Get Skinny and Be Successful

“With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on twitter or identica.

The idea of having concrete, achievable goals seem to be deeply ingrained in our culture. I know I lived with goals for many years, and in fact a big part of my writings here on Zen Habits are about how to set and achieve goals.

These days, however, I live without goals, for the most part. It’s absolutely liberating, and contrary to what you might have been taught, it absolutely doesn’t mean you stop achieving things.

It means you stop letting yourself be limited by goals.

Consider this common belief: “You’ll never get anywhere unless you know where you’re going.” This seems so common sensical, and yet it’s obviously not true if you stop to think about it. Conduct a simple experiment: go outside and walk in a random direction, and feel free to change directions randomly. After 20 minutes, an hour … you’ll be somewhere! It’s just that you didn’t know you were going to end up there.

And there’s the rub: you have to open your mind to going places you never expected to go. If you live without goals, you’ll explore new territory. You’ll learn some unexpected things. You’ll end up in surprising places. That’s the beauty of this philosophy, but it’s also a difficult transition.

Today, I live mostly without goals. Now and then I start coming up with a goal, but I’m letting them go. Living without goals hasn’t ever been an actual goal of mine … it’s just something I’m learning that I enjoy more, that is incredibly freeing, that works with the lifestyle of following my passion that I’ve developed.

The problem with goals

In the past, I’d set a goal or three for the year, and then sub-goals for each month. Then I’d figure out what action steps to take each week and each day, and try to focus my day on those steps.

Unfortunately, it never, ever works out this neatly. You all know this. You know you need to work on an action step, and you try to keep the end goal in mind to motivate yourself. But this action step might be something you dread, and so you procrastinate. You do other work, or you check email or Facebook, or you goof off.

And so your weekly goals and monthly goals get pushed back or side-tracked, and you get discouraged because you have no discipline. And goals are too hard to achieve. So now what? Well, you review your goals and reset them. You create a new set of sub-goals and action plans. You know where you’re going, because you have goals!

Of course, you don’t actually end up getting there. Sometimes you achieve the goal and then you feel amazing. But most of the time you don’t achieve them and you blame it on yourself.

Here’s the secret: the problem isn’t you, it’s the system! Goals as a system are set up for failure.

Even when you do things exactly right, it’s not ideal. Here’s why: you are extremely limited in your actions. When you don’t feel like doing something, you have to force yourself to do it. Your path is chosen, so you don’t have room to explore new territory. You have to follow the plan, even when you’re passionate about something else.

Some goal systems are more flexible, but nothing is as flexible as having no goals.

How it works

So what does a life without goals look like? In practice, it’s very different than one with goals.

You don’t set a goal for the year, nor for the month, nor for the week or day. You don’t obsess about tracking, or actionable steps. You don’t even need a to-do list, though it doesn’t hurt to write down reminders if you like.

What do you do, then? Lay around on the couch all day, sleeping and watching TV and eating Ho-Hos? No, you simply do. You find something you’re passionate about, and do it. Just because you don’t have goals doesn’t mean you do nothing — you can create, you can produce, you can follow your passion.

And in practice, this is a wonderful thing: you wake up and do what you’re passionate about. For me, that’s usually blogging, but it can be writing a novel or an ebook or my next book or creating a course to help others or connecting with incredible people or spending time with my wife or playing with my kids. There’s no limit, because I’m free.

In the end, I usually end up achieving more than if I had goals, because I’m always doing something I’m excited about. But whether I achieve or not isn’t the point at all: all that matters is that I’m doing what I love, always.

I end up in places that are wonderful, surprising, great. I just didn’t know I would get there when I started.

Quick questions

Question from a reader: Isn’t having no goals a goal?

Quick answer: It can be a goal, or you can learn to do it along the journey, by exploring new methods. I’m always learning new things (like having no goals) without setting out to learn them in the first place.

Another question from a reader: So how do you make a living?

Answer: Passionately! Again, not having goals doesn’t mean you stop doing things. In fact, I do many things, all the time, but I do them because I love doing them.

