My intention is to post a Thoughtful Thursday column each week and share some of the insights I have learned in the past week. Here are some of the things I’ve learned this week:

• Be really conscious about who you keep and let go from your life. Just because you have history doesn’t mean you have to force a future. We often feel we have to stay connected to people because we were once connected to them.
• Take care of your body and mind like your life depends on it – because it does. Helping yourself is a part of helping others. Start with your sleep. If you are sleeping well, you will have the energy to work out and take care of the rest of your health. Jay Shetty prioritizes MEDS for his health: meditation, exercise, diet, and sleep.
• It’s okay to ask for help or a hug. You help others, so it’s important to recognize when you need help and ask for help.

• Don’t buy into your own hype. Stay connected to where you started and remain a humble student of life.
• People will always try to tear you down no matter how good your intentions are. Consider what you can learn from criticisms. Ask those who truly know you for their feedback.
• Different levels come with different problems. No amount of money or fame will solve all of your problems. When you’re struggling, find a book or podcast about that problem and learn about how to resolve it. Immerse yourself in learning to overcome that problem.
• As you get older, don’t forget to do things for your younger self. Allow yourself to delve into the things you didn’t have time for when you were younger. Honor your younger interests. Don’t deny your younger self of an experience just because your older self thinks it’s insignificant.

• Give yourself permission to be all of you. The more we try to extract parts of ourselves in the hopes of becoming perfect, the more we lose a valuable expression of ourselves.
• You don’t have to be perfect to help others. You have the ability to do things you haven’t even imagined yet.
• You can’t avoid mistakes, but don’t avoid the lesson.
• Make new memories instead of living old ones again and again. Don’t try to recreate moments from the past. Be open to new feelings, new emotions, new people, and new places.
• Use your gifts and skills in the service of others. It will create opportunities you never thought of, give your life more meaning than ever, and help create memories for a lifetime.

I saw this video this week and it was a great lesson! So much time and energy is wasted on forcing other people to match our expectations. If people aren’t showing up how you need them to show up, do not try to force them to change themselves. They’re revealing who they are to you. Just let them. Then you get to choose what you do next.

• Fiber is a dietary superhero: it lowers cholesterol, helps regulate blood sugar levels, keeps your hunger in check, and it is the primary food for the trillions of microbes that live in our gut.
• Diets rich in fiber are linked to a lower risk of major health problems: obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease.
• Recommendations: 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories you eat – women typically around 25 grams of fiber. Men – 38 grams of fiber. Less than 10% of Americans eat the daily amount of fiber.
• Try to eat the rainbow. Eat a variety of plant-based foods that are rich in fiber: sweet potatoes, avocados, asparagus, artichokes, brown rice, lentils, beans, etc.
• Soluble fibers dissolve in water. They bind with water and turn into a gel-like consistency that slows digestion and can lower glucose levels and blood cholesterol levels. Ex: chia seeds, apples, pears
• Insoluble fibers don’t dissolve in water. They add bulk to stool and prevent constipation. Ex: quinoa, rice, kale, walnuts
• Tips: switch from white bread to whole-grain bread, drink lots of water, and take note of which foods cause sensitivities. Moving after meals can help reduce digestive discomfort.

• Your gut microbiome thrives on fiber and diversity of fiber. Diversity of fiber promotes diversity of microbiome species.
• Elimination diets tend to narrow the diversity of fiber, which adversely affects the gut microbiome.
• If your problem is that you are backed up and full of stool, elimination diets won’t help you. If your bloating is caused by your stomach being slow to empty, an elimination diet is not the intervention.
• Elimination diets are only recommended when an adverse food reaction or intolerance is underlying the symptoms.

• Some people have a primary intolerance, where a food does not agree with your body at all. Ex: lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance.
• Some people have a secondary food intolerance, where you have developed a sensitivity to a food because of something else going on in your body that is treatable. Once it is identified and treated, your tolerance can be restored. Ex: SIBO – excess bacteria can thrive in your small intestine where they don’t belong

• SIBO results in a change of your stool consistency (more frequent bowel movements, diarrhea, more constipation). Morning is the best time of the day. SIBO can an result in B12 deficiency. Those with SIBO experience weight changes – usually weight loss.
• Most common cause of bloating: bowel is completely full of stool, visible on an x-ray
• Options: take some magnesium (osmotic laxative – Miralax), scale back on fiber intake, have pureed fruits/veggies, and pull back on raw roughage. Usually a combination of magnesium and a decrease in fiber intake will do the job. If magnesium works, you probably don’t have a pelvic floor problem. If problems persist, have your pelvic floor function evaluated and undergo physical therapy or biofeedback.

