Keith McArthur's Blog, page 2

How To Nail Your New Year’s Resolutions

Mike Carruthers interviews Keith about his book Winning Resolutions and the secrets of successful resolution setting. Mike is host of the Something You Should Know podcast.

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Episode 84 Show Notes
Mike Carruthers interviews Keith

Mike Carruthers is host of the Something You Should Know podcast.

In this conversation, Keith and Mike discuss:

Why so many resolutions fail
What makes a good resolution?
Keith’s six P’s of resolutions
Accountability Partner
How to shrink habits for resolution success

Feedback & Connect

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Email: keith@myinstructionmanual.com
Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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The post How To Nail Your New Year’s Resolutions appeared first on My Instruction Manual.

Are You Winning at Goal Setting?

It’s time to start planning for 2020.

On this week’s podcast, Andrea Owen interviews me about my book Winning Resolutions: Achieve Your Biggest Goals and Wildest Dreams Once and For All. We talk about how to plan for resolutions success, what to do if you stumble, and how you can structure your environment for resolution success.

This interview first appeared on Andrea’s excellent podcast Your Kick Ass Life.

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Episode 83 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro
[3:30] Andrea Owen interviews Keith

Andrea is author of How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t: 14 Habits that Are Holding You Back from Happiness. She is a life coach based on North Carolina and hosts the Your Kick-Ass Life Podcast. She previously appeared on the My Instruction Manual podcast in episode 13 and episode 56.

In this conversation, Keith and Andrea discuss:

Why we put so much pressure on ourselves at the start of a new year and how shame comes into play
Keith’s take on the “New Year, New You” mentality
The biggest mistake people make when creating a goal or resolution. Plus, some science-based strategies for achieving your biggest, baddest goals
How an accountability partner can help you with goals and the science behind finding the right accountability partner
Some ways to get back on track if you lose sight or abandon a goal, hint: think ahead!
Taking control of your environment and some ways to structure your environment for goal success
Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies 

Giving Tuesday

Please consider making a donation the CureGRIN Foundation to fund research to help find a cure for my son Bryson and thousands of others living with GRIN Disorders.

Where to find Andrea

Website: YourKickAssLife.com
Podcast: Your Kick Ass Life
Instagram: @yourkickasslife

Feedback & Connect

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Email: keith@myinstructionmanual.com
Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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How To Choose the Right Diet

This week’s episode is all about food. Host Keith McArthur reads an exclusive excerpt from his book 18 Steps to Own Your Life. And he talks to fitness contributor Kathleen Trotter about how to choose the diet that works for you.

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Episode 82 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro
[1:25] Fitness contributor Kathleen Trotter on How to Choose the Right Diet

Kathleen Trotter is author of Finding Your Fit: A Compassionate Trainer’s Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit

In this conversation, Keith and Kathleen discuss:

Knowing what kind of diet will work best for your personality
The Mediterranean diet
The Paleo diet
The Whole 30 diet
Vegan diets
Where to find Kathleen [x]

KatheenTrotter.com
Instagram: KathleenTrotterFitness
Twitter: KTrotterFitness
Facebook: KathleenTrotter



[17:45] Excerpt from 18 Steps to Own Your Life: Step 10 Eat Better
Feedback & Connect

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Will You Help Bryson Find a Cure for GRIN Disorders?

My son Bryson needs your help.

Bryson is an amazing little guy with a charming personality and a movie star smile.

He also has a severe, genetic brain condition known as a GRIN Disorder, which impairs his brain’s ability to learn, grow and develop.

He is 13 years old, but he can’t walk, talk, or feed himself, and must rely on others to help him navigate his world.

This month, we are teaming up with families around the world to try to raise $250,000 for GRIN Disorder research.

Every dollar helps! Will you help our family reach our $5,000 goal?

Help us CureGRIN

There are two options for donations:

Canadian donors can get a tax receipt by donating through the University of Toronto, home to world leading GRIN Disorder researchers. If you donate through U of T, please let me know so we can add your donation to Bryson’s total.

Click here to help through the University of Toronto’s GRIN Disorders Research Fund.

US donors get a tax receipt through Bryson’s page at the CureGRIN Foundation a 501(c)(3) charity.

Click here to help through the CureGRIN Foundation. 

There is hope

There are over 500 known kids and adults with GRIN Disorders around the world, and thousands more that have yet to be diagnosed. Patients suffer from a range of conditions including devastating seizures, severe intellectual disabilities, and visual impairment.

It was just over a year ago that I began speaking with researchers who told me something I hadn’t heard before – that a cure for GRIN Disorders is coming. That’s because scientists at universities, hospitals and biotech companies are focused on studying NMDA receptors — the part of the brain that doesn’t work properly when there is a GRIN Disorder.

Where will the money go?

The promise of a cure is why I helped found the CureGRIN Foundation. Our goal is to find cures and therapies for GRIN Disorders as quickly as possible. And after conversations with dozens of researchers, CureGRIN has identified three spending priorities.

