Be a "Yes Man!" (or woman) -- Step Outside your Comfort Zone

     When you leave your comfort zone, you open yourself up to things you could never experience within it. You open the doors of life and allow yourself to experience new places, people, ideas; you open the door for more opportunities, opportunities that not only create new thrills, enjoyments, and satisfactions, but also new problems, difficulties, and dilemmas to which you and only you must find a solution. With every new problem you solve and every new difficulty you overcome you expand your comfort zone and, in turn, must once again force yourself out of it. Complacency is the enemy of this expansion; you must make a habit of continually forcing yourself to leave your comfort zone in any and every way possible. It can be as simple as trying a food you've never tried before or as drastic as quitting your job and moving to a new city. You can move to a new country and learn a new language, or you can sign up for yoga classes at the studio a few blocks from your house. The magnitude of the change is not what’s important; what’s important is capitalizing on every opportunity to experience something new. Certainly, there are times when a big change just isn't practical, but there is no excuse for turning down the chance to try new things in everyday life.

     As mediocre to slightly-above-average as it may have been, the movie Yes, Man is a perfect example of this philosophy. For those who haven't seen it, Jim Carrey plays a man named Carl who, in the wake a divorce, absolutely refuses to try new things. Every decision Carl makes is based solely on how he can best remain in his comfort zone. When he decides to commit to a "self-help" method that requires him to say "yes" to every proposition that comes his way, his life takes a drastic turn for the better. Eventually, though, all of his new commitments become unmanageable and he realizes that the point is not to literally say "yes" to everything, but simply to open yourself up to new possibilities and experiences.

     Realistically, you are never going to be able to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. But if you live each day with a real desire to leave your comfort zone, odds are you're going to end up being able to do so more often than not. Although the fact remains that we, as humans, seem to be inherently drawn towards what is comfortable. No matter how well you live by this standard of non-complacency, there will come a time when you fall into a particular comfort zone. Luckily, I think our subconscious has a natural way of recognizing when we become stagnant, or stuck in one comfort zone for too long. You'll start to feel a little bored on a day-to-day basis; you may still enjoy your activities and even retain a general happiness, but eventually, in the back of your mind, you'll notice a nagging desire, like an itch you can't scratch, for change.

     This is where I currently find myself (and I assume that most of my readers are around my age and in the same general position). At 22 years old, with five and a half months, one more full semester, and a 30-50 page thesis still standing between myself and graduation in May, I've already noticed my itch for a change. And although I can't do so just yet, this is an itch that can be scratched. But there is a bright side.

     While my inability to shake up my life too drastically is providing me with plenty of lemons at the moment, I do get to drink my lemonade while I take the next half year to spend some quality time deciding how, exactly, I'm going to scratch this itch, as well as trying to prepare myself as best I can (financially and otherwise) to do so. Right now, I think I'd like to move to Europe for a few months; maybe even try to find a job there. But I've also considered a change of scenery within the country, maybe to California, maybe elsewhere. Hell, I still may decide to apply for the Peace Corps.

     If you want to continue to grow as a person, as an individual, you've got to be willing to occasionally sacrifice your comfort zone. It really is a low price to pay in exchange for the excitement of experiencing a new job, new city, or new country, full of new people and fresh ideas. With a land surface area of almost 58 million square miles and a population of over 7 billion people, it’s safe to say that, for all intents and purposes, there are an immeasurable amount of ways the rest of your life can pan out; and the best part is, you get to choose! If you're reading this blog, then I'm sure you are one of the (unfortunately too few) people in this world that has the privilege of being in control of their own destiny. In this day and age, with the technology that we have at our disposal, we really do have the whole world at our finger tips, and I truly believe that to choose to ignore this privilege is a total and complete waste of your life.

     Of course, you have to remember that we aren't leaving our old lives behind every time we decide to make a change. It’s not a matter of moving from one distinct comfort zone to the next but a forced, continual expansion of the same comfort zone. Each new experience becomes part of your constantly changing self. Every new experience helps to shape, or reshape, who you are as a person. And the best part is that you don't have to leave your old experiences behind to enjoy new ones; when you make new friends you don't have to forget about the old ones. Sure, we all lose touch with old friends over time; but the best ones seem to have a way of sticking around.

     The point is, live your life with an aggressive and passionate desire to leave your comfort zone as frequently and as drastically as possible. Don't allow yourself to become complacent. Never stop trying new things. Never stop growing as a person. Never stop trying to scratch that impossible itch. Do this and I assure you, you'll live a long (okay, I can't guarantee that part) and happy life.

