Health is real wealth

Prosperity with happiness is the dream of every human being. To achieve this prosperous life every one plans ahead with new efforts. There can be no second opinion in the truth that health is the real wealth and only a healthy life can bring you success and fill you with happiness. Although we are already in the New Year, every day is a new start. Any attempt made for a  healthy mind in a healthy body can perform better and achieve success.

Although there are some dark clouds in the economic sky all over the world, optimistic views about success and perseverance in executing the resolutions will definitely bring success.Just consider these four tips for healthy resolutions

1) Regular exercise

Exercise need not baffle you with imagination of aerobic machines or joining group exercise classes. Unrealistic or vague resolutions of exercises will bring you only adverse results. Plan a few moving activities that can be done without fail in a stipulated time available for you. Set goals by doing exercises that are realistic, achievable, and well defined.

2) Plan for a well-balanced diet

A balanced diet is an essential factor for a healthy life. There is a proverb in the South Indian language Tamil that means, “It is better to spend for food than spending for medicines.” A balanced diet does not mean costly food. It can be planned well if you just sit and think for a moment about which kind of diet can do good for you and what to avoid that is harmful to your health.

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3) Come up with a resolution to control weight

Over weight and obesity have become the killer demons of modern lifestyle. It is the cause of all fatal diseases staring with cholesterol. Avoid all unhealthy eating and unnecessary addition of fat. Decide to have adequate whole grains, calcium, fiber, fruits and vegetables. Restrict fast foods.

4) Resolve to maintain healthy relationship

Maintaining healthy relationship is inevitable for a healthy life. Social life plays an important role in health maintenance. When the social life is affected it leads to stress and other problems that include blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, depression, and many other serious troubles. Smile and make others amicable. Strengthen meaningful relationships and avoid confrontations.

Welcome every dawn with a smile

These are just four resolutions that can keep you healthy throughout this year. Health is the greatest wealth. Your future is in your own hands. Resolve to make it happier with these four healthy resolutions. Let 2012 proceed with a smile.

If you haven’t made your New Year resolutions yet, it is almost too late! We always had to have ours done and written down before the end of January. You might be able to squeeze them in before midnight, like with just a few seconds to go. If you don’t get them in then and if you try to follow up on them they won’t work.  No matter what  you said  or promised  the powers that  be, it just  won’t  work.

So what does that mean? That means that you have to be on time with ever thing, for the entire year of 2012. Can you do it? You better start practicing now.

This may mean that you have to get up, maybe just ten minutes sooner, or perhaps be faster in the shower. Some people stay in the shower long enough to start growing roots. I lived in a travel trailer for several years and it had a small shower, a small water heater and it seemed like an even smaller holding tank. I could do a complete soap down, rinse and dry off in not more than ten minutes. If  I wanted to be  really  luxurious I would  park at  someone’s  house and  beg  a fully fledged shower  from them.

When you are trying to be on time to somewhere or to an event is not time to dilly dallying around.  You get in and get out as FAST AS POSSIBLE.

THE NEXT  THING IS NO MORE PROCRASTINATION, you  will have  to do  what  you say  you will do  when you say you will do it, no if  ands  or  buts  about it, you have  to straighten out. But it’s a good  place to start getting  ready for making  next year’s  resolutions  so  you can be  on time and  have  them ready  before  the  31st  of  January.

So you see  there are  certain penalties  for  not  doing  your  resolutions  on time, so you  have  to be alert at all times  to be sure  nothing  goes  wrong. There you have two basic resolutions to start with, always be on time and don’t procrastinate.

Have a nice year in 2012!

Image by joka2000 via Flickr

                Simply stated, don’t make one! If one is not made it cannot be broken.

That is not to say as the New Year rolls in that you should for go any desire to better oneself, what I am saying is not to narrow it down, such as quitting smoking, losing weight; instead focus on the whole you.

Aim to make yourself the best you could ever be, and when something comes along and you stumble, or even fall; just pick yourself up, and move on.

                Always remember life is too short to work about things that really don’t matter. Learn to be happy and take one day at a time. It is then that you will truly find happiness, and quit making resolutions year after year.

