Fifty seven ~ Occupational Health & Safety (OHS)

Watch out!  If you need to be here, put on your hard hat, if you don't need to be here, get out!

When businesses are involved with potentially dangerous situations, they have Occupational Health and Safety Officers to help assess how to minimise the risk of injury.  The OHS team comes up with a set of guidelines designed to protect the well being of all employees.  There are places in this world that should have a sign like "enter at your own risk."

When passing judgement on places we go to, we need to determine if these places are good for us or potentially dangerous.  We need to be in touch with ourselves enough to know what is dangerous and what isn't.  Look at your situation and weigh out each choice.  When we see that we are precious, we will protect ourselves from harmful situations. 

OK, let's get quiet again... do you remember how?  Or are you finding quiet time every day? 

Ask yourself   "What places/things should I really avoid because they drag me down?"

We all do self destructive things.  We have triggers to that self destructive mode.  If we want to be happy, we have to stop doing those things.  Avoid the triggers and steer clear of the negative.  This exercise helps us start to fight our wars with strategy.  It will help us identify things that WE KNOW are not good for us, and then plan how to AVOID THEM.  It's not courageous to pick a fight with the areas of our character that give us the most trouble.  It's much more courageous to admit we have a weakness and plan ways of working around it and avoid having to do battle with it all together.

 Be brave, look closely and carefully at yourself and see what it is that triggers the worst in you or drags you down - then with a great dose of self love and self acceptance - plan ways to avoid your triggers.

 

Warren, S. 2010, 7 Ancient Keys To Happiness, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Fifty six ~ Warning Others

If we do something and it goes bad, we often don't do the same thing again.  That's foolish.  Being a joyful, upbeat person is the opposite of being a fool.  We see the good where it exists, and we also learn to judge the situation well enough to know when to avoid the bad.  We need to learn how to lovingly speak up to help others. 

There are times when we need to speak up and speak negatively about others.  If we know that something is bad or that a certain action can lead to something bad, we do need to speak out and warn them.  We need to tell others about people, places, things that can harm them. 

Since it is such a natural habit to say negative things about people, we find that we have to put in most of our effort to speak positively.  If we can think before we speak, we can be mindful of what we say.  Here are some things to think about before we speak...

• S - SURE - Make sure we saw it first hand, and that we really know what we are talking about.  This step helps us not start false rumors.
• P- POSITIVE - be positive that what we are warning the other person about is really harmful, not just our subjective opinion.
• E - EXPRESS - express our concern to the person whom we want to speak badly about.  Maybe they can correct what they did.  Maybe they have a good explanation for their actions.
• A - ACCURATE - Don't embellish or exaggerate what the person did.  Say it as it is.
• KI - KIND INTENT - Only speak up because we care about the well being of the person who we are warning.  If you speak up for revenge, you are only spreading negative information.
• N - NO OTHER WAY - try to find another way to help the person without having to lower yourself to negativity.
• G - GOOD RESULT -  sharing negative information with others should only be done to affect some positive and good result.  If the person warned will take unfair revenge or action on the person, then we shouldn't warn them.

These can be remembered by their letters - S.P.E.A.KI.N.G.  These 7 steps are our way of knowing when we need to judge another person and pass down the verdict to warn others.

1. If you are sharing this bookwork with a friend, then get your friend to test you to see if you can recall what SPEAKING stands for.  Otherwise, test yourself.
2. Before you say something negative about another person today, try and review the SPEAKING steps and see if it is really a worthwhile action.

This exercise can clarify those murky situations when we don't want to lower ourselves to speak negatively about others.  It may be a challenge to remember all seven, but practice helps. 

Warren, S. 2010, 7 Ancient Keys To Happiness, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Fifty five ~ The Verdict

We've heard the charge, we've seen the evidence and we've looked at it from their point of view to find reason.  Now what?  What should we do with all of this information?

If we have found the defendant to be mentally ill, we may just decide to avoid them.  If this person happens to be a family member, then this probably isn't the answer.  As a family member, it may be our place to step in and put the hurt feelings aside and assist the defendant.  Maybe we need to assist them in getting professional help.

Judging a case takes a lot of wisdom.  And our verdict must be fair.  When judging a case it is necessary to keep our feelings of revenge or hatred out of the way.  We need to try and keep our problem solving hat on and come up with a decision that is good for everyone.  Each verdict must be specific to the evidence involved, not our personal feelings.

