Chapter 9
Self-ONENESS
Construction Stage 1.6: Assembling a cohesive Team and Crew
SAL Model Stage 1.6: Self-Oneness
Self-Oneness is related to the concept of Existential Balance, which was introduced earlier in BOOK the THIRD, Chapter 4, as: a healthy state of equilibrium spanning the Eight (8) Life Arenas of Self-Action Leadership.
EXISTENTIAL BALANCE
A healthy state of equilibrium spanning the Eight (8) Life Arenas of Self-Action Leadership.
- Constitutional
- Spiritual
- Mental
- Physical
- Emotional
- Social
- Moral
- Financial
Like Existential Balance, Self-Oneness refers to the intrapersonal harmonization and synergy of all Eight Life Arenas of SAL.
But it is more than just that.
It also refers to what can be an elusive state of existential contentment and inner peace resulting from a satisfying and fulfilling sense of personal completeness or wholeness of body, mind, and spirit.
Self-Oneness
An elusive state of existential contentment and inner peace resulting from a satisfying and fulfilling sense of personal completeness or wholeness of body, mind, and spirit.
In the construction of a skyscraper, you must organize and coordinate information and work projects among various funding sources, management teams, and construction crews. The extent to which you create a sense of cohesion, teamwork, and ONENESS among these various sources, teams, and crews will largely determine the efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term success of your building project.
Similarly, you need to develop Self-Oneness among the eight (8) constituent parts of your nature as a self-action leader in order to produce Existential Growth that is not only durable and permanent, but also satisfying, rewarding, and fulfilling.
It is important to remember that human beings are multidimensional beings and that Existential Growth is not an isolated or monolithic achievement—like a pay raise, promotion, award, or other recognition.
Existential Growth is an indicator of holistic growth and comprehensive progress. Just as importantly, it is a signal of expanding freedom and increasing inner peace—which, along with LOVE, are perhaps the two most desirable states of being attainable by human beings in this world.
Your Existential Growth, progress, and lasting success as a self-action leader will be limited to the extent that you neglect any component of your nature. The more elements you neglect, the greater the negative impact will be upon your being as a whole.
The same principle holds true in the construction of a skyscraper—or anything else. If one area of the project is malfunctioning, it will likely have a deleterious effect and impact upon the entire undertaking. Likewise, your life and/or career as a whole will similarly be effected and impacted by ills, issues, and imbalances of one (or more) of the Eight (8) Life Arenas of SAL.
The sage words of Gandhi are worth reiterating here: "[You] cannot do right in one department whilst [you are] occupied in any other department. Life is one indivisible whole." (1)
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| Mohandas Gandhi 1869-1948 |
—Mohandas Gandhi
SAL in general—and Self-Oneness more specifically—is all about harmonizing the constituent parts of this indivisible whole, which, marks the fullness of your existence as a human being.
Self-Oneness
Rather than repeat or reiterate the Eight (8) Life Arenas of SAL—which were already addressed in BOOK the THIRD, Chapter 4—let's address a few ancillary and peripheral issues, which, when enthusiastically applied, will aid and abet your ongoing quest for Self-Oneness.
These five (5) issues include:
- Holistic Aid of Physical Fitness
- ALONE time / Solitude
- Developing a Healthy and Wealthy Inner Life
- Self-love
- Self-compassion
Let's now address and dissect each of these five items and issues.
Holistic Aid of Physical Fitness
This principle is perhaps especially compelling and true of PHYSICAL FITNESS.
In my personal experience—and the anecdotal experiences of countless other self-action leaders—there are few single activities that will more holistically benefit every other element of your nature than vigorously exercising your physical body.
That is why I often tell people that I exercise as much for my mind, emotions, and spirit as I do for my body, heart, or weight.
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| JJ leading a collegiate 800 meter race. Weber State University; Ogden, Utah. April 2003 |
In high school and college, I was a serious athlete.
