Eric Langshur used to wake up at 3 a.m., his mind racing about the little problems in his life. But he’s learned to create balance is his life, paying as much attention to his mental health as his physical health.
Langshur, a best-selling author and entrepreneur, is bringing his message of caring for mental health and well-being to Gainesville on Wednesday as the guest speaker at the kickoff breakfast for HealthSmart, the annual wellness expo sponsored by the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.
Mental health is the focus of this year’s event, and it coincides with the Reach Out Day initiative, led by the United Way of Hall County, which aims to start discussions about mental well-being and mental health.
“We don’t think twice about doing push-ups to build muscle, yet there are all sorts of equally straightforward exercises to train the skill of well-being, to feel better, and we’ve just not been taught that,” Langshur said in an interview Monday on WDUN’s “Morning Edition.”
Langshur will speak at the kickoff breakfast that starts at 7:30 a.m. Tickets to the event are available on the chamber’s website.
Part of his presentation will help people understand how their mental well-being affects the well-being of their employers.
“I’m going to be drawing the link between our performance of the people, and then the performance of the businesses within which we work,” he said. “It’s not a surprise that human performance drives performance and we’re not performing at out peak, and as a consequence, our businesses are not performing at their peak.”
Langshur said he realized he need to take care himself after routinely waking up early and fretting about the little problems he faced.
“My eyes would open and my brain would turn on,” he said. “And I’d have what I refer to as ‘fast brain’ and those thoughts would just come and come and come and come. As we know in the middle of the night those little problems just grow in intensity and they seem so big. And I realized one day I didn’t want to live like that. I’m going to find a way to feel better.”
Langshur bases his recommendations on a study he and a partner conducted. First, they studied the greatest philosophers throughout the ages to find what they said leads to happiness. They then took those findings to the county’s leading neuroscientists and validated them scientifically.
“I began the practice of re-training my mind so that I could find freedom and peace,” he said. On Wednesday, “We’ll talk about the very specific things we can do to change that.”
The 13th annual HealthSmart runs from 7:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m. at the Gainesville Civic Center. It will feature free health screenings, free seminars, and more than 60 health and wellness exhibitors.
Free health screenings include glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides testing, blood pressure checks, body mass index calculation, carotid artery and more. Fasting prior to testing recommended.
Flu shots, provided by The Little Clinic at Kroger, will be free with proof of insurance.
HealthSmart is free and open to the public.
