Being consistent is key in all aspects of life.

What you do every now and then doesn’t count.  What matters is what you do every day. It’s about being consistent.

What aspect of this do you think this is true of for you?

One guy is consistent at walking every morning, sometimes at 5 a.m. He’s being consistent.

Another guy shows up at our networking meeting every week with printed rosters for everyone. He’s being consistent.

Someone else is at church every Sunday. That’s being consistent.

The compound effect

There is a book called The Compound Effect, by Darren Hardy. (find it on Amazon)  It discusses the importance of how being consistent with a habit can have huge impact on our lives.  And these can be good or bad.  It seems that repeated actions will seem to have little if any effect for a period of time. Then suddenly there is a big, exponential growth noticed.

As I said, this habit can be good or bad.  How does one become obese? There’s no sudden need to eat a whole pie after dinner each night.  It starts slowly and then suddenly they are buying double XL T shirts.  Their overeating became a habit and the weight mushroomed into an unhealthy state.

I do pride myself in being consistent.

  • If you sit near me here at the Tuesday morning networking meetings, you will see that I am consistent at taking my daily strip of vitamins.
  • You will find me at the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:15 a.m.
  • I drink a glass of water first thing every morning.
  • I floss my teeth every day.  I am being consistent.

Why is this important?

Health habits are very important to maintaining our lifestyle.  As time progresses, we are no longer able to stand without a groan, sprint across the street or keep up with a friend on a walk.  Vacations become more sedentary as one cannot walk or climb as much as when they were younger.

I encourage my massage clients and my customers to look at what their health habits have become and those they may want to incorporate into their routines.

Exercise.

While we are very consistent with our breathing, we are not always in control of how we breathe. It is usually pretty shallow.   How do we develop a habit of breathing deeper, longer breaths?

We can take that power and control back. Here is an exercise to help improve your breathing that can add stamina to your day, help you relax more and improve your sleep.

Sit comfortably with your hands in your lap.  Take note of your breathing. Are you breathing into your throat?  Your chest?  Your lower abdomen?

Use a balloon to be consistent in improving your breathingTo help you be more conscious of the depth of your breathing, get an ordinary balloon.

Blow into the balloon and quietly let the air out of the balloon. Where did your effort to blow up the balloon come from?

Blow into the balloon again and make an effort to use your lower abdomen to push the air into the balloon.  Empty as much air as you can into the balloon.  Release the air from the balloon.

Repeat this procedure a few more times.  Slow down if you get light headed. This may be something you need to work up to.

Using your powers of consistency, do this on a daily basis.  You will notice an easier process of breathing.  Be aware if you have increased stamina.  What is happening with your sleep after being consistent with this for a period of time?

Moving forward

Think about your health habits.  Commit to one new habit that you will take on for the next 30 days. I feel certain that the compound effect will happen for you.

What is self respect?

 

Respect is something that is developed and nurtured.  Respect for one’s self and for others is a valued asset that should not be under appreciated.

Respecting others is often easier to do than taking care of ourselves.  When we respect others, we show them that they are important to us. Wikipedia describes respect as “a positive feeling of esteem or deference for a person or other entity (such as a nation or a religion), and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Etc.)  However that shows up, it means a lot to the other person.  This respect shows up in a variety of ways and most of them go without words.  Being kind is a show of respect.  Working within someone’s boundaries is a show of respect.  Being punctual and on time for appointments is a way to show that you respect that person and appreciate their time.

Learn to love what you see in the mirror.

Self respect can be a more difficult matter.  What is self respect? It appears in the way we take care of our selves, how we present to others.  In the way of showing care for others and their wants and needs, we are also showing love and respect for ourselves.

Things that we do for ourselves may appear to us or others as being self-indulgent.  However demonstrating to others that we value ourselves and our own happiness is a great way to show that as we value ourselves, we can also value others.

The following is a list of things that we can and should do for ourselves to show respect for body, mind and soul:

☼     Meditate or pray daily.  Getting into our spiritual selves is important to peace and happiness.  As we meditate more (and more often) we get to a place of stillness and self love and appreciation.

 

☼     Cultivate good, upstanding  friends.  Association with loving souls helps us to build our own self esteem.   We adapt to our environment, so create a healthy, respectful circle of friends.

 

☼     Exercise regularly.  Taking time for ourselves to move and relieve stress is a great way to respect ourselves and maintain good health.

☼     Play often.  Let your self go and just do something fun.

 

 

☼     Eat healthy foods.  This may not seem to be a way to respect one’s self, but fueling the body with live foods and avoiding processed foods tells your body down to the cellular level that it is loved and respected for what it does continually.   If you cannot or do not eat well, consider supplementing with vitamins and proteins.

