But What Difference Can I Make?

When we see many of the problems around us in the world it is easy to be overwhelmed and think “What Difference Can I Make?”. The question makes sense as the problems we see are so huge and by ourselves we are just one person. We can understand better how to be difference makers through the book, The Power of One: How One Person Can Make a Difference. The book is co-authored by BJ Gallagher and Steve Ruttenberg. BJ Gallagher is an author and motivational speaker and Steve Ruttenberg is a entrepreneur.

By reading the stories, quotes, and poetry they have compiled, your eyes can be opened to the power you have to make a difference in the world around you. We can’t solve all the world’s problems but if we are open and willing, the stories here show how we can impact our surroundings by doing something instead of giving up. An important quote given to remind us of this is: ”The purpose of life is not to be happy—but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference, that you have lived at all.” (Leo Rostin, Polish-born Writer). Thinking of the quote I would add that your happiness quotient will increase as you desire to make a difference in other people’s lives.

The stories provided in the book show how by a simple smile or an act of kindness can make a difference in another person’s life. Some of the stories show how one person’s actions can have an exponential effect on many people’s lives. The consequences of what we do can have positive impact on other’s lives. Another quote they include in the book speaks to this. “Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” (William James – philosopher and psychologist). If we keep open to the needs around us and living out kindness and generosity we will be surprised how often this James quote comes true in our life journey.

Reading the Power of One, as I read the stories of single individuals making an impact of the world reminded me of one of my favorite, one person making a difference stories. I have mentioned the story before of Jon Sundt who is the founder of the organization, Natural High, which encourages young people to discover natural passions in their lives so as not to fall into the drug scene. Thinking of the Power of One, Jon’s organization was created out of sorrow and grief in the early 1990’s. He had lost his two younger brothers to drugs and wanted to make a difference so others would not have to endure the pain his parents and he went through. Instead of being stuck with the question “But What Difference Can I Make?” he became a difference maker by doing something. You can go to naturalhigh.org for more of the story and see what this great organization does in schools across the country.

Natural High finds musicians and sport stars to share their passions or natural highs. These stories can motivate young people to move away from the lies of the drug world that tells them to enjoy life you need to smoke, snort, or shoot to get high. Instead they can learn how to enjoy life in drug free ways. As a counselor I have used their videos with all age groups to encourage people to look for their own natural highs for a better life. Here is a sample of their videos that can be seen on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRW_-dDKnkU If you know an educator or school counselor k-12 let them know about Natural High.

Another important quote from BJ Gallagher and Steve Ruttenberg’s book is “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” (Anne Frank – diarist). Realize that you have power in yourself to make a difference in the world around you. It may be as simple as smiling at a cashier to brighten someone’s work day. It may be posting a positive quote on Facebook or Twitter to make other people think positive. Or it may be the start of solving a problem that may affect thousands if not millions of people. Move beyond being stuck on the question - What Difference Can I Make?

Reflection: Think back to a time when you made a difference in someone’s life? What is your favorite story of someone making a difference in the world? What is one way you can make a difference using your power of one today?

Turn Your Exercise Into A Party

We have been using Walk at Home dvds as part of our home exercise regimen for over 10 years. A couple of weeks ago we bought a new Leslie Sansone Walk at Home dvd to add to our exercise collection. It was the “Walk to the Hits Party Songs” dvd. One aspect of the Walk at Home program I like is that there are a number of dvds available so by having several you don’t get bored doing the same workout over and over again.

The next evening my wife, daughter and I exercised to that dvd. Leslie was her usual effervescent self and an energetic team of walkers doing the workout with her helped create a fun atmosphere in the family room where we exercise. Her programs always have upbeat music that you want to move to. The music here was a variety of tunes including songs by MC Hammer, Lionel Ritchie and The Go Gos. The party atmosphere of the program made the time fly by but the pace made us realize we had worked out.

