Truth About Vegetarianism and Its Benefits

Living by good health principles is an important element in your realization of success. 

Depending upon your definition of success, the realization of it inevitably will require mental concentration, a certain level of endurance, and considerable stamina. A healthy diet plays a major role in this effort.

In recent years a significant percentage of the population here in the U.S., have began to understand the considerable health implications of consuming red meat and realizing the need to eliminate it when choosing a healthy diet. Vegetarianism is now being viewed as a real and viable choice.

Vegetarian Meals
To answer the question, what is a vegetarian? Here are the basics.  Meals for vegetarians consists of a diet in which no flesh foods are consumed. Therefore, even if you have eliminated red meat entirely, but you consume fish, chicken, turkey and other so-called white meat, then you are not a vegetarian. 

To repeat, a vegetarian is one who does not consume any kind of flesh foods.

Types of Vegetarians
To go a bit further, if you consume dairy products and eggs, without the flesh foods, you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian. And, if you eliminate dairy products and eggs, and only consume fruit, grains, legumes and vegetables, you are a strict vegetarian or a vegan. . 

A strict vegetarian, however, has the challenge of getting adequate protein in a balanced diet whereas the lacto-ovo vegetarian does not have that challenge at all.

Once again, the purpose of choosing a healthy diet is to keep health problems at a minimum as you pursue your definition of success. It would be to your advantage to take a serious look at the vegetarian option and make your choice. 

Personally, my choice for the last 54 years has been the lacto-ovo option with no regrets.

What do you thinks about vegetarianism? Leave your thoughts below.

How to Stop the Senseless Killings in America's Black Communities Part 1

Police Must Serve and Protect. Nothing Else.

Every weekend or even more frequently, the evening news reports the wanton, senseless killings occurring in in the Black communities of Chicago, Baltimore, New Orleans, and others. These killings are a blight upon this country and must end.

Often ill-informed, commentators attribute these killings to boys being raised without a father, lack of job opportunities, poverty, and an inferior education.  The truth is that none of these factors lead someone to kill someone else.

When someone kill someone else or just shoots or use any other weapon with the intention to kill, it directly demonstrates that this individual does not value another human life and since he is equally human – – did not value his own life. This refers to anyone regardless of what his or her occupation or profession is. The term value is the key.

Valuing Human Life
If we accept the definition that values are principles or standards considered worthwhile or desirable, the question arises as to when does a person begin to acquire values and in particular the value of human life and how is this and other values are acquired.

The answer is, people begin to acquire values as children when they begin to understand the spoken word and progresses as they observe the behavior of their parent and the consistency between the spoken word and the behavior of the parent.

I use parent in the singular because two parents are not necessary for instilling the  correct values in their children. What is required is that the parent is clear concerning the values that need to be taught and the importance of consistency between her words and actions. If there are two parents than both parents have to be on the same page and present a unified front to their children. Parents should never let their  children pit one parent against the other.

How Values are Taught
Values are taught by reading with your children inspirational materials that emphasize the value of human life. If you are religious, you can easily identify religious doctrines that emphasize the value of another human life. 

You can also choose other literature that underscores a life being saved and share stories about individuals who began life at a significant disadvantage but were able to overcome it and excel  at their chosen occupation or profession. And beyond all of this, to show, by example, your love for your children and for yourself through your words and actions. Remember, actions always speak louder than words.

The views that poverty, lack of job opportunities, or inferior education lead to killings are just useless, simplistic, and uninformed.

If an individual has learned to value human life, none of these factors would lead to the act of killing another person. If an individual is presented with the obstacles mentioned above, he will have the inner strength and motivation to find solutions whenever they exist. When you love yourself, appreciate your potential and recognize the same in others, you not only have a conscious and an appreciation of right and wrong, but even a feeling of brotherhood. 

In Part  2, I will specifically deal with the Role of the Politicians and the Police in Stopping the Senseless Killings. Don't Miss it.


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How to Stop the Senseless Killings in America's Black Communities Part 2

Police Use of Unnecessary Force

With such a sickening number of murders occurring in the Black communities across the U.S., it is clear that the criminal activity has to end. 

As alluded to in Part 1, criminals in the Black community emerge from Black families who live in those communities and is a reflection of the values learned in these families. 

The culture and values in these families and communities must be changed to "Stop the Killings. Uplift Black lives".