Tips for living without goals

I am not going to give you a how-to manual for living without goals — that would be absurd. I can’t teach you what to do — you need to find your own path.

But I can share some things I’ve learned, in hopes that it will help you:

• Start small. You don’t need to drastically overhaul your life in order to learn to live without goals. Just go a few hours without predetermined goals or actions. Follow your passion for those hours. Even an hour will do.
• Grow. As you get better at this, start allowing yourself to be free for longer periods — half a day or a whole day or several days. Eventually you’ll feel confident enough to give up on certain goals and just do what you love.
• Not just work. Giving up goals works in any area of your life. Take health and fitness: I used to have specific fitness goals, from losing weight or bodyfat to running a marathon to increasing my squat. Not anymore: now I just do it because I love it, and I have no idea where that will take me. It works brilliantly, because I always enjoy myself.
• Let go of plans. Plans are not really different than goals. They set you on a predetermined path. But it’s incredibly difficult to let go of living with plans, especially if you’re a meticulous planner like I am. So allow yourself to plan, when you feel you need to, but slowly feel free to let go of this habit.
• Don’t worry about mistakes. If you start setting goals, that’s OK. There are no mistakes on this journey — it’s just a learning experience. If you live without goals and end up failing, as yourself if it’s really a failure. You only fail if you don’t get to where you wanted to go — but if you don’t have a destination in mind, there’s no failure.
• It’s all good. No matter what path you find, no matter where you end up, it’s beautiful. There is no bad path, no bad destination. It’s only different, and different is wonderful. Don’t judge, but experience.

And finally

Always remember: the journey is all. The destination is beside the point.

‘A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.’ ~Lao Tzu

—
If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.

Is Amare Stoudemire Jewish? That’s the question many of his Twitter followers have been asking in recent weeks. I haven’t been able to find any confirmation that Stoudemire is indeed Jewish, but there certainly are some clues.

Two weeks ago, Stoudemire said this on Twitter:

For whatever is born of (Yah) GOD overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world– our faith. 1 John 5:4 Shalom

Last week, Stoudemire said this:

Boker Tov !! People. Have a great day. I’m done with a weight lift, next stop Basketball Court. All ways working. Shalom.

Finally, here’s the ultimate clew that Amare Stoudemire is Jewish:

Yes Indeed !! RT @Shims11: @Amareisreal Whats up w the hebrew? Are you jewish?

Earlier this offseason, Amare Stoudemire left the Phoenix Suns to sign a $100 million deal with the New York Knicks. The state of New York has a Jewish population of nearly 10%. In New York City alone, there are over two million Jews. With Amare Stoudemire, it appears there is one more Jewish person in NYC.

Is Amare Stoudemire Jewish? (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

You need to have a good working understanding of exercise and how it affects your body in order to get the most out of it. If you exercise too little or too much, you may not be getting the intended benefits from the effort, which would make it a pointless effort all together, or may end up getting you hurt or overworked in the process. Here is a basic look at what kind of exercise you should be doing and why it will benefit you to do it this way.

The first thing to understand is that 30 minutes of exercise a day is usually more than sufficient. If you exercise for 30 minutes at least three times a week, you will improve your health by getting your heart going and burning additional calories. What most people are unaware of is that following a good workout, you will continue to burn calories based on your muscle mass and how hard your heart is working. So not only are you burning 30 minutes of exercise worth of calories, but your body will continue to burn calories for a good long while afterward, improving your health significantly. Here are some other things to keep in mind:

- You need to walk every day. You should aim for 10,000 steps in a day accumulated throughout the day. This includes steps from the bed to the bathroom, down the stairs into the kitchen, and however much walking is required to get you to work. You should also aim to do about 30 minutes of continuous walking a day if you can, as this will benefit your entire body, especially your heart.

- If you want to build muscular strength which, as we touched on, will benefit your weight loss, you should aim to do thirty total minutes of resistance exercise per week. Break this into 3 10-minute weight lifting sessions during the week and you should be just fine.

