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Leave your ego at the door.

Slay your ego!

Principle of muscle building

The title of this blog could be applied to many areas of life but in this case, it relates to working out in the gym.

A very important principle of muscle building and I have followed it since I learned of it in my late teens, slowly accumulated my hours in the gym.

There are many variables to building muscles and many principles to training. Leaving your ego at the door would have to be one of the most important philosophies because aside from allowing me to get the most out of each workout and get maximum gains in muscle building, it would also be a significant reason why I have stayed injury-free for over two decades of training with weights in the gym.

Well, I tell all the youth that I see training with less than ideal technique in the gym, “to get muscle gains you need to leave your ego at the door”.

Drop the weight down and use something you can handle safely. What I mean by this is that if its muscle-maximization you’re after, then, lose the thought that if you lift very heavy weights, you will automatically get bigger muscles. True but not true. Firstly, accept that you’re not a weight-lifter or power-lifter. How strong you are does not build the biggest muscles.

Maintain control & feel when you’re containing the Lion within you. Leave the ego at the door.

Control and feel

Strength does correlate to muscle-size but only to a point. So, to build muscles one must try to focus on control and feel for any exercise one is doing. You need to keep it simple and have continuous tension on the muscle group throughout the range of motion with good form.

If you load up the weight and sacrifice good form, you’re unlikely to build muscle but instead increase your risk of injury. This could then keep you from the gym which then may get you down and de-motivated. You take one step forward, four steps back in your quest to build muscle and transform your physique.

End result: mediocre muscle development. Not what you desired.

Its not how much you lift that matters but how you lift. Ask yourself the question “how well am I doing this exercise?” each time you perform it. Keep it simple. Focus on the feel of the exercise and maintain control throughout the execution of the exercise. It is highly likely that you are using a weight that is too heavy for you if you lose control and feel while performing a ‘set’ of your exercise and not completing the required number of repetitions at a specific tempo. Instead of building muscle, you’re only working your ego.

Find the courage to keep going.
Right.
The courage rests in you.
Take Lead, be the Leader that YOU are.

Say No to “No Pain, No Gain “ Maxim

Now if that is your intention then fine but if you’re serious about getting good results, stay away from the old, hard-core maxim: No pain, no gain! Seems to only apply when you’re using excessive weights. Instead keep my maxim below in mind: “Work the muscle, not the joint!”

Working out in the gym is a great way to transform your physique from the person you see in the mirror now to the person you imagine yourself to be. To do so, keep your ego in check, leave your ego at the door and instead be patient and make incremental steps towards your ultimate strength and body re-engineering goals.

Learn proper technique. Practise it religiously. Be patient with your progress. Become a better master of your instrument ‘your body’, just like a musician would with practise.

Eat nutritionally-balanced meals aligned with your goals and give your body adequate rest and recovery time to adapt and develop.

Train well. Eat well. Rest well.

Repeat.

Until next time, best of vitality to you.

yours in iron, mind & muscles 💪,

Paul e 💝alentine

It is a great feeling to do this … but make sure it isn’t your ego that is leading. I made 2 World Championships partly because others said I couldn’t. A great feeling to prove people wrong.
If it is Stubbornness & not ego leading … well that’s ok.

Me & Mr Fuzzy/Fussy cuddles at my favourite beach 🏖 here in beautiful Sydney, Australia 🇦🇺

Energy, life, time, Vitality, you

Make the complex simple.

I have heard many reasons for people not making time to exercise over the last 20 plus years in they gym. Believe me, many. One of the reasons is I think that people work hard to complicate their lives even further.

Every one of us, when you think about it, lives within constraints – of time, of politics, of budget, of growing legislation and so on. It is hard to make time for ‘you’ even if you wanted to. It can be difficult to make time to exercise. We are never perfectly free.

Life is complex. True.

We are constrained by its complexity in all its forms. In today’s world where work can be done remotely, almost anywhere and any time, the line between individual’s work life and private time is blurred. Very blurred, sometimes. With a click of a button, you can be doing work for the organization you work for in an instant, anywhere, anytime. Advances in technology does not free us, it just adds another constraint to our lives. “How can I go to the gym, when I am on call 24/7 … I take my work home with me?” some may say.

There are many other constraints people say stop them from going to a gym, some of which are project deadlines; peoples’ moods which can be frequently bad or individual’s confidence which could be frequently low. There are the children screaming and all the other much more urgent things in life to be done and so forth.

But there in lies the answer – that is life. Real life!

Maybe, change your philosophy a little and accept that life comes with constraints. These are just the constraints within which one must try to make time for his or her health and strength training and make it a priority and accept that these are the circumstances in which we live.

We should all be trying to make the complex things in life simple – not the other way round. If you do make the courageous decision to step in to a gym, ask for help from a fitness professional and make sure your training program include these 4 simple things:

Do a general warm up – spend 5 minutes on a low-impact piece of cardio equipment. Aim here: to raise your body’s core temperature a little.
Weights work (strength training)
Stretching (during and after weights work)
Cardio work (15 – 20 minutes)

Don’t let real life be an excuse for failing to make time for your strength, health and vitality.

Good health, strength and vitality are not negotiable.

Until next time,

body, Energy, Goals, life, long-term perspective, mind, muscles, respect, time, Vitality, you

Road sign in your journey through life: Stop. Rest and Revive. Survive.

You need adequate rest. You may ask yourself, what is adequate?

Exactly how much varies with each individual but remember this one thing:

Your body, spirit and mind needs respect. YOU need respect.

So, rest.

Breathe. Breathe again, but this time, more deeply. Fill your lungs with as much air as possible, feel your diaphragm enlarge and then, exhale. Breathe again. Repeat. If you’re religious, thank your God that you’re alive and if you’re not religiously-inclined, thank your lucky stars!

Your being is not a pump that generates energy, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 52 weeks a year. It needs regular re-fill. Essential. You car needs regular refueling.

Getting adequate rest is akin to any modern day electronic gadget, which requires re-charging of batteries to operate. Re-charging energy back in to the gadget to function at its optimal level and be useful.

Getting adequate rest = re-charging of batteries within yourself, your mind, body and spirit. Don’t burn the candle at both ends.

In my 23 years experience in the gym, I have followed and still adopt many proven principles in attaining optimal results from resistance training. One of the fruits of this is an increased sense of vitality. A critical principle in achieving this is getting adequate rest. This helps your body repair itself, create an annabolic environment to help protein synthesis, rid the body of toxins, regenerating and changing its body shape for the better.

Over the years, I have regularly used what is called the “Instinctive principle” which basically says that you have got to listen to what your body is saying with regards to your energy levels and train to your energy levels accordingly. I believe the application of this principle has increased my awareness and been one of the main reasons I have stayed injury free in all my years of serious training.

Just because you lifted a certain weight last week does not mean you can do it again this week. There are just too many variables at play here that may impact negatively on your energy levels, one of which is lack of adequate rest. One must not let the ego run wild when one has the goal of building muscle or making small, incremental steps towards a larger, worthwhile goal in any area of life for that matter.

I always tell the enthusiastic youngsters in the gym, if you want to build muscle and a world-class physique, leave your ego at the door when you enter the gym. Don’t just get fit and strong. Build a physique!