My sport of choice was middle-distance and distance running. I competed at races ranging from 400 meters-on-up-through 10-kilometers. Later on, in my thirties, I began to tackle half and full marathons.
At the peak of my racing career, I reached semi-elite status, competed at the junior college level, and even earned All-American honors and a scholarship.
After college, I continued to run and participate in other physical endurance events. To date, I have completed one 140.6-mile full IRONMAN triathlon, two 70.3 half IRONMAN triathlons, 15 marathons, and countless other races and events spanning the half marathon distance on down to sprints on the track.
Although officially "Retired" from athletic competitions and sporting events, my true love in the world of physical fitness is the treadmill, where I still do a lot of running and walking. I also add a modicum of basic strength work (calisthenics and free weights) and a little bit of stretching into my routine. But the vast majority of my time is spent on the cardiovascular and strength workouts obtainable on a good old-fashioned indoor treadmill.
Over the course of my life to-date, I have spent many thousands of hours engaged in active, vigorous, and sometimes quite strenuous physical activity and exercise. For me, the freedom to do so is one of the greatest gifts and blessings of my life. It would not take very long for me to grow fat, tired, depressed, and unhappy if I stopped exercising my physical body.
From these many personal experiences with athletics and physical fitness, I have learned first-hand the extent to which fitness impacts not just my physical health and wellness, but my mental, emotional, social, psychological, and spiritual well-being as well. Indeed, I have experienced over-and-over again throughout my life the truism and phenomenon by which physical fitness positively impacts every aspect of my nature as a human being, including the Eight (8) Life Arenas of Self-Action Leadership.
As such, it will not surprise anyone reading this Life Leadership textbook that I am going to strongly encourage YOU to make physical fitness a high value and priority in your life.
In saying this, please do not misunderstand...
I am NOT asking you to become a running enthusiast, sport lover, or serious athlete.
You do not have to become any of these things to be a highly effective self-action leader.
How serious you decide to take physical fitness will be up to you.
And what kind of physical fitness to engage in will also be up to you. My personal advice is to choose an activity that you enjoy most. If you choose something you don't enjoy, your workout plan won't last very long—no matter how motivated you might initially feel. When you find something you enjoy—or at very least don't dislike as much as other activities—you will be much more successful in gaining momentum and continuing your exercise program over the long-run.
This principle of choosing an activity you enjoy—and are good at—has been very important to the longevity of all my fitness plans over the years. At this stage of my life, I'm happiest indoors on my treadmill—so that's exactly where I do the vast majority of my exercising.
How often?
And how vigorously?
These are all good questions. The answers will depend on a variety of different variables, and will therefore vary greatly from person-to-person.
Nevertheless, if I were to provide a universally generic formula that virtually everyone could reasonably follow, I would say to exercise at least THREE (3) times per week for at least 45 minutes with a mix of CARDIO (30 minutes), followed by STRENGTH (15 minutes), followed by STRETCHING (5 minutes).
BASIC Self-Action Leader's Physical Exercise Routine
(3 X per week)
1. CARDIO (30 minutes)
2. STRENGTH (15 minutes)
3. STRETCHING (5 minute)
I would then add that it's a useful—and highly satisfying—practice to plan on sweating a little and elevating your heart rate to approximately 80% of its maximum beats-per-minute (BPM) during each of your workouts. When you begin your cardio workout, you should start out slowly to warm-up (5-10 minutes). Then, gradually increase the intensity of your workout for the remaining 20 minutes so that by the time you have finished you are challenging yourself—and thereby leaving yourself open to experience the exerciser's or "Runner's High," a threshold that is harder to reach if you are not pushing yourself.
This basic plan serves as a bare minimum benchmark that most self-action leaders will be healthy and well enough to meet and maintain.
Some self-action leaders will, of course, want to do more than this minimum schedule; and if you are physically able and motivated to do so, that is great! You will likely benefit in proportion to your level of commitment.
