by Peter Crocker

Even as January ends, my street is still dotted with discarded Christmas trees, drooping fairy lights and half-deflated Santas. I know how he feels. With the tan faded and toys broken, how can you sustain that holiday feeling?

I’ve never managed to fully achieve it myself, but hope these strategies will make the difference this year:

Plan another holiday.

The fact that we’ve just had Australia Day helps, but I’ve already planned some more time off later in the year. Even though it’s months down the track, just booking it makes me feel better and it’s something to look forward to now the grind’s got going.

Focus on resolution results.

Now’s the time to revisit that overoptimistic list of New Year’s resolutions and start to focus on just a few key results. The year generally starts with lofty ambitions to get super fit and healthy, but by Australia Day, I’ve changed ‘get fit’ to ‘run twice a week’.

In terms of business resolutions, consider picking just two goals you’d like to reach in 2009 and list the specific actions and timings needed to achieve them.

Write it down and pin it up.

I’ve written up a few goals and resolutions and stuck it to my door. It is a constant reminder to help focus my activities and makes me feel organised, too.

Lower the expectations.

I’ve wondered before about whether our desire to always love our work is unrealistic. I like having a distinction between work and holidays. I remember the great feeling of freedom of breaking up from school. If we have no doldrums throughout the year, how do we enjoy the full elation of setting off on holidays?

How do you keep the holiday feeling alive? Is it possible? We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions.

And to the guy across the road, please take down your fading Christmas decorations. They’re an unwelcome reminder that the long break is over for another year.

Peter Crocker is a director of Flying Solo responsible for the areas of marketing and advertising. He is a business copywriter specialising in websites, videos and marketing communications.

For more from Peter Crocker, head to www.flyingsolo.com.au, Australia’s online community for solo and micro business owners.

By Dr. Adam Fraser

Ninety five percent of new years resolutions are never achieved, why are we so terrible at sticking to goals?

In a way achieving goals goes against our natural biological drivers. Our natural program is to avoid and move away from things that cause us stress and discomfort. Unfortunately most types of change and the majority of goals require a certain level of stress and discomfort. Studies have shown that the most common emotions people feel during the goal achievement process are frustration, anxiety, fear, boredom and apathy.

Therefore we have to realise that altering any habit or achieving any goal flies in the face of our normal biological desires and behaviour. Put another way its not going to be easy!! This statement is supported by research, which indicates that 85% of all goals set are never achieved.

The following research is taken from the PhD work of Dr Stephanie Burns an absolute guru in the area of goal achievement. It’s broken up into theory and strategies.

Theory is the background to goal achievement and will help you have a greater understanding of how change comes about.

Action items are things you can practically do to increase your chances of sticking to a goal.

Theory

• The amount of time you have to dedicate to a goal has nothing to do with your chance of achieving it. You can wipe someone’s day completely so they are free and this will not improve their chance of achieving that goal.
• Having a high level of self-esteem does not improve your chance of sticking to a goal. A lot of people who have high self esteem often talk about all the grand things they will do, but don’t do them. The only thing self esteem affected was the size of the goal, the greater your self worth the grander the goal you set.
• The main determinant of goal achievement was frequent and consistent action.
• When people stopped taking action towards their goal they rationalised it by making up a story around why they couldn’t do it. Most of the time they said it was not their fault. They said things like, “I am just not an exercise type person”, “the family is more important and I really need to be there for them”, When analysed their stories were inaccurate and delusional. Also often people who stoped taking action towards their goal, said that they were merely putting it off and would get back to it later, which they never did.
• When they compared themselves to other people who kept working towards their goal, those that quit perceived those that kept going as having a much easier time of it. They saw the other person’s goal as being easier, or their life as being better than theirs, or that the other person liked their goal more than them. None of these things were true. In fact those that stuck to their goals were as challenged, bored, frustrated with their goals as those that quit. They just didn’t see those things as a reason to quit.