Primal Dieting/Living aka the "Paleo Diet"

     In the spring of 2009, my senior year of high school, I lost about 20 pounds (about 10-15 of those during a 13-day no-carb diet) by simply eliminating junk food from my diet. One thing I noticed was that after a month or two of completely cutting out "empty-calorie" foods such as chips, sugary drinks, desserts, etc., I no longer craved them. Since then I've always tried to stay in good shape by maintaining a healthy diet, and exercising regularly. And I've always continued to look for new, effective, healthy lifestyle choices. During my freshman and sophomore years of college, most of my focus was geared towards lifting weights to gain muscle mass and eating a diet that would support those goals. My diet consisted of lots of whole grains and complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and lower fat intake. But moving into my junior year I lost my motivation to spend 60-90 minutes at the gym every day, and eventually (especially once I turned 21) my motivation to eat healthy. I was drinking too often, eating whatever I wanted, and not spending much time exercising. By August 2012, I was in my worst shape since high school.
     This is when I stumbled upon Mark Sisson's book, The Primal Blueprint, and it's content immediately caught my interest. This book serves as Sisson's guideline to a healthy lifestyle which has been tailored to mimic that of the original human beings that populated the Earth over 10,000 years ago. While human civilization has changed drastically over this time period, the human body remains almost exactly as it was during the time of hunter-gatherers. This was an era completely free of agriculture, let alone processed foods; so what does this mean for our diet? Well, to put it bluntly, as Sisson does, the human body is designed to "eat plants and animals," and not much else. During paleolithic times, it was impossible for a human being to eat anything that did not occur naturally in nature; they foraged for nuts, berries, and other edible, wild plants, and they hunted for wild animals. There were no such things as farms and consequently no agriculture and certainly no such thing as "grain-fed" animals. So without further ado, this is what this diet looks like:

• What you can eat:
• Beef, Pork, and Poultry (grass-fed/pasture-raised or at least organic)
• Eggs (pasture-raised or organic)
• Fish (wild-caught, cold-water)
• Non-starchy vegetables (organic and preferably local)
• Most fruits (organic and preferably local)
• Nuts and seeds (peanuts and cashews are not real nuts!)
•  Do not eat:
• Grains of any kind, including: all types of bread (yes, even whole grain), cereal, oats, sugars, flour, pasta, rice, and corn.
• Beans
• Potatoes
• Dairy (recommended but not necessary)

     It is important to note a few things: One, this is not a conventional "diet" that involves eating this way for a couple weeks and then returning to a "normal" diet. This is a long-term, permanent approach to living a longer, healthier life. Personally, I have been eating a strictly primal diet for approximately three months now and I feel good and plan to continue to do so. Once your body readjusts to its new, more appropriate diet, you simply feel better; more energy, longer periods of satiety after meals, better sleep, etc. The fact is (and I'm not an expert so I'm not going to pretend to be) that carbohydrates in the form of grains and refined sugar, causes chronic spikes blood glucose and insulin levels which lead to spikes and crashes in energy and subsequently can affect your mood and sleeping patterns. 

     The dietary portion of this book is only one part of the primal lifestyle, with the other major part being exercise. Today, most people fall into one of two categories, either they rarely and exercise at all, or they subject their bodies to overexertion due to "chronic cardio." Sisson's workout plans call for an improvement in flexibility and using natural movements to build strength and thus prevent injuries. The four basic primal movements are push-ups, squats, pull-ups, and planks. So far, I haven't done more than a few primal workouts, although I do plan to do so soon, so I'm sure I will be posting about that at some point. 

     In the mean time, I encourage you to check out Mark Sisson's website, Mark's Daily Apple, where you can find TONS of free information about this lifestyle and if you are really interested you can purchase his book here (or on Amazon.com for about half the price). I also recommend checking out the Paleo Diet which seems to be similar although I have yet to read the book. Keep in mind that it is important to continue to explore other ways of thinking and other methods and find the one that works best for you. I have recently been looking into the benefits of an all raw diet and am looking to integrate more raw, fresh fruits and vegetables into my diet. 

     Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll try my best not to take another month off between posts! 

The Three-Week Rule: How to Improve Your Quality of Life in Just Twenty-One Days

     It's difficult to say what's harder, breaking old habits or starting new ones. Personally, I've always had trouble with both of these efforts, and the same thing seems to happen almost every time. I begin my campaign confident and enthusiastic, ready to make a change and I usually do a pretty good job of sticking to it for the first few days. But as the first week rolls along and the improvements aren't as rapid as I'd like, I end up quitting. Or a busy day hits in the middle of the week and the distractions simply overpower my new goals and I revert back to my old ways and leave my new aspirations by the wayside.

     Well after recently succeeding in changing a few of my own habits, I feel like I've found a pretty decent blueprint for success. It's not flawless or foolproof by any means, but its been working for me so you may as well give it a try, right?