With that said, anything can be taken to extremes—even healthy actions like exercise. As such, we at Freedom Focused encourage you to avoid overdoing it, especially at first. Working too hard on your fitness can lead to injury and/or burnout. Moreover, excessive commitments to anything (including physical fitness) can lead to life and career imbalances that deleteriously impact other areas of your life (e.g. relationships and spirituality) that are even more important than physical fitness.
We also encourage you to consult with a physician and/or other relevant experts as part of your ongoing health, fitness, and physical wellness plans to ensure you are pursuing fitness and nutrition pathways that are best for you.
Thus, consistency is key!
SAL Mantra
Consistency is Key.
Approaching physical fitness routines with intense, but erratic, routines is far less beneficial than embracing simpler, less rigorous, but more consistent exercise regimens.
Taking good care of your physical body through proper nutrition and exercise will work wonders in sharpening the acuity and functionality of the four decision-making board members of your SAL Command Center (i.e. Spiritual/Visceral, Cognitive, Social, Emotional). Doing so will positively benefit all eight (8) Life Arenas of Self-Action Leadership, thereby empowering you to achieve Existential Balance and Self-Oneness.
Even if your plan is as simple as: "take the stairs instead of the elevator to my office each day," or "walk my dog one-or-two more days per week than usual"; just make a plan—and then work it!
And start small!
It is better to set a small goal and make a little progress than it is to set a big goal and do nothing.
SAL Mantra
It is better to set a small goal and make a little progress
than it is to set a big goal and do nothing.
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| Jefferson Monument Washington, D.C. |
“Walking is the best possible exercise.
Habituate yourself to walk very far.”
– Thomas Jefferson
Any progress—however small—builds positive momentum. As you build upon the momentum you generate, you will progress upward along a positive and productive trajectory that can ultimately grow into some significant life habits capable of transforming your fitness, health, and wellness.
"Success is neither magical nor mysterious.
Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals."
—Jim Rohn
"Success is a few simple disciplines practiced every day.
Failure is a few simple disciplines neglected every day."
—Jim Rohn
In Your Journal
- What kinds of physical fitness programs or routines have you enjoyed most in the past?
- What kind of physical fitness program or routine could you realistically commit to at this point in your life?
- After pondering the question above, develop a plan to begin exercising regularly TODAY by completing SAL Master Challenge #10.
SAL Master Challenge
EXERCISE #10
Design a personal physical fitness / exercise plan that includes the following:
Examples of cardio exercises include: walking, running, biking, swimming, stair-climbing, and/or their machine equivalents (e.g. treadmill, stair-stepper, elliptical, etc.). Begin each session slowly to warm-up (5-10 minutes). Then gradually increase your speed / intensity for the remaining 20 minutes.
STRENGTH: 10 minutes of moderate-vigorous strength exercise.
Strength exercises include lifting weights (free weights or machines) and calisthenics (push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, squats, etc.)
STRETCHING: 5 minutes of muscle stretching exercises targeting a variety of different muscle groups in both your arms, legs, and core.
Once you have selected the kind of exercise you plan to do for CARDIO, STRENGTH, and STRETCHING, put your plan into action three (3) times per week for five (5) straight weeks. This is a total of 15 x 45-minute exercise routines, for a grand total of 11.25 hours of personal physical fitness.
I have completed the SAL Master Challenge EXERCISE #10
Your initials:__________ AP initials:__________
Obviously, Freedom Focused encourages all self-action leaders to continue exercising on a regular basis for the rest of your lives. As such, we discourage YOU from terminating this fitness plan once you have completed the basic requirements for the SAL Master Challenge, Exercise #10.
Life is, of course, full of challenges and a variety of ups and downs that will impact your ability to exercise as much and/or as vigorously as you desire. As with all other things, we encourage you to just do the best you can with what you've got where you are at!
After you have completed SAL Master Challenge #10, answer the following questions in your journal.
In Your Journal
- How did you feel the first day of your 5-week personal fitness program?
