This is a classic from Earl Nightingale …

Click here to view the embedded video.

I am so thankful for my health and wellness. In 2006 I made a decision to “develop a self care consciousness” and every day since my overall health and well being has improved.

I’ve made hundreds of micro shifts since and the results speak for themselves.

• Lost 43 Pounds
• Off Antidepressants After a Decade
• Exited Unhappy Marriage
• Went On My Dream Vacation, On My Dream Machine for 84 days in 2010
• Found My Soul Mate
• Reinvented Myself and My Business

Lost 43 Pounds

At my 2009 medical I weighed 215 pounds, I looked like I swallowed a basketball! Today, I weigh 172 pounds. I can see my feet and sleep on my stomach and I stated running again, although that is not a regular habit, yet.

After a Decade on an Antidepressant, I’m Off Them Entirely

In 2009 I was on an antidepressant known as Effexor XR. I started at a dosage of 37.5mg in 1998 and over the years increased to e maximum recommended dosage of 300mg. I started weaning myself off of Effexor XR in November 2009. It took until May 2010 to get down to 37.5mg. I finally made the final transition to being on zero mg in July 2010 and I’ve been off of the antidepressant now for 14 months.

Getting Off Antidepressants Is Not For Everyone

Getting off Effexor XR is not for the faint of heart, the side effects are nasty. Agitation, headaches, brain shivers, disorientation, and vertigo were significant for me. I had to go off gradually and slowly. I had to learn new coping strategies. Then I discovered an online forum where a fellow n the UK had been experimenting with a regimen of natural supplements to offset the side effects. That made a world of difference. I’ll write about that process and what I learned another time.

I Exited Unhappy Marriage

I also made the decision to seek a divorce and in August 2010 the courts gave us our Divorce Decree.

My Dream Machine & Vacation

For 84 days in the summer of 2010 I travelled Canada and the USA on two wheels, my BMW K 1300 GT. This is me just outside of Yellowstone National Park August 2010. Iy snowed that night, fun but cool.

Found My Soul Mate

November 2010 I met Janice Langdon, in April 2011 I moved to Red Deer, AB to begin my life with Janice.

Reinventing Myself and My Business

I’ve made 100′s of changes and shifts in my life, one day at a time. There’s more to come and I couldn’t more satisfied. I have joy in the inside and my happiness is apparent to those I meet.

I have a saying, “Move Your Thoughts, Move Your Life!” and when you move your life, you’ll also move your business forward as well. I’m going to be relaunching my business with some new products and services. Stay tuned!

A. Greg Dickson
Author, Business Coach and Entrepreneur
GregDickson.ca

Things cannot bring us peace of mind or happiness. Ideas bring happiness because ideas create perspective and a chance to choose a new path or way of being.

Perspective allows us to observe with clarity, then we can see our truth and the truth of our current situation.

Want to gain a fresh perspective? Ask quality questions…

Here’s a few questions that can cause a shift in perspective.

• How can I look at this from their vantage point?
• What could I be missing or not seeing?
• What is the underlying principle at the core of this situation?

What are some of your favorite questions that help you gain a fresh perspective and a sense of happiness?

So when is meat not meat? When it is only 17% real meat! The other ingredients are (in order) water, salt, potassium lactate, hydrolyzed soy protein, flavour, sodium phosphate, sodium diacetate, dextrose (sugar), spices, garlic powder, caramel, may contain wheat and milk.

There is only one thing that can keep me from living the life of my dreams, my mind.

You can get anything you want, first, you need to know what you want. Clarity is an energy generator and a lack of clarity sucks our life energy.

The Bible says “Without a vision the people perish.” and our energy will perish unless we get clear about what we want. It’s like planting a garden.

We plant orange seeds and expect oranges. A farmer has an affirmative mindset, the farmer ‘knows’ that when an orange seed is planted he will get a orange tree, not an apple tree. The farmer has a ‘vision’ for an orange tree and plants orange seeds.

The law of Sowing and Reaping rewards the farmers vision of orange trees when orange seeds are planted. It’s simple. Yet many struggle to experience the ‘harvest’.

If your life is not producing the fruit you expected, look at the fruit in your life. It will reveal the type of seeds you have been sowing. Then weed out the undersirable seed, gather new seeds and begin sowing anew.

Orange seeds produce orange trees. Are you sowing the type of seeds that will produce the result you most desire?

I embrace crystal clear intentions and give attention to those areas of my life that serve my highest and greatest good. Clarity is my friend. I experience clarity in thought and deed.

Deepak Chopra has an article The Power of Meditation with some interesting information on the health benefits of meditation.

An exciting 2010 study showed that people in an intensive meditation practice had greater telomerase activity in their immune cells than those who did not meditate. Via TheVisualMD

Apparently, telomerase prolongs life of our cells.

My friend Remarkablogger recently tweeted a link to a great article titled “5 Everyday Habits That Help Build Great Relationships” by Christine Livingston who Tweets from @coblyn on Twitter.

Great relationships don’t just happen.

Sure, it’s reasonable to expect to be loved unconditionally. But you need to be an active participant in a relationship to enable that. Here are five habits to practise to help you play your part of the equation.

1. Presence
2. Listening
3. Appreciation
4. Reciprocity
5. Concession

I really encourage you to read the full text of this concise and easy to read article. They are specific, simple and I felt refreshed and reminded of things I could easily forget.

My Sixth Relationship Habit…Intention precedes Attention.

I am in a committed relationship and one of the things we have discussed is to remember to still go out on “Dates”. We make it a point to go out together on dates.

I have learned that I have to be very diligent and intentional to make a “date” with my partner a regular thing and yet still be unique and special. The effort is always appreciated and it keeps our relationship green and growing. I am learning that …

Intention precedes Attention.

Before I can give attention to someone or something in my life, I first have to form the “intent” to do something. I need to form an idea or at least know what it is I want to “create”.

As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. So, I think the first step in tending the garden of my committed relationship is to get clear about what I am willing to give and invest in my relationship. Then once I’m clear about what I’m willing to give, it is much easier to set my intention to give attention. I seed my relationship garden with a loving, giving and caring intent.

I think the best defence against weeds is a healthy garden. Plant good seeds (intention) then give it attention by watering and tilling the soil (attention) with active participation. Then I can sit back and marvel at the wonderful garden (relationship) that I now enjoy.

Intention precedes Attention.

Thanks for the refresher Christine, now I can be more mindful and intentional with those I love and care about.

“The purpose of life is not acquisition but unfoldment and personal development.” Eric Butterworth

“What the caterpillar calls the end the rest of the world calls a butterfly.” Lao Tzu

“Life is the flower for which love is the honey.” Victor Hugo