Knowing when to call it quits in the gym before sustaining a serious injury is just as important as deciding when to exercise, but you would want to differentiate between genuine tiredness and plain laziness.

So, pace yourself and listen to what your body is telling you. If its says “stop”, then stop!

Since getting my driving license many years ago, I am very familiar with a great Australian road sign that says –

“Stop. Revive. Survive.”

So true. I like the simplicity of it and how powerful a message it is.

We can add “Rest” before Revive and see that it may also save lives even when you’re not in the car, driving. Just going about everyday life.

When in the driver’s seat as you journey through life, don’t overdo anything, go at it a little at a time and know when to slam on the brakes. Sometimes it is better than going slowly. It may just add a few more years to your life.

Its YOUR one and only life after all.

Until next time,

a better life, ageing, awareness, beauty, better choices, body, choices, courage, Energy, game of life, habit, habits, life, long-term strategy, muscles, perspective, risk, Strength training, truths, Vitality, you

Some truths on exercise, ageing and losing fat!

Education through a perception of the truth. To be the best in a particular field, you need to seek help from the best. Champions help create champions. Vv

Education through a perception of the truth.
To be the best in a particular field, you need to seek help from the best.
Champions help create & develop the champion in you. [Photo: Former Australia Wallabies Captain & current CEO of Australia Rugby, Phil Waugh transporting himself to his Best Self in his tailor-made Peak Performance program

Regardless of your age, or how out of condition you think you are at the present time, it is never too late to start an exercise program. You just have to change your philosophy on your life, with a more caring attitude to YOU.

The older you are, the more important it is that you exercise. All the science research points to this. It is a no-brainer. What older people cannot afford to lose is the little muscle they still have that assists them in their daily lives and mobility. Its simple, like most things in life: “use it or lose it, but don’t abuse it!”, which applies to all ages.

Some studies show that there’s a typical loss of about 1% of muscle mass or lean body mass (LBM) per year from about age 50. There is a slight increase after 60 and by age 70, there may be up to a loss of 25% relative to what it was at age 25, depending on the individual and if there’s been no strength-training in their lives. What a scary thought, isn’t it!

Loss of muscle LBM has many negative impact on peoples’ lives: strength declines, reduced metabolic rates, postural problems, reduced fitness, increased tendency to lug around unwanted bodfat, weakened resistance to injury and illness and deterioration in physical appearance. Another big consequence in old age is a significant reduction in mobility, partly due to weakened skeletal muscles. And that’s only a few likely negative consequences.

I have been doing strength training for over 23 years now and have helped hundreds of people of all ages with their body re-engineering goals, with over 80% success rate. I believe strength training is one of the most important things you can do for your appearance and health. Strength training is critical for building muscle, maintaining muscle or more importantly, minimizing muscle deterioration and atrophy.

Results with care.
Here, Brad is ‘feeling the essence’ of the exercise and inching closer to his best self.
Vv

Muscle is like precious gems – you need to build it and then preserve it. It is the fountain of youth, your magic youth potion.

Stronger muscles produce health benefits that adds to your life. It builds your sense of vitality. Building muscle contributes to reducing the impact of ageing. Strength training helps you stay young for your years. However, strength training is not enough. One needs to combine it with regular structured stretching, consistent cardiovascular work, healthy nutrition, adequate rest and recuperation and a healthy lifestyle.

All this helps you off-set the on-set of ageing.

I have seen them, so perhaps have you. People with that glow. People that are filled with that life-force, that all-important sense of vitality. People who seemed to have gotten closer to the fountain of youth. Most, if not all of them, have consistently and persistently worked on their strength training.

They’ve simply decided to build muscle. No more thinking, no further analysing. They just DID IT. They took action. Think about it – you’re made up of more muscle than anything else. I mean you’re covered with skeleton muscles (that help you move and do what you do every single day), your heart’s a muscle and your stomach’s a muscle too. What do muscles do? Keep it simple … they need to work. It makes sense to ‘work’ your muscles then, doesn’t it?

Muscles are one of the very things that keeps us all alive. But hey, if slowing down the ageing process by building muscle is not convincing enough for you what about if I say that it could help you lose fat. Yep, that’s right, do you want to lose unwanted fat? Well, build muscle. Period!

There are so many organizations and people in the world today that give out fat-loss diet plans that don’t include strength training. This is not ideal. It robs the body of the little muscle it has, making fat loss even more difficult because of reduction of one’s metabolic rate.

This is so common today in many weight-loss programs all around the world, where individuals think that some new ‘fad diet’ will be the answer or some magic supplement. It does not work that way. “That way” is not sustainable and is a huge reason for many victims of the ‘yo-yo’ diet symptoms and millions of dis-illusioned and disappointed individuals with the best of intentions.

Executing an exercise for maximum benefit and minimal risk takes a lot of practise,
Just like genuine friendship, genuine muscle requires a lot of work and time.
Remember: practise does not make perfect. Perfect practise makes perfect.

Its body shape, not body weight that really matters.

Building muscle is the only way you can improve your body-shape and this is achieved through progressively increasing your muscle-fat ratio.

Have a go today, if you haven’t done so already – start a structured strength training program for the most important person in the world to you – YOU. That way, the people that depend on you – your spouse, your kids, your employer, your clients – they get the BEST YOU too. It could be one of the most important decisions you will ever make in your life. More important than the dream house you intend to buy one day. Build that dream house in you, first.

We’re all reminded that people are living longer now. What’s more important I believe is adding LIFE (vitality) in to your years, not just adding years to your life. Most aged people spend the last 20 years with various levels of discomfort and immobility.

Remember though: when you exercise, try to do it as efficiently and effectively as possible, under the safety umbrella. And, don’t try to do everything yourself if it isn’t your area of expertise, you can sometime do more harm than good to yourself.

Let go of all self-imposed limitations and fears and ask for help. It takes a lot of courage to seek help from an appropriately skilled professional with the relevant experience and credentials.

There are a lot of excellent exercise professionals out there, those who give you the results you desire – with care.

Best of luck!

Until next time …

In the heat of competition.
Pose name: Abdominal/Thighs.
Place in contest: 1st.

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

a better life, action, adaptation, adequate sleep, ageing, attitude, awareness, better choices, caring, change management, choices, diet, dreams, eating, Energy, game of life, habit, habits, life, long-term perspective, long-term strategy, risk, self improvement, self-respect, sleep, Strength training, success, taking action, truths, Vitality, workout, you, your life

7.5 Key Habits that would reduce your risk of the flu this winter.

Change your philosophy, change your life.
Vv.

My wife and I are celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary next week. Wow, a wonderful achievement. A milestone reached. I mentioned it to a long-term client and friend of mine and he said:

“well, that is a milestone indeed, Paul. Congratulations. One thing it does say, Paul, is that it reflects the tolerance you both have had for your short-falls in character – your character flaws. It shows you’re willingness to grow and adapt to one another, for your togetherness.”

I thought about this ‘togetherness’ and I agree.

I’ve certainly adapted and she has, too. We have grown individually and together as one. But upon reflection, I realised that before you have adaptation as a choice, one needs to precede it with Awareness followed by the application of Action. Yes, appropriate and relevant action. This then leads to the critical step of Adaptation, if one hopes to have sustainable change.

