Boost Your Fitness and Performance with Army Core Values

When we think of Army training we usually think of physical activity, push-ups, sit-ups and lots of running. The underlying and most important driving force behind the United States Army are the seven Army Core Values. The Army Values are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless-service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Although I am retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, I still carry the Army Values wallet sized card with me. All seven values are transferable to civilian life and make us better people. Here is a good translation of the Army core values for civilians. Spend a few minutes every day assessing your behavior and interaction with others. Let us look at the Army core values. Whether it is at your place of work or at home, you will discover the importance of these basic values that are not only timeless but also essential.

The Army core values are timeless and universal values that have their civilian application. This is how I interpret these values for civilians.
1. Loyalty - Be there for your friends, family, employer, government or other organization. Be the one whom others can depend upon. I am sure you’ve heard the phrase, “I’ve got your back.” It is a great feeling when we know we have the loyal support of others. You are to be that same loyal support for others to rely on.
2. Duty - The same definition as used for soldiers applies to civilians as well. Accept responsibility and fulfill your obligations. Work on constantly improving yourself, especially your character.
3. Golden Rule - Practice and live by the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This, of course, requires you to be kind to yourself as well. Test your application of the Golden Rule every single day and learn from your mistakes so that you can improve and get better. So how do you get better at it? The best time to practice the Golden Rule is when you would like to respond in a less-than¬golden manner. Whether it is driving in traffic, grocery shopping, or speaking with a family member, friend, or foe, always practice the Golden Rule.
4. Selfless Service - Focus on serving others in every situation, whether pleasant or unpleasant, and you will gain the most out of life. You will have better relationships, make better business decisions, and see that service to others is an essential key to strengthening your character. Another great benefit is that you will attract more people who will help and support you in your worthy endeavors.
5. Honor - Live up to all the values. If you are wrong, say so. It is honorable. If you may be wrong, say so. It is honorable. If someone makes a mistake and has behaved towards you in a less than honorable manner, be honorable. Treat that person graciously. Make sure your mind, tongue, body language and attitude all express what is honorable. Fulfilling all these values is the honorable thing to do even as it relates to your health, fitness, how you eat and how you live.
6. Integrity - When standing at the crossroads of doing what is right or what is comfortable, do what is right. You cannot imagine how integrity – or the lack thereof – will affect your physical and mental performance. Doing the right thing is a huge energy booster and will actually help strengthen your immune system. Do that daily inventory on your level of honesty and take corrective action where you notice that you have fallen short. The right attitude will always lead to honest behavior. What is right is written on our hearts so always ask yourself what is the right thing to say or do when faced with a situation or decision.
7. Personal Courage - It takes courage to do the right thing when others may just take the low road -- or, better said, the comfortable road -- while sacrificing the right thing. That is moral courage. I would say moral courage is what is needed to carry out the values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor and integrity. Without courage, many of these values will fall through the cracks. Moreover, if they do, just get right back up again and say to yourself, “I’ll do it better next time.” And keep working it like a muscle. Character values, like muscles, need to be worked on a regular basis to get and stay strong. “Use it or lose it” applies to character values as well muscles. Seek out books that are about strengthening character. Seek out people who are on the same journey.

Quotes to Live By: Take back control of your goals, health, fitness, finances, relationships and spiritual life

Your Action Plan:
Pick one of the seven values of loyalty, duty, golden rule, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity or personal courage. Spend an entire week consciously practicing that value as you interact with other. Make a list of things you can do better or new things you can do to make that value a part of your life that you share with others.

Please mention the author and when using this article.
The author is Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein, USAR-Ret, also known as the Health Colonel. BEACHBOOTCAMP.NET

Weight Loss Excuses: How Excuses Will Make You Fat

Weight Loss Excuses: How Excuses Will Make You Fat

By Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein, USAR-Ret.

The Paradox of Excuses

We become experts in creating excuses for why we cannot do what we recognize to be important. Imagine spending time and energy on finding and creating excuses for not doing what you have recognized to be important in your life. Allow excuses to rule your life and they will sabotage your healthy eating and weight loss program. Just the other day, I had a conversation with a young woman. We will call her Brenda. The conversation went like this: “Brenda, how important is your health to you, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most important?” Brenda responded without hesitation, “My health is one of the most important things in my life. I give it 10 points.” 

