Month: July 2019

Health Hack: Want to Get Fit?

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Did You Know Being Fit Give You a No Quit Attitude!

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recently surveyed 1,000 ACE-certified personal trainers about the best techniques to get fit. Their top three suggestions: (1) Strength training. Even 20 minutes a day twice a week will help tone the entire body. (2) Interval training. “In its most basic form, interval training might involve walking for two minutes, running for two, and alternating this pattern throughout the duration of a workout. (3) Increased cardio/aerobic exercise by accumulating 60 minutes or more a day of low- to moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, running, or dancing.

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Writers Wisdom: You Don’t Have to be Perfect

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Give yourself permission to be terrible. There’s nothing more paralyzing than trying to write a perfect novel in one draft. Do your best to turn off your inner editor and just write. Everything can be fixed later! ~ Sarah Rubin

Sunshine & Shadow ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox

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Sunshine and Shadow
 

 Ella Wheeler Wilcox
 

 Life has its shadows, as well as its sun; 
 Its lights and its shades, all twined together.
 I tried to single them out, one by one, 
 Single and count them, determining whether
 There was less blue than there was grey, 
 And more of the deep night than of the day.
 But dear me, dear me, my task’s but begun, 
 And I am not half way into the sun.
 

 For the longer I look on the bright side of earth, 
 The more of the beautiful do I discover; 
 And really, I never knew what life was worth
 Till I searched the wide storehouse of happiness over.
 It is filled from the cellar well up to the skies, 
 With things meant to gladden the heart and the eyes.
 The doors are unlocked, you can enter each room, 
 That lies like a beautiful garden in bloom.
 

 Yet life has its shadow, as well as its sun; 
 Earth has its storehouse of joy and sorrow.
 But the first is so wide – and my task’s but begun –
 That the last must be left for a far-distant morrow.
 I will count up the blessings God gave in a row, 
 But dear me! When I get through them, I know
 I shall have little tine left for the rest, 
 For life is a swift-flowing river at best. 

Today’s Reflection: Never Give Up

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Never let your head hang down. Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way. ~ Satchel Paige

Sleep Hack: Win the Mind Game

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Stay out of your head. Hard as it may be, try not to stress over your inability to fall back to sleep, because that stress only encourages your body to stay awake. To stay out of your head, focus on the feelings in your body or practice breathing exercises. Take a breath in, then breathe out slowly while saying or thinking the word, “Ahhh.” Take another breath and repeat.

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Stress Hack: #3 of 4 Tips to Reduce Stress

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Netflix and Chill
While the NSFW connotation of this phrase may also afford a good distraction from anxiety, my suggestion is less racy. Netflix binge-watching has become my new favorite pastime and consequently I have a bunch of plot lines and clever dialogue to reflect upon. Sometimes when I’m triggered and not near my TV, I do just that. I think about the more memorable scenes of a particular series and fantasize about certain characters getting their due comeuppance. (I’m talking to you, Frank Underwood!) Your TV affords an escape during real-time viewing, but it’s also a good escape plan even when you’re away from it and feeling anxious

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Longevity Tip: You Can Influence the Rate at Which You Age

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The rate at which you age, or at least at which you appear to age, is heavily dependent on your lifestyle and how you take care of your body day to day. Small tweaks to your everyday routine can have big rewards, like taking years off of your face and adding years to your life. Don’t expect the fountain of youth, but correct these missteps and you’ll be looking like a fresher, younger version of yourself in no time.The rate at which you age, or at least at which you appear to age, is heavily dependent on your lifestyle

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Health Hack: Losing Weight & The Right Kind of Exercise

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Did You Know Doing Only Cardio Slows Your Metabolism?

If losing weight conjures up visions of hours of mindless treadmill workouts, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. It’s not an efficient way to lose weight, says Robert S. Herbst, personal trainer, coach and powerlifter. “When you just do cardio, your body slows down your metabolism to conserve energy (calories).” Instead, Herbst recommends a combination of interval training (alternating bouts of high and low intensity) and weight training. “These activities rev the metabolism because the body spends calories to repair and build new muscle as it recuperates from exercise,” he says. The new muscle also burns more calories at rest, boosting your metabolism all day long.

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Writers Wisdom: Jorge Luis Borges on Experience

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“I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.” ~  Jorge Luis Borges

Courage He Said ~ Jessie Redmon Fauset

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Courage He Said

Jessie Redmon Fauset

ULYSSES, debarking in the Lotos Land, 
Struck the one note that the hapless Ithacans 
Travel-sick, mazed, bemused, could understand, 
And understanding, follow.

'Courage,' he said, 'remember, is not Hope!' 
He left the worn, safe ship, spume-stained and hollow. 
'To be courageous is to face despair.' 
And through the groves and 'thwart the ambient air 
Resounded reedy echoes: 
'Face despair!'


But this they understood. 
And plunging on prepared for best, and most prepared 
For worst, found only in their stride 
A deep umbrageous wood, 
And grassy plains where they disported; eased 
And bathed lame feet within a purling stream 
And murmured: 'Here, Odysseus, would we fain abide!'


But neither the stream's sweet ease 
Nor the shade of the vast beech-trees, 
Nor the blessed sense 
Of the sweet, sweet soil 
Beneath feet salt-cracked and worn 
Brought to them even then, 
(Still fainting and frayed and forlorn), 
Such complete recompense 
As the knowledge that once again 
Facing the new and untried, 
They had kept the courage of men! 

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