Paul Odame & Gloria Jubi
Life Hacks - Business, Mind & Health How to Live A Highly Productive life Everyday
Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publishing
Paul Odame, 1988 – Life Hacks- Business, Mind & Health: How to Live A Highly Productive life Everyday by Paul Odame & Gloria Jubi
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FreniQ, an imprint of Glomacx World LLC White Avenue East Legon Accra Ghana Tel: +233 208974587 Email:
[email protected] Life Hacks- Business, Mind & Health: How to Live AHighly Productive life Everyday By Paul Odame & Gloria Jubi Copyright © Paul
Odame
First published in 2015 For further information about other motivational products from the authors as well as corporate training seminars and conferences contact the authors:
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All rights reserved Under international copyright law. Written permission must be secured from the publishers to use or reproduce any part of this book, except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles.
The Authors
They are the founders of Raising Leader Worldwide, an Online Leadership Firm with a sole aim of
developing HIGH QUALITY content for the web. Since June 11th, 2010 Raising Leaders Worldwide has developed content, which is accessible by millions of people all over the world. This Leadership Firm has developed over 130 articles and over 1000 short post on leadership at the time of this book. And it has been recognized by Google Search as The Best Leadership Content Development Firm on the web.
From search engine expert, quality content is all that Google searches for and Raising Leader Worldwide has consistently been on Google's first page for 3 consecutive years with the keyword "Raising leaders" out of over 199,000,000 search results.
Raising Leaders Worldwide was founded by Mr. Paul Odame and Gloria Jubi, President and Vice respectively. They are Authors of 12 books and also the Pioneers of Glomacx Limited Founded in August, 2009 and Poweredby Ghana Company Limited in December, 2014.
Glomacx Limited is a Web & Software Development Company which offers Comprehensive Solutions to Businesses Globally. Poweredby Ghana Limited is an inbound marketing and a cloud computing company which offers; Internet marketing, Search marketing, Branding and Copy writing services to assist Ghanaian Businesses Succeed Online.
Raising Leader Worldwide was inspired as they surfed the Internet for quality and useful content to pioneer their entrepreneurial ventures. They start gathering their own content as they dived deeper with intensive research. They then began archiving these contents on the web to be accessed by anyone in need of leadership materials either for research or personal grooming.
Their strong knowledge in leadership has made the companies (Glomacx LLC and Poweredby Ghana LLC) they pioneered innovative and problem solving ventures. The President of Raising Leaders Worldwide Mr. Paul Odame is now a Leadership & Entrepreneurship resource person, and speaks at seminars. “When you create positive thought patterns, on a daily basis you eventually change your beliefs and you will change your entire world for the better” -Paul Odame & Gloria Jubi.
"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other." Abraham Lincoln, US-President, 1861-1865
Informally, you can develop a great deal of intelligence in any field simply by investing a reasonable amount of time to reading on a daily basis. The fact is that most people won’t make a regular investment in their education. Spending 30 minutes of focused reading every day will give you 182 hours of study time each year.
CONTENTS
Dedication Preamble Chapters (1-40) Section1- Business 1. Starting Your Business The Right way 2. Starting Your Business 3. Starting your business - must know 4. Starting Your business - what you should not do.
5. An Entrepreneur is… 6. Your Business Big Questions 7. Your Ideal Customer
8. Investing time and money 9. Differentiate business ideas from competitors. 10. Employees needed 11. Money Needed To Get Started 12. How long do I have until I start making a profit?
13. Do your market research 14. Preparing Financial Statements 15. Develop A Cash Flow Analysis 16. Writing Effective Job Descriptions
Section 2- Mind 17.Productivity 18.Think positively 19.Change Your Mindset 20.Make That Change 21.Turning Endings To Great Beginnings 22.Get On And Be Grateful For Starting Something New 23.Habits Of Developing An Innovative Mind 24.Habits For Living Life To The Fullest 25.Keeping Hopes A Life 26.How To Continually Have The Best Mindset Everyday 27.Developing A Positive Mindset 28.How to Develop A Positive Mindset 29.Power Of The Mind Mindset 30.The Human Mind & Your Mindset How Does Tt All work?
Section 3- Mind 31. Laughter is the Best Medicine 32. Health Benefits of Sleep 33. Water is essential to good health 34. The Health Benefits of Being an Optimist 35. Walking for the Health of It 36. Good personal hygiene 37. Healthy Eating Habits for the ‘health of it’ Good personal hygiene 38. Forgiveness: Your Health Depends on It 39. Keeping Hopes A Life
40. Prayer and Healing
DEDICATION
•
This Master piece is dedicated to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for the
STRENGH YOU GIVE US EVERY SINGLE DAY. •
And a purpose to live.
Preamble Traits Of Successful People The old saying that "Rome was not built in a day" applies here. Just because you open a business doesn't mean that you're going to immediately start making money. It takes time to let people know
who you are, so stay focused on achieving your short-term goals and give the rest time to come together. Successful people have known for years that to stay productive, it’s essential to build habits that organize your day and help you get the most out of your time. Only when you have a spirit or urgency can you push your way through the admin and red tape. Only by acting with urgency can you get others to deliver on time. Only being truly urgent in your dealings can you achieve anything significant in a year. Here are 3 of the most powerful habits that highly productive people do every day — even when they’re pressed for time. Early Risers.
There was probably a period of time in your life where it was easy stay up late into the night (or early into the next morning) trying to get things done. Be mindful that all eight-hour periods just aren’t created equally. Going to bed at 10 p.m. and waking up at 6 or 7 a.m. is exponentially better than going to bed at 3 a.m. and waking up at 10 or 11 a.m., even thought the time frame is the same. I’ve tested this over and over again and the evidence is pretty clear: I don’t perform well if I stay up past 11 p.m.-ish. Early risers really do have a distinct advantage when it comes to mental clarity, acuity and energy. Simply put: Waking up early works better than any other strategy for becoming more productive. But you have to make sure you get enough sleep to back it up. So get to bed! I’ve had to give myself a bedtime and be my own parent by ruthlessly enforcing it — which is harder than it seems, because I’ve been programmed to stay up late for so many years. Intention, focus or meditation. Starting your day with a clear idea of what you want to do changes everything. Take 10 quick breaths, think about your main objectives for the day, and then get moving. This seems too simple to have an effect, but it’s not. Take a few minutes and the Bible (ie Psalms or Proverbs). It really helps. They train their bodies. Working out is probably the highest leverage tool in your arsenal that can make you feel predictably better and keeps you both physically and emotionally healthy year round. If you want to have the mental energy to take on a large workload, and you have a full calendar of to-do’s that people want from you — you have to be in the gym. Period. Training yourself physically not only gives you benchmarks to hit on a regular basis, but it also
creates a predictable backbone in your daily life that you can count on, even if everything goes wrong. Mentally, that’s very comforting. Trust me, I know that integrating these habits into your life won’t be easy at first. But if you’re not healthy, your business can’t thrive anyway. Consider them a long-term investment in your business. This Book (Life HacksBusiness, Mind & Health ) will be of a great help to you. Enjoy !
Chapter 1
Starting Your Business The Right Way
We learned that working for yourself was a great way to improve one’s lifestyle. No surprise then that we now own a few businesses of our own. But we made lots of mistakes getting started, mistakes we could’ve avoided if we had known a few things. Here are seventeen mistakes that you should avoid: Sell Something Legal Selling something legal may sound obvious to anyone in business, but the truth is, when it comes to wanting to make money you will likely consider a lot of ideas… some legal, some illegal and some in between. You don’t want to make a lot of money and then lose it all because you are on the wrong side of the law. You Must Market Your Product to Succeed If people don’t know about your great product, then they can’t buy your great product. It’s that simple. Marketing Keys to Succeed in Any Business There are three things you need to be successful in marketing any business, whether online or off. Do you have the ingredients you need to succeed? The key ingredients are: A Good Product A Marketing Mentality Money for Advertising. A Good Product: You can't succeed without a good product. If you are in business, you want to provide your customers with a quality product or service. If you have a good product, there are four ways to position your business for success: * Have a Niche Product: create something that nobody else has or provide a service that no one else is providing. If people need the product and your business is one of the few in the country that provides it, you can almost be guaranteed a national market for your goods or services. (Then the Web is the natural place to promote your company.) * Have the Best Product in Your Industry: some people will always be willing to pay a premium price for the best product. That is why some people buy a Mercedes rather than a Chevy. If you have the best product or highest quality service, you can charge more, but your market is usually smaller and your clientele more select. If you have the best, don't compete on price - compete on
quality and perceived value. * Have a Good Value: if you don't have a niche product or the best product in the industry, you can still build up a large market for your company by providing a good value for your customers. MacDonald's doesn't make the best hamburger in the world, but it does make a good hamburger at a low price, and the company is almost in every industrialized country in the world. * Give a Value Added Service: a VAR is a corollary of the last two. If you have a service you give to your clients that helps them build a better business, the clients will be willing to pay more for your product because of the relationship you build with them over time. For example, if you sell diagnostic equipment to a car dealership but you also offer training on the new equipment to the dealer's employees, the dealer will be willing to pay you a bit more for your product and will choose you as a supplier over someone who just sells the product and gives no service. Your training clinics are a valuable service that the dealer cannot get from another supplier. You may actually save them money, because it would cost the dealer more to send the employees out of state to get the training . A Marketing Mentality Be warned! A good product is not enough! Good companies with good products fail every day. One of the most common reasons businesses fail is a lack of advertising. If no one knows about your product, nobody will buy it. It's as simple as that. Most marketing gurus will tell you that your advertising budget should be between 15% and 20% of your total budget. That percentage may be greater if you are just starting a new company or introducing a major new product. Many small business owners are afraid to spend money on advertising; hoping word of mouth will make their business succeed. Such thinking is a fatal mistake for many businesses. * If you are afraid to spend money on advertising, you don't have what it takes to succeed in business. Period. The web will not help you. Fear is ruling your future and you don't have the confidence to take the necessary risks to succeed. All businesses ventures require risk and a certain amount of faith: faith in your product, faith in your ability, faith in the future, perhaps even faith in the fairness of the marketplace. Without that faith and a willingness to take a risk for the sake of future profits, you lack an essential ingredient to make it in business. * You need to see advertising as an investment not as a cost. When looking at your potential returns and future sales, you must see advertising as a way of increasing your product sales. If a billboard advertising campaign will cost you $10,000 this year and you can only see how much money you will be spending, you don't have a marketing mentality. A true businessperson looks at the potential return on his or her investment in advertising. For example, if your average product sale to the customer is $10,000 and the product costs you $5,000, you need only 2 sales from your billboard campaign to break even on your advertising expenses. Just 3 sales means you've made more money
than you've spent. If an average billboard campaign will bring you 10 sales, why are you looking at the $10,000 it will cost you instead of the $40,000 you will earn? Perhaps you should be spending $100,000 on your billboard campaign. Again, if you don't see advertising as a means of generating revenues, then you lack what you need to succeed in business. * You need to have a long-term vision for advertising. You need to understand how advertising works. It takes 21 impressions on radio, television, and combined media to cause your business, product, name and contact information to be remembered by the consumer. If you spend $1000 on 15 prime radio spots, don't expect any sales. If you do get some, you're unusual. Most likely, the customer won't even remember your business name by next week. Repetition is the key to learning and remembering. Repetition is the key to advertising. Many business owners are disappointed when they don't see an immediate increase in business with an advertising campaign. They expect the phone calls to start pouring in. Such expectations are unrealistic. What actually happens is this: the more frequently the consumer hears your name, the more familiar you become and the more comfortable they become with you. If, for example, you sell tires, the consumer may not need tires the week they hear the ad. But after hearing your name regularly for a month or two, when it comes time to buy new tires, your name is going to pop into their head, and then they will give you a call. That is an example of how advertising really works. So you can see that if you don't have a long-term vision, you lack what you need to succeed in business. Money for Advertising I'm sorry to say it, but even if you have a good product, and you have a marketing mentality, but you lack sufficient capital to promote your business, you lack an essential ingredient for business success. Many businesses fail because they are undercapitalized. They start out with a good business idea, but they lack the money to make it work. They spend all their resources on plant, rent, equipment and raw materials, but they have no budget for advertising, and so they have no way of letting the public know about their product. Such businesses usually fail within three years, or they crawl along just barely making ends meet, if they survive at all. You can succeed if you only have the first two ingredients, but having money for advertising sure makes everything a lot easier. So, the question I have for you is this: "Have you budgeted your business for success?" Why the Web? A web presence should be one of the essential items in your overall business plan for advertising and for sales. Just as you need a sales force, regional advertising in radio, television, and print media, the Web should be one more avenue for advertising and generating business. It is part of your strategy and part of your plan. In fact, studies show that the Internet address is replacing the phone book as the place that young adults turn to for business and consumer information. If you aren't on the Web, it's like not being in the phone book. If you aren't there, people can't find you. Internet commerce and web procurement are the wave of the business future. You need to make plans for this future, or you will be left behind.
The marketing mix is made up of the following elements, often referred to as “the four Ps”: Product (or service) Place (location and distribution) Price Promotion For a business to succeed, you need to: get all of the elements right strike a balance between the elements Differentiation of your business from your competitors can be achieved through adjusting the elements to make your product/business more attractive. For example, if you wanted to market a high profile brand, you would focus on promotion rather than price.
Promotion Promotion is about effectively communicating with your customers so that they are encouraged to buy from you. You need to promote to both existing customers and prospective ones, which may involve promoting to each in different ways. To promote successfully, you need to take the following into account: You need to know as much as possible about your customers and their buying habits. You need to identify which are the important questions customers could have about your product/service, eg is this a reliable product? Your promotional activities should answer these questions. You need to identify your unique selling point (USP) and communicate it effectively to your customers. You need to identify the style of your promotional activities You need to decide when you are going to promote. When you have answers to the above, you are in a stronger position to decide what to say, how to say it, when to say it, and which promotional method(s) to use.
Promotions mix The ‘promotions mix’ is the combination of promotional elements you use to promote your product/service. The various elements which can make up the promotions mix include: Personal Selling Sales Promotion Public Relations Direct Mail Trade Fairs and Exhibitions Advertising Sponsorship You would choose the appropriate elements for your product/service and integrate them to form a promotional campaign. Make Payments Easy The lesson I learned from Advice Monkey was that if you wanted to make money you needed to make it simple for people to pay you. Of course you have to provide a valuable product, something people want or need, but if you don’t make it easy for them to pay you, you’re business will suffer and eventually fail.
I’ve learned that whether you are providing a service like consulting or a product like software, you should provide the simplest, most common and fastest way for people to pay. If you make it hard then you are simply giving people an excuse to delay paying you or even giving them an excuse to go to your competitor who does make it easy. Don’t do that because it could be a million dollar mistake. Focus One of the reasons Steve Jobs and Apple were so successful was they focused. They didn’t have a bunch of products, even though you might think they did. They had only a handful. That allowed them to do several things very well: • They could listen closely to what their customers were saying. • They could create the products to meet the needs and desires of those customers. • They could make those products the best in their category. If you are not focused you will not be able to do a good job on your business. Find the things in your business that make you the most money and focus on them. Eliminate everything else!
Other Keys to Succeed In Any Business •
Solve Problems Customers Are Facing
•
Do It in a Simple Way
•
Be Patient
•
Charge More
•
Conserve Cash
•
Never Stop Closing
•
Always Find Your Passion
•
Learn, Learn and Learn Some More
•
Good Help Costs Money
•
Emotions Rule
Chapter 2
Starting Your Business The first thing you have to do is change your mindset. You have to start viewing your skills and experiences as money making resources. You have to stop underestimating your ability to help someone with what you can provide — whether that’s information, a service or a physical product. When you’re first getting started making money on your own, the best way to get started quickly is to understand the different ways you can make money, and which one will work best for you. Generally speaking, there are 3 ways to make money: 1. Providing a service to someone 2. Providing information (really a subset of services) 3. Selling a product All 3 of these can be very lucrative — it just depends on what type of business you’re most comfortable with, and what type of work you want to do. There’s nothing more important to the growth of a service company than the quality of the people that you bring on board. But while it’s a good idea to hire people who are technically great at what they do, that shouldn’t be your number one priority: “Over my years in business, I have had a saying when it comes to hiring: Hire character and train skills. Everything worth doing is done on a foundation of integrity and honor.” -Ross Perot, Founder of EDS Integrity, honor, reliability, work ethic, adaptability, passion, and the desire to learn cannot be taught.
Chapter 3 Starting your business - must know Starting your first business - must know To get you ready to start your first business. And you know what? You’re going to love every minute of it! Let’s dive right in. Step 1: Do Your Research Here’s where you really get to have fun. Why? Think of doing research like when you go to Costco -you get to sample all those tasty foods and see what you like best. So, get out there and start to “sample” different businesses. In other words, you should already have an idea for a business, along with a product or service, and all you need to do now is find out what other successful businesses are doing. Once you have “sampled” all of them, it’s your time to come up with a better way to do what they’re doing. Take good notes, and write down everything that comes to mind because it will prove useful as you write your business plan Step 2: The Business Plan Think of Christopher Columbus. Do you think he stocked up his ship, got funding from the monarch, and rounded up a crew without some sort of plan? No. He certainly had a plan. And though he set out to find a westward route to asia by sea and found the Americas, the important thing is that he started with a plan. Similarly, think of your business plan as your map to a new world -- and if you end up in a different spot than you anticipated, it’s okay, so long as it’s successful. Make sure your business plan goes through scenarios of finance, HR, unexpected hurdles, federal compliance, etc. Your business plan should be anywhere from 20 to 50 pages. Tip: You can easily find business plan templates online, in Microsoft Word, or take an inexpensive class to write a top-notch plan. Step 3: Choose a Location You know what they say, “location, location, location!” Right? Actually, nowadays, location isn’t
everything. It’s a combination of location and your ability to get found through social media and the web. However, if you’re not so fond of social media and the internet in general, location is your fighting chance. But remember, I don’t recommend this as the world will expect to find you online, rather than driving down the street. Knowing this, choose a location that is perfect for what you’re going to do. There’s no need to find a building or space that is over the top. Simply find something to go with what you do -- something you can grow into and not out of in the first few years. Tip: Find more than one location in the case one location option falls through. Step 4: Fundraising and Financing You have a plan, location, and determination, what’s next? The part you may not feel so comfortable with -- but that’s what I’m here for. You’re going to have to step out of your comfort zone and do a couple things. First, come up with a killer presentation of your business, and second, ask for money. So, get your excited, energetic, outgoing personality on and set up a few appointment to present to potential investors for your new small business. You may start with family and friends who believe in your business.
Step 5: Register and Get Licenses I cannot stress how important this step is. Your state and local city government will have various regulations you much follow -- get to know them very well. Start by registering your business name with the state and what type of business you’re going to be (i.e. LLC,Inc, etc.), then go to your city office and find out what other regulations you must adhere to in order to be compliant. Different types of businesses require different licenses, so make sure you’ve done your research here because you don’t want to be caught red-handed without an important license. Also important is getting your EIN (employee identification number) or tax identification number from the IRS and your state revenue agency. You’ll need this number in order to do taxes and can’t open without it. If you do open without it, you’ll get a nasty letter in the mail -- you don’t want that. Also, don’t forget to register for workers’ compensation, unemployment, and disability insurance. Step 6: Deciding Benefits Before you hire your team, check out health benefit options (i.e., a Health Reimbursement Plan or group health insurance) and decide what you want to offer. Why? If you offer amazing health benefits, you can recruit the best employees and keep them around a long time. Offer affordable health benefits that save money for both you and your employees. Step 7: Hiring
You’ve gone through the thick of starting your business and now it’s time for the exciting part, hiring your first employee. But, don’t forget, while hiring is absolutely exciting and fun, you do need to follow certain legal steps as you hire. In order to hire, you’ll need to decide now what kind of employees you want. Are you going to take anyone that applies, or do you want to find the employees yourself? Whatever the case may be, just remember these are going to be your team, your blood. Your small business’s success will fall on the employees you hire: whether that’s one, two, or five employees it doesn’t matter. Choose wisely, but have fun with it.
Step 8: Marketing You know how we talked about location and how it’s not everything? That’s where your marketing will come in. So, if you really want to be successful, remember this: marketing is your number one tool to find new customers and for them to find you. Don’t forget this, okay? Now that I’ve got that cleared up and we see eye to eye on it, I want to mention a couple ways you can successfully market your new small business. They are:
Blogging - Blogging is a huge tool for you. If you’re writing even one to two posts a week which address your customers’ concerns and provide them with solutions, along with showing them how and why your business is that solution, you’ll see a lot of new customers will find you. Never underestimate the power of blogging. Social Media - You’ve got to admit, social media has not just been on the rise in the past five years, it has completely, single-handedly taken over the world as we know it. What does that mean for your and your new small business? Jump on the bandwagon. Use social media often to advertise, promote, and keep up with your beloved customers.
Step 9: Fight ‘til the Bitter End Listen, I’ll be straightforward with you. Eight out of ten businesses fail. But, I am here to tell you that if you follow these steps religiously, as well as never take no for an answer, you’re not going to be part of the 80 percent that fail. Think of it this way, some of the largest corporations out there started out exactly where you are right now. They looked up how to start a business, and they did it. The difference between a small business that fails and one that succeeds is the determination of the owner. If you’re determined, humble, and
care deeply about what you’re doing, there’s no reason for you to fail. You’ll have days you aren’t sure what to do, but what matters is that you press on and never give up. That, my friend, is the secret to your success.
Quotes (John Wanamaker) Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half. --John Wanamaker Courtesies cannot be borrowed like snow shovels; you must have some of your own. --John Wanamaker When a customer enters my store, forget me. He is king. --John Wanamaker Courtesy is the one coin you can never have too much of or be stingy with. --John Wanamaker Any seeming deception in a statement is costly, not only in the expense of the advertising but in the detrimental effect produced upon the customer, who believes she has been misled. --John Wanamaker People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness. --John Wanamaker I know half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, but I can never find out which half. ---John Wanamaker Any seeming deception in a statement is costly, not only in the expense of the advertising but in the detrimental effect produced upon the customer, who believes she has been misled. --John Wanamaker Keep up the old standards, and day by day raise them higher. --John Wanamaker It is very vulgar to talk about one's business. Only people like stockbrokers do that, and then merely at dinner parties.
--John Wanamaker It's easy to work for somebody else; all you have to do is show up. --John Wanamaker Nothing comes merely by thinking about it. --John Wanama
Chapter 4
Starting Your business - what you should not do. Don’t pick a bad company name Your business needs a name, and it may be the most important decision you make. The name of your business has a tremendous impact on how customers and investors view you, and in today’s small world, it’s a world-wide decision. Naming a business is a lot like laying the cornerstone of a building. Once it's in place, the entire foundation and structure is aligned to that original stone. If it's off, even just a bit, the rest of the building is off, and the misalignment becomes amplified. So if you have that gnawing sense that choosing a name for your new business is vitally important, you're right. Start by deciding what you want your name to communicate. It should reinforce the key elements of your business. Whatever you do, make sure you put thought into picking your company name. And for some reason if you happen to pick a bad company name, stick with it and don’t change it later on. If you happen to change your company name, you will lose the brand value that you have built up over the years. When choosing a business name, keep the following tips in mind: Easy to pronounce and remember Forget made-up words and nonsense phrases. Make your business name one that customers can pronounce and remember easily. Skip the acronyms, which mean nothing to most people. When choosing an identity for a company or a product, simple and straightforward are back in style, and cost less to brand. Choose a comforting or familiar name that conjures up pleasant memories so customers respond to your business on an emotional level. Don't pick a name that is long or confusing.
Keep it simple. The shorter in length, the better. Limit it to two syllables. Avoid using hyphens and other special characters. Since certain algorithms and directory listings work alphabetically, pick a name closer to A than Z. These days, it even helps if the name can easily be turned into a verb, like Google me. Choose a name that appeals not only to you but also to the kind of customers you are trying to attract.
Make sure the name is available. This may sound obvious, but a miss here will cost you dearly. Your company name and Internet domain name should probably be the same. Don’t box yourself in. Avoid picking names that don’t allow your business to move around or add to its product line. This means avoiding geographic locations or product categories to your business name. With these specifics, customers will be confused if you expand your business to different locations or add on to your product line . Don’t hire a lawyer, hire a law firm Not only is it important to hire a good lawyer, but you also want to hire a good law firm. Lawyers specialize in different types of law, such as corporate, tax, or litigation. When I hired my first lawyer, he was a one-man show and tried to do everything that I needed. He did a decent job, but he didn’t do a great job because he didn’t specialize in everything I was asking for. After realizing that my current lawyer wasn’t too good, I decided to contact one of the biggest law firms, thinking that they could solve all my problems. But, I was too small of a client so my work wasn’t given priority, they charged me for every little thing, and the quality of their work sucked. When looking for a lawyer, don’t just look for a really big law firm; look for a lawyer who will take care of you. Ideally if they work in a decent size law firm, that’s great because someone there will be able to solve your problems. Hiring is an Investment in Your Business In many cases, founders who are reluctant to hire even when it’s clear they’re overworked end up kicking themselves later when they realize how much they weren’t getting done while they delayed. Human resources (HR) are a substantial investment for most companies. Having the right numbers of employees with the right mix of skills, abilities, and drive, is critical to the success of any company. Hiring employees can add significantly to your overhead. Moreover, the strategic addition of the right human resources might not show an immediate financial return, but must be cost-effective for eventual financial success. Evaluating Your HR Needs Hiring permanent employees is one way to fulfill your HR needs. You can also meet your HR requirements by:
Reviewing your work processes (do you need to do it all?) Working with contract freelancers for temporary and/or skill-specific projects Hiring temporary worker(s) If you determine that a permanent employee is the right decision for your business, you’ll need to: 1. Determine who you need. The better you understand the position for which you’ll be interviewing, the better you’ll be able to evaluate applications and choose the best candidates. 2. Create job descriptions and expectations. Not only will these two tools help you evaluate potential candidates, potential hires will have the information they need to make informed employment decisions. It’s important that both the employer and candidates clearly understand the position and expectations. Otherwise, you might be faced with having hired an employee who isn’t suitable to your position.
Hire for Potential, Not (Just) Track Record The ability to see potential, not just evidence of past success is key in hiring. Look for someone who has a strong interest or passion for causes or missions that are similar to yours, and, separately, evidence that the person is really good at what he or she has done before (even if that’s a variety of different things). Unlocking potential has to do with marrying someone’s skills and passions, so even if a person hasn’t yet found a way to truly unleash herself, if your position can do it for her, you’ll likely see results. Hiring doesn’t solve all of your problems 1. Just because someone did really well in their last job, it doesn’t mean they are going to do well in your company. For example, if they were a rock star sales person that worked for your competitor, it doesn’t mean they will be a rock star sales person for your company. 2. If you want to increase your sales, try to do it yourself before you hire someone. Yes in the long run you should hire employees if you want to grow your business, but if you don’t know what problems these employees will run in to, you will have a tough time managing them. 3. There are a lot more costs to an employee other than their salary. Office space, insurance, computers, and other expenses add up. The biggest of those expenses are probably management expenses to manage your employees. 4. Having virtual employees sounds great at first, but some people aren’t too efficient when they are virtual. If you have any virtual employees consider using efficiency tracking solutions like Rescue Time to see how your employees spend their time. 5. Hire someone as soon as you know that you need them and can afford them, even if it’s tight at first. The extra oomph that another person gives in brainpower, creativity, and sheer legwork is totally worth it. Things that would otherwise take you weeks will be doable in days. Entire work streams will disappear from your to-do list . Have a business partner When you have to make all the decisions in your company by yourself, you are more likely to make mistakes. Although I had a business partner with my first business, he wasn’t active so I had to make all of the decisions myself. The cool part about having a good business partner is that they can bring something to the table that you don’t have it helps your business to get: Twice as Much Manpower When you work with a business partner, you can do twice as much work. A lot of work goes into building a business. You need to do marketing research, networking, research and development, sales pitches, and meet with potential lenders or investors. All of this can overwhelm a business owner. In the early stages of a new venture, you may not have the resources to hire employees to assist you. Thus, you may need a partner you can trust to share the burdens of starting a new business.
Diversity in Skills A business partner may bring an entirely new skill set to the table. One business partner may have a background in engineering and research, while the other excels at sales and networking. Taking advantage of utilizing the differing skill sets can help the business succeed. In addition, working with a business partner allows you to divide up tasks according to strengths, conserving time and eliminating duplication of efforts. Different Perspectives Business owners need an outside perspective to avoid tunnel vision. You might think that you have the best idea or solution to a problem, and readily invest capital into your business plans. Successful entrepreneurs have faith in their ideas, but may need someone else to put things in perspective. The decision-making process becomes easier and more realistic when two or more people objectively evaluate ideas and share their concerns and feedback. Someone to Hold You Accountable Some people become lackadaisical when they begin a business. They may have a hard time maintaining the discipline needed to stay motivated. Partners keep each other on the ball, and hold each other accountable for any mistakes. Someone to Evaluate Ideas Business partners talk to each other about their ideas. Many entrepreneurs have trouble maintaining objectivity when initiating a new business idea. A business partner helps you realistically evaluate new ideas and business plans for potential flaws. Your business partner can also build off your ideas, offering more input to refine your plan, so you have a better chance of succeeding. Ability to Keeps Things in Perspective Entrepreneurs often ride a roller coaster of emotions. Sometimes they become too pessimistic and other times they feel overconfident. Pessimism and too much confidence can both hinder a new business plan. A partner can help you keep everything in perspective and not get distracted by fluctuating emotions. It is never an easy thing to find a great business partner, so don’t rush it. Make sure you get to know the person before you go into business with them. You should also expect to get into arguments and heated discussions, so you better be prepared to deal with him or her. Don’t be afraid of the unknown Advice Monkey didn’t accept payments online because I didn’t know how to and I was afraid of all the problems that it could cause. I know that sounds stupid, but as a 16 year old and I didn’t know better. My fear of accepting payments online was one of the biggest reasons my business failed. Instead of being afraid of it, I should have done research on accepting credit card payments and the implications of charge backs.
If you are afraid of something that you aren’t too familiar with, suck it up and deal with it. The worse that can happen is that you’ll stumble along the way.
Chapter 5 An Entrepreneur is… Entrepreneurship is the development of a business from the ground up — coming up with an idea and turning it into a profitable business. Entrepreneurship is the development of a business from the ground up — coming up with an idea and turning it into a profitable business. Entrepreneurship is the development of a business from the ground up — coming up with an idea and turning it into a profitable business. - See more at: Entrepreneurship is the development of a business from the ground up — coming up with an idea and turning it into a profitable business. Most people don’t grow up wanting to become an Entrepreneur, they grow into it. I’ve found that there are 10 different signs that are very good indicators that you’re an Entrepreneur or an Entrepreneur in training. Starting your own business can be an exciting and rewarding experience. It can offer numerous advantages such as being your own boss, setting your own schedule and making a living doing something you enjoy. But, becoming a successful entrepreneur requires thorough planning, creativity and hard work. Consider whether you have the following characteristics and skills commonly associated with successful entrepreneurs: Comfortable with taking risks: Being your own boss also means you’re the one making tough decisions. Entrepreneurship involves uncertainty. Do you avoid uncertainty in life at all costs? If yes, then entrepreneurship may not be the best fit for you. Do you enjoy the thrill of taking calculated risks? Then read on. Passion: There will be times when you spend an excessive amount of time and do not make a dollar. It’s your passion that will keep you going. This is by far something that will qualify you as an Entrepreneur. If you don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, you’ll never succeed. There will be days/months/years when you don’t make any money, you have no customer and everything just sucks but your passion will drive you to keep pushing forward. It’s this passion that will help you to become the Entrepreneur that you’re meant to be! A great example of passion is John Walsh, creator of Americas Most Wanted. He’s been running this show for 23 years. Why does he do it? What many people
don’t know about Walsh is his son Adam was abducted in Sears and later murdered. He’s passionate about what he’s doing and keeps going it today because of his passion. His passion led him to a conviction of the murderer 25 years later. It’s passion like this that makes for amazing Entrepreneurs. Would he have pushed so hard to catch criminals had this not happened? We all have reasons for starting a business, find your passion and it’ll push you through the hard times. You have the ability to create unlikely partnerships from out of nowhere because of your ability to connect the dots. People tend to gravitate toward you because you are likable. Many times this is because of your passion. Independent: Entrepreneurs have to make a lot of decisions on their own. If you find you can trust your instincts — and you’re not afraid of rejection every now and then — you could be on your way to being an entrepreneur. Persuasive: An Entrepreneur doesn’t take NO for an answer…ever. They may concede but they will never give up. They will figure out a way to fit a square block into a round hole. You may have the greatest idea in the world, but if you cannot persuade customers, employees and potential lenders or partners, you may find entrepreneurship to be challenging. If you enjoy public speaking, engage new people with ease and find you make compelling arguments grounded in facts, it’s likely you’re poised to make your idea succeed. Able to negotiate: As a small business owner, you will need to negotiate everything from leases to contract terms to rates. Polished negotiation skills will help you save money and keep your business running smoothly. Creative: You see opportunities everywhere. For example, you walk into a building and are curious about its worth or the companies inside. Are you able to think of new ideas? Can you imagine new ways to solve problems? Entrepreneurs must be able to think creatively. If you have insights on how to take advantage of new opportunities, entrepreneurship may be a good fit. Supported by others: Before you start a business, it’s important to have a strong support system in place. You’ll be forced to make many important decisions, especially in the first months of opening your business. If you do not have a support network of people to help you, consider finding a business mentor. A business mentor is someone who is experienced, successful and willing to provide advice and guidance. Competitive Nature : You have a competitive nature and are unwilling to lose. You always know that you can do something better. Entrepreneurs are extremely competitive. Much like above, they don’t take no for an answer and they are unwilling to lose. It’s not in your nature. You can’t, because if you do… well that’s not even possible. Many companies are formed out of such competitive natures. They feel like they can do a better job.
A good example of this would be Google There were 100′s of other Search Engines out there before they started. Google Brothers believed they could build a better search engine than all the others combined and because of their competitive nature, they would not lose to anyone. Think of how they crafted it, Page Rank. They were ranking pages. They were making pages compete against each other. It’s been a competition ever since. Self-Starting isn’t just getting up early. It’s working around the clock day and night on things that are important. Entrepreneurs are people who tackle projects as they come up and finish them. They don’t have someone looking over their shoulder. If they don’t get it done, they don’t have a place to live. They put everything on the line. Get the majority of your work done before anyone even shows up.
Chapter 6 Your Business Big Questions
Many people believe starting a business is a mysterious process. They know they want to start a business, but they don't know the first steps to take. You're going to find out how to get an idea for a business--how you figure out exactly what it is you want to do and then how to take action on it. But before we get started, let's clear up one point: People always wonder if this is a good time to start their business idea. The fact is, there's really never a bad time to launch a business. It's obvious why it's smart to launch in strong economic times. People have money and are looking for ways to spend it. But launching in tough or uncertain economic times can be just as smart. If you do your homework, presumably there's a need for the business you're starting. Because many people are reluctant to launch in tough times, your new business has a better chance of getting noticed. Consider the Pros and Cons of Working for Yourself The first big question you'll need to answer is whether the benefits of being your own boss truly outweigh the disadvantages. Pros: The pros are pretty obvious, since they're the reasons millions of people dream about ditching their conventional jobs. Your reasons for starting a business should include several of these motivations, rather than, say, just doing it for the money opportunity: You can make a living doing what you love (or at least what interests you) You're in control of every aspect of your work life, from when you work to where and with whom You can choose which clients to work with and which projects or what kinds of business to go after You might find better work/life balance You may get things done faster and better when you're free from office politics and red tape You have a chance to earn more than you would working for someone else. You'll have greater job security. That might sound counter-intuitive, but business owners typically have multiple clients, which lessens the pain if you lose one of them. Employees, on the other hand, have only one "client," their employer. You build something that's all your own, which gives you a great sense of accomplishment and also life purpose. Cons: There's a flip side to every coin. Which of the disadvantages below will really trouble you? You'll have to deal with an uncertain income and possible cash flow problems. Especially at the beginning stage of the business.