                Here is wishing you all a happy, healthy and fulfilling New Year!!

Lose Weight

     Need I say more? America’s favorite resolution because close to 1/3rd of all Americans are classified as obese. Obesity depends on your body mass index (BMI). This value is calculated based on your height and weight. A BMI of 25.4 and above is considered obese. The key thing about losing weight is to realize that good nutrition along with exersise helps reduce your BMI. You can’t just exercise and eat junk food all day long and expect to lose weight. Similarly, just eating less without any exercise will also not help.

Stop Smoking

     This resolution is farily self explanitory. But, it is incredibly hard to follow throught. This is because not only does smoking relieve some stress, but it also affects a person psychologically. Pure “will” to quit smoking doesn’t work because there are plenty of environmental stimuli that trigger your mind into craving a cigarette. Therefore, changing psychological associations with environment, with reduced nicotine chewing gums or nicotine patches helps reduce smoking. The key is to reduce smoking overtime, not just quit once and for all. You may face tremendous relapse.

Enjoy Life One Moment at A Time

     Whatever that means… There are guru’s who argue that we don’t live enough “in the moment.” In today’s world of efficiency, everyone seems to spend all their time planning for the future, and not really take the time to enjoy their current accomplishments or reflect on the past. A way to accomplish this resolution is to write down all your accomplishments and post them up on your wall. Also starting a journal (personal diary) or a blog where you occasionally write your thoughts and accomplishements will help you live in the “moment” more.

Help others more

     As Ali G. may say “Respect!” This resolution takes many forms such as helping kids in Africa by symbolically adopting a child or an animal. The symbolic adoption takes the form of having a pen-pal in a developing country. Adopting an animal involves donating money to an organization that helps protect endangered species such as Polar Bears. In order to help others more, one should consider not just donating money but also one’s time. Frankly, being directly involved in a cause that you feel passionate about is more rewarding than just donating money.

Reduce Stress

     May I suggest Yoga or Pilates? Kicking the habit of drinking coffee and reducing time spent in front of a screen (TV or Computer) also helps. Some people reduce their stress by joining a social club or taking a relaxing vacation. Others may adopt a dog and taking it for walks helps too. The key is to try a combination of activities and vacation.

Become Smarter

     Read, read, and read some more! Joining your local book club may help. Also, there are several excellent sources to continue your education. Local community colleges provide inexpensive classes that help you develop a hobby or a trade skill. Additionally, online lectures offered by top-ranked colleges, such as MIT, Yale, and Harvard, offering courses in subjects variying from Literature to all types of Sciences will help you in the endeavor to enrich your mind.

Stop Procrastinating

     Procrastination is more a perception than a reality. Often times we over comit ourselves and our mind is in a constant struggle to try to relax versus get things accomplished, neither of which occur. But there is certainly no need to get a psychologist to analyze you or go to therapy. Just realize that in your free time you will only be accomplish a few key goals. And yes, relxation should also be a goal. So, try to reduce your expectations in terms of goals. But, not so low that you don’t get anything accomplished.

Learn Chinese (or some other language)

Nice. This goes well along with becoming smarter. Learning a new language is surprisingly easy in today’s world of technology. There are several websites that offer free drills and exercises. But it is exceptionally difficult to master another language to the level of somone who is native to that language. The goal should be to reach a level of proficiency that allows you to think in “terms” of the language. This occurs when you don’t look to translating every word in your own language, but you start thinking in your newly acquired language.

Save Money

Wise Decision especially in this economy. Try to look for services you no longer need, or alternative for those services that you can obtain for less money. Utilities such as telephones are key money savers. For example, on your cell phone you may have purchased a data plan that you rarely use to it’s full capacity (the unlimited plan)! Similarly, you may have subscriptions to services such as home alarm systems that you don’t really need. The lesson is simple, try to figure out what you absolutely need, and what you really don’t need. Moreover, if you realize that you made a mistake in cancelling a service that you really needed, then you can always sign up for it again.

Keep Things Simple

See “Save Money”. Also, you may resolve to this if you are coming from a long and complicated relationship that ended badly. Other reasons to want to keep things simple is if you are unable to keep track of all your responsibilites at work, or manage your finances, or are not able to handle all your commitments. In order to keep things simple for yourself, you simply have to balance your expectations, strengths, and weaknesses. Start with a list of all your strengths and weaknesses. You shouldn’t really have any trouble managing your strengths. But in improving your weaknesses, make sure your expectations are realistic. For example, if time management is a weakness, don’t expect formulating a tight plan for tracking every hour of every day to work in terms of time management. However, having daily goals for accomplishing tasks, and setting reasonable deadlines for completing projects, assignments, or goals, is a more realistic way to manage time.

Find Unconditional Love

Isn’t that a condition? As humans, we will always have flaws, but don’t give up hope in looking for true love. Gone are the days when you only had access to a few people for relationships. With the advent of the internet and internet dating sites, your range has greatly expanded in finding your perfect. To many, the internet doesn’t seem like the perfect match-maker, however, think of these sites as a place to see what’s out there. In other words, it’s there for browsing. You don’t have to comit to anything.

Not Make a New Years Resolution

My Favorite! A lot of times things are going very well. There are time when we need detailed plans of actions, but for the most part things are farily good. Therefore, you can continue doing what you are doing for the next year and allow yourself to wait until you really need to change things. In fact, you may want to consider making a mid-year resolution, or a quarterly resolution. An entire year to accomplish something has no “teeth” to it. You need to be consistent in re-evaluating your goals, and making the judgement as to whether you are on track. Therefore, a new-year resolution couple with a mid-year resolution is better!

Well, it’s time to say goodbye to another year, and welcome to another year. Every year millions of people go through the ritual of making mental lists, or writing lists, about what in their life they want to see changed, and change it themselves. They call it resolutions, but actually it should be just called a resolution. Why? Well, because subconsciously one gets the idea that they resolve not to change. It’s a futile attempt to change one’s makeup.

The world has gone nuts over this obsession of making New Year’s resolutions. They resolve to lose weight, be a nicer person, be more compassionate, drop bad habits, and the list goes on, and on, and on,until they forget what was on the list. They may go a day, a month, maybe a year before they realize that the resolutions are useless for this year, they’ll put it off for the next year. They cite reasons of being too busy as the most common culprit for not keeping the resolutions. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but if people want more time to relax, why don’t they turn resolutions into an occupation?   Keeping becomes way too work.

People are really strange. You don’t see animals making resolutions, like, vowing not to chase the neighbor’s cat, or bringing cheese to a resident mouse. People are the only species on this green earth that put themselves through all this agony. Except me, of course. I resolve not to make any resolutions and critically watch others to see if they succeed. Wait a minute, I just made a New Years resolution. Well it must be official, it’s impossible to keep resolutions, and impossible to keep from making them.

But we do expect the new year to bring changes, like, peace on earth. The world has never changed it’s position on life since it’s creation. And it never will, until it is time. You see, man is a free spirit, and if he resolves to change the world, he may accomplish very little, if any. God has a whole plan set up for this life, and if we resolve to go in a different direction, then He will step in and change it Himself. Every new year brings us closer to that main event we call Jesus’ Return, and it is that event that will make all resolutions a mute point. God’s resolution is what really counts in this life, and it will be the only resolution to succeed. We can sing Aulde Lang Syne until the cows come home, but when we make THE resolution that would change our lives, then it goes from a resolution to a gradual change. Once we make up our minds to put God first in our lives and put away our sinful nature, then our New Year’s resolution may stick. You will be happy, God will be happy.

In almost every church in this area, people will be praying, some may hold candlelight services, hoping to bring in year of peace, healing, praying for lost souls, hoping for God’s return to earth. We have seen what happens when people predict the end of the world; what will happen when we resolve to let God says it’s time to end things as we know it? I wish everyone a happy and blessed new year, not only filled with peace and prosperity outwardly, but peace and prosperity in your heart. May 2012 bring new beginnings for all of us.

