I briefly scanned an article listed in Yahoo News this morning that stated that psychological studies have determined that talking too much about a problem or problems causes anxiety. To me, this study falls under the category of "Duh! Ya think?"
This is one of the life lessons that I learned a long time ago. If you obsess on something bad, it was going to cause stress and anxiety.
One of the problems that I see, and from my reading it is a problem that is rampant in the United States, many people do not know how to relax. It is time for my disclaimer here. I am one of the worst at allowing myself to to obsess on problems. How am I going to be able to pay all of the bills and still have gas money for work? Inventory is happening in two weeks and we do not have the people or technology in place to do it correctly. And I could go on. Problem after problem.
I actually felt myself tensing as I typed out the previous paragraph. I had to take a brief moment to take some deep breaths, relax my shoulders, and let my mind clear.
And that is the point of this blog. We all need to find how we can relax, even if it is for just a few moments. My reading and research has shown me one of the quickest method of relaxing is deep breathing. One of the best advocates of the importance of deep breathing is Matt Furhey. Matt has many web sites. A good place to start is mattfurhey.com. Looks around and you will find links to many of his other pages. I am on his emailing list and I look forward to his emails everyday.
I find that for myself, taking long full, deep breaths get me on the fast track away from tension. I breath in through my nose, taking in as much air as my lungs can take, holding for about 3 seconds. I then exhale all the air until there is no air left. I also hold that for about 3 seconds and then relax as the air comes rushing back into my body.
I repeat this several times, depending on how much stress I am banishing. I also focus on me. I focus on my breathing, trying to clear as much out of my mind while only paying attention to the flow of air in and out of my body.
Most of the time, deep breathing does the trick and allows me to get back to going about my business without anxiety and stress weighing me down. On the rare occasion that this does not complete the task, I do something physical to kind of loosen the muscles that are wanting to hold on to the tension. If I am able, I go for a long walk. I focus only my walking and things immediately around me. The pace of my steps. Sounds of birds or crickets or frogs. Plants or trees. I do my best to focus on the very here and now, nothing outside of the moment that I am in.
If I am somewhere I can't go for a walk, I will try to clear my mind while relaxing my muscles. I will try to shake out my arms, imagining that they are like 2 ropes connected to me at the shoulders and I shake while the muscles are totally disengaged. I will also do what I have heard called the "washing machine." I rotate my upper body back and forth, letting the arms swing free but trying to keep the lower body still as possible. Sometimes I shake my legs as if I am trying to get rid of something off my shoe. I do this one leg at a time and repeat several times or until I start to get funny looks.
These are some things that I do to help me to not focus on problems. They let me clear my mind. I feel better and function better when I am not a half a step from an anxiety attack. I encourage anyone who reads this to try to find ways to help you relax. Think of ways to take brief mental vacations. Life is too short to go through it full of tension and anxiety. Does this mean we need to ignore problems? No. At the same time, we can't let the pressures of our world dominate our lives.
The best thing that I have found about my mental vacations? Often, they start me down the right path to discovering the solution. And that is the best way to get rid of anxiety, solve the problem.
Keep Smiling!!
Don't forget to check out the best herbal and alternative supplements I have found. Click the link! Click_Here
(c) Copyright 2007 Eddy Seegers
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
If You Can't Lose, You Can't Win
I have a habit of falling asleep with the television on. I have a sleep setting on my remote which will cause the television to automatically turn off after a set period of time but sometimes I fall asleep so fast, I don't even have time to set it. Then I awaken in the middle of the night with an infomercial blaring. Now don't get me wrong here. I have absolutely nothing against infomercials themselves, but as with all things, I think we need to take the claims with a grain of salt.
The other night I awoke after falling asleep with the television on. As usual, there was an infomercial on and I really did not pay that much attention to it. I just found the remote to turn the tv off. As I was in the process of finding the remote and hitting the off button, I heard the host say, "With this offer, you can't lose." As for this specific offer, it may be was true but many life lessons have taught me that is usually not the case. However, it was at this moment that my subconscious mind took over as I fell back asleep in a matter of seconds.
