Category: Personal and Professional Development

Healthy habits involve a combination of physical activity, balanced nutrition, sufficient sleep, stress management, and positive mental attitudes. These habits contribute to overall well-being, both physically and mentally. Healthy habits empower you to grow professionally, because you have a clearer mind and more energy.

Finding Confidence in the Face of Fear

Finding Confidence in the Face of Fear

Finding Confidence in the Face of Fear: Do you fear giving a presentation or job interview? Many people have those feelings. How do they deal with them?

Fear is a thief.

Finding Confidence in the Face of Fear

You can have power over fear.  Furthermore, you can enjoy life more, and you can help other people enjoy life more.

We scare ourselves with own thinking.

Imagination plays a big role in creating fear.

Fear is future thinking.  On one hand, we fear that we will lose something we have.  On the other hand, we fear that we will fail to get something we want.

Fear of losing things or failing to get things does not solve any problems.  Furthermore, fear can cripple us mentally.  In this way, fear can block our success.

In the worst case, fear can become a reality by cluttering our mind and keep us from seeing solutions.

Fear is mood related.

If we are in a great mood, we feel less fear.

Thinking about the same thing when we are in a great mood feels very different from thinking about things when we are in a bad mood.

To see the connection between moods and fear, think about the effect of food on your fears.  When you are hungry, your blood sugar drops.  Your body becomes stressed.  You feel anxious.

An hour after you eat, you feel more calm.  Your mood changes.  Your fear becomes less intense.

Fear gets more power when we give it our attention.

When we focus on a scary thought, that thought grows in our mind.  We just suffer more pain.

On the other hand, we can do things to ease our fear and change our focus.

Finding Confidence: These Things May Restore Your Confidence

To overcome fear and restore confidence, some simple things might help.

Get Active.

Go for a walk, lift weights, or do some chores.  Simple motion is the way to overcome fear. Lace up your shoes and pull up your socks.

I try to remind myself to get up and move around every 30 minutes or so anyway. It’s good for the heart.

Meditate.

Meditation is a simple thing.  Repeating a mantra helps.  Focusing on your breathing helps.  Reciting prayers has a similar effect for many people.

Stop procrastinating and act.

Just getting into action of nearly any type can reduce fear.  Additionally, acting to solve the very problems that are frightening us is a healthier way of dealing with fear than ruminating.

To overcome procrastination, just take one simple action.  If you have 10 calls to make, just do the most important one first.

Get Professional Care.

If you find that you suffer chronic fear, discuss the matter with your doctor or a mental health professional. Fear leads to stress. Then, stress leads to bad health.

Stay in the Present Moment.

The only moment we have in life is the present moment.  In that moment, we see and hear the things around us.  Our brains use different pathways and create different, healthier feelings.

Enjoy life.

In conclusion, find freedom from fear.  It is your life.  There is no reason to let fear steal joy from your life.

Why is the USS Midway the biggest thing in San Diego?

USS Midway Museum San Diego CA

My family and I visited the USS Midway Museum. I wish to thank our docent, Joe Veraldi, for the wonderful job that he did to help us with our tour.

For people not familiar with the USS Midway, it is a decommissioned United States aircraft carrier that today serves as a museum.

Upon graduating from college, I served for three years aboard the USS Midway.  Serving as an Officer of the Deck for those three years, I spent more time on the bridge of the Midway than I spent on land.

Bridge of the USS Midway 1972 Jay Wren
Jay Wren, Bridge Watch, 1972

Here is the view of the bridge today.  Our docent, Air Force veteran Joe Veraldi, is in the background in the red shirt and red cap.

Jeff Wren Bridge View
Photo Credit Jeff Wren

Why is the USS Midway the biggest thing in San Diego?

For two reasons.  First, it is the most popular tourist site in the city.

Joe Veraldi said,

“We had over 1.4 million visitors last year, and we are well on the way to breaking that total this year.

Also, last month we were voted as the #1 Naval Museum in the country! Every day is a great day on the Midway.”

The second reason that the Midway is the biggest thing in San Diego is that the ship is twice as large as the largest building in the city.

The ship is the length of three American football fields plus 101 feet.  At the angle deck the ship is 100 feet wider than the width of an American football field.

Most of the docent are retired military service members, many of whom served on the Midway.

Seeing everything on the ship will fill a day.  The museum curators have restored nearly the entire ship to its original condition.  From the bridge to the boilers rooms, everything is there to visit.

The museum  has 19,263 reviews and counting with an overall rating of 4.5 stars .

The Midway offers self-guided tours, docent tours, and facilities for private events.

Thanks again, Joe Veraldi.  You did a wonderful job!

Political Discussions: Facebook is Not the Place

Facebook is not the place for political discussions.

I recently posted an article on how weary people are from reading about politics and political discussions.

“Pause Before Posting:  Sharing online stories on is as easy as clicking a share button. However, if the story is about politics, pause before posting. Your friends and connections are probably tired of hearing about it. They get more than a daily dose from major media.”

Politics: A Majority Are Sick of It.

Staying Healthy for Your Career Increases Your Success

Staying healthy and being successful go hand in hand. ~ www.jaywren.com

I found that when I quit smoking and started exercising, my personal performance doubled.

Steps to Staying Healthy

Get your doctor’s advice before starting an exercise program.

To turn my decision to exercise into action, I set up situations and times to exercise. I involved my family and friends.  Whenever possible, I exercised with my clients.  I found it helpful for staying healthy to involve other people.

Health Clubs

I enjoyed going to a health club for several years. The club had coffee and other beverages. The equipment was ready to use. I could go to the health club on my way to work or during my lunch hour. After exercising, I could shower and shave and go directly to work.

