OUR PATH TO HAPPINESS: DO OUR GENES KNOW BEFORE WE DO? (ISSUE 92)

By Diane Gold

Whatever our path to happiness, it is what drives us, floats our boat and encourages us to behave the way we do. Sometimes, it can be judged as superficial ego stroking; other times, it is seen as deep, genuine and benevolent. Whatever it is for us, we might be interested to know that our genes, and not just the social networks, can tell the difference.
Happiness

Barbara L. Fredrickson of University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill et al and Steven W. Cole of UCLA, School of Medicine et al authored a July, 2013, study (published in the Proceedings of the National Academy Of Sciences) on how genetic expression is effected by the kind of happiness we seek. There is hedonic happiness, where we park ourselves at the local upscale restaurant’s bar for the purpose of being seen and getting photographed for the high society pages;  and there is eudaemonic happiness, where we devote ourselves to a societal goal or creative act to beautify the world.

Yes, it’s surprising that our biology is watching and reacting; there is more and more proof.

THE STUDY

The study included 80 subjects who took a verbal survey, had their blood drawn and data compiled. It turns out that the study clearly indicated different gene expression profiles for those people whose happiness had to do with a goal or higher purpose and those whose happiness was connected with superficial pleasures and instant, short-lived gratification. According to an article in The New York Times on the study findings, Gretchen Reynolds wrote,

“Gene expression is the complex process by which genes direct the production of proteins. These proteins jump-start other processes, which in the case of white blood cells, control much of the body’s immune response.”

She’s referring to the fact that the blood testing of these 80 healthy individuals showed profiles with relatively high levels of blood markers that are known to cause inflammatory response for those whose happiness was related to the hedonistic approach. Their antibody production seemed to be less than in those whose goals were more moralistic. The smaller part of the group whose happiness was more service-based had gene expression that raised antibody production and reduced inflammatory expression.

Steven W. Cole, co-author of the study and professor of medicine in California stated,

“Our genes can tell the difference,”

between a life of purpose and self-gratification, unrelated to the greater good.     Our Genes

WHY

It has been suggested that our genes are evolutionarily programmed to do the ultimate good to keep ourselves and humanity safe. The lead author, Steven W. Cole is quoted by Christopher Bergland in Psychology Today, when referring to why the genes express differently, based on what different people feel,

“likely evolved to help the immune system counter the changing patterns of microbial threat that were ancestrally associated with changing socio-environmental conditions; these threats included bacterial infection from wounds caused by social conflict and an increased risk of viral infection associated with social contact. But in contemporary society and our very different environment, chronic activation by social or symbolic threats can promote inflammation and cause cardiovascular, neuro-degenerative and other diseases and can impair resistance to viral infections.”

It’s pretty amazing at how our genes have protected us and continue to protect us from internal and social threats. Pretty fascinating!

CHANGING

This article is not suggesting we make changes, that is, change our habits to those that include giving, sharing, helping, doing service. It is, however, informing and reinforcing the idea that if we don’t, our bodies may become weaker.

It would serve all of us if we used the concepts in this study wisely. Whether we decided to run a store to give free sandwiches to the poor or we decide to work on our own physical fitness so that we can be a better and healthier family member; we would ultimately achieve that deeper happiness because our genes would tell the right proteins to fire so we would live longer and more healthily.

In order to feel the deep or the shallow happiness, and no one here is judging which is better, we must be alive and well. Therefore, we are recommending that it is worth thinking twice from now on about how to act in the name of happiness.

It’s one thing to go from activity to activity, always looking for the next great kick. It is another to build a foundational difference in the world or in ourselves. The bottom line is that now we can attach a scientific reason to taking care of ourselves and others.

ACTION STEPS

NOTE

The following are a series of simple questions to ponder. Do not judge yourself. Only consider truthfully. If it pleases you, number a page from 1 to __, and write down your considerations and the date.

1)  Consider which is better for you, your favorite quick fix or a project where you are making a difference.

2)  Consider what your favorite quick fix is, and, on a scale of 1 to 10, how healthy is it for you, 10 being very healthy.

3)  Consider what your favorite “making a difference project is, and, on a scale of 1 to 10, how healthy is it for you.

4)  Consider how many people’s lives you could impact with your project.

5)  Consider which is better for you, your favorite quick fix or a project where you are making a difference.

6)  Do the activity you have considered as most pleasing to you with extra gusto.

CONCLUSION

It is fascinating that our genes which control whether things do or do not become, in many cases, respond to tension, release and, apparently, innate tendencies. Because of this and since we are speaking about it now, it is a great time to take a self-look.

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition and habit change.

She has always been fascinated by genetics. She says,

“Happiness comes from within. The instantly gratifying activities we do or actions we take count for fun but can easily go away. We each choose how to live, and whatever that is, it is right for us at the time we choose it. We can be confident in that!

“Looking at the ways others obtain happiness will not trick our genes. Obviously, they feel us closely. Therefore, considering inner balance is a worthwhile effort.”

READING FOOD AND SUPPLEMENT LABELS: HOW HABITS FORM (ISSUE 91)

By Diane Gold

When we read food and supplement labels, habits form. We become more aware of what we are putting into our body. Or do we?

There are so many ingredients in one product that the habit of reading labels must go along with doing research on what we read, if we wish to understand them.  I have been studying labeling of foods since the mid-1970s when I began studying a philosophy that includes meditation (sound yoga) , a lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet and a good clean moral life. I read every label and contacted every manufacturer of anything I ate or drank, and I would pass that info on to my fellow philosophers. My purpose was to eliminate meat, fish, poultry from the diet. I was surprised at how many ingredients and processes were withheld from the consumer. Not enough has changed since then.

FTC

I recently called the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) to question the wording on a label. I was excruciatingly shocked to find out that the “FTC can advocate on our behalf only if there is a pattern of abuse, rather than a single incident,” which means they cannot help us if we, as individuals, or people fewer than a group action find something wrong. The FTC looks for patterns of wrong doings. So, individual reports of inaccuracies remain unchanged.

This meant that the dietary supplements I called about did not fall under the purview of the FDA (Food And Drug Administration) that does not oversee dietary supplements, and I, alone, was not quantity enough to be heard by the FTC. So, nothing got done, and the product I called about continues to have an inaccurate label, since the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements and the FTC doesn’t regulate single complaints.
This is one of the many ways that the labeling system needs improvement.

THE SOURCE

What is also quite surprising to some is that manufacturers do not have to disclose what an ingredient is made from, as long as they acknowledge it exists in the product and someone, somewhere has tested it and it is GRAS (generally recognized as safe by the FDA).

WHAT THIS MEANS

Any ingredient whose source could be from animal, plant, synthetic sources might be from any of those sources at any time, the label does not specify. When a company discloses the source of each ingredient, it is showing respect to the consumer, in my opinion, and doing what all companies should be required to do.

Example One: Take the alcohol in the common soy sauce, for example. It can be made from animal fat, plant substance or it can be man-made. If we choose to stay away from animal products, we won’t know whether there is animal in it by the ingredient name only. If we have an allergy to certain plants, we may not even know we are ingesting the allergic substance due to incomplete labeling practices. And, then there’s synthetic alcohol. That leaves the ingredient “alcohol” open to any number of methods of alcohol preparation.

Example Two: Let’s look at companies that use lecithin, enzymes, mono and diglycerides, L-cysteine without identifying whether these come from animal, plant or synthetic sources. With these types of labeling techniques, much information is left out. In the case of soy lecithin, if all companies are not required to disclose genetic modified seeds, the ingredient easily can be made from modified seeds.

