Hello friends, and welcome to this month’s Joyinmovement newsletter,
We sure have covered a lot of ground this past year in these newsletters: from tips on how to improve your health, to whether or not a cleanse is right for you, to the most important lessons I’ve learned as I turned 60. And remember, you can always find my newsletters, even going back to 2006, at this link, http://www.shellistein.com/newsletters/.
As I often do in the last newsletter of the year, I’ll offer you some useful information on topics that don’t require a full newsletter, yet are important enough for me to make sure you know about. So grab a cup of relaxing tea, and enjoy this month’s letter.
1. Whether or not to buy organic produce is a decision we all have to make. Here’s something you might not know that will help you decide. Did you know that Walmart, by a wide margin, is America’s largest grocer? But what you might not know is that the grocery business is typically low-margin and low-growth, UNLESS you’re selling food labeled “organic.”
According to scientists and professors from Academics Review, organic sales have risen 3,400% over the past 24 years. It’s the fastest-growing consumer trend in modern history.
Foods labeled “organic” are typically more expensive to grow. Farmers must meet strict criteria that often preclude the use of synthetic pesticides, genetically modified seeds, and growth hormones. In exchange, consumers accept that organic foods will be more expensive than traditionally grown alternatives.
Earlier this year, Wal-Mart attempted to defy this logic. The company, along with Wild Oats,its organic supplier, offer an entire organic product line, without the organic price premium. Consumer Reports found that Wal-Mart’s organic products were up to 50% cheaper than comparable products at other supermarkets.
So if paying the price for organic food isn’t in your budget, try Walmart.
2. Dr. Cobb, over at Z-Health Performance Solutions, has come up with something fun I wanted to share. If you’ve been relying on motivation to make changes, rather than training your brain how to NATURALLY start taking the actions you desire, you’re really missing out on what the newest findings in neuroscience are telling us about how change really happens. It’s called a Text Message Exercise Program. If you’re interested in learning more, send me an email and I’ll send you a PDF and link that explains it. Very simple and fun, so hope you’ll ask me more!
3. In his best selling book, Your Best Life Now, Joel Osteen tells the story of a man who traveled across the Atlantic on a cruise, but never ate in the dining hall with the other passengers. At meal time, he went off by himself and ate from a supply of cheese and crackers he brought along with him. Towards the end of the trip another passenger asked him why he didn’t join them in the dining hall for dinner. The man replied that he didn’t have money to purchase the meals, only his ticket. The other passenger was surprised and told him that the meals are already included in the price of the ticket!
Osteen uses this example to point out that often in life we have a banquet hall of opportunity in front of us, yet we settle for the cheese and crackers. I believe, and maybe you do too, that the potential we all have within us is limitless. Yet we use terms like “I wish”, or “I don’t have what it takes,” and give up on our dreams. So as we head into the new year, think about the excuses you are making that prevent you from realizing your potential. The potential is already inside you, just like the banquet on the cruise was already paid for!
Want to know my Number 1 idea for unlocking that potential? Keep reading!
4. “Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has many.” Charles Dickens wrote those words more than 170 years ago. Gratitude is one of the keys to a rich and satisfying life and to unlocking our potential. I often find that gratitude is under-appreciated and cultivating it is largely ignored.
Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California, Davis, is the leading researcher and expert of gratitude. His findings suggest a host of benefits for those who adopt an “attitude of gratitude.” They:
** Have stronger immune systems and are sick less frequently
** Exercise more and take better care of their health
** Sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking
** Feel more alert, alive, and awake
** Experience more joy and pleasure
** Are more optimistic
** Are more forgiving and compassionate
** Feel less loneliness and isolation
When you tilt towards the positive, you’re actually righting a neurological imbalance! Your active effort will internalize positive experiences and heal negative ones.
Maybe you already have a gratitude ritual. If not, going into the new year is a great time to start one.
Some folks like to make it the last act of their day before they head to bed. Or first thing in the morning they jot down three things they are grateful for. Writing in a gratitude journal makes this a very effective and action-oriented ritual. I like to do it first thing in the day as it seems to set my day on the right course with optimism and energy. From what I hear from people who do keep a gratitude journal, it takes about three weeks of an active gratitude practice for them to feel the benefits.
So since it’s morning as I write this, allow me to use this newsletter to express my gratitude to all of you who read Joyinmovement newsletters every month. I get so many emails, even from people who started reading these way back in 2006 when I first started, and I always enjoy hearing from you. I know we all have so many choices about what to read, and ways to spend your time. I always feel so honored when you take the time to contact me with your questions and comments.
Enjoy the rest of 2014 and remember, it’s never too late to find Joy-in-Movement!
shelli
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