My clients were all over the country.  When we were staying at the same hotel, I would ask some of my clients to join me in exercising.

Sports Teams

Softball games at company picnics may be as common as the potato salad and the barbecue on the menu. I have been to national company meetings where golf, beach volleyball, relays, tennis, and softball were all part of the company activities. Sports may be a terrific way to expand your network within your company, with your clients, and at trade events.

My wife and I played co-ed adult soccer, volleyball, and softball. I coached and played on men’s softball teams.

While playing sports, my wife and I had a wonderful time.  We spent more time with our friends.

Furthermore, we got to exercise when we might otherwise have sat on the sofa and watched television.

Get Sports Partners.

If you do not have friends for golfing, tennis, handball, racquetball, basketball, bowling, running, or other activities, ask your friends or family if they would like to join you for play time.

Buy Inexpensive Equipment.

Finding free exercise equipment is not necessarily easy, but it is far from complicated. For over 10 years, I used an exercise bike in my family room and a weight machine and free weights on my covered patio. I enjoyed using this equipment. Over time, I began to enjoy walking and calisthenics more than I enjoyed sitting on a stationary bike or lifting weights. I listed the equipment on Craigslist and did get a few bucks for my equipment.
I have found listings on Craigslist for free equipment. In some cases, people list equipment just to have someone come to their home and take it away.

Don’t be afraid to negotiate.  I have a friend who listed a Shopsmith™ woodworking table for free on Craigslist. He did not get any calls. Then, he changed the price from free to $50.00. He started getting offers at once and the equipment was gone in 3 days.  However, if anyone had asked, he would have let the equipment don’t for free.

Walk. Run. Lift. Move Your Body.

If you live in a safe area and you do not suffer from injuries or health issues, just walk out the door and walk back in after a great trip around the neighborhood.

Calisthenics can be very effective as well: toe raises, sit ups or crunches, leg lifts, squats, lunges, push-ups, pull ups.

If you want to add a little weight, fill a couple of water bottles with sand and do upper body exercises while marching in place or walking for 15 minutes.

Joining a Class

Physical activity classes are helpful in staying healthy.

There are classes for every activity: yoga, meditation, martial arts, golf, tennis, fencing, horseback riding, casting and fly fishing, ad infinitum. There are also trainers or personal coaches for any sport you can imagine. Before joining a class or signing up for instructions from a stranger, ask around to see what other people have experienced through the classes, place, or person you are considering. You might also check on the Internet to see if people have reviewed the place where you are considering taking a class.

My wife and I joined dancing classes on two occasions. I managed not to embarrass her too badly, and we had a wonderful time. I have also taken classes for golf, meditation (a mental exercise), baseball, and volleyball. Taking classes is a lot of fun, especially when you take them with your family or friends.

Take Exercise Vacations

Rather than go someplace where you sit around a pool or on a beach, go someplace where you can hike, surf, snorkel, fly fish, or take walking tours.

https://www.jaywren.com/even-in-the-lottery-work-comes-before-success

Learn to Love Your Job.

Until you get the job you love, learn to love the job you have. ~ www.jaywren.com

Learn to love your job. If you have a job, any job, you can learn to love your job until you move on to the place you want to go.  If you are a manager, the more pleasure you can find in your job will affect how much enthusiasm, energy, and focus you are able to generate to your team of workers.

A few years ago, I worked out of a beautiful office on a local lake.  There were beautiful trees that blossomed in the spring and that kept beautiful purple leaves year-round.

Mallard ducks and Canada geese few in every year and swam on the lake. There was a strip mall next door with an espresso shop and grocery store.  There were five restaurants and a take-out-Chinese restaurant within walking distance.

I met all kinds of people in that office complex.  Some of them seemed to like to work in this building.  Other people were not so crazy about it.

  • They did not care for the ducks and geese that could be messy.
  • They exterior single-story exposure and the glass walls made them uncomfortable.
  • Although locked for privacy to the tenants, the restrooms exited into an open breezeway.  To walk back from your office to the restroom you had to go outside and face the elements.
  • Because of the open construction of the buildings, people who were not tenants would occasionally sit on the deck on the lake.
  • Occasionally skate boarders would invade the parking lot and could be a little annoying with their noise, but they always came later in the day when everyone had gone home.  I left them alone, and I think that they would easily get bored with the parking lot that did not offer many ramp challenges left the parking lot vacant for skating boarding.

I could easily name a half a dozen reasons to be grateful to be in that office:

  • It was convenient to my home. I could walk to work.
  • I could walk out to a deck and sit quietly to clear my mind.
  • The strip mall was a terrific place to take a break.
  • There were so many great food options.
  • The shop owners were friendly and became great neighbors.
  • When people came to my office, I was very comfortable see where I worked.

Now, carry my situation forward to your workplace.  You can learn to love the work you do and the place where you work.  The way you choose to view your work will play a daily role in how you feel about your job.

The way to start to love your work is to make a list of the things that you find rewarding about your work.

Learn to Love Your Job

Here is a comparison table to show you what I have in mind.  Do you see your job for the things about which you or about which you can feel grateful?

Gripe List vs Gratitude List
Things that Gripe Me Things for Which I am Grateful
Hot work space The new fans are great!
Low wages I have food on the table.
No benefits
Boss is angry Encourage boss
Long commute Love the radio talk shows: better work than no work
Long commute Love the radio talk shows
Stupid Co-workers I can help the team
Boring work I can bring creativity
Noisy place I will have better tomorrows
Work if unfulfilling The work is far better work than no work
Dead-end job I will have better tomorrows
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