do it yourself FREEDOM

Impacts: Mind, Health, Home, Work, Money, Community, Time

“As the soil, however rich it may be, cannot be productive without cultivation, so the mind without culture can never produce good fruit.” – Seneca

We all need time to relax and rest our minds. We also must have opportunities to play and challenge ourselves physically and mentally. These recreational activities are often fulfilled by what is more accurately defined as entertainment in our modern culture. Things like television, movies, video games, the internet, listening to music, and the use of intoxicants often serve as the mechanisms for facilitating modern entertainment; and this is a problem.

The problem is that when we choose activities that give us little opportunity for personal growth we are using our time unwisely. If we were to choose activities that exercise the mind and/or body while we are relaxing or having fun we begin earn back time to live quality lives. We also give ourselves the opportunity to grow and/or improve our health. Every time we spend our time being proactive and productive we move closer to realizing more personal freedom.

Take Action

• Read instead of watching television.
• Play music instead of listening to music.
• Write or read online instead of just surfing or gaming.
• Avoid intoxicants.

Impacts: Mind, Health, Home, Work, Money, Community, Time

“When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.” – Thomas Jefferson

“Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.” – John F. Kennedy

“I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.” -  Abraham Lincoln

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” – Buddha

“Peace is more important than all justice; and peace was not made for the sake of justice, but justice for the sake of peace.” – Martin Luther

“War is the greatest plague that can affect humanity; it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it.” – Martin Luther

“Though the bamboo forest is dense, water flows through it freely.” – Zen proverb

The main problem with choosing to resolve differences through conflict is that the final cost is incalculable at the onset. This is because it is not known what the opposition will bring to the table or what responses will be required. This is true for every kind of conflict from arguments at home, to lawsuits, to world wars.

When the final cost is incalculable it’s impossible to know if choosing to resolve the difference through conflict will turn out to be positive or negative. It’s like jumping off a cliff without knowing the height of the fall. It could be a street curb or the grand canyon. The risk is only acceptable if you know the final cost.

The only certainty is that the conflict will cost money, time, energy, and sometimes lives. This is why conflicts of all kinds should be avoided. Conflicts by their nature involve accepting unknown amounts of risk and gambling without knowing the rules of the game.

The people who enjoy or profit from conflict will always advocate war, legal battles, and incite arguments. Some do it for sport and others for profit. It is also easy to get sucked into conflicts so the next time it happens to you try to step back and consider the potential benefits and costs and look for other ways to resolve the difference.

On a larger scale try to always vote for the elected officials who put war after diplomacy and social services before defense budgets. Governments wield enormous amounts of power and can spend money we don’t have at extremely fast rates. The world will be a better place to live when we can choose people to represent us in government who recognize that war and conflict is not the best way to bring us peace, prosperity, stability and freedom.

Take Action

• Be like a duck.
• When opportunities for conflict arise look for ways both sides can walk away with a win.
• Find alternative ways of dealing with anger. We often get enticed into conflict by our own feelings.
• Be on the lookout for those that like to stir things up. Avoid these people.

Impacts: Health, Home, Work, Money, Community

“Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth.” Henry David Thoreau

“What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?” – Henry David Thoreau

By burning less I mean everything from cars to lawn movers to cigarettes to fireplaces, yep anything on fire. Every time you choose to burn less you reduce your carbon footprint which immediately makes positive improvements to the environment and indirectly to your health.

We often don’t think about the stuff we burn. In fact most of us probably don’t realize how much is burned for us to bring us the things we want. Coal is now generating about half the electricity in America. Our cars and homes burn up the majority of the fuel we use. But it goes far beyond these things. Lets take the banana you ate at breakfast this morning. It was probably imported and traveled thousands of miles on a ship that burned fuel the whole way to America. Once it arrived more fuel was burned up in the truck that brought it to the brightly lit air-conditioned store where you bought it. Your choice of paper or plastic is such a minimal issue compared to the rest it always makes me laugh when they ask me. I usually ask myself why am I buying this fruit from across the globe.

I’m not trying to get all crazy here; I’m just pointing out a simple truth that we don’t often think about when we answer the bag question. Everything in our modern world requires energy that usually comes from burning a fossil fuel. I bet once we run out of gas our carbon impact will be reduced for us and all the problems of global warming and pollution will be solved. We’ll have a few bigger problems.

Until that happens the benefits of burning less are cleaner air and water and an immediate reduced dependence on combustible fuels. Switching to renewable clean energy sources and reducing your consumption of energy all together reduces a burden that impedes your freedom everyday. Burning less means you spend less too. Fossil fuels are still a relatively inexpensive source of energy but every time you choose to burn less you save more, which will always give you more freedom.

Take Action

• Drive less, carpool, take mass transit.
• Bike and walk more.
• Shop in small local stores that sell locally made products and food.
• Only in-season produce from farmers’ markets.
• Use less electricity and heating fuels in you home.
• Insulate you home.
• Add passive solar features to your home.
• Move to a more temperate climate.
• Move closer to work.
• Consider careers that permit working from home.
• Travel less.
• Vacation closer to home.

