Rise and Shine

How do you begin your day? I mean, after you awaken, how do you spend those first few hours of each new day? If you are like most of us, then I am sure you must be stumbling out of bed, brushing your teeth, taking a bath and sitting down with the newspaper with a cup of tea/coffee/juice and some breakfast. Then the maddening rush to work, dropping the kids on the way!

Did you take time to think during these hours? Did you plan your day ahead or focus on yourself? Did you really fill yourself with energy and enthusiasm for the day ahead? No? Why not?

How many times has it happened, that you were stuck in a traffic jam on the way to work or you received a bad call in the morning or had a tiff with your spouse? No matter what you did and how hard you tried, the rest of the day just didn't seem to go well or to fall in place? On the other hand, if you receive some great news in the morning or are greeted with a big smile and kiss from your child/spouse, don't you just feel that the rest of the day everything seems to be going your way? Work seems lighter, people are friendlier and the day just breezes by. Has it happened to you?

I believe that the first few hours every morning, ultimately has a great effect on how you will carry yourself for the rest of the day. It determines how you will speak, think, behave and view the world that day. It is very important to begin the day on a positive note, to take stock of whats important to you and to weed out useless thoughts. Start focusing on yourself for at least 30 minutes every morning and see the changes which occur in your life.

In this day and age, we hardly give time to ourselves. Morning hours are perfect for that purpose. Even more so, if you get up early so that there is no one around to distract you. This is the time when you need to revise or plan your 'to dos', focus on where you are and where you want to be and to energise yourself with the infinite power of the universe. The universe is truly remarkable and is the ultimate source of energy. It never runs out and is available 24x7 to anyone who seeks it. We just need to know how to plug ourselves in! Think wonderful thoughts, focus on only positivity, do some yoga or meditation or whatever is required to get yourself aligned with the positive forces of the universe.

So start tomorrow by giving yourself some exclusive time. Focus on yourself and think truly positive, splendid thoughts. Dream big, act bigger and smile. After all, its the beginning of a NEW day, which brings with it new opportunities, new ideas and maybe a completely new you!

Remember, what we think, we become.

Battle of the Bulge

Obesity is a problem all developed countries are facing. Infact according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 66.3% Americans above age 20 years are overweight and 32% are obese. Alarmingly 19% of children in the age group of 6-11 years are overweight.

When my wife became pregnant and started putting on weight, slowly but surely I started gaining weight too. In all terms, I guess, the pregnancy effect spread on me with full force. My weight ballooned by almost 15 kilos. More importantly I put on a lot of fat and seemed round and pudgy.

I have been reasonably fit throughout my life and this new state didn't quite gel with me. I started hitting the gym and focussed on getting myself in shape. Since then, I have lost around 15 kilos. More importantly, my body fat % has dropped to approximately 15% from 30%!  I have started fitting back into the clothes I wore during my college days. Yipeee!

During this phase I have learnt a lot and decided to share my new found knowledge with all those who are interested in getting in shape. 

First and foremost, for all those 'How much do I weigh?' obsessed people out there, its not about how much you weigh, but how much body fat are you carrying around with you. Thats the question you should be asking yourself. Take bodybuilders for instance, most of them weigh 90+ kilos! Do they seem unhealthy, fat or overweight to you? Its a fact that muscle weighs more than fat and takes less space too. Ultimately you want to replace fat with muscle to look good. Also you need to get into good cardio shape too. Therefore our ultimate plan will be to lift weights as well as do cardiovascular exercise for building strength, endurance and stamina.

To start off, measure your body fat % by following this link

http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Body-Fat-Using-the-US-Navy-Method

This will give you a rough idea as to how much FAT you are carrying around.  Then determine what your ideal body fat % should be, for your age group.

http://www.weightlossforall.com/fat-percentage-ideal.htm

This will give you a target to aim for. Remember, as you lose body fat, automatically you will weigh less (unless of course you are a hard core body builder!).

A careful planning of diet coupled with REGULAR exercise will be your way to fitness and good health. Don't fall for crash diets or any other miracle cures. Did you put on all that fat overnight? No? Similarly you cannot expect to lose all that weight overnight. It will take focus, dedication and a strong will to achieve your goal. BUT believe me, its very easy once you get into the groove. Just stick with it for a month and see the results yourself.

'The most important wealth a person can have, is their Health'

Stress. Good or Bad?

The past week was unusually stressful for me. Everything seemed to be going haywire and life seemed completely out of control. I wasn't getting sleep, wasn't able to enjoy with my kid, wasn't able to concentrate on work and was completely 'stressed out'.

