"Knowing others is intelligence, 
            knowing yourself is true wisdom."  
            - The Tao Te Ching

                Imagine the possibilities!!!

What do you have unlimited enthusiasm for?

Once you have a goal, it's wise to line up your actions to reflect the course to it, each day. Goals are not reached haphazardly, it takes disciplined effort and  determination. Do you have what it takes? Only YOU can decide.

Don't focus on the pain and/or sacrifice... rather
FOCUS on the OPPORTUNITY.

ACTIVE LIVING VS. HALF ASS LIVING

What's the difference between active living vs. half ass living? 

First, let me describe active living:

ACTIVE LIVING: 
Active living is going to bed each evening, and contemplating who you are, where you are, where you desire to be in life, and what you desire to achieve both personally, and in the relationships of those that matter in your life, and I mean truly matter. 

It's taking a look back through your day and recognizing what worked for you and those around you, and what didn't. It's having the courage to look at the things that need to be changed, and commending yourself for the things you did well. 

It's looking at how you can improve upon each of these matters, and not being afraid to be honest with yourself. It's being RESPONSIBLE for yourself, your actions, and your inaction, your attitude, character, and performance in life. It's taking a look a things that are holding you back (which is most likely yourself), being scared to death to face them, but facing them anyway.

It is taking the initiative to become a better person simply because you expect yourself to do so. It is visualizing what you desire to accomplish the following day. Where you want to end up at the end of the day, who you desire to spend your time with, and where you want to make a change for the better in the world. 

Active living is waking up in the morning with a firm mindset. It is knowing who you are, what you stand for, what you value, and going about your day with a mind so focused on what it is you desire to achieve, that if it were a laser it would burn through anything, and I mean anything.

It is being willing to put in the time, the effort, the hard work and labor, and mental and emotional drive to continually thrust yourself forward. It is an internal drive with a power button that doesn't want to be turned off. 

Active living is the willingness to go the extra mile or hundred, to climb another rung, or a few dozen. It is being open to new ideas, being willing to take chances, and create that in which you desire. It is where the men are separated from the boys, the amateurs from the Elite, the successful from the unsuccessful. The doers from the wanna-be's.

Now a description of half ass living:

HALF ASS LIVING:
Half ass living is going to bed with the television on, letting it fill the brain with less than mediocre fair. The negative messages, subliminal messaging, advertisements, and bombardment of frequencies are enough to cause just about anyone to go into a Zombie like state of being. It's forgetting who you are, what you once desired in life, and having no real expectations of yourself. It's filling your mind with whatever you please, filling your belly with whatever sounds good and tastes good, whether it's cancer causing, or not. 

It's living a life of distraction, if you will, sports, events, movies, so on, and so forth. It's living day to day as though one were a robot of some sort: 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4. It's letting life take you wherever you end up, and then blaming a life of no accomplishment, or fulfillment on people and events, and circumstances. It's going through your day without noticing the vibrancy of life. It's settling for 'whatever' happens to be at the time.

I'm not judging. I've been a half ass live-r for more than I'd like to admit at times, and I've also felt and known what makes a champion, as well. They are almost polar opposites yet the ability to swing from one end of the spectrum to the other can happen, although one takes much conscious effort, and the other very little.

It's so much easier to sit and watch a game from a comfortable seat, eating a snack, sipping a cool drink, and yelling at the players on the field, telling them what to do, and what they've done right or wrong. Most of these people seating in the seats have never been on a Professional playing field. They have not an inkling of the efforts the Pro's put into their field of training. They don't see what goes on off the playing field, in the wee hours of the morning, the late nights, the grueling workouts, and cannot begin to fathom the mental toughness it takes to get even half way where these Pro's have been. The efforts it takes to keep balance in life, and the drive to keep going is nearly unexplainable.

To be a Pro is not natural. It requires going beyond the norm. Everyday. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It all starts within. 

The cream of the crop are not worrying about what someone else thinks of them. They care not to compare themselves with others, and only seek to weigh themselves against the person they were yesterday.