• Be kinder to your parents, children, brothers, sisters, wife, husband, family, friends or coworkers
• Work harder, try getting a raise or work less and spend more time with my family
• Try and exercise more and eat healthier, lose weight/ gain weight , stop smoking, stop drinking
• Learn something new –  a language, a craft, how to cook, how to fix my own car, …………….
• ……………………………………………………………………………………..
• ……………………………………………………………………………………..

Many believe that resolutions are meant to be broken, so why not dream big, climb Mount Everest, be the first person on Mars, go to the North Pole / South Pole just huge en-devours.  These types of resolutions fade quickly because all require lots of exercise, training and are very difficult to achieve.  The inspiration is that one person who will be able to do it, that one amateur who is able to achieve that goal.  So it compensates to dream big.
So HAPPY NEW YEAR and never forget to dream big.

• Resolution #1: Spend more time at the barn riding my horse to get him in better shape to sell
  • Manage time more wisely outside of school; plan week out with certain days/times allotted for barn time
• Resolution #2: Do a better job saving money and using it wisely
  • Use the envelope system with paychecks; spend a lot less time shopping and online
• Resolution #3: Make life less about myself and more about others
  • Spend less time worrying about myself and show more compassion towards others; do more to support the community and reach out to those who aren’t as fortunate as I am
• Resolution #4: Be bolder and braver and not so bashful!
  • Be the first to talk to people I am meeting, don’t make them come to me; ask a friend to prom; stop worrying about my image or embarrassing myself and just get over it; meet as many new people as I can!

What are some resolutions people make, you ask? Well, according to About.com Pittsburgh, these are the “Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions.” Many of the contenders on this list do not surprise me in the least. However, on this list one of my favorites, and number five on About.com’s list is to enjoy life more. With all the things people have on their to-do lists these days it is hard to find time to do things we enjoy.

One thing I enjoy is dancing. Because it is challenging to find places to go dancing where I live, I joined a local dance group in town that has lessons most of the year and a dance team that performs all over town on a regular basis. Although this activity is scheduled like an appointment, I know that at least twice a week for two hours I can do something fun and be with some fantastic friends who I wouldn’t have gotten to know otherwise.

Not only is dancing enjoyable, but it’s good exercise as well. This meets About.com’s number 2 resolution on the list “Fit in Fitness.” Being an avid multitasker, I like to “kill two birds with one stone” as the saying goes. Getting exersice also helps a person lose weight which happens to be third on the list. 

So, what is my point? My point to this “ramble” is that it is possible to make multiple new year’s resolutions and find various ways to keep them this year. So, if you want to “make new friends and lose weight,” join an exercise class and get to know your classmates. Who knows? You could find several great new friends to do things with!

The Chorus went something like this;

“Let faith arise

I lift my hands to believe again

You are my refuge

You are my strength

As I pour out my heart

These things I remember

You are faithful God.

Forever”

I need hope to rise again in my heart. 

For the Christmas just ended. 

And for the coming year, 2012.

My first Christmas in the US

It was a different Dec 25th this year. Away from family and friends, the norm – from weather, food to folk. 

I received my gift from God though (you can claim yours too). 

There was no snow! 

Sorry to all the folk who wanted a white Christmas! Personally, I just wanted weather that was as close to what am used to as possible. 

The temperatures were super cold but I got my sunshine! 

We attended a Christmas day service. 

Sort of. 

We did not leave the parking lot but stayed in the car. 

Through the service. 

Talking to family and friends in Kenya. 

With an eight hour time difference, we hadn’t thought-through just how long it would take.

Drove back home. 

Had chocolate and non-alcoholic wine for lunch. 

Napped in the afternoon.

Turkey dinner at a sister’s wrapped up the day. (Yes, I did say turkey..it’s not thanksgiving. But chicken – or anything remotely resembling a chicken – is a great feature in any Kenyan holiday meal)

Zero fanciness this Christmas. 

I have lived long enough to know that the ripples of a life in transition go  deeper than I’d like to admit sometimes. I may not see or accept or recognize the symptoms of transition either.

Like being cranky. 

Moody.

Right now, I just know that I miss home, my friends, life. Christmas has just made it real..am not home anymore.

New beginnings are just so un-frilly!.

