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The Athena Group, Inc. Making Your Life Better Every Day!Free Newsletter Sample - click here!
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Here is a sample of our Free Newsletter Just click on the icon at the left to subscribe!
Hello everyone! Welcome to the Athena Group Newsletter. In this issue, we learn along with one of our Athena community about how working harder won’t always give you what you want. We also have some information about the “10,000 Step” fitness program – a very simple and proven method for getting some basic exercise. If you are not a subscriber, just click on the link above, go to our website at http://www.athenagroupinc.com/Newlettersignup.htm, or write to me at billa@athenagroupinc.com to sign up today! Remember – if you’re not enjoying your life every day – you’re not doing it right! Bill Words of Inspiration “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” --Victor Frankl “The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them.” --George Bernard Shaw “Instead of thinking about where you are, think about where you want to be. It takes twenty years of hard work to become an overnight success.” --Diana Rankin Today’s Topic – Pushing Harder Won’t Work I recently met with someone who was concerned that her career and personal life was not going too well. In fact, it was not going well at all. We’ll call her Mary (not her real name) On the surface of things, it seemed like Mary was doing everything right. She had some great goals and objectives – she had clear definitions of what she wanted, and when she wanted to achieve her goals. And Mary was a hard worker. But she was having the devil of a time moving ahead! “I am trying very hard to achieve my goals, and it just doesn’t seem to work”, she said, “I try harder and harder, but I am not succeeding. I just don’t get it.” I asked Mary to give me some specifics. Mary was very clear and concise, and offered three examples:
I asked Mary what she saw in common with these three situations, and she said that the only thing she saw was that no matter much effort she put in, she just wasn’t getting where she needed to go. And, as we discovered, that was precisely the source of her problem. Mary had clear goals and objectives. And when something didn’t seem to work out she tried harder. But, trying harder didn’t work, she didn’t know what to do except…try harder! And here lies the lesson. If you are stuck on anything – a project, a goal or objective, preparing a speech, and not getting anywhere, if you have put forth plenty of effort, doing more of what you are doing won’t get you to the end or desired result. In fact, one sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. As my grandmother used to tell me, if you are lost, running around in circles faster won’t get you out of the forest. When you are stuck, but near your goal, go ahead and add more effort – to a reasonable point. If you push a little harder, you might cut a few seconds off your running time, or be able to climb a little higher, or make it to work on time. But if you are far from your goal or planned result, adding more effort won’t get you there. You need to change your approach. You need to try a different angle. This can be hard to do – often we are so deeply involved in a process that we cannot see another approach. Here are some hints to help you see other approaches:
So, instead of expecting new results from the same input, try using new inputs or changing the rules. By the way, are you interested in how it came out for Mary? Well, it’s a little too early to see all the results, but, since she began to update her resume to match each job description, she has had two job interviews (no new job yet, but she is now definitely “in the game”). Mary has also started going on some charitable bicycling events, and was meeting new people (no Mr. Right yet, but she had been going out more.) Finally, she started some cross training and went to a “zone” diet and has stopped gaining weight. Now, if only she can lose a few pounds… And I am sure she will. If you have any suggestions or any topics you would like to see covered here? Let me know by writing me at billa@athenagroupinc.com Health Tip – 10,000 Steps I have never been fond of pedometers (the little machines you hook to your belt to see how far you have walked.) The main reason is that they measure distance based on the length of your stride, and I am a mountain trail runner, so my stride length varies. However, I recently came across a great way that anyone can use a pedometer. It is called the 10,000 steps exercise method. This exercise method is ideal for people who are too busy to schedule a regular walk during the day. All you do is strap a pedometer to your belt and have it count the steps you take each day. Each day, you need to make sure that you take 10,000 steps. (You don’t start at 10,000, you build up to it after a while.) A study at the University of Wisconsin, followed by other studies, showed a definite improvement in people with tendencies toward diabetes, as well as improved fitness, etc. Want to try 10,000 steps? It is easy. All you need is a simple pedometer (nothing fancy – you are just counting steps) and a will to get started. Here are some steps to get you started.
There are many ways to increase your daily steps. Use your imagination and come up with your own list:
The 10,000 step method is interesting and fun. Give it a try! Remember, you don’t need an expensive pedometer – an adequate pedometer should cost less than $15.00 Have any suggestions or experiences with exercise or health you’d like to share? Any topics you would like to see covered here? Let me know by writing me at billa@athenagroupinc.com Book Suggestion I’ll have a book suggestion in a future issue. In the meantime, if you have a book suggestion that you would like to pass on, write to me at billa@atheangroupinc.com Closing Thanks so much to everyone for sharing some time with me. Let me know how you are doing and what we can do to help make your life better every day! www.athenagroupinc.com . Bill Bill Albrets, VP The Athena Group, Inc. 8005 Rainbow Drive Cupertino, CA 95014-4946 408.891.0646 Write Us! We would love to hear from you – please send your comments to me at Visit our website at www.athenagroupinc.com Want to subscribe? Just click here Unsubscribe This e-mail is an “opt-in” e-mail only – I do not send it to anyone who does not want it. (I hate SPAM as much as you do!) If you have received this newsletter in error, or simply do not want to receive it again, send an email to info@athenagroupinc.com and put the work “Unsubscribe” in the Subject line. |
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