Failing: it can be better than succeeding

This past week I had first hand experience in failing something that I was fairly sure I’d succeed at. After the initial disappointment I actually discovered that I will learn more having failed than I would have if I’d passed. I have little chance of becoming complacent in my efforts now that I know I need to do better. I will now focus more intently on achieving the goal I failed to attain on the next attempt. Whilst I certainly would like that shiny certificate in my hands, I honestly prefer the knowledge I gained and the experience I will gain from having to push harder and do better in the future.

I believe that in any failure there is a positive. You just have to find it and then use it to your advantage. Don’t let any failure stop you from aiming high. Failures should push you to do more than you’ve done before. To become a better person. To be more than you thought that you could be.

The art of the journal

In previous posts I have asked “if you don’t know where you are how can you know how to get to where you want to?”

A simple enough question.

But how do you know where you are? Which tools do you use to know where you are? Do you have guides? Do you have a map?

Keeping your own journal is a wonderful way to keep track of what you’ve been doing, where you are now and where you might be headed. You can jot down as much information as you deem necessary in your journal (it is yours after all). Here are a few things that you might choose to record:

• your achievements
• your failures
• what you’ve eaten
• what exercise you’ve done
• how you feel (physically and emotionally)
• what your current goals are
• your outlook
• who you’ve met
• what you are reading

Numerous notable people have kept a journal (or diary) including:

• Anne Frank
• Leonardo Da Vinci
• Che Guevara

Here are some great online resources:

• Penzu
• LiveJournal
• The Online Diary

So, get to it. You may even find that your writings inspire others.

Another example of uncommon sense – eating for type two diabetics

The Type 2 Diabetic suffers from insulin resistance. His/her cells have become resistant to insulin. Consumption of carbohydrates leads to the release of insulin into the bloodstream. Too much insulin leads to insulin resistance. So, how would you treat a Type 2 Diabetic?

If you answered “By getting 60% of dieatary nutrients from carbohydrates” you’d be following the American Diabetes Association’s plan. And you’d be wrong. That’s right the association that exists for diabetics has things ass about.

If you answered “Eat less carbs” – well done. It makes sense – uncommon sense it would seem.

Eating less carbs and therefore reducing your production of insulin helps with the issue of insulin resistance.

Sometimes, even those you think would know everything about a particular area are way off the mark. Be careful. It’s your body, not theirs.