What is Vitayla?

By Bert Brown

---

The short answer to what is Vitayla is simply the definition:

On the surface, Vitayla sounds simple enough. However, it is a practice that one will likely strive to master for a lifetime.

I have found these particular elements represent a significant percentage of the practical activities you can work on in order to find happiness, calm, and peace of mind.

You may have heard of the Pareto Principle?

The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

Examples include:

• 80% of sales come from 20% of your products
• Eighty percent of complaints come from twenty percent of your customers
• 80% of frustrations in a relationship are caused by just 20% of the problems

The idea is that you can get big results by focusing on just a few things.

I would wager that Vitayla – the practice of living with mindfulness, energy, and vitality – could get you even more than 80% on your journey to happiness, based on my experience. But we will stick to Pareto’s 120 year old principle for now.

Latin Derivative

My Latin teacher in high school, Mr. Ross, would always recite this little poem:

“Latin is a language, as dead as it can be.
First it killed the Romans, now it’s killing me.”

Now, I can’t conjugate one verb at this point. But I remember his little rhyme. And I use Latin to create words.

I used Latin to create the name of one of the companies I cofounded: Celergo.

Celer in Latin means speedy/fast/swift. And erogatio means payment. When you combine celer and erogatio you get Celergo – which loosely translated means to quickly move payments. Celergo is a global payroll company (sold to ADP).

I have been a member of what many people call a mastermind group for over 12 years. We have given our group a name: Verus. Yep, this is a Latin derivative which means real or true. When we are in our group we speak the truth about ourselves; about us.

Vita in Latin means life. Medela means health. Combining these two Latin words you get Vitayla – which loosely translated means a healthy life. And a healthy life is full of happiness, calm, and peace of mind.

Practice

The idea of practice is that you are continually working on the application of ideas, beliefs, and methods.

Practice is not a performance. There certainly is a difference between practice and performance. But most of that difference is in the mind.

When you are practicing you can make mistakes and not really worry about them. You can stop and focus on exactly the mistake or issue and work on that until you get better.

People often get stressed out about performances. Whether it is a competition, concert, speech, or whatever, all performances are backed up with practices.

However, the less the practice, the more the stress about performance.

By practicing more, the less worry there should be about the performance.

I used to get stressed and nervous about competitions – running races like marathons or triathlons.

When I shifted my mindset to thinking the race was just another practice day, but catered and with “friends and family” shouting encouragement all along the course, the stress greatly evaporated.

This allowed me to savor and absorb the atmosphere. And if I felt really good that day, perhaps even get a good race time, for me at least :).

You can Always Come Back to Practice

Many people think that if they are trying to develop a particular habit, method, or strategy and it does not stick after a couple tries that it must not work for them.

Perhaps it was too much, too soon. Maybe there were not any results being observed for all the efforts being put in. Or something with a higher priority came along.

What many people don’t realize is that it can take multiple times having to restart those efforts, that practice, in order for a particular habit, method, or strategy to stick.

And even when you think you’ve got a habit nailed down, things change (and almost always do) that can derail that habit. Job change, illness, weather, and a whole host of life circumstances can alter one’s life. COVID-19, anyone?

However, remember, you can always come back to practice.

Let’s look a little closer at the practice of mindfulness, energy, and vitality.

Mindfulness

Some practices are indeed easier than others.

And then there are practices that we have long since forgotten about.

Have you ever been with a child who asks you a question, “What’s that?” (Pointing in a general direction) Seeing nothing you respond, “What? I don’t see anything.”

Then she points directly at the object of her question, “That.” It is almost as if the blurriness in your vision fades and suddenly into focus you see a little bug that is clearly crossing her path.

Where were you looking that caused you to miss seeing that bug?

Most likely the same place she was looking except, your mind was thinking about something else. A to-do list perhaps? An upcoming deadline? Recounting an argument or conversation? Or a future one?

Because you were thinking about the past or the future, you were not being in the present.