So, in effect, it is the application of my Triple A to Life Philosophy: Awareness; Action; Adaptation.

There are many ways of approaching a potential risk or problem but you can certainly apply my Triple A approach to improving you personal immunity and reducing your health risks. Lowering your Risks of illness or susceptibility to the common flu or cold if you do get sick quite often during the colder months of the year.

My wife tells me that she has never met or knows anyone in her life so far that gets sick fewer times than me, I think she said that she can only remember me being ‘sick’ (and not a case of ‘man-flu’) a handful of times in the 13 and half years we have been together.

I asked her why she thinks that is the case and she identified some 7.5 key daily habits that she has seen me do consistently since she has been with me.

She said:

Key Habit One: I drink loads of water.

She is true.

I do drink, in my opinion – ‘adequate’ daily requirement of H2O, generally, approximately 1L of water per 20 kg of body-weight. Currently, I am drinking about 4.5L of water per day. Adequate daily levels or water is a huge part of my clients’ success with my body re-engineering programs.

I consistently find that most if not all my clients were not drinking sufficient water at the start of their program.

For the average person, your daily guide should be to drink 1L of water per 25kg-30kg of bodyweight (after taking in to other considerations such as age, exercise experience, activity levels, health condition etc).

Beauty is Truth, truth – beauty. That is all there is on earth ..and all ye need to know.
Be aware of the beauty with and around you.
Don’t just look, ‘see’

Key Habit Two: I eat loads of Dark Green vegetables

She is true, again.

I always tell my clients that if its green and not a frog – eat it!

Yep, load up on your dark green vegetables, something most of you would have been told by adults in your youth. Amongst other things, greens fill you up and addresses your satiety levels better, adds loads of fibre to your bowels and helps the transportation of oxygen through the blood and with it, vital nutrients for the optimal functioning of organs, especially the most vital: the brain.

Guideline: aim to consume 1cup of dark green vegetables (broccoli, spinach or long beans) for at least 1 meal per day for the first 2 weeks and work up to 2 meals per day for the next 2 weeks. See how your body changes and notice how your energies improve. Maintain a minimum of 2 meals per day with dark green vegetables in it for 90 days and see how your good body and mind feel and look. Try it!

Showing a top athlete client of mine what and how I eat. Can you see the dark green vegetables?
If it’s green and not a frog, eat it!

Key Habit Three: I wash my hands loads of times

My wife is absolutely true – again!

I learned way back in primary school that germs and a lot of bad bacteria is spread through the hands and is one of the main instigators of illness. I made a conscious effort all the way back then to keep my hands relatively clean as much as a I possible could, every single day. As a result, I wash my hands before and after almost everything I do. It may be a bit obsessive compulsive now but the risk of not doing so far outweighs the inconvenience of frequently washing hands.

Guideline: Try washing your hands more frequently if you’re not already doing so. Try and become aware of cleanliness of your hands and increase the frequency of hand washing. With soap. Act. Repeat consistently and persistently.

Adapt accordingly.

Key Habit Four: I eat loads of Protein in diet

She said ‘loads’ but I would have to disagree, not ‘loads’ but ‘adequate daily intake requirement’ of protein.

After water, the protein is the most abundant substance in the body. It is the life blood of your being. Yes, I do to ensure that my hard-working muscles get sufficient muscle-replenishing protein for repair work post work-out but also because it fills me up better than the weighed-equivalent amount of carbohydrates or fats, for example:

Give this a try. Eat 200g of chicken breast and 200g of white rice. Compare which one fills you up better and keeps you fuller – for longer. Yep, the chicken does, doesn’t it? Protein is more filling. Protein are the ‘building blocks’ of muscles and the human body and mind. Without adequate levels – you feel like crap and you wilter away like a plant uncared for.

Here’s my guideline: determine what your LBM or lean body mass is (the mass of your body that isn’t fat). If you honestly assess your daily intake of protein for a week, you will find that you would most probably not be eating even daily minimum requirement to maintain your LBM. Apply appropriate action and eat more protein: chicken, fish, lamb, pork, tofu and eggs are great sources. Your guide should be 1g of protein per kg of lean body weight, but of course, you need to consider other factors like age, activity levels, fitness levels etc. So, LOAD UP ON PROTEIN! So, if you’re a 200lbs male, with a normal bodyfat percentage of 25%, your LBM would be about 150lbs. If you exercise 3-5 times per week, then your body would need anywhere between 140g and 180g of protein just to sustain your LBM.

How do you consume that amount of protein every day, you may ask. Well, you need to ‘split’ your meals up and consume more better composed meals. So you may have, for example, 5 meals per day, with 30g per of protein per meal, which totals 150g per day. Sufficient and not excessive by any means. What gives you 30g of protein, you ask? Well, every 30g of lean meat gives you approximately 7g of protein, so you would need 120g of lean meat to give you 28g of protein. That is about a ¼ of what the average male would eat when he eats a piece of steak (anywhere between 350g and 500g) at lunch or worse, dinner in one sitting!

So, think about your portions of meals and adding more frequent, well-compositioned meals.

I hear people say, well, Paul, isn’t it quite pedantic to measure your meat weight and meals?

I say, no. It is necessary! We measure everything else, don’t we? I mean, we rely on measurements with everything else in our lives, think about it, would you not measure how much money you are paying for fuel? What about measuring your feet for proper fitting shoes? What about getting length of trousers wrong, wouldn’t that piss you off? We live with measurements with everything else in our lives except what is going in to our mouths. So, get yourself a scale that graduates all the way down to milligrams and start weighing my friend.

If you can’t measure something, you certainly cannot manage it!

In the gym.
Adequate levels of protein helps repair and build ‘worked’ muscles.
Give your body what it wants … after water, protein is the most abundant substance and everything in the body, every process, comes down to amino acids and the communication between them.
So eat protein I say!

Key Habit Five: I load up when in the gym

She is correct, again.

Since I picked up my first dumbbell at 17 years of age, I have consistently and persistently made gym training a part of my life, becoming entwined in to my chosen lifestyle and a vital and necessary part of me. My life.

I don’t believe in light weights. Period!

To get the best ‘bang out of your buck’ when you’re in the gym, nothing beats free weights and gravity. You need to use MODERATE TO HEAVY weights though and stay away from ridiculously light weights that you see many people use (unless you’re warming up your joints and/or in rehab). For the comparative amount of time you invest in any physical activity, nothing beats the results you get when you DO THE BASICS – in the gym. In terms of efficiency and effectiveness of health, strength and fitness benefits, in the short-term and the long-term, nothing beats the basics. What are the basics? Well, they are:

Deadlifts
Back Squats
Bench Presses

You can throw in some other full body movements like: clean and presses and lat-pulldowns and lunges with a few arm curls and dips. Workout done!

Neuroscience confirms that exercise, specifically weight-training, stimulates neurogenesis – the birth of new brain cells. You get smarter!! An estimated 3 million people (about 12.5% of the population) suffer live with anxiety or depression. A staggering number indeed.

Guess what, regular exercise of moderate to heavy intensity can be an effective adjunct treatment for depression. Both aerobic and strength training are very helpful in treating depression.

Remember: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” WHO.

