I’ve said for a long time that ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is just ignorance…and what you don’t know about how much water you should drink can kill you. It’s been estimated that almost half of the American population suffers from some degree of dehydration. A three-percent loss in body water-volume causes fatigue and can cause organ dysfunction, and a ten-percent loss can be life-threatening. Water intake requirments can vary according to individual needs and circumstances. Under the normal conditions of an active fulfilling lifestyle, I recommend 120 ounces of water per day. I don’t mean beverages that are water-based, but 120 ounces of water. Some water-based beverages can actually reduce your overall body water volume. For example… tea, coffee, sodas can activate your kidneys and rather than increase your water volume…cause you to lose much needed water volume.

To give you an idea of how much water you need, I’ll break down the requirement of the daily needs of your gastro-intestinal secretions alone. Saliva: 1,500ml, gastric secretions: 2,000 ml, bile from the liver: 500ml, intestinal secretions: 1,200ml, fecal excretion: 100ml. Keep in mind that 1,000ml = 1 liter or about 1 quart. Maybe this explains why Americans spend so much money on pills to help them digest their food. A better answer would be to drink more water. In addition, you also need water for lymph fluids, urine, cerebro-spinal fluid, blood, perspiration, fluids of the eyes… just to mention a few.

I believe a great many people can dramatically improve their health, their energy and their immune systems by drinking more water and I recommend drinking 120 ounces of water per day. For some this may seem like a lot, and, at first it is. It seems you can’t stop going to the restroom, but as the body slowly rehydrates itself… this need subsides and the body begins to use the the water for the many normal functions that have been neglected for so long and therein lies the drastic improvement in health, energy and the immune system. ~ Mack Newton

Well…I had to go out and find out what she meant by calling me a sheep.  I found out that sheep , for self-preservation mostly, always  remain with the herd.  They have little or no desire to explore their limits…no seeking adventure…just staying within the protective circle of the group so they don’t have to deal with danger or risk anything meaningful. 

Now I know it wasn’t just me…lots of folks act like sheep.  Why?  I don’t know really, but I that whenever we allow others to control our lives we place our future in their hands, we relinquish the right to our goals and by default condemn ourselves to fulfilling the goals of others.  It’s not a pleasant situation, but it can be cured.  You can learn how to take charge of your life.

It starts with learning the power of the word “no”.  Instead of just doing whatever someone wants you to do…use the word “no” to get to the “yes” of your life.  Become the ‘doer’, instead of being done to. Learn to act instead of  being acted upon.  I’m no longer a sheep  and you’re not a sheep…you are not lost…if you’ve given away control of your life, you can get it back.

In order to take back control…in order to clarify your goals and dreams…you have to take a stand.  Stop asking for permission from others to do the things you want to do or be.  You need NO ONE’S PERMISSION! You’ve had all the permission you’ll ever need for a long time. Just do it!  Don’t apologize anymore for wanting more than you have.  Don’t ever be sorry…be better…stop apologizing.  This only tells others that you’re insecure and don’t like yourself very much.

Remember…as you change and grow…when you say ‘no’ and by not asking for permission, you may lose old friends, as I did…but, my new strength and character forged the way for me to make new friends better suited for the life I wanted to live and so will you.   ~  Mack Newton

So, what can one do to eliminate or minimize this tendency?  Have you ever wondered why some individuals hang on against all odds until they turn defeat into victory while other quit, sometimes in plain sight of the finish line?   Is it courage… intestinal fortitude…just the guts to endure, to get off the canvas, and stick to something until it is finished…is it simply in your genes?  NO?  Then what is the difference between the person who quits and the person who perserveres.

Optimism and goal-setting!

Think back over your life and you will certainly agree that whenever you let negative thoughts permiate your mind and you lost the ability to see good things in your future…you wanted to give up.  Negative and backward thinking causes you to loose your desire to keep working on whatever it was you wanted and then,  you just wanted to shut it down.  Maybe you didn’t call it quitting,  but that’s what it was…because the circumstances seemed to justify your decision to give up, you didn’t consider this actually quitting.  Oh…but it was.  Maybe it was just a small thing, but understand this…the better you get at quitting on small things…soon you’re quitting on big things like your career or your marriage, and  the results of quitting on these matters can  have a  disastrous impact on your life.

So…no matter what… find ways to keep the flames of optimism burning brightly in your soul.  Develop the habit of setting meaningful goals in a balanced fashion in your life and  that will keep your mental focus future oriented.  ~  Mack Newton

Your job in this scenario is to clearly define the situation in your mind and clearly define how you want it to work out. We’ve all had the experience of being awakened from a deep sleep by a flash of inspiration…a sudden flash of creativity…the answer to a problem you’ve needed for some time and out of nowhere, there the answer was. You must write it down immediately or it will disappear…it will go back the universe where your mind got it from in the first place. This is your subconscious mind finding answers for you. It’s not just a one-time thing, it’s a predictable resource for you to call on whenever you need it.

As I said, your job is to clearly define the situation and if the answer does not come, turn the situation over to your deeper subconscious mind prior to sleep and forget about it. Make sure you have notepads and pens all around you all the time because you never know exactly when the flash will come to you containing your answer. When it comes…the answer will be complete, simple and elegant. Until you get your response, continues defining and turning it over to your subconscious mind until your problem is solved.