THE HABITS THAT FORM

Aside from the fact that we have been raised to buy food products in packages, the labels of those products don’t tell us the source, and the materials used in the manufacturing process are not required to be disclosed. We accept this and make it a standard in our buying habits.

We have been raised with produce that is waxed. There is no requirement for disclosure of this process, nor is there a mandate to tell us whether the wax is petroleum-based, animal, bee or plant-based, all for the purpose of maintaining moisture and eye appeal.
We have been raised not to expect ingredient labels on household products, paints and adhesives. This means that the fact that almost all our paper bags are glued with animal parts is not labeled as well as what is in the paint on our walls, the adhesive for our plumbing.

We have developed the habit of cheering when labels must disclose something additional, such as whether something is GMO-free (whether a product contains genetically modified organisms) or not. Shouldn’t disclosure be the norm and not the exception?

TO SUMMARIZE

1)   We accept an incomplete labeling system.

2)   We buy items that do not identify the source of ingredients.

3)   We buy items without knowing the ingredients used in manufacturing, processing or preparing, both in produce and packaged goods.

4)   Because we get a certain amount of information, we don’t ask manufacturers for more specific labeling.

5)   When we do call a manufacturer and talk to the customer service rep, we accept what these reps tell us with no written proof.

6)   When we call a manufacturer and talk to the customer service rep about ingredients, we accept it when they say they don’t have any further information.

7)   We accept that manufacturers, in general, do not have written agreements with their suppliers to get ingredients from specific types of sources, that is, animal, plant, synthetic, organic.

ACTION STEPS

In order to upgrade the way that we eat, research and show respect to ourselves, here are some action steps to change habits that will be of permanent benefit to the way that we eat, feel and read labels. Check these out:

1)   Read labels and notice all the habits that you have regarding them. This noticing may be done over a period of time.

2)   Write down what you would require in a food, supplement or drink label to have, either to yourself or by commenting on the website.

3)   Ask your grocers lots of questions about their wares, and be gracious about saying that you will wait for an answer. When the grocers say they don’t know and ask that you call the corporate headquarters of the store you frequent, call the corporate entity, get the name of the reps you speak with and notice how long it takes someone to call you back, or if you get a call back at all. Notice whether the answer they give is complete.

4)   Ask questions of your fruit and vegetable managers. Then follow the steps in 3).

5)   If you are very inspired, write a note to your local newspaper reporting your experience about how knowledgeable your local grocers and fruit and vegetable managers are. The more people talk about the topic, the more quickly we shake our old habits. The more we share our interest in this topic, the more responsible the entire chain of people involved will become.

6)   Talk to friends about labels. Remember not to go on a complaint fest. But, do inform them of your inspiration to be accountable and help others be accountable by requesting food and supplements whose labels disclose and whose ingredients disclose sources.

CONCLUSION

Now that we have looked at some of the habits that reading labels develops, it is easier to change them.

Back in the 1970s, we learned about “subliminal seduction” in psychology class. This refers to any media that lures us into doing a certain behavior or thinking a certain way through repetition of words, audio or visual cues.  According to University of Michigan, this mind-persuading data began in the 5th Century, B.C.

When we read food and supplement labels, let’s be diligent and live by what we find. If we don’t know someone’s name, we ask. In the same way, when we don’t know an ingredient, we can ask.  This way, reading food and supplement labels will begin forming the habits that are right.
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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition and habit change.

She has studied the labeling system since the mid-1970s. She says,

“The more we list on a label, the more testing and accountability is required by the food producer or manufacturer. The label size has to grow to fit the information on it. This is an excuse many producers give for not supporting full disclosure of their product. Many also hide behind the “proprietary ingredients” banner when it does not apply.

“It’s my hope that there will come a time when every ingredient’s source will be listed on every label and that suppliers of ingredients will be required to certify said source, that the term “natural” shall be removed from labels so that consumers are not duped and that nutritional data listed on labels shall identify which company measured it and the last date of measurement.

“I would have all produce wax labeled with wax source, any type of pasteurization process such as the steaming of raw almonds revealed on the label. I’d even require farmers to divulge which animal products, unprocessed chemicals they put in their soil during the cultivation of their food and whether they use GMO seeds. I don’t know would no longer be an acceptable answer from anyone in the industry.

“It is my mission to encourage people to be more demanding of the information they receive about their food. Until the labeling system is truly upgraded, be bold, ask questions, do research. And let the habits we form from reading food and supplement labels be those that support our lives.

HABIT MASTERS; WE ARE (ISSUE 90)

By Diane Gold

Habit masters, we are. During our forming period, we don’t think about it, often. Once the habit is formed, we don’t think about it either. Unless it impedes our lives.

Both habits and mastery require many lessons. They are both learned behaviors that require extreme repetition. Habits are responses we cultivate as a reaction to a certain feeling, urge, itch, trigger, craving. With repetition, these responses become semi-automatic behaviors that become part of our infrastructure until we change them. Mastery is a state of prowess developed through repeating any skill set.
Wouldn’t that make us habit masters?

COMMONALITY

So, here’s the habit infrastructure as we know it: urge leads to behavior leads to reward. We feel an urge. We do something about the urge. Our behavior gives us a reward. (Such as right now, sitting here, writing, in a doctor’s office near the health food¸ my trigger was writing the word “craving,” believe it, or not. My behavior will be to go get a frozen vegan pretzel product which is one of the only processed foods I allow myself, with lots of control so that I don’t do it every week.) My reward will be the realization of my own drooling for a pretzel (unless I decide to temper the urge by drinking two glasses of water, to quote my own advice).

When we get the same urge over and over and do the same behavior to answer the urge, isn’t that actually mastering the management of that urge? In some cases, this “management” supports our positive life style. In others, the habit burdens us or diminishes our effective productivity.

Obviously, when we hold a door for someone because we want the reward of being seen as or seeing ourselves as humanitarians, this is a great habit. When we get the urge to eat sweets, such as cookies or cake, and we answer that call by eating a whole bag of cookies or an entire cake; we may increase our weight, tax the body’s ability to healthily process glucose and develop the loss of urge control: a non-supporting habit.

When we drink alcohol on New Year’s Eve, that may be considered a harmless ritual, unless we learn to repeat that ritual over and over again several times daily.

When we eat snack foods that are made of fake food, we are cultivating a habit that is not good for our health. Unfortunately, often times, snacks are purchased because they fill us up on a severely restricted budget. Even more dismaying is that children will learn to eat poorly because their families cannot afford properly nutritious food. Or do their families not even know the ills of junk food because they, themselves, were raised on the same snacks?

WHY SNACKS

When we are young, many of us have been given snack foods for various reasons. Here are the more common reasons why:

1) Our families want us to stop demanding attention from them, so they bribe us into complacency by feeding us snacks, which often cause hyperactivity so we become more demanding.

2) Our parents, not knowing the pollution in snack foods, want us to be happy and want to show they love us, so they let us eat snacks the way their parents were raised.  And, chances are, parents raised before the 1980s,  did not begin in-depth food education in their early childhood education.

When I went to school, which was in the 50s and 60s, we made chocolate pudding or Kool-Aid in school as part of our cooking class. Sadly, nutrition was never part of the lesson, other than a tomato was red, it was spelled t-o-m-a-t-o and it was a fruit. (An Oxford Dictionaries review stated why the tomato is a fruit and I realized that the green pepper [or any color capsicum] “grows from the ovary in the base of the flower,” so just like tomatoes, are actually fruits, but used as vegetables in cooking.

