my body care

The Principle of the Rubber Band:

This principle explains that being stretched can turn out to be very positive.
Imagine you hold one end of a rubber band in one hand while stretching the opposite end with your other hand. The more you stretch the rubber band, the more it wants you to let go it so it can come back to its original position. In just wants to return to its place of comfort.
Yet if we continue stretching it, that rubber band will eventually grow into a new size. When we let go of it now, it will come back some, but not the entire distance. In essence, it has developed a new dimension.

Now imagine that you dip this original rubber band into hot wax and remove it quickly. You then allow the wax to dry. At this point, if you repeat the stretching exercise you’ll notice that the wax caked around it cracks and crumbles, as you extend the rubber band. Then it falls off.

The same dynamic occurs with humans. We don’t want to get stretched, because it will involve letting go of some external layers. We are comfortable within those layers, and they may even seem to be protecting us. Yet, in fact, they are getting in the way of the new, evolving being who we already are on the inside. They are an impediment to our growth.

Also like that rubber band, we must temporarily experience being uncomfortable when we stretch and grow. In the process of becoming the butterfly we were metaphorically meant to be, we are outgrowing a cocoon. The butterfly doesn’t snip off its wings and re-enter the cocoon. It knows of no such thing. But we, as human beings, have a tendency to snip our own new-grown wings so we can retreat to the cocoon that represents our old zone of comfort.
Unfortunately, the zone of comfort is seldom the territory of fulfillment.
The butterfly has no choice.

The human has an ability to make such choice.
The next time you are feeling stretched and uncomfortable, pat yourself on the back and say “Good for me. I must be growing!” In fact, if you are not stretching, growing, and evolving, then you are probably too attached to being comfortable. A true lesson of life and a new level of wisdom will both arrive when you instead respect The Principle of the Rubber Band.

It is absolutely crucial that you must not judge, criticize, and compare yourself to others while you are being stretched. To do so will only make you feel stuck. You will focus on the pain of stretching, and want to go back to your old cocoon. Instead, treat yourself as compassionately as you would a child who is learning to ride a bicycle without training wheels. Give yourself extra nurturing. Drink a cup of hot tea, go for a walk, read a book, take a few deep breaths, and above all be patient. Training wheels have allowed that child to develop a sense of balance, to know how the bicycle is ultimately going to feel under their control. But if that child doesn’t eventually ride without training wheels, they will never experience how fast they can truly go, how sharply they can maneuver around obstacles, and how self-confident they can feel.

Therefore, always strive for the courage to take the extra wheels off. And one day you will do it. Because you realize that remaining in the “training wheel zone” will prevent you from reaching a new level in life of manifestation and creation.

Now imagine that you are a gardener who tends a rose bush. You notice a new green bud that appears, but as the days go by it remains closed. It’s afraid of opening up. It is resisting the processes of blossoming, changing, and stretching.

Alongside it there is another new bud, one that has decided to open up and - in spite of the possibility of cold rain, tornadoes, and hurricanes - it has further decided to blossom. Once it has opened, people passing by are inspired to notice its beauty, smell its fragrance, and touch its silky pedals.

When eventually that rose dies, it’s petals fall all round. People who walk close by notice the pedals on the ground, and they know that a fully blossomed rose once existed. Meanwhile, the unopened bud also dies. It shrivels, crumbles, and falls away. No one but the gardener ever noticed that it was alive or even notices now that it has gone.

About Ellie Drake

Savvy businesswoman, in-demand motivational speaker, inspiration to men and women around the globe,
Ellie Drake is a multi-dimensional success. She maintains a demanding schedule of personal appearances as well as a series of web sites, each offering insights, newsletters and products designed to help individuals acheive their personal best. Each Monday night at 10;30 pm Eastern, Drake offers a free teleconference designed to empower her listeners. Visit http://EllieDrake.com/movie for more details.
http://EllieDrake.com/report

© 2006 EllieDrake.com - All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Share This

If you find a loved on has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, you are likely to be worried or confused about the diagnosis.

Science has advanced their treatment options when dealing with this disease, especially if the condition is caught in its early stages.

Speak with the patient’s primary health care provider and ask about particular Alzheimer activities you can enjoy with the patient that will allow him or her to battle the disease and maintain his or her health.

Everything from the patient’s favorite hobbies to special Alzheimer activities that will allow the patient to regain mental health will help the patient’s condition.

