Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

This reminds me of an email which I received a few years ago. Some of you may still remember an email which told the story about scientists from 2 nations trying to come out with a solution to enable astronauts to write in space under weightless condition. The scientists in one nation ended up spending a fortune to come out with a new type of pen which would enable astronauts to write in a weightless condition. The scientists from the other country? They just used pencil.

I am not sure how genuine the story of the email was but it brilliantly illustrated the point of thinking simple. We may think it is easy to think simple. However, given a situation, most will analyse it … analyse it again …. then throw in some thought processes using problem solving skills which we were taught in school until at some points we risk being paralysed by our thoughts.

If someone was to come out with a simple solution, we might question, “Can it be so simple and straightforward?” Some of us, even myself at time, may not be able to accept the simple and straightforward solution. The question is, “Why couldn’t it be that simple?”

Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

I read a news report about a week ago which stated, “Junk food kills more than 40,000 in the UK every year.” It was stated in the report, “Junk food ‘wrecked a terrible toll of ill health’ and placed a ‘substantial’ strain on the economy.

In another report by Reuters, “Junk food addiction may be clue to obesity: study.” According to the report, “Obesity-related diseases cost the United States an estimated $150 billion each year, according to U.S. federal agencies. An estimated two-thirds of American adults and one-third of children are obese or overweight.”

Thinking simple, the first report touched on a very key point: junk foods not only cause health problems but also a financial strain on the economy – think about the hundreds of millions that could have been saved on health cares and insurances, and in the case of the second report $150 billion.

Doesn’t it makes sense for us to change our eating habits then? Remember that consumers do have power! If we do not support the junk food industry, they need to change for the better … for us. There is a need for them to change how they are producing our food; government must also step in to introduce legislation to ensure that food manufacturers are making their products healthier.

When a lot of men and women around her age have already resigned to fate and to some of the myths of aging, Madam Kong Sin Sim continues with her almost daily workout routine of stretches, light weight training and swimming at the gym. According to her 47 years old son, she is a bundle of energy and constantly encouraging them to exercise!

Not only that, “….her doctor has declared her to be healthy and free from conditions such as high-blood pressure and diabetes…” She credited all that to more than 20 years of regular exercise and eating right.

One common myth of aging is the increase of dependency on others as we become physically incapacitated. This is certainly not true. According to the University of Pittsburgh, Institute of Aging, “Helplessness and dependency are not characteristic of old age. About 87 percent of adults over 65 are able to cope more than adequately with the demands of everyday living.”

Ninety is the new 70, according to a report in usnews.com. The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), a 50 years ongoing study involving 3,000 seniors, found a reduction in heart attacks among older men who took up a high-intensity activity like swimming or running. Not only that, older exercisers also experience less shortness of breath and fatigue.

From the above reports, doesn’t it make sense for us to start exercising today? However, if you are a senior and wants to start an exercise routine, it is very important to first consult your doctor to see if you are fit for exercising, or if any precautions need to be taken.

I believe that most of us will have this question in our mind: What would be the age when one would be considered too old to take on new challenges or to learn new tricks? Yes, this is a trick question and the answer is pretty straight forward; one is never too old to take on new challenges or to learn new tricks.

With this new perspective in mind, let me share with you the story of Cliff Young, which I believe our Australian friends would be very familiar with. He was the potato farmer who inspired the whole nation. At the age of 61, he participated in the first Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon (875 kilometers, 544 miles) in 1983, competed against world-class athletes and won the race in record breaking time; trimming almost two days off the record for any previous run between Sydney and Melbourne. Cliff Young continued to run more than 20,000 kilometres during his competitive career. Cliff was like anyone of us; a humble, average man, who undertook an extraordinary feat and became a national sensation.

Whoever is still saying he/she is too old to do something or to learn new trick, he/she may want to adopt this new perspective: we are never too old to take on new challenges or to learn new tricks. I will have to remind myself constantly too.

After I finished the last sentence in the previous paragraph, I went to put out the laundry to dry, took a seep of water from the refrigerator, had a piece of chocolate and took a toilet break before finally sitting down once again to write; I lacked the self-discipline to focus and concentrate on the writing.

Just with most things in life, often time we lack the self-discipline to see us through what we are hoping to do or achieve. One area where self-discipline is clearly important is in losing weight.

Some people are constantly looking for quick fix to their weight problem; they will jump at anything that gives them guaranteed weight lost in the shortest time. They may lose weight fast, but they will find the result short term especially if they do not change the way they live and the food they eat.

To me, I strongly believe that the best way of losing weight naturally is through changing our living habits and what we eat. Doing that will not only ensure keeping the ideal weight permanently (through continuous self-discipline), but will also give us the many health benefits that come with living right and eating right.

A friend’s colleague shared his experience going through the journey from 115 Kilograms to 56 Kilograms in around one year. Not only does he look fresher and younger, he has also inspired his wife and friends to follow in his lifestyle.

His journey of losing weight started from a trip with his daughter to the doctor for her check up. He playfully weighed himself on the weighing machine while his daughter was having the check up. The doctor saw his weight and made a remark, “If you maintain that balloon weight, you cannot see your grandchildren.”

That made him decide, “Enough is enough!” Not only that, he felt tired easily and his excessive weight made him feel like a walking balloon. In that moment of awakening, he made decisions to change his lifestyle and eating habits. To him, this is the one proven way to lose the excessive weight. “Seeing my kiddos help me stay disciplined.” He said.

How did he do it? He first calculated his Body Mass Index (BMI) and set the goal he wanted to achieve. Then he cut down on the amount of food intake as well as changing what he was eating (no junk food, no refined-Carbohydrate, less or no fried food). Eventually he becomes a Pescetarian. The second part is doing lots of Cardio-exercises from badminton to running to squash and just nature trekking sometimes. The trick is to do these Cardio-exercises regularly. He did it thrice a week.

In his own words, “There is only one way: in two parts to lose weight; eat right and exercise. And this is a lifelong thing.”

Another thing which probably contributed to his success in losing the excess weight were the moral supports from family, friends and colleagues. However, without him first deciding to lose the excess weight and then keeping it going through self-discipline, he would not have done it!