Throughout the rest of the night it seemed like my mind kept repeating, "If you can't lose, you can't win." Over and over.
I heard a voice in my head all day the following day practically repeating, "If you can't lose, you can't win!" I continue to hear this repeated even to the end of the day.
I has been a week and this phrase continues to scream out to me because in most things we do, there is a chance to lose. I think back to my days in school. I was a good student and many times I was very confident going into a test. A seemingly "can't lose" situation. I knew the material, I did not panic at test time, and a good memory that often helped me in situations that the teacher had covered but I had not studied in detail. But there were times when I read a question wrong or got in too much of a hurry that I missed more than I should have on an exam.
When we start to grow up we apply for a job. If there wasn't the possibility of not getting the job (losing) there would be no need for the application process. We would just show up at a company where we want to work and say I want a job doing this, that, or the other, and we would be hired.
And of course, where many of my life lessons come from, there is the field of athletic competition. It may have been an advertising slogan or just a t-shirt slogan from a few years back, but a popular phrase was, "You can't win if you don't play." The continuation of that truism is that if you play, there is a chance you are going to lose. Probably the most basic examples of this comes from my favorite sport of baseball. On any given play, either the pitcher is going to lose or the batter is going to lose. The batter steps up to the plate and he is either going to find a way to get on base or he is going to make an out. The pitcher toes the rubber and pitches to the batter, knowing he is either going to get the batter out or the batter will get on base. Every single at bat results in one of the two players losing to the other.
But if a pitcher never takes the mound, he can never strike anyone out. If a batter never goes to bat, he will never get a hit. If a baserunner never takes a chance of getting thrown out, he will never steal a base.
It is the same thing in life. If you have ever dreamed of opening your own business, but have never done anything toward this goal, you will never know if you could have become a successful entreprenuer. If you have ever dreamed of writing the great American novel, but never put a pen to paper or tapped out a thought on the computer, you will never know if you could have been a successful writer. There are so many things that can be looked at here but I think you can understand the point I am trying to make.
Yes, there is a chance that if you try to open a business it will not succeed, but if you never tried, how will you ever know. Sure if you write a book, publishers might reject it and no one will ever read it, but again, how will you ever know? Of course, if you don't try, you never have to worry about fear or rejection. If you can't lose, you can't win.
At the end here, I am putting in of my all time favorite quotes. It comes from Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. Pay special attention to the last few lines. I have drawn strength from this at times when my fear of losing kept me from getting into the game.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ~Theodore Roosevelt
Keep Smiling!!
Looking to find some support for your body's systems? Products from 4 Life Research are designed just for that purpose. Click the link to find out more. Be sure to read the Transfer Factor Story. Click_Here
(c) Copyright 2007 Eddy Seegers
The other night I awoke after falling asleep with the television on. As usual, there was an infomercial on and I really did not pay that much attention to it. I just found the remote to turn the tv off. As I was in the process of finding the remote and hitting the off button, I heard the host say, "With this offer, you can't lose." As for this specific offer, it may be was true but many life lessons have taught me that is usually not the case. However, it was at this moment that my subconscious mind took over as I fell back asleep in a matter of seconds.
Throughout the rest of the night it seemed like my mind kept repeating, "If you can't lose, you can't win." Over and over.
I heard a voice in my head all day the following day practically repeating, "If you can't lose, you can't win!" I continue to hear this repeated even to the end of the day.
I has been a week and this phrase continues to scream out to me because in most things we do, there is a chance to lose. I think back to my days in school. I was a good student and many times I was very confident going into a test. A seemingly "can't lose" situation. I knew the material, I did not panic at test time, and a good memory that often helped me in situations that the teacher had covered but I had not studied in detail. But there were times when I read a question wrong or got in too much of a hurry that I missed more than I should have on an exam.
When we start to grow up we apply for a job. If there wasn't the possibility of not getting the job (losing) there would be no need for the application process. We would just show up at a company where we want to work and say I want a job doing this, that, or the other, and we would be hired.