NOTE

Starting with the Millenial Generation (Gen Y) – that is everyone born from the early 1980’s and afterward, will have access to more appropriate eating patterns than any generations before. There will also be more creative ways to eat well on less money because of global awareness due to global communications technology.

3) The most frequent reason people eat snack food is because healthier food is more expensive.

FACT

Just the other day, I spoke to a seventy-something who was the legal guardian to a child under seven. She received some $16 a month in food stamps, and the child received $29 for the month in food stamps. True, the woman was supposed to be receiving child support from each of the child’s parents, which was why the food assistance allotment was so low, but each parent was not able to contribute. There are companies that make little snack packs of processed food knowing the financial constraints exist more often than not. And they take that to the bank.

THE HABIT

Whether we repeat our training, we learn, whether it’s riding a bike, learning to walk, learning to swim, answering our food urge mechanism by eating snack foods, answering our alcohol trigger by drinking to excess; we learn well how to immerse ourselves in the habit.

It is said by scientific reporting that we don’t forget our habits; they are always there. Bike riding and swimming are two great examples. We still have those skills even if we take a thirty year break. Or, let’s look at drug use. People who take a thirty year break from taking drugs will be the first ones to tell you the habit is there; they are just not exercising it for the day.

Habits don’t go away. We are habit masters.

ACTION STEPS

The skills used to develop a habit are focus, repetition and follow through. These are the skills needed to change a habit, too. Of course, passion is involved in the original learning and should one choose to make a change.

Once we master one path to a habit, developing a new habit is not foreign to us; and it will be easier to develop a new one.

With that said, here’s the set of steps:

1)   Identify a skill set you have.

2)   Recall the amount of training you needed to learn it.

3)   Identify a habit you have.

4)   Recall all the times you repeated it to develop it.

So now that we have proved these major similarities,

5)   Pick a habit that you want to change.

6)   Focus on a new behavior to the old urge.

7)   Repeat the new behavior the same time every day or several times a day.

8)   Be consistent.

9)   Write about it so that we can post it or not (your choice).

10) Notice what keeps getting in the way, if anything.

11) Write about it and contact us.

12) Keep working it until you are experienced at the habit change.

CONCLUSION

If we have followed these action steps, we will have a habit to put with all the others. We are, again, the habit master.

The trick, as I have found it, is to notice that, if we leave thinking out of it, we can accomplish mastery. We can tell ourselves that we will think later, since we are too busy acting.

Our mission is in front of us, shielded from distraction. Once again, we will become habit masters.
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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition and habit change.

She has worked with many people as a teacher and has had the opportunity to see the way that they proceed towards a goal, whatever that is. She says,

“Although there are many people out there who say one group is different from another and one person is different from another, these statements have merit. We look different. Our personalities are different. The societies we choose may be different. The way we raise our families may be different. The pain we have suffered at the hands of some other group is different.

“What turns out to be the same is the way we work as human beings. our infrastructure. No matter what, when we feel an urge, we choose a way to behave even if that choice develops a habit without control. Makes me wonder how the prejudice habit actually began.

“The same is true for matters of the heart. We are similar within a realm. We all act with or without jealousy, we act with some brand of morality and we all cry when we are hurt. We all want to be loved, recognized, respected and important to some cause. We all pursue what is important to us.

“So I conclude that we are more the same than anything else. If aliens came to invade the planet, we would all work together to sustain humankind.

“Which is why I say we are habit masters, well trained in what we have repeated a lot. This doesn’t vary from person to person. The technique to change a habit varies slightly from person to person. But if we stop distracting thoughts and do the task at hand, we become the same as our sisters and brothers of other tribes and masters of our habits.”

HEALTH CARE COSTS: STATISTICS AND SOLUTIONS (ISSUE 89)

By Diane Gold

Health care costs make it difficult or impossible for all Americans to afford the services they deserve. After surprising a young college student friend of mine from India over the fact that everyone in the United States does not have all the necessities, I decided to look into health care costs.
Health care costs make it difficult or impossible for all Americans to afford the services they deserve. After surprising a young college student friend of mine from India over the fact that everyone in the United States does not have all the necessities, I decided to look into health care costs.

Isabelle Wachsmuth of the Evidence Informed Policy Network at the WHO (World Health Organization) strategizes by saying,

“Solutions cannot be fragmented [to be effective].

“The number of initiatives in health are multiplied exponentially and are growing without coherence and convergence and continue to strengthen the various conflicts of interest and competition between the different actors. It is therefore not the reflection of collective and collaborative intelligence, which [is] necessary for the survival of humanity.”

This powerful statement recognizes the need for collaboration and the limitation of focus on competition. Our article, today, will look at the United States, some statistics and suggestions for possible reduction in cost. Ponder this: could pooling the resources of all health care organizations lower health care costs?

ACTION THOUGHT

So let’s give this quote some serious thought and take note. We could share our discoveries, from now on, so that everyone can benefit from each of them. Unfortunately, sometimes, keeping our information proprietary so that we, our company and our country can benefit, economically and politically, is part of our employment contract or ego driven. It often slows down or disables access of the scientific magic discovered to those who can’t pay for it at the proprietary price.

HOW MUCH WE SPEND

According to the National Center For Healthcare Statistics, NCHS, part of the Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), which falls under the domain of the US Department Of Health And Human Services; as of 2010, we, Americans, spent $2.6 Trillion for health care. That’s $8,402 per person. This doesn’t mean each individual took $8+ thousand dollars out of her pocket to pay for health care. It also doesn’t mean that some of us haven’t paid one-and-a-half times for individual health insurance cost alone, not including the health care and prevention services we have to pay for, over and above what the insurance covers. And, if we include dietary supplements as part of prevention, rather than as part of our food budget, we can add between $50 and $100 per month per person.

WHAT OUR SPENDING MEANS

We spend 17.6% of our money on health care according to the NCHS 2012 report of 2010 stats. This means that, if we make $20,000 a year, we spend 17.6% $3,520, on health care, right? And that if we make $100,000, we also spend 17.6%, $17,600, on health care, right? It is obvious that this is not possible with our present system. We are not billed on a percentage of what we earn basis. We are billed based on the national accepted rates for services. So this means that, according to the national average, if we make $20,000 or $100,000 per year, we pay $8402 for health care.

This ends up being 42% for the person who makes $20,000 and 8.5% for the person who makes $100,000. What’s wrong with this picture?

HEALTH CARE, THE HUMAN RIGHT

Although about 1/6 of our income in the United States goes to health care, how can we maintain that health care is a human right if some people can’t afford it? Or do we consider health care a privilege? And, if we step off our continent for a moment and look at the fact that the amount I pay for health insurance per month could pay for the health care of 15 people in most African nations for the same month, or in the Congo or Burma, for 45 people.

Yes, we have public assistance programs for those who qualify. What about the many who have more than $2,000 in the bank so they don’t qualify? (This requirement may change as of January 1, 2014).

OUR MEDICINE

We have the best medicine in the world, the best clinics, the best medical advisors, the best equipment. The cost for access is large, so not everyone has access. Shouldn’t they?

COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTRIES

The United States has the highest percentage of money of any country spent on health care. We pay $8402 per year per person, on average. This is 17.6% of our purchasing power. Other developed countries come in at 9-11%.

DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS

According to National Health And Nutrition Examination Services, a part of the CDC, in a measure of 5,000 random people in the United States over 20 years old from 15 communities; a 2004 study showed that 52% use supplements, 35% take multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplements., 24% take antacids. That could indicate a country full of stress or eating issues and diligent calcium supplementation at the same time.. In all categories, the over 60 set uses more supplements than any other age group.
The bottom line, though, is that the supplement industry brings in $20 billion a year. Would food education starting in kindergarten reduce our need and thus reduce our spending? Or could food education increase our use of supplements and reduce our need for medical treatments?

