I’ve often read suggestions that certain areas of the house are ‘cleaner’ or ‘healthier’ than others. Take, for instance, the suggestion that your kitchen sink or your office desk is dirtier than your toilet. There’s just one problem: the definition of ‘clean’ that many people use is very misleading.

The most common definition used is based on a count of the number of germs per area (or the germ density). And this sounds reasonable, at first glance: after all, more germs is bad, right?

Well, no. It depends on the germs. A small number of E. coli, say 150 or so, can be devastating to your week if you ingest it. But many germs are completely innocuous. A count of germs by itself is meaningless unless you know which germs are being counted.

‘Germs’ refers to all microorganisms. Staph, E. coli, and dozens of other nasties falls under that definition. So does the common amoeba. So does every bacteria that actually needs to be present in your body for digestion and other bodily functions to work.

The proper term for things you should be concerned of is ‘pathogens’. It’s pathogens that you want to be killing in your house. It’s pathogens that you want to be concerned with on your keyboard or in your sink or on your toothbrush. It’s pathogens that you want to avoid when you are in a crowded room.

The thing is, simple tests used in flashy marketing can’t distinguish betweens pathogens and harmless germs. Take the UV light, for instance. It makes a lot of living things glow. Many of those living things are totally harmelss or actually beneficial to your health. Avoiding them is a waste of time and energy. Yet the imagery is used for it’s shock value. “Look, see all the stuff living here? One wipe, and it’s gone!” Then the audience hoots and hollers and exclaims wonder at the power of the new product. But nothing about the environment is safer, bucause nothing about the environment was that dangerous to begin with.

Yeah, there are a lot of things living all around you. An environment that is healthy for you to live in is not possible without other things living there, too. But those other things are, for the most part, good to have around.

Resources:

• How to Reduce Germs in a Home
• Toilet seats often cleaner than your desk at work

Other news

• Almost as much as sleeping on the couch with the TV on: Bed sharing ‘drains men’s brains’
• That’s because men are ‘more prone to gas’: Women ‘more prone to nightmares’
• So put a little in the bedroom to help her avoid the nightmares: Lavender ‘calms dental patients’

Quote for the week

To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep. - Joan Klempner

From the editor

OK, after well over two years, I have finally decided that the ‘From the editor’ section should be removed. This will be my last comment within the newsletter. Anything I need to say will be said in the articles.

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff

What is belief? How is it the same as or different from knowledge? If I believe I am capable of something, how does that affect the likelihood of accomplishing that thing? If I believe in a religious or ideological idea, how does that affect my life? Belief is powerful, and yet barely understood.

Let me start by defining belief as conviction that something is true or valid. Belief is raw certainty, at a very low level in the brain. Belief is like the alphabet of thoughts, like the basic rule ‘1+1=2′ of mathematics. Belief is the individual brick from which we build the houses of our understanding of the world.

Where do beliefs come from? For the most part, they come from experience. If we touch enough stones, we eventually believe all stones are hard. If we see enough ants carry food into holes in the ground, we eventually believe that ants live underground. If we fall to the ground enough times, we eventually believe that we can only fall down and not up. By repeatedly observing an event, from any combination of senses, we eventually ‘know’ the truth of that experience. We believe it.

Belief doesn’t come from analysis, but rather from repeated experience. This means we can shape our beliefs, by choosing which experiences we have. If we subject ourselves to a consistent and predictable environment, that environment will shape our beliefs. The less room there is to question or to analyze that environment, the more quickly the beliefs are formed. This shaping can be used against us, in the form of brainwashing. Or it can be used for us.

What we believe about the world influences our interpretation of it. Once we’ve had an experience enough times to form a belief, when we see a similar circumstance we will incorporate our belief into our understanding of that new event. And the mind is a very creative, flexible tool. Our interpretation of an event is influenced by our beliefs, but it also feeds and reinforces those beliefs. Believing in a higher power leads us to interpret the sunset or a blade of grass or an emotion in a way that reinforces the belief in that higher power.

