Engage in self-improvement every day


Successful people engage in the process of self-improvement every day. They read industry periodicals and technical material specific to their profession or trade. They become students of their industry, profession, or trade, and keep current with changes that occur. They do not spend excessive amounts of non-work time watching television, or surfing the Internet.

  Successful people read for self-improvement. They are perpetual students. Each day they devote blocks of time to better themselves by studying subject matter that will improve them in some way and better enable them to perform their jobs. Time is too valuable to be wasted on matters with no tangible value. They coordinate their goals with self-improvement and set specific goals.
 This may involve obtaining an additional license, a degree, or developing a new niche for their business. They are continuously engaged in some constructive project to increase their skill sets, promote their business or careers, keep their minds sharp, or expand their business prospects.
  Unsuccessful people are not students of their industry, profession, or trade. They do not routinely follow their industry. They do not regularly read industry periodicals. They would rather spend hours each day watching television or engaged in “junk” reading. They use rationalization to justify their negligence in improving themselves.
  Self-improvement involves engaging is some activity every day that will improve your mind and expand your knowledge to better your career. Expanding knowledge within your industry is a self improvement activity that you must engage in. This can be done by regularly reading your industry periodicals and advancing your career by obtaining additional licenses, skill sets, or new niches for your business. Career-specific self-improvement activities are necessary to increase skills and take advantage of opportunities. You will notice that, as your knowledge base grows, opportunities begin to present themselves.
  Choose a time when there are fewer distractions and you can set aside a block of time. Sometimes this is possible in the early morning hours, prior to beginning your normal workday. At a minimum, set aside thirty minutes each day for these activities. Thirty minutes per day may not seem like much, but over time, it adds up to a significant amount of self-improvement activity. No matter what time of the day works best for you, engage in daily self-improvement activities without interruptions.

Summary: 

Successful people devote time each and every day to self-improvement

I will devote part of each and every day in caring for my health 

Successful people make a concerted effort to eat right and exercise every day. They consider not only what they eat, but also how much they eat. They manage their consumption of food. Successful people do not binge or overindulge in food or drink. If they do slip, it is managed overindulgence, relegated to that of an infrequent occurrence rather than a regular occurrence, such as a holiday meal or a party. For successful people, exercise is a routine, like brushing their teeth. They understand that daily exercise improves their bodies and minds. Routine exercise improves the immune system and results in fewer sick days. This further allows for an increase in productivity, since the frequency of sick days is less than that of others. People who regularly exercise generally have more energy during the day.
  Successful people have a system or routine for weight management that works best for them. Some have sophisticated systems, some less sophisticated, but they “manage ” their weight. Managing weight means monitoring the amount of food consumed every day and engaging in a daily exercise regimen.
  Unsuccessful people have no consistent, day-to-day control over their health. They are always in search of the latest and greatest quick-fix diet idea. Unsuccessful people deal with health matters sporadically and usually require outside influences to motivate them to eat less or eat differently. This is the reason why there are so many diet books out there. With little control over their eating habits, they go through phases of gaining and losing weight again and again. This behavior takes a toll on the body, which eventually manifest as medical disorders, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and the like.
  Unsuccessful people approach exercise the same way they approach their consumption of food, requiring some outside force to momentarily motivate them. When that motivation wears off, they fall back into bad habits, stop exercising, and gain weight as part of a cycle that recurs throughout their lives.
  An easy way to monitor food consumption is to count the calories after every meal or snack, and document daily consumption. In beginning a weight management program, first gain an understanding of the specific foods you eat on a daily basis. During the first thirty days of your weight management program you will need to track what you normally eat and figure out the number of calories for each food item. During this thirty day period you will be able to identify certain foods that are high in calories and you can thereafter choose to avoid those high-calorie foods, at least on a regular basis.
  Do not confuse monitoring and managing food consumption with dieting. They are not the same. Diets don’t work in managing weight in the long term. The reason is that they are too restrictive, unsustainable and, quite frankly, take the fun out of life. Managing the consumption of food does not mean starving or never again eating special treats. You are going to eat treats from time to time and you should not feel guilty about this. You simply need to understand that you can’t eat those high calorie foods every day, as this will likely push you over your daily caloric threshold, which is the threshold you need to stay within in order to lose or maintain your weight. You should be free to eat and drink the things you like when the spirit moves you. But you need to understand that eating some of the foods you love might mean occasionally exceeding your caloric threshold for that day, which is fine as long as this is the exception rather than the rule.
  Monitoring food consumption only gets you halfway toward managing weight. You must engage in a daily aerobic exercise regimen for at least twenty to thirty minutes a day, four days per week.
Jogging outdoors provides the most effective results. The number of calories burned with running is greater by about one-third than an indoor treadmill, Stair master, or stationary bike. Lifting weights, sit-ups, push-ups, and the like, are good supplements to any basic aerobic activity, but they are not substitutes for aerobic activity. By themselves, these exercises will not help you lose weight as much as they will help you shape and tone your body. Aerobic activity is the most reliable activity to help you lose weight and should be the foundation for your exercise regimen.
  Morning may be the best time to engage in exercise activity. By preceding the work day, you are less likely to be pulled away by scheduling issues or conflicts that often occur during the day.
  A great tool to monitor your weight is the Rich Habits Weight Management Tracking Schedule. Tracking takes only five minutes each day. You will begin to see patterns in your weight management that enable you to better understand your body and allow you to gain control over your weight. Within two months of completing the Rich Habits Weight Management Tracking Schedule (see next page) you will be able to determine your individual daily caloric threshold and you can then manage your calorie intake to lose or maintain your weight. For example, assume your daily threshold is 2 ,100 calories per day, given the level of exercise you do. If you consume less than 2,100 calories each day, you will lose weight every day.

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