Month: July 2016

According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra), “a ‘Mantra’ is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and spiritual powers (that) may or may not have syntactic structure or literal meaning.”

While a mantra can be a word or sound repeated in meditation, it can be, simply, a statement or phrase one repeats frequently. It can be a daily affirmation or a phrase that gives one focus.

Daily meditation is a practice that I have never quite mastered. I journal daily (most days) and this gives me some level of meditation and reflection. Journaling helps me focus to start the day, but focus is often quickly lost—especially as I enter traffic in my daily commute. I strive to get better at “hitting the pause button”, as Jim Harshaw calls it, and just shutting out the crap going on around me and centering myself. When I do set aside 15 minutes or so in the day for “prayerful meditation and reflection”, I find my mind often drifts, and I am not effectively using the time. I am working on this.

Reciting a daily mantra can help. I end my morning journal entry with the same two phrases every morning: “To God be the glory” and “Grace and Peace”. I try to let these set the tone for the day, but….

I have been considering the notion of mantras lately. I realize that there are four statements that I use a lot in my writing that reflect my desire to be more centered spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. These are:

“I am third.”

“Grace and Peace.”

“Be your best today; be better tomorrow.”

“Carpe momento.”

I am sure there are better phrases I could select, but these have meaning for me. They serve both as daily affirmations and daily reminders of the person I want to be.

“I am third” comes from the book with the same title by Gale Sayers. I have an autographed copy that I have read numerous times over the last 40+ years. The premise of “I am third” is that my God is first, my family and friends are second, and I am third. My greatest weakness is that I am inherently selfish. When I get frustrated and mad it is usually (when I really admit it to myself) because my ego has been bruised. This will likely be a theme for a future post, so I won’t dwell on it here. This phrase, however, is one that I like to have before me to remind me of the importance of my spiritual and social dimensions and of why I put effort into the physical, intellectual, and emotional dimensions.

“Grace and Peace” comes from the greetings that begin all the letters from the Apostle, Paul. They reflect the attitude with which I should (though rarely do) approach others. I try, especially when I know that I am walking into a tenuous situation, to repeat these words prior to interactions with persons who tend to frustrate me. I say, “I try.” This is not as regular as I would prefer. Too often it is an after thought, so I keep working at making it a regular “mantra”.

“Be your best today; be better tomorrow” began more as a marketing phrase I used when I owned a performance sports training facility and as a motivator for my son in youth sports. It is a phrase that I use often in my writing, but it also serves as self-motivator. I begin my day with this as a goal, but I need to remind myself throughout the day.

“Carpe momento” (seize the moment) is, of course, a theme of this blog. It evolved from my use of carpe diem (seize the day) as an effort to add emphasis (my dad, rightfully, didn’t like “carpe friggin’ diem”, and I couldn’t find a creative alternative). To me it emphasizes the importance of the here-and-now. It tells me to be present in the moment. It tells me to be fully engaged with others and to take action. It is a reminder of the immediacy living an (extra)ordinary and successful life.

I am new to the mantra-thing—at least to making a concerted effort to recite daily mantras. It is said, “practice makes perfect.” So, let’s get at this!

I encourage the reader to find his/her manta phrases and keep them at them before you. Post them where you regularly see them. Recite them often. Keep focused and do (extra)ordinary things today!

Be your best today; and be better tomorrow!

Carpe momento!

Feel free to share your mantas with me in the comments. I’d love to hear from you (and know that people actually read this!).

Grace & Peace.

“It doesn’t matter how much you want. What really matters is how much you want it. The extent and complexity of the problem does not matter was much as does the willingness to solve it.”–Ralph Marston

We all have goals in life. We should have goals in our lives. But are these really goals or are they mere wishes?

What differentiates a goal from a wish? DETERMINATION!!

Do you get up in the morning with the same desire for things to get better, or do you wake up with a plan to make things better?

I tell my children all the time that “Can’t never did anything.” Likewise, it is my desire for them to know that they can do whatever they aspire to do. Will is a powerful ally.

Certainly one will make the argument the “’Can’t never did anything’ does not apply to….” Ah, but impossible rarely applies. Perhaps doing will be hard and no one has done it, but the only thing stopping us from doing the “impossible” is the willingness to try.

I love the story about Craig Dietz, a Pittsburgh attorney born with no arms or legs. Someone forgot to tell him that a man in his condition cannot swim. If someone did, he failed to listen, because he manages to swim some impressive distances.

The stories of success in the face of “insurmountable” odds are limitless. Check out Kyle Maynard, the first quadruple amputee to ascend Mount Kilimanjaro without the aid of prosthetics (also finished 12th as a wrestler in the 103-pound weight class at the National High School Wrestling Championships; or Anthony Robles, who concluded his Arizona State wrestling career with a record of 122-23 and was a three-time Pac-10 wrestling champion, as well as a three-time All-American; or…the list goes on.

