Health Affixed

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Room for Improvement

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“There’s always room for improvement.” It is a phrase that is usually taken as a form of criticism because it tends to be preceded by a high praise or recognition. For example, when a supervisor states that an employee is the best at his or her job, a manager may follow that praise with “there is always room for improvement” which has the immediate impact of lessening the significance of the initial praise and placing doubt on the employee’s worthiness.

However, let’s examine the phrase. Is it a negative, positive, or neutral phrase that may be negative or positive depending on the circumstances?

I propose that it is a positive phrase that should not be taken as demeaning or offensive when expressed. The phrase acknowledges by implication that there is an ability to improve which is a positive. The phrase should inspire because it inherently presents a challenge for the individual to rise to greater heights than his/her current state. The phrase provides permission for you to try something different because what you’ve been doing brought you to your current state of being and something new may be necessary to advance your current circumstances. The phrase presents an opportunity for introspection — are you doing the best you can possibly do? The phrase is empowering because by implication it allows for expansion of self that can only be attained from thinking outside of the box from which you currently operate.

It’s 2020, what areas of your life could benefit from a little improvement? It is never too soon, too late, or too expensive to invest in improving yourself and your outlook on life. Be 20/20 inside and out so that you can realize your future and claim your destiny.

Disclaimer: This post is not intended to encourage or condone the overuse and/or misuse of the phrase in performance reviews to curtail the percentage of a salary increase that an employee may have earned during the 12-month period. Give the guy or girl what he or she truly deserves in that performance review! ?

Is your vision 20/20?

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Yo, it’s December 1st. I think it would be an understatement for many if I said that this year flew by. Come to think of it, every time I get to the end of a year, I’ve felt as if the year flew by. I guess that is just the mind reminding us that time keeps going and that 10, 20, even 30 years can feel like the blink of an eye.

If that’s the case, do we ever start feeling like we are in control of time and are able to regulate its pace or the pace of our lives. That’s a conversation I need to have with the oldest person alive — #goals. Regardless, yo, it’s December 1st!

Have you given thought to what you want your life or year to be in 2020? Let’s not wait until January 1st because that is when we have to put our vision in motion. Let’s draft, revise, and finalize our plan of action during the next 30 days so that nothing can stop us on January 1st. If there is anything that you need to buy for your 2020 vision, do the research today to take advantage of the cyber Monday deals.

If you have no clue what your vision should be for 2020, take a moment and reflect on your life thus far. Are you close to your goals? What is the status of the 5 year, 10 year, or 20 year plan that you made for your life? What steps do you need to take in 2020 to reach those goals? What habits have you developed that you may need to break in 2020? If you had no goals in 2019 and no 5 year plan, then you should create one because — yo, it’s December 1st.

Get your emotions in check. Write a letter to yourself about all of your personal battles that you are not able to share with anyone. Spill all of the tea. Get it all out of your system. Put the letter away. On December 29 – let’s make that a Self Care Sunday. On December 29, sit down and read that letter. Upon reading that letter, your goal should be figuring out how to resolve the conflict within that letter. What advice would you give a friend who had the issues in the letter? Perhaps, it would be that your friend should speak to a professional to help see things in a different light or work through some of the tougher issues. There is nothing wrong with that! The goal of 2020 is to get the vision of your life in clear view – your vision needs to be 20/20.

Warning: Don’t fall into the trap of trying to resolve an issue to get back to a state of comfort. The goal in solving a problem is not to get back to status quo because status quo tends to lead us right back to the problem. Solving a recurring issue by getting back to status quo may only lead to forming a cycle. Sure, status quo usually brings a level of comfort and familiarity, but it generally will also, in time, cause the same “resolved issue” to reappear. If things need to be different, then they should be different no matter how uncomfortable the process may be.

Lastly, in looking forward, I always like taking a step back and these two quotes have always inspired me to not settle with status quo and to push for progress within myself and for the people around me:

“If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.” — Thomas Jefferson

“It is never too late to become what you might have been.” – Unknown, internet says George Eliot

Yo, it’s December first of Two Thousand and Nineteen.

New Year, Old Me

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Like sand through an hourglass…

On New Year’s Eve, while thinking of what 2019 may bring, I realized that time is relative. Dates, hours, minutes, years, age…it’s all relative. Time is constant and never ending. The only things going through a cycle are living things. Living things decay – wither and die. Time was invented to keep track of humanity’s decay, to remind us that we don’t last forever and that we are decaying at every moment. Every second we become one second older. Those seconds add up to minutes. Those minutes add up to hours. Those hours add up to days. Those days add up to years. If we are lucky, those years add up to an age at which death is acceptable (death via natural causes/old age). Time is simply in place to measure lifespan. Human beings created time and we push the boundaries of time using science.

Regardless, 2019 is here and just like 2018, it too will pass. The focus should not be how many years have passed or what the future years will bring, but how we are treating our decaying bodies at this very second. How we are treating others and what legacy we are building to leave behind when we are gone. Are we prolonging life or shortening it by our actions and habits? Regret is a dirty word that brings sorrow only to those who failed to recognize that they were in control of their circumstance all along.

What are your thoughts on time?

F.E.A.R

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The best acronym for self-generated FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. The mind tends to persuade the subconscious that the false evidence is real. Generally, the outcome is inaction. Due to fear, no risk is taken, no plans are laid, and no achievement is gained.

The trick is to act in spite of the false evidence being real. The trick is to acknowledge that the FEAR exists and still take the risk, lay a plan, and seek to achieve. When you acknowledge that what you fear is a possibility and you are brave enough to face that possibility, you become much more fearless, and your sense of fearlessness tends to lay the path to success.

Let your self-generated FEAR be the motivation that moves you forward not the anchor that keeps you still.

Spring Break and Vacation Season

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Ah, the joys of getting away. If you are like most, you increase your workout level prior to going on vacation and severely decrease it while on vacation. While the food intake tends to decrease prior to going on vacation and severely increase while on vacation. Well, it doesn’t take a mathematician to know the outcome; the weight on the scale will be higher after vacation.

The must do: pack workout clothes and shoes. The goal is to try to counter the increased food intake with at least light to moderate consistent exercising while on vacation. To accomplish the goal, keep the exercising routines simple and quick – body weight exercises work well. Also, if you know the location will have a gym, plan to hit the gym for 20 minutes during off peak hours. Get in and get out. After all, you are on vacation.

Another option is to simply partake in vacation type activities like canoeing, beach volleyball, swimming, walking, etc. If you are the sunbathing on vacation type, then perhaps consider downloading a beach yoga routine on your phone.

Staying activity on vacation will help to balance your mood once the vacation is over.