Don't Let Yourself Go

Have you read a book or participated in a physical activitylately? I had no idea how soft I was getting mentally andphysically. Stop and look at yourself. You see what I'm talkingabout but do not want to believe what you see. I am right onpoint concerning this matter for most of us. Think about it andbe honest with yourself. I want you to stop here and take aminute to assess you mental and physical state on a scale of 1 to10. Time's up, anything less than an honest 5 and you need tomake a mental note to yourself as I have done. My mental note wassimply to remind myself as I get older do not stop challengingthe mind and keep the body physically active. For those of youwho are physically and mentally fit, you may opt out at thispoint or possibly learn something, even feel free to move on toanother article or just stick around.What I mean by soft is the lack of mental or physical endurance Iused to have is just not there. I'm not talking about running a5K race or studying for your CPA exam, just an improvement in thefrequency of engagement in a mentally and physically challengingactivity. This will require a few basic preparation steps,because you are the only one that can change your currentbehavior that allowed the softness to prevail.You have already started by simply getting this far in thearticle; next step is to break down your day and select times forsimple mental and physical activity. I started on the mental partfirst by creating a brainstormed list of subject matter I wantedto read about or research. The brainstorm list for mentalactivity was all over the place and included improving myInternet business skills, professional education, learn a newlanguage, mystery and science fiction books, and self-improvementwebsites and on-line forums. My commitment was to read for atleast 15 minutes each day on one of the chosen items on my list.I found at the beginning I read books of interest such as Birdsof Prey by Wilbur Smith and Sahara by Clive Cussler. After awhile, 15 minutes was nothing, and I actually found my vocabularywas growing. Another part of the reading effort was to write downwords I did not understand or know the meaning of. I kept thesein a notebook that I regularly refer to and make myself find outthe definition. Usually I have the word and book it was fromreferenced--not always for some people; this may be a littlemuch. Here is my latest word: Turgid.I have been in the mental activity groove regularly for 5 monthsnow and can definitely tell a difference in my mental sharpnessand attention span, not to mention I am actually learning newwords and using them.Onto physical activity...this will be up to you to get out of thechair, off the couch and computer. Get outside and do somethingbesides trim and mow the lawn. You know your physicallimitations, and I do not want to attempt to promote somethingbeyond your capabilities. Just some level of physical activityengagement. There are chair aerobics, go for a walk, ride a bike,go visit a neighbor, play basketball with the kids or even jointhe local health club. Again, brainstorm and create a list ofphysical activities you can perform, start slow, check with yourdoctor and begin. I started last week by committing to a localhealth club three times a week to do treadmill and machineresistance work. One week in and I'm on my third trip to thegym. Guess what, I'm actually looking forward to going; soon youwill also.Kent Jacobson, a.k.a. "Mr. Success" is a trusted authority in thesuccess field and provides valuable success information for freethrough his website at: http://www.Shortcut2Success.com . You canalso read Kent's Success Blog to find more success secrets at:http://www.Shortcut2Success.com/blog