Forget About Your Worries

Worries will make you sick. It lets you think about something that can happen but is equally unlikely to happen. You expend energy on worries always thinking about what other people will think about you. It can be your mom, your girlfriend or your colleagues. You worry about the negative and ignore the positive things in front of you. Sometimes, you may even underestimate the positive things because you are waiting for the negative things to happen. Stop this illusion. Life will only be as good as you make it to be. Live beyond the material and learn to live.

Do Not Put Off For Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

This phrase is all it took for me to get up and buy food for a beggar on the street. You may be familiar with this. You see a beggar on the street but you ignore them. You think that other people might help them and as for you, there is always next time. So you proceed with what you are doing because nothing bad will happen to you, right?

But then, you lost that moment. You lost that memory you could have made with that person. You lost that chance.

Show People You Love Them

Another reason why you should not put for tomorrow what you can do for today is to thank and talk to all the important people in your life like there is no tomorrow. Spend time with them. Hug them, kiss them and thank them. Tell them why they are important to you. Do not do it only for special occasions. Do it without a reason at all. Spread your life and positivity will fill your life like wildfire.

Savor Each Moment

Another way to live with no regrets is to savor each moment. If you are sitting right now, then sit. If you are in your car, then sit on your car. Think of nothing but the feeling of seating. Breathe and feel your body live. This will prevent you to think about the next thing you need to do or worry about things you don’t even need to think about.

Be Thankful of Your Senses

Now if you are having a hard time savoring the moment, then try to be thankful for your senses. Imagine a life without your eyes, ears, nose, mouth or limbs. What would it be like? Terrible? Yet lots of people live each day like that with a smile. So be thankful. Savor the colors and sounds of your surroundings. Yes, even the irritating sounds. It is a miracle that you can even hear them. Be thankful and breathe.

Live and Work With Passion

And last but not the least, live with your passion. Do not settle for mediocre and give every ounce of your energy to your day task. Be passionate about life and do your best. That way, you will have no regrets for you gave it your all.

So go and live with no regrets and be happy.

You see, the discovery of edible foods are somewhat questionable. If you can imagine the cavemen back in the days, they would simply pop in a certain plant or animal into their mouth and swallow it. If they did not die, then it is edible. But what if some foods are not meant to be digested by our bodies? What if we are just made to believe that it is okay to eat those foods when it is really poisonous to us.

This is why I have decided to share the 7 toxic foods that our bodies cannot digest. These foods are very common. For all we know, these may be the reason why our bodies experience specialized diseases like Cancer. Here is a brief discussion of each.

Sugar

Oh we love the sweetness. It is present in those sinful desserts and we just could not get enough of them. But let me tell you a secret. Sugar is addicting and yes you are a slave to it. It is no different from smoking or alcohol. It is a highly addicting substance that once consumed, it pushes you to consume more.

The thing is, sugar is the driving force in appetite. So if you are wondering why you are overweight and has the compulsion to consume lots of carbohydrates, it is not the fault of the carbohydrates. It is white sugar’s fault. You see, sugar can serve as an alternative source of energy. This is why you crave these when you are stressed. However, you are training your body to burn sugar instead of fat. And once the sugar runs out, your body craves for more. This results to your overweight body.

Also, sugar can also result in fatigue. As I have said earlier, it gives your body a natural boost. It is like drugs or energy drinks that gives your body a boost then drains all the energy afterwards. Seriously, do you want to stress your body and go through all those ups and downs? No wonder your body gives up and contracts a disease after a while.

White Flour

Similar to white sugar, white flour is also as toxic. This is why white rice and white breads are equally addicting. But it does not end there. White flour also has the tendency to transform into a gooey substance once it enters our digestive tract. From here, our body has to work extra just to digest it. This is a chemical that can clog yur digestive tract. They can attach themselves to your intestines accumulating toxins over time.

But from here, you may want to ask what type of carbohydrates should you eat? Well, opt for brown rice or long grains like quinoa. They can be easily digested by your body.

Hydrogenated Oils

Third is oils. Although there are some good oils like canola and olive oil, it must still be taken in moderate amounts.

You see, oils can clog your arteries and increase fat buildup. This can lead to cancer and heart diseases. Aside from that, it can also hinder the functions of other parts of your body. The liver and the kidneys are just some areas that can be clogged because of these oils.