POSSIBLE ACTION STEPS FOR CONSIDERATION

I am certainly no expert in the field, yet I care deeply that health care be a human right to every person. I have compiled a list of possible action steps that could reduce health care cost dramatically.

1) Create an institute whereby each member commits to donate 10% of her time at the job she currently has to people who cannot afford medical care or treatment they don’t rack up a life-long medical debt. Members would include general doctors, specialists, surgeons, nurses, clerks, radiologists and hospital staff.

2) Write government legislation that requires physicians, using allopathic, osteopathic or Chinese medicine to give 10% of their time to people whose insurance does not pay for services or are not on public assistance with income levels under a certain income level determined by number in household for one year of their first 10 years in that job. Encouragement to continue this act of giving would be strong, but it would not be required.

3) Create an new association of hospitals and medical facilities that would deem as a requirement for employment 10% of an employee’s time at no compensation for the first year or more.

4) Restructure the preventive services for which insurance companies reimburse. I, personally, have had two careers, music therapy and tai chi instruction, that are not yet insurance reimbursable. Each of these modalities makes a biological difference, in many cases. If these methods were listed as accepted modes of prevention, much money on pharmaceuticals, recurring anxiety, balance issues and residential care could be saved.

5) Teach the benefit of preventive services, whether they be mind/body, exercise or nurturing, from an early age. Consider requiring continuing education credits necessary to renew our driver’s license. These continuing education credits would reflect time spent utilizing a preventive modality, any kind. Doing prevention reduces sickness; no one argues with this one.

6) Create a network where preventive service providers agree to donate 10% of their services at no charge.

7) Create a group of real estate moguls who will donate 10% of their profit from land that houses medical facilities for the first year or ongoing.

8) Create a group of hospitals that donate 10% of their facility revenue.

9) Write government regulation that requires property owners to donate 10% of their profit from properties that house medical facilities for the first year or ongoing.

10) Create a group of fitness clubs/gyms who will donate 10% of their membership to people who cannot pay for their own membership.

11) Require that any individual who utilizes the 10% plan services donate 10% of her time (if physically able) to tutoring people in literacy or some other crucial skill according to a chart that would equate skills donated with tutoring.

NOTE ABOUT DOCTORS

It is important to consider that, if the fees for doctor services are reduced by regulation, fewer people may want to become doctors and we will have fewer American-born doctors. The doctor population in the United States per 1,000 people (2.4) is under the average (3.1) for member countries in the Organization For Economic Cooperation And Development (OECD) according to a report from PBS NewsHour of October 12, 2012.

Further, tax incentives could be offered for anyone involved in the 10% gifting.

CONCLUSION

Health care costs are high due to fees for medical personnel, cost of equipment and facilities, intricacies of technology, cost of research. Because we are in the habit of wasting instead of conserving, we spend more than we have to – in time and in money. When we are ill, we like to see beautiful offices, rather than cheaply appointed office space with cracks, old paint and the smell of age. Sometimes, we even equate the ability of a professional staff with the grandeur of an office. As employees, we want to be paid for our work, and we should be.

If we structure it properly and only 20% of the people involved in the health care world take up one of my suggestions, imagine the avalanche of good will it would create which would cause others to join in. Each of us would contribute, and we could begin to reverse rising costs. We’d be on our way.

The action steps above are an infrastructure of what could be done to control the cost of health care. They would certainly be a solution. The steps that suggest regulation are only food for thought and not meant reduce our right to thrive from profit and since enabling habit change works best through personal choice. The idea is to shift the responsibility of reducing health care costs to all of us.

This process is not going to work if we don’t make a human move. And the purpose of these suggestions is. It is to make us a tiny bit responsible for reducing health costs.
Let’s pick an action step and start now to show that rising health care has a solution.

SPECIAL NOTE

What if every place the action steps mention 10% were replaced with 1% of our time? Now that we entertained 10%, 1% would be easy. We have to step up to make the change. Let it be now.

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FEEDBACK

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She has been in and out of the health care field, as music and recreation therapist to differently enabled adults, as director of creative arts therapy to a day care program and through teaching tai chi and having to explain to people why tai chi is not yet insurance reimbursable. She says,

“The hand of prevention is reaching out to our generation. It is time we grabbed on and took it.

“There is scientific proof that we can diminish our health care costs and ethical concerns if we do not. Let us be diligent on behalf of all people so that we can work to creating available medical treatment through the reduction of health care costs.”

ARE YOU LIBERATED? AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR HABIT CHANGE (ISSUE 88)

By Diane Gold

YOU ARE LIBERATED

“You are liberated,”

was the response I got when my student asked me my age, and I told her with no hesitation. She then responded that she doesn’t share her age. Her withholding her age is part of a social more that is, in my opinion, holding us from being liberated.

Hearing these words brought back a whole series of memories starting with a story my mother told me about her childhood. Now, I know that I have always been an explorer and that if a rule or tradition didn’t make sense to me, I always questioned it. I was encouraged to do so by both my parents.

Let’s go back to my mom. She was extremely free, meaning that she didn’t live by societal rules that were empty, prejudiced and thoughtless. She was ahead of her time, realizing her self-worth as more than a housewife and a mother. She was a great example of the Women’s Liberation Movement that was prevalent in my youth in the 60s, even though she was not from that generation. And she passed it on to me.

So, let’s backtrack to when my mom was one-year-old. (This photo is not my mom. Because of her free spirit, I believe she would laugh if she saw this representation. This photo is used with lots of love and memories of nurturing.) She told me that she loved to see a plate break on the floor, that she would laugh with abandon at this phenomenon. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing the pieces scatter. It was a favorite activity, nonetheless. And my grandfather used to buy her plates so that she could knock them off her highchair so that she could laugh and be free. Yes, he was liberated, too.

My grandfather was a great fan of the second-hand store, which we now know as the thrift store. I got some of my most precious toys from his jaunts to this type of store. Apparently, this is the kind of store from which he bought plates for my mother to break. He was encouraging of her happiness and thought this would make her a free and happy human being.

Most parents would discipline their children away from this type of behavior at this young age. Of course, at some point, my mother was taught that plates are for eating and not for throwing. But the freedom she had in her formative years surely affected her. I firmly believe that this type of childhood education allowed my mother to be the free and happy spirit she was.

I did not throw plates, but I was encouraged to be my own person, ask questions about anything for the purpose of becoming a productive and liberated person. I can’t swear that my parents were thinking of the word “liberation” when they were raising me. They just saw no need to teach me to be seen and not heard as was and still is a popular method of child-rearing. Personally, I think this method can repress a child’s spirit and disable a child’s curiosity. Respect for elders and familial hierarchy can be taught in many ways, but free speech, in my opinion, should begin at the earliest of ages.

This leads me to the idea that when people are repressed due to upbringing, they tend to end up with less than even temperament, such as bossy or submissive. These traits usually cause some sort of life tension.

OLD-SCHOOL CLARIFICATION

Let me clarify that many people raised in the “be seen and not heard” old-school philosophy are successful, happy, shining and wonderfully balanced. There are, however, many of us raised with restrictions every time we turn around, such as don’t speak unless we are asked a question, always be available as a servant to our parents, all friends must be researched for family stature and then brought to the house for approval; we are often stressed, repressed and depressed because of it. Certainly, we are rarely liberated and feel the pain of not being trusted.