- Did you feel differently the last day of your personal fitness program? If so, how?
- What did you learn about yourself as you completed this personal fitness challenge?
- Do you plan to continue this personal fitness program beyond the required five (5) weeks in this challenge? Why or why not?
- Did you enjoy the kind of exercise you chose to engage in this challenge? Why or why not? And if not, what other types of exercise might you realistically try as a fitness alternative in the future?
ALONE Time / Solitude
"Whether you like it or not,
alone will be something you'll be quite a lot." (2)
—Dr. Seuss
aka: Theodore Geisel
Another element in achieving Self-Oneness is developing the ability to be contentedly and productively alone for healthy periods of time. This includes regular time away from social media, television, the Internet, video games, and other people.
The operative word here is "healthy."
At Freedom Focused, we do not advocate a lifestyle that is overly ascetic, hermetic, or nomadic.
We merely suggest that the effective exercise of SAL incorporates a healthy amount of mental and physical solitude.
Examples of healthy activities that can be engaged in solitude include: driving, exercising, journaling, listening to uplifting music, meditation, planning, prayer, reading, studying, writing, yoga, etc.
Some struggle with being alone with their own thoughts, feelings, and conscience. Such individuals may feel compelled to constantly surround themselves (literally or virtually) with friends, acquaintances, or even strangers.
Some also feel an obsessive need for "noise" in either the forefront or background of everything they do. When they are away from people and the volume of technology, they may even find themselves feeling lonely, depressed, and insecure. This is especially true in our 21st century world, where an explosion of pop culture, social media, technological advancements, and artificial intelligence have made it easier than ever to avoid stillness and solitude.
If you are serious about SAL and Existential Growth, you must practice the art of effectively (and regularly) spending quality time alone. Doing so is absolutely essential for conducting critical self-analyses, gaining self-awareness, and reinvigorating your emotional, psychological, and spiritual well-being.
Those who attain the highest levels of Existential Growth have a deep and rich intrapersonal life. They're not only capable of spending high-quality time alone, but they typically get to the point where they seek after and enjoy healthy measures of it.
I know I do!
Such self-action leaders become, in a sense, their own best friend.
This isn't because they are inherently introverted or uninterested in other people. On the contrary, individuals at high levels of Existential Growth always have rich relationships with others. These self-action leaders understand, however, that rich relationships with others are a natural consequence and outgrowth of a rich relationships with oneself.
They understand that self-awareness—which bolsters social awareness and is essential for Existential Growth and—is best achieved in SOLITUDE.
Furthermore, these self-action leaders like and enjoy being with other people in part because they like and enjoy being with themselves.
In Your Journal
- Do you ever find yourself avoiding solitude and struggle to spend time away from other people, social media, and technological devices? If so, why?
- What is a specific action you could take—or habit you could develop—in coming days and weeks to become more comfortable with solitude?
- What is something you do in solitude TODAY that would enrich your inner life and increase your inner peace?
Developing a Healthy and Wealthy Inner Life
A rich inner life imbues you with confidence, security, and inner peace. It enables and empowers you to grow into your own best self. As a result, you become increasingly comfortable in your own skin. You begin to gradually develop a realization that you not only like yourself, but that you wouldn't trade places with anyone else in the world—even if you could!
Here are a few concrete suggestions for developing Self-Oneness:
- Journal, Journal, JOURNAL!
- Listen to inspiring music in solitude.
- Take up a hobby you can engage all by yourself (e.g. puzzling, knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, arts and crafts, et cetera).
- Take an occasional (or perhaps even a regular) walk, hike, run, or bicycle ride by yourself.
- Exercise alone at least some of the time, either inside in a secluded spot where you can be by yourself, or outside in (ideally) a peaceful, quiet, and safe area.
- Set aside 15 minutes of each day to be completely alone with your thoughts. Spend this time pondering, reflecting, planning, visualizing, meditating, and/or praying.