Indeed, the only limits to success are in our minds. If we desire something, the question we need to ask ourselves is “what is stopping me?” Once our limitations are identifies, we need only determine to overcome them. It is easy to see what is stopping us. Our greatest challenge is to believe we can.

To what do you aspire? Is it a wish, or have you made the decision to accomplish it no matter the obstacles?

Carpe momento!

“Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.”–John C. Maxwell

In human existence, we are growing, we are stagnating, or we are decaying. We tend to think of aging as a natural process of decline. While it is true that physical processes do decline with age, there is no reason to believe that the process of aging and physical disability are certain. Orison Swett Marden wrote in The Miracle of Right Thought that “a man is like a fine clock, which, if properly cared for, will keep splendid time and run for a century, but, if neglected or abused, will very soon get out of order, and wear out or give out before it should.”

Why must we use phrases like “grow old” and imply declining function? How is it that growth and aging are so negatively equated?

Growth is a positive process. There is no indication of negativity. Growth is equated to increase and maturity. Never is growth considered a process of decline.

Old is a term of relativity. Certainly any of us who are over fifty remember when fifty was old. Now, however, we would hesitate to call ourselves old (or at least we should). What, then, becomes old? Sixty? Seventy? Eighty? One hundred?—Only until we hit these milestones.

Age is really just a tick of time. What meaning is there in the phase: “Act your age”? Honestly, what is a 50 year-old supposed to act like?!

Aging is a maturation process. Physically, humans reach full maturity around 30 years. Is life then like the old wooden rollercoasters where click-click-click we steadily climb the rails of physical maturity, pause briefly at the pinnacle, only to scream “Oh, sh———“ as we plunge rapidly to the bottom? What nonsense is the notion that one should expect a rapid decline in physical abilities, as we grow “old”?

In my exercise physiology course, I teach my students that muscle mass declines 10% from 25 to 50 years of age. Muscle mass declines an additional 40% from the age of 50 to 80 years! This is not very promising until we add that much of this decline is simply a matter of disuse—the old principle of “use it or lose it.” Our bodies don’t wear out. They rust out!

From a well-centered fitness perspective, we should be regularly growing spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. We are supposed to be our best today and be better tomorrow. We must establish a plan for regular growth. (Note: I say “regular growth”. Constant growth is not reasonable. We will most likely see periods of accelerated growth, steady state, and even atrophy, but overall we should see progress.)

From a physical prospective, I tell my students that, if we can simply maintain over the years, we will eventually exceed our peers, who have allowed life to interfere with their growth progress. I recently saw a story about a 94 year-old man who broke the bench-pressing record for his age group with a bench press of 206 lb. It occurred to me that, while my bench press is not currently impressive, if I could maintain for 40 years, I could shatter this record.

Progress might be slower in our later years, but we can progress. It is never too late to establish a growth plan for one’s self. Certainly, the sooner the better, and there is no better time than the present.

“If you wish to appear young think of yourself as being constantly renewed, rejuvenated, for there is a perpetual renewal going on in the cells of your body. Think of youth as the everlasting fact and old age conditions as false, unnecessary, unnatural, caused largely by old age thought habits, race habits, old age convictions. Say to yourself, ‘I cannot grow old because I am perpetually being made new, and new cells cannot look old unless made so by old age thought and conviction.’ Think life, live it; think youth, live it; feel it, express it from every pore of your being!”—Orison Swett Marden

“The very intensity of your longing to do a certain thing is an additional proof that you have the ability to do it, and the constant affirmation that you can and will do it makes the achievement all the more certain. What you dream you can do, think you can do or believe you can do, you will do.”–Orison Swett Marden

I was moved over the last couple of days by two stories I saw on social media. One was about a young Georgia man, Fred Barley, who rode over six hours on his brother’s bicycle to attend college. He carried a tent, as he was homeless when he arrived on campus to enroll in classes. Campus police put him up in a local hotel for a couple of days. As his story spread many in the community offered him help. Barley accepted only help finding a job. Another inspiration was a video of a 14 year-old, young man, named Daron. Daron likes cutting grass, but the houses are too far away. So, he saved to buy a bicycle and built a trailer for his mower, blower, and fuel. These are simple stories, but they are stories of ambition. They are stories of self-determination. They are stories about self-faith. These are two men who will, undoubtedly, see great success and have tremendous impact in their communities.

If you follow this blog and haven’t figured out, yet, I am a big fan of Orison Swett Marden, who founded Success magazine in the late 1890’s. Paragraph after paragraph of his books is chock full of inspiration. There are countless modern motivational writers/speakers, but Marden and James Allen are the originals in my opinion. I read in their words inspiration to reach for success, not for the purpose of fame and wealth, but for the purpose of Purpose. I believe we are all placed on this earth for some Purpose. He is formed for a Purpose greater than self—to have (extra)ordinary success. Unfortunately, most of us fail to realize our potential and our Purpose is largely unfulfilled.

