-being that is inextricably linked to emotional well-being.

So I had to dig deeper.  I wanted to know which of the 5 elements of B-SANE were most critical for me.

Here is my B-SANE profile in order of importance (after some present and past research on my life):

Nutrition: Give me six small meals and I am as cool as a cucumber.  If my eating/diet regimen is out of whack, I am very grouchy.

Sleeping: When I get my seven to eight hours I feel amazing.  If I do not get the quality and quantity I require I can get a bit short with people.  I also lose most of my social intelligence, especially at night when fatigued.

Exercise: I love the gym and it has the tendency to temper my rather high levels of energy.  When I am not exercising, manic tendencies prevail.

Attention: I experience high levels of focus except when when tired or a bit lonely.  Maybe that is because all of my good attention related habits were formed before the on-line age!  Sometimes one element of B-SANE, for example, sleep, can affect another, in this case, attention.

Body:  It is only last because I rarely feel “off” and thankfully I do not have any chronic medical conditions.  When I am in pain I would place this in the number one slot because no one is a bigger baby when sick than I am.

This knowledge helps me make choices.  Eating right for me is paramount.  I rarely mess with it.  And I would choose a meal over a work-out anytime if faced with that choice.

Perhaps for some getting in that great workout is most essential, yet for others 8 hours of rest each night is a non-negotiable.

Let’s face it, life can get crazy, and living a B-SANE life may seem challenging from time to time.  But it’s impossible when we are blissfully unaware or think we know ourselves without actually doing the hard work.

Please, go figure yourself out.  It’s fun!

—

If you have any questions about coaching please feel free to contact me at scott@kineticcoaching.co, and remember I always offer a complimentary 30-45 minute session to prospective clients to determine if we want to work together.