Sioux Indian Story

Even the red Indians knew we were all connected to everything and everyone else in the universe...

"My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone person.

"You may create lots of splashes in your life but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures," he said.

"Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both."

That was the first time I realized each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.

Author Unknown

Make yours a great day today.

Your deficit source makes a difference

I've maintained for a long time that the simplest fact about weight gain and loss is that if you consume more calories than you expend they can be stored as fat. To reduce fat you have to have a slight calorie deficit.

There has been ongoing debate about whether it makes any difference where your deficit comes from. I think it DOES make a difference. Although you can cut body fat with any calorie deficit, I believe it is better to burn the fat off with increased activity than to starve it off by decreasing calories drastically with very low calorie diets.

Unfortunately burning more by exercising has never been a very popular idea for most people. It takes hard work and a time commitment necessary to increase your level of
exercise. But it does have other benefits besides weight management.

I guess in the end you've got to decide how important your overall health and longevity is, and how your current health and fitness impinges on your lifestyle.

Whatever you decide is your choice and you pay the price accordingly.

Slow progress

Do you ever get frustrated because things are moving too slowly in your life? Sometimes I do. Naturally I tap those feelings away with EFT so that frustration doesn’t turn into negativity and anger.

My wife reminds me that building a foundation for success doesn’t happen overnight. All my work is a process of learning and laying foundations. Buildings need foundations that remain strong, even in times of failure or crisis. Farmers lay foundations for a good crop by preparation of the soil. Paint won’t stay on a wall too well if the surface is not prepared properly.

Foundations. This takes time!

You need to remind yourself that "failing" is only failure if you quit; otherwise it's a learning opportunity. If your life seems to be moving ahead in slow motion despite all your efforts don't worry. Stay focused on your goal. Concentrate on building your solid foundation for success and regard your back steps as tests of your resolve and learning experiences.

As an old Chinese proverb says:

Be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid only of standing still.

Weight loss is a 3 pronged fork

Have you ever used a fork with only two prongs? It's not so easy to get much into your mouth with each forkload. Losing weight requires a three-pronged fork. By this I mean there are three angles from which the weight loss game must be played. Few people use all three.

Is it any wonder the world is full of overweight people struggling to shed the fat?
Everyone knows that there's the diet angle and the exercise angle (though again, few people get these right even though they try). The angle most people miss is the mental one.

This involves much more than just writing goals and thinking positively. It includes the emotions. Your emotions drive everything you do. The behaviours you engage in depend on how you feel. The choices and decisions you make are influenced by how you feel. What you perceive and the interpretation of the world around you is coloured by your emotions.

The best way to address these emotional influences so they don't work against you is to use EFT.

Find out more here.

Up with the stars

I like getting up early. This morning my wife couldn't sleep so she got up before me and remarked "The stars are still out."

My reply was, "You know what they say... Get up with the stars and you become one."

Now I don't think 'they' say that at all because I've never heard that saying before, but I thought it was pretty good. So I'm claiming it. Maybe one day we'll see it among those lists of well known quotes.

"Get up with the stars and you become one." – Alwyn Beikoff

By this I mean, having the strength of character to do things you may not feel like doing, but if you do do them, you will be advancing closer to your dreams.

It could be getting up early. Most people like to enjoy a lie in for a little while after they wake up. But if you do get up early you can get a bit extra done. Just think, one extra hour a day gives you over 15 days worth of time. So there's a tip on how to get an extra two weeks out of the year!

But getting up with the stars could also mean doing anything that will progress you in life, even though you don't feel like doing it at the time. It's what successful people do. They do the things unsuccessful people don't want to do.

I reckon you could be a star too. Maybe you already are one. You can always shine brighter though.

Do it anyway

I just didn't feel like exercising this morning. So I tapped those feelings and soon realised exercising was like climbing a mountain.

I could miss this workout without any great detriment. After all, there's no noticeable change after one workout is there?

But... if I don't take this one step up my mountain I'm one step less close to the top. So? Big deal. But what happens the more I do this?

Reaching my goal gets more and more delayed. If I stop altogether, there is one thing I can guarantee... I'll never make it to the top.

So whatever your goal, whatever is required to achieve it... Even if you don't feel like it...

DO IT ANYWAY!

Change is opportunity

My training partner went away grape picking for two weeks. Now this could have been a good excuse to have a break from working out myself. Sometimes a total layoff is a good idea in fact, but I don't like to make those times any more than a week at a time every couple of months.

It could also be a good opportunity to give my body something different for a little while. That's how I prefered to see his absence. So I did a one muscle group a day blitz for the next two weeks. My wife stepped in to help me keep up the intensity and I appreciated that because it's too easy to stop too soon during a set of exercises when by yourself.

So next time there's a change to your routine avoid looking for the excuses you can find in it. Instead look for the opportunities in it... No not the opportunities to slack off or take a break! Opportunities to improve yourself in some way. Good on ya.