054 BEGIN WHERE YOU ARE & TAKE BABY STEPS
053 Quick, Delicious, Nutritious BREAKFAST
052 Do it, whether you feel like it or not.
051 WELLNESS journey – let’s go
050 Introducing…YouThrive.net
049 You Become What You Think About
Brian Tracy teaches we become what we think about most of the time. The more we think about something the more it becomes who we are.
The writer of Proverbs observed, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he . . .”1
Buddha taught, “It is better to control yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or demons, heaven or hell.“2
A key to self-control is intentional thinking.
New York Times best selling Christian author Lysa Terkeurst observes, “Eve craved what she focused on”.3
Do you focus on food? I did. While a college student I followed a certain fad diet. I would count the hours when I needed to eat the next meal or snack. I obsessed over it, interrupting writing an essay or reading a chapter to obey my hunger.
It took years of effort, trial, error, and persistence.
Now my hunger obeys me.
I realized I needed a higher purpose outside of food. I’m learning, as Stephen R. Covey puts it, to “begin with the end in mind”4.
Pro Tip:
Picture your funeral. What do you want people to say? What do you want to have accomplished? Answering these questions will direct your daily decisions by focusing your thoughts on what YOU really want rather on your next meal. Begin today.
1. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/ot/prov/23?id=p7&lang=eng#p7
2. Tracy, Brian. No Excuses The Power of Self-Discipline, 244.
3. i’ll start again on monday, 5.
4. The Seven Habits of Highly-Effective People, 97.
048 Mindset
Yesterday’s you can hold you back.
Don’t let it.
See yourself differently. New creature. New person. Put off the old. Shed the scales and the skin of self-doubt, self-loathing, unfulfilled expectations, unrealized dreams…today is a new day! Today is your day. Today you are reborn.
And expect to make mistakes. Indeed it may be we learn most from our mistakes and best from the mistakes of others. As a 3rd grader I felt DEVASTATED at misspelling the word “COMING” upsetting my perfect spelling test score. I’ve never misspelled it since.
Fear not mistakes. Brad Barrett recommends “failing fast”(making lots of mistakes early on when the stakes are low) is the way to go (Mendonsa, 2016). L.M. Montgomery’s Anne Shirley possessed a healthy outlook, “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it…yet” (1908).
“So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!” (Seuss, 1990.)
Pro Tip:
Start fresh. Every new breath is a new chance to reform, to improve. Go forth.
References
L.M. Montgomery. (1908). Anne of Green Gables.
Mendonsa, J. (2016, December 19). 002: Why failure matters: Brad Backstory. ChooseFI. Retrieved October 30, 2022, from https://www.choosefi.com/002-choosefi-why-failure-matters-and-how-to-avoid-it/
Seuss, D. (1990). Oh, the places you’ll go! HarperCollins Children’s Books.
047 As You Prepare Well You’ll Perform Well and Minimize Injuries
Athletes workout to prepare to perform. Preparation builds muscle and muscle = armor.
The next time you watch an NFL game observe the speed, size, and strength of the players. Because they are ALL massive it’s easy to overlook how incredibly gargantuan they actually are, yet as you compare them to reporters or to some coaches on the sidelines you’ll see the difference!
Now imagine these heavily-muscled men colliding into each other at 20 mph! The extra pounds of muscle surrounding their joints, tendons, and organs provide the protection required to play the game. Even so, unfortunately at times they still become injured yet the frequency and seriousness of injuries is lessened than what it otherwise would be because of their preparation. Just as NFL players’ muscles protect them from the next tackle, block, or rush, so too your muscles can protect you from injury in everyday life and to excel at your craft.
Known for his thorough preparation, UCLA Coach John Wooden observed, “The pressure I created during practices may have exceeded that which oponents produced. I believe when an individual constantly works under pressure, he or she will respond automatically when faced with it during competition.”1
This principle applies to intellect as well.
At the high school I attended there were two AP English teachers, one demanding and the other lax. One of my good friends had the teacher who made him work. All year long he read, wrote, explained, and debated. Not only was he very prepared for the AP test at year’s end but also for freshman year of college.
Pro Tip:
Practice harder than your performance requires and you will be pleased with the outcome
Stress your muscles in workouts to more than what they’ll experience in every day life.
Challenge your brain more than it will see at home, school, work, church and you’ll shine in those arenas.
1. Wooden, J., & Jamison, S. (1997). The Gym Is A Classroom . In Wooden (pp. 133). Contemporary Books.
046 Catch the Wave…
It’s called runner’s high but it applies to all kinds of exercise—walking, surfing, lifting—you name it.
I like to run—on the beach in Maui, on a trail in Bishop, CA, or on a track or park in Simi Valley, CA where I live. It doesn’t feel great at first but about 5-7 minutes in I feel a burst of delight—pleased with myself for getting out of bed, marveling at God’s creations, and feeling so alive—heart pounding, legs pumping, lungs expanding. Grateful.
My three brothers love to surf. Once while living in Oahu, my brother KC took me surfing near Turtle Bay. The water was clear and the ideal temperature. The challenge that day was paddling past the turbulent whitewater to the waves.
Though physically fit and strong my arms ached from paddling. Though mentally tough making progress forward just to get knocked back again tested me. KC encouraged me and with continued persistence I made it to the break.
Some workouts are like that—you get pounded by the surf before experiencing the euphoric joy of catching a wave. Usually it doesn’t take too long.
Pro Tip:
Whether you’re running, surfing, walking, or [fill in the exercise of your choice] just start then keep going for a little while. Discover your natural high, your feel-good place. Reaching it each time you exercise will reinforce your habit.
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