Red Meat

This is the main reason why I have decided to be vegan. Red meat is toxic to the body because it has ingested lots of chemicals that are not good for our bodies.

Think about it. Aside from the natural uric acid content in red meat, it is also injected with steroids. The meat industry is more competitive as ever and they want to get more money for their products. And sadly, that includes sacrificing the health of the people. They inject steroids on animals just to make them big. We have kind of grown insane that way.

Also, do you want to eat something that is born out of violence. These animals are living things and they are meant to live as they want to. Even though we are human beings, we have no right to dictate the fate of other species. Here we are again thinking that we are on top of the world. Being vegan reminds us that we are just a part of it and we should try our best to live harmoniously with nature.

Fast or Processed Foods

Ah.. we live in a world where everything is done in a rush. We have a dishwasher so we can wash dishes faster, a microwave so we can heat meals faster and a washing machine to wash our laundry faster. But why the focus on ‘faster’ when we can take things slow?

The same is true with foods. We have lots of fast and processed foods in the market today. These foods are packed with ingredients that will make the food last longer. While all of these are great if you want to run a business, it is not good for people who will eat it. Just look at it this way, if the food will not decompose for years outside of your body, then how long will it be digested inside? Can you see the picture? Would you risk your health ingesting these unnatural foods? I personally don’t want to. No wonder a lot of people are getting sick.

As you can see, we live in a world of our own doing. We get sick because of the crazy lifestyle that we have created for ourselves. We started to ingest unnatural foods and for what? The need for more money and time? Do yourself a favor and do not throw your life away. Your life is more valuable than the money you earn for your family. So please stop the insanity and avoid these toxic foods now.

In life, we create our own prisons. We think that we need to have different hobbies, go to different places, eat lots of food and have lots of stuff. But what we do not know is that the more we pack into our lives, the more we have to maintain. And the more we pack into our lives, the less contented we are with what we already have…

So how do you go from busy, greasy and overloaded to peaceful, simple and happy? We do one thing: Declutter. We strip away the non-essentials in our lives leaving space for the things that matters.

But how do you declutter? Here’s how.

Step 1. Do One Tiny Step: Realize

As with all habits, you can begin it by taking that one tiny step. Decluttering is a new concept after all. All our lives we are fed by media that we have to adhere to a certain image. We need to have a big house, a fast car, rich foods, beautiful clothes, small waists, shiny hair, tall height, big boobs.. You get the picture.. With this, we are practically TRAINED to hoard things like a rabid dog.. We are trained to work for money and work for more. That is why we purchase unconsciously.. because yes! It is a bad habit.

So how do you introduce the decluttered world into your life? You meditate. You think about how monks and other people who managed to live simple lives still became happy..You take a look at the task at hand. You look at your room and look at how many clutter you have accumulated over the years. Yes. It all starts from the realization that you need to declutter. Without it, you will not be able to proceed with the next steps.

Step 2. Start Slow. Start With One Drawer..

Once you realized that you need help – that you are a trapped amidst the capitalist concepts that are instilled in you ever since you are a child, you can now begin decluttering. But before you rush in, breathe deeply and look into ONE drawer. Yes! Just one…

Take a look at all of the knick knacks that you have accumulated over the years. Are you actually using these things or are you just keeping them because you are afraid to let them go? Maybe it is because you do not want to waste the money that you spent on it. Or maybe it is something sentimental.. Let us discuss more about attachment in the next step.

Step 3. Let Go Of Attachment

Now that you have seen the things that you do not need, it is time to let them go. But again, don’t rush. Believe it or not, people attach emotions and experiences to things. They are more than just stuff. They are things that people cannot let go because of a certain reason..

But here are some questions that you should ask if you have the trouble of letting go.

Do you need that thing?
If you need it so bad, did you use it in the past 6 months?
If not, then why are you not using it? Do you plan to use it in the next 6 months?
Do you picture yourself actually having the time to use it in the next six months?
If not, why can’t you let go of it?

As you can see, these questions will delve deeper into your emotions and reveal your actual attachment to the object. Please. If you find that the object is of no use to you, have the courage to let it go. I am not rushing you or anything. But just… let it go…

Step 4. Sort Things Out

Once you have mustered the courage to let things go, it is time to sort out your stuff. You can have four boxes in here namely Keep, Don’t Know, Throw and Give.. You can also add a Sell Box if you want.

