"Discipline is what you do for yourself, not to yourself."
Quote on my triathlete/nurse sister's refrigerator

Inspired Action eNews
Tips and Resources to Help You Stay Inspired & Healthy
Through Daily Challenges and Life Changes
June 7, 2010
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This morning I was out walking while on a trip to Milwaukee for a family funeral. As I rounded a corner in my old neighborhood, I was stopped by a car that was blocking the alley driveway.

As I passed around the car, I came upon two men, one standing and staring at the other who was sitting stunned on the ground. Both were showing extreme distress on their faces and the man on the ground had major road rash scrapes and cuts down one arm.

I stopped and asked the man on the ground, "Are you okay? Can I help you?" while looking for signs of shock. He said, "I think so. But let me see if I can get up." He slowly braced himself with one arm as I supported his other arm as he was coming up. He said, "I know my name and my address and I have a 4 year old daughter and a wife who is at work, but my neck is really stiff. Good thing I was wearing my helmet! Where are the police when you need them? There goes another one that hasn't stopped."

As I looked around I noticed his bike laying just off to the side of the car with a bent wheel rim. At first thought I imagined the man fell off his bike and the man in the car stopped to help him, but then realized the man he was talking to who had a "deer in the headlights" look on his face had been driving the car that hit him.

The bicyclist said, "I think I'm okay."

I said, "How's your neck now? I'd go to an emergency room and get your neck checked out. You could have a fractured vertebrae and any movement could create a real problem."

He said, 'That's a good idea. I think I'll walk my bike home and check in with the doctor." He looked at the man who had been driving and said, "I should probably get your name and number."

The deer-in-the-headlights man nodded. The injured bicyclist fumbled through his backpack, I assumed, for a pen and paper.

As the two men began to exchange information another bicyclist came by and slowed down on his bike. The injured bicyclist said, "Man, where's your helmet! You better get a helmet, Man! This saved my life. Look at this!" He pointed to the dents in his helmet and where the rubber edge had been scraped away. "Saved my head and my life," he said. "Man, get a helmet!"

The other bicyclist and I began to walk on as the other two men exchanged information. Visibly shaken, the helmetless bicyclist said, "That was weird. I told myself I should get a helmet and went online last April to buy one but they were out of stock of the one I wanted, so I said, 'No problem,' and figured I'd get it later. But I never did. Kinda strange to start off this week like this when it's the first day of "Bicycle to Work Week," and I'm on my bike instead of driving. Guess I should order that bike helmet today."

Do you think he ordered the helmet? What would you have done?

Sometimes inspired action comes from the strangest places. Sometimes action is inspired by something negative that happens to someone else...that moment when you find yourself saying, "There but for the grace of God go I."

Where in your life have you been given a reprieve recently? A moment of grace where something happened, but not to you? A moment that could be perceived as a harbinger of things to come if you didn't take a different tack than the one you were currently on?

Is there something in your life like getting a bike helmet that you've been procrastinating and need to take action on today? Don't wait. Do it now.

If procrastination dogs you, there are two great audio programs I strongly recommend. If you've never listened to mental conditioning audio programs, there's no time like now to start...especially if you're procrastinating something as important as taking care of your health, physical safety, or finances.

Check out these two programs by the experts at Think Right Now on "End Procrastination Now" and "Unstoppable Motivation Now."  I've listened to their programs for years and have found them to increase my confidence in whatever area I'm focused on shifting as well as creating powerful positive results. The website is also an encyclopedia of fascinating research and inspiring success stories to keep you motivated. To get to the catalog, scroll to the bottom of the homepage.

Here's the link: Think Right Now

Inspired by your presence...

Mary

PS. If you're new to mental conditioning audio tapes, or think you don't have the time to listen, Think Right Now has created a screensaver for Windows that you can run in the background that is fantastic for reprogramming bad habits and creating new positive habits with less stress and more ease. Go to Think Right Now.

Mary Marcdante
Helping People Stay Inspired & Healthy
Speaker/Author/Facilitator/Coach
(858) 792-6786
PO Box 2529  Del Mar, CA 92014
mary (at) marymarcdante.com
http://marymarcdante.com/foryou
 

Inspired Action eNews
Helping You Stay Inspired and Healthy Through Challenge and Change