Management and Your Health

Do you ever feel this way?

I would imagine that a large percentage of college students have aspirations of management sometime in the professional careers. These desires often become stronger as students graduate and enter the workforce. Management, a leader of people, being able to form and shape peoples lives, having a direct role in the success of a company; what more noble of a calling could there be? Is being a leader or manager in some fashion going to make everything better? Is management fun and thoroughly rewording? Is it "all that it's cracked up to be?"

Competition today places tremendous stress on corporations. The dazzling advances in technology and telecommunications make the development of new products and ideas better, faster and cheaper. Of course, the company with the new products or ideas first has the distinct advantage of gaining new customers and building a reputation as an innovator. Acquiring new customers before the competition does. Truly, these are huge advantages.

Considering the importance that is placed on new products and processes, getting there first is a critical item to companies. Consider if a bank is the first with a new and innovative offering. They have the chance of drawing customers away from other banks over to their side. Couple this with the emphasis placed on 'six sigma' and 'zero defects' and there is a tremendous amount of stress placed of management today. Management all the way down from the C.E.O. to the V.P. the team leader. Company managers are facing more stress and pressure from above then ever before. Pressure to perform fast with high quality and high productivity.

The amount of hours and weekends that many managers work today is just about criminal. When I take a look at some of the managers I see, there is no way I would want the stress and pressure they are faced with, often daily. Some have turned into such grouches that no one wants to talk to them, even on a social level. I am aware of several people who were formerly managers and are glad to be out of the spotlight.

If you deal very well with stress and working long hours, management might not be such a shock and a good fit. If you have a second life apart from your job, you may want to sit tight in your job for a while before you push for a management position. What is important to you? What are your priorities? If offered a management position, consider these questions before you jump into it.

With the stress that management and non-management face in Corporate America today it is essential that we take care of ourselves. For our sanity as well as our physical condition. Visit the Feeling Outstanding Nutritional Supplements page for an excellent selection of nutritional supplements and herbal remedies. An alternative approach for health.

Tom Thorne

http://www.feelingoutstanding.com/

7 Vital Attributes to be Successful at the Job

Most teenagers in high school have aspirations of being successful at their occupation and making lots of money when they graduate from school. I would say that even more college students have similar goals to be successful and wealthy upon graduation. For the great majority of people, there are certain job attributes that need to be practiced to achieve such lofty goals.These principles have worked for me. I have watched these principles work for other successful people too. So, let's get started.

1. Effort and a strong work ethic. The first thing a person needs to do when starting a new job, regardless of your qualifications, is to show a strong work ethic. Show that you are willing to go the extra mile, put in the additional couple of hours and put forth extra effort. There's no better way to make a good first impression on management and co-workers.

This sounds so obvious, but it is amazing how many people don't do this and lose that chance for a first impression. A young man once worked for me that was very intelligent, organized, neat, and was a very gifted communicator. His work ethic was poor and that far overshadowed his good qualities. Needless to say, after he had a good chance to improve but chose not to, he didn't last long in my department.

My next blog will include part 2. After we examine all seven, we will then take a look at how these are related to our health and well being.

Have a great day everyone,
Tom Thorne
www.FeelingOutstanding.com

Positive Thinking and Feeling Great! (Part II)

I firmly believe that diet and exercise are unquestionable keys to good health. And, probably most of you do too. Intrinsically, deep down inside, we all know this. My point is this, when start eating a more healthy diet and implement a sensible exercise program we know that our health will improve.

We need to keep our thoughts at a higher plain when disappointments occur. If we don't lose those 10 pounds in a month (as the advertisement told us we would) or we don't get those super ripped abs in 90 days, we cannot get discouraged. We know what we are doing is right. We have to keep it up. Like it or not, weight is not as evanescent as the advertisements tell us. If we get a cold or the flu, we cannot get discouraged. The right habits that we are now practicing did not cause it.

I absolutely abhor the avalanche of advertisements that this country faces that are outright false. The mendacity of some companies is appalling. There are so many ads that make losing weight, gaining huge muscle mass, developing ripped abs and getting in Superman like condition seem so easy just by taking their magic potion or doing their "quick" exercise routines.

Conclusion:
Living life feeling outstanding comes from practicing good habits daily. To be successful in this quest it is imperative that we make positive thinking one of those habits. Doing the right thing leads to victory. Healthy people don't get there by magic. Positive thinking makes doing the right thing a whole lot easier.

Here's to good health.
Tom Thorne
www.FeelingOutstanding.com

Should I Join a Fitness Center or Not? Part II

On the other hand, I have been an exercise enthusiast all of my adult life. I was a member of a quality gym recently for about a year. It was a first class facility and the owners were very accomplished weight lifters and weight trainers. Honestly, I never was that thrilled with the experience. It was nice to hob-nob with people seeking the same general goal as yourself but the extra time involved, the inconvenience and the expense soon became a drag. It was never really worth it's value for me.

