I was recently fortunate enough to travel to Alaska for about 11 days of majestic mountain views, hiking, nature walks, local foods, history and relaxation. Literally everywhere you turned there was an ice-capped mountain range for your eyes to marvel at, with scenery to match. It was an incredible time, but that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about.

What I want to talk to you about today is something that became clearly highlighted for me as I walked the streets of Alaska: you can only feel as good as your decision making process. What do I mean?

While in Alaska, I found an interesting divide between the restaurants featuring locally-grown, organic foods and the restaurants offering diner-style meals and traditional comfort foods. “The Great Choice” between eating for comfort and convenience vs. eating for personal energy and vibrant health often seems like it comes down to external factors – aka what restaurants are around in the area, how hungry you currently are, how much money you have in your wallet, etc. As much as this can appear to be the case time and time again, I’m here to tell you that “The Great Choice” doesn’t come down to external factors…rather, it’s your decision making process.

Let’s take a look at a few examples together.

Running through the airport? Waiting for a plane ride? The layover? The flight? It all adds up, and it’s one of the most common places for bad decisions to take place. You’re tired, dehydrated and slightly more irritable and frustrated with the downfalls of traveling. If you see this coming in advance, you can make the ultimate healthy decision: pack your own meals and snacks ahead of time. You’re not limited to the food available at the food court (even though many options are becoming increasingly healthy and delicious). I may grab a smoothie at the airport, but it all depends on the ingredients. If it’s a sugar-powder-filled-packet mixed with water, I’m out. If it’s fresh fruit and other real foods, I may be in. But I don’t rely on that perfect meal to be there for me. Simple solutions come into play here – and not just for the airport, but all the times you’re on the run  (traveling, at work, just “on the go”, etc).

One of the simplest solutions available is in fact a smoothie. This can be with any high-quality protein powder (an example would be SunWarrior Protein), fresh fruit (especially berries), vegetables (particularly green, leafy vegetables) and anything else you’d like to add in. Many people add in things like peanut butter, coconut water and/or flesh, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts and seeds, etc. You can literally get in an entire healthy meal and blend it up into something that tastes like a dessert. That becomes your “on-the-go” meal – instead of an excuse. The power of this one simple habit can revolutionize your mood and health while at work and traveling.

Another example would be straight from my trip to Alaska. Instead of going for an easy-to-grab, heavily-processed bag of trail mix, our entire family made our own for hikes and traveling. It was made up of just 3 things: goji berries, cashews and chocolate chips (natural, gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate chips :) Compare that to a traditional trail mix with food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, preservatives and everything else under the sun! The idea of a trail mix is perfect – just step up your game and don’t settle for the fake stuff. The difference is night and day.

To be clear, I’m not saying you always have to have 3 days of meals packed in the back of your car at all times. I’m saying that you’re the one in control here, and it’s your responsibility to tap into clear decision making to get the kind of results you’re looking for. If you know you’re going out and might have to purchase and/or find a meal, you can prepare in advance by making a meal or by getting creative if you’re just not finding what you want. Go to the grocery store! You can get a bag of groceries that’ll last for days for the cost of a night out at a mediocre restaurant, and head out on a picnic or nature hike for free to top it off. You’re only limited by your own ability to think creatively.

I’m sure you get it by now – you’re the one in control, and you can and should take 100% responsibility for the actions you take, as well as the results those actions bring you. But how can you consistently tap into that source of inspiration and motivation in your daily life? How can you always make the “right” decision? The key is to be aware of your decision making process in the first place, and to use it strategically to get what you want. When we develop clarity on exactly what it is we want (be it gaining weight, losing weight, building muscle, increasing endurance, or anything else) then we develop a “feel” for what the right decision is. When it comes down to choosing one meal over the other, to get in a workout or not, to help a friend in need or sleep in – all it takes is an awareness of that decision being made. In that state where you’re completely conscious of which decisions are on the table, you’re able to see all of your options clearly and make a decision based on reason – as well as take into account the signals your body is sending you.

Muscle testing has been a phenomenal success in proving that we (our bodies) often know the right answer or decision nearly instantaneously and respond much more strongly to that over the weaker decision (although we may consciously choose the wrong one with our minds). On some level, we all know this to be true already. Sure, it often feels easier to stay in bed in the morning. The decision making process here is whether to spring out of bed in the morning or take it easy for 10-15 more minutes. The decision that usually makes more logical sense is to get up and get the most out of your day! The emotional decision that feels easier is to stay in bed and sleep in. Here’s where it gets interesting…

I was once told that the exact moment where making the right decision is the hardest is when your personal power grows the most. I’ve found this to be true in my own experience. When you feel the most tired and REALLY just don’t want to hit the gym, do it anyway. Not only will you feel great physically, you always feel great mentally when you know that you’ve just made the more powerful decision, or the “right” call. This certainly applies to your health, but it also applies to every other area of your life. That moment when you really want to buy something expensive that you don’t exactly need but would really like to grab? If you’ve got other higher goals financially, like paying off a mortgage or saving up for a new car, stay disciplined. Even though you don’t come away with a new purchase, you come away with an immense respect for yourself and your decision making process.

