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Bloggers' Stress and Heart Attacks
Good thing I went for a long, brisk, walk-jog with the dog today, part of my resolution to improve my aerobic fitness and lose another 5 pounds. It also helps me to relax, and I was incredibly stressed out today by a long list of things to do, including writing a new blog entry.
Seems I am not the only one who's stressed by the need to create fresh content in a timely manner that actually interests my readers. This week the New York Times reported on the December 28th heart attack of Giga Omni Media's Om Malik, the driving force behind the company's multiple profitable blogging sites, including gigaom, which features Malik's writing, along with others. The Times points out that it can be very stressful to stay ahead of other writers in a topic area, and to keep the content lively and interesting.
Members of Malik's team, however, also report that he had a few bad habits that probably contributed to his heart disease, including smoking cigars and cigarettes and drinking lots of coffee. Mr. Malik himself is quoted as saying, "Friends and family have purged my apartment of smokes, scotch and all my favorite fatty foods -- I am even going to be drinking decaf."
Malik has a tough road ahead of him because it sounds like he's being forced to make a lot of significant life changes under "do or die" circumstances. This forced change works really well for some people, who think "I have to do this or I'll surely hasten my death." For others however, it causes resentful defiance, that can be expressed as,"I'll show them who's in control; I'll do what I please!"
Under any circumstance it can be difficult for us to maintain good health habits even when we want to, because it's easier to fall back on old habits when the going gets tough. We eat, drink too much coffee or alcohol, or smoke because we think that these habits help us to reduce stress and they are often associated in our minds with feeling good. So at this time of the year, while our resolutions to improve our health by eating better, drinking and smoking less (or not at all) or losing weight are fresh in our minds, ask yourself, "When I am unable to keep my resolutions why is it that my plans fail?"
It's my opinion that we set ourselves up for failure because we don't properly change our thinking about the challenge we face. Let's take my favorite resolution as an example. A person will say, "I'm going on a diet." When you read the word 'diet,' what are the first words or thoughts that come to your mind? Deprivation? Starvation? Losing all the good food from your life? The memory of some past dieting failure(s)? Suppose instead you choose not to go on a "diet" but that you tell yourself, "I am going to learn new eating habits that are healthier for me." From the start I'd guess that you feel less threatened by this statement.
You are not telling yourself that you aren't going to have dessert, or chocolate, or chips (my personal favorite), but you are committing yourself to a healthier lifestyle. Who can argue that that concept is a threat to your fun? In fact, research tells us that if we associate being healthier with positive feelings we are more likely to embrace that change because we will feel better.
Next you have to set yourself up with some measurable goals that have a time frame attached to them. If you don't, you'll keep finding excuses to put the change off because you still haven't given yourself the tools to succeed. Suppose you don't know where to begin; your goal might be, "I will call within the next week to make an appointment with a dietitian." Or, if you know what you need to do, pick one small place to start, such as, "I will add a salad to 2 meals a week starting one week from now." This might be followed with "the following week I will measure my carb portions and limit them to one serving based on the label serving size."
You might want to leave the "biggie" that's in your mind, such as controlling the sweets until you have had some success with the easier steps. This helps you to build what's called "self-efficacy," which is the belief that you can accomplish something. Once you are successful with solving a problem, the research tells us that you will be more likely to build upon those past successes to find strategies that will work for your more difficult challenges.
If you have words of advice on how you were successful at changing your tough habits, please share them with all of us here. We can all use some new ideas and encouragement year round when it comes to making life-altering habit changes, and I'll even send the link to Mr. Malik to offer our encouragement.
By the way, Malik's blog often has multiple posts a day (although he has a lot of help)! I'll be happy to accomplish two a week this year. I think if I set a goal to write one less epic post a week (short and sweet as they say), then I could get it done. Now about that time line...
Take care, Laurie
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Om Malik, GigaOm, resolutions, heart health, heart attack, diet, exercise, fitness
Seems I am not the only one who's stressed by the need to create fresh content in a timely manner that actually interests my readers. This week the New York Times reported on the December 28th heart attack of Giga Omni Media's Om Malik, the driving force behind the company's multiple profitable blogging sites, including gigaom, which features Malik's writing, along with others. The Times points out that it can be very stressful to stay ahead of other writers in a topic area, and to keep the content lively and interesting.
Members of Malik's team, however, also report that he had a few bad habits that probably contributed to his heart disease, including smoking cigars and cigarettes and drinking lots of coffee. Mr. Malik himself is quoted as saying, "Friends and family have purged my apartment of smokes, scotch and all my favorite fatty foods -- I am even going to be drinking decaf."
Malik has a tough road ahead of him because it sounds like he's being forced to make a lot of significant life changes under "do or die" circumstances. This forced change works really well for some people, who think "I have to do this or I'll surely hasten my death." For others however, it causes resentful defiance, that can be expressed as,"I'll show them who's in control; I'll do what I please!"
Under any circumstance it can be difficult for us to maintain good health habits even when we want to, because it's easier to fall back on old habits when the going gets tough. We eat, drink too much coffee or alcohol, or smoke because we think that these habits help us to reduce stress and they are often associated in our minds with feeling good. So at this time of the year, while our resolutions to improve our health by eating better, drinking and smoking less (or not at all) or losing weight are fresh in our minds, ask yourself, "When I am unable to keep my resolutions why is it that my plans fail?"
It's my opinion that we set ourselves up for failure because we don't properly change our thinking about the challenge we face. Let's take my favorite resolution as an example. A person will say, "I'm going on a diet." When you read the word 'diet,' what are the first words or thoughts that come to your mind? Deprivation? Starvation? Losing all the good food from your life? The memory of some past dieting failure(s)? Suppose instead you choose not to go on a "diet" but that you tell yourself, "I am going to learn new eating habits that are healthier for me." From the start I'd guess that you feel less threatened by this statement.
You are not telling yourself that you aren't going to have dessert, or chocolate, or chips (my personal favorite), but you are committing yourself to a healthier lifestyle. Who can argue that that concept is a threat to your fun? In fact, research tells us that if we associate being healthier with positive feelings we are more likely to embrace that change because we will feel better.
Next you have to set yourself up with some measurable goals that have a time frame attached to them. If you don't, you'll keep finding excuses to put the change off because you still haven't given yourself the tools to succeed. Suppose you don't know where to begin; your goal might be, "I will call within the next week to make an appointment with a dietitian." Or, if you know what you need to do, pick one small place to start, such as, "I will add a salad to 2 meals a week starting one week from now." This might be followed with "the following week I will measure my carb portions and limit them to one serving based on the label serving size."
You might want to leave the "biggie" that's in your mind, such as controlling the sweets until you have had some success with the easier steps. This helps you to build what's called "self-efficacy," which is the belief that you can accomplish something. Once you are successful with solving a problem, the research tells us that you will be more likely to build upon those past successes to find strategies that will work for your more difficult challenges.
If you have words of advice on how you were successful at changing your tough habits, please share them with all of us here. We can all use some new ideas and encouragement year round when it comes to making life-altering habit changes, and I'll even send the link to Mr. Malik to offer our encouragement.
By the way, Malik's blog often has multiple posts a day (although he has a lot of help)! I'll be happy to accomplish two a week this year. I think if I set a goal to write one less epic post a week (short and sweet as they say), then I could get it done. Now about that time line...
Take care, Laurie
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: Om Malik, GigaOm, resolutions, heart health, heart attack, diet, exercise, fitness