- Getting the right amount of cardiovascular exercise has to do with your maximum heart rate and exercise at 80 percent of this. Take 220 and subtract your age. This is your maximum heart rate. Try to achieve this maximum heart rate for 20 to 30 minutes, three times a week. If you are 50 years old, your maximum heart rate is 136 beats per minute, which is 220 minus 50, for 170, times 0.8.

- For optimal flexibility, which is an important part of getting physically fit and healthy, you should be stretching for approximately five minutes per day. Keep in mind that you should always warm up before you stretch rather than treating stretching as the warm up itself. If you have not warmed up, your muscles will be stiff and cold and much more apt to suffering injuries. Walk around for a few minutes to get your body going, then stretch when everything is feeling warm and limber.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-01-15 05:03:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

• Books: Get Your Motivation Back! With January over, many people will be either be well on the way to making their new years resolutions or have already ditched them. If you’re part of the first group, good for you! You deserve many kudos for sticking with your diet and exercise plan. If you’re in the……
• Weight Loss Tips and Tricks When it comes to losing weight, you probably know the drill. Burn more calories than you consume, eat healthy, and be healthy and the results will happen. Most diets and weight loss plans do not have much substance which is why dieting in general is far from healthy for you…….
• Is Water Aerobics Right For You? If you are just getting started on your journey to fitness and wellness, exercise may be a little difficult. In fact, many people become so discouraged at their lack of overall fitness and stamina that they give up. Instead of taking this route, it is important to find an exercise……
• Calories in and Calories out One of the simplest possible ways that you can look at weight loss is on a calories in and calories out basis. What this means is that you need to burn as many calories as you are consuming in order to maintain your weight, or burn more than you are……
• 6 Ways to Tell When Exercise Is Hurting You We’ve all been conditioned to think that unless we “feel the burn” we’re not working hard enough when we exercise. However, there is a fine line between reaching that optimum fat burning zone and over doing it. Here are some tips to help you figure out when your exercise is……

Online Stores

• Go Walking Pedometers Monitors & Pedometers Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Vision 2150 Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Used Nordic Track Ski Machines Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Mini Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• 5hkz Heart Rate Monitors Monitors & Pedometers Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness

Richard Jefferson shocked the basketball world when he opted out of his contract that would have paid him more than $15 million next season. On Wednesday, Jefferson decided to re-sign with the San Antonio Spurs and received a four-year, $38.8 million contract.

Image: TSN.ca

When Jefferson initially opted out, everyone thought he was crazy. Now after he has this new contract, things are now making sense. Essentially, Jefferson got a three-year, $23.6 extension — not bad for a player who underwhelmed last year.

When he was traded to San Antonio before the 2009-10 season, it was assumed that Jefferson would help the Spurs regain elite status. However, it just didn’t work out that way. He struggled throughout the season and the playoffs to adapt to his new home and the Spurs were swept by the Phoenix Suns in the second round. After Wednesday, Jefferson has four more years to figure things out in San Antonio.

Post from: EveryJoe

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mary Jaksch of Goodlife ZEN.

Do you want to be more productive? Maybe you do, but I’m sure you don’t want to feel stressed, overwhelmed, or unhappy – which happens to many super-productive people. But there is good news:

You can be insanely productive – and still smell the freesias, savor a Pinot Noir, or enjoy a languid hug.

A few weeks ago Leo Babauta said to me, “Mary – you’re one of the most productive people I know. And you still keep smiling and seem so relaxed. How do you do it?”

Most stuff I’ve read about productivity is about doing things differently. Like getting up at 4 a.m. each morning, or drinking eight liters of water a day, or keeping a notebook under the pillow. Sorry, folks – I don’t do any of those things.

High productivity isn’t about doing, it’s about being.

If you want to be highly productive – and still enjoy life – you need to look at how you live, and how you use your mind. Check out the following five suggestions:

1. Make peace within.
   Most people live in a constant state of inner conflict and suffer from a barrage of negative thoughts that sabotage productivity.

