Many of us look to the beginning of a new year as a chance
to start over. We HOPE that the new year will fulfill our
dreams, we WISH for growth and improvement and we
RESOLVE to make the changes necessary to make our
wishes come true.
But, do we BELIEVE that what we strive for is really
attainable?
Unless we whole heartedly believe that we can reach the
lofty heights we dream of, we are doomed to fall short of the
mark. Our lack of belief contributes to us undermining our
efforts to attain our goals.
This past summer I had the privilege of observing this theory
in action in a most personal way. At the end of May 2003,
my 15 year old son Ivar experienced a sudden and severe
loss of energy, resulting in him missing school for the entire
month of June. It was all he could do to move himself from
his bed to the couch each morning and keep himself fed.
His major output of energy each day was taking a bath.
Initially, the doctor theorized that he had contracted
mononucleosis. When tests for mono came back negative,
a second, more intense round of tests followed. All results
came back normal, so Ivar was referred to a pediatrician.
The pediatrician felt that his sleep cycle had been
disrupted. She advised Ivar to regulate his bedtime and to
get up each morning at the same hour. She told him to cut
out all tv and video games and to keep active every minute
of the day. She suggested that he read, play cards,
complete puzzles and develop various other hobbies to keep
himself active. Ivar went home and made a very honest
attempt at holding to this regime, but it did not make any
sense to him. He did not BELIEVE that it would help him get
better and he said so. After a few days of trying, he gave up
in utter frustration and discouragement.
By this time an entire month had passed and he was
showing no sign of improvement. As parents we could not
let the situation continue, so we took him to the emergency
room at the Hospital for Sick Children. There he was met by
an energetic, enthusiastic doctor who diagnosed chronic
fatigue syndrome. She prescribed an even more arduous
activity regime than the pediatrician. She also assured Ivar
that he would “absolutely get better” if he did what she told
him to do. He believed her!
The exercise schedule was as follows:
- Begin by walking 10 minutes, twice a day
- Add 5 minutes a day to each walking session
- By day 5 he would be walking for 30 minutes twice a
day
At the point of diagnosis, when he could barely lift his head
off of a pillow, the mere thought of walking for 10 minutes at
a time seemed like an enormous mountain to climb. To think
that he would have to last for 30 minutes only 5 days from
then was almost inconceivable, but that was the easy part.
Now the real work begins:
- On day 6, begin cardiovascular exercise (swimming,
cycling, running, etc.) for 30 minutes, twice a day
- Increase each exercise session by 5 minutes per day
- By day 18 he would be exercising vigorously for 90
minutes, twice per day
- Continue exercising for 90 minutes, twice per day until
you are better
-
When he first began walking, Ivar could barely lift his feet off
of the pavement. He was so devoid of energy that he
required a companion to accompany him on all of his walks.
We were afraid that if he ventured off on his own, we would
find him collapsed on a curb somewhere. His first walk of 10
minutes took him about six houses up the street and back
down again. Once home, he collapsed on the couch utterly
exhausted.
Already a cyclist, Ivar chose bicycling as his cardiovascular
exercise. He bravely set out on his first 30 minute ride
wobbling all the way down the street. Once again, he was in
no condition to go it alone, so he was always accompanied
by a companion rider. We were also very thankful for the
existence of his bicycle helmet. He varied the cycling routes
to keep things interesting, but all roads back to our home
are uphill. He would arrive back home and collapse on the
front lawn, never making it into the house until he had a
good rest and big glass of ice water.
He religiously stuck to the schedule all summer. He set his
stop watch for exactly the amount of exercise time required
and if he arrived home from a ride a bit early, would circle
his bike back up the street and ride a little longer. Some
days he was more enthusiastic than others, but every day
took monumental physical and mental energy to get on that
bike and keep going. By the end of August his energy level
was back to normal and he was ready to return to school.
Early in December we had a follow-up visit with the Hospital
for Sick Children. The doctors were amazed at his progress
and that he had been able to follow the exercise schedule in
such an exact manner. It was only then that we were
informed that most people never recover from this
syndrome. They simply cannot find it in themselves to do
what is necessary to be successful.
What was the difference between the advice of the
pediatrician and the advice of the emergency room doctor?
Both required great effort on Ivar’s part, in fact the path he
decided to follow required much more physical effort than
just keeping busy all day. Why was he able to stick to the
plan? Because he BELIEVED that it would work. He did not
know that most people never recover, so it never entered his
mind that the plan wouldn’t work.
Believing was not enough however. Ivar needed the doctor
and his parents as coaches to provide the direction he
needed, keep him focused and accountable and ultimately
to help him achieve his goal.
Consider a Business Coach for your business, to help you
develop it to the level you dreamed of when you started!
===============================================
Jim Gragtmans and Sandy Kemp are Action International
Business Coaches helping business owners grow their
business & do more with less effort.
Why are some businesses able to stand out from the crowd
and sell lots of product, very profitably? Because they have
a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Click here to learn more
www.actionbusinessdevelopment.com/products.html
================================================
**Attn: eZine editors and Site Owners**
Feel free to post this article in it’s entirety in your ezine or on
your site as long as you leave all links in place and include
our resource box as listed above.
If you need additional articles, check out our Article Archive
for fresh new content you can use on your website for FREE!
www.actionbusinessdevelopment.com/Tools.html
If you do use our articles, please let us know so that we can
have a look. Thanks
Jim & Sandy
mailto:jimgragtmans@action-international.com
mailto:sandykemp@action-international.com
to start over. We HOPE that the new year will fulfill our
dreams, we WISH for growth and improvement and we
RESOLVE to make the changes necessary to make our
wishes come true.
But, do we BELIEVE that what we strive for is really
attainable?