Leslie gears her programs around basic core moves yet to mix it up incorporates new moves in each program. In this “Walk to the Hits Party Songs”, she incorporated High-intensity interval training (HIIT). HITT is a form of interval training, an exercise strategy where you alternate short periods of intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods.
Even on nights when we do not feel like exercising the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home programs are so lively and enjoyable you wind up feeling energized and glad you took the time to walk the 3 or 4 miles. Since most of her programs incorporate a team of walkers with her and Leslie is so personable it is easy to feel like exercise time is party time. The energetic feeling that exercise provides is why I discuss her Walk at Home series in my book, Living More Than OK, ( click here to see about purchasing Living More Than OK) in the chapter on Natural Highs.

If you have never used any of Leslie Sansone’s Walk at Home programs in your workout exercise regimen I encourage you to consider it. We as a family have appreciated her programs for the past 10 years. Check out her website -- www.walkathome.com At her website you can order there or find local stores that sell her Walk at Home dvds. She also has success stories of people who have used her programs to better their health.

In Living More Than OK in our life journey, good health is important. You need to be involved in some form of exercise you to keep yourself in the best health possible. Good health pays off in giving you the energy to spiral up to abundant living.

Reflection: What is your favorite type of exercise? (Exercising the index finger with the tv remote does not count) How do you feel exercise helps with the quality of your living?

Enjoying the Afterlife in the Present Life

While I was doing some work in my office, I was listening to a song by one of my daughter’s favorite bands, Switchfoot. It addresses a wrong viewpoint about Christians and Christianity. It speaks to the thought that Christians just sit around in their churches waiting to die so they can really live in heaven. Granted there are some Christians that are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good. Sad to say I have met people who can not stand Christianity, because they have run ins with Christians like those.

Christians that create these ideas that this life is all sorrow and sadness until we reach heaven are painting a false picture that the writer of the song is reacting to. We forget that Jesus was accused of carousing with sinners and gluttons. His first miracle was at a wedding. The disciples would try to chase children away from Him and Jesus would chide them as He enjoyed paying attention to children. As I have stated before, Jesus stated He came to give us life and life abundantly. Jesus wanted His followers to live in the present fully as well as look forward to the future finalized Kingdom.

Take some time to look over the words to this song. If you click on the title you can even listen to a video of the song.

Afterlife by Switchfoot

I've tasted fire I'm ready to come alive
I can't just shut it up and fake that I'm alright
I'm ready now, I'm not waiting for the afterlife

I'll Let it burn the way the sunlight burns my skin
The way I feel inside, the way the day begins
I'm ready now , I'm not waiting for the other side , I'm ready now, I'm ready now

Cause everyday the world is made A chance to change But I feel the same
And I wonder Why would I wait till I die to come alive?
I'm ready now I'm not waiting for the afterlife

I still believe we could live forever You and I we begin forever now
Forever now Forever

I still believe in us together You and I we're here together now
Forever now Forever now For ever now

Cause everyday the world is made A chance to change But I feel the same
And I wonder Why would I wait till I die to come alive?
I'm ready now I'm not waiting for the afterlife

Everyday A choice is made Everyday I choose my fate

And I wonder Why would I wait till I die to come alive?

Everyday I still feel the same And I wonder why would I wait till I die to come alive? I'm ready now I'm not waiting for the afterlife

I'm ready now I'm not waiting till the afterlife

The song starts out with a metaphorical thought of tasting fire which makes me think of the Story in The Book at Acts of the tongues of fire which was a testimony of the Holy Spirit of God in the early Christian believers. In Christ we come alive as energized like a fire. The song then moves into an analogy of the sunshine burning his skin; heating him up. I don’t know about you but after a few grey cloudy days I always feel more alive when the rays of sunshine break through and warm me up.

His phrase, “I still believe we could live forever “, and the name of the song shows he believes in an afterlife. Heaven that is beyond our imagination in splendor, is a reality I believe in, and the songwriter shows he believes it. I appreciate how he says, “You and I we begin forever now”. The spiritual relationship with God begins not when we die but now. We are not to sit on the sidelines through our time here, but to be active participants in enjoying the journey God has for us for our time on this planet.

