221 Take responsibility. The starting point of all success is accepting full responsibility for yourself and the results you get. There’s no such thing as luck, other than the luck you create for yourself by setting your own goals and working hard to achieve them.

In practice this means that from now on there are no more excuses and no blaming others when things don’t go right.

• Do you accept full responsibility for your life and your behaviour?
• If not, why not? What changes in attitude and behaviour do you need to make?

222 The Law of Giving affirms, in simple terms, that we receive through giving. When we do something for others, not only do we feel a sense of satisfaction, but we also contribute to the flow of prosperity. It’s almost impossible to be happy and prosperous without being of service to others.

• In a commercial sense this means providing goods and services at the quality people want, when they want them and at a price they are willing to pay.
• In your personal, social and family life, it’s offering friendship and showing consideration for others; a smile, a kind word and a few moments of your time are all precious gifts.
• If your aim is to improve your performance in, say, sport, the performing arts or a hobby, it’s about how much effort you are willing to make.

Giving is not just an action; it is also an attitude. If you give through gritted teeth or merely because you hope to get something back in return, you’re unlikely to feel good and it probably won’t work anyway since others will sense your true motives.

Everyone has plenty to give. We all have talents and skills which we can share, and when we find what we love and put our hearts and souls into it, our natural abilities develop naturally.

What do you have to give?

223 True success comes from helping people to help themselves. That’s why the best life coaches make a good living - the more they help others, the more they thrive. When you include the welfare of others in your plans for success, you have a realistic chance of being successful. Thinking only of yourself usually spells disaster.

Think:

• What do you give?
• What could you give, that you don’t at present?
• To whom could you be of service?
• How could you give more?

Write down some of the many ways that you can contribute to the happiness and wellbeing of people around you, in your community and your global family.

224 Get focused. Keep your goals very clearly etched in your mind.

• Write your main goals on a small card and keep it with you in your wallet or purse.
• Read through your list of goals and the benefits they will bring daily.
• Frequently affirm that you can and will succeed and are on your way; also use autosuggestion.
• At least once a day visualise yourself (in clear detail) accomplishing your goal.
• Encourage yourself by keeping a physical symbol of your goal in sight, e.g. if you’re working towards success in an exam or driving test, design a pretend certificate and hang it on your wall.

225 Make a plan. Once you’ve decided where you want to go the next challenge is working out how you’ll get there. This is where planning comes in.

‘The marvellous thing about lack of planning,’ according to educationalist Peter Green, ‘is that failure comes as a complete and utter surprise, and better still is not preceded by periods of stress and anxiety.’ This aphorism highlights the habit of successful people of making plans, putting them into practice, and seeing them through. They know how to think ahead, set priorities, manage their time effectively and get things done.

Set clear and realistic deadlines and plot them on your wall chart or calendar, or in your diary. Nothing can galvanise you into action quite like a looming deadline.

Try to allow for every likely contingency. If your initial ideas turn out to be impractical, you can always think again.

Put your plans in writing. Have a plan of action for each of your main goals and read through it every week to check that you’re on schedule. If there are unforeseen problems you can always make adjustments. Nothing is written in stone.

226 Get started. There is an ancient Chinese saying, usually attributed to Lao Tzu, ‘Even the longest journey begins with a single step.’ Take that first step now, even if you’re not yet 100 per cent certain of all that needs to be done. Go on, ask for what you want. Make that tricky phone call. Just be aware that whenever you enter unfamiliar territory you are likely to experience at least some anxiety.

Once you’ve made a start, everything seems easier. It’s like trying to push a broken-down car to the side of the road. It takes a mighty push to get it moving, but once the initial resistance is overcome there’s no need to push quite so hard.

What can you do NOW to get started on your major goals?

227 Take massive action. There are times when you must concentrate all your energy and passion on a specific project without distraction, even if it means putting other activities to one side. These include:

• When you first start.
• When an important deadline is approaching.
• When a particularly difficult task must be completed.
• A final burst as you approach the winning tape.

