Live a Healthier Life

Sophia lives in Derby and Cecilia lives in Shoeburyness, Southend-on-Sea. After two years of an online friendship they met for the first time in person at the May Success Day in Coventry. Both had difficult journeys that day; Sophia had car trouble and Cecilia was thwarted by the train strikes but they were determined to meet, and meet they did! Their pleasure was palpable and their story says so much about the connection and important friendships that many find through Forever.  
Cecilia takes up the story.
“Sophia and I first met through a Facebook Group of Zimbabwean ladies in the UK. We started talking because we discovered we shared the same totem (Moyo), culturally Sophia and I are sisters, and we quickly connected on that level. Through our discussions we discovered we were both Forever Business Owners. At the time I didn’t know many Zimbabweans working a Forever business, so I was excited to find a Zimbabwean sister doing the same. Sophia came into my life at the right time, I was struggling with my business, I had lost an upline and was feeling directionless. We spoke at length about where I was in business, and my plans. In truth I was on the brink of giving up, I was concentrating on using the products and servicing a few of my loyal customers.
Sophia encouraged, motivated, and uplifted me. She helped me find my mojo again. When we started talking, I was five years into the business stuck at Assistant Supervisor, Sophia was a Supervisor and I think she had been stuck at that level for years. We decided we were going to move our businesses forward. We agreed to do power hours every day; at the beginning we would do these randomly but before we knew it, we developed habits that became daily routine. Sophia helped me coach my team and also with online product launches.
With lockdown upon us in 2020, I had more time to work on the business, with Sophia’s collaboration and encouragement she helped me believe in myself again, Sophia helped me to connect with my mentor through Head Office. Sophia held my hand every day, although I had the bigger team I belonged to, it was nice to have someone close I could relate to and rely upon for help. Towards the end of 2020 we decided it was time to shift things around. During lockdown, we attended many online trainings which helped us refine our skills. We started doing joint product launches sometimes three a week, we did power hours each day and we then committed to selling a product a day. Each time I sold a product I would text Sophia and she would do the same and this pushed us to do even better, this coordinated work and support led to promotion for both of us. I moved to Supervisor in April 2021, and she hit Assistant Manager and Manager in the same year.
We have become more than friends, we are sisters, and we continue doing the same and now looking to grow our businesses further. We challenge each other and support each other in areas of our weaknesses. Sophia has become my immediate support system as my direct upline is not currently active in the business. We are accountable to each other and always going out of our way to help our teams.
It’s a good feeling to know I gained a sister for life through Forever Living Products.”
Healthcare assistant and mum of two Sophia added, “Cecilia is very good with technology unlike me, and she helps me a lot; she creates all the flyers for every event we organise. We agreed that we would touch our business everyday no matter what. I am so grateful for all her support and encouragement because when I was working towards Manager, I came very close to giving up. Cecilia called me every day during that time, and gave me so much encouragement and support, checking case credits with me. She helped me to stay focused and I achieved Manager on the Marketing Plan. She has become my real sister. We still do our power hours and our goal now is to encourage our team members to join us on those. We are extremely close, we share how much profit we make each month and what we intend to do with it. When we finally met in person at the June Success Day it was so emotional for me, I couldn't contain the excitement. Forever has given me a lifetime sister.”

Forever’s DX4 body balancing system has been designed to help you become more aware of your body, encouraging you to be more present while you eat, move and go about your day. A few weeks back I took this opportunity to hit pause, to reflect and decide what aspects of my nutritional lifestyle could use some tweaking having returned from an indulgent and full-on 10 days in Italy for my daughter’s wedding.  I decided to view it as a home-based mini-retreat, and a time to focus, re-set, break some habits and develop a more mindful approach to my nutrition.
So, a month on how am I doing? Have I gone back to my old ways or are there habits I’ve held onto? 
Those of you who read my earlier blogs documenting my experience will remember that I had set some goals around hydration and eating more mindfully. I have held onto both of these good habits and have even adopted some others along the way. I have never been a big one to drink water. I think I quipped in an earlier blog that I thought I might have been drowned as a witch in a previous life as I seemed to be unable to drink a glass of water without choking. What is interesting is that I have managed to make water both more interesting (by adding a slice of fresh orange to my water jug) and in fact seem to have developed a thirst for water so that I am quite naturally consuming more. I am definitely more in tune with my body’s signals, my tendency would always been to have reached for a snack confusing dehydration with being hungry.  I am now aware of my thirst and giving my body what it actually needs not what I think it needs.  This is revolutionary for me.  As a consequence, I have more energy.  Recently I did a 6.30am yoga class, played 18 holes of golf and still had energy for an evening of doubles tennis.  Whilst I might have done this in the past, I would have really paid the price the next day but on this occasion I found I woke the next day with no obvious signs of fatigue, rising at the same hour and feeling just as energised.
The mindfulness aspect has been particularly powerful for me.  I no longer eat on the move, and sit down to eat giving my food my full attention. This has paid dividends. I am eating more slowly and because of this, chewing my food more thoroughly (our digestion starts in the mouth and many nutritionists would advise that the simplest way to support our digestion is to chew our food more).  While this may make me sound like a ruminating bovine the added plus is that I am enjoying my food more, am more aware of the flavours and feel more satisfied as a result. No more finishing at break neck speed with the thought ‘what could I eat now?’ wafting across the screen of my mind.
I have also introduced an almost daily yoga practice in the mornings which has really impacted me in a positive way.  This has happened quite organically and I have simply felt drawn to do this to replace my gym workouts.  It’s early days and but I have more clarity and am hoping that it will start to ripple into better sleeping.  What I am most pleased about however is how my relationship with food has changed, I don’t beat myself up if I make less than healthy choices but I am finding the frequency of those choices has decreased and I have a genuine desire to fuel my body and mind more healthily, and that is definitely a shift that has come as a result of four days of DX4. Would I do it again? Absolutely, it has far exceeded my initial expectations, and I’m delighted to have held onto some good habits as a result.

