# MUST DO Strategies for Building Momentum in Life

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“The rhythm of daily action aligned with your goals creates the momentum that separates dreamers from super-achievers.”

I love momentum.
Seriously, momentum is a beautiful thing. Momentum enables you the ability to start thinking clearly, see that your goals are reachable and it gives you a sense of purpose, power and direction.
By building momentum, you are creating a world in which you are more productive, more effective and more efficient. Momentum helps you get over the initial ‘hurdle’ of not being able to start something. Momentum helps build positive thinking and energy to help you progress towards your goals. Momentum gives you belief that you can achieve what it is that you want to achieve.
Did I say that I love momentum? And you should too!
Over the years through working on a number of projects and dealing with a wide range of people, I have learned that there are simply 3 key strategies for building momentum in life. Let’s explore.

1. Just do it

Nike has one of the best slogans ever: “Just do it”. This is THE best method for building momentum in life. Whatever it is that you want to do, whether it is starting that project that you have been putting off, perhaps it’s going to the gym to help you lose that 10 pounds, perhaps it’s writing the first paragraph of your next novel. Whatever it is, the best way to build momentum is to simply take action and just do it!
By taking action, you start to focus your time and energy on the things that matter most. It may feel uneasy at first, but the more time and energy you put into doing it the more comfortable you will start to become with it. Over time, the momentum builds and it feeds upon itself. The more you can ‘just do it’, the more and more momentum you will build, the more comfortable you will be with doing that activity or task and the more productive and effective you will be – always closer to reaching your end goal.

2. Schedule it

Perhaps you can’t do it right now. In fact, of course you can’t do it right now… you’re reading this! But what you can do is schedule some time to do that thing that you have been putting off. Even better, make it a routine.
If you have been putting off going to the gym, schedule it in now. And stick to it. If you have trouble sticking to your schedule and not having the discipline to take action, think of your longer-term goals. Why exactly do you want to go to the gym? How would your life look and feel when you lose the 10 pounds that you want to lose? If this is not enough, don’t be afraid to reward yourself. Reward yourself after each action that you take.
To build momentum, it’s also no good just making an activity a ‘once-off’.
DO IT EVERYDAY.
Yes, seriously, do it every day. One of the best ways for building momentum is to schedule 30 minutes every day where you will be dedicated to what it is that you want to achieve. Before you know it, after one week you would have been productive for 3.5 hours! It all adds up. Making it a routine will help embed it as a habit and help it become part of your life.

3. Learn about it

So, maybe you don’t want to do exactly what it is that you should be doing. No worries. What you can do to start building momentum is to learn about what it is that you should be doing.
For example, if you are struggling to get to the gym, pick up a health and fitness magazine and read up on the different exercises that you can undertake at the gym. Learn about the different programs that you can complete or the different classes that you can take part in.
Perhaps you’re struggling to write the first paragraph of your next novel. Take some time out to learn about the topic that you want to be writing about. Pick up the phone and talk to someone about it. Browse a website that describes how to write a novel. Whatever it is, you can learn something about the task which will help you build momentum.
Learning about the activity that you want to pursue creates neural pathways in your brain that helps you build the confidence and knowledge to be able to do what it is that you want to do.

Momentum IS beautiful.
If you want to achieve more in life, be more successful, be more productive, effective and efficient, then you need to consider the 3 key strategies for building momentum.
What strategies have you found useful for building momentum in your life?

Undeniable Reasons Why Some People Fail Where Others Succeed

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“Success happens not by chance, but because you were given a chance and took advantage of it.” – Kevin Geary

To most people, being born in a free country is the greatest gift. To others, it’s a fleeting thought. For the latter, I feel sorry.

Before I go any further, I must admit that not everyone will find success. There will always be those who sit around waiting for success to find them. There will be those who are simply not willing to achieve it. And then there’s the fact that success would not exist without failure. All of these things create what we know; a world where success and failure are experienced by different groups of people.