The best part? It grows in power each time you stay on course and keep up the momentum. How many times have you seen someone hit the ground running with a new diet or fitness routine for a few weeks and then take “just one” day off and spiral completely back to their old lifestyle? I’m willing to bet that you’re intimately familiar with it. Yet, on the other hand, we all know those solid individuals with an invincible mindset that’s set to always make the right decision – whether it’s easy or hard, simple or complex. These are the ones who commit to a 12-week program and follow it to the letter…and enjoy the incredible results as a reward. They hit the ground running, but with an even mind and a clear view of the decisions being made along the way. Use this momentum to hit it big and never look back.

Golden Takeaways:

* Alaska is an incredible place to visit :)

* “The Great Choice” is the decision making process between eating for comfort and eating for health and personal energy

* The key to always making the “right” decision is to be aware of the decision making process taking place

* It’s your decision making process – and not external factors – that consistently give you the results you’re seeing in your life

* Tap into your success motivation (a great one is choosing to focus on how you’ll feel after you make the right decision, instead of focusing on the process)

* The exact moment when choosing the right decision is the greatest challenge is precisely when your personal power grows exponentially

=> Note: Notice how I didn’t say when making a decision is hardest, but rather “when making the right decision is hardest”. The important idea here is that the right decision isn’t always the hardest one. In fact, sometimes the right decision for you may be the simplest and easiest to implement of a whole number of options. So don’t go out there and look for the hardest decisions to make – rather, consistently make the right call. When it just happens to bring about a challenging circumstance, stay the game and commit to making the right decision. That’s when your personal power grows – as well as when you feel the best about yourself.

Unleash Your Vitality,

- John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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Here’s one that hits close to home: chocolate. It’s a worldwide phenomenon and a snacking bliss that’s been enjoyed since before you can remember. Actually, when you think about, how long has chocolate really been around? Chocolate bars with sugar, dairy and other additives certainly haven’t been around for centuries! Let’s take a look at a quick overview of how cacao came to be known in today’s world, and how much things have changed. I give you: “The Secret History Of Chocolate”.

Theobroma cacao was first native to South America (regions of the Amazon and Venezuela) as well as Central America and even key areas of Mexico. Cacao trees grow well in tropical climates and other areas with temperatures consistently in the 70s and 80s (degrees Fahrenheit). Because of this, as well as trading incentives, cacao from Venezuela was planted off the coast of Africa for the first time in the late 1500s. Thus began the incredible growth of cacao as an export for various nations in Africa over the next few hundred years!

What’s really exciting to me is what chocolate REALLY is…the cacao bean, sometimes called a nut, of the fruit of the cacao tree. Although more and more adults are starting to catch on to the true nature of the chocolate, the kids that are devouring sugar candy being sold as “milk chocolate” have no idea what true chocolate really is. What’s happened is that we’ve fallen completely out of touch with real, genuine food. The solution? Learning and education – exactly what you’re up to right now :)

If you’re not familiar with how cacao is grown, the trees produce bright, vibrant fruits year-round that often resemble American footballs in shape. These range from deep shades of a red-orange-yellow color all the way to a dark bluish-purplish color. They’re incredible to view – you just can’t help but wonder at them. They’re often harvested 2-3 times a year.

Breaking open these fruit pods, you’re likely to find a few dozen cacao beans in each (surrounded by the white, pulp-like fruit inside). It’s these cacao beans that are real chocolate – raw chocolate at it’s best. Raw cacao beans are loaded with nutrition, especially coming from the alkaline minerals that are becoming harder and harder to get in today’s food supply! Things like magnesium, iron, chromium and a number of other factors can all be found abundantly present in the raw cacao bean. So what are today’s chocolate bars?

It’s almost as if the history of chocolate has been hidden from us all this time. We’ve grown up on cacao beans that have had the oil pressed out of them, turning into cakes, and then been powdered into cacao powder or cocoa powder. This in itself is fine, but it’s what happens next that really makes the difference (although a lot of the nutritional value can be lost here, depending on the pressing process). What happens next?

Besides the myriad of other processing stations for mass-produced chocolate, poor-quality additives are blended into the mix. Dried milk powder, refined sugar and all sorts of artificial flavor chemicals are mixed together into a liquid that becomes a “milk chocolate” bar. My personal stance? No thanks!

Now, this is clearly not how every company operates. Mass production? Absolutely. Some of the new, up-and-coming organic chocolate brands? No way. The industry has come a long way quickly as people have demanded higher quality ingredients and products from manufacturers. We now recognize that it’s the not the synergy of dairy, sugar and chocolate that makes us feel good – it’s just the cacao, real chocolate.

