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Three Habits You Can Break or Create Today

Book Cover

“When you woke up this morning, what did you do first? Did you hop in the shower, check your email, or grab a doughnut? What did you say to your kids on the way out the door? Salad or hamburger for lunch? When you got home, did you put on your sneakers and go for a run, or pour yourself a drink and eat dinner in front of the television?

Most of the choices we make each day may feel like the products of well-considered decision making, but they’re not. They’re habits. And though each habit means relatively little on its own, over time the meals we order, what we say to our kids each night, and how often we exercise have enormous impacts on our health, productivity, financial security, and happiness.

In the last decade, our understanding of the neurology of habit formation has been transformed. We’ve learned how habits form — and why they are so hard to break.

As a result, we now know how to create good habits and change bad ones like never before.

At the core of every habit is a neurological loop with three parts: a cue, a routine, and a reward.” Go to the source: Charles Duhigg: Three Habits You Can Break or Create Today. There’s valuable information on understanding cues, routines and rewards…

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Weird Mother’s Day…

Lead.Learn.Live. via Snoopy on Mother’s Day.

Through a rather bizarre set of circumstances, my mother is in Hawaii and my wife is in Rome. We still engaged in our annual ritual of cleaning out the chicken coop for my wife — don’t ask me to explain — to honor the occasion…

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Happy Mother’s Day

“Without mothers, there might be stars

but no one to wish upon them

No lips to kiss, no hands to hold

No eyes to gaze upon sunsets gold

Without mothers, there might be a moon

but no harvest for which to light

No songs to sing, no voices to raise

No flowers to soak up the sun’s gentle rays

Without mothers, there might be love

but no one to hold it, and it might just slip away”

via Happy Mother’s Day « Positively Positive.

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Mother’s Day vs. Father’s Day

I always suspected dads were getting screwed… :-D

Mother’s Day vs. Father’s Day [infographic] – Holy Kaw!.

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One day at a time…

“It’s easy to look at all the tasks and unsolved problems and feel so pressured that we get paralyzed and don’t get any­thing done. It takes discipline to gather in our scattered forces and focus on one thing, one day, one step, and some­times one hour—even when taking only that one step can seem so trivial in the face of all that looms.

Would you rather try to do everything at once and get nothing done, or take one small step and do that well? Remember, one plus one equals two.

Inventory Focus: Are you creating unnecessary fear and drama by taking on more than you can handle? Are you willing to trade in the I’m-out-of-control-and-overwhelmed feeling for a sense of manageability? Do you have any history with deliberately living life one day or one step at a time? How did that work? Plans, goals, and dreams are good, but the only way to get there is one day at a time.” via May 12.

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Easy does it…

“I watched a friend set up beach chairs and an umbrella. He was grunting, groaning, trying with all his might to accomplish a simple task. After he finished, he looked around and clapped the sand off his hands.

“I’m pretty dumb,” he said. “It didn’t have to be that hard or that much work.”

Yes, life really can be easier. Relaxing and letting it unfold can seem too simple and easy at times. What if we really knew that it was okay to gently go about our lives, living and working and handling things at a relaxed pace? What if we knew it was okay to gently take care of ourselves, and that a force would be present to guide us and help us accomplish each task, each problem, in fact, all the parts of our lives?

Life experience truly has taught me that when I relax, I am so much more capable of experiencing great happi­ness as well as simple joys. Things get done, problems get solved, and my needs get met.

Gratitude Focus: We can be grateful for all the situations that teach and remind us that “easy does it” works.” via May 11.

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A informational chart about how to make one of my favourite things… Coffee. via A informational chart about how to make one of my favourite….

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…on Time and Importance

Little Prince's Rose at the Museum of The Litt...

“It is the time you waste on your rose that makes your rose important” (The Little Prince) via “It is the time you waste on your rose that makes your rose important” (The Little Prince) – tribe.net.

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Enjoying the Little Things

Happy Family
“Author Dan Millman says, “The key to happiness isn’t in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.”  How true!  Enjoying the little things and teaching your kids to do the same enlarges the soul and uncorks the wellspring of joy.  Some examples are:

  • Taking in a sunset as a family
  • Going on a picnic
  • Fishing
  • Bike riding
  • Looking at leaves under a microscope
  • Laying out in the backyard and identifying the constellations

The possibilities are endless.  Commit to do one simple and fun thing with your kids for the next four weekends…and enjoy!” via Enjoying the Little Things | All Pro Dad Blog.