Everyone in a free country has the opportunity to succeed. So why doesn’t everyone succeed? Because success and failure are choices made consciously and subconsciously and failure is chosen by many for various reasons.
Here are 7 undeniable reasons why some people fail where others succeed:

1. They Define Success Wrong

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” – David Bly

Do you believe that success is won, innate, or earned? The answer someone gives can tell you a lot about them, and why they are where they are.
Success is won: if you believe that success is won, you experience animosity and envy toward those you view as lucky or more fortunate than you. You also believe that success is out of your control; it simply depends on a flip of the coin or certain circumstances.
How hard are you willing to work if you believe that success is won rather than earned?
Success is innate: people who believe success is innate often feel the same as those who believe it’s won. The only difference is that believers in innate-success have a more pessimistic view of opportunity; it’s trivial to them (we’ll go over this a little later). Why does opportunity matter if success is innate?
How hard are you willing to work if you feel your opportunity doesn’t matter and your chances of success are nil because of your circumstances?
Success is earned: the last group of people believes what we know to be true based on statistical analysis; success is earned. These people understand that in order to succeed, they must earn it. How do they earn it? They climb the mountain and utilize the same process others have used to achieve.

How hard are you willing to work if you believe success must be earned?

2. They Define Opportunity Wrong

“The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity.” – Ayn Rand

Do you believe that opportunity provides a possibility of success, a probability of success, or that it’s trivial?
Let’s ask the same questions we asked when we discussed success:

• How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is trivial?
• How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is a possibility?
• How hard are you willing to work if you believe the opportunity you were born with is a probability?

I hope this is coming together for you. I still want to go further though. I want you to see exactly how your views on opportunity and success work together to help determine your outcome.

• People who believe success is won see their opportunity as a possibility, but sometimes as trivial.
• People who believe success is innate see their opportunity as trivial.
• People who believe success is earned see their opportunity as a probability, but sometimes only as a possibility.

In layman’s terms, the rich see success as earned and view their opportunity as probability. The middle class see success as earned and view their opportunity as possibility, but sometimes as probability. The poor class sees success as won or innate and views their opportunity as trivial, or in some cases as a possibility, but not a probability.
Of course, people don’t stay in one class their entire life. The people who move between classes tend to have the same outlook as those of the class they move to.

3. They Define Work Wrong

“The value of a man’s position is often determined by the number of people qualified to fill it.” – Kevin Geary

We just discussed two important terms: success and opportunity. In order to continue our discussion further, we must discuss another, “work.”
“But success doesn’t always come from hard work!”
Inevitably, people will point out that factory employees work harder than CEOs. Of course, this depends on your analysis of the word “work.”
Choose a corresponding term:

• Physical Labor
• Mental Labor
• Labor

Those who claim that success doesn’t always come from hard work only acknowledge one aspect of work, physical labor.
Of course, work is labor, period. Excluding mental labor from the term work is biased and unfair. CEOs may sit at a desk, wear a suit, and enjoy the air conditioning, but that doesn’t mean they labor any less than the man in the shop room, it’s simply a different type of labor. Not accepting this is like making the argument that one who hates their job labors more than one who enjoys their job and the pay should be altered to make up for it. You see where this is going?
In terms of pay scale, people who run companies are worth a lot more than those who assemble products. Why? Because it’s easy to find people who can assemble products and it’s not very easy to find people who can operate multi-million dollar companies for a profit.
Needless to say, the man in the shop room wouldn’t have a job if the CEO behind the desk wasn’t doing his (and vice versa). The only difference is which job you’d rather be doing, and that depends solely on the choices you make throughout your life.
How do you think the CEO views success and opportunity? How do you think the shop worker views those same terms?

4. They Defeat Themselves

“To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself.” – Henry Mencken

While there is a minority of people who actually choose to fail, the majority that fail simply make poor choices or have a poor outlook. Basically, for the majority, failure is a choice but not a decision.
I can’t possibly list all of the bad choices people make which lead them to failure, but a few to get you headed in the right direction are:

• Abusing drugs or alcohol / addiction.
• Not getting an education.
• Having a poor work ethic.
• Having a child too young or out of wedlock.
• Immaturity / laziness.
• Borrowing too much money.