Mindset of Black Men Must Change
The mindset of Black men must be changed from killing to protecting – realizing that the police slogan of “we serve and protect” is at best a bold faced lie. Protecting their families and communities has been a long tradition held among Black men and must be re-established. Change must begin to occur in our families and communities. Parents and their children must begin to value their lives and other Black lives.

Certain segments of the Black communities must have their level of consciousness raised to the understanding that the control of the quality of life within the Black communities must begin with those who reside in those communities.

Police Must Be Held Accountable
The police must be held accountable for their role in serving and protecting. Moreover, those police who engage in misconduct and participate in the killing of Black people must not be allowed to be protected by unions and punished to the fullest extent of the law just like anyone else. We pay their salaries, provide for their health care, and give them an overly generous pension – all out of proportion to what the average citizen receives in Social Security.

Schools Must Be Held Accountable
The schools must be held accountable for educating our children with the knowledge and skills necessary for them to compete for the type of jobs emerging over the next 5 to 10 years and beyond. Black parents must advocate for school choice so as to have the opportunity to put their youngsters in school that will educate their children and not mis-educate them. Moreover, the politicians must understand that they will be voted out if they don't represent their constituents as expected.

Solutions Must Come From These Communities 
In that Black communities are directly impacted by these killings, the solutions have to come from these communities. As stated earlier, Black men have to take the leadership role in reversing this trend which will then result in their taking control of their families, communities, politicians, and police. 

This will happen as Black men begin again to connect with their ancient traditions and their true Afrikan identity and accept the values and principles that truly define their Afrikan manhood. They will begin to change internally and thereby rejecting any type of negative identities imposed on them from the outside. 

They will begin to view their communities as an incubator for raising their families in a safe and secure environment. They will again become protectors of their communities rather than predators. 

If you missed Part 1, here it is. Leave your thoughts and comments below.

3 Simple Ways to Change Your Behavior and Take Control of Your Life

The French philosopher, Henri Bergson, once said that, "To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly."

Change is unavoidable, continuous, and is occurring all the time. 

Our country changes, our city changes, our neighborhood changes, our family changes, and we as individuals change. Sometimes it may not be perceptible by someone on the outside.

But, we know ourselves better than anyone else when we have changed. 

Our political views may have changed, our attitudes may have changed, our appearances may have changed, and even our faculties may have changed.

The term change itself has an even deeper significant when it is in reference to a change in behavior that represents coming to a fork in the road and having to choose one direction or another. If you're dissatisfied with your present state and want to change, that is significant. 

If you are dissatisfied with your career; if you're dissatisfied with your marriage or other important relationships; if you're dissatisfied with your lifestyle; or if you're dissatisfied with your career; a major change may be necessary. A desire to change and a willingness to do so is essential. No one can change you or your situation. It has to begin with you. It has to begin inside.

1. Some people continue to change jobs, mate, and friends, but never think of changing themselves. Don't become that person. If you feel that you are stuck in a rut and is seriously desirous of making a change in your life, don't hesitate to seek professional help. 

If you don't have a close friend who has your best interest at heart, then find a therapist that you can trust and establish a good working relationship with that particular person. 

2. Be willing to take your therapist's recommendations seriously. Just talking about your problem will not bring about the change you need. You must be willing to do homework between the sessions and talk about your efforts and experiences when you return to the session. Most people do not change because willingness to make the effort is lacking.

3. Think about change as taking control your life. Get off of the roller coaster ride where you are allowing others to affect your emotional level by what they say or do. It is about making the decision to become that person you want to be, to begin taking the necessary steps in that direction, and to resolve to continue to grow the rest of your life

 
You may also like Take Control of Your Life with Lifestyle Changes. Let me know your thoughts. Leave your comments below.

Learn the 7 Ways for Healthy Living and Aging

The aging population in the US is growing larger and living longer. While it is worthwhile to live to a ripe old age, it is even more gratifying if you are aging in a healthy way.

What you habitually do everyday has a significant bearing on healthy aging as opposed to being old and sickly.

In my view, there are 7 Ways for Healthy Living and Aging that you should acquire if you don't have them already.

1. Get a good night's sleep every night. It can be as little as six hours. But, it should be one in which the lights are turned off with the full intention of sleeping and feeling relaxed in the morning,

2. Acquire and maintain a few friends with whom you can share good conversation, enjoy going to events, dinner, etc and giving each other mutual support.

3. Keep the mind active. Find a mental activity that is absorbing and gratifying. It can be learning a new skill, regularly surfing the internet for new learning experiences and the like.

