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Teach Your Children Well
We love our children. We worry about our children. And, of course, we always want what’s best for them. But sometimes, by acting out of our instinctive desire to help our kids every step of the way, I believe we wind up doing them a disservice.
Explore Your Options
When I was about 12 years old, I saw the 1971 film Harold and Maude for the first time, and I, like many others, found myself changed by it.
Routine Inspection
It’s interesting that in a society fixated on adventure and excitement, so many of us choose to lead lives defined by deeply entrenched routines. In fact, I suspect our vicarious fixation on others’ thrill rides is likely fueled by our real-life tendency toward mindless repetition.
One Page at a Time
I am a person surrounded by books. Wonderful books. Brilliant books. Books galore. Books a-go-go. I love books. And I haven’t nearly enough time to read them all.
When More Is Better
In a culture where most of us are overwhelmed by too much stress, too much stuff, too many unhealthy temptations and way too many daily choices, it’s important to note that there are still a few areas where, in general, more really is better. Three examples come to mind …
Out From Under the Rug
Once, when I was about 8 years old, I tried that tricky housecleaning shortcut where you sweep some dirt under an area rug rather than bothering with a dustpan.
Unburden Yourself
In recent years, there’s been a surge of popular interest in detoxification regimens – the kind that help flush food-borne and environmental toxins out of our systems.
Try It, You’ll Like It
So much of what we do, we do automatically. Because it’s easy, or it’s there, or because it’s just what people do.
Good Directions
Over the past year, many individuals and businesses have gotten more interested in “going green” – increasing their energy efficiency, reducing their chemical usage, shrinking their carbon footprints, and so on. And there are certainly plenty of good reasons for this.
Far From Perfect
One of the great joys of editing this magazine is striving (albeit sometimes clutzily) to walk its wonderful talk.
Worthy Pursuit
When I heard we were focusing on life balance this month, I said: Great! I can talk about that for hours!
Back and Forth
Ah, the new year. It’s kind of like starting a new journal, a new chapter, a new relationship. It’s all fresh and clean, all full of possibility.
From Inspiration to Action
Inspiration sometimes comes at times and places we least expect. Last fall, for example, I found myself inspired while watching an NFL game.
Virtue’s Rewards
Do the right thing. Seek and ye shall find. There is no try, there is only do.
Counting Wins – and Losses
Reflecting on the year past, looking at notable accomplishments and things to celebrate, I see a great many within the Life Time Fitness organization.
All I Want for Christmas
If there’s any time of year when it’s easy to lose one’s sense of center, it’s the holidays. Then again, if there’s any time of year ideal for regaining one’s sense of center, I’d say that it’s the holidays, too. Particularly if you get an early and proactive start on it.
Central Intelligence
Nature is a brilliant designer. Look at a tree, a flower, a landscape, and you’ll generally see a well-centered composition. Even in the case of infinitely complex fractal constructions, there’s an organic symmetry, a progressive spreading from a center point (or many center points) that can be viewed at virtually any magnification and still appear balanced, right, whole.
Hopping the Track
Funny thing about ruts: You don’t always recognize you’ve fallen into one until you’ve come out the other side. We’re creatures of habit, after all. And that’s not entirely a bad thing.
Goodbye, Convention. Hello, Evolution!
Among the many industries due for an evolution, I’d say the fitness industry ranks high. It seems like so much of it has remained trapped in the ’80s – the hype, the noise, the focus on the surface of things.
Breaking the Gag Rule
My nephew, Toliver, turns 12 this month, and like many kids his age, he names pizza, burgers, macaroni and cheese, chips, fries, and similar fare among his best-liked foods.
Fitness Hits Home
Some of the most powerful messages we see and hear about fitness today (the ones that reach us through mass media) would seem to suggest that fitness is the domain of the young, the super-buff and, above all, the single.