And of course, where many of my life lessons come from, there is the field of athletic competition. It may have been an advertising slogan or just a t-shirt slogan from a few years back, but a popular phrase was, "You can't win if you don't play." The continuation of that truism is that if you play, there is a chance you are going to lose. Probably the most basic examples of this comes from my favorite sport of baseball. On any given play, either the pitcher is going to lose or the batter is going to lose. The batter steps up to the plate and he is either going to find a way to get on base or he is going to make an out. The pitcher toes the rubber and pitches to the batter, knowing he is either going to get the batter out or the batter will get on base. Every single at bat results in one of the two players losing to the other.
But if a pitcher never takes the mound, he can never strike anyone out. If a batter never goes to bat, he will never get a hit. If a baserunner never takes a chance of getting thrown out, he will never steal a base.
It is the same thing in life. If you have ever dreamed of opening your own business, but have never done anything toward this goal, you will never know if you could have become a successful entreprenuer. If you have ever dreamed of writing the great American novel, but never put a pen to paper or tapped out a thought on the computer, you will never know if you could have been a successful writer. There are so many things that can be looked at here but I think you can understand the point I am trying to make.
Yes, there is a chance that if you try to open a business it will not succeed, but if you never tried, how will you ever know. Sure if you write a book, publishers might reject it and no one will ever read it, but again, how will you ever know? Of course, if you don't try, you never have to worry about fear or rejection. If you can't lose, you can't win.
At the end here, I am putting in of my all time favorite quotes. It comes from Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. Pay special attention to the last few lines. I have drawn strength from this at times when my fear of losing kept me from getting into the game.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ~Theodore Roosevelt
Keep Smiling!!
Looking to find some support for your body's systems? Products from 4 Life Research are designed just for that purpose. Click the link to find out more. Be sure to read the Transfer Factor Story. Click_Here
(c) Copyright 2007 Eddy Seegers
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Life Lesson: Always Back Up the Play
Playing for Mr. Warren and Mr. Donnelly's Baytown East Little League Minor Gators taught me lots of life lessons. One of the important lessons I learned about playing baseball was to always back up the play. It can make a great difference in the success or failure of a play. Or at the least keep a bad play from getting worse.
One of the first things I learned in computer school, always back up your work.
Sometimes life lessons are learned the hard way. Part of the down time that I have experienced in my blogging was due to computers that were operating with one foot (or cable) in the grave. I was writing and saving my work. I was just saving my work on the machine I happened to be working on. I kept saying I need to put this info on a disk so I have a portable copy but I never followed through. I didn't back up the work. MANY ideas and full articles were lost. Many topic ideas are gone. Worst of all, almost all of the work I had done on my book is now gone. The only thing I have left are the hand written notes that I jotted down when an idea popped into my mind. Pieces of note paper. Scraps off the back of an envelope or on the back of a grocery store receipt. All because I did not back up the play. Or more exactly, my work.
This lesson leads me to another life lesson I want to mention briefly. We all need to back up our lives. When I was in an actual sales position (I believe we are all in sales in some way) or when listening to success coaches speak, there is a statement that has been cliche but it holds so much truth. Paraphrasing the many different versions I have heard, "Nobody plans to fail, but many fail to plan." What would happen if you were injured in a car accident? Could you continue to pay the mortgage or the rent? Could you pay the bills? What if your company gives you the choice of moving cross country or losing your job? You could play "What if.." for days and not cover all of the possibilities.
Think about your life and your position. What are your goals? Is there a back up plan if things change on your way to the goal? I completed a Bachelor's degree a couple of years ago. A degree that I will likely never use directly but the fact that I have a degree has already been beneficial. And if things in my life change sometime in the future, I have that degree to fall back on.
Now I have to go start working on my book again. Back up your work. Back up other people around you. Back up your life as much as you can.
Keep Smiling!