Four mindset shifts to experience more health and happiness 
Health doesn’t just happen — it is cultivated. It takes intentionality to create a healthy lifestyle. After all, your day-to-day decisions will drive the outcome of where you are a month or a year from now. So, it helps to pause and reflect by asking yourself: Where do I want to be? What do I want to be intentional about so that I feel more fulfilled? Being intentional with your time and what you want for yourself puts things into perspective and helps realign your priorities. Here are four ways to experience improved health and more happiness through intentionality. 
Commit to a Goal
Often, what you want to achieve seems like a great idea, but it is just that — an intangible idea. It only becomes real once you commit to a goal. With goal setting, it helps to do a judgement-free assessment of where you are now. Consider where you’re thriving, and where you’re not feeling your best when it comes to your physical, mental, spiritual, emotional and social health. 
Maybe you’re in great shape but you would benefit from a stronger support system, or vice versa. Whatever it is, think about why this change matters to you. Would having a stronger support system help you navigate challenging times better and enjoy the good times more? Would being in better shape allow you to do more activities with your family? Being intentional when setting your goal — understanding why you want that change and how you will benefit from that change — gives you a greater purpose to motivate you when working toward it. 
Make a Plan
You may have heard the saying “a goal without a plan is just a dream”. While dreaming allows your mind to wander and think of creative solutions or new ideas, the success of those dreams is found by creating a goal that has an actionable plan. One of the best ways to do this is through creating a SMART goal. This type of goal setting stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound. Using this framework will help you clearly define what you want and how to achieve it.   

Vague goals — I want to improve my diet, or I want more social activity — take on the lens of a dream, or a wish, rather than a plan. Instead of these, try: I will eat healthier foods five nights per week, or I will participate in one activity or association that I’m interested in per week. These examples outline the “specific” and “measurable” aspects of a SMART goal. The next step is to ensure they are attainable (or reasonable) and relevant (an appropriate next step toward your desired result), and that there is a timeline in which to complete them. Here is an example of a fully outlined SMART goal for social activity: I will join a running group and make one new meaningful connection per month for the next five months.  Consider how you can be more intentional by turning your goal into a SMART goal. 

Establish Consistent Routines

Even when you have the best intentions when working toward a goal, there are still challenges. Many struggles — such as lack of time to make healthy meals or low energy — can be avoided by establishing consistency in your routine. This can look like habits such as exercise (helps with lowenergy) and meal prep (allows you to have healthy food ready on busy days). Or, it can be having a consistent wind-down routine before bed to help you sleep better.  How you start the day also matters. The morning sets the tone for your day, so be mindful of this precious time. If you look at emails or social media when you wake up, you’re focused on other people’s agendas rather than your own priorities. Instead, nurture yourself through journaling, meditating, reading, exercising, or walking your dog. Putting consistent, intentional structures in place helps you prioritise your health and well-being, and within these structures, you can find ease and improved energy. 

Practice Gratitude

It’s no secret that writing down what you’re grateful for has a positive impact on your health. Studies show that expressing gratitude helps the brain release dopamine and serotonin, two of the “feel good” hormones. People who practice gratitude also report greater goal attainment. Beyond this, showing gratitude for your experiences — whether it’s as small as a delicious meal or as big as acareer achievement — helps you develop the skills to be more accepting of change, acknowledge yourself, and recognise growth. Gratitude relates to intentionality, too, as the act of writingdown what you’re grateful for helps you review and reflect on goals you may have set and progress you may have achieved. Intentionality is a filter that gives us greater meaning and improved results. Once you implement it into your everyday life, you’re sure to feel its positive impact. 

How DX4 Helps You To Be Intentional

DX4 is an all-new four-day programme that helps you balance and reset your body through nutritional products and supplements, guided nutrition, and mindset practices. You’ll set a goal at the start of the programme and be guided through intentional approaches to unifying the mind and body.