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If you’re attempting to lose weight, I recommend that you stay away from liquid calories!  Skip the Beer, Wine, Sweetened Tea, Soda, Fruit juice, Milk, Smoothies, etc. No VOLUME to these calories, meaning that you don’t get full or stay full. Cold liquid empties from the stomach faster than other temperatures as well. Drink Water, Sparkling Water, Unsweetened Tea, Black Coffee, etc.!

Dairy Springs Campground, Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff.

Many of us insist the main impediment to a full, successful life is the outside world. In fact, the most common enemy lies within: our ego. Early in our careers, it impedes learning and the cultivation of talent. With success, it can blind us to our faults and sow future problems. In failure, it magnifies each blow and makes recovery more difficult. At every stage, ego holds us back.

Ego Is the Enemy draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to his­tory. We meet fascinating figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who all reached the highest levels of power and success by con­quering their own egos. Their strategies and tactics can be ours as well.

In an era that glorifies social media, reality TV, and other forms of shameless self-promotion, the battle against ego must be fought on many fronts. Armed with the lessons in this book, as Holiday writes, “you will be less invested in the story you tell about your own specialness, and as a result, you will be liberated to accomplish the world-changing work you’ve set out to achieve.”

https://www.amazon.com/Ego-Enemy-Ryan-Holiday/dp/1591847818/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466725567&sr=1-1&keywords=ego+is+the+enemy

Just like we need healthy food, clean water, sound sleep and solid relationships, we REQUIRE challenges; problems to be faced and overcome! That’s one of the reasons why some troubled people create their own problems. Of course, I’m not suggesting that you create your own, because there’s plenty to be faced without putting in a request, but I am suggesting that instead of resorting to anxiety, depression or avoidance that you simply engage the struggle and respect the process!

Although depression is frequently treated with prescribed drugs, because it’s thought to be a genetically based chemical imbalance, this scientific conclusion has never been proven in the lab; although it’s heavily marketed by companies that stand to make a huge profit. In the majority of cases, what’s thought to be a chemical imbalance, is simply negative and pessimistic thinking that has led to our depression. Quit “Depressing” in other words. How we view and think about ourselves and the world is the problem here, not our genetics and certainly not our brain chemistry! Change your thinking; become more optimistic, live with a mindset of growth and temporary setbacks that can be overcome with effort, find courage to face yourself and the world as it is, work to improve who and what you are, and in the process, you will change your life!

In a word, YES! Each one of us has a general philosophy in which we engage the world. However, the real determining factor concerning our philosophy is whether it’s working for or against us; either way philosophy still works.

Maybe the more important question here to be asked… is your philosophy “positively and constructively” working for you?

“Any nation that draws too great a distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.” We do better when combining them both!

The right words, the right ideas, the right philosophies can come from a well thought out quality book; the point is to read books that lead to better thinking, better action, a better life. That’s why we should read!

Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life