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..Bobby watched for several hours, as a butterfly struggled to force its body through a tiny opening of a cocoon. When it seemed that it wasn’t making any progress, that it had gotten as far as it could, he decided to help. He took a pair of scissors and carefully snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings. Bobby continued to watch the butterfly, hoping that, at any moment, the wings would spread, and the swollen body would become normal. The butterfly never took flight.  It needed to struggle and get through that tiny open. The struggle is nature’s way of forcing fluid from its little body into its wings, so that once it emerges from its cocoon, it’s ready for flight.

Lesson learned….our struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We wouldn’t be as strong as we were intended to be. And we might never fly….

Embrace your struggles, learn and grow as they are necessary steps to a stronger and healthier you!

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1) Don’t be a bully. Express yourself but avoid trying to prove a point with someone who disagrees.

2) Acknowledge your friends point….it doesn’t imply you agree with their point.

3) Discuss other things besides politics.

4) Be a good winner, if your candidate wins avoid gloating.

My rant is done and remember…

Friendships will be around long after the elections. It is worth keeping your friendships strong!

In the days when an ice cream cone cost much less, an 8 year old girl entered a cafe and sat at a table.
A waitress approached and asked her what she would like. The girl inquired, How much is an ice cream cone with two scoops? ” “twenty five cents,” replied the waitress.

The little girl pulled her hand out of her pocket and counted her coins. “How much is just one scoop of ice cream?” People were waiting to be seated as the waitress was becoming noticeably impatient. “15 cents!” she said sternly. The little girl again counted the coins. “I will have one scoop please.”

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The little girl finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began clearing the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly next to the empty dish was .10 cents-her tip.

What did you get from the story? Does it open your eyes as it has mine? My rant is done!

“Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and kindness, especially those whom we perceive can bring little or no value to our lives.”

Let’s start with Metroknow as he shows us 10 Simple Ways to Build Weight Loss Momentum.

Thanks Alexia for sharing Part 2, Influencer: The Power to Change Anything.

Evelyn Lim in What Enneagram Profile Type Am I?.

Pamela provides tips to reduce your chance of developing Achilles tendon problems in Feeling for Misty May-Treanor and the ‘snap’ heard ’round the dance floor.

Before you go please send Happy birthday wishes to meleah rebeccah!

Have a fantastic weekend and remember ” Life is NOT a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming — ’WOW, what a ride!!! “

Not to have control over the senses is like sailing in a rudderless ship, bound to break to pieces on coming in contact with the very first rock. -Mahatma Gandhi

Many of us worry about things that are out of our control yet sometimes we are consumed with worrying so much that we can’t function properly or worse we become physically sick!

What can we do to overcome this obstacle?

Start by taking control and deciding when we will worry. *Create a “worry period.” Choose a set time and place for worrying. It should be the same every day (e.g. In the living room from 5:00 to 5:20 p.m.) and early enough that it won’t make you anxious right before bedtime. During your worry period, you’re allowed to worry about whatever’s on your mind. The rest of the day, however, is a worry-free zone.
Postpone your worry. If an anxious thought or worry comes into your head during the day, make a brief note of it on paper and postpone it to your worry period. Remind yourself that you’ll have time to think about it later, so there’s no need to worry about it right now. Save it for later and continue to go about your day.
Write down your worries during your “worry period” Go over your “worry list” during the worry period. Reflect on the worries you wrote down during the day. If the thoughts are still bothering you, allow yourself to worry about them, but only for the amount of time you’ve specified for your worry period. If the worries don’t seem important any more, cut your worry period short and enjoy the rest of your day.”

Hmm, this makes sense. Doesn’t it? No worrying for me except during my specified “worry period.”

Ok, I am going to give it a try and write down my worries on my “worry list and share with you some of my worries:

I never worried like I worry now that I have kids. I seem to be much more anxious!
Is this healthy? I have a 14 year old daughter that responds to every question with “that’s the way I roll.” Oh, oh…is she destined to get in trouble? Does anybody worry that their children will be permanently scarred by some traumatic incident? Maybe an accident or some violent action that my child witnesses.
I hear about an innocent child that was abused and it saddens me deeply…is this normal? If my child is going to a friends house, should I worry that some creep is lurking? Should I worry about my child’s future…in this world? Will my children have enough money for college? The economy….who is our next president going to be?

