Participants: Don Mackintosh (Host), Vicki Griffin
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL000205
00:01 The following program presents principles
00:03 designed to promote good health 00:04 and is not intended to take the place of 00:06 personalized professional care. The opinions 00:09 and ideas expressed are those of the speaker. 00:12 Viewers are encouraged to draw their own 00:14 conclusions about the information presented. 00:49 Hello and welcome to 'Health For A Lifetime'. 00:51 I'm your host Don Mackintosh 00:52 and today we are delighted to have 00:54 Vicki Griffin with us. She is the Director for 00:57 the Health Department. Her Lifestyle Matters 00:59 in Michigan Conference of Seventh-Day Adventist 01:02 and she has the staff that works with her to 01:03 put together all kinds of different materials 01:06 to help people with their nutritional, 01:08 their health needs and we're glad you are with 01:10 us today Vicki. Thank you. Now you give a lot 01:12 of speeches, you give a lot of talks, 01:14 you go to lot of groups, you motivate people 01:16 and you share things from a context of a 01:18 personal testimony. Right. You know you were always 01:22 doing this; you started out kind of an 01:25 interesting background. That is correct, 01:28 and that's probably why I'm so interested 01:30 in these kinds of topics because I know 01:32 what they do for me personally. 01:33 You were, you told me before you struggled 01:35 with Bulimia, you struggled with the 01:37 eating disorder for many years. 01:38 Twenty years from age 11 to age 31 01:41 and I was a runway and involved in all kinds 01:45 of aberrant behavior and attitudes. 01:48 But the Lord gave you victory? 01:49 He did. And you know that the things can 01:52 change for people? I know that they can change. 01:54 So, what we wanna talk about today is how 01:56 to set and then sustain your most important 02:00 goals, how to set goals? I mean you 02:01 didn't have any goals. You didn't have a 02:03 father or mother sitting there saying 02:05 this is what you need to do and why not in the 02:07 regular sense and so some how that happen 02:10 and you have seven steps that you share 02:12 in different venues whether it's graduations 02:15 from health programs or different things. 02:17 You want to share those seven steps that are, 02:19 I guess really tell your story too. 02:22 Well in a way they do, but I just really resonate 02:25 with people that have trouble maintaining 02:28 their goals. People struggle, 54% of 02:32 Americans at any given moment are on a diet, 02:34 but how well do those diet stick. 02:36 Not they were a proponent of dieting 02:40 per se, but people make goals all of the, 02:43 they set goals all of the time. 02:44 They have trouble sustaining the most 02:46 important goals for their life, so we have gone 02:49 in and we have taken a look over several years 02:51 to find out what are the factors involve, 02:53 the principles. The principles of long term 02:55 success for staying with a journey thick or 02:58 thin to achieve your most important goals. 03:00 Okay so let's take a look at some of those. 03:02 The first one you talk about is to Stay Focused. 03:06 Talk to us about that. How do you stay focused? 03:08 Right. How do you say your goal stay focused? 03:10 Why we have chosen this as number one. 03:13 One of the reasons that we have chosen this 03:14 topic as one of the primary things to 03:19 think about is that when a person develops 03:21 an addiction or bad habit or bad pattern. 03:23 They actually lose the, their ability to focus 03:27 on different things and so they become overly 03:30 focused on that, the bad thing they are doing, 03:32 on that one destructive thing and they lose 03:34 the ability to, to be engaged in other kinds of 03:38 mental and physical processes and so 03:40 everything deteriorates in the life and so 03:42 learning how to focus on a positive goal 03:45 and staying with that goal helps to prevent 03:48 relapse, it helps to build structurally into the 03:51 life and into the character those elements 03:54 that are going to guarantee long term 03:56 success, so focus is a very important thing. 03:58 So, how do you do that though? 03:59 I mean you talk about staying focused to say, 04:01 it's easy to say to someone to stay focus, 04:03 right, but how do you develop focus? 04:05 Well there was a study done with Harvard 04:07 Business Millionaires those who graduate from 04:10 Harvard Business School that became millionaires. 04:12 Those that became millionaires 04:15 had written down their short and long term goals. 