Desire

Desire is a sense of longing for a person or object or hoping for an outcome. The same sense is expressed by emotions such as "craving" or "hankering".   Source:  wikipedia (thanks, wiki)

Sound familiar?!

I think sometimes we have the most to learn about ourselves when we can straighten up our spine and tell our own voice, our own self, the very simple word:  no. 

Sounds easy!  And then why do we have trouble sticking to a diet?  Getting to the gym?  Saving money?  Because we like to cater to our being.  Indulge ourselves.  Do you ever find yourself saying, "I deserve this?"  Well, what you truly deserve is to tell yourself no and to learn about your inner desires (that may not be serving you any healthy purpose).   

So, here's your simple and super easy task for the day:  tell yourself no! 

Perhaps you told yourself no to one thing and then the next unhealthy option that popped up you gave into it right away with an impulsive yes!  That's not gonna be the process that works, you're going to need to say no to allll of the unhealthy options for a week.  Seven days in a row.  See where your mind is at at the end of seven days...survey what you've gained!  I'm willing to bet you've saved money and dropped a couple of pounds in that week. 

Sounds easy?!  It's worth your hard effort...so just say no!

On a personal note: 
I'll be done with massage school in March!  Missing my other half who has flown miles away to become a scuba diving instructor.  He's gone two more months.  I'm so proud of him that it makes the daily void easier.  Tomorrow is his birthday, I really wish I could surprise him with something fun, but Costa Rica doesn't make sending packages easy (or timely!).  Being able to visit him over the holidays was great, it's nice to know what his daily life is like.  :)

Hey Smartie Pants!

I wouldn't have considered this notion as important before reading this article.  Want to be successful?  Consider that it's not just about your IQ.  How about your interpersonal skills, moral code, and the self-confidence of your body?  Sure, those things seem like no-brainers...maybe they're more important than the goods of your brain after all.  Seems to me these traits would be requisites of someone with a high IQ, apparantly they're not exactly the same thing. 

Read this interesting article that explains what some scientists are determining you need to succeed:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/intelligence-is-overrated--what-you-really-need-to-succeed.html

My personal keys to success: 
- Possessing the knowledge that others seek and being able to communicate that knowledge. 
- Putting others needs ahead of your own. 
- Being honest and open with yourself and others. 
- Being committed to the task. 

Time of My Life

As days go by, I look at how I want to spend the time of my life.  To me, every moment is the time of my life, for if it's not now, when is it?  I try to enjoy, enrich, seek, understand, and identify happiness and its understudy, compassion. 

There was a day recently that I spent thinking about what I would like for my future professionally.  I loved some of the ideas that I thought about exploring.  But some of the things I want to do have a long road.  Do you ever feel a road is too long when you don't know what kind of payoff will come from it?  Do you initially get excited about your ideas and then talk yourself out of following them through?  I've done this myself, many times.

I've decided to go to massage school.  I believe it will be easy for me.  This is not to say I think you should only do something because it's easy.  Go after something achieveable that has strong personal benefit to you.  I believe being an LMT will have payoff in many ways:  I can take better care of my clients.  I'll have a skill that is in line with my personal value system (take care of others).  As well as diversity in income.  I can get a job abroad if necessary.  Would I do it if I thought it were going to be overly difficult?  Decidedly not.  It will still, however, be a challenge in terms of scheduling and knowledge base.  I'm excited to learn!  It's almost as though I don't even leave the "highway" I'm already traveling to explore this new venture.  And it comes with opportunity.

One thing is for sure in my life:  I love opportunity and challenge.  How are you creating opportunity and challenge for yourself in your life?  For it's those things that create the time of your life.

The Art of Nice

Too many times I think back and wish I had handled an interaction or experience a little differently. What the past has taught me is how to handle these interactions a little better and to become more of the person that I admire or want to see myself become.

Have you ever read the book, "The Power of Nice"? Within the pages there are these notes worth remembering:

A positive impression is a seed for the future.
Think of the positive people you've met in your life. Is it your mailman, a worker at your favorite coffee spot, the dry cleaner? It's that person that's always smiling and ready to greet you...they're working to make you happy and deliver good service. And you remember and appreciate them for it. Remember that anytime YOU are nice to someone it throws out positive energy that is remembered as well, often forever.

You never know what can become of chance.
We hear the stories about how someone helps a stranger change a flat on a rainy night and that person ends up being in a position to bestow great gifts for a selfless act. I've personally received great dividends from taking just a little time out for someone else. I'm always super grateful when others take time out for me, too.
From the book, "The Power of Nice:
Diane Karnett certainly never thought the young woman she met on a train home to New York City would transform her life. The woman was visiting her grandmother, who happened to live in Diane's neighborhood, so they split a cab ride. When they arrived at the grandmother's apartment, the woman asked Diane if she'd help her carry bags up to the fifth-floor walk-up.
"I figured why not?" But by the time they reached the fourth floor, she could think of many reasons why not.
The woman's eighty-five-year-old grandmother turned out to be an ex-Ziegfeld showgirl named Millie Darling, who befriended Diane. "Through the years, I was treated like royalty at her favorite jazz clubs and saloons," says Diane.
That would have been more than enough reward for lugging a few bags up several flights of stairs. But it turns out Millie was the mother of Chan Parker, widow of the legendary jazz great Charlie Parker. When Diane was unemployed, Chan invited Diane to live with her in her farmhouse outside of Paris. Diane accepted and told her former employer about her move. They said that since she was moving to Paris anyway, why not set up shop and run a co-venture for them there? Diane remained in Paris for four glorious years, spending weekends at Chan Parker's farmhouse, socializing with Chan's fabulous and fascinating visitors--jazz legends, journalists, even Clint Eastwood. "I could have let that stranger on the train carry her own bags up. And missed it all," says Diane.
When we meet strangers on the street, we usually assume they aren't important to us. Unlike our friend Diane, we often avoid contact with the woman sitting next to us on the train or maybe even race ahead to beat her to a cab as we exit the station. The thinking is, "She's just some woman who has nothing to do with my life. Getting the cab is more important than being nice to her."
But how do you know that? This woman could be the sister of your boss. Or a real estate agent who knows of a home in your dream neighborhood. Or the head of a foundation that could give your fledgling charity the backing it desperately needs. The bottom line is, this woman is important to many people. You have to treat everyone you meet as if they are the most important person in the world-- because they are. If not to you, then to someone; and if not today, then perhaps tomorrow.

