Edit Your Stories to Upgrade Your Life.
Scrooge did it and so can you. The story of Scrooge was introduced in A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens in 1843. Since then, millions around the world have read it especially during the Christmas season. You are likely to read the story yourself during the next couple of months, see one of the movies depicting it, or certainly hear it mentioned. But I want you to get even more out of this great story. I want it to be a model you can use to fully realize the importance of editing the stories you tell yourself and reaping the benefits that would otherwise not be yours.
The word carol comes from the early French carole, meaning ring. The early singers of Christmas songs were called carolers because they would ring bells to announce good tidings and celebrate the season. I want you to imagine and hear bells ringing for you and the good things about to happen as you edit your stories and upgrade your life.
Your Face and the Stories You Tell
You don’t have to tell anyone how you perceive each day; You don’t have to say how you have lived your way. A tried and true picture serves in the place The way you live and the stories you tell appear in your face. What you say in your heart you wear in your face. If you live with love and infinite grace, It will fill your life and show in your face. (modified version of one by an unknown author)
Scrooge was miserable and his face showed it!
Scrooge was a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint … secret, self-contained, and solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shriveled his cheek, stiffened his gait, made his eyes red, his thin lips blue, and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice.
Certainly, Scrooge was a good candidate for story editing and a life makeover. In our next article we will examine how he did it.
Go to http://www.learningsuccess.com for FREE games & activities to develop personal and family success.
Copyright 2016 Brent Evans – Learning Success
Understand the Power of Stories.
Stories have the power to elevate your life to ever-higher levels or keep you from fulfilling your most important dreams. It has been so since the earliest caveman recorded his stories on the walls of caves. Stories are like containers of different sizes and shapes into which we put our experiences. We use these stories to perceive what is happening to us and organize, simplify and give meaning to life. The problem is our stories may be inaccurate. Facts, information, concepts or events that do not fit readily into our current stories (containers) may be ignored, forgotten as irrelevant, or be distorted unless we are open enough to create or discover new stories capable of holding them. Our current stories also may lack the power needed to motivate our best efforts. Few people are held back by lack of information. Much more common is a lack of powerful stories from which to draw the solid faith upon which great lives are built.
New Ideas Need Room to Grow and Stories to Put Them In.
A centuries old story from India tells of a seeker of wisdom who walked for months to meet and be taught by a great spiritual teacher. Finally arriving, he saw the door of the teacher’s small hut was open and he went in. No one was there, only a table with a pot of tea and two cups. Being thirsty, he poured himself a full cup of tea. At that very instant the spiritual teacher appeared, looked at him, shook his head, and left. The same thing happened for several days. Finally, in desperation, the seeker of wisdom, begged for the spiritual teacher to teach him and not walk away. The spiritual teacher picked up the pot of tea and began pouring tea into the seeker’s already full cup. The tea spilled all over the table and onto the floor. The spiritual teacher then taught this great lesson: Your mind is like this cup of tea. It is already full. You must first empty your mind before anything new can enter. Jesus Christ taught this same lesson: And no one puts a piece of cloth that has not been shrunk on an old garment, for such a patch tears away from the garment and a worse tear is made Neither is new wine put in old wineskins; for if it is, the skins burst and are torn in pieces, and the wine is spilled and the skins are ruined. (Matthew 9:16-17- Amplified Bible)
In order to grow in wisdom and get more out of life, each of us needs to clean and reorganize our story containers. We need to revise or throw out ineffective or inaccurate stories, upgrade the ones we want to keep, and seek out new ones that promise to enrich our lives. An old Jewish tale tells about Truth being unwelcome wherever she went because of her harsh appearance. Parable took pity on her and dressed her in story. Clothed in story, she was now readily welcomed into people’s houses, invited to eat at their table, and warm herself by their fire.
Go to http://www.learningsuccess.com for FREE games & activities to develop personal and family success.
Copyright 2016 Brent Evans – Learning Success
Best Weigh to Learn Success.
No, it was not a mistake. I intended to use the word weigh. Let me explain. Dealing with your weight is one of the best success training methods ever! Think about it. You have more control over the factors related to your weight than in any other area of your life. That means it is the perfect opportunity to engage in a success plan, see and experience results, and build your success confidence. If weight is not an issue, you can substitute increasing physical strength. Either way, you will boost your success confidence while learning effective methods and principles you can use in whatever else you want to achieve.