This can happen to people who become members of a fitness center. And when it does, some get discouraged and quit exercising completely. Does it mean everything is over with, fitness is out the window and gone for good for a person who doesn't maintain their membership? I say definitely not. There are several excellent home gym products available at reasonable prices. And with some creativity a very good exercise routine can be developed around the house with just a small amount of gadgets and minimal expense.

How many of you remember Jimmy Piersoll, the legendary center fielder who played baseball for the Boston Red Sox in the 1950s and 1960s? The person who many consider one of the best defensive outfielders ever to play the game. I remember Jimmy saying many times that the best overall exercise is running. In my opinion, running is much more enjoyable when you are outside than when you are inside a small track doing 9 laps per mile. But, if you have seen the shape Jimmy was in long after his retirement you would know that he was on to something.

Conclusion Fitness centers are great for some people. They help provide the added motivation needed to keep up an exercise program. For others, membership in a fitness center just does not make sense and it is not necessary. Some people have the power within to keep up the workout routine on their own. Some people work out with family members at their own houses. In the near 30 years that I have exercised very consistently, I have been a member of a gym for one of those years. Membership has not been necessary for me. Regardless, we want to do our best to help us stay in shape and live life Feeling Outstanding. If membership to a gym is what you need, go for it, and enjoy yourself!

Visit the Feeling Outstanding Chuck Norris Total Gym page page for a preview into one of the top home fitness products available. The Total Gym is a complete workout in one machine. It comes with complete instructions for set up (which takes about ten minutes) and beautiful cards demonstrating each of the over 80 different exercises. It brings the fun back into exercise.

Here to good health!

Tom Thorne

www.FeelingOutstanding.com

What Does Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Have to do With Our Health? Part II

Isn't it great to feel young?

Let's examine Maslow's hierarchy of needs with regard to our health. The physiological needs are taken care of for the great majority of people in the United States. Layer 1 (from a health standpoint) is not a motivator for most.

One of my goals is to live life feeling outstanding, and I'm sure many of you feel the same. This is a level five need. This is self-actualization, being all we can be.

When we feed the need to be in excellent health, this higher level need will become stronger. It will involve a desire to fulfill our potential, to live life feeling outstanding, which is a part of self-actualization. When we start eating right (or improve our eating habits) and get on an exercise program, these good habits become easier and we want to do more.

Maslow also went on to study people who were considered to be self-actualized by society and himself. He developed a list of qualities that these people displayed that were different from the general population. There is a characteristic that these self-actualized people demonstrated that is especially significant with regard to health. These people resisted enculturation. They were not susceptible to social pressure to be well-adjusted or to fit in with the crowd. In order to really live life feeling outstanding we have to resist enculturation.

The social pressures on a person to fit-in with the crowd are huge. It is extremely easy to compromise what we know is right during social occasions, at a sporting event with friends or just eating lunch at work. Or to offer we allow our kids to eat far too much junk food to obtain their temporary adoration. Let's be people who seek the higher level need to live life feeling outstanding. Let's be autonomous people who resist enculturation. Let's practice the good health habits that will benefit us both now and in the future.

Visit the Feeling Outstanding Natural Supplements page for an excellent selection of nutritional supplements and herbal remedies. An alternative approach toward living life feeling outstanding!

Tom Thorne
www.FeelingOutstanding.com

What Does Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Have to do With Our Health? Part I

L.J.: looks like he's "being all that he can be."

One of the most well known psychological theories in the United States is what has been coined as Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This theory basically states that some needs take precedence over others. For example, if you are hungry or thirsty you will take care of the thirst first. When a layer becomes satisfied, the next layer up becomes a motivator, but not until the previous layer is fulfilled to a reasonable extent.

Five broad layers of needs were defined:

1. Physiological needs which include the basic needs for survival. This need includes items such as water, food, salt and other vitamins and minerals necessary to stay alive. Interestingly Maslow includes sex as a layer 1 need.
2. Safety and security.

3. Love and belonging.
4. The esteem needs.

5. Self Actualization.

The assumption being that once any of the first 4 level needs are met, they are no longer a motivator, or need. The next higher level need takes over. This fifth layer, unlike the first four level needs, does not involve this kind of a balance (homeostasis). This layer of needs becomes stronger the more it is fed. There is a continuous desire to fulfill potentials, to self-actualize, to be all that we are capable of being.

In my next blog we will start to see what this has to do with health and feeling great.

Here's to Feeling Outstanding!

Tom Thorne

http://www.feelingoutstanding.com/