Media Underload! The Stress Reducing Psych-Diet

 by: Dr. Robert Eubanks

The war, taxes, the economy, increased health problems, crime on the rise, overwhelming divorce rate, corruption in corporate America, and, oh yes, Janet at the Super Bowl! Where does it end? With so much going wrong, whats going right in the world?

It is times like these that I find myself mired down in the muck spewing forth from every media outlet. Like water dripping on a sponge, this negativity begins to seep in and pervade my thoughts and influence my reactions to the world around me. Often, a bad attitude or a grumpy mood can be traced directly to what I have been exposing myself to.

Look at many of the recent studies about TV violence and childrens behavior. The evidence is clear that the thoughts and actions of kids are significantly altered when exposed to violent acts for extended periods of time. Are adults any different? Sure its important to keep up with current politics, the war, the economy and even Pop culture but when is enough, enough? Dont get me wrong, Im not vowing to stick my fingers in my ears, close my eyes and yell, Find a happy place! Find a happy place!

I still follow the news. There are very significant events happening in the world these days and I do believe that it is important for me to be informed. I also enjoy watching a few TV shows. Just because Im cutting back on my media consumption doesnt mean that Im shutting the Soprano family out of my life! So a few people get whacked here and there. That doesnt mean that there are not some redeeming qualities to gangster life (okay, so there arent). Regardless, the Sopranos and I been though too much together over the past six seasons and recently one of my favorite actors, Steve Buscemi, joined the cast.

I have, however, made a specific effort to be very aware of the information I consume. Along with this effort I have created a diet, of sorts. Balancing the protein, carbohydrates and fat that I eat is no different from balancing the harshness that I partake of from news and entertainment; all in moderation, with a little exercise on the side.

The moderation mantra is, of course, a good philosophy for most areas of life but most particularly for that, which enters our minds. I recently heard an NPR interview with Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was talking about the impact that health and fitness has had on his life and the role that it continues to play. He stated (now, read this with your best Arnold accent), A healthy body is a healthy mind. While certainly this holds true Id like to take that a step farther (using an Arnold accent, of course), A healthy mind is a healthy world! Ready for a diet?

© 2004 by Dr. Robert A. Eubanks

Article URL: http://www.bridgetosolutions.com/pages/8/index.htm

Terms of use: This article may be published electronically or in print, as long as the byline at the end of the article is included without alteration.

About The Author

Dr. Robert A. Eubanks is the founder of Bridge to Solutions Coaching. He coaches people around the country via telephone to improve organization, time management, goal setting and to create the best darn life possible! For a free 30 minute coaching session, e-mail bridgetosolutions@yahoo.com or visit www.bridgetosolutions.com.

Source: High Quality Article Database – 365Articles.com

I cook and I clean. I get groceries and put out the garbage. Wash
dishes, do laundry, mow the lawn, run to doctor and dentist appointments
and pick up prescriptions. I also wonder about my daughters future
and stay awake some nights worrying about her health (she is hemipalegic
and has suffered from life-long seizures and still has life-threatening
seizures).

However, I also own and operate a very successful home-based Internet
business. I publish a popular ezine, have authored one of the best-selling
Internet marketing books around and started two financially lucrative
affiliate programs. My brand new affiliate program is about to be
released.

I started all this a little more than two years ago, when I was in
deep debt after a horrible divorce with just a dial-up to my name.
And I did it on my own as a single parent!

Am I telling you that I’m a SuperParent, or Ultra-
Entrepreneur? Nope! Far from it. I simply knew “I could” make a living
from the Internet and just held my breath until I did it! However,
due to this diligence, I came across some wonderful new friends, who
offered some good advice and more important, moral support.

The “how-to” of all this is much too lengthy for an article and in
fact I address the entire process in my about-to-be-released book,
however, I want to share with you the words my daughter wrote to me,
verbatim (grammar and all) in this year’s Mother’s Day card:

“Thank you for taking care of me and providing for my needs when i
needed them when mum wasn’t there for me:-( Your the bestest dad i’ll
ever have you rock! Thank you for looking out for me when i needed
someone, i know i am stubborn when it comes to someone giving me advice
because i guess i just want to figure things out on my own Thank you
so much for giving me all the advice you give me. I’m so proud to
call you my mum and my dad

I love you”

If you’re confused, I really AM her mother too.

My name is Rick Beneteau, and I’m a single parent. If I can do it,
so can you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Please consider this article for your website or ezine.
Permission to reprint if byline stays intact. Courtesy appreciated but not necessary if you’re busy.

TITLE: What Do Women Want?
AUTHOR: Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach
WORD COUNT: 396
WRAP: 65
URL: http://www.susandunn.cc
Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc

“What do Women Want?”
by Susan Dunn, The EQ Coach

Freud’s famous question – what do women want? He claimed in all his years, he couldn’t figure out what women wanted.

Now maybe you’ve received the “King Arthur’s Dilemma: A Wise Lesson for All Men to Learn” that’s currently circulating the Internet.

