Martina McGowan MD – Page 18 – life lived by the Book

What happened to your fire and passion?

passion

Set your life on fire.

Seek those who fan your flames

Each person has their own personal and private definition of success. For some, it all just boils down to finding their passion. And once that is achieved, they already feel as though they have been successful with whatever ventures they have decided to undertake. But it is not that easy for everyone.

Has your fire been quenched?

When you are young, you think that anything is possible. As you dare to try more and more things, you feel that you will achieve what you want eventually. As you continue to age gracefully, or not, you may find that you are feeling like you are stuck at a point where have nowhere else to go. The flames of your youthful passion have been doused so many times with cold water that you can scarcely remember what they were. You have begun to feel that your dreams have folded up like an old circus tent, and that all that is left is to sleepwalk your way to the end. I call BS!!!!

You must clear your mind of all of that negativity that clouds your thinking processes. Maybe throw a little cold water on your face instead of your dreams and wake up! You will need to take bigger risks, claim more of what you think you deserve, re-ignite your fire, and live your life to the fullest.

No matter how difficult the path ahead may seem in order for you to get closer to your passion, you must always be prepared to take the necessary steps toward it. Here are some things that you can do to help you along the journey.

1. Self-examination. You must engage in a process of self-assessment. You have to think about things and begin to see them in the clear light of day. What have you already gone through to successfully reach this point in your life? Where are you right now? What else do you want to happen? How do you see yourself two to three years from now? If that feels too tight, how do you perceive yourself in five to ten years?

Once you can clearly see the person that you want to be after the ensuing years, you must look into developing the steps that you need to take to make sure that it will happen for you. You must review the steps that you have already taken, examine the ones that you are making now, and adjust accordingly to reach your goals.

When your passion and your purpose are in tune, you will feel it inside you. It will resonate. It will make you want to accomplish something so strongly that you will be willing to do just about anything to get there. This will be a time when you suddenly feel you have little or no more time for distractions that will not help you become who you eventually want to be. One sure sign that you are at this point in your life is when you begin to devour articles and books and videos that can help you better understand and become more aware of your goals and what it will take to get you there.

2. Clarity. Your goals must be crystal clear to you. You know exactly what you want to happen. You know the steps it will take to there. Verbalize your thoughts. Is that what you really want to achieve? Your words should match exactly how you feel. If it sounds hollow when you speak it aloud, start again.

3. Loosen up. Never be too hard on yourself. You are after all, human. You should keep your goals simple and straightforward. And you must set each step so that it can be a building block for the next step, and the next step… In this way, whatever you choose to undertake will be accomplished more easily. This will also help ensure that you will not be easily dissuaded or give up when you are presented with unexpected situations, adversities, temporary stalls or detours.

Once you have decided that you will perform the necessary to reach the goals, get on with it. Do not stop. And, after you have taken the steps in finding your passion, you must cherish each of your actions. This is something that you must do in order to be a happier, more fulfilled, and truly successful person, by your own definitions.

What passion have you left on the back burner? Isn’t it time?

Addendum- Awesome quote passed on by my friend, Ilka Flood:

“Don’t wait for a light to appear at the end of the tunnel, stride down there and light the bloody thing yourself.”

Author Unknown

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How is Your Leadership Vision?

vision

We are limited, not by our abilities,

but by our vision.

Unknown

One of the things that sets great leaders apart from the rest is that they have a vision of what they and their followers can achieve. It is the power, depth, and breadth of their vision. Vision is often spoken about, but is sometimes a difficult concept to explain. It is more than a goal or a purpose. Goals state what you aim to achieve. Visions paint a broader picture describing your most cherished dreams, hopes and possibilities.

What is vision?

1. Seeing the possibilities.

Having vision is the ability to see possibilities where others cannot is one of the hallmarks of great leadership. Where most of us might see just a consignment of goods, leaders may see an exciting product that can change someone’s life. Where most of us might see an office with space for desks and filing cabinets, leaders may see a place where teams can do groundbreaking work together. Where most of us might see a loose conglomeration of people with names and titles, leaders see potential organizational champions.

2. Clarity.

Writer Warren Bennis was fascinated by the ability of leaders to see what the rest of us cannot, so he carried out a study of 90 top leaders in the United States. What Bennis discovered was that, despite the differences in their backgrounds, disciplines, and circumstances, all of these people still had one thing in common- a clear and compelling vision of what they wanted to realize. To them, the vision wasn’t at some point in the far off or distant future. It was right there in front of their eyes.

