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One thing I'm teaching my kids is to not worry about the next day. My kids would frequently ask what we're going to do after bedtime -- and when they ask, we've barely started the new day! So, I would tell them, "Stop thinking about tomorrow. Think about today."
You know, we adults could be like children, always thinking about what we're going to do on the next day when we've barely lived today! We're thinking about the new job, or getting the bills paid, or planning a party or get together, or anything else that we could think about doing. We constantly find ourselves living in tomorrow rather than living today! Why is that? Why do we always live for the next step? When we get up, we're already thinking about the next day before we even had the chance to live today. Listen, you may not even live tomorrow! You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. So why even think about a day that hasn't even come yet? One time, King Solomon said, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring" (Proverbs 27:1). Not only are we not to worry about tomorrow, but we shouldn't even brag about all the things we're going to do tomorrow. You never know what could happen between now (as you're reading this blog) and when you wake up the next day. Now, all of this sounds very bleak, doesn't it? You may die tomorrow, or get hurt, or lose everything when you wake up. But the point is that you don't know WHAT could happen tomorrow, whether good or bad. Tomorrow didn't happen yet. However, you are living TODAY. You do have control over what you do today. You have no control of what will happen tomorrow -- because tomorrow doesn't even exist! Yes, you're worried about bills, about finding a job, about your loved one's health status. But if the worst part hasn't happened yet, then why worry about it? If everything is still going fairly well for you, then focus on that rather than focusing on what's going to happen tomorrow. One time, author Mark Twain said, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened." What is he telling us? He has lived his life worried about imaginary troubles. He spent each day worried about the next day. That is what we do, don't we? We spend today worried about the troubles of the next day. One time in the Bible, Jesus told his disciples, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself" (Matt. 6:34). Then he adds that today has enough troubles for you to think about. Your plate should already be full of the problems of today. Why overfill your plate with tomorrow's troubles -- especially if those troubles aren't even real? Listen, who cares about what happens tomorrow? Life may take a turn for the worst, but it may also take a turn for the best. You just don't know! But instead of spending your day thinking about what tomorrow has to bring, think about what TODAY has to bring -- and you'll see that today doesn't bring much (if any) trouble at all. And think about this: while you're spending your time pondering on all the woes to come, you could be spending your time enjoying all the good that's around you. The more time you spend on focusing on the good things of TODAY, the less you'll think about tomorrow's mayhem (which may never happen, of course). So right now, just put out tomorrow from your head. Tomorrow hasn't happened yet. And so far, today is going pretty awesome!
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 No doubt you're starting to see articles about how to eat healthy for the holidays or how to control yourself for Halloween. When you take your kids trick-o-treating, you'll have access to bags full of goodies! And if you're trying to lose weight or trying to keep your weight under control, you'll try to keep away from all the sinful delights!
Now, there is no way you'll allow your kids to eat a boat-load of candy. But, you don't just want to throw it away. But you also know you shouldn't eat it. Well, take my advice... Just eat the dang candy! Listen, splurging for one night is not going to kill you, or make you gain weight, or even give you cavities. So, just eat the freaking candy! It's not about what you eat. It's about your habits. One night of splurging on treats is not going to hurt your body. If you've splurge every night, then you'd have problems. If you already know that you don't eat poorly on a regular basis, then why not treat yourself this one time? Our family doesn't drink soda. We don't buy it. But whenever we're visiting friends or family or at a party, we "let loose!" Heck, it's not as if we drink soda at home or during our own time. After this party, we may not drink soda again until who knows when! So, why not let ourselves go for just this one time? Same thing for the holidays. We don't make a habit of eating sweets and fatty foods. We eat healthy every night. But when we're at a Christmas party or Thanksgiving dinner, we let loose! Why be the downers at our party, telling people that we can't eat this or that? Heck, we go all out! And why not? It's just for this one time. When you're trying to live healthy, you don't want to see food as the enemy. Candy, cake, fried foods, all of these foods are not your enemy. Seeing these foods as things to avoid is not having a healthy relationship with food. One of my pet peeves is when health-conscious individuals tell others to stay away from "processed foods" or "fast foods" or "junk food." And of course you'll have articles about how certain foods automatically make you fat or give you diabetes like grains or fruit. All food is good. There are NO bad foods. Just bad habits. Even a can of soda has something that the body could use: sugar. No, I'm not advocating that you make a habit of pigging out on chips, ice cream, and wash everything down with a 24 ounce fountain soda. What I am advocating is to not see any food or drink as your enemy and to learn how to do everything in moderation. Unless you're eating plastic or something that has absolutely nothing your body could use, then whatever you eat is good if eaten in moderation. Even a carrot could be toxic if you don't know how to eat it in moderation. You might be the type who thinks there are foods you need to avoid. Maybe soy is from the devil, or grains are poisonous, or that some fruits could make you fat. Well, my stance is that as long as you're not having an adverse or allergic reaction to the food, then it's good to eat. Enjoy your Halloween and your other holiday activities! And relax!  We've all said it at one point in our lives: "I'm bored" or "There's nothing to do."
Well, I have a solution that would permanently cure the "boredom disease." Are you ready for the cure? Here it goes: Find something to do! I'm actually serious about this! FIND something to do! Notice the emphasis on the word FIND. This means that even though there is no action coming to you, you could still be productive if you look for something to do. Think about it...
