December 2005

To kind of continue the thought train that started with Negative and Positive Energy……

There are countless studies that show how our thoughts play an incredibly huge role in our emotional health. Adults who are optimistic maintain higher levels of mental and physical health than those who are more negative. Now does that mean that every single day an optimistic person will have a song on his lips and a twinkle in his eye? Or that he’ll love everybody and everything and never get angry or disagreeable? That he only has pleasant, peaceful, chirpy little thoughts every minute of his life? Not at all. Anyone who’d fit that description would, at best, annoy the heck out of everyone around him and, at worst, need badly to be locked away without any shiny objects.

An optimistic person is simply one who is “up” more often than they’re “down.” I think of it this way, the optimistic person is the one who, if they say a movie isn’t any good, you tend to give weight to their opinion. By contrast, if a negative person says they didn’t like a movie, you tend to think, “Of course you didn’t.”

Everyone has bad days - it happens to hair and it most definitely happens to our emotions. Sometimes it’s something crummy that sets us off, but more times than not it’s what goes on inside our heads. An emotionally unhealthy person is one who has “good days” as rarely as an emotionally healthy person has “bad days.”

What the researchers are showing us with their studies is this: If a person allows themselves too many bad days, they’ll become second nature. The mind has an amazing knack for “falling into” habits. It gets in a groove and, once there, it’s very hard to get it out of there!

What to do? Increase those positive thoughts and cut out the negative ones!

When the destructive, negative ones turn up - literally tell yourself that they are poison to your mind because that’s essentially what they are. If there is actual stress in your life (and stress and life go together, so that’s a very unnecessary If) - be proactive, take control and do everything in your power to solve the problems causing the stress. Sometimes just making that all-important move in the right direction will make all the difference. The main thing is to ACT, because two things happen when you act: 1. You just may solve that problem. 2. When one’s acting, one has less time to think!!!

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

“The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.” ~ William Shakespeare, Othello

“Always remember to be happy because you never know who’s falling in love with your smile.” ~ Author Unknown

“I’ve never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful.” ~ Author Unknown

“Keep smiling - it makes people wonder what you’ve been up to.” ~ Author Unknown

“Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.”

I recently read a book by an author I’d never heard of. I’d never heard of the book before, either. But I saw it, put it in the cart, bought it, brought it home and put life on hold while I read the first chapter.

What would make a reasonably sane person scarf up an obscure book? It was all because of the author of the foreword! A name I respected had put his “seal of approval” on this work of literature and that was enough for me.

Realizing that there would be thousands of people who’d share my train of thoughts (perfectly frightening), the publishers even put this known author’s name on the front cover, right underneath the new author.

It’s a pretty amazing thing to bring that much respect to your name. To do your job and live your life in such a way that people see your name and associate it with quality? Absolutely priceless.

It just stood out to me as something worth thinking about. Each and every one of us has a reputation attached to our name. People see our name and immediately paint a mental picture of our character. Generally, for better or worse, this picture is based upon what we’ve done most recently - so, if your present or your past cast a shadow across your name, don’t despair. Just don’t carry the shadow with you into the future.

Like I said, it’s just something to think about.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

On a side note, the book was good but the foreword was better.

An interesting excerpt from The Great Physician’s Rx for Health and Wellness, by Jordan S. Rubin, New York Times best-selling author of The Maker’s Diet:

Can’t get past the taste of cod liver oil? After hearing how beneficial this amazing golden oil is for your brain and nervous system, you may change your mind. Plus these days it comes in lemon (and other) flavors that mask the fishy flavor it was once known for.

Research studies dating back from 1918 to the present day have verified that cod liver oil is one of the most important supplements that virtually everyone should be taking. Packed with large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids — essential nutrients that most people are dangerously deficient in with today’s dietary habits — cod liver oil has many benefits to the body.

Omega-3s play a crucial part in the development and maintenance of your brain and nervous system. It is truly a key food for helping to restore emotional balance, including reducing the impact to your body from stress.

Beyond the benefits to your emotional health, omega-3s are essential to build and optimize your immune system, helping to protect you from virtually every chronic disease out there, including cancer and heart disease.

Lemon-flavored cod-liver oil??? Ewwwww. I’m all about good health, so I’ll probably have to give this a try.

Here are a few links with more info…

http://www.mercola.com/forms/carlsons.htm (Lists benefits of Fish Oil and Cod Liver Oil)

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2004/01/13/cod_liver_oil_number_one_superfood.htm (Refers to Cod Liver Oil the Number 1 Superfood - I’m sure they meant after Chocolate.)

