North Star Mental Fitness Blog

Do You Know Why?

Have you ever wondered why people exercise?

Do you know why they continue to exercise?

In my last post, Do You Believe That Your Life Experiences Have Made You Mentally Fit, I emphasized that life experiences, although grueling at times, do not make us physically or mentally fit.

In order to become mentally or physically fit, it is necessary to go beyond the experiences of everyday living and perform exercises on a regular basis.

So what are the general benefits for becoming mentally and physically fit?

First of all, mental and physical fitness can make us healthier.  Don't we all want to be healthier?

Secondly, mental and physical fitness training makes us stronger for managing our everyday lives.  Mental and physical fitness training can make us stronger for coping with the stresses and demands of everyday living.

Successful managing of life experiences will not necessarily make us physically and mentally stronger.  In contrast, successful mental and physical fitness training will make us stronger in managing life experiences.

If you want to be physically stronger in coping with everyday life experiences, then commit to a physical fitness program.

If you want to be mentally and emotionally stronger for coping with everyday life experiences, then commit to a mental fitness program like The North Star Mental Fitness Program.

Remember, You Live within Environment Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

Easter's Hope

As I reviewed the various blogs regarding Easter, I found a very enlightening Easter message from Mike Huckabee, who most recently was running for the presidency of the United States.  I liked Mike's message, "An Easter Message from Governor Huckabee".

Mike's understanding of Easter was clearly presented from a Christian perspective, while at the same time communicating hope for everybody going through difficult times.

Mike's Easter message can be found at the website, 11 Smiths for Huckabee.  I hope that you will read Mike's brief but very relevant Easter message in its entirety.

Mother Teresa' Quotations Applied In Maternal Love

For over forty years Mother Teresa ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying.  She directed the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.

In 1979 she won the Noble Peace Prize for her humanitarian work. 

According to Wikipedia:

"Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity continued to expand, and at the time of her death it was operating 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, soup kitchens, children's and family counseling programs, orphanages, and schools."

I visited a website, Beyond Positive Thinking, and found some wonderful quotes from Mother Teresa on love.

As I read through the quotations, many of them reminded me of love shown by mothers to their children and families.  Here are some of the quotations that I believe apply to mother's love.

Wrong Solutions For Stopping Smoking Create Relapse!

I received a wonderful comment regarding my blog, Re-wiring Urges.  Lora wrote:

"I LOVED your post on re-wiring the urge to smoke.  I'm a smoker and have quit way too many times to count.  One time lasted 15 years.  So...what else do you have in your bag of tricks for smokers?  I'm all ears!"

Thank you Lora for e-mailing me such a nice comment.  After thinking for a few minutes, I reached into my bag of tricks.  Then my mind wandered back to Lora's dilemma.

Lora's dilemma is well-known to many smokers.  The dilemma is, why do people relapse?  Why can't people maintain a state of quitting?  Why can't people stop smoking forever?

What I found in my bag tricks for non-smokers may surprise you or even shock you.

Can People Be Addicted to Feelings?

Feelings: One of my clients asked me a very surprising question.  She is an attractive, very intelligent woman who has just gone through a painful separation.  Her ex-boyfriend has made it painfully obvious that he has moved on in his life with another woman.  During their relationship, he sometimes treated her very badly.

With tears in her eyes, she said "I love him".  In spite of everything that he has done to her, she feels that she still loves him.  In spite of all of the support and encouragement of her friends and family to accept the breakup, she still loves him.

A little later she asked the question.  A very profound question.  A question I never thought about before.  She asked "can people be addicted to feelings"?

I Am Loved

"I am loved" is a wonderful affirmation for the New Year.  What would the next year be like, if we thought about our relationships from the perspective of what is right rather than what is wrong.

I think it is human nature to become absorbed with feeling "unloved" when we experienced disappointment and failed expectations in our relationships.  We dwell on the hurt of feeling unloved and soon began to think that we are not loved. 

We look for the smallest indications that confirm that we are unloved.  We hoard the feelings and memories of feeling unloved.  We analyze our relationships with eyes covered with lenses stained by feeling unloved.  We live in a world of feeling unloved.

How much better could our life be, if we could remember to think and feel "we are loved"?

I found this inspirational writing

The Five Second Program for Breaking Bad Habits!

The Turn Around Choice from The North Star Mental Fitness Program Is a Five Second Program for Breaking Bad Habits!

Yes, you read the statement right.  You can break bad habits, if you are willing to take five seconds out of your day when needed to break your bad habit!

Impossible you might think, but from my personal experience I know it works.  This simplistic and easy, but still unbelievably effective works, because of the unique understanding of how to break bad habits.

Here is the secret.

A Review of 6 articles: for Breaking Bad Habits

It is time again to make New Year's resolutions.  At this time of year, we are motivated to Break Bad Habits.  In order to help you make resolutions for breaking bad habits, I have reviewed the following blogs.

Adam Voiland of U.S. News and World Report explained why we make bad choices even when we know better in his article, "Want to Break a Bad Habit?  Try This".  Adam explained that we sometimes make bad choices because we want immediate gratification and do what is easiest.  He wrote the answer is to "build systems into your life that reward healthy choices or make healthy choices more convenient than unhealthy choices". 

Adam encouraged us to not forbid ourselves or others from making bad choices and to not punish ourselves or others for making bad choices.  "We know, in fact, stress and negative emotions often lead to things like binge eating, drug relapse and emotional buying.  Incentives work much better."  I believe Adam's ideas are excellent ways to neutralize the effects of the "innate human defiance,"  which was listed as one of the reasons "Why It's so Hard to Break Bad Habits," which was an article written by Jeanna Bryer for Fox News.com.

Why It Is Hard To Break Bad Habits?

The New Year is coming.  The time for making New Year's Resolutions is rapidly approaching with excitement and trepidation.

We know it's time to Break Bad Habits, but, often times, our confidence and hope have been shattered by past failure and disappointment.

Because of the bad consequences associated with bad habits, we suck in our gut, take a deep breath and commit ourselves to Breaking Bad Habits.

Jeanna Bryer of Fox News.com wrote a very relevant article "Why It's so Hard to Break Bad Habits".

Merry Christmas

May the beauty and majesty of the birth of Christ bring beauty and joy into your life today.  The reality and experience of Christmas can bring new beginnings in your life.

Once again I would like to share with you The Interview with God.  View the majestic scenes and listen to the words.  Words and concepts that are so important for experiencing mental fitness, mental health, meaning, love and joy in your life.  Even if you do not believe in Jesus, many of the thoughts in this interview can transform your life and give you new beginnings.

By clicking on The Interview with God, you can listen to the presentation and also have a copy of the words.

Christmas is also a time of fun and merriment.  Laugh and have fun as you enjoy our Christmas message to you from some of my family.  Then "elf" you and your family.

Merry Christmas to you.

Dr. Hal