2012

Yeah, I am also wound-up about the coming year.

Just so you know, I have never liked planning things to the detail. 

Especially when it concerns setting goals for a new year. 

I am a happy choleric/sanguine mix that loves to discover, create, invent life along the way. Planning for it kinda just kills all the fun. Not to mention it’s a whole lotta work. And it ties me down to do what I said I would do. (Now where’s the fun in order!)

Nonetheless, a long while back, I realized that figuring out where one wants to go before starting out is just smart. Period.

I needed a cure for my “planning” aversion (and I know am not alone in trying to escape planing life), a way of making it easy. 

Or at least possible. 

Keep it simple. 

And short. 

Was my grand discovery.

Nothing earth shattering of course. 

But it tends to work great.

I already know that the harder a goal sounds or looks like on paper/screen, the harder it will be to accomplish. 

In other words, if it’s sounds impossible, not within my reach on paper (and too much detail has a way of doing that), the will to do fizzles. I end up being repulsed by a task I haven’t even began. 

The year affords me the opportunity to change and flesh out things, drop items from the list, change the approach e.t.c. So why kill the thing before it begins to fly?

Planning for 2012

Most of my 2011 goals were just roll-overs from 2010. Things that I did not accomplish in 2010 but remained high on the achievement list nonetheless.

So this year I am doing the same. If it was not accomplished in 2011 and it’s still important, it forms part of my 2012 goals.

This is how I will do it;

Write a simple outline, a sentence or two. 

No more than five or six goals – less is better. Other sub-goals can develop from there, but I will keep the main thing short, crisp and precise. 

I don’t know how you set your goals for a new year (or if you do at all). 

If you don’t, I encourage you to begin this year. (If I can, so can you!)

If you already set goals for a new year but always find it a struggle, you can remember this this year; 

It doesn’t have to be a long, fancy, gooey 5-page document.

Just a simple idea of where you want to be next year a time like this..specific things you’d like to have done/accomplished. 

Try and keep it short. Don’t attempt to accomplish three year-worth of work in one year. 

Let it stretch you a little bit but don’t make so lofty that it scares you more than it motivates. 

You can flesh it out further (time-frames and specific details e.t.c) but do not let the details stop you from getting the first three things done 

You don’t have to get everything all thought out by Dec 31st 2011! You just cannot hurry the thinking process. If you do, you end up with something you do not like! I have drifted into February on more than one occasion.

From experience, the first three can get you pretty far!

Ah yes, forgot to mention that this is a written-down kind of thing. 

You need to glance (actualy more like look, study, adjust, mull over) things down the year, otherwise you won’t remember a thing by March. 

Do you begin the year by writing new year goals? How do you go about it?

We always start the new year with resolutions…”I’m going to exercise more.”  “I will be nicer to my coworkers.”  “I will lose weight.”

Lose weight…that is one resolution I always make.  As I was considering the new year, I considered how I could lose weight, and this is what the Lord dropped in my heart.

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

I can lay aside every weight!  Will that make me slimmer?  Will I fit into the smaller size hanging in my closet?  I don’t think so.  But what does this mean?

Laying aside every weight means I can let go of those things in my heart and mind that bog me down and slow me down—things like unforgiveness, bitterness, worry, jealousy, laziness, and selfishness.  Freeing myself from these things leaves me with more energy for helping others in service to my fellow man.  Laying them down means I have more space in my brain to consider worthwhile things.  Getting rid of them means I have more time to be the hands and feet of Christ in my little world.  I can quit blaming all the circumstances that hurt me and held me back, and realize that God used these circumstances to mold and shape me into what I am today.

In other words, laying aside every weight and sin means I will be able to run the race that the author of Hebrews spoke of, with more endurance and passion for the work God has placed in my hands.  What kind of race are we to run?  This lifelong race is not a sprint, because we would quickly burn out.  It is a marathon, where steady wins the race, a race full of hurdles and detours, but when we cross the finish line it will all be worth it.

At that finish line will be others cheering us on, some we knew and loved, some strangers to us, who also ran that race and won.  And don’t we all like to be winners?

So as you run, remember…trust in God and press ahead.