All Active Live-rs started somewhere. Most likely as half ass live-rs who never quite settled, and instead of settling, had a stirring within that generated more desire to become something greater, than what others expected them to be. 

I encourage all of you to examine your life. It's so easy to fall into the rut of half ass living. Remember who you are. Know you have within the power to become and achieve all you desire to be, and then some. You truly can make a difference in this world by simply changing your mindset.

I believe we all have those times and seasons in our lives when we live half ass, and when we're thriving. My most recent case of half ass living came when I had to have wrist surgery. It was a serious surgery and therapy was required for an entire year afterward. At the same time I could not train the same, my body had become a fat storing machine due to lack of necessary hormones, imbalance. Kids do things that delight us, and sometimes they do things that make us feel very sad. I fell into a half ass living rut.

Thank goodness half ass living doesn't settle with me to well, and eventually I came to my senses. 

Be strong. Stay focused. Don't be afraid to discover who you are. Face your fears. Live life actively. 

I challenge you: LIVE. LIFE. ACTIVELY. 

Body Fat: An inside look.

BODY FAT

We all ponder from time to time, some perhaps, daily, what our body fat% is, and what it means to us. 

It's an important number to know, and keep on top of, why? Because body fat tissues are one of the main storage spots for toxins. Environmental toxins, chemical toxins, additives, flavorings, and coloring toxins, preservative toxins, and yes, even toxins you produce yourself through metabolism, and an even bigger shocker...... in your brain. Yes, toxic thoughts: Anger, fear, shame, guilt, resentment, etc., are triggers to the brain to start producing chemicals to go with these emotions. Hence, depression at it's best.

I was astounded to come across this sign. At least they're being honest and posting it. Unfortunately, many are not posted or the grocery stores would be loaded with mini billboards.

I always found it interesting that Utah was at the top of the list for anti-depressants, as Utah is where Mormonism has quite a following. Being  Mormon for many years, I never remember anyone speaking out on the topic of depression. Obviously, the people in Utah aren't as happy as they appear. This isn't anything religious, just an observation.

Back to the subject at hand. Happy feelings create happy chemicals in the brain, hence, the 'Runner's High', otherwise known as endorphins. The feel good hormone. Feelings of joy, love, kindness, care, adventure, and happiness create more of the same. This is why you'll often hear experts tell you to 'think positive', 'smile', etc. I say, fake it until you make it. Try it. The next time you don't feel like smiling, force yourself to smile and say 'hi', to someone, you might be surprised how it changes both of your attitudes.

To make a long story, short. Generally, the more body fat an individual carries, the more toxins they are holding. 

How many people do you know go overboard eating 'clean' food, to the point they start gaining fat? You get the point? 

It's the manmade concoctions, with all the manmade flavors, manmade colors, manmade additives, manmade preservatives, and the little addictive substances man sneaks into these products that get people into trouble... as fat storing bins.

The above chemicals wreak havoc with your natural body responses of leptin and ghrelin. The body loses it's ability to understand when it's had enough to eat, when to stop eating, and a domino effect begins to tumble through the body affecting hormones, glands, the gut, and brain, to name a few.

This is why, when one begins a meal plan, assuming it's based on the basics of nature and NOT some manmade theory of high this, low that, none of that, etc, and has you eating REAL food. The body will naturally begin to cleanse the fat cells, and with them, toxins. It's important to drink an abundance of water during this time to facilitate the process. 

Signs of de-toxing are: Headache, stomach discomfort, dizziness, insomnia, fatigue, skin rash, foggy thinking, and for some a general feeling of malaise. It generally lasts a week to ten days. Make it through this process, and you are on your way to a healthier, happier body.

One thing I recommend is to add the juice of one fresh lemon to 16 oz. of room temperature water, first thing upon waking. Drink at least 8 oz. at the start, and sip the rest down. If it doesn't work with your schedule during the week, then consider doing it on the weekends. It will perk up your whole system, aid the liver in cleansing, and give you a boost of energy. This can be done on a daily basis once you clear much of the body's acidity from the tissues and cells, otherwise, I would recommend once a week until the body becomes more alkaline.

Health!