I think of how in C. S. Lewis’ writings he portrayed the fleeting nature of this life as a proof of sorts, for the afterlife. This life goes by so quickly there has to be something more out there. This life is a foreshadow of what is to come in a more splendorous fashion. Sure there are many difficulties in this life and we each experience those times. Yet are we made to dwell on those and miss out on good times with family and friends, or appreciating the simple beauty of Spring flowers. “Everyday A choice is made Everyday I choose my fate”. Each day we can wake up and choose to dwell on the negative pains of life or choose to catch the Spirit’s fire and fully enjoy what God has waiting for us each day. A saying of C.S. Lewis states: "Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither” This puts the song lyrics in perspective. We do not want to have tunnel vision on just looking at life on this earth. Focusing on this life only will drag a person down. In keeping a forever focus we can look forward with anticipation to the promise of heaven. Also we can enjoy the full joy of living in our present life as well.

I have mentioned the organization Natural High before, www.naturalhigh.org They are all about helping especially young people live life to the fullest. In promoting Natural Highs they show young people you do not need drugs to enjoy life. Switchfoot in this song expresses the attitude of living a natural high life of living fully alive each day. If you have not checked out their website please do and see what they are doing to make a change in the lives of young people and then tell others, especially educators about their work.

Reflection: Are you staying the same or coming alive on your daily journey? List a few things you can do to come alive in your life!

Winning The War On Drugs By Saying Yes To Positive Addictions

Recently I heard on the news an update that the Mexican Drug War death toll is now over 47,000. That made me curious to search drug related deaths in this country. I found at drugwarfacts.org that the number of drug related deaths in the USA during 2009 were over 37,000. Those numbers sickened me when I consider that it is all so senseless. The Mexican side deaths bother me as I lived in the Border Town of Brownsville, Texas for the past 10 years. I remember speaking with university students who came across the border for classes and they spoke of the fear of the kidnappings and random shooting violence from the cartels. Those deaths relate to the insatiable appetite for drug use in this country and the growing addiction problem that accompanies it. In my opinion those who use illegal drugs and support the use have the blood of these people on their hands.

Who are these supporters of drug use? A 2008 study(1), by a Professor at University of California , Berkeley showed a 6 fold increase in the glamorizing of drug use in Rap music from the 1970’s to the 1990’s. The Drug Testing Network discusses research that show teens are bombarded in TV shows , movies , and in the lives of their favorite celebrities that drugs are harmless and fun. Then there is always the common phrase “Drugs, Sex, and Rock n Roll” coined in a song by Ian Drury, an early founder of the punk rock music scene in Great Britain that reminds us that drugs have long been a big part of that music genre. Sad to say many of these promoters of drug use have been in and out of drug rehab or have died from drug usage.

Many supporters of drug use point to the failure of the “Just Say No” campaign years ago. They say it never made that big of an impact on drug use and as we have seen with the news on the drug war in Mexico; drug use does continue to climb. The problem I believe was with emphasizing just saying “No”. That usually never works. Just ask a parent with a little child. Say “don’t touch that” and what happens is that the child touches it. I believe we could stop the Mexican Drug war and the senseless drug deaths here in the U.S. if we would encourage people to say “Yes”. Not yes to drugs but to alternatives.

Dr. William Glasser in his book Positive Addiction turns the thought of addiction upside down. He points out that the word addict is thought of in the negative context of a life destroyed by drugs or alcohol. A person is weakly dependent on the substance to cope or escape from life’s difficulties in search of happiness. In helping someone give up alcohol or drugs the drug should be replaced with something to fill the void, otherwise relapse quickly occurs. Dr. Glasser promotes, that to fully strengthen people they need to build a positive addiction in their life. Find something that they enjoy doing to bring happiness into their lives. Some of the positive addictions he points out in the book are meditation, sports, music and other art forms.

He points out from his research that “…positive addiction increases your mental strength and is the opposite of a negative addiction which seems to sap the strength from every part of your life except the area of the addiction.”(pg39). If you think about it he is so right. Drug addicts are consumed by their addiction. There is often a negative effect in their work, health, and relationships. You don’t hear of someone with a positive addiction of gardening going on a 72 hour binge of tending to their rose garden and not being able to function in their work because they enjoy planting flowers. Positive addictions help to round out our lives so as to help us function better is other areas of our lives.

