Do you ever daydream . . . imagine all the wonderful possibilities? Maybe spend part of a weekend afternoon laying on your back, watching the clouds roll by in a crisp blue sky? As you ponder the clouds, do you consider your dreams and the possibility that you could one day make them a 'real' part of your life? We are taught, as children that staring mindlessly out the window during class is not a good habit to develop, for good reason - to learn, you need to pay attention and absorb the lessons presented.
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As adults, in our always-on, multi-tasking, get-it-done, work-work-work society, we all too often leave little time to take good care of body, mind and soul . . . to have a little fun and maybe even ponder all the wonderful possibilities in daydreams. I frequently fall victim to that mentality and have been known to habitually burn the candle at both ends. But I recognize that it is unhealthy to work all the time, leaving little time for play, relaxation and self-care. I not only recognize the danger of overwork and burn-out, I am proactively striving, each day, to do something about it: Take small daily steps to promote my own health and happiness. That effort includes regular exercise, a diet increasingly focused on fresh fruits and vegetables, meditation, and 'yes' daydreaming about my dreams and desires.
I intend to 'Imagine The Possibilities', daily, as part of my effort to promote good health and happiness, and to breathe life into my dreams, resolutions and goals. Where you focus your attention matters. If you dwell constantly on nagging worries, negative self-talk, or the problem du jour (there is always a new daily problem, or irritant), then little time remains for joy, creativity, learning, laughing, lending a hand, and a myriad of other positive activities and thoughts.
Personally, if I face writer's block, a nagging problem that eludes a quick solution, or minor daily frustrations, I will head outdoors for a long walk and it always makes me feel better. I change the channel to something more pleasant, something that I love to do, and typically I return with fresh energy that enables me to resolve some of my pending issues. Some challenges, of course, take days and months to resolve - like finding a new job (new clients in my case), improving health, finding a mate, finishing a college degree (or finding the wherewith-all to return to school), to name just a few. But when you leave yourself open to the notion that 'it is possible to achieve your intended result' - including big, life-altering dreams . . . and if you are patient, persistent and passionate, you are much more apt to succeed. If you constantly let fear get in the way, you set yourself up for failure before you even begin. Don't fall in to that trap!
When I began my study of what works and what doesn't work for resolution-making-and-keeping in 2005, I used myself as an informal case-study. My resolution was to work out each day for at least 30-minutes in a variety of ways ranging from walking, biking and weight-training, to swimming and light Yoga. I blogged about my efforts, tracked activity on a calendar (dotted with bright foil stars to mark progress!) and journaled doctor mall in spiral notebooks for the full year. I discovered, after 12-months, that I had exercised approximately 80-percent of the time. I was very pleased. I wasn't shooting for a perfect score of 100 percent. I was attempting to exercise regularly because I enjoyed it and I wanted to promote a healthy body and mind. I discovered a simple common sense truth: When you focus on a limited number of goals/resolutions that you enjoy and take simple, small daily steps toward achievement, you reduce fear, frustration and the sense of being overwhelmed. You won't reap overnight results because resolution-keeping is a marathon, not a sprint, but you will reap results over time.
I created a simple, common sense system that is based on how I approach my own dreams, resolutions and daily goals. It consists of five easy-to-understand steps that offer structure and a process to resolution-making-and-keeping:
1. Dare To Dream: Spend some time daydreaming. Consider all the wonderful possibilities. Open your mind to the notion that you can succeed if you educate yourself, build a plan, schedule your daily steps, and follow through. Create a Lifetime Resolution List that consists of all the things that you would love to 'do, see, feel, experience, achieve, create, have' in this lifetime, then 'go for it' one small step at a time, one day at a time.
2. Decide: Where you focus your attention matters. Make a firm decision to pursue your dream, resolution and daily goals, schedule the small action steps, then follow through. Taking the initial step of committing to your intention is half the battle. The other half is building the momentum that will enable you to turn your dream into a permanent, habitual, part of your life.
3. Define: Be specific about the 'who, what, when, where, why, and how' of your dream. I created a simple formula as an illustration: Big Dream + One Sentence Resolution + Small Daily Goals (Daily Resolves) = Success, Achievement & Reward. One of my top Lifetime Resolutions is to exercise regularly: I Resolve To . . . Exercise at least 30-minutes each day, in an effort to tone and build muscle, promote good health, maintain my ideal weight, and cultivate a good mood and positive outlook, by biking, walking, weight-training, swimming, stretching, and doing light Yoga.