Guideline: Get back to BASICS. Keep it FUNCTIONAL. Keep it SIMPLE. With CONTINUITY and PATIENCE. How much exercise then, Paul you ask? Well, the Australian National Physical Activity Guidelines recommend:

doing exercise is better than doing none.
be active on most days of the week.
Each week try to do 2 1/2 to 5 hours moderate intensity exercise or 11/4 to 2 1/2 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity.
Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

So, there you go. Just do it.

Try it!

Muscle is precious. Build muscle then, do everything you can to preserve it.
I load up in the gym!

Key Habit Six: I limit my intake of sugar

She is not wrong.

I do try and limit my intake of direct sugar but also am aware of the indirect sugars in other foods. To do this I try to eat more foods that come straight from the ground. The less processed the better for you.

Sugar – this insidious killer is not only the most addictive substance on this planet but almost every living human being cannot say no to it. It is the biggest killer of the human race – add up all the deaths caused by every other cause and I bet you will find it pales in comparison to the deaths caused by sugar, either directly or indirectly. That is how serious this matter is.

It is the over-consumption of it that results in many health, and dare I say it, mental problems.

There is direct correlation between food and mood. Meaning, there are clear dose-response relationships between diet and level of mental health and well-being. What I practise is very similar to what Scientists refer to as the “Mediterranean Diet” which emphases high consumption of plants (vegetables, fruits, nuts) and rich in good fats.

How do I do it? Well, whenever I get sugar cravings I substitute with either of the following:

100g of blueberries
150g grapefruit
Cup of green tea

My Guideline: become more aware of sugar in foods you put in your mouth and do your best to eliminate direct sugars from you diet, one at a time. Its difficult at first, I know but give it a try – persist. One less teaspoon sugar may just mean lesser health costs later in life. Maybe, a teaspoon less of sugar in your coffee or tea or drop the honey from your cereal.

Neuroscience studies show that eating too much sugar is linked to weight gain (we all know this), obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, high blood pressure (hypertension) and age-related illness of Dementia. Diabetes is the risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. The widespread assumption that sugar consumption can lead to addiction is inaccurate based on neuroscientific defintions of addiction, tolerance and withdrawal.

Remember this: “What we eat really affects our brain, our behaviour, our neural circuits, and our health in many ways. “ Neuroscience SFN 2014.

A healthy, balance diet encourages a healthy balance of gut microbes and there is a strong and definite Gut-Brain-Microbe connection. Having too much sugar can disrupt the gut-brain balance which disrupt signalling which may lead to abnormal brain function, changes in behaviour, thoughts, emotions, our perception of pain and impact on our immune system.

Resulting in increased susceptability to getting sick and being ill. So, in a roundabout way … try out these key habits to help build your immunity from all facets of being human.

Maybe, eliminate your cereal entirely and just opt for something more nutritious and simple, like spinach and eggs for breakfast, for example and replace that orange or fruit juice with plain water.

Having fun with a star jump!
Live each day like you are dying to live.
Vv.

Key Habit 7.5: I get adequate Quality Rest

True, again.

Notice I said “Rest” and not ‘sleep’. I have seen people who get loads of ‘sleep’, getting ten hours or more per day and wake up feeling more restless than they did before going to bed.

You need to focus on getting quality Rest. That could happen at any time of the day. A little nap during the day for less than 30 minutes would do wonders for your energy and focus levels at work. Note: latest neuroscience confirm that there an ‘urge to nap’ and it is programmed into our circadian rythyms. Taking a < 25 min power nap improves memory and learning, sparks creativity and regulates emotions. More than this results in sleep inertia (you feel overwheming tiredness).

Try it, if you can. The essence of this is to ‘clear your mind’ or ‘quiet your mind’. Such rest is priceless because you release hormones throughout the body and brain that help elevate your energy levels as well as your ability to focus on tasks at hand, for longer periods.

Try taking short periods of ‘rest’ for the body and mind. Almost like a short period of meditation. Find your quiet place and un-think to Rest. Take a page out the Fijian’s Life Book and apply the “Fiji Time” mentality to your life when appropriate, when you need to get away from it all. Learn why this race is consistently rated the Happiest People on the planet. It is not by chance, it is by choice. Their individual and collective choice as a race. They try to keep things simple. I know, because I was born and raised there.

Its not the quantity of rest, but the quality. Getting better at the latter will enhance your sense of being – your “vitality”, that essence of life – your life!

Little by little … every step in the right direction gets you to the destination.
Be like a postage stamp, stick to whatever you’re doing until you get to your destination.
Luck has nothing to do with it.
Hard YAKA and persistence gets you there!

Remember: the compound effect of the application of habits with the power of imagination and self-regulating behaviour is the REAL MEDICINE here. It is what I refer to as your HEALTH AND VITALITY INSURANCE. It is preventative insurance, that adds to a better quality life not only now, but more importantly, in old age.

A little persistence and consistency in the application of the 7.5 habits I have elaborated on may just help improve your overall immunity to the common cold and flu, like it has for me. The reason I have said ‘7.5’ habits is because this is obviously not a definitive list of reasons but it certainly is the Key 7 habits that you are in full control of. Habits that I consistently adopt on a daily basis.

Try them, see how you feel after seven days, after 4 weeks. Try 3 months and all of winter. Then, get in touch with me and tell me all about it.

The application of these key habits should help your overall sense of vitality and lower your risk of feeling like ‘crap’ or low in energy and vitality as frequently as you may have felt. It just might add years to your life – keeping your batteries re-charged.

Remember also that elephants don’t bite, mosquitoes do!

These habits are little things that could become a problem if you don’t take of it. So, take care of the these mozzies and other mosquitoes in your life, if and when you identify them.

As you know, Little Things Matter – simple actions, repeated over time, will determine the life you lead.

Someone once said that practise does not make perfect – perfect practise makes perfect. I agree.

So, become Aware. Apply Action. Adapt accordingly and repeat practice, with good execution …. Within reason. Keep things simple, don’t complicate things and know that everything will be ok in the end.

Best of health and vitality to you!

Yours in iron & muscles.

Until next time …

Here we are … my beautiful wife and I.
at a dinner party.

The Old Captain Viking Pirate Fiji Island Muscle Monk

On a beach in one of my favourite parts of the world.
Enjoying the sun again.

The Power of Habit.
The dedication to small, yet, important key habits on a daily basis helped me represent Australia at not one, but two consecutive World Natural Physique Championships, placing in the Top 5 in the World in both.
An island boy born and raised in the Fiji Islands went all the way to be one of the BEST in the world.
That is the power of the compound effect of little things done consistently over time.
Try the 7.5 key habits and see how well your immune system gets…. and then tell me all about it.

body, Energy, life, time, Vitality

Vitality – the essence of life.

My blog name is Valentine Vitality.

Unlike my surname, I adopted the word Vitality not only because it flows off the tongue quite smoothly when used with Valentine, but mainly because I love the word “Vitality”.

Vitality is such a beautiful word. It is all encompassing, like the word heaven. Vitality is the essence of life itself.

A quick reference to the internet and you will find many sub-meanings but I particularly like these two:

the capacity to live, grow or develop and
the principle or force that distinguishes living things from non-living

It also represents ‘energy’. Most of us can be accused of doing our very best to better manage our time. We have been constantly reminded since we were in school of the importance of becoming better time managers. Thousands of books are written every year telling us how to manage our time better, with us wiry-eyed taking notes about how to manage our 86,400 seconds in a day, better, from the many management gurus out there. Does this really help?

