Total Health Breakthroughs: Free Natural Health Newsletter and Alternative Health Articles

Why do some people live life like a great adventure and others — with just as much talent, time and money — walk through life as if it were a death march?

Most people sabotage their health, wellness and success because… they don’t use their brain the right way.

Your brain has virtually unlimited power and ability, but you must learn how it works in order to use it efficiently enough to create the life of your dreams.

I took care of a man in my clinic the other day who had retired a few months before. He had worked hard all his life; he was honest, hardworking and raised children that were fairly successful. He was in my clinic because he was depressed. He was depressed because he felt like he no longer had a reason to get up in the morning.

He didn’t want to go back to work but he also didn’t know what to do with himself. He felt he was no longer contributing to society. In addition, he was broke. He wasn’t in poverty; he just didn’t have any money. He and his wife live on a fixed income and it doesn’t allow them to do many things. His 401k has taken a hit and his retirement plan doesn’t look like what he was told it would.

Even his marriage is on the rocks. He and his wife are “at each other” all the time because they are always home together without a break.

My next few articles will be dedicated to sharing the keys that will help you more easily make powerful and lasting changes in your life.

Today, I want to share with you the principle of APPROPRIATE GRADIENT. One way to think about gradient is as a challenge or “stretch.” For example, if you already know how to add, learning how to subtract would be a logical next “stretch.” We could say that learning subtraction would be on a workable gradient for a person who has learned how to add.

We build on the success of learning addition to move on to the next step of subtraction. By building on our momentum, success breeds success. Why not put the power of momentum in your favor by generating a series of small successes at the beginning of any new cycle or project? Here are a few examples:

I started my adult life jumping out of airplanes at age 17 as a member of the US Army Airborne and then went on to Special Forces Green Beret training. Talk about learning to live with passion. Everything we did, we did all out. This experience was where I learned the philosophy of work hard and play hard! It was also where I adopted the philosophy of “physical fitness: the difference between self confidence and self doubt,” which I still believe to this day.

I have maintained this philosophy through my adult life and it has served me well. I still love working hard and I still love playing hard.

Since becoming a physician, I have had the privilege to interact with many people and even impact their lives. I have noticed a huge difference between those who live with passion and those who simply live from day to day and how it affects their health. Those who face each day as an adventure and are excited about opportunities coming their way are definitely in better health. They miss fewer work days and are happier about what they do.

Here’s an example. In my clinic we handle many cases related to occupational medicine and workman’s compensation. It is interesting to watch someone with a workman’s comp injury and see how their philosophy of life affects their ability to get back to work. Those who live their lives with passion and are happy with their lives heal their injuries more quickly and get back to full duties in a much more judicious fashion.

On the other hand, those whose life’s philosophy is “what can others do for me?” or “how little work can I do and still get paid?” tend to milk the same injury for as long as possible. In fact, they will begin to become their disease or illness. As they try to get more time off and prove that they are in fact injured, they start to take on the characteristics of a person with that injury even if there is no physical evidence they actually have the injury.

The last six months our country has been on an emotional roller coaster. There have been both highs and lows, but the collective national mood increasingly seems to be one of depression and worry.

Although there are real issues that need addressing, much of the current mood stems more from perception than reality.

For example, news reports focus on layoffs and the families they affect, putting the problem front and center in our attention. However, the unemployment rate is 7.6%, which means that over 92% of us still have jobs. But because of where our focus is, the mental and emotional depression affects everyone.

In a way, the financial crisis itself makes the case for the importance of perceptions. The economy is slow so people are afraid to spend and banks are afraid to lend, which makes the economy slow, which…

If you have been fighting the battle of the bulge for any length of time, you have undoubtedly been told to just suck it up and use a little bit of will power. If it were that easy, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic in this country. In this article, we’ll explore why using “will power” is usually so ineffective.

Being truthful can sometimes be politically incorrect but it can also be helpful and even liberating. Today I want to share a dark truth about Holidays in America (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, add your own). I also want to offer a few tough-minded guidelines that will help you get through them.

Truth: The media loves to describe the Holidays as full of fun, family, good food, and even love. The fact is, however, for many people, the Holidays suck.

For many years, our family’s Christmas seemed to be about shopping, stuff, stress, and slush. There is not much we in the northeast can do about the slush, but our family has gotten away from the other three.

One Christmas morning I sat receiving hugs, kisses, and thanks from my two children as they unwrapped gifts “from Mom and Dad.” I was terribly unhappy. Why? I learned several years ago that the best place to look for that answer is within me. It’s not always easy to pin down the cause of unhappiness, but I’m pretty sure blaming someone else is not helpful.

As I write this article, the stock market continues its wild gyrations and the economic and other rampant stress of our times is beginning to take its toll on our health.

This is not just my opinion, it’s also been shown in a recent poll published by the American Psychological Association (APA).¹ Money and the economy topped the list of stressors for at least 80% of those surveyed. Finances now overshadow the more usual daily stressors of work and relationships, with 46% of people reporting that their stress is due to worries about providing for their family’s basic needs.

My own research clarifies that when you feel you have less control over your stress, it definitely causes you more concern. It raises your internal mind, body, and emotional threat level.²

Women Worse Off

Unfortunately, the brunt of this economic stress is falling upon women more than men. According to the APA’s poll, compared with men, more women say they are stressed about money, the economy, job stability, housing costs, and health problems affecting their families.

When was the last time you felt truly inspired?
Can you remember the physical sensations that went with it?
How about the intense emotions that accompanied it?
Did your mind join in with ideas, plans and
possibilities for creative action?
Did this experience lead to something amazing
and wonderful in your life?
Is it something you would like to experience more often?