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Articles from Scott Q Marcus | Selfgrowth.com
- Is Discrimination Acceptable? Fat People Need Not Apply - by Submitted on Apr 11, 2012 from Scott Q MarcusIn certain instances, job discrimination is considered acceptable. For example, a Catholic Priest would have a tough road to hoe to get hired as a Rabbi, no matter how extensive his career background. There’s really no reason NOT to hire him, but it’s just not going to happen, is it? We accept ...
Views: 1089 - And You Thought You Were Healthy... - by Submitted on Apr 04, 2012 from Scott Q MarcusWhy do flags flap on a windy day? Believe it or not, this is just one of many questions science cannot surely resolve. There are others: What is gravity? Why do we dream? How many species inhabit our planet? Why is it that the freeway lane I choose is always the slowest? (Okay, in all ...
Views: 759 - Excellent or Perfect? - by Submitted on Mar 14, 2012 from Scott Q MarcusDid you know there is an International Association of Print House Craftsmen (which has several women members)? In the day of $99 ink jets and 24-hour print shops, these folks still “bleed ink.” What they construct with printing presses and paper is art – pure and simple. If you didn’t know ...
Views: 1046 - If I Was King of the World - by Submitted on Mar 07, 2012 from Scott Q MarcusIf I were king of the world… Should I be anointed Grand Poobah of all things earthly, I would make significant changes. As a benevolent leader, I wouldn’t be “mean;” but be confident I’d wield my power to appropriately mete out consequences to society’s ne'er-do-wells. My first task would ...
Views: 835 - Where are the crayons? (Taking Time for What Really Matters) - by Submitted on Feb 15, 2012 from Scott Q MarcusI was “row monitor” in second grade; sitting in the last seat making sure the students in my row behaved. On this day, all was quiet; no one messed with the law when Scott was around. My enforcement duties complete, I was able to turn my attention to the current “quiet time,” period that daily ...
Views: 1737 - Keeping Track: Using a Journal or Diary to Lose Weight - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2012 from Scott Q MarcusWhen my children were young, I registered their growth on the hallway doorjamb with pencil marks and knife notches. Next to each was inscribed a date and name. Since those statistics are most likely meaningless to the latter owners, I assume sandpaper and lacquer have removed that chronicle; yet ...
Views: 774 - Overdoing the to-do list: A conversation - by Submitted on Jan 11, 2012 from Scott Q Marcus"Yay! I am finally moving forward on my goals for the year!” “Good for you! So, what are these great plans you have?” “Well, I always make resolutions and then I give up. So, I did some research and I found out that experts say if you’re really serious, you have to write them down. So I ...
Views: 993 - Dear Santa - A List We Could ALL use for the New Year - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusDear Santa… There are some things I’d like for the New Year. I know that’s not within your usual bailiwick, and you’re probably pooped from a long sleigh ride, but if you don’t mind… First, please give me good health. My body carries me faithfully from before my birth until my last days. ...
Views: 1353 - Is Pizza Really a Vegetable? - by Submitted on Nov 27, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusA “meme” is a basically a “thought virus.” In the same fashion that influenza infects one person, replicates itself and then spreads to another, eventually infecting large numbers of a population; memes follow the same process through the consciousness of our culture, affecting (or “infecting” ...
Views: 816 - Who is more stubborn - cats or us? - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusFixing Smokey My wife, Mary Ann, is one of the most nurturing individuals you will ever have the pleasure to meet. She is also a passionate advocate for animals. More specifically, one might refer to her as “one of those cat ladies.” I personally would not do that as the result would be that ...
Views: 1652 - The Joy of Being Hit by a Car While Biking - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusYesterday was horrible. I was going to ride my bike to my appointments. The bright sunny clear morning sky cooperated as I headed north on E Street. Upon reaching the intersection of Highway 101, I waited for a green light. Once it changed, a car heading in the opposite direction proceeded ...
Views: 1144 - Dieting Stupidity in the Quest of Becoming Skinny - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusStupidity in the quest of “Skinny” In the sixties, the main diet methodology was a purple collection of mimeographed pages covered with a lengthy list of foods and their calorie counts. Dieters were instructed to eat only 1,000 calories. Not knowing how to manage our eating (or we would not ...
Views: 855 - In one lifetime, what can be accomplished? - by Submitted on Sep 17, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusIf there were neither barriers nor obstacles from birth until death, what could one person truly do in his or her time on Earth? Over one person’s lifespan, he could build understanding between countries, generating bonds among millions. Should he choose the healing arts, one soul could cure ...