Actions:

• Just start! Research shows that once we start the activity, momentum tends to make us keep going. For example to get people to exercise researchers got them just to walk for 10 minutes a day, however once they were out and exercising they continued to walk much longer than 10 minutes.
• Don’t think too much! People that didn’t achieve their goals tended to think about it a lot. For example say their goal was to go to the gym, those that didn’t get there would sit on the lounge and debate over and over again in their heads if they should go or not. Finally they ran out of time and couldn’t go. Those people that did achieve their goal didn’t analyse it too much, when it came time to do their chosen activity, they just did it rather than thinking about doing it. In a way their heads were quieter.
• Most goals are abandoned after 3 weeks. One key to achieving goals is to sustain the action long enough to see a result.
• Consider the little stuff. When people set a goal they only thought about the outcome they will get at the end of it. For example if it was to lose weight they fantasised about how good they will look when they achieve their goal. Unfortunately they have not thought about all the little steps they needed to take along the way and all the little challenges they will have in order to get their goal. For example many people who had the goal to get fit stopped that goal because it was a pain to drive to the gym or they couldn’t get parking near by. It was the little things that they did not even consider that derailed their goal.
• Create tension in your environment. Often children stick to new hobbies or sports because they have a lot of tension in their environment to make them keep going. Tension from parents, coaches, fellow students and teachers. All these sources of tension keep them accountable. Announce your goals to people and set up tension in your environment to keep you accountable to your goals.

“Dr Adam Fraser is one of Australia’s leading educators, researchers and thought leaders in the area of human performance! In this time he has worked with elite level athletes, the armed forces and business professionals of all levels. Check out his websites www.dradamfraser.com & www.theglucoseclub.com.au.”

By Craig Harper

Sixty eight going on thirty three

For those of you who have read my book Fattitude, you have already ‘met’ one of my favourite people; Jan Frazer. Jan is one of my trainers, has worked along side me at Harper’s for about fifteen years and is sixty eight years young. She’s a great trainer, gifted teacher, charismatic communicator, completely lovable chick and funny as hell. And no, she’s not great for a sixty eight year-old; she’s just great. Full stop. Her age is irrelevant. As it should be for all of us. She’s fit, strong, intelligent, driven, compassionate and has amazing people skills. She’s an inspired leader, role model and motivator who consistently produces great results with her clients. I’ve always been fascinated with Jan because she simply doesn’t worry about what someone her age is ‘meant to be doing’ (I hate that term) and she’s always doing things which would leave most thirty year-olds exhausted or intimidated. And no, this is not some feel-good, exaggerated, love-fest to make for an interesting article, it is a completely honest and accurate account of a woman nearing seventy who has a biological age of thirty three (yep, thirty three) and consistently produces incredible results in her world.

Mrs Hard Work

Sometimes when I’m mentoring someone who is hard work, I feel like walking them across the gym floor to meet Jan and saying something like, “Mrs Hard Work, I’d like you to meet Jan; she’s twice your age, fitter, leaner, stronger, never complains, is tough as nails and has an infinitely better attitude that you’ve ever had… so suck it up Princess!!”

Too nasty? Perhaps I should do it anyway.

The Rules

Jan is completely unaffected by the rules. You know the rules; the ‘what is and isn’t appropriate for someone of your age’ rules. I hate those rules. Always have. And don’t think that just because the rules aren’t written anywhere (formally), that they don’t exist; they absolutely do. In fact, they pervade every area of our existence; our culture, our language, our corporations and our collective mindset. I find many of these rules to be destructive, disempowering and completely unwarranted. I could give you countless examples of how we disadvantage our more ‘experienced’ citizens with our stupid thinking, rules, expectations and standards but I don’t want this to turn into an epic that you won’t read. If we were to believe some experts, we might be forgiven for thinking that anyone over fifty should have one of those disabled stickers on their car and be wrapped in cotton wool. Personally, I intend to head back to college when I’m in my sixties to do my Masters and possibly a PhD. Not wishful thinking, a plan. I also hope that Jan will work with me for a least another decade or two.

The Psychology of Aging

Neither is it wishful thinking when I tell you that age (as we experience it in our culture) is more about psychology than it is about physiology. It’s about much more than our body or how many years we’ve been here on the big blue ball; it’s about how we think, act, communicate, work, socialise, recreate and love. That’s why we see ‘young’ people in their seventies and ‘old’ people in their fifties or even forties - because years on the planet is only part of the age equation. Of course there is a physical consequence of time but many of us unnecessarily accelerate the aging process via our programmed ageist thinking, our poor choices, our stupid behaviours, our irresponsible diet, our sedentary lifestyle, our lack of exercise and our propensity to listen to the morons who tell us to grow old gracefully.