I love what has happened to my health and the way I feel since I have started taking supplements to help overcome some of my bad eating habits. Maybe it is something you want to look into also. Click the link. Read "The Transfer Factor Story." Click_Here
(c) Copyright 2007 Eddy Seegers
One of the first things I learned in computer school, always back up your work.
Sometimes life lessons are learned the hard way. Part of the down time that I have experienced in my blogging was due to computers that were operating with one foot (or cable) in the grave. I was writing and saving my work. I was just saving my work on the machine I happened to be working on. I kept saying I need to put this info on a disk so I have a portable copy but I never followed through. I didn't back up the work. MANY ideas and full articles were lost. Many topic ideas are gone. Worst of all, almost all of the work I had done on my book is now gone. The only thing I have left are the hand written notes that I jotted down when an idea popped into my mind. Pieces of note paper. Scraps off the back of an envelope or on the back of a grocery store receipt. All because I did not back up the play. Or more exactly, my work.
This lesson leads me to another life lesson I want to mention briefly. We all need to back up our lives. When I was in an actual sales position (I believe we are all in sales in some way) or when listening to success coaches speak, there is a statement that has been cliche but it holds so much truth. Paraphrasing the many different versions I have heard, "Nobody plans to fail, but many fail to plan." What would happen if you were injured in a car accident? Could you continue to pay the mortgage or the rent? Could you pay the bills? What if your company gives you the choice of moving cross country or losing your job? You could play "What if.." for days and not cover all of the possibilities.
Think about your life and your position. What are your goals? Is there a back up plan if things change on your way to the goal? I completed a Bachelor's degree a couple of years ago. A degree that I will likely never use directly but the fact that I have a degree has already been beneficial. And if things in my life change sometime in the future, I have that degree to fall back on.
Now I have to go start working on my book again. Back up your work. Back up other people around you. Back up your life as much as you can.
Keep Smiling!
I love what has happened to my health and the way I feel since I have started taking supplements to help overcome some of my bad eating habits. Maybe it is something you want to look into also. Click the link. Read "The Transfer Factor Story." Click_Here
(c) Copyright 2007 Eddy Seegers
Thursday, July 5, 2007
The 5th of July
For the most part, the barbeque has been eaten, the beer been ingested, and fireworks exploded. One of the common annual events is politicians and political candidates visiting parades, fireworks shows, or just being seen somewhere while they pontificate on the meaning of the 4th of July. It is now July 5th. My first reaction is just how long is it going to take for the self-loathing, hate-America first crowd to start to bad mouth this wonderful country of ours?
While I have never had the opportunity to ask this question of the more public of these folks, but in my many encounters with the rank and file of the "this country is so bad" crowd, none has ever even attempted to answer. The question is, "If the United States is so terrible, where else?" Where else do you have the freedoms that you have here? Where else are people able to make a difference? Where else can people so diverse as religion-hating atheists to radical Muslims to devout pacifistic Quakers all live in the same country without true persecution and able to preach their message to any and all that will listen? Where else can an individual crusade against a perceived wrong and not be thrown into prison or face torture or ridicule or lose his way of life? Where else is a nation so rich in natural resources and industry and opportunity? Where else is capitalism so strong that anyone, including the most oppressed person or group, can succeed and achieve great and wonderful things? Where else?
In answer to my own question, 2 counties come to mind, England and Australia. Now, to debunk my own answer...
I have an online friend that lived in England for several years. She wants to go back again soon and I do not know if it would be on a permanent basis or not. Base on things she has told me, I would love to go visit and spend some time there. Being a history enthusiast, a trip around the country visiting castles and historical sites would put me in geek heaven. However, I am not sure I could live there. I have heard, and I emphasize that I heard and don't know first hand, that their tax system is very oppressive. I also read and hear daily how quickly they forget the lessons of resent history and seem to have an appeasers mentality, especially when dealing with Islamofascist Muslim terrorists. Finally, to help keep this short, socialistic healthcare is something I want to avoid like a skin eating bacteria.