There you have it I shared some worries with you. Whew! Thank you for letting me rant and I will try to block out worry thoughts until my next worry period. Obviously it will take time and practice to get results. My rant is done and I have control!

Now if you never worry, ignore my rant!

Looking at this puts a twist on things——>http://www.globalrichlist.com/

*Source HelpGuide.org

Is it me or am I the only one that thinks that so much of our thought process is “all about me? ” I suppose with so much negativity in the news and so much going on as we try to survive, our stress levels elevate and we forget to look outside of ourselves. Can we consciously start being more kind to one another? How about a simple act of kindness? Maybe a compliment, allowing someone to merge in front of you while in a traffic jam, using manners such as please and thank you. What about an award that you can give to your wife or husband for being the BEST spouse in the world. That will probably bring a smile to their face.

Below is a story that I read (source unknown), that I’d like to share with you:

“While shopping at my local store I noticed a young girl ahead of me. She had with her what looked like a newborn infant in the cart along with diapers, formula, and other food items.

The cashier rung up her items and the girl gave the cashier her credit card. The credit card was declined and the girl looked at the cashier embarassed. The cashier gave the girl the option of keeping her items in the cart while the girl went to get the necessary money.

The girl left, to go get her money. I told myself that if the girl came back, that would be my signal to help her. The girl came back at the exact moment that the cashier was done ringing up my groceries. She told the cashier, ” I have some money but not enough, so I will have to return some stuff”

I stepped up and very quietly told the cashier that I would take care of it while handing her my check card. The girl said, “No, I’ve got it.” I said, “It’s ok, consider it a random act of kindness and pass it on. I know what it’s like to be a new Mom.” The bill came to over $150, but I know that that girl will never forget it and that maybe next time she saw someone in need, if she could, she would repeat the favor. ”

Practice kindness one action at a time. “Every waterfall starts with a drop!”

There you have it my rant for this week!

Will you go out of your way to do a kind act?

I also wrote a guest post over at  A Life Less Sweet if you have a chance to visit.

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Ideas:

• Exercise with a buddy (or jog/walk with a dog).
• Track your progress with a journal such as FitTracker.
• Schedule exercise into your day on your calendar or “To Do” list.
• Break your larger goals into smaller, realistic stepping stones (e.g., daily and weekly physical activity goals).
• Reward yourself for accomplishing your goals.
• Plan to do fun physical activities that you really enjoy as often as possible.
• Wear a pedometer occasionally as a reminder to take more daily steps.
• Have a backup plan that includes alternate activities in case of bad weather or other obstacles to your planned exercise.
• Start out exercising with less intensity to avoid getting discouraged or injured.
• If you get out of your normal routine and are having trouble getting restarted, simply take small steps in that direction.

This weeks rant is done, just my thoughts…yours?

Start today, and take it one step at a time!

Stay active! Stay Healthy!

Example, you’re an individual with a daily energy expenditure of 2800 per day and you stay on 1500 calories each day for 90 days (starvation diet), according to the mathematical calories in versus calories out calculations, you’ve accumulated a 117,000-calorie deficit. With 3500 calories in a pound of fat, that means you should have lost 33.4 pounds of fat. But you didn’t!! You lost maybe 15 pounds and got stuck at a plateau with that last bit of lower ab flab still defiantly clinging to your waistline. Why? Because you’re no longer BURNING 2800 calories per day!!! Your metabolic fire has dwindled to a tiny flicker. There is no longer a 1300 calorie per day deficit.

Basically you have hit a plateau – metabolically and hormonally. Your metabolic rate is depressed. You’ve lost lean mass, which has slowed your metabolism even further. Last, but certainly not least, your appetite has gone crazy and you have become ravenous, and you seem to get constant cravings!

Obviously we want to avoid metabolic slowdown in the first place and then patiently and persistently follow through until we are as lean as we want to be.

Unfortunately we can’t jump in our time machine and start over! Thoughts are that you put muscle back on through weight training and eating like a human being instead of a little mouse! Patience and persistence will make it worthwhile!

My apologies for my rant, but far too often I have seen friends, family suffer through these frustrating & difficult times. Again these are just my thoughts and I welcome your feedback.

Remember NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up on your journey!