The Safest Way to Travel During a Pandemic

 There are many risks associated with travel during a pandemic.  Out of concern for my family, friends, and co-workers, I'm only traveling when absolutely necessary for my day job.  There is one travel alternative I'm using daily and my frequent flyer miles are wracking up big time.  I call it "galaxy surfing."  It's a thirty-plus minute guided meditation that involves sitting or laying down with a mask over my eyes while my mind wanders off to faraway places.  I use headphones to avoid disturbing my wife who is often next to me.

Galaxy surfing is soothing for the mind, body, and spirit.  Researchers who study the brain argue that regular meditators show longer telomeres than those who choose not to galaxy surf.  Telomeres are like the end caps on your chromosomes and they serve as protectors.  The longer they are, the better.  You can lengthen them by exercising regularly, eating well, avoiding obesity, and keeping your stress to a minimum.  This is what galaxy surfing daily does for me.  It calms my nerves, especially when coping with the stress associated with a pandemic.  I may not be able to see my family in person but I can ride the big kahuna with them in my mind and this brings me great joy.  Try it.  Have a great day.

Do This When You Want to Improve

Let's say you looked back at all you achieved in this last year and you discovered some areas of your life where you want to improve.  If this hasn't happened already, please don't wait until the new year begins to do this.  The problem with waiting is that you lose the opportunity to properly plan for the next twelve months.  A five-minute review is sufficient.  Once your review is done, the important next step is a commitment to measuring, measuring, and more measuring.  Decide now that you are going to measure every worthwhile goal you are pursuing and don't stop measuring, even when you're blowing it and you're so far away from where you want to be that you consider giving up.  It's the measuring that keeps you in the game.

I believe in daily measuring.  I do this at my day job, at home, and in my free time when I'm doing leisurely activities.  Measuring helps you understand where you are in relation to where you want to go.  A funny thing happened to me when I started measuring my financial goal of total independence from debt.  I made it fun so I would keep trying even though I pretty much floundered on what I created as a golf course complete with monthly scorecards.  The game, "Par for the Course," is measured the same way golfers measure their performance.  The first year was full of mostly bogeys.  This second year is almost entirely pars.  Next year is the final year with the exception of about three or four extra months I need to erase the ugliness from the beginning of the game.  The bottom line is I'm going to be debt-free soon because I'm measuring and holding myself accountable.  This can be applied to multiple areas of your life.  

Make your own scorecards.  Use blank pages to keep track of your daily results.  Post results on a calendar. Pick up a goals journal.  The way you measure is not important.  What's important is that you keep track of your performance.  The steps you take in the next three weeks will go a long way.  Start your preparations now.  Have a great day.

Selecting the Ideal Food Program

 Like it or not, you have a food program you are following.  Others can see the success or failure of your food program simply by looking at you.  The same is true with your physical fitness program but that's another story for another day.  Today I'm focusing on your food program and the reality of the results or lack of results.  If you're satisfied with your food choices, congratulations.  You're one of the lucky ones.  I see too many people in my daily encounters that aren't so lucky.

The jury is still out on my new food choices because these choices are new and out of my comfort zone.  The only reason I'm experimenting (again) is because I have a gut feeling that someone else may have a better idea and the only way to know for sure is to experiment.

My wife reminded me this morning that my past food choices have been a good fit and I mostly agree.  What's new for me is the timing of my meals and the addition of molecules I wasn't even aware of until rather recently.  These are molecules normally produced in the body that serve as protection against disease.  Unfortunately, our bodies gradually curtail these molecules as we age.  The loss of these molecules leads to age-related challenges.  The only way I will know for sure if the addition of these molecules in my food program is good for me is to get my blood analyzed.  There is a way to measure the biological age of your body.  It's the inside measurement nobody else sees that inspires me to keep experimenting until I get it right.  For me, the ideal food program is the one that maximizes both the quantity and quality of my life.  I promise to share my blood results in future stories.  Thanks for visiting.  Have a great day.

The Year in the Rearview Mirror

 This is a great time of the year to peek in your rearview mirror and evaluate what's working and what needs improvement.  It's better to do it during the remaining four weeks in order to hit the ground running in the new year ahead.

I know many people who have already written off this year due to the pandemic but I don't see it that way. Yes, adjustments are necessary in times like these but I don't believe in erasing an entire year because the wheels happen to be falling off.  This is the time to fix things, improve performance, and prepare for another twelve months of steady daily work.

Take a few minutes today and write down your top five accomplishments.  Focus on your strengths.  Ask yourself how you can make subtle changes to raise the bar.  Can you do better?  Use the lessons learned from your past so you can avoid repeating the same mistakes next year.  Have a great day.

A Physical Fitness Update

 I found my second wind on the tennis courts last night with my teammates.  We played high-level doubles for two hours and I did not get fatigued.  This is one of my first physical fitness tests since making changes to my daily habits.  I'm working on two new habits at the same time, intermittent fasting (limiting my food intake to one or two meals a day) and adding a couple of molecules to my morning yogurt normally produced in young humans but decline with the aging process.  According to David A. Sinclair, a scientist who has been studying the aging process for the last twenty years, the lack of these molecules may accelerate the aging process.

I'm thrilled to be testing the limits of my 60-year-old body and look forward to bringing you more updates as I get settled into my new habits.  There is a possibility that all these results may only be a placebo.  I won't have any proof to offer until I do some blood work, specifically to measure my biological age.  These updates will be posted when the tests are complete and the results are in.  Remember to check in with your doctor before you make any changes to your routine.  Have a great day.

Seek Cruise Control

 There are times in your life when cruise control is not an option.  That's okay.  In fact, using cruise control in high traffic situations, construction zones, or in bad weather may get you in trouble.  Keep in mind these are temporary conditions.   What about those times when you're on the open road?  Are you missing out on the cruise control option? 

Your daily habits are your cruise control option.  When you develop the right daily routines, turn on cruise control.  My hope for the upcoming year ahead is to keep the cruise control on in seven areas of my life – daily blogging/writing, weekly physical fitness, sleeping eight hours a night, food intake of no more than two meals a day, daily meditation of at least thirty minutes, bi-monthly contributions to accelerated mortgage payoff, and daily reading to continue the learning process.  These are my non-negotiable habits. I know there will be detours in the upcoming year and there will be times I will navigate in suboptimal conditions but I also know that if I'm consistent, I can make a great deal of progress in the next twelve months.  Cruise control is my favorite place to be.  How about you?  Remember one thing about habits, it only takes 30 days to go from manual driving to cruise control.  Pick one area of your life and seek cruise control.  Repeat every month and soon you will be driving in comfort while automatically reaching your most important life goals.  Have a great day.

Seek Positive Outcomes

 Something special happens when you get all the ingredients for success right.  You already know what to expect when your Holiday meal is prepared properly.  Isn't it a joy to be seated at the table with loved ones enjoying a feast together?  If you can apply the same ideas you use to make the perfect meal for your family to all other areas of your life, you will find yourself in winning scenarios much more often.

I believe the first step in any worthwhile pursuit is to paint a picture of the positive outcome you're seeking.  Picture every detail in your mind.  Something else is also necessary – practice.  Refuse to give up if the outcome you're seeking doesn't turn out favorably.  Try again.  Put all your emphasis on the positive.  Expect it.  There will come a point in time when the positive outcomes you seek actually come true.  Have a great day.