How to Deal With Life’s Imperfections

How’s this new year going for you?  Getting all those resolutions and goals figured out?  Or have you already given up, like a handful of folks do when confronted by a bump in the road along the path to achievement?

“Life is a series of one roadblock after another.”
                        ~ Mike Foster

Yes, life can be a constant thorn in ones side, or a blessing - it all depends on how you look at it.

Another thing you can say about life is that its one constant is change.  Our challenge is in overcoming adversity while embracing the change that will inevitably seek us.

Call them what you will - roadblocks, unwanted change, adversities, bumps in the road.  One thing that separates those who succeed in life and those who find excuses around every corner is the ability to adapt, to persevere, to overcome and embrace change and roadblocks as challenges to adapt to and not complain about.

What is your major roadblock standing in the way of your success?

The best way I’ve discovered in helping me deal with life’s imperfections and constant curveballs is by using laughter.  A favorite Zen saying of mine is:

"Nothing is left to you at this moment but to have a good laugh."

One of the things that separates us from all other life forms is our  ability to laugh in the face of some of the most dire situations, chuckle when all around us are freaking out, guffaw when life looks its darkest.  Like the old adage suggests: “when life gives you lemons make lemonade.”

This time of year millions of people, just like yourself, are making resolutions and setting goals to attain throughout the year.  Goals to lose weight, eat better, be more charitable, compassionate, kind.  I applaud anyone who strives to improve themselves, while also reminding anyone within earshot that goals and resolutions should not just be saved at year’s end or its beginning - set them and refine that as often as necessary, throughout the year and whenever you feel the need to improve yourself.

In summation, life is life is life.  It is up to you to make the best of  not only any bad or tough situation, but all the good ones too.  We may not be able to control a lot of what life tosses our way, but we can control how we react and deal with it.





* Have a laugh at life’s idiosyncratic impossibilities and seemingly unfair results.

* Look adversity in the face and dare to overcome it.

* Embrace not only every new year and opportunity to change for the better, but every day.

* Understand that there will be bumps in the road and challenges along the way…

* …and that you can control how you react to them, as well as your effort and energy in overcoming them.

Remember, sometimes you just gotta laugh at life.

But never, ever give up striving to do your best so that you live your life to its fullest.

Every day in every way.

Until next time...

peace,

Mike

Good vs. Bad

Life is all about choices. Take the recently completed presidential election. Millions of Americans were offered a ballot filled with multiple choices. From those choices, we analyze, ponder, discuss, weigh the pros and cons, then make our selections. While a national election is a major event that challenges our decision-making prowess, the personal choices we all make every day of our lives are equally, if not more, important.

One of the reoccurring messages I advocate on this blog and my video site, livelife365.com, is taking personal accountability for your actions. Part of being personally accountable is making choices. Often, this is not as easy as it seems (think back to all those propositions or initiatives, along with the multiple candidates on that ballot, calling to you on election day.) As with many of the options confronting us this past Tuesday, many of them are good, while just as many are bad. Same can be said about our own life choices.

Livelife365 is all about choices, hopefully helping to assist you in making the right choices for improving your life by offering entertaining blog posts and videos that show fun ways that can change your life for the better.

While recovering from my recent shoulder surgery, I have not been able to exercise as much as I normally do. I have also cut myself some slack (or maybe it’s just the Vicodin talking) and have indulged in some unhealthy snacking. Choices. Some good and some bad. The end results of those personal choices is that I’ve gained a few unwanted pounds that I do not like, but know that I will eventually drop. How do I know this? Because I will utilize the same healthy eating and fitness practices that helped me lose two pounds a week and keep that weight off for years.

I will make GOOD CHOICES.

Here is a video I created that demonstrates, in a fun and entertaining way, some good and bad choices confronting us in our daily lives.

GOOD MIKE VS. BAD MIKE



Some anticipated questions, along with my answers, about the above video:

Q: Were you really smoking?
A: No, those were fake cigarettes that my wife bought for Halloween.
Q: Were you really drinking?
A: No, just pretending. I’ve not tasted alcohol since 1992.
Q: Were you really eating those Doritos?
A: Yes…and they were good!
Q: What’s with you and that wig?
A: I Miss My Hair
Q: How’s the shoulder?
A: Sill painful, but getting better every day.


Life is all about choices, some good and some bad. We all have the power to make the right choices that can help us live a healthier, happier, longer, and more rewarding life.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

Friday Video: I Miss My Hair...Still!

While on the mend from my recent shoulder surgery, I received this nice comment from Heidi over at Health Nut Wannabee Mom:

HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...
awwwwww I am sorry that you are in such pain! I am going to check out your videos. I love them but the I WANT HAIR one is my favorite of all time! Get better soon!
October 23, 2008 10:12 PM

This reminded me how much I like Heidi and her excellent health blog (check it out when you get the chance), and how much I really like my funny music video I Miss My Hair.

It also inspired me to post it one more time to afford those of you who may have missed it the first few times the opportunity to watch and laugh. And for those of you, like Heidi, to watch it again and again and again...

Please enjoy my funny music video about my lament at missing my missing hair:

I Miss My Hair

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

peace,

Mike

Beware of Rogue Pretzels

The other day, while reclining atop a hotel room bed, reading a magazine, I was attacked by a rogue pretzel. What, you may be asking yourself, was I doing eating pretzels on a hotel room bed? Well, I was attempting to embrace and enjoy a rare respite from the madness otherwise known as “my life,” that’s what. Happily trying to catch up on two month’s worth of magazines, giddily avoiding my laptop, while shamelessly engaging in a rare caloric activity—namely shoveling empty calories of fun into my normally dietary-rigid mouth.

