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Vol. 7 No. 1, January/February 2005
Copyright 2005 by Wolf J. Rinke
mailto:WolfRinke@aol.com
http://www.WolfRinke.com
IN THIS ISSUE
1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
2. NINE HABITS OF VERY HAPPY PEOPLE--PART II
3. SPECIAL OFFER FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
4. HUMOR BREAK
5. HEAR WOLF "HOWL"--I MEAN SPEAK
6. ABOUT THE EDITOR
7. PRIVACY STATEMENT AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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INSIGHT BREAK
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"I believe that how we perceive the world can matter more than
our objective reality."
--Elissa Epel, see article that follows
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1. NEWS YOU CAN USE
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PERCEIVED STRESS MAKES YOU AGE FASTER
The proof is in. Psychological stress can cause your cells to age by
nine to 17 years. This is big news since this is the first study which
has documented the effect of real and perceived stress at the cellular
level. According to a study conducted at the University of California
at San Francisco, which measured stress in women who were caregivers
of chronically sick children, the women who had been caregivers for
the longest period of time, aged the most. The surprise, however, was
that perceived stress had a similar effect as real stress. Because women
in the control group--those who were taking care of healthy children
and hence experienced less real stress--but reported high perceived
stress, were found to have cells that aged at the same rate as those
in the experimental group.
ACTION STEPS:
Stop ignoring stress. Any time you feel stressed--may it be real or
imagined--practice the "nine habits of very happy people"
(see below). If that does not lower your stress find something that
works for you, may it be a walk in the woods, yoga, meditation or any
other stress reduction technique.
Source: E. Epel et al., "Accelerated telomere shortening in response
to life stress," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
12/7/04, 101 (49): 17312-15.
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2. NINE HABITS OF VERY HAPPY PEOPLE--PART II
by Wolf J. Rinke, PhD, CSP
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In the previous issue (6-6) of this eNewsletter (see www.WolfRinke.com)
we reviewed the first four habits you must master if you want to be
happy:
1. Love what you do
2. Chase your dreams
3. Nourish an attitude of gratitude
4. Love someone deeply
Now let's take a look at the other five.
5. Treat your "bodymind" like a temple
That's what hard-core bench scientist Dr. Candance Pert calls our body
and mind because her work has unequivocally demonstrated that the mind
and the body are one. And that thoughts are things, things that manifest
themselves in the body and in your life. So if you think "bad"
or negative thoughts then that will have a negative impact on your body.
And of course the reverse is true. Since the mind can have only one
thought at a time, get in the habit of monitoring your thoughts and
self talk by asking: "is what I'm thinking about right now negative?"
(The worst is hate.) If it is, it will move you away from happiness
and optimum health. On the other hand positive thoughts--like love,
kindness and appreciation--will move you in a positive direction. This
is so powerful that there is a whole new science that is concerned with
this--psychoneuroimmunology, or PNI for short. (Want to know more read
her book: Molecules of Emotions: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine).
6. Laugh more
Go ahead and laugh right now. Can't seem to get it going? Go to the
bathroom, stick your tongue out, wiggle your nose and make the silliest
face you can possibly come up with and get yourself to laugh. If you
need more help join a laughing club, popularized in India. Or consult
with a "certified laughter leader." (Hey, I'm not making this
stuff up!) A good way to nurture this is to laugh more at yourself.
It will cause you to take yourself less serious--which is a great start
because you are not nearly as important as you think you are. (I'm including
myself in that statement; so don't get bent out of shape). Laughter
has innumerable benefits, it turns on your endorphins and other internal
"drugs" that are far more powerful than anything that you
can ingest--legal or illegal. In fact it is so powerful that Norman
Cousins laughed himself to good health after being diagnosed with an
incurable disease.
7. Give more of what you want
A short cut to happiness is making other people feel happy. Why? Because
life is like a mirror--what ever you put in it--comes right back at
you. Make people happy and you will be happier. Hate people and you
will live in a hateful world. Love people the way they are, and you
will experience more love. You catch my drift. Actually you already
knew that, that's why you are much more anxious to give a gift than
get one. Happiness certainly does not come from things. Otherwise the
happiest people on earth would be lottery winners. They are not. In
fact they often become discouraged and depressed because they become
obsessed with "stuff," to the point that most lottery winners
are broke three years after they have won the jackpot. Superwoman and
I have come to the realization that less is more. That is to say, the
more stuff we have the more problems and stress we have. That's why
we evaluate every new opportunity by asking ourselves whether taking
advantage of the new opportunity will add to the quality of our lives.