In some instances, yes. But in most, I believe – no.

Why? Simply because we are following a paradigm or philosophy that is flawed and we continuously allow ourselves to be bombarded with views from so-called ‘experts’. We should mainly view our daily life not in terms of how ‘busy’ I am and how great I am at managing ‘my time’. No, instead, I believe, we should adopt a more important paradigm/philosophy as more paramount and start a revolution to become better managers of our energy.

Yes, energy.

What is more important than becoming better at time management – it is becoming better at ‘energy management’ which brings you closer to managing your ‘vitality’ or ‘charge’ or ‘life-force’ within you. To do this, you need to find your ‘re-charge point’, your place of serenity. I find mine in the gym. Some may find it in the garden. Others spending time crocheting or with their cars. Those of you who have something, hang on to it. Those of you who don’t, it is imperative for your life, to find it and start re-charging. All things need re-charging. If your mobile phone and computer need it. So do you, my friend!

Everything in your life, either adds to or steals from your vitality, your life force. Be aware of this, diligently.

I once read that if you love life, life will love you back.

You see, I have seen them, so perhaps have you.

People who love life, with bright eyes, taut skins and great smiles. They look as if they have been freshly scrubbed or newly minted, exuding the very definition of Vitality.

How do they do it?

Partly through respect for their bodies, spirit, thoughts and deeds.

You see, Vitality, does not seem to be as objective as weight, exercise, diet etc. It is more subjective. It seems to come from within and rather intrinsic rather than achieved through outwardly efforts(extrinsic).

When you find one of these people with that glow, ask them their secret. Then, contact me please, and tell me all about it.

If a few readers of this blog do this, we might be able to deduce the magic formula worth more than a rainbow’s pot of gold.

Become part of that search, today.

Best of vitality to you!

Until next time …

Energy

Same but different.

Finding good teachers in life is like finding a needle in a haystack. Its difficult to find. Improbable but not impossible. In your life so far, you have had many teachers, even before you had a choice with some of them. Some included your parents, your grandparents, your pre-school and kindergarten teachers, your primary and high school teachers, aunties, uncles, neighbours and so on. I can confidently say that you would be hard-pressed to name more than one or two that were really good at teaching. Why don’t you try counting. Even parents can be very bad teachers. Try and give them an honest, objective assessment if you dare. This is one of the reasons why you should always assess and question why you do things the way you do as it could be based on a belief system that had been imprinted in your brain by the many incompetent teachers in your life so far, as they did not entertain other truths or did not know any better for whatever reason. They spoke in absolutes.

Change in belief system ==> change in attitude ( due to change in perception) ==> change in choices/actions ==> change in habits ==> change in character ==> change in your destiny and where your ship ends up in life.

I have had many teachers in many areas of life in my life so far and I can confidently say that in my undergraduate years at University, I qualify only one lecturer was a good. Incidentally, over 20 years on we are still friends and still communicate. Having a good teacher can save you time. Lots of time and it does not matter which area of life it is. It can save you money and it can certainly lower risks of failure and it could save your life. First, I think the student needs to be aware of where he wants to go and what he would like to achieve. There is a saying “the teacher arrives when the student is ready”. There is a truth to that, I think. The universe conspires to manifest its reality for you if you so desired.

This favourite teacher of mine used to have a habit of saying something that contained two words that meant the opposite of each other. For example, when explaining a concept he would utter – ‘now this law is simple but difficult’ or ‘what this individual did was bad but good simultaneously’. Years after I graduated, I caught up with him for a drink at a bar and I asked him why he spoke like that. His answer had a profound impact on me and my life since then. Here’s what he said.

There are no complete truths. No one can speak on any one topic in this world with 100% certainty that what he thinks or speaks is completely definitive. Everything is relative and we should not speak in absolutes. There is a duality, a ying and yang, like night is to day, to everything in life. Our challenge, he said is to find that balance, in our journey through life.

Become the best teacher you can be because the only history you have total control of is your history while you are alive, not your ancestors’ history. Yours! You have control of how you interpret the truth of your reality as you live your life, from ‘your own eyes’. Your perception is your reality.

I asked him, what is the one thing that could help me become a better teacher. He said, “Paul, become a better storyteller”. Write your history.

The world needs more storytellers. The world needs more dreamers. Storytelling harnesses imagination and imagination is the gate to most powerful thing you have: your subconscious mind. Some may call it: your spirit. Your soul.

You can be the same as everyone else but make a difference with your storytelling, your imagination. Become a better storyteller and write YOUR history, from your perception. Its your life, after all and it ain’t a dress rehearsal. If you don’t, someone else will write if for you, from their eyes, their perception.

Enjoy being the same but different. Appreciate your difference and make a difference to your world. Its ok to be a simple, but complex individual.

Imagination is potential power. Believe it so.

Start dreaming and … untap your potential today!

Until next time ….

a better life, attitude, authenticness, Beliefs, better choices, change, courage, ego, Energy, examined life, game of life, gratitude, happiness, life, long-term perspective, love, perseverance, responsibility, self love, spiritual balance sheet, spirituality, success, time, truths, you, your life

Is the grass green on the other side?

Greener grass anyone?

Change your philosophy, change your life.
Vv.

Envy

How much do you earn?

Is it enough for you? Do you wonder if your friends, neighbours or family are earning more than you? Do you secretly covet what your neighbours’ drive; what house they live in? I wonder …. Is the grass greener on the óther side?”

How do they do it? What do they do to make so much money and wealth? How can you learn their secrets, you wonder. Should you change jobs or see if the grass is greener on the other side. What word could sum up this way of thinking, I wondered. I think a good word would be: Envy.

Some argue that envy is the root of all evil.

Some argue that envy is what spurs on economic growth. Well and good in a capitalist society. My question is how much growth is enough? I must admit that I, along with many others have been charmed by “overnight success Rags-to-riches stories” and the wealth of the very rich. You’re bombarded with examples on social media, on-line and in magazines and papers.

The simple things in life are often the best

The outward display of success seem so appealing that it’s pretty easy to fall for those less-than-subtle advertising ploys touting fancy foreign engineering (like cars) or architectural wonders of some luxury house.

Gee, even in church we sometimes focus on the trappings – lavish sanctuary, fine pipe organs, plush carpeting and so forth.

It seems the advertising industry is the machine that uses this belief as its fuel: Envy. Most in the western world have been have been prisoners in the tyranny of consumer culture. Programmed with advertising, movies, video games, magazines, tv and MTV from the cradle. They say by the time a child in our western world reaches the age of 21, he or she would have watched and/or listened to a million ads.

Now, that is a lot of noise and clutter for the brain, and you wonder why the fastest growing disease is mental disease.

It is certainly great for business, because more growth is better for everyone, for the sake of capitalism.

De-clutter your brain of all that noise built up from early childhood clouding your thoughts.
Delete and stop contributing to the bottom-line of ‘bullshit’
Work on managing your funnel better. Don’t be part of the horribly growing stat

Try Harder = more success?

