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A Really Cool and Simple Self Help Exercise

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I’ve mentioned several times that I’ve fallen in love with a new type of “book feature” – books that allow me to comfortably read them while I’m on the treadmill have a very special place in my heart. When they’re just the right size and pliable, and the font is large enough to read at arm’s length and (come on let’s be honest!) they’re interesting enough to keep me in place for at least 30 minutes, I’ve made a paper friend for life.

I just finished such a book, WOW: A Handbook for Living. I want to share one particularly interesting page from the book that really made me think. I’ve shared it with a few of my daughters and it has tickled their brain cells as well.

The authors, Zen Ohashi and Zono Kurazono, have filled the book with beautiful, random photography as well as outstanding advice and… well, brain cell ticklers. I’ve gotten a lot out of many of them, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t appreciate me giving everything away in one post! I will, however, share one in particular.

If you want to improve your abilities such as listening, love, enthusiasm, expression, rate yourself on a scale of one to ten. – Page 60

  1. Rate the ability on a scale of one to ten, ten being the best you’ve been able to perform up to this point in time, one being the worst you’ve ever done.  Do this on a daily basis.
  2. To raise your ability just one point, think of what you have to do to improve.
  3. Try it.  – WOW: A Handbook for Living – Page 62

After reading this particular page, I folded the book and placed it on the front of my treadmill – then I just finished my physical exercise as I thought about this mental exercise.  This is really excellent advice.  Think of the different areas this advice could be utilized in:

  • Personal. Rate your relationships with the people you love.  On a scale of 1-10, how close are you? What could YOU do (don’t worry about them right now) to move UP the scale.  Do you criticize or “push” them too hard?  If so, laying off and offering more support, praise, and back pats would certainly be good for an upward swing.
  • Home. Rate your living conditions.  Have your closets gotten out of control (Shhh, don’t judge me.), are your bookcases haggard?  Do you need more furniture with organization on its mind?! Take an honest assessment and, again, come up with what will get you moving in the right direction.
  • How about money? How would you currently rate your finances?  Do you have as much money in the bank as you want or need?  If not, come up with a plan to either make more or spend less.
  • Your Self Image. Without being unnecessarily cruel or chippy, how do you rate your self image right now?  Packing around a few extra pounds that you aren’t terribly thrilled with?  Maybe your hairstyle has worn out its welcome. Unhappy with your wardrobe? Whatever your pet peeves are, keeping them as pet peeves isn’t going to do anything for you.  Rate the different areas, then come up with a plan to move on up to a happier place on the number line.
  • Your Self Confidence.  Are you comfortable speaking on a number of different subjects? If not, read more.  Stretch your mind and stretch your horizons.

Push your limits and push your way up the number line.  Don’t stop until you’re rocking a #11 in every category.  Think it’s not possible?  All I have to say to that is, Gambaru!

In addition to the rating exercise, I highly recommend the following:

  1. Daily exercise!  Not only is it the best thing you can do for your physical health, it’s golden for your mental health.  You’ll feel so much better if you simply MAKE time to get at least 30 minutes of activity at least 5 days a week.  As an added bonus, while you’re walking or working out, you’ll come up with some of your best ideas and will be able to do more creative thinking than ever before.  For reasons that a doctor could explain far better than I can, exercising sets the stage for clearer thinking and creative ideas.  I’m completely hooked on working out problems and ideas on the treadmill or while walking outdoors (assuming it ever warms up again!)
  2. WOW: A Handbook for Living.  This is a beautifully written and illustrated book that will stimulate your thoughts as it inspires and motivates you to live your life out loud.  This one’s a real winner, and so are you.

59 Seconds: Think A Little, Change a Lot!

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A few pages into 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot, I thought “This is going to be one cool little book.” Halfway through (on about page 189 out of nearly 300 pages), I thought, “This is proving to be one cool little book.”

After finishing the book, I thought, “This little book was even cooler than I thought it was going to be.”

