exercise

Ten Positive Things To Do During COVID19 Lockdown

It looks like we’ve all got about 6 months to fill in social isolation. How you are going to spend the time? Are you going to use it productively, or waste it bingeing on NetFlix until you can’t see any more?

It’s times like these when thinking creatively is particularly important. And since I’m here to do your thinking for you, here are ten positive things to do during the COVID19 lockdown that will leave you better off in the future when we can all go out again: (more…)

By Graham Stoney, ago

How To Deal With Generalized Anxiety

Anxiety sucks, especially when we don’t know what’s causing it and what to do about it. When we feel anxious all the time for no obvious reason, it’s called generalized anxiety. However there are often things we can do to reduce, eliminate or manage generalized anxiety so that it doesn’t ruin our life.

There are many reasons why we may feel anxious. Solving this problem can sometimes involve trying a number of different approaches until we find one or more that work for us. Based on my experience of what works for me and my clients when feeling anxious, here are some strategies to try: (more…)

By Graham Stoney, ago

Qi Gong Routines For Building Self-Confidence

For the past few months I’ve been practising Qi Gong (almost) every morning that I don’t have college, just before sunrise down near the beach. Qi Gong is a great way to start the day with some gentle exercise that gets your energy moving to start the day feeling more confident and grounded.

I find Qi Gong easier to practise than it’s brother Tai Chi, and you can easily follow along to a YouTube video. I bought a pair of Sony Wireless Bluetooth headphones so that I can put my iPhone on the ground a couple of metres in front of me and still hear the commentary. One of the reasons I like the videos below is because they have soothing, reassuring commentaries that sink into the subconscious after a few views.

I have often found strong emotions arising during or just after practising Qi Gong, so remember to take care of your inner child when doing this. Witness the emotions arise and let them go. If they’re particularly strong and/or persistent, find [intlink id=”1511″ type=”page”]someone to talk the feelings over with[/intlink].

There are heaps of Qi Gong tutorial videos on YouTube, and you can start with shorter ones and work your way up to longer routines if you’re not very fit yet. There’s plenty of variety so you don’t ever get bored with the same old routine every day. Get ready to meet your new YouTube friends Lee, Jeff and Marissa! (more…)

By Graham Stoney, ago

Start An Exercise Routine

Hey, it’s Graham again from The Confident Man Project, and today you’re going to learn about how to start an exercise routine and why that is important to your self-confidence. Well, exercise is an awesome thing. There really are very few downsides unless you do too hard and you injure yourself.

But exercise is good for your physical health, it’s good for your mental health, it’s a massive cure for depression and anxiety, it boosts your self-confidence, it helps you build muscle tone, it generally makes you more sociable. So there’s really no downside. It takes a little bit of time, but if you don’t have time for exercise then, well, your priorities are a little bit screwed and you really need to get that into gear and get it fixed.

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By Graham Stoney, ago

Go To A Dance Class

Hey there, it’s Graham from The Confident Man Project again, and today I want to give you my number 1 tip for building your confidence with women, for getting exercise, for just having a lot of fun. This is an absolute showstopper. You’ve got to go do this if you haven’t already done it. So what am I talking about? Well, I’m talking about learning to dance.

Now, for me, I want to all boys’ high school where playing rugby and getting your head kicked in was kind of the way to be the macho man and be a bit of a hero, and the whole idea of dancing sounding a bit kind of gay to me, to be honest. I didn’t think I would be doing that.

How wrong I was because women absolutely love men that dance. There are genetic biological reasons for that. In the animal kingdom, a lot of animals use dance as a way of attracting their mate, and a lot of that same programming is built into the brains of human beings as well.

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By Graham Stoney, ago

How To Lose Weight Without Really Trying

If you’re carrying around a few extra pounds of flab, that’s not going to be great for your confidence. A bunch of friends of mine have recently forked out for an expensive coaching program to motivate them to lose weight fast; and although it seems to be working for them, I shake my head each time they talk about it.

Why? Because you can lose weight for free, without really trying. I know because I’ve been doing it myself for the last few months. In fact I’m kinda pissed off that the new board shorts that I bought at the beginning of this summer are too big for me now and I’ll have to fork out for a new pair soon.

So here’s how to lose weight without really trying:

Stop Looking For A Quick Fix

The biggest problem with the well-intentioned program my friends are on is that it promises a relatively quick fix. If you want your body to settle at its ideal weight, what you need is a lifestyle change. Looking for a quick fix to life’s problems is symptomatic of childish thinking, indicating that you haven’t really grown up yet. Adult obesity is a manifestation of childish thinking.… Continue reading…

By Graham Stoney, ago

How to Manage Stress

Stress is the unspoken epidemic of the 21st century. There’s too much to do, too much pressure, too many people to please. We feel restless, tense and on edge much of the time. You can’t relax. After a while, you begin to think that this is normal; the way you’re supposed to feel all the time. You get addicted to your own adrenalin.

You never take the time to even breathe properly. You push, and push, and push as though your life depends on doing what you think you need to do. There’s never enough time. And when your current project is done, there’s always a new one to work on. The pressure never ends. You get headaches frequently, but push on regardless.

Left untreated, chronic stress will destroy your health and rob you of your zest for life. Eventually you burn out, give up, fall ill, get depressed and just don’t care any more. It’s important to learn how to manage stress before that happens. Here are some tips on how to do it:

Take Regular Breaks

Your body isn’t built to handle the non-stop adrenaline rush of chronic stress. If you live in a constantly adrenalin charged state, eventually your health will suffer.… Continue reading…

By Graham Stoney, ago

Yoga

Yoga is an Eastern combination of mindfulness, breathing and body movement which has been used for centuries for handling stress and anxiety. The physical body movement involved helps to get you out of your head and calm your constant upsetting thoughts.

Long before the invention of modern psychiatric pharmaceuticals Yoga was dealing with mind problems for free. It also helps maintain your body flexibility and improve your breathing practices. Besides, Yoga classes are also an excellent way to meet interesting women. Need I say more?

Advantages:

  • Increasingly common and easy to learn

  • Great for your flexibility

  • Excellent way to meet women

  • Cheaper than most kinds of therapy

Disadvantages:

  • There’s no end to it. You never stop practicing

  • Your buddies may laugh at you, especially during downward facing dog
… Continue reading…
By Graham Stoney, ago

How to Defeat Depression for Men

I’ve been there myself, and I know how debilitating depression can be. It sucks the life out of you. There’s a zoned-out feeling in your head, a blank look on your face, and an all-pervading sense of hopeless like you’ve never felt before. The light has gone out of your eyes. It’s a different feeling to sadness, which tends to pass when you’ve cried it out. Depression hangs around like a dense fog, clouding your judgement and colouring everything a nasty shade of grey.

You Don’t Have To Be Trapped By Depression

Psychiatrists will tell you that depression is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. They’re right, but this doesn’t say much; your brain is a complex biochemical system and pretty much any problem in there comes down to a “chemical imbalance” of some sort. The questions to ask are: what caused it, and what to do about it.

There’s no instant fix for depression, and everyone gets down sometimes. It’s part of being human. But small steps in the right direction add up. The following tips have worked for me, and will gradually get yourself feeling more hopeful and optimistic as the fog of depression clears and you get back to enjoying life again:

Exercise!

… Continue reading…
By Graham Stoney, ago