Accept criticism with Grace and appreciation

How you handle criticism was the question put to me when having a chat with a client. This got me thinking on making it a good subject for my forthcoming article. 

Well most of us do tend to react by being defensive or lashing back. Personally,  I strongly believe that there is a far more positive way of dealing with criticism which can work wonders in the long run.  whether you take criticism in a positive or a negative way will eventually make you look at things in a more subjective manner and make you walk towards the path of a stress free life. Some of the constructive options that you can consider when dealing with criticism in your respective lives are

Hold your reaction

If your first reaction is to respond either by being defensive or offensive then I would advise you to hold your horses and give it some time before you eventually ride the emotional wave. What this does to you is that by giving yourself some time in responding, you can logically think and react in a positive and constructive manner. In this way it will save you from getting sucked into the negative energy syndrome and also make you confident of eventually handling any critics in a calm and composed manner. I have seen many people who have considered criticism as a God send and made the best use of it. Personally I used to get angry when criticised but eventually worked on this and have become much more calmer and composed when faced with one. Say for example if I  receive a particular email which is very negative and criticizing I do not respond to it immediately but rather wait for some amount of time say, 24 hours,  before responding to it. At times when I  face criticism in person I tend to walk away and take my time in responding rather than saying something in haste and regretting it later.

That cooling off time allows me to give it a little more thought beyond my initial reaction. It allows logic to step in, past the emotion. I don’t have anything against emotion, but when it’s a negative emotion, it can cause more harm than good. So I let my emotions run their course and then respond when I’m calmer.

Turn a negative into a positive

One of the key things I believe in and practise is seeing a positive in any negative situation or in this case, criticism. You can do the same with a criticism and look for a positive in it for you. Well if you do look deeply you are sure to find a nugget of positivity in any criticism however critical it may sound. The idea is to use the correct words to reprogram  your mind in looking at things from  the negative outlook to a positive outlook. Already exposed to unnecessary stress in our life it is a worthwhile habit to inculcate in order to manage stress related to office politics and negative people.

Thank the critic

Even if someone is harsh and rude, do Thank them for their criticism and give them the benefit of doubt. They might be having a bad day or basically just  a negative person. By thanking them for their criticism you will catch them off guard and who knows over a period of time they might become your biggest proponents. Even if the critic does not take your Thank you in a good way consider it doing for yourself which will make you more humble in the long journey of Life.

Learn from criticism

Once you hold your reaction and thank  the critic, do not get back to your regular routine. Give yourself a minute and see what is the learning you can derive from this particular incident. This might be a difficult thing for some people who think that they are always right, but do understand that one cannot be always right and committing mistakes is a part of the learning curve. See if there’s something you can change to make yourself better. And then make that change. Actually strive to do better the next time.

Be the better person

Many times we take criticism as a personal attack. Well, perhaps sometimes it is, but we don’t have to take it that way. Take it as a criticism of your actions, not of you as a person. If you do that, you can detach yourself from the criticism emotionally and see what can be done. But the way that many of us handle criticisms is by attacking back probably saying  “I’m not going to let someone talk to me that way.” Especially if this criticism is made in public. By attacking the attacker, you are stooping to his level. Even if the person was mean or rude, you don’t have to be the same way. You don’t have to commit the same sins what the other’s are already committing.

If you can rise above the petty insults and attacks, and respond in a calm and positive manner to the meat of the criticism, you will be the better person. And guess what? There are two amazing benefits of this:

 1.Others will admire you and think better of you for rising above the attack. Especially if you remain positive and actually take the criticism well. This has happened to me many a time, when people actually complimented me on how I handled attacking comments during my work as well as my personal life.

 2.You will feel better about yourself. By participating in personal attacks, we dirty ourselves. But if we can stay above that level, we feel good about who we are. And that’s the most important benefit of all according to me.

 How do you stay above the attacks and be the better person? By removing yourself from the criticism, and looking only at the actions criticized. By seeing the positive in the criticism, and trying to improve. By thanking the critic. By responding with a positive attitude, you will eventually become a better person.