     First and foremost, you must establish a strong motive for taking on this change in your lifestyle. In other words, you need to answer the question, why? Why do you want to make this change? What are the benefits? How will it improve your quality of life? The bottom line is, if you don't have a good reason for doing something, not only will you be less enthusiastic about it, but you're also more likes to fail or to give up due to lack of interest and motivation. A simple example would be if you wanted to quit swearing. Why do you want to do this? If your answer is a simple, "because swearing is bad," then you're probably not going to follow through. But if you take a moment to realize that you want to break your habit of casually swearing in order to prepare for your professional life after graduation, then there is a much higher chance of success.

     The second step is a matter of commitment. In order to truly change a habit, you need to be willing to commit a minimum of three weeks of effort. After the first couple of days, its easy to say, "oh, this isn't for me," or, "I can't do this," but you haven't even given yourself a chance. This is especially true for anything that involves a physiological change (i.e. changes in diet, exercise, or sleep patterns). The reason is simple enough: you need to give your body time to adapt to the changes you're putting it through, and 2-3 days just isn't enough. This is why I like the three week layout, because while this may not be a 100% accurate breakdown, it makes it easy to divide into three stages of transition:

1. The first week is always the toughest; this is the week in which your body is going to experience a little bit of a shock depending on how significant your changes are. Everyone who has gone through at least one "first week" of lifting or working out should understand this. If you're making a change in exercise habits, this is going to be the week in which you experience the most soreness; if you're making a dietary change, this is the week in which you may experience low energy or mood swings, maybe even "intestinal issues." The first week is when you need to be the most determined and motivated to stick to your decision to change your lifestyle; brighter days are ahead.
2. By the beginning of the second week, you have given your body some time to adjust to your new habits. This is the week in which you should begin to see positive results. If you're working out, you're going to experience less soreness, and you should be able to notice that you're already getting stronger and more fit. If you're trying out new dietary habits, this is when your energy levels should become higher and more consistent. This week should serve as motivation in itself as your hard work begins to pay dividends. But you're not done yet.
3. By the third week, your body has adapted and you have begun to see the positive effects. By building on your week two results, you now have a chance to gain some real insight into what it would be like to make this a permanent lifestyle change. In week three, you can also begin tweaking your regimen to find out what works best for you. At the end of the week, you should know whether or not you really want to continue with this change. If you do, that's great and you've already given yourself a three week head start; if not, that's okay, too, because you know that it isn't for lack of effort and you're not quitting on yourself.

     I also recommend going into the three-week period with a concrete plan. Spend some time doing a little research on what exactly you're trying to do, and figure out the best way to do it. I can guarantee you that you're not the first person to attempt this change, whatever it may be. Then, draw up a work-out schedule or menu and stick to it. Remember to keep it simple at the beginning; you can't expect to jump right into the thick of things. If you're beginning to work out, ease yourself into it with a few shorter and more moderate-intensity workouts (not only will this make it easier for you to start, but it will help you avoid injury). If you're changing your eating habits, I recommend choosing a few simple meals that fit your new dietary requirements and just repeating them for the first few weeks until you've gotten the hang of things. Try to make the workouts something that you enjoy and the recipes easy to prepare so you're new habit doesn't seem like a chore.

     And that's it! Like I said, this is not flawless but it works for me and I think its a pretty good blueprint for success. Please feel free to comment, especially if you're going to try it!

Socialism sucks....right???

***Note***I did NOT write this. I found it on Facebook and am simply passing it along:

"Here are some programs brought to you by "Socialism"...

1. The Military/Defense - The United States military is the largest and most funded socialist program in the world. It operates thanks to our taxpayer dollars and protects the country as a whole. From the richest citizens to the homeless who sleep under the bridge. We are all protected by our military whether we pay taxes or not. This is complete socialism.

2. Highways/Roads - Those roads and highways you drive on every single day are completely taxpayer funded. Your tax dollars are used to maintain, expand, and preserve our highways and roads for every one's use. President Eisenhower was inspired by Germany's autobahn and implemented the idea right here in America. That's right, a republican president created our taxpayer funded, national highway system. This was a different time, before the republican party came down with a vicious case of rabies that never went away.

3. Public Libraries - Yes. That place where you go to check out books from conservative authors telling you how horrible socialism is, is in fact socialism. Libraries are taxpayer funded. You pay a few bucks to get a library card and you can read books for free for the rest of your life.

4. Police - Ever had a situation where you had to call the police? Then you have used a taxpayer funded socialist program. Anyone can call the police whether they pay taxes or not. They are there to protect and serve the community, not individuals. This is complete socialism on a state level, but still socialism all the same. Would you rather have to swipe your credit card before the police will help you?

