Be Happy – Build Up Your Own Team.

Time is gone when a person used to think himself independent. In the beginning, in our life we had got very limited requirements. But as the civilization progressed, our dependence on the others to meet our various needs grew and today, we can live in isolation. We have to help each other, do something to meet other’s requirements and expect others to do what we require.

With the passage of time, the concept of labour division and individual entrepreneurship developed and people gathered to carry out the production on mass level. They categorized themselves in the category of employees, self-employed consultants, businessmen and investors. In each category too, the people form teams and each member of the team is assigned a specific responsibility to carry out. There takes place a chain of process and one step brings changes in the properties of the production carried out by the previous step. It goes on to get a common goal. For that, you need to have a team.

When you envisage some goal or project, you identify the critical activities to accomplish and for such activities, you need to organize a team of the persons having expertise for such activities. As you start to work to conceptualize a goal or project, you imagine a structure of team in which you would like to involve the persons. You may meet them individually or collectively or in the teams of two-three or more persons. For a purposeful working, you need to involve everyone in the decision-making process.

Decision Making is a difficult Process but an essential part of your goal achievement working. Suppose, you have organized all the resources essential for your project and you've just brought your team together to kick-off a new project. But, you quickly run into problems agreeing the right way forward.

During the discussions, a most dominant member of your team, immediately makes a suggestion and starts talking about its benefits. Other member begins arguing with him, claiming that his idea is more efficient. The third one who often has brilliant ideas, is too overwhelmed by both persons to speak up. Soon, you feel mess and become ready to abandon the meeting!

If you have been working in a team, then this scenario may sound familiar. It can be difficult to get a team of people to reach consensus on a decision, especially when personalities, viewpoints, and attitudes clash with each other. In some situations, you can cut through these problems with decisive leadership or, you need to find another way forward. You need to solve the problem very methodically. You may take the following steps.

• Framing the problem.
• Having an open discussion.
• Identifying underlying concerns.
• Developing proposals.
• Choosing a direction.
• Developing a preferred solution.
• Closing.

This way, you can get everyone in the team involved in developing a solution, so that each person feels ownership of the final decision. This process may help you to build up a more productive and committed team. It also encourages people to come up with creative ideas without fear of being judged and helps the team develop better solutions and make better decisions by consensus. It may be most useful for complex projects and problems, where you need to decide on the best way forward, and where the solution to your problem isn't clear. You may remember that consensus means general agreement, not total agreement. Although this process allows everyone to participate in developing solutions, not everyone will always agree with the final decision.

Step 1: Framing the Problem

In this first step, you need to ensure that you have the right people involved in the process, and that everyone has the information, tools, and resources needed to come up with good ideas.

As part of this, identify and define the problem that you need to address, if necessary using tools such as Cause and Effect Analysis and Root Cause Analysis.

You also need to decide how your team will choose between options in later stages. For instance, do you want everyone in the team to agree on the final decision unanimously, or will a simple majority suffice? You may mention this option before the team.

Step 2: Having an Open Discussion

Next, meet with the team, present the problem again, and encourage an open discussion. Your goal here is to generate as many initial ideas or solutions to the problem as possible.

If the discussion seems to be in a rut or your team is generating only "safe" ideas, use creative thinking techniques to encourage people to come up with fresh ideas.

Remember that your objective is to get people to think creatively and encourage all ideas, even if these seem impractical at this stage.

As you work through this step, note down all ideas, removing any duplicates. You'll return to this list in step 4.

An alternative approach is to ask people to submit their initial ideas and solutions anonymously, before you meet face-to-face.

Step 3: Identifying Underlying Concerns

The next step is to identify "underlying concerns" – these are the constraints that you need to meet, and the problems that you want to solve, once you've made a decision. You'll then use this analysis to come up with and improve solutions in the next step of the process.

Start by exploring what these concerns are with your team.

Then, identify key stakeholders (including people outside your organization) who are affected by the decision. (Depending on your situation, you can do this by simply brainstorming stakeholders, or you can conduct a formal stakeholder analysis.)

Talk to these stakeholders, or brainstorm and list possible underlying concerns for each of them, again ensuring that everyone in the team participates in the discussion.

Here, you must not confuse underlying concerns with solutions in this step. For example, if the problem you're trying to solve is to increase the quality of a product, a solution might be to use better components. However, underlying concerns might be to keep costs to a minimum (for shareholders), or to be able to use the product for longer (for customers).

