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/

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/

Health and Wellness--A New Approach, or an Old Approach? (Part II)

I'm so glad that my days of feeling like this are not even close to as often as they were for 40 years of my life, it feels outstanding.

Sorry to everyone that my blogs got kind of out of order but here the part II to this subject. The 'arcacum' secrets that my buddy gave me to good health. If they sound trite, consider how many really practice them.

1. A regular exercise program. He does a good, solid workout in an eight day cycle. Day 1 is designed for the upper body, day 2 is for the abs, day 3 is geared toward the lower body. Day 4 is a rest day. Then days 5-7 are somewhat different routines but once again for the upper body, abs and lower body. Day 8 is another rest day. He doesn't go overboard. He doesn't work out for hours at a time. His routine generally lasts between 30-45 minutes. But the key is consistency. Of course, he is not perfect at maintaining the 8 day schedule, but he does keep it up very well.

2. Diet. Our 49 year old friend watches what he eats and drinks. Once again, he is not on a crazy diet where he partakes of copious vitamins and minerals daily. What he does do is eat in moderation with a good balance. He takes a small amount of supplements daily, and he sticks to it. To him, the biggest factor is that he does not eat foods that he knows or strongly suspects do not agree with him, no matter how delectable or socially acceptable they may be. That can mean turning down food or drink at times when it is against his will. Mr. 49er considers his health more important than the temporary pleasure obtained from items that he knows will come back to haunt him later.

3. Time with his creator. One more thing that he specifically mentioned was that he tries to spend private time with his Lord and creator every day.

We have all seen many people who get hooked on wild and crazy Superman diets that promise the world, or fad exercise programs that guarantee to make a Hercules out of us in an "incredibly short time." These things do not work, I have never seen one that does. Maybe Mr. 49ers balanced approach is something we should all consider. It works for him.

Have a great day, enjoy yourself, and do your best.

Tom Thorne
http://www.feelingoutstanding.com/

Theory X, Theory Y and Feeling Oustanding (Part II)

This manager looks like she is more comfortable with her staff!

A theory X manager really does not view his employees with much respect Let's take a look at how Douglas McGregor explains a Theory Y managers attitude toward his staff is.

• Most people consider effort in work as natural.
• People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organizational objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.
• Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.
• People usually accept and often seek responsibility.
• The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organizational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.

What McGregor then went to theorize is the self-fulfilling prophecy notion. What managers treat their employees as is what they tend to get. If a manager (Theory X) views and treats employees as though they dislike work and need to be forced to produce, he will have a disgruntled crew who takes breaks every chance they can.

On the other hand, if a manager (Theory Y) views and treats his/her workforce as imaginative, creative, willing and able to solve problems and work toward the common goals he/she will have a creative team that is able to come up with new solutions and ways to do things better, faster and cheaper. What McGregor in a nutshell is saying is that a Theory Y manager will more often than not have a more productive team than a Theory X manager.

This is a worthwhile thought to ponder on. Is McGregor on to something? In my next blog we will start to turn this inward toward our own health.

Have a great day, and do your best!

Tom Thorne
http://www.feelingooutstanding.com/

Theory X, Theory Y and Feeling Oustanding (Part I)

The worried manager. I wonder how he feels about his staff?

Arguably, the most influential book on management theory was the classic writing 'The Human Side of Enterprise' by America social psychologist Douglas McGregor. In this classic book he introduced his radical Theory X and Theory Y philosophy. This concept has been taught to one degree or another in colleges and universities throughout the United States since. And to some extent it still receives attention today.

McGregor's thought was that management viewed employees as either a Theory X type or a Theory Y type of individual. Hence the terms, Theory X and Theory Y managers. In Summary a Theory X manager views employees as follows:

• The average person dislikes work and will avoid it if he/she can.
  
• Therefore most people must be forced to work toward organizational objectives with the threat of punishment.
  
• The average person prefers to be directed and to avoid responsibility. He/she is relatively un-ambitious and wants security above all else.

In my next blog we will take a look at the opposite side of the spectrum. What McGregor calls a Theory Y manager. Then we will make a comparison in real life and see how on earth this relates to our health.

Have a blessed evening, a good night's sleep and a great day tomorrow. Let's keep our thoughts on the higher plane and reap the benefits that are ours if we do so.

Tom Thorne
http://www.feelingoutstanding.com/

Health and Wellness--A New, or an Old Approach?

I once knew a man who had been through a lot in his life. Several broken bones, a couple of concussions, a lot of stress, damaged brain cells, etc. But this fellow was quite unique. Shortly after he celebrated his 49th birthday he challenged a much younger friend to a push-ups contest.

This man, who we will call Mr. "49er", despite all of the 'stuff' he had been through in life still looked like he was in pretty good shape. He was definitely not a muscle bound "Hulkster" or anything like that, but he was not overweight and just looked generally healthy. As the contest unfolded, Mr. 49er won hands down. He did 70 good, nose-to-the-ground push-ups, and he probably could have done a few more had he been pushed! His endurance was outstanding. I was quite impressed.

I asked this chap what his secret was. He replied that there was no secret. When he explained it to me, he was right. Everybody has been taught these principles since they were young children. The problem is that few practice them. Here are the keys he gave me to health and wellness. In my next blog I will share those 'arcanum secrets' with you.

I went down to my kitchen yesterday and noticed a bottle of Peter Gilham's Natural Calm Magnesium Supplement in my kitchen that I had purchased at a local health food store a while ago. I also noticed that the price tag was $21.95, and I know I wasn't offered a discount. This exact same product in the same quantity is offered by Feeling Outstanding for $15.95. The prices on the Feeling Outstanding web page are very good!

Here's to your health, here to saving money also!

Tom Thorne

http://www.feelingoutstanding.com/

We Love Our Junk Food

The list of the 10 U.S. cities where people spend the most amount of their yearly grocery bill on unhealthy food was released recently. Being from North Carolina I cannot say that I am especially proud that Charlotte was #5. The metro Charlotte region spends 10.9 percent of their annual food dollars in the unhealthy category. This would include items such as cake and brownie mixes, cookies, candies, frozen pizza, full-fat mayonnaise, chips and salty snacks, soft drinks, ice cream, bacon and sausage.

The #1 metro area was Minneapolis-St Paul, where people spend 11.5 percent. The top 10 look like this:
1. Minneapolis-St Paul
2. Richmond, VA
3. Indianapolis
4. Chicago
5. Charlotte
6. Louisville
7. New Orleans
8. Nashville
9. Memphis
10. Milwaukee (good thing they didn't include beer on the list)

This study was for the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S.

So which cites spent the least on unhealthy foods? The bottom five areas are Providence, R.I., Boston, MA, Portland, OR, Hartford, CT and Austin/San Antonio.

Tom Thorne
http://www.feelingoutstanding.com/