It Only Takes 10%

4 minute read | Do you want to join this summer challenge? You were made for hard things 👊

Did you know you’re supposed to clean your dishwasher filter once a week?

My friend just broke the news to me after her dishwasher broke because she failed to clean the filter.

There’s nothing wrong with mine, at least on the surface. I’m sure that inside, it’s barely surviving with who knows what’s in the filter. I should be amazed it’s still functioning.

My guess would be there’s more wrong with it than I want to admit. I want to turn my head and look the other way. I want my dishwasher to do the job it promised me without me needing to care for it.

Honestly, the thought of cleaning my dishwasher filter annoys me entirely.

While I feel better admitting that, I must apologize for what I’m about to do. I apologize for attempting to connect the dishwasher to your body through this cheesy analogy.

Please accept my apology and keep reading. 

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You Don’t Have To Work More Than 10%.

Take 30 seconds and think about how much your body is doing without you doing anything. 

You don't tell it to breathe. It just does. You don't force your immune system to clean up what might harm you. It just does. 

And you most likely don't respect how your liver has filtered everything you've ever ingested. Even the things you know you probably shouldn't. 

Like a dishwasher that does 90% of the work, your body does the majority of your work without you thinking or fretting about it. It takes care of business so you can get out and live your life.

Your body does so much and yet asks relatively little. 

But it's the little things that change how it functions. If you ignore the little things, like cleaning the filter, eventually and often, it will give out. 

That's why you can't ignore the 10% your body needs to help it function at its best. 

As the dishwasher requires you to load and unload it (and apparently clean the filter), your body has needs that it requires of you to support it.

How you support your body changes the outcome.

You’re responsible for 10%.

There's this untold truth the health space has kept hidden.

The secret: You are not in control of how much you weigh. 

In a roundabout way, you are. But if you stop there, you'll miss the critical element that actually determines your outcome.

That factor is your body. 

Your body is responsible and in control of the 90%, including how much you weigh, feel, energy output, sleep, and even thought patterns. 

You are responsible for the other 10%, like what you eat, how you move, when you sleep, and where you put your focus—all things that influence your body, either in support of it or against it. 

You might be questioning, aren't these the same?

I get it because the health space has made you believe your input will change the output. And logically, yes, it should. But it doesn't always.

And this is where health gets messy and confusing. 

Because it's not up to you, but it's up to your body. Your health is determined by how your body responds to your actions. 

Which means you really have to pay attention to your body. 

Health is not what you do to change your body but how you support it. When you support your body, it will naturally change. 

Changing your body and supporting your body look eerily similar on the outside, but the motivation is completely different.

• Changing your body means ignoring your it for the sake of results.

• Supporting your body means understanding what it needs and supplying that.

Just because someone called it ‘healthy’ doesn’t mean it’s healthy for you.

Supporting your body means taking responsibility for the 10% your body needs from you. Needs that include nutrient-dense food, pleasure, rest, work, movement, and healthy thought loops.

Supporting your body will take work.

Supporting your body will take overcoming the obstacles of change and choosing the hard thing because it’s the healthy thing.

But the work you do even when you ‘fail’ builds resiliency. It makes you stronger and creates a healthier outcome.

Are you ready to do the work?

The Nourish 30 Summer Challenge

This summer, I wanted to do something to challenge you that will also change you. I wanted to get you back to cleaning the filter. Supporting the 10% that fuels your body to do the other 90%, allowing you to get out and live.

That’s why I created the 30-Day Nourish Challenge. It’s like the Hard 75 (that I don’t completely love, and I share why inside this podcast). But instead of hard, I want the paradigm to be nourished.

Health is not forcing your body but supporting it.

I don’t know what you need or what your body is craving. But I do know summer is a great time to put into practice some new changes. It’s the season of abundant energy.

Download this printable tracker to make a plan and stay committed.

The ‘official’ challenge begins on Monday!

What do you say? Are you in? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Drop a comment below and let me know if you’re in and what area of focus you are most ready to change; diet, exercise, rest, play, soul care, or mindset work.