January 20, 2003

From the Inside Out
ELIMINATING WORRY

What, me worry? How many people get distracted by worry to the point they lose focus? How much stress does worry cause? Here are six reasonable questions to ask that will eliminate worry 95% of the time:

1. Will it matter a year from now?

Whatever it is that is really pressuring you, ask the question, "will it matter a year from now?" This is a favorite of mine, with co-workers, friends, and others. When I see someone really stressing out, I usually ask, "why?" The reason is usually something pretty simple, that they are looking at from a time perspective.

Perhaps a co-worker is bothering them. Or, they lost an opportunity at work. Maybe a bill is due that they are not sure they can pay right now.

The reality is, almost all stresses are worked out, through time, and by looking at it, a year from now, we remove the immediate pressure of the stressor.

2. Are there ways to diffuse it (take direct personal action)?

If we can take the worry and look at it in a new way, from a fresh perspective, this may relieve us. Also, there might be ways to eliminate the worry, such as with a particular bill, by simply paying it. That diffuses the worry. Taking action directly associated with the worry is the best way to resolve the worry.

If you've been stressing about an issue you know you can resolve personally, but it has seemed overwhelming to you, I have a mantra you can use to help move beyond the worry:

"I can handle this, this is no big deal. I'm fantastically on top of this."
Then, do the action you know will resolve the issue to manifest your reality.

3. What can I do to delegate it to someone else?

Delegating issues to eliminate worry is the next best approach to resolve worry after taking direct personal action. The reason for this is that we still have to schedule a follow-up to make sure the person who was delegated the task completed it.

If we have the option to delegate a task which is not our core, so that we might focus on a task which IS our core, then delegation makes sense.

4. Can someone else help me deal with it (find assistance)?

Getting assistance to help with the worry issue can be helpful. Now you have a team to deal with it! Teamwork helps make the issue seem less of a challenge because now there are multiple hands, multiple eyes and ears assigned to the challenge. This is also a great way to improve friendships.

5. How can I relax to distract myself from the worry issue?

If we cannot deal with the issue causing us worry, then perhaps we can simply relax or go play a sport or hobby, to distract ourselves from worry. I find this is highly effective unless I could have taken action to diffuse the worry, first, in which case distractions serve only as procrastination.

6. If I don't do it, will it really matter?

Then don't do it! Any time we worry, the reason usually has to do with thinking "what if..." questions that are beyond our control. "What if the market crashes?" "What if my company lays people off?" "What if I get a new manager?"

These are all examples of "what if" questions that we probably have no direct control over. Worrying about "what if" questions does nothing for us but cause us stress.

By focusing on what is important NOW and taking action that I really CAN DO now, a step at a time, worry subsides. And remember to smile and breath deeply - these two actions will help you keep your stress down. What, me worry? No more!

~Scott Andrews
www.AspireNow.com

Yes You Can!
IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOS

In photography, there are two basic kinds of "stuff": thinking stuff — the
way you take your photographs (planning, composing, and shooting) —
and gear stuff (cameras and accessories). While either kind of stuff can improve your photography, most people like to think that new gear will be the magic bullet that turns ho-hum shots into blue-ribbon winners. That reasoning may work for truly antiquated equipment, but new gear won't fix HOW you take photographs. Although this is my personal list, I suspect you'll find one or more of these techniques useful in improving your own photography.

1. Stop making the same stupid mistakes: Identify the problem. I spent
a reflective afternoon sorting through image archives. Patterns emerged. Whether a result of time pressure or old habits, I found that my lousy shots were all lousy in the same old, tiresome ways. Granted, there is a lot to remember before pressing the shutter release button, but, I finally had to
ask, how many ways could I find to screw up what should have been a
good photo? For example, one embarrassing pattern was my persistent "snapshot" tendency: taking the obvious shot without exploring alternatives that could give the image more impact and interest.

