Prayer for son

https://www.nytimes.com/1964/04/06/archives/macarthur-leaves-a-spiritual-legacy-prayer-for-his-son.html

WASHINGTON, April 5 (AP) —General of the Army Douglas MacArthur is leaving a spiritual legacy to his son, Arthur —a father's prayer that he wrote in the Philippines during the desperate early days of the Pacific war.

According to the General's biographer and confidant, Maj. Gen. Courtney Whitney, the family repeated this MacArthur prayer many times during early morning devotions:

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

“Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds; a son who will know Thee—and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

“Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

“Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men, one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

“And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity or true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.

“Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, ‘I have not lived in vain.’”

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Staying Motivated in Fitness

 First, get the reasons for losing motivation out of the day. 

1. Not seeing results. 

Maybe you're not sticking to it, stick to it for 1-3 months. You will get results. 

Trying things and realizing something's not for you, it's part of the journeey. 

2. How much you care about fitness?

Decide for yourself, how much you care about it. 

Overweight happy people. They say they're gonna die somehow, so why not with disease. 

How fit do you want ot be?

How much do you care about fitness? If not much. Think about some fun things. playing Tennis? Badminton? Walking? Hiking? Take a look into VR sports. 

3. Lifestyle and Diet

Is your sleep and food in check? 

If you're sleep deprived and exhausted, how can you feel like exercising? Your body is telling you to rest, because that's what you need. 

If your nutrition if out of balance, you don't have enough nutrients to work out. Your body is telling you you're famished. 

A 30-second exercise to 3X your follow through by Steven Kotler

In the early 2000s at the University of Bath, a team of researchers led by Sarah Milne conducted a simple experiment with the goal of promoting exercise participation.

Two-hundred-forty-eight adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups:

Group one was instructed to read a few paragraphs from a random novel before working out.

Group two a pamphlet on the heart benefits of exercise.

But the third group received a different set of instructions.

In addition to reading the pamphlet, they were told to use the following sentence to formulate an exact workout plan:

"During the next week, I will partake in at least twenty minutes of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME] OF DAY in [PLACE]."

The results?

• 38% of participants in the first group exercised at least once per week
• 35% of participants in the second group exercised at least once per week
• 91% of participants in the third group exercised at least once a week

That wasn’t a typo.

Writing a single sentence nearly tripled the likelihood of participants following through on the goals they set.

Although more research is required to establish the true efficacy of implementation intentions––the scientific name for this process––the implications are profound.

By engaging in this 30-60 second exercise, we can increase our capacity to follow through on our big goals––and the daily action steps required to achieve them––by orders of magnitude.

For example:

• If you’re struggling to wake up without hitting snooze, you can use this tool during your end of day planning or bedtime journaling
  
  
• If you want to stay focused on an important project, you can take a few moments to write out your implementation intentions before beginning a deep work block
  
  
• If you want to be more present with your family, you can stack this into your end of day review before you leave the office

The point here is simple.

Tiny hinges swing big doors. 

Procrastination

Procrastination can be a difficult habit to break, but there are several strategies you can use to overcome it:

1. Break tasks into smaller chunks: Large, overwhelming tasks can be daunting, which can lead to procrastination. To combat this, break the task down into smaller, more manageable chunks. This can make it feel less overwhelming and more manageable.
2. Set specific deadlines: Give yourself a deadline for when you want to have a task completed. This can help you to stay focused and motivated to complete the task on time.
3. Prioritize your tasks: Make a list of everything you need to do and prioritize them based on importance and urgency. This can help you to stay focused on what needs to be done and avoid getting bogged down in less important tasks.
4. Use the Pomodoro Technique: This is a time management method that suggests breaking work into 25-minute intervals with short breaks in between. It can help keep you focused and prevent procrastination by creating a sense of urgency.
5. Eliminate distractions: Identify and eliminate distractions that might be keeping you from getting your work done. This could include turning off your phone, closing unnecessary tabs on your computer, or working in a quiet space.
6. Hold yourself accountable: Share your goals and deadlines with a friend or family member, or even a colleague at work. This can help to create a sense of accountability and make it less likely that you will procrastinate.
7. Reward yourself: Once you have completed a task, give yourself a reward. This can be something simple like a cup of tea, or something more substantial like a longer break or a movie night with friends.
8. Address the underlying issues: if you find that you procrastinate frequently, it may be useful to examine if the underlying reason is anxiety, lack of motivation, or some other mental health issues, If that's the case, you might want to consider seeking help from therapist or counselor, they can help you to overcome the issues and help you to develop some coping strategies.

It is important to keep in mind that progress takes time and effort, and that it may be difficult to overcome procrastination in a short period of time. Be kind and patient with yourself.