I’m not suggesting that all parents should buy plates for their kids and let them toss a plate from the high mount, the highchair. I’m also aware that there’s no proof this plate activity had the huge influence on my mom that it could have since this event does not have a control subject meaning we had life-long data on another subject of my mother’s age who wanted to throw plates and was restricted from doing it. My mother was one of the most balanced human beings I ever met, and her father assessed the wonderful laughter that came from this plate activity as good for her.

NON-SUPPORTIVE PARENTS

Many parents, due to frustration, money problems or runoff behavior from their parents, may not treat us well as children. These actions certainly shape us and affect the way we see the world. They do not have to define us.

RESULTS

For those of us who wish to keep what we have been given in our upbringing,  this is our choice. We have to notice whether it is hurting us or not. I am the first one to say that traditions which are the habits of our family or tribe can be bolstering, rooting, unifying. However, if these habits or the perceptions from these habits hurt us, action would be a good choice.

THE LIST

Here is a sample list of habits developed from society or upbringing. These may or may not support our lives. When there is anxiety attached to any of these, action may be in order. Action is liberation.

1) We hide our age because we will be judged by it. Unfortunately, society does judge us by age. Revealing age out loud helps us adjust to it. It also can reduce the amount of judgment initiated about such a superficial trait.

2) We don’t speak up due to our self-image. This usually has to do with the fact that we are younger, older, the minority sex in the group, the wrong sexual orientation, a woman whose place (in in someone else’s mind) is in the home, the wrong nationality, religion or socio-economic level.

Today’s New York Times talked about scientific studies of how people who lived in poverty in their early years maintain the scars of this experience their whole lives and live shorter lives as a result. Unless they address their feelings.

3) We maintain a stance of submission. When we have been encouraged to be silent and non-assertive or when our families have ridiculed us, we have not worked at our assertive selves. Much like debate class prepares us to speak up, speaking out as children gives us the experience we need. If we have not been encouraged to do so, the repetition necessary to learn to be assertive may be missing. And, often times, it is easier to stay with what we know. Even if it eats at us.

ACTION STEPS FOR LIBERATION

1) Define one of the habits you have that causes discomfort. Do so by writing it down in a one or two paragraph statement. This can be solely for you, so there is no need to hold back.

2) Once you have the habit defined (let’s say, for example, that you don’t speak because of past negative reinforcement), go to the mirror in the morning and say to yourself,

“I restrict myself from speaking because my parents told me I wasn’t a good speaker. This is totally incorrect. I am a good speaker, and I am a valuable human being.”

3) Repeat this mirror behavior in the evening and alone, possibly when you are in the bathroom.

4) Repeat this morning and evening mirror work for a week.

5) If you have successfully completed a week, write a paragraph about your new found comfort with yourself. This paragraph is not dependent upon whether you feel the comfort level or not.

6) Read the paragraph in the mirror. An example paragraph might be,

“I certainly feel confident in myself. I can read this paragraph well. I know the more I read it, the more comfortable I will become. The more I feel good about my ability to speak, the smoother it will sound. The smoother it sounds, the more I will want to speak more openly. The more I speak more openly, the more ability I will obtain. I am a good speaker, and I am a valuable human being.”

7) Read this paragraph once or twice a day for a week.

8) If you have succeeded at reading for a week, add a week.

9) If you have succeeded at two weeks, add a third week. Feel free to change the paragraph that you are reading.

10) Know that you have taken the step has become your new habit.

CONCLUSION

When we are held down by our habits, whether from the constant memory of a family member or a bully saying we are worthless, or having to act like a Cinderella servant,  we repetitively are trapped experiencing the same feelings over and over again. We take on habits we don’t even know we have, and they form us.

Sometimes, we don’t realize we have them until we are passing them on to our children. Only then do we recognize how influential our childhood was and how impressionable we were to have kept a habit that does not positively support our life.

There is always time to change a habit. The beginning only takes one step. Just as the mind can be liberated in one thought, it is the one step that starts the process. If we are not liberated as we read this and we choose to be, we can liberate ourselves now by taking one step. We must be patient with ourselves since our habit was not made overnight. We must repeat the step until it becomes familiar. Slowly, the step will become the habit, and the reward will be there.
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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She has always believed it is almost as important to free ourselves inside as outside. There are ways to proceed that can make it easy. She says,

“It is devastating for people who do not have their physical freedom. But, for those who do, it is important to work on our inner freedom. Through small, continual steps, we can have this. No exclusive technique or direction is needed, only that we work on ourselves in some way. A little bit every day.

“This work can be done in honor of those who do not have their physical freedom and in hopes that we can all live with some freedom, inside and out.”

HOW WATER WORKS ON HABIT CHANGE (ISSUE 87)

By Diane Gold

Water works on habit change. It has a profound influence on whatever we are doing. If we are working on changing a habit, we need it. If we are thirsty, the body is already deprived, but it hydrates us. Water flushes out toxins; it balances the chemicals that make us human; it combines with the nutrients from our food. It keeps our health.

THE ACT OF DRINKING WATER, THE BEHAVIOR

We know that, in order to change a habit, we are going to plan a new behavior to activate when we get our urge, our cue, our itch instead of following through with our behavior we have decided to change. Here’s an example behavior with overeating. When we sit down to eat, and we find ourselves salivating and ready to gobble down every last drop of our food because we can never get enough food at 100 pounds overweight, we can use this pre-planned strategy, which works for most habits:

ACTION STEP

Before sitting down to eat (or even if we eat standing up), pour two glasses of water for ourselves. Before we allow ourselves to take a bite to eat, we drink all the water. We do this at every meal, including snacks.

We can think of the beautiful water supply from which it came, if it is clean water and conjure a picture of wonderful waterfalls surrounding it. Secondly, we can honor those who do not have clean water or any water at all by being grateful for the water in front of us. This mental exercise helps insure the water is drunk with no excuses.

THE RESULT

The body is somewhat sated and has the control to eat the meal at a healthy speed, chewing many times (25 X per mouthful is a good start). We will also eat less. Yes, we will become hungry again after we have finished the meal. However, the water may give us control not to run and eat again.
__

PROOF OF MY OWN

I recall that drinking water was a way I used to reduce my urges. On many occasions, I actually lost the desire to overindulge from the act of drinking water. The removal of desire was not permanent, but it is became very manageable and rarely reappears. Sleep often followed this remedy so that I didn’t chance that the urge would reappear again and tempt me to have an additional meal or substance.

The idea of taking away my appetite for whatever it was I wanted often made me REFUSE to drink water. Why would I want to get in the way of satisfying my own urge? As time went on, though, I realized that the technique of using water as a friendly control tool, was changing my understanding of myself. Even if part of me resisted it, once the water was down, I wanted to forego the old habit and a new reward took its place, that wonderful feeling of having changed myself. I still feel it all over my body, inside and out. I smile at the way the mind pulls us and marvel that I have discovered how to adjust it with a plan, some faith in myself and repetition.

Here’s another relevant personal tidbit. My precious cat is usually on a weight loss or weight maintenance diet. He quickly changes his behavior when there is no food in his dish. He goes out to play or, like me, goes to sleep.

THE SCIENCE

There are lots of people who know that water helps habit change. Most don’t know that , according to a study by Almiron-Roig & Drewnowski, 2003, and DellaValle et. al., 2005, in the Journal of Physiology & Behavior, energy drinks increase food consumption, compared to water or non-energy, artificially- sweetened drinks. (It has been shown that artificial sweeteners can be carcinogenic and are still under study, so I recommend water). I don’t know the sample size or technique used in this study.