Foundational research that will make things easier for researchers working on GRIN Disorders and attract more scientists to our cause. This includes investing in the development and sharing of animal models, the coordination and support of patient registries and natural history studies, and research into identifying biomarkers that would allow researchers to know if a cure is working.
Build a broad and relevant research network, by raising awareness of GRIN disorders among biotech execs, NMDA researchers, and pediatric neurologists worldwide. We will work with these stakeholders and parents to identify the top research priorities that will most quickly lead to cures and therapies.
Award grants to researchers according to the priorities identified in Step 2. This will be done through a formal, rigorous request for applications and review process.

Please donate today to help Bryson cure GRIN Disorders through the University of Toronto’s GRIN Disorder Research Fund or through the CureGRIN Foundation, a US-based 501(c)(3) charity.

The post Will You Help Bryson Find a Cure for GRIN Disorders? appeared first on My Instruction Manual.

How To Stop Worrying What Other People Think

Amy E Smith is a coach, writer, and speaker who calls herself the Joy Junkie. In this conversation Amy shares a to of great advice on everything from how to stand up for yourself without being a jerk to how to worry less about what other people think.

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Episode 81 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro

Keith is raising funds to help cure his son’s rare disease. You can support GRIN Disorder research by giving here.

[2:40] Featured interview with Amy E. Smith

Amy E Smith is a coach, writer, and speaker who calls herself the Joy Junkie

In this conversation, Keith and Amy discuss:

Keith and Amy play Would You Rather?
Joy vs. Happiness
Why we need to stop worrying about what other people think
How Amy came to accept that her mom doesn’t accept her
How to stick up for yourself without being a jerk
What it’s like to co-host a podcast with your spouse
Amy’s upcoming podcast with Andrea Owen
Bad communications habit

[40:40] Amy’s Instruction Manual

1. What are the habits you maintain every day to stay happy and healthy?

Avoid caffeine
Do hypnosis or meditation every day

 2. What personal development book do you recommend?

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

3. Favorite personal mantra / inspirational quote

“Givers must set limits because takers rarely do” — Irma Kurtz

4. What’s your one guilty pleasure?

The Kardashians

5. When your time comes, how do you want to be remembered? 

As the catalyst that allowed people to believe in themselves and that their voices matter.

Where to find Amy

Website: TheJoyJunkie.com
Instagram: @TheJoyJunkie
Podcast: The Joy Junkie

Feedback & Connect

Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
Email: keith@myinstructionmanual.com
Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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Know Your Change Tendency

When you’re ready to make a big change in your life, should you do it fast or do it slow? That depends! Kathleen Trotter joins us to talk about knowing your personality type when it comes to change. And mindfulness contributor Joelle Anderson joins us to talk about mindfulness tips for teenagers.

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Episode 80 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro
[2:30] Fitness contributor Kathleen Trotter on Knowing Your Personality Type When It Comes to Change

Kathleen Trotter is author of Finding Your Fit: A Compassionate Trainer’s Guide to Making Fitness a Lifelong Habit

In this conversation, Keith and Kathleen discuss:

How to know if you work better with gradual change or rapid change?
Which works best could depend on your goal
For gradual learners, weekly add-on goals work well
Where to find Kathleen

KatheenTrotter.com
Instagram: KathleenTrotterFitness
Twitter: KTrotterFitness
Facebook: KathleenTrotter



[12:30] Mindfulness contributor Joelle Anderson on Mindfulness for teenagers

Joelle Anderson is a therapist specializing in mindfulness meditation and creator and host of the Kernel of Wisdom YouTube channel.

In this conversation, Keith and Joelle discuss:

Kids are good at being mindful and living in the moment but teenagers struggle with this
How “grounding” techniques can help teenagers
Where to find Joelle



Kernelofwisdom.com
YouTube.com/KernelofWisdom1





Feedback & Connect

Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
Email: keith@myinstructionmanual.com
Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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A Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness

This episode is all about mindfulness and meditation. Host Keith McArthur shares an excerpt from his book 18 Steps to Own Your Life on why mindfulness is a superpower. After that, he shares a guided meditation and chats with mindfulness contributor Joelle Anderson.

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Episode 79 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro
[2:50] Excerpt from 18 Steps to Own Your Life: “Mindfulness”
[7:40] Mindfulness contributor Joelle Anderson on Guided Meditation and Mindfulness Book Recos

Joelle Anderson is a therapist specializing in mindfulness meditation and creator and host of the Kernel of Wisdom YouTube channel.

In this conversation, Keith and Joelle discuss:

Guided meditations and who they’re good for
Joelle shares a guided meditation
Keith and Joelle recommend the following books:

Mindfulness in Plain English  by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
10% Happier  by Dan Harris
Mindfulness for Fidgety Skeptics  by Dan Harris
Radical Acceptance  by Tara Brach
Self Compassion  by Kristin Neff
Unplug by Suze Yalof-Schwartz
Full Catastrophe Living  by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Wherever You Go, There You Are  by Jon Kabat-Zinn


Where to find Joelle



Kernelofwisdom.com
YouTube.com/KernelofWisdom1








Closing words
Feedback & Connect

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How to Save Your Marriage

Marriage expert Larry Bilotta shares his tips on how to save a troubled marriage. Plus host Keith McArthur shares news about his upcoming new podcast.