F*** that. I’ll grow old disgracefully thanks.

Old Before Our Time

Sadly, many of us will get old before we should. I won’t. And not because I’m genetically gifted but I choose not to get ‘old’ (in the way that many people allow themselves to age, that is). Even the term ‘Acting Your Age’ infers that we must fulfill some kind of pre-determined ‘old’ role. “How old am I? Okay, that’s how ‘old’ I should act. Hmm, exactly what is appropriate behaviour for some my age?” It’s ridiculous that we should somehow feel a need to conform to some standardised set of acceptable (and unacceptable) behaviours based on our chronological age.

Of all the mental barriers that we humans create for ourselves, the age thing has gotta be right up there on the ’stupid list’. The truth is that chronological age isn’t our real problem, how we (the society) think about age (and subsequently behave) is the problem. Of course the years have a physical impact on us (especially when we don’t maximise our genetics) but for the majority of us, age is more of a psychological issue than it is a physiological one.

Craig Harper is a motivational speaker, qualified exercise scientist, author, radio presenter, television personality and owner of one of the largest personal training centres in the world. Visit Craig’s website motivational speaker for more life lessons.

by Catherine Saxelby

A glass or two of red is proving to be good for you, as many wine buffs have long believed.

Red wine is held responsible for the so - called French Paradox - or why France has the second lowest rate of heart disease in the Western world (after Japan) when they indulge in butter, cream, pate and rich food. Could it be due to the large quantities of red wine the French enjoy?

The link between red wine and heart disease, which stemmed from cross-country comparisons back in the 1970s, has been confirmed by the World Health Organisation.

Countries like France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, where wine is popular, have fewer deaths from heart disease than countries such as Finland, Ireland, the UK, Sweden and Australia, where beer and spirits predominate.

The Copenhagen City Heart Study, which followed the health of over 7000 men and 5000 women for twelve years, reported that moderate wine drinkers had half the risk of heart disease and stroke than those who never drank, while beer drinkers had a modest benefit but spirits very little.

What is it about wine that makes it so beneficial?

1. Wine is generally drunk with a meal, as in France, and biochemicals in food may offset any of the damage caused by excess alcohol. In contrast, beer and spirits are often consumed alone or with a salty, fatty snack.

2. Wine is also preferred by the better-educated and well-off, which in itself is a health advantage.

3. But it’s wine’s long list of polyphenol compounds that researchers believe confer its protective effect.
Over 50 phenolics have been identified in wine, including flavonoids and resveratrol, which are responsible for much of the colour and flavour of wines and for keeping it from going off during years of storage. But from your healths point of view, they:

* function as antioxidants and keep the bad cholesterol from being oxidised

* reduce any thickening of the arteries

* keep the blood unclogged and free-flowing (an effect similar to aspirin).

Red wine, made with the skins and seeds, has about ten times more of these natural chemicals than white wine.

One such grape substance, resveratrol, has attracted much attention.

Resveratrol is produced by the grape to help it fight off fungal infections and in studies from the University of Illinois, has been shown to inhibit tumour growth at three different stages of cancer, preventing the spread of malignant cells.

It too can minimise oxygen damage to tissues, reduce clumping of blood cells and may lower cholesterol.

But it’s not the only one. Other flavonoids such as quercetin, epicatechin and rutin have been tested and found to be even more powerful than resveratrol and are present in higher concentrations.

These heart-protecting substances are also found in grapes, other fruit, tea and onions. A much-quoted Dutch study reported that people who consumed large amounts of tea and onions had the lowest risk of heart problems.

Catherine Saxelby is an accredited nutritionist and author of 9 books including Nutrition for Life. For more tips and ideas, go to her website at www.foodwatch.com.au

by Dr. Tom Buckley

Are you getting enough light in your day? Does having restricted exposure to natural light affect your mood and sleep?

Researchers have known for a while that there is a link between light and sleep. While not fully understood, exposure to light appears to trigger our brain and hormones to wake up in the morning. Alertness hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are naturally released in the early hours of the morning but appear to be secreted in larger doses when we are exposed to natural light at this time. An example of the benefits of early morning light was demonstrated in a study conducted in 2004 where 450 research participants found that those who got the most light, particularly in the morning, reported better moods throughout the day and reported better night-time sleep.

