Power of Positive Thinking

"Sod it...I'm going to quit!" said Rollling Stone's drummer Charlie Watts when faced this week with serious health consequences he decided to quit smoking after 55 years on the weed! Well done Charlie and best of luck.
Somehow I don't think he'll need luck because it sounds like he simply doesn't want to smoke anymore.
On the 13th of next month it will be 13 years since I gave up. "Is it worth it after all this time?" enquired a colleague at the time. I remember thinking then that her comments were probably a reference to my age, and to my record of unsuccessful previous attempts. Plus the fact that smokers seemed obsessed with discouraging those that want to stop. Have you noticed that?  But I also remember how at the time I felt  about stopping.   Of course... it was to do with health threats and the impact of that on my family. But it was also to do with the notion that at my age it didn't matter...and I wasn't happy to accept that idea!  The significant thing I remember however, was that previously I had quit because I felt I should. It was the right thing to do.  Now I was going to quit because I wanted to. Previously I had left the body in charge to withstand and hopefully forget the cravings and satisfaction of nicotine. This time I put the mind in control of things. The body would still want to succumb but the mind would say "no we don't do that any more!"

It's probably over 40 years since I bought my first book on the Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. And yes I wish I'd read it and grasped the meaning back then....I'd say "if only etc. etc"  but I don't  do if only these days...(wisdom came late in life)
Maybe it's because we have to experience something before we understand it (some ancient philosopher said that I do remember) that we find it hard to learn lessons by reading from a book.
I wager that any of us can look back and with 5 minutes thought we will remember 3 or 4 experiences where we did something we had previously considered beyond us! Thus we learnt the meaning of self-limiting beliefs and the power of positive thinking.
So apologies Norman. It took me a while to see the light but there's no stopping me now. And Charlie too I'm sure  

"Stop the ageing clock at 50!"

Did you see that on the news today? Scientists at Leeds University are embarking on a Multi-million Pound research programme, the successful outcome of which would be that we stop ageing at 50!!!
How wonderful would that be??   Obviously there will be critics, sceptics and just plain argumentatives who'll challenge this. Speaking personally I'd have gained little from this as I looked 50 when I was 40....probably on account of having lived an equivalent 60 years by that time!!!!
But seriously, I think the idea is brilliant!  And thinking about it, I realise that I've had my own "stop the ageing clock programme" in place since my 50th.  I'm sure it was triggered by my "ex" running off around my 50th birthday. (note to self - avoid unnecessary joke that this was bound to have rejuvenating effect!)  But it probably began earlier than that when corporate life decided to do without me at 47 and the thoughts of "mid-life rebellion" were implanted.  But looking back I am really grateful for those life changing events that did exactly that! They changed my life. They recharged the sense of purpose and challenge to start over again.

 Nowadays I do all the recommended things. The daily workout ...sorry the photographer cut off my head. The brain workout too, with good old Sudoku and the like. Eat the right things with Omega 3 seeds on my muesli...red grape juice....salmon or mackeral four nights a week...and yes a glass or two of my favourite red as advised by a dear old cleric!  But for me the most important "anti-ageing agent" has been and continues to be change.    No, I'm not recommending that you run out on your partner! But to be continually introducing some form of change or difference: New skills. New interests. New ventures. New friendships. If we keep giving the mind something new to think about, the mind in turn will give the body something to think about.    "Come along, we're not finished yet ............ON WE GO!"

"It's that problem with the steering Lulu!"

"It's that problem with the steering Lulu!" Dad would say.  My dear departed mum and dad used to work at the same engineering works in Wembley, and each day they would to work together. Except for the occasional day when the car would play up!  It was always the same problem....the steering...and funnily enough usually on a pleasant sunny day. They would be heading off in the right direction and then suddenly without warning the steering wouldn't respond....just at the critical Wembley turning. An hour later they would be in Brighton....sitting on the seafront....enjoying the packed lunch intended for the factory canteen....just appreciating what was around them.

Mum would always protest...for a while. Mum was the conscientious one in our family. But Mum also knew what these days meant to both of them.They meant.

Do the things you enjoy in life with the people that you love.

Be able to enjoy moments that add value to your life.

Take opportunities and don't procrastinate. Be spontaneous.

Never lose your sense of fun or your spark of rebelliousness.

With these sunny autumn days that we're currently enjoying they would definitely have been taking a "Bob'n Lu Day" as I like to call it.    And who knows....maybe they are?