Controlling Our Intakes

“There is a difference between eating and drinking for strength and from mere gluttony.”—Henry David Thoreau

Henry Ford is one of the greats of all time. 

He was a visionary entrepreneur who pioneered the mass production of automobiles among many other useful developments. He was a definition of worldly success by many standards.

In his mid-seventies, he was asked about the secret of his great success. And he gave very simple answer, which some of us may find quite difficult to practice.

Meanwhile, only one of his three core-value answers is what I need for the purpose of this article but I will mention the three so that we can learn his full personal secrets for our own use but I will stay focused on the first.

Here are his answers: 

Number One: “I never overeat.”

Number Two: “I never worry too much.”

Number Three: “Whatever I do, I do my best, and I know whatever happens to me, it is for my best. I trust in the Lord.”

Now let’s get back to the theme of this write-up: controlling our intakes, which happens to be the number one secret of Ford’s uncommon functionality. 

From the words of Henry Ford above, this seemingly ordinary idea is the number one principle behind the greatness of the phenomenal industrialist.

Please consider the sentence again: “I NEVER overeat.” And he said this after seventy decades on earth. 

Take note that this was not coming from a Prophet or a saint or a nutrition expert. This was coming from a multimillionaire in the age of sensuality and hedonism, as Benjamin Franklin wrote, long before Ford’s time: 

“In general, mankind, since the improvement of cookery, eats twice as much as nature requires.”

Now, how many of us can honestly make the same claim?

I know I can’t. 

But if you can truthfully make that claim, then maybe you don’t to read the remainder of this article. 

However, if you need more discipline with regards to what you take in, the essence of this article is to prod myself and yourself to always eat for purpose rather than for pleasure. 

A remarkable woman, Helen Keller—like Ford— understood that the real joy of life is not about satiety but about purpose and meaning. She said: “True happiness is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

Greatness is built upon principles and morality. As Henry Ford demonstrated, it is clear that the foundation of great success is often made up of some basic moral principles that many people do overlook as ‘no big deal.’ 

So, if we want success—whether spiritual, intellectual or material kind— our daily choices must be guided by sound principles and good system of practical ideals, like controlling the portion of whatever we put in our mouth.

Our Turn

If you get the import of Henry Ford’s ideal and you want to control how much you take in, one proven way to changing your eating behaviour is by making a slight change in your culinary cues: the size of your plate. 

When it comes to eating moderately, the medium rather than the food itself could be the determining factor. No matter how ordinary this idea may sound to you, don’t dismiss its power to strengthen self-control.

Imagine a buffet arrangement where you can go into a room filled with many delicacies, and serve yourself with no one looking over your shoulder to judge the amount of food you are putting in your plate. 

Each person enters, suit himself and goes out alone to reserved arena to enjoy the meal. Under this setting, my guess is that most people will pick large plates and fill the plates accordingly.  

Even though you might sense that the quantity of the food you are serving is probably more than enough but, the size of the plate will still make you think it is really not too much. And, that is the beginning of eating far more than your body needs.

This has actually been proven by two scientists from Georgia Institute of Technology and Cornell University: Koert van Ittersum and Brian Wansink respectively. They discovered that a shift from twelve–inch plates to ten–inch plates resulted in disproportionate reduction of twenty-two percent in calories intake. 

You see, it doesn't matter what you're eating, your mind can tempt you to eat based on the size of your plate and the quantity of food it contains. Therefore, choosing a smaller plate will help reduce the amount of food you eat and allow you to feel satisfied at the same time. 

Another proof of this is found in the book, ‘The Spirit of Kaizen’ written by Robert Maurer, PhD. He writes: “One of the strongest determinants of fullness is purely psychological.  It’s whether you finish everything that is given to you. To feel full with less food, put your meal on a smaller plate.”

In conclusion, if we want to get accustomed to controlling our intakes, we don’t need to rely on our willpower; we should just allow the small plate help control the portion we take, every time.

Procrastination: the Ultimate Human Weakness

“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.”— Benjamin Franklin

Procrastination is the sole reason for the difference between what most of us intend to do and what we actually do; It's the primary cause of the gap between our lofty intentions and our erratic actions. Procrastination accounts for why many people are not living the best version of themselves.

The habit of procrastination is the source of the greatest waste in this world: the wanton waste of the most limited and the most precious resource of time—the only resource we need, to achieve all else on this planet, the only resource no one can get back, once it is gone. 

In this article, my definition of procrastination is not limited to the chronic laziness of the pathological dregs of humanity, but it extends further to a trend that is common even among the responsible folks; it is about our tendency to fill up our days with the things of lesser value which we may enjoy doing, in the stead of the things of greater value which we may find quite unpleasant. 

If you are someone like I used to be, someone who procrastinates a lot on difficult but important matters, then know that this insidious trait will limit not only your professional success but also the quality of your relationship with friends and family.

However, if you are serious about beating your internal enemy, there is good news; the good news is: you can beat procrastination forever. By applying the concepts enumerated in this article, you will overcome your natural impulse to habitually put off important things until later.

