Let's expand on the theme of motivation. Our conscious thoughts impact our subconscious mind which determines whether our motivation is centered in moving "toward" something desired or "away" from something feared / unwanted.
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford July 18, 2011
The topic of motivation seems to be ever present in books and articles. It is an area of great interest and concern in our society. In fact, there is a career field, a profession, dedicated solely to the topic of motivation. This profession is filled with an array of amazing 'Motivational Speakers'! We all need a little help now and then with our motivation.
What motivates you? How are you moved to action? No, I'm not asking what causes inspire you. I'm asking, how are you motivated? How you are motivated determines to a great extent the quality of your performance in anything and the joy in your life.
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford July 6, 2011
There is so much of our internal dialogue or Self-talk that exists in the form of questions. Our subconscious mind responds most powerfully to questions. It always answers/responds to questions! Not necessarily right away, but it will respond resulting in feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. It is the questions we ask ourselves that activates the subconscious and determines the direction of our thinking, emotions and our ultimate behaviors. There are countless books, articles, and videos available now teaching various forms of "self-talk" and "affirmations" that address this critical mental technology of asking questions. Our Subconscious mind serves us perfectly by giving us powerful answers to the questions we ask ourselves.
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford June 25, 2011
There was once a man who loved to go fishing. Whenever he had free time he would take off to one of his favorite fishing spots. In fact, he loved his fishing trips so much that he often neglected his business and family responsibilities in order to get in a little extra trip or two. He was often found missing at work related meetings and family gatherings with no explanation.
Early one Sunday morning, the man got up early and headed to one of his favorite fishing spots. He drove for some time anticipating the peaceful time alone and the excitement of the nibble, the bite and the catch! He arrived near a beautiful lake. He parked his car, grabbed his gear and walked a long trail for about an hour down to his perfect spot! He had been fishing only a few minutes when he noticed rather ominous clouds gathering rather quickly.
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford June 11, 2011
"A coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man dies but once." Worry is a waste! In the past 30 years there have been a variety of studies on worry that have varied only slightly. Generally the findings are: 80% of what we worry about will never happen; of the remaining 20% we can do nothing about 17% of it. That leaves only 3% of valid worry... if there is such a thing.
None of us live life according to reality. We live life according to our perception of reality. "Two men looked out through prison bars, one saw mud the other saw stars." How we view or think about things determines how we experience our world. The most powerful part of our mind, the subconscious, determines our physical and emotional state. What we think about becomes input or a goal to the subconscious which acts immediately to accomplish that goal.
by Dr. Jeffrey T. Litchford June 9, 2011
I frequently hear, "Knowledge is Power." I strongly disagree! Knowledge in and of itself is powerless. Knowledge, when APPLIED, is POWER!! As we apply the knowledge we obtain, we experience growth and with that growth gain even more knowledge. We have all seen the two different states in our lives. Their are those who have gained knowledge and never apply it. Then there are those who gain knowledge, apply it, and continue to learn. We see them as, one individual who has twenty years experience in a field of expertise and the other who has one year of experience twenty times. LEARN - APPLY- GROW
by Beau Chatham May 31, 2011
I wanted to take an opportunity to share something with my readers that I have encountered with several warriors I have recently worked with and Memorial Day seems the perfect vehicle to do that with.
As you all know, Memorial Day (formerly known as Decoration Day) commemorates U.S. Service Members who died while in military service. What has become a day of celebration and cooking outside for so many, still remains an additional day of loss for so many of our warriors that have survived. I say an "additional day" as there are anniversaries of days we remember when we lost those on our left and right. To be so close to brothers and sisters we have lost, for many of us, is a wound that never seems to heal.
by Beau Chatham April 5, 2011
I’ve received some recent inquiries from clients, specifically around the images of service members I use on Facebook, and how my coaching process applies to those that have not served in the military.
Some ask, “why warrior?”
Others inquire, “Are you going to teach me to fight?”
Or “how can I accomplish more in my life if I am at war with someone?”
These are all great questions, but for those that know me and know my background it’s easily understood. For those of you that are beginning this journey with me, allow me focus this blog post to answer the questions around the use of the term warrior.
by Beau Chatham March 5, 2011
If you've been reading my last few posts, you know that we've been revealing some medical studies that demonstrate the prevalence of PTSD (a.k.a. adrenaline poisoning) in returning service men and women. On a particular note, we have learned that the bulk of the symptoms in our combat-exposed warriors have a tendency to manifest 3-6 months after they return from the "combat box."
by Beau Chatham March 2, 2011
In my last blog post, we looked at the delay of our warriors reporting symptoms consistent with "adrenaline poisoning." In many of the study subjects, there existed a 3-6 month delay in leaving the combat box, before symptoms for combat stress fully manifested and began to affect the warrior's behavior.
by Beau Chatham January 23, 2011
In the military, there is a technique for estimating distance. It's known as counting "flash-to-bang" time. It works like this:
An explosion takes place and immediately you see the "flash" of the explosion.