I hope you find this article inspiring and you are most welcome to share your thoughts as well as what you liked or disliked by mailing me on coach@satishrao.in or on my face book fan page www.facebook.com/B.N.satishrao.

Simple steps to start the exercise Habit

What prompted me to write this article is that of late, I realised that people do not have a clue as to how exactly to start an exercise habit. It is easier said than done since it is a lifestyle change that one is contemplating for his/her life. Since I too have sailed the same boat I thought of addressing this topic to see how many might actually start of on a new empowering habit.

New research has repeatedly pointed to a lack of exercise as the number one reason for all Lifestyle diseases. Add unhealthy habits and bad food habits and many people are walking the road of self destruction.  I am aware that starting a new habit is not easy and the need of the hour is a tremendous shift in our mindset. Let me first try to decipher what the problem could be and then get to the solution at a later stage.

Make it Too difficult: 

People set out with a lot of enthusiasm and start out with a big goal. They tend to decide that they will go to the gym for an hour every day for 6 days in a week which might sound good but sustaining it in the long run is not for the fainthearted. You might do it for a few days but over a period of time you tend to feel demotivated and perplexed.

Too many Goals: 

Most of us do tend to work on too many goals at the same time like hitting the gym, doing cardio stations, eating healthy, avoiding sweets etc... Now what this does is the opposite of empowering you. Most of us tend to get overwhelmed at the sheer number of things we need to work on and the enthusiasm will fizzle out. Imagine you are trying to juggle one ball at a time which is pretty easy but when you add a couple to the one you are already juggling then our focus gets compromised and ultimately one tends to lose everything.

Lack of motivation:

It is not discipline but the lack of motivation which is the number one reason for people not to get into an exercise habit. If one works on his/her motivation level then the discipline will eventually fall in place.

So how does one overcome this with something simple and practical?

Set one easy measurable goal:

The idea is to set one goal and work at it diligently. It might be going for a walk in the morning for 4 days a week or even going for a 15 minute walk every day after lunch with an office pal. What this does is it sets the pace and making it a long term habit is something that will be that much easier. Work on a time where you would never miss, like say something first thing in the morning or after lunch/dinner. The more specific you are with the time and exercise your planning will eventually bring the purpose. Once this is done write down the Goal with as much as clarity you can envision say like which days or the week, time, place and duration of the exercise. I have said this before that there is magic when one writes down the desired Goals and outcome.

Log the exercise:

This is one of the simplest things one can do and with all kinds of smart phones people carrying, one can download an App which will do the rest. The idea is to record the activities you are doing. You will start to see the progress which will then motivate you. Just ensure that you log the activity everyday and not make it complicated. Just recording the time, duration and how you felt doing the exercise will give you a good reference point for the rainy days ahead.

Report it to others:

Making yourself accountable is the key. This might be a spouse, friend, coach or even an office colleague. With technology at our fingertips it might not be that much a challenge to ensure people who matter to you the most are updated daily on your progress. However set it up and make it a daily habit to ensure that you do not miss on a single day. I personally feel that this is very empowering and clients of mine who swear by this habit look forward to writing down their achievements. There is a sense of accountability that it does brings to the table. When you share with people, be sure that they know about your goals and are care about you to follow up on you. Well if you do not have anybody then it is time to avail the services of a Life or a Wellness Coach.

Add motivation as needed:

Usually the first three steps should be enough for most of you to develop a simple exercise habit. However if you do happen to miss out on two consecutive days of workouts then immediately get into the why and use any external motivator if required for you to restart the habit. External motivators might be watching a movie, reading a book or even following me on my fan page. The idea is to stick with the habit whatever it takes. If you need to add a couple of motivators, go ahead but get back to the exercise habit immediately. There is power in momentum and this should be used in continuing with an exercise habit. Once you make this a habit for say a month or two then you can always add on a few more challenges based on your goals and outcomes.