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Recipe: Tomato and Avocado Grilled Cheese

Looks yummy! Get some at Recipe: Tomato and Avocado Grilled Cheese | Greatist.com.

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How I Used the Power of Bad Habits to Change My Life

Leo Babauta

Spread the word! Leo Babauta’s doing a free webinar on bad habits later today. Here are the deets:

Today I’ll be holding a free webinar, “How I Used the Power of Bad Habits to Change My Life“, and I’d love for you to join me.

The webinar will be held today Mon. April 23 at 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern, on the Habit Course channel on Ustream. You don’t need an account to watch, but if you’d like to ask questions and chat, I recommend signing up for a free Ustream.tv account.

In the webinar, I’ll talk about my struggle with bad habits, why bad habits are so powerful, and how I used the principles that make bad habits stick to beat them. I then applied these same principles to forming good habits, and will share how I did that in the webinar.

You’ll also be able to ask questions about habits when I’m done with the talk, via text chat.

I hope to see you there!

Join me here at 4 p.m. Pacific/7 p.m. Eastern:

How I Used the Power of Bad Habits to Change My Life

via Free Webinar: How I Used the Power of Bad Habits to Change My Life.

Get some!

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On a morning like this…

Sweet Orange Marmalade…I ask myself is there anything better for breakfast than think slabs of sourdough toast slathered in butter and homemade orange marmalade washed down with strong Colombian coffee? I think not. We have it good in the first world and I’m grateful…

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22 cheap and easy ways to eat healthy

My friend David Kanigan confessed an addition to donuts on his blog a few weeks back and I chided him on his blog without confessing a similar addition to Cheddarwursts and other hotdogs and sausages with similar nutritional value…

No more excuses! Forget about the tempting smells from the pizza place down the block. Or how easyit is to pick up a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich on the way to work. These tips make eating healthy not only easier, but often cheaper, too.

Source: 22 Cheap and Easy Ways to Eat Healthy | Greatist.com

At home, my wife is obsessed with providing the best of live and homemade foods. In my office where I have my own refrigerator and microwave the contents are Cheddarwursts and Diet Mountain Dew. Sigh. I need to go to the source and review this list. Maybe you do too…

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On clutter…

My cluttered desk

If we don’t clear the clutter from our lives, we aren’t able to let new feelings, experiences, projects, visions and relationships flow in. We often can become so focused on wanting to add so much more to our lives that we don’t realize that what we get rid of can have the most profound impact of all.

via Clearing The Clutter – Both Inside And Out!.

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If it isn’t working

Nicholas Bate shares this…

(1) It’s maybe them (2) It’s maybe the system (3) It’s maybe you (4) It’s maybe a combo of all three (5) But the one you can start with is you (6) Get good (7) Get really good (8) Don’t accept any excuses from that crappy inner voice which reports to your dark side (9) one more hit of the snooze button? (10) ha ha, no way! (11) one more cup of coffee? (12) absolutely not! (13) skip the gym, it’s been a tough day! (14) are you crazy!? (15) as once you repair you, they realise they need fixing otherwise they simply lose you. (16) and once you re-invent you, you have so much energy, focus and cool, it’ll only take minutes to fix the system.

Source: If It Isn’t Working 16 – Nicholas Bate

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Every behavior and every thought has a consequence

PhotoReading David Kanigan’s blog led me to this gem by Kristin Cuthriell…

“When you choose the behavior, you choose the consequences.  When you choose the thoughts, you choose the consequences.” –Dr. Phil McGraw

First, look at the consequences and decide.  Is this what I really want?

My dad once told me, “Remember what you know.” Through the years, I have found this to be great advice.  So many times we forget simple truths in life, things that we already know.  Often, I write about these simple truths to not only remind my readers, but to also remind myself of things that we already know and may have forgotten to practice in our lives.

Today I write about choices.

Every choice that we make is followed by a consequence.  Too often, we act impulsively, not taking the time to think through the possible repercussions of our actions.  We do not play the tape through, which means that we do not visualize the backlash of our thoughts and behaviors.  We simply act without thinking it through in its totality.

Whether our choices are impulsive or well thought out, the consequences will be the same. Take the time to play the tape through. The choices we make when emotions are high, we usually come to regret.  Take a moment to think it all the way through.

Source: Every Behavior and Every Thought Has a Consequence | Let Life in Practices

Go to the source if you’d like her list of ‘obvious things we forget’. Click the ‘follow’ button while you’re there!