Step 4: Developing Proposals

Now, using the initial ideas that you came up with in step 2, your team can come up with proposals that address the underlying concerns identified in the previous step. To do this, go through each idea in turn, and encourage everyone in the team to contribute to developing it into a possible solution. Again, it's important that everyone is open-minded about the discussion, that everyone focuses on one idea at a time, and that people don't criticize any ideas.

By the end of this step, you will have developed initial ideas into more-detailed proposals that you can take forward. Don't dismiss any proposals yet.

Step 5: Choosing a Direction

You now need to decide on the best proposal to take forward. Begin by going through each proposal in turn, asking team members to highlight what they think are the pros and cons of each one. Again, make sure that everyone is involved in the discussion.

Finally, decide on the best proposal to take forward, using the "decision rule" that you agreed on in step 1.

Step 6: Developing a Preferred Solution

The aim of this step it to look for ways to improve the final proposal further.

As part of this, look back at the underlying concerns that you identified in step 3. If there are any concerns that you haven't addressed, look for ways in which you can improve the proposal.

Again, encourage team members to raise any further issues, and amend the final proposal to address these.

If you're developing a solution for a complex project, it may take a while to refine and amend your proposal and project documents. Depending on the type of decision, it may still not be worth going ahead with the best proposal. See our article on Go/No-Go Decision-Making for more on this.

Step 7: Closing

By now, you should have a solution that most people in the team are happy with. To confirm this, use the "decision rule" that you identified in step 1 to ensure that there is still consensus to move forward with your decision.

Depending on your situation, you can also use this step as an opportunity to ask for everyone's cooperation in implementing the final decision. This cooperation can be anything from simply supporting others as they implement the solution, through to providing resources and expertise.

In whole process of decision making, you need to be flexible in how you apply each step of the process. As highlighted earlier, in some situations it may not be necessary to work through each step in detail. You also need to be prepared to move back to previous steps, if you cannot decide on an appropriate solution.

While seeking consensus within a team is important, you must be aware that people may use consensus as a way to avoid taking personal responsibility for their actions or decisions. Don't allow this to happen.

Be Happy – Build Up Your Own Team.

Be Happy - We must Fight Against Corruption.

Why Should We Support Anna Hazare and Ram Dev in their crusade against Corruption?

Some time ago, Anna Hazare and Ram Dev had all of sudden become so significant in the millions of Indian minds that all problems such as price-hike, unemployment etc. were out of their think-tank. Why so? They had taken up a noble cause for the revival of the society, they were exhorting the people to fight against the root of all the evils, that is CORRUPTION. Their purpose is pious notwithstanding the fact their working methods be different or same.

Corruption as we usually define is moral perversion; depravity or you can say it is perversion of integrity. You do some job or abstain from doing the same and take money or some other consideration, for that act beyond reasonable remuneration. Corruption is a misuse of power. It undermines political, social and economic stability and damages trust in institutions and authorities. It also fuels transnational crime. Terrorists and organized criminals are aided in their illegal activities by the complicity of corrupt public officials. Corruption is of particular concern for the world’s police and judicial systems, as corruption in one country can compromise an entire international investigation.

Corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency. Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is clear recognition by the international community that further work to enhance co-operation between law enforcement authorities, which is needed in order to co-ordinate global action against corruption.

Unfortunately, corruption has prevailed from time immemorial in one form or the other. It is a result of the connection between bureaucrats, politicians and criminals. Earlier, bribes were paid for getting wrong things done, but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time. Apart from financial corruption, social corruption like less weighing of products, adulteration in edible items, and bribery of various kind have incessantly prevailed in the society.

In today’s scenario, if a person wants a government job he has to pay handsome bribe to the higher officials irrespective of satisfying all the eligibility criteria. In every office one has either to give money to the employee concerned or arrange for some sources to get work done. There is adulteration and duplicate weighing of products in food and civil supplies department by unscrupulous workers who cheat the consumers by playing with the health and lives of the people. In the assessment of property tax the officers charge money even if the building is built properly according to the Government rules and regulations.

Political corruption is prevalent everywhere in some form. The major cause of concern is that corruption is weakening the political body and damaging the supreme importance of the law governing the society. Nowadays politics is only for criminals and criminals are meant to be in politics. Elections in many democracies have become associated with a host of criminal activities.