Continually ask yourself:

• How serious am I about achieving this goal?
• Do my actions suggest real commitment?
• If I were one of the most dynamic people in the world, what would I be doing? What actions would I be taking?

228 Hard work. You will never succeed at anything worthwhile unless you are willing to make the effort. Successful people work hard - harder than the average person - and they work smart. They believe in the old adage, ‘The harder I work, the luckier I get.’

The prospect of hard work is off-putting for some, but it shouldn’t be. When you find what you love doing, set goals, put your heart and soul into them, and make sure they benefit others as well as yourself, it doesn’t feel like hard work.

229 Get out of your comfort zone. Your comfort zone is that space (mental, physical or emotional) within which you feel relatively comfortable. Inside your comfort zone you do just alright, but once you move outside it anxiety takes over. In extreme cases this can bring on the fight or flight syndrome and cause sweating, palpitations, a dry throat, memory or concentration loss and so on - or sheer panic.

However, as you push at the boundaries of your comfort zone you find it expands. You become more at ease in situations which could previously have induced panic. And it’s important that you should. Settling for what you have requires no risk, no change and no growth. That’s OK if you are 100 per cent content with every aspect of your life - and if you are, that’s wonderful; but life’s greatest rewards are only available to those who go out on a limb once in a while. This doesn’t mean being foolhardy, more a case of weighing up the odds and, if there’s a fair chance of success, having a go.

I had an uncle who decided to quit a steady (but unexciting) job and relocate his family to an island off the Welsh coast. At that time English people were widely thought to be unwelcome in that part of Wales. Most of his friends thought he was mad, but he ignored their warnings. Five years later he had refurbished a beautiful old cottage in an idyllic seaside location, built a successful business and won round the locals. The critics had to admit he’d created a wonderful life for himself and his family.

Nothing of any note has ever been achieved without someone taking a risk. Those who are quick to tell you it can’t be done are usually those who are afraid to take a risk themselves, and have done very little with their own lives.

There are three good reasons to leave your comfort zone from time to time:

• It’s only through stretching and testing yourself that you grow.
• It’s the only way to avoid an unadventurous and boring life.
• You will have to leave it sometime, however hard you resist. Life itself is ever-changing. Nothing ever stays the same for long.

Expand your comfort zone. Forecast the results of your actions as best you can, and get the best advice from people who have a track record in your field of activity. There’s a huge difference between acting courageously and being foolish. Responsible risk-takers do their homework, have confidence in their abilities and are willing to have a go in the face of uncertainty.

230 Identify your key result areas. Usually you only need to excel at a handful of activities (usually no more than three or four) to be a leader in your field. Small differences in knowledge and ability can make or break a mission. In horse racing, millions of pounds can be won or lost ‘on the nose’; one mark separates failure from success in examinations; half a teaspoonful of salt can render a meal inedible; and in business the company that launches a new product a few days ahead of its rivals often corners the market.

Often, it’s the little things that make all the difference. Know what these are and master them.

231 Do it now! If there’s something you want to do but have been putting off, do it now. If you keep putting off till tomorrow what could be done today, you’ll clog your mind up with worrying thoughts about what you haven’t done and render yourself ineffective, so tell yourself to ’do it now’ and get started right away.

If procrastination is a problem for you, write the affirmation, ‘DO IT NOW’ on small cards and sticky notes and paste them all over the house, your car, office, anywhere you’ll see them. Repeat these words to yourself at every opportunity. You’ll soon notice a difference as your subconscious brings your behaviour into line.

232 Five ways to overcome procrastination:

• 1Ask yourself, ‘When would now be the best time to start?’
• 2The salami technique – break tasks down into thin slices and ‘eat’ one slice at a time.
• 3The worst first approach – do the most unpleasant jobs first. Don’t put them off: the chances are that what you put off now you will also put off later, and what you put off today you will also put off tomorrow.
• 4Write a balance sheet – list all the reasons why you’ve been procrastinating on the left side of a piece of paper, and all the benefits of getting the job done on the right. Read it through several times and then get started. This helps you appreciate the advantages of doing it now.
• 5The leading task - is there one thing which, if you did it, would break into the log jam? If so, do it now.

