Author: Peter Prichard

Chapter 3. THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING A BRAIN & BODY HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

The Brain Training Revolution, Paul Bendheim, MD, is the key resource in this series

“If you make brain-healthy lifestyle changes and take action, we could realize a future without Alzheimer’s disease.” National Alzheimer’s Association

Chapter 1 was posted on March 6, 2020 and Chapter 2 on March 13, 2020. If you are reading this at a time when your activity level has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, I encourage you to answer the related questions that follow based on your actions before the pandemic altered your regular routine.

“Witnessing acts of kindness produces oxytocin which increases our self-esteem and optimism, which is extra helpful when we’re anxious.” The Random Acts of Kindness organization – randomactsofkindness.org – provides additional research examples that show the benefits of performing acts of kindness with people. Here’s another example from them:

“Stephen Post of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found that when we give of ourselves, everything from life satisfaction to self-realization and physical health is significantly improved. Mortality is delayed, depression is reduced, and well-being and good fortune are increased.”

Positive emotions impact the health of your body. This article provides links to 9 sites that report credible, positive news stories.

“The health of benefits of positive emotions is well documented. They improve physical health. They buffer against depressive symptoms and help people recover from stress. They can even undo the undesirable effects of negative emotions. With frequent experience and expression of positive emotions comes resilience and resourcefulness.” Positive Emotions and Wellbeing, Marianna Pogosyan, Ph.D.

Al Siebert PhD is an acknowledged expert regarding the science of resilience. His website – https://resiliencycenter.com – provides you with the ability to evaluate the strength of your resilience, “The ability to bounce back from life developments that may feel totally overwhelming at first.”

I have frequently written about this powerful personal tendency, most recently in an article titled, Making the Most of Your 2nd Fifty Years.

I decided to write about it again as a resource for anybody at any age because of the deadly Coronavirus.

Chapter 2: THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOPING A RESILIENT PERSONALITY

As we age, we are usually confronted with an increase in difficult life developments, often health related, with which we must respond. These are often situations that confront us as individuals and situations that impact people we know and love that can be frustrating and depressing. For that reason, this second chapter provides information that helps you identify how resilient you are and how you can improve your ability to respond positively to setbacks.

Four critically important actions can help create a positive second fifty years. Each week for the next four weeks one of the actions central to living a long, healthy, happy and accomplished 2nd fifty years will be published. Each of these chapters will ask you to answer questions in A PLANNING GUIDE EXERCISE designed to provide self-assessment data you will be able to use in the fourth and final chapter to create a Mission Statement and Action Plan

Research by the Harvard Negotiation Project has generated two best sellers that show how to have successful difficult conversations. “Getting to Yes” by Roger Fisher and William Ury and “Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most”  by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen both provide specific, research and experience-based suggestions regarding how to have the conversations necessary to have a positive impact, be successful and reach your personal and professional goals.

Jim Collins, international bestselling author of the Good to Great leadership books and the Greater Good Science Center are two key resources with Great as their brand and well researched ideas about how to make personal and professional greatness happen.

Anybody attempting to have a positive impact and success in their personal and professional lives requires the ability to manage their time in a way that allows them to get the job done effectively. The most powerful resource I have found for creating an ability to manage one’s own time is in Stephen R. Covey’s international bestseller: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” His 4-quadrant time management model is elegant in its simplicity and powerful in how it helps one organize their time.

The best Job Search and Career Management resource that helps individuals excel in their personal and professional lives is www.job-hunt.org. It is free and has been available since 1993. I am not affiliated with them in any way.

I have subscribed to their free weekly online newsletter for decades and every week it provides valuable career management, job search, positive impact articles and links to related resources.