The theory is that if people are unhappy which has resulted because people were envious or jealous, people generally tend to TRY HARDER. Does it work that way with you? Or do you pull others down rather than raise your standards and climb up to theirs? Do you just wrap yourself in self-righteous misery when you cannot complain anymore about the unfairness of life?

If you are a believer in Christ and very wealthy, remember not to leave God our of your life. It is said that – without understanding, you are like the beasts that perish. Your power, influence and wealth won’t carry weight now but will not matter one zilch, in eternity.

I know you know this already.

A neuron example & its network of dentrites

Nature of Wealth

Do you read the annual publications of Rich Lists? Where do you stand? What do your friends make? Do they make more than you? How does it make you feel? Does it make you happy or miserable? I dare say that it must make more people unhappy than happy. The thing is, it shouldn’t be. You see, there is a finite nature to wealth ….

Do you wonder those “what if “ scenarios like the price you may have got in on a certain share/stock or what if you had sold your car or business at a better price by waiting a little longer or if you had not left that job? I’m sure you have thought about certain things in your life this way too. We all have. Does this make your life better or worse?

In this life the wealthy often inspire awe, admiration and praise. Be happy for them, don’t envy. This adulation will be short-lived. The possessions that are the basis of their pride and self-aggrandizement will not serve past ‘six-feet under (the grave)”.

Allow your mind to ”connect’ with infinite intelligence.
With consciousness.
It is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before.

Contentment (genuine) brings you closer to the elusive Happiness

Maybe we should resolve not to begrudge others their success or good luck in life. Maybe we should resolve to be happy for them. To genuinely wish them well with it.

Maybe we should see that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence. No, not always. Maybe we should not yearn for the grass on the other side.

Maybe.

Maybe it would be easier to sail your ship through the sea of life by looking ‘straight ahead’ instead of looking over your shoulder at the other ships (other people).

Maybe, just maybe you will find contentment and move a little closer to everyone’s elusive ‘happiness’ goal, if you stopped coveting the wealth and treasures of the very wealthy. I believe – being content, genuinely content, is one of the surest ways of moving close to happiness. It is a process by which you also move to another consciousness level. Ask yourself how content (genuinely content) are you with everything in your life?

Be content with where you are and what you have achieved to get this far.
Appreciate what I refer to as your ‘reverse bucket list’ and have an attitude of gratitude.
This is a key ingredient to moving towards genuine happiness

Change your colour, change your life

I know one thing for sure: being less envious and accepting that ‘the grass is not always greener on the other side’ would make your life less depressing.

No, I am going to take it further and suggest that maybe, we should trying viewing the colour of grass not as green or greener but viewing it as another colour (another view/philosophy).

Change your colour (philosophy). Find the right colour. Change your life – for the better.

For me, the colour is a combination – black with a touch of red.

What’s your new colour?

Then ….

Ask God to teach you to help you find and guide you with your perspective on life … to learn to live always, not for this life only, but with “ëternity’s values in view.”

One way to know YOU is to understand God.
God is in you.
God is you.

I’ll hopefully, see and chat to you in heaven when our time in this third dimension is done and dusted!

Until next time.

Cheers and a big ahoy to you on your journey through the maize of life!

The old Cap’n Viking Pirate … & thoughts on envy, contentment and happiness in life.

Appreciate beauty. Find your truth. Create your beauty if you can. Usually, beauty and truth does not involve wealth, growth, mass and material possessions.
It is counter-intuitive, but to find your beauty, your truth … LESS IS MORE.

Eliminate and de-clutter the ‘noise’ that has been uploaded in to your brain since the cradle

a better life, action, adaptation, awareness, balance, beauty, Beliefs, better choices, brain, change, Change Agent, choices, consciousness, courage, decisions, diet, dreams, Energy, examined life, game of life, God, gratitude, habits, Imagination, life, long-term perspective, love, muscles, needs, perspective, responsibility, risk, self discipline, self improvement, success, trust, truth, Vitality, you, your life

Too many mind.

To dig deep, you have to dig deep.

My grandfather told me …

Yes, not who are you… no, what are you?

My grandfather told me when I was very young that – “You are what you constantly think about every day. “ My grandfather was a bit of a philosopher as I later inferred.

Well, great. I guess, we had better think life-affirming thoughts then, shouldn’t we?

I think so.

Thought has power.

Thought has power.

You’re probably aware of that already… but how do you use that power – consciously?

Thought has energy. What is Energy? One would immediately think of an energy drink. Energy does not vanish., it is never created nor destroyed. It does not disappear. It persists for all of time. All of eternity. Energy transforms from one medium to another or many.

To think, really think .. is probably the hardest thing To do in life

Energy is life.

Energy TRANSMUTES.

Energy transmutes from one moment to another. Energy is the life-blood of life itself. Without energy, I would cease to exist. You would cease to exist. Life, as we know it, would cease to exist.

So, it could be argued that energy is life and that would make Einstein one of the greatest thinkers that has ever walked this earth.

Why?

Simply, because I think he came up with a formula that fundamentally sums up Life. And what formula would that be, Paul? Well, I’m certain everyone who is reading this knows this following formula:

Energy (E) = Mass (m) x (C x C), where C = Speed of light

Or, in layman’s speech – E = M C squared.

In the Quantum world the Experimenter becomes part of the experiment.
That is the “hard problem” of the Quantum

Everything is energy, including your thoughts.

So, if life is Energy, then based on the formula above, everything is energy – all matter, and matter being gas, liquid and solid…. & everything in-between.

Energy is everything and everywhere and omni-present. It could be said that Energy is God, because God is omnipresent too. The formula above describes that of classical physics but in Quantum Physics, the energy of a particle in its simplest forms (photon, proton etc) within a system is summed up in another famous formula by Physicist – Max Plank:

That Energy (E) = the wave vibration of the particle x Plank’s constant.

Phew, what is that Paul, some of you may ask?

Well, it simply says that everything is energy and that each sub-system of a system, for example, a particle, has a certain wave frequency and oscillates at that wave-length. It should also be noted that Quantum particles can exist in two or more states or locations simultaneously and can be mathematically described by a Quantum wave-function. Interesting findings by science, isn’t it? So, energy is everywhere. Everything is energy, including your thoughts.

So, What does that say? What does that tell us about thought?

Everything has a frequency, everything has a resonance. What is your resonance? What resonates with you?

Are your thoughts … Oscillating in a wavelength that is healthy?

Well, we have got to ask ourselves what frequency of thought we are on and if we are oscillating in a wavelength that is healthy. If we are not, can we and what do we need to do to change our thought operating frequency (from negative to positive) and make the change to a different thought oscillation, making this your default. Your default way of thinking.

So if everything is energy, I also think we have got to devote more thought ( as I’ve established is a form of energy) … devote more thought to energy itself but in particularly, in our management of energy.

Back to my opening statement about thought.

What are you?

You become what you think of, everyday.

It is said that any thought held unwaveringly in mind, or any thought held constantly in mind through focused concentration and brought into the conscious mind often enough, seemingly, attracts to it those qualities of the human mind which it most resembles. Basically, you become what you think, every day.

A thought is like a seed put in the ground, that produces a crop that is of its kind and how healthy it turns out depends on the nutrients and caring it has from its internal and external environment.