More recent than that is a 2009/2010 study performed by Brenda Davey, Ph.D., of Virginia Tech University, et. al. with 24 subjects. This study demonstrated that water, drunk prior to a meal, reduced energy intake (which we call the amount of food we eat) in older, overweight adults. Although the sample of test subjects was small, it finally demonstrated what many people have been saying for years.

THE EXCUSES

Here are reasons why people don’t drink water. Know them, bypass them and go drink:

1) It’s not always convenient to stop and get water.

2) It makes our stomachs puff out, and we don’t like to see that.

3) It flushes out the many toxins that are produced during weight loss which is necessary and good. The result is we have to use the bathroom much more often, which is a chore for the lazy.

4) We don’t feel thirsty. Once we feel thirsty, we are already dehydrated, and we have already taxed our bodies too much.

5) We know water will take away our urge and we want to get the old reward of our urge that is not supporting our positive life style. And it’s hard to let go of this.

CONCLUSION

What I have learned from changing habits is this: water cuts the appetite, water cuts urges, water makes us healthy and water sustains our lives. If we have access to it, we can use it for all these things.

Before we close, I want to make sure to mention some water facts. These facts do not take away from the fact that to change a habit requires will power galore. They just bring to light the fact that we are not the only ones with issues.

THE FACTS

1) Over three-quarters of a billion people lack access to clean water.

2) Only 63% of people have a sanitation facility. That means 1.1 billion people (estimated from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme) defecate in the street.

3) More than 80% of sewage in developing countries goes untreated to pollute rivers, lakes and coasts.

4) 90% of all disease comes from feces.

5) According to water.org, a $25 donation will supply clean water for one person for life.

In honor of those who have less,

CONCLUDING ACTION STEPS

1) Continue the two-glass technique until you feel some modicum of control over your most out-of-control urges.

2) Repeat this technique for seven days. If successful, go 14 more days.

3) Once you have completed 21 days, think of drinking water as a method to change your biology for the rest of your life. This method needs to be continued, since habits we change usually live in us in a dormant state.

4) Once you have completed 21 days, as you drink water on purpose, congratulate yourself.

5) Every day, don’t wait until the body is thirsty. This taxes the body. Drink at regular intervals. In keeping water drinking high, we have a good chance of staying in command of our urges.
____________________________________________________________________

FEEDBACK

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She is pleased to have lived long enough to discover herself well. She says,

“I am not special in developing self-control and the ability to know myself. I believe we can all do it, if we devote the time and follow a technique. And here’s a secret. Even if we don’t believe in ourselves, as long as we follow the technique, we’ll succeed anyway. It’s the doing that matters; the belief comes later.”

THE ONE NECESSARY SUCCESS HABIT ANYONE CAN LEARN: AND HOW TO DEVELOP IT! (ISSUE 86)

By Diane Gold

It would seem that it’d be hard to pinpoint one success habit that we need to succeed. But, it’s right in front of us and we all use it or lose it. The great thing is that everyone, more or less, can learn it. With respect to the developmentally delayed and emotionally fraught people I have and have not worked with and respect, it’s as easy as putting one foot in front of the other.

Let’s review the habit process, first. It is a behavior we have repeated over and over again after a cue which takes away pain or gives pleasure. We know that something TRIGGERs us to TAKE AN ACTION after which we get some type of result, commonly called a REWARD. This result or reward can be the joy of selling someone a product or an idea, which makes us feel powerful even though we often bill our mission as helping others.

OR it can be the joy we feel from the chemical change caused by taking some drug, alcohol or tobacco-like product, which we bill as fun but is usually to hide our lack of self-esteem. Or it can be the relief (joy) of preventing our bodies from going into withdrawal from lack of some drug to which we have developed a chemical dependence. It can even be as simple as the joy and focus we feel from taking a shower and feeling clean. In the latter example, we get up and feel dirty. This feeling triggers us to take a shower which leads us to feel that newness we feel after our skin is clean.

Okay, the one necessary success habit is not taking a shower, although most successful people respect themselves and others which would include bathing on a regular basis.

THE HABIT

THE HABIT is to take one step after we fall, collapse, fail a test, fumble a deal, lose our status, get insulted, get demoted, fail a test, get fired, separate from a significant other, get embarrassed or get knocked down. Commit to this one step. When we go to take it, it might be the most unsure move we have ever taken, or so it feels at the time. It is crucial.

THE ACTION STEP

Here’s the easiest way to take that step which has a time limit on it.

For just about anything, go out in the world for a walk and a talk. You may not have a smile on your face when you leave, but your perspective will be different when you return. That is the way we are built. Any little distraction, like a walk or a few words with another person, changes where we were headed the moment before – if we let it. (When we are focused on positive goals, we often choose to ignore these distractions. However, after a fall, distractions heal us.)

If you were fired from a job, send out one cover letter and resume within 24 hours. Not that you are interested in job hunting now, but the action step will insure that you cement the habit to get up after falling. Remember, we are creating THE ONE NECESSARY HABIT that will lead to success.

If your relationship broke up, talk to someone within 24 hours, even if it’s the server at the local  coffee shop. Talk about anything, but connect with a human being. If possible, be with a group of happy people and talk about incidental things, dance, shoot golf balls.

If you fell off the wagon – any wagon – meaning you used drugs, drank alcohol or gorged yourself after a period of abstinence; celebrate that you are starting your first day toward your goal by telling a member of your support system within 24 hours. If you don’t have a support system, go to a library and talk to a librarian or go to the corner store and say hello to the owner. Talk about anything, but connect with a human being, outside, in the flesh.

If you gambled your rent away or just lost your retirement fund in a financial crash; go talk to the poorest person you know or have seen and talk about what is important in life. You might see life from a different angle after the talk. And it might help with your fall.

Obviously, the idea is to make a move. Whether it’s walking, talking, dance, seeking out a poor person, sending a resume; the idea is to move forward to minimize the down time. When we tell another, we are opening up our negative dyke and allowing ourselves to let go of our disappointment and lead ourselves on a new path.

CAUTION

Do not wait to feel like taking a step. That’s the trick! You will not feel it right away. You will want to take time and beat yourself up. You can beat yourself up after you make a move, which means after you begin to form your new success habit. You can self-beat in 48 hours, if you still want to. But, within 24 hours, follow the action steps.

ADDITIONAL ACTION STEP ONE

Make sure to lie down to rest early on the day of the fall. Sleep heals.
If you can’t get to sleep, play some kind of word game until you feel sleepy, knowing that sleep will heal you to some extent and that you will need your strength for your action step.

ADDITIONAL ACTION STEP TWO

If we have experienced a chemical set back, meaning we have overeaten or done drugs or alcohol; our body will be in the fight or flight mode. Therefore, we will have to be aware that we will be getting cues to repeat the “fall” behavior. Every time we get our cue to do excess food or drugs or alcohol, we need to act according to plan.

Here’s the plan: we will drink a glass or two of water every time we get an urge. This will diminish and probably remove the urge or cue temporarily. The cues will become fewer and fewer and more controllable in time. And we can go on about our business without the fall we have just experienced. Our new reward will be our pride in self, our relief at moving toward our goal and development of our new great habit.

CONCLUSION

The important thing about learning the one necessary success habit is to follow through on a daily basis toward the goal we have set for ourselves. With substance abuse, when we get that urge, that cue to behave in a way that does not support our goals, we need to have a planned activity in mind so that we can take a positive action and get our reward. With losing face or money, the planned activity will be to take a step toward our goal within 24 hours AS IF we felt like it.