Why am I starting a business?
Unique idea If you really have landed on a great idea that satisfies a market need for a substantial number of customers, you have the potential to really fill a niche and establish a business quickly and effectively. A brilliant idea is also contagious - something exciting and original will interest other people, so you're more likely to draw in customers. Be aware that lots of people believe they have fantastic business ideas, only to realise there's no real market for their business, someone else has done it already or the product of their imaginings is too difficult or expensive to actually manufacture. You need to do incredibly thorough market research (read more in our guides on market research) if all you have is an idea at this point. Every product or service has to fill a market gap and have ideally at least five clear USPs. Make sure yours does.
Passion about your idea If you absolutely love what the business you want to start does, you're going to work far harder which you'll need to if you want to make it a success. Your enthusiasm will also be very appealing to investors and customers. You're likely to understand your target customer much better if you know your field well, so you marketing efforts have a better chance at success.You also need to make sure you have a deep understanding of your subject, not just a superficial interest, to make your efforts worthwhile.You still need to do extensive market research, particularly into the size of your target market and whether other people like you would want your business' service of product offering.
Necessity Starting a business is hugely rewarding. It also fills a gap you might not otherwise have on your cv - it will prove to future employers that you have drive, you were willing to broaden your business experience and take a risk, and you will have gained invaluable skills.
The challenge If you're starting your own business because you want a new challenge, you won't be disappointed!It tests a huge variety of skills and you'll learn loads along the way. You'll also meet plenty of likeminded people and get to know your market really well.
Make a million/billion If you start with a plan to make a million/billion dollars, don't hold your breath. While new people become millionaires every day, bear in mind they have put in a huge amount of hard work. If your business hits the rocks, you are less likely to be motivated enough to steer it out of trouble if your sole intention was to make money. It's often better to find an idea you are passionate about. That said, making a million/billion is not impossible - but for that to be your sole aim, you usually need to be someone who is very financially minded with a natural knack for business.You may well have been showing signs of entrepreneurialism all your life - selling to kids in the playground, bringing coveted items back from holidays to sell to friends.You still need to approach a business in the same way as anyone else - careful research, planning, getting the funding in place and rigorously testing your idea before taking it to market
Chapter 7 Your Ideal Customer Your Ideal Customer: If you’ve never completed an exercise on identifying your ideal customer, I encourage you to do one now. Grab a notebook or start typing. Answer the questions fully, and get creative if you’re not sure of the answers. The goal is to paint a picture of who your ideal customer
is. You’ll likely have other types of customers, but focus on the ones that you enjoy serving, and who you want more of: Who is my ideal customer in terms of age, gender, education, location? What other sorts of products do they buy that relate to mine? If you’re B2B, what role does your customer have in their company? Where do they get their information about brands? Online? Print? Television? Friends? How did they find your company? What’s important to them? What do they think of the value of your product? Every entrepreneur should be intensely focused on his or her prospective customers. The ability to find a customer, sell your product or service to that customer, and satisfy the customer so that he buys from you again should be the central focus of all entrepreneurial activity. The greater clarity you have with regard to your ideal customer, the more focused and effective your marketing efforts will be. Everyone is in the business of customer satisfaction in some way. The most important activity of any entrepreneur is to clearly identify the very best customers for your product or service, and then focus all marketing, advertising and sales efforts on this particular type of customer. Here are some tips to help you find your business's ideal customers: 1. Define your product or service from the customer's point of view. What does your product do for your ideal customer? What problems does your product solve for your customer? What needs of your customer does your product satisfy? How does your product improve your customer's life or work? 2. Define the ideal customer for what you sell. What is his or her age, education, occupation or business? What is his or her income or financial situation? What is his or her situation today in life or work? 3. Determine the specific benefits your customer is seeking in buying your product. Of all the benefits you offer, which are the most important to your ideal customer? What are the most pressing needs that your product or service satisfies? Why should your customer buy from you rather than from someone else? 4. Determine the location of your exact customer. Where is your customer located geographically? Where does your customer live or work? Where is your customer when he or she buys your product
or service? 5. Determine exactly when your ideal customer buys your product or service. What has to happen in the life or work of your customer for him to buy your product? What time of year, season, month or week does your customer buy? 6. Determine your customer's buying strategy. How does your customer buy your product or service? How has your customer bought similar products or services in the past? What is your customer's buying strategy? How does your customer go about making a buying decision for your product? Imagine placing an ad in the newspaper for your perfect customer. How would you describe your perfect customer? What prospective customers are the most likely to buy your product or service immediately? What are the most important qualities that your ideal customer would have? Your ability to clearly define and determine the very best customer for your product or service will determine your success in business. How could you find more perfect customers for your product? How could you create new customers for your product? Define your unique selling proposition and communicate this key benefit in every customer contact. Most entrepreneurs aren't clear about their ideal customer. For this reason, they waste a lot of time and money trying to sell their product to people who aren't good potential customers. Your ability to clearly define and focus in on the customers who can most rapidly buy your product or service will be essential to your business success.
How to Describe Your Business Plan’s Ideal Customer Every customer is important to your business plan, but the truth is that some are more important than others, and a precious few are most important of all. Knowing the difference if key. The difference between good and great customers is huge. If you’re already in business, you know that some customers are more profitable, more pleasant, more apt to buy frequently, and most likely to spread good words about your business. Those customers are the ones you want to focus on and increase in number. Make sure you know which customers are most valuable to your business so you can then focus your attention on strengthening relationships with them — and reaching more just like them. Your best customers Ask you to do things you do well. Appreciate what you do and willingly pay the price that you ask. Make reasonable requests that lead to improvement and expansion of your skills and services. Inspire your business to move in new and profitable directions. Great customers inspire and deserve utmost attention. Heap on the special services, pile on the appreciation, and do what you can to keep them loyal to your business. You’ll be doubly rewarded with repeat purchases and invaluable word of mouth. Good customers appreciate your offerings, buy your products, and pay your bills on time and with courtesy. But they can be transitory — here today, and gone tomorrow. And what often lures them away is a better offer. They may never become loyal patrons because they value special deals more than they value long-term business relationships. Yo ur most troublesome customers are likely simply mismatched to your offerings. They’re excessively negative, unreasonably demanding, and maybe even abusive to your staff and your business systems. Watch for these indicators to flag customers you’re better off not having in your clientele: They consume considerable time and attention yet buy very little. They demand unreasonable concessions on pricing, service, or product alterations, and, if you consented, these concessions would harm your business. They demoralize your staff. They refuse to pay your fair price for your offering or refuse to comply with your billing and service standards. They act dissatisfied no matter what you do for them. Great, good, and troublesome customers affect your business in very different but predictable ways, following the 80/20 rule, which is also called the Pareto Principle or the law of maldistribution. In most businesses, roughly 20 percent of customers account for 80 percent of the customer service efforts.
But keep in mind that the same 80/20 rule applies to your profits as well: 20 percent of customers will account for 80 percent of your profits. By identifying which customers fit into which group, you can spend more time with your best customers to greatly increase your profits.
Chapter 8
Investing time and money Am I prepared to spend the time and money to make my business successful? Perhaps the single biggest reason that businesses fail is because the business owner(s) is not prepared or willing to spend the time and money that it takes to make a business successful. Before you start your debt collection business, be sure that you are willing to invest the time and money it takes to make your business successful. How much money will you need and how much time will you need to spend? Both questions are very pertinent and vary in their answers. How much money will I need to spend? – This one is not as cut and dried as one would think. Will you be working out of your home or from an office? Typical expenses that you should consider before you even open your door are the following: 1. Office space and cost 2. Office equipment (phones, desks, chairs, internet, computers, servers, etc) 3. Business licenses 4. Employee wages 5. Software (skip tracing, auto dialer, merchant account, letter fulfillment services, debt collection software) 6. Postage 7. Bank accounts 8. Legal council (for establishing contracts, business agreements, etc) 9. Taxes 10.
Website and advertising
Statistically, the reason for business failure comes from living outside your business means, or having insufficient capital. Most business owners want the freedom and prestige of owning their own business, but overlook the fact that it still requires money to run a business. This means you may have to go without some things in order for your business to succeed.
How much time will I need to invest? The easiest answer to this question is … “AS MUCH AS IT TAKES!” There will be nights that you come home late, days you go in early, weekends that you will spend running reports, hiring new collectors, and meeting with clients. While there is light at the end of the tunnel and not every day will have your nose to the grindstone, you need to be willing to invest your time into the business to begin with. If you manage your business correctly, put in the time and money, and have a knowledge and passion for debt collecting, you are well on your way to being successful.
Chapter 9 Differentiate business ideas from competitors. Ways to differentiate Let's look at a number of tried and true ways to claim a unique point of difference. Product - Can you offer a product that is so unique or even trendy that your business is associated with that offering? Or, can you extend a product and offer a valuable service to make the product more useful to the customer. Service - Same goes for a service. Many times this can be the packaging of a service as a product. Consulting is often delivered on an hourly basis. Packaging a consulting engagement based on an outcome, with defined deliverables and fixed package price is a very effective way to differentiate a service offering. Don't forget to give the service a powerful name! Quality of process: Here is where many businesses miss the mark. They offer a great product or service, do it in a customer-focused way, but make the process of doing business with them a burden. Consider the policies and procedures in place at your bakery. Are they making it harder or easier for your customers to do business with you? For example: What is your refund policy? Satisfaction guarantee? How do you manage long lines? Do you take credit cards on even small purchases? Market Niche - Carve out an industry or two and become the most dominant player serving that industry. A really nice bonus to this approach is you can usually raise your prices dramatically when you specialize in this manner. Offer - Can you become known by an offer you make? example: accountant that offer his tax preparation clients a 100% refund on their preparation fee when they refer four new clients. They are the 100% refund tax guys. Solve a Problem - Is there something that prospects in your market fear or seem to believe is universal for what you do? If so, focus on communicating how you have the answer. Painless dentistry for example. Another example a remodeling contractor who found that what his clients appreciated the most was the way his crews cleaned up at the end of the day. Promote the fact that he owned more
ShopVacs then any other remodeling contractor on the planet. Message of Value- Many times there are things that you do that don't get communicated. Extra that you provide or services you think should be included. Your positioning might just rest in more effectively communicating what you do.Exampe an office furniture dealer that has adopted the message - We Make Your Business More Valuable - to communicate all the things they bring to the party. Now, everything they do is focused on delivering on that statement. Everyone else in the industry sells furniture. Unique habit -Example a financial planner who has his client's car detailed right out in his parking lot when they come in for their annual review. They can't help but rave to their friends about this unique touch. Guarantee - Can you offer a guarantee so strong that no one else in your industry would dream of doing it. This one frightens some people but, you probably guarantee your work anyway, you just don't say so. Come out and boldly announce that you guarantee results and watch what happens! Customer Service - Everyone knows the story of over the top customer service provided by Nordstrom's Create your own over the top customer response system and word of mouth advertising will flow liberally. One of the greatest ways to kick this off is to over deliver on your first customer contact. Give them something more than you promised, give them a gift, give them a related service for free. Against the competition - Many times you can create your category niche by looking for holes in the offerings of your competitors. If every one in industry fails to address a certain problem, boldly grab on to solving that problem and use your competition as the point of difference. Clues to uncovering your difference Look at your current clients. What common elements exist among your best clients? Interview your clients. See if they can tell you why they chose to work with, why they stay, why they refer? Study your competitors more closely. What do they do that you could do better, what don't they offer they you could, how do they position themselves? Communicate the difference Once you find your chosen strategy or combination of strategies to differentiate your business, all of your advertising and promotion should be centered around shouting about that difference.
Chapter 10 employees needed How many employees will I need? Observe your employee thresholds. At each of these thresholds a company must more strongly embrace their old principles and process or invent new ones to meet the needs of a larger staff. Many companies stall or die at one of these thresholds, unable to adapt and evolve into the next phase of existence. This first is obviously the first 5 or 6 people. The next is around 25 people. This is often the point where companies can't depend mainly on their internal staff to recruit people in everyday roles. The next is somewhere between 50-75 (depends on the type of business) This is when companies seems to star slotting people into specific "roles". Everyone stops doing everything in the company. Early stars are established and the company fleshes out the culture that will carry it for the next few thresholds. “The number of people you have in your company at any time is a very important part of getting the company building process right,” explains prominent VC blogger Fred Wilson. “Too many and you will slow things down, burn through too much cash, and increase management overhead for no real benefit. Too few and you will be resource-constrained and unable to grow as fast as you’d like.” In many cases, figuring out the perfect number of employees is easier said than done. So how many employees do you need, and when should you hire them? Let’s take a look. Understand your business needs Hire people who are qualified to get specific jobs done. In order to do that, you need to understand what your startup requires to get your ideas off the ground. Do you need a software engineer? A graphic designer? Evaluate your needs and hire accordingly. Then, decide whether you want to hire temporary or part-time employees, or full-time employees. Depending on your needs, you may also want consider hiring consultants, contractors, or virtual resources. Keep the team small at first In general, it tends to be advantageous to keep your team smaller from the get go. The rule of thumb is to hire slowly and wisely to help keep costs down. But even if you can afford to hire more people, it may not be a good idea in the beginning. “Team dynamics are easier in a small group,” explains Wilson. “They get harder in a larger group. Things don't happen as quickly in larger groups. More management overhead is needed. All of these things work against you as a startup trying to get somewhere before someone else does.” The bottom line? Don’t rush to hire. Always take your time to
ensure you’re making the right choices. Consider the future When you do finally hire, you must do so with the future in mind. Where do you see your company in five years? What will it be doing? How large will it be? The answers to these questions will help you guide your hiring decisions.
Chapter 11 Money Needed To Get Started Capital Expenditures A reputable supplier can be a worthy ally to a startup, offering experience gathered from years of working with businesses similar to yours. Be prepared to make multiple calls and to ask a lot of questions. A vendor who is willing to take the time to help you understand your equipment needs may be just the person who deserves your business and your loyalty. If you are among the majority of
entrepreneurs watching every penny, consider whether gently used machinery, fixtures, furniture, or other equipment will serve your needs as well as gleaming new ones. Resellers who deal in used equipment for offices, restaurants, and other businesses may be able to put together a deal for you that will take a chunk off your startup costs. Operating Expenses If your sales skyrocket, you can deal with the happy problem of financing the supplies you need to fill a deluge of orders. However, it is often more helpful at the outset to make a pragmatic plan for the worst-case scenario. You need to know up front how you will weather a month -- or two or three -with no sales. How much will it take to keep the doors open while you build your brand recognition? Document it all, including whether you will have employees and what kind of space you will need, down to the cost of ink and paper for your office printer. A great way to research operating expenses is by talking to other business owners. You will probably be surprised by how much information people are willing to share. Everyone likes to be asked to share their experience and wisdom. If you can’t find a local mentor, SCORE may be able to connect you with a counselor in your field. Professional Services Small-business owners wear many hats: bookkeeper and sales rep, marketing manager and designer, CEO and janitor. How soon will you need or want to outsource some of these services? Professional help is an expense that has to be weighed against the boost it may give to your business. If you have funding to bring in a pro to help with marketing, for example, you may hasten the day when your enterprise turns a profit.
Personal Finances Even if enough money comes in to sustain your business, you may choose to forgo paying yourself during the startup phase. A clear working knowledge of your personal finances is vital at this stage of the business. What are your monthly expenses? Are you prepared for large annual or semiannual expenses, such as school tuition, property taxes, or insurance premiums? Will you continue to work a side job or put all your efforts into your business? A rule of thumb for wage earners is to have three months of personal living expenses in savings. For self-employed people, the common wisdom is to keep six months of living expenses in reserve. This is particularly crucial when starting a new business -- and you may want to set aside as much as a year’s worth of cushion to give yourself a comfortable margin for your learning curve. Persistence Pays Off It's not uncommon for entrepreneurs to try more than one business idea before they achieve success. If you research your idea and create a solid financial plan, it will be that much easier to start over if your first stab at entrepreneurship doesn’t make it. Success simply means picking yourself up once more than the number of times you fall down.
Costing If you try to get financing, before you have one customer, you're probably going to have to give away more equity than you have to, or it's going to cost you way too much to borrow the money that you think you need. If you don't get traction when you try to borrow or raise money, you might be trying to bite off more than you have to. There can be huge benefit if you shrink a grandiose vision, and proceed with calculated baby steps, rather than try to go after too much on the first try. But having an idea for a business is only a first step in the process. To turn the idea from a dream into a successful business venture, it requires time, energy, tenacity, and of course, money. The million dollar question that most aspiring entrepreneurs want to know is: “How much money, exactly, do I need to start a business these days?” The most basic answer to the “how much money do you need?” question is: You should have at least enough money to prove your concept and simultaneously or subsequently get your product or service up and running. Here are some simple tips for calculating your start-up costs: Understand your costs Start-up costs are technically defined as the costs you’ll incur before you start making any income. It’s an important distinction to make because it will impact your tax return. These costs are broken down as follows: 1. Expenses – These are the costs involved in preparing to open a business and may include things like market research, the mileage costs involved in researching a location, advertising, training, wages, and any fees paid to professionals or consultants such as a lawyer or accountant. Many (but not all) of these costs are tax deductible, up to $5,000 in the first year of doing business. The remaining costs are then amortized (meaning you deduct them in equal installments) over a period of 180 months (starting with the month in which your business opens). If you decide not to open a business after doing all your research, the deduction benefit goes away. Instead, these expenses are considered personal costs and aren’t deductible. 2. Capital Expenditures – You’ll also incur one-time costs to purchase assets such as inventory, property, vehicles,etc.. Capital costs The first step towards estimating your start-up costs is determining your capital costs. These are simply any one-off costs that are essential to opening for business. Common capital costs include:
Purchase of buildings or land. Permits, licenses, or other compliance costs. Machinery. Vehicles. Shop fittings, furniture, decorating costs. Signage, branding. A website, domain name, and server space (for an Internet-based business). Intellectual property registration. Fixed costs Your fixed costs are expenses that you need to pay regardless of the amount of sales you make, products you produce, or how busy you are. They tend to be time-related, such as monthly charge, and are often referred to as overhead costs. Fixed costs include: Wages, salaries. Power and utilities – such as Internet, phone etc. Rent, or mortgage repayments. Variable costs Your variable costs, like the name implies, are costs that vary based on your business output. These costs may be based on seasonality (such as produce), or dependent on volume purchased (retail stock). Common variable costs include: Raw Materials Production materials. Stock orders. It’s generally a good idea to be conservative (i.e. overstate rather than understate) with your estimates. At the end of your estimates, consider adding 20% for costs you haven’t thought of in addition to cost overruns. You might be surprised at how quickly unforeseen costs add up.
Prepare a cash flow forecast Based on your anticipated costs (capital, fixed and variable), the next step is to cash flow forecast for the first twelve months of being in business. It might sound a little technical, but a cash flow forecast is simply a document that projects your business’s income and outgoings. Your cash flow forecast should list all the payments and expenditure you expect for the given period, the cash surplus or deficit left over after income and outgoings are accounted for, plus your business’s account balance at the beginning and the end of the period. This could be tricky to predict, but the easiest way is to estimate demand for your product or service based on any market research completed to-date. You can put in costs according to quotes you have received from potential suppliers. Cash flow forecasts are typically presented as a spread sheet document, but an increasing amount of business owners use small business accounting software to further automate the calculations subtotalling all their categories of income and outgoings. It’s always a good idea to consult an accountant to ensure greater accuracy. Remember, a cash flow forecast is only as valuable as the information and detail put into it. Next, what have you got in the bank? You’ll need this money to support your business in its start-up phase and pay-off necessary business and personal expenses such as payroll, rent, utilities, etc. until the business is self-sustaining. Using a spreadsheet, create a list of the start-up expenses and capital expenditures that you expect to incur, alongside the assets that you have. Try to assign costs to each expense, even if it’s a best guess.
Estimating Startup Costs If you are planning to start a business, it is critical to determine your budgetary needs. Since every business is different, and has its own specific cash needs at different stages of development, there is no universal method for estimating your startup costs. Some businesses can be started on a smaller budget, while others may require considerable investment in inventory or equipment. Additional considerations may include the cost to acquire or renovate a building or the purchase of long-term equipment. To determine how much seed money you need to start, you must estimate the costs of doing business for the first months. Some of these expenses will be one-time costs such as the fee for incorporating your business or the price of a sign for your building. Some will be ongoing costs, such as the cost of utilities, inventory, insurance, etc. While identifying these costs, decide whether they are essential or optional. A realistic startup budget should only include those things that are necessary to start a business. These essential expenses can be divided into two separate categories: fixed and v a r i a b l e . Fixed expenses include rent, utilities, administrative costs and insurance costs. Variable expenses include inventory, shipping and packaging costs, sales commissions, and other costs associated with the direct sale of a product or service. The most effective way to calculate your startup costs is to use a worksheet that lists both one-time and ongoing costs.
Using Personal Finances Learn How Your Personal Finances Can Affect Your Business Finances
Starting a business can be a tremendous strain on your personal finances. It takes time before your new venture turns a profit and provides financial support for you and your family. Before starting a business, it is important to get your finances in order. To get started, write a monthly household budget that accounts for your income and your household expenses. Be as conservative as possible because maintaining your household expenses is vital to the success of your business. Any strain on your personal budget can cause a financial risk to your business.
Chapter 12 How long do I have until I start making a profit? A rule of thumb for an entrepreneur says that in the first year of running his own business successfully, he will make less than his prior salary, as most of his profits will be reinvested in the business. In the second year, he can draw his regular salary. In the third and subsequent years, he can draw a good salary--plus any proceeds from his ownership of the company if he sells shares or outright ownership. The actual time frame to company profitability is entirely dependent upon how much start-up capital is needed to create the products and services, and how much money is drawn from the company for compensation and investor servicing. Profitable doesn't mean you have cash in your pocket it could also mean you have good money to expend your business.
Chapter 13
Do your market research What would a life devoted to playing games be Understand Your Market To run a successful business, you need to learn about your customers, your competitors and your industry. Market research is the process of analyzing data to help you understand which products and services are in demand, and how to be competitive. Market research can also provide valuable insight to help you: Reduce business risks Spot current and upcoming problems in your industry Identify sales opportunities How to Conduct Market Research Before you start your business, understand the basics of market research by following these steps: 1.
Identify Official Government Sources of Market and Industry Data
The government offers a wealth of data and information about businesses, industries and economic conditions that can aid in conducting market research. These sources provide valuable information about your customers and competitors: Economic Indicators Employment Statistics Income and Earnings 2.
Identify Additional Sources of Analysis
Trade groups, business magazines, academic institutions and other third parties gather and analyze research data about business trends. Use Internet and database searches to find information related to your location and industry. 3.
Understand the International Marketplace
Today’s economy is a globalized marketplace, so it’s important to understand the international factors that influence your business
Chapter 14 Preparing Financial Statements Understanding financial statements is essential to the success of a small business. They can be used as a roadmap to steer you in the right direction and help you avoid costly breakdowns. Financial statements have a value that goes far beyond preparing tax returns or applying for loans. Below you will find information on the primary financial statements: the balance sheet and the income
statement. Balance Sheet Click one of the following links to jump to the topic of your choice. Assets Liabilities and Net Worth Equity The balance sheet is a snapshot of your business financials. It includes assets, and liabilities and net worth. The "bottom line" of a balance sheet must always include (assets = liabilities + net worth). The individual elements of a balance sheet change from day to day and reflect the activities of a business. Analyzing how the balance sheet changes over time will reveal important financial information about a business. It can help you can monitor your ability to collect revenues, manage your inventory, and assess your ability to satisfy creditors and stockholders. Liabilities and net worth on the balance sheet represent sources of funds. Liabilities and net worth are composed of creditors and investors who have provided cash or its equivalent to your business. As a source of funds, they enable your business to continue or expand operations. Assets represent the use of funds. A business uses cash or other funds provided by the creditor/investor to acquire assets. Assets include things of value that are owned or due to a business. Liabilities represent obligations to creditors while net worth represents the owner's investment in the business. Both creditors and owners are "investors" in the business with the only difference being the timeframe in which they expect repayment. Assets Anything of value that is owned or due to the business is included under the Asset section of a Balance Sheet. Current Assets Current assets mature in less than one year. They are the sum of: Cash Accounts Receivable (A/R) Inventory Notes Receivable (N/R) Other current assets Cash: Cash pays bills and obligations. Inventory, receivables, land, building, machinery and equipment do not pay obligations even though they can be sold for cash and then used to pay bills. If cash is inadequate or improperly managed, a business may become insolvent or forced into bankruptcy. Cash includes all checking, money market and short-term savings accounts.Learn more about how to develop a cash flow analysis for your business. Accounts Receivable (A/R): Accounts receivable are dollars due from customers. More specifically,
inventory is sold and shipped, an invoice is sent to the customer, and cash is collected at later time. The receivable exists for the time period between the selling of the inventory and the receipt of cash. Receivables are proportional to sales. As sales rise, the investment you must make in receivables also increases. Inventory: Inventory consists of the goods and materials a business purchases to resell at a profit. In the process, sales and receivables are generated. The business purchases raw material inventory that is processed (called work-in-process inventory) to be sold as finished goods inventory. For a business that sells a product, inventory is often the first use of cash. Purchasing inventory to be sold at a profit is the first step in making a profit. Selling inventory does not bring cash back into the business —it creates a receivable. Only after a time lag (equal to the receivable's collection period) will cash return to the business. So it’s important that inventory is well managed so the business does not keep too much cash tied up in inventory, as this will reduce profits. At the same time, a business must keep sufficient inventory on hand to prevent stockouts (having nothing to sell). Insufficient inventory will erode profits and may result in the loss of customers. Notes Receivable (N/R): N/R is a claim due to the business as a result of the business making a loan, such as a promissory note. Notes receivable is usually a claim due from one of three sources: customers, employees or officers of the business. Customer notes receivable is when the customer who borrowed from the business when the customer failed to pay the invoice according to the agreed-upon payment terms. The customer's obligation may have been converted to a promissory note. Employee notes receivable may be for legitimate reasons, such as a down payment on a home, but the business is neither a charity nor a bank. If the business wants to help an employee, it can co-sign on a loan advanced by a bank. An officer or owner borrowing from the business is the worst form of note receivable. If an officer takes money from the business, it should be declared as a dividend or withdrawal and reflected as a reduction in net worth. Treating it in any other way leads to possible manipulation of the business's stated net worth. Banks and other lending institutions often condemn this practice. Other Current Assets: Other current assets consist of prepaid expenses, other miscellaneous and current assets. Fixed Assets Fixed assets represent the use of cash to purchase physical assets whose life exceeds one year, such as: Land Building Machinery and equipment Furniture and fixtures Leasehold improvements Intangibles
Intangibles are assets with an undetermined life that may never mature into cash. For most analysis purposes, intangibles are ignored as assets and are deducted from net worth because their value is difficult to determine. Intangibles consist of assets such as: Research and development Patents Market research Goodwill Organizational expense Intangibles are similar to prepaid expenses- the purchase of a benefit that will be expensed at a later date. Intangibles are recouped, like fixed assets, through incremental annual charges (amortization) against income. Standard accounting procedures require most intangibles to be expensed as purchased and never capitalized (include in the balance sheet). An exception to this is purchased patents that may be amortized over the life of the patent. Other Assets Other assets consist of miscellaneous accounts, such as deposits and long-term notes receivable from third parties. They are turned into cash when the asset is sold or when the note is repaid. Total Assets Total Assets represent the sum of all the assets owned by or due to a business. Liabilities and Net Worth Liabilities and net worth are sources of cash listed in descending order from the most nervous creditors and soonest to mature obligations (current liabilities), to the least nervous and never due obligations (net worth). There are two sources of funds: lender-investor and owner-investor. Lender-investor funds consist of trade suppliers, employees, tax authorities and financial institutions. Owner-investor funds consist of stockholders and principals who loan cash to the business. Both lender-investor and owner-investors have invested cash or its equivalent into the business. The only difference between the investors is the maturity date of their obligations and the degree of their nervousness. Current Liabilities Current liabilities are those obligations that will mature and must be paid within 12 months. These are liabilities that can create a business's insolvency if cash is inadequate. A satisfied set of current creditors is a healthy and important source of credit for short-term uses of cash (inventory and receivables). A dissatisfied set of current creditors can threaten the survival of the business. The best way to ensure creditors will be satisfied is to keep their obligations current. Current liabilities consist of the following obligation accounts: Accounts Payable (A/P) Accrued expenses
Notes Payable (N/P) Current portion of Long-Term Debt (LTD) Proper matching of sources and uses of funds requires that short-term (current) liabilities must be used only to purchase short-term assets (inventory and receivables). Accounts Payable (A/P): Accounts payable are obligations due to trade suppliers who have provided inventory, goods or services used in operating the business. Suppliers generally offer terms (just like you do for your customers), since the suppliers' competition offers payment terms. Whenever possible, you should take advantage of payment terms because this will keep your costs down. If the business is paying its suppliers in a timely fashion, days payable will not exceed the terms of payment. Accrued Expenses: Accrued expenses are obligations owed, but not billed such as wages and payroll taxes, or obligations accruing. These expenses can also be paid over a period of time such as interest on a loan. Accruals include wages, payroll taxes, interest payable and employee benefits accruals such as pension funds. As a labor-related category, it should vary in accordance with payroll policy. For example, if wages are paid weekly, the accrual category should seldom exceed one week's payroll and payroll taxes. Notes Payable (N/P): Notes payable are obligations in the form of promissory notes with short-term maturity dates of less than 12 months. Often, they are payable upon demand. Other times they have specific maturity dates (30, 60, 90, 180, 270, 360 days maturities are typical). Notes payable include only the principal amount of the debt. Any interest owed is listed under accruals. The proceeds of notes payable should be used to finance current assets (inventory and receivables). The use of funds must be short-term so that the asset matures into cash prior to the obligation's maturation. Proper matching would indicate borrowing for seasonal swings in sales, which cause shifts in inventory and receivables, or to repay accounts payable when attractive discount terms are offered for early payment. Non-current Liabilities Non-current liabilities are those obligations that will be payable in the following year. There are three types of non-current liabilities, only two of which are listed on the balance sheet: Non-current portion of Long-Term Debt (LTD) Notes Payable to Officers, Shareholders, or Owners Contingent Liabilities Non-current portion of long-term debt is the principal portion of a term loan not payable in the coming year. Subordinated officer loans are treated as an item that lies between debt and equity. Contingent liabilities listed in the footnotes are potential liabilities, which hopefully never become due. Non-current Portion of Long-Term Debt (LTD): Non-Current portion of LTD is the portion of a term loan that is not due within the next 12 months. It is listed below the current liability section to demonstrate that the loan does not have to be fully liquidated in the coming year. LTD provides cash to be used for a long-term asset purchase, either permanent working capital or fixed assets.
Notes Payable to Officers, Shareholder or Owners: Notes payable to officers, shareholders or owners represent cash that the shareholders or owners have put into the business. For tax reasons, owners may increase their equity investment beyond the initial business capitalization by making loans to the business rather than purchasing additional stock. Any return on investment to the owners can therefore be paid as tax-deductible interest expense rather than as non-tax-deductible dividends. When a business borrows from a financial institution, it is common for the officer loans to be subordinated or put on standby. The subordination agreement prohibits the officer from collecting his or her loan prior to the repayment of the institution's loan. When on standby, the loan will be considered as equity by the financial institution. Notes receivable officer are considered a bad sign to lenders, while notes payable officer are considered to be reassuring. Contingent Liabilities: Contingent Liabilities are potential liabilities that are not listed on the balance sheet. They are listed in the footnotes because they may never become due and payable. Contingent liabilities include lawsuits, warranties and cross Guarantees. If the business has been sued, but the litigation has not been initiated, there is no way of knowing whether or not the suit will result in a liability to the business. It will be listed in the footnotes because, while not a real liability, it does represent a potential liability which may impair the ability of the business to meet future obligations. Alternatively, if the business guarantees a loan made by a third party to an affiliate, the liability is contingent because it will never become due as long as the affiliate remains healthy and meets its obligations. Total Liabilities: Total liabilities represent the sum of all monetary obligations of a business and claims creditors have on its assets. Equity Equity is represented by total assets minus total liabilities. Equity or Net Worth is the most patient and last to mature source of funds. It represents the owners' share in the financing of all the assets. Income Statement The income statement, also known as the profit and loss statement, includes all income and expense accounts over a period of time. This financial statement shows how much money the business will make after all expenses are accounted for. An income statement does not reveal hidden problems, like insufficient cash flow. Income statements are read from top to bottom and represent earnings and expenses over a period of time.
Chapter 15 Develop A Cash Flow Analysis Profit and loss statements and income statements can be used to determine projections for future cash flow trends of your business. These financial documents are instrumental in making cash flow projections. However, a cash flow statement serves an important and independent purpose - it accounts for non-cash items and expenses to adjust profit figures. Cash flow analysis statements display not only changes over time, but also available net cash. Cash flow analysis statements are generally separated into three parts: Operating activities: This section evaluates net income and loses of a business. By assessing sales and business expenditures, all income from non-cash items is adjusted to incorporate inflows and outflows of cash transactions to determine a net figure. Investment activities: This section reports inflows and outflows from purchases and sales of long-term business investments such as property, assets, equipment, and securities. For example - if your bakery business purchases an additional piece of kitchen equipment, this would be considered an investment and accounted for as an outflow of cash. If your business then sold equipment that was no longer needed, this would be considered an inflow of cash.. Financing activities: This section accounts for the cash flow trends of all money that is related to financing your business. For example: if you received a loan for your small business, the loan itself would be considered an inflow of cash. Loan payments would be considered an outflow of cash, and both would be recorded in this part of the cash flow analysis statement.
Chapter 16 Writing Effective Job Descriptions Job descriptions are an essential part of hiring and managing your employees. These written summaries ensure your applicants and employees understand their roles and what they need to do to be held accountable. Job descriptions also: Help attract the right job candidates Describe the major areas of an employee’s job or position Serve as a major basis for outlining performance expectations, job training, job
evaluation and career advancement Provide a reference point for compensation decisions and unfair hiring practices Overview A job description should be practical, clear and accurate to effectively define your needs. Good job descriptions typically begin with a careful analysis of the important facts about a job such as: Individual tasks involved The methods used to complete the tasks The purpose and responsibilities of the job The relationship of the job to other jobs Qualifications needed for the job What to Avoid Don’t be inflexible with your job description. Jobs are subject to change for personal growth, organizational development and/or evolution of new technologies. A flexible job description encourages employees to grow within their position and contribute over time to your overall business. What to Include Job descriptions typically include: Job title Job objective or overall purpose statement Summary of the general nature and level of the job Description of the broad function and scope of the position List of duties or tasks performed critical to success Key functional and relational responsibilities in order of significance Description of the relationships and roles within the company, including supervisory positions, subordinating roles and other working relationships Additional Items for Job Descriptions for Recruiting Situations Job specifications, standards, and requirements Job location where the work will be performed Equipment to be used in the performance of the job Collective Bargaining Agreements if your company's employees are members of a union Salary range Proper Language in the Job Description Keep each statement in the job description crisp and clear:
Structure your sentences in classic verb/object and explanatory phrases. Since the occupant of the job is the subject of your sentence, it may be eliminated. For example, a sentence pertaining to the description of a receptionist position might read: "Greets office visitors and personnel in a friendly and sincere manner." Always use the present tense of verbs. If necessary, use explanatory phrases telling why, how, where, or how often to add meaning and clarity (e.g. "Collects all employee time sheets on a bi-weekly basis for payroll purposes.") Omit any unnecessary articles such as "a," "an," "the," or other words for an easyto-understand description. Use unbiased terminology. For example, use the he/she approach or construct sentences in such a way that gender pronouns are not required. Avoid using adverbs or adjectives that are subject to interpretation such as "frequently," "some," "complex," "occasional," and "several."