• Social media has skewed our perception of what a normal body should look like. Ex: flat bellies vs. bloated bellies
• Your abdominal cavity needs to be able to accommodate the stretch of a stomach that is filling with a meal, so it is normal for your stomach to look more distended after you eat. It’s normal for your stomach to be bigger at the end of the day than it was in the morning.
• When you blend or puree fiber, its particle size is smaller. The chemical bonds are the same, but the physical particle size is decreasing so it’s less likely to overcrowd your digestive system. Blending fruits and veggies is better than juicing; you still get the fibrous benefits.
• At certain stages of your menstrual cycle, you may experience more fluid retention and looser stools. You can take IBgard, peppermint oil, Heather’s tummy tamers, etc. for natural anti-spasmodics.
• Pregnancy can lead to the colon becoming displaced in certain areas due to the embryo pushing on it, causing acid reflux and constipation. Miralax and prunes are safe to use during pregnancy.

• Figure out what the right amount of fiber for your body is. Every person varies on the amount of fiber and sources of fiber they can tolerate.
• Some causes of bloating are not related to your colon or your bowels; it’s your stomach. Maybe you swallowed air that needs to be released, maybe you have acid reflux, maybe you are full of stool and need to defecate, etc. There is not one answer to relieve bloating.
• Gas relief: happy baby position, knees to chest, ILU gut massage, gas relief meds
• When traveling, pack a bowel regimen (fiber supplement/Miralax/gas relief) and snacks with fiber to guarantee good consistent fiber.

• IBS may be the diagnosis if you have chronic, irregular symptoms and pain and tested negative for Crohns and Celiac Disease. IBS is a chronic condition that is treatable but not curable. Most people respond substantially to medications.
• Salads, nuts, seeds, and popcorn contain insoluble fiber and can make you more diarrhea-prone.
• Cortisol wakes up the bowels in the morning. The amount of serotonin hanging around in the gut will impact your motility (how quickly things move) as well as your sensation (how sensitive you are to pain). Your serotonin levels are connected to anxiety, depression, and where you are right now mentally. A lot of IBS is treated off-label using anti-depressants to manipulate the amount of serotonin in the intestines, which manipulates motility and sensation.
• Diaphragmatic breathing also helps with GI issues.
• Parasites are extremely rare. Giardia is the most common parasite.
• For more information, check out Thebloatedbellywhisperer.com

I loved this blog post from Gabe the Bass Player, a blog I read daily.

https://www.gabethebassplayer.com/blog/saying-something

One of the books I’ve finished reading this past week is “The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams” written by Seth Godin, author of 21 international bestsellers that have changed the way people think about work, and author of seths.blog, one of the most popular marketing blogs in the world (that I also read daily). This book emphasized doing work that matters, creating a difference, being part of something, and doing work we’re proud of. Here are my favorite take-aways from the book:

Actions speak louder than meetings.

Seth Godin

What actually separates thriving organizations from struggling ones are the difficult-to-measure attitudes, processes, and perceptions of the people who do the work. Measurable skills without productive attitudes aren’t worth much.

We need to be clear, specific, and kind in our language. If we can go a step further and agree to give each person on our team the benefit of the doubt – and to ask for clarification when we’re confused – we’re much less likely to cause pain, confusion, or simply a disruption in our journey.

We need to offer people work worth doing. We need to find ways to create significance. What is the change we seek to make? What are you doing that is special? How do your unique skills and passions help this work go better? Does this work matter? Are you making choices that create an impact?

What are meetings for? Reinforcing status roles, clarifying the pecking order, a way to deny responsibility later? The purpose of a meeting is to communicate an idea and the emotions that go with it and to find out what’s missing via engaged conversation. If we can’t do that, let’s not meet. Multitasking, especially during meetings, isn’t productive, respectful, or healthy. Being present in real time is a waste unless we interact. Reaffirming your status and control isn’t worth an hour of my day.

Seth Godin

Many employers focus on hiring people with traditional vocational skills: productive, skilled, and experienced with a resume to prove it. What if employers also focused on real skills such as self-control, wisdom, perception, influence, charisma, drive, goal-setting, empathy, consistency, patience, and deep listening? When happens to your organization when someone like that joins your team?

Significance isn’t what we get…it’s what we do for others.

I look forward to reading, learning, and sharing more with you soon!