When we want to live a life of joy and contentment we pursue seeing the good, and simultaneously we guard ourselves and others from elements that could damage us.  This is an important principle, because purely concentrating on the good things without guarding doesn't work.  It is like growing a vegetable garden and not putting a fence around it and letting the sheep, cows, goats, etc to have free range of our garden.  It is inevitable that the garden will be destroyed and all our hard work wasted.  Likewise if we put a lot of effort into cultivating a positive attitude, a good eye and an open and loving heart, we need to protect ourselves from people and things that will destroy this.

Take a look at your life and reflect... Are there people I associate with that take me away or drag me down from being positive, happy and giving?

Identify anyone that drags you down.  Make sure its because the other person is a negative influence in your life, not because of your own inner challenges of being able to see the good in others.  Then assess whether this is a relationship that has potential.   Take a good look at it.  If the relationship is the type that has no potential, then make an objective, informed and fair decision on how to limit/remove this negative drain on your life. 

Look objectively and honestly at the people in your life.  You need to do this in order to decide which relationships to bring closer because they enhance your life and which relationships to draw away from because they will cause you pain and suffering if you continue to associate with them.

Warren, S. 2010, 7 Ancient Keys To Happiness, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Energy Drinks

en·er·gy

[en-er-jee] Show IPA  noun, plural en·er·gies.

 

1.  the capacity for vigorous activity; available power: I eat chocolate to get quick energy.

 

2.  an adequate or abundant amount of such power: I seem to have no energy these days.

 

3.  Often, energies. a feeling of tension caused or seeming to be caused by an excess of such power: to work off one's energies at tennis.

 

4.  an exertion of such power: She plays tennis with great energy.

 

5.  the habit of vigorous activity; vigor as a characteristic: Foreigners both admire and laugh at American energy.

 

The energy drinks out there on the market are full of high doses of caffeine and other stimulants that you can't even pronounce.  And what are these stimulants?  And why do they stimulate you?  And it seems to be the cure for anything... you can succeed at work, sports, school, everything. 

There are warning labels on a lot of these drinks that they should not be taken by kids under 12, or people that are pregnant or nursing.  Big question.... why?  Why can I drink it but not a 10 year old?  And why can a 10 year old buy it, if he shouldn't drink it?  

These drinks that they are selling to "help you" can actually harm you?  There has been a lot of bad press around these drinks, even deaths.  

Let's get back to nature's energy drinks.  We are given plenty of natural fruits and vegetables that can provide us with good healthy energy, if we can just take the time to make one.  Not only will they provide us with energy, they will cleanse us and provide natural antioxidants to keep us in a healthier state.

How bout an energy drink that tastes great and provides our body with only good things.

Fruit & Yogurt Energy Drink ~ serves 2

1 banana

1 mango

1 teaspoon coconut

1/2 cup pineapple

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 tablespoon honey

Peel banana, peel and remove pit from mango, add pineapple and other ingredients and blend well.  You can substitute any fruits in this combination to change it up a bit.  If you like smoothies, add a handful of ice to the blender.  Serve and enjoy!

Bananas are full of fiber that helps keep digestion regular and helps maintain low blood sugar and curb overeating.  With a high amount of potassium, if can help lower blood pressure and prevents weakening of the bones.

Mangoes have high antioxidants to help protect against colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers.  They help in lowering cholesterol, clear clogged pores , high in vitamin A which promotes good eyesight and helps with normalizing insulin levels.

Coconut has re-vitalizing properties that are easily absorbed into the body and used for energy.  Coconut is a great gut cleanser and helps your body fight off infection.  Coconut can boost thyroid function which is essential for metabolism and energy production. 

Pineapples are packed with vitamins and minerals to promote good health.  Rich in vitamin C, it can help fight off viruses that cause cough and colds.  Strenghtening bones, healthy gums, and alleviating arthritis are other benefits of pineapple.

Fifty four ~ 50/50

"The evidence is in (she lied to me).  The defendant has given a pretty good defense (she said she didn't really say it, and that I misunderstood) but really nothing is conclusive, how am I supposed to judge this one?"

When we are in doubt, it is best to give them the benefit of the doubt.  If we really can't find any solid conclusive evidence then we should just dismiss the case.  Perhaps we will get more clarity or proof at a later date, then we can take another look at the case and go from there.  Dropping the case now is better than dragging something on and on that you just cant prove. On the other hand, if the case really is invalid, then you did the right thing.  It isn't fair to hold something against someone when you aren't even positive that it actually happened.  Just let it go.

Is there an unfulfilled relationship/friendship you are currently in?  Are you still unsure if someone did something and holding a grudge against them just because you don't know what else to do?  Take the time today to get the facts and make a decision today.  Stop dragging it out, do it now.

People deserve the decency of being treated fairly and lovingly.  Get the facts and deliver the verdict. 

Warren, S. 2010, 7 Ancient Keys To Happiness, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform