Get Happy, Be Happy, Stay Happy

Yep. I know the secret to the good life.

Here it is: Live like Stone Age people in the Space Age!

According to Bob Tschannen-Moran, president of LifeTrek Coaching International, an “evolutionarily correct lifestyle” is possible through a high degree of understanding, commitment, intentionality, and planning.

Bob publishes the weekly e-newsletter LifeTrek Provisions. Today’s issue, titled “Planetary Possibilities,” was timely. Just this morning by husband and I were talking about how we need to take better care of our health. For example, I know too much coffee turns me into a bloated cow and burdens my exhausted adrenals, but I continue to drink it. (Damn you, Starbucks!) Bob writes:

When it comes to fitness there is no conflict between what’s good for us as individuals and what’s good for us as a species. The better we take care of ourselves the better things will be for others. When we have the strength, capacity, and desire to use muscle power rather than fossil-fuels, for example, we are contributing to the welfare of one and all. That’s why fitness represents such a planetary possibility. There’s really no telling the good we can do once we find the energy and the nerve to start.

As a globally-minded person who would love nothing more than to save the world, this is the kind of motivation I need.

I hereby commit to drinking only one cup of coffee each morning — or switching to decaf. Somehow, some way, improving my health will help make this world a better place. Simple.

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My niece Ashley sent me three emails to make sure I got her message about the plight of three chihuahuas that were born without front legs, victims of backyard breeding. She is an animal lover, lives with three dogs (including a sweet white chihuahua) and plans to become a veterinarian.

Her request: Read the story and sign the pledge at http://www.nsalamerica.org/campaigns/chihuahuas/ to help end backyard breeding. It’s free, and it’s easy! Spread the word.

Help spread the word to Virginia Tech students, staff and faculty about free help from Belleruth Naparstek, LCSW, a pioneer in guided imagery, PTSD expert, and owner of healthjourneys.com.

A Special Page for Virginia Tech

At the request of several Virginia Tech alums, we’ve posted a special page with basic information on acute and posttraumatic stress, and some free guided imagery downloads for students, staff and faculty. All they need is a Virginia Tech email address to get a passcode.

The semester begins on Monday, August 20th, and some will experience a reactivation of anxiety symptoms (panic, acute stress, generalized anxiety, PTSD, etc.) as they get ready to go back to campus – beyond the usual, going-back-to-school symptoms, that is; others will feel it once they get back, or when they enter a building they associate with the violence of last April.

So we decided that it would be good to have something in place that could teach basic, quick and easy self-regulation skills, to deploy quickly and easily, as needed.

Similar to the page we put up after Katrina, this new VT page explains the quirky nature of posttraumatic stress and why methods like imagery, meditation and conscious breathing are such ideal tools to tame these reactions. And then, the page provides samples of these methods, which can be uploaded onto an MP3 player or iPod.

The 5 targeted guided imagery podcasts are:

• Healthful Sleep
• Relaxation & Wellness
• Easing Grief
• Help with Panic Attacks
• Healing Trauma

Again, our software recognizes vt.edu, and randomly generates the necessary passcodes for students, faculty and staff to access these downloads. It’s pretty simple and self-explanatory. We’re grateful that digital media makes it so easy to do things like this, so quickly and relatively inexpensively, these days!

The counseling center on campus will be recommending our page, but we also hope that word gets out informally as well, so that even people who would never wind up talking to a professional can access these resources.

So please spread the word!

Learn more about guided imagery and products at HealthJourneys.com.

I receive an e-newsletter every Sunday from Philip Humbert, a coach, author and speaker in Oregon. In today’s issue, he reminds us about basic principles of success.

What you see —> How you interpret —> What you do

Three Steps to Instant Success

This week I reviewed some notes I took at a seminar with Jim Rohn several years ago, and one of Jim’s many amazing insights jumped out at me. Jim has helped thousands of people reach their goals and I want to share just one of the KEY pieces that impressed me.

I was reminded that success is based on a simple 3-step process:

• First — What We See

I’m told that the average American sees over 3000 marketing messages every day. They are everywhere! Fortunately, we have learned to ignore the vast majority of them.

In the same way, at this very moment you are breathing, you are sitting on a chair, and a there are a thousand things going on around you that your brain automatically filters out to let you concentrate. Our ability to “filter” allows us to survive! If we couldn’t do that, we would be over-whelmed and unable to function.

Out of all that “data” around us, we select a few things to notice and care about. We respond to a baby’s cry. We answer a ringing telephone. We focus on our bank statement, our bills, a lover’s touch and so forth, and this is important — high achievers focus on (”see”) things differently than failures!

High achievers literally do not “see” the television programs others find captivating! High achievers “see” opportunities others miss. They “see” solutions others ignore.

What you “see” or focus on determines your destiny.

• Second — How We Interpret What We See

Shakespeare observed that nothing is “good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Most people know the story about the glass that is either “half-full” or “half-empty.” Everything we “see” is interpreted and the only difference is that winners constantly interpret life in ways that work to their advantage.

Where one person interprets a slumping economy as threatening their business, another finds an opportunity for growth. Where one person sees a problem, another seizes opportunity.

Winners view things differently. They grasp solutions, seize opportunities and find reasons for optimism.

• Third — What We DO About What We See

Everything comes down to action. Peak performers actually DO get up a bit earlier, stay a bit later, and work harder (and smarter) than other people. In the end, our lives are not created by our intentions but by the results of our daily activities.

Now, it is true that our actions are shaped by many things! Of course painful experiences and misfortune and bad luck play a part. Let’s not kid ourselves. But the most important influences on our daily actions are (1) what we see, (2) how we interpret what we see, and (3) how we respond.

The steps to success begin by surrounding ourselves with things that move us forward. Read great books! Listen to great audio programs! Get around smart, talented, creative people! If you see stress and trouble every day, you will be influenced by it. If you see opportunity and optimism, if you see determination and courage and hope, you will inevitably be shaped by these things.

Here are two practical applications of these truths:

1. I no longer subscribe to a daily newspaper. For many years I was addicted to it, but then I noticed that starting my day with 20 minutes of trouble and controversy was not creating the life I wanted. So I took action, canceled our subscription and now I read something more useful.
2. Every week, I work with a personal coach who reminds me of my values and goals. Every year, I attend at least two personal development seminars. I hang out where the GOOD stuff and the GREAT people are!

Invest in your future. Get where the GOOD stuff is!

Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. Dr. Philip E. Humbert. www.philiphumbert.com

Lots of people find this blog by googling “The Secret,” “Rhonda Byrne,” “David Schirmer” and other terms. Interest in The Secret is still going strong. Personally, I decided to stop thinking (obsessing!) about it. Once I said what I needed to say, I had to drop it, or else stay in a pit of negativity. Didn’t want to attract a bunch of yucky vibes, right?

However, one of my earlier posts was brought to my attention today, which I think my new blog readers will find enlightening. It is actually a post that Bob Collier, an Australian who publishes Parental Intelligence Newsletter, wrote on the now-defunct Secret versus Science forum. He describes his excitement about what he thought The Secret would popularize (the philosophy of Wallace D. Wattles), only to be profoundly disappointed in the film’s real message, intent and dubious source.

Make no mistake. The Secret is not what most people think it is!

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