What Do You Expect?

“People expect what they expect.. They never realize the possibility of surprise beyond expectations..!” ― Vaibhav Mehta

Its official, if you expect the worst, you will not be disappointed.

An article in Popular Science revealed information about a psychology study published in the journal Cognition and Emotion confirming the old adage reflects how you will feel about failure.

The study conducted shows that people who expected to perform poorly on a test actually felt worse when they did fail. This in comparison to those who also failed but approached the test with a positive attitude.

I would say the real message in all of this is your attitude.

Failure is a part of life and comes with being human. If you go around with a negative attitude about everything in life, you will likely feel worse when failure does occur.

And why is that true? Because when the failure occurs, you have only reinforced your negative belief. You dwell on the fact that only bad things happen and you simply feel worse. Negative reinforcement one could say.

If true, why not embrace the idea that failures and success both happen?

Change your mindset to believe success can and does happen. When failure occurs, treat it as a lesson learned that will only help to make you better.

You can live in the negative and feel continually bad about "...your lot in life." Or you can choose to live in the positive and enjoy all that you can attain.

Stay inspired my friends!

Your Healthy Heart

"In an average lifetime, the heart beats more than two and a half billion times, without ever pausing to rest. Like a pumping machine, the heart provides the power needed for life." - from The Human Heart

Several years ago I went in for tests to check on the condition of my heart. The doctor had decided to perform a Nuclear Isotope Stress Test and an Echocardiogram which are meant to better understand how well my heart is functioning. There had been a few small warning signs and I do have factors which also increase my chances for heart disease or worse yet a heart attack.

After testing, a few days passed before I received the results and until then I let life go on normally. The 'normal' I refer to meant continuing to train for the Peachtree 10K Roadrace on July 4th back in 2010. My wife Laura and I have run/walked/volunteered in this event for many years.

We get immense enjoyment from doing so.

This particular year the training had exposed some pains I had never noticed before. I would like to say I decided myself, but with the encouragement of my wife a visit to the doctor was planned.

And what were those signs of something being wrong?

The following symptoms are those which you should pay attention to. I did and actually had a few of these which triggered my visit to see a doctor to catch any problems ahead of falling face first on the running course at Cardiac Hill. Yes, actually referred to with that name.

- Angina; feeling of tightness, pressure, or pain which appears with exertion or stress and disappears with rest. Usually felt in the chest, throat, upper abdomen, or arms.
-- ANSWER: Yes, not terribly bad but it was there and I paid attention to it.

- Shortness of breath; difficulty breathing when exerting yourself, resting or asleep.
-- ANSWER: Yes, sort of. I tried to explain it away with the exercise, but it would appear at other times when it should not have.

- Edema; swelling of your ankles, usually at the end of the day.
-- ANSWER: Yes, a weird symptom that I would not have expected.

- Palpitations; forceful, rapid, or irregular heartbeat.
-- ANSWER: No, this is one I would have expected to have.

- Fatigue; decreased ability to exercise, tiring easily.
-- ANSWER: Yes, the most frustrating one of all. I get plenty of sleep but fatigue creeps up on me quickly.

- Fainting; sudden loss of consciousness or light-headedness.
-- ANSWER: No, none of this.

So here I was not trying to be 'He-Man' and kept pushing through. I chose the route of "Einstein-Man" or in other words, smart about my health.

I talked to my doctor about my symptoms.

We discussed it and given the symptoms, more tests. The certainty of those test results had me wondering what my new normal would become. But fair enough to say that I ended up being okay. The usual of course, exercise more, lose more weight, and all of those things I thought I was doing.

I remain positive though after all these years since that time to do the best I can. I look forward to fifty more years of encouraging and inspiring others greater heights. And more so seeing my children, grand-children and great-grand children experience great lives.

So be smart about your health folks.

Exercise just a bit more, maybe join a gym and talk to a doctor when you can about your health. Find out more about being healthy. The internet has a HUGE amount of information for you to read about staying healthy.

So learn, act and realize great health. Have a healthy life and a great life; your best life possible.

Stay inspired my friends!