On a simpler scale, believing you are able to run a mile or write a story or speak in front of strangers affects your very ability to do those things. If you believe you can, you interpret the results more favorably than if you don’t, and you strengthen that belief by doing that thing. If you believe you can’t, you criticize yourself more thoroughly, and you strengthen the belief that you can’t.

Putting this all together, we get a powerful tool: we can choose what we take part in, what environment we experience. This in turn leads to a set of beliefs that is consistent with the environment. These beliefs create reinforcing patterns in our mind that convince us more thoroughly of the truth of the beliefs with each new experience. What we fundamentally believe can be shaped by our conscious choices of where we go and what we do.

So what do you want to believe? What is a belief you hold about yourself that limits your success? What is a belief that makes you feel bad, that if it were gone would allow you to feel good? What is a belief you carry that holds you back in any way?

To overcome these limiting beliefs, all you have to do is pick a new environment, new influences. Maybe it means reading different books, watching different movies, or listening to different music. It might mean moving to a place where you feel more at home. Maybe it means finding new friends or new social groups. How much you are willing to move out of your current comfort zone is how much change you will be able to see in your results.

What do you believe about yourself that you’ve always wanted to change? Imagine yourself being different… how would you want to be? Now go find someone who has the trait or the ability you want and learn from them: learn how they got to where they are and what they do that makes them successful. Learn that it is possible and conceivable, experience what that’s like, and next thing you know, you’ll start having more and more success in that realm.

The only thing holding you back from any joy you want in life are your limiting beliefs. And you can change those. You just have to make the choice.

Other news

• And tastier, too: Tea ‘healthier’ drink than water
• Just more evidence that we’ve evolved to eat a high-carb, low-protein diet: Mediterranean Diet Cuts Death From Chronic Diseases
• Well, then, I guess they’re not so “super”: “Super” Lice, Simply Treated

Quote for the week

I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. - Bertrand Russell

From the editor

Once again, I’d like to ask for ideas for future posts. What do you want to know more about? What do you want to see changed in the world or in your life? Email me (using the feedback form on the website) or leave a comment to this article and I’ll look into it for you.

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff

When good things happen to you, to what do you attribute the result? Do you associated it with your abilities, talents, and skills? Or do you feel you are just ‘lucky’ to have had the circumstance occur? Most people credit themselves when they accomplish, achieve, or receive something.

Now here’s the more important question, and one which requires serious (and truthful) reflection before answering: When bad things happen to you, to what do you attribute the result? Do you associate it with your abilities, talents, and skills? Or do you feel you are just ‘unlucky’ to have had the circumstance occur?

Most people place the blame for bad results outside of themselves. They blame other people. They blame their pet. They blame the masses (traffic or evil corporations, for example, or just ‘those people’). They blame the intangibles (’that’s just the way it goes sometimes’, ‘I was unlucky’). Some go so far as to blame all things they don’t like on their envisioned opponents. Everything is the fault of the Republicans or the Democrats (depending on which party they are a member of), the Chinese or the Russians or the Terrorists.

The only place they don’t place partial or full responsibility for the result is on their self. The problem with this line of thinking, though, is it takes away your power to succeed at anything. Let me explain:

To be successful, to accomplish our dreams or achieve our desires, we must be do something. We must take action. I think most people recognize this to be true. But taking action is not enough. We must take action in the right direction.

Drawing back a bow and shooting an arrow is guaranteed to miss the vast majority of the time if you don’t aim. At first, you don’t know how to aim, so you will probably miss anyway. But after each shot, with reflection, you begin to figure out how to be more accurate with the next shot. Ready, fire, aim, fire, aim, fire, repeat.

It’s the same with our personal goals. Sure, early on we don’t really know what to do to move in the right direction. But we take some action anyway, and then, and this is the vital part, we observe the result and correct ourselves to better align our next action with the desired goal.