3. Limitless.

Great leaders do not put limits on their vision. They go after the biggest dream they can imagine, even if it can only realized at some time in the future when they are no longer around. While most people see no more than two or three months ahead, outstanding leaders can see several years down the road. The Japanese industrialist Konosuke Matsushita even has a 250-year plan for his business.

4. Pulling others in.

Leaders do much more than have a vision of what is possible; they articulate it and draw other people into it. They do this through the use of metaphors, images, and by triggering the innate desire that everyone has to be part of something bigger than themselves.

5. Action!

Without action, visions are merely dreams, wishes and hopes. They are creations of your imagination, and nothing more. But with action and the ability to visualize the steps needed to get from where you are right now, to where we could be, dreams can become reality.

Everyone dreams, but few people remember their dreams, and fewer still act on them. But great leaders are different. They make a difference to the daily lives of the people they lead, and our collective lives. They do this by capturing their dreams (and sometimes the dreams of others), nurturing them with care, and in the fullness of time helping people bring them into the glorious light of day.

What is the dream that you want to pursue?

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Creating health and well-being

stress

I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems.

Nothing is worth your health.

Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear.

Steve Maraboli

Most of us know that eating well, and less, and exercising are important components of good health. Yet often we hear about people 100 years old and older that are still vital and have not eaten perfectly or exercised much. So, what is the secret of their good health? Research indicates that a major factor in maintaining good health, even more important than genes, food, or exercise, is how you handle stress.

Fight or Flight

The human body is equipped with a natural “fight or flight” mechanism that enables us to mobilize strength when necessary. This mechanism allows individuals the ability to fight or to flee from real and present danger. But, this mechanism is also activated every time you perceive there to be a danger, even when no actual life or death danger exists.

For example, it is appropriate for the fight or flight mechanism to gear up if you are being physically attacked. When your stress response is activated, blood moves away from your brain and organs and feeds into your arms and legs to help you fight or flee. Your immune system shuts down, giving you more energy to physically protect yourself and to ensure your survival in this moment. Once the danger has passed, and you have discharged your stress through fighting or running, your body goes back to normal, and the blood can once again flow to your brain and organs.

Imagined threats

But, what happens if your thoughts are creating the stress? What if you are imagining being attacked, or worrying about being rejected by a loved one, or losing all of your money, or losing your job? In these cases, there is no actual real, present or physical danger occurring right in this moment. Yet, your body does not know the difference between something that is really happening to you, and something that you are thinking about happening. The body mounts its stress response the moment you start thinking scary thoughts. But instead of actually being in a situation where you can decide to fight or flee, you are stuck with the anxiety caused by your own thoughts. The blood that has now moved to your extremities, arms and legs, has no straightforward way to be released. You cannot think very well because of the decreased oxygen-carrying blood going to your brain. Your organs are being robbed of their necessary nutrients, and your immune system is not functioning properly. Strenuous exercise may release the stress response, but if you keep thinking the scary thoughts, the response will just gear up again.

Reprogram your thinking

The single most important thing you can do for your health and wellbeing is to become conscious of the thoughts that you have that create stress and become more adept at changing your thinking patterns. People who have learned how to let challenging things roll off their back generally have good health. People who allow the challenges of life to constantly stress them out often have health problems, even when they work at eating well and getting exercise.

Our minds have been programmed from infancy with a multitude of untrue thoughts and false beliefs. It is when we think these untrue thoughts that we cause ourselves great anxiety and our bodies go into a stress response. But, underneath all of that, we know the difference between the truth and the lies. When you move away from the drama and untruths, and into your “knowing”, you will stop thinking the thoughts that cause frequent bouts of anxiety and instead operate from the truth of your knowing.

Thoughts that are untrue cause anxiety. The truth brings you peace. For instance, if you have a thought that you cannot survive being rejected or being alone, you will feel worried and anxious. However, while this might have been true as a child, it is not true as an adult. Your feelings of anxiety are letting you know that your thought is untrue. If you then think instead, “I can handle rejection. I have been rejected before, and I have not perished. I have been alone many times before, and I have survived that too,” your body will release the anxiety and you will feel more peaceful. Your peaceful feeling is telling you that what you are now thinking is the truth.

The very best thing you can do for your own health and wellbeing is to become aware of your thoughts that create anxiety, and practice thinking the truth and find greater inner peace.

Thoughts?

