Greetings:

When I speak with people about why they don't do the things they know to be healthful (and when I consider my own distractions and failures) the reason I hear is that "There's not enough time." Many people, so convinced they are that there is not sufficient time for healthy behavior, will not even attempt to care for the body. They even become angry when discussing the idea, for example, of walking 3 miles a day, replying to the effect that I may be blessed with time for such frivolity but they must continue to sacrifice the body because responsibilities don't allow time for optimum self care.

This week's virtue, Order, is the beginning of the cure for the "lack-of-time" barrier to self care. Most people have at least one tool (from a do list to a palm computer) that they use to attempt to infuse Order. But, even with these tools, most people (good research shows) still fail to find the time they need to take optimum care of the body.

Remember the goose that lay the golden egg? We all learned this lesson as children; most of us were never taught how to put the lesson to use in a practical way. I am the goose. You are the goose. The golden egg is the love you give to family, the service you give to customers, the encouragement you give to friends.

I am also the farmer; so are you. Remember, he killed the goose to try and obtain eggs more rapidly. The people who consume the golden eggs we lay will encourage us to lay more rapidly; but those people can't choke us for more eggs. It's really we who choke ourselves trying to accommodate that outside request for more. Most of us can and must say the occasional "no" both to others and to ourselves when considering putting the less important in front of the more important. So, we choke ourselves by not knowing how to pace the egg production in a way that meets our responsibilities as well as allows time to care for the goose.

Read on...