It's my brain and I like it!

Daily Quote: In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: "It goes on". Robert Frost

Body: Move more, Eat less... Drink water

 It's a walking day, walk for 30 min! Eat to fuel your body (which, after all, is the most basic reason to eat), it’s important to keep your actual needs in mind, because when you “over-fuel,” your body stores that energy in reserve as fat!

Mind: Reduce television today. Write in your journal.

Spirit: Contemplate the sky for 5 minutes. Say hello to God... Hello!

Emotional: Keep expectations of yourself and others realistic. Unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment and feelings of failure.

Day Fact: The weight of the human brain is about 3 lbs and it uses 20% of the total energy in your body.

DWP Quote: Being an example isn't fast... but it's a lasting lesson.

My Refocus Workshop Journal
Daily Quote: Chinese proverb, "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it."

Body: Walking Day (15 min.) At one meal today, leave the last mouthful on your plate. This is a signal to your brain that you are ready to act. Commit to leave some food on your plate at every meal. The idea of wasting food as if food was more valuable than people is very difficult for some. If it you makes you feel better take less, leave it in the pot!

Mind: Call an old friend and reminisce. Friends give life depth and meaning. Stay positive in your discussion.

Spirit: Examine your spiritual values. Do you believe in a higher power? Write your answer in your journal. How does it look in print?

Emotional: Today, just observe the people you come in contact with without judgment. Enjoy their style, how they pass through your day. Thoughtfully examine them, be positive, and don’t judge them. This is never your job. This little exercise helps you to get out of your own head and to enjoy the world around you.

Day Fact: Seventeen hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol-level of 0.05%. It is illegal to operate a car with a blood alcohol level of 0.08%

DWP Quote: “Do not deprive yourself of a good experience through a poor choice.”

My Refocus Workshop Journal (sample page)

Daily Quote: "In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."Robert Frost

Body: It's a walking day 30 min! Eat to fuel your body (which, after all, is the most basic reason to eat), it’s important to keep your actual needs in mind, because when you “over-fuel,” your body stores that energy in reserve as fat!

Mind: No television today. Write in your journal.

Spirit: Contemplate the sky for 5 minutes.

Emotional: Keep expectations of yourself and others realistic. Unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment and feelings of failure.

Day Fact: The weight of the human brain is about 3 lbs and it uses 20% of the total energy in your body.

DWP Quote: Being an example isn't fast... but it's a lasting lesson.

H.A.L.T, an easy, portable self care tool.

H.A.L.T.: A Self-Care Tool

I first came across the acronym H.A.L.T. when I was in chemical dependency treatment centers years ago. H.A.L.T. stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired. Each one of these four physical or emotional conditions, if not taken care of, leaves an individual vulnerable for relapse.

I have found H.A.L.T. helpful for anyone, including myself, because there is no getting away from sometimes feeling hungry, angry, lonely or tired.

Gudrun Zomerland, MFT will go through each of the four conditions in more detail in order for you to get the most out of this self-care tool.


"Hunger, of course, describes the most obvious physical condition of lack of food. We all know how important it is to have regular nutritional meals -- preferably small in size and frequent in number. So I will not belabor this point here. But hunger can also point toward emotional needs: hunger for attention, for comfort, for understanding, or for companionship. It is very important that we have others in our lives who can give us their loving care. In 12-Step recovery circles these others are available in the "fellowships" of particular meetings. For other people these caring beings may be present in their spiritual communities, in their circle of friends, or other groups they attend. Just like we need grocery stores to take care of physical hunger, we need the community of like-minded people to fill our emotional needs. Therefore, the solution to emotional hunger is community.


Anger, is a little bit more complex and the solution perhaps a bit more challenging for some people. Here is the good news: there is nothing wrong with the feeling of anger! But here is the bad news: most of us have never learned how to express anger constructively. The way we express anger often takes hugely destructive forms. We either turn anger against ourselves or against others. Anger can range from criticizing and belittling to name-calling and physical violence. Anger can also be like a repeated tape loop; in that case it's called resentment.


Let's deal with the latter condition first. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous suggests that a person with resentment toward another pray for the other, that is, imagine all the good in life that we would like to have for ourselves to be bestowed upon the other person. My experience has been that anybody who subjects themselves to this discipline will eventually reap the benefit of feeling free from the incessant thoughts about the individual involved, and an unforeseen resolution to the conflict usually emerges.


Now let's look at the other forms of destructive anger mentioned above. First of all, you need a time out during which to breathe and be in control over the emotional charge that anger evokes. Some people actually need to do some physical activity such as walking, running, stomping or screaming (if you have privacy) to help them discharge the tension running through the body.


The next step is to look for the underlying cause of your anger. Anger is always about some form of perceived helplessness or powerlessness. Usually it can be remedied by identifying a request that needs to be made. When we make a request, we need to be willing to negotiate an outcome that works for both parties involved. Sometimes, however, the relationship dynamic that provoked the anger is so destructive that we need to distance ourselves for a while or even for good.


If you have difficulty with guiding yourself toward a time out, self-reflection, and moving toward a constructive request you may need professional help. Sometimes anger seems to run our very being and, in that case, it is usually connected to childhood trauma.


Lonely, refers to isolating oneself. It is similar to Hunger in that the solution is the same, namely community. However, loneliness points to the difficulty of reaching out. This can have several causes, one being that isolation was a childhood survival tool, the other being emotional or clinical depression. If loneliness is either a constant or a frequent companion of yours and you don't seem to be able to come out of it on your own, again you may need professional help to look at the underlying causes.