Tax evasion is one of the most popular forms of corruption. It is mostly practiced by Government officials and politicians who lead to the accumulation of black money which in turn spoils the moral of the people.

There are many reasons that create corruption almost in all the walks of life. It is prevailing world over and we all need to fight against it with tooth and nail for making the life smooth for the next generations.

Major Factors Responsible For Corruption World wide:

1. Extreme price hike.

Today, the People in general is terrified with the price hike misbalancing their family budgets. Though they too see some increase in their income through increased salaries etc., the price hike eats up all such increases. The unemployment has compounded the problem and the people fighting for minimum needs have to get involved in all unscrupulous activities that result in monetary or material benefits for meeting their basic needs.

2. Depreciation of Moral and spiritual values.

With the increase of materialism world over, moral and spiritual values are not being given utmost importance in educational system, which is highly responsible for the deterioration of the society. Students are not keeping due respect to their teachers. Teachers are also not lesser responsible for such depreciation because their attitude, working methods and lack of sincerity towards the development of their disciples due to financial stress. Some time back, in a family, father had been one earning member to feed others. But today, the children are not giving proper care to their father. This attitude is shattering joint family system. Similarly, we have started to attach more importance than to the humanity factor in our dealings.

3. Inadequacy of the punishments to the criminals

The punishments imposed on the criminals are inadequate. With the change in the attitude that we must hate the crime, not the criminals, those persons who have been habitual criminals get easy acquittals at the cost of those who are victimized by the Police with the vested interests. A corrupt official gets easily free by bribing the Investigation Officer. Lack of proper accountability promotes corruption.

4. Money Oriented Politics

Now, the people join politics for earning money. The concept of service to the public by joining politics has lost significance. The political leaders have spoiled the society completely. They lead a luxurious life and do not even care about the society which had given mandate to govern them. Lack of education and awareness to the duties and rights on the part of the people have also made corruption easy to prevail.

Measures To Control Corruption:

There can be some measures to control increasing corruption :

1. The Right to Information Act (RTI) gives one all the required information about the Government, such as what the Government is doing with the tax payments. Under this act, one has the right to ask the Government on any problem which one faces. There is a Public Information Officer (PIO) appointed in every Government department, who is responsible for collecting information wanted by the citizens and providing them with the relevant information on payment of a nominal fee to the PIO. If the PIO refuses to accept the application or if the applicant does not receive the required information on time then the applicant can make a complaint to the respective information commission, which has the power to impose a penalty on the errant PIO.

2. Another potent check on corruption is Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) setup by the Government to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the areas of vigilance. If there are any cases of corruption or any complaints thereof, then that can be reported to the CVC. CVC also shoulders the responsibility of creating more awareness among people regarding the consequences of giving and taking of bribes and corruption.

3. Establishment of special courts for speedy justice can be a huge positive aspect. Much time should not elapse between the registration of a case and the delivery of judgment.

4. Strong and stringent laws need to be enacted which gives no room for the guilty to escape.

5. In many cases, the employees opt for corrupt means out of compulsion and not by choice. Some people are of the opinion that the wages paid are insufficient to feed their families. If they are paid better, they would not be forced to accept bribe.

6. None must be allowed to keep unaccounted for wealth for any reason and none must be granted any special privilege on the cost of others as all are equal in the eyes of law.

The one thing that needs to be ensured is proper, impartial, and unbiased use of various anti-social regulations to take strong, deterrent, and timely legal action against the offenders, irrespective of their political influences or money power. Firm and strong steps are needed to curb the menace and an atmosphere has to created where the good, patriotic, intellectuals come forward to serve the public with pride, virtue, and honesty for the welfare of all.

Anti-Corruption Movement launched by Shri Anna Hazare and Ram Dev is required to be successful because

1. In 2010 India was ranked 87^th out of 178 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index.

2. A 2005 study conducted by Transparency International in India found that more than 45% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices successfully.

3. Transparency International estimates that truckers pay US$5 billion in bribes annually.

4. In July 2008 The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder.

5. India tops the list for black money in the entire world with almost US$1456 billion in Swiss banks (approximately USD 1.4 trillion) in the form of black money. To put things in perspective, Indian-owned Swiss bank account assets are worth 13 times the country’s national debt.