   Here’s a scenario: Imagine that your car has landed in a ditch. A group of helpers gather, attach ropes and start to pull the car out. Unfortunately, they’re not all pulling in the same direction. Some try to pull the car toward the road, whereas others try to pull it deeper into the ditch. It’s absurd.

   That’s exactly what happens when we’re divided within: everything is a struggle, nothing much happens, and it’s frustrating. But what if your mind, body, and soul are all aligned?

   When our energy is aligned, we are in a state of flow.

   When we’re at peace within, and immersed in the task at hand – without negative thoughts sabotaging our productivity – action becomes effortless. We’re able to achieve much more in less time. And with more enjoyment.

   Tip: Wear an elastic wristband. Whenever you notice negative thoughts, change your wristband to the other arm. This will help you to create and maintain peace within.

2. Go to your edge. Regularly.
   Most people use only a fraction of their capacity and try to save personal energy. For example, we’re tempted to rest when we feel tired in order to recover our zest for life. Wrong move! The more energy you spend, the more you have.

   Tiredness can signal many things. If you’re healthy, it may mean that you are bored, frustrated, lack movement, or need more oxygen. Or maybe conflict within has sapped your energy. It’s important to go to your limits regularly. Take up running, martial arts, swimming, or other activities – there are many way to exercise vigorously.

   Tip: If you feel exhausted or lethargic, go for a brisk walk in order to rev up your energy and restore your spirit.

3. Take action.
   Most people aren’t productive because they don’t take action. They have dreams and even plans – but they don’t follow through. Negative thoughts can derail action. It may be that you have doubts about your ability, or that you listen to others who doubt you.

   Tip: Look at what you would like to achieve and ask yourself, “What is the smallest step in the direction of my dreams that I can take right now?” Then take that baby step. Now.

4. Do what you love.
   Think about how you spend your time. Do you enjoy your work, or is it a grind? I’ve changed my life, and what I’m passionate about has now become my work: I teach my Zen students, and also work together with Leo to mentor bloggers in the A-list Blogger Club .

   A few days ago my partner David knocked at the door of the little cabin in the garden where I work:

   “Mary,” he said, “ do you realize it’s 10 o’clock at night – and you’re still working?”
   “I’m not working!” I shot back. “I’m enjoying myself!”

   Yes, when the boundary between work and play gets blurred, you may actually work more – but it feels like you’re just having fun.

   Tip: Follow your dreams – even if it’s only for ten minutes a day.

5. Love what you do.
   We can’t always do what we love. But we are free to love what we do. From a Zen perspective, there is a way to turn even the dullest chore into pleasurable activity through mindfulness.When we pay tender regard to our present experience – letting go of all thoughts and judgments – even the most mundane action can become pleasurable. Mindfulness doesn’t mean watching yourself, it means being fully present, moment by moment.

   Tip: In order to become mindful, notice sensations of the moment. What sounds can you hear? How are your feet connected with the ground? What does your skin feel like?

Finally, a key question you need to ask …

If you want to be productive and still enjoy life, there is a key question you need to answer: why be productive?

I mean, why not just chill out on the couch, eat potato crisps, and watch TV reruns? That might be fine. But what about the oblong box we’re all going to end up in?

I remind myself every morning that life is short and mine may be over by nightfall. That gives me the the desire to taste and enjoy each moment. It also adds a measure of calm urgency because I want to leave a mark upon the world. Do you?

If so, mindful productivity will help you create a life that offers both pleasure and productivity. You’ll achieve more, and you’ll still keep smiling. That smile will light up not only your own life, but also the lives of those around you.

You don’t have to be a super-hero. Simply make peace within and live each moment fully. That’s all.

Mary Jaksch is a Zen Master and blogger. Head over to Goodlife Zen for more of her articles. And visit the A-List Blogger Club.

—
If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.

• 2 Flights of Stairs
• 1 Hour Recumbent Bike (315 Calories)
• 5 minutes of Leg Stretching
• 3 flights of Stairs

Estimated exercise calories for the day 315.