Writing Effective Job Descriptions Job descriptions are an essential part of hiring and managing your employees. These written summaries ensure your applicants and employees understand their roles and what they need to do to be held accountable. Job descriptions also: Help attract the right job candidates Describe the major areas of an employee’s job or position Serve as a major basis for outlining performance expectations, job training, job evaluation and career advancement Provide a reference point for compensation decisions and unfair hiring practices Overview A job description should be practical, clear and accurate to effectively define your needs. Good job descriptions typically begin with a careful analysis of the important facts about a job such as: Individual tasks involved The methods used to complete the tasks The purpose and responsibilities of the job The relationship of the job to other jobs Qualifications needed for the job What to Avoid Don’t be inflexible with your job description. Jobs are subject to change for personal growth, organizational development and/or evolution of new technologies. A flexible job description encourages employees to grow within their position and contribute over time to your overall business. What to Include Job descriptions typically include: Job title Job objective or overall purpose statement Summary of the general nature and level of the job Description of the broad function and scope of the position List of duties or tasks performed critical to success Key functional and relational responsibilities in order of significance Description of the relationships and roles within the company, including supervisory positions, subordinating roles and other working relationships Additional Items for Job Descriptions for Recruiting Situations Job specifications, standards, and requirements
Job location where the work will be performed Equipment to be used in the performance of the job Collective Bargaining Agreements if your company's employees are members of a union Salary range Proper Language in the Job Description Keep each statement in the job description crisp and clear: Structure your sentences in classic verb/object and explanatory phrases. Since the occupant of the job is the subject of your sentence, it may be eliminated. For example, a sentence pertaining to the description of a receptionist position might read: "Greets office visitors and personnel in a friendly and sincere manner." Always use the present tense of verbs. If necessary, use explanatory phrases telling why, how, where, or how often to add meaning and clarity (e.g. "Collects all employee time sheets on a bi-weekly basis for payroll purposes.") Omit any unnecessary articles such as "a," "an," "the," or other words for an easyto-understand description. Use unbiased terminology. For example, use the he/she approach or construct sentences in such a way that gender pronouns are not required. Avoid using adverbs or adjectives that are subject to interpretation such as "frequently," "some," "complex," "occasional," and "several."
Mind Think positively, Habits for Living Life to the fullest, How to Continually Have The Best Mindset Everyday
The Mindset Of Successful People
I’m convinced that the way you think and feel about yourself guides and permeates every part of your life. Creating a success mindset is the first necessary step to everything. It can either limit your potential or power your success. The way you think influences your self-esteem, your confidence, your creativity, your world-view and your resilience in the face of challenges. It’s not a case of working longer or trying harder. Quite often the thoughts you think are the only thing that separate success from failure. How To Create A Success The right mindset can fire up your creativity, skyrocket your productivity, motivate and inspire you when the world doubts your genius. How To Do This:
Create A Vision “If you don’t build your dreams, then someone will hire you to build theirs.” Stop and think for a minute about what you really want out of life. Do you know what that is? If you don’t, then it’s highly unlikely that you will ever attract it. So the first step in developing a Success Mindset is figuring out what you really want. If you have ever imagined “what if”, then now is the time to dive deeper instead of pushing it to one side. Be clear about what you want Create a list of goals, things you want to have, the people you want to surround yourself with and the dreams you want to realize. It can be absolutely anything; a dream home, a successful business, your perfect soulmate, a wonderful family life or a combination of many different things. The key thing is that you want them. One fun way to start this process is to create a vision board. Don’t be afraid to dream big, now is not the time to be “realistic”. Your dreams may seem larger than your current life but the bigger you dream, the more excited and inspired you’ll become, and the more open to new ideas and opportunities. When you have a big vision that excites you, a strange thing happens. You become more committed to your goal, you’ll work harder towards achieving it and you’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen. By creating a clear mental image of what you want, your mind will also help you find a way to make it a reality. As if by magic, things, people, events and other marvellous “coincidences” will start moving in your direction. practice and persistence, you too can create a mindset for success in your life.
Chapter 17 Productivity Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. – Robert Collier Too often we are thinking ahead or looking ahead to the next event or circumstance in our lives, not appreciating the “here and now.” When we savor every moment, we are savoring the happiness in our lives.Take the time to unwind, decompress, or to put it simply, just “to chill.” Life comes at us hard and fast. Fatigue, stress and exhaustion may begin to settle in on us faster than we may think, or notice.
The best remedy for this is rest. The absence of goals in our lives, or more specifically avoiding to pursue our goals, makes us feel like we are stuck and ineffective. The pursuit of goals in our personal lives, with our relationships, or at work, with our careers, is the difference between a mediocre life or a life full of passion and enthusiasm. How many times do you say the words “thank you,” in a day? How many times do you hear these same words? If you are doing the first thing, saying “thank you”, the latter will naturally happen. As adults, we sometimes forget how to play, how to relax, or just how to be a kid again. We succumb to expectations we think are imposed on us. This keeps us from feeling the joy and happiness of just cutting loose and playing. Your mistakes and regret in the past don’t define your value, then or now. When you stay in the past you become stuck and unable to move forward. We all have made mistakes with our job choices, friends and relationships. The consequences can hit us pretty hard. However, to begin learning how to put these experiences behind us – by letting them go, we can begin to live in the here and now.
Get in touch with the areas in your life you would like to change and have more success. Consider three “quick wins” in the next several months that will help you with creating new habits and will build the foundation to support longer term success.Write down the three things you want to do differently in the next few months, things you are not doing now, but would like to begin to do that will give you a greater sense of success, accomplishment and purpose in your life.
There is no question by merely watching acts of kindness creates a significant elevation in our moods and increases the desire for us to perform good deeds as well. Kindness is indeed contagious and when we make a commitment to be kind to ourselves and to others we can experience new heights of joy, happiness and enthusiasm for our lives. Although an abundant social and romantic life does not itself guarantee happiness, it does have a huge impact on our happiness. Learn to make the friendships a priority in your life. To be in the moment is to live in the moment. We just need to put on a happy face and keep moving forward. Researchers claim that smiling and looking like we are happy will make us happier. Studies further show if we act like we are happy then we can experience greater joy and happiness in our lives. The expression a “runner’s high” does not infer an addiction, but a feeling or a state of mind – a state of euphoria. There is no question exercise, or any physical exertion, elevates your mood and enhances a more positive attitude as well as fosters better personal self-esteem and confidence.
Some find meaning in religion or spirituality while others find purpose in their work or relationships. Finding your calling may be much more than accomplishing one simple strategy for increasing your happiness, but having a sense of purpose – of feeling like you are here for a reason – can perhaps bring the greatest happiness of all. Flow is the form of joy, excitement and happiness that occurs when we are so absorbed in an activity we love that we can loose ourselves and time seems to stand still. What creates flow is unique to each one of us. One way to achieve flow is by understanding and identifying our strengths and core values, and then begin to use these every day. Once we aware of our strengths and we begin to play to our strengths, we can better incorporate them in all aspects of our lives. Know when to say when. What gives you joy and happiness the first time may not work the second time. Too much of a good thing may begin not to feel as good if the “thing” becomes more of a routine, or an expectation. Set healthy and reasonable boundaries for yourself and don’t overdo it. Learning from failure and having regret are two separate things. Regret is an emotion; a feeling of disappointment along with a modest amount of shame or guilt. But to look back at a circumstance and figure out what went wrong gives you some very important information. You are not alone. It may feel that way sometimes, but there are many people who would extend their hand and lift you up if asked. All you have to do is ask. Often times we are afraid to ask because we don’t believe we are worthy to receive the help. Think about this: we are surrounded by millions and millions of people by design – for a purpose. Whatever your goal, your dream, or your desire, you are worthy of achieving it. The closer you get to it is when the enemy of your soul will begin putting doubt in your mind. Replace doubt with the truth – you are worthy to have your heart’s true desire. Except in rare and unfortunate circumstances, you are responsible for the quality and condition of your life. Your career, your relationships and your happiness are all under your direct control. Avoid finger-pointing and embrace the control you have in your life. Understanding what and where you want to go in life will provide you with a vision and an insatiable spirit for the journey. Here’s a simple way to figure out what you want: Take a sheet a paper and write down all of the things you want in life. The one that jumps off the page and causes you to cry is what you want most. Honor this one and nurture it. And if you allow, it will take you to where you go.
There are no accidents without value. When you get hit hard and land on your back, look for the reasons and for the value in this. Open your heart and trust this happened for a reason.
Performing new actions will lead to creating new habits. Be aware of the habits you want to learn to change. Also be aware that the bad habits may interfere with your progress. Acknowledge these bad habits and don’t give them the power to keep you from moving forward.
There seems to be a higher sense of accountability when things are shared. Tell your partner or best friend what you want accomplish and by when. Sharing also gives you a safer venue to discuss your fears and concerns. • • Good marriages and relationships depend on expressing your thoughts and emotions to each other, of speaking and being heard. If not, everything else will live on shaky ground. In order to have a successful relationship you have to make yourself an expert in communicating with your partner. If your partner simply wants something different from you or does something differently from you, it doesn’t mean that your partner is wrong – it just means your spouse has different preferences, life experiences and point of view. Celebrate these differences. Chances are very good it is these very differences that made you fall in love with this person in the first place. This can be especially difficult today with all of the distractions of our daily lives, but it’s important that you put your relationship first. If you’re committed to making it a success, and you know that your partner shares your commitment, there’s nothing the two of you can’t accomplish. We spend hundreds and thousands of dollars a year on things that make us sick and lead to all sorts of other costs. So kick that smoking habit, go out drinking two nights a week instead of four, or ride your bike to work.
In order to find the success and happiness you are looking for in life, you must be willing to take risks. Perhaps the most challenging oxymoron in life is in order to build self-confidence, you must first take risks. Listen to your body – it will tell you what you need. These don’t define your value or purpose in life. Focus on what you can today, right now, to begin feeling more comfortable in your own skin. You are worthy to receive the good fortunes of life and you.
Exercise is indeed a good venue to discover your source of strength and character. It builds confidence and instills a spirit that better connects your mind to your body. It helps you appreciate the value of goal setting and ultimately goal attainment. It creates better life balance. Simply put, exercise helps you feel better about yourself. There is a direct connection between our physical and mental health. When we are fatigued our thinking is not as sharp and our confidence wanes. But when we are rested and full of energy, our actions are more deliberate and our results are more significant.
Comfort can be your biggest obstacle to growth and happiness. Take an honest look at your own life. Are you doing things you know don’t work; but you keep doing them nonetheless because either you are too scared to try something new or you don’t know any other way?
The purpose of giving forgiveness is not to let the other person off the hook, but to free you of the baggage associated with the event. When you refuse to forgive, you remain stuck in that place. With forgiveness you can begin the process of moving forward with your life. We all make mistakes – always have and always will. Perhaps no one is harder on you, than you. Give yourself grace for your sins and mistakes. If you have not put your goals in writing, do this today. There is a direct and proven correlation between people who have written, stated goals and their level of accomplishment compared to people who do not. By accomplishing just one thing that has been gnawing at you, will give you a much-needed sense of relief and accomplishment. Some see the glass as being half-full while others see the glass as half-empty. This expression goes straight to the heart of the power of positive thinking and taking the time to notice what’s working – and then doing more of it! At the end of the day when you are weary from all of the effort and energy you have expended and you are sore and tired from being hit hard so many times, but the dream is not realized, the one thing that tells you to keep going; to get up tomorrow and to keep moving forward, is your faith. Take about 15 minutes each day and grab a cup of coffee or tea and give yourself time to think about
whatever it is you want to think about. You will be surprised at the inspiration that will come to you. Hold the elevator door open for someone who is a few steps behind you or lift the bag and place it in the overhead bind on the airplane for someone who can’t manage this task. Kindness breeds more kindness. The concept of “paying it forward” is real and effective.
Tell the people who you truly love and cherish this every day. Do so with heart-felt sincerity. Love them as if this were their, and your, last day on earth. Don’t wait; tell them today because there is no day but today.
How do we build a strong mindset? Confident (not arrogant) Effective Focused Determined Able to take on challenges Successfully achieve goals “It will not be power, influence or the money in your pocket that will help you create a fulfilling life. It will be your strong mindset.”
The traits which play a role in helping us build a strong mindset: A strong mindset requires us to have powerful, vibrant and encouraging thoughts that are created by the self. We need to pro-actively choose to put into our head each and everyday the ideas, the thoughts and the emotion attached to it to be in the state of mind we wish to ascertain. If we want to be productive at work, then we need to give our mind the freedom from distractions by feeding nurturing ideas. Giving commands that will make our body move towards doing the work. If we don’t choose the thoughts we want, we will find ourselves reacting to those thoughts fed by others. Those around us. Media, whispers and the overthinking mind.
Tip: Instead of starting the day thinking, “oh man, it’s going to be a rough day.”say, “I am going to make it a great day.” and smile along with it. Even if it sounds silly at first. Just do it over the course of a couple of weeks and you’ll start noticing how much of a better day you’ll have. A strong mindset is built on knowledge, understanding things deeply and then applying it One of the greatest gifts of today is that the lessons of successes, happiness and failures are synthesized into a book written by some of the greatest thinkers and doers throughout history available to anyone, anywhere at the tap of a button. Reading books, blogs, stories, essays and magazines have given me so much knowledge and understanding of the human condition. Books have made a remarkable contribution to the depth of understanding of my own life and what is possible. Stretching the brain with knowledge and asking questions to the self contribute greatly towards a practice of building a strong mindset. And applying that knowledge in a useful way makes it even more powerful. How to be Flexible With Your Mindset (Changing from Fixed to a Growing Mindset) As you approach a challenge, that voice might say to you “Are you sure you can do it? Maybe you don’t have the talent.” “What if you fail—you’ll be a failure” “People will laugh at you for thinking you had talent.” “If you don’t try, you can protect yourself and keep your dignity.”
How you interpret challenges, setbacks, and criticism is your choice. You can interpret them in a fixed mindset as signs that your fixed talents or abilities are lacking. Or you can interpret them in a growth mindset as signs that you need to ramp up your strategies and effort, stretch yourself, and expand your abilities.
Over time, which voice you heed becomes pretty much your choice. Whether you take on the challenge wholeheartedly, learn from your setbacks and try again. Mindset Mindsets frame the running account that’s taking place in people’s heads. They guide the whole interpretation process. The fixed mindset creates an internal monologue that is focused on judging: “This means I’m a loser.” “This means I’m a better person than they are.” “This means I’m a bad husband.” “This means my partner is selfish.” People with a growth mindset are also constantly monitoring what’s going on, but their internal monologue is not about judging themselves and others in this way. Certainly they’re sensitive to positive and negative information, but they’re attuned to its implications for learning and constructive action: What can I learn from this? How can I improve? How can I help my partner do this better?
Chapter 18
Think positively There is no such thing as can’t, only won’t. If you’re qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can’t blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people. – Jan Ashford
Tips to become a positive thinker and to overcome negative thinking kids are born without any idea about words or language.
As the kid keeps listening to his parents talking he starts to catch some of the words they say and eventually learns how to speak.
We all know that, but do you know that the kid doesn't only catch the language but he catches the way of thinking of his parents?
If the parents always think positively then most probably the kid will catch some of the positive phrases and use them in his life.
Our minds are like computers with empty hard disks that get filled with programs as we grow up. If this hard disk was filled with the right software then positive thinking will become our normal way of thinking and we won't need any effort to learn
Self talk, positive or negative, comes from the phrases you have been hearing throughout your life from close ones.
Your parents aren't the only ones responsible for your positive thinking but your friends are responsible for a very big part too. If your friends always think positivity then your mind will become programmed to think that way and positive thinking will be one of your natural habits
So how to be a positive thinker?
You might be wondering now, how to think positively with all of those negative people around you?
here is how you can do it:
Know some positive people and stick to them: You shouldn't stop talking to your friends but you can know some positive people in addition to your current friends. The more time you spend with those people the more positive you become.
Challenge your negative self talk: The next time you find yourself thinking negatively challenge your self talk by responding with arguments and questions that proves your negative thoughts wrong. Each time you challenge a negative thought you make it weaker and less likely to affect you Watch the programming sources you get exposed to: What movies do you watch? what songs do you listen to? what are the things you watch on TV? does these things program your mind positively and help you become a positive thinker or do they do the opposite?
There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." -- William Shakespeare
When something goes horribly wrong, our emotions hardly feel like a choice. It's logical to feel upset, angry or guilty about a negative situation, so it only makes sense to react accordingly, right?
Not entirely. Research suggests that our happiness is more of a choice than purely influenced by circumstance. And as the Shakespeare quote above implies, the nature of our situations may just be determined by how we categorize them. In other words, a negative attitude may appear to be the logical reaction, but that doesn't mean we have to adopt one.
It isn't hard to be one of those people who looks on the bright side of life, but it might take some practice.
Despite popular belief, positive thinkers don't always see the world through rose-colored glasses. Part of effectively adopting this mindset is training yourself to become a realistic person.
Many people think that positive thinkers only look at the good side and ignore everything else. But if you go too much in that direction, there's a potential for harm as well. Positive thinkers really are individuals who recognize both the bright side and the negative, but they choose to focus their energy and time on the side that's going to promote the most positive outcome.
man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.
– Mahatma Gandhi, Indian leader
ositive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. – Zig Ziglar, personal development guru
These are two powerful quotes. Combined, they tell us that if we think positively, we're likely to enjoy positive results. Negative thinking, on the other hand, can lead to outcomes we don't want.
Positive and negative thoughts can become self-fulfilling prophecies: What we expect can often come true.
If you start off thinking you will mess up a task, the chances are that you will: You may not try hard enough to succeed, you won't attract support from other people, and you may not perceive any results as good enough.
Positive thinking, on the other hand, is often associated with positive actions and outcomes. You're drawn to, and you focus on, the positive aspects of a situation. You have hope and faith in yourself
and others, and you work and invest hard to prove that your optimism is warranted. You'll enthuse others, and they may well "pitch in" to help you. This makes constructive outcomes all the more likely.
When it comes down to it, positive, optimistic people are happier and healthier, and enjoy more success than those who think negatively. The key difference between them is how they think about and interpret the events in their
A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. – Mahatma Gandhi, Indian leader
Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. – Zig Ziglar, personal development guru
These are two powerful quotes. Combined, they tell us that if we think positively, we're likely to enjoy positive results. Negative thinking, on the other hand, can lead to outcomes we don't want.
Positive and negative thoughts can become self-fulfilling prophecies: What we expect can often come true.
If you start off thinking you will mess up a task, the chances are that you will: You may not try hard enough to succeed, you won't attract support from other people, and you may not perceive any results as good enough.
Positive thinking, on the other hand, is often associated with positive actions and outcomes. You're drawn to, and you focus on, the positive aspects of a situation. You have hope and faith in yourself and others, and you work and invest hard to prove that your optimism is warranted. You'll enthuse others, and they may well "pitch in" to help you. This makes constructive outcomes all the more
likely.
When it comes down to it, positive, optimistic people are happier and healthier, and enjoy more success than those who think negatively. The key difference between them is how they think about and interpret the events in their life. Turn Negatives into Positives
The first step in changing negative thinking is to become aware of it. For many of us, negative thinking is a bad habit – and we may not even know we're doing it!
Consider this example: The guy on the subway who just made a face is surely directing his behavior at you. When the receptionist doesn't greet you in the morning, you must have done something to anger her. Again! You go straight to the coffee machine, because it's Monday morning and you just know you'll be solving problems until lunchtime. When you finally get to your desk, your assistant is waiting for you. "Oh no," you think. "What has he done now? The first problem of the day. Yippee!"
If you're feeling bad after reading this, imagine how it would feel to surround yourself with that much negativity. Then ask yourself if this is the way you tend to think in your own life?
Dr Martin Seligman, who has been described as America's most influential psychologist, has done extensive research on thought patterns. In particular, he looks at the impact of an optimistic versus pessimistic outlook on life and success. Re-shape Your Thinking
Your answers to the questions in this quiz can show whether you have a positive or negative pattern of thinking. They're also great starting points to become more aware of your thoughts - and the effect they have on your life.
When you're more aware of the way you think, you can take action to use positive situations to your advantage, and re-shape the negative ones. The goal is to think positively, regardless of the situation, and make a conscious effort to see opportunities instead of obstacles.
So, in our example, if you imm6ediately think the receptionist is mad at you because she didn't say hello, how rational is that? Could she have been busy or distracted when you walked by? Did you say hello to her? Maybe she wasn't feeling well, or she was in a negative mood herself. These are all more rational reasons for her behavior than simply assuming that you did something wrong.
To help you start thinking positively, see our comprehensive article on Thought Awareness, Rational Thinking, and Positive Thinking [Add to My Personal Learning Plan] . This is a "must read" for everyone, even very positive thinkers, because it shows why positive thinking is so important, and it discusses how to turn negative thought patterns into positive ones.
Persistent negative thinking can cause mental health problems, including depression. While these positive thinking techniques have been shown to have a positive effect, they are for guidance only, and readers should take the advice of suitably qualified health professionals if they are experiencing persistent unhappiness. Key Points
Becoming more positive is always a good thing. Using this quiz, you can identify where and how much you tend to think negatively. The more aware you are of your thoughts, the better you'll be able to change them to emphasize the positive.
Positive thinking usually attracts positive people, events, and outcomes. If you want to create an environment where you're successful and satisfied, you'll need the power of positive thinking on your side.
You may not be aware of all of your negative thoughts and the effect they have on your life, however, by taking some time to understand your own thought patterns, you can challenge those irrational, negative thoughts – and replace them with more positive, optimistic and empowering messages.
Chapter 19
Change Your Mindset Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great. – John D. Rockefeller
How would you like to develop a mindset that could help you in overcoming challenges with anything that comes your way? The reality is that at some point in life, we all go through struggle. But we get to choose how we respond to it. We have the power to build an unstoppable mindset. Any successful person alive today is a testament to that infinite capacity of the human potential. Like any other muscle in our body though, the ability to overcome challenges needs to be worked out. This ability is in fact the most important muscle to build, because it gives you the confidence to face any challenge life throws your way.
These will help you change your mindset about overcoming challenges in your life. Seek out adversity Struggle builds character. Often the moments in our life we are most proud of are the ones where we overcame adversity to accomplish something worthwhile. Do something that pushes you to your limits and beyond. Nothing will make you feel more unstoppable than revealing to yourself that you are capable of far more than you ever imagined. Build a team Success is a team sport. No one does it alone, so don’t try and be the first person in the world to do so. Find friends or family to work together with to drive your life forward. Focus on the positive Unfortunately our brain has a natural inclination to focus on threats and dangers, even perceived ones we create. To destroy this evolutionary construct, throughout your day focus on what is positive and right about the world around you. Find reasons to appreciate everything around you. Label your emotion The neuroscientist Dr. Matthew Lieberman has shown that the simple act of labeling our emotions reduces activity in the emotional brain and increases activity in the areas of the brain associated with focus and awareness. The next time you are stuck in an emotional pattern that isn’t serving you, label the emotion to separate yourself from the experience. This will allow you to then consciously choose a new one. Exercise Working out is a secret productivity key. For at least three days a week, do 10-25 minutes of exercise. This has been shown to improve habits in all areas of your life and improve your overall self-confidence. It will also give you the energy to overcome the life challenges you might be facing. 8. Get out in nature Nature improves the quality of a person’s life and their brain functioning as well. Every day, or at least once a week , get out in nature and spend some time in the serenity of the great outdoors. Celebrate your suchess Write down a list of all your successes you have achieved in your life. Every single one. Moving forward, any time you experience a win, stop and celebrate it. This will drive your brain to keep taking the actions that led to the pleasurable emotion.
Similar to a bucket list, write down a list of all the summits you wish to reach in the rest of your life. This gives you something to focus on. It gives you a reason to push through any struggle that might come up in your journey. Bestselling author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series, Jack Canfield has found that those who set goals and write them down are far more likely to succeed than those that don’t. Time travel Go back in time to all those memories that have robbed you of your confidence and create new meanings for them. Memories can be changed and even false memories can be implanted in people. What this means is that you can literally go back in time and change your memories simply by repeatedly picturing the event while anchored into a positive state, so the meaning of the memory will become a positive one. Step into another person’s shoes The next time you find yourself stuck and facing a challenge, ask yourself what someone you admire would do in your situation. Do what they would do when they go through struggle. One of the fastest ways to get what you want in life is to find someone who has it and do what they have done. The same can be done for a mental state as well. Stand tall A strong body language actually changes the inner workings of your brain. Practice standing tall and embodying a posture of unbreakable confidence everywhere you go. This will ingrain it deep into your mind and your being.
Chapter 20 Make that change Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches. – Napoleon Hill 6 Ways to Welcome Change in Your Life
When a recent event has shaken you to the core, what do you do? Do you embrace the road you are now on or do you resist, react, and avoid change at all costs? It’s a choice that will either break you or propel you forward towards self-growth. Being on the verge of impending change is probably one of the hardest places to be. At every point in the road there are decisions that need to be made and questions about the outcome. The slate is blank and the only choices are to stay where you are or move forward. What choice will you make? To get to the point of life-changing transformation, we need to do the work. And change, good or bad, is painful. It is the ending of one life and a beginning of another. How you do deal with that fear of the unknown? This is the opportunity you have to create a conscious, healthy and wealthy life, the life that you really want. It’s a life that comes out of self-growth and life-changing transformation. How do you get there? Here are things you can do in the midst of uncertainty to choose differently that will ultimately change your life.
Make that change Acknowledge your courage. Changing your life takes bravery and, even if you think you aren't courageous, you are. Jump into the next phase of our life not allowing the “what if’s” to consume our thoughts and dictate our actions. Open ourselves up to something different: Make change YOUR choice. Don’t wait for someone else to push you into changing if it involves a decision you could have made yourself. Don’t wait until your hand is forced! Make a choice to change now. Your attitude about the whole situation will stay positive as well as long as it is your decision.
Make a change before it’s too late. Most things in life have a deadline. Not everything hangs around forever while waiting for you to claim it. Opportunities will pass you by if you do not act on them soon enough. Yes, some decisions involving change are tough to make, but chances are, sitting on a choice for two weeks won’t accomplish any more than sitting on it for one week. Your life will contain a lot more happiness if you seize opportunities when they arrive, rather than making the decision a day too late.
Realize it takes time and effort. Changing your life for the better does not mean you will suddenly have a better life where everything falls into place and you sail along blissfully satisfied with your better life. Changing your life for the better takes courage.
The power of your words will help you clearly see the choice you have in how you view your life. Becoming aware of that choice and internalizing the power you have to put your life in your perspective on your terms will help you begin to change your life for the better.
Chapter 21 Turning Endings To Great Beginnings. What if you began to expect the best from any situation? Isn’t it possible that you could write new chapters in your life with happy endings? Suspend your disbelief? Take a leap of faith?.. – Sarah Ban Breathnach When you can no longer think of a reason to continue, you must think of a reason to start over. There’s a big difference between giving up and starting over in the right direction. And there are three little words that can release you from your past regrets and guide you forward to a positive new beginning. These words are: “From now on…” So, from now on… 1. Let the things you can’t control, GO. – Most things are only a part of your life because you keep thinking about them. Positive things happen in your life when you emotionally distance yourself from the negative things. So stop holding on to what hurts, and make room for what feels right. Do not let what is out of your control interfere with all the things you can control. 2. Accept and embrace reality. – Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. For everything you lose, you gain something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something else. You don’t have to like it, but it’s just easier if you do. So pay attention to your outlook on life. You can either regret or rejoice; it’s your choice.
3. Change your mind. – Change is like breath – it isn’t part of the process, it is the process. In reality the only thing we can count on is change. And the first step toward positive change is to change your outlook. Prepare for the positive. Prepare for the new. Allow the unknown to take you to fresh and unforeseen areas in yourself. Growth is impossible without change. If you cannot change your mind, you cannot change anything in your life. Sometimes all you need to do is look at things from a different perspective. 4. Hold tight to the good things. – When life’s struggles knock you into a pit so deep you can’t see anything but darkness, don’t waste valuable energy trying to dig your way out. Because if you hastily dig in the dark, you’re likely to head in the wrong direction and only dig the pit deeper. Instead, use what energy you have to reach out and pull something good in with you. For goodness is bright; its radiance will show you which way is up, and illuminate the correct path that will take you there. 5. 6. Rest and regroup. – Strength isn’t about bearing a cross of grief or shame. Strength is about choosing your path, living with the consequences, and learning from them. Sometimes you do your best and end up with a mess. When this happens, don’t be discouraged. You tried. That’s really all you can ever do. You have not failed; you just learned what not to do. So rest, regroup, and begin again with what you now know. 7. Take chances. – Making a big life change or trying something new can be scary. But do you know what’s even scarier? Regret. So realize that most of your fears are much bigger in your mind than they are in reality; you’ll see this for yourself as soon as you face them. Don’t let them stop you. Live your life so that you never have to regret the chances you never took, the love you never let in, and the gifts you never gave out. 8. Keep climbing. – Every person who is at the top of the mountain did not fall there from the sky. Good things come to those who work for them. You gain confidence and grow stronger by every experience in which you truly push yourself to do something you didn’t think you could do. If you are standing in that place of in-between, unable or unwilling to go backwards, but too afraid to move forward, remember that you can’t enjoy the view without being willing to climb. 9. Appreciate what you have learned. – Nothing is more beautiful and powerful than a smile that has struggled through the tears. Don’t regret your time, even the moments that were filled with hurt. Smile because you learned from it and gained the strength to rise above it. In the end, it’s not what you have been through that defines who you are; it’s how you got through it that has made you the person you are today, and the person you are capable of being tomorrow. 10. Realize every step is necessary. – Nothing is ever wrong. We learn from every step we take. Whatever you did today was a necessary step to
get to tomorrow. So be proud of yourself. Maybe you are not as good as you want to be, or as great as you one day will be; but thanks to all the lessons you’ve learned along the way, you are so much better than you used to be.
Chapter 22 Get on and be grateful for starting something new Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. – Steve Jobs "Get out there and go for it!" You've heard it a thousand times, but it doesn't make taking a leap of faith any easier. Enthusiasm has its place in every big life change, but you need more than a cheerleader behind your plans, you need a game plan. This is where coaching truly begins--a way to help you realize the dreams that seem impossible and reach the goals that you once called "far fetched." Now is the time, but we aren't just saying it. Ready to get started: 1). There's nothing gained in avoiding risks.
If you're a good leader, you already know how taking a calculated risk is healthy growth step for every business. With the pace of life and business moving at an increasing rate, it doesn't hurt to experiment with a new way of doing things. Start with the famous "What if" question and see if it sparks an idea. Standing still is ultimately the only thing that prevents growth.
"What if" you took one of the ideas presented at the friends meet up and ran with it? "What if" you used the element of surprise to your advantage to create an innovative new product? Find people who believe in your vision and ask them to get behind you in any way they can. Don't miss these opportunities. Give them a chance to plug in and connect with what you're trying to accomplish. Goals achieved = things measured. Whatever the vision, you must have a way to measure it. Make it concrete and choose your tools for measurement. Now vocalize those goals to your team. They aren't targets if they're unknown. Be flexible and pivot. The best part about starting something new is that things are fluid and there's room for change. When you find a method is not working out quite like you'd hoped, there's always the chance to try something new. The fear of trying something and failing is more crippling than the lesson that a failed experience will provide you. Don't run from an opportunity to change directions and try another way. Communicate your wins. It's important to remind yourself and others of any wins achieved, yes even small ones! Celebration is the life-bringing atmosphere we need to gain the courage to keep going. Recognize your team members for their hard work in helping you to achieve new goals and thank them publicly. Show your gratitude and others will gladly join you.
Chapter 23 Habits of developing an innovative mind You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory that is within us. And as we let our light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. – Marianne Williamson If I could sum it all up, creativity is really about being able to see associations when others couldn’t. Being innovative, on the other hand, is about coming up with something others have not thought of. Whether is it inventing a new product or coming up with solutions to a problem, innovativeness requires creativity because one has to be capable of connecting abstract ideas and facts with existing scenarios before creating something unique and different.
Granted, we are all wired differently (some of us are blessed with the natural inclination towards innovativeness and creativity), but this doesn’t mean that we cannot do anything to stretch the limits of our creative minds.
As Thomas Edison puts it, there is work to be done day in, day out before we could even get that stroke of genius.
"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Accordingly, a genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework." – Thomas A. Edison
Whether you’re expanding your innovative capabilities for your work or personal development, it’s never too late to begin somewhere. Maintain a Keen Sense of Curiosity
The most innovative people in the world are also the most inquisitive among us. They ask lots of questions (often about what the rest of us often take for granted) and they’re always looking for ways to improve things. Innovators don’t simply settle for the status quo; they love challenging what is widely accepted as the norm or the standard.
Instead of relying on preconceived notions about things and people, they prefer to look at new things they’ve encountered, from various perspectives.
While there is certainly no prescribed formula that will help you adopt such child-like curiosity, making a conscious effort to question everything under the Sun is a good first step. With the magic of the Internet and libraries at our disposal, you can get answers to question you want.
Equally important, strike up conversations with different people you encounter and listen to their unique perspectives about the world and their lives. 2. Jot Down Ideas and Thoughts
You’ll need something to capture and organize your ideas and thoughts as you go about your day learning new things. Try jotting down everything that comes to your head including random words, phrases and even doodles. Ideally, you can try linking your arbitrary thoughts together to paint a picture of what your subconscious is trying to say.
Remember that innovation comes from creativity, and creativity is about how you associate different ideas and facts. As you jot down your thoughts into your journal or scrapbook, don’t let your inhibitions get the better of you. No matter how absurd an idea may seems to be, see it as a piece of the puzzle to your inner world which could potentially spark off an inspiration.
Not only does the act of penning down your ideas help you keep track of your thoughts, it can even stimulate your thought processes and lead to one new idea after another. Let your imagination run wild!
For 10-20 minutes a day, you can engage in mindfulness exercise by simply focusing on your breathing. Better yet, incorporate mindfulness into your day-to-day activities by being fully conscious of whatever you’re doing at any given moment, focusing on only one task at a time.
When eating, savour each bite and appreciate the flavours. When listening to someone, maintain your eye contact and truly listen to what he or she has to say. Once you’re able to notice subtle things which you have never before from your surroundings, you’ll become better at discerning ideas for expansion. 5. Take Risks & Make Mistakes
One thing that separates innovators from the herd is that they are not afraid to make mistakes. Thomas Edison succeeded because he didn’t give up despite failing over and over again. He perservered because he saw failure as part of the learning process while he experiment with his ideas. Innovators like himsee mistakes as opportunities for perfecting their innovation.
Keep pushing your boundaries. Innovators embrace risk because they love shaking things up to make things more interesting rather than lead mundane, typical lives. If Mark Zuckerberg had not taken that leap of faith and dropped out of Harvard University to finish up his Facebook project, he would never have realized that his innovation has the potential to change the world.
So, venture forth and take some healthy risks. Share Your Ideas
You’ll definitely need feedback about your innovation, so keep sharing and selling your ideas to people you encounter and see what they have to say. Face your fears and do the talking even if your ideas are at their infancy stages.
Sure, there will be people who will not get your ideas and would even laugh at your proposal. But now that you’ve learned that mistakes and rejections are part and parcel of innovation, you will take these criticisms in your stride and even capitalize on them to improve on your ideas.
