Sir Isaac Newton’s first law of motion states that unless acted upon by an outside force, a body at rest tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion. In its simplest form it can be said that a body at rest tends to remain at rest and a body in motion tends to remain in motion. This is known as inertia.

Usually inertia is used to describe the movement of inanimate objects. I’d like to explore this idea as it pertains to people and their actions. I believe the law of motion can help us achieve goals. Since many people are unhealthy, overweight and more specifically, overly fat, I’d like to focus on this area of concern. Before we examine the law of motion as it pertains to your health, let’s develop a better understanding of how the concept works.

According to Wikipedia , on the surface of the Earth the nature of inertia is often masked by the effects of friction, which brings moving objects to rest relatively quickly unless they are coasting on wheels, well lubricated or perhaps falling or going downhill, being accelerated by gravity. This is what misled classical theorists such as Aristotle, who believed objects moved only so long as force was being applied to them.

So then, inertia can be halted by friction and sustained by lubrication. This got me thinking about something my Dad said. He recently lost about 15 pounds and is now back to his "perfect" weight. He told me that the first three weeks were slow going and he didn’t see many results. Then he began to pick up momentum and started losing weight. It’s as if the cumulative effect of his food choices and exercise finally kicked in. His metabolism was working better and he had achieved momentum. In fact, he had so much inertia he was concerned he might lose too much weight. At that point, he had to make a conscious effort to keep this from happening.

The human body is designed to be in motion. When we were young, we were constantly in motion and it felt great. Even in my twenties and thirties, it felt great to be in motion and it just didn’t feel right to sit for long periods. That’s because a body in motion tends to stay in motion. At some point, I began to develop bad habits and sitting around started to feel natural and exercise didn’t. It’s as if the equation had shifted. I think you know what that means! A body at rest tends to stay at rest.
The fat that’s made itself at home on my abdomen and thighs has become an unwelcome guest to say the least. I haven’t always been successful in the fat loss department. What happens is that just I’m about to get momentum, or "momo" as I like to call it, I stop making an effort because I’m not seeing results. I usually quit just before I develop inertia.

I’ve decided on a new approach. It works like this: When you have a goal ask yourself if you are providing friction or lubrication. Having this dialog with yourself will allow you to see if you are halting your inertia or sustaining it.

If I don’t exercise, I’m providing friction. If I decide to have a snicker doodle and a café mocha, I’m providing friction. If, on the other hand, I decide to exercise and I opt for a café latte with skim milk, I’m providing lubrication. OK, maybe a café latte with skim milk isn’t exactly lubrication, but I wouldn’t call it friction either so it’s a step in the right direction! In addition, the more you exercise the more enjoyable it becomes as your fitness level increases. Then, momo kicks in and you begin to see results. Now the whole endeavor has inertia and it will be much easier to stay in motion and get the healthy body you desire.

This is one of those great e-mails that has gone around more than once.  If you’ve already read it, you may enjoy reading it again.  If you haven’t already read it, you’re sure to enjoy this one.  I have no idea who originally wrote this insightful little story or I would have given credit to the author.  This is just one of those stories that needs to be shared…

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee… You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, she was tired of fighting and struggling.  It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose..

Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to boil.  In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl..  Turning to her daughter, she asked,  ‘ Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’  she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.  She did and noted that they were soft.  The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.  The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked,  ‘What does it mean, mother?’

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water.  Each reacted differently.  The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.  The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

‘Which are you?’  she asked her daughter.  ‘When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?’

Think of this: Which am I?  Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?  Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.  When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level?  How do you handle adversity?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.  The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

It is not my intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyright and if I have inadvertently done so, please contact me and I will remove this post.

+ + + + + + + +

The type of attitude you possess depends entirely on you. It can be either positive or negative. The great thing is – you get to choose. No one can make you feel a particular way because you must remember you are in control of how you choose to feel. When someone does or says something that you feel was meant to hurt you, that may or may not have been their intent. Oftentimes, hurt feelings are simply a matter of misunderstanding. Even if the person’s intent was malicious, you can simply choose not to let this affect you.

One of my favorite movies is The Point of No Return starring Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, and Anne Bancroft. The movie is basically a remake of La Femme Nikita and Bridget Fonda’s character, Maggie, is a lawbreaking criminal who has chosen to become a paid assassin over death by lethal injection. She is very rough around the edges so as part of her training she receives etiquette lessons. Her transformation is nothing short of remarkable. In one scene, her coach for this endeavor, played by Anne Bancroft, gives her a tip on how to control her temper. She tells her that when something bad happens or a situation goes awry to simple smile and say something like,

"I never did mind about the little things".

This is one of my favorite movie quotes and I use it quite often. It helps me to put things into perspective.

In the past, I used to let little things drive me crazy, and I must admit that sometimes I still do. The difference is, now when I feel that happening, I try to make a conscious effort to choose a positive attitude.

There is much to be gained from having a positive attitude. Studies have shown that a positive attitude promotes better health. Projecting positivity helps with handling stress and we all know that our health is directly linked to how we cope with stress.

A positive attitude is a foundation you can build upon. It would be quite difficult to be confident, outgoing, and enthusiastic without first having a positive attitude. A positive attitude supports positive attributes; a negative attitude does not. It’s pretty obvious why positive people have more friends than negative people. If you first choose a positive attitude, other positives will follow.

In today’s fast paced, high tech society, we are bombarded with information. Many of us are experiencing information overload. Between e-mails, snail mail, text mail, billboards, newspapers, and magazines, advertisers are all competing for our attention. Then there’s the news, which is almost always negative. Thousands of positive things occur every single day, but the media focuses on sharing mostly bad stuff.

So how do you stay positive amidst so much negativity? For starters, you can limit your news intake and consider your news sources very carefully. Next, do things that make you happy. Watch funny movies, listen to your favorite music, spend time with people whose company you enjoy, or pursue a hobby.

One of the easiest and best things you can do to keep a positive attitude is to think about everything in your life for which you are grateful. If you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, food to eat, and are wearing clothing, then you should be grateful. If you are able to read this message then you have the gift of sight and you should be grateful. If someone is reading this to you, then you have the gift of hearing and again, you should be grateful. If you are reading this on a computer that you own, then by most of the world’s standards you are quite wealthy and you should be grateful.

We take so many things for granted and in doing so we allow negativity to creep in to our lives. If you start paying attention to the gifts you already have and begin each day by giving thanks, it’s easy to have a positive attitude.