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Statistically, the odds are 9:1 against you. Health care consumes $1.8
trillion dollars, but according to Dr Ray Levey, founder of the Global
Medical Forum, "a relatively small percentage of the population consumes
the vast majority of the health care budget for diseases that are very
well known and by and large behavioral." (Fast Company May 2005)
They are sick because of how they choose to live their lives.
The five diseases that consume 80% of the health care dollar: heart,
asthma, diabetes, hypertension, and depression. Too much smoking, drinking,
eating, stress and not enough exercise. 90 percent of coronary bypass
patients don't sustain life-prolonging changes in their lifestyles.
You are not hardwired
Scientists used to believe the brain became hardwired early in life and
then couldn't change. New research shows that the brain has extraordinary
"plasticity" or the ability to reconfigure itself as we continue
to learn new things. Want to know more about this? Put the movie "What
the Bleep Do We Know?" on your list of movies to rent.
Big changes are easier than small ones
In 1993, Dr. Dean Ornish persuaded Mutual of Omaha to sponsor a trial.
333 patients quit smoking and went on Ornish's vegetarian diet. Three
years later, 77% were still living the new lifestyle and had avoided bypass
surgery, saving the insurer $30,000 per patient. Need to make a change?
Make a big one!
Fear doesn't motivate
While fear will move you in the moment, it doesn't have the lasting drive
of a clear vision of a desirable future. Once the fear subsides, it's
too easy to fall back into the old rut. With a vision of the future, you
can tell if you've arrived or are still short of your goal. It gives you
a direction to move toward, not just something to run away from. It's
not the "fear of dying" that motivates people, it's a vision
of the "joy of living."
Engage Body, Mind and Spirit
Dr. Ornish says: "We also need to bring in the psychological, emotional,
and spiritual dimensions [of change] that are so often ignored. Working
in Lean Six Sigma, I can tell you the issue isn't using the methods and
tools, it's getting the employees to embrace the need to change and figure
out how they want to change things. Otherwise, no methodology or tools
in the world will work.
Reframing
The brain doesn't think in facts, it thinks in frames or metaphors. If
you think a company should follow the military model, then you will have
wars, battles, lieutenants, and jeep drivers. If you think of a company
as a "family" then a completely different frame will generate
very different behaviors. If you think of business as "sport",
you'll get teams, plays, fields, and referees. How can you reframe your
way of living and working to create a new map of reality that will create
more desirable outcomes?
Pumping Mind
Brain fitness starts declining at age 30, unless you keep learning. Being
busy isn't learning; it's just activity. People who live to 85 have a
50:50 chance of becoming senile.
Here's my point: Learn something new every chance you get. Change
the frames of your existence, even if you only do it for a day. Turn your
metaphors inside out. Try them on. It builds mental flexibility. Take
a different route to work. If you learn to change more easily and effortlessly,
you'll find life's little surprises so much easier to take.
If you don't like your work life, think about the metaphor you've chosen
for it (e.g., working on a slave gang) and test drive a new metaphor (e.g.,
becoming a master craftsman). If you don't like your home life, think
about that metaphor (e.g., the old "ball and chain") and change
it (e.g., the old "helium balloon").
Instead of running from a fear, create a vision of what you want. Run
towards it. Master the art of change. It's easier to be flexible than
it is to stay brittle. But it's up to you. Haven't you waited long enough
to start fully exercising your mind?
Sound too hard? Not sure what's getting in your way? It may be a limiting
belief. Check out Chapter 9 of Motivate
Everyone, The Power of Beliefs. See http://www.qimacros.com/motivate.html
Feel free to forward this ezine to anyone you know who might enjoy it.
© 2005 Jay Arthur, the KnowWare® Man, works with companies
who want to plug the leaks in their cash flow and people who want to master the
mysteries of the mind.. To have Jay Arthur to train your staff, contact
Jay at (888) 468-1537, lifestar@qimacros.com.  Want
to discover your own "motivation profile?" Go to The
Motivation Profile and take the complete profile online FREE. Compare your
results with your spouse, kids, or coworkers to determine where you are most likely
in alignment and where you conflict. You can also order printed copies of the
motivation profile.
Motivation Profile $9.95 Plus S&H
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Your Copy of Motivate Everyone, from Amazon.com
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