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Articles from Craig Harper | Selfgrowth.com
- Why Do You Do Exactly What You Did Yesterday, Even Though Yesterday Was Crap - by Submitted on Jun 19, 2011 from Craig HarperSo, How’s Your Life? Just asking. Do your best to answer that question honestly and courageously. If you can, avoid the flippant, generic (“great thanks Craig”) response. Think carefully for a minute and give your authentic answer; the truth behind the ‘you show’. If you are great then ...
Views: 938 - What Can Oprah Teach Us About Using What We’ve Been Given - by Submitted on May 30, 2011 from Craig HarperWhat Matters? A close friend of mine has an elderly father who is on the home stretch of his time down here on the big blue ball. And while I don’t know him well, he’s been on my mind lately. I worry about him and his family. For the last few days, I’ve wondered what a person thinks about ...
Views: 818 - Relationships: When To Stay And When To Go - by Submitted on May 23, 2011 from Craig HarperThe Relationships We Choose Before I go any further, let me make an important distinction about relationships: some are optional (husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, business partner, friend, associate) and some aren’t (family). Like it or not, your dad will always be your dad and your mum ...
Views: 824 - 6 Questions To Ask Yourself When You Think Your Life's Unfair - by Submitted on May 20, 2011 from Craig HarperFairness: What an Interesting Concept In life, sometimes stuff works out and sometimes, it doesn’t. Of course it does. And doesn’t. Sometimes, things go exactly to plan and sometimes, our plan kicks us in the nuts. Sometimes, we manage our situation and sometimes, our situation manages us. ...
Views: 928 - How To Manage Self Doubt When You Feel Like A Fake - by Submitted on May 17, 2011 from Craig HarperThe Pretender Put up your hand if you ever feel like a fraud. A fake? A phoney? A pretender? Me too. Even in the middle of some (relative) success, I have often felt not ‘something’ enough. Not smart enough. Qualified enough. Experienced enough. Lean enough. Young enough. Old enough. Funny ...
Views: 768 - The One Thing You Need To Remember When You’re Having A Bad Day - by Submitted on May 10, 2011 from Craig HarperIssy I’m currently doing some work in the gym with a twelve year-old named Issy. Together we’re working to improve her overall strength, fitness and function. This morning she arrived at the gym with a five-hundred page book – apparently, some light reading while she waited for her ...
Views: 663 - Why Is My Life So Hard - Fifty Questions You Need To Ask - by Submitted on May 02, 2011 from Craig HarperReality-Shaping Questions If we’re serious about changing our reality then we must be serious about asking the best reality-shaping questions. Better questions produce a better mindset, decisions, actions, reactions and overall, better results. Asking ourselves intelligent, relevant and ...
Views: 712 - At This Time In Our Evolution - What is Our Most Valuable Skill? - by Submitted on May 01, 2011 from Craig HarperA World in Transition Our world is an ever-changing one. It’s in a constant state of flux and re-invention. Sometimes that’s good and sometimes, not so good. In many ways, the world as we know it is shifting under our feet. Business, medicine, the economy, technology, communication, ...
Views: 718 - The Easiest Way to Change Your Behaviour - by Submitted on Apr 23, 2011 from Craig HarperChange-Ology: The Science of Change In the big scary world of behavioural psychology, there are numerous models of change. Today, I thought I’d share mine. The various stages don’t always happen in the order you see them outlined here but nonetheless, they all seem to happen eventually. 1. ...
Views: 692 - How to Get Out of A Self Created, Less Than Desirable Reality - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2011 from Craig HarperToo Heavy or Too Short? A few years back, I met with a guy who wanted my help to lose some weight; not an altogether uncommon request in my world. Without giving you specific details, it’s fair to say that he was morbidly obese. That is, huge. Somewhere in the vicinity of double his ideal ...
Views: 805(1 vote) - How To Liberate Yourself By Letting Go Of The Need to Be Right - by Submitted on Apr 10, 2011 from Craig HarperNot So Smart After All When I was twenty-seven, I thought I knew almost everything. At thirty-seven, it was becoming apparent that I wasn’t nearly as smart as I had originally thought. Now, at forty-seven, I realise I don’t know much at all. In fact, if I stay on my current trajectory, by ...
Views: 1043 - How To Find Peace in Our Fast Paced World - by Submitted on Apr 05, 2011 from Craig HarperThe Rush of Humanity It often occurs to me that, in the middle of all our energy-saving, time-saving technology and breakthroughs, in some ways, we’re no better off. Of course, life is easier on a practical level but I wonder if easier necessarily equates to better? And I wonder if easier ...
