Author Archives: Mike

Instant Change: The Holy Grail Of Self-Improvement

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instant change

Instant change is rare.  Much like an “overnight sensation”, most change comes after a long time of trying. Many actors and musicians were discovered after a long time toiling in smaller venues or projects.  The self-help gurus will tell you themselves that they read and study much 

Instant change can come from a Significant Emotional Event.  Accidents, trauma, or death of a family member can cause a resetting of priorities. Though strangely enough, if you are facing death, the change you may acquire won’t stick 90% of the time. (Please remember to check out that link, it is riveting.)

You change when you get tired of being fat, tired, slow, broke, scared, or any number of things that you think you want to change.  And that is the key really.  There are so many things that we think we want to change but do we really?

If you procrastinate but still get the job done why fight yourself?  If you eat bad food and soda but your health numbers are in line is there a reason to stop?  Many studies say to extend your life you should eat low calories.  With that comes hunger pangs, constant chills, and low energy.  Is it worth it?  My diabetic father doesn’t agree and still eats what he wants, with no guilt.

Understand what you really want instead of suffering from the guilt of what you think you should be. “Iwant to be skinny because…” is not good goal or desire.  Some pathetic looking models and actresses are too skinny.  ”I want to run a 10K charity race for breast cancer awareness.”  That is a tangible goal that will bring the benefits right along with it.  Then find others that are running races.  You will learn, bond, and most likely change some behaviors that you wanted to change.

Change for the sake of change, or an image of change, should not be the goal.  The goal should create the desire for change.  I am sure many of you are familiar with the TV show “The Biggest Loser”.  On it most of the people say their desire to change comes from wanting to play with their childern and watch them grow up.  These people make some incredible changes but it isn’t instant, otherwise they wouldn’t have gotten that heavy  

If you read the link above about the 10% that did change, you read that it came from support – groups or families.  Our surroundings have a lot of impact on us and I give every skinny chef credit for that feat of control. What is the reason you think you want to change?  That is where you start on the road to the life you want.  If you can’t answer that question you probably won’t go far.

 

Photo via http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2970931028/sizes/s/

Why I Get Good Parking Spaces

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I usually get really good spots.  Some might say that it is wish fulfillment, others might say it is Quantum Physics.  I think more often than not it is expectations.  I read someone’s book, maybe Napoleon Hill or Zig Ziglar, who said that they imagined an open space waiting for them before they arrived somewhere and it was always waiting for them.

I think many people don’t expect the best.  We are comfortable and don’t want to be let down.  ”This parking spot is close enough and I will never find one up front,” they say.  One time I almost took the easy far out spot but decided not to give in easily.  I wheeled around to the very front and best spots and three were open.  And one person in front of me took an earlier “easy” spot many cars back. They made that same assumption.

Expect more out of life.

Adventures in parking below.

Doodling Can Improve Your Memory

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From Yahoo!:

Researchers in the United Kingdom found that test subjects who doodled while listening to a recorded message had a 29 percent better recall of the message’s details than those who didn’t doodle. The findings were published in Applied Cognitive Psychology.

I don’t know if I agree with their conclusion,

“Daydreaming distracts them from the task, resulting in poorer performance. A simple task, like doodling, may be sufficient to stop daydreaming without affecting performance on the main task.”

I immediately guessed it had something to do with our subconscious aiding in the recording.   Or there could be a situation where the brain is allocating resources in such a way that our memories are hyper aware.  There has been criticism that the media just takes the juicy parts of studies to grab headlines.  It worked on me.  But I think there could be other explanations that warrant more study.

If they are taking a test, they should be giving quite a bit of effort.  Did the doodling ease their mind?  Did it slow the release of hormones caused by over focus that interfered with memory?  Does doodling activate a part of the brain that will produce better recall?  There are more questions than answers in news article.

I just did a quick look for the study and didn’t find it nor does the Yahoo! article offer a link.   If you find it please link it in the comments.

Do you have a better guess as to why doodling can help your recall ability?

 

What Is Amped Mind?

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This site is created for three reasons,

  1. I love how the brain works.
  2. I want to figure out why it seems so hard for people to change, including myself.
  3. If I make this my hobby it should reinforce good behaviors much like being around like minded people as a support group.

There is a hope that I will affect someone else to amp their mind and make the lasting changes that they have sought.  Even if I don’t get the results for myself, I will be pround and fulfilled if I help others.