Dr. Glasser’s thoughts on Positive Addiction coincides well with an organization called Natural High . If every American would go to www.naturalhigh.org and consider building a Positive Addiction into their personal life there would be no more drug war here in the U.S. The Drug Cartels in Mexico would be out of business. People would then understand they don’t have to ingest chemicals by smoking, snorting, or shooting up with needles to find happiness and relaxation in life. The personal destruction could end if we all could see that through positive personal interests such as relationships, sports, arts, nature, spirituality we can satisfy the human experiential needs for happiness and relaxation with natural highs that come from positive addictions.

Natural High was founded by Jon Sundt, who experienced the death of two of his brothers due to drug use. This life experience impacted him to make a difference to try to stop the destructive force of drugs in the lives of people. Personally, I relate to his experience, as I never tried drugs although they were readily available in the 1970’s in my high school. That is because I saw my oldest brother, Paul, struggle first with alcohol addiction and then drug addiction so thankfully it never appealed to me. Mr. Sundt started his organization that primarily targets school age children through high school. They provide testimonials of sport and music celebrities, who can be considered real role models. They share how through their personal “natural highs” they enjoy life. They also point out how their success is due to not using drugs. These testimonials show drugs are not needed to enjoy life like the lies of rappers and Hollywood media stars who try to delude teens that drugs are exciting and the best way to really experience life. To me the Natural high website can be viewed by people of all ages to gain insight into the importance of finding a positive addiction to make their life more fulfilling. For myself, my positive addictions are my Christian faith, my family, reading, playing guitar, listening to music, and enjoying nature.

Reflection: List your positive addictions that help you have a natural high in life. Take time to journal why these are important to you and how did you get started with doing these things in your life.

1. http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/04/01_rapmusic.shtml

Happenstance, Choices and Our Career Journey

With the course for freshman college students I teach at a local college, a major ending project is looking at their career choice. I try to let them know that many things in life shape our career journey. It is not just taking a career test and out pops the perfect career. Also for most of them right out of High School, I let them know that they are looking at an initial starting point for their career journey. They will find themselves expanding into other areas in the future.

Recently, I was on one my favorite websites www.naturalhigh.org and on their online tv link watched a video of Josh Landan. Take a few minutes and watch it here www.naturalhigh.tv/ They have several videos but presently Josh’s is the first one.

I showed this to my college students this semester as it starts off showing his initial passion at 18 to be a videographer. His passion can be picked up in the comment that he came across as a stalker. Also the manner he speaks and the light in his eyes you can see his love for filming. I love seeing people following their passion be it in their vocation or avocation. A passion gives us purpose and meaning as well as enjoyment in life. So I encourage people to seek out an area they are passionate about. Especially students I work with I try to encourage them to find a passion to tap into.

Listening to Josh I also see Dr. Krumboltz’s, concept of Happenstance as well, (I have spoken of his concept of happenstance and creating our own luck in the past). Josh had a surfing videographer he looked up to in Taylor Steele. At one point in his life he had a chance to meet him. With that chance, he took the risk of a choice to see if he could work with him. It worked out that he could work with Taylor Steele, and from the flow of his story it was a positive turning point. This turning point opened up his growth in filming as a career.

His filming progressed and he tells us of awards and success in his area of passion. Then at another juncture it is suggested that he try out managing athletes so he progresses on in his career journey to manage athletes. By then he is also directing films as well. From a career point of view he has opened up to greater levels than where he first began. Did he know this would happen when he was an 18 year old, stalking surfers with his camera? I am sure he would say no.

In the end he speaks to his wise choice to stay away from drug use. He mentions that this choice affected his career success. His type of work is more freelance in nature so he is self employed. He clearly states that if he went the drug route his life would have been wasted. You can’t run a successful business when drugs or alcohol are in control of your life. He could have chosen to follow peer pressure of drug use in his local area of Ventura, California. We see he did not make that choice. He chose to follow his passion and look for natural highs in his life.

Reflection: Journal how Josh’s video affected you. Did it remind you of important choices you have made in your career journey? Think over those happenstance items in your life that forced a choice in your career life and life in general.

Go for Natural Highs

From my involvement as a Counselor in local drug/alcohol groups and as I think back to my high school days knowing students who used drugs, their quest seemed to aim at getting high. They were bored and they wanted to move beyond more than ok and the booze and drugs gave them that immediate high, euphoric feeling that took them away from the dullness of their existence.