One great way to help the patient battle this disease is an activity like gardening.

Simply being outdoors and experiencing fresh air can help the patient by enthralling all his or her senses.

From the joyous smells of the great outdoors to hearing birds twittering to enjoying the vibrant colors of a garden, the patient’s memory can be helped with similar Alzheimer activities.

Also, working in a garden will allow the patient and the caregiver to experience stress free time and allow them both to get exercise in the great outdoors.

Whether it is a huge vegetable garden or a simple plot of flowers, gardening is the perfect way to spend time with the patient and work on a treatment method at the same time.

Another great activity is playing a simple board game.

There are a variety of games that are used by therapists and doctors when it comes to treating Alzheimer’s disease or any other memory disorder.

These games will allow you to interact with the patient and exercise the patient’s memory and thought process.

Everything from favorite games like Memory or games that combine cards like Sequence is excellent for allowing you to work with the patient to expand his or her mental capacity.

Learn More About Alzheimer’s and Dementia and Visit Us at Answers4Alzheimers.com

Share This

For the life of me, I could never remember if creative types
or analytical types were left brain or right brain.

Then one day, years ago, I found a cartoon that showed two
people at a party, a woman and a man. The woman is facing the
viewer and asks the man, “I can’t remember. Are accountants
left brain or right brain?” The man’s back is to the viewer.
And his head above his ears veers sharply to the left.

I’m a little of both, analytical and creative. I can pretty
much turn one on or off at will, like I’m turning on a faucet.
Sometimes, though, I need to get into the “other mode” more
quickly than usual, and I need some tricks to get there.
For me, this usually happens when I need to get creative
quickly.

I have a colleague who is mostly creative, but she is often
alled upon in her work to think more analytically. She has
some tricks to help her get there as well.

A few years ago, I read a great story that highlighted how
our brains work and how putting it through certain types of
“exercise” will help us produce more work output.
A woman wrote an article about her work as a marketing person.
She had to pump out a lot of creative ideas one after the
other. But just like writers get writer’s block,
she got creative block in her work.

She worked from home a few days each week. One day, after
her kids left for school, she noticed that her daughter had
left art supplies on the kitchen table. She found paper,
markers, crayons, glitter, and glue. Without thinking twice
about it, she started playing with the paper, glue, and glitter,
making all kinds of creative pictures and shapes. After
doing this for about 30 minutes, she went to her office to
work.

Can you guess what happened? She was ultra-productive that
day! She could hardly believe how much work she got done and
how well it turned out. Recalling her creativity session
earlier that morning, she decided to do something creative at
the beginning of every work day for about 30 minutes. Over time,
she found this to be a key to her success and for pumping out
many good productive ideas and projects.

I was so intrigued by this story that now I keep art supplies
near my writing projects at home. Before starting to write for
whatever book or project I’m working on, I draw with color
pencils on a drawing pad. It gets my creative juices flowing.

My creative colleague who needs to tap into her analytical side
will count tiles. (Different, yes, but it works for her.) When
we discussed this in a group, I suggested doing Sudoku puzzles
to exercise the left brain.

As you can guess, I’m not of the management mindset that
says doing these types of activities during the work day is a
waste of time or goofing off. On the contrary, I believe
creative or analytical exercises that get our brains in gear
and lead us to produce more high quality work is well worth the
time. Therefore, I’m challenging managers everywhere to change
their thinking on this topic to encourage right- and left-brain
exercises during the start of the workday, or at the start of
working on a project.

Furthermore, I’m also of the “camp” that believes every business
person should spend 30 minutes early in the work day reading
business newspapers, such as the Wall Street Journal or
Investor’s Business Daily, and/or the business section of your
metropolitan paper. Regarding this topic, the difference between
most people and me is that most people believe this should be
done “on a person’s own time,” while I believe it should be
done during the work day. But, hey, that’s another topic
for another time!

© 2006 Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

Glory Borgeson is a business coach and consultant, and the president of
Borgeson Consulting, Inc. She specializes in working with executives in the
“honeymoon phase” of a new position (typically the first two years)
to coach them to success. Glory is the newly appointed executive’s
Secret Weapon!. Top athletes have a coach; why not you?

Click here for Borgeson Consulting, Inc.

This article was originally published in The Business Express, Borgeson’s
free monthly ezine. You may subscribe by clicking here:
Ezine

Share This