According to Aldo Civico Ph.D., "matching and mirroring is the skill of assuming someone else’s style of behavior to create rapport. When you match and mirror, you don’t only listen with your ears, you listen with your entire body. You are present to the other person.

Matching and mirroring is not mimicry. To the contrary, it’s about being in tune with the other, by using your observations about the other’s behavior. Here are the four things you need to do, to match and mirror your interlocutor:

Body postures and gestures
What posture is the person you are having a conversation with assuming? What is he or she doing with his or her arms and hands? Is the person leaning forward or backward? Observe, and then match the posture and gestures. If, for example, the person is reserved in using the hands, there is no point for you to gesticulate frantically!

The rhythm of the breath
Pay attention to how the other person is breathing, and then match it. This technique helps tremendously in bonding with the other. If the person you are having a conversation with is breathing with her diaphragm, it will not help building rapport if you breath with your upper chest. Instead, match your interolocutor’s rhythm of breath.

The energy level
What is the energy level of your interlocutor? Is he or she shy, reserved or exuberant and extroverted? If he or she, for example, is timid, it might be perceived as aggressive and invasive if you are exuberant. If your interlocutor uses few words to express a concept, it does not make your communication effective if you are very wordy.

The tone of your voice
What is your interlocutor’s tone of voice? Is he or she talking softly, almost whispering? In that case, to build rapport, you need to mirror his or her tone of voice. Being loud, in fact, will not help establishing a bond with your interlocutor. In addition, pay attention at the speed of the speech. Is your interlocutor speaking slowly or fast?

Paying attention to these four characteristics and mirroring them when communicating with others, helps you with rapport building (By the way, I am currently sending free videos to individuals interested in learning techniques on how to build rapport. Just sign up here for my weekly advice on effective communication).

Read the full article here on Psychology Today. 

According to the New York Times article, "To Treat Chronic Ailments, Fix Diet First," several studies around the country are using the food as medicine approach, using nutrition to care for chronically ill patients. "Medically tailored meals represent a shift in thinking from a problem-based medical delivery system to a holistic, wellness-focused preventive maintenance.
 
Last year, California’s version of Medicaid, Medi-Cal, introduced a three-year pilot study that’s already showing what experts in the health care field have seen anecdotally* — that tailored nutrition can improve health and lower medical costs for the chronically ill. The pilot includes specially formulated meals and in-home visits for patients who suffer from heart disease, which has caused some of the highest rates of hospital readmissions." 
 
*Note: We have far more than "anecdotal" evidence that whole plant foods can improve health and lower medical costs for chronically ill patients. See the research of T. Colin Campbell, PhD, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr, MD and Dr. Dean Ornish, MD. 
 
The article continues, "another body of research is showing that medically tailored meals can go a long way toward reversing that downward health spiral. A retrospective cohort study headed by Seth Berkowitz, M.D. at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Medicine, and published in April concluded: 'Participation in a medically tailored meals program appears to be associated with fewer hospital and skilled nursing admissions and less overall medical spending.'
 
Tanvir Hussain, a clinical cardiologist and board member of Project Angel Food, said he is impressed by the preliminary results of the Medi-Cal study. If the numbers hold up and Medi-Cal chooses to add medically tailored meals in its coverage, he said, it could be a game changer for the lower-income populations he serves in southern Los Angeles.”
 
Learn more about the science and execution of whole food plant-based eating with this Guide from the T. Colin Campbell Foundation. Working with a coach can be helpful when looking to makes changes to your eating habits. 

"Careers that rely primarily on fluid intelligence tend to peak early, while those that use more crystallized intelligence peak later," according to a recent Atlantic article. 
 
British psychologist Raymond Cattell introduced the concepts of fluid and crystallized intelligence in the early 1940s. He defined fluid intelligence as "the ability to reason, analyze, and solve novel problems—what we commonly think of as raw intellectual horsepower." In contrast, crystallized intelligence "is the ability to use knowledge gained in the past, [like] possessing a vast library and understanding how to use it. It is the essence of wisdom." 
 
"Innovators typically have an abundance of fluid intelligence. It is highest relatively early in adulthood and diminishes starting in one’s 30s and 40s." Older people can find innovation more challenging. Crystallized intelligence is enhanced by "accumulating a stock of knowledge, and it "tends to increase through one’s 40s, and does not diminish until very late in life." 
 
This contrast is illustrated by two example careers. "Dean Keith Simonton has found that poets—highly fluid in their creativity—tend to have produced half their lifetime creative output by age 40 or so. Historians—who rely on a crystallized stock of knowledge—don’t reach this milestone until about 60." 
 
The good news is that "no matter what mix of intelligence your field requires, you can always endeavor to weight your career away from innovation and toward the strengths that persist, or even increase, later in life."
 
For example, "teaching is an ability that decays very late in life, a principal exception to the general pattern of professional decline over time. A study in The Journal of Higher Education showed that the oldest college professors in disciplines requiring a large store of fixed knowledge, specifically the humanities, tended to get evaluated most positively by students. This probably explains the professional longevity of college professors, three-quarters of whom plan to retire after age 65—more than half of them after 70, and some 15 percent of them after 80. (The average American retires at 61.) One day, during my first year as a professor, I asked a colleague in his late 60s whether he’d ever considered retiring. He laughed, and told me he was more likely to leave his office horizontally than vertically." 
 
Are you craving a career change but don't know where to start? Work with a Thrive Wellness Coach to plan your next move. 
 