Start your timer...
Sometime later (depending on your distance from the explosion) you hear the "bang."
Stop your timer!
by Beau Chatham December 10, 2010
In a recent blog post, I shared with you the weakness or Achilles Heel of our deployed warriors and the lack of protection that our fighting forces have when it comes to protecting themselves from the damaging effects of improvised explosive devices or IEDs.
by hali November 25, 2010
I sat behind the bullet proof glass at my newly cushy job with the Alberta Government in a Calgary court house as a judge's assistant, I found myself thinking..is this it? Is this my life? Everyday, from 9am-4:30pm, I will be here…"there has to be more" I thought…"there is more"…Then I would go home, which consisted of half hour train ride then a 45 minute drive in rush hour traffic (ewe), and find comfort and peace on my yoga mat. It wasn't that I could (or can) contort my body into a pretzel, it WAS that I could connect with my breath, feel my heart beating and my body moving. I would move away the stresses of the day and become one with my spirit…and think "ahhhh…yessss….THIS is what IT is about, this IS my life..right here, right now". This "ah-ha" moment was back in 2005, when my interest of becoming a Yoga Teacher sparked and I began my studies in Yoga.
by Beau Chatham November 18, 2010
I was in a yoga class last week and my mind began to wander...
I'm pausing here, because I imagine I am getting a few strange looks from some of my readers. I can hear your comments from here:
"Yoga?"
"Are you kidding me?"
I promise there is a point to this story, so keep moving warriors.
by Beau Chatham September 7, 2010
In a previous blog post back in April, I speculated on the National Football League’s (NFL) intentions of setting a higher standard for head injuries and how our warriors might learn from their experiences. As previously stated, in December of 2009, the NFL announced stricter guidelines on when players could return to the field after a head injury. The stricter 2009 statement on return-to-play was developed by the NFL’s medical committee on concussions in conjunction with team doctors, outside medical experts, and the NFL Players Association in order to provide more specificity in making return-to-play decisions. The new guidance supplements the 2007 statement on return-to-play that encouraged team physicians and athletic trainers to continue to take a conservative approach to treating concussions and established that a player should not return to the same game after a concussion if the team medical staff determined that he had lost consciousness.
by Beau Chatham August 20, 2010
A friend of mine invited me over to his house for dinner. As I drove into his neighborhood, it was apparent by the size and quality of the homes, he was a very successful entrepreneur.
His wife met me at the front door, showed me into their home and we proceeded to enjoy some great food. After dinner, my friend (let’s call him Chuck) invites me outside for an after dinner cigar. As we are enjoying a fine smoke and Chuck is checking his stocks in the Wall Street Journal he says to me, “Hey, you want to see something really fierce?” He had my curiosity, so I said, “Sure!”
by Beau Chatham August 5, 2010
Some time between 563 - 483 BC, a young Hindu prince named Siddhartha Gautama uttered the phrase, "you will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger." We now know him by the name Buddha. Although these words are over 2,000 years old, they are apparently true today. In a recent investigation, led by scientists from the University of Valencia, researchers analyzed the changes in the brain's cardiovascular, hormonal, and asymmetric activation response (I will explain this in detail in a moment) when we get angry. What they found was very interesting. They observed increases in heart rate and rising arterial tension, along with increased testosterone production, and a decrease in cortisol (the stress hormone) production. Now these findings have always been know for many years, but the measurements were taken, nonetheless. What I found most interesting about this study were the findings around asymmetric activation response.
by Beau Chatham July 19, 2010
Before I begin this week's blog post, I would like to let all combat veteran readers know that I will be discussing scenes from a film I recently had the honor of screening. It is about combat in Afghanistan. It's entitled: Restrepo.
It is powerful.
It is raw.
It is real.
Knowing that this narrative could cause some of my brothers and sisters in arms to relive some of their own trauma, I wanted to give you a heads up!
Please think twice before reading. With that said, let's begin:
by Beau Chatham July 14, 2010
Over the past 8 weeks, I have given you several new ways to look at healing your PTSD. In taking this approach, I have received some questions from friends asking about the use of war principles to heal an anxiety disorder. Well, if you had these same questions, I trust you went the extra step to read the posts so you could see that these Principles provide you a framework and philosophy for approaching this demon that hides inside you and many of our war-torn brothers and sisters. If you did read along, then I want to thank you for your time. I would even like to thank you for passing this blog along to others that may be wrestling with this disorder or sharing my blog with someone that you suspect may be suffering in silence.