Sit up Straight! - Breathing Space Blog

Trainer Luke Richesson quoted in Men's Health magazine: "Your body adapts to the posture you most often assume. If you sit at a desk all day with your shoulders slumped and your neck protruding forward, then you'll inevitably have a posture that looks more like Neanderthal man than Superman. Want to be the best you can be...? Think about posture every waking minute.

Your mother was right, don't slouch.

Streamlining Your Life in the New Year - Breathing Space Blog

Mike Zimmerman, writing in Men's Health magazine offers some advice on streamlining your work and your life which:

* Use one email address for friends and family, another for shopping and spam.

* Use DVR recorders to make your own TV schedule.

* Check the news online. Skip watching TV news.

* Stop overworking.

* Stop over-packing, stop over-promising, stop overdoing everything.

* Discard junk mail immediately.

* Stop micromanaging.

Better Living Through Less Clutter - Breathing Space Blog

With the introduction of satellite television, the Internet, which was not prominent before 1993, and all the consumer choices that exist, many things that compete for your time and attention. If you cram that into the same 24-hour day or 168-hour week that you have always had, then your perception will be that time is speeding by.

For example, if you talk to a friend, watch a single television show while doing nothing else, read a book, or engage in any singular activity for one hour, you will have a certain perception of how quickly that hour will pass. But, if you pack more tasks into that same hour: the television being on, trying to read a book, maybe eating, maybe looking at 4-year-old; maybe a friend calls; maybe fiddling with an iPhone, and so on, then you perception of time changes. So, the more things that you can fit into that hour, then more things compete for your time and attention, and the faster that hour passes will seem to pass.

Does this seem like all the makings of a chaotic life? We each have 24 hours in day, so how are you supposed to fit in all of your daily tasks without getting so stressed out or frustrated that you cannot finish any? The answer is: less is more.

You can only eat one meal at a time. Focus on the task at hand and reflect on that 60's phrase, Be Here Now! You can actually taste the food when you are eating. You can actually watch the show that you are watching. You can actually play the sport that you are playing. Have the emotional and financial strength to let go of all the peripheral items competing for your time and attention and focus on the activity at hand.

The message that is being disseminated in contemporary society is to practice multi-tasking. "Do multiple things at once." "Click here." "Push here." "Turn me on." "Switch me on." Every place you look, you are besieged by more items competing for your time and attention. Now, people actually have dwindling attention spans. They lack the ability to remain focused on the same subject for more than a few minutes and, sadly, some people for more than a few seconds.

The key to reclaiming your time is to practice the art, something I call an art, of doing one thing at a time. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Focus on the task at hand and be present in the moment.

Better Living Through Less Clutter - Breathing Space Blog

With the introduction of satellite television, the Internet, which was not prominent before 1993, and all the consumer choices that exist, many things that compete for your time and attention. If you cram that into the same 24-hour day or 168-hour week that you have always had, then your perception will be that time is speeding by.

For example, if you talk to a friend, watch a single television show while doing nothing else, read a book, or engage in any singular activity for one hour, you will have a certain perception of how quickly that hour will pass. But, if you pack more tasks into that same hour: the television being on, trying to read a book, maybe eating, maybe looking at 4-year-old; maybe a friend calls; maybe fiddling with an iPhone, and so on, then you perception of time changes. So, the more things that you can fit into that hour, then more things compete for your time and attention, and the faster that hour passes will seem to pass.

Does this seem like all the makings of a chaotic life? We each have 24 hours in day, so how are you supposed to fit in all of your daily tasks without getting so stressed out or frustrated that you cannot finish any? The answer is: less is more.

You can only eat one meal at a time. Focus on the task at hand and reflect on that 60's phrase, Be Here Now! You can actually taste the food when you are eating. You can actually watch the show that you are watching. You can actually play the sport that you are playing. Have the emotional and financial strength to let go of all the peripheral items competing for your time and attention and focus on the activity at hand.

The message that is being disseminated in contemporary society is to practice multi-tasking. "Do multiple things at once." "Click here." "Push here." "Turn me on." "Switch me on." Every place you look, you are besieged by more items competing for your time and attention. Now, people actually have dwindling attention spans. They lack the ability to remain focused on the same subject for more than a few minutes and, sadly, some people for more than a few seconds.

The key to reclaiming your time is to practice the art, something I call an art, of doing one thing at a time. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Focus on the task at hand and be present in the moment.

Longer Life, but Enjoying it Less? - Breathing Space Blog

As a species, we live longer. The life span of the average caveman was 19 years. The life expectancy in Europe in 1392 was 38 years. The life expectancy in America in 1892 was 49. Today it is above 77 for American men, 79 for women, and quickly rising for both sexes. Yet, for most people in our society, most days race by.

