How to be a better friend?

Step 1

You have to like yourself in order to be able to give fully to others. When we are

comfortable with who we are, and really enjoy who we are, we are more attractive to

others. We are not needy and do not drain others but fill them. When we live our lives

“in integrity” we are secure with ourselves and can offer more to others because we

are not always focused on ourselves.

Step 2

Be choosy. Friendship maintenance takes time and energy. Identify those friends

with whom you wish to create a closer bond. If something takes time and energy you

are going to want to make sure it has quality. Not everyone around you will make

your A list.

Step 3

Now make time for those special people you have chosen. Respect the relationship

and schedule time for one another.

Step 4

If you want to improve the friendship make the first gesture. Invite them to join you

for lunch, dinner, or a special occasion.

Step 5

Treat your friends, as you would like to be treated. If you disrespect your friends they

will disrespect you. They will act towards you as you have acted towards them.

Step 6

Listen fully to what your friends are sharing. Slow down, turn off your internal

chatter and be in the moment. Focus on the speaker. Minimize distractions. Be

interested. Give eye contact. Avoid advice unless it is a request.

Step 7

Honor the relationship with no gossiping or criticizing.

Health versus Fitness

Physical health is generally referred to as the absence of cardiovascular, pulmonary, or metabolic disease, the absence of risk factors for early death, and/or the absence of signs and symptoms of disease. Risk factors may include:

• high blood pressure 
• cholesterol 
• high triglycerides 
• high blood sugar
• high waist circumference 
• heart irregularities
• obesity 
• sedentary lifestyle 
• smoking 

Risk factors for disease may be measured and classified into low risk, medium risk, and high risk. Health risk assessments are available from your doctor, and other trained professionals. HRA's are often performed as part of a worksite wellness program to ascertain population information for program direction. These disorders tend to be preventable with attention to diet, exercise and lifestyle changes, and therefore, amenable to intervention.

Physical fitness is a measure of five components, flexibility, body fat, muscular endurance, muscular strength, and cardiovascular ability. These assessments are performed by a qualified professional, and are a valid measure of your body's ability to perform. Although physical fitness testing is a performance measurement, it is also related to overall health. Physiological fitness tends to mirror physical health. Enhancing fitness enhances health. Fitness testing can:

• educate participants about their present fitness and health
• provide data for exercise prescriptions
• provide a baseline
• motivate
• create awareness

The information gained from health risk assessments, fitness testing, and a health and exercise history screen, provides the fitness professional with a foundation to build an exercise prescription, and help individuals achieve their goals.  

A promise of a strong and healing year.

My day starts with Harlan Coben's Miracle Cure. I devour his books. Then, I stretch, check the surf, suit up and paddle out. It is a beautiful 70 degrees with the water a comfortable 57. I wear gloves and booties. The ocean is a restorative place, it washes away city life and plunges me into the nature of being. How can a year go wrong with such a glorious start?
Think I'll read a bit more, and then head to Barnes and Nobles for another cappuccino. I so miss Borders.
What will you do with this fresh year? What glorious, marvelous feat will you accomplish? What activities, visions, or day dreams will you move on? What have you always known you would do someday? I will complete my Masters, take my career to the next level, kiss a prince, surf my turf, make new friends, be more forgiving, and stay spunky.
Tell me about you? I so enjoy your inspirations.
Peace and love
Danielle  

Find articles on a longer life, red meat and you, your emotional brain, nutrition bars, being a better friend, being irresistable, living a values driven life, and other hot topics. All research supported.

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Acceptance

"And the choice you make, between hating and forgiving can become the story of your life." Gregory David Roberts
What does this statement really mean? How do these words serve me best? I live in a beach town where diversity appears limited to: you surf or you don't, you frequent the village drinking hole or you don't, you live in your own home or you don't. Yesterday, I ventured to Santa Monica, a city so rich in diversity it makes you want to sing its praise. The people look, smell, and act with a range of possibilities that unites the human condition. They are the human condition, in its broader spectrum. I cannot hate their difference, because their difference is a celebration of human life itself. I could be angry for the homeless, or the crippled, and hate could stir within me about inhumanity, distroying the joy of celebrating and appreciating the life that is. I forgive those that cannot see injustice, blinded by their own condition, but at the same time, they too, represent the human comedy, and for that I am thankful.   

Physical activity terminology

Some activity is better than none, and more, up to a point is better than less. So if you are physically active, meaning that you perform bodily skeletal muscle movement that results in a substantial increase in your energy expenditure, you gain greater health over being totally inactive. The greatest gains are seen with regular exercise of at least 30 minutes per day.
Exercise is a type of physical activity that is planned, and structured so that repetitive bodily movements are made to improve one or more components of fitness.
Health related fitness is characterized by five components, cadiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, body fat and flexibility.
Skill related physical fitness would imply agility, coordination, power, balance and reaction time.
Additionally, it is important to clearly understand the wide range of intensities associated with physical fitness. More on this in a later post.