I do hope this article inspires a lot of you who always wanted to get into a Exercise habit but never managed to do it so far. As usual I would love to hear from you on this. You can mail me on Coach@satishrao.in or add your comments on my face book Fan page www.facebook.com/B.N.Satishrao.

Be aware of the Stressful weeks ahead

‘Stressful week makes techies seek adventures on weekends’. Well this was the headline screaming in the newspaper that caught my attention couple of days back. I was surprised with the in-depth story and if true then, yes we are looking at more incidents like the unfortunate incident of Techie Satwik Shastri.

The article goes on to convey “There’s one common point in all these tragic cases: The culture of weekend outings. Psychologists point to ‘cultural overplay’ and say that the increasing number of psychosomatic disorders in the IT industry drives employees to embark on crazy adventures during weekends, even those that are risky. I personally am not surprised since I see many educated well to do people taking extreme risks during the weekend whilst finding solace in working hard during the week.

When I happen to come across people working in the IT sector they have the same issues with respect to not having any time for anything else other than work and travel time. Well this scenario is all too familiar for me and I work with my clients who go through the same vicious circle of work without a work life balance. Some of the key pointers one can follow not to fall prey to a weekend misadventure due to stress at work are:

Never skip Breakfast:

Most of the people who work in some of the biggest organisations start early and generally tend to avoid eating breakfast. This according to me is the biggest mistake one can make and it is a fallacy that not eating in the morning will make a person not put on too much weight. On the contrary it is the opposite. Having a good breakfast even if it is way too early makes sense because hunger pangs ensure that your brain does not get the required nutrients. When I am working with a client on this challenge most of them are surprised when we work on simple yet very efficient breakfast options which will ensure that the day begins with energy and zest. I would also advocate people to be done with the breakfast before they step into their office cabin be it a pit stop in the cafeteria or grabbing something on the way. But the idea is to ensure a healthy breakfast with a balanced portion of carbs/protein and fat.

Be well hydrated:

Another pitfall most of people working in organisations with controlled indoor temperatures are that they not being hydrated enough. The reasoning is that they do not feel thirsty and hence do not drink enough water. One of the funniest reasons I have heard is that they cannot find the time and the energy to visit the rest room if they drink too much water. Well I believe that an adult requires at a minimum of 8-10 big glasses (250-300 ml) of water a day. Well in simple terms what this does is that it ensures all the toxins from the body are removed by the regular visit to - you guessed it “the wash room”. What this does is, it ensures that the complexion of the skin improves due to cells in skin being nourished in spite of the Air con running full time.

Eat healthy and on time:

Nothing can be further from the truth with respect to eating healthy and it having a direct effect on stress and weight management. When I was on a coaching session with a client she was very vocal about not having the time and also a lack of healthy eating options in her office cafeteria which is supposedly one of the top three IT firms in the world. Knowing that she drives her own car my simple question to her was does she not ensure that she keeps her fuel tank filled up regularly whatever the time and situation  is? Well surprisingly most of us take extra care on materialistic things rather than our own body. Sounds familiar to many but “Not eating healthy and on Time” is one of the Top three reasons for increase in stress levels and obesity in this era. So now the lady in question and I have worked out an excellent meal plan which is extremely healthy and practical.

Practice meditation:

With the kind of stress each one of us is exposed to it is prudent to ensure that you do hit the De stress button couple of times a day. Even 3-4 sessions of ten minute of meditation will work wonders for stress management. This over a period of time will become an empowering habit and one can use it in different fields and situations. For in depth knowledge on How to meditate do refer my previous Blog article on the same subject.

Follow a regular sleep pattern:

A Regular sleep cycle is critical to ensure a disciplined lifestyle. Most of the people working in high pressure, stressful Jobs tend to follow the logic of letting go during the weekend and this effects the biological clock and also gives rise to many a misadventure .Too much of a variance in sleep patterns affects either way and I advocate similar sleeping patterns for all the 7 days in a week. Of late I have noticed that people under stress find it difficult to sleep and working on all the areas discussed above has bought a great deal of relief to most of them.

