Features
The Principles of New Start
Our human bodies are marvelously designed and very robust, but will fail under constant exposure to abuse. Majority of the diseases we suffer today are brought about by the unhealthy lifestyle choices, which in turn form habits, then, go on to form our characters.
Our characters are, all said and done, what we are. Generally, these choices and habits are brought on by the feeling one has to submit to peers of the day and follow accepted practices of society, often without understanding their hurtful consequences.
This article brings some simple rules that bring better health and happier living when applied in your life and in many cases, because of the willingness of nature, will undo much of the damage already done.
N-E-W-S-T-A-R-T: Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sunshine Temperance, Air, Rest, Trust in Divine Power.
Nutrition
When a car is made, the company that manufactured the vehicle prints a service manual to go with it. This prescribes the best fuel and oils for the machinery in that car, to keep it running in the best possible condition.
In the same way, we are like machines that need good fuel to run well. Certain foods will make the best kind of blood, muscle and bone in our bodies.
To keep us running well, we need to choose our foods wisely and keep our diet well balanced with the four main food groups: Fruits, Grains, Nuts and Seeds, Vegetables.
It is healthy to start every day in the morning with a good, healthy breakfast including:
• Oats, rice or porridge
• Milk – coconut or soy
• Fruits – Apples, pears, bananas, pawpaw, oranges, etc.
At midday, a good vegetable meal with:
• Starches – like potatoes, bread and grains
• Protein – which is in beans, nuts and seeds
• Greens – cabbage, silver beet, spinach, parsley, etc.
• Colours – carrots, pumpkin, cauliflower, beetroot, etc.
For the evening meal, a light fruit meal with a little grain, like cracker biscuits. The light evening meal should be eaten at least two to three hours before going to bed.
It is also important to eat meals at regular times and not to eat in-between meals at all, as our stomachs need to rest as well. It is well recommended to have some raw salads with each meal also, as this aids digestion.
It is possible to have too much of a good thing. We need to have an understanding of the word “Nutrition”. It means to eat foods only that are good for building our bodies and eat them in moderation, at the right time. Fatty foods tend to store as fat which increase the risk of disease and make us more sluggish.
Eating a good hearty breakfast, a good-sized midday meal and a light tea, gives us the fuel we need at the right time when we need energy. It also helps to keep our bodies in good shape and helps in weight control.
If a good-sized meal cannot be eaten at midday, it would be wise to have more in the morning, rather than have a large heavy meal late in the day. This can result in disturbed sleep, not waking up refreshed in the morning and an unhealthy cycle can soon develop.
Some foods are not good for our well-being. Alcohol, smoking, coffee and drugs are very harmful. Lollies, canned drinks, ice creams, cakes made with a high sugar content are also dangerous for our health.
Harmful effects may not be noticed straight away, but over a period of time, our immune system will begin to fail. This will increase the risk of diseases and may result in damaged organs and even death.
Eating too many sweets and sugary foods makes unhealthy blood and they are not good for building strong healthy tissues and bones, etc. By not eating between meals, it reduces the temptation of eating sweets.
If there is need to eat something sweet after a meal, a piece of fruit would be so much better. Acid fruit like an orange or similar are best after a vegetable meal.
EXERCISE
If someone has just broken an arm or a leg, it needs to be put into a plaster cast for six – eight weeks, so that the bones can knit back together and heal properly.
When the plaster is removed, it can be easily noticed that the limb that was broken is smaller, paler, weaker and stiffer than the other limb that has had frequent use.
The joints of the broken limb will not move as freely as the good limb and it could be more painful to move for a time. ONLY EXERCISE WILL BRING IT BACK TO GOOD USE AGAIN.
…to be continued
This week I have a very strong desire to put on my Apostolic Cap and talk about the power available to children of God which we can utilise to generate positive outcomes, in our lives.
There is a phrase in the Bible that if Christians meditate on, can immensely transform their lives. In Matthew 28:6 there is a phrase “… as he said…” according to the King James Version.
Thus phrase forms part of a statement declared by an angel of God to two women who were disciples of Jesus who had gone to his tomb early in the morning on the third day after his death.
According to the Biblical account, the stone covering the entrance of the tomb had been rolled away and an Angel was sitting on it and he made the statement to the effect that the Jesus they are seeking is not there and that he had risen, as he said before his death.
His resurrection affirmed the authenticity and dependability of the word of Jesus and therefore the word of God.
Christianity has to do with faith in the word of God. Pastor Mensa Otabil said if we view Christianity as an inside out view, you would go inside to operate the power that is in you.
