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Rule 31:
Learn to live
with your weaknesses
Everybody has to admit weakness. We consider a basic
requirement to develop true mental power to be able to admit
ones own weaknesses, to know them and to be prepared to work
with them.
Rule 32:
Change your
antennas
A basic rule for any individual wanting to be mentally
powerful, is Be alert! For the grown up, mature, we
like the expression Change your antennas. If your are
looking at the same TV-stations, reading the same papers and
magazines, speaking with the same neighbors and friends
every year, you are likely to miss some information of the
change taking place around you. If you are reading and
grasping just the hot novelties and things related to your
profession and interests, you may overlook important longer
term changes which may govern the future life of you and
your family.
Therefore, please change your antennas now and then,
change your information gathering habitude and change the
scope of your interest. That will make life richer and you
more powerful.
We would particularly advice our visitors to look for
information about the future. You may start looking for
future stuff in your newspaper, buying book analyzing the
future seriously and reading magazines which treats this
topic. You may visit the site of World
Future Society. WFS is publishing THE FUTURIST, a
magazine with "forecasts, trends, and ideas about the
future. It gathers a long range of topics and views, from
white to black.
To beware of information overload, please look for Rule
70..
Rule 33:
Structure
creatively
You may classify or structure almost everything along an
one dimensional scale, from thin to thick, from young to old
etc. etc.
Adding a second dimension, you may classify a little more
elaborated, e.g. houses according to type and according to
size. And with a third dimension, you may still draw a model
of your system (like a cube).
It is a good mental training to place everything in an
order according a chosen scale. The most common scale are
size, weight, age, position, value, ranking and so on.
And if you want a more creative and universal approach,
you may use morphology, see Rule 43.
Rule 34:
Expand your
experience
Rule 35:
Learn minding
the mood
Collect your own list of "mood minders" to make you feel
more well when life may turn adversary in a small or larger
scale. In every stage of life, one encounter situations
making one feel bad. To have a better mood, you may design a
list of "mood minders", e.g.
- It could have been worse
- It will pass
- It is normal in my age
- It was necessary for a reason which I yet don´t
know.
- If I do ....., it will be better.
Powered with this list, you get a better mood and gain
efficiency through having a better relationship to your
environment and a clearer brain.
Rule 36:
Learn from
past problems
Every concerned senior citizen should prepare a list of
his/her previous problems and mistakes. For each item, the
questions are:
- What did cause the problem?
- What did I learn from this problem?
- Which precautions should I take to avoid future
occurrences?
- Whom and how should I warn against similar
mistakes?
For obvious reasons, this list should be a written
one.
We guess that most children would be glad to discuss the
parents mistakes, failures, and experiences.
Rule 37:
Be familiar
with "worst case design"
Rule 38:
Avoid paying
excessive time and money for your emotions
This is certainly a difficult and questionable advice.
Without wanting to be categorical, we try to be closer to
the non-pity, non-gambling, non-sentimental, non-vanity and
so on end of the possible span. Let us put it otherwise: It
is advisable to let the brain rule the hearth.
Rule 39: Coming!
Rule 40:
Exercise and
train mental processes
Exercising the body has long been a must for millions of
all ages. Not so for the brain. Every person is a receiver,
a transformer and a sender. We need all to exercise these
three mental functions: listening and reading; creating some
kind of a mental product of what we receive; and then
finally telling somebody of our experience, analysis and
conclusions.
We would gain from exercising mental problem solving,
asking why, how, when, where and what. (see also under
Creativity). In our opinion this
rule apply just as much to senior people as to any aspiring
youth. The muscles of a part of the body not being used will
dwindle. So will also mental muscles.
Mental Health Rules
1. HAVE A HOBBY: Acquire pursuits which absorb
your interest; sports and "nature" are best.
2. DEVELOP A PHILOSOPHY: Adapt yourself to social and
spiritual surroundings.
3. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Cultivate companionship
thought and in feeling. Confide, confess, consult.
4. FACE YOUR FEARS: Analyze them; daylight dismisses
ghosts.
5. BALANCE FANTASY WITH FACT: Dream, but also do; wish
but build; imagine, but ever face reality.
6. BEWARE ALLURING ESCAPES: Alcohol, opiates and
barbitals may prove faithless friends.
7. EXERCISE: Walk, swim, golf - muscles need
activity
8. LOVE, BUT LOVE WISELY: Sex is a flame which
uncontrolled may scorch; properly guided, it will light
the torch of eternity.
9. DON'T BECOME ENGULFED IN A WHIRLPOOL OF WORRIES:
Call early for help. The doctor is ready for your
rescue.
10. TRUST IN TIME: Be patient and hopeful, time is a
great therapist.
Dr. Joseph Fetterman
Instructions for life
1. Take into account that great love and great
achievements involve great risk.
2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three Rs:
Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a
wonderful Stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them
properly.
6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great
friendship.
7. When you realise you've made a mistake, take immediate
steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your
values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best
answer.
11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older
and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second
time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation
for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the
current situation. Don't bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve
immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been
before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which
your love for each other exceeds your need for each
other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in
Order to get it.
19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
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