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The importance of active listening

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Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak;

courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Winston Churchill

The problem: Speaking too quickly, out of turn, off-topic

People often struggle to try to impress their bosses or manager at meetings. You want to offer keen insights into what is being discussed, but often become so focused on what you want to say, that you fail to listen to the conversation as it unfolds or progresses. You are concentrating far more of your attention on what you are going to say rather than internalizing what was being said by everyone else. When this happens, your contributions are not focused on the specific matter at hand, or they come across as shallow because you have not taken the time to analyze what has transpired in the interim. Putting your mouth into gear before engaging your brain the primary reason this happens. What can you do to ensure that you don’t suffer from or continue to suffer from this affliction?

First, let’s look at how this happens. Your thoughts are articulated, or spoken aloud, before they are completely formulated or completely hatched. This allows an opening or an opportunity for others to pick up on your idea, think them through logically and re-articulate them as their own, gaining a lot more brownie points than you will walk away with. This problem is extremely common. The solution is actually quite simple, but requires regular practice in order for it to become second nature to you.

The fix: Active listening

Listening, especially actively, is an incredibly powerful tool that people rarely use. You must first make a conscious decision to act differently at your future meetings. Resist the urge to speak up (too) early and (too) often. Remain quiet, listen carefully and contribute only when your opinion was asked for. This will take some planning and preparation on your part. Take the time to work your pre-planned strategies for listening, carefully order your thoughts and record your ideas. Offer your well thought out ideas after enough thought had taken place to ensure they were logical, ordered and worth listening to.

You will be amazed at the results when you can dial your over-enthusiastic tongue down a bit. You will feel more in control of yourself and the situation, and you will be ready with positive, well thought out contributions which will be accredited to you. This will also make meetings feel less stressful and frantic as the pressure to perform is lessened.

Listening attentively, taking time to get your thoughts together before offering a worthy contribution takes a bit of work, but the results will be well worth your time and effort.

Thoughts?

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Minty Melon Smoothie

Minty melon smoothie

2 cups diced cantaloupe

1 cup diced honeydew melon

1 cup diced seedless watermelon

1/2 cup passion fruit or mango juice

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons honey

10 fresh mint leaves

3 ice cubes

Combine all of the ingredients in your blender, and whip until smooth.

Serves 2

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Orange-Mango Smoothie

Musings + Affirmations: I am dedicated to self-development

Let him who would move the world first move himself.

Socrates

Affirmation: Today, and every day, I am dedicated to self-development.

Each and every day, my life is filled with opportunity. I can choose to learn and grow in so many ways.

What motivates me most, however, are opportunities to live my best vision of myself. Therefore, today and every day, I am dedicated to self-development.

My life is a path of endless growth. Because of this, I have learned to be more forgiving of times when I may say or do something that I later wish I had done differently.

I seize every opportunity to make a positive change in my life. Fortunately, this includes learning from each of my mistakes! So rather than seeing them as negative situations, I am thankful for them.

Each night before I go to bed, I reflect on my day. In addition to assessing opportunities for change, I also congratulate myself for the things that I have done or do well.

If I begin to feel a bit fatigued by the pressures of life, I remind myself of the many benefits I gain from my diligent pursuit of self-development and self-improvement. One of these benefits is having inner peace instead than caving in under every single pressure. This contemplation always motivates me to renew my efforts, and as I do so, I feel invigorated.

Today, I am dedicated to self-development.

I am thankful for every opportunity to re-create myself anew. And I recommit to growing toward my best vision of myself, each and every day.

Homework/ Journal prompts/ Self-Reflective Questions:

1. What are some of the self-development “projects” I have been working on lately?

2. Which projects challenge me most right now? Why? What can I do differently so that I can overcome these challenges?

3. In what ways have I changed intentionally, for the better, over the past year or two?

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Imagined misfortune…

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Our minds and their attendant thoughts are powerful engines. We can churn up all sorts of imaginings, both good and bad. When we dwell on the negative, we are at risk of falling into a tailspin from which it is difficult to recover. Yet, often, when we finally take a moment to stop, and breathe, we can see that most of the angst and pain and suffering were created in our minds and not in our realities. Shake yourself awake! Take a deep breath. Focus on real life. Focus on the positive. ~ martina

Which Gunas Got You? Seeking Healthy Balance Through Yoga

The yoga mat is a good place to turn

when talk therapy and

antidepressants aren’t enough.