The Keep Box should contain all of the things that you are using. These are stuff that you can imagine using everyday or at least in the next 6 months. It should be an object that you can use on a daily or weekly basis or in special occasions such as your birthday or when you go on vacation. If it does not fit this category, then it should be in the Throw, Sell or Give Box..

Now I know that there are some things that are hard to remove from your life. Maybe it is a gift from a friend or something that is sentimental to you. If you simply cannot muster to throw it away, put it in the Don’t Know Box. But don’t put everything in the Don’t Know Box simply because you do not want to throw your stuff away. It beats the purpose of decluttering. If you find that you are like that, revert to the previous step. This box is only for things that you are unsure of.

Then there are the three boxes: Give, Sell and Throw. Sort out all of the things that you are going to remove from your life in here. First, look at the condition of the object. Can you give it to someone else? If you can, gather them all in one box. Old toys and clothes can definitely be given to charity. Old books can be sold in a book fair. You can also hold a garage sale for things that you do not need. However, if the object is beyond repair. It may be best to throw it away. After all, you are not going to use it anyway and there is no hope of getting it repaired.

So I hope this post managed to help you deal with your emotional attachment to things. Think about it. You are so much more special than what you have. You should not be trapped by these things. You only need to have the courage to break free from them. Once you do, you will thank me for it. You will find so much breathing time in your life that you will be left wondering why you are working so hard these past years..

Enjoy The Peace.

A lot of people think that the path to happiness is a long and painstaking road. They believe mantras like “No Pain, No Gain” and “Sacrifice Now, Glory Later”. They think that happiness is something that they have to work for and that being happy right now is wrong.

But what if I tell you that you can be happy right now? Yes. You can be happy right now. You just need to throw all of your previous beliefs out of the window.

Living in a capitalist setting, we think that happiness is closely tied with money. We think that if we have a huge mansion, the latest car, the recent gadgets and the latest clothes, we will be happy. But we are just fooling ourselves..

We are just living our lives based on other people’s definition of happiness…

From the moment we are born, the importance of money is something that has been instilled in us. We see our classmates who have better clothes and stuff and later on, we see them with better car and lots of friends. From here, we imagine and unconsciously instill in ourselves that we need all of those things to be happy. But we don’t.

We just need to find that one thing that we love to do and that will make us happy.

Think about one thing that can get you to get off your bed in the morning. Think about one thing that will make you excited about the next day. That is your bliss… Follow it and don’t look back. Do that and you will be happy.

This new idea of happiness can change your life. From here, your joy comes from doing and not from the results. You enjoy your job and you enjoy your life. This then radiates to your clients and they eventually enjoy your work.

So I guess I will leave it at that. I will keep today’s post short so that you can have plenty of meditation time to mull over this new idea. Think about that one thing and see how much that changes your life..

So I have been writing this very intricate plan of my future last night. I addressed all the things that I will be doing every day, how much money I am going to make each month and what I am going to do in case I encounter barriers. While planning is a great way to get a vision and follow it. I realized that there is such a thing as ‘overplanning’ and this is where plans tend to get overboard.

If you think you are also guilty of this, read on. Here are some ‘symptoms’ of overplanning.

You Plan Your Daily Tasks for More Than a Month

I am guilty of this one. I always plan my daily tasks but I set the tasks for the whole month. I found that this is such a waste of time. For one, I am constantly coming back to the drawing board every day once a new event springs up. I alter the plan and I end up doing different things. A solution to this one is to plan for the day before the day begins or set things up the night before. This takes your current situation into consideration. With this, you are less likely to assume that all of your days will go smoothly and you are also less likely to be disappointed.

You Plan Your Goals for More Than 6 Months

Of course, plans do not end with daily tasks. There is also goal planning. Goal planning can be done by defining your long term goals (goals which you like to achieve in 1 or more years) and short term goals (goals that lead to the long term goals). However, I found that planning your goals should not be done for more than a 6-month timespan. Anything more than that and you get a blurred vision of what is going to happen. In fact, you will find that your goals will change by then. So save yourself the effort and the energy and just plan according to what you have at hand.