The faster we're able to travel or to gain new information, the greater our expectations regarding what can and needs to be accomplished in our lives. A day is still 24 hours but it seems to shrink in the face of more to do or higher expectations about what has to be done.

Time management is not the answer--it's too antiquated for the rapidly changing world. Instead, you and your fellow employees can recapture control of your lives:
* Reduce excess reading;
* Don't feel compelled to keep up with the news;
* Rest often; and most importantly,
* Handle your errands on weeknights--not on weekends.

Longer Life, but Enjoying it Less? - Breathing Space Blog

As a species, we live longer. The life span of the average caveman was 19 years. The life expectancy in Europe in 1392 was 38 years. The life expectancy in America in 1892 was 49. Today it is above 77 for American men, 79 for women, and quickly rising for both sexes. Yet, for most people in our society, most days race by.

The faster we're able to travel or to gain new information, the greater our expectations regarding what can and needs to be accomplished in our lives. A day is still 24 hours but it seems to shrink in the face of more to do or higher expectations about what has to be done.

Time management is not the answer--it's too antiquated for the rapidly changing world. Instead, you and your fellow employees can recapture control of your lives:
* Reduce excess reading;
* Don't feel compelled to keep up with the news;
* Rest often; and most importantly,
* Handle your errands on weeknights--not on weekends.

Are You Too Busy, Too Often? - Breathing Space Blog

“If you’re too busy to enjoy your life, you are way too busy.”
                     Jeff Davidson

Are You Too Busy, Too Often? - Breathing Space Blog

“If you’re too busy to enjoy your life, you are way too busy.”
                     Jeff Davidson

Rolling Wellness - Breathing Space Blog

No time to make it to the gym? Check out Wellness On Wheels. From their site: “provides the most innovative approach to getting fit! We eliminate all the reasons most people don’t go to a health club: We come to you!

No travel time, dealing with the weather, or getting yourself psyched up to work out - we bring the health club to your door! And when we show up at the appointed time, we also provide focus and motivation, ensuring that the time spent exercising is safe and effective!”

Rolling Wellness - Breathing Space Blog

No time to make it to the gym? Check out Wellness On Wheels. From their site: “provides the most innovative approach to getting fit! We eliminate all the reasons most people don’t go to a health club: We come to you!

No travel time, dealing with the weather, or getting yourself psyched up to work out - we bring the health club to your door! And when we show up at the appointed time, we also provide focus and motivation, ensuring that the time spent exercising is safe and effective!”

Affirmations to Get Things Done - Breathing Space Blog

# I choose to be open to new ways of doing things.

# I choose to acknowledge the accomplishments of others.

# I choose to stay connected to the creative process.

# I choose to retain that which supports me easily.

# I choose to reach for the highest that is within me.

# I choose to maintain clarity in my work and my life.

Affirmations to Get Things Done - Breathing Space Blog

# I choose to be open to new ways of doing things.

# I choose to acknowledge the accomplishments of others.

# I choose to stay connected to the creative process.

# I choose to retain that which supports me easily.

# I choose to reach for the highest that is within me.

# I choose to maintain clarity in my work and my life.

Is Your Work Out too Hard? - Breathing Space Blog

Don’t work out so hard that you do lasting harm to yourself: The following news brief appeared several years back in Newsday.com:

Time is catching up with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ordinarily, a actor/politician's body would not be noteworthy. But what's happening now is the deconstruction of one of the greatest bodies ever. At 15, Schwarzenegger began transforming himself into a symbol of physical perfection, eventually winning more bodybuilding prizes than anyone in history… Referring to himself as the "bionic man," he finds himself with an artificial hip, reconstructed heart valves, a surgically repaired shoulder and a badly broken femur, an injury common among the elderly.

Unclutter Your Castle - Breathing Space Blog

    Take a look around your home.  What do you see?  More piles, more knickknacks, and more clutter than you can comfortably deal with. Through my experience as a professional speaker and author, I see all around me more people leading increasingly hectic lives while hoping to survive through the day with their sanity intact.  One’s home is one’s castle – one’s sanctuary, a place to relax and recuperate after the events of a stressful day. 

    All too often, though, stress levels only escalate as someone walks through the door and sees the disheveled, disorganized state of his or her abode.

    Time to join the growing numbers of people who are taking the time to reassess how they run their lives and are searching for ways to achieve a less-cluttered, more effective lifestyle without sacrificing practicality.  This lifestyle is most easily begun in the home, a place most enjoyed and best used when kept relatively simple.

Unclutter Your Castle - Breathing Space Blog

    Take a look around your home.  What do you see?  More piles, more knickknacks, and more clutter than you can comfortably deal with. Through my experience as a professional speaker and author, I see all around me more people leading increasingly hectic lives while hoping to survive through the day with their sanity intact.  One’s home is one’s castle – one’s sanctuary, a place to relax and recuperate after the events of a stressful day. 