Amy Weintraub

Have you ever heard of Gunas? No? According to yoga there are three basic qualities or energies that make up everything. They are, rajas, tamas and sattva. I will offer a brief overview today.

Rajas

Rajas is the energy of action, change and movement. Rajas is the fuel of passion and fire. Rajasic energy is also associated with the day light hours. You need rajasic energy to create energy to move successfully throughout your world and life. When you have too much rajasic energy, you might appear to the outside world to be extremely busy; always going and doing. Maintaining a high degree of rajasic energy can lead to burn out! When rajas is out of balance, the mind and body are overstimulated. The mind becomes restless and you may experience a lot of uncontrollable thought.

Foods that are associated with rajasic energy include: spicy food, fried foods, coffee, caffeinated beverages, stimulants, fish, eggs, chocolate. Also included are , foods that are very bitter, sour, dry and salty. Eating in a hurry is also considered rajasic.

Tamas

Tamas can be thought of as the polar opposite of rajas. Tamasic energy is associated with a state of inactivity, inertia, heaviness. When tamas is out of balance your ability to reason becomes cloudy, and you might experience the some of the darker emotions like anger or greed. Just as there is more rajasic energy present in daylight hours, tamasic energy tend to be present during the night or evening hours. People who are very tamasic might be depressed or appear lazy. Generally speaking, most disease states are considered tamasic.

Examples of tamasic food include: meat, alcohol, tobacco, onions, fermented foods (like vinegar or strong cheese), stale or over ripe food, and overly processed food. Overeating is considered tamasic.

Sattva

Sattva is energy that is in a state of harmony and balance. Positive mental and emotional states like joy and intelligence are associated with sattva. A person who was experiencing a lot of sattvic energy would appear happy. Sattvic energy also is consistent with healing states. Sattvic energy is present at the in-between times, during the times between light and dark, at dusk and dawn. A person on the yogic path is focused on developing their sattvic energy, so this is why yoga asana and meditation are classically performed at these times of day.

Foods that are sattvic include: whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, pure fruit juice, legumes, milk, butter, nuts, seeds, sprouted seeds, honey and herb teas.

All parts of the Whole

It is very important to realize that you have all three gunas within you. And while this is true, people tend to have a predominant guna. Based on the descriptions above you can probably figure out where you fit in. It is good to be aware of this because once you are more aware of your predominant guna, then you can better predict how you will react to certain life circumstances. This is good to know along with your strengths and weaknesses, which we discussed in yesterday’s post about self-awareness. You will better understand when things might throw you off-balance, and what you need to do to bring yourself back into balance.

You also may also have times in your life when one guna is more active then another. Perhaps during your day you have noticed that you have hours that are very active time and very productive (rajasic). Or, you have become more aware of when you might tend to feel more depressed (tamasic). Or times when you are feeling extremely balanced and in tune with yourself (sattvic).

It is should be clear that be at your healthiest, happiest and lining a balanced life, it is important to cultivate sattva in your life.

How do you do this?

Here is a very brief overview:

Reducing rajas and tamas
Becoming aware of when you are out of balance. Which guna seems to be primarily at work?
Increase activities and environments that produce positive thoughts. For example, for some people this means spending a little time in/ with nature.
Eating a healthy, sattvic oriented diet
The practice of yoga: pranayama or breathing practices. There are several fantastic free apps great free app for this. There is also Asana (postures), Meditation, Kundalini (which is what I do).

Doc

Disclaimer: I am neither a yogi nor a guru. This is provided for your information, only. For further investigation, check with your local yoga instructor.

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Build your self-awareness

self-awareness

People of the world don’t look at themselves,

and so they blame one another.

Rumi

Are you really interested in seeing some changes in your life? You can begin making the changes you desire by building up your self-awareness. Self-awareness is a self-conscious state where you focus on yourself and your well being. Self-awareness is the process of acknowledging not only your strengths, but your weaknesses as well. Becoming self-aware involves listening to your body and your feelings and taking action based on what you hear.

If you were tuned into your body, you would not have to think twice about saying no to that extra piece of cake or to staying up late. The more in tune you become with your body, the more often you will respect it. Self-awareness is a process, and not an overnight fix. The more you do it, the better you will become at it.

How? Here are a few pointers to get you started:

1. Reflect on who you are and who you would like to become.

While it is important for you to notice your faults and weaknesses, it is equally as important that you acknowledge your strengths. The better you understand yourself, the better you are able to accept yourself as you are, or change the things you would like to be different. Self-awareness requires you to be completely honest with yourself and have the courage to change the things that you can.