We each form our habits based on our personalities, our goals, how we were raised and how much repetition we have had at forming them. The more we plan and follow through with them, the more natural it will be to form a habit that helps us. And getting up after a fall is key. It puts us in position to have an internal resource for success, no matter what happens.

FEEDBACK

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She loves talking about habits and tiny but crucial strategies to develop good ones out of the ones that no longer empower us or never did. She says,

“With a little focus, we can beat the habit game. We can learn how to manipulate our own habits and use them to our advantage rather than have them be detrimental to us. All we need is a little awareness, a little one-pointed attention and a little faith and we can re-learn how to develop a habit to our standards.”

HABITS IN MEDICAL CARE, PART TWO: PAY THAT BILL! (ISSUE 83)

By Diane Gold

When we go to a medical professional for wellness or sickness services, we start to build habits. We learn that it is important to trust the doctor with both the body and the mind, or that’s how it was in the 1960s when I was young. We were taught we had to trust this person of medicine to care about us and that we could talk to them about anything that bothered us, even emotional issues.

So, in adulthood, we find a doctor or several that we believe can provide competent service, adequate face time with us, where s/he doesn’t seem bored out of her mind and where our appointment time is respected, meaning we only wait 50 minutes for our doctor instead of 90 minutes, which we have waited at the other offices and, finally, if we have medical insurance, a professional who is in our network to keep the bill down. And we call this a good choice of doctors and a great visit, more or less.

Note that I am using the term doctor to mean the individual each of us has chosen to be our primary health care provider. Personally, I’m still looking.

We will speak about the billing habit that we are taught from an early age: the bill comes and we have to pay it. So we’ve had lots of practice at believing in the medical bill.

THE BILL FOR MEDICAL SERVICES

When the bill comes, we have watched our parents pay it, and we have even paid it ourselves on more than one occasion. So, what do we do? We pay it.

I have a story that reminds me of how our habit of paying whatever bill comes in because doctor’s offices are trustworthy and would never cheat a patient can end up costing people extra money.

MY LATEST STORY

In the world of technology, it is important to change the habit of just going along. So, here’s my story.

I went to an emergency room to see if I broke a bone after slipping on cat regurgitation that blended in well with the floor. Although I pay an exorbitant amount for health insurance, I was pretty sure I wasn’t covered for the emergency room. But I needed to go because it was an emergency. So, I went.

I had X-rays taken, waited hours for a radiologist to read them and had an ER doctor report I was only bruised. Funny how that turned out to be 2 doctor bills.

I figured $2,000, easy. The next day, after resting, I decided to call Blue Cross, the insurance company to see how much I actually had to pay. I was told I had no co-pay and no charge for the emergency room to which I jumped with glee.

So, I had one recorded phone call where the rep stated I would not have to pay anything but the doctors’ bill.

Next I received an invoice for $466. This was quite different from the $00.00 I had been told I would have to pay.

So I called another agent and explained that I had already been told there would be no medical bill, only a doctor’s fee. So, what was the bill for?

The agent put me on hold and researched my insurance policy. He was happy to say that I would not have to pay a co-pay, and that my emergency visit facility charge would be paid for. He said he was going to have the correct department adjust the invoice to $00.00.

The following day, I decided to call and speak with a supervisor since I was not satisfied with having to wait 30 days. Again, I had a regular rep and a supervisor tell me, each, on her/his own, that there would be no payment necessary for the facility I had gone to. And that they would expedite the process of removing the charge.

Later that day, I got a call from the agent I called after receiving the invoice. He said he had found that all agents had misinformed me and that I would have to pay the bill.

At this time, I began thinking about people who pay blindly because they trust the medical team, or because they believe they have no voice to speak up. I wondered how many people pay an incorrect bill just because it was sent? And how much extra money do doctors and hospitals receive just because people don’t have the confidence to inquire?

People don’t want their credit scores ruined. So they pay no matter what. It’s sad. And one disgraceful thing on the part of the health insurance provider is that, “The written terms of your contract always prevail.” This, in essence, means whatever a rep says is not backed by the company. The only thing that is valid is the words in the insurance contract.

CONCLUSION

The habit we learn is if an invoice has been mailed out, it must be right. So pay it! This is false thinking and we need to check with our provider before paying any unknown amount.

ACTION STEP

There is only one step:

SPEAK OUT by asking five questions:

1) What is my co-pay?

2) What is my out-of-pocket amount?

3) What do I end up paying for this service?

4) How many doctor bills will I get separately?

5) If the information you provide is incorrect, will your company back you on the information you give?

The set of questions is crucial. As you see, I asked them and got four incorrect responses. I will appeal the bill because of all the wrong information. However, from my experience and looking at the insurance provider’s failsafe quote about “only the written terms prevail,” the provider will deny the appeal, and the patient (I, in this case) will pay in the end.

Unless we object to a policy where a company does not stand by its employees words, it will not change. So, speak out! And good luck recognizing this and other habits in medical care.

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FEEDBACK

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She considers how corporate customer service affects the average person. She says,

“Since most often, our habits are working; it is to our advantage to notice them. There are so many ways we have been trained to be, so many things we blindly accept.

“We should keep a notebook of the habits we see. If they support the way we want to live, they are good habits. If they hinder us, it’s time to make an adjustment. We decide, once we are aware. So, take note, and choose what works.”

THE BIGGEST HABIT, THE INFLEXIBLE MIND: 3 SCENARIOS (ISSUE 82)

By Diane Gold

When we think of habits, we usually miss the most common one, the inflexible mind. From a very early age, we take comfort in learning new things and the fact that they are familiar to us. The fact that we like this feeling of belonging stays with us for most of our lives. We go to the same market because we’re convinced the food is adequate and the staff will greet us with a smile. We go to the same place to work out because we know the machines and the people who go there. And we even shop in the same stores because we have done so in the past.

We begin to build these patterns of repetitious behavior called habits that just creep into our lives through repetition.

An MIT study last October at the McGovern Institute For Brain Research, authored by Kyle Smith, Ann Graybiel, et al, showed how rats continued their learned habitual behavior even when their reward was removed.

Fascinatingly, it also showed how the researchers were able to remove the habit by disrupting the infralimbic cortex (a part of the prefrontal cortex) needed for habit development.

The presence of light was enough to “turn off” the habit. The basal ganglia, in the middle front brain, holds the coding that is created by habits in neural pathways, almost like tagging or  but the infralimbic cortex, alone, seems to control the execution of the habit. Great news for people who want to change a habit.

To follow are three scenarios that are common to most of us. They are pretty universal:

1) HAVING SELF-ESTEEM

Often times, we put tremendous value on what we do. If we write, we believe our writing helps the readership. If we compose, we are enamored with our own work. If we teach, we think we are the best. If we are fighters, we believe we are the best.

It would serve us well to realize that we can learn about ourselves and that we always have something to learn. And that demeaning others does not give us power, even if it feels that way.

2) PASSING JUDGMENT

How many times do we compare ourselves to someone else? We believe that our writing is better than their dancing? We really believe this because we have told this to ourselves or others have told it to us. If we have not walked in the shoes of the next person, it is difficult to conclude someone else’s human prowess.
It’s important that we refrain from judging others unless we have had a personally negative interaction with the person.

3) LIVING FOR EXTERNAL RECOGNITION

Unlike the other two scenarios above, this one has to do with using others for our self-motivation. We actually get our energy from the thrill of being recognized by others rather than the satisfaction that usually comes from valuing what we do.

I have seen people so driven by looking for recognition from others that their entire careers would stop in their tracks if they didn’t get it.