Tired, is the last of the H.A.L.T. acronym conditions is  We all have a tendency to ignore tiredness at times. Several years ago I saw a video of an experiment in which volunteers were subjected to either alcohol intake or sleep deprivation. The upshot is that physical tiredness may be the cause of as many traffic accidents as alcohol consumption. It is a serious condition that endangers our well being as well as that of others. The solution is of course napping or sleeping. If you have prolonged difficulty sleeping at night see your health care provider!


The other form of tiredness comes from taking on too much, being overloaded and overwhelmed -- an almost universal condition in the busy lives we all lead. The only solutions I am aware of is to cut down where you can, take short breathing breaks, step in front of your door and smell the fresh air (if available), and take vacations (frequent short ones or a good long one -- yes we can learn from the Europeans!).


Now you know H.A.L.T, an easily portable and very practical tool for everyday living. I give thanks to the people in Alcoholics Anonymous, where I think this acronym initially emerged, for using their experience to benefit us all."

See full article http://www.chinnstreetcounseling.com/zomerland/zomerland_11.shtml

Daily Quote: Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact. William James

Body: Use balance exercises to warm up for things like walking, running or biking. After establishing your balance on one foot (just holding still is a good first step), try raising and lowering your body on one leg, keeping your torso erect while flexing at the knee and hip. As you get more confident, add reps/sets, go lower or move your free leg into different positions. Walk Today!

Mind: Start a new book. Choose a subject you wouldn't normally read.

Spirit: "Write down one of your core beliefs. Our deepest and enduring sense of identity comes from realizing our connection to the larger world of spiritual reality. We come to see ourselves as expressions or manifestations of that reality, working to bring people together and to break down barriers of distrust, hatred and prejudice.

Emotional: Don’t wait until your life is in order before reaching out to help others. Someone who’s just lost a job might think he’s got nothing to give at the moment. But in fact, volunteering or helping out a friend — especially when we’re feeling distressed — is an amazing way to enhance our overall mood.

Day Fact: When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, and they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

DWP Quote: Anticipation cultivates the act.

100 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface!

Take a Gratitude Challenge


By John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat

Let’s not just talk about counting our blessings—let’s do it! Write a list of 100 things you are thankful for. If that sounds like it is too many, try this:

1. Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for.

2. Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for.

3. Write 10 living people you are grateful for.

4. Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for.

5. Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for.

6. Write 10 things about today you are grateful for.

7. Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for.

8. Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for.

9. Write 10 foods you are grateful for.

10. Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for.

When we make a list like this, we discover that a list of 100 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the things God has given us.

The parable of the bicycle

I have heard and read this story several times, and every time it touches me. Sometimes it seems impossible to me that I can ever be ready to join my Heavenly Father one day. But when I remember Jesus Christ, and all that He has done for me, I know that I can come back home through my best effort and His grace.

After I had come home one day, I was sitting in a chair reading the newspaper. My daughter Sarah, who was seven years old, came in and said, “Dad, can I have a bike? I’m the only kid on the block who doesn’t have a bike.”

Well, I didn’t think I could afford to buy her a bike, so I tried to stall her by saying, “Sure, Sarah.”
She asked, “How? When?”

I said, “You save all your pennies, and pretty soon you’ll have enough for a bike.” And she went away.

A couple of weeks later as I was sitting in the same chair, I was aware that Sarah was doing something for her mother and getting paid. She went into the other room, and I heard “Clink, clink.” I asked, “Sarah, what are you doing?”

She came out and showed me a little jar all cleaned up with a slit cut in the lid and a bunch of pennies in the bottom. She looked at me and said, “You promised me that if I saved all my pennies, pretty soon I’d have enough for a bike. And, Daddy, I’ve saved every single one of them.”

My heart was filled with love for her. She was doing everything in her power to follow my instructions. I hadn’t actually lied to her. If she saved all of her pennies, she eventually would have enough for a bike, but by then she would want a car! Her needs weren’t being met. So I said, “Let’s go downtown and look at bikes.”

We went to every store in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Finally we found it—the perfect bicycle. She got up on that bike, and she was thrilled. But when she saw how much the bicycle cost, her face fell, and she started to cry. She said, “Oh, Dad, I’ll never have enough for a bicycle.”

So I said, “Sarah, how much do you have?”

She answered, “Sixty-one cents.”

“I’ll tell you what,” I said. “You give me everything you’ve got and a hug and a kiss, and the bike is yours.” She gave me a hug, a kiss—and the sixty-one cents. I paid for the bicycle. Then I had to drive home very slowly because she wouldn’t get off the bike; she rode home on the sidewalk. And as I drove along slowly beside her, it occurred to me that this was a parable for the Atonement of Christ.

We all want something desperately—something far more than a bicycle. We want the celestial kingdom. We want to be with our Father in Heaven. And no matter how hard we try, we come up short. At some point we realize, “I can’t do this!” . . . At that point, we taste the sweetness of the gospel covenant as the Savior proposes, “All right, you’re not perfect. Give me all you have, and I’ll pay the rest. Give me a hug and a kiss—that is, enter into a personal relationship with me—and I will do what remains undone.”

. . . Having done all we can, it is enough—for now. Together we’ll make progress in the eternities, and eventually we will become perfect. But in the meantime, we are perfect only in a partnership, in a covenant relationship with him. Only by tapping his perfection can we hope to qualify.

--Stephen E. Robinson (source; photo courtesy of lds.org)