How often do we find ourselves in that situation for some reason or another? Why is it that stress really wears us down and makes us a fraction of who we are? Is stress really so bad or is it not as it seems?

I really believe that everyone of us undergoes stress on a regular basis. The reasons may change, but we all experience it. Some of us are able to cope better than others and for some, stress releases the best within an individual. How many times have you heard yourself remark "His/Her life has everything, money, fame, success, happiness....everything that one could want. I wish my life was like that. If it was, then I would never be stressed"

Honestly, everyone of us faces stress in our lives. Thats the truth, no matter how much we disagree. Look around us, Bill Gates, Ratan Tata, Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, J.K.Rowling, Narayan Murthy, Dalai Lama and countless others, do you really feel that they are not facing stress at some point or another?

Is stress really so bad then? How come these people have reached where they are and are an epitome of success and happiness? What I believe is that stress is really not bad. It makes us aware that we are facing an uncomfortable situation. It is something that enables us to reach within our souls and become better than what we are, at the moment. It guides us to becoming a better person as to overcome the situation, we must enhance ourselves to a higher level of thought and performance. 

I am sure most of you must be thinking "Yeah right! Put yourself in my shoes and then lets see what you will say". Believe me, I have been in that position time and again. I am as good as handling stress as the guy next door. What I am trying to do, is to get an objective look on the concept of Stress.

Ok, think of your mentor or someone whom you admire or would like to be like. Put him/her  in your shoes. How would he/she respond to the situation causing you stress in the first place? Would they behave in the same way as you are or would they think or do things differently? Would they have coped better or dealt with stress better?

If the answer is yes, then what has changed? The situation is still the same, with the same amount of severity. Its our thinking and our ability to manage stress that changes. Why do we experience physical pain? It is the body's way of telling us that something is wrong and we should pay more attention to it otherwise things will get worse. Right?

Similarly stress is our mind's way of telling us that we are in an uncomfortable or bad situation and something needs to be done quickly, otherwise things will change dramatically. If this is so, then stress does not seem so bad isn't it? Its just your body telling you to do better, to take more care of yourself in whatever the situation might be. The moment you realise that and start acting in a manner which starts to alleviate the cause, you begin to cope better with the stress. Soon you will find out that you are better than what you were and it really wasn't such a big deal after all. When faced with a similar situation again, you will not be so stressed.

If we are constantly stressed, then will we be able to perform? The answer is no. We do need to take time away from stress. To take a holiday so to speak. Even if that means spending a half hour of silence a day. Believe me, you need to take breaks to replenish your body and mind. Only then will you be able to cope with stress and perform to the best of your abilities.

This is one of the secrets of the great leaders of this world. They face enormous amounts of stress but they have mastered the art of getting away from it once in a while. They leave the stress zone and take a break. Do we not get the best ideas, are the most imaginative or are truly performing to the best of our abilities when we are happy and refreshed mentally?

So take a break every once in a while to refuel your mind. It will help you deal with stress more effectively. If we jack up a car, switch on the motor and press the peddle down to full for lets say 2-3 days, what will happen? Will the car not break down? The same is with our body and minds.

We must give it breaks every now and then.

I believe silence is one of the most wonderful thing to experience. It lets you be aware of the higher being. Its the only way to get in touch with God. Spend a few minutes every day in silence, just by yourself. See the difference that makes to your life.

Next time stress beats down your door, you will know what to do.  Be the best that you can be, no matter what.

Natures Beauty

We are so wrapped up in our daily lives, surrounded by the concrete jungle, that we fail to realise how beautiful our planet really is. Nature is the most splendid creations of God and if we really stop to look, we will be astounded by its beauty. We do not need to go far to enjoy natures beauty, even in our daily lives we can stop and relish the gift called Earth.

Today, on your way to work or on the way back home, just do this small experiment to feel the power of nature. Try to go stop at a place where there is some greenery, maybe a lawn or a road lined by trees. Just stop there for a moment, close your eyes and stretch out your hands. Just feel the breeze. Feel it surrounding you and whisping by you. Hear it. Feel it. Experience it.

Just stay like that for a moment....... how does it feel?

Just imagine, if this can happen in the helter skelter, maddening rush of our city roads, what would it feel like to experience nature in a tropical jungle or on top of a high mountain or Antartica for that matter? 

I am posting here some photos which were recently forwarded to me. These were nominated for the best photo awards by Natural Geographic. Enjoy!

If you have some photos which show the beauty of our planet, please share links with us. I am sure we could all use a little more beauty in our lives!