Healthy Living Secrets of Briget Menezes Revealed

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. ~World Health Organization, 1948

Briget Menezes, who is 75, running two weekly newspaper columns, becoming an author  and motivator discloses her inner secrets of staying young while growing old in a recent New Straits Times interview on January 28, 2012. Here is an extract of what she has said about living a healthy life:

On staying physically active

·         Healthy aging is a goal, not anti-aging

·         Growing old is inevitable, occasionally there may be forgetfulness or some aches and pains, but she laughs it off with good humor.

·         Menezes believes in the importance of exercise and has maintained an active lifestyle since her 20s but emphasized that effort is required for both mental and physical fitness. She said with regular exercise and a positive outlook, inner greatness is built which protects oneself from illness.

·         She is a vegetarian, and I eat vegetables with the colors of the rainbow.

·         She goes for a brisk walk three times a week, covering about five kilometers in one hour. She exercises basically to be mobile so that when she is required to run, she can run.

·         Her motto is to live a healthy life – rise with the sun and if possible exercise in the morning because of our body clock takes its cue from the sunlight to release hormones to function well.

On a strong and healthy mind

·         Menezes said she practices Raja Yoga Meditation to maintain a state of calm that refreshes the mind and relaxes the body. She said meditation gently and naturally opens to our perception, producing insights and experiences that bring lasting changes to our lives. Meditation heals old wounds and restores our capacity to love, to learn and adapt, to envision, and to build a better future. In short, it awakens us and our interaction with others, based on respect and love, instead of selfishness and dependence.

·         About 70% of her physical fitness level is due to a positive state of mind. She always tries to keep her mind cool without much fluctuation, accepting people and situations as they are. Change the inner attitude and you can change the outer aspects. It’s about inside out. When our thoughts are stable and steadfast, the breath level is found to be rhythmic in the vicinity of 14 to 16 times per minute, which is a sign of a healthy life. To her, everything starts with the mind, as a healthy mind creates a healthy body. Through silence, our mind becomes strong and stable, and we are able to manage our thoughts better and take charge of our lives.

·         She handles stress by learning to respond in an appropriate way. Stress is not caused by people, events pressures, or the environment. It is created by how we respond to all these. As long as you feel others should change for us to become tension-free, we will always remain in dependency and fear.

On the ways to live a healthy life

·         Most importantly, think positive and be happy because the magic elixir of positivity can work miracles, transforming and healing illnesses. Remember, where there is happiness, there is also health and wealth. A happy disposition increases the level of endorphins and lowers the production of stress hormones.

·         In a nutshell, a healthy lifestyle is not a difficult goal to achieve. The basis factors are a positive frame of mind, good rest, positive interaction, emotional stability, invigorating exercise, proper diet, and a fulfilling job.

·         You must remove fear. Fear is stress, fear is pain, fear attracts fear. As for death, she welcomes it, because she knows that only the body dies but the souls are eternal

The body is like a piano, and happiness is like music. It is needful to have the instrument in good order. ~ Henry Ward Beecher (1813 – 1887)

7 Ways to Obtain True Wealth

If you don't think you're rich, try counting all the things you have that money can't buy... ~Rob Hawkins

Yes, money is a measurement of your material wealth, but money is not everything in your life. Your true wealth is more than your fortune. You can be truly wealthy in seven great ways:

1.      Education and Learning: Education is the foundation to build wealth. A country pays attention to education, especially higher learning because it is the resource of building national wealth. However, learning is to be continued when you have completed formal education. Lifelong learning is the way to fortify what you know and keep it up-to-date.

The greatest wealth in life is the ability to learn. -Bryan

2.      Application of your knowledge: What you know is useless if you do not put it into good use. Wealth is created when you creatively apply what you know to what you do.

Knowledge become power only when we put it into use.
Anonymous

3.       Beneficial to mankind: True wealth is the creation of something valuable to others. It is definitely the outcome of the application of your knowledge. In this way, you build riches by what you can give to others.

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.  ~Winston Churchill

4.      Enjoy happiness: What is wealth without happiness? Happiness is the essence of life.

Happiness is feeling good at doing the right things. It is also paying attention to what you do in the present and enjoy it.  

Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. Franklin D. Roosevelt

5.      Passionate about what you do: You live a life of richness when you are passionate about what you do from day to day. You are inspired by your dreams and life is fulfilling.

Without passion, you don't have energy, without energy you have nothing. ~ Donald Trump

6.      Health and fitness:  You can buy the best medicine in the world, but money cannot buy you health and fitness. Without health, you cannot even enjoy your wealth.

The first wealth is health. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

7.      Gratitude: The greatest wealth is an attitude of gratitude. The appreciation of what you are and what you have will truly make you the richest person in the world.

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.
~ Oprah Winfrey

Are you truly rich and wealthy?

5 Positive Ways to Learn From Adversity

Guide to overcoming adversity
Find your inner strength

There is no education like adversity. ~Benjamin Disraeli

It is not a bad thing to fail and get defeated. After all our life is not smooth sailing all the way. We have our ups and downs. We should take advantage of adversity and learn from it.

1.      Learn what goes wrong: When you do not meet with success, don’t blame others or tell yourself that you don’t have the luck. It is an opportunity to look critically at yourself and analyze the situation. Find out the real reasons for your shortcomings and avoid repeating the same mistakes. You are much wiser when you learn from your failures and how you overcome difficulties.

2.      Need to try harder: You may have started successfully but you are not making progress. It is possible that you are complacent and not trying hard enough. You need to work hard not just once in a while, it is your daily habit of doing what you need to do persistently that counts.

3.      More determined to succeed: Instead of getting dejected, you promise yourself not to give up. You get up and continue to do what is right. Failure is not an option for you. Adversity strengthens your resolve to succeed.

4.      More creative: Defeats make us think more creatively. You want to succeed but you have to be better than the competition. It is a necessary step or else you will be doomed to failure.

5.      Need to change: Failure is also a way to tell you that your approach is not workable and you have to try another way. Keep changing until you have fine-tuned your strategy.     

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit. ~Napoleon Hill

What have you gained from adversity in life? 

Is It Wise and Effective to Get a Student Loan?

“The borrower is servant to the lender.”
-The Bible

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the amount of student loans taken out last year crossed the $100 billion mark for the first time and total loans outstanding will exceed $1 trillion for the first time this year. Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards.

It is a wise move to obtain further education and get better qualifications to go into the competitive job market. However, is it prudent to obtain a loan to pursue your further education? I sincerely do not think so:

·         Study at a disadvantage: While other bright students obtain sponsorship and get admitted to prestigious institutes of higher learning, you have to find your own way financially to study at other Universities and colleges. Because you are not as good as other academically excellent students, you are unable to obtain the scholarship. You can only settle for second best in education.

·         Getting a job: More likely than not, for a student who has secured a scholarship, he or she is under bond to work for the company which provides financial assistance for a number of years. Their future is secured.   For those who are studying on their own, they are not so sure of getting a job upon graduation. They are lucky if they can get a job within a few months.

·         Saddle with debt to start your life: While others can look forward to starting their career with a clean financial record, you have to be burdened by a student loan that you cannot escape. Just think there will be at least two more loans to finance your car and your dream home in the course of your working life and not to mention marriage and starting a family. Life is indeed unfair.

Solution:

Work very hard to excel academically and look for a sponsor to finance your education. You will build your career without financial commitment.

7 Delightful Benefits of Getting Organized

Organizing is what you do before you do something so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up.  ~A.A. Milne

It is a productive habit to get organized. It means you plan ahead for everything you do such as your daily life, making a trip or getting ready for a presentation.  Spending a little time to get organized reaps many wonderful benefits:

1.      Save time: Getting things done at the same time on the same spot is more efficient than moving about to get a job done.  Being organized means spending less time doing actual work and gaining more free time to do what you like and get a better quality of life. Always plan ahead to achieve the expected results.

Failing to plan is planning to fail. ~Alan Lakein
 

2.      Save money: Organize your documents such as your credit card statements so that you pay on time to avoid late payment charges and also avoid the negative impact of your creditworthiness. Do you waste money to replace items you can’t find at home? Getting organized and avoiding clutter at home are effective ways to reduce expenses.

3.      Reduce stress: When you are organized at work. You meet deadlines without feeling overwhelmed or the need to rush about. It is simply planning your work and working your plan. You are also able to accommodate unavoidable interruptions if you have given allowance to meet delay or unexpected emergencies.

