Category Archives: Fitness and Health
Movember Wrap Up
aka My Friends Are Awesome
This year I participated in the Movember movement. Movember is the idea that much like October is breast cancer awareness month, November can be a month for men’s health issues, so it is prostate cancer awareness month. Instead of a pink ribbon, guys rock a mustache. Hence Movember. Then, when people ask “uh, whats up with the stache?” you can explain to them what you are doing and have an opportunity to ask them to donate.
This is my first year participating in a while, and so I didn’t have high hopes. However, my friends came through beyond my wildest speculations. I raised over $400 $435 with a pretty simple campaign of twitter, facebook, and email harassment with a few pictures to showcase my embarrassment.
You can check out my Movember page where I accepted donations and posted different things. I did a big push at the end after I raised over $250 where I’ve promised to keep the mustache for an extra day for every $10 over 250 I raised. So, unfortunately I will be keeping my new fuzzy friend through mid December! At least my upper lip will be warm!
Anyway, big thanks to all my friends who donated, you are awesome!
Movember
I have decided this year to focus on bringing awareness to men’s health issues.
It’s Movember, the month formerly known as November, which is dedicated to growing moustaches and raising awareness and funds for men’s health. I have joined the movement and will be donating my upper lip to the cause for 30 days. My moustache will spark conversations, and no doubt generate some laughs; all in the name of raising vital awareness and funds for cancers affecting men.
Some stats:
*1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime
*A man is diagnosed with prostate cancer every 2.2 minutes
*1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime
*24% of men are less likely to go the doctor compared to women
You can track my progress, and make a donation, at http://mobro.co/jonarogers.
You can even write a check payable to “Movember Foundation”, reference my name and Registration Number 2222774 and send it to: Movember Foundation, PO Box 2726, Venice, CA 90294-2726
As an incentive, I am going to pick one of my donors at random and they will be sent this moustachioed inspirational Tom Selleck Westerns DVD. You know you want to display this video trophy in your home.
Check out that moustache!
Funds raised will help make a tangible difference to the lives of others. Through the Movember Foundation and their men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG, Movember is funding world class awareness, research, educational and support programs which would otherwise not be possible.
For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please click on the links below:
About Movember
Prostate Cancer Foundation research
LIVESTRONG
Global Action Plan
Cell Phones Are The New Cigarettes
”As soon as college students are out of class, cell phones, and iPods materialize in their hands…” (Charles Simic, in the New York Review of Books.) Cell phones are the new cigarettes –discuss
-Slate Culture Gabfest
Think about that for a second before you laugh. Whats the first thing many people do when they wake up? Check their missed calls. What do you do to take a break at work? Check your texts. Add the vague notions about cancer health concerns, and you could easily fill in those answers with cigarettes instead of cell phones.
Stop chasing happiness, choose happiness first
We all tend to say “I’ll be happy after I…” and finish it with a)get into a dream school b)land the perfect job c)make a certain income. However, how often after we accomplish that do we actually feel happy? Or, if we do, how temporary?
Shawn Achor says that most of us keep chasing happiness. Instead:
Our society’s formula for success and happiness is broken.
If you reverse the order of the formula, you end up with greater happiness and greater success rates. Happiness is an advantage, and the precursor to greater success. Every single relationship, business and educational outcome improves when the brain is positive first. If you cultivate happiness while in the midst of your struggles, work, at school, while unemployed or single, you increase your chances of attaining all the goals you are pursuing…including happiness.
Start around minute 7 to skip banter and get to the point.
So, the trick is – happiness breeds success, not the other way around. Make sure you are happy, and you will be more successful in all aspects of life. He lists 5 ways to do so in a post on Psychology Today.
Hypercritical of Hyperactivity Links
I’m going to go ahead and predict there isn’t a connection between a coloring agent and hyperactivity. The problem is the foods using food dye. Natural foods, like fruits and vegetables don’t use food dyes. You know what foods do? Candies and junk/processed foods. Stuff with a lot of sugar and nasty chemicals.