6. The political web of India does not permit serious action against the corrupt political leaders and officers/staff due to their own vested interests. They take eye-washing steps only as we see in the case of 2G spectrum scam, Hasan Ali Khan, Common Wealth Scam and many others.

7. There is no in-depth enquiry of the independent reports published through 1991 to 2011 which calculated the financial net worth of India's most powerful and traditionally ruling family (the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty) to be anywhere between $9.41 billion (Rs 42,345 crore) to $18.66 billion (Rs 83,900 crore), most of it in the form of illegal monies. Harvard scholar Yevgenia Albats cited KGB correspondence about payments to Rajiv Gandhi and his family, which had been arranged by Viktor Chebrikov, which shows that KGB chief Viktor Chebrikov sought in writing an "authorization to make payments in US dollars to the family members of Rajiv Gandhi, namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Paola Maino, mother of Sonia Gandhi" from the CPSU in December 1985. To save themselves, they keep blind eyes over their supporters and whenever required, they protect them too.

8. Judicial corruption in India is attributable to factors such as "delays in the disposal of cases, shortage of judges and complex procedures, all of which are exacerbated by a preponderance of new laws. The clerks take bribe openly even in the presence of the judicial officers. A string operation if carried out can reveal the details.

9. Officials often steal state property. In cities and villages throughout India, Mafia Raj consisting of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians, judicial officers, real estate developers and law enforcement officials, acquire, develop and sell land in illegal ways.

10. Government officials having discretionary powers in awarding contracts engage in preferential treatment for selected bidders and display negligence in quality control processes. Many state-funded construction activities in India, such as road building, are dominated by construction mafias, which are groupings of corrupt public works officials, materials suppliers, politicians and construction contractors. Shoddy construction and material substitution (e.g. mixing sand in cement while submitting expenses for cement) result in roads and highways being dangerous, and sometimes simply washed away when India's heavy monsoon season arrives. Over-measurements and fake construction or development activities also account for major budget allocations.

11. In Government Hospitals, corruption is associated with non availability of medicines (or duplicate/fake medicines), getting admission, consultations with doctors and availing diagnostic services. There have been cases of diversion of medical supplies from government hospitals and clinics^] as well as supply and distribution of medicines of inferior quality.^]

12. A quality required by a candidate to get admission in a private Engineering college is either good marks or good money. Engineering college receives upto a million of Indian Rupees per seat in the name of donations, which varies based on the reputation of the college. Some of these colleges are owned by a politician or his/her relative/friends. A seat in private medical college ranges from 1.5 millions (For non reputed college)to 5 millions of Indian Rupees or even more. After admission there would be several other fees which have to be paid compulsory other than tuition fee. No other fees are regulated by the government other than the tuition fee. And government has not taken any action since most of the colleges are owned by politician.

13. There have been several cases of collusion of officials of the income tax department of India for a favorable tax treatment in return for bribes.

14. Land in areas with short supply is relatively common with government entities awarding public land to private concerns at negligible rates. Other examples include the award of mining leases to private companies without a levy of taxes that is proportionate to the market value of the ore.

15. Recent sukhna land scandal involving four defence officers has shaken public faith in the country's growing military at a time when large sums are being spent on modernizing the armed forces. A string of eye-popping fraud cases has damaged the institution in recent years. The latest Adarsh land scam is another example of the nexus between the armed forces, bureaucracy and the politicians in the embezzlement of government property.

There are many examples which indicate that not only our politicians and bureaucrats are corrupt, in our general life, we too have been infected with this virus. For easy solution of our problems, we promote corruption. Since this illness has become cancerous to endanger our life, we need to give up our corrupt practices. First we must improve ourselves. Then, we can trust other one to do. We must oppose corruption. To oppose corruption is the highest obligation of patriotism.

Social welfare worker Anna Hazare and Yog Guru Ram Dev have led a movement against corruption. We must support them not only for the sake of our great India but for the world over as this illness is prevalent everywhere in some form.

We can be happy if we live in corruption-less society.

Be Happy – We must Support Those Who fight against Corruption.

Be Happy – Wish Everyone Happy New Year!

The year 2011 has gone and now, we are beginning a new year 2012. Time does not stop. It goes on and on. It is the life for all that we must go on. If it stops, if we stop at a single point, we may perhaps not deserve life anymore. Let us resolve that in this year, we won’t commit those wrongs which occurred during the last year whether they were with our knowledge and efforts and not within our knowledge and not through our efforts. If we wish good for all, naturally we may get good from others.