Related Posts

• How to Handle Bad Stress With Exercise Every day, no matter if you are a stay at home mom or an investment banker, we all have to deal with stress. There are two main types of stress, good and bad, and unfortunately, most of us have to deal with the bad on a daily basis. Bad stress……
• Lose Weight in the Snow Just as we consume calories every day, we also burn them in everything that we do. Sleeping, breathing, talking, chewing, walking, even sitting burns calories, so we are constantly burning calories even when we aren’t moving at all. Some activities burn more calories than others, however, so if you are……
• 62 Pounds in 100 Days… 1.9 Pounds in 2 Weeks For those of you that go straight for the graph… I didn’t cheat last week, but I was quite down on myself until I figured out what on earth had happened that caused me to gain 9 pounds in a week… (I bet the women already know) WATER. My blood……
• Wickedly Spooky Halloween Roundup Happy Sunday to all my readers! Today’s all about the roundup. As usual we have the Fitness Health Network of which I am a part of so go ahead and browse through the posts. You’ll find they have a lot of great things to say. A little further down are……
• 8 Easy Ways to Exercise Throughout the Day If you are finding that you don’t have enough time to exercise due to a busy work or home life, there are techniques that you can use throughout the day that will accelerate your weight loss. Most of these can be done just about anywhere and only require a……

Online Stores

• Stamina Intone Folding Recumbent Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Diamondback 900sr Recumbent Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Equipment Go Recumbent Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Horizon Recumbent Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
• Free Spirit Recumbent Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness

Being Joe Montana’s son can’t be easy. Being Joe Montana’s son while enrolled at Notre Dame is definitely not easy. For that reason, you have to feel a bit sorry for Nate Montana after he was one of 44 people arrested following a party near the Notre Dame campus. Lil’ Montana was arrested for underage drinking — a misdemeanor charge.

Nate Montana (UND.com)

The other big name arrested was Tim Abromaitis, a 6-foot-8 forward on Notre Dame’s basketball team. Abromaitis is expected to be the team’s leading scorer next season.

As for Nate Montana, before this incident, he was penciled in as the backup quarterback behind Dayne Crist. Nate is 6-foot-5, 185 pounds and went to school at De la Salle Institute in Concord, California. To get out of jail, lil’ Montana had to post $150 bond. He’ll likely just get fined for the incident, although technically he could face up to 30 days in jail.

Brian Kelly, the new Notre Dame football coach, hasn’t said if Montana will be punished for his actions.

Post from: EveryJoe

Once you’re ready to take that step and go on a diet, there will literally be thousands of options available to you. There are a myriad of different diets out there and most claim that they have the secret to fast weight loss. It can be very frustrating to keep trying these different diets, only to find that they don’t deliver on their promises.

Not all diets are created equal and they will not work for everyone. Each one of us has a unique metabolism and genetic makeup that determines how we respond to different types of diets. For example, there are people that genetically don’t need a lot of protein and they do best on diets that are centered around eating a lot of whole grain foods and vegetables.

On the other hand, there are people who naturally have an issue with eating carbohydrate laden foods. In order to determine which diet is going to work for you, there are a few questions you’ll need to answer. First and foremost, you’ll need to figure out what your danger foods are, or which foods always cause you to gain the most weight.

For example, some people find that they can eat all the bread they want, but when they eat chocolate, they instantly gain weight. By determining your “danger” foods, you can select the right diet that specifically avoids them.

Next, you will need to ask yourself how determined and committed you are to losing weight. There are very extreme diets that require a lot of willpower. If you honestly do not think that you could see yourself on the same diet three weeks from now, it’s best to find one that you can actually stick too. While extreme diets do get results quickly, they are usually so intense that it is nearly impossible to keep up with their rigors.

Lastly, you’ll need to ask yourself if a traditional diet is the way that you want to go. You can read all the books you want and try all the different programs out there but at the end of the day, the basic formula for weight loss is reduce the intake of calories and increase the amount of exercise. If you feel that you have the capability of monitoring your own food intake, you don’t need to go on a special diet. You can simply use this formula and change the way you eat.