Perhaps that had something to do with this recalcitrant pretzel’s sneak attack—my rustiness in the simple art of consuming snack foods. You see, I am a total health nut freak (recently I was slightly taken aback by a comment left on one of my posts that described me as a “health nut,” until I sat back and thought about that word and realized, without a doubt, that, hey, I am a health nut! And that’s a good thing). I rarely allow myself the pleasure of consuming snacks (like pretzels or potato chips—a HUGE snacking vice for me, by the way). But on occasion, and this was one of those (being on vacation), I cut myself a break and indulge in some salty treat…and it ended up not biting me in the backside, but stabbing me in the mouth.

Here’s what happened: I was methodically cramming pretzel after pretzel into my seemingly insatiable maw, stick pretzels (my favorites are Snyder’s), you know the kind I mean, when one snapped in half, flipped up on to one end, and impaled itself into the roof of my mouth. Okay, maybe not impaled, but definitely jabbed, gouged, stabbed, shived, bayoneted, knifed, poked—name your bloody word! Because there was blood, lots of blood!

Needless to say, the elation of my pretzel pig-out was immediately and sadly cut short—as if the God of Nutrition had decided that he had seen enough, and reached his hand into my masticating mouth and manipulated a half-chewed pretzel into attention and to use as a weapon, thus putting an end to this empty-caloric nonsense.

Tossing the offending junk food bag into the corner of the hotel room, I hurried to the bathroom sink and rinsed and relieved my mouth of blood and all starchy remnants. I probed and stuffed balls of moistened tissue into my throbbing mouth until, after almost an hour’s battle, the bleeding subsided, leaving me with a very sore palate, and zero desire to indulge in any salty, crunchy foods for the rest of this decade.

This harrowing brush with death (okay, maybe not my death, but at least the death of desire for a pretzel, once one of my few remaining guilty pleasures) left me pondering my lot in life, and reminded me of a similar incident, years ago, that involved our infamous lame duck resident of the White House. You remember, right? While eating pretzels and watching football on TV, good old George W. fainted and fell face first into oval office carpeting. Left with a bruised cheek and ego, he joked about it later, saying, “If my mother is listening, mother, I should have listened to you: Always chew your pretzels before you swallow.”

Wow, me and the Prez. Some may be thinking: it couldn't have happened to two nicer guys…or something along those lines.

Better yet, the lesson I learned from all this is one I have been shouting from the rooftops for years and years, and that is:

JUNK FOOD KILLS!

…or at least attacks and maims.

As always, you can enjoy my variety of humor, music, self-help, how-to, inspirational, and personal development videos at my website, livelife365.com.

Here's a new, very short one that may tickle your funny bone. Enjoy!


Until next time…

peace,

Mike

Happy Birthday, Ricky!

One of my daily rituals is reading the newspaper every morning, while sipping the first of several cups of green tea. I read each section, every page, mostly scanning headlines in search of an article or two that tweaks my interest. My local paper, the Sacramento Bee, lists celebrity birthdays on page 2. Today, I noticed, in between Carley Simon (63) and fallen rock idol, George Michael (45), was none other than Ricky Gervais. Happy 47th, Ricky!

Now, to me, Ricky Gervais is one of the handful of funnymen who always makes me laugh--John Stewart is another. Dave Chappelle ain't bad either. There are more, but let's focus on Ricky. Some of you may be saying to yourselves: Who the heck is Rickey Gervais? If I asked you if you have ever heard of a show called "The Office," I bet most of you would say you have. And that show's star? Steve Carell (another funny guy who makes me snort green tea out my nose!)? Most of you have probably heard of him--but, what about Ricky? Well, Ricky actually created "The Office"--the BBC version (he is a producer/creator on the NBC hit), a version some people swear is funnier than the very humorous one that is shown Thursdays on NBC.

My point is: while I'm sure millions of people do know who Ricky Gervais is, it is a shame that tens of millions MORE do not. The man is funny. Check out his work. Start with the BBC version of "The Office," then go out and rent the DVD for the first two seasons of his hilarious HBO series, "Extras." You won't be disappointed.

Speaking of funny...whenever I need a good laugh online, the one place I return to time after time is FunnyorDie.com. This is the best website around for humor. It was created by Will Ferrell and a few of his cohorts in comedy and is unique, in that you, the viewer, gets to vote on each video. FUNNY, if you like it and it makes you chuckle. Or DIE, if it fails to tickle your funnybone. Sort of like back in Roman Times, when the guys in the good seats at the Colosseum (Kings? Emperors? Pharaohs? Congressmen?) would vote either thumb's up or down, deciding if some poor schlub gladiator would fight another day or instantly become lion food. While having one's videos judged in similar fashion on a website is not life or death, it can be disconcerting when you get a bunch of die votes. My suggestion--vote FUNNY! I never vote DIE--it just doesn't seem right.

So, in celebration of one great funnyman, Ricky Gervais, and in memory of one of the greatest, George Carlin, I would like to share with you a few of my favorite links from my favorite funny website. Today's laughs are on me.

peace,

Mike
livelife365.com

In no particular order:

MojoCat1973
Outsider's Country Club
litho
Prez McBrayer
The Retributioners
Pnut Films
Channel 59
Ed Druckman
Bob Jake McManus
Ricky Shore Sings the Blues