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Episode 78 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro

Keith announces his upcoming podcast with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The podcast series — tentatively titled Unlocking Bryson’s Brain — is about Keith’s son Bryson who has a rare genetic condition known as a GRIN Disorder. The podcast is scheduled to be released in March of 2020. Keith also speaks about the charitable foundation he started up with other GRIN families. You can donate or learn more at CureGRIN.com.

[3:25] Featured interview with Larry Bilotta

Larry Bilotta felt trapped in a loveless marriage. But he was able to turn the relationship around and now he teaches others how to do the same.

In this conversation, Keith and Larry discuss:

Why clashing values are the mechanics of why marriages fall apart
Why you don’t need to change your spouse to change your marriage
Changing the “environment of your mind”
The four “emotional countries” — Fun, perfect, peace, control
How to know if a marriage is worth saving

[30:30] Larry’s Instruction Manual

1. What are the habits you maintain every day to stay happy and healthy?

Think it. Imagine it. Feel it.

 2. What personal development book do you recommend?

A Course in Miracles

3. Favorite personal mantra / inspirational quote

There is Always a Way

4. What’s your one guilty pleasure?

Larry says those terms don’t go well together because pleasure is productive and guilt is destructive.

5. When your time comes, how do you want to be remembered? 

As the guy who helped people get in touch with their minds.

Where to find Larry

Website: ItOnlyTakesOneMan.com or ItOnlyTakesOneWoman.com




Closing words
Feedback & Connect

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Getting Out of Stress and Into a Beautiful State

If you’re a regular listener of this podcast you know that my approach to personal development is quite practical.

I’m drawn to self help authors who provide concrete advice — people like Brené Brown or Tim Ferris — and struggle with authors like Eckhart Tolle, who’s approach is more abstract.

This week’s guest falls somewhere in between. But it’s a fascinating conversation about Indian philosophy and spirituality.

Preetha Krishna — better known as Peethaji — is an Indian spiritual and philosophy teacher. She and her husband Krishnaji co-founded the O&O Academy.

She joins me today to talk about her new book The Four Sacred Secrets.

I ask Preethaji to tell us about those secrets, and about how we can move from a state of stress into what she calls a beautiful state.

We’re also going to talk about suffering. The cause and remedy of human suffering is an important topic in Indian philosophy and religion. Buddha taught that the cause of suffering was desire.

But Preethaji has another idea about why we suffer.

Listen here…

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Episode 77 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro
[2:15] Featured interview with Preethaji

Preethaji is author of The Four Sacred Secrets and co-founder of the O&O Academy.

In this conversation, Keith and Preethaji discuss:

Why Preethaji grew up experiencing life differently from other kids.
The two states: a suffering state or a beautiful state
How a beautiful state is different from enlightenment and different from living mindfully
How a boating accident led Preethaji’s husband to a great discovery — that suffering arises from people being obsessed with oneself
Preethaji takes us through the four sacred secrets
Soul Sync Meditation

[31:55] Preethaji’s Instruction Manual

1. What are the habits you maintain every day to stay happy and healthy?

Let go of sadness of the previous day and start with a cup of coffee with her husband

 2. What personal development book do you recommend?

Jonathan Livingston Seagull  by Richard Bach

3. Favorite personal mantra / inspirational quote

Live in a beautiful state and create a beautiful life

4. What’s your one guilty pleasure?

Chocolate

5. When your time comes, how do you want to be remembered? 

For the impact she is creating in this generation and the future generations that will be impacted

Where to find Preethaji

Website: BreathingRoom.com

Feedback & Connect

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Email: keith@myinstructionmanual.com
Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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Mindful Listening

Joelle Anderson joins us to talk about Mindful Listening. And host Keith McArthur speaks with Nutrition contributor Michelle Jaelin about changes to Canada’s Food Guide.

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Episode 76 Show Notes
[00:00] Welcome and Intro
[1:50] Mindfulness contributor Joelle Anderson on Mindful Listening

Joelle Anderson is a therapist specializing in mindfulness meditation and creator and host of the Kernel of Wisdom YouTube channel.

In this conversation, Keith and Joelle discuss:

What it means to listen mindfully
How words can replace your breath as anchors in a conversation
Where to find Joelle



Kernelofwisdom.com
YouTube.com/KernelofWisdom1





[7:00] Nutrition contributor Michelle Jaelin on Changes to Canada’s Food Guide

Michelle Jaelin is both a trained artist and a Registered Dietitian who is known as The NutritionArtist. She appears regularly as in newspapers, magazines and on television as an expert in healthy eating.

In this conversation, Keith and Michelle discuss:

Why Dairy is no longer a food group
The food guide as a plate
The three S-words to avoid
Where to find Michelle:

Twitter: @nutritionartist 
Instagram: /nutritionartist
Facebook: /nutritionartistRD



Closing words
Feedback & Connect

Subscribe to My Instruction Manual on Apple Podcasts or on Android
Email: keith@myinstructionmanual.com
Keith on Twitter: @KeithMcArthur
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