If you believe lack of results comes from within, then you have the ability to correct your efforts and better your results next time. But if you believe lack of results comes from outside yourself, then you stop trying, and you get nowhere.

Taking responsibility for your outcomes, no matter what, is called an internal locus of control. Placing blame elsewhere is called an external locus of control. Where is your locus of control, internal or external?

Not everything is within our power to influence. Sometimes, things just happen. But the vast majority of the time, the decisions we make and the actions we take every day creates the outcomes we see, regardless of what’s going on around us. Maybe today disruptions at work happened to be exceptionally bad, but in general have I created a workplace that is free from distraction or have I done things to invite the interruptions that keep me from getting my work done? Maybe today traffic happened to be exceptionally thick, but in general have I chosen a reasonable place to live and time to leave to get to work on time regularly? If I always blame my coworkers, or if I always blame traffic, then I am not taking responsibility for the effect my decisions had in the matter. I am robbing myself of the power to succeed.

Of course, it’s not enough to say you have an impact in both the good and the bad results, you must believe it. It must be integral to your overall thought process. But it starts by simply asking, ‘what could I have done differently in this case?’.

Other news

• Or “don’t hear this”, as the case may end up being: Now hear this: Leave your earwax alone
• Each cancer is unique, just like every other cancer: Gene map shows no two cancers alike
• Warning - you might get sick if you suppress your immune system: FDA Demands Tougher Warnings on Immunosuppressive Drugs

Quote for the week

It is possible to fail in many ways…while to succeed is possible only in one way. - Aristotle

From the editor

Once again, it’s time for me to ask you to tell your friends about Weekly Wellness News. Please share this. If you enjoy it, forward the email or website link to your family and friends… chances are, they will enjoy it too.

Also, if you have any thoughts on this (or any) issue, please leave your comments on the website! We’d love to hear from you!

Don’t forget: Friday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Arrrhhh!

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff

Last week, we discussed the importance of being truthful with ourselves. That is absolutely necessary if you want to succeed in life, to make positive changes. The internal process of being truthful is a life skill to master… it should be at the top of your list of personal priorities, it’s so important. Start there.

Number two on the list is living with integrity. This is simply the externalization of being truthful with yourself. It means reflecting the truth inside in every action and every statement you make. It means your observable actions are consistent with your internal beliefs.

It sounds easy. I mean, all you have to do is say and do what you believe is right. Yet it can be quite a challenge sometimes.

Often we compromise our integrity because we don’t want to hurt someone, because we are trying to protect someone’s feelings. We tell them what they want to hear rather than what we believe. Sometimes this might even be the right thing to do. But we’re not coming from integrity when we do this.

Other times, we know the outcome is appropriate and so we allow ourselves to justify doing the wrong thing so long as it’s for ‘the right reason’. A good example of this is the story of Robin Hood, in which the ‘hero’ steals from people in order to give to the poor. While his motives might be pure, his actions are immoral by any moral code that doesn’t allow theft. If stealing is wrong, then the motives don’t matter. You must make a choice… is stealing always wrong? Only then can you judge his actions, and only then can you know whether you could do the same and still be true to yourself.

But if, for the most part, the way we live is reflective of what we believe, then we are living with integrity.

Here’s an interesting question to ask yourself: which comes first, being truthful with yourself or acting with integrity?

I have found, over the years, that there is a lot of truth to the adage: actions speak louder than words. I believe that our actions and choices tell us more of the truth about ourselves than our conscious thoughts do. Not always; sometimes, we take an action in an effort to do the right thing, but it is misinterpreted or otherwise backfires. But if we observe our behavior over time, we find out who we really are. Our actions are the doorway to the truth about ourselves.

In other words, living from truth means acknowledging that how you behave is more reflective of what you believe than what you think is right or wrong. And that means that to change your behaviors, you need to change your beliefs. And that means we need a way to unlock and examine and modify those beliefs, if we ever hope to be fundamentally different than we are.

But that’s for another issue.