Exercise: 

With limited time for themselves in a 24 day hour, time will not allow most of the working people to manage a regular fitness regimen. So the best option which is working wonderfully for all my clients’ is to use the office hour to catch up on exercise. Walking as much as possible during an 8 hour shift will ensure one needs not head out to any gym whatsoever. The challenge is how creative you are in ensuring you clock the required Ten thousand steps (A brisk walk of   75 minutes will take you there) you need per day. Remember there are plenty of opportunities in any given day for us to walk around and the only thing which is required is a positive and an open  mind set.

I hope this article makes you work on your stress and not get into any misadventures during the weekends either by binge drinking, venturing into forests or for some even working out only during the weekend far too excessively. All these have its own pit falls and doing anything at one go is always stupidity at its height. Anything done in excess is as bad to the system as not done at all (keeping  exercise in context). Do let me know your feedback and thoughts on my mail id coach@satishrao.in or on my face book Page www.facebook.com.B.N.Satishrao. 

How to stick to your Goals when Life does act up

Have you ever been gung ho on a great exercise plan, lifestyle or even a habit change and all of a sudden an unforeseen crisis in life like an accident or a promotion comes up. Everything you have built around you falls down and crumbles like a pack of cards. Well you are not alone - lots of us have faced this situation and it happens to me quite often. Of course, these things happen to all of us and eventually Life does come in the way.

Unfortunately we tend to give up on our goals when we face situations like this in our life. However, it does not necessarily mean that we need to give up completely. With a smart and a planned approach one can get back into the rhythm in no time. Things happen to all of us and it is our ingenuity as to how we can work around the obstacles or through them. Some of the things which I feel can help you get back on track are 

Anticipate:

Think ahead and plan for the corner very much in advance. When you are prepared for any eventuality which you tend to foresee then one can have a couple of solutions up your sleeve. When one is committed to an exercise habit and knows the benefits of the same he/she should also see the things which might derail it. Say for example a family/friends get together is planned for the weekend then it is prudent to plan accordingly and make arrangements to burn the extra calories or definitely ensure that you do stick on to your weekend schedule in the gym. Reason is that sometimes one slip up is what it takes to slide downhill.For example when i do know that there is a marriage or get together coming up  i need to attend, then i include that meal as my cheat meal(i have one cheat meal for a week) and just don't mind eating not right for that particular time.

Find the path:

When you face obstacles in life what do you generally do? Most of us walk around it or under it as per the circumstances. The same logic holds good especially when you come face to face with an obstacle which might derail your habit or game plan. Sometimes there is more than one path.  Step out of yourself and figure out a new path. If it does not work, chart out a new route map but ensure you keep going. Life is mostly an experiment to most of us. So it does makes sense to enjoy each moment of it.

Two steps forward and one step back:

You are bound to face setbacks eventually in your journey towards a goal or a habit formation. Do not feel dejected but figure out a way to move forward and keep at it just like another day. Instead of seeing the setback as something discouraging, accept it as a part of the journey. The logic which I always work on is “always take two steps forward towards your goal and one step backwards and eventually you will always be one step closer to your objective. This helps me to move on irrespective of the set back I come across if any.

If you fall get up and learn from it:

In life most of us fail but the one who truly succeeds is the one who does not stay down when ever he/she falls but learns from it and comes out a winner. So failing is not the end in any endeavour but not trying again is the biggest trap most people fall into.

Find New Motivation:

Sometime failure derails you so badly that to begin all over again overwhelms you. The best solution is to always look at what might motivate you and work your way through it. Joining a group of likeminded people or even liking my face book page and sharing your frustration might help because you are bound to find support and tips on how to get over this. Even stepping back a little and looking at what would the feeling be once you achieve the goal makes one to begin with new vigour. I always tend to see a vision of myself in the future when things are not going the way I want.