Therefore, one must watch one’s thoughts.

It is dangerous to allow the mind to hold any thought which is destructive. Why, because, such thought will manifest itself in the physical sense, sooner or later. Be careful, I say, be careful! Just like the seedling needs constant nutrition and nourishment from the sunlight and healthy soil to keep them alive, so does the qualities of your mind. Without proper nutrition and nourishment, everything that lives and grows, dies.

Everything.

Feel the interconnectedness of everything
Live 4 2day

Nutrition for the mind is as important… than nutrition for the body.

The qualities of the human mind also dies, if one does not nourish it and constantly feed it the nutrition it needs to live and develop. Nutrition for the mind is as important, if not, more important than nutrition for the body. How do you do this, I hear you ask?

Simple. Keep it simple, stupid (The KISS principle I learned from one of my business mentors).

Like, any plant would: learn to become more aware (of your thought/thoughts), concentrate and think about it, making the correct choice and then apply (or use it). My philosophy of the Triple A can be adopted here. Refer to an earlier blog for an elaboration on the first A: Awareness.

Are you a spirit… a soul … a leaf 🍃 of consciousness in the vast seas of consciousness?

No one has ownership of your mind, but YOU.

No one has ownership of your mind, but you.

Yes – YOU!

You do not need anyone else in this world to help you manipulate your mind so it will function as you want it to. You also have control over your mind, no matter where you are in life, which phase you are in life, but provided you exercise the right rather than allowing others to do so for you.

Better control and ownership of your mind and choosing to exercise these factors will allow you to free you of the curse of all fears and stagnation. And why is this important? Well, because I believe that there is a growing hidden epidemic in mode-day societies (one of many) and that is many are suffering from –

Too many Mind.

We’re all swinging like a pendulum .. continuously moving between two points – activity & non-activity/ entertainment/rest . Creating waves 🌊…in the universe

Clutter to the mind is akin to weeds are in a garden.

Your mind is made up of the hardware and the software.

The software keeps changing, keeps getting updated, every day, every second of the day, for some. What happens when you fill your tummy up with so much crap, when you eat too much ….

Well, you feel like crap, don’t you?!

Well, that is also what happens when your nutrition for the mind is also crap. If you keep feeding it crap, you will think and ultimately act like someone who is physically ill. But like I said earlier, who has ownership and control of your mind?

You, yes – YOU!

Not managing your food for your body well enough, can make you very ill, just like mis-managing your nutrition for your mind. This leads to chaotic thoughts, which ultimately causes increased clutter & “noise” in the mind, which then leads to bad decisions, because of lack of focus, which then causes distress in the physical world.

Clutter to the mind is akin to what weeds are to a beautiful garden. The weeds feed on the limited resources and sometimes overgrow and overtake the area, affecting the proper growth of the desired plants. Even killing them off.

So, watch your thoughts, I say. Be the best gardener you can be for your garden! Thoughts, positive or negative GROW STRONGER when fertilized with CONSTANT REPEITITION. Remember this.

My idol.

Too many thoughts = Too many mind.

Too many thoughts = too many mind.

Very similar to that age old saying – “too many cooks spoil the soup.” That I heard adults saying when I was a child. If you have too many thoughts … too many mind … running chaotically through your consciousness … you muddle up the soup .. muddle up or clutter up … your most precious resource: your Mind.

Clutter doesn’t do much more than cloud up or congest one’s life. One’s mind. Its like a ship with too many destinations and being paralysed with motion as it has too many competing travel plans. I’m not sure who said this but some thinker, I think it was Einstein, that taught us a big lesson: he felt it was more important to use your mind to “think” than to use it as a warehouse for facts.

That if you could record the information somewhere, then do so, hence freeing up your mind for more important decisions. So, do just that. Don’t use your brain as a storehouse of information, it will just cause unnecessary clutter. Instead focus on the thinking or thought process behind the intelligence. That is why my kids are amazed that I have over 35,000 unread emails in my gmail inbox. I chose yo filter out unnecessary “stuff” and stopped weed from using up my brain cells and cluttering my mind.

Let your light bring colour to the world. Focus 🧘🏾‍♂️ your thoughts 💭 on the area you want the rainbow 🌈 to land

The ability to know how to get information is more important than using the mind as a garage for facts.

The ability to know how to ‘get information’ is more important than using the mind as a garage for facts.

What really matters is not how much intelligence you have, but HOW YOU USE what you do have. The thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than the quantity of your brainpower. In other words, the thinking that guides your intelligence is much more important than how much intelligence you may have.

Does science have the answers?

All the answers to the truth? The answers we may have to harvesting the mind? What truth is this? What is truth? What is science anyway … it could be seen as a makeshift, a means to an end which is never attained?

Could nature be truth? Could the universe be truth? Where is the source of our knowledge? Do we know everything? Do we think we know something? Are we, as human beings, so arrogant to think we know something … our so-called meagre knowledge … and maybe, missing out on the advantages of actual ignorance.

A man’s ignorance may not only be useful, but can be seen as beautiful. Sometimes, knowledge can be worse than useless and worse still – ugly!

A butterfly 🦋 knows when to fly and when to sit and feed.
Timing is everything in their life.

Where and how can you harness your mind?

So, where and how can you harness your mind, de-cluttering it in the process. Well, one way, is to get you dreaming again … to spark your imagination. To do this, you could try to fall in love with nature. Become one with nature. Become one with the universe. Let nature become one with your spirit – your subconscious. This would allow the mind to be fertilized and bear fruit in the garden, the garden of your subconscious, the fruit of which is imagination.

How would you know which of your thoughts is valuable: a clue could be any thought that comes to your mind, that is anything, but what you thought….& resonates with your heart ❤️.

That is imagination. Imagination is key: A key gift to you in your journey through life.

So become more aware of your thoughts, and then, catch that ‘aha’ thought that you weren’t trying so hard to think about. Unthink to think (refer to an earlier blog on this).

Until next time,

Tesla, Einstein’s hero was so “in-tune” with the Energy & understood HOW to harness that Power energy

Energy

Should you use Force or Power?

Interesting question, isn’t it? What would you choose? Which one would yield a better probability of success, all things being equal? To answer this, lets attempt to try and define what Force is. What Power is. Lets try …. Without googling it.

The first thought that comes to my head when I read or hear the word Force, I think of the definition provided to me years ago, in my Year 11 Physics class in High School. If I remember correctly, Force is the product of a body’s mass multiplied by the acceleration that is acting on it. Put simply, in Physics terminology, the formula is:

Force (N) = Mass (kg) x A (acceleration)

where A is gravity acting on the mass, which is about 9.8m.s.s

That’s a little bit of Classical Physics for you.

There are many more definitions of Force. Maybe, we don’t need to go in to definitions. Maybe, its better if we just chat about it.

What about Power. How would you define it? You can see it when it happens – on the sporting field or arena. I particularly, love the power exhibited by sprinters in the 100 m dash – short, very intense and very powerful. There are people who possess more Power than others in all sorts of ways – economic, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and physical, amongst many others. We see examples of it in action every day – on the roads to work or school, on tv, with our friends and family etc … examples of power-play, every day.

I will make a bold statement to say that the universe favors the latter, Power.

A bold statement indeed.

