North Star Mental Fitness Blog

I Am Taking Care of Me!

Today, I am feeling under the weather.  I don't feel like doing a long post.  Wondering what to do, I decided to apply the North Star Mental Fitness program to help me decide.

Freedom from Life Dysfunctions

Everyone has successes that have turned into failures.  Successes that have turned into failures, I call Life Dysfunctions.  Everyone has Life Dysfunctions. 

It doesn't matter what has caused your dysfunctions.  Your dysfunctions could be the result of your genetic makeup, your personality, your familial environment, your educational experiences, your government's interventions or your living in a depressed economy.

What matters is what you do about your dysfunctions! 

Do you continue to pursue past successes even though you are continuing to fail? 

Do you continue to think about your life in a feeling good way, when you are feeling discouraged and disappointed?

Do you continue to grieve and complain about the losses in your life?

Do you want freedom from your Life Dysfunctions or do you want to remain stuck in misery?  It does not matter what your particular dysfunction is.  What matters is that you make changes.

If you want freedom from Life Dysfunctions, it is important to make new choices.  Sometimes, you may not know what you need to do to change.  As a result, you do nothing.

The Freedom Choice from The North Star Mental Fitness Program has been crafted to help you become free from your dysfunction.  When you don't know what needs to be done, make a Freedom Choice. 

With the Freedom Choice you prepare your mind for making functional changes and choices in your life.  You begin by thinking the thought "I want freedom from" your dysfunction.  Just by thinking that you want freedom from your dysfunction, you will begin to make new choices.

Also, there are also other empowering choices to help you overcome your Life Dysfunctions in The North Star Mental Fitness Program.

Remember, You Live within the Dysfunctions Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Does Freedom Have an Expiration Date?

Almost all of the perishable food we eat comes with an expiration date.  It appears that almost everything has an expiration date.  Of course, everything may not be stamped with a specific expiration date.  Just because there's no stamp expiration date, don't be fooled.  Everything has its time of glory followed by decline and extinction.

As I look back over my life I realize that life and culture are continually changing.  Life and culture have a cycle of greatness followed by extinction. 

Sometimes, I long for favorite restaurants, stores and products which no longer exist.  I miss certain fashions from the past.  When I really reminisce, I miss the quiet simplistic life that existed before the onset of TV and the Internet.

To be honest I realize my youthful body has also become extinct.  The recklessness and impulsiveness of youth is also becoming extinct.  Although the strength and flexibility of my body is becoming extinct, I still have the freedom of my mind and spirit.

As I listen to our politicians and realize the self-centeredness and greed operating within our society, I wonder if values of honesty, transparency, fairness, loyalty, and commitment are still alive or are they extinct?

As I realize the seeds of change that are being planted in our government and society by our government, I wonder if our democracy and freedom are rushing to extinction!  We know from history that nations rise up and then become extinct.  Is the extinction of our democracy accelerating?

It is time to make freedom choices!  If we went freedom from the way things are now in our society and lives, it is time to courageously commit to actively pursue our freedom.

If we do not want what we hold dear to become extinct, then we must pursue our freedom with unwavering focus and emotion. 

Remember there is no guarantee that our freedom and democracy will not become extinct in our lifetime!

Remember, We Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Brain Research Shows Why It's so Hard to Get Free from the Past

In sports, family life and in areas of self-actualization, we want to become free from our painful and embarrassing past failures, shortcomings and psychic representations of these events in our minds.

Wouldn't it be nice if we did not have psychic representations of bad and painful experiences in our minds?

Wouldn't it be nice if we never rehashed our errors and disappointments?

Wouldn't it be nice if our past failures, insecurities, fears and guilt didn't capture our minds and influence us in the future?

Now psychological researchers have shown as reported in Science Daily:

Focus Points Are like Diamonds

Diamonds - do you have enough diamonds?

Just like a diamond, each Focus Point is extremely valuable.

If a second is like a diamond, then you are rich!

Freedom To Make Healthy Choices

Freedom gives us control over our life.  Senator, Robert F. Bennett has said: "Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, both consciously and unconsciously.  If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life.  You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself".  Freedom also creates real health according to Diana Andrew, a registered personal trainer and coach.  We all want good health.  This is what Diana said:

Lloyd Carr on Confidence

Go Blue Wolverine quoted Lloyd Carr on an important ingredient for success.  Lloyd was quoted in a post entitled Trent Expecting Expanded Role.  When I read this article, I realized that there was much more for us to learn than this one ingredient.

Lloyd Carr is the successful coach of the Michigan Wolverine's football team.  The Michigan Wolverines were fabulous throughout most of the 2007 season.  In the last two games, however, their defense disintegrated.  According to Bret Osburn from Go Blue Wolverine, in the last two games the defense gave up 707 yards and eight touchdowns.

For those of you who do not know much about football, that is not good.  It's like cooking a gourmet meal and forgetting to serve the main course.  It's like doing everything successfully and then failing to finish a project or making a stupid mistake to destroy the project.

Lloyd emphasized the importance of memory to his returning cornerback, Morgan Trent, his team and all of us.  You'll be surprised what he said about memory. 

How to Make Your Comfort Zone Flexible and Adaptable

Comfort zones can become too rigid and inflexible.  People can become too complacent in their comfort zones.  In fact, people can even begin to stagnate in their comfort zones. 

Because people become too rigid and begin to suffocate in their comfort zones, comfort zones get a bad reputation. 

From a mental fitness perspective, good mental fitness is more than strength.  Good mental fitness is quick flexibility and adaptability in any or all situations.  This concept was emphasized by Navy Seal, Richard J. Machowicz in his book Unleash the Warrior Within.

How can you make your comfort zone more flexible and adaptable?

Quotations for July 4th

As we celebrate July 4th, our Independence Day, let us express our gratitude and respect for our heroes who have given their lives and are giving their lives so we can be free. 

Also, here are three quotes for you to think about today.

Although he wasn't an American, Winston Churchill's famous quote is very relevant for us today. 

"Victory at all cost, victory in spite of terror, victory no matter long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."

From Preston Bradley, an American priest:  "Expect victory and you make victory."

Omar Bradley, the US General who commanded the US ground forces in Normandy invasion in World War II, gave us this motivational  saying:

"This is as true in everyday life as it is in battle: we are given one life and the decision is ours whether to wait for circumstances to make up our mind, or whether to act, and in acting, to live.”

These quotations are expressions of good mental fitness and patriotism.

Remember, You Live within the Environment Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Freedom to Grow

Political and psychological freedom is the goal and a motivator for most people.  Although we usually associate freedom with democracy and our political values, freedom is very important psychologically.

Freedom is one of the results for successfully taking care of ourselves or for successfully reaching a goal.  Every successful behavior provides us with greater freedom.  Developmentally, learning to walk rather than continuing to crawl provided greater freedom.

Freedom is not only a result of success, it is a motivator for success.  Freedom to grow is characteristic of all living things.  Freedom to grow is a motivation that is consistent and accepted by the unconscious mind.