First, to fortify yourself against this ferocious enemy within, I challenge you to always rethink your choices—anytime you are tempted to goof off—with some tough questions like:

What impact will doing the right thing today instantly have on my career, my mood, and my self-respect?

Will slacking off make me feel better about myself, many years from now?

What opportunities will I miss tomorrow if I fail to seize the fleeting moment today?

By pausing to think deeper about our momentary choices through piercing questions and sound logic, we will be able to make better choices and smarter decisions going forward. 

Procrastination diminishes our self-confidence, while taking action and doing the right things—on time— improves our self-esteem. Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of United Kingdom, once said that your happiest days are the days in which you have a lot of things to do on your list at the beginning of the days, and you manage to get them all done by the end of those days. 

In reality, when we are active doing what we should be doing, we feel better about ourselves. But when we are passively—or actively— doing otherwise, we feel worse in return. 

David Reynolds, the author of ‘Constructive Living’ has something to say in this direction. He stresses the importance of self-discipline on the level of our self-esteem.

He says: “The more control we develop over our actions, the more chance we have of producing a self we can be proud of.”

Ostensibly, there is no self-control until the habit of procrastination is overcome. 

And there is a truism in my culture that says, ‘Delay is dangerous.’ Yes, it is! Without a doubt, delay is not neutral, it is toxic. This is because it gradually erodes the core of our being: our self-esteem. 

And if you think about it, you will realize that mediocrity of every kind comes from a dearth of confidence and low self-esteem, the definite byproducts of the habit of procrastination. 

This is why the author of ‘Teamwork & Team Sabotage,’ Alyce Cornyn-Selby said:

“Procrastination is, hands down, our favorite form of self-sabotage.”

So whenever you put off doing important stuff, remember that what you are doing is not harmless; what you are doing is dangerous. You are essentially disabling yourself because you are depleting your most precious asset in personal effectiveness: self-confidence.

How to Overcome Procrastination

Any day you’re inundated with distractions and you don’t feel pumped to make the most of your time, just take a deep breath, and ask yourself any of these two questions:

“What is important now?”

Or….:

“What needs to be done now?”

Once you get a clear answer, follow it up by another simple but powerful mantra from W. Clement Stone, the author of ‘The Success System that Never fails’:

“Do it Now.”

Say it out loud and act upon it immediately. 

If you really put this into practice, you will be amazed, not only at the level of control you can instantly wield over your own behaviour but also on the volume of essential things you can get done on a daily basis. 

This is how to close the gap between who we are and who we can become. This is how to join the rank of the great dynamos of this era, those whom Norman Vincent Peale, the author of ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ described as the lively people on this planet.

In his words, he said: “The really happy people are those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand.” 

You see, the most effective people on the planet are not necessarily the most naturally gifted, but they are those who have broken the spell of procrastination. And as a result, they always manage to get more valuable things done than everyone else.

To improve our effectiveness, the English philosopher, Francis Bacon urges us rightly when he said:

“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand— melting (away) like a snowflake.”

In conclusion, to move from who we are actually being into who we are capable of being, we should make asking this one—at every moment of the day—question a daily habit in our lives: 

‘What is important now?’

Once we are clear on the answer, we must waste no time to spring into action. And to also keep doing that, we should prod ourselves further with the aid of the aforementioned mantra:  

‘Do it now.’

To gain mastery over the vice of procrastination is to gain practical control over the ultimate weakness that is keeping the majority humankind down. 

Once you do, your life will take a giant leap forward, forever.

Uplifting Service

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.”_Henry Melvill

Working with others, serving others, and benefiting them, this is what invariably creates true success. We earn success by translating what we love to do into something that other people will love to have. 

No one succeeds alone; great success always involves adding value to people besides ourselves. This is true not only in the world of business but also in personal world of relationships. 

Whether at home, in business, or in the community—remarkable success is largely dependent on meaningful contribution we can make in the lives of others. 

Though individual missions may be different, our core purpose should include making significant, positive impact in the lives of people that surround us. 

This is the basis of a meritorious life as Ron Kaufman, writes in his book, ‘Uplifting Service’: “Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves.” 

You see, whatever we do for another, we also do for ourselves. By diligently serving others, we are indirectly serving ourselves. With this in mind, I encourage you to heed the call of Steve Maraboli, the author of ‘The Five Truths’ who said:

"Don't wait for other people to be loving, giving, compassionate, grateful, forgiving, generous, or friendly... lead the way!" 

So, in your own local community, endeavor to passionately serve other people not just for what you can get in return but for the overall good of the society. 

Never forget, alone, we can do so little, but by serving others dutifully, we can accomplish so much.

Now, I dare you to lead the way in gratitude, to lead the way in compassion, and finally, to lead the way in uplifting service.