Do you believe in karma? Do you believe that the universe registers everything? Do you believe the universe never forgets? Do you do unto others you would like to be done on to you? Do you think you would have to accept responsibility for every thought, word, and deed you generate for the entire time you’re physical body graces the earth? Do you think, in this sense, that maybe, just maybe, you or we create our own heaven or hell? Some people call it purgatory. It does not matter if you’re religious or not, you would have heard about heaven or hell by now.

How about if I told you that my bold statement reflects exciting new areas of theoretical Physics, that everything in the universe is connected with everything else. Wow, you’re kidding, right? Nope. Am not. It is now a Scientific fact that every act or decision we make, every ripple we create, generates a magnetic field that either enhances your life and lives or it takes away from it. The ripple we created returns to us, giving off a certain energy pattern. A certain frequency. We all know it as ‘karma’.

You could say, from a religious point of view, that every word, thought is known and recorded forever. There are no secrets; nothing is hidden. Our spirits stand naked in time for all to see – everyone’s life, is accountable to the universe. This is very similar to what I learned in Sunday School growing up as a child, that there is one God. He alone is God. He alone is the judge. Science is now saying that God could be … omnipresent … could be everywhere … could be, just could be … the universe. I don’t know. No one knows yet. This is not meant to discriminate against on-christian believers, it is just a statement of deduction, supported by science.

Now, back to Power.

How does Power arise? It seems that Power arises from meaning or purpose. From the Heart. This is why you need to spend a bit more time thinking about your life, what it represents and the extent of influence you would like to leave behind in this world, when you’re gone. How do you do that? Find your purpose or meaning in life. Search high. Search low. Search everywhere. Search your soul. It could be the most important few minutes/hours/days you spend for the rest of your life. Find your purpose. Do it now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not after Christmas. Do it now.

Does Power have motive? I think it does. Power is probably more appealing to us, as human beings. Why? Because, it just is. Personally, I prefer Power over Force, any day. For example, I prefer the Powerful humming sound of a Harley Davidson motorbike to a small speedster. You hear Power when it comes towards you.

Power does not seem to need justification, does it? Force, on the other hand, must always be justified. Think back to your own life, with your own examples of Force or Power. Let me help you jolt your memory with a few more thoughts.

With Power, it seems, no movement is required. Back to my opening Physics formula, you can see that for a Force to happen, it needs to be moved or move. Essentially, Force is a movement – from point A to point B (or tries to) against opposition. You see, Force, automatically, creates a counter-force. Power, on the other hand, doesn’t do this. It is still. Its constant. Its all encompassing. A good example would be something we’re all familiar with – gravity. A standing field, that doesn’t move against anything. Its immense Power moves all objects within its field, but the gravity field itself does not move.

So, we can see that Power is complete and total. Gravity, for example, does not need anything from outside. It does not need to be fed. Unlike Force, which is always moving, always moving against something. Force has an insatiable appetite as it needs to be fed all the time.

In Year 11 Physics all those years ago, if I remember correctly, every force produces an equal and opposite force. If this is correct, and it is, as we have millions of examples, happening in our daily lives, then, we could say that its ultimate effect is to polarize. Now, if there is a counter-force which leads to polarization, we then have a situation. And what situation would this be? Well, we would create a situation of conflict and as we all know, conflict spells trouble. Trouble most of us don’t need more of in our lives. Conflicts in life inevitably results in somebody losing out and this leads to enemies being created. Constantly faced with enemies can drain you, can suck the life out of you … as you repeatedly have to defend yourself, cover yourself and ‘watch your back’. As you can see, Force requires constant defense. Defensiveness is very costly, whether in politics, personal affairs or the marketplace. It is quite evident in international affairs and the extent of costs associated with countries in conflict.

Ultimately, a source of power is that it is just, “is”! Plain and simple. It just, is. Nothing added. What do you think? It just, is. No extras with that. Only a week ago, one of the greatest individuals that ever walked the face of this earth, passed away. Mr Nelson Mandela. Now he is a great example of an individual that was just Power Personified. His life was lived with purpose, appeared to be one of which was to raise awareness to the world that all men are created equal and that human rights are intrinsic to human creation. This very concept was the source of power for another great human being exuding power: Mahatma Gandhi. These were men that lived by the native principles of our civilization which were noble and not selfish. You could say the same for others like Jesus Christ, Buddha, Krishna and Mother Theresa. There are probably many others you could think of.

I also believe that True Power also, ultimately, evolves or springs from consciousness itself. You see it everywhere. I elaborate on the idea of ‘consciousness’ in my previous blog on ‘mindless’. Have a read if you get a chance. True Power, ultimately, rests or resides in YOU. The question you’ve got to ask yourself is “who are YOU?”. More on that one very important question in a later blog, but for now, just be more aware of you, your environment – internal and external. Power is everywhere. What you are seeing is the physical manifestation of the invisible, just like the body is the physical manifestation of the mind.

How do you want to live? Are you living with meaning? With purpose? Do you want to? Why is this important? Would you like to know how you could live your life with more purpose, more meaning? For one thing, you need to live your life by life principles, and not live without intangibles like pride, honor, love, compassion and valor. One needs to align oneself with the search for balance and beauty or aesthetics. Force does not bring you joy, but Power does. People who align themselves with enhancement and embodiment of beauty, with whatever instrument (musical, sculptor, the human body), vitality and longevity. Wouldn’t we all want to strive towards that?

Yes, I think it would be wise to do so.

So, it follows, that it would be wiser to adopt a philosophy of Power than that of Force. You don’t want to learn everything in your short life on this lovely earth – first hand. Life is too short to try and experience everything first hand anyway. I remember certain older family members saying when I was a kid, especially when it came to exotic foods, “Paul, you won’t know until you try it”. Well, I thought that was the case for a long time, for most things in life. Philosophies change and years of experience has taught me that there are things I know I don’t want to try, simply because I know I don’t want it. I don’t need it. Simply because I am more aware of who I am now than I was, say, when I was a fifteen year old teenager. I know the person who lies behind the eyes that I see when I look at myself in the mirror (I have elaborated on this topic in a previous blog). I don’t need to try something to see if I like it.

Knowing you, helps you know what you need and what you want. Differentiating between the two (a need and a want) can be very difficult for some. The philosophy you base your viewpoints and decisions on will aid in this. Choosing to use Power over Force in your life, will ultimately add to your life. Not subtract from it.

Choose Power over Force to enhance and add to your life. Add to your universe. Add to all Life.

Making choices is part of life. Choices have risks. These risks have consequences. These consequences determines the path you head down in life. Do you make your own path in life? One that resonates with your heart, with your dreams, with your imagination. Do you take a path less traveled, like the path of Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi, a path of purpose or do you take a well-trodden path, one which appears safer because the majority is doing it – one without a purpose, like a ship floating in the ocean of life, without a rudder and sails, moving aimlessly, where the currents take you?

Choosing Power may help you navigate your ship in the sea of life, better. Getting to your destination a little quicker, and safer, despite the changing currents.

You find purpose when you adopt a philosophy of Power. Not Force.

Choose well. It is your life, after all.

Until next time.

Changing lives. Empowering people. One life at a time.

Triple A to Life: Awareness. Action. Adaptation.

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