This is a classic example of correlation without causation. Correlation is when two things happen at the same time. Sometimes, this is because one thing causes another. That is causation. But sometimes, things happen at the same time that have nothing to do with each other. The dye isn’t causing the hyperactivity. The sugars in the foods with the dye is.
Does the CEO use it?
I have come up with a concept for determining whether I will use a company’s products or not. I ask myself – “Does the CEO use it?”
Basically, I figure in most cases, the person who owns or runs a company understands what quality the product is. They know the raw materials, the manufacturing or growing conditions, etc. They know if something cheap, or even bad for people is being used in the product.
I avoid looking at just employees of companies, because it is well documented that cheaper things can be very bad for you. I fear that the employees, who are not compensated like the CEO, simply may not be able to afford better. I don’t think this is a classism argument though. There is an old drug dealer adage: Don’t get high on your own supply. Even drug dealers know that what they are selling destroys the lives of those it touches.
So, look around at the things you use or consume. I bet the CEO of the manufacturer of my car, a Ford, drives a Ford. He stands behind his product. I bet the owner of Whole Foods would eat anything from one of his grocery stores. He knows its all food that is good for him. I guarantee Steve Jobs uses an iPod when he listens to music.
Now, take a look at the leadership of Frito-Lay. From the looks of it, they don’t appear to be in poor health, or overweight. I bet they don’t go home and eat a bag of Lay’s potato chips.
Is there a product you use that you would imagine the CEO goes home and thinks, “I would NEVER touch that”?
Eating Well While Climbing the Corporate Ladder
Would people describe you as “crunchy”? If so, you might be interested in my friend’s new blog. They are writing tips about how to eat healthy while living as a 20-something up and comer in the white collar world. Being busy doesn’t mean you can’t eat well. Go check the blog: http://gfcorporategranola.wordpress.com/
How to Overcome Shyness
Those who have known me since High School know that I am (and moreso, was) an extremely shy person. I would turn bright red if I had to talk in class, and I hated being the focus of attention.
As an example, my 11th grade English teacher held a socratic style discussion after we read a chapter of each book. Needless to say a nightmare for me. I ended up being too terrified to speak – not because I didn’t have anything to say, but because I was too shy. Invariably, by the time I worked up the courage to talk, someone else had said my point. I ended up looking dumber or lazier than I should have.
I have outgrown that a little, but still hate the feeling of being in the spotlight.
Ran across a quick article from the blog “Dumb Little Man” which puts out a few posts a week on life improvment. They are concise but informative. This week they had one on how to overcome shyness. One of the bullets really hit home:
Shyness is pride
Someone I respect a great deal once told me that ‘shyness is pride.’ What he meant was that shy people spend too much time worrying about themselves and how they look in the eyes of other people, when they should be focusing on what’s outside, trying to do a good job, trying to add value to the situation. This is brilliant advice – start thinking about others and less about yourself. In fact, everyone else is actually thinking about themselves, too. Nobody really cares about you. So stop being so self absorbed.
This is so true. I was so focused on not messing up, or looking dumb in front of others, that I would become introverted. Paralyzed too much to participate.
If you are shy or introverted, go check out the rest of the post – it might open your eyes a bit.
Rules of Manhood
No, this is not some chauvinist link that says things like “Man Law” or extrapolates the minutia of the five second rule.
Rules For My Unborn Son is a neat blog idea where the author is posting “rules” that every gentleman should know. They are not uppity by any means. They are down to earth rules that make you more like the person you want to be. I feel like George Clooney and Don Draper check this site daily.
http://rulesformyunbornson.tumblr.com/
I have literally taken an afternoon and gone through the entire list to date. Go read up. Here are a few good ones from a quick perusal to give you an idea:
392. When you’re with new friends, dont’t just talk about old friends.
310. Make time for your mom on your birthday. It’s her special day too.
305. Don’t be so eager to leave the kids table.
155. Dance with your partner, not at her.
117. Be a good listener. Don’t just wait your turn to talk.
47. Watch a lightning storm from a safe spot. But watch em.