Views: 734 - How To Turn Your Idea Into A Reality - by Submitted on Apr 01, 2011 from Craig HarperNot Just An Idea As you know, once upon a time the car and motorbike were just clever ideas. So too was the wheel, for that matter. Of course there was a time when things like space travel, the internet, Facebook, the Harry Potter series and even mundane things like long-life milk were just ...
Views: 722 - Three Steps To Finding Your Ideal You - by Submitted on Mar 25, 2011 from Craig HarperWhat Success Demands I’m of the not-very-popular opinion that the majority of people who say they want to change their lives – or part thereof – in a significant way are simply not prepared to do what’s required; you know – the hard stuff. As a consequence, they will never begin to explore ...
Views: 654 - Here’s a Quick Way to Reduce Global Obesity - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2011 from Craig HarperTake a Seat. Or Maybe Not. It may or may not surprise you to learn that many Australians (and many people from most first-world countries for that matter) spend somewhere in the vicinity of twenty-two to twenty-three hours per day either sitting or lying. That’s 91.5 – 96% of their (our) time ...
Views: 761 - What’s The One Thing You Won’t Hear In A Society Obsessed With Avoiding Responsibility? - by Submitted on Mar 19, 2011 from Craig HarperAm Not, You Are Is it just my cynical perspective and observation or have we actually become a society obsessed with avoiding all responsibility for our own bad behaviours? Kind of like five-year-olds denying we ate the chocolate cake when the remnants are plastered all over our chubby little ...
Views: 696 - What Can An Amateur Nudist Teach Us About Taking Risks - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2011 from Craig HarperToday, I received the following letter from one of my friends. Turns out she’s recently become an amateur nudist. The Letter Today, I did something that I’ve never done before. Something fun, that is – I’ve never changed the oil on my car before but that’s not exactly on my ...
Views: 1868 - Do You Make These 10 Common Mistakes Before Weighing Yourself? - by Submitted on Mar 06, 2011 from Craig HarperScale Addicts Over the years, I’ve dealt with my fair share of weigh-a-holics. That is, people who step on the scales far too often. Some do it every day of their lives. Morning and night. Some step on and off five times in ten seconds in the hope that a lower figure might magically appear ...
Views: 1360(2 votes) - The One Guaranteed Way to Get Rid of Obesity Once and For All - by Submitted on Mar 01, 2011 from Craig HarperBarking up the Wrong Tree For many years (maybe twenty), I’ve been of the opinion that the majority of people trying to lose weight, build muscle, increase fitness, improve their health or facilitate any kind of lasting physical transformation (lasting, being the key term here) go about it ...
Views: 675 - How To Start Thinking Positively In Less Than Sixty Seconds - by Submitted on Mar 08, 2011 from Craig HarperSo if thinking positively is such a universal pursuit, why does it prove to be so elusive to so many? Dare I say, the majority? How To Start Thinking Positively In Less Than Sixty Seconds: 1. You are not your body and your body is not you but you best look after each other anyway. You might ...
Views: 1292 - What Can Santa Teach Us About Challenging Our Beliefs - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2011 from Craig HarperWhat Can Santa Teach Us About Challenging Our Beliefs Evidence of Santa For seven years of my life, I knew Santa was real. After all, he came to my house every Christmas night so I had no reason to believe anything else. All of my experiences until that point in my young life had ...
Views: 682 - Build a Better Version of You That You Can Be Proud Of - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2011 from Craig HarperTransformation is the Motivation Everyone has one thing in common: a desire to change something (or maybe, many things) about their current reality. It’s normal to want better. More. The same can be said for people who join a gym, enlist the services of a life coach, start their own business, ...
Views: 743 - How to Tell When Someone is Lying - by Submitted on Feb 21, 2011 from Craig HarperPants on Fire Hi Guys. I’ve written about lying before but not in any great detail. Some researchers suggest that the average person lies three times every ten minutes in conversation but for all we know, that could be a lie. I find it a fascinating subject to explore mostly because so few ...
Views: 826 - How to Overcome Your Comfort Addiction - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2011 from Craig HarperWhen Enough is Enough Despite my pseudo-tough exterior, I’m normally pretty patient and tolerant when it comes to listening to people’s stuff. At times, I’m even kind, sympathetic and generous. Surprising, I know. Who knew? However, in recent times, I’ve had my limits tested. Maybe I’ve ...