And the list goes on, and on, and on…..and on.
Of course, there are also those things which are out of someone’s control.
If you’re born into an inner-city family and attend a poor school system, you obviously start out behind others. If you’re handicapped, your road to success may be longer and more difficult. But none of this bars you from success; I’ll elaborate on this later when we discuss circumstances.
Lastly, as our quote up top reminds us, many people defeat themselves simply by expecting defeat in the first place. They don’t expect success and it actually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

5. They Think Failure is Final

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill

“But, hard work doesn’t always equal success. Some people work really hard, but fail. They tried and didn’t succeed.”
Failure is a key ingredient in success. Those who don’t achieve success most likely quit after their failure. Quitting, of course, is a choice.
If you were to follow in the footsteps of a successful person, you would likely pass the remnants of multiple failures. If you followed in the footsteps of a failure, you would find their lifeless future at the feet of their first opponent.
So the question is, how hard and for how long are you willing to fight? There are no shortcuts, statistically. The vast majority of millionaires are self-made and far too many lottery winners are broke and worse off than they were before they won the lottery. Why? Because wealth is about behavior and money doesn’t protect you from failure.
If you want to succeed where other people fail, you have to step right over failure and keep walking. The people who don’t make it let failure defeat them. Failure becomes their end result because they refuse to walk any further.
Look at it this way; if you aren’t dead yet, there’s still hope.

6. They’re a Victim of Their Circumstances

“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.” – Mark Cain

One of the biggest rebuttals given by non-achievers is that they are held back by their circumstances.
I don’t think circumstance is a fair argument though. Yes, you may be subject to circumstances that make it more difficult for you to succeed, but that doesn’t change the fact that you start with the same opportunity as others; the opportunity provided to you by living in a free country.
It’s also important to note that some people handle circumstances better than others. For instance, you can’t say that a handicap is a circumstance that prevents you from achieving when others with the same handicap have achieved.
Everyone has issues, circumstances, road blocks, etc. It’s all about how you deal with your circumstances and how hard you’re willing to work to overcome them. But the basics don’t change; you’re still in a free country and nobody is preventing you from achieving except for yourself.
Circumstance is also unimportant because it doesn’t determine finality. For example, a trust fund baby can lose his fortune with a series of bad decisions just as easily as a child from the ghetto can acquire a fortune with a series of good decisions.
Don’t be quick to judge others based on their circumstances. Instead, judge them based on their ferocity in overcoming those circumstances.

7. They Take No For an Answer

“Opposition is a natural part of life. Just as we develop our physical muscles through overcoming opposition – such as lifting weights – we develop our character muscles by overcoming challenges and adversity.” – Stephen R. Covey

First, you are given an opportunity. Then, based on that opportunity, you hatch a dream. And when you try to execute that dream, you meet your opposition. It is here on the battleground, facing the opposition, that success is either realized or lost.
Everyone faces opposition on their way to the top. The crack babies and the trust fund babies both have their own sets of problems. And you can’t assume that one faces more opposition than the other; everyone’s life and path to success is unique.
The one thing they do have in common is the opportunity for success. But, as you try to succeed, there will be people and circumstances around every corner that try to tell you no. The disability you were born with tells you no, your abusive parents tell you no, your pessimistic friends tell you no, your lack of self esteem causes you to say no to yourself, addiction tells you no, and so on.
The people who succeed are those who don’t take no for an answer. They shrug off the pessimism, they choose better friends, they put up boundaries with their family, and they surround themselves with positive people and things.

Conclusion

Success is possible for anyone who is willing to achieve it. There are many who want success, but there is a huge difference between wanting-to and willing-to. You have to be willing…
The other thing to remember is that your outlook and the way you define success, opportunity, and work play a large role in determining your outcome.
If you aren’t achieving, the first person you should always look to first is yourself.

To Create More Powerful Beliefs

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We usually think of the word belief as similar to thought, so if you ask me what I believe, I can tell you. However, we actually believe things in two different ways.