Find Your Dog Star

"All successful men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose." - Brian Tracy

In a song called "Wish Upon A Dog Star" by the group Satellite Party, the words stand out: It's time to shine and make all your dreams come true. You wish upon a dog star.

Now is time to shine in your life.

Now is the time to move forward in life, no longer holding onto old hurts or worries.

Now is the time to wish upon a dog star.

The brightest star in the night sky is Sirius, also known as the Dog Star. Bright stars were important for navigation on the oceans. Low on the horizon, these stars acted as stellar compasses to assist mariners in charting courses to particular destinations.

The interesting thing about Sirius is the naked eye perceives it as a single star but is actually a binary star system. It consists of a white main star termed Sirius A and a faint white dwarf companion termed Sirius B.

The same is true of our dreams in that they usually contain more then a single vision when you look closely. When we get closer to it, we begin to see all of the pieces to it.

Find the brightest star which is your dream.

Let it guide you to something great for your life. Believe in the greatness you will find.

And stay inspired my friends!

Synergy of Teamwork

"Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people." - Stephen Covey

In the sports world, a grand spectacle is about to take place in the form of American football. Each year it comes down to two teams clashing against one another in the Super Bowl. This year it will be the Denver Broncos versus the Carolina Panthers. Two teams having made it to the final game with hard work, a bit of luck, talent and of course teamwork.

Our world today is a wired and wireless, full-on technology wonder. It allows us to follow our sports teams, constantly text about them and look for every piece of information possible with the click of a mouse button. The invention of the computer, Internet, smart phones and all the other gizmo and gadgets which changed not only how we follow our sports teams but also our world.

There was also another huge invention which profoundly changed human existence. It made possible our enjoyment of watching sports during the night time. Invented in 1879 by Thomas Alva Edison, the light bulb now seems odd to imagine as a profound change.

But imagine night time without light.

Edison was not the first nor only person who tried to invent an incandescent light bulb. And after successfully bringing light to the night, many considered Edison to be an absolute genius. They marveled at how he alone was able to achieve this great success.

When asked though why he had a team of twenty-one assistants, he would say, "If I could solve all the problems myself, I would."

As it is, we are all brilliant in our individualism. A football team has a collection of individually talented position players. A company organization has individuals who excel at what they do. Yet it is the brilliance, the synergy of teamwork, of people working together which brings success.

In our own life, the connections we make with other people, our spouses, our families, our friendships, when something needs to be solved, collectively they are your support network, your team, which creates success in your life.

"Teams share the burden and divide the grief." - Doug Smith

There is a story told by ex-Navy pilot Charles Plumb who graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland and went on to fly an F-4 Phantom jet on 74 successful combat missions over Vietnam. It was on his seventy-fifth combat mission, he was shot down and parachuted into enemy territory. He was captured and spent six years in prison from which he survived.

One day, a man approached Plumb and his wife in a restaurant, and said, "Are you Plumb the navy pilot?"

"Yes, how did you know?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied.

Plumb was amazed and gratefully said, "If the chute you packed hadn't worked I wouldn't be here today..."

Charles Plumb now refers to this story each time he lectures about his experiences. He refers to it as his realization that each of the anonymous sailors who packed parachutes held the pilots lives in their hands. And yet the pilots never gave these sailors a second thought; never even said hello, let alone said thank you.

Now Plumb asks his audiences, "Who packs your parachutes?..... Who helps you through your life?.... Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually?....... Think about who helps you; recognize them and say thanks."

Life is full of teamwork, an orchestration of people working in each others lives to collectively make a big difference in life. As a team of people moving together, helping each other, we can create great change and great success.

Alone we can create a ripple of water that touches others.

Together as a team we create a wave of success.

Give yourself forgiveness to know we alone can not always do everything. Speaking as a man, we fight with pride and honor in our attempt to master all that happens in our life. Max Depree, former CEO of the Herman Miller office furniture company once said, "Without forgiveness, there can be no real freedom to act within a group."

Take your forgiveness and allow yourself to connect to a team. Take your life and the lives of others to a higher level, maybe even to the Super Bowl.

Stay inspired my friends!