Daily Dose - The Cure All to Isolation, Sadness, and Poor Health

Most people spend their entire life stressed without ever giving a single thought as to what it is they really want or what's important to them. See, I'm here to cut through all that noise connecting you to yourself and the life that you were meant to live. I used to slave away at a corporate job that I hated, but I broke through the social norms and pursued my passion. As a result, I own my own coffee company, I'm Espresso Sommelier and I get to travel the world. You too can live a life that you love, but it starts with getting clear about what you want. It starts with a new decision. I'm your host Donnie Rouse and you are listening to the podcast One Life Daily Dose. What if I told you there was a way to increase your health and happiness and it all starts started with the simple act of a hug. Sounds kind of far fetched, but the truth is is that a hug can literally transform your life because when you give someone a hug it releases chemicals like dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. The happy chemicals. Now I'm going to tell you what if there was an even more important reason as to why you should get more hugs and give more hugs. The reason is probably not what you think it is that every single day is a gift in that those people in your life are not going to be there forever. This might sound like it's going in a very morbid place, but I think as you listen to the story, you'll realize that it's one of pure beauty. In my home. One I would say one of the things that was hard for not just me but my siblings to display was public affection towards our parents. Saying I love you to my mother and father was something we did when we were young and then even if we did it when we were older, say oh right, bye, love you. And it was a quick phrase and then we were out the door. Earlier in the last five years there was some health scares where both my parents had to have open heart surgery and as you can imagine, going through something that really starts to put things in perspective. The realization that while you have your parents, they're not going to be there forever. I remember friends telling me stories as well as my mother when my nephew would come over as well as my sister in law, she would say well I wish I loved when my kids were younger because they would allow me to hug them, cuddle and now that they're older they don't want to do that anymore. And it made me when I thought about that I was like, that's kind of sad, right? Why not? Where's the barrier? When I thought about doing that act with my own parents, it felt, like, weird because I'm like, well, what am I just going to come out of nowhere and give them a hug? You know, it sounded kind of. It sounds weird to say, but it felt uncomfortable because it wasn't a common practice. I was reading a book a few nights ago, maybe, like, maybe more than a few nights ago. And in this book, it pretty much said exactly what I had just mentioned to you, that there's gonna come a time where those people are no longer to be in your life and that you're gonna want to just give them an embrace. A friend of mine who had lost her father told me exactly that. She goes, you know what? If I could have anything, I would wish I could just have a conversation and a hug from my father. And I remember that in my brain and thinking, like, man, I don't want to have that regret. Like, I want to. And I want to give my father as many hugs and have those conversations with him while he's here again. But there was that barrier. I was like, well, how do I make it so it's not awkward? And thinking about this? I said, well, you know, because giving the. The act of giving hug releases these chemicals in your body, in your brain. It also brings down blood pressure. And my father had been dealing with blood pressure. So I was like, oh, perfect. This perfect segue. So what I did was I told my father, I said, hey. I started with my mother, too, and my father was still asleep at the time when I first started this. And I said, ma, it's time for your medication. She's like, well, what are you talking about? I was like, stand up. Arms up. And she. Now, without a clue what I was doing, she put her arms up, and I just gave her a hug. And I held her for at least maybe like 7 seconds as I gave her a hug. Then she kind of laughed about it and gave me a hug back. And I remember this giggle that she had. Like, there was just, like, a happiness, like a joyful laugh because she was receiving a hug. When my father woke up, we did the same thing. This time, I had gotten her on board as well as my sister, who was at the house at the time my father got up, I was like, dad, time for your medication. He's like, what are you talking about? I'm like, medication time. Come on, stand up. He's like, put your arms out. Okay, we're gonna Bring your blood pressure down. Okay, puts it up. And then we all continued in sequence to give him a hug. And I noticed from when he came to hug me, it was kind of like he's not really comfortable sharing those kind of emotions. So he would give me a hug, then I'd be like, ah, it was like a quick