There is no magic bullet when it comes to weight loss. However, by finding the diet that is best suited for you, you are greatly increasing your chances for success. It is never easy to commit to losing weight, but you can make it a lot less stressful and increase your chances for success by choosing a diet that won’t doom you to failure.

In some cases, it may take some trial and error to find the plan that works best for you. The most important thing to remember is that you are making that effort and it will pay off if you stick to it.

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2008-10-14 05:14:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

• Carnival of Weight Loss: Santa Went to Florida Welcome to the December 13, 2008 edition of carnival of weight loss. Did you get the memo? Santa went to Florida this year to work on his tan. Enjoy this week’s carnival. Editor Picks Jeff Carlson presents Fruit before, Not after posted at Gobs Channel, saying, “Fruit before meals?……
• Reverse Diet Review Pros - Users felt that this diet was simple for them to understand. Users felt like the food in this diet was tasty. Users felt that the level of exercise required in this diet was acceptable. Users felt that this diet made them feel healthier over all. Users felt that……
• Reward Systems Work - The Key to Successful Weight Loss One of the hardest parts of dealing with a diet is the feeling that you are depriving yourself. Everyone needs a boost and for many people, food is the natural reward. Whether this started in childhood or became an acquired habit later in life, you’ll need to find new……
• The Karl Lagerfeld Diet Few names are as well known in the fashion world as Karl Lagerfeld, but unbeknownst to many people, Karl has had a problem with his weight for many years. He finally sought help for his issue and once he successfully lost the weight, he decided to develop a new diet……
• How to Make Lifestyle Changes When it comes to losing weight, chances are if you’re trying fad diets and special detox programs, you’re pretty fed up that the results never seem to last. Why is this? Well, most of us can only keep up with an extreme diet for so long. Once we’ve reached our……

Online Stores

• Work Jackets Protective Gear Green Construction Store
• Stick Bass-Upright String Acoustic Musical Instruments
• Food Coupons Food & Wine Home Store
• Snacks, Treats Foods, Bars & Snacks Weight Management
• People Statues & Yard Art Garden D?cor Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery

‘Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.’ ~Shunryu Suzuki

Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on twitter or identica.

Change can be a difficult thing. Most people want to change their lives, in some way, but find it difficult to either get started or to sustain the change for very long.

I’m happy to report that after years of studying it, I’ve become fairly good at it (though happily failing all the time). I actually relish change, not because I feel I need to improve my life, but because in change, I learn new things. Constantly.

What have I learned from my changes? I could write a book on this (and probably will someday), but the essence can be found in the space between the inevitable fact of change, and in the incredible resistance to change inside ourselves and in the people around us. We want to change, and yet we don’t. How do we resolve this tension?

It can be incredibly difficult, or it can be wonderfully joyous. I’m here to show you the elements of the joyous path to change. The difficult path … I think we can each easily find that on our own.

My Recent Changes

I’ve made dozens of changes over the last few years (read My Story for a partial list), but here’s a short list of a few I’ve made just this year:

• Lost over 40 lbs since last year. I’ve not cared as much about losing weight — it’s just a number — but more about losing some fat and getting fit. The weight loss has really been a side effect of that focus. I’ve tried a lot of different methods, but I’ve found that only two things matter, and they’re ridiculously obvious: cut back on calories and increase the calories you burn through activity. Finding ways to do those two things has been the fun part.
• Gave up our car and walk, bike or use public transit everywhere. I’ve slowly been reducing how much I use a car, and increasing biking and walking. Then we drastically made the change just a few weeks ago when we sold our van, moved to San Francisco, and have been car-free ever since.
• Began walking more. Obviously this goes with being car-free, but even when we had our van I would walk for an hour or three on many days, just for the simple pleasure of it.
• Eat foods with no or little packaging. From bulk bins or farmer’s market, with reusable containers, if possible. I strive for fresh fruits and a variety of veggies, plus beans and nuts and whole grains and seeds. None of this needs packaging, all of it is great for you.
• Gave up almost all of my possessions. I was slowly whittling away at my possessions, then took a huge leap when we sold or gave away almost everything and moved to San Francisco. We’ve bought some furniture (mostly used) but haven’t come anywhere near the (modest) amount of possessions we had before.
• Started working less. A task needs to meet a high threshold of importance for me to consider doing it these days. This means I work fewer hours but am more effective during those hours.
• Drastically reduced the time I spend online. I love online reading, and connecting with others, but it can really eat up your life if you let it.
• Focused more on being in the moment.
• Stopped setting goals and planning so much. I used to be a rigid planner and goal setter, just a couple years ago. You can see it in my old posts here on Zen Habits. I’ve dropped that habit, mostly.
• Instead, embraced going with the flow.