233 Face up to your fears. An ancient sage said, ‘Try once to get over the fear of doing something; try twice to enable you to learn to do it well; try three times to see if you like doing it or not.’

Courageous people are not genetically resistant to fear. They feel it just like everyone else, but they don’t let it hold them back. Fears are a part of being human - accept them. Our brains and bodies do not like risk; it makes them feel uncomfortable.

Confront your fears. Be realistic about what to expect. Think of the worst that could happen and put a coping strategy in place in case it comes about. And think of what could go right too - there are always two sides to every coin.

To help you overcome a fear, ask yourself: ‘How would the rest of my life be better if I overcame this fear?’ Imagine being free of the fear forever. Doesn’t that feel good?

234 Three common fears:

• 1Fear of failure is one of the most common fears, even among people who have a clear vision and appreciate the rewards that success would bring. Sufferers worry that all their hard work and commitment will come to nothing, or some disaster will befall them, such as being cheated or going bankrupt. Many have such a strong fear of failure that they’re too scared to even try.
  Consider failure as part of the learning process, a stepping stone to success. Sometimes the failure to achieve one goal leads to even better things in most surprising ways.
  If you suffer from fear of failure, write this sentence at the top of a piece of paper:
            ‘What I fear most about failure is......................’
  Quickly write six to ten responses to this sentence. Don’t think too hard, just jot down what comes into your head. Examine what you’ve written. How do you feel about ‘failure’ now?
• 2Others have just as great a fear of success. They fear that it would bring more responsibilities, or they wouldn’t be able to cope with the stress, or would lose touch with their family and friends, or have less time to spend on their hobbies and interests, etc.
  Some people don’t even want their problems solved, because they fear they’ll end up with an even bigger problem. A promotion, for instance, can solve money problems, but bring increased stress and responsibility. Fear of success is sometimes the fear of failure masked - ‘I can succeed so far, but then I’ll fail.’
  Fear of success is harder to identify because it is often subconscious. The best way to recognise whether it is a problem for you is to relax into alpha and ask yourself, ‘How do I feel about success?’ Then monitor your physiology carefully. A tight feeling in the stomach, chest or throat could reveal a hidden fear.
• 3The third major fear is fear of ridicule, and it is one of the strongest fears. It can be very disheartening when friends and colleagues mock your efforts.
  People who have new ideas are often derided or even persecuted, and many are put off. Successful people, however, are not. For instance, Brunel was widely thought to be an idiot for thinking that iron ships could actually float, Bob Dylan was mocked for his singing voice, and Sylvester Styllone for his wooden acting; Marconi was laughed at for trying to transmit sound without using wires.
  Fear of ridicule can prevent people taking risks, branching out and ignoring the conventional wisdom of the time. This is what Albert Einstein meant when he wrote, ‘Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.’
  Most people dread losing face, but if you worry too much about what other people think, you’ll take too much notice of ill informed individuals who are all too ready to dismiss new ideas.
  Has fear of ridicule ever stopped you chasing a dream? In what way? How will you handle similar situations in the future?

235 Do something every day. Success consists of many small daily victories. Even if you only spend ten minutes a day on a project, you’re making progress. Just half an hour a day, say, reading up on your chosen subject makes you an expert within a year compared with 98 per cent of the population! So don’t be afraid to take the phone off the hook and put a ‘do not disturb’ sign on your door when you want to be left alone. The main thing is you will be living your dream, and the more you live it, the sooner it will become reality.

• What can you do each morning to get your day off to a good start?
• What can you do each day to keep the momentum going?

236 Here are two useful questions to ask yourself at regular intervals every day:

• 1What is my intention in doing what I am doing right now?
• 2Does it contribute to my success and happiness?

237 Small steps: you can’t reach the top of a ladder in one huge leap - you must climb one rung at a time. Major goals must be broken down into bite-size chunks, then tackled one chunk at a time. Small steps make the task less intimidating.

