Classical Music – it’s perfect!



"People listen to classical music for its peace and perfectness; every note is simply perfect. You should appreciate it whilst you have the chance!"  Author unknown

Week 40

My Public Speaking students have been giving their persuasive speeches over the last  few weeks and one my  students did his on persuading our class to regularly listen to classical music.  He focused on three areas; health, emotion, and intelligence and presented research on the positive results in studies done to prove the power of listening to classical music.  And although I didn’t write down all the statistics, I did find myself wanting to jump up at the end of his speech and shout. "It's perfect... that will be my next small step! You have persuaded me to listen to more to classical music!"

I couldn't help but do a bit of my own research once I got home, and I’m tempted to flood the page with a boatload of evidence, but instead I'll just give you a few persuasive morsels. Doctors reported that when they piped in classical music to operating rooms while doing surgery, they found the results to be amazing.  Hospitals have also come up with a crazy amount of research that proves that classical music, when listened to regularly by their patients, showed better results than those that didn't listen. They required less pain medication, ate better, and their hospital stays were for a shorter amount of time.  It's reported to help with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer's, and even Cancer. As little as ten minutes a day has helped deeply depressed patients to break out of their emotional pits and return to a normal life. 

You’ve all probably heard of the ‘Mozart Effect’ and how researchers found that playing classical music to babies actually increased their intelligence.  But maybe you haven’t heard that it also works for adults.  There is plenty of research that shows positive test results and improved retention for students who listen to classical music while studying.  Some of the other findings included increased ability to have restful sleep, lower blood pressure, less pain, and a better outlook on life. But you can look it up for yourself…

It just seems a perfect goal for me right now.  I’m down to the last few weeks of school and I tend to get a bit grouchy, tired and run down at this time of year.  So I can do my own little mini-test and monitor my mood as I listen to ten minutes of classical music each day.  I would like to work it into my routine, as I find those steps that I can put into my daily routines are easiest for me to implement.  It takes me about twelve minutes to drive home from work…so I am thinking that time is a great opportunity to begin to wind down and de-stress.  Whether it's breathing in to the sounds of Chopin, Mozart, Stravinsky, Bach or Beethoven, I suspect it will be the perfect end to my work day.

Remember,  I have decided that I want to use my time more effectively to do more of what’s good for me.  This seems like a classical example of a ‘no-brainer’.  As near as I can figure, there just doesn’t appear to be a down side to it.  I’ll add it to my list today.

Small Step:  Listen to Classical music a minimum of 10 minutes a day, 4 days a week

Feel free to post your comment on the blog, or email me at: smallsteps4bigresults@yahoo.com

Laying it out on the Table



“One of the secrets of getting more done is to make a ‘TO DO’ list every day, keep it visible, and use it as a guide to action as you go through the day” Jean de la fontaine

Week 39

If you read my blog last week then you might remember I'm having a problem and I'm trying to get 'unstuck' and back on track.  The question I've been pondering this week is, how do I fix it? 

I smile as I remember what my Dad often swore by when it came to fixing something,  "Use duct tape, it'll fix anything," he would say.  And I must admit that I do always keep a role of duct tape handy, just in case.  But somehow I don't think that his duct tape will take care of this particular issue. So that brings me to another family member and her advise.  "Make a list", my sister keeps telling me..."when in doubt, make a list". Hmmmm... maybe that's what I need to do...lay things out on the table so I can see them more clearly.  

With that idea in mind, I decided to create a table with a check list of the small steps I have written about (with empty lines to write in more goals as I go) and I broke it down into the next 12 weeks.  Each day as I write in my journal, I can make a single mark next to the steps I took the day before, and that gives me a daily reminder of what I have chosen to be working on.  Then at the end of the week, I can see which goals I was successful with and which ones I need to step it up on, or perhaps which goals I’m just going to toss out. 

Here is what my table is shaping up to look like. 

GOAL – Week

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

48 oz. Water

Vitamin pill

Walk more

Move more

No gum

No chips-1 per wk.)

No soda (1PW)

Live in present/Jrnl

Lemon per day

Soynuts/almonds

Fruits/ Vegies

Top 20 foods -

New recipe

Cranberry Juice

List Blessings

Read the Bible

More MPG gas

Keep Car Clean

Read history bk

Make a list

Sunshine

Out/ comfrt zone

Devotion

Word Search

Help someone

So, now that I have laid it all out on the table, I can be honest with myself each day and use this list as a guide to action. 

Sis, I think you're right, and thanks for your great advise..."When in doubt, make a list." 

Oh yeah and one more thing; if you don't have a roll of duct tape, you might just consider buying one.

Small step:  Create a table to list my goals and check them off each day.

You can email me at http://www.smallsteps4bigresults.com/