CONCLUSION

Knowing our own minds takes work and practice. In order to allow the mind to be flexible, we have to change our automatic reactions. By doing so, we change the neural pathways we have created and design new ones that will serve us well on the journey away from inflexible mind and toward flexible mind.

Here are three ACTION STEPS. They only require noticing yourself.

1) COMPARE

The next time we are evaluating ourselves, stop and think that our work is no more important than the next person’s work to that person and that each deserves recognition.

2) CONSIDER

Think of three ways to improve the work that you do, and make those changes. Then realize that this type of self-improvement upgrade is important on a regular basis, even if it means making big personal changes.

3) STOP AND CHANGE BEHAVIORS

When we speak about money, politics and religion; most of us have strong opinions. We are warned that these subjects are taboo I recall the first time I was having a political discussion with a friend, I was quite surprised. She became very impassioned and very closed minded to listen to anything other than that which she had concluded.

We are all like this at one time or other about some subject. This is the inflexible mind. Next time you see this in yourself, smile and stop and notice the inflexible mind. Laugh at yourself, and keep the mind open. This will become the habit.
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In order for these action steps to take shape, we must repeat them over and over, each time we have the opportunity. The idea is to change the habit of inflexible mind we have instilled in ourselves, and instill a new one, the habit of flexible mind. It requires self-mind training, as with any habit!

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DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She walks with an open way about her. If someone questions the way that she believes, she takes them seriously and is curious to know why their opinion differs from hers. She says,

“We do not have the right to demean others. We do have the duty to protect them. Our minds, though naturally inflexible, can be changed.with repetition. We need to grab that tiny moment before the old habit kicks in where the new one has the chance to emerge with new behavior. Try it; it is fairly straight forward.

“Good luck.”

WHY CHANGE A HABIT? YOUR LEGACY AWAITS (ISSUE 80)

By Diane Gold

Why change a habit?

There’s always tomorrow; I’ll do it when I come back from vacation; I’m too stressed out today; I have time to change; a day won’t make any difference.

One truth is this: the more times we do any behavior; the less offensive it becomes to us, the more we think it supports our positive lifestyle, the less foreign it becomes, the poorer our judgment becomes about the behavior and the easier it is to keep doing it.

Another truth is this: we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so let’s live well today.
Imagine five amazing things in our lives that we would never want to give up which are our best reasons in the world to choose one great habit over a destructive habit.

1) We can get to see our daughter’s recital. We have put time into nurturing her creativity because we are truly attentive to what she is doing and value her before ourselves.

2) We can attend our son’s graduation from college because we made the time, we put aside our unrelated, selfish habits that would have interfered with the day.

3) We can go to our daughter’s graduation from vet school 2013 with all the joy in the world. We show the devotion that is in our hearts, we give attention to our daughters and we get to experience one of the milestones in our lives. Because we are putting our attention on our daughter and not on our own needs.

4) We get to write a book, because we are focused and determined. We are meeting deadlines we (or our collaborators) placed on us because we want to complete our book as part of our legacy.

5) When that awesome audition or job interview comes around, we are ready for it. Because we are directing our path to meet our priorities.

SOME DARK BUT CHANGEABLE HABITS

THE ADDICTION TO DRUGS, PRESCRIBED OR SELF-PRESCRIBED

Consuming substance makes the taker feel better, calmer, more balanced, less anxious, more powerful, more charming, less timid, less afraid, less insecure. When we are habitually consuming, we are not particularly attentive to anything other than the next dose, no matter what we say.

THE ADDICTION TO A SIGNIFICANT OTHER

When we are consumed with a negative relationship, we end up obsessed with another person. We treat ourselves poorly by being addicted to our significant other, almost always addicted to drugs or alcohol, whose demeanor toward us self-perpetuates the poor opinion we have of ourselves. Our human habit affects our children and creates misery. And, most of all, our children subtly lose their number one spot.

BINGEING ON FOOD OR ALCOHOL

Bingeing on food, the most amazing ice cream and chocolate – with potato chips and pretzels – for a year would make us pretty uncomfortable, result in gaining weight and probably mess with our ability to process sugar correctly. Similar results for alcohol, except the decline happens more quickly.

CONCLUSION

What do these all these habits have in common? Self-pleasure, self-relief, self-esteem issues. That’s SELF, SELF and, SELF. They DON’T have to do with giving, sharing and growing.

If we’ve been on both sides, we know the quality of being a loving family member rather than a needs based habit monger, wins out against the instant gratification horror show.
The invasive nature of habits is crystal clear to see when we don’t have one. Not so easy if we never had one. Those of us who control our many itches, urges or cravings are truly gifted. We are the few.

We understand that when people say, “Oh, why don’t you just have one,” when speaking about any consumables whose “one” would trigger a series of unhealthy behaviors; it is we who choose our actions. The Greek aphorism “Know Thyself” comes into play; if we have the control to consume “one,” great. If having “one” will trigger having 100 after that, we choose and smile about it. Usually, the “one” act leads to 5,000 more of that “one” action, so the decision to abstain is preferable.

PRE-PLAN FOR A HABIT

One of the most common habits to want to change is eating the wrong foods or in the wrong quantities. This particular habit plays the most mind games on us because we have to eat to live, and cannot quit food.

We use the same mechanism to change any habit, food included. We need to pre-plan what to do when our urge comes. We need to notice the pleasure we get from the new behavior. We can go for a run, we tie up our hands, go swimming, as long as it is some behavior that is different from what we used to do. And we repeat it. And we repeat it again. And, then, again.

If we do, we will be in position to build wonderful landmarks in our lives that will be our legacy. We won’t be emotionally distraught when big events pass by. We won’t be too overweight to get on a plane to attend a wedding. We won’t be recovering from two days of sleeping it off. We won’t be in a hospital because we overdosed. We won’t be unavailable for our families because we went to the casino.

THE CHANGING A HABIT CREDO

Here are what we can build by changing a habit. The following requires us to love ourselves at the onset or gradually

1) to be available for the legacy that our precious family creates.

2) to build a legacy that revolves around helping humanity and being productive.

3) to take part in collaboration that builds bridges of hope.

4) to be an example for family and community. Although what others say is not something of great concern, acting poorly can lead to pointing fingers, family-embarrassment or community judgment that leads to slowing of career and self. So it might make sense to be valued in public.

5) to look ourselves in the daily mirror and enjoy being the person we are, taking the actions we do, influencing people in a positive way, knowing we are contributing positive energy to the universe.

“Changing a habit” is easier said than done.
It takes a truly courageous person to do “it.”
The change takes constant repetition, first for 3 weeks, then for a year.
Support is available for the asking.
We can do it once we take one step!

FEEDBACK

Please leave a comment and LIKE.

DIANE GOLD, AUTHOR

Diane Gold, Founder of Warriors of Weight, Turning Habits Into Health, is a mentor in tai chi, kung fu and meditation, a music, fitness and stress expert, dedicated mom, studying plant-based nutrition.

She has been studying habits for quite some time, especially how she changes her own. She says,

“Whatever your habit is, you are not alone. Whatever your habit is, you can change it. You may have to act as if you are a robot, carrying out a pre-planned move (behavior) with no thought for whether you want to do it or not, for a while. This act might be for as long as a year or as long as forever, depending upon you.

“I have watched myself start a habit and stop a habit. When I decided that stopping the habit after restarting the habit over again took too much effort, I decided to change my habit on a more permanent basis.

I want to be available for my children and my friends. I want to wake up early and feel clear and physically fit. What a great phenomenon to be in good health. I appreciate it and want to nurture it. From now until forever.

It’s not easy, but all it takes is one step. And then, one step. And then, one step. Etc. You can do it!”