4. Get daily exercise. If you can't join a YMCA or a health club, get an exercise bike and some weights and work out for at least 3 to 5 minutes a day and walk regularly.

5. Eat a balanced diet. It is not necessary to eat three meals a day. Two meals will suffice. However, if you do choose to eat three meals, make them light and nutritious.

6. Control your thinking. Your mind can easily drift into a pattern of thinking that can make you sad and depressed if you are not careful. Think constructive thoughts -- thoughts that are optimistic and forward looking.

7. Go to the doctor less frequently unless you have an illness that need to be monitored. Most doctors are trained to prescribe medications for any type of illnesses, real or imagined, and tests can sometimes give you false positives. 

Study to get to know your own body. Recognize symptoms that can be the precursors to a real illness. Then, when you go to the doctor, tell him specifically what your concerns are. Try not to get addicted to any type of medication.

Acquiring and maintaining these habits will be a great help in assuring a long and healthy life. If you don't already have a lifestyle based on these habits, reread this, and begin integrating these habits into your life. 

Remember any specific action repeated daily and consistently for at least 21 days will become a habit. Do this and acquire good habits.


Have you tried to change any habits lately? Leave your comments below

Take Control of Your Destiny by Breaking Bad Habits

To take control of your life, recognize that habits are response patterns to situations. 

If you are a smoker, you reach for a cigarette when the coffee is served, but not during the soup. 

You don't smoke or even want to in church, in the theater, in a courtroom, or in other places where no one usually smokes. 

Given the right circumstances you will light up.

In order to break a habit, then, you must recognize that you must deal with the source of satisfaction - that is, you must want to change your ways and give up the real or imagined benefits; you must be aware of what you are doing, and, you must take in account the situation that had become associated with the habit.

A number of methods for habit breaking have been proposed by therapists working from different points of views. 

Here I will review some of them and recommend the one that I believe is the most effective.

One method for habit breaking is through negative practice. 
This is deliberately repeating a habit over and over again until you are totally bored with it. This method can be used when you seem to be unaware of when or why you are doing something. 

This procedure calls attention to the situation involved, which makes them recognizable so that preventive action can be taken.

Another method that can be used is the tapering off method. 
This is a long-term process and works only if you are seriously interested in breaking the habit. If the habit is related to a life-threatening disease such as cancer or heart disease your motivation to break the habit can be significantly strong enough so that nothing else may be needed.

Still, another method is to quit cold turkey.  
You may experience significant stress with this approach or you may perhaps experience some joy out of being able to make such a complete break. 

This is not a method, but a decision that you make and are willing to stick with despite the potential discomfort that you will experience.

Finally, in my judgment the best way to break any habit is to follow the five main components of the habit reversal method:

1. Recognize that the habit is a strong or persistent urge that is not rooted in deeper psychological problems.
2. Keep precise record of urges and count the number of times that you actually succumb to them.
3. Develop an awareness of the chain of events that leads to or results in the unwanted behavior.
4. Learn relaxation method as a means of combating the urges.
5. And, substitute a response that incompatible with the unwanted behaviors.

If you really desire to quit any habit and take control of your life, these five easy step process really works.


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Connection Between Spirituality and Mental Health

Spirituality has been defined as the belief and practices that develop based on personal values and ideology of the meaning and purpose of life as part of a larger scheme.

It refers to the belief that there is a power outside of one's own that transcends understanding.

For many individuals, identifying with a religion and having religious beliefs influence their spirituality. However, spirituality is not confined to those who belonged to an organized religion or have religious beliefs.

People can develop spirituality without practicing a particular religion or believing in the powers of a supreme being. 

However, whatever is the nature of their spirituality, many individuals achieve a sense of inner peace and harmony as well as emotional fulfillment by believing that life has a purpose.

In my view spirituality and religiosity are interrelated with religiosity focusing on the external expressions of spirituality or faith. In other words religious practices can foster spirituality while spiritual practices could involve aspects of religious participation.

Nevertheless, a breakdown in spirituality can have a negative impact on one's mental well-being.

The key issue here is that whether changing their lives to improve their mental health or dealing with the recovery from a health problem, people with strong spiritual beliefs benefit from the foundation of confidence and purpose that their beliefs provide.

Now let's look at the three dimensions of spirituality. They are:
a. making personal meaning out of situations
b. coming to an understanding of self
c. appreciating the importance of connection with others.

Spirituality then may be considered a mechanism of social support, positive coping, and decision-making, avoidance of substance abuse, and help in times of stress.


What are your thoughts about spirituality? Leave your comments below.