- Turn off all electronic media and other communication devices and do something—e.g. washing dishes, dusting, laundry, organizing, driving, et cetera—the Old Fashioned way (in silence and solitude).
- Utilize spontaneous, unavoidable solitary moments—such as standing in line—to ponder the long-term direction of your life, visualize yourself achieving a goal, or recite inspiring quotes, poetry, or stories.
- Occasionally go to a movie all by yourself and leave your smart phone at home or in the car. Arrive early and just enjoy the relative silence and solitude of the theater before the movie begins.
- Seek out a relationship with your Source through meditation, prayer, reflection, yoga, et cetera.
- Join a group, club, church, or other organization where you can draw strength from those who seek to uplift each other in a positive and mutually beneficial ways—and serve others.
- Volunteer to serve in your community
- Donate blood
It's important to note that your external circumstances don't need to be ideal to achieve Self-Oneness. In fact, some self-action leaders have managed to discover and obtain it while being mired in physical captivity.
Viktor Frankl spoke of the way in which Nazi prisoners of war actually found an "intensification of inner life [that] helped ... prisoner[s] find a refuge from the emptiness, desolation and spiritual poverty of [their] existence." (3) You too can find refuge from your trials and tribulations by developing Self-Oneness.
All of us, at one time or another, experience "emptiness, desolation and spiritual poverty." (4)
I certainly have!
Thoreau even went so far as to suggest that most people "lead lives of quiet desperation." (5)
The optimist in me would like to believe this is not true. Nevertheless, there is ample evidence—including voluminous anecdotal corroboration from my own life's experiences—to corroborate Thoreau's suggestion. The reality of the difficulty and negativity we all face throughout our lives makes SAL, Existential Growth, and Self-Oneness wonderfully welcome in our lives and a glorious possibility for our futures.
The beautiful, wondrous news of this Life Leadership textbook is that THERE IS HOPE FOR ALL OF US... no matter what may have happened (or not) in the past.
Each one of us has the potential to learn about SAL and the freedom to choose to better manage our challenges and adversity. We can transcend our baser selves to become more than mere animals in human form. We can all tap into the divine spark that is already ignited within each of our minds, hearts, and spirits, and continually add fuel to that fire until it is a blazing inferno of growth, progress, success, happiness, and inner peace.
YOU can rise to greater heights than you've ever reached before.
YOU can access solitude and the peace that accompanies it.
YOU can experience and enjoy satisfaction, joy, and fulfillment throughout your life.
Just as importantly, YOU can help others to achieve these same desirable states of thinking, feeling, speaking, doing, and being.
Self-Love
But what does it really mean to love yourself?
It certainly does not equate with hedonism or narcissism—as many, so many in our world mistakenly believe, and would have you think.
Self-love is something altogether different than those self-spoiling habits and practices you may be tempted to embrace. Moreover, loving yourself is different than merely liking yourself in the same way that loving—really loving—another person is different than merely liking him or her.
True and authentic SELF-LOVE consists in feelings and motivations that influence you to take ACTIONS that lead to self-care, self-sacrifice, and Existential Growth and progress.
To illustrate this phenomenon, consider the following example...
If you are addicted to nicotine, you might reward yourself with a cigarette because you have worked hard, you like yourself, and smoking a cigarette is calming and relaxing.
However, if you truly love yourself, you will engage in the hard work and sacrifice required to quit smoking.
Self-love means making your long-term health and happiness a priority by committing to the hard work and sacrifice that leads to Existential Growth.
Self-love involves doing the hard thing in the short-run so that you can obtain the joy, success, and inner peace in the long-run.
Exercising self-love involves looking at yourself in the mirror, admitting your faults and flaws, and then going to work to do something about it.
There have been many days in my life when I didn't like myself—or something about myself.
I still have those days.