Again, this is a short list — there are others that are less noteworthy, and probably a few I’m forgetting.

The Elements of Change

So what’s the joyous path to making these changes and others? I’ve broken it down into six elements, many of which overlap and have very blurred lines. They’re useful, though, in considering how to make potential changes in your life.

1. Beating inertia. We all have inertia — that resistance to change, especially major change that disrupts our living patterns or way of thinking. Sometimes it’s not difficult to overcome — we can get excited to make a big change and want to overhaul a certain part of our lives. The joyous path, though, is in the middle ground between no change and drastic change. It’s in small changes — as small as possible. Small changes mean it’s not hard to get started, but also that the change is sustainable. If you make a drastic change, there is a great likelihood that it won’t stick very long.

If you’re feeling that inertia, set out to make as tiny a change as you can — just get out and walk for 5 minutes, or start writing or painting or playing your violin for 5 minutes. You can do anything for 5 minutes — it should seem ridiculously easy, but that’s the point.

2. Beating the resistance of others. This resistance can be even tougher to beat than your own inertia — very often people in our lives do not want change. They’ll be negative, or even actively try to stop us from changing. There are various strategies for beating this: ask for their help and get them on your side, or negotiate a way for you to make change without disrupting their lives too much, or if necessary, cut them out of your life for a little bit. Read more.

3. Finding the joy. Here is the key to it all. Forget the rest of these steps if you need to, but never forget this one. Doing something you hate is possible, for a little while, but you’ll never sustain it. If you hate running, you’ll never keep up the habit for long. You need to find the joy in doing the activity, and when you do, you’re golden. So either choose an activity that you love, or find something to love in the activity, and grab on to that.

4. Keeping the joy alive. Joy can be fleeting, and to keep it going, you need to nurture it. This is an art form, and I can’t give you step-by-step instructions here. If I could, I’d be a billionaire, as it would change the world. But some advice: be grateful for your joy, every day. Be in the moment with that activity, instead of having your mind drift elsewhere. Refresh your joy often, by starting over or approaching things from a new angle or doing something a bit differently. Find new people to share this joy with, people who love it as much as you.

5. Celebrating the little victories. We often get discouraged because we’re not as far along as we’d like: we don’t have those six-pack abs yet (after a month of exercise!) or we’re not a full-time blogger yet (after three months of blogging!). But we forget how far we’ve come. Every step along the path is a victory, not because we’ve accomplished a goal but simply because we made the step. Celebrate those steps — jump up and down in joy, scream Halelujah, brag about it on Facebook, post a victorious message in bold marker on your fridge. You rock.

6. Making it a part of your life. Whether a change stays with you forever or not, making a change has value, in the momentary joy you get from doing it, and in what you learn from it. But making a change stick can be a great thing. To integrate change into your life, it must become a part of your daily routine. If you want to meditate, you need to do it at a regular time: right after having your coffee and before showering for work, for example. Having the coffee becomes your trigger for this new habit, and as the coffee is already integrated into your life, it becomes an anchor upon which this new habit will be grounded. The more times you do the new habit after this trigger, and the more regularly you do it, the more firmly it will stick.