This system has been used by all the great thinkers down through the ages. It works…do you? ~ Mack Newton

Sometimes…when a relationship becomes stormy, we often quit listening to the other person because we are so sure we’re “right.” When you finally negotiate the peace you find out that usually there’s a misundestanding at the root of it. Do everything you can to make sure the lines of communication remain open…especially when the relationship tenses up. Don’t be afraid to ask silly questions. Pin your partner down and ask, “what did you mean by that” Try to get a clear understanding of what they wanted you to hear. Challenge their body language or their tone of voice, because so much of what is being said can be communicated by body language and tone of voice. “I hear you saying that you want to go out to dinner tonight, but your voice is angry. Is this true?” Perhaps your mate’s voice and body language are reflecting a hard day at work rather than annoyance with you, but if you don’t ask and then listen to the answer, you’ll never know.

Next…don’t be afraid to talk. Letting someone else into your emotional world is an act of trust. It tells them that they are important enough that you will share your deepest thoughts and feelings with them. If you become defensive and withdraw because of perceived criticisms, your partner may never understand why you are so unhappy until the day you walk out the door. At this point, the opportunity for a happy, fulfilling relationship may be over. Give the relationship a chance by communicating your needs to your partner in an open, nonthreatening way. ~ Mack Newton

What I’ve found along the way is absolutely amazing! I now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that every person on this planet has inborne potential that is extraordinary. So many folks are performing at a level far below what they’re capable of, and… that it’s a shame… especially when so many are looking to get more out of life. It’s as if they’re completely unaware that they have the ability…RIGHT NOW, to reach any goal that they could set for themselves. Realizing that I was only using a small part of my potential has redefined my life…I mean… how I set my goals…how I’ve realized pssibilities that I never even thought were possible in the first place! It’s as if I am a completely different person. You know…in reality, I am. I no longer think the same way, I no longer have the same expectations as before…I just don’t see life the same way. The great thing is…everyone can change their life in the same way. Want to know how?

Understand that your job is to invest whatever time and energy required to become perfectly clear about exactly what it is you want. I mean…PERFECTLY CLEAR! Clarity is everything! Also…understand that whatever it is you want, you already have the ability to make it happen, as long as you feel you deserve having it. Remember…the greater your clarity, the more of your tremendous potential you will unleash on your life. ~ Mack Newton

First, let’s break out and take some chances…risk doing something different. When conversing, change your body posture, lean forward when you listen to those old familiar words…ask questions…pause, rather than immediately respond or jumping in with your normal response or your opinion at this point. Relax, take a breath, if you need and repeat back what your spouse is saying in your own words to see if you do actually understand what they are saying. This a key point and can change the whole conversation from this point forward because now at least you’re clear on their point. Remember…whenever you’re in the middle of this chatfest, it’s important for you to say what you really are thinking and don’t expect them to already know as if they can read your mind. Never use words as weapons, to hurt or to punish…it’s almost impossible to reverse the damage caused by this loss of self-control.

Secondly, work on making yourself a better person and liking yourself more. You can’t give away something you don’t have and you can’t even accept love from someone else to any greater degree than you already have for love yourself. I’ve said many time before that just because your spouse doesn’t love you the way you want them to…doesn’t mean that they’re not loving you with everything they have. So…learning to love yourself more becomes a key element to you having a better relationship with your spouse. Abandon trying to change your spouse because it is beyond your control and…it simply doesn’t and can’t work.

Third, commit yourself to the relationship. In Taekwon-Do training, you have to fully commit yourself to doing a particular technique and if you’re worried about the courterattack, you might never make the movement which could save your life. If you commit yourself totally to the proper execution of the movement, there is a great chance it’ll work.

Most people don’t commit themselves to their relationships simply because they’re afraid they won’t find a reciprocal response from the other. Both, it seems, are only willing to commit themselves as much as the other is willing to commit and they end up re-playing the same tired tape over and over. Eventually…the excitment is gone and laughter is gone and if the laughter is gone…pretty much the relationship is finished. Now…a relationship that could have flourished is lost simply because no one is willing to take a chance and commit. ~ Mack Newton

That was my life every day before I learned the art of being an effective decision-maker. It was insane! I just never felt like I had any real control over my life…at least not from the inside of me to what was going on the outside. Psychologists refer to this as a “locus of control.” An internal locus of control means you feel that your hands are on the steering wheel of your life…that your decisions…your thoughts and desires are taking you where you want to go. An external locus of control means that you believe that external conditions and people outside your life determine how happy you are, or how successful you can become.

You feel positive about yourself and your life to the degree you feel in control of your life. You feel negative about yourself to the degree you feel your life is controlled by external factors…like those bumper cars.

Deciding whether control of your life is internal or external will make all the difference in the effectiveness of your decision-making. All control begins when you take control of your thoughts and realize that all success and happiness flows from the inside to the outside. ~ Mack Newton

It that what it takes? Do you have to be deformed and broken before you start to think differently? Before you can see what you really want in your life? If if it does…why? It scares me now to realize that it took something so painful and devastating to push me out of my rut. Why couldn’t I have done it without that impetus? Well…I could have…I could have changed my thinking at any time if I had wanted it badly enough. You have to want something really, really badly. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. ~ Mack Newton