Gaining Perspective

Sometimes in my life when I am confronted with a daunting task, something that I think is either very difficult or impossible, I shrink away from it, and doubt, worry and fear set in. Despite all the positive people I associate with, the good books I read, I can still succumb to the negative influences of the world around me and feel discouraged, beaten.

Make sure you check your Perspective.

Perspective is a way of regarding situations or topics, or a mental view of the state of one's ideas. Put another way, it means being concerned with the future or things related to the future. This can tie very closely into your self-image: if your self image is low, your perspective (outlook) on life will most likely be low (negative) as well, and conversely if your self-image is high, your perspective (outlook) on life will be high (positive).

What is your self-image? I like this description best. Self-image is not what you think of yourself, and it is not what other people think of you. No! Your self-image is defined as what you think other people think of you.

There is a great moment in the movie Hoosiers that talks directly to your perspective. Coach Dale, played by Gene Hackman, and the team are entering the empty gymnasium for practice before the State Finals. He commented the week before that the boys on his team have probably never seen a building bigger than 2-storeys except in a picture, because they are all farm boys having never been to a big city. The looks on their faces as they walk into the immense gym says that he was right. The boys are scared, intimidated and feeling smaller than they ever have before!

Coach Dale pulls out a tape measure, and calls one of the boys to hold it at the baseline while he takes the end to the top of the key. He makes the boys measure the court and call out the number! Then he has the boys measure the height of the rim of the basket. Finally, he tells them, "I think you will find that the measurements are exactly the same as our gym back in Hickory." All of the boys smile, and suddenly their fear is gone because they know...it is the same sized court, just in a bigger building.

Some powerful tips here!

Making the boys do the measuring, they are involved, and they know that the coach isn't lying about the numbers, or just trying to make them feel good. Because they are the ones taking the measurements, they have an ownership in it, and confidence in knowing the point he is driving at.

The second point is that, in a very real, observable and practical way, the Coach gives the team something they can believe in: themselves. They have won dozens of games up to this point already. This court is the same size as every other basketball court they have played on. They now have confidence and belief in knowing that the task set before them is possible.

When Fear knocks, if Faith answers, no one is there!

Be sure to check your Perspective daily. Thomas Edison said, "If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." He's right - you are infinitely more capable than you will ever give yourself credit for. Go out and make yourself proud! Work hard, work smart, and set out to accomplish the tasks and goals set before you. You can do it!

Henry Ford said, "If you think you can, or if you think you can't, you're right."
Solomon said, "Whatever it is you find to do, do it with all your might!"

If you still have trouble knowing what perspective you should be looking from, think of it this way:

You're on a football team, at the centre of the field lined up against a dozen of the nastiest, meanest looking players you've ever seen.

On your side of the line is just you, and God.

Who's going to win? =-)

Now maybe you don't believe in God, and that's fine, but for the sake of extending this example, just imagine that there is a God who is all-powerful, and He is on your team. What could ever possibly stand against you?

That's a perspective I can feel confident with.

5 Ways To Burn Fat

Hey gang! I have copied here a list of 5 great things to do to burn off calories. I am going to start working on some of these tips right away! This list was copied from Brian's Blog at http://profitnesstraining.blogspot.com/ - check out his blog for more tips on health, nutrition and fat-burning solutions!


From Brian @Pro Fitness Training:
5 Surprising Things That Burn Fat
Increase your fat-burning using these 5 simple tricks
Want to burn more fat? Who doesn't, right?
So here are 5 tips to help you do it...
TIP 1
Eliminate the Starch
Starches, such as rice, potatoes, some veggies, oats, etc. are often considered "health foods."
While they can be healthy, they can also pack on stomach fat big time!
Well... how does THAT work?
Simple: Timing is everything.
And we take a "weekly" approach to foods rather than a daily approach. This keeps your metabolism guessing. If your body cannot figure out what you're up to, fat burning is that much more powerful. And you can get by with eating starches... at least at specific times on specific days. It all depends on when you work out!
So it is a simple rule when it comes to starches. Only eat a starch in the meal following a workout! You will be replacing the glycogen that you burned working out instead of that glycogen getting converted to fat because your storehouse is already full. The body can only store approximately 300-500 calories of glycogen!

TIP 2
Can the PoP
This one is really hard for me. I've been hooked on diet-soda on and off for years. When I go to get into top shape I have to get rid of the diet-sodas... yes, DIET-sodas. Need I say "real" sodas too? They are loaded with sugar.
Why diet-sodas? A recent study revealed that people who drank diet-sodas actually increased body fat when compared to those who drank sugar-sodas. What the... ??
Yep. Your body cannot be fooled by aspartame and chemicals. Sorry, but that's the truth.
What you need to be drinking: A quart of pure water per 50 lbs of bodyweight a day.
I mix it with lemon and a bit of Stevia (an herbal sweetener) and make lemonade. It's awesome!
Or a nutrilite twist tube to get added vitamins and anti-oxidants.


TIP 3
Stay Hungry
Arnold's first movie was "Stay Hungry" (well, after "Pumping Iron" that is). You cannot rest on your butt and stay hungry. You cannot think you've "arrived" and stay hungry.
It takes a special person to be hungry... and an even greater one to stay that way.
I want you to stay hungry in two ways: In how you workout and literally... stay a bit hungry before you go to bed. Not "starving"... just a bit hungry.
For your workouts, I have a great solution. Get into the gym on a regular, consistent basis and let us help you melt body fat.
You see, progression -- "forced" progression -- is the best way to stay hungry. Progression is built into our training System.
As far as staying hungry at night? Check with your doctor and if he/she okays it take 500mg of potassium and 1000mg of magnesium/calcium a few hours prior to bed. This helps with the hunger pangs. Also, keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. If you get really hungry, eat one with half the yolk (toss the other half.) It keeps me full for an hour at least.
TIP 4
Cardio Clarity
Hours and hours of cardio a day is not the answer. However, you can do "light" cardio (i.e. brisk walking, or riding the bike at 60% of your max) just to burn off calories. That's okay... and personally I don't find it that boring if I'm watching a TV show. It does not interfere with my main fat loss exercise (weight training... YES!) And it burns off about 400 calories an hour.
What does work is early morning fasting cardio... but you only need 15-20 minutes when you are running on empty.
TIP 5
Get Raw At Night
Raw veggies with your last meal and as a snack will really help your fat burning going in the right direction. Keep an assortment of cut up veggies in the fridge for convenience. Give this a try. The fat loss is well worth it.