Find other ways to develop a sense of respect for yourself and for those around you.  I think you will begin to see your life change for the better.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about immune system health and weight loss.

 Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about immune system health and weight loss.

Last week I mentioned the immune system and things that can be changed in our life styles that can help it to work better.  Those are the following:

Stress

Fatigue

Nutrition levels

Healthy activity levels

I failed to mention a healthy weight.  It seems that a healthy weight helps people to sleep better.  This is a two step process so bear with me.  Often we hear of overweight or obese individuals having trouble sleeping.  Sleep apnea can wreak havoc on a good night of deep sleep.  The immune system does some important work during the sleep state know as REM (Rapid Eye Movement).  Besides benefiting the stress and fatigue mentioned above, a good night’s sleep gives the body time to recover.  The immune system is included in this recovery and rebuilding process.  There are certain hormones that kick into action during this state of deep sleep. 

Without this function that is performed in the wee hours of the morning, your ability to defeat germs, bacteria, fungus and viruses is weakened and they may be able to take a foot hold and illness results.

So get your “40 winks”.  When you find yourself not getting adequate rest and being sick often, your weight may be a factor.

Shaklee Corporation produces a weight management system that works to build excellent health while losing weight, thus building your immune system to a higher functioning level.   Click here to learn about The Cinch Inch Loss Plan and Click here to watch a video. Shaklee also offers a money back guarantee.  Try it here.

Dallas Health Helpers, Shaklee Distributor in Dallas is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.252.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about immune system health.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about immune system health.

When the immune system is mentioned, often peoples’ minds go to extremes, thinking of AIDS or some other devastating condition.  Many immune system disorders are life-changing or life-threatening.  But everyone should be concerned about maintaining a healthy, strong system of defense against invaders to the body.

Your immune system is at work 24/7 to guard against foreign intruders to your body so that you don’t get sick.  This activity can help keep you from getting the sniffles, a cold or a more debilitating condition such as the flu or even hepatitis.

With the immune system up and running strong, these invaders are stopped before they can get a foothold on your cells and begin to destroy them and make you sick.  There are cells that run reconnaissance missions looking for the intruders.  There are immune system cells that take the information from the others and create antibodies to kill them off.   There are immune system cells that simply “eat” the invaders on site, inGet Healthy a search and destroy mission. These are only a few of the activities that the immune system does.

 

We also have to be aware of some things that can impact the system’s ability to do its job.

Age

            Stress

            Fatigue

            Nutrition levels

            Healthy activity levels

Obviously, we cannot do anything about our age, but the others are lifestyle related and we can take actions in those areas that will help to build up our immune systems and fight off illness more effectively.  De-stressing your life and getting plenty of sleep are very important.  Taking time for an effective amount of exercise without going to the extremes is key to keeping your defense mechanisms mobile.  Getting enough of the right nutrition is a challenge, but can be done with supplementation when eating right is not happening.  The good news is that all these changes or adaptations to our lifestyles have many side benefits.  Targeting your immune system will help you to enjoy better health in other areas of your life.  Just pay attention to your body and notice the improvements.

Shaklee Corporation produces a couple of products that work directly with your immune system.   Click Get Healthyhere to learn about Nutriferon and Defend & Resist. Shaklee also offers a money back guarantee.  Try it here.

Dallas Health Helpers, Shaklee Distributor in Dallas is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.252.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about restrictions of being overweight.

Shaklee Distributor in Dallas, Dallas Health Helpers, talks about restrictions of being overweight.

Being overweight or obese has many consequences. We know there are physical health problems that are brought about by too much weight.  But there are also emotional problems and difficulties in daily living activities.

Last week I was on a commuter flight from Houston to Dallas.  I noticed a gentleman get on the plane and put his bag down.  He then made his way to the back of the plane to talk to the flight attendant.  He walked back to his seat in a very humiliated manner.  He was carrying an extension for his seat belt.  He was obviously too big for the normal seat belt to fit around him.

I felt badly for him.  I would have felt even more badly if it had been someone I know and love.  That is why I find it important to help anyone I know who is overweight.

But that airplane episode is only one incident in what must be many scenarios that people who need to lose weight must endure on a daily basis.  Think about needing a bigger chair than what is available.  Think about bending to tie your shoe.  How would you feel if you were overweight and shopping for clothes?

Think of someone you know and love that needs to lose weight.  Do what you can to help them and support them to loose weight.  There are many plans out there and my favorite is the Cinch Inch Loss Plan.

Produced by the Shaklee Corporation, the Cinch Inch Loss Plan is based on 50 years of science and research.  Try it here.

Dallas Health Helpers, Shaklee Distributor in Dallas is about being healthy without drugs or synthetics. Call 214.252.9596 or email us to learn more about vitality and health.