Wakeup Breathing

Are saddlebags, love handles and spare tires inching their way onto your body? Do you spend time looking at the mirror wishing you had the perfectly fit body of Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt? Do most physical activities you have previously enjoyed, morphed into pure torture? Does your diet mostly consist of salt, sweets and fats?

If you answered yes to one of the questions stated above, then you surely have plenty of reasons to get lean the healthier way. Keep in mind that losing weight is not just to look better, it’s also healthier.

If you are convinced that your well-being relies on your determination, then apply these tried and tested “get lean” guidelines to help you out. Not only will you lose those ugly bulges, you will also be launching a stronger, sexier and more self-assured you in the upcoming months. Still wondering how to do it? Here are the secrets:

1. Set SMART goals. Your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, result-oriented and time-bound in order to be highly effective. For example, if you want to shed off excess pounds, say how much weight you want to lose in a week or a month. It should be realistic. Health experts advocate losing no more than one pound a week to maintain the body’s equilibrium. If you want to have a 24-inch waistline, express in concrete terms how it should be done as well as the target date.

2. Track your progress. Prepare a timetable or keep a journal to reflect your progress. Track daily, weekly and monthly activities in order to see what you actually do. This means household chores and outdoor exercises should be listed as well as improvement in food preferences from unhealthy to healthy ones.

3. Commit with a partner. They will serve as a support system in your long and sometimes arduous journey to fitness. Choose someone who will fully support you even through the toughest times. It’s really a great boost to the ego to have someone to talk to when you feel like giving up. Verbalize your innermost feelings when you feel an intense urge to quit.

4. Chant the “Yes, I can” mantra. Lose those negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. The moment you wake up in the morning, fill your mind with upbeat reminders to lift your energy throughout the day.

Now you know how to get lean the healthier way. Best of luck. Remember when you “wakeup breathing” everything that day is a gift…………

One of the most important questions you may have in your mind is how to improve your self-esteem.

It makes no difference whether you pursue it actively or unconsciously, what matters is the discipline and effort to work on improving your self-esteem.

Here are ten tips on how you can improve your self-esteem:

1. Increase your self-esteem. Try to come up with a list. What aspects of your self do you really want to change? Work on one aspect at a time. Find out how you are doing before proceeding to another aspect.

2. Be optimistic. Do not think negatively about where you are right now. Always project self-confidence in where you might end up in the coming days.

3. Set concrete goals. Write down your goals and desires. Consider how people you will be interacting with can help you accomplish your goals. Afterwards make a decision on how you will deal with each person appropriately. Do this regularly and you will see some changes.

4. Be proactive. Don’t wait for things to happen, make things happen. Fuel your determination. Let other people know in what aspect they can help you. Success comes to individuals who get down to business.

5. Make everyone feel significant. Eventually, you will see amazing results by helping others.

6. Expand your social networks. Join social clubs or organizations. In effect, more contacts will be added to your list of friends. Social contacts can give you an assurance that you can depend on others in times of crisis.

7. Learn a sport or hobby. Being active in sports or hobbies can help improve your self-confidence. It also helps you maintain good health. Good health leads to a sound body and a healthy mind. A sound body and a healthy mind play a major role in improving your self-esteem.

8. Enroll in self-improvement classes and read books. If your main problem lies in not knowing where to begin, attending classes or seminars on self-improvement can provide you with step by step knowledge on how to improve your self-esteem. If classes are hard to find you can also read books on self-esteem. There are also plenty of CDs and tapes focusing on the topic of self-help that you may want to consider.

9. Have a change in atmosphere. If the current environment you are living in causes you to have low self-esteem, consider moving to another location. You may also want to do some changes in your current environment. A change in environment can provide you with several benefits. It can add versatility to your personality and more importantly, it can contribute in changing the way you look at your self.

10. Be contented and happy. Failures and disappointments can result to low self-esteem. When your goals and objectives are not met, chances are you can get frustrated and become negative about your capabilities. Being contented and happy may fuel your determination to succeed. Determination may help in boosting your self-esteem.

Improving self-esteem does not happen over night. It could take a while before you notice the changes in yourself. It requires constant practice to see some improvements.

An improved self-esteem will benefit you in all aspects of your life. You will experience a change in your relationships with your family, dealings with friends, and more importantly, improvement of yourself.

It is about 105 degrees today in Ramona, CA where I live. So it to hot to be outside in the sun or even in the garage working on our muscle car. It’s just to hot to do anything out side. So I’m sitting here staying cool and watching the Olympic diving trials.

And while watching I was thinking how much discipline it takes to even get to the trials…much less the actual Olympics. So I’m watching these young girls and a couple women doing their dives trying to get a spot to go to the selection committee.

Many of them have been diving and training for years, devoting themselves to the sport. That means hundreds of hours and thousands of dives. This is just to get to the point to even try out to make the team, not even a guarantee just a chance.
When I see young people like them I think there is still a chance for this country. Because there still are people that can dedicate themselves to achieve beyond what most can even imagine.

I wonder how many of us could even come up with half the dedication that these athletes have. Many of us complain if we have to wait in line at the store. Or quit the gym when we realize that it actually is work in a workout. I’m not immune to it either. I sometimes don’t have the discipline to write erveryday like I promised myself I would.

The Olympics start this August…Almost all of us watch some part usually our favorite sport. This year don’t just watch as a spectator. Watch these young athletes and keep in mind what it must have taken to get to the Olympics……and the next time you have something to do. Apply some of your own dedication to what ever task you have and enjoy the results…..even if it wasn’t at the Olympic level.

The other day I was responding to an email that I recieved asking about a particular service I provide. I thought my response was perfectly reasonable. Unfortunately the person recieving my email took it totally wrong and replied with a angry email about me asking for money when they were just inquiring about my service…..

We had a couple further emails between us but ultimately it took a face to face meeting to straighten out the misunderstanding. It was good we met because they were fine with my fees and we ended up doing business.

But when this happened it really made me think about some of the technologies we all use and take for granted. Email being on of those technologies. Email has changed the world in the ways we do business and interact on both a personal and business level. We can communicate with someone on the other side of the planet or just in the next cubicle at work.

But as great as email is it can actually be a very poor form of communication……the reason is tone and facial expression.
Neither of which you can see in an email. So what we might think is a totally innocuous email can be taken completely wrong by the reciever.

So I have decided to try and never resolve an issue using email. Because no matter how great a writer you might be you can’t put the human experience into those words.

You might think about using the same policy. I think you might find yourself avoiding alot of problems or saving a relationship or some business deal….

So if you ever send me an email and don’t get a response…..the next phone you hear could be me calling because my answer is more important to get right than to get quick.

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.

Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.

He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone….

We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
Live simply and appreciate what you have.
Give more
Expect less