- Walk briskly or otherwise exercise to the point of elevating
your heart rate for at least 30 minutes daily.
- Find a way to get paid for doing whatever it is you enjoy.
Take your time about this--the pursuit of avocations on a part-time
basis may be necessary for decades before you reach this marvelous
objective.
- Do what you must to experience "the little moments that lead
you to feel that you are enjoying the best of times that life can offer.
- Develop a perspective that embraces responsibility for
whatever goes well or poorly in your day and enables you to get on with
making the best of things given conditions that exist, in lieu of
tendencies to blame, excuse, whine, whimper or shift accountability to
someone or something else.
- Do not rely on the health care system for YOUR health. This
so-called system is not about health--it's a huge disease and
illness-based business irrelevant to excellent health and a disciplined
wellness lifestyle. No matter how expensive or how wondrous doctors,
drugs and the medical system can be when used appropriately, what you do
or do not do (in concert with human biology/culture/and your
environment) will be the critical variable in affecting the quality of
your appearance, vitality and overall health.
- Exploit the wonders of the unprecedented information age to
become an expert in medicine and health, proficient in accessing
information that you desire when you want it, capable of using it
appropriately, consistent with your best interests. Among the richest
resources for those with computers are e-mail, the world-wide web and
state-of-the-art software programs on computer disks.
- Resolve to go out of your way daily to experience humor,
lightness, fun, joy--good times by whatever name you prefer. Laughter
and assorted pleasures strengthen your immune system, metabolize bad
vibes and act in 1001 ways to make your everyday life richer and fuller.
Unlike frustrations, setbacks, tragedy and disaster, however, initiative
is needed to bring these sensations up beyond the minimal level of
occurrences.
- Develop a deep and abiding sense of tolerance for diversity
of all kinds, especially differences in styles, appearances, religions,
politics, values and opinions at variance with your own. This is one of
the most effective ways to eliminate negative stressors that come from
unnecessary and futile judgements as well as temptations to try to
change people to think or be more like you. They're not interested and
you'll never be effective enough at it to make it worth the grief. Even
if they were interested and you were magically effective, they might end
up worse off than they were before you changed them. Live your own
life and wish others well.
- Find as many people to love as possible. Some of them will
probably love you back, or at least be nice to you.
- Embark on a life-long quest to determine the meanings of
life, and make this decision primarily in accordance with the rich data
base of your own life experiences, observations and reflections. Stay
open to readjustments to ideas about your life purposes and ways of
finding meaning as new possibilities suggest themselves over time.
- Be of service to others, for YOUR sake. In your own fashion,
reach out and make a difference in someone else's life by supporting a
cause, helping the needy, working with a kid--anything. Just don't get
sanctimonious about it and realize that the greatest beneficiary will be
you--it will add to your sense of worth, purpose and the like. Don't
look for or even accept any awards for this, since it makes you feel
good to do it; conversely, don't be too overwhelmed by the good deeds of
others.
- Find lots of heroes to emulate, in some ways. It's not a good
idea to adopt a single hero, for everyone has strengths and weaknesses
and only the former are worth copying. Think of traits you admire and
the people who manage those qualities with dignity, panache and
flair--or whatever appeals to you. When you want to function at what you
consider your best in these areas, think of your hero for that aspect of
living. How would he/she deal with this? Then do your version, with the
role model (hero) in mind.
Excerpts from Wellness for Dummies (D.Ardell Ph.D)
Home
Back to
Library
http://www.hairtape.net
You're Lookin Good
|