04:19 They knew where they were going 04:21 and they knew the steps as to how they were 04:23 going to get there. And when they do that, 04:24 what age? They did it, when they enter school 04:27 they had a goal, they had a priority, 04:28 they set it. They did not let the daily 04:31 distractions of life take them away 04:35 and help them, keep them from losing sight 04:38 of those larger goals. So the way to stay 04:40 focused is to look at the, into the eye 04:42 or look into the row to keep the eye on 04:45 whatever it is and just not let the other things 04:48 get in the way. You want to get up in the trees 04:49 and look at the big picture and that's 04:51 something is very, very difficult for some of us 04:53 to do. Some people that are, that are emotion 04:56 based, they are so, they sort of look at situations 04:59 and react. Some writers talk about 05:01 response ability. So we have the ability to 05:04 respond to our daily situations, but 05:07 we can never let the daily vicissitudes, 05:10 ups and downs of life detour us from the 05:13 larger goals that we have, the priorities 05:17 that we have set in life. Whatever the priority 05:19 is that, that is very, very important. 05:21 So it's like the, the old story about the rabbit 05:23 and the tortoise. You know that were racing 05:26 and the tortoise just kept going straight 05:28 to the things slowly, but surely. 05:30 There is an Irish saying that if you go slower 05:32 you will get there faster and that is really true. 05:35 When you appreciate what your larger 05:37 goals are, then every activity that you engage 05:40 in during the day is it becomes an achievement 05:44 rather than just something that you do. 05:46 And so everything that you do in your life 05:48 is going to promote that larger goal. 05:52 Setting a realistic expectations you talked 05:55 about the, this is the second one. 05:57 First one stay focused, set realistic 05:59 expectations. Right. Some people, 06:00 I know these Harvard millionaires is this 06:03 realistic to set the goal I, well one thing 06:06 that, that I would like to, I think I wanna be 06:07 a millionaire. Right well one thing I wanna 06:10 backup just a moment we have a couple of 06:11 examples in the Bible that are really 06:13 important. It says that Jesus set his face stead 06:16 fastly toward Jerusalem. He was going to 06:18 the Cross. He was going into a challenge. 06:20 Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile 06:23 himself with the, with the delicacies of the 06:28 King's table. That's right and it actually means 06:30 he gave his heart to it. Now both of these men 06:33 were facing very negative situations 06:36 they were facing challenges and what, 06:38 when we lose our focus we are trying to 06:41 avert pain, we are trying to find an easier 06:43 path, we are trying to find some shortcut 06:45 and there is no shortcut. We have got to 06:47 understand that the process of working 06:51 through obstacles and meeting challenges 06:53 and meeting pain and dealing with stress 06:56 and all of those things is part of the building 06:59 block to meeting your larger goals. 07:01 We cannot escape the fact that there are challenges 07:04 and obstacles. If it, if it will. If it wasn't hard 07:08 it wouldn't be worth working toward. 07:10 Okay that's part of staying focused then 07:12 what about realistic expectations? 07:14 Well the key to staying motivated 07:16 and this is where people just fall off of their, 07:18 their lifestyle plans. They fall off of their 07:20 goals to read more books or to turn 07:22 the TV off. Part of staying motivated 07:24 is setting realistic expectations. 07:26 I have people come to my office and they say 07:28 you know I, I realize that I need to lose 07:30 a 150 pounds, so from here on now from this 07:33 day forward I'm only gonna have a half a cup 07:35 of oat milk for breakfast and six peeled grapes. 07:38 I'm gonna walk 10 miles a day and this, 07:40 if you take into consideration their 07:42 past history and where they are right now. 07:44 This is a very unrealistic expectation 07:46 they are not likely to be able to follow through 07:49 with that, so it's extremely important 07:52 to make your goals to, to code them off 07:56 in little bite size pieces, so that 07:59 you can experience daily victories. 08:01 And, so realistic expectation, yes 08:04 achieving a small goal, achieving a small goal 08:07 is much more valuable than brooding over 08:09 impossible dreams. Okay. So that's an important 08:13 thing, so for instance, if you know that 08:14 you have a particular problem with your, 08:17 with being impatient or with sweets or whatever 08:20 that particular problems is. You set a 08:22 realistic goal that you are going to achieve, 08:24 in other words you, you are striving for 08:26 excellence not absolute perfection in this area 08:29 because you will become disappointed. 