I like to take on a new self-improvement project or two every month. I pick some part of my life that needs work, and then I try to give it time and attention every day. This week, as the first half of 2010 came to an end, I got the idea of collecting my favorite ideas about diet and exercise—a draft owner’s manual for my body, a reference I can turn to when I’m struggling to lose one more pound.
- Looking Back, But Not for Long August 2, 2010
When you reach a goal, take a moment to enjoy the accomplishment. But after you’ve learned whatever there was to learn from this chapter of your life, keep moving forward.
- Hunting and Gathering in the Information Age August 1, 2010
Do you use your brain? Do your 21st-century lifestyle and career require you to trade in ideas? Get your body moving, and your brain will get stronger.
- The Slow and Steady Pace of Progress July 29, 2010
Making incremental changes in our lives—more good foods, more good habits, a little more dancing, a little more walking—can change the trajectory and get us where we want to go.
- Birds of a Feather, Part II: Frozen Fanatics July 28, 2010
If you find something you love doing that’s good for your health, your self-esteem, your sanity, and your spirit, you might become obsessed. You’ll be in good company.
- Forget About Months…What Can You Do in Five Days? July 27, 2010
What’s the goal on which you’re working? What could you accomplish toward that goal if you gave it everything you’ve got for five days?
- Give It Whatever You’ve Got July 26, 2010
When you don’t have the strength to do a lot, do a little. Whatever you’re trying to accomplish, find a way to make progress any way you can.
- Learning to Row: A Morning on Oyster Creek July 25, 2010
All the worry in the world won’t make you better at tackling the challenges you face. But if you show up, pay attention, focus, and open yourself to learning, maybe something good will happen.
- Moments of Pure Joy July 24, 2010
In writing and exercise, sometimes there are moments of pure, unadulterated joy, and no amount of struggle seems too much to endure.
- Making It Look Less Easy July 24, 2010
I wonder if “making it look easy” is doing a disservice to people who are hard at work on their own projects for self-improvement. Tonight I come clean—it ain’t always easy!
- Beginner and Master July 22, 2010
We have all been beginners. If we’re willing to work hard, we can all be masters. It’s a good experience to go back to being a beginner once in a while.
- Wet Sneakers, or the Moral Equivalent Thereof July 21, 2010
If you decide to commit to exercising every day—or sticking to any rigorous plan of action—there will be days when you have to walk around in wet sneakers, or the moral equivalent thereof.
- Laying a Minefield of Metaphors July 20, 2010
If we are to thrive, if we are to make the changes we want in our lives, we have to teach ourselves to think about what we’re doing in different terms.
- Go Ahead, Play With Yourself July 19, 2010
Have fun with the rules of your game. Let them inspire you, motivate you, goad you on, or give you something to brag about.
- But Really…Every Day? July 18, 2010
Frequent exercise has many documented benefits. Devote some time and attention to finding a routine that works for you. Challenge yourself. Try to figure out how much is too much.
- Bridging the Gap Between Full and Not Hungry July 17, 2010
You’re full, but you feel an ancient impulse telling you to forage for more food. You can avoid a lot of surplus calories if you bridge the gap between full and not hungry without more food.
- The Practical Effects of “Everything Counts” July 16, 2010
Maybe it’s as simple as this: Half of what it takes to exercise is the will to begin. Let “everything counts” be your safety valve, the truce terms in your internal struggle, or the little white lie that gets you to the starting line.
- Words Translate Will and Desire Into Action July 14, 2010
Words have power to create transformation. Find words or phrases that can translate your will and desire into action.
- Eating With Intentionality: Ask the Hard Questions July 13, 2010
The heart of eating with intentionality is evaluating every single impulse to eat by asking, “Am I really hungry?” No? Then the follow-up question is, “Why do I want to eat?”
- “All You Can Eat” Is No Bargain July 12, 2010
Try this exercise: Drop in at a Chinese buffet at the height of the lunch rush. Take a quick visual survey of the first 10 adults you see. Notice how many of them are overweight.
- Catch My Breath July 11, 2010
Once in a while you might have a day when nothing goes quite right.
- An Italian Meal Considered; Eating With Intentionality July 10, 2010
What we choose to eat is ultimately a reflection of what we value. If you want the experience of eating fine ingredients that have been prepared with care and attention, it’s going to cost you something.
- You Can Make Up Rules, Too July 9, 2010
It’s your life; it’s your game. Design a game that you’re willing to play for a specified period of time. Make it about one or more aspects of your life that you’d like to enrich.
- Birds of a Feather, Part I: Small Moments of Contagious Happiness July 8, 2010
Humans model and mirror both good and bad behavior. We influence and are influenced by one another in myriad ways that we can’t see or don’t understand. Want to fitness? Encourage your friends to get fit.
- I’d Like My Meal for Here…and to Go! July 7, 2010
Restaurant portions are out of control, but you don’t have to eat everything they serve you. When the server lays a super-sized meal on the table, make up your mind to take half of it home.
- Not Everyone Will Be Supportive, But That’s Not Your Problem July 6, 2010
Not everyone will admire what you’re doing. But their cynicism isn’t your baggage, it’s theirs. Don’t carry it for them. You have more important things to do, like getting healthy.
- Of Serendipity and Companions for the Journey July 5, 2010
You’re never doing this alone, even when you do it by yourself. There’s plenty of company in the struggle to get or remain healthy. You’ll find allies in the quest, companions for the journey.
- A Brief Meditation on the Need for Patience July 4, 2010
Don’t feel discouraged if you don’t get fit overnight. You spent years getting out of shape, right? It might take a few years of good habits to reverse the damage.
- Make a Game of It, Then Play to Win July 3, 2010
Whatever you’d like to improve about your life, try making it into a game. Challenge yourself. Make up your own rules. Then play it to win.
- The T-shirts Were Right All Along July 2, 2010
Find a physical activity that you really enjoy. You’ll do more of an activity that you enjoy. And more activity nearly always equals better health, which equals higher quality of life.
- Now Is a Good Time to Start July 1, 2010
If you’re still breathing, you have time to make significant, positive change in your life. If you’re trying to decide on a good time to start, may I suggest now?