When I wrote this book I started by making a mind map™, then a broad plan which I broke down into themes, then sections. I wrote one section at a time, keeping in mind the overall plan. This made it manageable. If I had allowed my mind to dwell on the enormity of the task - the more than 200 pages, 365 hints and 55,000 words of it, I could easily have been overwhelmed.

Take the right small steps and the big ones take care of themselves.

238 Big steps: however, sometimes it’s necessary to take big steps. As David Lloyd George famously pointed out, ‘Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.’

Do you know anyone who has taken a leap of faith? How did it work out?

Have you? Did it achieve what you wanted? Would you do it again?

239 Going the extra mile means giving that bit extra. For instance, if you run a sweet store, throw a few extra sweets into the bag. If a cafe owner, offer a free biscuit with each cup of coffee. If in a relationship, do more than your partner expects of you and he or she will respond in many wonderful ways.

If you’re in business, when you give more than expected two things happen:

• Your customers come back for more, recognising the ‘added value’ you offer.
• They recommend you to others. Word of mouth advertising is the cheapest and also the most effective. A good reputation is the least tangible business asset, but easily the most valuable.

In business (as in other areas of life) if you look for shortcuts that do not give genuine value for money as a means of making a fast buck, you’ll almost certainly fail. Similarly in your personal life a little extra thoughtfulness, generosity and support pay dividends for all concerned.

240 Teamwork: few prosper without working effectively with others. Few relationships succeed without a sense of partnership. In team sports it is often those who work best as a team who are victorious, rather than the most talented group of individuals.

The point is well made in a story told to me by an elderly uncle. As a young merchant seaman during the Second World War he witnessed a ship’s painter taking exception to a bowler hatted clerk who was barking out his orders without so much as a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’. ‘Excuse me,’ demanded the painter, pointing to a small table, ‘which of the legs on that table is the most important?’ The pompous man grunted and turned away.

Working with a team enables you to:

• Complement your own abilities, knowledge and skills and plug the gaps in areas where you’re relatively weak.
• Generate more, and better, ideas.
• Have access to contacts and resources you do not have.
• Achieve more as a team than operating as separate individuals - this is the benefit of ‘synergy’ (or the ‘2 + 2 = 5’ effect).
• Strengthen your resolve through sharing values and purpose.

A team can be either formal or informal. It may meet together on a regular basis, or never meet at all. What matters is that you seek out people who can help and be prepared to ask for advice.

241 Reward your helpers: if you have the support of a team, make sure that everyone benefits. Let them share your success. Few people are willing to play in a band where the leader wants all the solos.

Many businesses are built on the idea that you can hire another person’s labour and pay them as little as it takes to motivate them and retain their services. Employers frequently argue that they cannot afford to pay above the market rate, however meagre, because they would be driven out of business by spiralling costs. Although there is some truth in this, companies that pay above the odds tend to attract a better calibre of employee and retain their services longer. It is also, to some extent, a matter of conscience. Is it fair to claim all the credit for ourselves when we owe our success to the cooperation of others? People lose interest when they feel used.

The remuneration you offer may be financial and material, but praise, recognition, special treats and so on are just as important. Everyone appreciates a few kind words and recognition of a job well done.

242 Don’t be a DOPE: ‘driven by other people’s expectations’.

Much of what happens to us in life is determined by the people we associate with on a daily basis. We begin to think, behave, move and talk like them. We are all influenced by people around us, which is why drug addicts and alcoholics tend to mix with other drug addicts and alcoholics, and muggers with other muggers.

Seek out people who have a sense of purpose and a vision of their own. Choose your friends carefully and mix, as far as possible, with kindred spirits. Go to workshops about health, happiness and success.

If you are ever tempted to give up because others pour scorn, remember Wim Ouboter, the man who invented the Micro skate scooter. When he made his first prototype friends and family thought he was crazy. ‘I looked so funny that people laughed at me,’ he said, ‘even my closest friends.’

He tried to franchise it, but was greeted with scepticism and disbelief. ‘Lots of people said it wouldn’t sell. They thought it was a toy, and I was a bit of a joke.’ He went ahead anyway, and now, so far, over five million have been sold around the world.