In The Miracle of Right Thought, Marden discusses the importance of “self-faith.” He writes of the error of the ancient theology that man has “fallen from his original grand estate.” He emphasizes “there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that man was to prostrate himself before his Maker like a sneak or a slave.” Rather, “man is to assert his divinity.” In the Christian faith, man is made is the image of God. Why, then, do we focus on our flaws and deem our dreams impossible?

Only the obstacles we create in our own mind limit us. Self-deprecation serves only to distract us from what we are to become. Four times in the Bible, Christ makes the statement: “You of little faith.” Each is followed with one of what have been coined the “enemies of faith”: anxious care (Matthew 6:30), fear (Matthew 8:26), doubt (Matthew 14:31), and human reasoning (Matthew 16:8). One does not have to be a Christian or religious person to see the application of these in principle. These (anxious care or worry, fear, doubt, and our own inferior reasoning) are contrary to the forces that drive success.

‘Can’t’ never did anything. I don’t allow my children to use the word “can’t”. It is self-limiting. It is destructive to self-faith. To utter the words “I can’t” is to give up. Undoubtedly, the path to success will be met with a series of failures, but this does not conclude with “I can’t.” Failure is simple an indication that our efforts are misdirected. Failure is part of the learning process.

To succeed, one must first believe that he or she can do. As Marden so aptly states: “Success is achieved mentally first.” One cannot will not succeed unless one has sufficient faith in oneself. To deny one’s ability is to deny one’s Purpose. True, we may not be as successful as some more gifted in certain areas, but this only limits the magnitude of one’s success—it does not prohibit success.

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”—Theodore Roosevelt

Carpe momento!

“The habit of expecting great things of ourselves calls out the best that is in us.”—Orison Swett Marden

Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill). The Power of Positive Thinking (Norman Vincent Peale). The Power of Possibility Thinking (Robert H. Schuller). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey). Awaken the Giant Within (Tony Robbins)…. The list of “self-help” books is massive. At the core is the very basic principle that we are who we think we are (As a Man Thinketh, James Allen; The Miracle of Right Thought, Orison Swett Marden; Proverbs 23:7—“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”). What thoughts we allow to dominate our mind feed who we are. If we are negative and pessimistic, success will surely elude us. If we set out thoughts on that which is positive, encouraging, and self-affirming, we bring out the best in ourselves.

An old friend came to mind this morning. Early in my university career, I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Charlie Chatterton. Charlie and I started at Eastern Michigan University about the same time and worked together for a few years before we both moved on to other universities. Charlie is hands-down one of the most positive people I know. I, on the other hand, gravitate toward negativity. Charlie and I would often run together, and I would invariably vent my frustration about someone or something. Charlie was always quick to call out my negativity with his most positive attitude. He never called me out directly, but was quite capable of shining a light on my faulty attitude. I would complain about something so-and-so had done, and Charlie would, in such a positive and encouraging tone, point out to me that perhaps I am not seeing things from the other’s perspective. It would frustrate the heck out of me. Not that it was annoying, but rather because Charlie was right. I could argue my point, but I would know instantly that he was right and that my selfishness and negative thinking had been exposed.

I have since learned to be more intentional when starting my day and to hit the pause button at the very start of the day to focus my thinking on the positives. If I don’t do this daily, it shows in my attitude and my social interactions. (Self-disclosure: this doesn’t mean it has a permanent effect on my attitude; I can very quickly slip back into my negative pattern no sooner than when I get on the highway for my commute.) Should I slip back into a negative attitude, it important to immediately hit the reset button—to reclaim my positive thoughts.

Journaling is an important step in initiating greater expectations for the day. It helps me to do this first thing in the morning—before working out, showering, eating, etc. Once one gets started with the activities of the day, it becomes increasingly more difficult to hit the pause and stop to gather one’s thoughts for the day—to set goals, reflect on one’s values, express one’s gratitude, state affirmations, and whatever else one might chose to include in one’s journal.

I have a rather long commute to work—about an hour each way.   I find it helpful to listen to motivational podcasts to fill the time. This helps me maintain the positivity and keep the focus. Otherwise, traffic, drivers, and delays can negate my efforts to be gracious and at peace.

So, the choice is ours. Shall we expect great things? Or shall we expect failure and disappointment? Be your best today (expect your best today); be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento.

“The man who would succeed must think success, must think upward. He must think progressively, creatively, constructively, inventively, and, above all, optimistically. You will go in the direction in which you face.”–Orison Swett Marden

We need to be intentional with success. The other day, I wrote about focus. Without proper focus, success will surely evade us.