People grow and change.
We usually think to be nice to the VP's and CEO's. But how about the receptionist or the intern? The receptionist today may be the VP in a few years. I've had great relationships with people that couldn't afford to pay me, but when the day came that they could afford to do training with me, they didn't hesitate to purchase sessions because I'd always been nice to them.

Nice should be part of who you are.
Opening a door. Helping someone carry their bags. Thinking ahead and anticipating the needs of others. Going out of your way to do something meaningful. The simplest of gestures can win--or lose--big business.

You'll remember the negatives.
Even if you treat a stranger badly or have a bad interaction with someone you'll never see again, you will know. I say this all the time...I get better sleep at night when my slate is clean. I don't want any bad mojo hanging over my head! It's just easier if we're direct and clear the air when we need to. Admit if you wrong someone, they'll be very appreciative of your effort to come clean. It all goes back to treating others as we want to be treated.

Try this on for size:
Do three things this week that have no payoff for you, but they do have immediate payoff to another. How? Perhaps you compliment a stranger, open a door, tip a little extra, ask questions about other's lives, donate to a charity...the list goes on.

Become more of the type of person you admire.

If I were a better person, I would...

On the Personal Level:

Wow, I haven't logged in in quite some time. That is disappointing and I will do better. Things are good...life is an amazing journey that I get to take part in everyday. Tonight I had an amazing workout, so good to be back in the gym. It's helping my volleyball game lots. I also have had the opportunity to support two of my dear friends that are going through some tough changes in their lives. It feels good to be able to be a shoulder for when they need it. Here's to a happy Wednesday for all of you. Goodnight!

The Veloway

Saturday made for an opportunity to visit The Veloway. Such a great little loop for rollerblades! It's a 3.1 mile loop that is mostly level w/ some slight elevation for fun. It's reserved strictly for bikers and skates, so there is no foot traffic on the track. I love the fact that it's extremely well-kept, clean and smooth. In under 30 minutes you can wrap around the track and get a great workout for the legs.

I love the bonding experience of running with my dog, Emma, everyday. We've been making running together a fun experience and our pace is quickening and as long as there aren't too many dogs around, she stays focused on her stride and the leash is loose.

Next up, a class at Flywheel Fitness. I've got friends that row in college so I've been coached on proper form and find it very mentally challenging to stay on task with my form. This should be a mentally tough workout!

Hope that each of you on your fitness journey, find something fun and new to enjoy! Keep focused on positive thoughts and enjoying every bit of the process; tough and easy go hand in hand in every good experience.

On the Job

A couple of times a week I do health and fitness lectures for the State of Texas' Department of Public Safety. The participants include troopers, internal intel, crime lab workers, the people that make our driver's licenses, all sorts of interesting jobs, that unfortunately, put them in the same (usually sitting) position for long periods of time. So, I discuss health and fitness topics to educate and hopefully motivate some healthy movement. I love my newest lecture series, "Lowering Your Body Fat". It's a topic that often causes a lot of dispute amongst professionals and there's a lot of good information surrounding the topic to share with others. I wrote it in a frank manner with more of a "make the best use of your time" attitude. The feedback has been very good! Some days there are not words to describe how much I love my job.

The most interesting part of fitness is that there are literally thousands of ways to better your health. Different methods, applications, and reasonings behind the science. And to better perform my job, I need to know all I can about how to apply new techniques to each individual. I've got a couple of fitness quests for this week. While I'm on a break from volleyball, I'm gonna take on some fun workouts in new environments. I've got rollerblading, rowing, yoga, running group, and a kettlebell class all lined up.

I encourage you to try something fun and new this week to better your health!

Act of Kindness

I've been reading...some random reading of blogs I follow and such, but also about a Peace Summit that the Dalai Lama did in September of 2009 in Vancouver themed, "Educating the Heart" that focused on mostly good news and good works.

The Dalai Lama emphasized again and again the need for women to have greater roles in leadership in all fields because, he said, they are "biologically" more nurturing and have a greater sensitivity to suffering. He feels that our educational system is the domain in which ethics and a connection to the totality of life needs to be taught now that there is a worldwide diminishment of the role of churches and the cohesion of families, arenas which once provided more spiritual and ethical sustenance. Following up on a challenge he made in 2006, he implored the educators and scientists attending the conference to introduce emotional and social intelligence in schools and for the media to start concentrating more on "good news," stories that uplift our spirits instead of scaring us to death.

I make a conscious effort to live in that world of empathy and kindness. Why do I not see this attitude more often in my city? Don't get me wrong, Austin is a friendly city and I see kind acts often and have experienced several personally. But I also see a lack of cohesiveness and have experienced a lot of fear and insecurity of people when it comes to being good to other people and forming good relationships.

Why do we think it serves us as humans to not treat each and every person as amazing entities? Every single "stranger" has purpose in this world, someday they may even have direct purpose to you. I think if we all take the time each day to thank one person (or more!) for their act of kindness or to create our own act of kindness that we will better served.