Let us dedicate this year to better health for all. Better Health means better output and better prosperity for those who command better health. If you maintain poor health, the most of time may go to put yourself on the track again and again. That is why you must resolve to keep yourself healthy. If you are healthy, you can take care for yourself and others you love. You must include nutrients and exercise in your schedule of work.

Go through your working in the previous year.

Before you chalk out new programs for new year, you must go through your working in the previous year. Where you succeeded and where you failed, what were the shortcomings and where you could improve and what else you could accomplish should be the matter of serious consideration for the next year.

Undertake a Daily Exercise Plan

History teaches you to improve, not to get inclined with the failures all the time. If you feel like you could not put yourself best in your work due to your physical weakness, you must now think over it. If you have not already included strength training in your workouts, you're missing more than feeling strong. Working your muscles increases blood flow and keeps your system clog-free. Plus, it can help you fight off health bullies ranging from arthritis and diabetes to osteoporosis and heart disease.

Start With a Warm-Up

Warming up your muscles before your workout helps your muscles adjust to the exercises that you'll be doing, and it's a great way to slowly increase your heart rate. Your warm-up could include taking a brisk walk or bike ride, or simply marching or jogging in place, or doing some jumping jacks for 1 to 3 minutes.

Work Your Shoulders

Standing with your feet together, place the band under the arches of your feet and hold the handles of your resistance band. With your hands at your sides and your palms facing down, lift your arms straight out to your sides 25 times. The slower you raise and lower your arms, the more you work your muscles. Always lead with your elbows -- not your wrists -- to prevent injury. After finishing the set, lift your arms straight one more time, and hold for 30 seconds.

Strengthen Your Rotator Cuff Muscles

While standing on the band and holding the handles, reach your arms out to your sides and bring your hands as high as you can -- but not more than shoulder height. Rotate arms clockwise in small circles (about the size of a cantaloupe) 25 times, then switch direction and rotate arms counterclockwise 25 times.

Stretch Your Shoulders

Place the back side of your right hand just above your right hip. Standing up straight, clasp your right elbow with your left hand (if you can't do this, slide your right hand behind your lower back until you can reach your elbow). Gently pull your elbow toward your belly button and take five deep breaths into your upper chest, then exhale slowly. Keep your chest lifted and shoulders even. Do the same on the other side.

Strengthen Your Upper Back and Arms

Stand with your feet together. Wrap the band around each hand three times and lift your hands above your head with your palms facing forward. With straight arms, pull your hands away from each other 25 times, keeping the band taut throughout. Do 25 reps balancing on your left foot with your right knee in line with your right hip; switch sides and repeat.

Build Stamina

Stand with your feet together. Hold the band above your head with your hands apart for 25 seconds (with the band as tight as possible). Don't tighten your face or scrunch your shoulders. Do the exercise while balancing on your toes.

Work Your Upper Back and Arms

Stand up straight with your feet together. Holding the handles, bring the band right in front of you at shoulder height. Pull your hands away from each other 25 times.

Open Up Your Upper Back

Stand with your feet together. Without the band, interweave your fingers and turn your palms away from your body so you're looking at your knuckles. Reach your palms as far away from yourself as you can as you hunch your back and curl your tailbone under. Take five deep breaths, expanding your rib cage.

Warm Up Your Chest and Arms

Grab each handle of the band and wrap the tubing around each hand to shorten it. Place the band behind your back, just underneath your shoulder blades. With your hands out to your sides at shoulder height, as if hugging a tree, bring your hands together in front of you on the exhale (keeping elbows straight). Inhale and bring your hands back to your sides. Do 25 reps. Do 50 and work your calves by rising up on the balls of your feet as you bring your arms together.

Strengthen Your Chest and Arms

Standing on the band with your feet shoulder-width apart, hold the handles down by your sides. Slowly lift your right hand (palm side up) out in front of the right side of your chest and then back down. Do the same thing with your left hand. For each arm, do 25 reps. If this is easy for you, do both at the same time. After finishing the set, hold both hands at the highest point for 30 seconds, palms facing up.

