The Benefits of Exercising....Our Right to Vote

October 20-November 3, 2020: Please take care and vote.  

Everyone counts.                                                                             

If you need any information, check these websites for answers to your questions.

https://www.usa.gov/voter-research

https://www.eac.gov/voters/voters-guide-to-federal-elections

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/how-to-vote-2020/

https://www.vote411.org/

 

Managing Fear in Uncertain Times: Part Two

As most of us are dealing with the indefinite, it could be helpful to remember we've been through this before. I'm not speaking about you and I, but there's a long recorded history of people dealing with ambiguous anxiety at a high persistent level.

Give a listen to the eloquent words of Charlotte Bronte in her 1853 novel, Villette 

“Peril, loneliness, an uncertain future, are not oppressive evils, so long as the frame is healthy and the faculties are employed; so long, especially, as Liberty lends us her wings, and Hope guides us by her star.”

Take good care

Managing Fear in Uncertain Times---You have company.

It's good to be in the company of people you trust at anytime but especially in uncertain times.
We are fortunate to have Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, Google Hangouts, Instagram, WhatsApp and  Facebook to help us do so during this wait-and-see period. It also doesn't hurt that it's Springtime around here. The flowers, shrubs and trees are doing their best to show us what nature has to offer to offset whatever is leading us to be fearful, confused or worried.
Hope you can take a brief walk today to experience the lighter, brighter side of life. Take good care.

What's New? 2020 Vision: "Hey there, watch what you're doing!"

We've begun a new year and a new decade.
Many of us want to do more than mark time in the months to come.
It's traditional at the start of the year to make resolutions for change.
It's also traditional to be upset with ourselves when the changes we want to make don't stick.
Here's a tip backed by research: Start by watching what you're doing.

Whatever you've decided to change, don't do it, yet!

First, spend two weeks watching, noticing and recording the thing you want to shift.
Do it with pen and paper or a notes app.
What is the one thing you're looking to improve on?
Is it A) an urge to do something that's unproductive?
Is it B) a new way of behaving that you'd like to integrate into your life?

Step One for Goal A)
Notice the urge every time it happens and mark this information down right away.
1) What is the urge saying? How are you feeling? Angry, Sad, Bored, Nervous....?
2) On a scale of 1 to 10 how strong is the urge?
3) What time and place are you in when this urge hits?
4) After you indulge the urge how are you feeling? Happy, Guilty, Sad, Nervous...?

Step One for Goal B)
Take note of what you're already doing that is even a teensy bit close to the new behavior you'd like to acquire.
For example: Goal---"I want to go to the gym"
So, what are your already doing that is physically active even if it's not going to the gym:
Walking to the train? Cleaning the apartment? Using the stairs at the subway station?
Mark down what it is, how long you did it and how did you feel afterward.

So, the first change you're making is to look and see and record. 
Once you have two weeks of information then you can know where you're starting from.
By the way, there's extensive clinical research indicating that simply tracking your behavior will begin to push you in the right direction.

Happy 2020 and Happy Lunar New York to all.