243 List the attributes of the people with whom you should associate in order to be happier and achieve your goals.

Examine your list. Do you know anyone like this? How could you spend more time in their company and let some of their magic rub off on you?

244 Avoid ‘sabotage friends’. These are the ones who buy you chocolate when you’re on a diet, try to tempt you out drinking when you want to get your work done, or offer you cigarettes when you’re trying to give up.

Your efforts to improve your life can easily highlight problems in others’ lives. They feel threatened, but their behaviour is more about how they feel about themselves than what they think of you. Don’t get sucked in. Hold fast to your principles and they can only make you stronger.

Keep your plans confidential, apart from sharing them with go-ahead individuals who can support you, and don’t listen to those who say it can’t be done. How can anyone else know what’s right for you?

• Are there people in your life from whom you need to distance yourself?
• If you prefer to follow the crowd, remember the word ‘fashion’ often goes with ‘victim’.

245 Be willing to learn from others. There isn’t a soul on this planet from whom you cannot learn something of value. The hard part is recognising who, and in what form the message is delivered, but when you keep your wits about you they’re not too hard to spot.

Author John McCormack tells how, as a young man, he was idling away his time on the beach, unsure what to do with his life, when he came across an elderly man. At first he thought he was a tramp, but they struck up a conversation and John discovered that he was a former Eastern European refugee who had arrived in the USA as a young man, penniless and unable to speak a word of English. He had established a business in an unglamorous trade and become a multimillionaire. The two became friends, and over time the old man passed on a wealth of wisdom and experience which set McCormack on the road to financial success of his own.

Everyone you meet has something to teach you, but you won’t find out what it is unless you’re prepared to suspend judgement and listen!

246 A balanced life: ‘all work and no joy makes Jack a dull boy,’ says the old proverb, but what place should work occupy in our lives compared with, say. family and leisure time? How can busy people manage their careers so they have the time and energy they need for other things?

Keep things in perspective. Pleasure comes not from doing huge amounts of work, but from doing it with joy and creativity. Don’t be so preoccupied with achievement that you miss out on the pleasures of living in the moment. The wonder of a beautiful sunset, the miracle of bird song, the joy of laughter, playing with a small child, watching the tides roll in and so on can never be truly experienced when your mind is constantly engrossed in some hypothetical future.

247 How much time do you have? Take your present age and subtract it from 80. (If you’re already older than 80 or think you’re likely to live longer than this, choose a greater number.) Multiply by 12. For example, if you’re 45, 80 - 45 = 35 x 12 = 420.

This is the number of months you’re likely to have left in this life. How quickly the months go by! A sobering thought, isn’t it?

248 Do you use your time wisely? Every moment of each day is either used well or wasted. How much of your time do you use productively?

• All of it?
• Most of it?
• Very little?

NB: relaxation and time for pleasure are definitely not a waste, but watching mindless TV is!

249 Time management is defined as doing the right thing in the right way at the right time.

All high achievers use their time well. They work when they work. relax when they relax and know how to pace themselves. Take a leaf out of their book and make full use of this priceless resource. Make the best use of every moment and never ‘kill’ time - it’s much too precious!

250 The golden rule in time management is to put first things first. Do things in order of importance and avoid wasting time on the non-essential. Devote as much time as you can to activities that contribute the most to your happiness and success.

Ask yourself, ‘What one thing could I do, that I’m not currently doing, and which, if I did it regularly would make the biggest difference to my life?’ This is your number one priority.

251 In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Dr Stephen Covey suggests that you classify things to do under four headings:

Dr Covey points out that many of us get so bogged down with the unimportant and non-urgent that we lose sight of what really matters - the important and urgent items in the top left-hand cell.

He also points out that the important but non-urgent items in the bottom left hand cell are usually those that build your future. Allocate some time to these every day. They may do little to ease your workload today but map the course of your life in the longer term.

252 Use a small notebook or loose leaf pad for your ‘to do’ list. Carry it around with you and update it continually. When you have a new task to complete, add it to your list. When you have completed a task, cross it off.

