It seems that everyone has something they are going to do "later" or at best, "tomorrow". Perhaps they are waiting for something to change. Relying on a "when that happens" or "if this happens", people seem to limit their abilities, success and even happiness because they are not in the right place or it is not the right time.
You may have these same feelings. You may be waiting for that big promotion to come through, or perhaps you are waiting until you move in to that new house or new town. Then, once these components of your life align, you will focus on your happiness or your fitness or hell, just focus on yourself.
But, what if I told you that you don't have to wait for anything, anyone or any place to pursue your happiness or personal goals? What if you could start your journey to all of your successes and aspirations today? Right now?
Well, to the dismay of a lot of pessimists out there, I want to tell you that you can. You can start pursuing whatever it is that you feel merits your attention and energy.
I would like to use this blog as a forum to share my experiences and ideas that have provided my life with many opportunities, for personal success, physical health and the root of many other positivities, happiness.
I hope to achieve this by sharing a weekly collection of ideas that focus on the three components that I see as the fundamental basis for a happy, healthy life - a healthy mind, body and soul, or as I've come to call it, All Inclusive Health.
For the first entry, and first collection of ideas, I've prepared the following submission. The format in which I present these ideas will vary based on the week, and I sincerely hope that any of you reading this will offer feedback, personal experiences and ideas so that this becomes more of an open forum for shared success and happiness.
Week of 02.01.2011: Exercises for All Inclusive Health this week:
Mind: This week, I challenge you to learn something new. I don't mean glance at some "word of the day" calendar, or take in some random fact from a cable television special. I mean LEARN something. Learn it, retain it, know it, and if you really want to take it to the next level, share it. An easy way to do this is to study something that you feel passionate about. I am infatuated with history, especially the Civil War. Recently, when talking with a friend about the horrific bloodshed of the Civil War, I realized that with all of my random facts and knowledge regarding it, I had no clue where some of the more significant battles occurred. This week, I am going to be reading the book, "Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War" by Larry J. Daniel. The book is 432 pages long. Over 7 days, I will be reading right around 62 pages. Reading 1 page a minute (which should be about how long it takes me to read the book), that is a commitment each day of just over an hour. Some of you may not have an hour to commit to a new book this week, and that is fine. If you could commit 6 minutes a day this week, or even 1 minute a day this week to introducing yourself to some new knowledge, it will be a worthwhile investment.
Body: It's the beginning of a New Year still, and gyms are flooded with individuals seeking resolutions of weight loss and body transformations. Unfortunately, many of them will lose the consistency and commitment required to make lasting changes within their bodies. That being said, why not start small? This week, I challenge each of you to devote 20 minutes a day, on 3 different days to a new healthy habit. Whether you hop on a treadmill and walk for 20 minutes, or enjoy a Yoga class near your home, or simply go for a walk around the block a couple times, I don't care. The key here is to do SOMETHING. Something that you normally don't do, and something that takes about 20 minutes. Increase your heartbeat a little and commit to doing these 20 minute windows of physical activity 3 times this week. You will be surprised at how a little activity has a lasting feeling of energy, and even more surprised at how little of time you have to commit to doing something positive for YOU.
Soul: This week, I challenge you to indulge your soul and spirit. One very rewarding I've done this over the years has been to get involved with something that is near and dear to my heart, kids. Within a 5 mile radius of my home, there are two children's homes (some call them orphanages) and one shelter for women and children that have suffered domestic abuse. This week, I will be cleaning out my storage room in my basement to deliver my son's old clothes and toys to the children's homes, and I will be allocating 10% of my income to purchase canned goods and toiletries to deliver to the women's shelter. Even if you do not have the funds or goods to donate, one thing that is even more valuable is something you can give freely - yourself. Volunteer at a homeless shelter, or even at the humane society to help out. Contact a local senior living community or Big Brother/ Big Sister program (http://www.bbbs.org), or just go and visit with someone in your neighborhood or family that could use a friend. The point here is that if you can provide some happiness to someone else, I can tell you that from my experience, it will resonate within yourself tenfold.
Have a great week.
AIH