Go with the flow:

Be flexible and do not be rigid with what Life does throw at you. Change is always good and it does make one a better person no matter how bitter the learning is. Embrace change and go with the flow. If we are too rigid then it might break with the pressure of Life. If we learn to accommodate changes that life throws at us, and still head towards our goal, we’ll be happier and get to where we want to be eventually. Be willing to be flexible. Change comes at you … don’t despair, or get frustrated … take that change and make it a part of your plan.

Life does throw us surprises at times and eventually it is our attitude which makes all the difference. 

I do hope you did find this article inspiring and eventually makes you get back to a positive habit or even better start a positive empowering habit. I would be happy to hear from you if this article lights a spark in you which will eventually grow into a roaring fire. Do share your feedback on my mail coach@satishrao.in or on my face book Fan page www.facebook.com/B.N.Satishrao. 

How to ensure your Life is always organised

It is rare to find a person who is organised in every area of his/her life. At times one tends to be extremely organised at work but the exact opposite regarding their domestic front. I have been working on being better organised for quite some time and even now I feel that there is ample area for improvement. There seems to have been a considerable improvement though from where I was to where I am presently in the being organised department. During my coaching sessions with clients most of them work on and priorities getting organised. Hence I thought why not share this topic with my readers as well.So some of the easiest and simplest ways to make one’s life organised is 

Writing down the 3 most important tasks for the day:

A simple exercise of writing down the 3 most important tasks for the day brings in a lot of awareness and one does tends to make time for it in the sub conscious level. Now working on the three most important things will ensure that the most important tasks at hand are taken care of and one can then focus on the less priority areas. By doing this one simple exercise, a lot of stress can be managed when one is running against the clock.

Do one thing at a time:

I have been ranting about how multitasking brings down the productivity. Latest research has indeed proved that people who do tend to Multitask are prone to acute stress and feel completely drained out at the end of the  day. The thumb rule I always follow is to do one thing at a time and move on to the next important task only when I have completed the one at hand. Do not take my words for granted, try this exercise for a day and you will be surprised with the result.

Do it now

Procrastination is one of the biggest hindrances to our growth and most of us fall into this trap at one time or the other. To avoid this I have always vouched for doing things immediately if the time and the situation permit and not wait for a better day for the sun to shine brighter. Even a simple strategy of putting one step forward towards a humongous task makes the task that much closer. I have seen some brilliant people who succumb to procrastination and feel incapacitated at the end of the day. I have realised that one can overcome fear only by looking at it straight in the eye and moving towards it. So my two takeaways here will be to Do it now and not wait for another day to begin with.

Place everything in their place: 

This is like using a planner (either electronic or some like me still a hard bind) to place things in their respective place. The logic is to make things simple and not get stressed with things not in place. There is a certain magic in simplicity and one needs to experience the sense of keeping things absolutely simple .I always believed that one’s life needs to be made as simple as possible to make maximum use of our potential.

Learn to say No

Sometime by saying No to someone or some tasks will ensure that you do not lose your focus. The art of saying No is something that one needs to develop and it comes only with practise. There are many people who will distract you either at work or outside and it is prudent in our own self interest to say No to these kinds of people who after some time will get the message and move on to their next victim.

Delegate better:

I have experienced that the most demanding situations at work or even at home can be managed well if one does learn the art of delegation. By delegating work to your subordinates at work you are not only allowing them to step in to your shoes but also building a wonderful relationship called trust. So by delegating tasks according to the situation you are ensuring that you do not have more food on your plate and have absolute control of your time. By proper delegation one can manage stressful situations efficiently and effectively.

You control your Life

Remember that you have absolute control of your life and it is how you manage your day to day tasks that will ensure how your Life goes by. By working on your priorities and ensuring you have time for yourself by being more organised, you can be that much more productive in your life and ensure you take control of your life more effectively.