kind of like pat on the back. But then as we continue to embrace the. Then he started to hug. So I've been doing this consistently for days now. And one of the things that I wanted to share was when. This morning when I actually went to hug my mother, and she says that something along the lines of, it makes me so happy to be able to hug my kids. And it brought me back to that. That thing, that phrase I heard so many people say over and over again before that they wish they can hug their kids, right? Once they've grown up. They feel like it's kind of like a boundary, like they can't do that anymore. And that's stupid, because I know from myself that simple act of hugging, I'm not just doing it for them, I'm doing it for me because I love my parents. And, you know, and I think about that, that one day where I won't be able to, you know, again. It's not morbid, it's just reality. So the reason I came on here today is one, because I wanted to just wake you up to that fact. And you may be like, well, of course I know one day everyone's going to die. But you do, but you don't. You know, it conceptually, but it's easy to get caught in your day. So busy running from, doing one thing, doing other thing. And I speak from experience because I am the king of doing this, right? Where my days just get crammed with things to do that I forget to just take a moment for the people in my life that matter most. And so with this realization, I see the effect that it has in my day. I see the effect it has in that moment, I see the effect that it has on the person. And I wanted to come on here and I wanted to share that with you because I know if you just take this one little step and you make that a habit, I mean, it'll transform your day and you'll feel good and the other person will feel good, and then there will come a day when that person's no longer in your life and you may be like, man, you know what? I'm so happy that I did this because I got to express my love. I Got to show them how much they mean to me. And I got to see them laugh like a child just because they got a hug. So you may have your parents. I mean, it doesn't even have to be your parents. I'm going to give hugs everywhere, right, but your parents might be deceased. They might be far away. It doesn't matter. The reason it doesn't matter is because you can still do this exercise. I'll explain. So giving. How do you give a hug if someone's on the other side of the country? Easy. Call them up, right? Call them up, invite them on a video chat and say, you know what I want to give you. You could use my line. Say, I want to give you your daily medication. Like, what the hell are you talking about? I want to give you your daily medication. I want to lower your blood pressure. I'm to give you a hug. And then you do it virtually where you make the hug and you just say, I love you. And then look at the camera as, like, I'm looking at you here. If you're watching this live, I'm looking at the camera. Look in their eyes and just say, I love you, and give them that virtual hug. I promise you they will feel the same impact if the person's deceased, then close your eyes and visualize it. Imagine the person standing right there in front of you. Stare into their eyes, walk up to them, give them a hug, and say the same thing. Tell them how much you love them. Tell them how much they mean to you, and I promise, I promise the result will be the same. So not only will it transform your day, but I think in some energetic level, whoever you're giving that hug to, they're gonna feel it. I promise. I guarantee it. I don't know the exact science behind it, but I know it's true. So in closing, every single day is a blessing. The people who are in your life, those people closest to you, the people you love, are a blessing and a gift, right? Not a single moment is to be taken for granted. So live each day like it is your last one, in the sense that you may never get to see the person again. And not to say, like, live with regret, but just to be able to express yourself, to let the person know how much they mean to you. I feel like it doesn't get expressed enough because what if they think you're weird saying that? Or the only thing it could do is improve your relationship. So that is all I wanted to share with you guys, and I hope you literally will take me up on this challenge. Yes, I am challenging you. Give a hug, call your parents, call your friend, give hugs. As many hugs as you can but at least two. You know your mother and father, if they're so in your life, if you know them, give at least two hugs. Or your caretaker person who has helped you grow in ways that you never were, who has impacted your life, give them the hug and I promise you will not regret it. So I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please share this with five people. If you have any questions or comments you can send them to me via my website@www.donnyrouse.com. that is D O N N Y R A U S.com and that is it for this episode. I hope you guys enjoyed that. Remember you will only get one life. Live fully, live passionately and most of all live now. God bless you guys and I will see you again soon.