Views: 1326 - Stress Management for effective ways to manage stress - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Craig HarperStress When I talk about stress in the context of this conversation, I’m talking about the negative version. Of course, some types of stress can create a positive response – like stressing our muscles in the gym to make them stronger – but for this discussion, I’m talking about distress. That ...
Views: 707 - Practical Parenting - Questions You Need to Ask Yourself - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2011 from Craig HarperParenting 101 Yesterday at lunch, I had a fascinating conversation with my business partners Mikey and Johnny about parenting. Mikey has two kids (ages one and three), as does Johnny (seven and ten) and we discussed the merits and pitfalls of the various parenting styles. Of course we covered ...
Views: 1037 - 25 Things You Blokes (Probably) Won’t Hear From Your Lady - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2009 from Craig HarperA few months back we explored a bit of fun and silly-ness with an amusing little article article called “Twenty Three Things You Ladies (Probably) Won’t Hear From Your Bloke”. Well, it seems that I’m not the only one who likes to laugh at myself or take the piss out of my own gender. I have had ...
Views: 1056(2 votes) - Mind Of A Teacher, Heart Of A Student. - by Submitted on Mar 11, 2008 from Craig HarperOver the last week I have received a bunch of emails and comments asking me about my trip and what I've learned and enjoyed hanging out with some of the best educators, speakers, writers and pioneers in the world of fitness and health. And I mean literally the world; these people flew in to ...
Views: 890 - The Fat Blogger. - by Submitted on Oct 07, 2007 from Craig HarperLadies and gentleman of the jury, it is my contention that the blogoshpere is in fact a dangerous place to live. Bad for one's physical health. Nice place to visit... but not to inhabit. And today, I intend to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that there exists an indisputable relationship ...
Views: 918 - The Ancient Art of Complication - by Submitted on Sep 12, 2007 from Craig HarperDo you ever marvel at some people's uncanny ability to make the simple, complex? The straight forward, anything but? A ten minute task, a two week saga? I meet these people every day. Please stop sending them my way. They are the woe-is-me brigade. The Brothers (and Sisters) Grim. (The real ...
Views: 1283 - Weight-Loss Bullshit - by Submitted on Aug 09, 2007 from Craig HarperSo I'm wearing my Exercise Scientist hat today. And my Psychologist cardigan. And my steel-capped, ass-kicking boots. I may be blunt. Okay, I will be. But honest. Possibly... politically incorrect. Okay, probably. Will possibly say what you don't want to hear. Feel free to look away... ...
Views: 1179 - The Master of the Pointless Conversation - by Submitted on Aug 08, 2007 from Craig HarperIf you're like most people, then you often feel like you're spending far too much time and emotional energy having certain conversations with certain people. Imagine how many years we could add to our lives if we could reclaim all the time we've wasted on those pointless, meaningless, ...
Views: 1136 - My Life.... Five Years From Now - by Submitted on Aug 05, 2007 from Craig HarperIf you've come in search of hilarity, mirth and entertainment today, you best look elsewhere. Because today I'm sharing some old-school, self-help, get-yer-shit-together... love. Got a buddy (surprising I know) who is always just about to turn his life (career, body, relationships, finances, ...
Views: 1282 - Life Beyond the Physical... Exploring the Oogabooga (part one) - by Submitted on Jul 20, 2007 from Craig HarperYou've all heard me say many times that we are multi-dimensional, complex, amazing beings. And nearly every day I talk about how we might create positive change in all areas of our lives and day-to-day reality; ways that we might learn, grow, change, improve, adapt, help others, live more ...
Views: 911 - A Practical Guide to Overcoming Procrastination - by Submitted on Jul 14, 2007 from Craig HarperI know, I know; it's a boring title... not creative, not amusing, not clever. But for many of us, it's a very relevant subject. Every now and then I take off my silly, creative, fun hat and put on my let's-address-this-problem-in-a-practical-way.. hat. Today is such a day. Mr. Serious Personal ...
Views: 884 - The Law of Attraction should be renamed The Law of Distraction - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2007 from Craig HarperToday I'm stepping out on to the cyber high-wire. I'm performing a high-risk blogging manoeuvre. No safety net. No cyber-harness. I'm going to write a brief opinion piece on the Law of Attraction (LOA). Possibly a no-win situation for me. Aah well. Advocates (of the concept) will disagree ...
Views: 1072 - Stop Interrupting me with Your Logic; I'm Having a Breakdown. - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2007 from Craig HarperYou don't need a PhD to understand that we human beings are complex physical, emotional, spiritual and cerebral creatures; we all get this. (I hope). And while we know that we're highly-evolved (some more than others), multi-dimensional beings, the truth is that some of us have a propensity to ...