It is best to do things systematically, since we are only human, and disorder is our worst enemy. ~Hesiod

4.      Achieve more: Getting organized is getting more important things done in less time. You are not trying to do more by squeezing more work into the available time but to use the free time for creative uses.

Have a time and place for everything, and do everything in its time and place, and you will not only accomplish more but have far more leisure than those who are always hurrying. ~Tryon Edwards

5.      In control: An organized person is a confident person. He or she is in control of their activities. To get organized is to be free, avoiding confusion and getting clearer thoughts for better decisions.

Good order is the foundation of all things. ~Edmund Burke

6.      Less clutter at home and at work: You will be able to locate things easily and quickly when you are organized at home and at work. Each item has its place in the house and at the workplace. You are more effective.   

7.      More productive: When you are organized, you are able to focus on the task at hand, work  with peace of mind and nothing else to worry about.

Organization is not an option, it is a fundamental survival skill and distinct competitive advantage. ~ Pam N. Woods

Start now and take small steps to organize your life and time. 

7 Powerful Reasons to Communicate at Work

To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others. ~ Anthony Robbins

Effective communication is essential to get things done at the workplace smoothly as planned with the expected outcome.  The following reasons support the importance of communication at work:   

1.       To inform: This is the way to update the staff and keep them well-informed of the happenings in and around the company. With the proper information, workers can improve customer services with reliable facts and figures.  Staff will get to understand the company better and be engaged. It is an effective way to build bonds and trust. To inform is to treat the workers as part of a family. 

2.       To clarify: Proper communication at the right time is crucial to avoid confusion and misunderstanding.  When changes are taking place in a company, communicate to reduce fear and conflict.  It is a good way to control the situation.

3.       To motivate: The most effective way to get a commitment from the staff is to motivate them.  Appreciate and value their contribution by expressing praise and compliment. Getting noticed for doing a good job is important to boost their enthusiasm and confidence at work.

4.       To teach: If you want others to get things done as envisaged, you have got to teach and educate them. Let people know what is expected.  Share stories of success to inspire the workers.

5.       To understand: To socialize with your staff better is to get to know them better. Talk to them and listen. It is a fruitful way to connect and improve relationships with fellow workers. It also demonstrates the importance of those people that you engage with.

6.       To ask: To communicate is also to obtain feedback and find out what the staff want and do the right things in the best interest of the staff and the company.

7.       To work as a team: When communication is aligned with actions, it is a powerful way to influence others to achieve goals collectively. When an austerity drive is initiated, senior staff responded with a pay cut, their action will encourage others to watch and trim expenses. 

 Communication works for those who work at it. ~John Powell

5 Successful Ways for Newly Employed

If you put all your strength and faith and vigor into a job and try to do the best you can, the money will come. ~Lawrence Welk

Congratulations!  You have successfully secured your first job.  Take the opportunity to do the right things from the beginning.  Developing good habits and building a long-term career for advancement are the steps to take. Here are five things that matter the most when you have just started out:

1.       Build trust: You were employed because of your technical capabilities. The employer is not so sure how much you can be trusted in how you do the job. It is important to build the trust of others in you right from the beginning. Go to work early. Get the job done fully as required and promise only when you can deliver. It takes a long time to build trust. Work diligently to build your reputation.     

2.       Reaching out: The first important thing is to get to know your job. Be observant, listen, and learn from others. As you learn to write it down because you cannot remember everything. Get to know the nitty-gritty of your job by asking questions. Be humble so that others will tech you willingly. Find out the structure and culture of the establishment. Be willing to accept criticism with an open mind.

3.       Build relationships: Building rapport with fellow colleagues by remembering people’s names. Acknowledge others with a smile. Cooperate with others and get things done as instructed so that you will be likable.

4.       Work hard: There is no substitute for hard work. You can work smart but you still have to put in the effort and be ready to do more to show your interest in your new job.  Working more and talking less is the way to go.

The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work. ~Harry Golden

5.       Be responsible:  Show excitement and enthusiasm in your new job. Whatever you do your work comes first. This is to establish commitment. Do what you have to do, big or small, meticulously and aim for excellence.

There is joy in work. There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something. ~Henry Ford

To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness. ~John Dewey