We believe them intellectually or rationally, and we believe them subconsciously or emotionally. When the two types of belief are in alignment, it’s easy to take action and move towards our goals. However, when there is disagreement between the two types of belief, we feel stuck and unmotivated, we procrastinate, and feel uncomfortable and stressed.


For example, suppose that you’d like to make more money, but you have a conscious belief that making over $200,000 is wrong, and that no one needs that much money. In order to change that, you’d first go to work on the intellectual belief ‘It’s wrong to make over $200,000.’ Many transformational books and workshops are designed to help you shift your intellectual beliefs by giving you new perspectives. Once you shift your intellectual belief, your emotional beliefs may shift as well, but often they do not.

A more likely scenario is that you believe intellectually that it’s fine to make over $200,000, but you have a subconscious or emotional belief that it’s wrong to do so. This might be because early childhood lessons included messages about wealthy people being mean, greedy, or evil. It might be the result of religious teachings. Or what if it was because you didn’t believe that you could ever be worthy of that much money, even if another person might deserve it? The thought of receiving that much money would cause you to feel like you would be getting something you didn’t deserve, and you may feel guilty or nervous about earning that much.

Unfortunately, emotional beliefs like this often sabotage us in ways that aren’t clear. All you may see is that your efforts to enhance your business or career just aren’t going anywhere. When given an opportunity to pursue a potentially profitable avenue, you may find excuses why it’s not a good idea or take half-hearted action.

You’ll need to use techniques that enable you to change the emotional reaction you have to a thought; in essence, you’ll need to change your emotional belief. Science has shown that the conscious mind only controls about 5% of what we do on a daily basis, whereas the subconscious mind – the home of the emotional response – controls 95% of what we do. If your emotions aren’t supporting your conscious goals, you’re proceeding with very little power.

One technique that can help with this is tapping, sometimes known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques.) Simply tapping on electrically sensitive spots on the face and body, called acupoints, has been shown to calm the amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain. Tapping even reduces the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

The theory is simple: when you think about something that causes you emotional upset, and tap, you’re re-programming your brain not to have that emotional reaction. This means that when you tap, fears at taking risks, fear of failure and rejection, irritation with colleagues, co-workers, or vendors, and a host of other potentially success-threatening reactions just aren’t triggered any more.

It may seem strange that simply tapping on oneself can bring out emotional change and greater success, and it’s not quite that simple. You also need to have an empowering belief that you’re working to incorporate into your emotional belief structure, or know how to create that type of empowering belief once the fear, upset, or other negative emotion has been reduced. But if you’re tired of feeling like your fighting that critical little inner voice all the time, or constantly struggling to overcome fears and upsets in order to move forward, learning to use tapping can skyrocket your results.

Learn the Art of Contentment and Reduce the Stress in Your Life

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Are you the kind of person that always looks to see what kind of car your neighbor is driving? Or are you worried about what your co-workers are making as far as salary? Not happy in your job, marriage, friendships, or “fill in the blank”?

You need to learn the art of contentment. Being content is not being driven by always wanting more. I know that ambition is a prized trait in our society. I am not saying that ambition is wrong. What I am saying is that the constant striving for more and not enjoying what you have or where you are at the moment will drive you crazy. Things do and will change. Have the attitude that they will change for the better. That can co-exist with being content. The attitude you have for the present will determine your stress level and even if you are in the right space or not to accomplish what you want for yourself.
I would like to give you couple ways to bring contentment into your life. As with anything, learning to master contentment takes practice. Work these techniques into your life and start to see the difference in your stress level.

Learn a Right View of Problems

There is an old saying, “What you focus on expands.” Have you noticed that when you buy a car, you start noticing people driving the same model? That is because you are hypersensitive and focused on that model. It is the same way with problems. If you focus on what is wrong in your life, what you don’t have that is what you will constantly see. You will see what you look for.
Now I am not telling you to ignore problems. Take them straight on and deal with them. Always think of them as temporary and changing and then, most important take action to change them. The difference between being content and not is understanding that the problem is a temporary situation. One of the main causes of suicide is seeing problems and situations as permanent and taking a permanent solution to them. All things change.
If you look for what is right in your life, you will end up seeing many things.