Views: 1119 - Working hard at relaxing - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusI’m not dead. At least when I wrote that; I wasn’t. Being the intelligent reader of this column, you put two and two together and surmised that in a flash. Hopefully, as you read this, I am still in the not-dead state of being — and shall remain so for decades yet to come. Having proven ...
Views: 959 - You Just Never Know, Do You? - by Submitted on Aug 22, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusYou just never know Early morning routine: Jack, my dog, and I are taking our walk. His leash is in my hand, my headphones are clamped over my ears; I am absorbed in the back-and-forth of my favorite podcast. Jack and I; just doin’ our thing. The neighborhood is residential; no major ...
Views: 1065 - Who do you think you are? - by Submitted on Aug 18, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusI have a very unassuming, quick-thinking question. Don’t ponder the answer; just blurt it out. Ready? (Um, that’s not the question.) Here we go: “Who are you?” At first blush, it’s such an innocuous query and our replies come by rote. We provide our name. But, in reality, that’s not ...
Views: 1008 - How Your Emotions Can Affect Long-Term Change - by Submitted on Aug 03, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusBetween the covers of the business book currently on my nightstand, the author devotes few pages to discussing cash flow or spreadsheets, while much ink is dedicated to changing one’s thoughts about money. It is her premise that our income basically determined more by how we think than by the ...
Views: 1072 - Can We Be Social Without Going Out to Eat? - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusA good time that doesn’t involve eating I hadn’t seen him in years even though we live in the same town. You know how it is, I’m busy, so is he. Time got away from us. It’s not like we had a disagreement, or we didn’t want to see each other; it’s just that, well, life kicked in… I answered ...
Views: 1339(2 votes) - Handling the food addiction: What to do when slip-ups happen - by Submitted on Jul 22, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusHe was celebrating four years of sobriety. When I asked how he knew it was time to initially seek help, he said, “I finally realized I had no control over alcohol. I thought about it all the time. I couldn’t wait to drink. I was obsessed with it.” As I listened, I thought, “Substitute the ‘food’ ...
Views: 1231(1 vote) - Things Are Not As Bad As We Make Them Out To Be - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusComplain, complain, complain… My, but we’ve become a grouchy lot, haven’t we? Maybe it’s climate change, or the economy; who knows? It could be the alignment of the stars for all I know, but we’ve got our cranky pants hitched on and we’re wearing ‘em a little too snug around our sensitive ...
Views: 1041 - The New Normal: The Economy Will NEVER Recover - and What to do About That - by Submitted on Jun 26, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusI’ve had a revelation. Since the “great recession” of 2008 (which appears to still be in process) came trampling through our economic landscape, I have been — like so many others — waiting and hoping for the rebuilding. When will things get back to how they were? Can we soon return to easier ...
Views: 1704 - The power of intention - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusBeing a news junkie, I’m glued to the cable networks. Wedged between the peccadilloes of badly behaving starlets and inappropriately tweeted photos, the anchor brings in two political panelists to discuss the upcoming election (Already? Really? Oy!) To feign “balance” he has a GOP strategist and ...
Views: 1218(1 vote) - A primer on how to change habits, be more productive, and improve your health - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusMost of life is done by rote. For most of us, alarm clocks buzz the same time every morning. The average grocery store stocks over 38,000 items; yet the standard shopper goes to the same store every week, usually on the same day, and chooses from the same few dozen items every outing. We ...
Views: 1050 - The Fantasy of Perfectionism - by Submitted on May 20, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusI am a perfect-o-holic. Sure, I know it’s folly; yet I can picture that magical happy place where all goes according to plan and everything works out as I imagined. I have a plan. Today, I become the pinnacle of modern workplace efficiency. Without exception, every single solitary item on ...
Views: 1152 - The problem with deprivation diets - by Submitted on May 15, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusIf deprivation was a successful weight loss strategy, obesity would be obliterated. At first blush, sacrificing one’s favorites appears like it would blast away those extra pounds, and it does — but only temporarily. Long-term, it’s unnatural and ineffective. Oh, sure, we can sacrifice ...
Views: 849 - Building supportive relationships - by Submitted on May 12, 2011 from Scott Q MarcusIn the end, we are remembered via the relationships we leave behind. I stand five-eight, no one’s depiction of “towering giant.” Someone of my stature is supposed to tip the scales at no more than 165 pounds. When I was 39 years old, I weighed 250. More frightening was that at such an early ...
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