    All too often, though, stress levels only escalate as someone walks through the door and sees the disheveled, disorganized state of his or her abode.

    Time to join the growing numbers of people who are taking the time to reassess how they run their lives and are searching for ways to achieve a less-cluttered, more effective lifestyle without sacrificing practicality.  This lifestyle is most easily begun in the home, a place most enjoyed and best used when kept relatively simple.

Streamlining Work and Life - Breathing Space Blog

Mike Zimmerman, writing in Men's Health magazine in 2005, offers some advice on streamlining your work and your life which:

* Use one email address for friends and family, another for shopping and spam.

* Use DVR recorders to make your own TV schedule.

* Check the news at CNN.com or some other general source. Skip watching TV news.

* Stop overworking.

* Stop over-packing, stop over-promising, stop overdoing everything.

* Discard junk mail immediately.

* Stop micromanaging.

Underfunding Healthy Foods - Breathing Space Blog

In a Baltimore Sun feature by Scott Kahan it appears that "A long-running contradiction in U.S. farm policy is fattening the waistlines of Americans and the profits of agribusiness at the same time. For the 30 years that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been issuing dietary guidelines, there has been a stark inconsistency between the federal government's advice and its food funding."

"True, the USDA has been doing more, over time, to promote health through dietary guidelines, food pyramids and other nutrition programs. And yet more than $20 billion yearly -- more than one-fifth its budget -- is sunk into a farm bill that supports many of the foods its recommendations warn against. At the same time, the department virtually ignores incentives to produce, promote and consume some of the healthiest foods: fruits and vegetables."

"This contradiction may play a role in today's obesity epidemic and is in part driven by a counterintuitive farm policy, highlighted by the farm bill, which is up for renewal this year in Congress. This legislation began during the Depression to protect farmers against environmental disasters and plummeting crop prices but has evolved into a massive program of handouts, largely benefiting agribusinesses. Worse, it promotes vast overproduction of crops that are the building blocks of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor, processed junk foods. It has become a 'food bill.'"

Jeff's take: overweight and obesity are the antithesis of Breathing Space. Learn to shop for yourself and eat what is healthy, or endure the consequences.

Underfunding Healthy Foods - Breathing Space Blog

In a Baltimore Sun feature by Scott Kahan it appears that "A long-running contradiction in U.S. farm policy is fattening the waistlines of Americans and the profits of agribusiness at the same time. For the 30 years that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been issuing dietary guidelines, there has been a stark inconsistency between the federal government's advice and its food funding."

"True, the USDA has been doing more, over time, to promote health through dietary guidelines, food pyramids and other nutrition programs. And yet more than $20 billion yearly -- more than one-fifth its budget -- is sunk into a farm bill that supports many of the foods its recommendations warn against. At the same time, the department virtually ignores incentives to produce, promote and consume some of the healthiest foods: fruits and vegetables."

"This contradiction may play a role in today's obesity epidemic and is in part driven by a counterintuitive farm policy, highlighted by the farm bill, which is up for renewal this year in Congress. This legislation began during the Depression to protect farmers against environmental disasters and plummeting crop prices but has evolved into a massive program of handouts, largely benefiting agribusinesses. Worse, it promotes vast overproduction of crops that are the building blocks of calorie-dense, nutrient-poor, processed junk foods. It has become a 'food bill.'"

Jeff's take: overweight and obesity are the antithesis of Breathing Space. Learn to shop for yourself and eat what is healthy, or endure the consequences.

I Can't Get no Satisfaction? - Breathing Space Blog

Chris Michaud writing in the New York Post says "A surprising 94 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their lives -- although far fewer in New York and other Eastern states think they're better off than they were five years ago, according to a new survey."

"The Harris Poll of more than 1,000 people reported the overall 'satisfaction' level, defined as people who said they were either very or somewhat satisfied with their lot, was up 4 percentage points, from 90 percent two years ago. But only 42 percent of people in the Eastern U.S. said things had improved since 2002. By contrast, 60 percent of Southerners and 62 percent of Westerners said their lives had improved."

Hmmmm, so ignore the New York Times and the other eastern media elite, and you have a better chance of grasping current reality.

I Can't Get no Satisfaction? - Breathing Space Blog

Chris Michaud writing in the New York Post says "A surprising 94 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with their lives -- although far fewer in New York and other Eastern states think they're better off than they were five years ago, according to a new survey."

"The Harris Poll of more than 1,000 people reported the overall 'satisfaction' level, defined as people who said they were either very or somewhat satisfied with their lot, was up 4 percentage points, from 90 percent two years ago. But only 42 percent of people in the Eastern U.S. said things had improved since 2002. By contrast, 60 percent of Southerners and 62 percent of Westerners said their lives had improved."

Hmmmm, so ignore the New York Times and the other eastern media elite, and you have a better chance of grasping current reality.