Triad of Change
Our beloved behavior specialist Ken speaking on the triad of change to a group of Mary Kay ladies earlier this year.
(9:54 minutes)
What is your passion
Do you have a passion that drives you or do you find it difficult to identify the deep forces that motivate you?
I’ve struggled with being aware of my passions from time to time and have even lived parts of my life unaware of why I do what I do. I thought I would share some of the questions that I use to help me that become aware of my passions.
Examine yourself:
What brings you deep joy?
What do you spend your time doing that brings you peace?
What is important to you?
What would you do if you only had one day to live?
When you were young what did you enjoy doing with your time?
What makes you laugh?
If you remove what you think you should be doing, now what would you be doing?
When you find your passion you will discover abundant energy, clarity, joy, and motivation. When you operate from a place of passion, you will be more present with yourself and equally important, you will be more present for others.
One Thing
What is one small thing that you can do this week that could make a profound impact – either on your life, someone you love, or something you believe in?
You probably know by now that I believe that micro decisions create Macro Results and as I think about that today, I think I want to focus on something this week that will make a difference in the life of those around me. This week I will focus on listening better – as I go through my day, talking with people; I want to listen to them on a deeper level and really connect with them better than I ever have before.
So what is one small thing that you can do this week? What’s that one thing you’ve been putting off that would really make a difference? Maybe it’s getting up five minutes earlier and making coffee for your spouse, maybe it’s writing a letter to a loved one that you haven’t talked to in awhile. I encourage you to ask yourself, ‘What is that one thing?’ – and then do it .
Post your one thing on our Facebook page so the Minute Mover community can stand with you .
Make your minutes matter.
Micro-decisions lead to Macro-Results
Every day you are faced with decisions that seem mostly insignificant to the outcome of your life. Do I floss? Should I have a salad or a hamburger for lunch? Supersize or regular size? Soda or water to drink with my meal? Speak a kind word or not? Read something or watch TV? Read a Facebook post or get my work done? You get the picture.
There are obvious good choices, and on the contrary, there are obvious poor choices. Most of us don’t even think beyond the choice. There has been an eastern movement which focuses on awareness of living in the present, which certainly has its place (which I will address in a different post), however not to the determent of who we say we are and who we envision ourselves to be.
You might say, Aaron, come on, putting sugar in my coffee isn’t a reflection on who I am and who I claim to be. And I would challenge that statement. If you claim to be a powerful, healthy, strong, ______ (you fill in the blank) person choosing to add something to your coffee isn’t “bad or wrong” – but is out of integrity with who you choose to be?
We have to look at what we call the “micro-decisions” of the addition of sugar, not just the here and now of the choice. If we add 15 years of sugar to our daily coffee, the “macro-result” is certainly a whole lot of wasted calories and could lead to extra pounds, addiction, skin issues, hormonal issues, diabetes – even mental issues.
Whereas sugar in moderation isn’t necessarily going to send you to a convalescent home. My point here is that the little choices in life are what make up who you are in the long run. The small choices add up. Is one cigarette going to kill you? Not likely. However if you continue to make the micro-decision to smoke, what are your odds of death? I know that smoking might seem like an obvious threat to your health but what are the less obvious micro-decisions in your life that go against who you say you are? What are the micro- decisions that you make that go with who you say you are? You are still a vital living being and the beauty of your life is that you can change it on a dime, and begin to make good micro-decisions that lead you toward optimum macro-results – the big things you want out of life.
As I’m faced with decisions every day, I constantly stop and think what is the macro-result of this micro-decision? If we never cross paths again I want to make sure that I leave you with a litmus test to challenge your micro decisions against your ideal you. And remember, your micro-decisions create your Macro-Results.
The Architecture of a Minute Movement
Minute Movement really is a simple program but we don’t want anyone missing out on the incredible benefits of the exercises. So, today I’m going to cover the steps to take to truly Maximize Your Minutes!
Choose your Exercise – Be sure you are familiar with the exercises for the day (which you can see in your daily email or on the member page) so you can quickly choose the exercise you want to do when you hear your alarm. If you’re feeling a little stiff and sore, you might want to choose the Peaceful exercise and if you’re feeling exceptionally strong or have a lot of pent up energy an Energized exercise might be right for you.
Gratitude – We’ve found that it’s really helpful to take a second to think about what you are grateful for and hold that thought in your mind during your movement.
Deep Breath – Completely fill your lungs and squeeze out the stale air in order to prepare your body.
Timer – I like to keep a timer set at one minute on my smartphone at all times, that way all I have to do is open the app and press start when it’s time.
Engage the whole body – Even though we focus on a specific body part each day, it’s very important to use your entire body for each movement- especially your abs.
Breathe – Keep your breath slow and controlled throughout the minute.
Increase your intensity every 15 seconds if you can, but be sure to listen to your body too – Minute Movement is about mindfulness as much as it is about commitment, and hey – no stopping before your time’s up – Go to Zeros!
When the time’s up – take a deep, cleansing breath and get back to your day!
I hope you are starting to see the awesome benefits of Minute Movement.
How To Do Minute Movement
I’m so happy that you’ve decided to see how one minute can change your life with the Minute Movement program! Minute Movement was designed to be very simple so that you can spend your time getting fit instead of planning and researching.
Step one: Set alarms or timers to remind you to complete your exercises.
We recommend setting your timer for every hour after you arrive at work (Monday through Friday). So for people who work a typical eight to five job, you’ll set your timer for 9, 10, 11, noon, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 – once you do your five o’clock movement, you’ll pack up and go home. If you have a different schedule just make the necessary adjustments. One of our awesome Minute Movers mentioned to me that she always has something going on at the top of the hour, so she sets her timer to 15 minutes past each hour instead and that helps her stay stress-free (keep an eye out for other timer suggestions coming soon).
Step two: Take a look at the exercises for today.
Each day we’ll send an email with three exercises for that day’s body part. The Peaceful exercise will be more of a stretching style and is perfect if you’re a little sore or not feeling very strong that day. Focused exercises are isometric, which means that you push against your own body weight or a sturdy object with no joint movement. And Energized movements are a little more challenging. Of course with any of the exercises, you should only do what feels right for you, push yourself but don’t hurt yourself.
Step Three: Jump right in!
We’ve done all of the planning for you. So, each time your timer sounds, all you have to do is be willing to give yourself the gift of one minute. – You deserve it. *If you are ever in the middle of something and just can’t be interrupted, simply snooze your alarm and save that exercise for the next time it sounds.Don’t dismiss that alarm though – we’ve found that you’re more likely to skip the movement altogether if you do that. That’s why we say ‘Snooze Until You Do’.
One last thing. We also recommend that you do a self test when you begin the Minute Movement program (and every month or so as you continue with the program) in order to evaluate your progress. Members can find downloadable worksheets as well as assessments that are then compiled to track your progress on the Member page.