Even if people don’t have anything constructive to say about them, talking about your ideas alone will stimulate your creative senses and possibly give you new insights. 7. Stay Persistent
Be ready to persist in your mission regardless of how many others may persuade you otherwise. Sure enough, people who are uneasy with change will advise you to settle for the status quo. Plus, mistakes and failures are inescapable as you experiment with different ideas that don’t work the first time round. 7. Stay Persistent
Be ready to persist in your mission regardless of how many others may persuade you otherwise. Sure enough, people who are uneasy with change will advise you to settle for the status quo. Plus, mistakes and failures are inescapable as you experiment with different ideas that don’t work the first time round.
All these roadblocks only makes keeping your faith and staying focus all the more crucial. Some people may call it naive optimism or unrealistic idealism, but prolific innovators like Thomas Edison had to find 10,000 ways that didn’t work before succeeding in creating the light bulb.
Persistence is when you keep going because you’re certain of what you want. Write down what you wish to accomplish and look at the list every day to remind yourself why you’re persisting. Surely, there must also be a deep-seated motivation behind your pursuit for this particular goal.
Identify it and visualize the moment when you achieve what you want. It may seem trivial and cheesy, but repeating such positive affirmations daily will help you manage your morale and keep your spirits high in times of setbacks. Take Solitude Breaks
Persevering with a laser-like focus on your goal is great, but sustaining attention on a task for an extended period of time can deplete your creativity juices. Stepping away from work briefly creates a space for you tore-conceptualize the problem with new perspectives.
It helps to take regular breaks and naps to relax your mind and maintain a conducive environment for creativity and innovativeness to settle in. Take some of your breaks alone by going for long walks, taking showers, exercise or indulge in daydreaming to connect with your subconscious.
It is in such quiet moments with yourself that you will be able to catch those fleeting inspirations. 10. Build on Existing Ideas
Innovators don’t just invent something out of nothing; they build on existing ideas. As a matter-offact, many products we see today are the result of merging two or more ideas or concepts together. One good example of such an innovative invention would be your smartphone, which is essentially a mobile phone integrated with advanced computing capabilities and Internet connectivity.
A true innovator must open him or herself to as many potential ideas as possible, identify patterns and connections between them, and finally assimilating them together to come up with an innovation which is better than before.
To build a firm foundation in what you intend to innovate, you must keep yourself up-to-date with the existing tools and technologies applicable to your innovation. Make it a habit to read up on the relevant literature and participate in online communities and discussions to further your
knowledge with people who share the same interest.
With a thorough understanding of the field you are interested in innovating in, you would have a sharper eye in recognizing possibilities and be more adept at interlacing different ideas together.
Chapter 24 Habits for Living Life to the fullest
EXCELLENCE: is the result of caring more than others think is wise, risking more than others think is safe, dreaming more than others think is practical and expecting more than others think is possible. – Unknown We all have different explanations and definitions of what happiness is and what it means to each of us. No matter what challenges, crossroads, and lifestyle changes you come across in your life, at the end of the day, your happiness is what truly matters most. Whether you’re in a relationship, have children, have a busy work life or whatever the circumstances are, it’s important to know how to be happy alone. When you know what makes you truly happy, practice self-love, take care of yourself and step out of your comfort zone, you will be able to see how powerful being happy alone can be. Habit #1 – Figure Out What Makes You Truly Happy Being alone gives you a wonderful opportunity to figure out what truly makes you happy and gives you the perfect chance to get to know yourself better. Being single grants you the time and freedom to do whatever you want on your own schedule and allows you to put your needs, desires, and ambitions above all others. Being alone will help you realize and understand that your happiness does not have to depend on someone else’s presence. You need to be able to be happy alone first, and love yourself in order to give your love to someone else and have a successful life. You need to know and experience what real love and happiness is like by yourself before you commit to loving someone else. Here are some ideas that can help you to feel more positive about being alone.
Get to know yourself by spending some time alone in solitude. Do something that will help you relax
and focus on your mind, body and soul. Go shopping, take a shower, listen to some new music, have a cup of tea, watch a marathon of your favorite show and don’t feel guilty about treating yourself or making yourself a top priority. Give Yourself a Fresh Start Get stimulated with what’s happening in your life. Perhaps it’s time to write a list of all the fun things and activities that make you smile. Write down new places you would like to go to or books you would like to read. Once you start making this list, you will look forward to trying these new things and you will start to get excited about the possibilities available to you. Sometimes all it takes to feel refreshed and happy is to change something simple out of your daily routine.
By changing something in your surroundings, it will help you start fresh and prevent you from feeling like your life is stagnant.
Plan a cleaning or de-cluttering session. Get rid of things that are collecting dust or that you have been hanging on to because you’ll feel guilty if you throw them out. Remember that it’s time to start living for you and no one else. Only keep things that make you happy, are important, useful and meaningful to you. Practice Self-Love Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological and spiritual growth. When you stop thinking about how other people can make you happy and practice self-love, you will soon realize what it feels like to be happy alone and be able to learn to love and accept yourself from the inside out. Here are some ways you can practice self-love: Stop putting so much value on what others think. Everyone has their flaws whether they tell you or not. Once you have accepted that being alone is normal and natural, you will begin to realize that it’s okay and be perfectly happy while alone.
Alone time will allow you to be mindful of your thoughts and surroundings. You will be able to feel happiness and peace and know that you have absolutely everything inside of yourself that you need to be completely fulfilled. You do not need to expect anything from anyone else.
A great way to practice self-love includes writing down things that you love about yourself. Focus on the positives; you are healthy, unique and have great hair, wonderful personality, nice legs, beautiful eyes, or whatever you decide.
You can also practice self-love by being aware of your negative thoughts. If you are constantly thinking with a dark cloud overhead then you will never leave room to let the sunshine through. There is a positive side and a negative side to almost any situation. Train your mind to think of the positive outcome and, over time, this will start to happen naturally.
Another way to get out of the negative thought clouds is to surround yourself with positive things and people.
Exercise and Build a Healthy Lifestyle Maybe it’s time to reconnect with yourself on a physical level. Start a new exercise program that will help you get into shape, feel good about your body, and even reap the numerous benefits of endorphins.
Working out shouldn’t always seem like a chore, there are some great programs that will allow you workout with others in a fun way. If you commit to joining a class and have a friend that signs up with you, you will be less likely to quit and you will have double the fun while you workout. If you do not wish to make a big commitment, then start out small and check out some different types of workouts in free workout tutorials on YouTube to see which ones fit you best.
Make these new exercises a part of your morning routine so it will keep you refreshed during the day. The best part about morning workouts is that you won’t be thinking about having to workout for the rest of the day because it’s already done!
If you have a dog, you should have no problem going for a daily 20-minute walk or run. Your dog will love you for it and will help keep you committed by reminding you that it’s time for your daily walk; how can you say no to those cute little puppy eyes? What’s eating you; or more like, what are you eating? Sometimes our diet can affect our happiness and bring our mood down. Take a look at what you have been eating, and look for healthier alternatives. A great way to do this is to use an app or diary for one week and write down everything that you have consumed. You might be surprised at just how much unhealthy food you are eating and when you review your journal at the end of the week, you will be able to see where there’s room for improvement in your diet.
In addition to the quality of the food we eat, the quantity of the food we eat can also effect your moon. Eating can give some quick relief but it is always followed by self-recriminations if you eat too much. Not only that but consuming large amounts of food can lead to lethargy. Simply by controlling portion sizes of the food we eat, we not only help to keep ourselves healthier, but also happier.
Sleep is also extremely important in order to keep you energized throughout the day and it even has the added benefits of helping you lose weight and keeping a healthy lifestyle, mind, and heart. Go to bed early and sleep in once in a while, but make sure you find a balanced schedule.
Find Your Passion and Cultivate It Is there something you’ve always wanted to do but keep putting it off? What’s wrong with trying it now? When you’re alone, you no longer have to consider other people’s plans. Choose to do something different that will be a challenge for you. It doesn’t matter what it is. It just needs to be something that you’re passionate about.
Sometimes we don’t truly find our passion in life until we have tried and experienced many different things. You should keep in mind that there is never any harm in trying something new and experiencing something new can actually be quite fun. It will get you out of the house, allow you to be around new and positive people and help you renew your confidence for learning new things. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone Try doing things that you’ve never done before. Try not to have your guard up and be open to all possibilities; you don’t know that you won’t like something until you’ve tried it. A great way to step out of your comfort zone is to do something new and fun each week.
Remember to do things that benefit your inner-self . Stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things can lead to new friends and amusing experiences. It all starts with you smiling and saying hello to someone else. Try saying hi with a smile when you’re at the grocery store, while you’re walking down the street, when you’re meeting someone for the first time at a party, etc. Whatever the situation is, just try to put yourself out there and you’ll gain more confidence over time, eventually this will turn into a new habit. Seeing other people smile is also contagious so if you start the smile train, others will reciprocate and you will both be in great moods.
Make sure to try new things, experiment and do things you might not do otherwise. You may even find
some great habits you want to keep forever. Use Your Alone Time Wisely There are many things you can do when you’re alone and watching TV shows might seem like a great idea at the time. This is okay once in a while but why not use this time wisely and get to know yourself better, learn something about yourself or challenge your mind.
Read a great biography, watch an inspirational documentary. Lose yourself in your art, music, woodworking, cooking or any other meaningful work. Need some inspiration? Spend all day at a gallery or museum and let your mind experience different reactions and emotions to these art pieces or educational experiences. Choose your time wisely and make sure that at the end of the day, you were happy and satisfied with what you accomplished.
Creating smart and realistic goals attached with a timeline will help keep you motivated. Start off small and focus on your most important tasks first. Once you get into a routine, you will not even have to think about your daily to-do schedule because you will have programmed your mind to just do it and get it done. Another great advantage of being alone is that your goals do not need to involve any outside influences. You can be, do, and have whatever you dream of. You can create an amazing future for yourself, and by yourself. Why not take this time to focus on one or two aspects of your life that you have wanted to improve. Whether this involves your health, career, spirituality or finances, don’t let these wants and aspirations continue to be pushed to the side. Think about how you would feel and why it would be beneficial to have all aspects of your life in order and under control and you will be able to envision a brighter future, which will help motivate you to pursue and stick with your goals. – Learn to Appreciate the Present We are who we become because of our life experiences from the past. Forgive yourself and acknowledge your mistakes from the past. Remember that the past does not always dictate your future. We all make mistakes and your mistakes do not define who you are or who you could be. Learn from mistakes, but celebrate the small wins of the present.
Think of the person that you were 5, 10, or 25 years ago. There will be many challenges, situations and obstacles that will come and go our way during our lives. If you had never made any mistakes or harbored any flaws, what type of person would you be now? What types of experiences would you
have had and how happy would you really be if you were striving to be perfect for your whole life?
How to be Happy Alone Now that you know how to be happy alone, it’s time to accept yourself for who you are and be positive and optimistic about whatever comes your way. You are normal, and your quirks are what make you unique from the others. Once you accept these thoughts, your world will become brighter and the opportunities will be endless.
Chapter 25 Keeping Hopes A Life Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space. Invite one to stay. – Maya Angelou
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.” ― Carol S. Dweck
What Is Hope? Hope is directly related to our sense of possibility. The greater our perception of possibilities, the greater our hope. The most constricted view of possibility, of course, is hopelessness or despair. Hope is not the same as happiness or optimism. It is what we feel when we think that life is worth living, that our work is worth doing. Hope is what we have when we have a positive relationship with God. It is the deepest of the three emotions. Happiness and optimism cannot exist without hope, but hope can exist without happiness or optimism. Hope answers the question, “Why bother?”
Hope Affects Our Minds And Bodies Doctors know that hope affects our ability to heal. Hopeful patients have higher levels of dopamine, endorphins and other neurochemicals which promote wellbeing and the energy for living. Hope is our energy, our fuel for living, so people will go to great lengths to protect it. Without it you lack energy to engage with life. Hope is so essential that a negative childhood can reduce the brain’s ability to create dopamine which may lead to addiction because drugs increase dopamine levels in people who do not have the ability to create it naturally.
Why Does Hope Make Such A Difference? Hope has to be real. It has to be based on something tangible. We can fake optimism and pretend to be happy but deep down inside, we know whether or not we have hope. When we are sizing up our hopes we are essentially taking an existential account of where we are. It is an assessment of our ability to survive now and into the future. Our assessment tells us where to put our energies and our time. Hope is the serious emotion. Hope recognizes our interdependency with our families, culture, society and our environment. So a genius in a war torn country probably is less hopeful that an average person in a peaceful place. When hope is damaged it affects more than one person. When real hope is denied it is hard to replace. When a person has lost hope it can be hard to find motivation again. The most important impact we have on each other is through how we affect each other’s hopes.
When hope exists we engage with God more. We give more of ourselves to what we do – as does everyone else around us. Hope engages our creativity and our problem solving skills. It is a factor in our ability to appreciate ourselves and others and our ability to be grateful for our lives. Hope has a roll up your sleeves and get to work quality. It gets its hands dirty in the business of creating our lives. It values all of the details, skills and challenges that go into creating our world. Hope requires a willingness to experiment to see what works and what doesn’t so it cannot see failure, only steps on a learning path. It does not fall for false optimism or empty promises. Living hopefully simply means taking care of your contribution and supporting the positive evolution of human life. It’s motto is “Progress, not perfection.” Hope is grounded in present reality. It does not sugar coat. It thinks enough of our creativity to present us with real problems. Hope is serious about life. It is our link to each other, the past and the future. It enables us to respect the efforts of our history makers even as we decide not to repeat their mistakes. It respects the needs of other living creatures and future needs as well. It is the “something larger than ourselves” that we are all a part of.
Hopeful Living Living a hopeful life is to recognize that everything and everyone matters. That includes you since you are part of the hopefulness in the world. Taking care of yourself matters. The quality of the work you do matters. It matters how you are treated and how you treat others. In order to be an effective part of a hopeful world there are certain things that you need to do regularly: take good care of your health. create hopeful relationships. Learn to forgive. help others see the best in themselves, notice their desire to make meaningful contributions and help them find their path to becoming hope makers for themselves and others.
Being In Hope With Others The easiest way to control others is to destroy people’s hope. Divide and conquer is an old social control mechanism. It creates fear instead of hope. So when we level the playing field, or bring down barriers, we are inevitably increasing hopefulness by reducing obstacles to it. In the human race each one of us is a small mirror of talents, love and joy that we have to offer each other to create our world. So hope is energy – your positive energy, your talents, value and your soul. It is the lifeblood of the human race. The easiest way to support a hopeful world is to support hope in others. If you surround yourself with people invested in creating a hopeful world with you, then you are fortunate. However, not everyone will necessarily have a hopeful outlook. You can still support hope in someone else’s life whether they are able to value it or not. Helping to restore hope when it has been lost is a noble thing to do. Look for ways to make hopefulness tangible. Don’t let it be just something for the future. Hope is all of the little things we do each day to make our lives. Everything you do contributes to hopeful living or takes away from it. That may seem heavy. But hope is that important. It needs to be treasured.
Chapter 26
How to Continually Have The Best Mindset Everyday “I believe ability can get you to the top,” says coach John Wooden, “but it takes character to keep you there.… It’s so easy to … begin thinking you can just ‘turn it on’ automatically, without proper preparation. It takes real character to keep working as hard or even harder once you’re there. When you read about an athlete or team that wins over and over and over, remind yourself, ‘More than ability, they have character.' ” ― Carol S. Dweck As we move through our days, there is always so much going on we can focus on. On any given day, we interact with all different types of people and have all sorts of experiences. There are good things we can turn our attention to, such as focusing intently on the present moment and pouring all of our energy into whatever it is we are doing. When we are focused in this way and really experiencing the present moment, we are able to really do things with quality and also have the most positive frame of mind. Alternatively, there are those things that really are nothing more than negative distractions that can suck all of our attention and drain our positive energy if we let them, i.e. the co-worker that continually gets you worked up because they do one terrible thing after another. The question we need to answer is what are we choosing to focus on as we move through our day? And, the even bigger question is how are we experiencing the moment right in front of us? Our number one priority at all times has to be our frame of mind and keeping the positive energy flowing. There is no doubting the numerous benefits that result when you have the right mindset and the right energy flowing. It is when we are at our absolute best and can tap into our best creativity. It is when things just seem to continue to fall in place and unfold in the most amazing ways. There is nothing better and it all begins with having the right frame of mind where your positive energy just naturally flows. So, the key is to understand how to always maintain this great frame of mind and if you can continually prioritize it over anything and everything else, you will be guaranteed to always be living the best way you can. What does it really mean to prioritize your frame of mind?
It means you never allow anything to encumber or interfere with your ability to have a great frame of mind. You decide there is nothing more important than your positive mindset and consequently, you choose to make different decisions about what you allow to hold your attention. It is just no longer worth it to get mentally entangled with the many distractions or negative interactions that offer no benefits or peace of mind. Easier said than done … possibly, but with time and practice you will get better and better at simply letting things go and not engaging in needless situations and debates. Your #1 goal is to keep your mind free of negativity and disturbances. It is a process and it takes discipline, but if you are committed to prioritizing your good frame of mind, it is more than possible. How to use this alternaview: 1. Keep the Quality of Your Mindset Top of Mind. As you move through your day and have different experiences and interact with people, always keep your mindset and how you are feeling top of mind. Do a self-audit from time to time and ask yourself, what is the quality of my mindset right now? How am I feeling? Do I have positive energy flowing? You need to always be aware of your mindset and know if and when it is time to improve it or increase your level of positive energy. You need to recognize when it has been disturbed so that you can do something about it.
When You Need to Improve Your Mindset: 1. Realize You Only Have 2 Options. Essentially, with any disturbance, any issue, or anything that frustrates you, there are only 2 options: (1) Improve your perspective or (2) Remove yourself from the disturbance. It really is that easy and if you break situations down, there are only 2 constructive things you can do. You can either choose to see things differently and in a more positive light or you can simply just choose to remove yourself completely from the situation.
2. Realize that Complaining Is NOT One of the Two Options. It is easy to identify what you don’t like about a situation or a person. When things go in ways we don’t like, we could probably fill 3 or 4 notebooks with all the reasons why we don’t like the situation or why we disagree with what someone is doing. However, what does that really do? In the majority of instances people complain about issues to other people that are not really involved and can’t do anything to change what has happened. They end up working themselves up, getting frustrated, and eventually they just get fed up and nothing really positive changes about the situation. Why even put yourself through this? If you are just sitting around complaining about your boss, your husband, your job, the undesirable things you have to do, or anything else you dislike, you are not doing anything constructive for yourself and you are not prioritizing your good frame of mind. Complaining will always weigh you down and clog the flow of your positive energy.
3. Choose one of the 2 Options: As soon as you notice a disruption in your mindset, decide which option you are going to follow. Option #1: Improve Your Perspective. You can choose how you are going to view and process a situation. You can choose to see it in a way that will ultimately benefit you, or you can allow all the things that are wrong with the situation to monopolize your attention and weigh you down. Start searching and focusing on the positive things about the situation. Are you being Pollyanna and only seeing the good side of things? Possibly … but what is looking at the bad side of things really going to ever do for you. Take a step back and think through how this situation may actually benefit you in the long run. Perhaps it will point you in another direction, or, maybe it will teach you a much needed lesson. Whatever the case may be, if you look there are always benefits. You just have to choose to see them and when you focus on the benefits, you will be amazed at how the situation will change for the better. Option #2: Remove Yourself from the Situation. If you think that no matter how hard you try to see things differently and no matter what lessons you may learn, it still doesn’t make sense to be in the situation, then your other option is to choose to remove yourself from it. Go another route. Do something else. Don’t just wallow in negativity and allow bad situations to linger. Choose to do something about them. Now in some situations, you may not be able to simply remove yourself from the situation. If that is the case, then you actually only have one Option, and that is the first one … it is time to look at things differently and in a more positive light. Your main goal at all times must be to keep the best frame of mind and positive energy flowing.
Chapter 27
Developing A Positive Mindset: “Did I win? Did I lose? Those are the wrong questions. The correct question is: Did I make my best effort?” If so, he says, “You may be outscored but you will never lose.” ― Carol S. Dweck
Changing Your Attitude to Change Your Life Attitude: You have a choice in the way you perceive whatever is going on. You have the power to choose whether you think the glass is half full or half empty. • Use the right words. Use statements like, “I have a positive attitude,” or “We’ll find a solution,” in daily conversation. The words you use on a daily basis have a major impact on your attitude and moods.
• Strive for Optimism. Having a positive attitude is something you should strive for. It isn’t something you are or are not, it is something you become.
• What company do you keep? Do your friends have negative attitudes? Does it rub off on you? Many times the company we keep can affect our attitudes. If your group at work or home negatively affects your attitude, take the necessary steps to change the situation. If all else fails, change the people around.
• When you know you need a Change. When you know you aren't happy, admit it to yourself and take action to reverse it. This is a very difficult thing to do especially when you aren’t in the mood to admit things to yourself. It may be hard, but it is worth it. When you are negative, realize it and change it.
• Listen to What Others Say. We may like to tell ourselves that we are positive people, but it’s not always true. Listen to what your friends say about your attitude. They may say things that you don’t want to hear, but sometimes the best changes in life come from constructive criticism.
• What Makes You Happy? When you know what makes you upset, you will be able to avoid these situations and save yourself the tension and frustration they bring. If it is a situation that you cannot avoid, learn how to make the best of it. This is vital to your attitude and mood. Your “happy” buttons
will serve to improve your attitude again and again.
• Appreciate the Things You Have. Look around you and learn to appreciate everything you have in your life. Your family, friends, career, home, food, car, etc., is enough to create a positive attitude because no matter how bad things get in life, we still must be thankful for everything we still have. Put things into perspective, and enjoy the good things in your life.
• Think Twice before you Act Once. Look at problems logically. When you let emotion take over, you may do things that made sense at the time, but in the end were not the best choices. Before you act, think about what your action(s) will cause. If a person does something wrong that negatively affects you, don’t attack. Think about the best response. Only after you have done this twice should you take action.
• React VS. Respond. These two words are the difference between a happy, enthusiastic, positive person and a sad, frustrated, negative person. When anything happens in life that affects you, both directly and indirectly, respond to the situation. This means you think about it, use reason to find a solution, and take the appropriate measures. When you react, you skip the reasoning stage and do what comes naturally in the moment. This only serves to cause more problems and frustration. Respond, do not react!
• Don’t Join the Gossip. Don’t join on the negative conversations around you. If you see a conversation heading towards that road, excuse yourself politely and leave.
• Start in the Right Direction. Wake up with a smile and with energy. You have a lot to accomplish and enjoy today. Life is short, and you are going to make the most of this day, and every day after that.
Chapter 28
How to Develop a Positive Mindset “The attempt to avoid legitimate suffering lies at the root of all emotional illness.” ~ Scott Peck You don’t need money because the most important capital you already possess, your mind. You also need to understand that you look the way you think. Your mind is an inner reflection of what you are outside. It’s what defines you– your personality and everything that concerns you. Here are the list of things you need to build the right mindset. 1. Build your thought process. What are thoughts? Thoughts are machines of the mind with constructive or destructive meaning. For you to achieve great success in life, you have to change your thoughts. You’re the character of your thoughts. The things you have today– the level you’re in your life today — the material things you have and friends that surround you came as a result of your thoughts ( You just didn’t know). The totality of your personality–the things you do–and the character of your words are all expression of your thought process. Here are a list of things to do to build the right thought: Decide to only think on positive things. Don’t allow every thought come in because not all are good. Accept and dwell only on positive thoughts. Meditate on the right things. Read inspirational books and messages that will improve your mind and make you think the right way. . Make up your mind to change. If you really want to build a positive mindset– it all comes down to you. You’ve got to tell yourself that you’re ready for a new beginning and conform your entire being to it. Don’t just sit down there and say ”I’m going to build my mindset soon” . Don’ do that– but Follow up with action.
Get connected with like minded people. You can’t make it if the people that surround you are negative minded people who don’t believe in the possibility of success. This is very important. Do you have friends who discourage you from doing the right things or making the right decisions? If you have such friends, please stay far away from them and connect yourself with positive minded people. It’s not hard to make friends with positive minded people because they surround you ( maybe you just didn’t notice them). All you need to do is to work on your thinking and your thought will attract their being to you. Believe in the possibility of a bright future. No matter how things go rough, believe in the possibility of a bright and successful future.
Chapter 29
Power Of The Mind Mindset Everything starts in the mind. Realizing this power of the mind is a very important pre-requisite to being able to actually create the success and prosperity you desire. Often though many people do not actually recognise the power of the mind. Its prominent role in everything you do. To accomplish anything you first must use your mind. If you cannot imagine or visualize something then how can you possibly achieve it. It is this power of the mind to focus and visualize what it is you must do to create the realities you desire that is perhaps THE most important mindset of all. The power to imagine positively the outcomes you wish for and are willing to work for. The power to see the obstacles you might encounter and will overcome. You must know exactly what it is that you want and then focus your mind power on it. When you know what you want then you need to hold in your mind a clear mental image of it and see it accomplished. Using the power of your imagination you can develop solid clear mental images, that represent and encapsulate your wishes and dreams. Strong clear mental images help you to display patience, self-discipline and the power to persist in your efforts. To develop a one pointed mind or mindset. Planting deep within the subconscious mind so that it becomes part of the subconscious mind the correct mindset that your mind power is not only powerful but is your ultimate tool for success in your chosen area of endeavor. Having this strong clear mind power mindset allows you to transfer your thoughts to other people, who would aid you with your plans. Usually, nothing can be accomplished alone and the ability to bring on board those people around you that are crucial for your success is a must. They need to believe in what you are doing and saying, be infected with your enthusiasm.
Strong mind power allows you to reject any doubts you may experience, to take control of your thoughts and to concentrate your will power and self discipline. These are mental tools and skills required for success and the ones that ensure success. The power of the mind provides intense motivation and emotional power for achieving success. Increasing your motivation and enthusiasm, increases your chances of success in changing your life for the better. Your mind power stems from your thoughts, from your words and from your deeds. What thoughts you focus and concentrate on tends to come true. As you control your mental energy, producing the same thoughts and images daily the effect becomes compounded. Your thoughts become stronger and stronger and begin to affect your attitude, expectations, behavior and actions. No one knows why but others are able to pick up on these thought patterns and subconsciously begin too help you or offer opportunities. Your thoughts seem to create something called coincidence, attracting the right people, places and things into your life. Attracting corresponding events, situations and opportunities. Although not every thought turns into reality it is often amazing how fate seems to conspire with you for the betterment of your purpose. Use your mind power to overcome the doubts fears and worries that destroy your innate ability to cocreate your world. Our world. Unleash your true ability and use the power of your mind mindset.
Chapter 30
The Human Mind & Your Mindset How does it all work?
Just how does the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind work? And what is the difference between them? A Walk Through the Human Mind The concept of three levels of mind is nothing new.
How They Work Together Your conscious mind is what most people associate with who you are, because that is where most people live day to day. But it’s by no means where all the action takes place. The conscious mind communicates to the outside world and the inner self through speech, pictures, writing, physical movement, and thought. The subconscious mind, on the other hand, is in charge of our recent memories, and is in continuous contact with the resources of the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the storehouse of all memories and past experiences, both those that have been repressed through trauma and those that have simply been consciously forgotten and no longer important to us. It’s from these memories and experiences that our beliefs, habits, and behaviors are formed. The unconscious constantly communicates with the conscious mind via our subconscious, and is what provides us with the meaning to all our interactions with the world, as filtered through your beliefs and habits. It communicates through feelings, emotions, imagination, sensations, and dreams.
Your Mindset In a growth mindset, you’re focused on the process, the process that you engage in to bring about your successes, and the processes you engaged in that may have created your failures, but you can learn from them and do better the next time. So every time you feel yourself sinking into fixed mindset thinking, worrying about a challenge, feeling measured by a setback, worrying about the outcome rather than the process, try to slip yourself over into more growth mindset thinking.
Health Wellness, Healthy Eating Habits, Emotional wellbeing: Tips, Facts, Ideas, and Tools for Success
Healthy living is within your reach, starting today. Sure, healthy living is a long-term commitment, not a short term work. But there are steps you can take right now that will make today healthier than yesterday and pave the way for healthy living tomorrow, too. Healthy living means both physical and mental health are in balance or functioning well together in a person. In many instances, physical and mental health are closely linked, so that a change (good or bad) in one directly affects the other. The Tips, Facts, Ideas, and tools for success in this Book “For the Health of It ” include suggestions for emotional and mental healthy living. Always keep these tips in mind:
Tips: Eat three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner); it is important to remember that dinner does not have to be the largest meal. The bulk of food consumption should consist of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk products. Choose lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts (with emphasis on beans and nuts). Choose foods that are low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars; look at the labels because the first listed items on the labels comprise the highest concentrations of ingredients. Healthy Living ideas Assess your activity. How much physical activity do you get in a typical week? How intense is that activity? How much variety do you get in your activity, and how much do you enjoy it? Get at least two and a half hours per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or one hour and 15 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, plus muscle-strengthening activities at least two days per week. Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat for a day.
Check your mood and energy. Healthy living includes emotional wellness and adequate rest. How has your mood been lately? Are you experiencing any symptoms anxiety? Do you usually sleep well for six to eight hours a night? Consider your social network. How strong are your connections with family and friends? Are you plugged in with social or spiritual groups that enrich your life? People have a fundamental need for positive and lasting relationships.
Chapter 31 Laughter is the Best Medicine Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. While soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. Everyone knows that laughter makes you feel good and puts you in high spirits, but did you also know that laughter actually causes physiological responses that protect the body from disease and help your vital organs repair themselves? A good laugh can be compared to a mild workout, as it exercises the muscles, gets the blood flowing, decreases blood pressure and stress hormones, improves sleep patterns and boosts the immune system. Furthermore, a study by the John Hopkins University Medical School showed that humor and laughter can also improve memory and mental performance. Yet despite the fact that laughter has so many benefits, far too many of us forget to even crack a smile every once in a while, let alone laugh. Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.
Laughter is good for your health One of the best feelings in the world is the deep-rooted belly laugh. It can bring people together and establish amazing connections. Everything from a slight giggle can change the temperature of a room from chilly unfamiliarity to a warm family-like atmosphere. Get ready to get your giggle on!Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after. It also boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and
infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain. Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems. Other Important Benefits of Laughing Laughing lowers blood pressure: People who laught lower their blood pressure, even those who start at normal levels, will reduce their risk of strokes and heart attacks. So grab the Sunday paper, flip to the funny pages and enjoy your laughter medicine. Reduces stress hormone levels:You benefit from reducing the level of stress hormones your body produces because hormone-level reduction simultaneously cuts the anxiety and stress impacting your body. Additionally, the reduction of stress hormones in your body may result in higher immune system performance. Just think: Laughing along as a co-worker tells a funny joke can relieve some of the day's stress and help you reap the health benefits of laughter. Fun ab workout: One of the benefits of laughter is that it can help you tone your abs. When you are laughing, the muscles in your stomach expand and contract, similar to when you intentionally exercise your abs. Meanwhile, the muscles you are not using to laugh are getting an opportunity to relax. Add laughter to your ab routine and make getting a toned tummy more enjoyable. Improves cardiac health: Laughter is a great cardio workout, especially for those who are incapable of doing other physical activity due to injury or illness. It gets your heart pumping and burns a similar amount of calories per hour as walking at a slow to moderate pace. So, laugh your heart into health. Boosts T cells: T cells are specialized immune system cells just waiting in your body for activation. When you laugh, you activate T cells that immediately begin to help you fight off sickness. Next time you feel a cold coming on, add chuckling to your illness prevention plan. Triggers the release of endorphins: Endorphins are the body’s natural pain killers. By laughing, you can release endorphins, which can help ease chronic pain and make you feel good all over. Produces a general sense of well-being: Laughter can increase your overall sense of well-being. Doctors have found that people who have a positive outlook on life tend to fight diseases better than people who tend to be more negative. So smile, laugh and live longer!
Broadens your mind Comedy makes us more inclusive of others and helps us see the big picture. Happiness and humour reduces narrow-minded perspectives. Laughing can slash bias and bring people together, which strengthens our work, home, and school relationships.
Improves Bonding People who laugh with their clients increase feelings of connection and bonding. “Laughter is thought to be one of the earliest ways that humans signalled support . Good-natured shared laughter between people can foster trust, rapport and reduced defensiveness.” Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers. Laughter may also break the pain-spasm cycle common to some muscle disorders. Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people. Improve your mood. Laughter can help lessen your anxiety and make you feel happier. •
Burns calories
Laughing for 10 to 15 minutes raises energy expenditure, increases heart rate, and can burn up to 40 calories. However, it’s not a weight-loss . Even so, a few calories every day translates to a few pounds a year.
Makes you feel good Laughing increases positive endorphins, reduces stress and strengthens the immune system. Even just anticipating something funny increases anti-viral, anti-tumour defences, reports Dr. Lee Berk of the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University. The benefits of humour can last up to 24 hours.
Increases job satisfaction Humour improves communication, creativity and overall performance in the workplace.
Increases hope and self-worth Watching just 15 minutes of a comedy show can alleviate worries about health or career. It makes overcoming obstacles even easier.
The ability to appreciate humour, the ability to laugh and make other people laugh,
actually has physiological effects on the body that cause people to become more bonded.”
Stress relief from laughter A good sense of humor can't cure all ailments, but data are mounting about the positive things laughter can do. Short-term benefits A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can: Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain. Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling. Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress. Long-term effects Laughter may:for it long team benefits can: Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. In contrast, positive thoughts actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.Research suggests that a good sense of humour wards off heart attacks. Also Laughter dilates blood vessels so blood flows more freely. Humour was a significant positive addition to standard cardiac rehabilitation. Laughing reduces the fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries. The old saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine’ definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart. Stress hormones are reduced during laughter, allowing the immune cells to function better.Laughing also promotes an oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange and clears airways. Muscles and joints are flexed and stretched, promoting muscle tone.
The following are some ways to incorporate more laughter and joy in your life:
• Don't be too hard on yourself: We all have obstacles in life and we all make mistakes: There is no reason to beat yourself up over it. In fact, if you can laugh light-heartedly at your own foibles, you'll find that you give yourself that extra happiness and confidence boost that can get you over any hurdle. This also extends to other people. Try not to be too hard on others -- a smile and a chuckle goes a lot further than criticism. • Find the humor in a bad situation: Sure, there are some situations that are genuinely sad and certainly not laughing matters. However, most situations in life have an ironic or ludicrous side to them. The next time you feel the stress levels rising, take a minute to think about the irony of the situation and allow yourself to laugh over the things you cannot control. This will decrease the amount of cortisol that your body produces due to stress, lowering your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and heart rate. • Remind yourself of funny moments from the past: Perhaps a friend told you a great joke the other day, your children or pets did something amusing, or maybe you watched a funny movie recently that had you in stitches. Call on these memories frequently, especially when you are feeling sad, angry or stressed. Sometimes just reliving a funny moment can cause the endorphins to kick in, which act as natural painkillers and mood boosters. • Surround yourself with fun people who like to laugh a lot: As the saying goes, mirthful laughter is contagious, so make a point to seek out positive people who aren't afraid to laugh at themselves and who have a knack for finding humor in life's situations. Young children are especially adept at finding laughter and joy in everyday moments. Moreover, your body, mind and soul will reap the health benefits of this natural and free medicine.
Bring more humor and laughter into your life. Want more laughter in your life? Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life. Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you do. Here are some ways to start: Smile: Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling. Count your blessings: Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter. When you hear laughter, move toward it: Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?” Spend time with fun, playful people: These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Bring humor into conversations: Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”
Developing your sense of humor: don't be too hard on your self One essential characteristic that helps us laugh is not taking ourselves too seriously. Most events in life don’t carry an overwhelming sense of either sadness or delight. They fall into the gray zone of ordinary life–giving you the choice to laugh or not. Laughter and humor help you stay emotionally healthy Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss. More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun. The link between laughter and mental health Laughter dissolves distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing. Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more. Humor shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed. The social benefits of humor and laughter Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created. This bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment. Laughing with others is more powerful than laughing alone
Creating opportunities to laugh: Watch a funny movie or TV show. Go to a comedy club. Read the funny pages. Seek out funny people. Share a good joke or a funny story.
