Category Archives: Lifestyle

How Hard is it to Live a Relaxed Lifestyle?

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I had a really good analogy appear over our weekend away.

We went to see friends on a large property down South. Balingup, for anyone who would like to check it out on Google Earth, lol.

It was a real eye opener to me and put a lot of what I talk about into perspective.

The guy who owned the property, had moved there for a lifestyle choice and admittedly had taken to it like a duck to water. What amazed me was the amount of work he had to do. Feeding Cows, feeding chickens, mowing hay, repairing fences etc.. etc…

When I asked him about all the work he said “This is not work, this is what I love doing.”

I commented about the fact he called it a relaxed lifestyle and he said that the thing that drove him was the fact that everything was in order and at the end of each day he felt relaxed and at peace with himself and the world.

This is a classic example of if you enjoy what you are doing, it ceases to be work. This guy is actually working mentally and physically harder than he has ever worked and is totally relaxed.

I never really appreciated how much effort you had to put in to live a relaxed lifestyle.

The other very valid thing that he said was, if he did not keep on top of the work, things would slip and not be as he wanted it to be, and he would not then enjoy it. Another great observation, whatever you are doing you must always keep an eye on it to make sure at the end of the day it is what you want.

Well it was a lovely few days away, but I think I will create my relaxed lifestyle in suburbia.

Live Your Dream Lifestyle With These 4 Simple Steps

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Back when I was working a traditional job, it would take three to six months before I got bored with the job position. I am the type of person that embraces change and cringes at the thought of doing the same thing day in and day out for the rest of my life. I applaud those individuals who been working in the same position two or more years. My hat is off to them!

There does come a time in most people’s lives, especially the Generation Y group where they get bored of their jobs and desire change. This is what I like to think of as the mid-life crisis that the Boomer Generation experienced. Since times have drastically changed growing up for Gen Y, attention spans are shorter and we’d like to believe that we can accomplish more in a shorter period of time than our parents and grandparents.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking this way in my opinion. Look at all the information we have at our fingertips and the technology to get things done in record time. Why should we slave away behind a cubicle wall, doing work that no longer fulfills us? Why? So we can retire on a quarter of our salary and saving accounts that generate less interest than inflation rates. Sorry, I’ll have to pass on that option and encourage Gen X & Gen Y alike to live the lifestyle they dream of. The tools, resources and knowledge is available to anyone with a burning desire, creativity, perseverance, tenacity and courage to live a lifestyle by their design.

4 Steps to Re-creating Your Life

Before you start on any journey it would be a good ideal to know where you are starting. If you had the most accurate map known to man with a clearly placed ‘X‘ indicating where the gold is located, you would still have a tough time finding the gold if you don’t know where you are located on the map.

The first step is to take inventory of your skills and experiences; determine what you are passionate about; know what your current financial state is looking like and any other relevant information that will assist you along this new journey of creating a new lifestyle.

Step two is to begin with the end in mind. In Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he speaks in detail about this exercise and here is my personal cliff notes version.

Picture your funeral (bare with me on this one). Look around and see who is all there. Imagine everyone that is giving an eulogy and what you’d like to be said about you and your accomplishments. This may sound silly, but notice that eulogy aren’t about how many cars you had in the driveway or what kind of bling you had hanging off your body. Be real with yourself and dig deep. This is a powerful exercise if taken seriously.

Step three is to determine your options. Basically, I see people having two options; 1) they can find another job that will suite them until they get bored again, or 2) start their own business. Search for my post one a few business models that can be started inexpensively.

Step four is to take action! Ideals are worthless unless you take action on them. Do anything no matter how small or insignificant it may seem to you. Getting the ball rolling on your new lifestyle is the key. Read/listen to Think & Grow Rich. Chapter 10 of that book the author speaks about masterminds. Seek out some people who are doing what you’d like to and see if you can pick their brains. Maybe they have a blog or books that you can pick up. The key is to take action now!

You are never too old or too young to begin to create the lifestyle of your dreams. Remember that the life we have lived up to this point is the results of our past thoughts, words and deeds. Change those today and your future will have to change. It’s the law!

A Healthy Lifestyle for Diabetes Sufferers

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Is it possible that an “invisible” disease could be a dangerous threat for human vision? Diabetes, since it’s hard to detect (due to there is no clear symptom and people seem don’t pay attention to much on it until patients are diagnosed suffering this disease), has some complication that might appear when it doesn’t get proper medication; it’s started from blindness and vision loss (diabetic retinopathy), nerve and blood vessel damage (diabetic neuropathy), heart disease, and kidney disease (diabetic nephropathy). To prevent and reduce the possibility to get effects from it, diabetes sufferers need to know on what diabetics need NOT to consume, what diabetics need to consume, and what additional activities that could help.

Diabetes sufferers usually face a condition when patients need to avoid meals they might adore. It is due to the level of their blood glucose needed to keep low. Knowing what patients should avoid is one step forth from the deadly complication. High glucose food (carbohydrate and sugar) is one of the foods patients need to avoid; since diabetes sufferers can’t produce enough insulin, a hormone produced by pancreas that changes glucose into energy, glucose level increases and becomes the main reason of this disease. Fats (animal fats) also interferes absorption of sugar into cells, causing sugar levels to rise above normal levels. Avoiding alcohol and smoking is the best way to prevent this disease complication; since alcohol contains calories, keeping it to a minimum level will help patients to lose weight. People with diabetes are at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Stopping smoking will help to decrease risk of it and minimize the chance of developing other complication.

So what do diabetics need to consume, then? Starting to manage diabetes by helping to control blood glucose levels, blood fats, and blood pressure is the best way to do. It also helps to regulate weight. Finding the balance between the amount of carbohydrates and fats is important. Cutting down the fats (saturated fats) and choosing monounsaturated ones (olive oil) are the best decision. High fiber diet provides roughage to the body and keeps the digestive system in good shape. It prevents the accumulation of glucose in the blood. It can be found on starchy carbohydrate foods such as bread, pasta, potatoes, noodles, and cereals. Foods in small size are worth to be in consideration. Small in size, if taken at regular or short intervals of times, helps in proper digest and doesn’t overload the metabolic system.

Last but not least are additional activities. Since glucose and sugar need to be burned and turned into energy, exercise looks prospering. Being fit and active reduce risk of diabetes. Physical activity, when combined with a healthy balanced diet, will help to manage diabetic’s disease and prevent long term complications. Diabetes sufferers may need additional treatments to work along side with their healthy lifestyle to control their disease. This can be in the form of tablets and pills. Consistency is the key point of all those above activities. It is hard for people to be consistent, especially when it requires a lot of thing to do, yet being consistent is the only way for those above activities could be done.

Knowledge is the power of life. Knowing it better will increase the possibility to avoid complications. Though it looks require a lot of preparation and sacrifices, all those above activities need to be done for the sake of healthy. People often say the letter D in diabetes means devastation of the body, but it also means devotion, devotion diabetics need to do to live longer.