Other news

• Rea-dy, let’s go! Cheerleading Causes Majority of Female Athlete Injuries
• The future of college subsistence: N Korea ‘develops special noodle’
• Yet another divide created in the minds of the fearful: Strife over shots: Should our kids play together?

Quote for the week

If my hands are fully occupied in holding on to something, I can neither give nor receive. - Dorothee Solle

From the editor

It’s been over a month since it occurred, and still many people have not heard about it: Randy Pausch passed away.

Who is Randy Pausch? He’s the professor who made The Last Lecture (a series of lectures at Carnegie Mellon University) famous. When he found out he was terminally ill, he gave a lecture that inspired people all over the world. It was his last chance to share with his children the values and viewpoints he wanted them to take into their lives. He also wrote a book, The Last Lecture. These are must see/read items.

After spending 6 months changing the world, Randy died in late July. Thankfully, his message of hope, inspiration, and jubilation will live on.

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff

As children, we are told again and again about the importance of telling the truth. Then, somewhere around late-elementary school, we discover that our parents have been telling some pretty big whoppers, about Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny and, well, the list goes on. So how important is the truth, really?

The answer is: it depends. It depends on who you are communicating with. It depends on the type of information being shared. It depends on the reasons for communicating. “Do these pants look good on me” is given different consideration than “where were you at 9:03pm on the night of the murder?”

The only real place the answer is consistent and knowable is with your relationship with yourself. In this one relationship, I believe that truth is essential. Every decision you ever make will be influenced by what you believe about your abilities, desires, and circumstances. If you feed yourself misleading information, you will make bad decisions. It’s that simple.

It’s not possible to be truthful all the time. After all, we are all biased by our past and present beliefs. But it is important to always want the truth for ourselves, to always seek the truth about ourselves. If you live your life with blinders on, you will only achieve success randomly and inconsistently.

How, then, do you find the truth?

It really comes down to paying attention. Observe yourself closely as you go through your day. Watch the actions you perform and the decisions you make, and become familiar with your habits and rituals. Listen to your internal dialog.

Record your day in as much detail as you need to in order to find the bigger patterns in your life. You will be surprised with what you find. For instance you might find that you watch way more TV than you had let yourself admit, or that you don’t stay focused on one task when you are working on a project. You may discover that you don’t follow your religious teachings the way you believe you should. By keeping a time journal of how you spend your time over a while, you will more readily see the patterns that you wouldn’t notice on a day-to-day basis.

Notice how effective you are at accomplishing what you set out to, and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Then ask yourself what changes you could make for better results.

One of the hardest, but potentially one of the most informative, ways to learn the truth about yourself is to ask the people close to you. Ask them to be gentle but open, to share with you what they see from their perspective. This kind of external feedback will help you bypass your own biases and uncover things that aren’t always obvious.

Ultimately, all these exercises are just different ways of collecting information about yourself. But there is one more important step: you must open your heart and your mind to what you will discover.

We don’t always like what we find about ourselves, and we tend to only look at the good. But to be truthful means to accept the weaknesses along with the strengths. It requires you be willing to be less than perfect, and even to find out that you are not the person you think of yourself as being.

As you learn more about who you are in different circumstances and situations, you can begin to make effective, significant changes in any direction you want.  But first, you have to know where you are starting. And that means being truthful with yourself.

Other news

• This brings new meaning to the phrase ‘put on a happy face’: Face transplant ‘double success’
• Hopefully business pressure will finally bring the cost down: Alternatives To Cobra Insurance Cover
• The silver lining: this means two-thirds of schools aren’t: One-Third of Schools Built in Air Pollution Danger Zones

Quote for the week

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. - Sir Winston Churchill

From the editor

It’s technically still summer, but already it’s starting to feel like fall. I’ve had to close all the windows at night, and now even during the day most of them are shut. Summer went by all-too-quickly this year. Time to pull out the fleece, I suppose.

Healthy thoughts,
Jeff