The Every Day Stranger

"Have you ever had a stranger remove your clothes?" was something I was asked recently by a nurse who shared the struggled of caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease. She said that some people can be difficult to care for because they simply don't remember you even though you've been caring for them for months/years and every day is like a stranger coming in their lives to invade their privacy.

I knew Alzheimer was about forgetting things yet I never thought about it from the perspective of the carer. If a stranger came to me with the intention to remove my clothes I would become violent which is likely the response some, if not all, Alzheimer's patients have depending on how far into the disease they are.

It saddens me to think that this is the struggles my grand mother is likely going through with her carer and its going to be the fate of many of us as 1 in 9 people will have Alzheimer in their lifetime. I can only hope that one day Alzheimer will be added to our list of treatable diseases. Until then, I guess the only thing we can do is try to live such a lifestyle that minimizes the chances of getting the disease even though there's never any guarantees that we won't have it.

When Overtime Impacts Your Decisions Making Abilties

Most employee agreement type of contracts have clauses about overtime requirement. In some cases, working longer hours may help but if it occurs too frequently then the quality of the work is being sacrificed for quantity.

Jeff Bezos said in an interview that he has at least 8 hours of sleep because most of his work is about making decisions and you make better decisions while you're well rested. 

We may not be making the same types of decisions as Jeff Bezos is making but we're making decisions non the less and I'm sure they're better with a well rested mind than otherwise.

I consider myself lucky that I can count on my hands the amount of time I worked overtime where it negatively impacted my sleep as many have to go through this on a weekly basis. If this is your situation I would encourage you to look for other opportunities in your field or otherwise. If you keep doing this, in the longer term, it may have farther reaching consequences than simply negatively impacting your decisions making abilities.

Self Inflicted Diseases

Ever had an ailment that you’ve decided to take into your own hands to figure out what it is? The first thing that you did was open up google and look for the symptoms? After browsing through a list of possible disease, what started as a small ailment escalated into the point where you think you’re going to die?

Me too!!

It’s important to know that it’s normal to have issues with our bodies and that most of them aren’t dangerous.
While doing a research online, or brain tends to focus so much on the symptoms of “X” disease that you may think you have it. I’ve looked up many diseases and each site have their own definition and list of symptoms so who do you trust?

The best thing to do is to wait a little while to see if it doesn’t go away and if the problem persist, go see a doctor.

Acne - Vitamin A

I’m not a dermatologist. I’ve had acne problem since I’m like 14 and I thought that it’s something that will go away over time. The truth is that oily skin isn’t age related but food related. Your body uses what you eat to regenerate itself.

I’m aware that there’s all sorts of product that help reduce the acne on the skin by drying it but that doesn’t help the root of the problem.

After doing some research, I found out that acne is cause by an excess of sebum in the skin and that it wasn’t necessary caused by fatty food (I rarely eat fatty food). I read that a lack of Vitamin A can cause an excess of sebum in the skin which turns into acne.

Vitamins A comes from potatoes, carrots, salads, cantaloupe etc (you can do a research online to find more). Notice that almost none of those are found in fatty food, if they are, they were all processed and probably contain less vitamin A than if eaten from the source.

Add more vitamins A to your diet and see if it does a difference to you :)

Sources: http://www.ehow.com/about_4613837_what-is-sebum.html

Don't Inject Disinfectant

I'm not a fan of the American President but I do find the man entertaining. His latest comment about potentially injecting disinfectant to kill the virus, which I'm sure he's going to deny as fake news, is but one of many outrageous claims that no human being should think let alone say.

He repeatedly said, during that interview, that he's not a Doctor. We know you're not a Doctor, Mr. President, so please stop conjuring up cures and suggesting them to those that voted for you without, first, talking to a Doctor. Your voters, Mr. President, believe everything you say so don't say anything that can potentially kill them.

• Your voters believed you when you said you were going to build a wall using someone else's money.
• Your voters believed you when you said you were going to make your tax return public.
  
• In August 2016, your voters believed you when you said "I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf."
• You voters believed you when you said you were going to make America great again by hiring the best of the best.
• Your voters believed you when you said....

I understand that in politics you sometime make promises that you can't keep but you can't, and I can't believe this has to be said, suggest to your voters that they do something that could potentially kill them because it's your responsibility to insure the security of those people.
A mother will often tell a child not to "drink this or that" because it can kill the child. It is weird to live in a world where a President is suggesting that we consume things that can kill us.

No, Mr. President, you are definitely not a Doctor.

For Our Planet's Sake!

We know for a fact that plastic is killing our planet then why do we continue using plastic, that can't be recycled, in our products?