You see, there are PLENTY of things to do right now. You just need to find something to do. No, there may not be any concerts in town. There are no parades, your family and friends aren't doing anything, there are no good shows on T.V., and it's raining outside. Guess what? There is still something to do -- as long as you're looking. If you're always waiting for something to happen, then you will ALWAYS be bored! And being bored sucks! I give you this challenge. Write down 10 things that you've always wanted to do. Now pick how many of those you could start preparing for RIGHT NOW. For example...
As long as you're looking for things to do, you will NEVER be bored again. Heck, even if you're all laid up in the hospital, you could still find something to do. Try to use your mind to get better, or learn how to meditate like the pros! One of the things I want to teach my kids is to NEVER be bored. I would tell them that if they are bored, I WILL find something for them to do -- which is not usually pleasant. They would get up and start finding stuff to do! No, saying "I'm bored" is not allowed in this house. Learn to start something new, to find things to do, to make new goals in life. Otherwise, you'd find yourself bored with life. Heck, even employers don't want to hire individuals who are easily bored. If you've ever looked for a job, one thing you'd have noticed is that a lot of employers want employees who are "self-starters" or "self-motivated." Or in other words, they want employees who won't just sit around waiting for orders! They want employees who are always staying busy, even if the tasks they're doing are very minor such as cleaning a work area, making copies, or even asking the boss if there is something they could do. I don't care how small your town is or how limited your resources are. As long as you are looking for something to do, you WILL find something and you will NEVER be bored again. Once you start getting bored, that is when you need to look for something to do. There is always something to improve, something to learn, or something to chase after. Look for them and say good-bye to the days where there is "nothing to do."  Yes, your body has a self-destructive device that you frequently play around with EVERYDAY! Your fingers are always playing with the self-destruction button. You press it to activate it, then press it again to deactivate it. Then you turn it back on, then turn it off, then back on again, and the cycle continues!
What is this self-destruct button? Well, you actually have two buttons: your adrenal glands. These glands produce a stress hormone called cortisol, which in high amounts could actually kill you. In my CPR classes, I talk about the relationship between heart attacks and stress. It's not all the fatty, greasy foods that you eat (although they do play a role in your bad health). It's not even so much all the smoking and drinking you do (even though they do play roles in your bad health). The number one thing that would kill you is stress. Now you've heard it all before. You need to reduce your stress, meditate more, participate in yoga classes, listen to self-help CDs, etc. Blah, blah, blah! You know that stress is bad, but you're not all that concerned about it. And that's your problem: you're NOT concerned with your level of stress. You just live a stressful life. Stressful career, stressful family live, stressful love life, and it's like everything is just out of control for you. Nope, you just can't help being stressed out. It's apart of life! No big deal. Well, let me tell you a little something about your stress hormone. Cortisol is designed to get you out of dangerous situations. It's usually called a fight-or-flight hormone. If somebody is about to attack you, you either run or you fight. If the building is on fire, you get out. If you're about to be hit by a car, you jump out the way. If somebody is about to hurt a loved one, you jump in and kick the person's butt! See, cortisol is good! That is, in SMALL amounts. The hormone isn't supposed to last but for a few seconds. After the danger is cleared, then the hormone level drops. Your heart rate and breathing goes back to normal. You skin color goes back to normal, you're not as sweaty anymore, and life is good again. But then...well...even though IMMINENT danger is out the way, you're still living as if you're always in danger. You watch the news in the morning, in the afternoon, and right before you go to sleep. You're hearing of everybody getting shot, killed, raped, and laid off. All of this bad news makes you edgy...and stressed. Your body is starting to produce more cortisol! You go to work and the boss is hating on you again, your co-workers are incompetent, and upon that, you don't get paid what you're worth. You're stressed!
What are you doing? You're making your adrenal glands work overtime by pumping out so much cortisol. Now your body thinks you're always in the line of fire. Too much production of cortisol would start to become destructive. This is what starts to happens with all this cortisol production:
Too much cortisol is catabolic, meaning that it breaks down tissue in your body if it's not kept under control. You see, the body is a wonderful design. It could heal you of illnesses on its own...but it could also kill you on its own. Cortisol isn't something to mess with. Once you start using so much of it, you will be on your way to the grave! In fact, cortisol could be very destructive to athletes who are overtraining. Exercise activity produces cortisol, which is not a problem. However, too much exercising leads to a lot of production of cortisol, which means that all that exercise would actually BREAK DOWN the body rather than build it up. So, how do you know if you're always stressed out? Well, you might think you're fine. But ask yourself the following questions:
If you think you're living a stressful life, then it's time to make some changes. Believe it or not, you DON'T have to be stressed. No matter how many stressors are in your life, you don't have to react by getting stressed. I know, I know, easier said than done, right? But think about the alternative for NOT reducing your stress. You should seek to be stress-free just for the sake of your health. Remember, it's not as bad as you think it is! Relax! Even if it seems like a big deal, it's not. Nothing is more important than your life. |
DisclaimerAll information in this blog are for inspirational purposes only. Unless otherwise stated, all content is written and copyrighted by Aiyo A. Jones. Archives
December 2019
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