2. Compare your shots to those you wish you'd taken: The next afternoon I went through a stack of magazines, books, and brochures that
I'd been collecting. I found pictures like the kind of shots I most often take, and then tore out the pictures or flagged them. Then I got out my photo archive and matched up pictures by category. For example, I stacked my nature shots alongside professional nature shots, my still-life images next to professional still-life images, and so on. Then I compared them side by side. The goal of this exercise was to determine ways in which I can improve my approach to specific types of photographs.

3. Wait a long time before you start shooting: Taking time to get to know the subject, whether it is a location or a person, almost always produces better photos than pointing and snapping a picture of the first subject that crosses the viewfinder. To break my pattern of taking obvious shots, I went to Pike Place Market in Seattle one morning. I forced myself
to walk around and sit in various areas of the market and watch the activity.
I chatted with market vendors, munched a bagel and drank coffee, and watched some more. I met people who allowed me to shoot from vantage points that I wouldn't have had access to otherwise. Instead of randomly shooting as I learned the scene or subject, waiting to shoot gave me a clear sense of where and what the best pictures were.

4. Shoot instinctively and quickly: Although this seems to contradict my previous guideline, I think of it as the complementary flip side of waiting to shoot. In any scene, there are shots that I see in an instant from the corner
of my eye or over my shoulder. There are also those "just right" shots that demand no-hesitation shooting. Quick, instinctive shots are bread-and-butter images for news and sports photographers, but instinctive shooting doesn't come naturally to me. To capture the spontaneous moments, I realized that I had to teach myself to literally point and shoot, doing the best I could with settings and composition without missing the shot. To get good quick shots, I have to know the camera controls inside and out, backward and forward.

5. Reshoot: As I reviewed my photos, I would look at a picture and instantly know how I would shoot the image differently. While I regularly go back to scenes to reshoot, it's usually to get different lighting or to shoot from a different vantage point or perspective. If the subject was worth shooting the first time, chances are good that it's worth shooting again, with and from a new perspective, from a different angle or vantage point, and in different light. More important, the more often you go back and reshoot, the more you familiar you are with the subject, and the better your images.

6. Get a second opinion: If you have friends who enjoy photography, arrange a time when you can go through a stack of each other's photos and give honest feedback and ideas. Or just ask around: Anyone with an eye for design, composition, and style can give you valuable feedback. Even untrained friends will see elements in your photos that you may not have noticed. Almost all feedback provides valuable insight and ideas.

~Charlotte K. Lowrie, MSNPhotos.com

LINKS
THAT SHINE

"CONSCIOUS & CREATIVE LIVING"

Robert Gerzon, nationally-known author of "Finding Serenity in the Age of Anxiety," is a holistic psychotherapist, life coach and spiritual mentor who offers highly-effective personal growth, spirituality and relationship resources.
www.Gerzon.com

Fascinating Facts
IN PRAISE OF COD LIVER OIL

Scientists have confirmed the age-old belief that cod liver oil is good for the joints. Cardiff-based researchers say taking the supplement could delay or even reverse the destruction of joint cartilage and inflammatory pain associated with arthritic disease. They believe it could even delay joint replacement surgery.

Severe arthritis causes significant disability for over three million people. The condition can be life-threatening through its effect on other organs in the body and increased susceptibility to infection.

In the Cardiff research, Professor Bruce Caterson of the School of Biomedicine at Cardiff University looked at the effect of Omega-3 fatty acids (the main component of cod liver oil) on the discarded arthritic knees of people undergoing knee replacement surgery. Some were treated with Omega-3 fatty acids for 24 hours in a laboratory - others were not. A chemical was added to mimic an inflammatory response, and the samples examined four days later.

When researchers looked at the cartilage pieces, they found a particular kind of a body chemical called enzymes, which was responsible for destroying cartilage in arthritis, was present in the untreated group. But they were 'turned off' in those treated with Omega-3 fatty acids, as were the enzymes which cause inflammation and pain in joints.