According to plasticoceans.org there's an estimated 8 million tons of plastic that makes their way into our oceans. Some of that are getting in fish and ultimately our food.

Let's think about that for a minute.

If you buy a bottle of water, the bottle is recyclable but not the cap. Why the heck not? How many caps makes their way into our oceans?
When you buy a box of chocolate, the box is made of cardboard but the chocolates are placed on a plastic surface, within the box, that is not recyclable. Why not?

While I understand that we won't rid ourselves entirely of plastic, we no longer can afford to make single use plastic that can't be recycled. Every new, and existing, products have to consider this and plan their next move accordingly.

We, as consumers, also need to be more mindful of this and do the necessary changes in our purchasing habits to support a healthier future for our planet. Things that we can do today:

• Stop using straws.
• Bring our own bags when we're shopping.
• Buy products that uses less single use plastic.
• Recycle what can be recycled.

Let's decrease that 8 million tons of plastic/year to 2-3 millions for 2019. What other ways can you think of that would help our planet?

America - Stop Your Quarantine Protests!

America stop your quarantine protests! Look I get it you have a President that likes to say "Fake News" at what ever facts is thrown at him but you can't just wish a Pandemic away.

Some of you don't believe this is real because you haven't seen it with your own eyes and you don't trust anyone else but yourself. Having this type of mentality during a Pandemic can make you sick or kill you. If you are attending gatherings, and not respecting the lockdown rules, you are not only endangering yourself and your entourage but you're also extending the time it will take for everything to start up again.

America, you're "number 1" in a lot of things and it's great but being the Country with the most cases of Coronavirus is nothing to be proud of. The lockdown isn't an attack on your freedom but an attempt to get rid of a deadly virus.

The Economy is going to change because of this Pandemic. If we remain in lockdown for too long this will obviously have a negative impact on the economy but if we start everything back up again, and everyone gets sick, then this will also negatively impact the Economy. There's no way around it but we need to take the route that has the potential to save the most lives and, at least for now, that's with the lockdown.

Please stay home and only get out when you need to!

I Miss the Gym

Those that don't go to the gym, on a regular basis, don't understand the true meaning of "missing the gym". When I share this, with my non-gym friends, they tell things like "well why don't you just workout at home?" or "why don't you just go outside for a walk?". The gym is more than just a place to exercise - it's a sanctuary. It's like a church for millennials; a place where we go to exercise and mingle with people of similar goals. It's a place filled with people that understands the true meaning of discipline and hard work. It's a place to forget about your problems and focus on the moment.
Sure, I do some workouts at home with the tools that I have but it's nowhere near as good as a proper gym. I feel "flabby" in places I wasn't flabby before.

I was recently asked "what is the first thing you're going to do when the quarantine is over?" and the first answer that popped in my head is that I was going to the gym. Assuming I'm still working when the quarantine is over I fully intend on taking a few days off to go workout.

What's is the first thing that you'll be doing after the quarantine is over?

When Does Addiction Become a Problem?

It's socially acceptable to be young and do crazy things but their comes a time when it's expected that you leave these things behind in order to become a functioning member of society. Terms, such as "alcoholic", is most often associated with an adult more so than a teen who might be getting drunk every weekend.

When does addiction become a problem?

It becomes a problem when the addiction takes precedents over the responsibilities of the individual. While responsibilities can come at any age, it usually becomes more relevant with time. Teens, freshly out of high school, don't usually have the same responsibilities as an adult a few years into his career.

There's an extended family member of mine who's an alcoholic and decided to forgo most of his responsibilities for his life, in favor of alcohol, giving that responsibility to his children instead. His eldest son, at a young age, had to work simply to pay bills that should've been paid by his father. This went on up until the dad became sick and had to be placed in an assisted living home. The son was given the choice to care for his father or leave him in the assisted living home. What would you of done in this situation?

If you're battling an addiction then you're sole, most pressing, responsibility is on self-recovery. Seek help not only for yourself but for those around you. There's nothing as painful as seeing someone you love struggling with such daemons.

In Canada, various programs/helplines are available.

We Should Be Better Than the Spartans

You can probably tell that I've been reading about Greek history based on my few recent blog posts. Who ever read about Greek history likely learned about the reputation of the Spartans. For those of you who haven't, the Spartans were a Greek military society who's military, and fitness, prowess are forever remembered as being the best of its time.

If I was in charge of a nation I would make it like Sparta - not from a military perspective, as I'm not a man of war and I believe that the only war we should be fighting are the ones found withing ourselves, but from a fitness perspective.

