Think Different

Have you noticed how easy it can sometimes to be miss the
obvious? What you're looking for might be right in front of
your nose, but you simply fail to see it. Then when you do
finally see it you have a major "duh" moment and you
wonder: "Why didn't I see that before?"

As human beings we struggle with certain thought patterns
and behavior patterns that we learned from our parents or
other people that we look up to. Because these patterns are
so ingrained in our minds, we don't stop to "think" that
perhaps there's another way to see a particular situation
or another way to accomplish what we want to accomplish.

Several years ago, Apple Computer had a simply brilliant
two-word slogan: "Think Different"

It seems that it's about time for many of us to begin to
"think different" about health, fitness, diet, and time
management. Most people live their lives with all sorts of
goals that they never attain (such as weightloss). I'm
convinced that in many cases it's because they are simply
in need of some mental reprogramming.

Albert Einstein (a man well known for thinking different)
said: "The world we've created is a result of the level of
thinking we've done thus far and it produces problems, the
solution to which does not exist at the same level of
thinking."

We need a new level of thinking. We need to think different.

Let me give you a couple of simple examples of how
"thinking different" about some normal day to day
activities can have a dramatic effect on your health and
waistline.

We have been conditioned to THINK that the more convenient
something is the better it is. As a result, when you or I
take a trip to the mall, Stuff-Mart, or the local grocery
store, we generally spend extra time struggling to find the
parking spot that is as close to the front door as
possible. After all, that's the "best spot." Parking there
will get us from the car to the store the fastest (or so we
think) and with the least possible amount of walking. But
is that really better?

I'm always amazed when I think about how silly we humans
really are. We spend the entire day doing all we can to
avoid walking or any other unnecessary physical activity.
Then we pay $50 each month to join a gym so that they can
walk on a treadmill. Doesn't that seem a bit odd?

We all know that walking is beneficial. We know it will
burn fat. We know that it's good for the heart. We know
that it increases our respiration, clears the mind and
eases stress. Yet, when it comes time to look for a parking
space we forget these things because we've been conditioned
to think that it's best to get the parking place closest to
the front door so that we won't "have to walk."

So we struggle and strain to get that perfect parking spot
and in the process we waste away precious minutes that we
will never get back again. We could have simply parked at
the far end of the lot (where no one else parks), walked to
the front door and gotten started on our shopping before
those who are fighting for the best spot have even gotten
out of their cars. But our parking paradigm (and our
walking paradigm) keeps us from seeing it that way. We want
the "best" spot and we don't want to "have to walk."

Guys and girls, here's the bottom-line. It's not about
"having to walk." It's about GETTING TO WALK.

We need a new perspective. We need to begin to think
different.

The world around us is truly is a gym. Think about that
next time you pull into the Stuff-Mart parking lot or the
next time you have the opportunity to choose between riding
an elevator or taking the stairs. People pay good money to
walk on stairs that take them nowhere, when we could be
walking real stairs for free.

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James Flanders is a health nut with a passion for helping
others get fit physically and spiritually. His DVD "Make
The World Your Gym" and CD "Eat, Drink, Move, Breathe" are
available at his fitness site:
http://www.weightlessfitness.com/