When it comes to training for a sport.....

Specificity is crucial. Golfers should play golf to get ready for 18 holes. Football players should play football to get ready for all 4 quarters. Trapeze artists should practice the trapeze. Train specific to your sport, including the time component.

BUT When it comes to just being fit and healthy....

Intermittent exercise is just as good as continuous. For example, walking 10 minutes 3 times per day is just as good as walking 30 consecutive minutes.

Try developing small habits like walking around the mall twice, taking the stairs, walking around the block 3 times per day, riding your bike to work, or standing up at work.

Read Next: How to Warm-Up & Stretch

Who are your heroes?

Heroes can make a big difference for motivation.  Who do you want to be like?

They don't have to be perfect, no one is. Just pick out something you really admire about the person and try to emulate this quality.  The famous psychologist Carl Jung popularized the idea of archetypes and the unconscious collective mind, which he believed we inherited from our ancestors.  According to him, we can identify with heroes, in literature and in life, and this is a healthy thing for us. 

Here are some of my heroes, and why. My Granddad and Dad for serving their country, for being honest and good men, and for knowing so much about how to do so many things, particularly with their hands. My Mom for being a constantly nurturing, kind, and caring person, literally helping 1000s of people throughout her life.

Rosa Parks for refusing to get off the bus, Notre Dame's "Rudy" for grit, John McCain for courage, Jesus for grace, Ayn Rand for intellectual courage. Jobs for creativity and commitment.  General Lee for being a gentleman.  Washington for dignity. Reagan for communication abilities.  I've been lucky to have many great mentors.   Most of my heroes I admire for some type of courage. 

The Navy Seals I admire because they are the baddest dudes on the planet and passed what is quite possibly the most difficult physical training possible.  Sometimes, when I'm gutting out a tough workout I think about them.

I could care less about NBA basketball but I read recently that Kobe Bryant gets up at 5am every day to work out and practice for 4-5 hours every morning, before the team practices! I admire Kobe Bryant for this.

Heroes tell us stories. Stories inspire emotions and emotions motivate us into action. Don't expect them to be perfect (most anyway), but pick some heroes to help you stay motivated.

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You just won't find it anywhere in the media.  Fear sells.  The media's job is to strike fear in our hearts because fear is addictive, like a drug.  It stimulates the amygdala (the lizard brain) and gives us a "fight or flight" stress rush, making us feel alive!  So we keep coming back for more.

I've been guilty of it as much as anyone, being addicted to the bad news that is. 

All this "bad" news (economic, political, weather-related, medical, and social) also leaves us drained, demoralized, stressed out and full of angst.

It's important to remember "in times like these", there have ALWAYS been times like these, only much worse!  As a matter of fact, this is an exciting time to be alive.

What am I talking about?  The economy is changing for good.  It's a long story but the unraveling we're witnessing of the decades-old "American dream" is actually a good thing in some ways.

Think about it.  If the "American dream" is obesity, depression, huge consumer and mortgage debt, pollution, industrial-era brainwashing schools, and long commutes, no thanks I'll pass and so will millions of others just like me who are starting to forge a new way of life.

Some examples:

• many historic downtowns are being restored, fostering a greater sense of community and helping to drive small business growth: Scottsboro, Al (my hometown) and Troy, Al are two examples

• literally hundreds of new drugs are on the horizon for everything from cancer to cholesterol to Alzheimer's

• poverty worldwide is decreasing rapidly

• gas mileage is getting better in new vehicles

• websites like couchsurfing.com, airbnb.com, uber, and countless others are making travel and other services more affordable

• the barter / sharing economy is growing

• locally grown and organic farming is becoming more popular

• pollution is decreasing in the US

• technology has made opening a small business a possibility for millions of people who otherwise would have had to work for someone else

• violent crime is decreasing overall

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things we should concerned about. Life is not perfect, but it never will be.   Life is conflict.  Without conflict and stress, we wouldn't be alive.

Try this exercise: think about 3 things you're grateful for every day and say them out loud in the morning.

There's plenty of good news. You just have to look for it. Share your good news with me.


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