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Why “Going To The Gym” Doesn’t Work

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” – John Dryden

The month of February is starting next week. How are you doing with your New Year’s resolution? You know, the one that you are going to “go to the gym” at least three times a week? If you’re like most people, you are already slacking on this. Statistically, over 80% of you are already sliding on this and will be completely…

Worried About 2017? Make A F*ck It List

“Forever trusting who we are, and nothing else matters.” – Metallica, Nothing Else Matters

Another year is in the record books, and a new one is beginning. New Year’s brings an optimism and freshness that is hard to explain, but you know it when you feel it. Many of us start our New Year’s with a list of things that we would like to accomplish over the next 365 days. Some will actually attain…

The Dickens Technique: Lessons From Ebenezer Scrooge

“You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?” “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

It is Christmas week, and many of us will be watching some tried-and-true classic Christmas movies. Perhaps the most notable of all…

Social Media And The Dumbing Down Of America

“The dumbing down of American is most evident in the slow decay of substantive content in the enormously influential media, the 30 second sound bites (now down to 10 seconds or less), lowest common denominator programming, credulous presentations on pseudoscience and superstition, but especially a kind of celebration of ignorance”- Carl Sagan

As a young boy growing up in the highly Roman Catholic…

Amor Fati : How To Live Life On Life’s Terms

“My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it… but love it.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

The nature of being human is to be a thinking, feeling, animal. We continually assess what is going on in our world, both internally and externally. We receive…

The Straight Dope On Dopamine

“Dopamine is released when you accomplish something you set out to accomplish, when you cross something off your to do list, when you hit the goal. Dopamine makes us achievement machines, but we have to know we are making progress.” – Simon Sinek

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter released in the brain that is responsible for a number of functions that makes human life worth living. Some of its more…

Rational Detachment : The Art Of Getting Out Of Your Own Way

“Attachment is the great fabricator of illusions; reality can be obtained only by someone who is detached. ” – Simone Weil

Humans are thinking, reasoning, and reacting beings that navigate through life through a complex interaction of reality, internal dialogue, and situational interpretation. We have emotional existence far more complicated than that of other living creatures. We remember, we…

Animal Magnetism: The Benefits Of Living With Animals

“They show us what’s missing in our lives, and how to love ourselves completely and unconditionally. They connect us back to who we are, and to the purpose of why we’re here.”- Trisha McCagh

For most of mankind’s history, humans have had an intimate connection with animals. Humans lived with animals, relied on animals for food, power, warmth, and fuel. The human species would never have survived…

Depression Hates A Moving Target : 7 Ways To Avoid Being Struck

“If you are in a bad mood go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood go for another walk.” – Hippocrates

Depression is often referred to as “the common cold of mental health issues.” Instances of clinical depression are increasing at the rate of 20% per year and it has a ripple effect across all aspects of a person’s physical, as well as mental, well-being. It has been linked to obesity, heart…

Back To School: Why It’s Not Just For Kids

“To everything there is a season, and a time and purpose for everything under heaven.”-Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

September is here, and with Labor Day, Summer is unofficially over. Autumn can’t be far behind. Autumn, here in New England where I live, is one of the most eventful times of the year. The leaves have already begun to change, and nature is slowly and subtly beginning to do what it always…

The Health Impact Of Gravity

“It’s true that you can’t change your destiny, but still it helps knowing about gravity.” – Kedar Joshi

As residents of planet Earth, we have a love hate relationship with gravity. It is an ever present force, something that we take for granted. We seldom notice it unless we misuse its ever present power. Usually, someone or something falls. We break something important, receive a bump, bruise,…

Suck It Up! : The Science Behind Peak Physical Performance

Suck it up Princess!” – Randy Couture

The human body is the most remarkable machine ever made. It is capable of incredible feats of strength and endurance, is remarkably resilient, and is adaptable to almost anyclimate and condition. The body of the human is far more adaptable and resilient than that of any other animal because of the mind’s incredible capacity to receive feedback from the body…

The Zen Of Being Sedentary

“Mind your actions, as they become you.”-Buddha

In the year 2015, the IHRSA Health Club Consumer Report released statistics on health club memberships in the United States. The statistics, at least on the surface, are quite encouraging. Here are their findings: ⦁ 52.9 million Americans over the age of six have gym or health club memberships. ⦁ 23.2 million Americans are referred to as “core”…

Confirmation Bias : How To Avoid Those Uncomfortable Political Arguments

“How can I be sure in a world that’s constantly changing? How can I be sure?”-Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati, The Young Rascals

This year is developing to be one of the most controversial political years of the past fifty. Americans are trying to select a president, political alliances are changing, gender roles are being redefined, the nature of social relationships are different than ever…

Maximizing The Body Mind Connection

“Where the mind goes, the man follows.”-Proverbs 23:7

For thousands of years human beings have pondered the nature of human existence and the human experience. Because we are thinking beings, historically humans have believedthat we are mind more than body. The mind-body connection is frequently thought of, and believed to be, mind over body, meaning that the mind is more important than the body.…

The Dunning-Kruger Effect And Why It’s More Important Than Ever To Make Up Your Own Mind

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” — Bertrand Russell

Any observation of 21st century culture can’t help but give one the impression that there are a lot of incompetent people in the world doing stupid and often dangerous things. It’s hard to tell if this is some kind of epidemic, man as a species is evolving towards more stupidity,…

Conscious Consumption : Why A Good Diet Isn’t Enough

“You are what you eat.”-John De Cola

I first heard this quote from the French physician Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in the year 1969. At the time I was an impressionable 15-year-old high school sophomore working out at a local gym in Framingham Massachusetts preparing for my first varsity football season. I heard it from John DeCola, the gym owner and 5’8″ human anatomy chart who was working out…