08:31 So what you are doing is you are striving 08:34 for continually making better choices, 08:37 so that you are actually building your brain 08:39 in the process and your brain is developing 08:41 resiliency, it's developing new tools, 08:44 new resources for handling challenges and 08:47 change in bite size pieces. You have heard 08:51 this saying, it's, it's hard by the yard, 08:53 it's a trial by the mile. Hard by the yard, 08:56 cinch by the inch and sweeter by the 08:58 millimeter, okay, and so. So setting a realistic 09:03 expectation of what you can and cannot 09:05 accomplish is very very important 09:08 element of long term success. 09:10 Okay so number one was stay focus, 09:11 number two set realistic expectations 09:14 and then our third one was to expect challenges. 09:19 Expect challenges. Or expect, right, challenges 09:23 okay yeah I mean this is pretty logical. 09:25 You are not gonna just behind 09:27 something on the silver platter. 09:28 But people that, people that want to do well. 09:32 It's so easy to just want everything 09:35 to be perfect and mistake free 09:37 and perfectly polished and it's so easy to get 09:40 discouraged, when it doesn't turnout 09:41 just exactly the way you want. When you, 09:44 when you haven't handled yourself in that 09:46 board meeting exactly the way that you know 09:48 that you are. When haven't taken the, 09:50 the steps with your lifestyle that you know 09:53 that you opt it. It can actually eclipse 09:56 improvements that you are making 09:58 and so remember with Thomas Edison, 10:00 he learned a thousand ways in order to make 10:02 a light bulb. So it's very important if you make 10:05 a mistake not to give up, but to get up. 10:09 That's so very very important turn 10:11 your mistakes into victories. 10:13 Now you are the mother of two, yes, 10:15 and you know probably have tried to help 10:18 them stay focused as well as set realistic goals 10:22 and you know given them little tasks, right, 10:25 to do that had challenges. What kind of things 10:26 that you have your kids do they were learning 10:28 these kinds of lessons as they were growing up? 10:30 Oh! Well I remember our son Anthony 10:33 when he was younger, he had a real Math 10:36 Anxiety and he had a lot of trouble with some 10:40 Math concepts and it used to create so much 10:43 emotional tension with him that 10:46 he couldn't work on the problem, 10:47 and so as he got a little older. 10:49 We didn't want him to become entrenched 10:52 in negative thinking and to just become 10:55 a defeatist about this, so we, his father 10:58 is a pilot and so we got him interested 11:01 in flying and when you are learning to fly 11:03 the thrill of flying and the thrill of being 11:07 behind those instruments is a great motivator 11:10 for learning the Math calculations and so, 11:14 so just switching the way that we think 11:17 about a challenge can actually 11:19 help us to surround him. 11:20 So, you have gave him some things to do 11:21 maybe simulator things and little things that 11:23 were small things going towards that 11:25 and then your daughter what do you ever 11:27 do take piano, violin, orchestra or what? 11:29 She did all of those things and, and, 11:31 and they learned how to master difficulties. 11:33 I mean some of these things have challenges 11:36 in them. I mean playing the violin, 11:37 playing the piano can be challenging. 11:39 It's very hard and both of our children 11:40 took violin. Jennie took violin and piano 11:43 and one time one of the children was complaining 11:46 about how difficult it was, especially violin 11:49 you have to just get it just write 11:50 and the teacher said if it wasn't hard everybody 11:54 would be doing it and she was challenging him. 11:56 She was challenging him to accept the fact 12:01 that good things are hard and it's worth 12:03 working toward. So, I mean this is just a part 12:05 of good parenting too. It's not just 12:06 for yourself, but for others to help them stay 12:08 focused, realistic goals, but then kind of break 12:12 it up and help them learn how to deal 12:15 with challenges in small increments. 12:17 Well that's why they have musicians that 12:19 do scales. You know when you are first 12:21 learning how to cook health food. 12:22 You don't go and try to cook a Gourmet meal. 12:24 You learn how to cook beans and you learn 12:25 how to make a burrito and you learn 12:28 how to make a fruit salad. 12:30 You don't go in and try to do some impossible dish. 12:34 Yeah I'm still right there. I mean those are 12:36 kind of challenging for me I'm still working 12:38 on the popcorn recipe. So expect the challenges. 