5. Fire Dept. - Hopefully you have never had a fire in your home. But if you have, you probably called your local taxpayer-funded fire department to put the fire out. Like police, this is state socialism. You tax dollars are used to rescue your entire community in case of a fire. It use to be set up where you would pay a fee every month to the fire dept. for their service. If you didn't pay, they let your house burn down. Sadly, a man from Tennessee had this exact situation happen to him in 2011 because he didn't pay his $75.00 fee. I guess that small town in Tennessee would rather let people's houses burn down that resort to evil socialism. So don't take for granted the fact that you have a 24/7 fire dept. to put out your burning home thanks to socialism.

6. Postal Service - Like having mail delivered directly to your front door and paying next to nothing to send mail anywhere you want? Well it's all made possible by socialism.

7. Student Loans and Grants - Did you go to College? If you did, you family might not have been rich enough to pay your way through. So you got your education anyway through student loans and grants from the federal government at taxpayer expense. Of course you have to pay back the loans, but if not the government, did you know anyone else who was going to lend you tens of thousands of dollars? Probably not. So the taxpayers lent you the money and you paid it back with slight interest. The government grants you accepted were gifts from the taxpayer and the federal government that you did not have to pay back. Socialism got you through school.

8. Bridges - Along with our highways, our government used your taxpayer dollars to build bridges. This allows the public to travel across rivers without having to sail or swim.

9. Garbage Collection - Like having your garbage collected once a week instead of having to drive it to the landfill yourself? Thank socialism.

10. Public Landfills - Taxpayer dollars are used to have places to dump all of our garbage that is collected by taxpayer funded garbage men."

***I don't know about you, but I think that's some pretty good stuff. I'm not endorsing socialism here (or maybe I am, I'm not really sure), but I do think this is an interesting read in light of all of those accusing Obama of being a "socialist."

My Post-Vote Reaction: More Frustration

   Late last night I came to the stark realization that, practically speaking, I have no choice but to vote for a candidate from one of the two major political parties. And I honestly thought that I had come to terms with that. Nevertheless, as I stood in front of the voting screen this afternoon, I was still torn. I knew without a doubt who I wanted to vote for; I knew who I wanted to be the next president of the United States of America. And after standing at the voting screen for about 30-40 seconds longer than anyone else, I didn't vote for her. I couldn't. It just didn't make sense to me; it wasn't the practical decision.
     So who did I vote for? Not who I want to win the election; I voted for who I feel has the best chance of winning--or, more accurately, who I feel has the best chance of defeating the candidate that I want to lose. So at the end of the day, I didn't vote for the candidate that I want to lead our country for the next four years--I didn't vote for anyone. I voted against the candidate that I do not want in charge of this nation. And I walked away feeling unsatisfied and unhappy. In a country as great as ours, that should never happen.

To Vote or Not to Vote? -- My Frustration with the Two Party System

     In 2008, I turned 18 less than two months before the presidential election. Naturally this led to a significant excitement to vote and a strong propensity to be outspoken about the coming election. I helped other students register to vote and even helped organize a student debate and mock election at school.

     Four years later my attitude could not be more different. Until about a month ago, I was dead-set on not voting in this year's election for reasons that I still find to be somewhat valid. The foremost reason is that I am not crazy about either Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. This reality eventually prompted me to look into some of the third-party candidates. In doing so, I came to the conclusion that Green party representative, Jill Stein, is the candidate who best reflects my political views--both social and economic--and during the last week I have been happily anticipating giving her my vote on election day.

     But now, on the morning of the election, I have found myself undecided once more. What can I hope to accomplish by voting for a third-party candidate? Of course, I am "voicing my opinion" and exercising my right to "choose," but let's be honest: a vote for any third-party candidate is a waste of a vote, and for all intents and purposes if you aren't going to vote for the Republican or Democratic candidate, then you may as well stay home.

     Talk about frustrating. As citizens of the United States, we are constantly reminded of the great privilege and opportunity we have of living in a democratic nation where we maintain the ability to choose our leaders. Yet in a nation of over 300 million people, we get to choose between two. Sure, six plus names will appear on the ballot, but we all understand the reality of the situation with which we are presented: Romney or Obama; Republican or Democrat?

     So the fact remains that I still have a decision to make. Do I vote for Jill Stein, in hopes of ever-so-slightly loosening the grip of the two-party system? Or do I abstain from voting altogether, voicing my opinion through my refusal to do so? It's honestly a tough decision and while either of these options would allow me to grant myself a significant moral victory, the fact remains that for all practical purposes, there is only one real option, and that is to give in to our dichotomous government and choose a side; to choose "the lesser of two evils" as the cynic in me wants to say. So that is probably what I am going to do.

     All rhetoric aside, I honestly don't know how much one person (I know the presidential election is about more than the candidates themselves) can truly affect the economy (for better or for worse) in the next four years. With that being said, I'll probably end up voting on social issues; if you know me at all, that should tell you where my vote is going.