Wouldn't it be great to live in a society largely focused on fitness? It's kind of weird to live in a society that understand the various issues the body can have if it's not treated properly and yet we "fix" those issues via medicine rather than lifestyle changes.
The Spartans didn't know anything about heart diseases, cholesterol and high blood pressure but they understood that being fit meant that they performed better on the battlefield. We know more about fitness, dieting, diseases... than the Spartans did and yet so few seems to be taking advantage of this knowledge. With all the knowledge we have we should be remembered as the fitness civilization in history but there are far more people overweight than people that are fit.

"Without knowledge action is useless and knowledge without action is futile."

-Abu Bakr

The knowledge to be fit is available to us all but few are consuming it and even fewer are applying it. You don't need to understand everything to get some good results you just need to start. If I had any degree of control over a nation fitness is definitely something that I would promote. Vote for me?

Cheap Food

“Don’t ask why healthy food is so expensive. Ask why junk food is so cheap.”
-NutritionSnob

In life, you get what you pay for. Cheap cars are bound to have more problems than the more expensive ones, cheap electronics don't usually last as long etc...

The same principle applies to food - you get what you pay for! Processed food may be cheaper but there's usually no health benefit to them, no matter how low the sodium is and even if it's gluten/fat/sugar/trans fat free. Good food is more expensive but gives the body what it needs; cheap food doesn't and can reduce the life expectancy of the body. In other words, it's cheaper to die faster!

Your body is your vehicle, treat it right!

Freedom IS about Wearing a Mask

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

-Thomas Jefferson

It is natural for us to believe that freedom is the opposite of law. We would think that freedom means that I can do anything that I want but in reality you're only free to do anything that you want for as long as you don't step on someone else's freedom. 

If we were to remove the laws related to how we use the road the end result would be chaos and definitely not freedom. It's illegal to drive at top speed, or while being drunk, because doing so endangers other people - doing so steps on other people's freedom to use the road.

We need a minimum set of rules so that our actions don't negatively impact someone else's freedoms. 

"Every man should be responsible to others, nor should any one be allowed to do just as he pleases; for when absolute freedom is allowed there is nothing to restrain the evil which is inherent in every man."

-From Book VI (chapter 6) of "Politics" book by Aristotle

I can't help but think about the road scenario whenever someone says that being forced to wear a face mask, to slow/stop the spread of Covid-19, goes against their freedom. By not wearing a mask they are making the road less safe for all of us the same way as if we were to remove the laws that pertains to the road. In-fact, a lot of our freedoms are at stake if we don't do our part to stop the spread of the virus. If we can't control the spread of the virus then how long do you think restaurants, bars and other public places will remain open?

It's true that someone can say "I don't care if I get sick" but what about those around that person that don't want to get sick? Why are some people being so selfish about this? Some people changed their minds once they actually got sick. We just can't wait around for them to learn this lesson the hard way. 

It's easier to fight a virus than it is to fight people's arrogance. Those so called "Freedom Fighters" believe that history will remember them has heroes when in fact they will be remembered as one of the reasons why this virus stuck around for so long and why things were shut down longer than it needed to be.

You're Enough

Does anyone ever feel like they're perfect the way they are? Or are we all feeling inadequate in some way? When will we ever feel like we're enough or just as good as anybody else? Why is it that the perfect picture of ourselves never matches our reality?

"Other people see in us what we see in ourselves." 

-David J. Schwartz

Life insecurities is getting in the way of living to the fullest. To just be and let it be sounds simple but it definitely isn't'. This isn't something that becomes better with age as I've seen many people in the last stages of their lives still not being at peace with themselves. It's something that we first need to identify as a problem and work towards improving.

"The key to winning what you want lies in thinking positively toward yourself. The only real basis other people have for judging your abilities is your actions. And you actions are controlled by your thoughts. You are what you think you are." 

-David J. Schwartz

It's difficult to feel confident when we feel inadequate. What  can we do to work on this? We need to attack this problem on two fronts:

1. First, and most importantly, we need to think positively towards ourselves. Sure, we may have some bad sides but we also have some good sides. There are good and bad things in all of us - this is what being human is all about.
2. Second, there are some things about us that we definitely need to change. If we have addictions, for example, it's not enough for us to simply think positively about them - we need to get rid of them altogether.

To recap, think positively about yourself, identify the things that are a nuisance and fix them. Even when we fail to change, just the thought of seeing ourselves as a project to work on is sometime enough to see the better side of us.

It is better for us to identify our own problem than to have others identify them for us. Fixing ourselves is our responsibility - nobody can do that for us.