Learn to Cultivate Gratitude

One of the big problems of media these days is that we get an incorrect view of reality. We get false expectations. Everyone has a new car, each family has a 4,000 square foot home. You don’t see reality. The world is imperfect. There blemishes on the most beautiful apple. There will always be something wrong with everything. When we are content we can separate reality from our expectations.

Keep a mental or even written list of the things you are grateful for in your life. When you hit a rough patch, review them and remind yourself why you are grateful for what is going on in your life. You can do these by topic. Make a list of what you are grateful in your job, in your spouse, etc.
Don’t focus on comparisons. What someone else has or what someone else makes. The problem is that people only compare themselves to those who have more or make more. No one ever compares themselves to people who have or make less. Therefore they make false comparisons. Just stay away from comparisons totally and you will find yourself much less stressed out.

Stake Your Life on What Satisfies Your Passion

Bring into your life what satisfies your passions. Nothing will bring happiness, stress-free living quicker than by doing things you enjoy. It may be art, a hobby, travel, a course on improving yourself in some way, even something as simple as listening to a foreign language tape on your daily commute. I know some of you are saying you don’t have time. There is always time to squeeze in something you like to do.

What you don’t want to do is fully stake your life on what you don’t like. What you focus on expands. Once again, view that situation as in the process of changing while you concentrate on those things that bring you joy.

快樂的15個習慣

日本暢銷醫界作家，現今九十七歲，仍活躍於診療工作的日野原重明。其蓬勃朝氣本於對他人的細心關懷、不輕易向疾病低頭、不因忙碌的工作而心生氣餒、從天天發生的事件中悟出樂趣。其人生如此智慧圓融的原點，就蘊藏在他的一顆心與生活習慣裡。

從一九七五年開始，日野原一直在提倡，「自己的健康自己捍衛」的運動。他仔細研究一下有哪些習慣對自己有好處，既然知道有好處，就要養成「毫不遲疑、當下實行」的行動力。
攝 取品質不佳的食物、食用過多鹽分、抽菸、過量飲酒、食用太多動物性脂肪、黃綠葉菜類攝取太少、運動不足……，這些日常生活中的小小壞習慣，日野原建議，若 能夠及早轉個方向，待年長或年老之時，便不會染上所謂的「成人病」。也就是說，許多疾病都是長年以來的壞習慣所造成的。
日野原向來認為「成 人病」之名，應該更改為較具行動力、自發力的「習慣病」才對（英語為 lifestyle related disease）。經過了他二十年的倡導，日本終於在平成八年（一九九六年），更名為「生活習慣病」。活力充沛又樂在生活的日野原，唯一感到驕傲的健康祕 訣，就是他的好習慣。這些歷經九十年所培養、持續不斷的好習慣，時至今日，仍是他的無價之寶。這些寶物包括了以下十五個習慣：

習慣１ 心中永保愛

日野原之所以充滿活力，一個根本的原因就是愛存在於心中。
他向來相信喜悅或歡樂只要有人分享，快樂的程度就會更加擴大。更喜樂的生命，必須包含更多的愛。
聯旭廣告公司總經理陳玲玲分析，她高齡九十九歲仙逝的外公之所以能長壽，是因為長年在碧草如茵的中興新村上班，過的是非常簡樸的生活。節儉、吃素、慈祥、包容力大、又喜歡種花種草，與女兒、孫子同住，三代同堂。整日籠罩在愛人──愛女兒、愛孫子的環境裡。

