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Articles from Craig Harper | Selfgrowth.com
- 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: 1371(2 votes) - 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: 813(1 vote) - 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: 1066(2 votes) - 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: 1084 - 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: 940 - 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: 893 - 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: 1035 - 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: 731 - 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: 1198 - 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: 756 - 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: 796 - Different Creates Different - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2007 from Craig HarperOne of the many ironies of our existence here on the big blue ball is that, while most of us really want to experience 'different', we consistently do 'the same'. Unknowingly and unintentionally we create the same, almost every day of our lives. We want different... but we get up each day and ...
Views: 655 - Do It Yourself Prison - by Submitted on Apr 11, 2007 from Craig HarperWe all live somewhere. Some of us live in our nice comfy houses. Some of us live in our big palatial mansions. Some in our trendy apartments. Some of us live in our modest bungalows. And some of us live in prison. Jail (gaol). The big house. The slammer. The slot. The pen. The joint. In ...
Views: 811 - Doctor Phil's Got Issues Too... - by Submitted on May 03, 2007 from Craig HarperTo be honest... sometimes (not often... but occasionally) the captain of inspiration and motivation (and political in-correctness)... sits at the his keyboard with that stupid, vacant, 'I've-got-absolutely-nuthin' look on his face. In his normally, sharp-as-a-tac mind (okay, that's a big lie), ...
Views: 816 - Excess - by Submitted on Apr 02, 2007 from Craig Harper* Excess (noun): more than or above what is necessary or usual. Unnecessary indulgence. Is it just me, or do some of you also feel that perhaps most of us actually have... 'enough'. Perhaps we don't actually need a 'better' computer with more ram, mega-thingies, or gigga-wotsits. Maybe we ...
Views: 784 - Excuse Me While I Sing Into My Hairbrush - by Submitted on May 15, 2007 from Craig HarperYesterday I went for a run along the beach near my house. Burned a few cals, got a bit of sun... no biggie... except for the fact that I got a life-lesson from a five year-old. Here's the scene: The ex-bodybuilder with the dodgy lower-back running (for want of a more descriptive or accurate ...
Views: 1053 - Exercise Adherence (14 Secrets to Staying on Track) - by Submitted on Apr 09, 2007 from Craig HarperAs an Exercise Scientist I get a bunch of emails on this topic so I thought I'd save myself some letter-writing time and discuss publicly how we can best maintain our focus and commitment to our exercise program, as it seems to be a challenge for many of us. We all talk about regular, consistent ...
Views: 943 - Grooming Our Kids for Failure. - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2007 from Craig HarperRecently on a current affairs television program here in Melbourne there was a story exploring the concept of children not receiving 'traditional' school report cards and not being graded (marked) on their school work at all. The key message of the program was that evaluating our kids and ...
Views: 923 - 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: 1078 - 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: 774 - 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: 747 - 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: 1055 - 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: 779 - 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: 1338 - 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: 1303 - 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: 838 - 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: 737 - 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: 881 - Learning to be Proactive not Reactive - by Submitted on Apr 22, 2007 from Craig HarperOne of the interesting things about my work is that I get the opportunity to see how people 'work'... how they're wired. Typical behaviours, thinking, attitudes, reactions. How they deal with situations, circumstances, events, catastrophes, tragedies, good stuff, bad stuff; life. It's all ...
Views: 6766 - Lessons in Pain - by Submitted on Apr 15, 2007 from Craig HarperSome of our best lessons come out of painful experiences. Most of my significant life lessons have been painful and have often had something to do with people that I trusted, respected and (stupidly) expected more of. Darn those expectations!!! Over the years I have had people whom I loved, ...
Views: 740 - 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: 919 - Maybe the Beatles Were Right - by Submitted on May 16, 2007 from Craig HarperYa gotta love love don'tcha? Maybe the Beatles were right. Isn't it great that so many people from so many places can come together (blogospherically) and connect and reach out to someone else. No agenda, no ulterior motive. Just love, compassion and care. Nice. Sometimes us personal ...
Views: 812 - 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: 900 - 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: 1226 - 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: 1297 - 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: 1077 - 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: 1048 - 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: 834 - Righteous Anger - by Submitted on Apr 03, 2007 from Craig HarperAs a rule, I'm not a big fan of anger. Generally speaking, I don't consider it to be a particularly valuable emotion (most of the time). It's more often than not, associated with violence, insecurity, embarrassment, fear, resentment, selfishness and jealousy, than it is with anything ...
Views: 736 - 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: 920 - 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: 1027 - 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: 716 - Stumbling into the Future. - by Submitted on Apr 16, 2007 from Craig HarperWhen I walk into a room to do a presentation I regularly ask a few questions before we get under way: "Who wants to live an amazing life?" (every hand goes up) "Who wants to have an amazing career?" (every hand goes up again) "Who wants incredible relationships?" (every hand) "Who wants more." ...
Views: 719 - Ten Ways to be More Attractive - by Submitted on Apr 16, 2007 from Craig Harper* I so wanted this to be a brief, quirky, interesting article... maybe four, five hundred words tops. A thousand words later... here it is. I can't help myself. I think I talk too much. I need help. School report from 1977: "Craig has a propensity to be somewhat verbose and distracting in ...
Views: 1744 - 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: 1295 - The Art of Completion. - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2007 from Craig Harper* Blunt, offensive, politically-incorrect Craig wanted to call this article.... "Get That Shit Done" but it doesn't sound nearly as mystical, sophisticated or clever as "The Art of Completion".. does it? So boring, let's-keep-everyone-happy Craig has gone for the soft option. Oh well. Next ...
Views: 712 - 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: 704 - 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: 930 - 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: 1147 - 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: 681