5 Secrets to Having Great Conversations

The 5 Secrets of  Great Conversation emphasize conversation as being an art. Just as a great artist can avoid boring topics. 

This is perhaps the one to emphasize most. To practice the art of conversation, keep abreast of current events, tune in to your fellow conservationists, and enjoy the experience.

Use these secrets whether you are a parent talking with your children, an adult talking with your spouse, or in a group of people that you are just getting acquainted with. Modify them to meet the occasion. 

Now here are the 5 Secrets of Great Conversation:

1. Avoid Boring Topics

Keep your health complaints for your doctor unless those you are talking to can be of assistance, don't talk about your personal and domestic affairs, and forget about bringing up your in-laws and pets. 

Read the newspapers online if you don’t want to buy the print editions. I buy the print editions only on the weekends. Choose two or three monthly magazines that go in depth on topics you’re interested in. And, keep current in your area of expertise.

2. Don’t Offend

The best manners come from empathy. It's feeling as though you are the other person – – put yourself in his place. They are simply expressions of the decent respect the one human being owes to another and is owed in return. Try to be sensitive to those around you.

3. Don’t Gossip

The Bible says, " Do not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Gossip, by definition, is rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature. 

In other words, don't talk behind your neighbors back. It reflects on your character. Spreading rumors are about as hard to unspread as butter.

4. Include Everyone In

To exclude someone from a conversation is as unthinkable as it would be for a hostess to omit serving one of her guests at dinner. Don't leave anyone out. Reach out to all. Let your eyes communicate cordially with each in turn. 

Be aware of everyone's reaction to what you are saying. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person who is feeling left out.  Make a point of setting him or her at ease.

5. Listening

"Know how to listen, says Plutarch, and you can learn from those who speak badly." Fifty percent of the talking is listening – – not just with your ears, but with all your senses; and, with your heart as well as your mind.  

Close listening for correct information is essential to good conversation, social, or business. The greatest compliment you can pay to anyone is to really listen to what he has to say. And, the way to show you have been listening is to answer responsibly.

What do you think?

Leave your comments below.

Your Health is at Risk. Here's What to Do About It

Exercise work zones 

If several of your close blood relatives have had heart at­tacks before the age of sixty, you're likely to have one too unless you eliminate all the other possible risk factors. 

Don't have a fatalistic view about heart disease because so many of your close relatives died young from heart attacks. 

Chances are your ill-fated parents or siblings smoked, were overweight, were diabetic with poor sugar control, had el­evated cholesterol levels, and rarely exercised. 

Genes are only part of the story. Regardless of your genetic vulnera­bility, correcting any obvious abnormalities will improve your outlook considerably.

Regular exercise. Regular exercise that's sufficiently rigorous protects the coronary arteries. 

However, you've got to pay attention to the other risk factors as well. Dr. William Castelli, the di­rector of the Framingham Heart Study, estimates that half the doctors running in the Boston Marathon have abnormal cholesterol levels—and don't know it!

You're most likely to stay with your exercise program if you enjoy it. Few people will continue for very long with a regimen that they find boring. Brisk walking for thirty minutes a day or vigorous gardening are enough. 

If you prefer, you may also run, jog, dance, bike, or swim, pro­vided your doctor has cleared you to do so. 

Walking briskly for about three miles (you can pick any other form of ex­ercise) was found to reduce the risk of a heart attack by 64 percent in male Harvard alumni. (Graduates of Princeton, Yale, and Cornell can probably expect the same good re­sults.)

Aerobic exercises Aerobic exercises such as walking or running (as opposed to stretching and weight-lifting) exert their beneficial effect in several ways: 

• they lower your resting heart rate and blood pressure, thus easing the burden on your heart; 
• they reduce cholesterol and triglycerides
• raise the good lipoproteins and lower the bad lipoproteins; 
• they drop the blood sugar in diabetics; 
• they help prevent osteoporosis; 
• they decrease the proportion of body fat; they reduce stress and improve mood. 
• All in all, exercise is a good prescription against heart attack.

Besides improving your physical health and increasing your longevity, exercise can have short-term and long-term psychological benefits. Physical activity can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve mood and well-being.

What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below.

10 No Nonsense Strategies to Easily Manage Your Time Effectively

When you manage something, you direct or control the use of it. Although you cannot direct time, you can certainly control your use of it.

All of us have the same amount of time, but how we use it, has a significant effect on the success we experience in life.

Time management does not involve any secret principles.