Check out your bookstore’s humor section. Host game night with friends. Go to a “laughter yoga” class. Goof around with children. Do something unexpected and cool Make time for fun activities (e.g. bowling, miniature golfing, ). Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter and play also adds joy, vitality, and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times. Incorporating more humor and play into your daily interactions can improve the quality of your love relationships— as well as your connections with co-workers, family members, and friends. Using humor and laughter in relationships allows you to: Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles. Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget judgments, criticisms, and doubts. Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside. Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.
Using humor and play to overcome challenges and enhance your life The ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships. Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning. Playing with problems seems to come naturally to children. When they are confused or afraid, they make their problems into a game, giving them a sense of control and an opportunity to experiment with new solutions. Interacting with others in playful ways helps you retain this creative ability. Bringing more humor and laughter into your life Want more laughter in your life? Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life. Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you . Some events are clearly sad and not occasions for laughter. But most events in life don’t carry an overwhelming sense of either sadness or delight. They fall into the gray zone of ordinary life–giving you the choice to laugh or not. Ways to help yourself see the lighter side of life: Checklist for lightening up When you find yourself taken over by what seems to be a horrible problem, ask these questions: Is it really worth getting upset over? Is it worth upsetting others? Is it that important? Is it that bad? Is the situation irreparable? Is it really your problem?
Laugh at yourself. Share your moments. Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them. This will help improve your mood and the mood of those around you. Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun. Keep things in perspective. Many things in life are beyond your control—particularly the behavior of other people. While you might think taking the weight of the world on your shoulders is admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic, unproductive, unhealthy, and even egotistical. Deal with your stress. Stress is a major impediment to humor and laughter.
Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing. Using humor and play to overcome challenges and enhance your life The ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships. Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning. Playing with problems seems to come naturally to children. When they are confused or afraid, they make their problems into a game, giving them a sense of control and an opportunity to experiment with new solutions. Interacting with others in playful ways helps you retain this creative ability.
Laughter Therapy: What Happens When We Laugh? We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to tissues and may offer some of the same advantages as a workout. "The effects of laughter and exercise are very similar.
Chapter 32 Health Benefits of Sleep
Surprising Health Benefits of Sleep Sleep makes you feel better, but its importance goes way beyond just boosting your mood or banishing under-eye circles. Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy lifestyle, and can benefit your heart, weight, mind, and more. Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The way you feel while you're awake depends in part on what happens while you're sleeping. During sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teens, sleep also helps support growth and development. The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant (such as a car crash), or it can harm you over time. For example, ongoing sleep deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It also can affect how well you think, react, work, learn, and get along with others.
Healthy Brain Function and Emotional Well-Being Sleep helps your brain work properly. While you're sleeping, your brain is preparing for the next day. It's forming new pathways to help you learn and remember information. A good night's sleep improves learning. Whether you're learning math, how to play the piano, how to perfect your golf swing, or how to drive a car, sleep helps enhance your learning and problemsolving skills. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative. Sleep deficiency alters activity in some parts of the brain. If you're sleep deficient, you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions and behavior, and coping with change. Sleep deficiency also has been linked to depression. Children and teens who are sleep deficient may have problems getting along with others. They may feel angry and impulsive, have mood swings, feel sad or depressed, or lack motivation. They also may have problems paying attention, and they may get lower grades and feel stressed.
Physical Health Sleep plays an important role in your physical health. For example, sleep is involved in healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels. Sleep deficiency also increases the risk of obesity. Sleep deficiency increases the risk of obesity in other age groups as well. Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don't get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. This makes you feel hungrier than when you're well-rested. Sleep also affects how your body reacts to insulin, the hormone that controls your blood glucose (sugar) level. Sleep deficiency results in a higher than normal blood sugar level, which may increase your risk for diabetes. Sleep also supports healthy growth and development. Deep sleep triggers the body to release the hormone that promotes normal growth in children and teens. This hormone also boosts muscle mass and helps repair cells and tissues in children, teens, and adults. Sleep also plays a role in puberty and fertility. Your immune system relies on sleep to stay healthy. This system defends your body against foreign or harmful substances. Ongoing sleep deficiency can change the way in which your immune system responds. For example, if you're sleep deficient, you may have trouble fighting common infections.
Daytime Performance and Safety Getting enough quality sleep at the right times helps you function well throughout the day. People who are sleep deficient are less productive at work and school. They take longer to finish tasks, have a slower reaction time, and make more mistakes. After several nights of losing sleep—even a loss of just 1–2 hours per night—your ability to function suffers as if you haven't slept at all for a day or two. Lack of sleep also may lead to microsleep. Microsleep refers to brief moments of sleep that occur when you're normally awake. You can't control microsleep, and you might not be aware of it. For example, have you ever driven somewhere and then not remembered part of the trip? If so, you may have experienced microsleep. Even if you're not driving, microsleep can affect how you function. If you're listening to a lecture, for example, you might miss some of the information or feel like you don't understand the point. In reality, though, you may have slept through part of the lecture and not been aware of it. Drivers aren't the only ones affected by sleep deficiency. It can affect people in all lines of work, including health care workers, pilots, students, lawyers, mechanics, and assembly line workers. As a result, sleep deficiency is not only harmful on a personal level, but it also can cause large-scale damage. For example, sleep deficiency has played a role in human errors linked to tragic accidents, such as nuclear reactor meltdowns, grounding of large ships, and aviation accidents. Of course, not getting enough sleep can affect your love life in less direct ways too. If you're a person who's so exhausted you're falling asleep during a date at the movies, that's not good. Less pain. If you have chronic pain -- or acute pain from a recent injury -- getting enough sleep may actually make you hurt less. There is a link between sleep loss and lower pain threshold. Unfortunately, being in pain can make it hard to sleep. Getting good sleep can supplement medication for pain. If pain is keeping you up at night, there are also medications available that combine a pain reliever with a sleep aid.
Improve memory Your mind is surprisingly busy while you sleep. During sleep you can strengthen memories or "practice" skills learned while you were awake (it’s a process called consolidation). "If you are trying to learn something, whether it’s physical or mental, you learn it to a certain point with practice, but something happens while you sleep that makes you learn it better. In other words if you’re trying to learn something new—whether it’s Spanish or a new tennis swing— you’ll perform better after sleeping.
Live longer? Too much or too little sleep is associated with a shorter lifespan—although it’s not clear if it’s a cause or effect. (Illnesses may affect sleep patterns too.) Sleep also affects quality of life. Many things that we take for granted are affected by sleep. If you sleep better, you can certainly live better. It’s pretty clear.
Spur creativity Get a good night’s. In addition to consolidating memories, or making them stronger, your brain appears to reorganize and restructure them, which may result in more creativity as well. Researchers at Harvard University and Boston College found that people seem to strengthen the emotional components of a memory during sleep, which may help spur the creative process.
Be a winner If you’re an athlete, there may be one simple way to improve your performance: sleep.
Sharpen attention How we sleep affects the brain. It impairs your cognition, your attention, and your decision-making. It prevent day time mistakes like leaving keys in the fridge by accident,"
Have a healthy weight If you are thinking about going on a diet, you might want to plan an earlier bedtime too. Sleep and metabolism are controlled by the same sectors of the brain. When you are sleepy, certain hormones go up in your blood, and those same hormones drive appetite.
Lower stress When it comes to our health stress and sleep are nearly one and the same—and both can affect cardiovascular health. Sleep can definitely reduce levels of stress, and with that people can have better control of their blood pressure. It’s also believed that sleep effects cholesterol levels, which plays a significant role in heart disease. Better mood. Getting enough sleep won't guarantee a sunny disposition. But you have probably noticed that when you're exhausted, you're more likely to be cranky. That's not all. Not getting enough sleep affects your day. Better weight control. Getting enough sleep could help you maintain your weight -- and conversely, sleep loss goes along with an increased risk of weight gain. Why? Part of the problem is behavioural. If you're overtired, you might be less likely to have the energy to go for that jog or cook a healthy dinner after work. The other part is physiological. The hormone leptin plays a key role in making you feel full. When you don't get enough sleep, leptin levels drop. Result: people who are tired are just plain hungrier -and they seem to crave high-fat and high-calorie foods specifically. Better memory. Feeling forgetful? Sleep loss could be to blame. Studies have shown that while we sleep, our brains process and consolidate our memories from the day. If you don't get enough sleep, it seems like those memories might not get stored correctly -- and can be lost.
Healthy Sleep Tips Healthy sleep habits can make a big difference in your quality of life. Having healthy sleep habits is often referred to as having good “sleep hygiene.” Try to keep the following sleep practices on a consistent basis: Stick to a sleep schedule of the same bedtime and wake up time, even on the weekends. This helps to regulate your body's clock and could help you fall asleep and stay asleep for the night. Go to bed at the same time every night – Give yourself a scheduled bedtime or before long your awake time will be squeezing its way into sleep time. Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual. A relaxing, routine activity right before bedtime conducted away from bright lights helps separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety which can make it more difficult to fall asleep, get sound and deep sleep or remain asleep. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid naps, especially in the afternoon. Power napping may help you get through the day, but if you find that you can't fall asleep at bedtime, eliminating even short catnaps may help. Exercise daily. Vigorous exercise is best, but even light exercise is better than no activity. Exercise at any time of day, but not at the expense of your sleep. Evaluate your room. Design your sleep environment to establish the conditions you need for sleep. Your bedroom should be cool – between 60 and 67 degrees. Your bedroom should also be free from any noise that can disturb your sleep. Finally, your bedroom should be free from any light. Check your room for noises or other distractions. Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows. Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The one you have been using for years may have exceeded its life expectancy – about 9 or 10 years for most good quality mattresses. Have comfortable pillows and make the room attractive and inviting for sleep but also free of allergens that might affect you and objects that might cause you to slip or fall if you have to get up during the night. Use bright light to help manage your circadian rhythms. Avoid bright light in the evening and expose yourself to sunlight in the morning. This will keep your circadian rhythms in check. Wind down. Your body needs time to shift into sleep mode, so spend the last hour before bed doing a calming activity such as reading. For some people, using an electronic device such as a laptop can make it hard to fall asleep, because the particular type of light emanating from the screens of these devices is activating to the brain. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid electronics before bed or in the middle of the night. Unplug – Make sure you are not doing anything but relaxing, journaling or reading an hour before going to bed. That means no electronics. Doing so allows your body to release the hormone melatonin which helps to get you to sleep.
If you can't sleep, something relaxing until you feel sleepy. It is best to take work materials, computers and televisions out of the sleeping environment. Use your bed only for sleep to strengthen
the association between bed and sleep. Sleep is one of those simple yet powerful tools that is truly a health weapon. A good night’s sleep makes you feel much healthier and allows you to function better throughout your day. When you have good sleeping habits, it has a domino effect on every aspect of your life. You’ll feel more alert, energetic and motivated to make other positive lifestyle changes. So sleep for the health of it! The widespread use of electricity has given us greater freedom but it has also given us the opportunity to stay up late and push ourselves to do more resulting in sleep deprivation. What you may not realize is that sleep deprivation is cumulative. You don’t adapt to sleep deprivation, you only get more tired and eventually unhealthy. Many things interfere with a good night’s sleep these days. Emails, social media and smartphones have all become such a part of living in our modern world that we borrow time from sleep to do more. Sleep is needed to regenerate the body. When you don’t get enough, your body doesn’t heal. The body’s immune system is actually weakened without sleep which not only causes you to be sick but it also causes you to age prematurely. Sleep studies are finding that women who averaged less than five hours of sleep per night had a higher death rate than those who slept seven hours and that women going to bed too late may be doubling their risk of breast cancer. It is time to make sleep a priority and look upon it as you would any other essential nutrient that affects virtually every aspect of your life. Here are more tips for getting the right amount and quality of sleep you need. Keep your room cool and well ventilated – Keeping your room temperature on the cooler side and using an air purifier can improve the way you breathe and ultimately the way you sleep. Limit caffeine – Drinking caffeine can prolong the time it takes you to fall asleep and can decrease the time that you stay asleep. Make sleep as essential as eating, exercising or anything else that you consider important to your health. Pleasant dreams!
Chapter 33 Water is essential to good health
Health benefits of water Water is your body's principal chemical component and makes up about 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells, and provides a moist environment for ear, nose and throat tissues. Lack of water can lead to dehydration, a condition that occurs when you don't have enough water in your body to carry out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired.
It's no magic bullet, but the benefits of water are many. Americans seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go these days. In fact, it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks). But water lovers got a jolt recently when we heard that a new report had found that the benefits of drinking water may have been oversold. Apparently, the old suggestion to drink eight glasses a day was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence. But don't put your water bottle or glass down just yet. While we may not need eight glasses, there are plenty of reasons to drink water. In fact, drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health. "Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day. When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp.
It's no magic bullet, but the benefits of water are many. Most people seem to carry bottled water everywhere they go these days. In fact, it has become the second most popular drink (behind soft drinks). Drinking water (either plain or in the form of other fluids or foods) is essential to your health. Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day. Fluid losses occur continuously, from skin evaporation, breathing, urine, etc and these losses must be replaced daily for good health," he says. When your water intake does not equal your output, you can become dehydrated. Fluid losses are accentuated in warmer climates, during strenuous exercise, in high altitudes, and in older adults, whose sense of thirst may not be as sharp. Here are reasons to make sure you're drinking enough water or other fluids every day: Drinking Water Helps Maintain the Balance of Body Fluids. Your body is composed of about 60% water. The functions of these bodily fluids include digestion, absorption, circulation, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature. "Through the posterior pituitary gland, your brain communicates with your kidneys and tells it how much water to excrete. When you're low on fluids, the brain triggers the body's thirst mechanism you should listen to those cues and get yourself a drink of water. Water Can Help Control Calories. For years, dieters have been drinking lots of water as a weight loss strategy. While water doesn't have any magical effect on weight loss, substituting it for higher calorie beverages can certainly help. What works with weight loss is if you choose water or a non-caloric beverage over a caloric beverage and/or eat a diet higher in water-rich foods that are healthier, more filling, and help you trim calorie intake. Food with high water content tends to look larger, its higher volume requires more chewing, and it is absorbed more slowly by the body, which helps you feel full. Water-rich foods include fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, oatmeal, and beans.
Water Helps Energize Muscles. Cells that don't maintain their balance of fluids and electrolytes shrivel, which can result in muscle fatigue. "When muscle cells don't have adequate fluids, they don't work as well and performance can suffer. Drinking enough fluids is important when exercising. During exercise, start drinking fluids early, and drink them at regular intervals to replace fluids lost by sweating. Water Helps Keep Skin Looking Good. Your skin contains plenty of water, and functions as a protective barrier to prevent excess fluid loss. But don't expect over-hydration to erase wrinkles or fine lines. Dehydration makes your skin look more dry and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration. But once you are adequately hydrated, the kidneys take over and excrete excess fluids. You can also help "lock" moisture into your skin by using moisturizer, which creates a physical barrier to keep moisture in. Certain toxins in the body can cause the skin to inflame, which results in clogged pores. Water does flush out these toxins and can reduce the risk of pimples. Water Helps Your Kidneys. Body fluids transport waste products in and out of cells. The main toxin in the body is blood urea nitrogen, a water-soluble waste that is able to pass through the kidneys to be excreted in the urine. Your kidneys do an amazing job of cleansing and ridding your body of toxins as long as your intake of fluids is adequate. When you're getting enough fluids, urine flows freely. When your body is not getting enough fluids, urine concentration, increases because the kidneys trap extra fluid for bodily functions. Our kidneys process 200 quarts of blood daily, sifting out waste and transporting urine to the bladder. Yet, kidneys need enough fluids to clear away what we don’t need in the body. Let's drink to that! Water also helps maintain normal bowel function
Fluid balance Roughly 60 percent of the body is made of water. Drinking enough water maintains the body’s fluid balance, which helps transport nutrients in the body, regulate body temperature, digest food, and more. Calorie control Forget other diet tricks—drinking water could also help with weight loss. Numerous studies have found a connection between water consumption and losing a few pounds . The secret reason? Water simply helps people feel full, and as a result consume fewer calories. Productivity boost
In order to really focus, a glass of water could help people concentrate and stay refreshed and alert. One of the most common symptoms of dehydration is tiredness. A little water can really go a long way. Aching joints and muscle cramps and strains can all occur if the body is dehydrated . Nobody wants to deal with digestion issues. Luckily, drinking enough water adds fluids to the colon which helps make things, ahem, move smoothly. Water may help with decongestion and dehydration, helping the body bounce back when feeling under the weather.
Water: How much should you drink every day? How much water should you drink each day? Studies have produced varying recommendations over the years, but in truth, your water needs depend on many factors, including your health, how active you are and where you live. Although no single formula fits everyone, knowing more about your body's need for fluids will help you estimate how much water to drink each day.
How much water do you need? Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.
What about the advice to drink 8 glasses a day? Everyone has heard the advice, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day." That's about 1.9 liters, which isn't that different from the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Although the "8 by 8" rule isn't supported by hard evidence, it remains popular because it's easy to remember. Just keep in mind that the rule should be reframed as: "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," because all fluids count toward the daily total.
Bottoms Up—Your Action Plan The amount of water people need per day is up for debate, but studies suggest adults need nine to 16 cups of H2O. However this number varies depending on activity level, age, and how much water people are consuming in coffee, tea, or water-rich veggies and fruit. Here’s how to keep yourself hydrated: Begin by drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up, and 30 minutes before eating any big meal. (This will help control appetite, too.) Get in the habit of keeping a water bottle on hand at all times. And if the taste beings to bore, spice up the taste buds with a squeeze of citrus to the glass! Before you know it, all the benefits of water will be right at your fingertips… and in your body. Around of 70% of the body is comprised of water, and around of 71% of the planet's surface is covered by water. Perhaps it is the ubiquitous nature of water that means that drinking enough of it each day is not at the top of many people's lists of healthy priorities? One part of the body that relies on adequate water intake is the kidneys. The kidneys are organs that might not get as much attention as the heart or lungs, but they are responsible for many functions that help keep the body as healthy as possible.
But what happens to the kidneys when we do not drink enough water? And what can be done to improve our levels of hydration? On World Kidney Day, we take a look at the role of drinking enough water for two of the most important organs in the body. Why do we need to drink water? Water is needed by all the cells and organs in the body in order for them to function properly. It is also used to lubricate the joints, protect the spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, regulate body temperature and assist the passage of food through the intestines. Although some of the water required by the body is obtained through foods with a high water content soups, tomatoes, oranges - the majority is gained through drinking water and other beverages. During normal everyday functioning, water is lost by the body, and this needs to be replaced. It is noticeable that we lose water through activities such as sweating and urination, but water is even lost when breathing. Drinking water, be it from the tap or a bottle, is the best source of fluid for the body. Beverages such as milk and juices are also decent sources of water, but beverages containing alcohol and caffeine, such as soft drinks, coffee and beer, are less than ideal due to having diuretic properties, meaning that they cause the body to release water.
How much water should you drink? The recommended amount of water that should be drunk per day varies from person to person depending on factors such as how active they are and how much they sweat. There is no universally agreed upon threshold of water consumption that must be reached, but there is a general level of consensus as to what a healthy amount is. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), an adequate intake for men is approximately 13 cups (3 liters) a day. For women, an adequate intake is around 9 cups (2.2 liters). Many people may have heard the phrase, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day," which works out at around 1.9 liters and is close to the IOM's recommendation for women. Drinking "8 by 8" is an easy-to-remember amount that can put people on the right track in terms of water consumption. Water also helps dissolve minerals and nutrients so that they are more accessible to the body, as well
as helping transport waste products out of the body. It is these two functions that make water so vital to the kidneys.
What do the kidneys do? The kidneys are two small fist-sized organs that are shaped like beans. They are located in the middle of the back, on either side of the spine and situated just below the rib cage. Despite their importance, the kidneys can sometimes receive less attention than other organs in the body. "The role of the kidneys is often underrated when we think about our health," state Kidney Health Australia. The role of the kidneys in keeping the body healthy may be underrated in relation to the heart and the lungs. "In fact, the kidneys play an important role in the daily workings of our body. They are so important to health that nature gave us two kidneys to cover the possibility that one might be lost to an injury. They are so important that with no kidney function, death occurs within a few days." A crucial function of the kidneys is to remove waste products and excess fluid from the body via urine. The kidneys also regulate the levels of salt, potassium and acid in the body and produce hormones that influence the performance of other organs. When we eat and drink, nutrients and minerals enter the bloodstream in order to be transported around the body and used for energy, growth, maintenance or repair. The blood also passes through the kidneys where it is filtered, and any waste products and excess nutrients and water are removed and sent to the bladder for expulsion. Every day, the kidneys filter around 200 quarts of fluid. Of these, approximately 2 quarts are removed from the body in the form of urine, and 198 are recovered by the bloodstream. If the kidneys do not function properly through kidney disease, waste products and excess fluid can build up inside the body. Untreated, chronic kidney disease can lead to kidney failure, whereby the organs stop working, and either dialysis or kidney transplantation is required. Water is important for the workings of the kidneys, not only for helping to initially dissolve the nutrients, but for ensuring that waste products, bacteria and proteins do not build up in the kidneys and the bladder. These can lead to dangerous infections and painful kidney stones.
How does not drinking enough affect the kidneys?
Drinking plenty of water is one of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of developing a UTI (Urinary tract infections )and is also advised for people that have developed an infection. Dehydration - using and losing more water than the body takes in - can also lead to an imbalance in the body's electrolytes. Electrolytes, such as potassium, phosphate and sodium, help carry electrical signals between cells. The levels of electrolytes in the body are kept stable by properly functioning kidneys. When the kidneys are unable to maintain a balance in the levels of electrolytes, these electrical signals become mixed up, which can lead to seizures, involving involuntary muscle movements and loss of consciousness. There are a considerable number of health problems that can occur simply through not drinking enough water. The biologic requirement for water may be met with plain water or via healthy foods and other healthy beverages. 3 Key Tips to Help You Drink More If you think you need to be drinking more, here are some tips to increase your fluid intake and reap the benefits of water: 1. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Their high water content will add to your hydration. About 20% of our fluid intake comes from foods. 2. Keep a bottle of water with you in your car, at your desk, or in your bag. 3. Choose healthy beverages that meet your individual needs. If you're watching calories, go for non-caloric beverages or water.
Chapter 34 The Health Benefits of Being an Optimist A positive outlook is the most important predictor of resilience. It's not just Hollywood magic. Optimism is Good for Your Health Optimistic people are healthier and live longer than pessimists. Those who had a more optimistic outlook performed better and had a better outcome. Some may believe that optimists are unrealistic people. Far from living life with blinders on, it is optimists who confront trouble head on while pessimists bury their heads in denial and avoidance.
Optimistic patients have better health outcomes than pessimistic and hopeless patients this factors may explain the link between optimism, better health and Optimism is associated with living healthier; physical activity and better life. Optimists handle stress better, and other risk factors that adversely affect health and longevity. Benefits of optimism By almost every measure, optimists fair better than pessimists, whether it’s work, school, sports or relationships. They get depressed less often than pessimists do, make more money and have happier marriages. Optimists don’t give up as easily as pessimists and they are more likely to achieve success because of it. They see negative events as minor setbacks to be overcome and view positive events as evidence of more good things to come. Believing in themselves, optimists also take more risks and create more positive events in their lives. What makes optimism so optimal? Optimism is not just about feeling positive. It’s also about being motivated and persistent. : How Optimists Get What They Want From Life –optimists tend to deal with problems head on. Instead of walking away, they plan a course of action,
seek and stay focused on solutions. Optimists tend to expect a good outcome, and even when they don’t get it, they find ways to learn and grow from the negative experience. Optimists believe their actions shape their destinies. This may be w hy optimists are more likely to eat right and exercise and are less likely to engage in other unhealthy habits. When an optimist does get sick, he/she seek appropriate medical care and actively participate in treatment
Key tips to increase optimism So what if you are a pessimist or not as optimistic as you’d like to be? No matter what your outlook is, optimism can be learned and improved. The following strategies can help you decrease pessimistic thinking and increase optimism: Notice your negative self: Become aware of the negative scripts that you are playing in your mind and constantly play. Self talk such as, “I can’t do that. I’m not good enough to...I’m afraid to...” Track your thoughts on a daily basis and notice the negative assumptions and conclusions that you draw. Identifying your negative self talk is essential to change. Capitalize on the power of positive thinking: When you find yourself saying something negative, think of something positive to say even if it doesn’t “ring true” to you at the moment. By merely acting more optimistic, you’re likely to be more engaged in the process and the outcome and are less likely to give up after an initial failure. Replace phrases such as “I can’t...” or “That is never going to work” with “I’ll try...” or “Let’s see how that will work out Reframe how you define events– Instead of dwelling on a bad experience, analyze it to figure out what good can come out of it. What can you learn from the experience that will help you grow from it? Virtually any “failure” can be turned into a learning experience, which increases your potential for success in the future. Focus on the here and now Avoid dwelling on negative past experiences. If you face a difficult situation, determine the cause, take corrective action and move forward. Too much obsessing about the past can paralyze you, just when positive action is what is most needed.
Be realistic and expect ups and downs Just because you’re an optimist doesn’t mean you’re not going to have bad days. Setbacks happen to everyone. When things go wrong, learn from what went wrong and move forward with a new determination to make things turn outbetter. Focus on what you can control and let go of what you can’t Pessimism is impractical because it causes you to spend time dwelling on negative things that haven’t happened yet, while simultaneously preventing you from taking effective action in the present. Recognize the things you can’t control, let these go and focus your energy and thoughts on the things that you can control to affect the best outcome possible.
Set and pursue goals How can you keep from being immobilized by pessimistic thinking? By taking action, even if you think it might be futile. Determine what is important to you and set meaningful goals. Create and write down a step by step plan for accomplishing your goal and then take the first step. Even if you’re worried about doing something new, just give it ago. With planning and persistence, you chances of succeeding are greatly enhanced. Be persistent It’s persistence that paves the optimists path. Optimists believe they will eventually succeed, so they keep plugging away at their goals. Positive expectations fuel motivation and hard work negative expectations have the exact opposite effect. Optimists keep going. When they succeed they try harder. When they fail, they try again. Surround yourself with positive people Optimism is a learned habit and can be contagious. Surround yourself with supportive friends who have positive outlooks. Avoid negative people whenever possible, and if you can’t avoid them, develop strategies to help you limit your exposure to them as much as possible. Focus on the positive Keep a diary of all of the good things in your life. Spend a few minutes at the end of your day writing down your positive experiences. This exercise will help you end each day on a strong, positive note. As it is commonly understood, the term ‘optimism’ embraces two closely correlated concepts: the
first is the inclination to hope, while the second more generally refers to the tendency to believe that we live in “the best of all possible worlds”. Considering it a trait of an equilibrated personality, in time and in various situations, that influences the way in which individuals come to terms with present, past and future events in life. Optimistic individuals are positive about events in daily life. Regarding this perspective, positive correlations have been found between optimism and physical/mental well-being. Optimism, as an “attributional style”, characterized by the tendency to believe that negative events are inconstant (the negative event will not repeat itself), external (I am not responsible for the event) and specific (the event is “specific”, self-limiting and will not influence any other activities of mine and my life). Optimists believe that positive events are more stable and frequent than negative ones. They think that they can avoid problems in daily life and prevent them from happening, and therefore they cope with stressful situations more successfully than pessimists. Optimism in relations with mental health, physical health, coping, quality of life and adaptation of purpose, health lifestyle. optimism is correlated with better physical well-being compared to pessimism.
OPTIMISM AND COPING Coping refers to those mechanisms and mental processes enacted by the individual as an adaptive response to reduce the stress deriving from a threatening situation. The choice of the coping shows to be constant over the course of time if you win for the first time. Optimists resort to adaptive strategies that focalize on the emotions, for example, acceptance, humour and positive re-assessment of the situation Optimism exerts an indirect influence also on the quality of life. Coping strategies characterized by acceptance of the situation, emphasis of the positive aspects and attempts to alleviate their condition with a sense of humour, showing evident positive results on their quality of life. In contrast, the pessimistic people reacted with sentiments of impotence and loss of hope which significantly worsened their quality of life.
OPTIMISM, QUALITY OF LIFE AND ADAPTATION OF PURPOSE Quality of life refers to life conditions of an individual (health, wealth, social conditions) and satisfaction of personal desires, measured on a scale of personal values. As such, we are dealing with a multidimensional construct that integrates objective.
OPTIMISM, HEALTH LIFESTYLE AND RISK PERCEPTION One way in which optimism may significantly influence physical well-being is through promotion of a healthy lifestyle. In fact, it is thought that optimism facilitates adaptive behaviours and cognitive responses that consent negative information to be elaborated more efficiently and that are associated with greater flexibility and problem-solving capacity. These coping strategies are in turn predictive of behaviours targeted at avoiding, and if necessary facing positively, health problems. Optimism Is Good For Your Heart . Across the board, people who have a positive outlook and upbeat attitude toward life have significantly better cardiovascular health. Optimism Creates an Upward Spiral of Well-Being The absence of the negative is not the same thing as the presence of the positive. We found that factors such as optimism, life satisfaction. For example, the most optimistic individuals had an approximately 50 percent reduced risk of experiencing an initial cardiovascular event compared to their less optimistic peers." Can Optimism Be Learned? Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist? Is changing your explanatory style from a tendency to see the glass as "half-empty" to "half-full" within the locus of your control? The answer is, yes. You can choose to see the glass as half-empty or half-full. Through daily choices that include things like, maintaining a strong social network, physical activity, a sense of humor, mindfulness training, and loving-kindness, praying to God. Optimists’ Prime So who ultimately has the edge? Those who are able to see a silver lining likely have a leg up. People who are happier with their life are more likely to do things that benefit their health such as eating well, exercising, and maintaining a healthy weight, because they’re more likely to believe that good things will come out of those actions. And, while there’s something to be said for defensive pessimism, that doesn’t necessarily mean that optimists walk blindly into daunting situations. If something goes wrong, optimists have better skills for coping with stressful life situations. They tend to believe that when one door closes another door opens, which is a buffer against stress. Pessimists, however, may be more likely to catastrophize, so if something bad happens it can lead them down into a spiral of negativity. This, in turn, could take a toll on their overall health, since stress and pessimism is associated with depression.
Cultivate a Happier Outlook Write more thank you notes (or e-mails). Writing letters of gratitude helps you focus on the positive and the blessings you have on your life. Sometimes people focus on what others have and they don’t, which creates stress and unhappiness. Gratitude helps you see the positive even amidst stressful situations. Spend more time doing things you love. When you do something you enjoy, you enter a state of flow where time passes quickly and everything else melts away. This, in turn, helps you feel happier overall, which makes you more likely to see the good in yourself and in the world. Share good news with others. Did you receive positive feedback from your manager? Don’t keep it to yourself. Any time you share something good with someone else it amplifies it and makes you relive it
Can Optimism Make a Difference in Your Life? Do you have a rosy outlook and see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty? If so, your good attitude may have even more benefits than you think. Optimistic people tend to live longer and have better physical and mental health than pessimistic people.
The science behind the smiles The idea of optimism leading to better health has been studied. The message is that having a positive attitude can boost your physical health, no matter what might be ailing you. Optimism seemed to have consistent benefits for people regardless of demographic factors such as income level or overall health status.
How to be more optimistic Changing from a pessimistic mindset to an optimistic one isn’t easy. Start with these tips: Think positive thoughts about yourself and others. Stop comparing yourself to others in a competitive way. Each person has unique and special talents that are to be valued. Try to find the good in every situation, even at difficult moments. When facing a challenge, focus on achieving a positive outcome, rather than expecting defeat. Explore your own beliefs about the meaning and purpose of life, whether they are philosophical or religious. Strive to improve your physical health through exercise, a healthy diet, and good sleeping habits and hygiene. The better you feel, the brighter your outlook will be. Challenge your mind every day by learning something new, including learning about yourself and your family history.
The Benefits of Optimism Are Real
Chapter 35 Walking for the Health of It Walking is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health. Just 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance. It can also reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, osteoporosis and some cancers. Unlike some other forms of exercise, walking is free and doesn’t require any special equipment or training. Physical activity does not have to be vigorous or done for long periods in order to improve your health Walking is low impact, requires minimal equipment, can be done at any time of day and can be performed at your own pace. You can get out and walk without worrying about the risks associated with some more vigorous forms of exercise. Walking is also a great form of physical activity for people who are overweight, elderly, or who haven’t exercised in a long time. Walking for fun and fitness isn’t limited to strolling by yourself around local neighbourhood streets. There are various clubs, venues and strategies you can use to make walking an enjoyable and social part of your lifestyle. Develop the daily cardio habit while the weather's still nice. Then when it's not, you will already be in the habit - and crave that daily cardio walk, regardless of the climatic conditions. Develop an all-weather walking wardrobe so you can bundle up for the cooler temps or, if you're a "weather wimp", take your walking indoors till you can get outside again.
Why Walking? It is good for the body, mind and spirit. It helps you to lose weight or keep from gaining more weight. It energizes and increases your strength. It strengthens your bones, thus fights osteoporosis.
It tones and strengthens your muscles. It keeps your joints more flexible for easy movement. It is easy to do (you can walk almost anywhere, by yourself, or with someone). It doesn’t cost much (you only need comfortable walking shoes). It is often social (if you get a walking buddy or have a walking group). It is basically safe (especially if you walk with someone else, or in well-lit areas where others also walk or run).
Walking is healthy for: Losing weight by burning off calories. (Yes, this is a repeat) reducing blood pressure controlling diabetes relaxing and reducing stress delaying arthritis and limiting its negative effects strengthening the heart and lungs Walking can be interesting (for sight-seeing, window shopping, light shopping, block walking, talking as you walk with a friend or buddy, and other things that you, or you and your friend(s) enjoy). Good places for walking include: shopping malls school grounds your neighborhood in a park (with someone else is best) for local shopping
Easy ways to do extra walking: Use stairways, if safe, instead of elevators if you don’t have heart disease. In parking lots, park further away from the entrance, to walk more When you take a bus or subway, get off at the stop before the stop where you’re going, so that you’ll have to walk a little further.