The Importance of Keeping Score
Scores put you in the game. Can you imagine any game without scores? It would certainly be no fun, and you would never know how you were doing or what you needed to do to win. Also important is accurate and soon after feedback so you can evaluate the effectiveness of your actions. Unlike a car fuel tank that immediately overflows when you over-fill it, eating excess calories gives no immediate feedback. The results of over-eating are only noticeable over time with gradual weight gain. This delay in feedback is true in pursuing many goals in life. To increase your success, learn to identify and keep written scores.
What is your current weight? _____
What is your current BMI (Body Mass Index)? _____
This is easily determined by doing a web search for a BMI calculator. A BMI from 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal, 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, 30+ is considered obese.
Do you want to lose weight? Yes/No
If yes, by how many pounds? _____
How many calories per day are needed to maintain your current weight? _____
Do a web search for calories needed to maintain weight.
How many calories equal a pound of body fat? 3,500
500 fewer calories a day would mean losing 1 pound a week.
How many fewer calories do you decide to eat per day? _____
What are you going to do to achieve that? _________________
_____________________________________________________
Go to http://www.learningsuccess.com for FREE games & activities to develop personal and family success.
Copyright 2016 Brent Evans – Learning Success
Lower Your Probability of Degenerative Disease.
Whatever your state of health today, you have a probability of acquiring in the future one or more degenerative diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, macular degeneration, etc. Not only are these conditions disabling, there is good evidence that eighty percent of premature deaths today are the result of a degenerative disease. The good news is much of this in our control if we act ahead of time. Up to eighty percent of degenerative disease is preventable or could be delayed with proper nutrition, exercise, early detection, and corrective action. Our last article listed 15 actions you could take to add years to your life. It is like you stand at the crossroads. You can lower your probability of degenerative disease, but will you?
Don’t get caught in the trap of could have, should have, or would have. Just do it. Your life and death depend on it. To get a closer understanding of and feeling for how important this is, let’s do a pretend. Roll a die. If it comes up 1, that means when you die it will be from an unpreventable death. Rolling a 2 means when you die it will be from a degenerative disease that could not have been prevented. Roll a 3, 4, 5, or 6, and it means when you die it will be from a degenerative disease that could have been prevented. So, do you want to have the average probability of people today or do you want to lower your probability of degenerative disease? It is up to you and the actions you take or don’t take.
COULD’A – SHOULD’A – WOULD’A Death Probability Chart
| 1. | Will die from an unpreventable death. |
| 2. | Will die from a degenerative disease that could not have been prevented. |
| 3. | Will die of a degenerative disease that could have been prevented. |
| 4. | Will die of a degenerative disease that could have been prevented. |
| 5. | Will die of a degenerative disease that could have been prevented. |
| 6. | Will die of a degenerative disease that could have been prevented. |
Go to http://www.learningsuccess.com for FREE games & activities to develop personal and family success.
Copyright 2016 Brent Evans – Learning Success
Decide to Add Years to Your Life.
What would an additional 7 to 14 years of healthy living be worth to you? Try this activity to find out. Start walking and have a partner select a moment to shout stop! Consider that to be the probability of the length of your life if you have unhealthy habits. Then visualize yourself engaging in healthy habits that will increase the probability of extra years to your life. Take a step and discuss the value of a year added to your life. What would you do with it? What additional experiences would you have? What contributions would you make? Take another step and discuss the second year. Continue until you have discussed all 7 to 14 years of added life. It is all probability, but research clearly indicates that healthy habits will probably add 7 to 14 years to a person’s life.
Fifteen Ways to Add Healthy Years to Your Life
With your influence and guidance you can also add extra years to each member of your family and other people you care about. The following are some ideas I have discovered in research. An easy way to find out more is to visit www.doctoroz.com.
- Know & track your blood pressure. Lower if needed. Optimum is 115/76.
- Take a walk or exercise 30 minutes a day.
- Take 1⁄2 a regular aspirin or 2 baby aspirin a day with glass of water.
- Protect your heart by flossing & brushing teeth daily.
- Consume foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, flax, or supplements.
- Get good night’s sleep & use stress reduction techniques.
- Eat 6 to 10 servings of vegetables & fruit each day.
- Eat lycopene-rich foods such as cooked tomato products, papaya, pink grapefruit, etc.
- Choose whole grains rather than processed grains.
- Maintain a healthy weight by reducing portion size.
- Take a balanced food supplement each day.
- Eat foods with sufficient fiber, especially early in the day.
- Drink plenty of fresh water daily.
- If you smoke, stop.
- Always work closely with your doctor.
Go to http://www.learningsuccess.com for FREE games & activities to develop personal and family success.
Copyright 2016 Brent Evans – Learning Success
IQ Boosters
by
Brent Evans
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