Tea is a great drink. It’s soothing. It’s comforting. It’s relaxing. And best of all, it’s healthy! It’s a great way to wind down a long day.

What I love most about tea is that you have to savor it. You can’t just gulp it all down. (Well you can, but then you’ll burn your mouth like crazy.)

You must take a sip then put down the cup. And repeat that slowly and methodically. (Well you don’t have to be methodical, but then you risk having tea all over your pants.)

We should all eat, the way we drink tea. Or the way we drink any scorching hot beverage: Slowly, carefully and patiently.

It seems as though we have no patience when it comes to our food. It’s like a race. The faster we finish our food, the better.

So many of us think and dream about food all day long. Yet, when we’re actually eating, we don’t think about the food at all! We just shovel it into our mouths.

This weekend, I want you to focus on eating the way you drink tea.

You’ll digest better, eat less and feel better. Sounds like a win-win-win to me!

Who wants tea?

Last week, my aunt took me to see Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘Wintuk’ show. I’ve never seen a Cirque show so I was really excited because I’ve heard a lot about it.

I can safely say these guys/girls are the best athletes in the world. It is incredible some of the feats they pull off. (Although I didn’t see this in person here’s one I found which still boggles my mind, although, all their stunts did.)

Body control doesn’t do a justice. However, that’s what these athletes are masters of – body control.

Whether they are 40 feet in their air balancing themselves on a little ball or riding a bike and jumping up and down over someone’s head, body control is what it comes down to.

To be able to go from a sprint to a stand still is very hard. Much harder than going from a stand still to a sprint because momentum can be our worst and best friend.

A few days of eating right in a row can make us feel like we’re on top of the world. But a bad meal or two or three (which is inevitable) can be our demise.

With exercise, momentum is something we want to avoid.

For example, those guys in the gym that are curling too much weight, rocking their entire body in order to lift the weight, are using momentum to bring the weight up.

The idea is to use your bicep. Not momentum!

Of course, these guys think they look cool because they’re lifting a lot but they’re wasting their time. And they look silly. Ego lifters aren’t people you want to follow.

The goal is to have perfect form. Slow and steady. I don’t care about how much you can lift. I care about how much you can lift with perfect form.

The best way to achieve perfect form, at the very least, is to go slow. At least your muscles will feel the tension.

Both on the negative (lowering) and the positive (lifting) of the exercise.

Can you stop on a dime?

See if you can. If you can’t, you’re using too much momentum and not enough muscle.

Let’s say you don’t know how to swim and you decide it’s finally time to learn. You want to overcome your fear of water.

So, you find a local gym or pool club. Maybe there’s even a public pool that you weren’t aware of.

Then, you look online to find a swim instructor. After plenty of wrong numbers, you find someone who’s really passionate about helping people learn how to swim.

Next, you need to get the gear! You look online and find a bathing suit. Ohh, there’s one you like. Eh, you don’t really like it, after all. You go to another website.

You find the bathing suit. Ugh, it’s not in stock! After spending 3 hours searching you finally find the one.

What about goggles? Can’t swim without goggles!

The big day comes. It’s the day of your first lesson.

You realize that you don’t have any shoes to wear by the pool! Whoops! You can’t swim without shoes to wear around the pool!

So you cancel and reschedule.

You’ve done everything you could possibly do BUT swim.

Sometimes, no matter what, we just gotta jump in the pool.

It’s like the monster I always talk about. Once you see it, it’s not so bad.

Yesterday, I spent time with my nephew, a total joy, and my sister and bro-in-law, both of whom I’m very close to. Spending time with my nephew always reminds me how precious life is, and how short it is.

We might as well make the most of it! My argument is that you’ll feel better (make the most of it) by eating right and exercising than the alternative. You’ll also get the most out of it!

So, a few months ago, I was playing tennis. My opponent and I were equally matched. (We both are awful!)

We were going back and forth winning games and when we got to the 3rd set, I made a decision.

I made a decision to win.

I said to myself, I will do whatever it takes to win. I will run my heart out to every ball. I will be sure to follow through on each of my swings and not get sloppy. I also won’t take any shots for granted!

Most of my mistakes (and his) were because of carelessness.

I committed to myself. I wanted to win!

Once, I made that commitment, everything else fell into place. It seemed a tad easier to get to each ball. It seemed a little less mentally taxing to see that each ball got over the net.

The hardest part about pursuing anything is knowing why we we are in the first place. Once you know the why, the will to make it happen comes a lot easier.

There are a million and one reasons why pursuing your health and fitness, is, in fact, a worthwhile pursuit.

Think of a few of them.

Then make a decision to make good decisions. Make a choice to make good choices.

Everything seems to become a little easier, especially in the moment, when we’re exhausted to run to that ball or tempted to eat that junk.