Last Friday, my friends’ 8 year old niece went missing from her home in Tracy, Northern California.
I put her photo and info on the previous post. Please take a look and send it to anyone you know on the west coast. The more people see her photo, the better the chances of this little angel being returned home safely.
When this type of thing happens to someone you know, it really changes your life.
No doubt, it’s sad when you see it on TV, but when its this close to home, it hits you really hard and makes you reevaluate your priorities.
But I am not the type to sit on my ass and cry. I took action, I have been posting the report on Facebook and Twitter and on my blog.
This experience has also brought up three of the most important lessons I can offer you in health, fitness and wellness. And no, these aren’t ‘fat loss’ or interval training tips….these lessons will change you life if you pay attention…they are simple yet powerful and often overlooked.
The most powerful lesson and solution for improving your health has
little to do with how many calories or how you cycle your carbs or
whether or not you drink raw milk…The most powerful solution to your
health is right in front of you…and right inside of you.
This experience has brought to the forefront of my mind one of the most powerful lessons that has changed my life…it is easy to forget, but critical to remember.
GRATITUDE
Wikipedia defines gratitude as ‘appreciation, or thankfulness is a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.’
Remember when your grandparents use to say things like ‘Count Your Blessings’?
I have learned that this is one of the most important components of true health. Wherever you are in life and whatever is going on, count your blessings every day and your life will change. You never know when you might lose something so precious to you, whether its a loved one or your health or even your ability to walk. Now you shouldn’t live in fear of losing something, you can easily open your heart and be grateful for whatever is happening in your life. If your stressed or having difficulty right now – simply do the mental exercise and find the hidden blessings.
Please be grateful for all the wonderful things in your life – especially the people and children who bring you joy and inspiration.
Living with gratitude opens your heart and keeps your mind balanced and in perspective. It makes life much more enjoyable. When your ungrateful and resentful, you will be more stressed and pumping out cortisol more often than normal. Cortisol makes you fat, age prematurely and is associated with practically every disease known to man. Gratitude opens your heart and frees your mind.
FOCUS
One major mistake I see every day is the answer I get when I ask people what their goals are. I usually get a long laundry list of things they DON’T want. I have to interrupt people all the time and remind them of my questions which was ‘What DO you want?
Focus on what you want and NOT what you don’t want. This pertains to little Sandra, please focus and pray for her SAFE RETURN and don’t focus on what we don’t want. The same goes for our health, wealth, relationships and fitness. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
RESPONSIBILITY
Whenever something serious like this happens it helps put your life into PERSPECTIVE and realize what your true values are.
I meet people every day in NYC and I can tell you the vast majority of people are living in a fantasy land or lying to themselves about how unhealthy and miserable they really are. Many people are looking for some ‘fat loss secret’ (that doesn’t exist) to whisk them away from their stomach aches, bloated tummy, gassy, low back achy, muffin top and poor self image, low self esteem, anxiety and depression which all comes from LOUSY DIET or not managing your mind.
All these issues stem from not taking responsibility for your life.
I get nasty emails from people who bought my Healthy Urban Kitchen saying it didn’t meet their expectations because there was no magical secret that no one else is talking about.
Truth is, there are many things I teach that very few ‘experts’ talk about, but because its basic stuff that most are overlooking, it doesn’t meet their fantasy expectations and they feel let down. They then continue on in their search for a miracle cure, magic acai berry cleanse, new trendy diet or some hidden secret that Oprah or Rachel Ray or other unhealthy celebrity surely must have….
Please understand this basic fact: Being healthy and losing weight boils down to ONE thing:
taking responsibility for your life.
There are NO secrets or shortcuts, no diets or pills that will do anything for you except drain your pocketbooks and bank accounts.
Getting healthy, losing fat and living an awesome life boils down to taking complete responsibility for your life. If your still lying to yourself about your addictions, or searching for something that will rescue you from irresponsible diet & lifestyle, or going to Barnes and Nobles hoping to find something new…you are in for a long journey that ends in disappointment and a lousy life of being overweight, unhappy, depressed and yes, eventually diseased.
I will be blogging about some of the biggest mistakes I have ever seen and their simple solutions. I can tell you right now, I have been doing this work for 15 years. The next few blog posts will be my most important lessons ever.
Please take a look at the photos of this little angel Sandra Cantu, pray and focus on her safely returning home and pass it on.
Thank you for reading
Antonio