The author, Richard Wiseman, has a writing style that keeps you on your toes and rewards you richly for the effort. 59 Seconds is a “thinking man or woman’s” self help guide. Armed with research and fascinating facts, Richard Wiseman lays out the truth:

  • We’re in charge of our lives.
  • If we want to make it happen, the next move (and all the future moves) are up to us.
  • We can improve our lives, and ourselves, if we go about it the right way.

59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot (Borzoi Books) is filled with self improvement tips and self growth advice. The thing I love the most is that each one is backed up with research and explained in detail – with each “Why?” answered beautifully.

The tips and techniques used in 59 Seconds are incredibly simple and fast (hence the 59 Seconds title).  However, that wouldn’t mean beans if they weren’t powerful and effective.  They are both.

An example of one of the many exercises taught in this book is the writing exercise.  The reader is encouraged to write a list of 3 things that he or she is grateful for. The exercise is simplistically brilliant because it gets your mind thinking in an affirmative direction.  Even if you’re in the darkest of moods, once you begin thinking of things you’re thankful for, your mind will soon realize that “narrowing it down to 3” is nearly impossible.  Positive, uplifting thoughts and faces will fill your mind and your mood will be lifted to a new height.  The truly remarkable thing is that this mood will last for days!  When it begins to dip again, make another list.

Simple and brilliant.

There are many outstanding tips for improving your health, weight, and body image as well.  Tips that are, again, backed up with wonderful research and common sense.  A particularly fascinating section was devoted to a study that highlighted the benefits of knowing how much energy your body was using throughout the day – or how many calories we burn doing various activities.  A chart is even included that details how many calories are burned per minute while doing daily activities.  The chart includes room for the reader to write in how many minutes they spend, on average, doing this activity and how many calories they’re burning.

The bottom line?  None of us are burning anywhere near as many calories as we need to be or even as many as we probably think we are.

This part of the book, like the others, serves as a wonderful self help tool because it shows us…

  1. Why we’re not having the type of success we think we should be having.
  2. What path leads to the type of success we want.
  3. How to jump on the right path!

I’ll close with the following passage from the book because I always love for my reviews of books that I love to give you something other than just a recommendation for a great book. I want you to be able to carry something away from the post – hopefully as you head off to Amazon to purchase the wonderful book!  This book is so full of great tips and golden nuggets that I just have to include two.  These are two of the many, many, many “59 Seconds” tips…. 59 Seconds to THINK a little and CHANGE a lot.

  1. Act Happy.  Research by Peter Borkenau from Bielefeld University and others has revealed that happy people move in a very different way than unhappy people do.  You can use this information to increase your sense of happiness by acting like a happy person.  Try walking in a more relaxed way, swinging your arms slightly more and putting more of a spring in your step.  Also, try making more expressive hand gestures during conversations, nod your head more when others are speaking, wear more colorful clothing, use positively charged emotional words more (especially love, like, and fond), use fewer self-references (me, myself, and I), have a larger variation in the pitch of your voice, speak slightly faster, and have a significantly firmer handshake, incorporating these behaviors into your everyday actions will enhance your happiness.  Page  36, 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot
  2. Use More Energy.  Think about how you could burn more calories by making small changes to your everyday routine.  It might be something as simple as using wax polish rather than a spray during housework (rubbing is a far more energy-consuming activity than spraying), ensuring that you have to use the stairs more often (e.g. not taking the elevator at work or alternating floors when doing housework), or listening to upbeat music to encourage vigorous movement when you are walking or mowing the lawn.  – Page 104, 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot

About the Author:
Richard Wiseman is based at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom and has gained an international reputation for research into offbeat areas of psychology, including deception, humor, and luck. He is the author of The Luck Factor, Quirkology, and numerous other books. A passionate advocate for science, Wiseman is well-known for his media appearances, high-profile talks, live demonstrations, and mass-participation studies. Wiseman also regularly acts as a creative consultant for print, broadcast, and new media.

Buy 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot on Amazon today. This one’s a must have, must read.

Book Review: Better Because of You

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I mentioned, in my last post, an inspirational little book I just finished, Better Because of You by Ginny Hutchinson and Kathy Haffner.  I am absolutely in love with this book and I hope you’ll soon have the opportunity to fall head over heels in love with it as well.

This book is perfect for you if you….