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

“Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don’t quite get it, but there are lots of adults who are either scared of tweens, teens and young adults or simply (for whatever reasons) uneasy around them. As a mother of three such beings, I can honestly say it’s my favorite time of being a parent. I loved my girls at each and every age, but this is, by far, the funnest.

There’s so much energy in the air when a young person is around….and if three or more are in the same vehicle or room, the roof can barely stay on! I realize there are some bad kids out there, just like there are some bad adults, but there are also some pretty awesome kids, too. It’s just a shame that so many adults are so busy looking down their noses at them that they can’t realize it.

Not long ago, my daughters and one of their friends were eating out, the kids were laughing (but not overly loud - they were just having fun). A couple at a nearby table - I’d guess they were in their 50’s - kept looking over. The man was smiling, the woman scowling. I finally caught her eye and returned her scowl. She turned back around and, fortunately, all we saw the rest of the meal was the back of her head. It wasn’t long before the same woman was griping at the waitress about her food. Apparently she was just a sad sack looking for somewhere else to happen….and I got the impression her husband would much rather have been at our table.

Yes, there are lots of things they could learn from us, but I think we could also learn a lot from teenagers (as well as those just under and just over the group). For one thing, they’re fearless. My middle and youngest daughters would, given the chance, dye their hair blue tomorrow. They’d try it in a heartbeat. However, we respect their father/my husband’s mental health, so they’ll remain brunettes. But the point is, life doesn’t scare them - it excites them. I like that.

My oldest daughter, while caring way too much about her hair to subject it to color, prefers to express herself with her clothes. The thing I most admire about her is that she wears what she wants to wear, and makes her OWN statements with her fashion. Not long ago, she paired a frilly white skirt with a jersey t-shirt and some funky jewelry and looked amazing. When I saw it all laid out in her room the night before, I thought it’d be a disaster, but it was actually one hot outfit!

I guess what I’m trying to get at is this: I think we’d all be a lot happier, (and a lot funner to eat a meal with!) if everyone lightened up a little. Unloosen that top button, exhale, and find a couple of reasons to smile. And if you see someone having fun with life, give it a try instead of a sneer.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

A trend I’ve noticed with a lot of bloggers is a tendency to gripe, complain, bitch and moan. Like, all the time!

No one, no where and at no time has life so dark that they can’t occasionally see a ray of light. Anne Frank lived through the darkest hours imaginable - yet you could somehow hear hope echoing in her words. Helen Keller’s words inspire and motivate millions of people everyday. Martin Luther King, Jr. saw humanity at its ugliest yet he never struck me as an angry man - he, somehow, never managed to be filled with hate. Maybe there was too much love inside of him for hate to take over.

My own aunt fought breast cancer and did so with the the attitude of “Why not me?”

I got to thinking about it earlier, and I guess maybe it’s not just bloggers. Maybe it’s a lot of people, in general. I’m kind of afraid that it has slowly but surely become a habit. Are people forgetting how to laugh things off? Or if not laugh, at least bear the bad things with a little more dignity?

I understand being outraged about certain things - cancer, AIDS, abuse, racism, homelessness, alzheimer’s…. These are scary beasts that deserve as much rage as the devil himself. Believe me, I’m not talking about these demons or those who are trying to exorcise them.

I’m just talking about the tendency of people to let their negative energy run roughshod. This negativity acts like a vampire, sucking the life energy right out of these people and, often, those around them.

At the risk of breaking into a Biology refresher: When we eat, our body converts the food into glucose. The glucose acts as our fuel - giving us energy to go about our daily shopping…I mean tasks. Without that energy, we’re pretty lifeless.

I think of our thoughts as “food” for our minds. Our mind takes these thoughts and converts them to speech or to action.

If we eat food that’s healthy, and good for our body - our body rewards us with physical fitness. If our thoughts are healthy - our mind will reward us with good mental health.

Take, as an example, an older person who lives alone. My sweet mother in law, who has moved to a far better place (as in Heaven, not Hawaii), lived the last few years alone. We could always tell when she and her thoughts had been left alone for too long. It was then that nothing suited her - not the weather, her health, not even her favorite chair. But after talking to someone for a few minutes, she was just fine - her funny, adorable self again. Apparently, her mind would wander and try to get into stuff. Aren’t we all guilty of that from time to time, though?!

The fact is there are plenty of Energy zappers in life (illness, nagging spouses, domineering parents or bosses, difficult children, annoying co-workers, irritating siblings, bills, hurricanes….), we don’t need to add our own attitude to the list. If we get our attitude right and get as much positive energy coursing through our life as possible, we’ll stand a better chance of fighting the negativity.