Brenda’s Paradox

“Well, Brenda,” I asked, “How often do you exercise each week?” She answered reluctantly, “I don’t really have the time to exercise.” 

“Wait a minute,” I said. “Let me get this straight. You just told me that your health is one of the most important things in your life, but your actions do not correspond. Explain that to me.” She could not.

So what does Brenda need to do? Her words and thoughts on the importance of health do not match her actions. You see, she has made it acceptable to herself to understand how important her health is. Not one bit more. She sees that as enough. No action. No follow-through. Just awareness. She even had a quick excuse to keep her from taking action. As Zig Ziglar, the famous motivational speaker and author, says, “The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want now.” Brenda is trading her health for a little extra time now. What a paradox!

Excuses Require Practice and Training

A lot of training goes into making excuses, and people spend time carefully thinking of plausible ones. There are even several websites devoted to the art of making excuses. I just looked at one called “The Mother of All Excuses.” You can read or submit excuses for not going to work, skipping school, speeding, running a red light, having an accident, breaking dates, missing church, and more.

Some other excuse-generating websites are The Random Excuse Generator, IShouldBeWorking.com and Sick day Excuse Generator. Here are some of the excuses I found:

School Excuses

• Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak.
• I did not come to school yesterday because I was feeling like I was going to be sick, but thankfully I was not! 

Dating Excuses

• I would love to go out with you, but I need to ask my fiancé, and I do not think he would like that very much.
• I gained 5 pounds this week, and I really do not want you to see me like this.

Exercise Excuses

• My workout clothes do not match.
• My cat's depressed.
• It's a bad hair day. 
• I don’t have time to exercise.
• I didn't shave my legs.
• Somebody was using my treadmill.
• I’m too old.
• We’re all going to die anyway.

Eating Excuses

• Eating right costs too much.
• I cannot fit in the recommended five daily servings of fruits and vegetables. 
• I don't have time to eat right.
• My sweet tooth rules, so I can't eat well.
• I enjoy fast food too much to eat right.
• It doesn't matter that I have a lousy diet, because I take a vitamin pill.
• I eat too much to eat right. 
• Other people in my household eat poorly, so I do, too.
• We’re all going to die anyway.

Take Charge

No more excuses means doing what you say you are going to do and following through with the right thing. It’s about personal accountability. Excuses are a practiced form of giving up control to external circumstances or people. Taking charge of your life means focusing on what you can do -possibilities talk. Excuses are impossibilities talk. If you have recognized that weight management, healthy eating and regular exercise are priorities for you, but you practice impossibilities talk by programming yourself through excuses, you have made it impossible to succeed in this area. You have created a barrier or wall preventing positive change. 

Have the courage to take that positive first step in the direction you have recognized is best for you. Once you have realized what is important for your life in the long term and you are totally convinced that it is the right thing, pursue it as if your life depended on it. Because it does. Eliminate all excuses. 

Be Patient and Consistent

Embarking on a life of good habits does not have to be done in giant steps. Take it one small step at a time. Be kind to yourself and enjoy the journey. Allow for gradual change in the right direction for your life. Have enough patience to let time take its course. Any change in your diet or lifestyle that improves your personal health, however small, is a step in the right direction.

Please mention the author when citing or reprinting this article. The author is Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein, USAR-Ret.

Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein, USAR-Ret.

Fitness Boot Camp Instructor and Personal Trainer

Author of Weight Loss - Twenty Pounds in Ten Weeks - Move It to Lose It

Mailing address:

757 SE 17th Street, #267

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316

Office 954-636-5351

Cell 954-790-7111

www.BeachBootCamp.net

Subscribe to Colonel Bob's Health, Weight Loss and Fitness Newsletter

Weight Loss Competition and New Fitness Boot Camp Programs (PDF)

NEW BOOK: Boot Camp Fitness For All Shapes and Sizes

Shop Amazon for Colonel Bob’s books and fitness equipment

NUTRISYSTEM limited time special price