A full recognition of yourself gives you the opportunity to become the self-fulfilled person that you are destined to be. Looking deep within yourself, you will find the vast array of character traits that make you unique. That make you, you! Begin by acknowledging the positive things. This will strengthen and encourage you as you begin to face the your less favorable character traits without abandoning this new venture.

On the other hand, when evaluating your strengths, be careful not to let your ego get the best of you. If you make the mistake of either magnifying your strengths or your weaknesses, you cannot possibly get a realistic picture of yourself. Until you take the time to examine the truth of who you are, you cannot move into the person you wish to become.

2. Pay attention to your likes and dislikes. All too often, people make life-changing choices without acknowledging deeply rooted personal preferences. Before you embark on a journey to the goals for your future, have a complete awareness of the things you especially enjoy and those you prefer not to have associated with your life.

3. Face inward. During your self-awareness process, think about your true motivations, your dreams, fears and stressors. Give voice to the “why” you are interested in making these changes. Think openly about why you feel the way you do, then you can make plans to begin to work toward overcoming your inner struggles.

4. Ask for opinions. Talk to the people who know you best, and really listen to what they have to say about what they see as your dominant character traits and motivations. Ask them to be completely, brutally honest with you and be prepared to take in their opinions. Accept the way your loved ones see you as part of this process. Consider their opinions and add your own analysis to it in order to see the fuller picture of who you are. Yes, be open to their opinion, but do not discount what you see in yourself. Use both sources of feedback to see the whole you more clearly.

Self-awareness is a necessary part of developing your self-esteem and making the changes that you desire. If you want to grow more as an individual, begin with a complete and honest picture of who you are now. This total awareness will start your journey to becoming the best you can be.

Thoughts?

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Why Personal Leadership is Important

personal leadership

In our hyper-competitive world, leadership skills are crucial to any successful business endeavor.

What is leadership?

Leadership is term most commonly used to refer to activities such as conducting, guiding, or directing other people; initiating the appropriate activity aimed at a specific target or goal. However, leadership is also the term used to refer to someone who is in a formal leader role or capacity. How can leadership be applied in so many different ways? And, what really constitutes being a leader in every one of these situations? The answer is contained in the realization that perhaps the most fundamental characteristic of leadership, and therefore of individuals who are leaders, is personal leadership.

Its an ongoing debate about whether leaders are born or made. The answer, is yes. Some people are natural leaders, while others have to acquire the specific skills and or hone the talent needed to successfully make their mark as a leader. Some people have the confidence and the charisma to make themselves known and act as a good role model that others can follow. These people do not require much in the way of guidance in nurturing their inherent talents. And, there are many, many others who have to work to develop good or better leadership qualities as a key to their success. Leadership skill training and coaching are huge industries in today’s corporate world, and we will chat about that another day. But today’s focus is on personal leadership.

What is personal leadership?

Personal leadership is the ability to direct your own life and to lead yourself in the direction that you would like for your life to take. It is the ability to define what you want out of life and how you are going to get there. These are important qualities in developing leadership, both personally and corporately. Personal leadership means leading, directing, and taking action. It means living each day to its fullest. It means taking the time, making the proper effort and finding the correct tools to achieve the goals that you want to achieve.

Knowing what you want out of life, figuring out what success means to you specifically, articulating your goals, knowing that those goals are part of your purpose for being alive, these things are the essence of personal leadership.

Personal leadership also means accountability, to yourself and to others. I know that’s a “four letter word” in many circles. But, accountability means that you have made a conscious decision to use the special, specific and unique talents that you have been given to reach further, higher, deeper, wider, to reach your goals. Accountability means that you have come to the realization that you have the potential to develop further. And, accountability means that you have determined the course you need to pursue, and that you are the master of your life.

You are a leader. You are an important leader, even if you lead no one except yourself through your daily life. Figure out what you want to do, where you want to go, who you want to be. Find out how to get it done.

The first step in becoming a leader of repute of other people is to be able to demonstrate that you can lead your most important follower. You!

Doc

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The yoga mat is a good place to turn

when talk therapy and

antidepressants aren’t enough.

Amy Weintraub

Rajas

Tamas

Sattva

All parts of the Whole

How do you do this?

Doc

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What is leadership?

What is personal leadership?

The first step in becoming a leader of repute of other people is to be able to demonstrate that you can lead your most important follower. You!

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