I do believe that the knowledge shared in this article will make you wear the thinking cap on. Do share with me your learning’s and how you manage to keep yourself organised by mailing me at coach@satishrao.in or with your comments on www.facebook.com/B.N.Satishrao.

Also if you would like me to write on any particular topic which you feel is important to you and also help others do share it with me and will try and make up for it in my subsequent Blog article.

How to create an empowering Vision

Many times I think about our purpose in Life or whether we have specific tasks to accomplish in this world before we move on. I strongly believe that each one of us is guided by our inner voice to chart out our road map in this universe.

When I was on a coaching call last week the discussion turned towards vision and how to create our vision for our future. So here I am sitting with my trusted companion, my Laptop, and trying to put my thoughts in an article. Some of the steps in creating an empowering  vision according to me are 

See clearly in the mind’s eye:

When one is very clear with his/her goals, then the image in the mind becomes that much clearer with vivid details. The first step towards creating a vision for the future is to condition the mind to visualise things. For beginners, if you can think of the best holiday you have had with all the details then that is visualisation. 

Creating a future is the opposite of seeing things which have already happened. Do not get perturbed by the fact as to how can one see something which is yet to happen. That is the amazing power of the mind. I am sure most of you are aware of the famous saying by Walt Disney “if you can dream it then you can get it”. Well nothing can be farther from the truth with respect to each one of our lives. Therefore create a vision with utmost clarity in your mind’s eye be it a healthier, happier or a better you. The more clarity you have with an image then the more your sub conscious mind will guide you to work towards it. Make it better by seeing it more like a movie.

Write down the goal:

A simple act of writing down one’s goals with clarity will ensure that you are reminded of it every time you see it. Write down with clarity your goals with specific time frames for achieving the same. Write it down on post it notes and stick it at points where you can see it. You must create the image of your goal. For example write down the specific weight you intend to reach by what day and put in a place where you will see it first thing in the morning and just before you go to bed at night.

Live in the future: 

Do a weekly run of your future vision and experience the feeling. What I mean is take out time for 10-15 minutes once a week and experience the feeling you expect when you have already reached the goal. See people coming to you, congratulating you and asking you for suggestions and advice. Feel the touch and see the colour of things around you. What you are doing here is making the experience so real with the knowledge that the mind can’t make out what is real and what is imagined. Do this experiment to make you feel the euphoria of already reaching your goals.

Work towards your Goals: Of course the most important factor over here is to work on your goals. Visualising and doing the above mentioned exercises will help the cause only when you start taking small dedicated steps towards your final objective. No matter how many times you fail you just need to keep going at it and not lose sight of the final destination. You might fail badly but get up every time you fail and try with another approach.

What I have noticed is that when one uses the power of visualisation we tend to be more focused on our goals and do not come out with excuses as to why we are not able to work towards it. The mind starts making you work towards your goals with absolute clarity and does not allow the negative thoughts and influences to override. With Visualisation, one can work on getting a better body or a more fulfilling relationship or even a better job. There is absolutely no limit on the capability of our mind when it is fed with clarity and focus.

I sincerely hope that you will put this in practise for making your visions come true and share your experiences with me and others. I would Love to hear your experiences on visualisation and how you have worked yourself against all odds by using the power of visualisation. Do write me a mail or better put in your comments in my face book page www.facebook.com/B.N.satishrao.

How to take control of your health and hit the Wellness Road

The most prized possession to all of us is our health and surprisingly most of us show the least bit of interest in caring for it. We tend to take it for granted until something drastic happens. With rapid urbanisation and western culture influencing our Indian cities, there are many options for an average Indian to get into an unhealthy eating habit. These poor habits along with our living standards have created an increase in illness and lack of performance in the body. Due to all of this, we have literally lost control of what goes on in our body and in our health.