4. Develop A Plan: Do on-going homework about the 'who, what, when, where, why, and how' of achieving your dream and resolution. Build a plan, timeline and milestones that consist of small daily steps (daily goals, or 'daily resolves'). Schedule those To Do's'. Track progress in a blog, on a calendar, or in a hard-copy journal and Check-In daily (or weekly at a minimum). Find a buddy, a group, classes, and/or a mentor with whom you can share the journey. Learn from your mistakes, let them go, and move forward. Always celebrate your successes and reward yourself for hard-won victories!
5. Do It Daily: Take one small step at a time, one day at a time, for one year. It is truly amazing how much can be accomplished when you are patient, passionate and persistent. The small victories add up over time and become 'big results'. Climb every mountain and tackle every challenge one small step at a time, one day at a time with your 'daily resolves'!
There's no reason to wait for January 1, 2010 to make good on your dreams, resolutions and daily goals. Get moving today, have some fun and enjoy yourself!
It is important that we first make sure that we are clear about what we are discussing in this article. When it comes to freshly squeezed orange juice we mean that which has been taken from the orange and then drank straightaway. As you will discover when you go to the supermarket there are plenty of products on the shelves claiming to be "freshly squeezed" but have on them a shelf life of several days. So is the juice really freshly squeezed if it has been on the shelf for up to a week after being bottled?
No it isn't. What is worse is that most of these freshly squeezed products will have been heat treated in order to ensure that they can be kept on the shelf for longer periods of time. The heat that is applied during the pasteurisation process destroys many of the vital nutrients in the food we eat so that risky pathogens can be removed. But making your own juice at home with a juicer reduces the risks to you. In fact when food is produced on an industrial scale those risks become greater.
There are a few fresh orange juice products where it states it has been gently pasteurised. But this is complete nonsense as it is or isn't pasteurised. When it comes to gently pasteurising do they wear fluffy gloves and place the juice bottles on cushions after the process has been completed? Do we really care? When these terms are used the manufacturer of the juice wants to make it sound as if their product is good for you, when in fact they are only trying to increase their profit margins.
One thing you can be sure of is that the juice will still have been heated and so much of the nutritional value of it has been taken out. Making your own freshly squeezed orange juice at home will ensure that it is perfectly safe and full of those nutrients your body needs. But there are many other benefits to be gained from using your own citrus juice or press in order to make your own fresh orange juice. If you don't drink any fresh juice, below are just some of the many reasons for including real fresh orange juice into your diet.
1. One glass of fresh orange juice will ensure that you get your recommended daily dose of Vitamin C.
2. Fresh orange juice contains flavonoids which can help reduce blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels.
3. As well as freshly squeezed orange being high in antioxidants it is high in dietary fibre, thiamine and folates.
4. Studies carried out have proven that fresh orange juice can protect one against cancer and heart disease as well as boost our immune system responses.
5. Drinking fresh orange juice can reduce the damaging effect that free radicals have on the cells in our bodies.
6. There are many different flavonoids and phyto-nutrients in fresh orange juice that can protect you against a number of degenerative diseases.
Actually your daily boost from this fruit couldn't be simpler. Just get some oranges, cut in half and extract the juice using a citrus juicer. It only takes a couple of minutes to do and the benefits are obvious to us all even the most sceptical amongst us. This is because the amount of research that has been carried out by various institutes around the globe.
There are two types of citrus juicers available. There are those which use a motor and those that you need to operate by hand using a lever that helps to squeeze the juice out. The electric types sometimes referred to as citrus reamers operate on the basis that you place half the orange on to a cone that is rotating and which then reams and squeezes the fruit flesh. It extracts the juice but makes sure that the pips are strained away.
With the manual citrus juicer or press it comes with some sort of lever that you pull down on to the orange (cut in half) on to a static cone below. The fruit is simply pressed and the juice extracted filters away into a container below. Both kinds of juicers are quick and easy to use and come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and prices to meet ones needs.
If you would prefer your orange juice to have bits in it then go for one that has a coarse pip strainer. However, when you buy fresh orange juice from a juice bar you will see that they use automatic kinds of citrus presses. These are ones where the fruit rolls in a machine, gets cut in half and then will be squeezed in the same way as would happen if you use a manual citrus juicer at home. The whole point of this machine is to ensure that the goodness is retained when your freshly squeezed orange juice is made in just a matter of seconds for you.
Making your own juice at home using an orange juicer provides you a delicious health promoting drink in the same time it would take you to boil the kettle. So this is one of the most effective kitchen activities for you to help maintain good health.