Views: 1015 - The Ship Without a Rudder - by Submitted on Jun 20, 2007 from Craig HarperLately I have spent a great deal of time with rudder-less ships. People who get up each morning and do exactly what they did yesterday. Not that they particularly want to... it's just what they do. They do the same. Day in, day out. Year in, year out. They expend a huge amount of energy sailing ...
Views: 1047 - I'll Just Sneak out the Back Door... Nobody will Notice - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2007 from Craig HarperFor my international visitors: parts of this post may be somewhat confusing because much of the discussion is in reference to a well known football player in our national league here in Australia (the AFL). Just know that he's a champion athlete and a champion person and you'll get the ...
Views: 870 - You're Not the Boss of Me. - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2007 from Craig HarperThere's a lot of great things about being a kid. You don't have to pay for stuff. You get to lick the cake-mix bowl (a personal highlight for me). You can actually tell people what you think. You can build cool stuff from junk and grown-ups tell you it's great. Old people spoil you. You can use ...
Views: 940 - Bench Press for Your Brain - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2007 from Craig HarperWe all understand what happens to our body as it ages. Without intervention (an exercise/activity program) we know that our muscles waste, our lung capacity decreases, our heart gets weaker, our bones become brittle, our flexibility and mobility decrease, our reaction time slows, our posture ...
Views: 1184 - The REAL SECRET of Success. - by Submitted on Jun 12, 2007 from Craig HarperPart of my job as an educator, motivator, coach (etc.) is to sell stuff. Kind of. Not physical stuff (toasters, convertibles, cross-bows... although that'd be fun) but more the emotional and psychological stuff like... ideas, concepts, philosophies, strategies. In order to get people to take ...
Views: 881 - Adaptation = Happiness... or does it? - by Submitted on Jun 06, 2007 from Craig HarperYou'd hafta be silly or brave to write a post on happiness. So silly me is gonna give it a crack. I had no plans for this piece (like I plan my writing!)... it came out of a conversation I had yesterday. It asked to be written. It's fair to assume that we're all different and therefore all have ...
Views: 1026 - Paris in the Big House... so NOT FAIR. - by Submitted on Jun 05, 2007 from Craig HarperWarning: If you're after some hard-hitting, life-changing, mind-altering, insight, wisdom and enlightenment from yours truly today... then check out one of your other favourite writers. Seriously. This is certainly no Personal Development piece... social commentary perhaps. A little ...
Views: 1058 - So, You Want to be a Writer? - by Submitted on May 30, 2007 from Craig HarperSo the guy who's never done a writing workshop, never studied journalism, never taken a class in English Literature, never read anything more than comics or muscle mags for the first twenty years of his life.. and wouldn't know a pronoun from a protein... is surely not the person to give anyone ...
Views: 908 - The Personal Development Zombie - by Submitted on May 26, 2007 from Craig HarperIt seems we have a not-so-new, but rarely discussed scourge on the Personal Development landscape. We've all met Mr and Mrs fit-in-at-all-costs; the Social Zombie (what would you like me to do, be, say?). But over the last decade or three we have seen the rise of the Personal Development ...
Views: 925 - Creating Something (spectacular) from Nothing - by Submitted on May 26, 2007 from Craig HarperIn 1988 I had the idea of setting up a Personal Training centre in Melbourne. There were no commercial PT facilities in this country at the time. It would be Australia's first appointment-only gym. I was young, had no business experience, no tertiary qualification and not much money. Clearly, a ...
Views: 785 - My Body is Not Who I am... It's Just Where I Iive. - by Submitted on May 23, 2007 from Craig HarperIt seems to me that many of us don't really know who we are. We have our very own personal identity crisis. We spend our very busy lives doing stuff, achieving stuff.... but still not really knowing who we are. What's you're identity? Who are you really? If we take away all your stuff... ...
Views: 1215 - Happily Imperfect - by Submitted on May 21, 2007 from Craig HarperMost of us live in a culture and society which is totally obsessed with perfection. An obsession which invariably leads to pain. Emotional, psychological, physical, social and financial pain. The perfection obsession is rampant. It's completely ridiculous. It's unhealthy. It's ...
Views: 1068 - The Social Sheep - by Submitted on May 17, 2007 from Craig HarperGrowing up in Australia means growing up with sheep. Well, kind of. Not that we have them sleeping in our lounge room or running around our front yard or anything, but Australia, amongst other things, is a farming nation and at some stage, most Aussie kids (although less these days) have spent ...
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