So what can we do to in our working day to get a healthy dose of light? Try some of the following:

•    A 30-minute walk or some form of outdoor exercise each morning will help kick start the day. This doesn’t need to be a planned training session but just walking to work, or even the train station. Some researchers believe that combining exercise with morning light exposure may amplify light’s beneficial effects on your mood, night-time sleep, and overall day-time alertness.

•    Eat breakfast near a window or, if possible, out in the garden or balcony. If not possible before you get to work, try having an early morning tea outside the office building.

•    Ensure your bathroom is bright. If you don’t have natural light in the bathroom, ensure you have multiple sources of light, not just one light bulb. Think about painting this room a bright colour next time you are decorating.

•    Avoid bright evening light. Dim your indoor lights after 6pm to prepare your body for sleep later. You production of the hormone melatonin, the main sleep inducing hormone, relies on the reduction of light to be stimulated.

•    Best to avoid your computer after 7pm. If you do have to do later evening computer tasks, soften your computer screen. Reduce the screen brightness. Better still, turn it off.

•    Use the window and drapes. If possible, leave your window drape open a little to allow morning light to seep into your bedroom. Research has consistently shown that the rising sun is the best and most natural alarm clock. Of course in summer, this may be too early so, if possible, open the drapes as soon as your alarm clock goes off and before you drift back into a snooze.

Tom Buckley a University lecturer and researcher in the field or Health Sciences whose doctoral studies focused on physiological responses to stress. Author of several peer reviewed publications and supporting author of Flip the Switch, his current research interests are in human factors related to performance and wellbeing

by Andrew May

When under extreme pressure or in high stress situations, you might find that you tend to think about things in negative and unhelpful ways. (‘I can’t do this!’ or ‘Why does this always happen to me?’, for example.)

Understanding the way you think is the first step to flipping the switch and having more Positive Automatic Thoughts (POT’s) and less Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANT’s). Recognising your ANT’s is the first step in learning to change them.

Learning how to identify unhelpful thoughts, and then to challenge and change them, can significantly reduce your negative emotions – whether or not you’ve managed to get yourself out of that pressure-cooker situation or job that caused them. Read the ‘stinking thinking top 10’ and think whether you have any of the following ANT’s.

1.    over-generalising ollie

This type comes to a general conclusion based on a single event or one piece of evidence. If something bad happens once, Ollie expects it to happen again and again. His thoughts often include the words ‘always’ and ‘never’. For example:

* I forgot to finish that project on time. I never manage to do things right.

* He didn’t want to go out with me. I’ll always be lonely.

2.    filtering freddy (selective abstraction)

Filtering Freddy is the most selective guy there is. He concentrates on the negatives while ignoring the positives. If this is you, you tend to ignore important information that contradicts your (negative) view of the situation. For example:

* I know my boss said most of my submission was great, but he also said there were a number of mistakes that had to be corrected … he must think I’m really hopeless.

3.    black and white bob (dichotomous reasoning)

B&W Bob thinks in all-or-nothing terms and has a tendency to view things in the extreme, with no middle ground. For example:

* I made so many mistakes … if I can’t do it perfectly I might as well not bother.

* I won’t be able to get all of this done, so I may as well not start it anyway.

* This job is so bad … there’s nothing good about it at all.

4.    personalising paula

Personalising Paula takes responsibility for something – anything – that is not her fault. This personality thinks that whatever people say or do is in reaction to you, or in some way related to you. For example:

* John’s in a terrible mood. It must have been something I did.

* It’s obvious she doesn’t like me, otherwise she would’ve said hello.

* I didn’t get the job because of my appearance.

5.    charlie catastrophiser

Charlie is always overestimating the chances of disaster. He constantly expects something unbearable or intolerable to happen. Such thoughts often begin with ‘what if…?’ For example:

* What if I make a fool of myself and people start laughing at me.

* What if I haven’t turned the iron off and the house burns down.

* If I don’t perform well, I’ll get the sack.

6.    emotional eddie (emotional reasoning)

Eddie mistakes feelings for facts. All the negative things he feels about himself just have to be true – because they feel true. For example:

* I feel like a failure, therefore I am a failure.

