Wasted Days And Wasted Nights

Copyright (c) 2009 Mind Body Spirit Central, LLC

I'm referring to the wasted time spent watching the endless stream of drivel that comes out of your television screen. And, it really doesn't matter if it is a jumbo 50" plasma or LED screen with surround sound or whether you stream it online from your laptop computer.

Wasted time (and energy doing so) can never be recovered.

For example, let's take "reality" shows. In fact, two more (which I will not honor here) are in the process of being heavily promoted on air, in the newspapers and in online pop up ads. One unfortunate truth about these types of programs is, once the cameras are rolling, the reality stops.

However, a much more SERIOUS critical truth is that studies have demonstrated that too much television causes brain rot. A large study in Australia proved the "brain rot" statement to be true - too much television causes measurable memory loss. The study, which involved 30,000 people, involved a memory test of the recall of names, lists, faces and signs.

People who watched LESS THAN one hour of television per day had high scores. Those who watched MORE THAN one hour per day did not do as well on memory tests.

The researchers believe that passive television watching does not intellectually stimulate the mind. In fact, many shows do not stimulate critical thinking at all.

This research supports what I have been saying for years.

However, I'll bet that many of you will say, "Television is my only escape from my crappy life - the economy, my job or my sex life". Well, please do me a favor, don't blame the economy or your job, or complain about your wife or husband. They are not the cause of your crappy life.

Every moment you place blame or waste time bitching about anything, is one less moment you use to take positive and progressive actions to improve yourself.

The choices you make, the books you read, the people you associate with, the actions you take or don't take not only impacts your life, but also impacts the lives of those around you.

I once heard that the only thing that is equal in everyone's world is the number of minutes, 1,440 of them, in each day. It doesn't matter if you are a Bill Gates, a Nelson Mandela or a factory worker.

The difference between people who are most highly effective and happy in life and those that are merely average (or less) is what you do with those minutes. And, unfortunately lost minutes do not rollover, like those in your mobile phone plan.

When you learn habits of highly effective people, even the little things that you used to complain or blame others about will be a thing of the past.

In fact in the Motivation and Success System, "The Power Of Thought", there is an entire chapter on how to improve your life titled "How Your Thoughts Affect Your Circumstances". In this book there are powerful and effective strategies to help develop the goals for you to get what you want, and create the life you deserve.

But, most people go at their goals with a very a hit-or-miss approach. They haphazardly set a goal, often with poor follow through, or they simply procrastinate taking action.

Procrastination is the known as the thief of time. It robs you of valuable opportunity for growth and improvement. If you take the time now to do a progress update on yourself, by measuring your actual results for the year so far, you may be very disappointed.

My word of encouragement for you is to review how you have spent your time this year and your results so far, then look for ways to improve the use of your time and results you produce for the rest of this year (and beyond!).

When you aim to improve yourself, you must remember that your changes will influence others to improve as well. When your life becomes more positive and rich, it becomes a model of excellence for others.


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Keith A. Shaw, President of http://www.MindBodySpiritCentral.com. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Keith is an authority on motivation, success, qigong, self improvement, health and happiness. He is the author of The Power Of Serenity And Peace - The Truth To Finding Happiness In Today's Stressed Out World.