Self-Improvement Resources--Better "You" Today

Have you seen all of the latest drugs advertised on TV that promise you a great night's sleep? Have you listened to all of the side affects warning about things like next day drowsiness or being dizzy or other more serious side affects? These ads actually scare me--I don't want to have to drive someplace while I am dizzy!

Insomnia and Sleep disorders are two different things. A sleep disorder is diagnosed by a physician and he/she prescribes medication when necessary. Insomnia is often caused by lifestyle choices that can be changed when recognized. Whether your sleeplessness happens once a week, one to three weeks or longer than three weeks, you still can get in the habit of worrying about whether you are going to sleep and then--you don't! Whatever the reason, sleeplessness can cause havoc in your life.

Why do we get insomnia?

Stress or at least the ability to deal with stress is often at the root cause of your insomnia. In these cases, insomnia can then often be relieved by changing some of your daily habits.

Some of the reasons for once in a while and short period insomnia may be the same such as loud noises, too hot or too cold temperature in the room, changes in your work schedule, post surgical or medical illnesses, and the most common of them all--stress.

Your inability to sleep throughout the night once in a great while is pretty common for everyone. When getting no sleep is for a longer period of time or feels like a lasting condition, it is time to take action.

So what can you do to help relieve your sleeplessness?

Watch your alcohol intake. An excess may stimulate your senses whereas a glass or two of your favorite drink may make you drowsy.

Be sure to get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day.

Refrain from or at least severely cut down on your sugar and white flour intake.

Consider testing for a lactose intolerance.

Try avoiding gluten for a short time.

Use the bed and bedroom only for sleeping.

Go to my interactive blog at Quick Steps to Health
to read more.

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When you begin a self-improvement program, there is no better place to start than with your health. Health is one of the most important aspects of life. Without health there is often little else that you can do other than taking care of yourself. Taking care of your health is the first step on the road to self-improvement.

1. Always eat breakfast- start the day off right with a quick morning breakfast. Fruit and yoghurt, granola and milk or whole-wheat toast and peanut butter will ensure you start on the right foot.

2. Get up a couple minutes early and savor that extra time. Enjoy a cup of coffee while watching the sun rise or reading your morning newspaper; take a few extra minutes for yourself in the shower; or go for a quick brisk walk around the block to get your heart pumping. There's nothing worse than starting your day in a rush. A few minutes in the morning can make a world of difference for the rest of the day.

3. Exercise releases endorphins, which can lift your spirit as well as help you maintain a healthy weight. However, sometimes it can be hard to get out of bed and actually hit the gym. Working out with a friend, whether this is a morning stroll, a spin class, an evening run or anything else, can keep you motivated.

4. Pop a vitamin a day-- it's amazing what vitamins can do for your health. Multi vitamins can give your body the nourishment it is lacking. We can't eat a perfectly balanced and healthy diet all the time, which is why vitamins were created. Also, today our food doesn't contain all the nutrients it did even as little as 20 years ago.

5. Hide (or throw away) the scale. Throw it away and don't think about it. You have more important things to worry about than your weight. If you feel great on the inside, then it will show on the outside, regardless of what that darned scale says.

6. Stop Smoking--quitting is hard; not quitting is even harder. If you are a smoker, start small and get the help you need. Limiting your cigarette intake is the first step to a healthier you and an improved lifestyle.

7. Stretch- stretching can keep your muscles feeling relaxed and also helps to relieve stress. Give your body a really good stretch even before you hop out of bed in the morning.

8. Reward yourself (in moderation)--a weekly treat is necessary for all your hard work to remain healthy. Treat yourself to something you love like low fat ice cream or chocolate. On the path to self-improvement, there is always time to stop and eat dessert.

9. Accept the aging process--many people have trouble coming to terms with their body's changes as they age. It's important to understand that aging is a natural process. Learn to love your wrinkles, your gray hair and your less-than-tight skin. George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone and Brad Pitt are all over 40, and they have never looked better!

10. Don't neglect your oral hygiene- make it a habit to brush, floss and use sugar-free, alcohol-free mouthwash daily. Make a trip to the dentist once a year too. No one likes going to the dentist- but no one wants to lose his or her teeth either.

Do you feel like you are always talking yourself out of success? If you have, you need to change the way you respond to your inner dialogue. Instead of obeying your negative commands, you can use positive self-talk to counter the negativity and overcome nearly all anxious thoughts. Negative self-talk was learned and can be unlearned.

