How often do you complain about your life? About all the things you want and do not have? How much time do you spend feeling badly because you have not achieved all the things you wanted to achieve by this point in your life? How much time do you spend feeling like it is taking forever to get the things that you have determined to get? Probably a substantial amount. It would be well worth your while to actually sit down and calcuate what percentage of your waking hours is spent in these ‘dissatisfacted musings’.

Now, think about the opposite. How much time do you spend appreciating your life and the things and people in it? How much time do you spend being grateful for all that is wonderful in your life? Do you even know what are the wonderful things in your life? Go back to the top of this article and read Buddha’s words again. In every life, no matter how dreary it might seem, there is something to be thankful for.

Here’s a likely example: If you are reading this, then it is likely that you have access to a computer, and time to search for inspiration. You have the blessing of sight and the ability to read and understand. These are not gifts to be sniffed at or to be taken for granted. Imagine that you are involved in an accident tomorrow and are struck blind - unable to see. How much would you wish to return to this moment and be able to enjoy the pleasure and use of your vision? So don’t think that what you have is trite and not worthy of gratitude and appreciation.

We must all have goals and dreams and desires to lead us on our path forward, however that does not negate being able to appreciate all that we have right now. We must often take moments to bask in wonder of the truly great things in our lives. We must take the time to feel gratitude for the gifts that have come our way, the persons who have helped and inspired us, the serendipity that is life at its best.

Such moments of appreciation and gratitude shore us up, and give us renewed energy to keep striving towards our goals. For the life we live today is the one we worked towards yesterday. Today, we have some of the fruits of our earlier labour, some realized goals – we must take the time to appreciate them before running after another goal. Valuing your achievements gives impetus towards accomplishing more.

But that is not the only reason to bask in the good of your life – the mere basking itself has value to you. The moments you spend in basking and appreciating and being grateful are moments well-lived and incredibly satisfying.

“We all have the tendency to struggle in our bodies and in our minds. We believe that happiness is possible only in the future. The realization that we have already arrived, that we don’t have to travel any further, that we are already here, can give us peace and joy. The conditions for our happiness are already sufficient. We only need to allow ourselves to be in the present moment, and we will be able to touch them. What are we looking for to be happy? Everything is already here. We do not need to put an object in front of us to run after, believing that until we get it, we cannot be happy. That object is always in the future, and we can never catch up to it.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh

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If you are suffering from depression it is best to fight it on several fronts, including the psychological and the physical. LieslNet has already posted several articles on Overcoming Depression psychologically. Now we shall consider the possible benefits of fighting depression on the physical front.

Clinical Studies of Depression and Omega-3

Several studies have shown a relationship between fish oil (Omega-3 in particular) and depression. An increased consumption of fish has been linked to a reduced occurrence of depression. Studies examining the rates of depression and fish consumption nationally have shown astounding correlations. New Zealand, where fish consumption averages only 40 pounds per year, experiences a depression rate 60 times higher than Japan, were fish consumption averages 140+ pounds a year. Other compelling evidence includes a study of pregnant women which showed that those consuming 10 ounces of fish a day were two times less likely to suffer postpartum depression than those pregnant women who had zero fish consumption during pregnancy.

A quick search of any internet search engine will show a long list of studies whose results all suggest a close link between increased fish consumption and reduced depression rates. The active ingredient in fish oil that is thought to be efficacious in reducing depression is Omega-3, which is a polyunsaturated fatty acid. It can also be found in walnuts, flaxseed and pumpkin seeds.

Usefulness of Omega-3 supplementation

Studies have yet to suggest the perfect dosage of Omega-3 supplementation, showing only that the positive effects can be lost with over-supplementation i.e. at higher doses. However, it is reasonably safe to assume that if your diet is completely devoid of any Omega-3, some small supplementation ought to be useful in reducing depression.
This author has found supplementation with Omega-3 to be beneficial in the fight against depression. The spontaneous occurrence of negative feelings is greatly reduced and energy levels are higher. While it is far from a happy pill, it has had a significant enough effect to prompt this author to continue its use.

If you dislike taking pills, you might want to consider simply increasing your fish consumption. Eat fish more often than you do now and see if you get a positive effect. That is the simplest way to test the theories for yourself. Of course, be aware that certain types of fish farmed in certain waters are said to contain intolerably high levels of mercury so do your research and know what you are buying and eating, but definitely consider this as an option.

So if you are fighting depression, it is worthwhile to investigate the use of Omega-3 supplementation as a tool. Before taking any supplement it is wise to seek the advice of your medical care and mental health professionals, particularly if you have been diagnosed with any other medical or mental conditions for which Omega-3 might be contra-indicated. But this supplement is well worth investigating.

“It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.” ~ Sally Kempton.

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• Mental Strategies for Battling Depression Part I
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One technique that can be used to overcome procrastination is to implement The 10-minute Rule.