12:41 Okay so what's your next one? 12:43 So for instance, let me just give you a personal 12:45 example. Alright. I love landscaping, 12:47 but I don't know how to do it. And so what I, 12:50 what I, where I started, where I was tempted 12:53 to start was just to give up and be discouraged 12:56 just I would look at these glorious magazines 12:58 with these great pictures and I want my yard 13:00 to look like that, but where I started 13:01 was with a very small budget and a few seeds 13:04 and finding somebody at the local nursery. 13:06 They can give me a little bit of advice 13:08 and so you start with the little piece of land 13:10 and you do just a little bit and it builds 13:12 your ability and our whole message 13:15 it's not the starting or the finishing 13:18 that's not the glory. The glory is in the journey. 13:22 It's in staying with the program as 13:24 you continue to learn and improve. 13:26 We're talking with Vicki Griffin. 13:28 We're talking about how to set and achieve 13:30 realistic goals join us when we come back. 13:35 Are you confused about the endless stream 13:37 of new and often contradictory health 13:40 information with companies trying to sell 13:42 new drugs and special interest groups paying 13:45 for studies that spin the fact, where can you find 13:47 a common sense approach to health. 13:50 One way is to ask for your free copy of 13:52 Dr. Arnott's 24 realistic ways to improve your 13:55 health. Dr. Timothy Arnott and the Lifestyle 13:57 Center of America produced this helpful 13:59 booklet of 24 short practical health tips 14:02 based on scientific research and the Bible 14:05 that will help you live longer, happier 14:07 and healthier. For example, did you know 14:10 that women who drink more water lower 14:12 the risk of heart attack or the 7 to 8 hours 14:14 of sleep a night can minimize your risk of ever 14:17 developing diabetes. Find out how to lower your 14:20 blood pressure and much more if you're looking 14:22 for help not hike, then this booklet is for you. 14:24 Just log on to 3abn.org and click on free offers 14:28 or call us during regular business hours, 14:30 you'll be glad you did. 14:34 Welcome back we are glad you are with us 14:36 on the Health for a Lifetime. 14:37 Today, we are talking about things that seem 14:39 simple to many people and perhaps they 14:41 seem simplistic to you, but they really 14:44 are essential. We're talking with Vicki Griffin. 14:47 We are talking about setting goals 14:49 and then achieving those goals and you know 14:51 some of these things seem pretty simple that 14:52 we gone through how to stay focused, 14:54 set realistic expectations, and 14:56 expect challenges. You know that we are 14:58 going through this list of how to set 15:00 and achieve goal. But really I mean 15:02 as you think about it when I think about these 15:05 things they seem so simple maybe to someone 15:08 that has, has been successful, 15:10 but a lot of people out there just kind 15:12 of a drift, they are not going anywhere 15:14 and they are not going anywhere fast. 15:16 And it's really important to not just tag a list 15:20 like this up on the wall, but this has to be part 15:23 of automatic thinking and response when a mistake 15:26 is made. When something starts to hinder your 15:28 most important goals and interfere with that. 15:30 When you start to become unrealistic 15:32 and you are thinking an expectation to have 15:34 the internal ability to instantly recognize 15:37 and check it is what keeps you on course. 15:40 Now it's ever a time to bailout your goals. 15:43 Well when they don't work, when they become 15:45 counterproductive, when you obsess about 15:47 it or may be the wrong goal, 15:49 it maybe the wrong goal. 15:50 That's exactly right. Have you ever given up 15:51 on a goal? Yes, I'm sure that I have. 15:55 Yes, I have given up on some goals. 15:56 But these are, assuming these are good goals 15:59 you know sometimes people say I wanna do 16:01 this and do that. Right. But then a higher 16:02 source of authority or situation takes place 16:05 maybe their family, maybe they read the scriptures, 16:08 maybe they understand something 16:09 and they go wait a minute wrong goal. 16:11 We don't wanna be inflexible. 16:13 The most important we're gonna actually 16:15 be discussing in a later program what the most 16:19 important goals are. Okay. Seven important 16:21 goals for design your lifestyle. 16:23 Right yeah. And you have, you have your 16:25 personal, personal subcategories of 16:28 achievement that fit into that, but there are basic 16:30 major goals that should be a part 16:32 of every balanced life. Okay let's review 16:34 what we did here we talked about setting 16:37 goals, stay focused we saw first. 