SUCCESS

SUCCESS

By Frances Harris

 

Added to the influences of early childhood, the true quest for identity and success, in a hefty slice of humanity seems to begin when one boy first notices a girl, or a girl notices a boy. Immediately the calculations and questions begin to mount up in their heads - Am I worth enough? Am I good enough to make it with that person? Is my family likely to meet with their approval? Do we have enough in common? How do I need to compensate to change my present circumstances? Springing from the answers to these questions, determines much of the course of the rest of their lives. We start by settling on the common driving forces innate in most humans and these among many are; food, sex, comfort and approval. It should be a pretty simple formula for success really, unless we decide to take a closer look.

On the opposite side of the coin, there is the highly motivated, driven set who slice through and dispose of apparently wonderful relationships and situations to reach an unattainable destination somewhere out there in the stratosphere. The theory - it’s better to have a short and happy life than a long and miserable one, is silently on the radar. Some of these are the people who drop dead at the office, or the body gives out unexpectedly, sometimes much earlier than most. They strive to be forever young and nearing the end of the journey, are unable to recognise their loss of youthful looks and stamina, leading at times to some very mismatched, indulgent relationships to the point they too could be working against their own interests. Right here, the name ‘Silvio Belersconi,’ comes to mind. Those that are lucky enough to survive, leave plenty of time for regret.

So why, with all this intense analysis by the brain of the smartest creatures on the planet do we have so many differences. There are nerds, geeks, skinny little bald guys who always get the girls, gothics, bodgies, bogans, widgies, punks, rockers, and stunningly natural beautiful women who are happy to wear cut-off jeans, unaware of their looks and like to study turtles in a muddy pond? Then, on the perimeters of the struggle, there is a bunch of grumpy commentators who unhappily observe life from the outside looking in. 

Putting all of this aside; so who are the people that have settled their identity questions early in life and go on to enjoy long happy productive lives, without missing a beat? Well there is no better place to find them than recorded in small local newspapers. We find them tucked away in comfortable, mostly suburban homes, with a harmonious loving family who have taken up the same formulas of their loving parents to produce happy families of their own. These people had learned early in life that it is not necessary to push and shove others out of the way to succeed. They are of constant, mid-weight, eat healthy, exercise moderately, forgive easily and laugh often. They are quietly seen in the local newspapers holding hands and celebrating their eightieth year of a happy a marriage. They are rarely mentioned in the mainstream press.

So success begins with the sharpness of the eye of the beholder, and made from decisions ignited early in the impressionable years. They choose their behaviour. They are the ones you’ll often find on the Queen’s honour list for centenarians.



SHIFTING THE WEIGHT

SHIFTING THE WEIGHT

By Frances Harris

It looks so easy; just reduce the food intake and exercise regularly and the pounds or kilos will peel off automatically – right?  Well, that’s the theory, but there’s one little hitch and is called the addictive brain. David Kessler, former head of the Food and Drug Administration (USA) and paediatrician and professor of paediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco has something to say about this. He claims there is a ’sweet spot,’ in the brain, that if engineered  the combination of fat, salt and sugar in the right quantities, (FSS) the product you crave, perhaps potato crisps and cakes, will become almost irresistible. I won't even mention the ice cream aisle. Evidently when stimulated in this way the reward centre of the brain lights up like an amusement park after dark. This should explain why people continue to eat well after they are hungry.

 Looking back, it makes sense to me. I can remember the times I walked down the potato crisp and cake aisles of any supermarket, and was instantly drawn to them like a magnet. My thoughts would instantly race into defensive mode, making excuses to myself why I had to buy them.  ‘It’s only this once,’ or ‘if I hide them it will avoid the arguments,’ and ‘even though I bought a packet yesterday, I don’t get them that often.’ And there is one more; ‘if I eat the chips or cake first, followed by a healthy lunch, they should cancel each other out.’

It seems food manufacturers discovered the human, ‘sweet spot,’ well before the rest of us were made aware of it, and they’ve been making the most of it ever since.  In fact, they have encouraged we crisp and food lovers to happily following like lemmings on the way to our own demise. After slowly reducing my exposure to the trio (FSS) I have dropped a dress size, now that I recognise the pitfalls. I’m avoiding the potato crisp and cake aisles like the plague. Wouldn’t it be great if scientists could come up with a patch to ween us off (FSS) like there is for cigarettes?

It’s true, exercise is a must-do for people who want to be healthy, but calories – in, and calories – out, must be in balance to loose eight. Just like any addictive element, (FSS) can’t be stopped overnight. I started off by purchasing the smaller size of sugar instead of the bulk pack. I like to put it, as well as salt on food after it is ready to eat where reasonable. That way the ingredients are unlikely to be added during the mixing stage, then again when the food is ready to serve. I discovered when cooking many meat products, add lots of spices to replace salt, then a little water at the base of a pan will stop the meat from burning, before a smudge of natural fat leeches out as it would anyhow. No added oil is necessary or the doubling up of fat.  The formula is working and I have a lot more energy.  Then finally, more vegetables are on the menu. If you spread the vegetables over the plate first, then place the meat on top, it's less obvious that the quantity of meat has been reduced.

With the extra energy from diet changes, I am able to do more exercise with less effort. It’s hard to get started, but everything gets easier with these few simple changes. See below where I’ve been walking regularly and riding my bicycle.  

Walking track at the end of Main Street, Mornington, Victoria, Australia.

Elwood Beach walking track, Victoria, Australia.