“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.” ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

As always, we begin with a question for reflection …Can a life be fully and richly lived when one’s health suffers?

We all know someone who is the fittest individual we’ll ever meet, yet, she is not happy with who she is and her purpose in life.

We all know another who is doing exactly what he wants with his life, yet, he won’t be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor as a heart attack at age 48 awaits him from a lack of exercise, poor food choices, and extreme mental stress.

The purpose of the Humble Observer is to reach your full potential in not just one, but in all aspects of life: spirit, mind, and body.

SPIRIT

Life starts with the SPIRIT, your “why.”

Your spirit is the difference between life and non-life, between human and chair.

Your spirit sheds light on your purpose for waking up everyday.  It is your reason for being, inspiring you, and making life worth living.  When on your deathbed, you can say that (this) was what your life was about.

1.  Purpose

• Why Do You Get Up In The Morning
• How to Create Super Babies: A Plan for World Domination – if you don’t pass on your genes, you lose immortality.
• Creating Smile Wrinkles – choosing the simplicities such as happiness by smiling can go a long way.

2.  Potential

• Becoming The Best Version of Yourself

3.  Gratitude

• Why Saying Thanks Can Help You De-Stress
• How to Live Everyday Like Its Christmas
• Recognizing Human-ness

4.  Inspiration

• Invictus – the poem.
• 2011: New Year, New You

MIND

Once you know your purpose and reason for being, you mold your MIND to serve your spirit.

Your thoughts, dreams, beliefs, actions, and habits are tools to create the life of your dreams.  They’re all exchangeable to serve the purpose you desire.

Here is your tool-belt to create your dream life.

1.  Checking your Dreams and Desires

• Your Dreams: Whose Are They Really?
• What MLK Jr. and The Alchemist Can Teach You About Listening

2.  Thoughts

• Thought Farming: Planting the Seeds of Your Life
• Thought Farming: Watering One Seed at a Time
• What You Can Learn From A Seedling – how nature inspires (a reflection on Ralph Waldo Emerson)

3.  Beliefs

• Your Beliefs: Best Friend or Worst Enemy?
• What Buddhism Can Teach You About Yourself - a way of life that has helped me enormously.

4.  Goal Setting

• Smashing the Cage: Live the Unconventional Life – inspired by Chris Guillebeau.

5.  Behavior & Habits

• Paleo Pool 2011: Change and The System That Makes It Possible – utilizing friends to help with habit change.
• Paleo Pool 2011: Why Failure is OK – planning for bumps in the road.

6.  Action

7.  Tools

• The Humble Observer Himself! – creating your hypothetical roundtable for consultation.
• Letting Go: How to Free Yourself From Pains of the Past - how to forgive.
• Work Hard.  But Play Harder! – “play” is a necessary too.
• What Tribe Are You a Member Of? – so is a “community” to be a part of.
• Freedom and The Rules You Live By – Having a system of rules can make choices seem not so life-ending.

8.  Stress

• Escaping The Tiger –  How Chronic Stress Causes Disease

BODY

Your BODY is the vehicle that allows you to use the tools of the mind to act in congruence with your desires on a daily basis, thus creating your dream life.

Without health, how can anything be achieved and enjoyed?

You can’t live your life purpose, whether that’s taking care of your kids, spending time with loved ones, or doing hobbies, when you’re sick all of the time … or worse, dead.

1.     Movement

• Sweeping the Street: A Lesson From a Crazy, Old, Polish Lady – why my grandmother suffered.
• The Only Healthy Posture: About ADHD and Preventing Chronic Pain - on the importance of movement outside of exercise.
• How Big is Your Butt? - why a big butt equals health, happiness, and physical attractiveness
• Focus on Posture: Driving

        Flexibility

• When Stretching Doesn’t Work - about stretching.
• How Foam Rolling Can Improve Your Flexibility - should be performed first thing in a workout.

       Exercises

• The Only 4 Exercises You’ll Ever Need - the core movements of your exercise program.
• Where The Treadmill has Failed, The Deadlift Will Prevail – how to deadlift (video).
• Squat – how to squat (video).
• Lunge - how to lunge (video).

       Pain

• Load and Capacity - Grasp these two concepts to understand all musculoskeletal pain.
• Focus on Pain: The Low Back
• The Truth About Plantar Fasciitis - the pathology behind plantar fasciosis.

2.  Diet

The Humble Observer’s Beginner Guide to the Paleo Diet

• The Only Diet You’ll Ever Need - the simplicity of what your diet should be.
• To Binge or Not to Binge: Weathering the Junk Food Storm
• The Manliest Salad Ever - how to make a big salad that you’ll love.
• Paleo Diet Testimonials – 5 people from my community share their successes with the Paleo Diet.

3.  Toxins

• Is Organic That Big of a Deal? – about the label of “organic” vs. truly organic foods.
• Why You Should Brush Your Teeth With Your Deodorant – enough said.

4.  Rest

• On the Importance of Sleep
• Endless Summer Syndrome Part I, II, III – The effect that light has on your sleep and health.

MY STORY

• The Chiropractor With The Broken Back – How empathy makes me who I am today.
• Depressed?  Snap out of it! … Yeah, right. – My struggles with depression.