Vaccine - The Choice that Isn't One

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

-Daniel Patrick Moynihan

When we only think of ourselves, it's easy to say no to a vaccine but we have to remember that these, important, decision doesn't only impact us. It impacts our family, friends and strangers both near and far - all good and decent people that deserve to live a life free of deadly diseases.

While I can certainly understand the fear some people have in regards to vaccines we can't, however, deny it's efficiency as there are many more people surviving a vaccine than people surviving the disease the vaccines were designed to protect us against.

There's no choice in regards to vaccines designed to protect us against an infectious, deadly, disease. Not taking those types of vaccines means that you are a potential risk to yourself and your entourage in spreading the infection. It's our duty, as individuals, to insure that we don't become a vehicle for infections for diseases with a high mortality rate.

If you choose not to take the vaccine, you potentially become a danger to yourself and others. It's illegal for anyone to kill someone else; why is it legal for someone to spread a deadly disease? We could argue that the method of killing is different but the result is the same from the victim's perspective. 

Being responsible for spreading a deadly, infectious, disease may end up killing more people than a knife, or a gun, ever could in your hands.

Be part of the solution and get vaccinated. 

Loosing Weight

Loosing weight is difficult when you don't know how to go about it. What most people don't realize is that going to the gym to exerciser is the easiest part - the diet is the hardest.

The Diet:
I'm not a believer in diets that cut out a specific food groups in order to achieve weight goals. Currently, the "Keto" diet is all the rage but I can't see how it can be sustainable, longer term, considering that your body needs the nutrients that the diet is removing. You can only go so long, without a food group, before you start noticing problems.
No energy? Body aches? Feeling depressed? Those could all be problems related to the diet. The best diets include items from every food groups sized according to your goals.

The Exercise:
It is possible to loose or gain weight simply by dieting but it's best to accompany a diet with a good exercise regiment tailored to your goals. Remember that the diet needs to compliment your workout - not go against it. If your goal is to loose weight, and you're not noticing any changes after 3-4 months, it could be because your calorie intake far exceed the calorie burnt during your working. You can't outwork a bad diet because it's easier to consume calories than it is to burn it. It can take 30 minutes just to burn the calories you got from eating a cheese burger. Think about that next time you eat a burger and you're trying to loose weight.

The Rests:
Resting is important in order to loose weight and is probably the easiest thing to implement. When we rest, it not only regenerates our energy but it also helps with healing our broken muscles.

The Discipline:
Another thing to consider during your wellness journey is the discipline required to reach your health goals. Weight goals are the easiest to make but they are also the easiest to break. "Cheat meals" can turn into cheat days, weeks, months and next thing you know you've quit on yourself entirely.

Loosing weight is possible. Set the goal, follow your diet, exercise appropriately and do it even when you don't feel like it and you'll do it.

There's Blood on The Salad

Some vegans seems to believe that their life choices has little to no impact on the environment when the reality is that there's blood in the salad. If you ask any farmer, they will tell you that in order to grow crops they have to kill hundred of thousands of creatures whether it be insects, bird, squirrels, deer... or whatever else is negatively impacting the crops.

This isn't to say that being vegan is just as bad as not being vegan. What I'm saying is that being vegan doesn't remove a person from the problem nor does it make them a saint.

There's a real need in finding methods of growing crops that isn't as destructive on the environment as it is now. If the problem is that we've destroyed millions of acres of habitats in order to grow our crops then perhaps the solution is to grow food at a smaller , more personal, scale. Would more people growing their own food be better for the environment than having millions of acres dedicated to crops by a single entity? 

Many companies are finding ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Is there anything else that can be done to help making crops less impactful on the environment? 

We Need to Rethink Consumerism

It's crazy to think that a bag of chips I used 25 years ago is still in a landfill somewhere. According to streetroots.org, the average American will produce 102 tons of trash in his lifetime. Multiply this by the almost 8 Billion People on the planet and it's not difficult to see that we have a problem on our hands.

How did we get here?

We got here through a series of small innovations designed to make our lives easier at the expense of our planet. We got here by replacing paper bags with plastic ones, glass with plastic, towels with paper towels... Someone is profiting from our desires to live a simpler life at the expense of our habitat. We could blame companies for introducing these "innovations" in our lives but the blame ultimately falls on the consumer. Afterall, we wouldn't have a market for paper towels if people didn't buy them.

Have you seen a Swiffer commercial lately? They literally show you how easy it is to clean and then put the thing in the trash. Commercials are training us on how to use those "single use" products and how to disposed of them. 

"It's as easy as throwing it in the trash". Easy doesn't make it right now doesn't it?

We need more reliable, recycle products. We, consumers, must look into everything about our products and choose the ones that are friendlier to the environment. While it starts with the consumer, I also think that business could do a better job at leading us in the right direction just the same as they did lead us in the wrong direction.