Next is Australia. This is a country where I think I could live if I had to choose somewhere outside of the U.S. of A. I love the "can do" attitude, the sense of rugged individualism, and the fact that they are willing to make a stand for what they believe is right. I wish we could bring John Howard, their Prime Minister, over here to run for President in 2008. Again, there is a however. Their country doesn't have the opportunity, potential, or resources that we enjoy here in America.
This all leads me to the question that I am going to start asking when the opportunity arises. If this country is so terrible, so racist, so oppressive, why are there 20 million ILLEGAL immigrants here? This doesn't include all of the people that took the time, effort, and money to get to this country legally. These 20 million people are so desperate to get here that they were willing to break the law to get in.
I love the 4th of July. I love all of the ways we are free to celebrate the 4th, with my personal favorite being the fireworks displays. (No comments allowed about how you were sure it would be the barbeques!) I love to read, hear, and study about our Founding Fathers and the formation of this country. I enjoyed the 4th this year though, not for any of the typical reasons. I enjoyed the 4th this year because for one day, the America bashers seemed to take a breath. Let's see how long it lasts.
Keep Smiling!
If you are interested in some of the best herbal and alternative health products you can buy, click on the link. If you want to truly change your health for the better, while you are there read 'The Transfer Factor Story.' click_here
While I have never had the opportunity to ask this question of the more public of these folks, but in my many encounters with the rank and file of the "this country is so bad" crowd, none has ever even attempted to answer. The question is, "If the United States is so terrible, where else?" Where else do you have the freedoms that you have here? Where else are people able to make a difference? Where else can people so diverse as religion-hating atheists to radical Muslims to devout pacifistic Quakers all live in the same country without true persecution and able to preach their message to any and all that will listen? Where else can an individual crusade against a perceived wrong and not be thrown into prison or face torture or ridicule or lose his way of life? Where else is a nation so rich in natural resources and industry and opportunity? Where else is capitalism so strong that anyone, including the most oppressed person or group, can succeed and achieve great and wonderful things? Where else?
In answer to my own question, 2 counties come to mind, England and Australia. Now, to debunk my own answer...
I have an online friend that lived in England for several years. She wants to go back again soon and I do not know if it would be on a permanent basis or not. Base on things she has told me, I would love to go visit and spend some time there. Being a history enthusiast, a trip around the country visiting castles and historical sites would put me in geek heaven. However, I am not sure I could live there. I have heard, and I emphasize that I heard and don't know first hand, that their tax system is very oppressive. I also read and hear daily how quickly they forget the lessons of resent history and seem to have an appeasers mentality, especially when dealing with Islamofascist Muslim terrorists. Finally, to help keep this short, socialistic healthcare is something I want to avoid like a skin eating bacteria.
Next is Australia. This is a country where I think I could live if I had to choose somewhere outside of the U.S. of A. I love the "can do" attitude, the sense of rugged individualism, and the fact that they are willing to make a stand for what they believe is right. I wish we could bring John Howard, their Prime Minister, over here to run for President in 2008. Again, there is a however. Their country doesn't have the opportunity, potential, or resources that we enjoy here in America.
This all leads me to the question that I am going to start asking when the opportunity arises. If this country is so terrible, so racist, so oppressive, why are there 20 million ILLEGAL immigrants here? This doesn't include all of the people that took the time, effort, and money to get to this country legally. These 20 million people are so desperate to get here that they were willing to break the law to get in.
I love the 4th of July. I love all of the ways we are free to celebrate the 4th, with my personal favorite being the fireworks displays. (No comments allowed about how you were sure it would be the barbeques!) I love to read, hear, and study about our Founding Fathers and the formation of this country. I enjoyed the 4th this year though, not for any of the typical reasons. I enjoyed the 4th this year because for one day, the America bashers seemed to take a breath. Let's see how long it lasts.
Keep Smiling!
If you are interested in some of the best herbal and alternative health products you can buy, click on the link. If you want to truly change your health for the better, while you are there read 'The Transfer Factor Story.' click_here
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