In today’s episode John and Jim wrap up their seven-week focus on mental and emotional well-being by unpacking two powerful pieces of a preventive plan to help you get and stay healthy.

You can listen to the pod here. Here is the video version.

Show notes are below:

We’ve talked about becoming our own best friend, unpacked a healthy way to process the emotion of anger. We’ve laid out a path to deal with abusive people. And in episode 179, we started the conversation about running on a full tank.

We proposed three baselines when it comes to ensuring sufficient mental and emotional fuel:

1. We can’t give what we don’t have.
2. We are emotional beings
3. We need to watch three emotional indicators

And last week we explored the first of those indicators . . . our pace.

Today we unpack the other two indicators.

Indicator 2: Your people (friendships)

• 4:9: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.”
• Leadership sets you up for isolation, and isolation is good only in small doses.

Indicator 3: Your plan (emotional maintenance plan)

• Item 1: Laughter
  • Proverbs 17:22 – “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
• Item 2: Exercise
  • Much like laughter, exercise helps to burn off nervous energy and reduce stress.
• Item 3: Healthy Distraction
  • Refueling emotionally requires you to occasionally inject a little bit of distraction into your life.
  • Item 4: Sleep

Mark 6:30-32: “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, (ever been that busy?) he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”

We don’t have to do 50 things to stay healthy emotionally, just a few!