The Mayans and Aztecs recognized the inherent value of the cacao bean centuries before the milk chocolate bar was first produced in 1879. When Cortez came to Tenochtitlan in the 1500s, he was surprised to find a currency not of gold, but of cacao beans. Did you read that? The ancient currency of choice was raw chocolate! Cacao drinks were prepared and enjoyed in their civilization, and it seems that chocolate played an even bigger role back then than it does today!

The secret history of chocolate may never be fully understood by our civilization. We’ll continue to uncover new history and information on chocolate as we move forward, as well as new nutritional discoveries as we advance in our understanding. For now? Think over and wonder about the history of chocolate during the day today. And more importantly, don’t settle for the cheap stuff :)

Sources: Wolfe, David. Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2009. Print.

Unleash Your Vitality,

– John Brackett

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

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I’ve got to admit: the last few days have been pretty exciting. Friends and family are coming out from around the country and meeting up after months of being apart from each other! It’s a time of celebration, giving thanks, and… s-t-r-e-s-s. It’s easy to get caught up in the turbulence of the holiday season, and to find ourselves in high-stress situations despite our best intentions. So how can we at least deal with these situations in the best way possible?

There are a number of powerful ways to melt away stress in our lives. Diet is a huge part of it – making sure that we eat simple meals that agree with us and leave us full of energy and feeling good! But the holidays seem to challenge us a bit harder than the average week. One great way to step it up is through relaxation. Go ahead and let all of the muscles in your face and jaw relax completely. Did you feel the difference? We hold onto so much without even realizing it! Physical relaxation brings mental relaxation, and vice-versa. Schedule in a few minutes every morning or evening for the next few weeks to relax for just a few minutes – totally. It’ll clear out any stress or anxiety and put you right back in a state of balance.

To take the benefits even further, enjoy a period of meditation. Set aside a few minutes whenever you find yourself in a quiet space – or go ahead and find that space for yourself – and just meditate. It’s mental and physical relaxation, in its most potent form. Meditation is still one of the best ways out there to still your mind and clear your thoughts; not only does this banish stress and negative emotions immediately, but it allows you to go back to your daily life and deal with it more clearly and effectively.

Whether you choose to just relax for a few extra minutes a day or to go ahead and enjoy the profound benefits of meditation, remember to take some time and relax over the holidays! You’ll be glad you did ;)

That’s all for this week’s post; I wanted to keep it light for the holidays so you could hit it quick and get moving!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

When was the last time you really explored the concept of your own DNA? If it’s not in the last few years, then you may have missed out on some startling discoveries. What we now know is that the expression of our very own DNA – our genetics – is largely determined by how we feel on a vibratory level. When we feel upbeat and full of energy, we’re literally enhancing the expression of our DNA! This is a profound concept that goes far beyond literary musings. Specifically, it ties right into our health and well-being.

Strong, positive feeling states like love, joy, compassion and gratitude actually “relax” our physical DNA. When our DNA is in this more relaxed state, its expression is significantly enhanced and leads to higher immune functioning and a more intelligent body. And the opposite? Powerful negative states like frustration, anger, hate and rage? We’ve now seen undeniably through scientific research that these negative feeling states tighten or wind up the DNA coils…effectively squelching our immune system and our general level of health.

I personally found this information to rank high among the most eye-opening research I’ve ever come across. How many times have you heard, “Oh, it’s my genetics”; “That’s just the way it is”; “I was born this way”; “I’ll never change”; “My parents had it…” Familiar? Our genetic blueprint is certainly responsible for how we’ve turned out in general. But to say that you don’t have power over your genetics is an outright lie. Cellular biologist Bruce Lipton cites that while we can’t change our genes, we determine the expression of those genes. The options? There are over 30,000 different variations or expressions possible from each gene! So I would like to make a bolder statement today: stop playing the role of a victim. Kill off the victim mentality. If you’ve found yourself turning to a new pill for each ailment that comes your way, then you’re most likely playing the victim game. I wholeheartedly believe in the innate healing ability of the human body; when we overload ourselves with toxins that can’t be utilized by the body, we need to flush them out. So many “symptoms” being overriden are really our intelligent bodies at work self-healing and self-regulating our internal environment!

Whether it’s your first time hearing this, or it’s just a simple reminder, remember this: you do have control over your own health. The field of epigenetic control studies this at the finest level (epi= above, genetic= genes). It’s “control above the genes”, and the research is becoming more remarkable the further down we go. Commonly held assumptions about our role in health care are starting to shift, and undeniably for the better. I’m so grateful to be a part of this movement that really showcases personal responsibility for health, fitness and other lifestyle choices. We all have the same palette for ourselves to work with: our DNA. My question is: what’s your expression?

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett