Living Healthier in the Now

Most of us have some health related goal or area of improvement that we are working on or hope to work on very soon. Keeping yourself mentally and physically aware while exercising and eating by using the “living in the now” concept I’ve been talking about in the last couple blogs, can get you through a strenuous workout as well as help you eat right all while increasing your enjoyment of these activities.

For most of us, getting through an exercise routine is a struggle. But if you are completely attentive to your movements instead of thinking about how you’ve never yet been able to keep up an exercise routine or letting your mind wander to how much nicer it would feel to be lounging on the couch, you aren’t as likely to quit in the middle of it. Just keep focused on the feeling of your muscles moving and listen to your breath as you control your inhaling and exhaling (a primary concept behind yoga and its distressing effects, by the way) and soon enough you will have completed your routine or finished that 30 minute run and are feeling great.

When it comes to food, it’s all about being mindful of what you eat, how much, and how you eat. When you reach in the fridge for something, consciously decide what will contribute to your well balanced intake for the day and choose your best options. Stop eating directly out of the box or bag and lay out a small portion on a plate that you can then take to a table or out onto the porch to enjoy. Choose a place with no TV or computer or anything else to distract you. Taste your food, becoming aware of every flavor and texture, and chew completely. You will find that eating “in the now” is much more enjoyable. It will also slow down your eating so you fill up on less food and will help your digestion by having food well broken down before it hits your stomach.

“Living in the now” will help you by not only increasing your appreciation of the sensations of exercising and eating well but will also help you attain your goals for a better, healthier life. You’ll feel great because of your accomplishments along with gaining the long lasting and compounding effects of the bliss that comes with being consistently happy in the moment.

Living in the Now while Planning for the Future

As I mentioned last week, you can strive to make your life better but you also need to appreciate what you have and what you accomplish today. This is the concept of living in the now. No matter what your circumstances are at the moment, you should strive to enjoy the life you are living today. This can be a difficult concept to put into practice, especially if you focus so much of your energy on the future and reaching your goals. So, how do you live in the now while working towards a better future?

The answer is to balance your thoughts between enjoying what you have now and looking forward to what you will have in the future.

Chances are if you are reading this blog you are a goal setter, or are trying to become one, so you probably spend a lot of time thinking about your future. And you should regularly take time to think about how your life will be when you reach your goals as it will help keep you focused on what you are after and motivate you to keep going. However, while chasing your goals, you should also be striving to live as fully and as passionately as you can, today.

For instance, don’t go to a cheap diner and spend the entire meal thinking about how you’ll be able to eat at high-end, ritzy places when you are successful and rich. There’s nothing wrong with letting that thought in—for a moment. But then sit back and enjoy your meal and don’t let your mind wander back to what you aren’t able to do, right now. Because right now, being frugal is probably necessary for you to eventually reach your goals as well as take care of today’s responsibilities. And besides, no ritzy place is going to have that sweet old waitress who calls you ‘hon’ and always has a colorful joke to get you laughing at the end of a long hard day.

So become a keen observer of your own mind, being conscious that you spend the majority of your time focused on taking in the experiences and sensations of the moment you are living in. Because what is the point of working through today just hoping to enjoy tomorrow? You should be enjoying today as well!

Enjoy the Journey

Recently I had a young man come to me in a near state of depression. I was surprised at how down he was as he usually very upbeat and positive. When I asked what was going on he said he was frustrated and felt like a failure. He had huge goals which he’d been continually working on but he felt he wasn’t progressing fast enough. He wanted his future to happen now.

I have found this to be a very common state of mind these days. Our advanced technologies have led us to habitually expect that we can access our wishes immediately. Super fast internet, instant downloads, DVRs, and multi-functional cell phones give us the ability to have some level of access to whatever or whomever we want whenever we want. But life, in general, doesn’t work that way. As a result, we are experiencing more and more frustration and impatience which ultimately leads to depression or anger.

Reaching a goal is a series of small, necessary steps but even when you are making steady progress, it may feel like it is taking forever to attain it because of all you must go through to get there. The key to a truly successful goal, however, is not only reaching it but also enjoying and celebrating life while you work towards it. In other words, you need to learn to appreciate the journey, not just the destination.

Over the next few weeks, I will talk more about what is often referred to as “living in the now”. Much of what I want to talk about is based on principles outlined in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living. It’s hard to be passionate when you are frustrated and impatient but it’s not hard to be passionate about anything if you are passionate about living and enjoying the moment. That is really the ultimate goal.

Become One of the Influential People

I know I have been talking a lot recently about keeping the influential people in your life close to you. But what I may not have gotten across is just how important you are—or can be–to the people around you. You have run into people throughout your life that had amazing talent and wonderful gifts and were willing to share them with you and help you live a richer, fuller life. Well, you too have gifts that you can share with others that can help and inspire them. You probably influence more people than you know already and you can influence and enrich even more lives by just being aware of what you have to offer.

Take a moment or two this week to think about your gifts and talents. Ask your family and friends how you influence them. There may something you’ve said that you had no idea inspired your daughter to take a chance that landed her the great job she has now. Your best friend may have watched you reach your fitness goal and is now getting on the treadmill at home every day because of what you accomplished. Perhaps witnessing your kindness and generosity with the new guy at work, encouraged others to do the same with the next new hire. It’s hard to say how you can enrich others’ lives until you find out what you have done and start paying attention to what you are doing today. Then, once you know, you can look for more opportunities to do the same great things again and again.

The pay-off of being a great influence is not only knowing that you had a positive impact on someone else’s life but it is also an energizing and motivating way to live. Seeing the encouraging effect your actions and words have on others will boost you through the hard times as you struggle to reach your goals or deal with your own personal dilemmas. Working on being a positive influence is a win-win situation, good karma, and the ultimate way to pay forward all the great, motivating influence you receive from the great people in your life.

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You Never Have to ‘Lose’

Last month I had the chance to play a very special doubles tennis match with Governor Gary Herbert of Utah. I had my partner, Judge Andrew Valdez, and the governor had Jeff Robbins of the Utah Sports Commission (who also played the pro tour for a while!). It was very close but, in the end, the governor and Robbins beat us. Still, there were no losers that day. First of all, the match itself had been a dream of mine. Not only that but the wager was that if the governor won, I would donate $5000 to the Granite Education Foundation, an organization that supports Utah schools and Utah kids. So when the last volley ended, I was as elated as anyone because the kids were the big winners and I could celebrate for them.

I wish that we could all look at the events in our lives and think about the wins not the losses. In the tennis match, the governor won the game, the kids supported by the foundation won additional funding, I achieved a dream, and players and spectators alike were uplifted by the exciting event and the philanthropic theme of the day. We didn’t win the game but there was no way I could look at the day and say we lost.

This positive outlook is something I call a “God’s Eye View.” It’s a way of seeing things from the perspective of humanity as a whole. It means believing that someone, somewhere, is getting joy and/or some kind of enhancement in his or her life even when you are not, and you can be happy and rejoice in the moment for them. Living this way, never being concerned about what you didn’t win, what you did not personally get, makes you a happier person. And that in itself is quite a win.

I talk about this “God’s Eye View,” at length in Chapter Twelve of my book, “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living.” It is intertwined with thoughts on the many benefits of giving which is also part of the “God’s Eye View” and something I try to do on a regular basis. In fact, the flip side of that tennis wager was that if I won, the foundation would get only $4900. Because if I had won the game and the kids lost the donation, my dream to play with the governor would have been a rather empty achievement. The best goals are ones that not only fulfill your dreams, but allow you to give back in some way as well. What they want. And there is no reason why you can’t be one of them.

Get your FREE copy (you pay shipping and handling only) of the book,  “How to Ignite your Passion for Living.”

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Being Healthy: Your Umbrella Goal for Life

During the last few weeks, I’ve been talking about health and the benefits of a good diet and hopefully it’s inspired you to eat better. The question is, are you, or will you be committed to it, not just for the near future but for life?

Getting down to an ideal weight and getting off junk food are great goals but your hard efforts will be wasted if you don’t make it a modification to your lifestyle rather not just a temporary change.

As I mentioned about the CRON diet last week, these healthier eating habits can lengthen your life—an actual fountain of youth! But if you can’t keep it up, it probably won’t get you halfway near the 140 years that the CRON scientists believe a healthy person can reach.