16:39 We set realistic expectations; 16:41 we expect challenges, but then maintaining 16:44 a positive attitude. Now you seem to be 16:46 the personification of positive attitude. 16:49 That is really a very funny statement because 16:53 I used to be such a, because of my 16:55 background and my inheritance I was 16:58 naturally very negative person and very 17:00 pessimistic person. When I open my eyes 17:02 in the morning before my feet hit the floor 17:05 if unchecked I will think of every horrible 17:07 thing that could possibly happen that day. 17:09 So you have to discipline yourself of this and 17:11 this is why you put it down maintain. 17:13 All the time. So you start out reading 17:15 to be attitude. Well when my husband used 17:18 to go on business trips, I would call him or leave 17:20 a message on his answer phone and say please 17:22 tell me what's going on at your meeting, 17:23 so I will know what to worry about. 17:24 I mean I didn't even disguise at his prayer. 17:26 It was just raw worrying all the time. 17:29 And people like that have that kind of a problem, 17:32 have to take very active steps to overcome it 17:35 and there are some very simple strategies. 17:37 So what do you do to overcome your worry 17:39 wart problem focused personality? 17:42 Well I, I recognize that it's disobedient. 17:46 It's a disobedient way of thinking for one thing, 17:48 because God inhabits praise and it says the joy 17:50 of the Lord is our strength and so when 17:52 I'm outside of that I'm so outside of his 17:55 strength and I'm just dusting to all the other 17:58 steps and goals that we talked about just go 18:00 right down the gutter when I given into incisive 18:03 worrying and catastrophizing people 18:05 that worry tend to catastrophize as well. 18:07 And so I, I recognize that tendency. 18:11 So you know your negative thought patterns 18:13 when they start and you say what do you do? 18:15 I mean I used to have this one, 18:16 a lady in my church excellent health educator 18:18 her name is Amy Sherald and she, 18:21 when she was helping people stop smoking. 18:24 She would have to wear this bigger rubber 18:25 band and as soon as they had this urge come on, 18:28 she just snap that rubber band bang 18:31 and then don't think about something else. 18:32 So that lessons. What do you do? 18:34 What she is doing is really scientific because 18:36 she is lessening the reward of that addictive 18:40 behavior and you also; you also want to reinforce 18:43 the positive thinking. So for instance, 18:45 I go to the gym several times a week 18:47 with my husband because I know that 18:49 it is a going to have a very powerful impact 18:52 on my ability to cope with stress and mood. 18:54 My diet takes care of all this, when I get out 18:57 of bed in the morning in Michigan freezing, 18:59 sleeting cold weather early in the morning. 19:01 You run 15 miles to the gym. No I don't, 19:03 I don't even like to exercise frankly, 19:06 but I know that it is so beneficial 19:08 and I feel so good. So what I chose to 19:10 focus on. I have two choices I can either 19:13 chose to focus on how freezing cold it is, 19:16 how tired I'm. I really would rather spend 19:18 an extra hour in bed; I could focus on, 19:21 the fact that I'm aging and could eventually 19:23 fall apart anyway. I could focus on all 19:25 of those things or I can focus on the fact 19:29 that this is going to give me an amazing 19:31 boost of energy. I'm gonna meet some very nice 19:34 people there. I'm gonna have companionship 19:35 with my husband, I'm gonna build tone 19:37 and muscle into my body and throttle 19:41 up my mood, so I can chose which set of. 19:43 Of course you can also stand before the people 19:45 that you represent as a health department 19:47 director and say I exercise. 19:49 Yes, I could tell them that I do that, 19:50 so you have to make up your mind what 19:54 list you are gonna focus on and you have 19:56 to decide what you are gonna focus on. 19:57 And negative thinking is habitual and often 20:01 times a self pity is a very real factor. 20:03 Self pity is Elisabeth Elliot said that 20:06 self pity is a death from which there is no 20:08 resurrection. It is a sinkhole from which no 20:11 helping hand can save you, 20:13 because you have chosen to be there and so, 20:15 so this self pity attitude and pour me is a 20:20 destructive negative type of thinking that 20:22 just must be overcome. And nobody really likes 20:23 to hang around that. Nobody likes someone, 20:24 Who's always just talking about negative things. 20:26 No, if you throw a pity party you are gonna 20:28 have very few guests. Laugh and you laugh 20:30 and the world laughs with you. 20:32 Weep and you weep alone. That's right. 