  • Love inspirational books and writings.
  • Love books that read very fast, leaving you more time for other things.
  • Are looking for more peace and zen in your life.
  • Are looking for more joy and happiness.
  • Would like to have your life touched and enriched.
  • Would welcome a ray of sunshine into your world.
  • Are into books that you’ll read again and again and again…

Okay, I could have said this book is perfect for anyone and everyone, but I had a few bullet points lying around and wanted to use them.

This colorful, wonderful-natured, and fun little book is just a little over 100 pages.  It’s not the sort of book that you get half-way through, put on the shelf and then have to force yourself to continue.  Truth be told, it’ll never make it to the shelf.  This is the sort of book you like to keep near you, just in case you need a uplifting quote, an inspirational shot in the arm, a soothing pat on the back, or a motivational kick in the behind.  Believe me, you’ll find just what you need when you need it inside Better Because of You.

I highly recommend this delightful book.  Its positive outlook is contagious and it will give you a lift just when you need one the most.  The gist of the book is to show the reader small, simple things they can do each day to make a big difference in their life… as well as in the lives of others.

The authors give many original insights into life and its many facets.  They share useful tips to help the reader get more joy from life while derailing stress that would like to rob them of this joy.  One of my favorite suggestions is below:

Create a Visualization Board.

Buy a blank poster board.  Think about your life one to two years from now.  Cut out and paste up pictures from magazines or download images from the Internet that represent your dreams, key relationships, a dream home, education, charities to support, vacation destinations, or hobbies that interest you. – Page 30, Better Because of You

I love the thought of having a Visualization board.  My oldest daughter recently put one together on a computer program (Paint), using pictures she rounded up online.  What can I say, my offspring is as environmentally-conscious as I am.

The book is filled with great tips and advice.  Along with each tip, the authors include personal examples of individuals who have experienced the fruits of the tip.  As you’d expect, these have as much of an impact on the reader as the tips do.

The book also includes over 40 pages of inspirational and motivational quotes.  They’re grouped by subject, so you’ll always be able to find just the inspiration you need, in just area you need it.  Sort of like making sure you get the right shot in the right arm.   There’s even a great (equally inspiring) website you can visit and take part in, http://www.betterbecause.com/.

Book Description:
This book shows you how to make life just a little bit better in all 7 facets of your life.

Read true-to-life, inspirational stories that can help you do small things each day to make a big difference in these 7 areas:

– Health
– Wealth
– Wisdom
– Work
– Play
– Others
– Service

Authors Ginny and Cathy are successful Fortune 100 executives who wanted to make a positive difference in the world.

Simply revealed are their 3 core beliefs based on the valuable (and humorous) lessons they learned in the corporate world, decades of marriage and raising children.

This book is essential reading for anyone looking for simple insights on leading a happier life. This book shows you how you, as one individual, can be an irresistible force for positive change.

A portion of proceeds support Room to Read, a non-profit leader educating children in developing countries.

Look Up!

Take time to be present and relish the ordinary moments of your life.  Be aware of your current place, not the past or future.  This means, look up from your cell phone, laptop, or TV.  See what’s going on around you. – Page 16, Better Because of You

I actually read the quote above during a lunch break last week while  serving on jury duty.   All of the jurors had spread out and gone to different restaurants but (you know me), I rushed across the street to a coffee house. I was sitting near a window thinking about this website that hadn’t been updated, that blog that needed a post, the laundry pile that could frighten small children, my cats who would surely sulk for a month, supper that wouldn’t make itself, and so on.  After getting my Steak and Cheese Panini, iced tea, and coffee (yes, two sources of caffeine, don’t judge me) – I sat down and pulled the little book from my purse and began to pick up reading where I’d left off.  The quote above is the first thing I read.

I realized that I was very guilty of not relishing the moment I was in at the time – something that I normally excel in.  I’m simply not the person who can be found living in the future or the past – for better or worse, I’m forever in the moment, trying to make it count double.  However, a chaotic couple of weeks was beginning to turn me into a bundle of nerves – and a bundle of  nerves doesn’t do anyone any good.