Special Tips: Keep a daily record of what will make you feel best about your progress – like: how many times you walked each week? how many miles you walked each week ? how much weight you lost in a month? Reward yourself at least once a month, and more often if it helps and even if it’s a small reward. Just pick an activity that will be a good reward or celebration for you. Remember: Knowledge * Action = Power Waling is a gentle, low-impact form of exercise that’s easy, free and suitable for people of all ages and most abilities. Here’s why it’s so good for you It strengthens your heart: Regular walking has been shown to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. It lowers levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol while increasing levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and keeps blood pressure in check. Anything that raises your heart rate and gets your blood pumping is a workout for your heart and circulatory system. It lowers diseases: Taking more steps every day can help you body ,regular exercise such as walking can increase you life style. It keeps weight in check: If you’re trying to lose weight, you need to burn about 600 calories a day more than you’re eating. Putting one foot in front of the other is one of the easiest ways to do that. Walking also increases muscle mass and tone and the more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism – so the more calories you burn, even at rest. Walking counts as a weight-bearing activity. It stimulates and strengthens bones, increasing their density – really important, especially for women. It also helps maintain healthy joints so may stave off conditions such as arthritis." It tones your legs, bum – and tum A good walk can help strengthen and shape your legs, giving great definition to calves, quads, hamstrings and lifting your glutes (buttock muscles) – if you really pay attention to your posture as you walk. Think about lengthening up through your spine to create space between your earlobes and shoulders. Relax your shoulders, pull in your tummy and pelvic floor and imagine you have a cup of water
balanced on top of each hip bone that you don’t want to spill. As you walk with this posture, your shoulders will naturally rotate and this works your oblique abdominal muscles. Let’s not forget your arms: Your speed when walking comes from your arms , hold them at a comfortable level, bent at the elbow, and swing them backwards and forwards as you walk. Swing them faster and you’ll automatically speed up. And all this movement tones your arms, shoulders and upper back. It boosts your vitamin D levels: If you’re walking outside in daylight, you’ll be boosting your body’s stores of vitamin D – a nutrient that’s hard to get from food, but that we can synthesise from exposure to sunlight While sun safety is still important, that exposing as much skin as you can to the sun, little and often and without burning, will help you to produce sufficient vitamin D. It gives you energy: It might seem like a paradox (and the last thing you might feel like) but a brisk walk is one of the best natural energizers around. It boosts circulation and increases oxygen supply to each and every cell in your body, helping you to feel more alert and alive. It wakes up stiff joints and eases muscle tension so you feel less sluggish. Always have a mid-afternoon energy slump at work? Head out for a walk at lunchtime instead of sitting in a café or at your desk and see what a difference it makes. It makes you happy: The ability of exercise to boost mood is undisputed. Regular, moderate-intensity exercise (such as brisk walking) to be as effective as antidepressants in cases of mild to moderate depression. Getting active releases feel-good endorphins into the bloodstream, reducing stress and anxiety. And don’t forget it’s often a social activity – joining a walking group or meeting friends to walk and chat is a great way to banish feelings of isolation and loneliness. Can you really walk your way to fitness? You bet! Get started today. Know the benefits: Physical activity doesn't need to be complicated. Something as simple as a daily brisk walk can help you live a healthier life. For example, regular brisk walking can help you: Maintain a healthy weight Strengthen your bones Lift your mood Improve your balance and coordination The faster, farther and more frequently you walk, the greater the benefits. Consider your technique:
Turning your normal walk into a fitness stride requires good posture and purposeful movements. Ideally, here's how you'll look when you're walking: Your head is up. You're looking forward, not at the ground. Your neck, shoulders and back are relaxed, not stiffly upright. You're swinging your arms freely with a slight bend in your elbows. A little pumping with your arms is OK. Your stomach muscles are slightly tightened and your back is straight, not arched forward or backward. You're walking smoothly, rolling your foot from heel to toe. Plan your routine: As you start your walking routine, remember to: Get the right gear. Choose shoes with proper arch support, a firm heel and thick flexible soles to cushion your feet and absorb shock. If you walk outdoors when it's dark, wear bright colors or reflective tape for visibility. Choose your course carefully. If you'll be walking outdoors, avoid paths with cracked sidewalks, potholes, low-hanging limbs or uneven turf. Warm up. Walk slowly for five to 10 minutes to warm up your muscles and prepare your body for exercise. Cool down. At the end of your walk, walk slowly for five to 10 minutes to help your muscles cool down. Stretch. After you cool down, gently stretch your muscles. If you'd rather stretch before you walk, remember to warm up first.
Set realistic goals: As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. If you can't set aside that much time, try two 15-minute sessions or three 10-minute sessions throughout the day. Remember, though, it's OK to start slowly — exercising regularly. You might start with five minutes a day the first week, and then increase your time by five minutes each week until you reach at least 30 minutes. Track your progress: Keeping a record of how many steps you take, the distance you walk and how long it takes can help you see where you started from and serve as a source of inspiration. Just think how good you'll feel when you see how many miles you've walked each week, month or year. Record these numbers in a walking journal or log them in a spreadsheet or a physical activity app. Another option is to use an electronic device — such as a pedometer — to calculate steps and distance.
Stay motivated: Starting a walking program takes initiative. Sticking with it takes commitment. To stay motivated: Set yourself up for success. Start with a simple goal, such as, "I'll take a 10minute walk during my lunch break." When your 10-minute walk becomes a habit, set a new goal, such as, "I'll walk for 20 minutes after work." Soon you could be reaching for goals that once seemed impossible. Make walking enjoyable. If you don't enjoy solitary walks, ask a friend or neighbor to join you. If you're invigorated by groups, join a health club. Vary your routine. If you walk outdoors, plan several different routes for variety. If you're walking alone, be sure to tell someone which route you're taking. Take missed days in stride. If you find yourself skipping your daily walks, don't give up. Remind yourself how good you feel when you include physical activity in your daily routine — and then get back on track. Once you take that first step, you're on the way to an important destination — better health. First, it’s all-inclusive. Absent debilitating injury or infirmity, everyone can walk. No excuses (unless you have one). Second, the necessary equipment is right down there. See those bizarre appendages underneath you? That’s what you walk with. See that horizontal surface stretching into the horizon? That’s what you walk on. Third, it’s the foundation for good health and makes life better. It’s this last point that brings me to the meat of today’s post: all the ways in which walking enhances our life. Let’s go: It keeps your buttocks engaged with the world. A wise man once said that excessive sitting causes glute inactivation .This is true, but it’s not like simply standing is enough to keep them strong and engaged. You have to walk, and walk often. To make sure the way you walk is actually activating your glutes, place your hands on each glute. You should feel your glute tense up a bit with each footfall as it accepts the load, and that same glute should tense up even more when you push off to take another step so that your hand gets a little “pushback.” Gallivant around like this, making sure each glute is working It modestly reduces body fat. Walking isn’t going to get you shredded, ripped, cut, or yoked. It might not be as brutally and mechanistically effective on a minute for minute basis as other forms of exercise, but frequent walking will help anyone with two functioning legs and hip and knee joints that allow movement who would otherwise meld into the couch lose some body fat. That’s pretty cool, I think. It improves glycemic control, especially after meals. Just 15 minutes of walking after eating improved the blood glucose control in older people with poor glucose tolerance. Try to keep the walk as close to the meal as possible to aid in weight loss. It improves triglyceride levels and lowers blood pressure, especially after meals.
Whether short (ten 3-minute bouts of brisk walking) or longer (one 30-minute bout of brisk walking), briskly walking after a meal lowers postprandial blood pressure and triglyceride levels. It might help you live longer if you do it briskly (or at least presages a longer life, if not causes it). A recent study of over 7000 male and 31000 female recreational walkers found that walking intensity predicted mortality risk. Those who walked the fastest tended to die the least. It’s important to note that this wasn’t an interventional study where walkers were coached to walk faster; this was just looking at the relationship between natural walking speed and mortality risk, so naturally slow walkers who resolve to increase their speed may not see the same relationship – but it certainly can’t hurt! It’s well tolerated by people with arthritis (and could even improve their condition). Arthritis patients have it tough on the exercise front. They won’t get any better avoiding exercise, but exercise tends to hurt. What to do? Walk. Walking is gentle, particularly if you perform it with proper form. And one study even found that walking (and weight lifting) improves balance in older adults with osteoarthritis. It’s good for your brain. Walking does much more than work the area underneath your neck. It also has extensive cognitive benefits, improving memory in seniors, cognitive control and academic performance in preadolescents (especially those who need it most), and (when done outdoors) boosting creativity in the young and healthy. The farther an older person can walk in six minutes, the better he or she performs on memory and logic tests; folks who perform poorly on the walking test tend to have reduced grey matter volume in certain sections of their brains. Aristotle’s famed tendency to walk as he taught students suddenly makes sense. It reduces stress. What do I do when I need to get away from a particularly stressful day in “civilization”? Go for a walk, preferably in a natural setting. For me, it’s the beach or the Malibu hills. For others, it might be the woods or even a park. Sure enough, going for a walk in the woods is a surefire way to lower cortisol. It reduces stress even when it doesn’t. A recent study examined the effect of forest walking on stress in young adults, finding that although chromogranin A (a biomarker of stress) increased, the subjects reported reductions in subjective perceptions of stress (which, remember, may matter more than “objective” markers). It boosts immune function. Several lines of evidence point to the benefits of walking on the immune system. First, a “mere” 30 minute walk increases killer T-cells and other markers of immune function. Second, among freeliving Japanese elderly, higher daily step counts correlate with improved mucosal immunity. Finally, among postmenopausal women involved in a walking training program, the normally deleterious immune effects associated with menopause were ameliorated. It prevents falls in the elderly.
Walking on uneven, natural ground like hiking trails, improves balance and reduces falls in the elderly. “Walking programs,” which usually have elderly patients walking indoors or on treadmills as briskly as they can handle do not appear to work very well. Slow, unsteady, and meandering walks appear to be better. Don’t wait until you’re already at risk of falling, though. The earlier you start habitually walking, the better your ability to navigate the land without falling will be. It gives you a chance to think. When we walk, we think. And because walking is a low-difficulty endeavor, we can direct our executive functioning to more internal matters. We work through problems, come up with ideas, replay conversations, scheme, ruminate, and discover solutions. Or maybe we just think about that funny dog we saw on the way to work the other day. That’s a worthy subject, too. It can be a kind of meditation. Meditation is a foreign concept for many Westerners; we know about it, but we don’t know it. Even when we want to try it, having read about the benefits, we can’t quite muster the will to sit still for twenty, thirty minutes at a time. Enter the walking meditation. Do it formally, or just go for a walk and let your mind tune out from all the chatter. You’ll feel better either way. It improves meetings. Regular old seated meetings can be tedious, yawn-inducing beasts, even when the people and subject matter involved are interesting. Walking meetings, which are exactly what it sounds like, are growing more commonplace in the business world, and I couldn’t be happier. Seth Roberts found that replacing his seated student/teacher meetings with walking meetings was refreshing and invigorating. It’s in your blood. Your distant ancestors didn’t develop horribly calloused knuckles and brave savannah predators just so you could sit at the computer and devolve into an immobile blob. You come from a long and storied line of walkers. Keep the tradition alive! It enables recognition of the felt presence of immediate experience. When you drive, you can’t really focus on all the interesting stuff occurring in the world around you. Outside of what’s happening on the road, you shouldn’t focus on what’s occurring around you when you drive. Even riding a bike you tend to get tunnel vision. Walking on the other hand offers infinite chances for engagement with the outside world. See a rose? When you’re walking, you can stop and smell it. See a little path on the side of the trail heading somewhere cool? If you were driving, you’d have whizzed right past it. We all need a little more presence in our lives, and walking enables it. As you can see from the bulk of the evidence I’ve just presented, walking can have a powerful effect on your health – and it doesn’t take very much of it. Most studies showing the benefits have people walk for ten, fifteen, thirty minutes at a time. That’s a lunch break. That’s parking in the last lot. That’s taking a quick jaunt around the block. That’s stealing a few moments away from your desk. It’s doable, people. You just have to do it. Every parent knows that a child’s first step is a landmark event. It takes many months for that halting step to develop into a sturdy gait, but as toddlers become walkers, they open the door to independence, exploration, and, eventually, productivity. And just as walking is a signal achievement
for each person, the two-footed upright gait is a banner accomplishment for our species. In fact, walking is one of the things that distinguishes man from all other animals. Walking is an automatic, intrinsic human function, and it serves many practical roles. Strange as it seems, though, modern man appears determined to walk as little as possible. Not many men would walk five miles to work — but remarkably few choose to walk even a half mile to a friend’s house or neighborhood store. And it’s not just a question of walking for transportation; moving walkways whisk us through airports, and elevators and escalators lure many able-bodied men away from stairways. If the Segway “walking” machine ever catches on, walking will suffer yet another setback. Walking doesn’t get the respect it deserves, either for its health benefits, its value for transportation, or its role in recreation.
“But it’s not aerobic” Ever since the 1970s, the aerobic doctrine has dominated the discussion of exercise and health. In a scientific update of your high school coach’s slogan “no pain, no gain,” the doctrine holds that the benefits of exercise depend on working hard enough to boost your heart rate to 70% to 85% of its maximum, sustaining that effort continuously for 20 to 60 minutes, and repeating the workout at least three times a week. Aerobic exercise training is indeed the best way to score well on a treadmill test that measures aerobic capacity. It is excellent preparation for athletic competition. And it’s great for health. But intense workouts carry a risk for injury, and aerobic exercise is hard work. Although the aerobic doctrine inspired the few, it discouraged the many. Running is the poster boy for aerobic exercise. With some preparation and a few precautions, it really is splendid for fitness and health. But it’s not the only way to exercise for health. Perhaps because they’ve seen so many hard-breathing, sweat-drenched runners counting their pulse rates, ordinary guys often assume that less intense exercise is a waste of time. In fact, though, moderate exercise is excellent for health — and walking is the poster boy for moderate exercise. Exercise guidelines The benefits of physical activity depend on three elements: the intensity, duration, and frequency of exercise. Because walking is less intensive than running, you have to walk for longer periods, get out more often, or both to match the benefits of running. As a rough guide, the current American Heart Association/American College of Sports Medicine standards call for able-bodied adults to do moderate-intensity exercise (such as brisk walking) for at least 30 minutes on five days each week or intense aerobic exercise (such as running) for at least 20 minutes three days each week. That makes running seem much more time-efficient — but if you factor in the extra warm-ups, cool-downs, and changes of clothing and shoes that runners need, the time differences narrow considerably. Add the time it takes to rehab from running injuries, and walking looks pretty good. Mix and match to suit your health, abilities, personal preferences, and daily schedules. Walk, jog, bike, swim, garden, golf, dance, or whatever, as long as you keep moving. Remember that Einstein himself explained, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
Walking to health Regular exercise is good for health — very good, in fact. But many of these studies lump various forms of exercise together to investigate how the total amount of physical activity influences health. It’s important research, but it doesn’t necessarily prove that walking, in and of itself, is beneficial. Walking is a man’s best medicine. The people who walked longer distances, walked at a faster pace, or both enjoyed the greatest protection. This meta-analysis included studies from seven countries on three continents. At the risk of being chauvinistic, here is a brief summary of three Harvard studies of walking and cardiovascular health:
How walking works The cardiovascular benefits of walking are biologically plausible; like other forms of regular moderate exercise, walking improves cardiac risk factors such as cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, vascular stiffness and inflammation, and mental stress. And if cardiac protection and a lower death rate are not enough to get you moving. Ready, set, walk. Have you been thinking of adding more physical activity to your life? Starting a walking program may be a great way to be more active. And walking on a regular basis may lead to many health benefits. This brochure will give you tips on how to make walking a part of your daily routine.
What are the benefits of walking? Walking is the most popular physical activity among adults. Taking a walk is low cost and doesn't require any special clothes or equipment. Walking may lower your risk of health problems strengthen your bones and muscles help you burn more calories lift your mood Make walking fun by going to places you enjoy, like a park or shopping center. Bring along a friend or family member to chat with, or listen to some of your favorite music as you walk. Keep the volume low so that you can hear noises around you.
Do I need to see a doctor first? Most people do not need to see a doctor before they start a walking program. But if you answer "yes" to any of the questions below, check with your doctor first. Has your doctor told you that you have heart trouble, diabetes, or asthma? When you are physically active, do you have pains in your chest, neck, shoulder, or arm? Do you often feel faint or have dizzy spells? Do you feel very breathless after physical activity? Do you have bone or joint problems, like arthritis, that make it difficult for you to walk? Are you over 40 years old and have you recently been inactive? Do you have a health problem that might keep you from starting a walking program?
How do I start? 1. Make a plan The following questions may help you get started: Where will you walk? How often will you walk? Who will walk with you? How far or for how long will you walk? 2. Get ready Make sure you have anything you may need. Here are some examples: shoes with proper arch support, a firm heel, and thick flexible soles clothes that keep you dry and comfortable a hat or visor for the sun, sunscreen, and sunglasses a hat and scarf to cover your head and ears when it's cold outside 3. Go Divide your walk into three parts: Warm up by walking slowly. Increase your speed to a brisk walk. This means walking fast enough to raise your heart rate while still being able to speak and breathe easily. Cool down by slowing down your pace. When walking, be sure to use proper form: Keep your chin up and your shoulders slightly back. Let the heel of your foot touch the ground first, and then roll your weight forward. Walk with your toes pointed forward. Swing your arms naturally. 4. Add more As walking becomes easier, walk faster and go farther. Keep track of your progress with a walking journal or log. Record date, time, and distance. Set goals and reward yourself with a relaxing shower or 30 minutes of quiet time to yourself. Review the sample walking plan for suggestions on how to start and slowly increase walking.
What about safety? Keep safety in mind as you plan when and where you will walk. Walk with others, when possible, and take a phone and ID with you. Let your family and friends know your walking time and route. If it is dark outside, wear a reflective vest or brightly colored clothing. Be aware of your surroundings.
How can I make walking a habit? The key to building any habit is to stick with the new behavior. Having a regular walking buddy may help keep you going—even on days when you would rather stay home. You can cheer each other on and serve as role models for friends, family members, and others. When barriers come up, like time demands or bad weather, think of ways to beat them, like walking inside of a shopping center. If you have a setback, start again as soon as you can. With time, walking will become a part of your daily routine and may make it easier to try other types of physical activity.
How much do I need to walk? 150 minutes. Amount of time adults need per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (activity that speeds up your heart rate and breathing) to stay healthy. Break it down. 30 minutes per day x 5 days per week = 150 minutes per week Walking briskly for 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week will help you meet this goal. But any 10minute bout of physical activity helps. Split it up. 10 minutes + 10 minutes + 10 minutes = 30 minutes If you can't walk for 30 minutes at a time, you can take three 10-minute walks instead. Step it up. For more health benefits and to control your weight, you may need to walk more. Aim for 300 minutes each week, or about 1 hour a day for 5 days. The more you walk, the more health benefits you may gain!
Health benefits of walking You carry your own body weight when you walk. This is known as weight-bearing exercise. Some of the benefits include: increased cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) fitness reduced risk of heart disease and stroke improved management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or stiffness, and diabetes stronger bones and improved balance increased muscle strength and endurance reduced body fat.
Walking for 30 minutes a day To get the health benefits, try to walk for at least 30 minutes as briskly as you can on most days of the week. ‘Brisk’ means that you can still talk but not sing, and you may be puffing slightly. Moderate activities such as walking pose little health risk but, if you have a medical condition, check with your doctor before starting any new exercise program of physical activity.
Building physical activity into your life If it’s too difficult to walk for 30 minutes at one time, do regular small bouts (10 minutes) three times per day and gradually build up to longer sessions. However, if your goal is to lose weight, you will need to do physical activity for longer than 30 minutes each day. You can still achieve this by starting with smaller bouts of activity throughout the day and increasing these as your fitness improves. Physical activity built into a daily lifestyle plan is also one of the most effective ways to assist with weight loss and keep weight off once it’s lost. Some suggestions to build walking into your daily routine include: Take the stairs instead of the lift (for at least part of the way). Get off public transport one stop earlier and walk to work or home. Walk (don’t drive) to the local shops. Walk the dog (or your neighbour’s dog).
Make walking part of your routine Try to make walking a routine – for example, try to walk at the same time each day. Remember, you use the same amount of energy, no matter what time of day you walk, so do what is most convenient for you. You may find that asking someone to walk with you will help make it a regular activity. Some people find that keeping an activity diary or log also makes it easier.
Wearing a pedometer while walking A pedometer measures the number of steps you take. You can use it to measure your movement throughout a day and compare it to other days or to recommended amounts. This may motivate you to move more. The recommended number of steps accumulated per day to achieve health benefits is 10,000 steps or more.
A comfortable intensity for walking For most people, there is little difference in the amount of energy used by walking a kilometre or running a kilometre – it’s just that walking takes longer. Plan to cover a set distance each day and monitor how long it takes you to walk this distance. As your fitness improves, you will be able to walk a longer distance and use more energy. Walking fast burns more kilojoules per hour than walking slowly, but this doesn’t mean you have to push yourself until you’re breathless. Instead, pace yourself so that you can still talk. This simple rule of thumb means that you walk safely within your target heart rate, which brings about health gains. Our bodies tend to get used to physical activity, so continue to increase your intensity as you are able to improve your fitness levels. You can increase the intensity of your walks by: walking up hills walking with hand weights increasing your walking speed gradually by including some quick walking increasing the distance you walk quickly before returning to a moderate walking pace walking for longer.
Warming up and cooling down after walking The best way to warm up is to walk slowly. Start off each walk at a leisurely pace to give your muscles time to warm up, and then pick up the speed. Afterwards, gently stretch your leg muscles – particularly your calves and front and back thighs. Stretches should be held for about 20 seconds. If you feel any pain, ease off the stretch. Don’t bounce or jolt, or you could overstretch muscle tissue and cause microscopic tears, which lead to muscle stiffness and tenderness. It’s best to dress lightly when you do physical activity. Dressing too warmly can increase sweating and build up body temperature, which can make you uncomfortable during a walk or possibly cause skin irritations. A gradual cool-down will also prevent muscular stiffness and injury.
Footwear for walking Walking is a low-cost and effective form of exercise. However, the wrong type of shoe or walking action can cause foot or shin pain, blisters and injuries to soft tissue. Make sure your shoes are comfortable, with appropriate heel and arch supports. Take light, easy steps and make sure your heel touches down before your toes. Whenever possible, walk on grass rather than concrete to help absorb the impact.
Making walking a pleasure Some suggestions to help make regular walking a pleasurable form of physical activity include: varying where you walk walking the dog walking with friends joining a walking club. Making walking interesting Ways to keep your daily walk interesting include: If you want to stick close to home and limit your walking to neighbourhood streets, pick different routes so you don’t get tired of seeing the same sights. If you feel unsafe walking alone, find one or more friends or family members to walk with. Walk at various times of the day. The sights to see first thing in the morning are bound to be different from those of the afternoon or early evening. Drive to different reserves, park the car and enjoy the views while you walk. Explore what’s going on around you, notice the sky, the people, the sounds. Dog walking A dog that needs regular exercise gives you the motivation to walk every day. You might like the companionship too. If you don’t have a dog, and aren’t planning on getting one, consider offering to walk a neighbour’s dog from time to time. Suggestions for the safety of your dog and other people on foot include: Be considerate of other pedestrians and always keep your dog on its leash. If you plan to walk in a park, check first to see if dogs are permitted. Many national and state parks and other conservation reserves do not permit dogs. Other parks generally permit dog-walking on a leash. Many parks allow dogs off the leash – check with your local council. Always take equipment such as plastic bags and gloves to clean up after your dog. Walking with others Walking with other people can turn a bout of exercise into an enjoyable social occasion. Suggestions
include: Schedule a regular family walk – this is a great way to pass on healthy habits to your children or grandchildren, and to spend time together, while getting fit at the same time. If you are walking with children, make sure the route and length of time spent walking are appropriate to their age. Babies and toddlers enjoy long walks in the pram. Take the opportunity to point out items of interest to young ones, such as vehicles, flowers and other pedestrians. Look for the self-guided nature walks that have been set up in many parks. Younger children enjoy looking for the next numbered post; older ones can learn about the plants and animals of the park, and perhaps take photos or record their experience in other ways. Ask neighbours or friends if they would like to join you on your walks. Think of starting a walking group. Walking clubs and associations There are a number of walking clubs in metropolitan and regional Victoria. Some cater for specific groups (such as women, dog walkers or bushwalkers), while others offer the opportunity to meet new people in your local area. Organisations to contact for further information include: Bushwalking Victoria – offers a comprehensive listing of bushwalking clubs. Your local council – may run a range of walking activities for people living in your area. The Lost Dogs Home in Melbourne –suggests you ‘get fit with a dog’. Contact them for more information about being a responsible dog owner. Parks Victoria – can provide suggestions and ideas for interesting walks in parks and reserves throughout Victoria.
Safety suggestions while walking Walking is generally a safe way to exercise, but look out for unexpected hazards. Suggestions include: See your doctor for a medical check-up before starting a new fitness program, particularly if you are aged over 40 years, are overweight or haven’t exercised in a long time. Ensure you read through the pre-exercise self-screening tool Choose walks that suit your age and fitness level. Warm up and cool down with a slow, gentle walk to ease in and out of your exercise session. Wear loose, comfortable clothing, and appropriate footwear to avoid blisters and shin splints. Wear sunglasses, sunscreen, long sleeves and a hat to avoid sunburn. Take waterproof clothing to avoid getting wet if it rains. Carry a walking stick or umbrella to fend off unleashed, unfriendly dogs. Before bushwalking, check the weather forecast and take appropriate safety measures (for example, pack correct clothing). Look out for hazards in alpine or coastal areas, such as cliff edges or large waves. Drink plenty of fluids before and after your walk. If you are taking a long walk, take water with you.
Things to remember Walking for 30 minutes a day or more on most days of the week is a great way to improve or maintain your overall health. If you can’t manage 30 minutes a day, remember ‘even a little is good, but more is better’. Walking with others can turn exercise into an enjoyable social occasion. See your doctor for a medical check-up before embarking on any new fitness program, particularly if you are aged over 40 years, are overweight or haven’t exercised in a long time. What’s not to like about walking? It’s free. It’s easy to do, and it’s easy on the joints. And there’s no question that walking is good for you. Walking is an aerobic exercise. It also lowers the risk of blood clots, since the calf acts as a venous pump, contracting and pumping blood from the feet and legs back to the heart, reducing the load on the heart. Walking is good for you in other ways as well. Walking strengthens muscles. It tones your leg and abdominal muscles – and even arm muscles if you pump them as you walk. This increases your range of motion, shifting the pressure and weight from your joints and muscles – which are meant to handle weight – helping to lessen arthritis pain Walking supports your joints. The majority of joint cartilage has no direct blood supply. It gets its nutrition from synovial or joint fluid that circulates as we move. Impact that comes from movement or compression, such as walking, “squishes” the cartilage, bringing oxygen and nutrients into the area. If you don’t walk, joints are deprived of life-giving fluid, which can speed deterioration. Walking improves your breath. When walking, your breathing rate increases, causing oxygen to travel faster through bloodstream, helping to eliminate waste products and improve your energy level and the ability to heal. Walking helps you do more, longer. Aerobic walking and resistance exercise programs may reduce the incidence of disability in the activities of daily living of people who are older than 65 and have symptomatic OA, shows a study published in the Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management.
On Your Mark, Get Set … Walk! Maybe you’ve been sedentary for a while. No problem. Just get started even if it’s a few additional minutes per day. It’s not all or nothing; it’s step by step. So set a reachable goal just for today. Then you can work toward your overall goal of 30 minutes a day by increasing your time as you get in better shape. “Just find an approach that you find enjoyable,” said Pate, who is also a volunteer for the American Heart Association. “It may be the setting, doing it with someone or walking alone because you appreciate the solitude.” And if you’re busy — like most of us — you can split up your walks into 10-15 minutes each.
You can also work in walking when you: Take the dog out for a stroll through the neighborhood. Spend quality time with the family at the park. Park farther from your workplace and use the stairs instead of the elevator. Window shop at the mall. There’s lots of ways to engage in it,” It’s So Easy — and It Works All you have to do is lace up with a good pair of sneakers — and walk. It’s that easy. It’s also safe, the least expensive and has the lowest dropout rate of any type of exercise. “It’s not a skill-dependent form of activity,” Pate said. “It’s the most accessible form of physical activity. You can do it almost anywhere. And it doesn’t require a lot of equipment.” Before you know it, brisk walking can become a part of your daily routine. And you’ll reap plenty of benefits: For every hour of brisk walking, life expectancy for some people may increase by two hours. Walking for as few as 30 minutes a day improves your heart health. “Clearly, walking is an important form of physical activity,”
Walking For the Health of It Walking...The Best Way To Move Through Life Walking, basic as it may seem, is an exercise everyone should include in their schedule every day. Throughout our lives, we measure progress and competence by the ability to walk—from how soon a baby takes those first steps, to how well we recover from setbacks (“He walked away from the accident”) to how long we can keep walking (“At the age of 100, she still walks to the store every day”). Clearly, walking is more than just a handy means of transportation. Although it’s easy to take for granted, people who have found themselves unable to walk recognize that walking is a critical aspect of individual freedom, independence, and self-determination. It’s easy to forget that walking is also a wonderful form of exercise. Because most of us do it without thinking, we don’t count walking when we tally our sources of daily physical activity, and many of us overlook walking when we look for ways to improve our health and fitness.
Walking...It’s a Good Thing! Enjoy The Benefits of Walking Walking preserves your health. Walking keeps your body tuned up. It stimulates your heartbeat, especially if you move at a brisk pace; it gets your muscles moving; it challenges you to stand up straight and coordinate your movements; it uses your body’s own weight to help build and maintain bone density. Walking is convenient. A walk is always just one step in front of you, anytime, anywhere—indoors, outdoors, alone, with a friend or group (or dog), in the city, country, or beach; on flat or hilly terrain; rain or shine. Walking is great for weight management. Walking burns calories and fat while it tones and shapes muscles. Walking can also help you cut down on excessive eating, not only by boosting your metabolism and suppressing appetite (an effect observed by many avid walkers, runners, and other athletes), but also by getting you off the sofa and away from the refrigerator and microwave. Walking is an instant mood lifter. Walking helps you clear the cobwebs, shake the blues, recharge your batteries, cool off, and calm down. By taking you away from phones, problems, and daily clutter, walking can give you a chance to put things into perspective and come up with new ideas. Walking is good medicine. Hospital professionals know that the sooner patients get up and walk, the sooner and more fully they will recover. Walking can help prevent or relieve many illnesses and injuries, including heart disease, arthritis, obesity, osteoporosis, falls, accidents, and fractures. Walking is an appearance enhancer. In addition to helping control your weight and maintain muscle tone, walking can give your cheeks a rosy glow, your complexion a fresh, clear look; it can boost your posture, put bounce in your step, and grace in your stride. Walking pays off in the long-run. The many benefits of walking can accrue interest and dividends as the years go by. When other forms of exercise become too challenging, walking is still a good choice —even for people who must use canes or walkers. Walking is easy. Although you can take lessons in proper alignment and stride technique, most people are already able to walk. Walking is free! No special equipment or facilities are required. While you can go for special walking shoes and suit up in athletic wear, all you really need is comfortable footwear and clothing. NOTE:If you’re not feeling up to your full walk routine, choose a shorter route (you can always do it twice if you feel better later), rather than a longer hike that may prove too much.
Working Out Is Right For You Exercise may very well be the magic bullet. That’s why it’s critical to get off on the right foot. Check out the following before getting started. Talk to your healthcare provider. If it’s been a long time since you last got any physical activity, be sure to talk with your doctor about the best way to begin your exercise program. Be comfortable. Make sure your clothing and shoes encourage exercise, not hamper it. Find a friend. Having someone to exercise with is more fun than going it alone. It also increases the chances that you’ll exercise more. Don’t overdo it. If it’s been a while, start with shorter and slower-paced walks and build from there.
No nonsense safety measures ensure your health and safety “Good Sense” Is Your Defense YOUR CLOTHES:Wear shoes that fit well and have non-slip soles. Wear clothes that don’t chafe or bind. Dress for the weather, with layers to accommodate changing conditions or your own body temperature as you warm up and cool down. YOUR PATH:Avoid traffic (not only cars, but also bikes, runners, skaters, and other obstacles). Stick with sidewalks, paths, or quiet streets. VISIBILITY:Make sure you’re visible, especially at twilight or night. Use reflective gear and a flashlight if you walk in the dark. WATCH YOUR STEP:Look out for uneven surfaces, rocks and litter, cracks, potholes, wet leaves, ice, and snow. PACK LIGHT:Avoid carrying things that could become burdensome or hazardous on your journey. Consider using a backpack to balance your load or a fanny pack for bare essentials. If you’re walking on errands, a wheeled cart or wagon may be a good idea. Don’t turn your walk into a strain. STICK TO SAFE AREAS:Stay away from dangerous or deserted neighborhoods or parks. Consider walking with a companion. Always let someone know where you’re going and when you’ll be back. BE PREPARED:Carry some form of identification, a small amount of cash, and other things you may need along the way, such as a hat and gloves, rain gear, water, a light snack, or a map. BE ALERT: Keep your eyes open for oncoming cars, unfriendly dogs (or people), thunderstorms and the like. Beware of headphones that could drown out important sounds around you, such as oncoming cars or someone trying to tell you something.
Your First Step: SAFETY! A Safety Checklist Even if you just walk a few blocks… Even if you’re just walking back to your car at the end of the lot… Even if you know you’re walking in a safe neighborhood… Your first step should be regard for your safety. It is important to develop an “automatic sensor” to the hazards of any given environment. You can live in the safest neighborhood—and statistics will STILL say that many accidents occur closest to home. Here are some additional items to consider: Wear the right clothing. Be aware of your surroundings. If you feel discomfort, slow down or stop. Be prepared for changes in the weather. Know your route.
A Walk is Closer Than You Think! So, Now What's YOUR Excuse? I JUST DON’T HAVE THE TIME!If you don’t have time to set aside for walking, consider incorporating walking into your daily activities. Walk instead of ride where you have to go, or stop short of your destination and walk the rest of the way. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk to your colleagues’ offices instead of using the phone or email. Invite friends and family to join you on your walk, rather than skipping your walk to join them. IT’S CHILLY OUTSIDE! Put on your slicker, boots, or long-johns. Or walk indoors—in a mall, on a track, treadmill, or around your house. I NEED COMPANY! Ask a friend or join a walking group. I DON’T FEEL LIKE IT!Never push yourself if you really aren’t feeling well, and particularly if you have an injury that makes walking painful or difficult. But if you’re just feeling lazy, snap out of it and get moving! You’ll thank yourself later.
Chapter 36 Good personal hygiene The human body can provide places for disease-causing germs and parasites to grow and multiply. These places include the skin and in and around the openings to the body. It is less likely that germs and parasites will get inside the body if people have good personal hygiene habits.
Good personal hygiene Good personal hygiene habits include: washing the body often. If possible, everybody should have a shower or a bath every day. However, there may be times when this is not possible, for example, when people are out camping or there is a shortage of water If this happens, a swim or a wash all over the body with a wet sponge or cloth will do cleaning the teeth at least once a day. Brushing the teeth after each meal is the best way of making sure that gum disease and tooth decay are avoided. It is very important to clean teeth after breakfast and immediately before going to bed washing the hair with soap or shampoo at least once a week washing hands with soap after going to the toilet washing hands with soap before preparing and/or eating food. During normal daily activities, such as working and playing, disease causing germs may get onto the hands and under the nails. If the germs are not washed off before preparing food or eating, they may get onto the food changing into clean clothes. Dirty clothes should be washed with laundry soap before wearing them again hanging clothes in the sun to dry. The sun's rays will kill some disease-causing germs and parasites turning away from other people and covering the nose and mouth with a tissue or the hand when coughing or sneezing. If this is not done, droplets of liquid containing germs from the nose and mouth will be spread in the air and other people can breathe them in, or the droplets can get onto food
Overcrowding When there are too many people in any house, the likelihood of them getting disease is greater than if the house is not overcrowded. This is because people in an overcrowded house will be much closer to each other and it is therefore easier for any germs to spread from one to another. For example: sneezing and coughing in crowded rooms makes it easier to spread cold and flu germs sharing towels can spread trachoma germs and other germs which cause eye infections (runny or sore eyes) several children sleeping in the same bed makes it easier to spread an infection One of the most effective ways we have to protect ourselves and others from illness is good personal hygiene. This means washing your hands, especially, but also your body. It means being careful not to cough or sneeze on others, cleaning things that you touch if you are unwell, putting items such as tissues (that may have germs) into a bin, and using protection (like gloves or condoms) when you might be at risk of catching an infection. Personal hygiene, such as bathing, is very much dependent on the culture in which you live. In some cultures, it is expected that you will wash your body at least every day and use deodorants to stop body smells.
Body odour Body smells are caused by a number of factors working in combination, including: Chemicals in sweat, including pheromones, which are made by the body and sexually attract (or repel) other people. Wastes excreted through the skin, such as metabolised alcohol. The actions of bacteria that live on the skin and feed on dead skin cells and sweat. Unwashed clothes, such as underwear and socks.