Rather, it involves setting priorities, organizing your life according to those priorities, making a commitment to keeping them, and enjoying the journey along the way with less stress and more accomplishments.

Here are the 10 simple and easy time management strategies.

1. Do it immediately. If a task can be completed in less than a minute, do it on the spot. So instead of putting the glasses and dishes in the sink and walking away, Wash them right away. Get it over with.

2. Organize your documents. Learn how to organize your documents and photos on your home or work computer. Consider the many free photo organizing applications and the organizing features in your word processing applications and use one or more of them.

3. Purge your email of all unnecessary messages. Get serious about it.

4. Organize your bookmarks. Determine the categories that are important to you and set them up.

5. Count to ten when you feel snowed under by clutter and general disorder, Just putting things back in their rightful place including the trash can. And always have a bag ready for thrift store donations.

6. Organize and file your junk email. Establish at least two new email accounts. Use one for all the retail and internet, promotions you want to receive, and for your shopping. The other email account should be for your relatives, friends, and urgent emails. Visited these accounts twice a day and dispatch everything you don’t want to save into the recycle bin.

7. Cook more rice than you need for your today’s meal. Use leftovers for spanish rice, fried rice, red beans and rice, or other good rice recipes.

8. Organize your bookshelves. You may find a favorite book that you just totally forgot to read or that you can benefit from rereading. Others you may just decide to donate.

9. Recycle instantly. Keep waste baskets in strategic spots around your home, and deposit junk mail, and unwanted catalogs in them. Buy a shredder and remember to shred anything with sensitive information.

10. And, finally, start your day smart. Begin your day with a healthy and delicious breakfast. Consider oatmeal, fruit, and raisin toast, an omelet, grits, and wheat toast, a raisin toast sandwich of your choice of jam and cream cheese and a piece of fruit. Or if you prefer something even lighter, how about raisin toast, and cottage cheese with fruit. Reduce or eliminate the amount of meat you eat for breakfast. You’ll then be more alert and have more energy.


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Control Your Destiny - Know the Key Differences Between Being Stressed or Depressed

Stressed or Depressed

Juggling multiple medications, always watching what you eat, ensuring you get enough exercise, and your daily routines can cause stress and, in some cases, depression. 

So how do you know if you're depressed or just stressed? There are some key differences.

Stressed
Stress is your body's physical response to high-demand situations that you have little or no control over, such as dealing with a chronic disease. Stress isn't all bad - on the upside, it can make you feel energetic and focused. 

On the downside, if you're constantly stressed, you may experience health problems overtime: high blood pressure, increased risk of heart attack and stroke, and premature aging.

Depressed
Depression is more than just feeling blue - it's a serious medical condition. If you have diabetes or high blood pressure, you're twice as likely to suffer from depression as someone without the disease. 

Only your doctor can tell you for sure, but if you have several of these symptoms for more than two weeks, you may be depressed:

• Feeling nervous or emotionally empty
• Feelings of excessive guilt or worthlessness
• Tiredness or a "slowed down" feeling
• Restlessness and/or irritability

You may need help from a mental health professional if you suffer from depression. However, stress is manageable. So, are you ready to lower your stress level?  Try these tips:

Slow down. 
Make time each day to sit quietly, preferably for at least 15 minutes. Focus on breathing deeply. Think pleasant thoughts.

Just relax. 
Have you ever been surprised to notice your jaw was clenched or your shoulders were tight? We tend to be tense without even realizing it. Try this: Lie down and, starting at your feet, clench each muscle group for a count of 10, then relax - all the way up your body.

Move your body. The best stress buster around is exercise. Take a walk, work in the yard, go to the YMCA ... you'll feel the benefits instantly.


Any comments? Leave them below.

How You Can Control Your Destiny with Lifestyle Changes

Healthy Diet Change

What scientists are beginning to recognize is that much of the illness in these years is due to lifestyle – a factor that can be changed through individual initiative and taking control.

In fact, researchers believe that 80% of deaths in mid-adulthood are related to the relatively small number of lifestyle habits, especially your diet and healthy eating

Heart disease, including heart attacks and strokes – which together are the leading cause of death and disability for men 40 to 45 – can largely be prevented by dealing with stress, changing your diet and eating for good health, stopping smoking, getting reasonable exercise, and treating hypertension.

Cancer, the second leading cause of death, can be prevented in the long run by stopping smoking, making diet and health changes, and avoiding exposure to occupational or environmental chemicals. 