* I feel ugly, therefore I must be ugly.

* I feel hopeless; therefore my situation must be hopeless.

7.    mind-reading murray

Murray makes assumptions about other people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviours without checking the evidence. For example:

Greg is talking to Molly so he must like her more than me.

* I can tell he hates my shirt.

* I could tell he thought I was stupid in the interview.

8.    fortune-telling francis

Francis is a regular psychic. He anticipates an outcome and assumes his prediction is correct. These negative expectations can be self-fulfilling: predicting what we would do on the basis of past behaviour may prevent the possibility of change. For example:

* I’ve always been like this; I’ll never be able to change.

* It’s not going to work out, so there’s not much point even trying.

* This relationship is sure to fail.

9.    ‘shoulda’ sheree

Using ‘should‘, ‘ ought’ or ‘must’ statements, Sheree sets up unrealistic expectations of herself and others. This involves operating by rigid rules and not allowing for flexibility or individual differences. For example:

* I shouldn’t get angry.

* People should be nice to me all the time.

10.    magnification mary/minimisation martha

Mary and Martha have A tendency to exaggerate the importance of negative information or experiences, while trivialising or reducing the significance of positive information or experiences. For example:

* He noticed I spilled something on my shirt. I know he said he will go out with me again, but I bet he doesn’t call.

* Supporting my friend when her mother died still doesn’t make up for that time I got angry at her last year.

The four steps to optimistic thinking

Putting it simply, here’s how you go about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

1. Think about how you think.

2. Identify unhelpful ANTs (‘stinking thinking’).

3. Challenge your ANTs.

4. Replace ANTs with POTs.

Here’s how you put these steps into action.

1.    think about how you think

Hold on, this might sound a bit out there, but in essence it is about increasing your awareness of your cognitive processes – the way you think. The best way to do this is to start keeping a thought diary. Write down your thoughts (and feelings – they’re just as important) in different situations throughout the day. Note carefully the relationship between certain types of thoughts and certain types of feelings. At this stage, don’t worry about changing anything. Right now you’re learning to become aware of how you think in different situations (especially when under stress).

2.    identify unhelpful ANTs!

Automatic negative thoughts are a fancy way of describing the sort of thoughts that our friends Personalising Paula and Mind-reading Murray are having on a daily basis. It’s easy to see someone else’s thoughts, written down on paper, and think they look funny and over-the-top. But we all have these thought processes, whether it’s being over the top about something small, or believing that you’ve failed without even trying your hand at something. And although it’s perfectly normal constant ANTs lead to reduced output and performance. And, frankly, too many ANTs will make you an unhappy camper.

3.    challenge your ANTs

Just because you think something does not mean it’s true. Thoughts are not necessarily facts. If your ANTs are causing unnecessary distress you need to learn how to challenge or change them. Next time you hear the little voice in your head saying something negative, ask it a question. ‘Is that true?’ ‘Is that a helpful thought?’ ‘Is it really that bad?’

4.    replace your ANTs with POTs (positive optimistic thoughts)

We’re not talking about Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men, rather the final step in the optimistic thinking process. Once you’ve begun the process of identifying and challenging your negative thoughts, it is time to start planting positive thoughts. That doesn’t mean they have to be unrealistic – in fact, they shouldn’t be.

You need to now begin to add to the preceding strategies by:

* actively focusing on all the good things in your life

* actively looking for more good things in your life

* looking at difficult situations as opportunities to learn, and

* believing good things will happen in the future.
Every time you’ve captured a negative thought and challenged it, throw it a yellow card. Give it a positive thought – and although it might feel silly at first, soon you’ll realise that the negative thoughts are silly as well.

When you’ve mastered these steps you’ll experience more positive thoughts and fewer energy-draining thoughts. Make sure you do all you can to challenge your ANTs and replace them with POTs – it’s an ongoing process, but you’ll find that you quickly become good at squashing the ANTs in your life.

Andrew May is is considered Australia’s leading expert on performance and productivity and is the author of the bestselling book, Flip the Switch. Andrew speaks at conferences across the globe, mentors CEO’s and senior managers. He is published throughout national and international media, with regular segments on 2UE radio, Mix 106.5 Body and Soul and Channel Nine’s TODAY show.