You Take More Than An Hour In Planning

Daily planning should touch on the most important tasks and must include a brief review of your goals. However, things get overboard when you take more than an hour in planning. I know that I am guilty of this. I used to be a workaholic and I plan every detail of my life. I guess it has something to do with running a business. Everything needs to be on point. However, I found that planning does not need to take a lot of time. You do not even need to have a meeting lest you want to confirm a plan.

You Do More Planning Than Doing

You know that you are getting overboard once you do more planning than doing. A lot of Internet marketers are guilty of this. Here is how it usually goes. They see a particular course and they take the time to learn and understand it. After that, they formulate a plan. Then, they point out the details of the plan. But when it is time to take action, they bail. Maybe it has something to do with how hard their plan is. So they return back to planning thinking that they are achieving something by repeating that act.

But let me tell you something. You are headed for failure lest you get off your butt and move. Nothing will happen if you just keep on planning. You may have the perfect plan in the world, but that will not mean anything if you do not execute it.

You Address The Barriers As If The Plan Is Happening Right Now

This is another trap of overplanning. Once you get into the ‘planning mood’, you usually envision the plan as if it is happening right now. You set up the details, address the barriers and the likes. But let me burst your bubble. All of these are useless if you are not there yet. So if you have a plan. Think about step 1 and do that. Forget about the details of the plan and just think about it when you get there.

As you can see, overplanning is a trap. It leads people to believe that they are actually achieving something when they are not. The magic is in the action not in the plan. There are many reasons why people do this. Maybe you are also guilty of it.

A lot of people do overplanning because of the following:

1. Fear

One of the reasons people overplan is because of fear. This happens if you have a perfectionist nature within you. If you think that the plan is not ‘perfect’ enough, you tend to go back to the drawing board to edit the plan. Because of this, you are trapped in the spiral of planning and you do not get anything done.

In the same way, you may also be afraid of something once the plan is executed. Sure, you made the plan because you want something to happen. However, something is stopping you inside. If you are experiencing this, it is better to write down those fears on paper and address them as soon as you can.

2. Pain

The next reason why people fall to the trap of overplanning is because they want to evade pain. As you can see, some actions in a plan can be hard to execute. Take a fitness plan for example. If you set up a plan where you will be 100% vegan and you will only eat fruits and vegetables right away, then you are setting yourself up for failure. No matter how strong your willpower is, you can only do this by a maximum of two weeks. Trust me. I have been there. I used to think that I do not need to take things slow and that I am better than the other people out there who lacked the willpower. But I failed… miserably…

The best way to avoid pain is by making the plan easy to execute. If the plan have different facets, start with one area per month. Do a particular act repetitively until it becomes a habit. If you do not know where or how to begin, maybe you should start with the “one-habit method”. This let you focus more on executing the plan because pain is minimized. With this, you are also less likely to return to the drawing board for more planning.

3. Habit

And of course, there is the dreaded habit. Some people end up overplanning because they have been trained that way. This is particularly true for people in the business. They tend to sort out details and set up visions for years and years. However, planning for yourself is different. You can always plan for the day and just adjust it according to what will happen. That, in my opinion, is more realistic.

While having a plan is better than not having one, spending your time on planning alone is not very productive. The key is to accept that planning is a waste of time once it hinders your actions. After all, success is not achieved by following a well laid-out plan. It just happens. So relax.

“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” ~ The Bible, Matthew (6:34)

Habits. They can make or break you. Your body is an amazing tool that can memorize movements and set it on autopilot. Feed your body with good habits and it will lead you to greatness. But feed it with bad habits and watch as it leads you to ruin.

As the new year begins, you have probably set a long list of resolutions or habits that you would like to form in your life. You probably wanted to lose weight by incorporating some exercise and diet regimen into your daily schedule, get organized and wake up early all at the same time.

While all of this is great because it gives you great momentum. It will just be a matter of time until you lose your steam. Trust me. I have tried forming different habits again and again and I failed so many times. I struggled to make my days perfect but I did not stick to it for more than 2 weeks.

From there, I can whine. I can tell myself that I am not good enough. I can tell myself that I lack the discipline and I am such a shame. But then I realized that the problem is not me. The problem is that I did not give my body enough time to learn a habit.