Does it seem like time is going faster and faster each year? That it used to move much slower when you were younger but now as you get older it moves faster?

But is a minute now today really any shorter than a minute when you were young?

Wouldn’t it be great if time slowed down to like it was when you were a child?

Being more mindful is about being more present. It is about being more curious. It is about finding your long lost inner child.

Mindfulness is the practice of purposely bringing your attention to experiences occurring right now in the present moment AND without judgement.

This site will share the strategies and techniques that have been most helpful for me being more present with my wife, family, team, and others around me. And has made me happier and calmer because of it.

Energy

A number of years ago, my family was having brunch at a diner after a morning hike. I like breakfasts and my wife likes lunch so diners are a staple for our family.

It was during this meal that we had a discussion on what makes up energy – personal energy. What fuels people to do what they do?

We came up with 4 elements that define one’s energy:

• Exercise
• Rest
• Nutrition
• Purpose

Yes, these are common; perhaps obvious. Even my kids could articulate these basics.

Yet, why do so many, many people have trouble putting everything together? Feel low levels of energy? High levels of stress? Are not motivated? Why are 70% of Americans considered overweight or obese by the National Institutes of Health?

Clearly there is lots of room for improvement.

Based on these 4 elements, I have developed the Energy Pyramid to represent how those elements tie together. This visual also provides a measured practical approach in how to increase more energy for yourself.

You can check out the Energy Pyramid here.

Further thinking revealed how these 4 elements are balanced in providing a mind body equilibrium as well. The two elements that represent the mind are purpose and rest. While the other two elements of exercise and nutrition denotes the body.

Optimal energy levels occur when all these elements are utilized. However, you can still increase your energy substantially even when each element is not being fully utilized.

Through this site I will share the habits and strategies that have really moved the needle for me in increasing my energy levels.

Vitality

When I reference vitality, I’m referring to the capacity to live and develop. Liveliness would include positivity, optimism, and love. All these attributes are part of vitality.

However, the capacity to develop is a key differentiator on the journey to happiness.

My first job as an engineer out of university was with a company called Kodak. My desk was in an office with another gentleman who was retiring after 40 years with the company in 3 weeks.

He shared one tidbit of knowledge with me before leaving for sun and golf that I have never forgotten:

Ironic isn’t it that Kodak invented the digital camera back in 1975? It was a huge global company. When it spun off the chemical business in the 1990s, it became a Fortune 500 company in its own right. Yet the company failed to change quickly enough with the times.

Kodak delisted from the Dow Jones Industrial Average after 74 years as one of the thirty largest US companies. Then they were removed from the S&P 500. Eventually the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and delisted from the NYSE.

After 20 months Kodak did reemerged from Chapter 11, but as a much smaller organization.

While there are many other examples of failing to change, this one is close to my heart.

Growth Mindset

The pace of change has only continued to accelerate. My two teenage boys may work at jobs that have not even been invented yet.

So why is this important to achieving more happiness, calm, and peace of mind?

When you are able to develop, learn, and change, you find opportunities, prospects, and possibilities.

When you are not able to change, rely on what you learned years ago, do not develop new skills, you find obstacles, barriers, and disappointment. And stress.

To be able to change, you need a growth mindset.

I share with my boys that school isn’t just about learning all the fundamentals. It’s about learning how to engage in lifelong learning. I joke with them that “school” never ends :).

This site is about sharing my continual learnings on how I have incorporated my concept of vitality into my life.

Return to Practice

So much of all this takes place in your mind.

Anytime I start noticing more stress in my life, I reflect on which aspect of Vitayla I need to focus on more. Actually, it’s usually not what I need to practice more of, but what practice do I need to return to?

Have I been skipping workouts? Forgetting to meditate? Not engaged in a specific learning topic? What strategies have I not been practicing that I need to return to?

Figuring that out certainly helps me. I hope you can find strategies that will help you.