Impacts: Mind, Health, Home, Work, Money, Community, Time

“Procrastination is the thief of time.” – Edward Young

When you choose to live life strategically you quickly realize that time is the most limited commodity. Achieving goals requires a plan, action, a little luck and most importantly time. Much of our lives is spent doing things that don’t move us forward, but simply help us tread water. Finding ways to spend the time you have more carefully will give you back potentially wasted time.

Sometimes you have to get creative and find ways of catching two birds with one net. When you procrastinate it’s like tossing your net on the ground and wishing the bird into it, which won’t catch you any birds. Procrastination is more than wasting time it’s the complete denial of progress and because it’s mostly in your head it’s an incredibly behavior to overcome.

Confronting yourself and getting things off your mental back burner should become one of your top priorities. As you begin to bring them forward, work through and resolve them you’ll feel an enormous lightening of stress and weight. This very fact should shed a little light on how much these back burner tasks were a burden.

Learning to procrastinate less will propel you forward because you’re not just saving time, you’re saving your peace of mind. You’re removing the cancer lingering suppressed thoughts grow in your mind.

Exercise

• Confront your procrastination. Make a list of the things on your back burner.
• Prioritize the list based on the level of stress these things cause you.
• Post the list somewhere you’ll see it often, on your desk, by your bed, etc. Don’t do this to torture yourself. Do it to remind yourself and help your self feel better because you’re at least being honest with yourself about your back burner projects.
• Work the list from least stressful to most stressful. Build momentum with the easiest stuff.
• Cross items off as you complete them, leave the list up as motivation.

Impacts: Mind, Health, Community, Time

“If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them.” – Francis Bacon

“He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.” – Buddha

Focusing your time and energy on anything that doesn’t move your forward is often a waste of time but more importantly it’s a mental distraction. The only thing you might benefit from is learning something from another person’s mistake. If you can leave it at that you’ve done yourself a favor. If you spend time dwelling on them, judging them, it does no one any good. It also leave you feeling negative. It might even make others feel negative which is definitely counterproductive if you have need to maintain a relationship with them.

But none of us are immune to passing judgment on others. We all do it from time to time. The trick to moving this out of your life is to simply recognize when you’re doing it and choosing to slow down and stop.

Gossip is usually one of the most common ways we get sucked up into judging others. Gossip might bring one group of people together but drives a division between you and the judged. The glue used to form the relationship with the gossipers is not very lasting either and often leads to more trouble. Choosing to judge less brings people closer together, empowers everyone, and increases everyone’s self esteem.

Take Action

• Avoid gossip in conversation and publications.
• Avoid tabloids.
• Watch for situations where other people are being judged and try not to take part in those conversations. If possible try to redirect the conversation.
• Be mindful of your own thoughts and catch yourself when you begin to judge.
• Find a way of staying on the right side of the thin line between having an opinion and casting judgment.
• Remember the person who benefits most from judging less is you, then the judged.

Impacts: Mind, Health, Home, Work, Money, Community, Time

“A house is not a home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo da Vinci

The space you occupy will bring you more peace if it’s clean and organized. This can be physical space like your home, metal space like your calendar, and virtual space like your computer. In fact you can apply the concept of space to anything around you that you have some control over. If you spend time in places you have no ability to control it’s even more important to focus time and energy on spaces that are not in chaos.

When your space is chaotic it’s much harder to focus and you’ll find it more difficult to relax and feel at peace. Organizing more helps you think clearer and be more proactive in moving your life in the direction you want. Chaos will work against you.

Time is well spent when you organize more because it pays you back dividends in quality time. You’ll find yourself working more efficiently. You’ll find yourself wasting time less. You’ll feel better and be able to think clearer.

Take Action

• De-Clutter -  It’s easier to organize when there is are fewer things to deal with.
• Downsize – We’re like fish, we grow to the size of our tanks. Unlike fish we can shrink our possessions and fit into more efficient spaces.
• Organize – Find a place for everything. Put you stuff away after every use.
• Avoid Storage – Even free storage comes with a mental tax.

Impacts: Health, Community

“The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and the laborer… form the great body of the people of the United States, they are the bone and sinew of the country men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and equal laws.” – Andrew Jackson

Eating local provides several life improving benefits. Locally produced food tends to be higher quality and competitively priced. You also end up supporting the local economy which in the end makes the entire community stronger. Many communities have local farmers’ markets that operate year round support local small farms and not large corporate or foreign farms.

Another good source of local food is often local markets and independent grocery stores. But it’s important to ask the people that run the market about where the food comes from since out of season produce often comes from overseas.

Eating local also implies eating less manufactured food products which in turn means fewer preservatives and ingredients. It also implies you’re saving money on less packaging since the local farmer isn’t likely to shrink wrap their fresh produce.