習慣２ 抱持「一切都會變得更美好」的正面想法

日野原也相信，那些願意克服自己的缺點或弱點，並習慣存著「一切都會變得更美好」的正面想法的人，在人生中的任何時刻，都能夠展現樂於堅持的強大毅力。
正 面的想法比一切都重要。近十年來，開始成為一個虔誠基督徒的巨大機械集團執行長羅祥安舉例，即使現在有人因為投資連動債，損失了一百萬，應該要慶幸還有十 萬元。「人要感恩他所還擁有的，」羅祥安說，「台灣有很多財富，好的環境，有很多事，比起別的地方，台灣已經好很多。」
希臘哲學家亞里士多德對於習慣有如此定義：「所謂習慣就是不停重覆的動作」。
養成對任何事情都持有正面的想法，也是一種必須要培養的新習慣。用這樣柔軟的思考方式試著重組我們的人生，一定可以感覺到從明天開始的每一日，更為光輝、明亮。

習慣３ 挑戰新事物

如果在年輕時就養成挑戰新事物的習慣，發覺自身才華的機會也會隨之增加。那麼，一生中就可以看見無數次繁花盛開的瑰麗風景。
像五歲喪父、低收入戶的台南建築設計師毛森江，在到日本拜師學習製造清水模技術之前，是個成衣貿易商，但是一回他到大阪出差，對安藤忠雄簡雅的清水模建築深為折服，立志學習，終至轉行在台南蓋清水模好宅，就是一個勇於挑戰新事物、終至轉行成功的典範人物。

另外一個竹山人──王浩一，是台北精神科名醫王浩威的哥哥。他原本在台北也是幫外商成衣公司當總經理，後來外商移出台灣，他成為最後一個關掉公司燈光的人。
之後，他回到母校──在成大校園著名的大榕樹下思索，受到感召選擇留在台南岳父家的塑膠工廠工作，並且開始背著寫生用具、相機，探訪府城台南的大街小巷，先後寫出《慢食府城》及《在廟口說書》等暢銷書。也是一個勇於挑戰新事物的典範。
日野原說，若想永遠保持年輕的心，就要試著對某種事物保持高度的關心。而且，還要試著去挑戰看看。只要抱持這樣的心情，老不老一點都無妨，就讓向前行的勇氣，好好地發揮能量。

習慣４ 鍛練自己的專注力

日野原強調，一個人有專注力，看起來就會非常朝氣蓬勃，但如果缺乏專注力，什麼事都無法順利進行。「最糟糕的是就此意志消沉、自我放棄，」日野原說。
培養專注力，需要某種程度的訓練才行。也就是說，必須在日常生活中就養成注意力集中的習慣。
為了鍛練自己的專注能力，日野原採用的方法是──無論多麼短暫的時間也要有效利用，絕對不可白白浪費。
日 野原建議對於生活時間不太固定、或已經從工作崗位上退休的人，時間再如何充裕，也要在一天當中固定抽出三小時左右，完全用在研讀或自己的興趣上。台南建築 工作者毛森江每天也只排三分之二的工作行程，另外三分之一時間約三個小時，他都拿來讀書。他所設計的住宅，書房一定扮演一個相當主體的角色，讓全家人都可 以在一個書房長桌上讀書。

現年才四十三歲的香港宜諾管理顧問集團執行董事王劭仁在八個多月前，辭掉凱撒飯店總經理一職，在 籌備創立一家旅館諮詢顧問與訓練公司之前，有整整八個月沒班可上、沒薪水可領，然而他毫不懈怠，每天仍然穿西裝、打領帶，提著電腦到咖啡店去寫創業企劃， 直到顧客接納企劃案為止。

習慣５ 向心目中的典範學習

人生要如何規劃才好？日野原建議，如果實在無從下手，先尋覓一個你心生欽羨的典範也是個好主意。
在台灣，很多人學習藉由宗教信仰，不再為明天煩憂。巨大執行長羅祥安在近五十歲那一年，由於捷安特要成為全球化企業，他想到公司那麼小，要全球化，壓力很大，身心狀況幾乎快到崩潰邊緣。
剛好有一天，他跟著太太到東海大學教堂做禮拜，聽牧師說到有勞苦重擔的人，我就讓你得到安息。那天晚上，羅祥安生平第一次禱告，之後，經過一個月、半年、一年，羅祥安發現自己的心情，愈來愈輕鬆，一年後，羅祥安就受洗了。
如今，羅祥安維持著「只要做好事情，沒有強求的目標，」知天命，專心做好自己。他也開始騎腳踏車上班、假日騎車上山，精神、體力都比過去年輕了十歲。