20:34 Now number five I think our next 20:35 on our list. We have to stay focused, 20:37 set realistic expectations, expect 20:40 challenges, maintain a positive 20:41 attitude, seek support 20:43 and accept responsibility. 20:45 That's right that's another one 20:47 it's very very important. 20:48 Spending time with and forming 20:51 relationships with people who 20:53 have positive life skills is one 20:56 of the best ways to learn new 20:58 habits and new ways of thinking. 20:59 We are gonna become what we 21:00 surround ourselves with and so. 21:02 I always try to find someone in 21:03 school that was smarter, brighter, 21:05 and faster. It wasn't too hard. 21:06 That's a good program. At first and so. 21:09 And there are, there are people that 21:13 God puts into our lives for a reason 21:15 because he wants us to see how they 21:18 are dealing with life, how they think 21:19 about things. I like to find people 21:22 that think about things in a better 21:23 way then I do and I like to adopt 21:25 and practice those new behaviors. 21:27 It's not easy and I don't always 21:29 succeed in trying on new behaviors 21:32 and doing the perfect thing. 21:33 It doesn't always work for me, 21:35 but it's a really great program 21:37 to be on. And the thing about support, 21:40 support is the very important thing 21:42 we all want to feel supported, 21:43 but the only reason you have 21:44 social relationships is for support that's 21:47 really crippling. We also need to 21:49 understand that part of the positive 21:51 affect of social interaction and 21:55 being involved with hobbies and 21:57 projects and classes and friends 21:59 and volunteerism and all of those 22:01 kinds of things. It's important 22:04 because then we have an 22:07 opportunity to manifest 22:09 responsibility to exhibit 22:10 responsibility in various areas of 22:12 our lives and we also have built into 22:17 those situations accountability. 22:18 An accountability is something that 22:20 we all need as human beings. 22:21 We are all gonna behave better, 22:22 when we are around each other. 22:24 We gonna learn better behavior 22:25 when we are in contact with one another. 22:27 It's called social restraint. So not to 22:29 seeking support so that you can 22:31 have someone listen to all year soap 22:34 stories and listen that, but to get 22:35 involved and it holds you accountable. 22:37 It gives you, I mean there is lot 22:39 of studies on this that show how 22:40 people would show up if you know, oh absolutely, 22:42 even if you have a dog that's a little 22:44 more responsibility. You got to take it 22:46 out for a walk. That's right. 22:47 The part of that is self support right, 22:49 having a pet would that 22:50 be okay for social support? 22:52 Yes and you can't, you know. 22:54 A pet alligator or something. 22:55 People join walking clubs. 22:57 They get together and they share 22:58 together and in our society you 23:00 know the remote control, garage door 23:03 openers and air conditioning have 23:04 eliminated the front porch and 23:06 people don't sit on their porches 23:07 and visit anymore, so we are 23:09 losing social contact with people 23:11 and yet this is a very vital element 23:12 for healing and for growth and 23:15 for positive role modelling, so its 23:17 very very important that we engage 23:20 with positive people who have positive 23:22 life skills. It's like my husband 23:23 says you can't sore with the eagles 23:25 if you are walking with the turkeys 23:27 and so you have got to choose 23:32 who you pattern after and who 23:33 you hang with on a regular 23:35 basis very carefully. 23:37 Well they say the banana that leaves 23:40 the bunch usually gets eaten. 23:41 So you got to hang with the 23:43 bananas right. Yeah, I haven't heard, 23:44 I haven't heard that one and it's not 23:45 that we don't care for all people. 23:47 It's not that we don't have a heart 23:48 for people with problems, but if we 23:50 are not gaining skill and strength 23:51 ourselves and exposing ourselves 23:53 to positive modelling. Right, then we won't 23:56 have anything. And this is 23:57 big in your health classes people go 23:58 through them and they just. 23:59 You don't want to just have an event; 24:00 you want to have a process. Exactly. 24:02 So they get involved in alumni association 24:04 or whatever they have. You have 24:06 developed your materials, they have 24:07 noticed that, they are kind of like 24:08 a year long process and people can 24:11 can have that curriculum where the 24:12 one habit is then, you know support 24:15 and social support and all those 24:16 different things very you know 24:18 it's pretty basic but it can't 24:19 be underscored enough. 