This is a very simple technique. In fact, its simplicity is a critical factor because if you feel like procrastinating chances are you won’t have the motivation to implement any complex, involved processes to overcome the procrastination. You might not even be able to summon the mental stamina to examine the consequences of procrastinating as described in the article “Overcoming Procrastination - Examine the consequences”.

How to use The 10-minute Rule

The 10-minute Rule involves simply making a commitment to do whatever it is that you are procrastinating for a period of just 10 minutes. After all, 10 minutes is not much time - usually it passes in a flash, especially if we are plunked down aimlessly in front of the television. So make a deal with yourself to do the activity for just 10 minutes and if after that 10 minutes you still don’t want to do it then you may stop. That’s the deal you make with yourself. Very simple.

So the next time you don’t feel like doing your 30 minutes of exercise or doing that homework assignment or cleaning the house or writing that report or balancing your cheque book, make a deal with yourself to do it for just 10 minutes. And if after that 10 minutes you still don’t want to do it, then stop.

How the 10-minute Rule works

The great thing about this technique to overcome procrastination is that the human mind and body are designed such that once you begin to do the activity you get into a flow with it. Perhaps the hardest part about engaging in an activity is getting started. Once you overcome the original inertia and get into it, it is actually much easier to continue doing it than to stop. Also, usually after the 10 minutes, you have already made some progress and you generally think that since you are already into it, you might as well keep at it. For instance if the dreaded activity was 30 minutes on the treadmill, then after 10 minutes, you have already gotten one third way through that goal, so you might be more inclined to complete it and derive the accomplished feeling that accompanies that success. And voila, procrastination has been thwarted.

Studies have shown that it takes about 10 minutes to become engrossed in what you are doing – to get into the zone, which is why it becomes easier to overcome your original reluctance at that point. And once you are deeply involved in the task, you sense the progress you are making, and realize that you are on the way to completing it. This is often incentive enough to keep going rather than stop. The basic laws of physics also apply to procrastination – a body in motion will stay that way unless some external force acts on it – so a mind engrossed in an activity will also stay that way unless it is distracted.

Repeatedly apply the 10-minute Rule

It is critical that once the 10 minute period is up, you decide if to keep going. In the unlikely event that you want to stop at that point, it helps to consider implementing the 10-minute rule again. So after 10 minutes of exercise, you might decide to keep going for another 10 minutes and see how you feel about it. In fact, the 10-minute rule should be implemented as many times as necessary to overcome procrastination impulses.

The 10-minute Rule works so wonderfully that soon you will find that you have completed the activity which you had spent so much time and energy procrastinating.

So the next time you feel like putting off a ‘task’ try out the 10-minute rule and see how it works for you.

“A year from now you may wish you had started today. ~ Karen Lamb”

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• Overcoming Procrastination - Examine the consequences
• Overcoming Procrastination
• Achieving Your Goals - The Power of Persistence
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• Relationship Dynamics - How to get the relationship you want
• How to Fight Depression Naturally
• How to Stop Worrying and Be Relaxed – An Experiment
• How to be Happy - Training yourself to enjoy life
• How to choose your perfect mate, spouse or life partner
• Coping with Stress - Part I
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• Achieving Your Goals Part I - Goal Identification
• Achieving Your Goals Part II - Form a Plan
• Achieving Your Goals Part III - Make a Commitment
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In Part I we defined nourishing and malnourishing time and explored how to go about identifying just how we are spending our time and whether it is in line with our goals. Once you have identified how you currently spend your time, you need to look at how you might want to change this use of your time by replacing malnourishing time with nourishing time, and maximizing your nourishing time.

Converting malnourishing time to nourishing time

For those blocks of time which you have identified as malnourishing, you have to consider how you might make it nourishing. How can you use that time so that it nourishes your goals, and your objectives? So maybe you decide that 4 hrs of tv is really malnourishing however 1 hr of tv will be nourishing, what do you do with the other 3 hrs? How can you use it so that it nourishes you? Which goal can you nourish with that time? Perhaps if you have a goal to become healthy, you could exercise for an hour. Maybe you have a goal to finish a book, so you could read for an hour. Maybe you have a goal to sleep better, so for the last hour before bed you could meditate and listen to soothing music. Of course in order to use your time to nourish your goals you need to know what your goals are. If you need help with this you can access the article “Achieving Your Goals Part I - Goal Identification.”

Maximising your nourishing time

So you are done right,? You have got this time management thing down? Not quite. The next step is to consider your current nourishing time and see if you can maximize it. You want to see if you are making the most effective use of your time here. It is time spent nourishing your goals but could it be spent to nourish even more of your goals or to nourish the same goal more effectively?

So let’s go back to the goal of studying. If you spend one hour studying, how do you do it? Do you simply read the book for the entire hour? That is nourishing certainly but it might not be as nourishing as it could be. You could be reading a section then verbally explaining what you just read – reviewing it to ensure that you really understood it. You could be making notes. You could be quizzing yourself on it. Is your time as nourishing as it could be? Is it the most effective use of this nourishing time?

