“It’s not one single act that makes us excellent but the habit of being authentically ourselves that creates excellence and inner happiness.” – Unita Harold  

Meet Unita Harold, a BePure Holistic Health Consultant based at our BePure Clinic Havelock North.  

Coming from an impressive background of psychology qualifications, it was during her thesis study that Unita was really drawn into the world of nutrition. Through this, she found that the holistic approach to mental health and the mind, nutrition, body connection, was what she has been looking for.

In this blog, Unita explains why we don’t need to succumb to the ‘excellence ideal’ and explains how to embrace and love ourselves just as we are. As a self-professed, non-cook, Unita also shares what she likes to eat.

1. Can you share your health journey with us?

I’ve always wanted to help other people. I studied a bachelor of science, majoring in psychology and a post graduate diploma majoring in industrial organisational psychology, before completing my master's thesis in cognition and nutrition where I looked at the blackcurrant supplement and whether it could ameliorate the effects of physical fatigue on cognitive performance.

My thesis really drew me to the connection between nutrition, health and the brain so, when it came to looking at my future in psychology I felt like there was something missing. I wanted to be able look at life and mental health from a holistic, fully connected body approach and that’s when fate intervened – or the universe smiled upon me – and I was given a wonderful opportunity to become a consultant at BePure.

2. As a holistic health consultant what is your specialty or passion?

As all of the BePure Holistic Health Consultants, I specialise in all areas of health and nutrition, but my passion is supporting people with the interconnection between the mind and body.

As Ben always says, we focus on the 3% that’s negative in life and forget about the 97% that’s positive. So, with my clients I really focus in on how they view the world, love themselves and express themselves without fear of judgement or negativity.

3. In your bio on the BePure website you talk about the “struggle to live within the jungle we call life,” can you tell us a little bit more about this?

We’re not robots and we’re not computers. Internally, mentally and physically we are all much more like a self-organising jungle. As humans we are these complex, adaptive systems and, like a jungle, we are constantly regulating ourselves. Our bodies works symbiotically – it’s not about destroying something within us so that another part can grow, it’s about working within your own uniquely thriving ecosystem. With the right tools the entire jungle can work together in a way that leads to optimal health.

4. For you, what is the most rewarding part of working with your clients?

It’s seeing my clients progress! It’s so inspiring to walk with someone on their health journey and see the progression on both their health journey and in their life. Whether that’s being more positive in their day-to-day activities, finding the strength to quit the job that they hate or finally learning to love themselves. Getting to see a client make the decision to love themselves, is so rewarding for me. At the end of my clients programme for me it’s always a bittersweet ending.

5. When it comes to improving the mind-body connection, what is something you recommend anyone can start doing?

There are two aspects when it comes to loving yourself.

The first is choosing to live authentically to you. Each day you need to actively work to be yourself, without a shell, without concern of being judged. To do this I tell myself that I love everything about me and I embrace my authentic self each day, without focusing on any negative aspects.

The second is not easy to do! But it’s about making a conscious effort to live without the fear of judgement and how people might perceive you. Judgement and the fear of judgement is in your head, not necessarily in someone else’s and most people are too busy focusing on themselves, to notice anyone else. If this is something that you struggle with, I love this little practice that I got from a man called Preston Smiles. At least 5 times a week remind yourself that, ‘I am the diamond’ and encourage this through your actions. You don’t need to go looking for your diamond, you are the diamond, being just you is already enough.

6. What do you think is the most important part of the work you do at the BePure Clinic?

Being there to walk the journey beside my clients. We’ve all need to start somewhere, we have to learn to crawl before we can run. It’s much nicer to have someone beside you, guiding you on that journey, than trying to do it all by yourself.

Humans are not lone creatures, we’re social animals and I think the best part about BePure, is that you have someone who is there to support you 100%  – wherever you are on your journey. 

7. What’s your favorite quote or piece of wisdom?

"We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit.”

I absolutely love that quote by Aristotle, "We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit."

I love it because the ‘excellence ideal’ is something we all struggle with, including myself! Every day we place this immense amount of pressure upon ourselves - to get that degree, job, car, outfit, that particular weight goal, to be in an amazing relationship, or whatever it is. We tell ourselves this story that once we have reached a particular achievement then we will be worthy of gaining that ‘excellence’ that we were striving for, but more often than not in chasing this ‘excellence ideal’ we push ourselves to burnout in the process.

The reality is that everyday we are excellent! We are enough, we already are the diamond and it’s not one single achievement that makes us excellent but the habit of being authentically ourselves that creates our excellence and inner happiness. It really is enough to be just ourselves.

8. What’s a challenge that you’ve faced and how have you overcome it?

Out of all of the consultants at BePure I’m the one that least enjoys the kitchen. When it comes to my nutrition I take a simple, minimalist approach. I don’t try to be a gourmet chef, that’s just not part of who I am. Instead, I focus on really wholesome, simple, meals that I know will support my body throughout the day. 

9. So what would a typical day look like for you?

Again, simplicity is key for me. I’m a protein type, so making sure that I have a good quality source of protein in each meal is key for supporting my body.

Morning:  A smoothie with protein powder and a couple of boiled eggs.
Lunch: My go to at the moment is bone broth with roasted veggies and chicken. For the chicken I keep it simple and either roast up some drumsticks or chicken breast.
Dinner: If it’s a great night it’ll be seared salmon with a big leafy green salad and a complex carbohydrate, like roast kumara. 

10. As someone who doesn’t love the kitchen, what’s your go-to snack or treat?

This is something that I get teased a lot about at the clinic – I love peanut butter, I’m totally addicted! So, my happy place, warm hug, or whatever you want to call it is a big bowl of blueberries and banana with a big dollop of peanut butter. You’ve got antioxidants from the blueberries, protein and fats from the peanut butter and potassium from the banana. It’s a bowl of awesomeness to me!

If you'd like to make an in-person or Skype appointment with Unita Harold, or if you have any questions about the BePure Clinic and our Programmes, please feel free to give our support team a call on 0800 52 54 52 or email info@bepure.co.nz.