But despite these recurring experiences and feelings—which, by the way, are very natural and normal—I also know that I'm worth the effort it takes to pay the price of long-term happiness, success, inner peace, and most importantly, Existential Growth. These feelings and actions are motivated by the love I feel and have for myself. My conscious awareness of this self-love makes it easier to work hard, sacrifice, and delay gratification in the short-run—on the altar of long-run satisfactions, achievements, growth, and progress.
Authentic self-love is derived from the knowledge that you are capable of becoming better, stronger, and more than you currently are. And self-love is bolstered and strengthened as you act in deference to the Existential Duties you have toward yourself and others.
Now, lest you think that self-love is all about sacrifice and altruism, I have good news!
There are times when self-love also includes pursuing what you want in the moment. Indeed, there are many appropriate pleasures in life that, when engaged in moderately, sensibly, and at the right place and time, serve to make life pleasant, satisfying, thrilling, and wonderful.
In other words, self-love is not all hard work, sacrifice, and delayed gratification. But the only way to maximize future pleasantries and pleasures is to maximize present self-love—even, and especially when that self-love demands delayed gratification, sacrifice, and hard work in the present.
Thus, in the end, patience, sacrifice, hard work, and delayed gratification are always the most authentic indicators of true and genuine SELF-LOVE.
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| Self-Care is an important aspect of Self-Action Leadership. |
If taken to extremes, self-care can lead to laziness, entitlement, and becoming an annoying, spoiled, and high-maintenance person.
But in moderate doses, self-care is an essential component of SAL. The occasional (or even regular) massage, chiropractic adjustment, manicure/pedicure, hairstyling, vacation, et cetera is quite healthy and refreshing.
One thing my wife and I practice every year (without a miss) is to go away for at least a night or two (or three) to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We leave our kids with Grandma and Grandpa and enjoy a few days and nights all to ourselves. In conjunction with reconnecting with each other, we usually get a couples massage, visit a spa, go swimming, eat out at nice restaurants, and otherwise pamper ourselves and each other for the duration of our stay. It's a wonderfully exciting, enjoyable, and refreshing annual event we each look forward to all year long (our anniversary is on August 8th).
In addition to these annual vacation splurges, my wife and I have periodic appointments for haircuts, chiropractic visits, and other things we enjoy. We never overdo it, but we always enjoy taking a little time out to care for ourselves—and always benefit from making the effort.
Within a realistic framework of your present circumstances and financial situation, I encourage YOU to do the same. The better you take care of yourself, the better you are going to function, operate, and thrive as a self-action leader.
Self-Compassion
Not so!
Along your never-ending QUEST to rise in your Existential Growth, it's quite possible to be too hard on yourself. As we learned earlier from Aristotle, extremes of any kind are usually unwise and counterproductive.
Thus, even elements of SAL itself can be taken to unhealthy extremes.
Careful and conscientious readers of this Life Leadership textbook should pay extra close attention to this section and reread it as many times as necessary, because YOU are probably too hard on yourself too often.
Without self-compassion, I would have been limited in my capacity to effectively manage obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and all of the other challenges and trials I have faced in my life and career. In fact, self-compassion may have even prevented a nervous breakdown—or worse.
A vital part of my exposure response prevention (ERP) therapy with OCD (more on this in BOOK the SIXTH) involved forcing myself to make peace with imperfections—my own and that of others—while still striving continually for improvement. A key component of mental hygiene is finding the right balance between working hard on yourself while simultaneously not judging yourself too harshly. That can be a tricky balance to strike, but finding that balance for yourself is an important part of self-compassion
Here again we see Aristotle's Golden Mean wisely guiding our exercise of SAL in our lives and careers.
Rome wasn't built in a day, nor was it conquered in an hour. Likewise, your internal enemies won't always be summarily defeated after one or two battles. I know this is true from personal experience. There are some things I have been able to catch on to or conquer after a few tries. But there are other things I have struggled with on-and-off for my entire life—and the battle goes on to this very day.
That is okay... as long as I never give up trying.
