For those individuals who are constantly sick and forced to make that dreaded visit to your doctor in what seems like a regular basis, optimum health could come in the form or regular exercise and a change in eating habits. It may be vital to take a sort of survey on your health.
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Creating Optimum Health Through Regular Exercise
by · October 28, 2011 Leave a Comment
Help for Relationships
by · October 28, 2011 Leave a Comment
Many of us have heard the expression, “If you can’t get along with yourself, no one else will get along with you, either.” Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t understand what that means. To the average person, the concept of getting along with yourself seems almost foreign and they just don’t get the need for help for relationships.
Personal Development Focusing on Stress Management
by · October 26, 2011 Leave a Comment
The absence of stress management using personal development may well be the biggest roadblock that causes people to live a chaotic, disorganized life full of regret and lack of performance. They may be educated, intelligent and capable yet be disordered, anxious and live a life of scarcity and lack in their finances and relationships.
The impact of stress can hinder growth in every part and dimension of your life. It all begins between the ears in your mind. Your mind is the CEO and controller of every, single action you take, for the good or bad. If your mind is in chaos your body, spirit and everything around you is a result of your anxiety and disorder.
Stressed out people are difficult to be around. They react instantly to some perceived verbal attack or what would otherwise be considered a benign comment made by a friend, associate or relative. They fight with everyone including family, colleagues and sometimes the wrong person like their bosses, eventually finding themselves unemployed.
Unfortunately, they have no idea what they did and usually perceive themselves as a victim of someone out to get them.
Workplace stress is something everyone lives with on a daily if not hourly basis. There’s no way to get around the fact that we are human beings and humans are often difficult to get along with. Perhaps you are not up to the task of what your job entails. You may need more training but are too afraid to ask for help.
There may be deadlines you must make but have a problem with procrastination. You may put things off until the last moment, do a shoddy job and turn in your work only to be called to your manager’s office the next day.
In this economy, you could be one of the 56% of Americans who is virtually ‘under-employed.’ You’re working your butt off for pay you wouldn’t have accepted ten years ago, but now you’re at the mercy of the economy so you can’t afford to quit. So you’re stuck and resentful. More stress to pile on to the heap you’re already sitting on.
Managing Work-Related Stress
If someone had a pill that instantly removed stress they’d be a “gazillionaire.” Yes, there are medications one can take that take the edge off, but occasionally you can end up in a stupor and that’s not conducive to a productive day at work. Walking around like a zombie isn’t the answer to stress.
Stress is simply part of our lives that cannot be removed but we can learn how and acquire tools to help ourselves lower and get to a position where we don’t allow stress to impact our lives.
Managing stress can help us lead happy and productive lives. Having the discipline to know what your “stressors” are and how to alleviate them is something you can learn and put in practice immediately.
Living a life where you’ve created ‘systems,’ time management plans and the resources you need to put a solid plan together will remove stress from your life and keep you on track emotionally and physically.
Manage Yourself Effectively
This is exactly what ‘stress management’ is all about. Analyze your lifestyle, set your goals and priorities, and concentrate on the things in that give you the most reward. Those priorities are where you need to spend your times.
Procrastination is a huge stress related challenge many people face. Those who put everything off until the last minute seem to almost get a thrill from going to the edge of the cliff then at the last minute, finish the task at hand and once more they are saved from falling off the proverbial cliff.
Once you overcome procrastination you can be more in control of your life and have a much greater ability to perform daily tasks and complete short-term and long-term projects in record time without waiting until the last minute.
There are great books, CD courses and even live webinars given by experts on time management that would be of great help to the tried and true procrastinator. Even if you don’t have that particular challenge, you may find resources and ideas through these courses that can make you even more productive.
Attitude is Everything
A positive and dedicated attitude could be the major key to your success. If you live a life with a “can do” attitude instead of allowing yourself to wallow in stress and self-pity you will be able to deal with anything that gets in your way, handle it instantly and move on.
Nothing can hold you back if you keep a clear head and the mental attitude that you are a winner and life’s little ups and downs is not going to keep you from reaching your goals.