Take Action

• Find the closest farmers market and try to visit it as often as you can. localharvest.org
• Find small local markets that sell locally grown foods.
• Find other people who like to garden and share your harvests.
• Start a little garden yourself, even if it’s just herbs in the kitchen window.

Impacts: Mind, Health, Home, Work, Money, Community, Time

“Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it thousands of times.” – Mark Twain

I don’t think anyone can honestly say that smoking has more benefits than draw backs. When you choose to smoke less you instantly remove several external limiting forces.

Your bank account will instantly have more money in it. Your health with start to improve. The second hand smoke you are not exhaling will also help to improve the health of people around you. I could go on but you get the point.

Like most addictions smoking is hard to kick, but like most addictions, overcoming them tends always seems to give us back something we’ve lost. Any addiction for example, no matter how mild, will always have an affect on the decisions we make. Some are grosely visible to the naked eye, others more subtle. But on our minds they all take a huge toll. Smoking less is simply one of those things that can instantly improve life.

Also notice that I’m not saying quit smoking. Sometimes going cold turkey is the only way we can really change ourselves but I think more often slow change works better in the long term. So the next time you light up think about that cigarette and smoking less. Try choosing to smoke it later. In any case every small step you take that moves you forward is a step worth taking. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t take big steps, just keep taking small ones.

Take Action

• Cut back. If you smoke two packs try one. If you smoke during breaks, try doing something else during breaks like a walk around the block.
• Pick up cigarette butts you see on the street. Don’t forget to wash you hands. Yuck!
• Get professional help.

Impacts: Mind, Health, Community

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very fast.” – Thomas Jefferson

I bet some smart mathematician could calculate the number of pounds America has gained as a result of the invention of the remote control. Many of us live sedentary lives. We drive everywhere, we sit on sofas, we sit at desks, we lay in bed. We can have just about everything we want delivered to our homes. Even trips to the mall are becoming passe with the ease and simplicity of shopping online. I’m not complaining, I make good money building my little part of the Internet from my desk, but finding reasons to move more seems to be an even increasing challenge.

The idea is simple, get off your butt and do something, anything. I can be as simple as a daily walk with the dig or a family walk after dinner, but whatever it is make it a routine. Build a habit by making a point to do it everyday. Walk to lunch. Walk to a friend’s house. Find fun nearby places to go. Buy a bike. Pick up a sport. You could even join a club but most people seem to never go anyway so you might be better off just walking the dog.

The more you move the more your health will improve. Our bodies need exercise and most of us seem to be having trouble finding time to move more. By creating creative ways of getting off our butts we will begin to see improvements in our health. After a while you’ll even notice you like it. You’ll also notice initially that its really hard to make it a habit because you’ll be looking for that instant gratification like weight loss. Try not to put that pressure on yourself, just keep going and enjoy it. Remember watched pots do boil they just seem like they take forever to get there. Stop watching your pot, keep it moving.

Take Action

• Walk more. Find good reasons to go for a walk like walking the dog, walking with the kids, walking to nearby stores, parks, schools.
• Make moving a habit. Choose a time everyday that makes sense to get out of the house.
• Bicycles cover more distance faster. If your frequent destinations, stores, parks, school, are too far to walk to, try riding a bike there.

Impacts: Health, Money, Time

“In general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.” – Benjamin Franklin

Americans probably have the largest selection of food choices of anyone on the planet, and it shows. We’ve got the best and the worst. Ironically it all costs about the same so choosing to eat better has very little to do with money.

For example I probably ate the healthiest food when I was a starving artist. I simply couldn’t afford to eat out or buy a lot of meat, cheese, desserts, sodas, or booze. I ate a lot of rice, beans, soups, breads, vegetables, and fruit. As I became more successful my diet ironically went down hill. It’s only recently that I’ve started to realize the benefits of eating better again.

Like most living organisms change in our bodies happens slowly. But we’ve grown accustomed to instant gratification which is probably what’s made dieting and fast food so popular. The idea of simply choosing to eat better gradually over time seems ineffective on the surface. But when you take a step back and realize that succumbing to instant gratification tends to distract your attention from long term benefits you begin to realize that dieting doesn’t work and that long term lifestyle change is the only thing that works.

Your health is a major key to protecting your personal freedom. Food is simply one of the little things you can control that significantly impacts your health. Eating better means making a conscious shift in the way you think about food and choosing to adopt a healthier diet for life.

Take Action

• Avoid hydrogenated oils (including partially hydrogenated oils), sugar, high fructose corn syrup, enriched and bleached flour.
• Avoid processed foods especially those with ingredients you can’t pronounce which tend to be preservatives.
• Avoid meats grown with hormones.
• Avoid over eating.
• Avoid fast food or at least avoid the worst stuff on the menu.
• Avoid eating out, cook more at home.