In the midst of your own never-ending efforts to improve and grow, remind yourself that it takes more than hard work, self-discipline, consistence, and persistence to become all you are capable of becoming. Patience, Serendipity, self-compassion, and self-love are just as essential to your long-term success.
For the especially conscientious—like me—it's necessary to practice making peace with the endless imperfections of yourself, other people around you, and the world around you. This may involve consciously cultivating the habit of feeling compassion and empathy for yourself and others.
Making peace with my own imperfections—while never giving up in my ultimate quest to overcome them—has been an important and liberating skill I have developed as a self-action leader.
It has also enabled me to maintain my sanity!
Thus, I commend this practice and skill to you as well.
It is important to note here that some SAL deficiencies are more pressing than others. For example, alcoholism or other addictions to things such as drugs, pornography, and tobacco are far more serious than gulping down too many Slurpees.
While a perfect person would ideally abstain from and/or moderate everything they do, it's usually self-evident which vices should take priority when you find yourself struggling with more than one—and everyone starts out in life with multiple vices! Moreover, don't berate yourself for being unable to address all or even multiple issues simultaneously. It is common sense to prioritize a more serious problem over a less serious problem. You don't have to try and tackle every problem at once. You will most likely maximize your success if you start small and pace yourself, celebrating small wins along the way.
As you learn about and then incorporate elements of physical fitness, solitude, self-love, and self-compassion in an ongoing quest to develop a healthy and wealthy Inner Life, you will, be degrees, develop Self-Oneness, which will greatly empower your ongoing pursuit of SAL in your life and career.
SAL Master Challenge
EXERCISE #11
1. As you reflect on the five areas of Self-Oneness:- Physical Fitness
- Alone Time / Solitude
- Inner Life
- Self-love
- Self-compassion
What one area do you neglect or struggle with the most?
Record your thoughts on the subject in your SAL Journal and include ideas about what you might do better to nurture that part of your nature moving forward.
2. Set aside a morning or afternoon (at least 4 hours) to spend completely alone. If possible, an entire day would be even better. During this time, do not use any technology except for writing/typing tools. Use this time to do one or more of the following activities: plan, ponder, reflect, introspect, think, read, study, walk, hike, meditate, pray, worship, deep breathing, etc.
When you are finished, journal about your experience and the things you thought about, felt, and did.
3. There are two things human beings absolutely cannot live without: water and air. Yet too often, we don't get enough of either of these essential elements. Two of the simplest and most beneficial things a self-action leader can do to enhance their overall health and energy is to consciously drink more water and inhale and exhale more air.
For five (5) consecutive days, do the following:
a). Drink at least 64 ounces (two liters) of fresh drinking water during each 24-hour period.
b). Take 10 deep breaths (inhaling and exhaling each time for as long as you comfortably can) three times (3X) each day—once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening.
c). After completing these tasks for five (5) consecutive days, record in your SAL Journal how these exercises made you feel. Did you notice any collateral benefits of increasing your intake of air and water?
Did you have more energy, vigor, and vim?
Did it positively impact your attitude? If so, how?
4. Identify three (3) areas where you need to be tougher on yourself. Record these things in your SAL Journal and make notes on how you could improve in the future.
5. Identify three (3) areas where you are being too tough on yourself. Record these things in your SAL Journal and make some notes about how you could better practice self-compassion and self-love in these areas.
I have completed the SAL Master Challenge EXERCISE #10
Your initials:__________ AP initials:__________
—Dr. JJ
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Author's Note: This is the 437th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 242nd consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
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Chapter 9 Notes
1. Covey, S. R. (2004). The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness. New York, NY: Free Press. Page 150.
2. Geisel, T. (Dr. Seuss). (1990). Oh the Places You’ll Go! New York, NY: Random House. Page 34.
3. Frankl, V. E. (2006). Man's Search for Meaning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press. Page 39.
4. Ibid.
5. Thoreau, H. D. (2001). Walden and Other Writings. New York, NY: MetroBooks. Page 7.
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