Finally, cirrhosis, alcoholism and a majority of accidents can be avoided by controlling the use of alcohol.

From the standpoint of both individual health and national health, it is amazing to consider that in perhaps three out of four cases, death and disability in middle age can be avoided through limited number of behavioral changes that admittedly take effort and willpower, but are not impossible to achieve.

None of these changes is dependent on new advances in medical technology, development of new drugs, surgical techniques, or the building of expensive medical facilities. 

Improvement is basically a matter of lifestyle changes and/or environmental changes. To make the changes we have to change our attitude and the way we look at the world. 

Belief in our power to change is essential. We, not doctors, are largely responsible for creating our own state of health and well-being.

Your Thoughts? Leave  Your Comments Below?

Sick of Worrying? Control Your Destiny with these 3 Steps Now

To a degree, everyone worries, some people worry in nearly every situation. Whether things are good or bad, they worry that this situation would surely get worse.

Understand that worrying is a drain on your energy and enthusiasm and if uncontrolled, it can be a terrible burden to your existence.

How you handle worry can determine whether you are going to live a happy, normal life or one filled with neurosis, depression and negativism. 

The good news is that any situation which can be used to generate worry can also be used to generate hope.

Psychologists have found that worrying is simply a matter of choice unrelated to the event in our lives. In fact, some people experience worry more than 10 times as often as others, and, not surprisingly, they reduce their likelihood of happiness by 64%.

Here are the three steps to stop worrying:
1. Concentrate your energy on today. Effort that can be used to solve today's problems is wasted when you worry about tomorrow; and to make matters worse, most things that people worry about never materialize.

James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States, once said," I have had many troubles in my life, but the worse of them never came." Chances are that if today's problems are handled in an efficient manner, they will not only make you more confident to handle tomorrow's problems, but also may have a minimizing effect on those problems.

Determine if you have immediate cause for worrying. Ask yourself, "Can the things I am worried about materialize?" What will happen if they do? Do they represent real dangers? Can something be done about it today? If nothing, then force yourself to attend to matters at hand.

2. Assuming that you have cause for worrying: what is the worst that can happen? Lose your health? Your job? Is your family, prestige, or self-esteem in danger? It is of particular importance to the final step that you identify the worst that can happen. If this identification process indicates no real dangers facing you, then concentrate on the real problems of today, rather than the imaginary ones of tomorrow.

3. After considering the worst that can happen, then now is the time to do something about your worries by contemplating methods of handling them. When real danger faces you, more good can be accomplished by outlining alternative courses of action rather than worrying about the dangers, and when no alternative exists then face the problem squarely.

When you get caught up in your worries and anxieties, take these three steps: live for today; consider the worst that can happen; and then do something about it. You will find yourself living a happier life.


What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below.

8 Secret Steps to Easy Blogging

Writing and Releasing

                        

Blogging should not be a difficult or arduous task. 

• Rather it should be a pleasurable outpouring of your position on an issue; 
• an expression of your strong feelings about a current event; 
• an exposition on a topic on which you have done some significant research; 
• or maybe just sharing a particular point of view on something you have some real interest in.

Blog Writing as a Release
As an independent consultant the writings I often do include writing reports, designing programs, evaluating programs, and developing proposals to acquire grant moneys along with other related types of highly technical writing. 

Blog writing then is a release from that type of demanding writing. As I write this, I am experiencing a release from my normal and typical writing directly associated with making a living. I see blogging as not just an emotional release, but also a sharing of information and a point of view.

Blogging Simplified
Blog writing, simplified, can be broken down into eight specific and easy tasks:
1. Identify the substance of what you want to write about.

2. Work on the title of the blog. The title is extremely important. It will determine whether or not someone actually decides to read your article. Make the title a catchy and intriguing one.

3. Develop a strong lead paragraph. This is important because, after the title, the paragraph must make the reader wants to further explore what you have to say.

4. Keep your main points you want to make to no less than three and no more than nine. Two are too few. Ten are too many.

5. Support each of your points with facts and data. If you choose to quote a so-called expert, keep it to a minimum. The important thing is to make sure that your facts and data are from reputable sources.

6. Keep your sentences short and concise. Write in the active voice. And, write to the reader. Let the reader know that you are talking to him or her.

7. Use bullet points if they are appropriate to your article and avoid jargon unless you are willing to explain what it means.

8. Conclude your blog with a summary of your main points or a simplified restatement of the essence of your blog.

There it is. Blog writing should be a sharing of information and a release. Consider it to be therapeutic and have fun doing so.