習慣６ 感受他人的心情

日野原常常出國，經常看到外國人有體諒他人心情的習慣。要感受他人的心情，一定要先能讓自己寧靜下來，細細體會。

食養山房主人林炳輝就是這個典型的例子。他憑著對簡單、素雅、令人感動，引發豐富心靈的居住空間的追求，在十幾年前，創設了食養山房。
研究美學經濟的政大科技管理教授李仁芳形容，來到食養山房慢慢享用兩、三個小時、約一千元的餐飲，或是來品味下午茶時，他清楚地觀察到每一個客人一進到食養山房，臉上線條立即柔和、快樂。「這裡不是奢華，而是素華，」李仁芳說。
十 七、八年前，林炳輝曾經在台北租屋而居，那段時間，白天他在營造公司上班，夜裡常跑伊通公園畫廊，看到裡面布置整潔，空間素雅，開始引發他想要居住在這樣 空間的想法。於是他開始把沙發去掉、電視機去掉，不斷地割捨，然後開始在潔淨的空間插上一朵小花，泡一杯茶，開始可以安靜讀書、探索內心世界。「因為環境 影響你的視覺，你就可以安靜地坐下來，」林炳輝說。
多接近大自然，可以讓自己的心更柔軟，更敏銳。專研園藝治療的台大園藝系教授張俊彥指出，美國有所謂的園藝治療師，種植花草，可以舒緩腦波內的緊張度，並且有助恢復注意力及疲勞。

習慣７ 珍惜有緣相逢的所有人、事、物

日野原也想對大家說的是，如果你自己架設好一組品質優良的天線與接收器，你就更有機會遇見美好的事物。
奧 美廣告公司副董事長葉明桂就是一個很懂得感恩他的工作伙伴的人，懂得架設接收美好訊息天線的人。他從年輕時，就跟著台灣奧美的兩個創始人宋秩銘、莊淑芬， 如今，兩位老闆遠征中國，他還在台灣留守著。現年五十二歲的葉明桂最近有個覺悟是，要進入職場工作，一定要找志同道合的人，大家願景、目標、價值觀都一 致。「志同道合就是快樂，」葉明桂說。

習慣８ 比八分飽再少一些

日野原維持健康的方法，就是對體重的控制。有的靠飲食控制，維持適當的體重，有的則靠規律的運動。
忙碌時，他常常在吃飯時間拿出牛奶與餅乾。「大家都知道吃飯只要吃到八分飽就好。在吃到太撐、吃得太飽之前就停手，內臟的負擔比較小，對健康有正面的好處，」日野原說他現在超過九十歲，「六分」左右就足夠了。

習慣９ 對飲食不要過於神經質

每天清晨，日野原都會喝一杯加了橄欖油的蔬菜汁。這種自製飲料可以穩定膽固醇值，又可以在忙碌的上午，輕鬆地補充體力與能量。這個習慣，他已經持續了三十年以上。
晚餐常會有聚會或晚宴，這種場合的料理多含有過量油脂，到處充滿了卡路里攝取過量的危險。遇到這種情況，日野原都會先從沙拉開始取用。但他建議偶爾有宴席時，對美食也不用過於敏感，多吃一點，過幾天少吃一點，讓多出的一、兩公斤體重降下來就可以了。

習慣１０ 能走路就走路

同時與飲食生活的混亂共存的，常常是運動不足的問題。但是，對每天忙亂過日子的現代人而言，要額外找到運動時間，實在是難如登天。所以日野原自己就做到了能走路就走路，因此他在醫院裡上上下下、跑來跑去，不坐電梯，走樓梯；搭捷運時，也盡量走樓梯，不搭電扶梯。

