Philosophy

An engine will not work without fuel. Food is the fuel that gives our bodies energy. What grade fuel are you using? The type of fuel you use will determine how strong and how long your flame burns. It is necessary to develop an understanding of what good food is. This understanding will provide intrinsic motivation to eat healthy and keep that flame burning.

It is important to eat regular nutritional meals. Better quality fuel or food gives increased performance (physical and mental), whereas bad fuel causes malfunction or inefficiency (getting sick, mood swings…)

How lower GI foods give you longer lasting energy levels.
How Regular meals boost your metabolism.

Intent is about successful goal setting and is essential to being motivated, enabling us to stay fired up for longer. We need to be able to move from being totally fired up to flickering (Dimming our flame) where we evaluate our current position at decide where want to get to. Setting goals allows us to achieve focus and gives a reason for acting on these goals. Good goals maximize our efficiency in our use of energy. How goals are set will determine wether we are successful in attaining them and staying motivated. Goal setting may be common practice, but so is failing to achieve them.

4 fire extinguishers of intent:
Setting impotent goals
Lacking emotional attachment to goals.
Failing to develop and implement an action plan with rewards and consequences
Failing to have an end date for achieving goals

How to set Fire Starter goals:
• Precision – Be specific about what you actually want to achieve
• Measurable – use units of measurement so a specific amount of change can be evident whether they be Kilograms or the number of times you smile in a day.
• Attainable – set goals you can actually achieve to avoid being unmotivated by failure. There are very few of us who can look like a supermodel even after exercise!
• Relevant – don’t set goals that are not impotent to you. Do it for yourself not for anybody else
• Time-bound - set time frames and stick to them.

It is impossible to stay fired up constantly, and if you try you’ll burn out. Take some time to recharge and refocus. Being able to dim the flame increases the longevity of life because stress is the number one killer! Studies have shown the number one factor that ages our bodies is stress

Yoga, breathing and relaxation techniques are very effective for dimming the flame. Just like a flame needs oxygen to burn, our bodies work better when we take time to breathe.

Life skills are often learnt from elite athletes and the way they train. They do not train continuously, but have times of intense focus and training as well as own time for recovery and relaxation. We should adopt this practice to our lives; knowing when to turn up and turn down the heat.

The quantity and quality of sleep you have is essential for allowing your body to:
• Renew its energy sources.
• Regenerate or heal.

Recoup by giving your brain time to switch off; which makes your thoughts clearer and mind more efficient. A lack of sleep is linked to poor mental and physical performance, and can lead to depression.

Your quality of sleep is important. We need 6 to 8 hours of undisturbed sleep to wake up fresh and ready for the day. Some things that cause poor sleep are stress, preservatives, caffeine and not unwinding or poor pre-sleep behaviour.

© 2007 Aaron McAllister

Over the last hundred years our lives have become more sedentary. We have drastically reduced the amount of physical energy we exert. Human beings were not made to sit at their computer or in front of the television for extended periods of time.

Unfortunately this lifestyle as well as obesity, heart disease and cancer have become more common. In the past people used to get all the exercise their bodies needed from working on a farm, walking long distances, carrying heavy loads, etc. Today, we need to be scheduling exercise at least 3 times a week to make up for a lack of manual living.

Exercise should be a combination of huff and puff (cardio) and push or pull (resistance). This will greatly improve your physical, emotional and mental state.

Staying active:
• Boosts your metabolism
• Decreases risk of injury
• Boosts your endorphin levels
• Expends excess energy intake which decreases chances of putting on body fat
• Minimizes health issues

More muscle mass and an increased metabolic rate decreases the chance of putting on body fat. So get active and start feeling fired up!

Time. Where does it all go? As our lives become more hectic and demanding people become time deficient. With work, family and friends we often have no time left for ourselves. Taking some u-time is not selfish, it is imperative!

How can you be effective in these other areas with your flame shining brightly without tending to yourself first? Why not designate u-time for one hour at least three times a week. Consider what makes you happy.

Do things you want to do like a facial, a walk in the park, self development workshop… the choice is yours.

A small focussed flame is more effective than a flicker here and there. Productivity is about using simple, effective time management strategies to increase overall performance.

Work smarter not harder. Prioritization helps focus energy on what is truly important. In addition, chunking time to work on one task at a time maximizes focus and effectiveness. Feel like you’re working hard to little effect? Segment your time so your mind stays task-oriented, assigning very specific periods to work, answer and return e-mails, play, rest and so on. Remember to schedule deadlines and brain breaks like going for a walk or having a stretch.

By remembering to focus on the 6 areas of Fire up you will increase the balance in your life.