For many years now, I have been interested in healthy living and getting my body back into its natural state and how it should function. I prefer to focus on ‘prevention’ rather than cure and wellness over illness. Here are some tips to take back control of your health and get on the path to wellness:

Know your reasons:

If you’re looking to get healthier, fitter and look younger, then you’ve got to know your reasons as to why you want to become healthier. If you’re familiar with any work done in the field of personal development, you may have heard of Tony Robbins and his work which states that no matter what goal you set, the more reasons you have for achieving it the more you’ll convince yourself of wanting to achieve it. You’ll go all out and get it. Why do you want to get more healthy now and not before in your life? What has caused this change? And how committed are you? These are some of the questions you can ask yourself before you embark on this wonderful journey. 

Create your wellness plan: 

You need to know how you actually want to invest time, energy and resources into taking back control of your health and getting on to the path of wellness. Creating your own plan requires you to know what you’d like your body and health to look, feel and be like in about 1-5 years from now  and then breaking down that vision into monthly goals of nutrition, exercise and anything else needed to get you there. See yourself everyday in your mind’s eye as to how you want to look in a couple of years from now.

Get rid of your negative influences:

 Have you ever tried to improve one part of your life but find that no matter how hard you try, it may not seem to work? It’s usually because you haven’t cleared out the negative energies or things that are conflicting with it. For example, if you find eating junk food is a negative thing when you’re trying to get healthy but are still eating it, you’re really inhibiting how well your body could do. Make a list of things that you are tolerating in your life, things you know you shouldn’t do or have but are still doing it. And slowly cut down and get rid of it.

Drink lots of water: 

During the course of your day, you lose a lot of water and it’s important that you begin your day with a big glass of water. The vitality that our cells get from water is very important and will keep your body working in correct order. Without water, your cells start to wilt just like plants without water. Ensure on an average that you drink 10-12 big glasses of water.

Eat lots of water-rich content: 

Our body is made up of about 70% of water just like our planet. Naturally we should consume enough water to keep our body well hydrated in order to recycle our body’s capacity often. Consume lots of water-rich fruits and vegetables every day. I make it a point to include good enough quantities of fresh vegetables and fruits during the day to increase my fibre intake. The simple sugars from fruits are important nutrients and vitamins for our body.

Rest well:

Without sleep, your body’s clock loses its rhythm and starts to dysfunction, causing poor habits. Rest well and consistently each day. Try to keep your timings consistent so that your body can set its routine. If you can’t sleep early, get some blindfolds, ear plugs, soothing music, or whatever you need but stay away from watching the Television for at least half an hour before you sleep. An even better option will be to move the television from your bedroom altogether to ensure that you set a good platform before you hit the snooze button.

Exercise at least 30 minutes a day: 

This article won’t do justice if I don’t include exercise and fitness in it. If you don’t exercise, seriously consider the impacts on your body. Exercise gets your body moving, your blood circulating and your energy in motion. If you work at home or at an office, get up every 60 minutes and walk around. If you have a staircase nearby, run up and down it several times a day. If you can get out for a walk, I highly recommend it for at least 10 minutes a day. The great thing is that you can break up your 30 minutes exercise a day into 2-3 segments so that you can exercise wherever you are. The simplest exercise is always walking and be creative in how you do it. Do refer my previous articles for some creative ideas.

Don’t overeat:

 Only eat till you are satisfied. Don’t overeat or stuff yourself. Eat with content and till your stomach is satisfied. You can always go and eat something healthy later – and that’s better than overeating. Thumb rule is to eat a little more than your fistful at any point of time.

 Keep a food journal:

One of the best ways to ensure that you keep healthy and stay on track is to keep a food journal. It will make you aware of what and when you eat. Write down what you eat and drink at every meal time and in between, as well as the exercises you do and when. It’s a great momentum-building tool. I still maintain this and always look back to see and learn from my own mistakes. Many of my coaching clients still swear by this one practise.

Finally it is only you who can make and take the decision to follow a healthy lifestyle and as always more than the destination it is always the journey which is more fulfilling. In case you do require additional tips and motivation on healthy lifestyle follow me on www.facebook.com/B.N.Satishrao. You can share your success stories with me and other like minded people in the platform.