You’re not a one man or woman Army. Learn the fine art of delegation. There are tons of ‘little things’ that get in your way that one must handle each and every day. Turning over some lesser things to your subordinates will not make you a poor leader. In fact, it will make you a better one because they can take over small stuff that keeps you from attending to the ‘bigger stuff.’
They will be happy to lend a helping hand, thus you can be free to keep up with all your commitments, making each day better than the last in relieving your personal stress.
When You’re Not Happy, Nobody’s Happy
A tired, stressed out person who stays in a constant state of stress and frustration can be affected and feel the impact of anything and everything. You’ll become sleep-deprived, you may turn to food in order to fill the void and for many, eating is an emotional crutch. You can end up overweight and your health can and will begin to decline.
When you’re unhappy because of stress you may begin a negative spiral downward by putting all your attention on what isn’t done instead of figuring out how to get them done by asking for help. You end up losing sleep, time, energy and focus.
Your life is at a point where it pretty much sucks. But only you can turn it around.
Your mind and the way you view your outer and inner world affect not only your attitude but the negative things you may be giving your energy to that are not serving you well.
Being stuck in a negative rut will force you to keep looking at the same unimportant things that are holding you back rather than helping you move forward. Your mind is not your friend in many ways because when you’re in ‘negative mode’ you keep looking for reasons that support your idea that you’re stressed and have no way of getting out of it.
Again, some classes, books or CDs on time and/or stress management can be huge tools for you to get out of your rut and stay out. Keep a journal of everything that goes right each day. Even if it’s something you consider unimportant or inane, make a note of it.
Read it over several times during the day and try to come up with more positive things that have happened. Did you go to a mall full of cars but magically you pull right into a space right in front of the main entrance? Think of anything and everything that will pull your thoughts from negativity to something positive.
The more you keep up with this practice the sooner you’ll realize that nothing that formerly caused you stress was all that important. It’s the little things that can mean the most. Dwell on the good and the bad will disappear.
Pretty soon you’ll be in a continual state of a higher and better mood, you’re brain will begin sending out those endorphins that make you feel great and each day will be a wonderful adventure you’ll look forward to instead of dreading.
By using personal development techniques for stress management, you will soon take both your personal and business life to a whole new level.
Health Awareness
by · October 24, 2011 1 Comment
We all strive for success financially, yet how many Americans are tuned into health awareness also put that that same energy into making sure our health and bodies are at peak performance?
What’s the point of being successful and having enough money to do what you want to do when you want to do it but your body and ill-health keep you from enjoying the rewards of your labor?
Imagine you’re meeting friends or family at a five-star resort and instead of being able to get out there with them and enjoy all the activities that include a certain amount of physical fitness, you are forced to sit on the sidelines and cheer everyone else on while you sit like a lump on a chaise lounge or chair, wishing you could have fun with everyone else.
Certainly for some, relaxing on a chaise lounge could be what you consider the perfect scenario — and if you’re healthy and have worked hard so you can go to some exotic place and relax, that’s fine. But you’re not being forced to do so because your body will not allow you to exert the energy necessary to swim, play golf, tennis or simply run and splash in the water at a beach.
It’s never too late to say, “I’m sorry” to yourself and your body for all the years of excess and physical abuse from the wrong food, too much alcohol or smoking. If you still want to turn things around and be a participant in life, it’s never too late to get started.
The most important first step is to give a close and hard look at what you put into your body.
The body that has served you so well for all these years is a magical machine. It will do its’ best for you including carry around huge amounts of excess weight until it can no longer sustain the load and your health will begin to decline. It’s your body telling you to wake up and pay attention.
Fueling Your Machine
Because your body is a machine, you must give it the best quality fuel to keep it running and/or to begin feeding it what is necessary to repair the damage you’ve done by stuffing it full of fast-food, the wrong kind of fats and the worst culprit of all-sugar.
Empty calories have taken over 60% of Americans into the world of the overweight and obese. Many people look at fat or obese people and “blame” them for their plight. Certainly there are those who are food addicts just as there are drug and alcohol addicts. What some don’t understand is that many overweight Americans are somewhat victimized by their genetics.
It’s not easy to watch skinny people stuff whatever they like into their mouths and be an overweight person, knowing no one is going to notice anything a thin person eats, yet if you are among the overweight, people will instantly stare at what a fat person is eating, immediately judge them and say they are weak, sloppy, disgusting and all they have to do is stop eating.