Setting Goals and Sticking to Them with Positive Self-Talk

Are you initially filled with excitement when you first set goals for yourself? Are these thoughts then followed by self-doubt and self-defeating thoughts that stop you in your tracks before you even get started?

Positive self-talk is an effective way to set goals and ensure that you stick to them. The way this works is that you decide what goal is important to you, and then you plan the steps required to attain this goal. When self-doubt starts kicking in, you will respond with affirmations either silently or preferably out loud until you become accustomed to saying these affirmations. They prove your success keeping you from surrendering to the negative pressure.

Re-Programming Your Mind

Affirmations are essentially positive statements that re-program your mind to positive thoughts. The moment you have a self-defeating thought you'd be able to counter the negative with a motivating statement. An example of a positive affirmation is: "I am worthy of great success," or "I see myself in the winner's circle." An easy one is "I really don't like donuts," when you really do right now. You will just unlearn that desire to eat them. It works! What this does is replace negativity with thoughts that will help you move toward your goals instead of further away from them.

Positive self-talk is easier to implement than you might think. You may not be aware of the severity or frequency of the negative dialogue currently within your mind. This process can open your eyes to exactly how much this inner conversation has been interfering with your life. You'll feel hopeful that you can now set goals and surpass them.

Through positive self-talk you will be able to easily set long and short-term goals for yourself. Learning to quiet negativity with positive thoughts is a great move toward setting and attaining future goals with ease.

1. Spend some time doing something really outrageous as acting like a kid again.

On one of the recent news programs, there was a story about two friends having a reunion party 50 years after they had made a pact to do so. Their pact was that they would get together in 50 years and have a pie fight. It ended up that many of their friends came and they all threw pies at one another. Quit a funny scene.

2. Happiness, whether you believe it or not, is a CHOICE.

Everyday we can choose whether we are happy or not. Every minute you can check to see if what you're thinking and feeling is bringing you joy. People in very underprivileged countries seem happier than many of us do. Possibly because they don't worry about things like "keeping up with the Jonses." Noone has anything to envy.

3. Family and relationships and the time we spend with them bring us joy and happiness.

People were created as social animals, and we need relationships and time with one another. A simple walk with a spouse, reading to a child or grandchild, having lunch with a good friend: all of those things bring us lasting happiness.

4. Breathing and meditation are extremely valuable.

One type of meditation is the Sanskrit method saying the words "I am" while inhaling, and "love" while exhaling. This brings joy and a natural high. While breathing, it is important to inhale through the nose and exhale slowly through the mouth. What positive words you choose to use is up to you.

5. Living an honorable and ethical life no matter what is happening around you will bring you long-lasting happiness.

All people were born with a conscience. It does develop over our lifetimes based on our upbringing, our environment, and other factors. When our conscience bothers us, it is impossible to be truly happy.

So how much do you like chocolate? Lots of folks I know including one of our daughters consider themselves to be chocoholics. Recent research that I have been reading indicates that if you eat the right kinds of chocolate in the right amounts (and that is definitely the challenge), it is actually good for you.

So what kind of chocolate is that? Well it needs to be dark chocolate with the highest cocoa content you can find. Some don't particularly like this kind of chocolate as it is definitely not as sweet as milk chocolate or white chocolate or lots of other chocolate candy items. Personally, it is the ONLY kind of chocolate that I do like. When a person has even 1 ounce or less of that kind of chocolate, usually the craving is quite satisfied.

Are brands important? No, I don't believe so. Only the concentration of cocoa at 70% or higher is important. Cocoa powder in itself without the sugar added is very high in antioxidants which we all need to fight off disease.

Without going into all the technical data let me just say that the accepted practice for measuring antioxidant capacity of any food is using the ORAC value of the particular food. Here is a list of just a few foods and how chocolate compares to some data found on USA government sites:

Food ORAC Value
Ground Cloves 314,446
Acai berry 102,700
Unsweetened Cocoa 80,933
Baking chocolate 49,926
wild blueberries 13,427

These are just a few examples and we have to remember that the chocolates mentioned are NOT sweetened. For a more complete list you can go to my blog on
Quick Steps to Health for complete charts.

Add some chocolate to your diet for your enjoyment--just be sure it is the right kind in the right amount! Happy eating.