The most important skill for getting (and staying) healthy

In 1933, an overwhelmed and pissed off girl named Frau despatched a letter to psychologist Carl Jung, asking “how one can stay.”

(She didn’t have any Instagram influencers to yell motivational platitudes at her, I assume)

Jung replied:

“Your questions are unanswerable, since you need to know the way one must stay. One lives as one can.

…in case you do with conviction the subsequent and most important factor, you’re at all times doing one thing significant and meant by destiny.”

He was sharing the important thing to life.

It’s a part of restoration communities like Alcoholics Nameless.

It was even the title of a tune in ​Disney’s Frozen 2​.

“The subsequent proper factor.”

Revisiting this story precipitated me to mirror on how a lot my ideas on success and progress have modified over time.

“Success” Redefined

I’ve been doing this Nerd Health stuff for 15+ years.

Hundreds of thousands of individuals go to the location yearly, 50,000+ clients have purchased stuff by NF, and our coaches have served 15,000+ 1-on-1 purchasers.

In that point, I’ve modified my perspective fairly a bit on “success” and “residing effectively.”

I used to suppose that the one path to success required militant self-discipline following a particular plan. I by no means missed a exercise, and was unbelievably happy with this.

It didn’t happen to me simply how a lot of a ​privileged and simple life​ I lived, the place I used to be 100% in command of my time.

(Apologies to all of the mother and father and caregivers who learn my 25-year outdated perspective!).

Now that I’m 40, and I can see the sorts of folks we truly assist with Nerd Health, I’ve modified my perspective on success and “residing effectively” pretty dramatically.

Success occurs not after we learn to do all the things completely, however as an alternative after we get higher at staying afloat even when issues go poorly.

In different phrases, success is studying to be inconsistently constant. Studying to be adequate for lengthy sufficient.

And meaning, when life appears chaotic, narrowing our focus right down to “the subsequent proper factor.”

Do the Subsequent Proper Factor

A ​recent newsletter​ from creator Oliver Burkeman talked about how he’s chosen to retain a tiny little bit of sanity in an amazing world.

It led me to those sentences from creator Eckert Tolle:

“What you consult with as your “life” ought to extra precisely be known as your “life state of affairs.” It’s psychological time: previous and future.

…Overlook about your life state of affairs for some time and take note of your life.

Discover the “slim gate that results in life.” It’s known as the Now.

Slender your life right down to this second. Your life state of affairs could also be stuffed with issues — most life conditions are — however discover out you probably have any drawback at this second. Not tomorrow or in ten minutes, however now.

Do you’ve gotten an issue now?

Once we ruminate on what already occurred, and we freak out about all of the issues that would occur or have to occur sooner or later…

It’s straightforward to really feel uncontrolled and overwhelmed.

Which brings us again to that cliché resolution: “the subsequent proper factor.”

It’s a cliché solely as a result of it’s true.

We will zoom wayyyyyy in, and slim our focus to one thing that’s nonetheless in our management. In some conditions, sure, there’s a drawback proper now. And we are able to simply deal with that one factor.

However in lots of different conditions, it’s typically us worrying about all the issues that may be, or the issues outdoors of our management, that retains us from taking motion on the precise issues we are able to management.

Burkeman continues:

As for telling myself I solely wanted to do the very subsequent factor… you at all times solely can do the very subsequent factor, then the subsequent, whether or not you prefer it or not.

It’s just a little unusual, truly, to consult with any of those methods as “narrowing your horizons”, as in the event that they concerned someway artificially limiting your self.

Actually, you’re simply consciously recognizing how restricted you at all times already have been.

Everyone knows how straightforward it’s for us to ​overcomplicate things​.

And when the world appears like a dumpster hearth, it could possibly assist to zoom means into that subsequent determination, the tiniest objective, and simply do the subsequent proper factor.

It would contain a exercise or a stroll, specializing in the subsequent meal, calling up our therapist, or ​finally saying no​ to a dedication.

If “now” is the one time that exists, then “the subsequent proper factor” is the one factor that we are able to actually do.

I’m gonna go do the subsequent proper factor for me: take a stroll.

-Steve

PS: Maria Popova has ​a great writeup about “the next right thing”​ because it pertains to her life as a author that impressed this piece.

PPS: Nerd Health is hiring a couple of distant, part-time people (particularly with versatile nights and weekends) to take inbound, scheduled calls from potential purchasers about our 1-on-1 teaching. ​Click here to learn more​.

###