Hand washing Most infections, especially colds and gastroenteritis, are caught when we put our unwashed hands, which have germs on them, to our mouth. Some infections are caught when other people’s dirty hands touch the food we eat. Hands and wrists should be washed with clean soap and water, using a brush if your fingernails are dirty. Dry your hands with something clean, such as paper towels or hot air dryers. You should always wash your hands: After using the toilet Before making or eating food After handling dogs or other animals If you have been around someone who is coughing or has a cold.
Personal hygiene for women The private area is able to clean itself no special care is needed, other than washing the external genitals. Do not put anything like douches into the area as the delicate skin can be damaged. Here are some personal hygiene suggestions for women: Menstruation - wash your body, including your genital area, in the same way as you always do. Change tampons and sanitary napkins regularly, at least four to five times a day. Always wash your hands before and after handling a tampon or pad. Cystitis - is an infection of the bladder. This is a common condition for sexually active young women. Urinating after sexual intercourse can help to flush out any bacteria that may be in the urethra and bladder. Thrush - some soaps and detergents can irritate the skin of the genital area, and make thrush infections more likely. Some people find that they often get thrush when they use antibiotics. Use mild soap and unperfumed toilet paper. Avoid tight, synthetic underwear. Try cotton underwear, and change regularly. There is medical treatment for thrush, so talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Personal hygiene for men A build-up of secretions called smegma can form under the foreskin of uncircumcised men. If you are uncircumcised, gently pull back the foreskin when you have a shower and clean with water. You can use soap if you like, but make sure you rinse it off well.
Bad breath Good dental hygiene includes regular brushing and flossing. Bad breath can be caused by diseases of the teeth, gums and mouth, such as infections. Most people have bad breath first thing in the morning because saliva is not made while you’re asleep. Some foods that can cause bad breath include garlic and onion. Mouth washes, mouth sprays and flavoured chewing gum can make your breath smell better for a while, but if you have a health problem in your mouth, you need to see your dentist.
Travelling hygiene When travelling overseas, take special care if you’re not sure whether the water is safe. Suggestions include: Drink only bottled water. Don’t use tap water to clean your teeth. When you wash your hands, make sure they are totally dry before you touch any food. Don’t wash fruit or vegetables in unsafe water. If you have no other water source, make sure the water is boiled before you drink it by holding it at a rolling boil for one minute. Make sure any dishes, cups or other utensils are totally dry after they are washed.
Where to get help Your doctor Dentist.
Things to remember Good personal hygiene is one of the most effective ways to protect ourselves and others from many illnesses. Wash your hands regularly, especially before preparing or eating food and after going to the toilet
Hand washing It is important to regularly wash and dry hands thoroughly and especially: before starting food preparation after handling raw meats or eggs after using the toilet The need for thorough drying of your hands should not be overlooked. If hands remain damp it is easy for moisture, which can contain harmful bacteria or viruses, to be transferred to food or food contact surfaces. Food businesses are responsible for ensuring that appropriate hand washing facilities are available for use.
Health Many food poisoning incidents are caused by food handlers who have continued to handle food after falling ill themselves. You should not handle food if you: know you are suffering from food poisoning are a carrier of food poisoning (someone who does not show any symptoms but is still ill) have any symptoms of food poisoning. If you do handle food, it is possible for you to pass it onto others. It is best not to handle food for a further 48 hours after symptoms have ceased as you could still be spreading large numbers of the food poisoning causing bacteria.
Personal hygiene When preparing or cooking food for others, it is recommended to take precautions to ensure that food or surfaces that come in contact with food are not contaminated by your body or anything that you are wearing. Examples include hair, sweat, blood, fingernails, clothes, jewellery or bandages. Gloves can be worn as a way to help ensure food is not contaminated by bare hands. It is important to remember that gloves should be changed as often as possible. Also, you should still wash your hands before handling food even though you are wearing gloves.
Personal Care – key to well-being! There are no special or uncommon tricks to prevent GIT disorders when it comes to personal care, but following these basic rules can mean the difference between health and digestive illness. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that something just as simple as hand hygiene or healthy eating can prevent GIT disorders, but this is something you will notice yourself if you put it into practice. Moreover, caring for your body gives you a positive state of mind and is the key to well-being! We’ve been told to wash our hands before we eat ever since we were little. It may sound trivial, but this one simple rule can prevent tons of unpleasant consequences, including several GIT diseases! Every healthy person has a considerable amount of “good” bacteria located within his or her large intestine. These bacteria are saprophytes, and they rely on undigested carbohydrates to survive. Not only are they “not harmful”, they are very beneficial to the human body, protecting it from external pathogens, synthesizing vitamin K and B (though there is little evidence that vitamin B can be absorbed in the large intestine), and fermenting unused substances. When the gut flora is destroyed (for example, due to a prolonged use of antibiotics), this leads to a number of consequences, including bloating, diarrhea, rapid growth of fungi, and possibly even permanent damage to the large intestine. Harmful chemical compounds and microorganisms from the environment can end up being ingested if you forget to wash your hands before touching food (keep an eye on children!), which may lead to infections, GIT disorders and intestinal parasites. The studies have proved hand hygiene is very important for GIT health in the long term, irrespective of diet or geographical location. However, it is important to note that overusing antibacterial soap by caring mothers on their beloved children is also a bad thing. Regular soap will suffice. The reason why antibacterial soap can be bad for the baby’s health is that the immune system of the baby has to come in contact with various pathogens in order to be prepared for it later on. Children, who are kept “sterile” by their moms, usually end up with lots of allergies later on in their life. Also, the antibacterial soap destroys the natural micro flora of our skin, which removes another layer of protection that we have against harmful bacteria. Don’t panic if you forgot to wash your hands once or twice, though – gastric acid kills off most harmful microorganisms, so you may still have a chance to get away with it this time! Water sanitation: why it’s best to avoid tap water While local authorities may do their best to sanitize tap water, you can never be sure of the effectiveness of the sanitizing process; moreover, bacteria can build up inside rusty pipes and flow into the tap water you drink. Getting water from the supermarket would be a safer option, even if it doesn’t save you money. According to the World Health Organization, water contaminated with human feces contains
bacteria that causes diarrhea. As you may know, diarrhea can spread from person to person in the lack of proper hygiene – which is only another reason to pay attention to your hand hygiene. The importance of a “clean”, healthy diet Apart from the high fat and sugar content, junk food (fast food, soda, sweets) contains harmful preservatives (e.g. sodium benzoate), flavors and additives that increase body toxicity and with it the risk of GIT diseases. If you have been diagnosed with a GIT disorder, healthy eating can do wonders. For example, it has been proved that gaseous syndromes in IBS can be reduced by eliminating fizzy drinks, chewing gum and excessive water from your diet, and also by quitting smoking. Given all of the above, we can conclude that the two most important aspects of personal care are body hygiene and the elimination of all harmful chemical/microorganism sources from your diet, including tap water. These rules are also the easiest to put into practice and are guaranteed to help in the prevention/management of GIT disorders. A healthy mind in a healthy body!
staying healthy is of paramount importance to us all. Maintaining personal hygiene is necessary for many reasons; personal, social, health, psychological or simply as a way of life. Keeping a good standard of hygiene helps to prevent the development and spread of infections, illnesses and bad odours. Benefits of Personal Hygiene: Body Image Body image influences self-esteem, confidence and motivation. Those who already have low self esteem and especially those with depression often neglect personal hygiene which perpetuates the problem of poor body image. Many forms of modern media including magazines, fashion, TV, film and the internet present a certain body image as being "acceptable" or "expected"….Mostly physical appearance being the ultimate factor by which to judge and be judged. It very true that your actions and the way you behave are more important to most people than the way you look but good hygiene practices will help to keep you healthy, give you confidence and be pleasant for those around you. Social Reasons Most people hate to be talked about, especially in a negative manner. By ensuring that our body is clean and well presented, we are more assured of projecting a positive body image that reflects our personalities. Children should be taught the importance of hygiene and how to achieve good hygiene very early to keep themselves and others healthy and to reduce the risk of being bullied at school. Health Reasons
Poor hygiene can lead to poor health. If you have cut yourself, the wound should be cleaned and dressed suitably, this can help reduced the risk of infection and pain. Hand washing cannot be emphasised enough as this simple action can prevent a plethora of illnesses and disorders developing. Many people ‘forget’ to wash their hands after using the toilet or before handling foods; this can cause a great deal of illness and even death. Psychological Issues By being well presented, clean and tidy, people can feel more confident, especially in social situations. Our chances of succeeding either in work or social settings, or even with the opposite sex can be altered by maintenance of good hygiene. Maintaining hygiene practices helps to reduce the risks of ill health, but equally important affects how we and others perceive ourselves and can influence our levels of confidence and self-esteem which can affect many aspects of our lives. Which Bits to Focus On and How? Think about each area individually and why hygiene is important (for health reasons as well as appearance). Hair and teeth are good places to start, together with those areas of the body that might smell or which are more prone to fungal/bacterial infections. 1. Hair Dirty head hair does not actually cause many health problems; it's mostly for appearance factor that keeping hair clean is a good idea. Greasy hair - At some points of your life - hair can become greasy more easily. There's really only one solution to greasy hair and that is to wash it, although some people find dry shampoo or talc helps to absorb some of the grease. If you're lucky enough to have hair long enough to tie up then you can miss a wash occasionally . Dandruff - If you suffer from dandruff, try the various natural and organic shampoos available. 2. Teeth and Mouth Teeth - A beautiful smile can make a person's day - but if teeth are grubby or breath is smelly, it has an entirely different result. Brush your teeth twice daily with a decent toothbrush. Smelly breath - Sometimes, despite good brushing a tooth will succomb to decay - if left untreated this can spread and infect your gums. Bad breath can be the sign of a gum infection. Make sure you visit your dentist regularly to keep a check on it. Halitosis (bad breath) can also be a result of dehydration or an empty stomach, so eat and drink regularly. 3. Areas Prone to Odour and Fungal Infection Unpleasant smells and fungal infections are most commonly experienced in areas of the body that are warm and not often exposed to fresh air: the feet; the genitals and some of our sweat glands. Smelly Feet - The feet contain lots of sweat glands. If feet are confined in socks and shoes the sweat has nowhere to 'evaporate' and the skin bacteria will in effect attack to, causing that pungent'cheesy' aroma.
Here are some measures you can take to minimise smelly feet: Wash regularly and dry thoroughly with a soft towel and an anti-bacterial foot powder or a baby talc Allow feet to air when feasible and wear open shoes as much as possible Genital Areas - Genital areas can be prone to bacterial infections and unpleasant aromas if not kept clean. Conversely though, too much cleaning with scented products or soaps can cause thrush - a bacterial infection. The best hygiene for all the genital areas is to clean once or twice a day using mild soap and water. Washing and bathing are the most important ways of maintain good health and protecting ourselves from infections, illnesses and ailments. Maintaining cleanliness is also important for our self-confidence, physical and emotional well-being. The main purpose of washing is to remove dirt and odours. The frequency of bathing or showering is very individual and may be dependent on culture; food and water will always take priority over personal hygiene. Skin care and healthcare professionals recommend that the face, underarms and genitals are cleansed once a day and not more often, as this can take essential natural oils away from the skin leading to irritation. Hand-washing should be carried out frequently throughout the day, as they come into contact with many potentially harmful bacteria. Bathing or Showering? The choice of whether to use a bath or a shower is very individual and each has its own benefits. Bathing can be an excellent way of relaxing and enjoying some quiet time. Special substances and oils may be added to help relaxation or to improve the quality of our skin. Bathing is a good way for parents to spend some quality time with their children and can be a way of ensuring there is some one-to-one interaction. The steam created from a bath can help open the pores and loosen the dirt from the tiny glands of the skin, aiding in their removal. If your body is heavily soiled for example after playing outdoors sports, it may be beneficial to have a shower instead of or before a bath so that residual dirt is not left on the skin. Showering can be invigorating and increase energy levels. Dirt is washed away immediately and it is generally thought that a shower uses less water than a bath. Products Try to use products with a neutral pH to avoid the skin becoming too dry. Moisturize after washing to ensure skin remains hydrated. Rinse the bath after use, especially if an oil has been added so as to reduce risks of slipping for the next user. The use of a massaging device can help increase circulation to the surface of the skin, improving the overall health of our external appearance.
Drying All persons should have their own towel that is washed after each use. Bacteria can multiply on a moist towel and infections can be spread easily. Skin should be patted dry, not rubbed so as to lessen irritation and so there is some water retention on the skin, decreasing the risk of dry skin occurring. Health and Safety Those who are physically or mentally disabled will need assistance with their hygiene needs. Carers should maintain their privacy and dignity at all times and ensure that there are no obvious drafts. Babies should be bathed as per the techniques taught by the midwife or health-visitor. Always check the temperature of the water before using so as to avoid burns or shock from overly cold water. Use non-slip mats to avoid accidents especially with young children and the elderly. Wash genitals from front to back, to avoid rectal germs spreading into the vagina. It is advisable to bath or shower prior to admission to hospital for a surgical procedure to remove potentially harmful bacteria from the skin that may infect a wound. Avoid dry skin by having warm, not hot water, as this can dehydrate the skin. Washing with sponges and flannels may be best avoided as these items can transfer bacteria to and from different and unfamiliar areas, causing infection risks to be higher. Sufficient cleansing can be achieved using just the hands. If flannels etc are used, every individual should have their own and these should be replaced regularly. Washing and bathing is a very individual issue. Daily attention to our body is the best way of avoiding odours, germs and infections. The choice of whether to wash at a sink, use a bath or a shower is down to individual preference.
Hygiene When Traveling There are many considerations to be aware of when travelling; hygiene is one of them. Different countries have differing ways of managing hygiene whether it is because of facilities, cultural differences or simply the water that is available. The Water Always use bottled water for drinking when abroad, even for making hot drinks just to be extra cautious. Along with this, be careful about using ice in drinks, washed fruit and vegetables and it may be worth using bottled water for cleaning teeth. Always use bottled water for making baby’s bottles up as infants can become ill very quickly. After bathing and washing hands, ensure all areas are dried properly, including the floor to avoid accidents occurring. If there is no bottled water available, make sure that the water used is boiled sufficiently for at least one minute of continuous boiling. Cleansing Products It is worthwhile buying new, or transferring existing products to travel sized bottles, especially if
flying. This allows you to take your favourite products away with you but does not take up as much of the weight allowance on the flight. It is worth remembering that recent changes in safety laws mean fluids and solution should be packed in the main luggage, not in hand baggage. If you are worried about being delayed, take a packet of baby wipes, tissues and a tooth brush in your hand luggage to allow for freshening up if delayed for long periods. Food Hygiene Avoid shellfish that has been included in a buffet as it may have been left out all day; shellfish can cause food poisoning very easily.. Miscellaneous Take a plentiful supply of appropriate sun creams and moisturiser if visiting a country with a hot climate. Skin can burn or dry out very quickly if exposed to the sun. If vaccines are required, always make sure they are up to date and your GP is satisfied that sufficient cover is provided. The provision of comprehensive health insurance is vital to avoid huge bills for any medical advice or healthcare provision needed whilst away. Be honest with your insurance provider and tell them of any existing medical conditions or medications used, this will ensure appropriate insurance is given for your individual needs. If camping or trekking, make sure you are aware of the location of sanitary facilities and medical centres in case they are needed. It is advisable to have a dental check-up before travelling, especially if over a long period of time, to decrease the risk of needing treatment abroad. Not only will this spoil your holiday and be expensive, it can be difficult to arrange appropriate treatment. Take spare glasses and contact lenses in case of loss of the existing ones. Take mosquito repellents and treatments for bites if you are visiting a country that is known to have mosquitoes. Do not lower standards of hygiene and cleanliness just because you are away from home. Personal hygiene is very important to maintain whilst on holiday. It is important to take adequate provisions with you, especially if travelling out of Europe where similar products may be difficult to find.
Personal Hygiene and Food Preparation When you are trying to do your best for the environment the quality of your personal care need not be sacrificed. Personal Care products, that offer a healthy, environmentally-friendly option are more readily available now than they have ever been and these products do not compromise your lifestyle or self-care routine in any way. Acknowledging that there is choice available will help you select the best natural products for yourself and your family. Eco Awareness Many personal care products, that are familiar to us and readily available, contain less than friendly chemicals that are absorbed by the skin and the environment. A good way of identifying whether or not a personal care product contains potentially harmful chemicals is to examine the ingredients/contents list on the packaging. If the list contains substances with unusual names you have never heard of there is a high chance that you have identified the type of chemicals you wish to avoid. Natural Living Natural living is a choice that we individually make for our own lifestyle but we must ensure that we understand what the term means. Living naturally is about more than simply buying products that are made from natural ingredients. Most of the time we remain unaware of where ingredients are sourced, what ingredients go into the personal care products we buy and how this affects the environment. Being an informed consumer requires that you seek information about the personal care products you use before you use them. Knowing what skincare ingredients to avoid, finding alternatives to chemically-laden products and making better, safer choices will all help you to live more naturally. Natural Products Personal care products that keep us clean and healthy, and do not impact on the planet, do not have to compromise on quality simply because we choose to use products that are natural. A basic natural deodorant, for instance, should smell pleasant and be effective in maintaining freshness. A natural deodorant product will also be aluminium and paraben free, which means that chemicals will not be absorbed by our skin or dissolved down the plughole. Using products that contain natural cleansing ingredients like Tea Tree will also ensure that the products we choose contain natural ingredients that are renowned for their wellbeing properties. Fair Trade and Organic Products Many fair trade and/or organic personal care products, like soaps, body wash and shampoo, contain combinations of natural oils that are sourced locally. Sourcing natural products locally impacts on the environment in a positive way and should be encouraged on a consumer level. Product Reviews Before changing your lifestyle to incorporate a more natural living regime it is worth researching the personal care products available on the market. Knowing that the purchases you subsequently make do not harm you, or the environment will enable you to shop for personal care products with confidence.
General Advice
Hand washing is extremely important when working with food. A suitable flow of water, cleansing agent and separate towel should be readily available.
Hands should be washed at least following these actions: before and after food preparation, before and after using kitchen utensils, after using the toilet, after sneezing, coughing, blowing the nose, smoking, touching the hair or face and emptying bins.
Do not cook if unwell, have a known infection or have an open and uncovered wound. The use of a clean and washable apron will help to prevent the cross contamination of bacteria from clothing to food stuff and vice versa. Best practices include cleaning and tidying as you cook to prevent not just contamination of food items but to avoid accidents.
Clean cupboards, fridges etc. frequently, using a suitable cleansing agent. Surfaces should be wiped down before and after contact with food.
Thoroughly cook meat and never share the surface or utensils used for raw meat or poultry with any other items until it has been thoroughly cleaned and dried.
Wounds should be covered with a waterproof plaster after being cleaned, preferably a blue colour, as there are no natural food products that are blue, so is the easiest to spot if it becomes loose and falls off.
Check expiry dates of products before using.
Do not share cutlery with others unless washing in between, and never taste from a utensil that is going to be placed back into the food source before it is served.
Personal hygiene is very important for preventing poisoning and illness. Hand washing, maintaining
general cleanliness and being aware of the dangers of cross contamination between raw and cooked meats are the most important factors to remember when preparing food.
Personal Hygiene Using Green Products There are many effortless ways in which you can green your personal hygiene. The fact that you have chosen to examine the way in which you select, purchase and use hygiene products suggests that you are ready and willing to make changes to your lifestyle, as well as a welcome contribution to the environment. Choosing Greener Products Buying green personal hygiene products may initially seem more expensive. This is because the items you are selecting are currently not as widely purchased as other, more familiar brands. What you should take into consideration though is that choosing natural-ingredient personal care products, over processed products, has many benefits to offer. Start by examining the product labels. By choosing natural ingredients you are stopping skin irritants and toxins from coming into contact with your skin. Online research using a searchable online database of personal care product and cosmetic manufacturers will enable you to find the products that are best suited to you. Shop Smart In order to maintain a green personal care regime you will have to replace the products you currently purchase with alternatives that do the job in an environmentally friendly way.
Chapter 37
Healthy Eating Habits for the ‘health of it’ The basics of a healthful diet: balance, variety and moderation. Since we don’t know exactly what our own bodies need for optimal health, the safest approach is to get variety within each food group. For example, if the vegetable component of our diet consists only of lettuce, our diet can be balanced but lacking in nutrients. Moderation refers to maintaining an appropriate caloric intake for weight control. There is also substantial evidence to support limited intakes of sodium and saturated fats. Healthy eating tips Along with better food choices: Eat breakfast within two hours of getting up. A morning meal can have a positive impact on metabolism by making people hungry at regular intervals (approximately every three hours). When we eat in response to hunger during the day, we are less likely to overeat at night. Plan ahead to eat at home. You will have better control of your diet and save money. With a well-stocked pantry, you can easily prepare a quick, healthy meal. Bring fruits and vegetables to work for snacks.
Don’t feel compelled to prepare elaborate meals. Find cookbooks that meet your time and skill needs. Two of my favorites are “Lickety-Split Meals for Health Conscious People on the Go!” by Zonya Foco and Nancy Clark’s “Sports Nutrition Guidebook.” With these guidelines, the goal is to make small sustainable changes to your diet. You will be better off than making big changes that last a few days or weeks. You will also be able to enjoy eating without hearing a single negative word from the food police.
10 Eating Habits of the Highly Successful and Fit Successfully fit people are successful not because of good luck, birth order, or family heritage but because they have adopted the right habits. They do things differently than the rest. To be a successful person, you must adopt the habits of success. Stephen Covey's theories on learning from the habits of successful people in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People suggest that by emulating the habits of successful people, anyone can enjoy the life he or she desires. Learn the habits, adopt the habits, practice the habits, enjoy the success. It really is that basic. 1. They Tend to Stick to the Same "Daily Menu" The majority of fit people say they eat virtually the same meals every day, mostly the same breakfast, same lunch, same dinner, and when it comes to snacks and beverages . . . well, you guessed it, very predictable food. To clarify, they did not suggest that they eat exactly the same entree for every meal, but they often chose from three, maybe four things that they like for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are three possible reasons behind this shared habit among fitness professionals, individuals who have succeeded at taking off 100-plus pounds and keeping it off for years, and those who have been trim all their lives. First, it allows "careful" eaters to predict their daily calorie allotment without much effort. Second, perhaps the most fit among us are entrenched in habit, including the habit of taste. Third, effortlessly fit folks are in tune with the energy and calorie needs of their bodies. When they find foods that deliver what they need and that they enjoy, why look further? Keep in mind, there's a fine line between careful eating and disordered eating. The careful eater's diet is a habit and not a matter of control or obsession. 2. They Eat Breakfast This one common characteristic is nearly universal in statistical studies of people who have achieved and maintained a large weight loss. Eighty percent of those who have been able to maintain a weight loss of at least 30 pounds for at least a year report that they always eat breakfast. Research has consistently shown that the people who successfully lose weight are the ones that wake up and eat! Furthermore, people who eat breakfast regularly have better vitamin and mineral status and eat fewer calories from fat. Experts agree that the majority of people who struggle with overeating are those who undereat during the first part of the day, specifically those who skip breakfast. So it seems that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day! Why does eating breakfast help people lose and ultimately maintain a healthier weight? One theory suggests that eating a healthy breakfast reduces hunger throughout the rest of the day, therefore decreasing the likelihood of overeating and making poor food choices at lunch. 3. They Drink Water Not soda. Not iced tea. Just plain old water. Drinking enough water is a vital part of any conditioning
program because it keeps your body functioning in homeostasis and aids every aspect of bodily function. Highly successful fit people drink at least six to eight 12-ounce glasses of water a day, plus more as needed during exercise. Note: It's possible to drink too much water, which dilutes the body's electrolytes (potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium). Don't drink more than a gallon a day unless you're also replenishing your electrolytes. 4. They Eat Small—And Often Most people know that small, frequent meals are absolutely the only way to go. Why? Because when we go longer than 3 hours without eating, our levels of the stress hormone cortisol rise. And high cortisol levels signal the body to store fat in the abdominal region. Keep in mind too that people who skip meals have the highest cortisol levels of all! Eating small meals more often reduces cortisol levels. People who ate six small meals a day for 2 weeks, as opposed to three large meals containing the same total number of calories, reduced their cortisol levels by more than 17 percent! They lost belly fat, too. When you eat small, frequent meals long term, the body becomes efficient at keeping cortisol levels low, which helps both men and women reduce belly fat. Eating throughout the day also makes you less tempted by the monster-size buckets ofpopcorn and supersize fries and drink containers that include triple and quadruple servings. Guided by their nutritional needs and deeply rooted habit to eat small meals throughout the day, the superfit stand steadfast, even in the face of a delicious, jumbo chocolate-chip muffin.
Healthy Eating Habits That Will Change Your Life Change your eating, change your life Developing healthy eating habits isn’t as confusing or as restrictive as many people imagine. The essential steps are to eat mostly foods derived from plants—vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes (beans, peas, lentils)—and limit highly processed foods. Here are our guidelines for building a healthy diet. Developing healthy eating habits isn’t as confusing or as restrictive as many people imagine. The essential steps are to eat mostly foods derived from plants—vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes (beans, peas, lentils)—and limit highly processed foods. Here are our guidelines for building a healthy diet. Keep an Eye on Portions Sure, you can eat all the broccoli and spinach you want, but for higher-calorie foods, portion control is the key. In recent years, serving sizes have ballooned. In restaurants, choose an appetizer instead of an entree or split a dish with a friend. Don’t order anything that’s been “supersized.” When reading food labels, check serving sizes: some relatively small packages claim to contain more than one serving, so you have to double or triple the calories, grams of fat and milligrams of sodium if you’re planning to eat the whole thing.
Eat Plenty of Produce Aim for 2½ cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit a day, for a 2,000-calorie diet. If you consume more calories, aim for more; if you eat fewer than 2,000 calories, you can eat less. Include green, orange, red, blue/purple and yellow produce. The nutrients, fiber and other compounds in these foods may help protect against certain types of cancer and other diseases. Legumes, rich in fiber, count as vegetables, though are moderately high in calories. Choose whole fruits over juice for more fiber. Frozen and canned fruits and vegetables are good options.
Get More Whole Grains At least half your grains should be whole grains, such as whole wheat, barley and oats. Whole grains retain the bran and germ and thus all (or nearly all) of the nutrients and fiber of the grain. Look for a product labeled “100% whole wheat” or “100% whole grain.” If it doesn’t say that, look for a whole grain listed as the first ingredient, though there still may be lots of refined wheat (also called “white” or “enriched” flour) and/or sugar. Another option is to look for the voluntary “Whole Grain Stamp” from the Whole Grains Council. Limit Refined Grains, Added Sugar The refined carbohydrates in white bread, regular pasta and most snack foods have little or no dietary fiber and have been stripped of many nutrients. On food labels, watch out for “wheat flour” (also
called “white,” “refined” or “enriched” flour) on the ingredients list. Also, limit foods with added sugar, such as soda and candy. These are sources of empty calories that contribute to weight gain. Many sugary foods are also high in fat, so they’re even more calorie-dense. Enjoy More Fish and Nuts Nuts, fatty fish, avocados and vegetable oils supply healthy unsaturated fats. Recent research suggests these foods, though high in calories, tend not to promote weight gain because they are satisfying. Still, it’s best to eat them in place of other high-calorie foods. For instance, substitute olive or canola oil for butter. Fatty fish helps reduce heart disease risks and has other benefits, largely because of its omega-3 polyunsaturated fats. Cut Down on Animal Fat Saturated fats, especially from red meat and processed meat, boost LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. To limit your intake, choose lean meats, skinless poultry and nonfat or low-fat dairy products. It’s also a good idea to replace saturated fats with “good” fats, found in nuts, fish and vegetable oils, not with refined carbohydrates such as white bread and snack foods.
Shun Trans Fats Trans fats are supplied by partially hydrogenated vegetable oils used in many processed foods (such as commercial baked goods, snack foods and stick margarines) and fast foods (such as French fries). Trans fats raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and also reduce HDL (“good”) cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease. Since 2006, when a trans fat labeling law went into effect, many food makers have eliminated or greatly reduced these fats in their products. Keep Sodium Down, Potassium Up Excess sodium raises blood pressure in many people and has other harmful effects. People over 50, blacks and those with hypertension, diabetes or chronic kidney disease—that’s most adults—should limit sodium to 1,500 milligrams a day (about two-thirds of a teaspoon of salt). Everyone else should aim for less than 2,300 milligrams a day. At the same time, consume more potassium, which lowers blood pressure. Potassium-rich foods include citrus fruits, bananas, potatoes, beans and yogurt.
Watch Your Calcium and Vitamin D These nutrients are vital for bone health. Get calcium from low-fat or nonfat dairy products and fortified foods such as some orange juices and soy drinks. If you can’t get 1,000 to 1,200 mg a day from foods, take a calcium supplement. It’s hard to consume enough vitamin D from foods, and getting it from sunlight is risky. Many people—especially those who are over 60, live at northern latitudes or have darker skin—may need a D supplement (800 to 1,000 IU a day).
Choose Food Over Supplements Supplements cannot substitute for a healthy diet, which supplies countless other potentially beneficial compounds besides vitamins and minerals. Foods also provide the “synergy” that many nutrients require to be efficiently used in the body. Still, for many people a basic multivitamin/mineral pill can provide some of the nutrients they may fall short on. In addition, many people need calcium as well as vitamin D supplements to meet recommended intakes.
Be Aware of Liquid Calories Beverages supply more than 20 percent of the calories in the average American’s diet. Some liquid calories come from healthy beverages, such as milk and 100 percent fruit juice. But most come from soda and other sweetened beverages and alcoholic drinks, which have lots of calories yet few, if any, nutrients. Soft drinks are a major source of sugar and calories for many Americans, especially children. Though juice is more nutritious than soft drinks, it’s also high in calories, so most people should drink no more than one cup a day. As life gets back into full swing after the holiday period it can be easy to slip back into old patterns. The start of a new year is a perfect time to identify key dietary behaviours that may be preventing you from reaching your goal weight. Get these habits right, and you will be well on your way to maintaining a healthy body weight. Always eat breakfast Studies show that individuals who eat a substantial breakfast lose more weight than those who have a small breakfast. Choose eggs or baked beans on wholegrain bread, or muesli with fruit and yoghurt.
Eat your fruit and veg Aim for three cups of vegetables and two fruits each day. Fill half your plate with vegies at lunch and dinner, and add fruit to your breakfast and for a snack on the way home from work. Take time to shop each week If the food is not in the house, how can you eat well? Schedule in time to shop each week or shop online. Walk for 10,000 steps or exercise for an hour each day A pedometer is extremely useful in providing feedback on how many steps you are racking up each and every day.
Sit down at the table to eat Not only do you eat more slowly and often less food, but you'll enjoy the social experience of dining. This way you'll avoid eating high-fat food on the run. Great options to keep handy include nut- or protein-based snack bars, hard fruit such as an apple or a few wholegrain rice. Have a green tea after meals Green tea is high in antioxidants and can help increase metabolic rate. Always carry a water bottle Drink at least two bottles of water a day instead of juice, cordial or soft drinks.
Choose wholegrain, low-GI bread and breakfast cereal Aim for the best-quality breads, crackers and breakfast cereals, as these are foods we eat every day. Always eat carbohydrates and proteins together Try eggs on grain toast, yogurt and fruit, crackers and cheese and wholegrain bread with tuna or chicken.
Improving Your Eating Habits When it comes to eating, we have strong habits. Some are good ("I always eat breakfast"), and some are not so good ("I always clean my plate"). Although many of our eating habits were established during childhood, it doesn't mean it's too late to change them. Making sudden, radical changes to eating habits such as eating nothing but cabbage soup, can lead to short term weight loss. However, such radical changes are neither healthy nor a good idea, and won't be successful in the long run. Permanently improving your eating habits requires a thoughtful approach in which you Reflect, Replace, and Reinforce. REFLECT on all of your specific eating habits, both bad and good; and, your common triggers for unhealthy eating. REPLACE your unhealthy eating habits with healthier ones. REINFORCE your new, healthier eating habits.
Reflect, Replace, Reinforce: A process for improving your eating habits 1. Create a list of your eating habits. Keeping a food diary for a few days, in which you write down everything you eat and the time of day you ate it, will help you uncover your habits. For example, you might discover that you always seek a sweet snack to get you through the mid-afternoon energy slump. It's good to note how you were feeling when you decided to eat, especially if you were eating when not hungry. 2. Highlight the habits on your list that may be leading you to overeat. Common eating habits that can lead to weight gain are: Eating too fast Always cleaning your plate Eating when not hungry Eating while standing up (may lead to eating mindlessly or too quickly) Always eating dessert Skipping meals (or maybe just breakfast) 3. Look at the unhealthy eating habits you've highlighted. Be sure you've identified all the triggers that cause you to engage in those habits. Identify a few you'd like to work on improving first. Don't forget to pat yourself on the back for the things you're doing right. Maybe you almost always eat fruit for dessert, or you drink low-fat or fat-free milk. These are good habits! Recognizing your successes will help encourage you to make more changes. 4. Create a list of "cues" by reviewing your food diary to become more aware of when and where you're "triggered" to eat for reasons other than hunger. Note how you are typically feeling at those times. Often an environmental "cue", or a particular emotional state, is what encourages eating for non-hunger reasons. Common triggers for eating when not hungry are: Opening up the cabinet and seeing your favorite snack food. Sitting at home watching television. Before or after a stressful meeting or situation at work. Coming home after work and having no idea what's for dinner. Having someone offer you a dish they made "just for you!" Walking past a candy dish on the counter. Sitting in the break room beside the vending machine. Seeing a plate of doughnuts at the morning staff meeting. Swinging through your favorite drive-through every morning. Feeling bored or tired and thinking food might offer a pick-me-up.
5. Circle the "cues" on your list that you face on a daily or weekly basis. Going home for the Thanksgiving holiday may be a trigger for you to overeat, and eventually, you want to have a plan for as many eating cues as you can. But for now, focus on the ones you face more often. 6. Ask yourself these questions for each "cue" you've circled: Is there anything I can do to avoid the cue or situation? This option works best for cues that don't involve others. For example, could you choose a different route to work to avoid stopping at a fast food restaurant on the way? Is there another place in the break room where you can sit so you're not next to the vending machine? For things I can't avoid, can I do something differently that would be healthier? Obviously, you can't avoid all situations that trigger your unhealthy eating habits, like staff meetings at work. In these situations, evaluate your options. Could you suggest or bring healthier snacks or beverages? Could you offer to take notes to distract your attention? Could you sit farther away from the food so it won't be as easy to grab something? Could you plan ahead and eat a healthy snack before the meeting? 7. Replace unhealthy habits with new, healthy ones. For example, in reflecting upon your eating habits, you may realize that you eat too fast when you eat alone. So, make a commitment to share a lunch each week with a colleague, or have a neighbor over for dinner one night a week. Other strategies might include putting your fork down between bites or minimizing other distractions (i.e. watching the news during dinner) that might keep you from paying attention to how quickly — and how much — you're eating. Here are more ideas to help you replace unhealthy habits: Eat more slowly. If you eat too quickly, you may "clean your plate" instead of paying attention to whether your hunger is satisfied. Eat only when you're truly hungry instead of when you are tired, anxious, or feeling an emotion besides hunger. If you find yourself eating when you are experiencing an emotion besides hunger, such as boredom or anxiety, try to find a non-eating activity to do instead. You may find a quick walk or phone call with a friend helps you feel better. Plan meals ahead of time to ensure that you eat a healthy well-balanced meal. 8. Reinforce your new, healthy habits and be patient with yourself. Habits take time to develop. It doesn't happen overnight. When you do find yourself engaging in an unhealthy habit, stop as quickly as possible and ask yourself: Why do I do this? When did I start doing this? What changes do I need to make? Be careful not to berate yourself or think that one mistake "blows" a whole day's worth of healthy habits. You can do it! It just takes one day at a time!