Placement: Making Time for What Matters

“Every minute you spend in planning saves 10 minutes in execution; this gives you a 1,000 percent return on energy!” ― Brian Tracy

In today’s experience, many of us spend way too much time on things that are pressing and not enough time on things that are important. If you are one of us who tend to behave this way, then I enjoin you to read on.

For starters, what we need to get out of the busyness trap is clarity about what is truly important and designing a concrete plan to making it happen. That plan is what I call placement, which is, another word I choose to represent creating a schedule to ensure that we get essential things done. 

Dictionary defines placement as ‘the act of placing or arranging something in a position or location, or the fact of being placed or arranged in this way.’ For our purpose in this article, that something is not a physical object, but a mental one, like something we want to do or a skill we want to learn.

In essence, placement is about creating a space for our intentions to live in the world. And the peak performance expert, Anthony Robbins explained the concept this way. He said: “If you talk about it, it is a dream, if you envision it, it’s possible, but if you schedule it, it’s real.”

Gretchen Rubin, the author of the book, ‘Better Than Before, Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives,’ agrees to the power of this strategy in that it forces us to prioritize our lives beforehand instead of living on autopilot as usual. 

She explains that by ‘scheduling’ an activity, we instantly turn something we may do into something we ‘must do.’ And as you may attest, there are many things we want to do, but we never do because we don’t have a concrete plan for doing them. Placement is the strategy for creating such a plan to accomplish those things. 

For example:

If I schedule studying for an hour tonight, the schedule gives studying precedence over everything else I can choose to do with the time.

Placement ensures that we are spending our time with purpose, instead of spending it whimsically.

Putting the Lesson into Practice

Again, the main thing about placement strategy is that it brings absolute clarity on what we want to do, when we want to do it, and the time we decide to spend on the activity. 

So we have to first decide what our highest priority is at each moment in our day and then make a clear plan to getting it done.  Basically, this is called schedule, and the dictionary defines it as “a plan of work to be done, showing the order in which tasks are to be carried out and the amounts of time allocated to them.”

By this approach, not only are we going to ensure we are doing the right thing with the very limited time that we have, we will also ensure we are spending the right amount of time on the activity in mind; neither too much time nor too little time, just the predetermined measure allotted.

Say, for example, I make the following plan: 

Every morning, by 6:00am (specific time), I will study for 20 minutes (precise length) in my library (designated place).

With this level of clarity, it is far more difficult for me to give in to distractions and procrastination when my alarm rings.  Furthermore, the firmly fixed schedule protects me from being sidetracked by random 'emergencies' of life.

Now, if you are serious about making any of your good intentions real, stop thinking about it, stop talking about it; just create a simple schedule that you can sustain and follow it religiously.

The First Step to Getting Ahead

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”_Zig Ziglar

Look closely at the most effective people around you, and you will notice that proaction is a key quality they all possess; they take initiative, they get into action, they take the first step even when they can see the whole stairs.

Truly successful leaders always find a way to start. They begin, despite the presence of uncertainty in the future outcome of their quest. They know that once they get started and keep the momentum up, they can somehow get the help they need. 

While everyone is focused on excuses for why the time isn't right to spring into action, the one destined to win will find reasons to take just one step further in the direction of his/her dreams. 

Now, if I am to point at a living heart who embodies the idea of taking positive action in the midst of insecurity, it’s an amazing visionary named Elon Musk. This adventurous soul courageously started series of revolutionary companies, even though he had real concerns regarding the great risks he was taking. 

But Musk is not one to be hindered by the possibility of failure because he knows that there are no failures in the life of a true winner, only learning experiences. And as a result of his daring attempts, he is now regarded as one of the most resourceful people on the planet. 

Musk deeply understands the insight of the philosopher, Lao Tzu who once said that: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”

Today, I want to challenge you to take a lesson from Musk, and get started on the big goal that you have been putting off for years. You can’t continue to delay, for in delay, there is no abundance. And time will never be perfect. 

So man up and take the first step without further ado. Work with the tools you have, and as you proceed, better tools will find their ways to your door. Start by doing what is essential, then proceed to what is possible, and before you realize it, you may end up changing the world as we know it now. 

And Steven Pressfield, the best-selling author of ‘the War of Art’ has some words of advice for you here. He says: “Start before you’re ready.” This is one of the secrets of highly successful people. They start before they feel absolutely ready. They know that a little action can stimulate a great deal of momentum. 

In our frenetic world of constant change, the way to achieving our ambition is to stop the analysis paralysis and get going quickly. This is true whether we want to build a business, write a book, raise a family or rebuild our community.

As written in the book, ‘Just Start,’ by the trio, Leonard Schlesinger, Charles Kiefer, and the veteran journalist Paul Brown, you have to “take action now and learn as you go.” Even if your initial actions create new problems, just make sure you don’t lose the lessons and the opportunities embedded in them.

You see, to get ahead in this life, not only do you have to think ahead, you also need to act ahead. And that means taking positive action sooner, rather than later. Never forget, a great idea implemented today is of more value to the world than a perfect idea that may be implemented tomorrow.