253 Each evening make a list of what you intend to do the following day. Mark each item either urgent or non-urgent, and either important or unimportant and plot on Dr Covey’s matrix. Make sure you include everything - working activities, recreation, personal development, household duties, etc.

Now rank all items, the most important first. Focus on the important and the urgent. Also, pay attention to the important but non-urgent. Put off everything else. You’ll be amazed how many minor problems resolve themselves if you ignore them for a while.

Either write the rankings on your list in your notebook, or transfer them, in rank order, to a sheet such as the one opposite (if you wish, photocopy it for your use).

254 Each day, work down your list tackling one task at a time. Complete each item before moving on to the next.

Develop a sense of urgency. When something must be done, don’t put it off. Do it now. As you finish a task, cross it off. If you don’t get everything done today, add it to tomorrow’s list (if it’s still important enough).

At the end of each day, carry out an evening review. Cross off anything you haven’t done which no longer needs doing (i.e. because events have overtaken you). Add in anything that needs to be added. Then start the cycle again.

255 Remember - and this is vital - to focus on the most important, not the most pleasant. Postponing important tasks simply because they are unpleasant clogs the brain, reduces your creativity and gets you bogged down in trivialities. Moreover, tasks rarely get more pleasant by being postponed.

256 Do things well enough. Avoid exaggerated perfectionism. Know when ‘good enough’ is ‘good enough’. (This is one of the best time-saving hints of all.)

If this is hard for you, it may be something to do with your upbringing. Were your parents or other adult caretakers perfectionists?

257 Tackle the most demanding jobs, those that require maximum energy, attention and brain capacity, when you’re at your best. When we work with our body’s natural rhythms, we are more productive and less likely to suffer the adverse effects of stress. Use those times when your brain can only cope with small things to get those boring, routine tasks done.

258 Making the best use of your time does not mean losing your spontaneity. If an opportunity comes up to do something you wouldn’t normally do or hadn’t planned for, go for it; you may not get another chance. If the weather’s good and you have a chance to take a walk by the sea, do it. If a friend calls round and invites you out for a drink, go for it. These moments are precious and add enormously to your quality of life - and you can always catch up on your work later.

259 Sit quietly for a few minutes and experience the flow of energy through your body. Just stay calm and still, and observe.

Now contemplate the benefits of optimum health, and promise yourself that you will do whatever you can to achieve the best possible level of health and vitality that is available to you.

260 Breath - the life force. It’s impossible to underestimate the importance of the breath. A plentiful supply of fresh air is essential for health, energy, vitality and emotional wellbeing. You can go a month without food, a week without water, but less than five minutes without oxygen.

Slow, deep breathing has a calming and energising effect on mind and body. Deep breathing also activates the lymphatic system, which removes waste products and dead cells from the body. Your lungs eliminate 60–70 per cent of the toxins from the body. If you want to maximise your energy, learn to breathe correctly. Until you try it, you won’t believe the difference it makes.

Practise the complete breath. Stand or sit erect. Inhale through your nose right into the pit of your stomach. Fill your lungs entirely, expanding your ribs and stomach outward. Hold for four seconds. Breathe out through your mouth by contracting your stomach muscles (if it helps, press on the abdomen) and expelling the air as though you were squeezing it out of a balloon. Repeat several times with a continuous flowing action.

If you feel dizzy, don’t worry, sit down until the feeling has gone: it’s merely that your brain probably isn’t use to receiving this amount of oxygen.

261 Nutrition: one of the keys to good health and vitality is to eat healthily. Cultivate a taste for fresh vegetables, fruit and whole grains. If you eat meat, choose white meats (such as chicken) and fish. Avoid as much as possible sugary foods, excessive dairy products, white flour, and chemically preserved and processed foods.

A natural diet of whole grains, fruit and vegetables is cheaper and healthier than the conventional diet and can provide more than enough protein for the average person’s needs.

Write down everything that has passed your lips in the last 24 hours. Then tick anything that falls into the following categories:

What proportion of your total intake have you circled?