This is where the concept of “one habit at a time” came to me. Instead of thinking that I can tackle a long list of habits because I am great, I accepted that learning habits is hard and I need to take the time to thoroughly learn each habit before I move on. Here are some reasons why focusing on one habit is always better.

Narrow Your Focus, Increase Your Motivation

Instead of focusing on fulfilling a list of habits, you are focused on just one. So if you want to exercise, you will just focus on getting that done for the day. If you want to wake up early, then you can focus on doing that. Your focus is not spread across a long list of habits so your chance for success is greater.

You Get To Celebrate Little Successes

Also, since you will focus on one habit everyday, you have a greater chance of turning every day into a success. This means that you can celebrate every little success and gain more motivation as you move along. Of course, the more motivation you have, the greater chance that you will do the action again which further strengthens the habit.

You Learn The Habit

Since everything is easier, it will just be a matter of time before your body eventually learns the habit. Some people say that the body can learn a habit in a set number of days. Some say it is 20 days while others claim that it is 30. I personally think that engaging in a 30-day challenge is a great way to ingrain a habit into your system.

The Habit Sticks

Last but not the least, learning one habit at a time will not only help you to learn a habit but it will also make it stick. This means that you do not need to worry about getting fat if you get into the fitness habit. If you took the time and mustered the patience to learn one habit at a time. Then it will stick into your system. With this, there is a greater chance that your body will perform the action on autopilot.

So by now, you should know the importance of the one-habit system. It is a system designed to make you successful. Sure, it is slow and it does not grant the results that you want instantly. But it is a system that will change your life forever.

How do you do the one-habit system? Here’s how.

Step 1: Define The Habit You Would Like To Form Or Change

The first step entails choosing the habit that you would like to form or change. Once you have selected a habit, write it down. It is also important to start with half or one-tenth of a habit if it is too hard for you. For example, if you like to jog for an hour everyday, start with 5 minutes and increase it by 5 minutes per week or per month. If you like to slim down, start by eliminating drinks or work on your different meals of the day. Let us say, you eat a healthy breakfast for a month then work on your lunch and dinner in the upcoming months. No need to rush here. What is important is that your body gets to learn the movements.

Step 2: Define Your Triggers

All habits have their triggers. If you like to eat when you watch TV, then the act of watching TV is a trigger. If you like to smoke when you are depressed, then that is also a trigger. In this step, you need to define the triggers to your habit. For example, I always change to my exercise clothes, wash my face and drink some water in the morning before I go jogging. These are my triggers and my body is always raring to do the exercise once it experience them. The good thing is that you can manipulate this. You just need to put the triggers on paper. Think about it. What particular triggers can you do to precede the habit that you like to form? What triggers are surounding the bad habit that you currently have? The key is to consistently execute the good habit after the trigger happens.

Step 3: Define The Obstacles

Third, you should define the obstacles. This is a helpful step because it gives you an option to successfully execute your habit despite the possible barriers. Instead of assuming that everything will go smoothly, this step lets you accept that things will go wrong. But that does not stop with mere acceptance. It also helps you to address the barriers by thinking about what you should do. To do this, simply list the possible barriers on paper and think about what you should do when you encounter them.

Step 4: Set Time Per Day

As with any other habit, it is strengthened if you will do it at a set time per day. I remembered the days when I sleep and wake up late. I usually wake up at odd and varied times. This makes it hard for me to execute a particular habit because my body keeps on adjusting. So the first thing I did was end the habit of sleeping and waking up late. From there, everything followed. So set a time for your ONE habit each day.

Step 5: Do It Consistently

And of course, you need to do the habit consistently for 30 days if you like it to stick. If you can, ask the support of the people around you. Ask them to understand that you are going to do this habit for the next 30 days. Set it in your mind that you will do this ONE thing everyday. After all, it is not that hard. Once you do this ONE thing, you can go back to doing the other things that you like to do. You just need to do it consistently.

Are you ready to experience a wave of changes this 2012? Start with step 1 right now and start creating one good habit. One new habit is better than not achieving or improving anything in the entire year. Do not rush, take things slow and see how much that patience can help you achieve your goals.

“The easier it is to do, the harder it is to change.” ~Eng’s Principle