Professor Caterson said his research had been able to prove the theory cod liver oil could help the joints. Cod liver oil, which contains Omega-3 fatty acids can be very, very helpful and beneficial in arthritic diseases. So in very simple terms, we've been able to show that we can slow down or remove the activities of the enzymes that degrade cartilage in arthritis, and as well, we
can keep inflammation down to a lower level.

Fergus Logan, chief executive of the Arthritis Research Campaign, which partly funded the research, said: "These findings are extremely exciting, and offer a scientific basis for why cod liver oil helps people with arthritis — and has done for many years. Not only does cod liver oil reduce pain and inflammation in the joints of people with osteoarthritis but we now know it also turns off the enzymes responsible for destroying cartilage. We're delighted that something as simple and non-controversial as cod liver oil has the potential to bring relief and restore quality of life to so many people who suffer from osteoarthritis."

~News.BBC.co.uk

Laughing It Off
A GOOD PUN'S ITS OWN REWARD

Energizer Bunny arrested —
charged with battery!!!

A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative.

Practice safe eating —
always use condiments.

A Freudian slip is when you say one thing, but mean your mother.

Shotgun wedding —
A case of wife or death.

I used to work in a blanket factory, but it folded.

If electricity comes from electrons —
does that mean that morality comes from morons?

A hangover is the wrath of grapes.

Corduroy pillows are making headlines.

Dancing cheek-to-cheek is really a form of floor play.

Sea captains don't like crew cuts.

Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?

A successful diet —
the triumph of mind over platter?

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.

Without geometry, life is pointless.

When you dream in color —
is it a pigment of your imagination.

Reading whilst sun bathing makes you well-red.

When two egotists meet, it's an I for an I.

~Contributed by Sherry Rothfield

Untangling the Web

WHAT A SITE!

Play an online version of Pictionary!
Join people from around the world in a fun game of online sketching. The object is simple. Each player gets a chance to draw a word or sentence which the other players try to guess.
www.ISketch.net

COMPUTER-EASE

Deleting Outlook Express Folders:
When you delete messages from a folder in Outlook Express, make sure that you don't have any folders selected. If your cursor is in the Folder List and you click Delete, the folder will be deleted. You can't recover a folder from the deleted items folder. When a folder is deleted, it's gone for good.

Look at THAT!
THAT BIRD'S A CAUTION

 
Photo: Mathew Roybal/Roswell Daily Record

A precocious pigeon rests in a traffic signal
as the light turns yellow in Roswell, NM. Pigeons are our oldest feathered companions, dating back to antiquity. The great empires of Carthage, Egypt, and Rome used pigeons in a vast network of advanced communication. Reuters News Service was originally created as a line of pigeon posts! In 1851, pigeons were used to fly stock market prices between Brussels and Aachen, Germany, to bridge gaps in the European telegraph system. These Reuters pigeons helped the banks of Aachen make fortunes and avoid bankruptcies. Learn more by clicking on: Pigeons

1. DO feel free to modify "Dean Ornish's Life Choice Diet," the healthiest of the fad plans, so that it allows more protein and a little more fat.

2. DO work on having a balanced diet and eating proper portion sizes.

3. DON'T change your life to fit the diet — choose your diet to fit your life.

4. DON'T have a "Don't eat" list; it's too restrictive and unrealistic.

5. DO eat foods that will help prevent disease and make you feel great — such as soy, salad, fish, whole grain breads and blueberries.

We all want to feel great and live longer. One secret, of course, can be found in choosing foods that nourish and empower our bodies. For realistic tips on well-being, check Bonnie's website www.EatWisely.com.

~ Chelle Thompson ~

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"The intent of Inspiration Line is to show What Is Possible . By choosing new perspectives,
we can change ourselves from the inside out and improve our relationships, our community and our planet."
Editor . Chelle Thompson ~~~ Associate Editor . Geri Merrill
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