Further, are you nourishing your goals in the correct proportion? The correct proportion is determined by your priority. Let’s say you have two goals – one is to study and get an A and the other is to exercise. You might decide that your priority is to get the A so therefore would you spend one hour exercising and 10 minutes studying? Nope. You would have to allocate the time in proportion to your priorities. This is a clear obvious example, but in truth, your life is more complicated than this and you have more than two goals and many different blocks of time.

Further your priorities will fluctuate depending on what is happening in your life. As you get closer to the exam you might find that the studying takes on an even greater priority than before and that other items are reduced in priority. So you must always be conscious of how you are using your nourishing time to ensure that it is nourishing your goals most effectively and in the correct priority.
So to summarise, you need to:

• Carefully note how you use your time – nourishing or malnourishing
• Decide how to change your malnourishing time to nourishing time
• Decide how to maximize your nourishing time

This might seem like a lot of work and possible waste of time, however this is an excellent investment of your time that will allow you to better manage your time.

“The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you are the pilot.”

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Most of us feel like we do not have enough time in the day to do all the things we would like to do. Mostly we feel like we do not have enough time to do the things that are truly important to us, the things that would help us achieve our goals. We have all heard of time management and while we agree with the concept and think it is a wonderful idea to “manage our time”, most of us rarely get around to doing anything about it.

The truth is that when we consider time management we do not understand how we can apply it to ourselves and we do not understand that we need to make a paradigm shift in how we view time. Time must be viewed in terms of how it is used in relation to your goals. Time must be viewed in terms of its value for you, in terms of effectiveness in achieving your goals.

Time as nourishment

It is useful to think of time in the same way that we think of food. Food can be nourishing and healthy for you or it can be malnourishing – creating a state of unhealthiness within your body. Any time that is spent in working towards your goals can be thought of as nourishing. Meanwhile time that is spent in activities that are counterproductive to your goals is malnourishing. This is clear and obvious, however what is not so obvious is that time that is just idled away or wasted at ‘useless, ineffective activities’ is also malnourishing.

What is Nourishing Time?

What kinds of activities make your time usage nourishing? It depends completely on your goals and objectives. Any activity that brings you closer to your goal creates nourishing use of time. For example, if your goal is to study hard and get an A, then any time spent on studying is nourishing time.

But does this imply that all your time blocks must be allocated towards achieving some active goal on your goals list? Not necessarily, but it does mean that you must make conscious choices about how you use your time. For instance, a common unwritten passive goal of every human being is to maintain a state of mental health as opposed to mental unrest or mental dis-ease. In order to achieve this goal, how might you need to spend some of your time? Relaxing, de-stressing and unwinding. So therefore, meditating, watching a movie or simply sitting quietly will all be nourishing constructive use of your time.

What is Malnourishing Time?

What might be considered malnourishing time? Well, if your goal is to be upright and honest and you find yourself spending time with some less than honest folks who might negatively influence you, then this is obviously malnourishing. However there are many instances where it is not so obvious that the time is being used in a malnoursihing way.

For instance, if you go home and plunk yourself in front of the tv and spend 4 hours watching tv before going to bed. Is that malnourishing time? Or is it nourishing time? Well does 4 hrs of tv contribute to some goal of yours? Does it relax you or does it just numb your mind? Are you just idling away the time – without a conscious decision to do so? Did you see the tv on and sit in front of it and next thing you know its bed time? Then that might well be malnourishing time. It is just time spent. Not towards any goal. So therefore it is time wasted and therefore malnourishing. It all depends on your intentions. If you had had a particularly tough week , working very hard and you decided that you were going to just relax and watch tv all night long then it might be nourishing. It might be giving you an opportunity to rejuvenate and recharge. We will discuss if it is the most nourishing use of your time to achieve this goal later on.

How do you use your time?

The idea here is to get a rough idea of how you use your time. Each block of time, whether it is a moment, a second, a hour, a day or a week, is either nourishing or malnourishing. And the very first step in time management is to become aware of how you use your time – how much of your time is nourishing and how much is malnourishing?

So for each instant of time ,you should be able to say if it is nourishing time or malnourishing time. So at any moment, you could ask yourself “Is this the best use of my time?”

Tomorrow we will talk about how to replace malnourishing time with nourishing time and how to maximize your nourishing time.

“Forever is composed of nows” ~ Emily Dickinson.

If you find this article useful and want to support LieslNet please make a donation here . Every little bit helps

Related Articles:

• Achieving Your Goals - The Power of Persistence
• Achieving Your Goals Part I - Goal Identification
• Achieving Your Goals Part II - Form a Plan
• Achieving Your Goals Part III - Make a Commitment
• Achieving Your Goals Part IV - Staying Motivated
• Achieving Your Goals Part V - Change Your Environment
• Achieving Your Goals Part VI - Change Your Thinking
• Achieving Your Goals Part VII - Discipline and Vocabulary
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