I literally took a deep breath, put the book back in my purse, and enjoyed my sandwich and tea. Then I sat and slowly drank my (outstanding) coffee without thinking about anything except my surroundings, my blessings, and this wonderful ride we call life.   The next time you find yourself coming unwound or unraveled, take a deep breath.  Then take in your surroundings and the beauty that’s outside your window.  Within this pause you’ll find clarity, peace, and relaxation.  As they say, “Look Up!”

The adorable logos above are available on BetterBecause.com – I obviously chose my own mantras, but there are plenty to choose from. You can have the logos printed on a number of products, including coffee mugs and tumblers.   How cute are they?

Order Better Because of You on Amazon today.

The Importance of Attitude, Soul Exercises, and a Final Thought Worth Writing Down – Twice

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101 Exercises for the Soul by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel

A lot of things fascinate me. I guess I’m easily fascinated. And amused. I laugh often and easily, and sometimes at inappropriate times. I can’t help it, really, life and the livers of it simply amuse me.

One of the aspects of life that fascinates me the most is people’s attitudes. You can take two individuals – living under the same situations, same conditions, and sometimes even the same roof – and they’ll often have two completely different attitudes about life. One will think life is a wonderful long party – one that requires all the dancing, singing, and merriment that you can muster. They’ll see the hope in even the most dire circumstances, a rainbow at the end of every storm, and reason to smile when others think they’re whacko for doing so. The next person will think of life as a long work day – one that needs to be plowed through like Sherman plowed through the south. They’ll resent others who aren’t plowing along beside them and secretly wish the dancers would fall into a pit. A deep pit. (What these people don’t realize is that even if we did fall into such a pit, we’d just party on. Heck, it’d be a funner party than ever without the plowers!)

Attitudes. They determine so much, yet we tend to overlook and neglect them. Bad on us.

I just finished an outstanding book, 101 Exercises for the Soul: Simple Practices for a Healthy Body, Mind, and Spirit by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel.  In the book, Dr. Siegel offers 101 exercises that can, honestly, help transform your life.  He starts off with a bang in precisely the right place – with our attitude.

…if your attitude is negative and your mind is filled with worry and fear, it takes its toll on your body, mind, and spirit.  In fact, by spending all your time creating a vision of an unhappy future, you help create that future.  Remember, your thoughts guide your decisions, and negative thoughts lead to negative decisions.  Nothing is solved by visualizing the worst outcome, but much can be accomplished when you desire and intend to achieve the best possible result.  Optimists may not be more accurate about life – whether interpreting the past or predicting the future – but they live longer than pessimists.  pages 5-6, 101 Exercises for the Soul: Simple Practices for a Healthy Body, Mind, and Spirit by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel

I believe this is why it’s so important to believe in yourself, your dreams, and your prayers.  When you have the right attitude – a positive one – you’ll keep doing everything in your power to make your dreams come true.  You’ll keep praying, keep believing, and your soul will lie its head on a pillow of Faith and cover up with a blanket of Hope.

However, when your attitude is negative and pessimistic, you’ll all but give up.  No one ever wins ANYTHING by giving up.  Nowhere worth going – that’s where a negative attitude will take you, dump you, and leave you.

I highly recommend clicking the following link and reading more about this wonderful book:   101 Exercises for the Soul: Simple Practices for a Healthy Body, Mind, and Spirit by Dr. Bernie S. Siegel.

It’s a very, very special book.  Grab a copy, then sit down to transform your life.  Be sure to have a pen and paper handy for exercises.  You’ll really get in touch with yourself during these exercises. You’ll find wonderful qualities you’d forgotten you had!  You’ll also uncover a few rotten habits you’ve picked up along the way.  Don’t fret, though – Dr. Siegel will help you cast them aside!

I’ll end with possibly my favorite passage from the book – again about attitudes and the importance of wearing the right one.

Over God’s desk there is a plaque that reads, “If you go around saying I’ve got a miserable life I’ll show you what  miserable really is.  And if you go around saying I’ve got a wonderful life, I’ll show you what wonderful really is.” – Dr. Bernie S. Siegel – 101 Exercises for the Soul: Simple Practices for a Healthy Body, Mind, and Spirit