Well, “those people” are uninformed and ignorant of chemistry, genetics and DNA. Yes, an alcoholic can stop drinking and a drug addict can go to rehab and hopefully stop doing drugs. The overweight person must eat just like everyone else needs to in order to sustain life.
It’s more a question of education and for the person who is has allowed themselves to sink to a level of poor physical health and fitness, or another who has reached a level of overweight so high it seems an impossible task to start and stick to a weight-loss regimen.
Learning what is the right foods are and in what amounts to eat them is a process that must be taken on with commitment. Whether your health has suffered from inactivity and eating the wrong foods or if you’re someone who truly needs to lose a huge amount of weigh, it all begins with food and educating yourself on what are good calories, how many carbohydrates to eat, etc. The best thing to do is to begin with a visit with your doctor and possibly a session with a dietician.
Yes, it’s a rough road and many people resist what it takes to get on track and sustain the level of commitment necessary to reach your goals whether it be regaining your health or reducing your weight.
Watch The Stress
Stress can be a killer even for someone who seems fit, has a normal weight and feels fine most of the time. Every day we hear of someone in their 40’s or 50’s dropping dead of a heart attack. Many times, vital people who never knew there was a physical problem at all, but they lived and worked in a stressful environment. Taking time out to relax body and mind is important in creating a balanced life.
Understanding what stress does to the body is vital to knowing what to do to reduce that stress. Stress causes the body to create something called Cortisol, which causes weight-gain, especially around the mid-section of the body. It could benefit you greatly to look up the meaning of Cortisol and also do some reading up on the ravages of stress on the human body.
Below are some things you can do to reduce stress and simplify your life. Simple is good.
Get Off The Computer and Turn Off Your Cell Phone
Do everything possible to stop surfing the net for hours on end. Okay, so check your email three times per day instead of twenty. Go on Facebook for half an hour instead of staying up till the early hours of the morning. What’s so darn great about playing Farmville anyway?
Cut back on as much technology as possible and even though it may be hard at first, do your best not to watch the news. You know the old saying; “No news is good news?” Well, it’s not.
Cut Out The Processed Foods and Eat ‘Raw’ As Much As Possible
It may make you feel like screaming to give up the foods you think you have to eat, but take baby steps. Try salads, lightly steamed or stir-fried veggies (just a touch of Olive oil or Flax oil) and some fresh fruits. You can “cheat” once in a while of course, but soon you may not even have the desire for anything you know is literally killing you.
Re-Discover “Mother Nature”
Take a walk. Even if you can only make it twenty feet the first time! Walk, ride a bike, do anything fun that takes you outdoors and moves your body. So many people live close to the most gorgeous places like canyons, forests, beautiful bodies of water yet they never even get in the car and drive out of town to take in the amazing gifts nature has to offer.
Catch Up On Sleep
Make sure you get eight hours of sleep per day. That doesn’t count naps. Not getting at least eight hours of rest per night creates stress and that dratted Cortisol. Don’t watch television in your bedroom. Keep the technology in another room.
Only you can turn your physical negatives into positives. Make a plan, stick to it and within six-months to a year or less you can be fit and turn illnesses around and love your body enough to take it back to a place of optimum health.
By using basic health awareness, your body will thank you by making sure you live a long, happy and healthy life.
Without Communication in Relationships You Have Nothing
by · October 21, 2011 Leave a Comment
Can you remember a time when you were out shopping and suddenly you hear a couple screaming at each other right out there in the middle of the store? They are in such a state there is no realization they’re airing their “dirty laundry” in public. Anger has removed all the filters that may have stopped them from losing control of their communication in relationships.
Perhaps you’ve been divorced and your ex-wife/husband would like to get back together yet they have not changed what caused the break-up in the first place. What should you do? You may work with someone who gets on your last nerve but nothing you do seems to stop their irritating behavior. How in the world can you do something to change what is causing you frustration and stress?
How about starting with honesty? There’s an old expression that says, “The truth hurts.” It can if presented in a way that is hurtful and confrontational yet done in a kind and thoughtful way can help you and also raise the consciousness of the person you are hoping will listen to you and do what they can to change how they behave.