As a Christian, the spirit of God and therefore the power of God, dwells in you. Anyone who is aware of this truth, does not go around seeking to have a so called powerful person resolve his or her spiritual issues.
Most Christians who move from prophet to prophet, do not believe that the spirit of God which operates in a Pastor or Prophet, is the same spirit that dwells in him or her.
In fact , that Christian may be more ‘powerful’ than the Prophet or Pastor he is going to for prayers because he is living a holy life, which is pleasing to God, for God is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:34-35.
God does not give out his spirit in different measures to indwell believers. The spirit of God that dwells in a new convert, is the same spirit that dwells in a Bishop or a Prophet or an Evangelist or an Elder or a Deacon.
All you need to do as a child of God is to believe in the word of God and know that it works and that according to 1 John 4:4 we, Christians, that the Spirit of God dwells in us have overcome the world and Jesus in us, is greater than the Devil who is out in the world, wrecking havoc all around.
If we realise that we have overcome the Devil and everything he controls, then we can believe and act in faith and make declarations and just as Christ declared that he will die and on the third day, he will rise from the dead and it manifested as he said, there shall be a manifestation of our declarations also.
The problem of modern day Christians is that, a lot of them, do not study and meditate on the word of God, so they do not witness the manifestation of the power of God, in their lives.
Such an experience over time, give them the impression that the spirit of God dwells in different dimensions in believers. This then leads them to seek solutions to their challenges from so called powerful men of God.
Some Pastors also fall into this misconception of the measure of the spirit of God in believers. When the size of a Pastor’s church for instance, is not increasing the way he had been praying for self-doubt sometimes begin to set in.
Especially, if he begins to compare his church with that of say a colleague from the same Bible School, then he begins to wonder if there is not a spiritual secret he is not aware of.
This is when, if care is not taken, fellow Pastors who appears to be very successful in the ministry but are using occultic powers, could sway them from the narrow path and get them trapped in the Devil’s clutches and eventually and inevitably, destroy their lives. God bless.
By Laud Kissi-Mensah
Introduction
You have been there. Twenty tabs open comparing laptops. A blank page for an email you’ve been “thinking about” for three days. A menu with 30 options and you leave hungry.
This is decision paralysis: the state where the volume of information, options, or perceived stakes prevents you from making a decision at all. It’s not laziness. It’s a cognitive overload response.
In a data-rich environment, it’s becoming the default mode for both individuals and organisations.
This article breaks down why it happens, how it shows up, what it costs, and how to break it.
1. What decision paralysis actually is?
Decision paralysis is a failure of the decision-making system to convert information into action. Psychologists call it ‘analysis paralysis’ or ‘choice overload.’
It has three components:
1. Cognitive overload: Working memory can hold between four to seven chunks of information at once. When you try to track 20 variables, the system freezes.
2. Anticipatory regret: You overestimate the pain of making the wrong choice. The brain avoids the emotional cost by avoiding the choice.
3. Ambiguity aversion: Humans prefer known risks over unknown ones. When outcomes are uncertain, we stall.
The result is not neutral. Not deciding is a decision. It costs time, momentum, and opportunity
2. Why it’s getting worse now
2.1 Infinite options
Amazon has 350 million products. Netflix has 6000+ titles. Dating apps have unlimited profiles. The paradox of choice: more options increase initial satisfaction but decrease final satisfaction and increase regret.
2.2 Information abundance without synthesis
You can find 50 studies on sleep. Each one has caveats, conflicting results, and different methodologies. Without a framework to integrate them, more data creates more confusion, not clarity. This connects directly to the “data-rich, wisdom-poor” problem.
2.3 Reversibility anxiety
In the digital age, most decisions feel permanent. A bad post goes viral. A bad hire is public on LinkedIn. A bad career move is visible. The fear of irreversible error makes people delay.
2.4 Algorithmic mirroring
Platforms show you what you already engage with. This creates an illusion that there’s one ‘best’ option you are missing. You keep searching, convinced the optimal choice is one more scroll away.
3. How it shows up
Personal Level
Cannot pick a career path after six months of ‘research’
Spend two hours choosing a movie and watch nothing
Delay sending an email because it ‘isn’t perfect’
3.1 Organisational level
Teams spend 80 per cent of time in meetings gathering data, 20 per cent deciding
Product teams delay launch waiting for “one more data point”
KPIs multiply but no strategic choice is made
3.2 Common cognitive tells:
Endless comparison tables
Asking for one more opinion
Reframing the problem instead of solving it
Feeling drained after thinking but not acting
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
