Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Do you have a balanced diet?

Row_of_peppers_4 Are you eating a balanced diet? Find out by taking the following 24-question nutrition test, devised by nutritionist, Angela Dowden, for msn.com: http://msntestyourself.netdoctor.co.uk/interactivetests/nutritionquiz.php.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

What size is your carbon footprint?

Istock_000001091885small1_1 Here in the UK, Prince Charles has recently announced his plans to cancel his annual skiing trip to Switzerland in order to reduce his carbon footprint.

So what is a carbon footprint and how can you reduce the size of yours? Well, carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide. You can start off by discovering the size of your own carbon footprint at http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.html.

Next, learn how to minimise your Carbon Footprint at http://www.carbonfootprint.com/Minimise_cfp.html and, finally, discover how to offset your Carbon Footprint at http://www.carbonfootprint.com/carbon_offset.html.

Friday, January 19, 2007

Top 10 diet myths by Ross Chainey

Tape_measureThere is so much conflicting diet advice in circulation that often the truth gets lost or obscured, making it harder for you to lose weight. Ross Chainey for uk.msn.com sets the record straight on the most frequently reported dieting tips that are, in fact, untrue. See for yourself at http://www.msn.co.uk/health/dietmyths/default.asp?MSPSA=1. (Click on any one of the 10 images and you will be able to access all 10 of the diet myths.)

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Google Alerts

Alert_symbol Did you know that you can set up Google Alerts to keep you up-to-date on a subject close to your heart? For example, you can set up a Google Alert to monitor a developing news story, keep current on a competitor or industry, get the latest on a celebrity or event or keep tabs on your favorite sports teams. (I have alerts set up for 'retirement', 'aging', 'baby boomers', 'longevity' and 'older workers'.)

Google will send you an email when there are new Google results for your search terms. You can choose to receive these alerts either as they happen, once a day or once a week. Set up your own Google Alert at http://www.google.com/alerts.

Friday, January 05, 2007

How attractive are you?

MagnetI first heard about the Law of Attraction during my coach training with Coach University back in 2000 and deliberate attraction plays an enormous part in my life nowadays.

The Law of Attraction, like the Law of Gravity, is one of the laws of the Universe. It states that ‘like attracts like’ and that ‘what we think about is what we attract to us’.

You probably already know that everything in the Universe is made out of energy. Which means that we, ourselves, are made out of energy too. Energy vibrates. Which means that we, too, vibrate. When we are ‘down’ and miserable and thinking negative thoughts, we vibrate at low frequencies and when we are happy, ‘up’ and thinking positive thoughts, we vibrate at high frequencies. Since like attracts like, when we are exuding low frequency, negative energy, we attract more low frequency, negative energy to us. When we are exuding high frequency, positive energy, we attract more high frequency, positive energy to us. It’s as simple as that – we are all just big walking magnets.

The implications for us are that, when we are exuding negative energy, i.e., thinking about everything that is wrong with our lives or focusing on something that we don’t want, this is exactly what we are attracting to us. So, when we are worrying that we won’t have enough money to get through to the end of the month, that our car will break down in a high-crime area or that we won’t get that dream job that we have applied for – this is exactly what we will attract to us.

On the contrary, when we concentrate our time, energy and attention on what we DO want to happen – the good things in life, the prosperity and the abundance – this, too, is what we will attract to us. This implies that we must constantly focus our time, energy and attention on the things that we want to have in our lives, rather than concentrating those resources on what we don’t want in our lives.

This stuff works. Whether you are aware of it or not. You owe it to yourself to find out more about it. You can make a start by checking out the following websites:

http://www.attractionville.com/ for free resources and articles
http://www.lawofattractionbook.com/ for articles and teleclasses on Attraction

If you want to find out more about becoming deliberately attractive, I can recommend the following books:

The Attractor Factor by Joe Vitale



Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn



Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks

Remember, the Law of Attraction is at work all the time, whether you are aware of it or not. Better to be aware and using it to your advantage to attract the things you want in life, rather than a whole load of the things you don't want.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Happy New Year! - Part 3

Istock_000001091885small1 When you have your written-down goals for the year, you need to chunk them down into monthly targets. For example, if you have written down that you (intend to) weigh 140 lbs on 31.12.07 and you currently weigh 164 lbs, then, if you divide the weight you need to lose (24 lbs) by 12 months, you can see that you need to lose 2lbs per month in order to make that desire a reality. That's not so difficult is it?

If you are starting with no savings and you want to have £5,000 in your bank account by 31.12.07, then you need to save £416.66 per month in order to make your goal a reality.

You can then go on to chunk this down even further into weekly and even daily targets - this makes your £5000 savings goal just £104.16 per week or £13.69 per day! What could you do to save or earn an extra £13.69 per day? And doesn't that sound much more manageable than £416.66 per month?