Honesty is good. Lying is bad. Don’t you teach your children not to lie? Most people lie because they are afraid of the consequences and would rather tell a lie than make someone angry or even hurt someone else’s feelings.
Different Levels of Truth
You can spin your truth in many directions yet honest and heart-felt truth is always the best. A realtor may put an ad in a paper describing a house as “cozy” but that usually means the house is tiny. A man placing an ad in a dating magazine may describe himself as built like a bear, when he’s actually quite overweight.
People may tell you about a party they attended and say, “Wow, that was some kind of party,” and in reality it was a real snore. What they’re doing is saying it was a good party just so they don’t hurt the host/hostess’ feelings if it gets back to them that you said “he said” the party was boring. There’s nothing wrong with being kind but overstating something just to be nice makes you feel deep inside that you are not being truthful and you may even feel a slight twinge of guilt.
State your own truth because it’s yours and no one else’s.
Your ‘truth’ is merely your opinion. It could be that you feel something is right or wrong and someone else may look at the same thing from a totally opposite angle. Neither is right or wrong, it only has to do with what you or that other person feels about the same situation.
Let’s say you have a dear friend who is now treating you disrespectfully or being downright mean. You have no idea why and when you ask them why they say, “Never mind, it doesn’t matter.” Yes, it DOES matter and many people use their bad behavior to manipulate others to get what they want or they won’t be pleased. You have no idea how to get at the truth because they are not ready to tell you what it is you may or may not have done to make them angry.
In reality, you probably didn’t do anything but they are using you to deflect their anger and place the blame for their own unhappiness on someone else. If your friendship is still of value to you then it’s worth the effort to get them to sit down and discuss the situation.
Should they say they aren’t willing to talk to you and get things back on track, let it go and move on. Give them some space until they wake up or in some cases you may have to release the relationship and move on.
Approaching Truth From The Heart
There can be times when you want to tell someone something that may cause them to feel uncomfortable so you choose to start with a small element of the truth. You may decide to take part of the challenge or issue you have with them in increments instead of laying it all on them at once. You also may choose to say nothing but that could raise your stress level if they have done something that really bothers you.
A good idea would be to look inside and decide what your ‘heart’ may be telling you to do or say. Considering the other person’s heart is also important. If in voicing your opinion or confronting them with something has no value to either one of you or may hurt them you may take more time to consider how to frame what you would like to say to them. If your heart isn’t in it then perhaps your inner voice is telling you it’s not the whole truth and you may decide to let it go or keep it to yourself.
If your heart is not in something to do with your relationship with someone else then back off and allow the urge to pass instead of jumping into a situation you can’t get out of. Words can never be taken back. People remember things people told them for decades and can’t release the hurt they felt by hearing those words from someone they loved or respected. Words can injure someone at a soul-level and should be thought out before spoken.
So How Can You Speak Your Truth?
What is it you want and what is bothering you? It may be something so small you should just allow it to blow away in the wind. If it’s something very hurtful or important you have a right as a human being to speak what has hurt you and why. Keeping unspoken hurts to yourself for many years can harm you emotionally and physically.
Some people are so self-absorbed they are shocked when you bring it up and tell them how you feel. Their truth may be very shallow and “all about them.” Or they may have simply been having a bad day and you were close by and a convenient way for them to vent.
Either way if you value the relationship, especially if it’s a family member just lay your emotional cards on the table and ask them to sit down in a setting that is comfortable to both of you and gently begin your discussion with them. You may have to be the one who takes the high road and also assumes the role of the adult in the equation but sometimes we just have to do what we have to do to make peace.
Besides, once they are aware of how you feel they may (hopefully) realize what they did or said that hurt you and apologize. Then again, they may not but you’ll feel much better because you finally got it off your chest. You will also know that you came from the heart, did nothing to injure or shame the other person and plain and simple, you did the best you could. You were straight-forward, honest and should not feel ashamed.
You may even gain more respect from them because they now understand what they did and admire you for being kind enough to speak to them from a heart-centered place instead of yelling at them or confronting them in anger.
Communication in relationships can be trying, yet being “in your truth” at all times can make them a lot more pleasant and joyous.