If the answer is yes, we go for it, if the answer is no, we don't do
it.
8. Develop "learned optimism"
Prof. Marty Seligman who has had a tremendous influence on getting psychologist
to focus on the good--what he has dubbed "positive psychology"--wrote
a powerful book of the same title. His research has demonstrated that
we can learn to be more optimistic by developing a "positive explanatory
style (PES)." The way you do that is by focusing on the good stuff,
especially when bad things happen to you. In other words you master
the art of faking it until you make it. Research has shown that people
who have developed their PES are able to evaluate "reality"
more clearly--just the opposite of what most people assume--and process
"bad" news more effectively, and are more likely to accept
what you can not change and move on. In short you will be able to inoculate
yourself against the negative attitude virus and his big cousins--stress
and depression.
9. Keep hope alive
Hope is an incredibly powerful emotion. Without it you not only become
unhappy--you die. No one has told that story more powerfully than Dr.
Victor Frankl in his book Man's Search for Meaning in which he detailed
the role of hope in surviving the German concentration camps. So be
sure to never give up hope, no matter how bleak it gets. And even more
important, be sure not to confuse inconveniences with problems. Because
many of the "problems" that we get ourselves all worked up
about are inconvenience not tragedies. When you are in the middle of
one of these, a great diagnostic is to ask yourself: "How will
I feel about this in five years from now." And then act accordingly.
To deal more effectively with the real tragedies--which will come--turn
to the source of hope and inspiration that works for you. It may be
religion, spirituality, meditation or reading a great motivational book--see
the special offer that follows. It will help you keep hope alive and
make you more optimistic and happier.
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3. SPECIAL OFFER FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY
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Bestselling Hardcover BOOK: Make it a Winning Life: Success Strategies
for Life, Love and Business, by W. J. Rinke, $24.95.
(Just ask and I will be happy to sign it for you.)
"This book will energize, motivate and empower you."
--Anthony Robbins
"…helped me immeasurably."
--Lou Holtz
FREE: Make It a Winning Life, Perpetual Desk Calendar, $12.95 value
Provides daily words of inspiration and easy to apply action steps
to help you succeed faster! A great gift any time of the year.
Both book and Calendar--$24.95 + s/h. SAVE $12.95!
------------------------- Offer expires 3/1/2005 ---------------------------
To order log onto http://www.WolfRinke.com/miwlspecial.html
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4. HUMOR BREAK
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On a military training exercise, the command radio operators were getting
very bored one quiet night, when breaking the silence a voice asked
over the air... "Are there any friendly bears listening?"
After a moment, another voice replied "Yes, I'm a friendly bear,"
and then another "I'm a friendly bear too!"
At this point, the Officer at Headquarters grabbed his microphone and
let loose a blistering tirade at the operators for fooling around on
an important radio link. When he had finished, there was silence for
about ten seconds.
Then a small voice said, "You're not a very friendly bear, are
you?"
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5. HEAR WOLF HOWL--I MEAN SPEAK
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These full day seminars maybe open to you, especially if your company
is a member of the Institute of Management Studies (IMS). Contact the
Chairperson for additional information.
Winning Management: Building a Peak Performance Workplace
6/23/05 Dallas/Ft. Worth, Mike Godwin, dfw@ims-online.com
10/5/05 Houston, Gail Brichford, houstonims@aol.com
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5. ABOUT THE EDITOR
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Dr. Wolf J. Rinke, CSP is an internationally recognized motivational
and management keynote speaker and seminar leader who delivers customized
presentations that combine story telling, humor and motivation with
specific "how to" action strategies that participants can
apply immediately to improve their personal and professional lives.
You can preview a live demo at www.WolfRinke.com. He is also a highly
effective management consultant, executive coach and author of 13 books
including: "Make It a Winning Life: Success Strategies for Life,
Love and Business" available at www.WolfRinke.com
To take advantage of Dr. Rinke's services call 800-828-9653 or mailto:WolfRinke@aol.com
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6. PRIVACY STATEMENTS AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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