Put your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals or targets somewhere you can see them regularly - how about the wall above your desk or your kitchen noticeboard? If you want your goals to remain private, get some postcard-sized cards, write your targets on them and carry them around with you. Read them often. Write about them in a daily journal. Make up a treasure map - get yourself a pile of magazines, find pictures, headlines and other illustrations that relate to the things you want and stick them to a large sheet of paper or card. They could be pictures of places you want to visit or that car you want to own. You could have a picture of your dream house up there. Group them in a way that's meaningful to you. Then, put the treasure map where you will see it often - it helps imprint your goals into your subconscious.

Find ways to rehearse and emotionally enjoy the experience of achieving your goals before you actually achieve them. Do you want a new car? Something really special that feels to be out of your reach at the moment? Get yourself down to the car dealership and take a test drive of your dream car. Smell that new car smell. Get the feel of the steering wheel under your hands and the feel of the seat under your bottom. Hear the clunk of the door as you close it.

Then think of all the reasons why you should achieve this particular goal. Think how you will feel when you have achieved it. Think what a difference it will make to your life. Keep your focus and attention on what you want - not what you don't want. Be aware of The Law of Attraction - it's at work whether you are aware of it or not. Better to be aware and using it to your advantage.

Come back tomorrow if you don't know about The Law of Attraction and want to find out more...

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Happy New Year! - Part 2

Open_for_business Setting goals in the way I described in Part 1 enables you to:

1. Gain clarity about what it is that you want
2. Begin to focus your attention and energy in that direction
3. Set yourself a big vision for the year - one that will pull you forward and motivate you.

During the act of writing down your goals, a part of your brain called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) is triggered which determines what you will notice and what you will pay attention to.

Think for a minute about all the stimuli that are constantly bombarding your brain via your senses. How does your brain know what it needs to pay attention to and what it can ignore? This is where the RAS comes into play - it gives you a 'heads-up' and tells you to pay attention to something that could be important for you. You know how, when you make a decision to buy a specific make and model of car, all of a sudden, the roads seem full of that particular make and model? They are everywhere you look? Of course, these cars haven't just appeared on the road - they were always there, but because, previously, they held no particular interest for you, your brain just screened them out. Now that you have a particular interest in this type of vehicle, your RAS has been activated and your awareness of them is heightened.

Another example of the RAS in action is when you are at a noisy, busy party with lots of people chattering all around you and music playing on the stereo, and then someone, across the other side of the room says your name and you hear them, despite and through all the other background noise that is going on.

The RAS works as a filter for your conscious and unconscious mind, sorting and evaluating incoming data and filtering out the urgent and important stuff from that which is unimportant.

By writing down your goals, the RAS is triggered - it receives the message: 'Wake up. This is important stuff. Pay attention and don't miss it'. Your brain can then go to work on your goal, alerting you to the appropriate signs, signals and opportunities and helping you get what you want. As Henriette Anne Klauser, author of 'Write it down, Make it happen' says: 'Writing down your dreams and aspirations is like hanging up a sign that says 'Open for Business'.

More tomorrow...

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Happy New Year!

Istock_000001380192small Hope you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and are looking forward to everything that 2007 brings. How are you doing with the New Year's resolutions? Wavering a bit? How successful have you been, traditionally, with keeping the resolutions you've made? Most people fail with theirs before January is out...

Are you willing to try something different this year? Can you spare an hour or so to sit down with a pen and pad? It's quite simple, really. All I want you to do is imagine that it's 31 December 2007 and you are looking back over the year and everything that you have achieved during 2007. Then I want you to make a list of all your achievements during the course of the year.

What would you like to be writing on your pad? How would you like to have spent your year? What would you like to have learned? How fit would you like to be? Where would you like to have been? How successful would you like your new retirement business to have been?

Use the following categories to help you:

Health
Money/finance
Retirement career/work
Relationships/family/friends
Personal Development
Fun/recreation/spare time/hobbies
Environment (home/garden/car/office)
Spirituality

Decide what you want to achieve this year in each category and then write it as if you have already achieved it, for example:

I had a brilliant time in Florida in March, in Ireland in August and ski-ing in Les-Deux-Alpes last week. I continue to exercise for an hour, 4 times a week and I have achieved my ideal weight of (you insert the figures) through a combination of exercising, healthy eating and portion control. My social life goes from strength to strength - I enjoy the cinema, theatre or meals out with friends at least twice a week and I am never short of invitations. My belly-dancing course has done wonders for my flexibility and my new internet-based business is starting to show a profit of (you insert the amount) each month.

Have fun with your list. What do you really, really want to be, do and have this year? Be as specific as you can. Then, come back tomorrow and I'll tell you more...