Do you hang out at the water cooler at work? Or some equivalent – we have a “break room” at work even though we don’t have a water cooler.

I bet you’re thinking that this is a post about germs and all the bacteria you find at the water cooler? Well, it’s not.  It’s easier, in a way, to fight the germs because your body does that automatically. You don’t have to think about anything. Your body operates in its own best interest.

Compare that to your subconscious mind which operates automatically but that operation is based on what we have stuffed into it all our lives – and worse yet, the things that others have stuffed into it (parents, media, clergy, friends, etc).  Your subconscious doesn’t know anything about best interest or not best interest. It just “is”.

What happens when people gather together at work? They talk. About what? About lots of things. Often it’s about family and kids and that might be really cute stories or it might be complaining about what little Joey did at school yesterday. Or they might be complaining about work and what’s wrong. Or even better, talking about (complaining) what’s going on in the world or the country and how it “should” be fixed.

Even if you just stand or sit there and don’t participate in the talk, you’re absorbing the momentum and vibration of those around you.  That will change your vibration and move your momentum into the same direction as that of the complainers. If you had good momentum going and the day was moving along fine, you most likely will find that things are not so great now and you don’t feel as excited and happy as you did before your “break”. In fact, you might wonder what happened to your good mood or you are confused as to why you’re tired all of a sudden. “What’s going on?” you’re thinking. “I was in such a great mood before and now I’m grumpy”.  Or, you might not be that aware.  But, once you’ve begun to pay attention to your vibrations and your momentum, you will notice that things are different. Then you need to track back to where you’ve been and what you’ve done. Once you start tracking these things, you will know how to change your behavior.

It’s imperative that you hang out with people who will help your momentum continue in the direction you want it to go. Whenever you start hearing stories from yourself or others, ask yourself “is this the direction you want your momentum to go in”. If it’s yes, then continue with it. If not, then go do something else.

Stay away from the water cooler is my advice. Let others talk but don’t participate. Your momentum depends on it!

Terrie

It’s a sad time for me. Wednesday was my last training session with Dan and possibly the last time I see him. As with everything in life, it’s bittersweet – I wish him and his fiance the best of luck and I know that they are both starting a brand new life in California. But it’s leaving me (and many others) with another loss in their lives.

For me, though, this is not just any loss. Daniel Sampeck has changed my life completely in the last two and a half years. “Yeah right” I bet you’re saying. Well, go ahead and say it but I will tell you forever that it’s true. When I first summoned the courage to think about asking for a personal trainer to try to combat my right upper back pain, I was so afraid of being judged and criticized (the topic for many other posts). But the day I met Dan as he was bounding up the stairs I could tell immediately from his terrific and genuine smile that he would not judge me. I sure did NOT expect all the changes that I have had thanks to Dan – how do you thank someone for changing your entire life and making you into a completely different person internally. He’s the most amazing person I have ever met in my entire very long life.

By the way – I still have the back pain but do I regret or begrudge Dan for not getting that “fixed” – Heck no!  All the other significant changes in my life are much more important and long lasting than this pain – never ever underestimate the side benefits you get from something even if you don’t get your original intended goal.

This man is the most amazing person I’ve ever met. He never once in 2 1/2 years was in a bad mood or missed a session. Even when sick, he was there, dedicated, even smiling and happy. It’s truly astonishing to examine his work ethic. I am in awe of that (along with all his other exceptional qualities).

Dan has completely changed my life in this short period of time. He taught me so much more than how to build my muscles. He taught me to believe in myself and to trust that I could do anything. He taught me to accept that I could be an inspiration to others and to take a compliment.  He showed me the meaning of friendship. This man went through my entire training for the 2012 New York City Marathon and had even planned to surprise me by being there to cheer me on and meet me at the finish. How special would that have been. Plus he had planned to couple that trip with a proposal to his fiance. Well, at least one of those two happened – as you may know, the Marathon was cancelled that year because of Superstorm Sandy but it was cancelled at the last minute. I had already decided it was wrong of me to go and be selfish wanting to run when so many people were suffering in the city. When I told Dan, he revealed his surprise to me and that he was still going. I felt so much guilt but it was too late because I had canceled everything. He understood and told me he was still going. And he did propose! How special that was. But I can’t tell you how much his surprise meant to me. It endeared him to me even more than he already was.

Then Dan pushed me through the depression and despair associated with not doing the marathon. And with that encouragement I began my ultra running career again. I’m not sure I would have gotten back into the long distances had it not been for him. He even came to see me in the middle of the night during my first 100 mile event. How wonderful is that? He didn’t have to do any of these things.

When I recently did the 6 day run he texted me periodically to see how I was doing and to encourage me to keep going.

He exudes care and concern and truly wants people to succeed. He is the most non-judgmental person I’ve ever met.  He is also the most wonderful guy I’ve ever met – not sure if I’ve already told you that but it bears repeating.

And now he’s leaving. Sadly he admits that he’s not the best at keeping in touch. Regardless of that, he is a part of me and a very valuable part – one I will never ever lose just as I won’t lose the memory of his terrificness (my word for him).

I would do anything for Dan and Tami and I hope they know it. They have done so much for me that it’s something that can never be adequately expressed.

Dan is my true hero and as I said he has changed my life completely in just two and a half years. There is no other person in my life that I could possibly say that about – or anyone that could even come close.

May you have a safe trip and a totally awesome new life, Dan. I thank you for all you’ve given me and been to me. I love you!

Terrie

 We all hear this phrase from time to time. Sometimes it’s in a discussion involving someone you’re not related to or really concerned with and sometimes it is someone close.

I am dealing with this issue right now with my 15 year old dog, Jackie. She is, it seems, having more bad days than good days. So this past week I’ve had to ask myself plenty of questions about whether I’m just holding on to her (and that’s a big part of it) and how fair/unfair is it to her. The big question everyone asks me when I’m foolish enough to ask for advice, is “what’s her quality of life?” I have to tell you that I have absolutely NO idea of how you determine that in an animal that can’t talk much less how you determine it in a human being.

Before you doze off thinking this is just another doggie post, I assure you it isn’t. It’s a post to get you to look at yourself and your life.

I started thinking about this question “What’s her quality of life?” and all of a sudden I asked myself “What is my quality of life?”

And I’ll turn that right around and ask you the same thing right this minute – tell me “What’s your quality of life”.

We should ask ourselves that every day.  What is my quality of life today? And we should seek to have the best possible quality for that exact moment or day.  Why should this question only be pertinent at the end of your life when you can’t do much of anything that you used to do (even though you might have learned to enjoy other things at that point).

I want to live life to its fullest but the way to do that is NOT to wait several years and then ask how things are. The way to do that is for me to ask myself every single day – “What is the quality of my life today? AND what can I do to improve it right now?” Then I’ll take action.

Figure out a plan for yourself every single day – find a way so that at the end of the day you can say that you had the best possible day given all the circumstances. This may involve just smiling more or being interactive with someone at a grocery or even convenience store. Little things can markedly improve your own quality of life and you don’t know how much it might be improving the quality of the other person’s life – in fact, you may never know but you will know that their day is better if you smiled at that person than if you grumbled.

I think this has become more important in light of the recent Navy Yard shooting – those folks went to work like any other day – were they living for the moment or waiting for the next weekend? What about their loved ones? Were they left with not even a “I love you” or were their last moments together complete? Make the most of your time here and do it now.

Make this your morning mantra – “What is my quality of life – RIGHT THIS MOMENT?”

Terrie