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Kaizen

Kaizen: constant never ending improvement. Success in a competitive world means not just more but better. Not just better but different. Not just different but innovative. It’s a world of constant, never-ending improvement. But with it, comes success.

via StrategiesForSuccessFifty: Fifty: Kaizen – Nicholas Bate.

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The Way of the Peaceful Parent

Father and Son

Leo Babauta shares this today…

There is no such thing as stress-free parenting.

A reader requested that I share my thoughts on stress-free parenting, as the father of six kids. And while I have learned a lot about being a dad, and finding joy in parenthood, I also know that stress-free parenting is a myth.

Parents will always have stress: we not only have to deal with tantrums and scraped knees and refusing to eat anything you cook, but we worry about potential accidents, whether we are ruining our kids, whether our children will find happiness as adults and be able to provide for themselves and find love.

That said, I’ve learned that we can find peace.

Peace isn’t a place with no stress, but a place where you take the stress as it comes, in stride, and don’t let it rule you. You let it flow through you, and then smile, and breathe, and give your child a hug.

There is a Way of the Peaceful Parent, but it isn’t one that I’ve learned completely. I’ll share what I’ve learned so far, with the caveat that I don’t always follow the Way, that I still make mistakes daily, that I still have a lot to learn, that I don’t claim to have all the answers as a parent.

Source: » The Way of the Peaceful Parent :zenhabits

Go to the source if you’d like to hear his way…

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Decluttering your mental clutter

Minimalist Mac OS X Desktop

Good stuff from Ryan Nicodemus at The Minimalists…

Those voices inside your head won’t be quiet. All you can hear is your boss telling you to have those reports done by Friday or your daughter reminding you that there’s soccer practice this Saturday or a parent’s voice telling you that they’re going to need you to help them drop off their car at the mechanic’s.

Most of us have somewhere to be each day, not to mention the everyday fire drills we get put through at work or at home. It can feel very overwhelming, and our minds can get noisy. Some of us even have echoes of voices from experiences of many years ago.

How do you deal with all of that internal mental clutter?

Mental clutter is something I’ve worked on my entire life. I used to feel like, no matter what, I constantly had some sort of mental clutter—I always had something going on in my mind. If it wasn’t something new causing that anxious cluttered feeling, it was something from the past creeping back into the present to haunt me. Some days were worse than others, but it was there every day.

And then, after fixing several other parts of my life, I was able to cut down on the mental clutter…

Source: The Minimalists | Decluttering Your Mental Clutter

Go to the source if you want to know more about the parts Ryan fixed. Me? I am a huge fan of David Allen and his “Getting Things Done” principles and I use a tool called Evernote to get things out of my head and into a foolproof system where I will never lose them. You can read my take on these ideas over at my business blog…

Related articles from http://e1evation.com…

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Do You Need A Happiness Boost?

The ‘bluebird of happiness’ Gretchen Rubin has some ideas for you!

Do you need a happiness boost—right now? If so, take a look at this menu of options and make your choices. Remember, the more you tackle, the bigger the boost you’ll receive.

When you’re feeling blue, it can be hard to muster up the physical and mental energy to do the things that make you happier. Plunking down in front of the TV or digging into a tub of ice cream seems like an easier fix. However, research shows that these aren’t the routes to feeling better.

Try some choices below. The more you push yourself, the better you’ll feel. If you can’t tackle a big task, just do something small. Even a little step in the right direction will give you a lift.

According to my groundbreaking happiness formula, to be happy, you need to think about feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth. What’s dragging you down? Is it a lack of fun, of connection? Do you feel a lot of guilt, boredom, or anger? Do you feel that something’s “not right” about your life? Do you feel stagnant or stuck? Focus your efforts on the choices that will do the most to address what’s not working in your life.

Source: Do You Need A Happiness Boost? [BLOG] « Positively Positive

Go to the source if you’d like to see her list…

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This Will Probably Solve A TON Of Relationship Problems In Your Life!

People give us Love the best way that they know how to. They can’t give it any other way than they do. And if we are trying to get orange juice from apples over and over again, not only are we going to keep getting let down, we are actually insane! Haha.

It’s simple – we were SENT to GIVE the Love we think we missed or that we think we aren’t getting from someone else. We see where the Love is lacking and so it’s up to US to fill that gap!

After I started treating my father this way, it was like an instantaneous shift in our relationship. And I didn’t go to him and tell him all this; I just started giving more Love. And guess what – it was more Love that I got back…

The same is true for you. You were sent to give the Love that you think it missing in your life and in the world. That’s why you’re here.

Source: This Will Probably Solve A TON Of Relationship Problems In Your Life!

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