習慣１１ 與更多同好享受運動時光

找同好一起去運動，也是必須培養的快樂生活好習慣。即時找不到人一起去運動，只要每天規律地去運動，自然就會碰到一些運動同好。如台南建築工作者毛森江每天早上五點半就到台南市的ＹＭＣＡ去晨泳，每天都會遇到前來游泳的九十歲婦人。
台灣富蘭克林兩個經理人愖言、張森貴最近遭逢金融海嘯，開始把大量的時間投入跑步、游泳、打球、騎車、遛狗、也多花些時間，在週末連休日，與家人在台灣各處旅遊。

習慣１２ 正面思考

健康與否，就看自己夠不夠朝氣蓬勃，而夠不夠有活力，也全靠心情決定。
作家羅蘭就是一個最好的例子。「我覺得快樂是一種天性，」現年九十歲的作家羅蘭，從二十七歲那年，一個人由天津來到台灣，就此定居下來，再怎麼辛苦，從不會抱怨。年輕時一邊在警廣上班，一邊寫作，也一邊養兒。如今兒女長大了，一個人居住，倒也自得其樂。
即 使現在已經九十歲了，羅蘭仍然耳聰目明，還會一個人找尋生活樂趣，除了每天早上，住在附近的兒子帶來豆漿、燒餅油條當早餐之外，她常會一個人坐計程車到外 雙溪故宮外面的小山坡去曬曬早晨的太陽，看著故宮博物館的圍牆，好像有回到天津老家的感覺。或是一個人到中央圖書館，坐在五樓的窗邊，默默讀書、寫作。她 每天晚上一定會寫寫日記。因為身心之間緊密連結、互為表裡，身兼心理學家與哲學家的柏格森（Henri Bergson）曾說：「人類是唯一能夠創造自己命運的動物，而人類卻遲遲無法覺悟。」

要讓心靈變得更平靜、豐富，該如何做才好呢？日野原建議，就算面對累死人的工作，也不應該長吁短嘆、以為時運不濟，反而要振作精神、想像完成後的成就感。並且，一邊以正面思考來鼓勵自己，一邊務實地動手完成，積極進取地挑戰難關。

習慣１３ 調節壓力

沈重的壓力必須明快地紓解及調整。紓解壓力的一個方法是，不要讓憂慮的事情一件一件累積。
許多人釋放壓力的方法，是尋求宗教信仰，把煩惱、憂慮交給上帝。張孝威長年信仰基督教，自己的妹妹還是牧師，他說，一個人不能過度自信，他認為很多經營者出現問題，是因為過度自信，他做個基督徒，可以將憂慮交給上帝，不會累積在心裡。
曾 有一個患者告訴日野原，他已經厭倦了充滿壓力的上班生涯，退休後想要在溫暖的土地上，過著隨心所欲的日子。但是，當如願搬到計劃中的區域，過著完全沒有壓 力的生活後，他每天在無所事事當中，卻失去了生存的意義。到了最後，身體崩壞、精神狀況也變得極為不穩定。若生存於無菌般、毫無壓力的環境，身體上、心靈 上也終會產生病狀。

習慣１４ 反身自省，要求自己（責任總是在我）

梅特林克（MauriceMaeterlinck）創作的《青鳥》是一齣著名的戲劇。故事的梗概是「千山萬水尋找代表幸福的青鳥，最後，卻發現牠不在天涯海角，而是好端端地待在家中」。青鳥欲訴說的就是，所謂的幸福就存在每個人的心中。

習慣１５不要盲目、非理性地遷就於習慣

不管是藉由寫日記、寫年記的方式，或是經過禱告、內觀，萬一你發現到今天為止走的是錯誤的道路，只要換一個正確的方向即可。
日野原一直在強調，習慣可以造就一個人。但是，並不是要大家盲目、毫無理性地固執於一件事。有時候，描繪出一幅美麗願景之後，才發現到今天為止的習慣，與這樣的願景格格不入。這種時候，彈性改變一下思考方式，再營造出另一種適合的習慣就好了…