What are your Lifestyle Principles?

Do you have any?  Do you NEED any? Isn’t Lifestyle just “Natural?”

My friend Randy Smith is always commenting on lifestyle features and effects – telling his Readers to enjoy “Loving Life, Living it with Passion, And Passing it on!”
That sounds good to me, but I wouldn’t dream of “stealing” his pitch!
Randy recently posted a very amusing but thought provoking article based on a variety of quotes from Leviticus (guess who sent it him? – OK, it was me, I just didn’t think of using it in my Blog!).

However, it really set me thinking about the vagaries of human beliefs and just how strong an effect they can have on so many lives.  Now I’m not one to discuss religions, or religious lifestyle, “Each to their own” is my maxim, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone who happens to disagree!

However, I’ve been giving some thought to my own “lifestyle” views. It’s odd isn’t it, how we all have some idea of how we think we live, but don’t necessarily find it easy to spell it out if someone dares to ask – “What’s your lifestyle secret?”

I’m not usually stuck for words but I couldn’t think of a short answer to that when I was recently working on a part of the iClick University – http://bit.ly/9vcR1hUClick “Homework” that Richard Butler set me.  I do have a lifestyle guide, or theme, but it’s based on a two page document.

I was reminded of it again today when talking to an old ex-Army friend of mine who is now bed-ridden with a long term illness.  We talk every now and then, and I often write to George (in the MOST non-PC fashion possible) as I know that it can give him a lift – I understand what makes him laugh, we share the same sense of humour!!  George was talking about the need to ignore the unfairness of life in general and the importance of being positive and knowing just what things were really important to a person.  So I printed out and laminated a copy of my Lifestyle “Golf Balls” theme for him – I posted it too, he should have it tomorrow!  As a result of all this serious thinking (very hard work for a “skimmer” like me) I thought I should post it here as well because I do feel that it may help to nudge you into giving your own beliefs a bit of a stretch and a run through the “Do I still feel this way?” tester.

Should I Call This My Lifestyle: – Mantra – Creed – Doctrine – Guideline – or is it just good old Common Sense?

I picked up the original of this Lifestyle Comment in my mail a couple of years ago, I don’t even remember who sent it me, but over the next year it slowly became the mainstay of my outlook and approach to lifestyle in general.  My son Philip has also adopted it as one of his reference points, and I believe he even uses it in part of his training patter in the Police Force.

Here it is – a Lifestyle Principle In A Jar -…….. simple but so very clear!

The Mayonnaise Jar and Two Beers

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.  When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.  He then asked the students if the jar was full.  They agreed that it was.

The professor picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.  He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.  He then asked the students again if the jar was full.  They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.  Of course, the sand filled up everything else.  He asked once more if the jar was full.  The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the grains of sand.  The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your lifestyle.  The golf balls are the important things— your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions— and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else—the small stuff.  ‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.  The same goes for life.  If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

‘Pay attention to your lifestyle, to the things that are critical to your happiness.  Spend time with your children.  Spend time with your parents.  Visit with grandparents.  Take time to get medical checkups.  Take your spouse out to dinner.  Play another 18.  There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.  Take care of the golf balls first— the things that really matter.  Set your priorities.  The rest is just sand.’

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

“Each to their own” is my lifestyle maxim, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone who happens to disagree!
But – remember your Golf Balls!

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My Lifestyle Guide – Take Care Of Your Golf Balls