If you lose 30 pounds then gain back 20 a few months later, lose another 10, gain another 15, and keep this yo-yo dieting going, you aren’t helping your health at all. In fact you’re stressing your system. Same goes for the ‘occasional’ junk food meal. Can a coke addict get high just once in a while?

The bottom line is, you have to decide that you want to live healthy–determine the specific weight you want to reach and stay at, commit to eating healthy, minimally processed, whole foods, and keep active. Look at this commitment as a commitment for life, an umbrella goal that will support every other goal you make but giving you the health and energy to pursue all your dreams.

So be good to yourself these next few weeks and aim to eat and live healthy for the rest of your life. You can start by reading Chapter 10: An Umbrella Goal for Life in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living. As I explain, 42 days is all it takes to form a new eating habit. After that it’s just a little bit of vigilance.

Use the goal planning tips in my book and you’ll certainly get there. Do this for yourself, your family, and, of course, for the success of all your dreams.

Mark O. Haroldsen on Fox 13 Utah

Mark O. Haroldsen appeared on Fox 13 television station this week (click the link to view now) to talk about Ignite My Life Now – his new book. The interviewers asked him how to avoid getting discouraged over the economy. The first thing he said was “stop listening to the news.” I had to laugh.

You’ll see from the video that you really need to read his book – not just watch his appearance! And thanks for plugging the web site where anyone can get a free copy.

Of course Mark talks about goals and his BRAM formula which is to look over the – Benefits, Reasons and Motivations for a goal. Write down the benefits of your goal and the reasons you have it. Read those notes again when you’re weak and it helps you keep your focus.

Looking Ahead in 2009 – Life Goals

My focus for the new year is my health and diet. Thanks to my daughter I’ve enrolled in a yoga class. There is everyone from a 7 year old to a 70 year old. As you age you lose your flexibility, you can’t move as easily. You must counter-attack this by pushing yourself, and by stretching. Another thing is by being in a group you introduce competition, which can push you to try harder and to not give up.

I’m eating more fruits and vegetables and natural foods now. It’s harder to do that eating out at a restaurant. So I try to stay home and eat where it’s easier to control. When I do eat out, I bring my own whole wheat pasta or choose healthier dishes.

Another focus of this year is that I have re-ignited my passion for public speaking. When I recently spoke to a Kiwanis Club group, I remembered how much I like speaking. It went well and I remembered why I like doing it.

I want to be on Oprah to talk about igniting your passion for life. I’ve been on 11 radio stations, and various TV promotions, but that would be the top of the top. Why do I want to meet her? She is a self-made multi billionaire who started from scratch. And she built this without taking advantage of other people. She did it through work.

What about you? What do you want to do in 2009 to live a passionate life?

Coasting Through Life or Living It?

“Lucky are those who have passion for life. But blessed are those who have passion all their life.”

That’s one of my favorite quotes. My heroes are people who have been leaders. Their personality creates an atmosphere. They set mind stimulating goals rather than take the easy way and think “I’ll just coast.”

One problem is we rarely have good examples of people who live with passion their entire life. In the movies people who are successful and happy reach a certain destination. They reach some pinnacle of success and the movie fades out with them sitting around the pool. If you truly want passion all of your life, you can’t lounge around. You have to start creating it yourself. You must continue to challenge yourself to accomplish goals that are meaningful to you.

Instead we might be tempted to think, is this all there is? Happiness comes from the process of setting and reaching goals. We as humans feel so good when we’re totally involved in something. You’ve felt this when you’ve gotten lost in a novel, playing sports, or at work. You lose yourself, you are living in the now. You’re in the moment. That is living!

Start Small but Get Started

A challenge that faces us when under extreme stress is to keep focused on goals. You might be depressed or feel overwhelmed and the effect is you don’t want to do anything. This is precisely what you must do – act! You might not feel like getting out of your house – but do it anyway. Just getting started usually helps.

Focus on what you can do. Put deadlines with each step and keep focused on doing rather than perfection or worrying.

For example, you can set goals to:

• Eat right – which will help your energy levels and you’ll feel better.
• Exercise – challenge yourself to go on a walk, a bike ride, or anything. Start with a small goal, like 5 mins. or 15.

Small success leads to bigger success, especially as you continue over time. Leave a comment and tell me about some of your goals. How have you have broken them down into small pieces?

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