Perception is reality.

I know this sounds like a cliched, overused term - but I think it summarizes one of the biggest challenges we face on a day-to-day basis.

The comfort zone.

We can choose to push our level of comfort - our comfort zone - or not.

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It's that time again - time to choose a Democrat and Republican to go head-to-head for the Presidency of the United States. As Super Tuesday just passed, some things have become a little more focused - and others haven't.

Growing up in Canada, we learned a lot about US history. In Canada, we actually realize that there is a neighbor to the south and that it's only neighborly to learn about them, hence our studying of the US political system. Living within a mile of the US, I got my fair share of US television and US politics.

Fascinating stuff, when you're observing from afar!

Now, I am within it all ... and have been for years. It's still so very fascinating, but for so many different reasons.

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I have probably heard all of the stories of marathon PRs lost, the tales of woe and angst of training seemingly gone awry on any given Sunday. With a sly grin and an optimistic view, I've found just about all of them to be preventable. All it requires is becoming a smarter athlete - plain and simple.

The AT&T Austin Marathon is 11 days away. Let's take a moment to go over a few of the top ways to ruin your marathon ... there's still plenty of time to remedy them!

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I am of the understanding that as it stands right now, the price tag for the war in Iraq is well on it's way to one trillion dollars. That's a one with a lot of zeros after it. In some ways, it's almost impossible to imagine. No, in ALL ways it's quite impossible to imagine.

In the not-so-distant past, we've also been told by our leaders that the cost of universal health care is prohibitive. As a matter of fact, we're one of the few (if not the only country) in the world that doesn't have some level of universal health care. The media and politicians have entitled it "socialized medicine", evoking the response of the average American who relates "socialism" with, well, a big nasty entity from the Cold War era.

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The court of public opinion.

Since when had this become a part of our legal system?

I find this is slowly becoming a rather significant issue in our society. Even if we have an amazing legal system based on the legendary "checks and balances" mentality, people are initially tried in the court of public opinion first and foremost. Even if we have the basic premise of "beyond a reasonable doubt", well, that doesn't seem to matter much either. "Guilty" the populace will yell, and to hell with the data.

Everyone in this country is, by law, entitled to a fair trial. If we stand to our principles as a country, then this must occur - and must occur for everyone under the law equally.

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Happy New Year from the Smart Life Institute!

I am not really sure what inspires people to select a rather arbitrary day (January 1) to suddenly decide that certain things in their lives have to change. It's always been fascinating to me how January 1 holds so much weight - when the natural day to ponder our own internal evolution would most certainly be our birthday.

But with that said, a new year is upon us. Another year has passed with many ups and downs for all of us. I am sure you've all had difficult challenges ... and many positive experiences ... throughout the past year.

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It's time to give health care back to the people.

"Power to the people". You'd have to go back a few years to witness the cultural significance of this phrase. In the '60's, it was a rallying cry against The Establishment. It was used to protest the US involvement in the Vietnam War. It's been uttered by many a musician ranging from John Lennon to Public Enemy to James Brown.

Everyone speaks of "power". But in health care, who's power is it anyways?

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