Things need to change now...

Body Positivity But Don't Forget About Your Health

Body positivity is a great movement that helps put light on the issue of unrealistic beauty standards. It's about accepting your body for what it is. However, in the case of being overweight (or under weight), accepting your body and accepting the health issues that may come with it are 2 different things. One can feel beautiful, while not fitting in the unrealistic beauty standards set by various marketing companies, while still looking out for one's Health.

"You can't change what you can tolerate."

-Myles Monroe

Accept yourself for who you are but don't accept your health problem if there's something you can do about them. Doctors are quick to give us drugs for the various ailments when really they should encourage people to make better life choices.

When I first started on my fitness journey, I used to think that having big arms would make me happy. Then I got big arms and it didn't make me happy.  Then I thought that if I had bigger legs then I would be happy but it didn't... it took me a while to realize that being happy isn't tied to how I look in the mirror. There are just as many people slim and depressed than they are people that are overweight and happy. 

I will say this, however, how you feel and what you eat, or do with your body, is directly related. If you don't exercise, and eat like junk, you will be more likely to feel like junk than if you exercise and eat what your body needs.

Feel good about yourself but don't forget about your Health.

The 4 Requirements to Live a Life of Joy

"In America today the popular word for the good life is "happiness." ... The American pursuit of happiness can often look like a compulsive, joyless effort to escape boredom... A people blessed with far more material advantages than any other society has ever enjoyed is not clearly the happiest people on earth. One plain reason is a paltry conception of the good life, or what I have called the highest standard of low living in all history. But this only forces the basic question. What, then, is the good life?"
-P. 115 of "Living Issues with Philosophy" book by Harold H. Titus and Marilyn S. Smith

According to Chris Brady, there are actually 3 “happy” feelings that one can feel. Those are Pleasure, Happiness and Joy. Let’s talk about them in a bit more details:

• Pleasure is the least fulfilling of the 3 because it constantly needs to be worked on in order to keep the good feeling going and it doesn’t last very long. Orrin Woodward once said that “"Pleasure does not bring happiness; it only brings an increasing hunger for more pleasure." Pleasure can be felt while doing such things as playing video-games, watching movies, sex among others. Pleasure requires an external component to trigger the feeling and is short lived. It's at this level that addictions can be found.
• Happiness comes from being proud of yourself for a job well done or through meaning. It’s to see the good sides of life.
• Joy is the ultimate form of “happiness” and there are 4 things to consider to achieve it. Those are (note that I’ve ordered them by importance to me):
• Spiritual - Spirituality is finding your moral compass either by following a religion or by other means. It’s to have a general understanding of the universe and your place in it - to be at peace with it.
• Health - Everything in life gets more difficult if health is an issue. Be sure to eat right, exercise and stay away of agents that are known to cause health issues (such as cigarettes, chemicals …)
• Relationships - This includes friends and family. Robert Putnam once said “Happiness is best predicted by the breadth and depth of one’s social connections.” If you do not find this to be true, then you likely do not have many meaningful relationships.
• Finances - Here, I’m not talking about owning a big house with nice cars but to be financially fit. If you are heavily in debt, it can be very difficult to feel anything else but stress and stress doesn’t bring Joy.

Joy obviously is what everyone should strive to achieve during their lifetime and doing so requires a lot of effort and an active part in one's own life. To sit by and watch the days go by won't bear any fruit.

Look Your Best But Don't Overdo It

*David by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

We're a society that's very appreciative of beauty which places a, often unfair, pressure on people to look a certain way. There are some good sides of this as it sometime inspire people to make dietary, or lifestyle, changes in order to bring out, what is widely considered, attractive physical features. This becomes a problem, however, when taken to extremes. Some people don't feel pretty unless they look like they can lift a car.

The pressure to look a certain way can be so great that some people will get all sorts of surgeries to "fix" what they think is wrong with them physically. If you have no reason to get a new nose, other than you think it's too small or big, then why do it? Note that there are no surgeries that will allow us to look 20 years old once we reach the ripe old age of 60. Plastic Surgeons are obviously not against this trend as it allows them to own a few cars and a condo in the Bahamas.

"Exterior beauty without the depth of a kind soul is merely decoration."

-Anne Marie Cummings.

On one side, it's great to live in a society where we have the option to change our physical appearance but I hate the fact that it is so widely used for the wrong reasons. Somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of what true beauty is. It's not about how you look as much as who you are. There are no surgeries available that can fix a broken soul. It is far more pleasant to be at the company of someone with a kind heart than someone with nothing but a pretty face.