Unless we whole heartedly believe that we can reach the
lofty heights we dream of, we are doomed to fall short of the
mark. Our lack of belief contributes to us undermining our
efforts to attain our goals.
This past summer I had the privilege of observing this theory
in action in a most personal way. At the end of May 2003,
my 15 year old son Ivar experienced a sudden and severe
loss of energy, resulting in him missing school for the entire
month of June. It was all he could do to move himself from
his bed to the couch each morning and keep himself fed.
His major output of energy each day was taking a bath.
Initially, the doctor theorized that he had contracted
mononucleosis. When tests for mono came back negative,
a second, more intense round of tests followed. All results
came back normal, so Ivar was referred to a pediatrician.
The pediatrician felt that his sleep cycle had been
disrupted. She advised Ivar to regulate his bedtime and to
get up each morning at the same hour. She told him to cut
out all tv and video games and to keep active every minute
of the day. She suggested that he read, play cards,
complete puzzles and develop various other hobbies to keep
himself active. Ivar went home and made a very honest
attempt at holding to this regime, but it did not make any
sense to him. He did not BELIEVE that it would help him get
better and he said so. After a few days of trying, he gave up
in utter frustration and discouragement.
By this time an entire month had passed and he was
showing no sign of improvement. As parents we could not
let the situation continue, so we took him to the emergency
room at the Hospital for Sick Children. There he was met by
an energetic, enthusiastic doctor who diagnosed chronic
fatigue syndrome. She prescribed an even more arduous
activity regime than the pediatrician. She also assured Ivar
that he would “absolutely get better” if he did what she told
him to do. He believed her!
The exercise schedule was as follows:
- Begin by walking 10 minutes, twice a day
- Add 5 minutes a day to each walking session
- By day 5 he would be walking for 30 minutes twice a
day
At the point of diagnosis, when he could barely lift his head
off of a pillow, the mere thought of walking for 10 minutes at
a time seemed like an enormous mountain to climb. To think
that he would have to last for 30 minutes only 5 days from
then was almost inconceivable, but that was the easy part.
Now the real work begins:
- On day 6, begin cardiovascular exercise (swimming,
cycling, running, etc.) for 30 minutes, twice a day
- Increase each exercise session by 5 minutes per day
- By day 18 he would be exercising vigorously for 90
minutes, twice per day
- Continue exercising for 90 minutes, twice per day until
you are better
-
When he first began walking, Ivar could barely lift his feet off
of the pavement. He was so devoid of energy that he
required a companion to accompany him on all of his walks.
We were afraid that if he ventured off on his own, we would
find him collapsed on a curb somewhere. His first walk of 10
minutes took him about six houses up the street and back
down again. Once home, he collapsed on the couch utterly
exhausted.
Already a cyclist, Ivar chose bicycling as his cardiovascular
exercise. He bravely set out on his first 30 minute ride
wobbling all the way down the street. Once again, he was in
no condition to go it alone, so he was always accompanied
by a companion rider. We were also very thankful for the
existence of his bicycle helmet. He varied the cycling routes
to keep things interesting, but all roads back to our home
are uphill. He would arrive back home and collapse on the
front lawn, never making it into the house until he had a
good rest and big glass of ice water.
He religiously stuck to the schedule all summer. He set his
stop watch for exactly the amount of exercise time required
and if he arrived home from a ride a bit early, would circle
his bike back up the street and ride a little longer. Some
days he was more enthusiastic than others, but every day
took monumental physical and mental energy to get on that
bike and keep going. By the end of August his energy level
was back to normal and he was ready to return to school.
Early in December we had a follow-up visit with the Hospital
for Sick Children. The doctors were amazed at his progress
and that he had been able to follow the exercise schedule in
such an exact manner. It was only then that we were
informed that most people never recover from this
syndrome. They simply cannot find it in themselves to do
what is necessary to be successful.
What was the difference between the advice of the
pediatrician and the advice of the emergency room doctor?
Both required great effort on Ivar’s part, in fact the path he
decided to follow required much more physical effort than
just keeping busy all day. Why was he able to stick to the
plan? Because he BELIEVED that it would work. He did not
know that most people never recover, so it never entered his
mind that the plan wouldn’t work.
Believing was not enough however. Ivar needed the doctor
and his parents as coaches to provide the direction he
needed, keep him focused and accountable and ultimately
to help him achieve his goal.
Consider a Business Coach for your business, to help you
develop it to the level you dreamed of when you started!
===============================================
Jim Gragtmans and Sandy Kemp are Action International
Business Coaches helping business owners grow their
business & do more with less effort.
Why are some businesses able to stand out from the crowd
and sell lots of product, very profitably? Because they have
a Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
Click here to learn more
www.actionbusinessdevelopment.com/products.html
================================================
**Attn: eZine editors and Site Owners**
Feel free to post this article in it’s entirety in your ezine or on
your site as long as you leave all links in place and include
our resource box as listed above.
If you need additional articles, check out our Article Archive
for fresh new content you can use on your website for FREE!
www.actionbusinessdevelopment.com/Tools.html
If you do use our articles, please let us know so that we can
have a look. Thanks
Jim & Sandy
mailto:jimgragtmans@action-international.com
mailto:sandykemp@action-international.com
You Gotta Believe!
| Feel free to use this article |
**Attn: eZine editors
and Site Owners**
Feel free to post this
article in it's entirety in
your ezine or on your
site as long as you
leave all links in place
and include our
resource box as listed.
If you do use our
articles, please let us
know so that we can
have a look.
Thanks
Jim & Sandy
and Site Owners**
Feel free to post this
article in it's entirety in
your ezine or on your
site as long as you
leave all links in place
and include our
resource box as listed.
If you do use our
articles, please let us
know so that we can
have a look.
Thanks
Jim & Sandy