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How fit are you? How fit do you want to be? Answering these questions, and writing down your answers so you can revisit them later, is a great way to kick off a fitness program -- or to take your fitness program to the next level. What Are Your Fitness Goals? First, write down some fitness goals. I encourage...

Want to adopt healthy habits for yourself? Spread the love! Helping your kids to eat better, stay active, and practice good financial habits is a winner for everyone. For starters, it's simply good parenting to model the behaviors you want your children to adopt. More than that, involving the whole family...

Are you sure that you're making progress toward your goals? Can you rely on the habits you have to day to move you forward automatically ? Today I'm returning to this theme, which I've approached from several different angles in past columns, because I think it's that important. Ready? Here it is: You...

For the past couple of months, we've been using a new mantra each week as a reminder to pursue good balance in life. This week, it's not about self-improvement, but about enjoying the things you already have. The mantra: "Take pleasure." See how often you can repeat those words to yourself in the days...

How serious are you about your core priorities -- the Big Things you want from life? However serious you've been, my advice is to increase your dedication to those FEW things that will matter to you on your deathbed someday . What I'm proposing today: clear your mind and your schedule by eliminating...

So you've got big goals -- for fitness, finances, or whatever. How do you stay on track with those goals from day to day? My super-simple suggestion is that you make visual reminders that help you stay on track with where you are and where you're headed. Track Your Trajectory Years ago, I read a great...

Sometimes you don't need an elaborate solution -- you just need to follow through with the simple solution . Case in point: eating better. How do you eat better? Portion control. More fresh vegetables. Fewer fatty, greasy, salty, or packaged foods. Seriously, just start there. Don't count calories or...

Let me give you a little cautionary tale about why you need to set a training schedule and stick with it . I set the topic for this post a couple of months ago. I figured I would tell you to use all of your belief (this blog's theme for January), discipline (February), and motivation (March) to follow...

Thoreau said it more than 150 years ago: "Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity!" If that advice was needed before railroads had even spread across the country, how much more do we need it today? Simplify Your Life . . . We have more choices today than ever. More communication channels, more ways to entertain...

People who do big things -- build a company, write a book, lose 100 pounds, clear off their debts -- often do it without any big "Eureka!" moments. They just keep plugging ahead, marking progress day by day until the work is done. Do you believe that you can tackle your big goals in life that way? Pay...

Are you lonely? Divided from a loved one? Tired of fighting? I'm going to suggest a few ways you can get the ball rolling on living a better, happier life, based on the attitudes you bring to your relationships. As with much of what I write, this post is just a starter kit. If you're facing serious or...

Think of a fitness goal you have -- finishing a marathon or climbing Mount Whitney or losing 50 pounds. What will the world look like through your eyes as you achieve it? How will you feel -- not just emotionally, but physically? Literally, what sensations will you feel as you cross the finish line,...

This month's theme is motivation . How do you motivate yourself to pursue what you want from life? How do you maintain that motivation with your fitness, your finances, and your relationships? We'll talk more about this in the posts to come, but today I want to emphasize keeping a positive focus on what...

Do you want to be happier? Then I recommend you improve your ability to express your emotions constructively. When you do, you'll be kinder to those around you -- always a good way to promote happiness -- and you'll see yourself much more clearly. It's not an easy task. It may be obvious to say, but...

This whole site is about setting yourself on a better course financially, so I'm not going to go into detail about the CareOne plans or how specifically to address your debts. This post is to help you think about the bigger picture of reducing the decision-making required to build a better financial...

Some people think that working out has to be miserable. They're wrong. And many of them use this as an excuse to avoid working out, which is even worse. So today let's dispose of a couple of myths about workout misery -- and find out why serious physical exertion is worth a little bit of well-placed...

There's an old idea in personal development -- probably first espoused by Dr. Maxwell Maltz -- that it takes 21 days of doing something every single day to make it a habit. As far as I can tell, there's never been a thorough scientific study to prove that it's 21 days (instead of 17 days or 35 days or...

All this month we've been talking about how your beliefs about yourself and your life shape what you do and what you become . You might call this "mindset" or "worldview" -- the point is that what we carry around in our heads wields huge leverage for how our lives unfold. Today I'm going to talk about...

All this month I've been talking about how your mindset is everything when it comes to your success. It's pretty simple: if you believe you can be successful, you at least have a chance to be successful. If you don't believe, you don't even have a chance. Don't Fall Victim to Poverty Logic The sad thing...

It's easier to turn over a new leaf with your finances or your fitness than it is with your relationships. People aren't math equations, and you can't fix a troubled marriage, an icy friendship, or simple loneliness with a better budget or a new workout plan. You can, however, adopt a better mindset...