Here’s how it goes: As a test, young Arthur was asked to answer the question, “What do women really want?” He finally went to “a repugnant old witch” to get the answer. She said she’d tell him if he’d marry her. He agreed and she gave the answer: “To be in charge of their own life.”

Then the wedding … and Arthur was v. reluctant. But, this being a fairytale, there was more testing of our hero ahead. She appeared to him as beautiful woman saying that since he’d been so kind to her, she’d be a witch half the time, and a beautiful maiden half the time. But he would have to choose when!

He pondered … a beautiful woman to show off to his friends, but at night, in the privacy of his home, an old witch? Or by day a hideous hag, but by night a beautiful woman with whom to enjoy many intimate moments?

WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Which would you choose?

The fable continues: “Noble Arthur replied he would let her choose for herself. Upon hearing this, she announced she would be beautiful all the time, because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.”

This came to me at an interesting time, having just finished reading “Surrendered Wife,” (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743204441/susandunnmome-20 ) and also a synopsis of “Men are from Mars” about what MEN really want. John Gray, author of the latter, reiterates, “men and woman have very different primary needs.” Men, he says, need appreciation, acceptance, and trust. He goes on to say “Without appreciation, a person begins to feel inadequate and incapable of giving support.” Funny he switches to “person” here. An unappreciated man, he says, becomes “passive, lazy, weak, dependent, insecure and apt to procrastinate.”

But then so do I. Actually, I get ugly.

My answer to Freud’s question “What do women want?” has always been “The same thing men want.”

Laura Doyle says men need to be asked, “What do you think?

That’s how I’ll end this article: What do YOU think women want? Male or female, didn’t you appreciate being asked??

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

THE Step to Working Smarter (Japanese Style)

 by: Dr. Robert Eubanks

Remember that Coke contest from the 80s? If you collected bottle tops that had the letters to spell T-H-E R-E-A-L T-H-I-N-G, then youd win a zillion dollars.

Im not sure where the drink industry turned the corner but contests and advertisements are no longer all you will find on the underneath side of bottle caps.

The latest beverage I popped open was some high brow herbal elixir that promised energy, health and a stress free life. Interesting claims for a container of strained leaves.

To further my surprise, what I found under the cap was the following Japanese proverb:

Vision without action is daydreaming; action without vision is a nightmare.

Needless to say, this quote made my beveraging experience much more philosophical than I bargained for.

After the laughter from finding a Japanese proverb under by bottle cap subsided, I actually pondered the phrase deeply. It glued itself to my brain for the rest of the day.

So what is it about Vision and Action working together that gives us the changes we so desire? Or, better yet, what is it about Vision without Action and Action without Vision that keeps us from attaining what we want in our lives and careers?

1. Vision without Action Weve all have the best of intentions when it comes to those To Do lists both at work and at home. How about that project, idea, or those personal goals that youve been storing in the Some-Day-Soon vault in the back of your mind?

These are the visions that we have for our lives that are becoming nothing more than daydreams as the months and years continue to pass.

2. Action without Vision

Business revolutionary Michael Gerber says that most of us work in the Technician mode. That is, always doing rather than spending time as the Entrepreneur of our lives creating the visions that will guide our every action.

This gets a little heady but simply put, we create our own mess by not first having a context, or Vision, under which every action takes place. As the proverb tells us, we create our own nightmare.

The Solution

From the enormous project to the smallest tasks: **Know Your Vision!**

Many of my clients work in extremely high pressure jobs. They naturally tend to put out the hottest fires first in an effort to continually whittle down the ever growing pile of work on their desks.

Within minutes of talking with them, their planned actions shift from scattered and chaotic to purposeful and planned out simply because I have them clearly define their Vision.

If their vision is higher productivity and lower stress by working smarter. Every action from our conversation forward will be geared toward fulfilling this vision.

Here are a few questions that help my clients plan actions to fit within the context of their vision:

1. What are you putting up with that is draining focus and energy for your work?
2. What is the plan for the next few hours/day/week?
3. What is realistic for you to accomplish within this amount of time?
4. What will potentially keep this from happening that you can avoid?

These are just a few questions that create a smarter style of work than, which then leads to higher productivity and less stress.

Regardless of whether you are in a high pressure job or are just juggling common challenges of life and career, this philosophy certainly applies.

The proverb of Rob:

Vision and Action together are powerful beyond measure; so to, is Vision and Action without each other!

© 2004 by Dr. Robert A. Eubanks

Article URL: http://www.bridgetosolutions.com/pages/8/index.htm

Terms of use: This article may be published electronically or in print, as long as the byline at the end of the article is included without alteration.

About The Author

Dr. Robert A. Eubanks is the founder of Bridge to Solutions Coaching. He coaches people around the country via telephone to improve organization, time management, goal setting and to create the best darn life possible! For a free 30 minute coaching session, e-mail bridgetosolutions@yahoo.com or visit www.bridgetosolutions.com.

Source: High Quality Article Database – 365Articles.com