Changing tires on our car doesn’t just affect how the vehicle handles. These new wheels impact fuel efficiency, safety, and suspension among other things. Pruning a plant doesn’t just make it look neater; it affects root growth, energy redirection, and flowering potential. If this is true for plants and cars, what about you and me?
Human beings are considered one of the most complex systems out there, so it stands to reason that any change will have a ripple effect throughout the brain, mind and body. This is why our mantra at Trellis Life Management is that everything affects everything, and we use that framework when working collaboratively with our clients toward any goal they have.
Let’s take a quick look at one way in which these pieces interlock. If I want to improve my eating habits, it’s not enough to consider what, when, and how much I eat, or what I crave. Those are important to be sure. But, if I want long lasting positive change, I need to look at the other parts of my system that play a role in how I can best meet my food-, nutrition-, or eating-related goal. How well I regulate (manage) stress in my life affects my sleep and my digestion, and both the stress and sleep quality will impact how well I digest my food, my cravings, and my resolve to stick with an eating plan. Also, how much I move my body on a regular basis will have an effect on my stress level, how well I sleep, and, as we saw above, ultimately, have an effect on my eating-related goals.
At Trellis, the mind plays a pivotal bi-directional role in what happens in the body and in the brain (stay tuned for a future blog on this fascinating topic!). Therefore, it is crucial to factor in the potential power that it holds through our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, intentions, attitude, and so on. For example, it’s important to explore such questions as; What is my attitude about my goal? How strongly do I believe that change is achievable? What thought patterns might support me reaching my goal and which ones might set up roadblocks? The mind is constantly processing, so the more clarity we have on what’s churning in this non-physical entity the better equipped we are to overcome challenges and move in a desired direction in life.
These are two illustrations of how one part of our system affects other parts, and, therefore, why it is important to look at the interconnected pieces in a system when we desire change. Trellis is a well-being company, and, by definition, well-being is the result of multiple interconnected aspects of life. To achieve well-being, then, we must not isolate the factors that enhance this state. With you, we look at the whole picture, understanding and celebrating the wonderful complexity of the human being and find a path toward growth and a state of thriving.
We invite you to bring us any challenge in your life that you want to overcome—any goal that you want to reach—and we will formulate a program just for you that takes the entire system into account. You will walk away with many more tools, AHA! moments, and opportunities for deeper, wider, and taller growth than would be possible if we addressed one part at a time. Let’s do this!
Written by Colleen Mizuki | Trellis Co-founder, Coach, and Trainer