The Top Ten Healthy Eating Habits Developing healthy eating habits will help you reach your goals, while ensuring you feel energised and able to enjoy life. Many people who struggle with their health or weight say they've tried every diet or food plan under the sun, without any long-term success. The changes they make end up being short term and their old eating habits soon return, leaving them disheartened and demoralised. The reality is that there's no need to cut whole food groups or deny yourself the pleasure of eating. On the contrary, limiting your nutritional intake will only make you feel tired, lethargic and lacking any willpower to make sensible food choices. The key to success lies in developing healthy eating habits that will not only help you reach your goals, but will also leave you feeling full and with plenty of energy to do everything you want to do. Healthy eating habits are all about putting changes in place that are sustainable in the long term. Here are a few eating habits which, once you've made them part of your routine, will have you set up for life.
1. Eat Healthy Unprocessed Food Many of the packaged foods we buy today are aimed at convenience and involve the minimum of preparation time on our part - but they're not that healthy. They often contain high amounts of preservatives, man-made colourings and other added chemicals, and as 12WBT dietitian Georgie Moore explains, there are other downsides. "Packaged foods tend to be higher in fat, salt and sugar than food cooked from scratch, while lacking nutrients and fibre," she says. Get into the habit of preparing meals from unprocessed foods and you will reap the health benefits. This means cooking with fresh vegetables, lean meat, eggs and milk and eating plenty of fruit, nuts and legumes. Try this: One of the best healthy eating habits you can put in place is to chuck out your toxic packaged and processed foods. Instead, stock the pantry and shelves with beautiful fresh ingredients so they're at arm's reach when you're ready to eat.
2. Switch to Healthy Whole Grains Whole grains offer far more nutrients and fibre than their refined "white" varieties. And in a 2012 study at the University of Copenhagen, researchers found that overweight people who ate wholegrain wheat products lost more weight than those who ate refined wheat, and they also came out with lower cholesterol. "Whole grains tend to have a lower GI (glycaemic index), so they help keep you feeling fuller for longer and maintain your energy levels and concentration," Georgie says. On the taste side, whole grains have more texture, flavour and nuttiness than refined ones. Try this: As a fast and simple way to improve your eating habits, choose wholemeal or wholegrain bread next time you hit the bakery. And in the supermarket, buy brown rice instead of white, and wholegrain pasta. Adding whole grains such as quinoa and buckwheat to salads and other meals will add a heap of nutrients. You can find these in a health food store or the health food aisle of your supermarket.
3. Change to Healthy Cooking Methods The more you "do" to your food, the less it does for you. So avoid things like deep-frying, which drenches your food in unnecessary calories, and boiling vegetables until they're drained of colour, as this will sap them of nutrients.
4. Eat Healthy Portion Sizes In today's supersized world, it can be hard to know what a healthy portion looks like. All the advertising we see seems to be aimed at encouraging us to eat and drink a lot. Plate sizes in restaurants get bigger and bigger, as do the servings themselves. So it's little wonder that many of us consume more than we need on a daily basis, as our eating habits have changed without us even realising it.
5. Understand Healthy Eating-Out Options Restaurants and cafes can seem like a minefield, not least because their portions are often much bigger than we need. It's also tempting to go for the less healthy menu options. But that doesn't mean you can't put healthy eating habits in place when you're out with friends. Georgie suggests using the plate-portioning guide (see above) to help you when eating out. And you don't have to eat everything on your plate!
6. A Food Diary Will Help Your Healthy Eating Habits Keeping a diary of everything you eat and drink throughout the day will give you a clear picture of how much you're consuming and how healthy it is. It's not until we write everything down that we can see where to improve.
7. Healthy Eating at Social Events For most of us, it's impossible to avoid work gatherings or birthday bashes, where lots of food and alcohol are on offer, and the next day we're wracked with remorse if we've over-indulged. Set up some healthy eating habits for these situations to stay on track.
8. Plan Your Healthy Shopping It's too easy to eat takeaway if there's nothing in the fridge or put together something naughty when it's filled with unhealthy foods. But if your fridge and pantry are stocked with healthy options you'll be able to make better choices when you're hungry. The secret to healthy shopping is to plan ahead.
9. Treats Can be Healthy Too! We often think of certain foods as "bad" and cut them out altogether. However, this can set us up for failure because we end up craving them all the more and then bingeing.
10. Water: Nature's Healthy Drink Water is essential for life - it's required for digestion, absorption and transportation of nutrients, for elimination of waste and to regulate body temperature.
Eat five or six small meals a day instead of three large meals Despite eating the same number of calories distributed this way, your body releases less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps reduce hunger.
Treat high-calorie foods as crown jewels Rather than topping a bowl of ice cream with a few berries, top a bowl of berries with a spoonful of ice cream. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling, fresh salsa. Balance a little cheese with a lot of salad. Don’t eat a whole steak with a veggies on the side; put a few strips of grilled steak on top of a mound of vegetables.
After breakfast, make water your primary drink At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange juice. But the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. You probably know that sweetened drinks are ultra-high in calories. You may not know that despite the calories, sugary drinks don’t trigger a sense of fullness the way food does, according to several studies. So you just keep drinking and eating.
Downsize your dinner plates Studies find that the more food in front of you, the more you’ll eat — regardless of how hungry you are. So instead of using large dinner plates (which make them look forlornly empty if they’re not heaped with food), serve your main course on salad plates. The same goes for liquids. Instead of 16ounce glasses and oversized coffee mugs, return to the old days of 8-ounce glasses and 6-ounce coffee cups.
Only eat in your eating chair Designate one chair at your kitchen table as the only place you will eat, and force yourself to only eat there while at home, whether it’s meals or snacks. That means no food in front of the television, or while reading in the den, or in your bedroom. We’re not sure when the entire house became an eating zone, but by restricting yourself to one eating spot, you will greatly reduce mindless noshing.
Serve raw foods at every meal Vegetables or fruit, that is. Cut-up carrots, celery, radishes, cauliflower, oranges, peaches, apples, or
even snap peas are suitable at every meal. Put a plate in the middle of the table, and make it a rule that the meal isn’t over until the plate is empty. They’re awesomely healthy, filling, and take the place of higher-calorie cooked foods.
Don’t stock splurge food Leave cake, ice cream, potato chips, buttered bagels, and other high-calorie splurges for the occasional opportunity away from home. If you buy a carton of ice cream for your home, you’ll quickly eat a carton of ice cream. Why even be tempted?
Serve your meals restaurant style That means putting food on plates while in the kitchen, rather than serving food family style (in bowls and platters on the table). Even better: put away the leftovers before sitting down to eat. That way, when your plate is empty, you’re finished. No food to grab from the table, or even from the stove.
Chapter 38
Forgiveness: Your Health Depends on It
Conflict doesn’t just weigh down the spirit; it can lead to physical health issues. But these steps from a Johns Hopkins expert can help you move toward forgiveness—and better health.
Can You Learn to Be More Forgiving? Forgiveness is not just about saying the words. “It is an active process in which you make a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings whether the person deserves it or not,” Swartz says. As you release the anger, resentment and hostility, you begin to feel empathy, compassion and sometimes even affection for the person who wronged you. some people are just naturally more forgiving. Consequently, they tend to be more satisfied with their lives and to have less depression, anxiety, stress, anger and hostility. People who hang on to grudges, however, are more likely to experience severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other health conditions. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t train themselves to act in healthier ways. Making Forgiveness Part of Your Life Forgiveness is a choice. You are choosing to offer compassion and empathy to the person who wronged you.” The following steps can help you develop a more forgiving attitude—and benefit from better emotional and physical health. Reflect and remember. That includes the events themselves, and also how you reacted, how you felt, and how the anger and hurt have affected you since. Forgive deeply. Simply forgiving someone because you think you have no other alternative or because you think your religion requires it may be enough to bring some healing. People whose forgiveness came in part from understanding that no one is perfect were able to resume a normal relationship with the other person, even if that person never apologized. Those who only forgave in an effort to salvage the relationship wound up with a worse relationship. Let go of expectations. An apology may not change your relationship with the other person or elicit an apology from her. If you don’t expect either, you won’t be disappointed. Decide to forgive. Once you make that choice, seal it with an action. If you don’t feel you can talk to the person who wronged you, write about your forgiveness in a journal or even talk about it to someone else in your life whom you trust. Forgive yourself. The act of forgiving includes forgiving yourself. For instance, if your spouse had an affair, recognize that the affair is not a reflection of your worth, says Swartz.
Forgiveness: Letting go of grudges and bitterness When someone you care about hurts you, you can hold on to anger, resentment and thoughts of revenge — or embrace forgiveness and move forward. Nearly everyone has been hurt by the actions or words of another. Perhaps your mother criticized your parenting skills, your colleague sabotaged a project or your partner had an affair. These wounds can leave you with lasting feelings of anger, bitterness or even vengeance. But if you don't practice forgiveness, you might be the one who pays most dearly. By embracing forgiveness, you can also embrace peace, hope, gratitude and joy. Consider how forgiveness can lead you down the path of physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
What is forgiveness? Generally, forgiveness is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. The act that hurt or offended you might always remain a part of your life, but forgiveness can lessen its grip on you and help you focus on other, more positive parts of your life. Forgiveness can even lead to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion for the one who hurt you. Forgiveness doesn't mean that you deny the other person's responsibility for hurting you, and it doesn't minimize or justify the wrong. You can forgive the person without excusing the act. Forgiveness brings a kind of peace that helps you go on with life. What are the benefits of forgiving someone? Letting go of grudges and bitterness can make way for happiness, health and peace. Forgiveness can lead to: Healthier relationships Greater spiritual and psychological well-being Less anxiety, stress and hostility Lower blood pressure Fewer symptoms of depression Stronger immune system Improved heart health Higher self-esteem Why is it so easy to hold a grudge? When you're hurt by someone you love and trust, you might become angry, sad or confused. If you dwell on hurtful events or situations, grudges filled with resentment, vengeance and hostility can take root. If you allow negative feelings to crowd out positive feelings, you might find yourself swallowed up by your own bitterness or sense of injustice.
What are the effects of holding a grudge? If you're unforgiving, you might: Bring anger and bitterness into every relationship and new experience Become so wrapped up in the wrong that you can't enjoy the present Become depressed or anxious Feel that your life lacks meaning or purpose, or that you're at odds with your spiritual beliefs Lose valuable and enriching connectedness with others How do I reach a state of forgiveness? Forgiveness is a commitment to a process of change. To begin, you might: Consider the value of forgiveness and its importance in your life at a given time Reflect on the facts of the situation, how you've reacted, and how this combination has affected your life, health and well-being Actively choose to forgive the person who's offended you, when you're ready Move away from your role as victim and release the control and power the offending person and situation have had in your life As you let go of grudges, you'll no longer define your life by how you've been hurt. You might even find compassion and understanding.
Let It Go…For Your Own Sake: Key Health Benefits Of Forgiveness Those who exhibited more forgiving perspectives had lower physiological stress responses. Keeps your heart healthy Forgiveness is good for the heart—literally. people who hold on to grudges tend to have higher heart rates, while those who are more empathetic and able to forgive tend to have lower heart rates. Why hold onto anger when it will make your heart do more work than it needs to do? Lowers pain Having a forgiving heart may lower both emotional and physical pain a relationship exist between forgiveness and important aspects of living with persistent pain. Lowers blood pressure Letting go of that anger you’ve been harboring might lower your blood pressure. Extends life Your grudges might be shaving years off your life. After testing adults ages 66 and older and determining their ability to forgive, those who were more forgiving in nature tended to live longer. Forgive, and you’ll live! True forgiveness is easier said than done. It can be difficult, especially if someone truly upset you in a way that contradicted your values and morals. However, it’s important to remember that holding that grudge is not going to fix anything. That hot coal you’re holding onto is just burning yourself. Let go of the coal, and you will feel the lift of mental burdens. However, you may also notice your body thanking you through the health benefits of forgiveness: lower stress levels, a healthier heart, higher pain tolerance, lower blood pressure, and even an extended life. The next time someone upsets you, remember to forgive if you want to live happily as well as healthily.
Ways Forgiveness Is Good For Your Health Forgiveness is the act of consciously deciding to let go of resentment or vengeance toward another entity who has harmed you in some way (whether or not they're actually deserving of that forgiveness (It does not mean having to condone the wrongdoing committed against you.) Fortunately, forgiveness is cultivatable -- and can be practiced through different strategies, including developing empathy, looking for the silver linings and properly expressing your feelings.
Why Learning to Forgive is Crucial for Your Heart and Health: Did you know that unforgiveness causes you stress and can affect your health? Every time we think of those who have transgressed against us, our body responds. Blood pressure and heart rates go up. Facial muscles tense and stress hormones rise. Chronic stress may also affect the immune and cardiovascular systems. On the other hand, forgiveness reduces stress by replacing negative emotions with positive ones. Some research suggests that when married partners don’t forgive each other for past hurts, they are less able to manage conflict in the present. Apparently adults who can’t forgive their parents for mistakes may unconsciously transfer their anger to their spouses! Forgiveness reduces blood pressure and stress hormone levels, less pain, reduced depression and anger, relief in sufferers of chronic back pain. Although forgiveness is an act that will help you heal, have you ever said, “I’ll forgive, but I won’t forget!” Would you rather carry around grudges, unwilling to write them off until you have the love, apology, caring, or approval you think is owed to you? When you act this way, you hurt your emotional health by constantly reminding yourself of how others have failed you and what they owe you. “Forgiveness is letting go of all hopes for a better past.” The past is past, yet you may be driving yourself into despair and anger because you can’t undo what was done “back then”. You keep those wounds open because it validates your feelings when others notice how you martyr yourself. Try to become aware of how much energy it takes to keep your anger going, and how it depletes you. Think about how good and how light you will feel when you release the other person from your frustration. For thousands of years the world's religions have been preaching—if not always practicing— forgiveness. Now the medical community is finding that there are more benefits to letting things go than just better relationships and peace of mind. As the results of long-term studies on the physiological impacts of forgiveness trickle in, the evidence is stacking up behind a single idea: Truly forgiving those who have wronged us is good for our health in myriad ways—it lowers blood pressure, improves sleep, and increases life span. Holding on to resentment is likely to lead to insomnia.
Both those with generally forgiving personalities and those who had truly forgiven their betrayer had lower blood pressure and lower heart rates than their more agitated colleagues. While no one is suggesting that we get rid of things like justice and punishment altogether, learning to master the art of forgiveness could not only make our society safer and saner, but also make us all a little bit healthier.
Be Healthy and Happy: Forgive Forgiving and releasing old hurts from your system is like taking a mental and emotional bath. Negative emotions such as anger, resentment and blame can cause stress to build up in the body, and where there is excessive stress, there is the potential for all sorts of physical, mental and emotional problems. Most notably, elevated stress levels can impair the body’s immune system, putting you at risk for heart disease, chronic pain, and depression among many other debilitating conditions.
Forgiveness Exercise The following exercise, can help you discover a deeper level of your heart power, where feelings such as compassion, tolerance, understanding and forgiveness reside. Think of a person or situation you have resented and want to forgive completely. Send all of the thoughts and emotions that come up in your head about the person or situation – this includes past associations, memories, anger, hurt, resentments, etc. – gently to the heart. As often as these thoughts or feelings pop up in your head again, simply send them to your heart, which is the clearinghouse for your emotions. At the same time, try to feel and send heart energy, love, compassion and forgiveness to the person or situation.
Special notes about the exercise: You may have to practice this exercise a few times to bring the old head thoughts under heart management. With heart management, you are actually contacting a different level of intelligence within, known as heart intelligence. Heart intelligence has the power to quickly release old resentments and hurts, change your perceptions and bring you to a satisfying understanding of the situation. Forgiving you can be the hardest thing to do. Often people feel that they must remember their wrong doings and beat themselves up for it, or they will not learn from it. The opposite is true. Often people feel that they are doing good by sustaining self-guilt. This is not true and it creates a steady running stress deficit within our system. As we practice forgiveness from the heart, not just the mind, we clear the energy drains and reset our system for a fresh start. Sustaining guilt translates into increased aging which moves fast enough on its own. It’s understandable that it’s hard to forgive yourself or others at times, yet it’s better for all concerned to do so. Keep desiring it from your heart to find resolve and added peace. Forgiveness and Health The forgiving person becomes less motivated to retaliate against someone who offended him or her and less motivated to remain estranged from that person. Instead, he or she becomes more motivated by feelings of goodwill, despite the offender’s hurtful actions. In a close relationship, we hope, forgiveness will not only move us past negative emotions, but move us toward a net positive feeling. It doesn’t mean forgetting or pardoning an offense. Unforgiveness, by contrast, seems to be a negative emotional state where an offended person maintains feelings of resentment, hostility, anger, and hatred toward the person who offended him. Forgiveness involves wishing the other well.
Chapter 39 Keeping Hopes A Life We all have a sense of self. Whether that sense of self is positive or negative is based upon our experiences in life and our perceptions and assessment of ourself. If our self assessment was always accurate, I would have no need to write this article. However, the problem is that our perception of
ourself is often distorted. Previous experiences can distort this perception. For instance, a person growing up in a perfectionistic family may view herself as always falling short of the expectations of the family. As a result, no matter how successful she might be, she thinks of herself as a failure.
What Is Self-Concept? The self-concept is a factual description of how you perceive yourself. If your perception is distorted, this description may not be an accurate depiction of you, but it is an accurate statement of what you believe about yourself. The self-concept is derived from self-esteem and self-efficacy. If a person has low self-esteem, the self-concept may be skewed in the direction of a negative description. Some aspects of the selfconcept may be purely statements of fact such as "I have a college education" or "I don't dance" without any evaluation of whether it is good or bad. In fact, people with a good self-esteem and self-efficacy are often able to recognize their limitations without a judgment attached. For instance, "I don't have a good sense of direction" can be just a statement of fact without feeling good or bad about it.
What Is Self-Esteem? Self-esteem is the regard or respect that a person has for oneself. A person with positive feelings regarding the self is said to have high self-esteem. However, self-esteem can refer to very specific areas as well as a general feeling about the self. For instance, a person may have low self-esteem regarding physical attractiveness and high self-esteem about ability to do a job well.
What Is Self-Efficacy? Self-efficacy is a person's belief in their ability to accomplish some specific goal or task. It generally corresponds to the level of competence an individual feels. Competence can vary from one situation to another. For instance, a person might feel quite capable competing in a particular sport but may not feel competent speaking in front of a group. As a result, overall self-efficacy may not be completely accurate as it is assessing an individual's general feelings of competence across a variety of situations or tasks.
What Are Characteristics Of High Self-Esteem? To clearly define the characteristics of high self-esteem, there is a need to make the distinction
between an artificially inflated self-esteem and true self-esteem. An artificially inflated self-esteem is an effort to appear to have high self-esteem. However, such individuals don't typically show the following characteristics of people with high self-esteem. Individuals with low self-esteem may have some of the following qualities as well but those with high self-esteem have these characteristics in abundance and with consistency. Responsibility. Since individuals with high self-esteem can accept themselves completely they are able to take responsibility for themselves and the consequences of their actions without being excessively critical of themselves. Therefore, they are readily able to acknowledge mistakes and accept limitations. Goal Commitment. Those with high self-esteem tend to have a strong sense of purpose and are committed to goals in life. In addition, they tend to be persistent in achieving these goals as they commitment does not fluctuate based on success or failure. As active participants in life they tend to strive for excellence not for perfection. Genuineness. People with high self-esteem can be honest with themselves and others both emotionally and intellectually. As they aren't fearful of others truly knowing them, they tend to be genuine in their interactions with others. Forgiving. High self-esteem tends to correspond with tolerance and acceptance of limitations. As a result, people who have high self-esteem are forgiving of themselves and others. Internal values. Individuals with high self-esteem tend to have internally-based values rather than externally-based values. In other words, they have a strong identity based on chosen values rather than values they believe due to the demands or expectations of others. This type of identity is usually considered an "achieved identity" in which a person has analyzed their beliefs and values to decide the set of internal principles or values that they will adhere to.
Positivity. People with high self-esteem are positive with an appreciative and grateful attitude towards life. They can freely praise themselves and others and tend to look for the positive aspects of life and not
dwell on the negative. Self-improvement. Generally, there is a strong tendency to strive towards self-improvement among those with high selfesteem. As they don't view the need for self-improvement as a negative quality they are able to examine themselves uncritically. In addition, they can ask for help as needed because they don't view the need for help as shameful or negative.
What Are The Characteristics Of High Self-Efficacy? Self-confidence. One of the most obvious characteristics of high self-efficacy is self-confidence. They approach tasks or situations with a sense of their ability to be successful. This self-confidence tends to lead to more experience which increases their ability which leads to greater self-confidence. This positive cycle lends itself to increasing self-efficacy even further. Accurate self-evaluation. Individuals with high self-efficacy tend to be able to accurately evaluate their performance. They are neither overly-critical nor overly positive but are able to examine themselves realistically in order to pursue self-improvement.
Willingness to take risks. Those with high self-efficacy are willing to take risks because they understand that taking calculated risks increases the chances of success. As they are not fearful of failure or mistakes, reasonable risks can only increase self-efficacy. Sense of accomplishment. Generally those with high self-efficacy feel a sense of accomplishment because they are often more successful due to the willingness to take risk and to pursue interests. Even if they fail or make mistakes they feel a sense of accomplishment because they view mistakes as opportunities to improve themselves.
HOW CAN SELF-ESTEEM BE IMPROVED?
Eliminate negative self-talk. First and foremost, people with low self-esteem need to eliminate harmful self-talk. The negative labels and frequent self-criticism can only cause further damage. Eliminating negative self-talk doesn't mean you can't recognize and address problems, but it means to be careful about how you talk to yourself and to not be self-destructive. Recognize strengths. Those with low self-esteem tend to focus on their weaknesses rather than focusing on their strengths sometimes claiming that there isn't anything positive they can say about themselves. That is unlikely to be true. It is important to pay attention to strengths and to appreciate the strengths no matter how small they may seem. Once you recognize the strengths you need to reinforce the strengths through frequent focus on them. Recognize self-worth. It is important to recognize that you are a unique human being and have worth. Recognize that you deserve to take care of yourself and set limits. You deserve respect and to be treated well. Again, you need to frequently reinforce this idea by continuing to focus on your self-worth. Accept mistakes. Recognize that mistakes and flaws are part of the human condition. They don't make you less than others. Instead, you are like everyone else. You have flaws and you make mistakes. The more actively you are involved in life, the more mistakes you will make. But being actively involved allows you more opportunity for success as well. Accept yourself—flaws and all. Accept rejection. The more you can believe that everyone doesn't have to like you, the less you need to feel bad or be ashamed of your imperfections. No one can be liked by everyone! It is an impossible task. However, the person with low self-esteem often feels a failure if someone is disapproving or rejecting. Instead, congratulate yourself if someone doesn't like you because you are being a genuine person.
HOW CAN SELF-EFFICACY BE IMPROVED? Develop skill set. The most important way to improve self-efficacy is to develop the skill set you need to be effective. If you are having trouble being successful in your work, identify your areas of deficit and determine what you need to do to improve. Ask others to honestly evaluate your skills and to give specific advice regarding improvement. Once you know what you need to do, then you need to do it again and again until you feel competent. That's how competence develops. People aren't born with competence, they have to learn and practice in order to become competent.
Modeling. One way to learn the necessary skills is to observe others. You can observe successful completion of tasks to learn how to achieve success. When you observe others being rewarded for their performance or successful completion of a task, you are more likely to be able to model yourself after their behavior. Focus on specifics. To improve self-efficacy, it is best to focus on specifics. If someone gives you general feedback especially if it is negative you are less able to make changes than if someone can provide specific feedback Reinforcement. The more behavior is reinforced, the more likely it will continue. If you want to improve your selfefficacy focus on what you do well and reinforce it by giving yourself specific praise.
Building Self-Esteem Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself as a person. Those with high self-esteem believe that they are adequate, strong and worthy of a good life, while those with low self-esteem feel inadequate and worthless. Low self-esteem can develop in childhood and continue throughout adulthood, causing great emotional pain. Therefore, it’s important to develop a healthy, positive sense of self. Many people base their self-esteem on external factors, such as how much money they earn, how much they weigh and whether people like and appreciate them. If one of these external variables change, self-esteem can be broadly affected. For example, if your self-esteem is based on the fact that someone else loves you, then you risk feeling extremely vulnerable and worthless if that person’s love ends. By the same token, building self-esteem is not an easy task if you have been abused or have suffered years of personal or professional failure. Building your self-esteem and creating a positive self-awareness comes from taking an inventory of your own strengths and abilities as a human being. Being at peace with who you are and what you have to offer the world is a major part of having high self-esteem. This “inner peace” does not mean that you are unaware of your weaknesses; it merely means that you accept who you are and genuinely like the person you have become. You should think about yourself as deserving of attention, admiration and proper maintenance. Avoid the pitfall of paying too much attention to the happiness and well-being of others and too little to your own. Maintaining self-esteem involves becoming fully aware of your strengths and seeing challenges as opportunities to employ those strengths. Beginning the inner dialogue about who you are and what you have to offer the world is an important process in building self-esteem. However, it is not unusual to have trouble defining your strengths and abilities. Sometimes it is helpful to talk to a therapist about this inner dialogue and about how you might come to the genuine feeling of being a good person who is worthy of the good things in life. Talking to friends, family and colleagues can also be useful in further defining who you are and what you have to offer. But remember that the most important conversation you have about self-esteem is with yourself. Become your own personal cheerleader. Don’t be afraid to celebrate even your smallest successes. Ask yourself what you fear, and search within yourself for ways you can cope with these worries and fears. Learning to know and trust yourself is a long but worthwhile process. Throughout life you may need to search within yourself again and again to find your own empowerment and strength. Self-esteem means you really like yourself, both inside and out. It refers both to how you look and what you believe in. This is also called "positive" or "high" self-esteem. Sometimes it's easy to like who you are. You feel great when you pass a test, score a winning touchdown, or tell a funny joke that everyone laughs at. But how do you feel about yourself when you just said something stupid or fumbled the football? You sometimes feel dumb or left out of the action. Why is self-esteem important? You now have more responsibility to choose between right and wrong. Positive self-esteem gives you
the courage to be your own person, believe in your own values, and make the right decision when the pressure is on.
How do you get it? Be honest with yourself. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses. Don't beat yourself up over your weaknesses. Don't compare yourself to others. It's hard at times, but accept yourself. Set realistic goals for yourself. Try to get the most out of your strengths and do your best, without demanding unrealistic results of yourself. Celebrate your achievements. Trust your own feelings. Take it one day at a time. Do your best each day. It is not always going to be easy to stick to your values, but you will be happier if you do.
Think for yourself! Only you know what is best for you. When you value and respect yourself, it helps you avoid making a bad decision, which may affect the rest of your life. Can I help others feel good about themselves? Yes. Don't put others down. Be patient with your friends and family when they fall short. We all make mistakes from time to time. Self-compassion is a willingness to look at your own mistakes and shortcomings with kindness and understanding — it’s embracing the fact that to err is indeed human. When you are self-compassionate in the face of difficulty, you neither judge yourself harshly, nor feel the need to defensively focus on all your awesome qualities to protect your ego. It’s not surprising that self-compassion leads, to higher levels of personal well-being, optimism and happiness, and to less anxiety and depression. But what about performance? Self-compassion may feel good, but aren’t the people who are harder on themselves, who are driven to always be the best, the ones who are ultimately more likely to succeed? To answer that, it’s important to understand what self-compassion is not. While the spirit of selfcompassion is to some degree captured in expressions like give yourself a break and cut yourself some slack, it is decidedly not the same thing as taking yourself off the hook or lowering the bar. You can be self-compassionate while still accepting responsibility for your performance. And you can be self-compassionate while striving for the most challenging goals — the difference lies not in where you want to end up, but in how you think about the ups and downs of your journey. As a matter of fact, if you are self-compassionate, new research suggests you are more likely to actually arrive at your destination
Chapter 40 Prayer and Healing “Those who prayed to a loving and supportive God whom they thought would be there to comfort and protect them in times of need were less likely to show symptoms of anxiety-related disorders — symptoms such as irrational worry, fear, self-consciousness, dread in social situations, and obsessive-compulsive behavior — than those who prayed but did not expect God to comfort or protect them. People who pray often may have more of a sense of purpose in life or have more supportive personal relations. And many people use prayer as a coping strategy. God is a source of comfort and strength. Through prayer, individuals seek to develop an intimate relationship with God. Those who achieve this goal, and believe that God will be there to protect and support them during times of need, develop a secure attachment to God.
What is prayer? Prayer has a very personal meaning arising from an individual's religious background or spiritual practice. For some, prayer will mean specific sacred words; for others, it may be a more informal talking or listening to God or a higher power. The word "prayer" comes from the Latin precarius, which means "obtained by begging, to entreat." Prayer is rooted in the belief that there is a power greater than oneself that can influence one's life. It is the act of raising hearts and minds to God or a higher power. There is no one set way to pray. Forms include spoken prayers, silent prayers, and prayers of the mind, the heart, and union with God. Prayers may be directed (e.g., prayers for specific things) or non-directed, with no specific outcome in mind. Specific types of prayers include: Intercessory prayer - praying for someone else Distant healing prayer - praying for the healing of someone or something at a distance Petition prayer - asking God or a higher power for something Centering prayer - centering on a word or phrase for a minimum of 20 minutes in silence, usually in order to open to the sacred Contemplative prayer - opening to union with God or the sacred Meditation - In Christianity, the ultimate goal of meditation is often union with God. How might it benefit your health and wellbeing? Prayer is important in a healthcare context simply because it is used so widely. According to Dr. Wayne Jonas, "Surveys indicate that nearly 90% of patients with serious illness will engage in prayer for the alleviation of their suffering or disease." Among all forms of complementary medicine, prayer is the single most widely-practiced healing modality. Research conducted by Dr. Christina Puchalski, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, prayer is the second most common method of pain management (after oral pain medication), and the most common non-drug method of pain management. The following explanations have been offered as to how prayer helps improve health: The relaxation response - prayer elicits the relaxation response, which lowers blood pressure and other factors heightened by stress. Secondary control - prayer releases control to something greater than oneself, which can reduce the stress of needing to be in charge. The placebo response - prayer can enhance a person's hopes and expectations, and that in turn can positively impact health. Healing presence - prayer can bring a sense of a spiritual or loving presence and
alignment with God or an immersion into a universal unconsciousness. Positive feelings - prayer can elicit feelings of gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, and hope, all of which are associated with healing and wellness. Mind-body-spirit connection - when prayer uplifts or calms, it inhibits the release of cortisol and other hormones, thus reducing the negative impact of stress on the immune system and promoting healing.
The Power of Prayer Prayer and spirituality can help ease depression and act as a cushion when life throws curve balls your way. Saying a small prayer to get through a difficult time is not unusual. This near-instinctive plea for help from a higher power is an unspoken acknowledgment of the powerful benefit spirituality can have in our lives. A connection to something greater than our self offers more than just hope, it strengthens our emotional health, too. Prayer and Spirituality: Protecting Emotional Health There are several ways in which a regular spiritual practice may improve or protect your emotional health, including: Offer a bigger sense of purpose. A connection to a greater power or truth can give you a sense of purpose and meaning beyond the day-to-day. Provide social support. You may be involved with a community of like-minded people who can provide social support. Lift the spirit. Activities related to your spiritual practice or community involvement, such as singing and music, may also have positive effects on emotional health. Help you cope with difficulties. Spirituality or religion can provide a framework for coping with unexpected or negative events.
Praying in a community A community of faith can provide more than support when we are in need of help. The members of a faith community can strengthen our resolve to heal, can link their prayers to ours, and can restore us to faith. They can envelop us in caring and love. Praying with a community alters us. Often when life hurts we pray by ourselves and assume that we are alone in our pain. When we enter a community to pray our eyes open up. We see that we are not alone in our pain—there are others who suffer too. And we also realize that we are not alone in the world, there are dozens of people praying for us, extending their arms to help. Suddenly the nature of our prayers begins to change. We stop drowning in self-pity. We stop praying for ourselves alone. Before long we begin adding others to our prayers. We begin praying for our world. We begin to see our own troubles in a new light. Perhaps things aren’t as bad as they seemed after all. Sometimes a community’s prayers can literally save a life.
Prayer can transform our lives When we wake up in the morning, we remember to prepare our bodies for the day ahead of us. We wash, we dress, we eat. Would you ever think of leaving the house without brushing your teeth? And yet we rarely take the time to prepare our souls for the day ahead of us. It doesn’t need to take very long. Just a minute or two each morning. But a simple morning prayer can literally transform the way we think, feel, behave, and work. A morning prayer helps to remind us how blessed we are—Even brief prayer can give us the courage to confront a difficult day, and it can give us the insight to recognize a miraculous one. Before you race out the door, take a moment. Take a deep breath in, let a deep breath out, and talk to God. Tell God your hopes for the new day and your worries too. And don’t forget to notice something to be thankful for this day. A morning prayer There are so many things I take for granted. May I not ignore them today. Just for today, help me, God, to remember that my life is a gift, that my health is a blessing, that this new day is filled with awesome potential, that I have the capacity to bring something wholly new and unique and good into this world. Just for today, help me, God, to remember to be kind and patient to the people who love me, and to those who work with me too. Teach me to see all the beauty that I so often ignore, and to listen to the silent longing of my own soul. Just for today, help me, God, to remember You. Let this be a good day, God, full of joy and love. Amen.
Prayer and faith can help us welcome God’s healing power Prayer has the power to transform our fear into faith. It reminds us that we are never alone. Everything we are, body and soul, is in the hand of God, whose presence fills the universe and who is as close to us as our own breath. No matter what this unpredictable world sends our way, with God by our side we can find the strength to confront our fears. So pray and welcome God’s healing power.
A Prayer to Jesus for Healing Lord, You are the Just judge, Holy and True. You are the Most High God. You give us life. You hold all power in your hands.
You are the Mighty one from God who carries the world, and is ruler over all the earth. You Oh Most Blessed One are the giver of life. In you are only good things. In you is mercy and love. Lord Jesus, in you all healing is performed. You Lord are the miracle worker. In your Spirit, your gift of healing is alive. In you Lord we can put our trust that you can heal us, and protect us from the enemy, and death of our soul. Heal us Lord, in Jesus name Amen
How you view God affects your prayer life and mental health "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people." [MATTHEW 4:23] "And the people, when they knew it, followed him: and he received them, and spoke unto them of the kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing." [LUKE 9:11] "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous man is effective and has great strength."
END
_________________________________________ From the Authors Strategically position yourself! In order to be successful, there needs to be a road map for success. A strategic plan helps to provide direction and focus. It points to specific results that are to be achieved and establishes a course of action for achieving them. Strategically position yourself for this year. ________________________________ Paul Odame & Gloria Jubi
BIBLIOGRAPHY / RECOMMENDED READING 1.
M axwell,John C. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (1998). Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashvilla, Tennessee.
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Ziglar,zig. Over The Top (1997). Thomas Nelson, Inc. Nashvilla, Tennessee.
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Etuk, Emma S. Recipe For Success: The 21 Indispensable Things That Can Help You Success In Life (2004). Self-Improvement Publishing, Benin City, Nigeria.
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Xexemuku, Eric. Kingdom Culture: Biblical Blueprint and lifestyle for the 21 Century Believer (2014). Prophetic Destiny heights
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OTHER BOOKS BY THE AUTHORS / RECOMMENDED READING
1.
Business Etiquette: Become a Professional Business Person
2.
Reputation Management: Upgrade Your Reputation
3.
Money Makers: Great Business Men Who Made A Lot of Fortune
4.
IT Financial Management For Beginners: Corporate Financing
5.
Modern Marketing Research: Maximizing Your Modern Marketing Skills
6.
The Leader In You: Leading Your Self Into Success
7.
Copywriter: Written Communication
8.
Public Communication: Public Relations