Negative doesn’t beat negative, it celebrates it. In the end, it compounds it.

Positive lets negative know that it hasn’t won yet, and that it’s in for a fight.

Make each positive vibe count double!
~Joi

Gotta give a little post love to my husband. Every now and then he’ll totally surprise me.

Tuesday, he was out of town on business, but he knew Charlie Brown and his gang would be celebrating Christmas at 7:00.

Since our first year of marriage, Snoopy, Charlie and the rest of the Peanut’s gang have been a holiday tradition. As our children came into the picture, it became nearly as big an event as Christmas morning, itself. We always have the tree all light up, candles burning, and homemade cookies in hand as we gather around the tv.

Because business had taken him out of town for the day, I’d planned on recording our beloved show and all of us watching it together the next night.

But being the husband and father that he is, he made it back with about 30 minutes to spare. The boy must’ve been going about….well, I don’t want to even think about it. He must have been driving like me! Frightening.

He could’ve stayed out of town, sat around with buddies and watched the Victoria’s Secret runway show on television. Instead he raced (and I mean raced) home to watch the Peanuts with his wife and three daughters.

Sitting there with the four of them, laughing at Snoopy while munching on cookies, I knew that even if I didn’t get another thing, I’d already had my Christmas Magic.

Make a Little Magic this Christmas,
~Joi

How many animals can you name in a minute?

UK scientists have apparently found a way to detect early-stage dementia. They asked 136 volunteers to name as many animals as they could within a minute. People with early Alzheimer’s named an average of 10 to 15 animals or fruits within the time allowed. Healthy adults, however, listed 20 to 25.

While the Alzheimer’s group thought of everyday words such as cat and apple, they left out others that aren’t used as often, such as zebra and kiwi. The pattern was so consistent that researchers correctly identified ill patients based solely on word lists. The potential payoff: Early detection may someday give scientists a better shot at slowing disease progression.

That last sentence is something to get excited about.

Make each moment count double,
~Joi

It goes without saying, of course, that if someone does rather poorly on this test, it doesn’t meant they’re doomed to dementia. Maybe they just can’t think of that many animals!

I was putting together a post for my cat blog ( Cat Pause ) and I thought it made a pretty good story. It’s a cool example of thinking “outside of the box” (so to speak).

It’s also a clear example of all the great things that lie just on the other side of creative thinking.

Ever wonder where Kitty Litter came from? Me neither. But, as it turns out, the story’s pretty interesting, so I thought I’d share:

Kitty Litter was “invented” by Edward Lowe.

Before Lowe waxed all kinds of brilliant, cats either had to hold it until they got outdoors or went in boxes that had been filled with sand, soil or sawdust - none of which was very practical when it came to smell OR clean-up.

In 1947, a lady wnet into a local shop to purchase some sawdust for her beloved cat’s box. The shop owner’s son, none other than Edward, waited on her. The shop sold kiln-dried, granulated clay for cleaning up grease spills…and Edward suggested that she try some of this absorbant clay instead.

After she came back for more, Lowe knew he was on to something. He put the clay in 5 pound bags and wrote “Kitty Litter” on the front.

His ingenuity made him a millionaire many times over and our lives so much sweeter.

Make each creative moment count double,
~Joi

“Do what you do so well that those who see you do what you do are going to come back to see you do it again and tell others that they should see what you do.” - Walt Disney

Oh, how I love myself that quote! I love the mindset behind it even better.

My husband and I were talking the other day about people who do what’s “expected” of them. They do their job, put in their hours….maybe even do so with a smile on their face. They’re better, to be sure, than the crowd that tries to get away with doing as little as they can get by with. They’re also better than the ones who try to put all the work they don’t want to do on other people - while they do the work they like to do. We all know people like that!

I was thinking, in particular, about the food servers at restaurants. Ever think about the great service these people serve? Hard work, too. I wouldn’t want to deal with the public all day, let alone a hungry public, let alone while on my feet all day! LET ALONE for no more than they make.

Anyway, after The Husband and I talked about it, I thought about some of the people who (while on the job) had left the biggest impression on me. Each one that came to mind did so because they went beyond what was expected of them. They saw the line of expectation drawn in the sand and didn’t just tiptoe up to the line….they blew right by it!

“Whatever you do, do it to your utmost.” - Russell H. Conwell

It’s as though people who do this do so because they’re not measuring themselves against the line drawn for them by others. They probably don’t even look at that line. The one they look at is the one they’ve drawn for themselves - way past where the other one ends.

Make each effort count double and tip more than you have to,
~Joi