262 Fluids: the best fluids are fruit and vegetable juices, natural mineral water and herbal teas. These all thin the blood, flush out the toxins and help prevent the body being poisoned by its own waste matter. Animal milks and beers should be regarded as foods rather than liquids.

Drink lots of water. Water makes up three quarters of the human body, and brain tissue consists of over 80 per cent water. Drink three to four pints of good quality water every day and keep sipping throughout the day.

263 Regular exercise:

• Increases energy and stamina.
• Increases resistance to disease.
• Lowers cholesterol levels.
• Promotes deeper, more satisfying sleep.
• Promotes a more youthful appearance.
• Makes you sweat, which cleanses and revitalises.
• Helps you lose weight and keep it off.
• Makes the heart more efficient.
• Brings a multitude of psychological benefits, including increased self-confidence, better concentration, improved memory and greater resilience to depression and stress.

The kinds and amounts of exercise needed to reap such rewards are well within the reach of most people, even if they haven’t exercised regularly for years. As little as 30 minutes rapid walking four times a week can provide up to ten years of rejuvenation.

Do what you enjoy. Also, make discreet adjustments to your lifestyle. Walk or cycle instead of using motorised transport. Use the stairs instead of the lift - stair climbing is excellent aerobic exercise.

Important: if you haven’t exercised regularly for several years, have a check up with your doctor before taking up strenuous activity.

264 Regular sleep is vital. Sleep deprivation wrecks body and mind. Warning signs include:

• Poor concentration.
• Irritability.
• Tiredness (in the morning - it’s OK to be tired at the end of the day).

Most of us need six to eight hours per night, preferably at regular times. Also, respect your biorhythms. Each of us has a personal rhythm that is tied to our bodily needs. Some of us are at our best in the morning, some in the evening, some at night. Which of these describe you?

• I love getting up early.
• I feel sluggish in the mornings.
• I function best in the afternoon.
• I’m at my best in the evening.
• I’m a night owl.

You’ll function best when you don’t try to fight your personal rhythm.

265 Relaxation is also essential. It’s extremely beneficial for your physical and mental health, and the leading safeguard against stress.

Intermittent tension does no harm at all, but sustained muscle tension can have harmful effects. Even clenching your fist can significantly raise your blood pressure. We need to learn about the state of the muscles and recognise the difference between a tense muscle and one that is soft and relaxed.

Practise deep relaxation techniques. Treat yourself to an occasional massage, aromatherapy, sauna, reflexology, hydrotherapy, manicure - whatever you fancy. Above all, don’t feel guilty; you deserve it!

266 Poor posture restricts breathing, induces muscle tension and sometimes causes undesirable changes in bone and muscle structure. For example, if you persistently carry two heavy shopping bags in one hand, you will put your spine out of balance; far better to carry one in each hand to even the load.

Many activities can cause neck and back strain: washing up, crouching over a desk, using a vacuum cleaner, lifting heavy objects, etc. Any position held long enough will cause tension and discomfort. None of this need be a problem for you if you learn to carry and use your body correctly.

Stand in a relaxed way with your shoulders, hips and ankles in line. Keep your spine straight, shoulders dropped and relaxed, your head slightly forward and up (so you could balance a book on it). Think of the neck as being free, and allow the back to lengthen and widen.

Sit with your back straight, with your feet on the floor, uncrossed. If you are engaged in repetitive work, take mini-breaks to help prevent repetitive strain injury.

267 Ageing: age isn’t just a matter of how many years you’ve lived. This is merely your chronological age. But what about your biological age, as measured in terms of cellular processes and critical life signs, or your psychological age - the age you feel you are? Only one of these is fixed; the other two can be influenced by a healthy attitude and healthy lifestyle.

The most significant is your psychological age, which has been proven to have a profound influence on your biological age. Adopting a more positive attitude and a healthier lifestyle can reduce your biological age considerably.

What age were you when you were at your most energetic? Aim to ‘live’ this age. Talk, dress, think and be that age. If you do it really well, people will begin to think you are, and so will you!