And lastly

One last note, to anyone making changes: you will fail. I don’t say that to discourage you, but to release you from the fear of failure … because if you already know it will happen, then there’s no pressure to avoid it. Failure is an inevitable part of change, and in fact it should be celebrated — without failure, we’d learn nothing. Fail, fail often, and learn. Then you’ll be better equipped for the next attempt. Find joy in every attempt, in every victory, in every failure, and the change will be a reward in itself.

‘Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’ ~Samuel Beckett

—
If you liked this guide, please bookmark it on Delicious or share on Twitter. Thanks, my friends.

The main focus of this book is getting healthy over the long term, so right off the bat it moved to the front of our book shelves. Too many diet books promise readers the moon and deliver only yet another fad diet that doesn’t work or leaves the reader open to future weight gain since it doesn’t address the need to make whole changes to your life. Thankfully, the Gold Coast Cure was a refreshing read that hit all of the right notes when it comes to getting healthy.

The main point of the book is that by eating a healthy diet and getting the right amount of exercise you can undo the damage you’ve caused to your body by eating all of the wrong foods for too many years. You can turn back the clock when it comes to unclogging your arteries, getting rid of a fatty liver and restoring your body’s natural rhythm. The good news is that this book makes it fairly easy to reach those goals.

The exercise component of the diet is very reasonable and requires only three days a week for a half hour each time. Even beginning dieters should be able to meet that commitment and those just starting out won’t be as apt to get discouraged and quit. However, you may need to add more time or more days if you find that you’ve plateaued and stopped losing weight.

The book does a great job of addressing how you need to change your lifestyle in order to get thinner and healthier. Instead of hanging you out to dry and leaving you to your own devices once you’ve reached your goal weight, sticking to this diet will leave you incredibly healthy over the long term and you’ll be able to keep that weight off. In order to really lose weight the healthy way, you’ve got to be ready to make that kind of a commitment. It’s not always easy, but over the long term, there is no better way to lose weight.

The main emphasis is on learning how to make better choices when it comes to food. By presenting alternatives and assisting readers in learning more about why bad foods are so injurious to your health, it becomes a lot easier to stick to the plan and learn how to make these choices on your own. Not all diets will hold your hand like this and the book does a great job of making it easy to stick to your new diet plan.

Overall, we highly recommend this book since it fills all of our necessary requirements for a healthy weight loss plan: The right amount of exercise, the right kind of training to make better choices, and a sensible meal plan that should be easy to stick too. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, this is a great book to start with. Just remember, it will take time to get your results, but the process will be well worth the effort.

Originally posted 2008-06-13 05:12:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Related Posts

• Review of Dr Shapiro’s Guide to Picture Perfect Weight Loss Tomorrow is a holiday, which is why you are reading a book review today. I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. Enjoy the fireworks and BBQs! Dr. Shapiro’s book The Guide to Picture Perfect Weight Loss combines several interesting factors into one plan to help readers lose weight. While you……
• Review of the South Beach Diet Supercharged Out of all of the diets, by far the one that has received more than a fair share of adherents is the South Beach Diet. While there are plenty of those that may criticize this diet plan, for many others it does work and quite well. However, many feel that……
• A New Alternative to Weight Loss Surgery – But is it Safe? The push for instant weight loss has lead to the popularization of surgeries that can dramatically alter the human body and its digestive functions. Complications are numerous, but the demand for weight loss surgery is high and it doesn’t look as though it will be waning any time soon. For……
• Eat Right For Your Type This book is considered to be one of the most controversial diet books on the market and it certainly raises a lot of interesting issues that are normally avoided in the diet industry. Although a lot of people believe that metabolism and genetic predisposition can lead to weight problems, the……
• Review of Are You Ready? Many of you that watch The Biggest Loser are already familiar with the author of this book, Bob Harper. He’s one of the trainers on the show and has already provided millions of dieters with inspiration and advice on getting fit and losing weight. Let’s see how well his book……

Online Stores

• Potassium Supplements & Diet Exercise & Fitness
• Back of Book United States Stamps
• South Beach Diet Weight Management
• Simply Supplements & Diet Exercise & Fitness
• CDs & Cassettes Weight Management