We cannot go about our day haphazardly. We must chose our goals wisely and be specific.

Specificity is a principle of adaptation in exercise: the body system makes specific adaptations to imposed demands (also known as the “S.A.I.D. Principle”)—i.e., if one wants to build muscle strength, one must lift near maximal resistances for few repetitions; if one wants to build muscle endurance, one must lift submaximal resistances for many repetitions. Likewise, in the pursuit of success, specificity applies.

One who would be successful must direct oneself toward completion of the task at hand. There is a saying that “if you fall on your face, at least you are moving forward.” Success is not guaranteed, and failure will inevitably occur along the way; however, if our thoughts are focused on success, we will ultimately succeed.

Daily goal setting is essential. Write goals down. Be intentional. Prioritize.

Journaling and daily planning is fundamental. Taking pause (ideally, at the start of the day) to consider what is important and what needs to be done today will make sure that the non-essentials don’t interfere with the plan.

Orison Swett Marden is clear that we cannot desire success and simultaneously doubt that success ours to possess. No. We need to be confident that success is ours for the taking. Let no one tell you otherwise—especially the annoying voice of doubt in your head. Claim your success with your actions. Let nothing distract you. See it. Believe it is yours. With effort and focus, success will be your.

Carpe momento!

“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.”–Jack Canfield

Keeping focus—keeping to the task at hand—can be challenging. There is no such thing as multi-tasking. Despite our self-deception, we really can handle multiple tasks simultaneously. Ultimately, we wind up doing a less than ultimate job at the activities we try to juggle.

I haven’t posted a blog for sometime, because I have been struggling myself with focus. I am trying to keep far too many pans on the stove.

As a university professor, I often find it challenging to regulate the many responsibilities that go with the teaching, scholarship, and service requirements. It can at times be overwhelming to figure out what to do next. Personally, I have to dedicate time to course preparation, grading, research, committee work (chairing a committee like the Institutional Review Board, itself, can feel like a full-time job), and program development. On top of all this, there has to be time for family and time for personal reflection/development (i.e., spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, and social well-centeredness). Like most people, I don’t always manage these well.

So, how does one manage to not burn everything on the burner? (My eight year-old daughter has introduced my to cooking shows like Worst Cooks in America and Beat Bobby Flay, so I have learned a bit about task management recently from the likes of Bobby Flay and Anne Burrell.) The key is organization—planning and task prioritization. For me, I often need to just take a little extra time in the morning to hit the pause button and plan my day. Daily journaling is key. However, journaling needs to be more than simple reflection. It must include goal-setting and daily focus.

I wrote recently about Rory Vaden’s (author of Procrastinate on Purpose) idea of “productive procrastination.” Vaden shares a concept of three-dimensional time-management that considers not only the urgency and importance of a task (per Stephen Covey), but also the dimension of significance (i.e., prioritizing according to how long something matters). In other words, we must do first those things that have the greatest significance relative to importance and urgency. If something can be put off for a day or so, then is should be delayed in favor of things that are of greatest significance.

Summers are especially challenging for me as a professor. On one hand, I am “off” for the summer (since I rarely teach summer courses). On the other hand, this is time for me to catch up. This summer, for example, I have research data to analyze and write up for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. I also have a list of projects to do for the IRB and a graduate program proposal I need to prepare. On top of this, I have a reading list and personal fitness goals. On top of all this, my kids are home, and I want to spend time with them (and my wife, when she gets home from work). It is often a challenge, however, to stop what I am doing to do something with or for the kids. Ashamedly, my response is often something like: “Can’t you see I am busy?!” Really? I wish sometimes they would call me out on this. (“Didn’t I just see you checking e-mail?” or “Weren’t you just on Facebook?”)

Like most of us, I need regular reminders of what are priorities. In addition, I need to focus.

A great way to focus our attention is to begin the day with the “pause button.” Take 15-30 minutes every morning to schedule your day. Include physical exercise, reading, and time for others. Then, after time is set-aside for these, prioritize the tasks that need to be done and that you want to do. If they are significant and important, you will certainly find the time to get these done. If the task is urgent and important, but not significant, perhaps it can be passed off to someone else to do?

I am a person who doesn’t like to leave things undone. (Take annual yard tasks like spreading bark dust/mulch. Our yard requires about a unit—7 cu. yds. I cannot leave such a task unfinished. When the load of bark dust is delivered, I can’t stop until the pile is cleared from the driveway. As such, I plan accordingly. Nothing interferes until the job is done.) Taking this to heart, I must plan my day. Without proper planning, social media, e-mail, television, etc. will surely waste my day. With planning, however, I am always more efficient and effective.

So, this takes one priority item off the list….

Carpe momento!