Back in high school as a Christian, I could never figure out drug users and those who drank. Even my oldest brother who was an alcoholic, as I observed him drunk, I did not see what the enticement was. Once in senior high school chemistry I remember two students at my table were laughing about how they got smashed at a party saying how fun it was. One said he drank 12 beers. Out of curiosity how one person could drink that much I asked how could he drink 12 cans of beer? His buddy laughed saying he threw up 3 or 4 times. They were laughing but I did not say anything. I just thought “what fun?!”. I never enjoyed having the stomach flu and throwing up! It sounded like the party experience was that!

In reading books and research articles on boredom I do know that one reason why people do alcohol and drugs is they want that high. They want the feeling of something beyond boring okness. The problems are the crash after the high are headaches, grogginess, forgetting what they were doing while high, (which is often very foolish things). There is also the creation of an addiction to the alcohol or drugs creating anxiety, depression, paranoia, and criminal acts to feed the addiction. I remember always thinking to myself in high school as I considered the foolishness of drugs, that I would rather enjoy myself being in control of my full faculties and knowing what I enjoyed so I can do it again. Instead the chemical high places people in a mental stupor to do foolish and even deadly things to themselves and others all for the sake of fun?? I will take a natural high any day.

What is a natural high? From the website www.naturalhigh.orgthey say a natural high is “ is an activity, art form, or sport that you LOVE to do and makes you feel good inside; A Natural High does not involve drugs and alcohol”. So it is doing a hobby or activity that you really enjoy and brings pleasure to you, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of Flow which I have spoken of before fits well with the going for natural highs. In his book Beyond Boredom and Anxiety he presents the elements of flow. He states that the person is aware of their actions but you are not thinking about how to do the actions. Awareness and action merge into a oneness. Flow happens when a person’s ability is of a level where they can move through the activity be it, playing an instrument, painting, sports activity, or any other favorite activity and not have to think through the steps. They can flow through the activity. There is a timelessness and being in the moment during the feeling of flow. So being in the state of flow is a natural high as a person is feeling a oneness with the activity and not consciously aware. His book reveals how Flow moves us beyond boredom and what I call more than ok..

So what are some ways you can go for a natural high in your life. One important thing to realize is we do not need to be high all the time. As Lars Svendsen, a philosopher in Norway, says in the Philosophy of Boredom -- boredom is. We all experience it. Life is not a Hollywood action movie. So much of our life is in the ok zone and can feel boring. Yet to have a full life and make the most of having joy in our journey and living more than ok overall, we need those high times. We need to realize though that natural highs are the way to go. If everyone is enjoying a life of natural highs there will be no need for the illegal drugs. Going for Natural highs will help lower crime rates and stop the senseless killings as we see presently in the drug wars in Mexico. For the addict they need to see what times and what feelings trigger the use of their substances in the desire to get high and replace them with activities, hobbies, and other alternatives to drugs and then go for the natural highs. For the non addict as wel, l to enjoy more of life they can find flow activities that can bring natural highs into their life experiences.

A good place to go for new ideas on natural highs are websites like the previous one mentioned or another website I discovered that focuses on natural highs – www.naturalhighs.ning.com
At those websites you can view testimonials on the personal enjoyment of natural highs. Also there are videos and blogs on the topics as well. With these websites and personal brainstorming on natural highs that fit your likes and desires, there is no need for anyone to go for the false, damaging highs of drugs and alcohol. And I strongly say damaging for the individual addict, their friends, and family not to mention the cost to employers and society. That goes for marijuana too, the darling drug of Hollywood and rockers. I remember working with a student once who told me, “Sir they say marijuana is not addictive but they lie. It is” He had started smoking it at age 12 and by the time he was in college he was hooked. He told me his addiction to marijuana had dulled his learning ability. It had also sapped him of passion for a career. Instead the addiction tempted him to just hang around, do nothing, and be high. The best way to combat the drug problem is to give young people and everyone alternatives to drug induced highs and that is by supporting and promoting natural highs.

Reflection:
Take some time to explore the websites below on natural highs. Tell others about them as well. Then take 15 minutes to brainstorm natural highs you wish to go for in your life.
Websites on natural highs.

www.naturalhighs.ning.com

www.naturalhigh.org