Find a Farmer's Market near you for fresh and local produce and whole foods. 

"Researchers at Yale and Oxford say exercise is more important to your mental health than your economic status. The scientists found that while people who exercise regularly tend to feel bad for 35 days a year, nonactive participants felt bad for 18 days more. The team also found that certain sports that involve socializing can have more of a positive effect on your mental health than others."

​Read more at Business Insider. 

"Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success of failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never truly be fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you."

From chapter 44 of The Tao Te Ching written by Lao-Tau and translated by S. Mitchell

Politics block accurate health info from reaching the public because of money. Americans are very confused about what type of food they should eat and its no wonder since the media is flooded with contradictory and reductionist health and nutrition information. This is an issue created by the way collusive capitalism allows the tremendous influence of the industrial food industry, the diet industry and the pharmaceutical industry to influence food policy and medical education. Why is this so? Frankly, there is no money in the simple message that a whole-foods plant-based lifestyle and physical activity lead to health. Also, in the decade of post-grad medical education doctors receive, most physicians are only exposed to a few hours of nutritional science. Mush of their education, and the education for nutritionists and registered dietitians, is funded and/or facilitated by the food and pharmaceutical industries. 

Perhaps to best understand the situation, lets consider what money is LOST to these industries when an American is healthy. 

• A healthy person does not require monthly medications such as statins or insulin to treat chronic conditions over decades of their adult lifespan. 
• A healthy person does not require chemical or radiation therapy for cancer or high-risk surgery to treat heart disease. 
• A healthy person doesn’t pay for one unsustainable yo-yo diet program after another year after year, convinced the issue is their willpower. 
• A healthy person doesn’t spend money every single day to buy processed foods made from our commodity crop surpluses of corn, soy and wheat. 
• A healthy person dose not consume multiple sodas a day at a 90% profit margin to the manufacturer. 
• A healthy person does not eat fast food every day for lack or time or money to make better food consumer decisions. 

The food industry, which devotes vast sums of money to advertising, lobbying and political contributions, wants everyone to believe exercise is the key to health and weight maintenance. Because of this influence, our collusive federal government has adopted the food industries party line asserting that “all foods fit” and exercise is the primary avenue to attain health. This bias is regurgitated into national food guidelines and school lunch programs. Dr. Richard Carmona, former surgeon general during the Bush administration has even testified before Congress that bureaucrats routinely silenced him against speaking out against obesity. 

In a recent Forbes article, Noma Nazish breaks down why self-care is so important for wellness, and includes a list of simple ways to introduce more into your life. 

Work with a Thrive Wellness Coach to develop your own custom formula for health and wellness. 

“No matter how indulgent or fancy the term may sound, self-care is crucial for our physical, emotional and mental well-being. You shouldn’t neglect self-care and here's why:

• Know your worth: Self-care is important to maintain a healthy relationship with yourself as it produces positive feelings and boosts your confidence and self-esteem. Also, self-care is necessary to remind yourself and others that you and your needs are important too.

 

• A healthy work-life balance: Contrary to common belief, workaholism is not a virtue. Overwork, and the accompanying stress and exhaustion can make you less productive, disorganized and emotionally depleted. It can also lead to all sorts of health problems, from anxiety and depression to insomnia and heart diseases. Professional self-care habits like taking intermittent breaks (for lunch, calling your mom, or taking a stroll), setting professional boundaries, avoiding overextending, etc. ensures that you stay sharp, motivated and healthy.

 

• Stress management: While a little dose of stress is a healthy way to give us a nudge that we need to meet the deadlines or finish that overdue task, constant stress and anxiety can have an adverse effect on your mental and physical health. Smart self-care habits like eating healthy, connecting with a loved one or, practicing meditation cuts down the toxic effects of stress by improving your mood and boosting your energy and confidence levels.

 

• Start living, stop existing: Life is a precious gift. So why waste it when we have the choice to have a more meaningful existence? Yes, you have a lot of responsibilities— fixing the dryer, mowing the lawn, paying bills. But it’s important to remember that taking care of yourself is also your responsibility. Little things like sipping tea while looking at the raindrops racing down the window glass, enjoying a bubble bath, or reading a book are essential for your daily happiness. While things like taking up a new hobby or learning a new language can make your life more purposeful by giving you a new reason to get up in the morning.

 

• Better physical health: Self-care is not just about your mental health. It’s also about caring for your physical self, by eating healthy, taking adequate sleep, caring about your hygiene, exercising regularly, etc.”

 
Click here to read the full article.

Can't think of what to get someone on your shopping list?

What about planning something to do together in the coming months, such as brunch, a movie or a concert?

Collect moments, not things, this year.

1. The quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort. 

2. An approach to healthcare that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating diseases.

The Definition of Wellness on Dictonary.com.

Here are ten easy ways to keep your spending in check this holiday season so you’ll have a new year that’s merry and bright for you and your wallet.

We all have our own specific relationship and mental constructs related to money. Do yours leave you feeling secure and in control, or reactive, worrisome and frazzled? If you are like most people, the answer is probably a little of both. 

“Financial health is having a conscious and purposeful relationship with money that is satisfying and isn’t overly stressful,” said Brad Klontz, PsyD, a financial psychologist and director of research at H&R Block Dollars & Sense.

Working with a coach to define your financial values, and planning spending based on that foundation, can help in developing a greater sense of control and peacefulness concerning your fiscal future. 

Learn more about wallet wellness from this great article: What It Means to Have a Healthy Relationship with Money.