24:20 People don't realize how important it is, 24:22 they think to themselves well 24:23 if I go and I get this information 24:25 on how to live a better life and eat 24:26 better than, I will just go home and do it. 24:28 Well only two to three percent of 24:31 people that actually have that mindset, 24:33 highly motivated people will be able 24:35 to do that, but most people need to 24:37 have an environment around them 24:38 of positive people if they think that 24:40 way and are encouraging those 24:42 kinds of choices and they can continue 24:44 to learn from one another how to 24:46 implement positive choices and 24:48 make them a part of their lives. 24:49 We got about three minutes and we 24:50 got two points, so if that means 24:52 we gonna have to time ourselves, 24:53 but practicing new choices and 24:55 then connecting those are the 24:57 last two and we only have about 24:59 three minutes. We wanna talk about 25:01 both of them, practicing new 25:02 choices and connecting. 25:03 What about practicing new choices? 25:06 Well, for instance, if you are a 25:07 negative person naturally and naturally 25:10 irritable you want to practice positive 25:13 responses that means you practice 25:15 it in your prayers and you practice 25:17 it mentally instead of rehearsing 25:20 over and over the difficulties. 25:21 You rehearse the positive responses 25:24 that you want to be yours. 25:25 As you, the practicing new choices 25:27 would be like going to the gym everyday 25:29 doing these different things practice 25:31 makes perfect. If you're grouchy in the 25:32 morning practice being pleasant. 25:33 How are you this morning? 25:35 I'm happy to see you, may I fix you 25:36 some oat milk. This is practicing a 25:38 response that feels like it's unnatural 25:41 to an impulse, but it's going to create 25:43 a neurologic overlay and actually create 25:46 a new network in the brain and it 25:47 will throttle up your ability to become 25:50 the very person that you want to be. 25:51 Well I mean, with all the respects 25:54 sometimes people can act really nice, 25:55 but they are still seething inside, 25:57 so I think your last one kind of 25:58 address is that. Doesn't it? 25:59 It talks about connection. Oh! 26:01 Absolutely because you know 26:02 circumstances alone cannot change 26:04 our heart, but we must not underestimate 26:06 the power of the spoken word. 26:08 We think that we can say whatever 26:09 we want and that it's not going to 26:10 affect us, but as a man thinks so easy, 26:14 but also as you speak so you become. 26:17 So if you have a will and desire 26:18 to be more pleasant person and 26:21 I'm using this is an example and you 26:22 begin to rehearse pleasant responses. 26:24 It will have an affect on your levels 26:26 of irritability. It will help, 26:28 but we have to remember that 26:29 without the power of God the natural 26:31 heart cannot change. God is at the 26:34 centre of everything and he must 26:35 change our heart. He changes our will, 26:37 He changes our desires, but then 26:39 as we implement the tools that 26:41 he has given us such as practicing 26:43 those better responses. 26:44 What does the Bible say. 26:45 It says put on the Lord Jesus and 26:48 make no provision for the flesh. 26:49 And it says we have to practice 26:51 these things and so as we implement 26:54 these things on principle they will 26:56 become a part of our lives. 26:58 Yeah that's good news too. 26:59 Let's just review what we have 27:01 covered today and look 27:02 out our graphic again. 27:03 Stay focused, set realistic expectations, 27:06 expect challenges, maintain a positive 27:08 attitude. Seek support and accept 27:10 responsibility. Practice new choices, 27:13 but probably most importantly 27:15 to make all those of the words 27:16 connect with God who can really make 27:19 all of those things and to final 27:21 all those things for us isn't that right? 27:22 He is the only one that can give us 27:23 the will and the desire to stay 27:25 with the journey. Thank you so much 27:27 Vicki for being with us. Thank you. 27:29 And thank you for the work you do 27:30 at the Michigan Conference 27:31 and thank you for working so 27:34 affectively with Lifestyle Matters 27:36 and that ministry lifestylematter.com. 27:38 And I know that you know I access that 27:41 many times in my ministry and I know 27:43 it could be a great help to our listeners. 27:44 Thank you for joining us. We hope 27:46 today the simple yet very powerful 27:49 concepts you can incorporate into 27:51 your life and as a result you can be 27:53 focused and be an effective tool for 27:57 the master. May God bless you as 27:59 you have health that last for lifetime. |
Revised 2014-12-17