Stretch Out Your Chest and Arms

Leave the band loosely in your hands and interweave your fingers behind your head without touching your head. While standing upright, act as if there are strings on your elbows and hands, pulling them directly behind you as you take five deep breaths.

Work Your Triceps

Wrap the band around your left hand, hold the handle in your right hand, and stretch both hands out to your sides to shoulder height. Hold them there. Next, leaving your elbow stationary, bring your right hand (palm facing forward) toward your chest 25 times. Switch and wrap the band around your right hand. Do 25 reps on the left. To make it harder: Balance on one foot and wrap the band around one more time in each hand.

Warm Up Your Biceps

Stand with both feet on the band and hold the handles. Reach hands out to your side, palm side up, and circle your arms clockwise in small circles (about the size of a cantaloupe) 25 times. Switch direction and rotate arms counterclockwise 25 times.

Work Your Biceps

Stand with your feet together and place the band under the arches of your feet. With hands down to your sides, hold the band handles and turn your palms out until your thumbs are as far back as feels comfortable. Curl your arms up 25 times. Resist bringing your arms to the front. Tip: If doing both arms at the same time is too difficult, try doing one arm at a time. Do 50 reps in double-time.

Stretch Your Shoulders

This is a great stretch for tension across the tops of your shoulders. Standing with your feet together, interweave your fingers behind your back and rest them on your tailbone. With your chest lifted, arms straight, and shoulders down, lift your clasped hands back and away from your body. Resist rolling your shoulders forward.

Strengthen Your Legs and Butt

Stand with your feet together on the band and hold the handles. Bring your hands up to elbow height. Keep open hands facing up (don't squeeze band). Step side to side: Move your right foot to your right and plant it, then bring your left foot over to your right foot. Next, step your left foot to the left and plant it, then bring your right foot over to your left foot. Go back and forth 25 times. To make it harder: Lift your leading foot off the ground and tilt your body from side to side.

Work Your Legs and Butt

With the band under both feet and your feet shoulder-width apart -- or together -- hold the handles in front of you. Squat down as far as feels comfortable (keeping your core tight), as if you were sitting in a chair. As you squat, reach your arms straight out in front of you at shoulder height. This will help you work on balance. Come all the way back up to slightly bent knees. Do 25 reps. To make it harder: While in squatting position, pulse 25 times.

Stretch Your Leg Muscles

Without the band, cross your left foot over your right. Ideally you want your big toes in line, but go to where you feel comfortable balancing. Slowly walk your hands down your legs as far as feels comfortable. Really relax your neck, as if your head were a bowling ball elongating your spine, and take three deep breaths. Slowly come all the way back up to the starting position, cross your right foot over your left, and repeat.

Enjoy the Payoff

Doing a workout like this one that involves your body pushing and pulling against resistance adds to your body's lean muscle mass, builds bone, and burns fat. How much fat? A pound of fat burns 1 to 3 calories per day while a pound of muscle incinerates 50 to 150. Maintaining and building muscle takes just 10 minutes, three times a week. So, put your resistance bands to work and enjoy getting 'pumped up.'

For the Life of Your Heart

When it comes to the health of your heart, what you do and what you don't do can truly make a difference. Lifestyle choices -- such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of exercise -- can be far more dangerous than hereditary factors. The good news is you have the power to make your heart both stronger and younger through what you eat, how you exercise, and how you respond to social and environmental stressors.

Here's a step-by-step plan to help you make heart-smart choices and get your ticker in top form.

Pump Your Heart

For optimal health, you need to do enough physical activity to burn between 3,500 and 6,500 calories a week (or roughly 500 to 950 a day). Everyday tasks will put a dent in this, but science shows that you'll also need about 60 minutes a week of stamina training. What’s that? It’s cardiovascular exercise that gets your body moving and your heart rate climbing, and makes you breathe harder. The way to improve heart function is to sweat more. Why? Cardiovascular activity helps lower your blood pressure.

Try These Heart-Pumping Activities

Be gentle on your joints. Haven't exercised in awhile? Try low-impact workouts, such as swimming, cycling, or using an elliptical trainer. Aim for at least three 20-minute sessions a week. Walk 30 minutes. Work your muscles -- including your heart. Add short bursts of intensity to moderate activities. After warming up, take it to the max for 1 minute, then slow down to recover for 2 minutes. Repeat. This will help rein in your cholesterol and slow your heart rate (a sign of cardio health).

Know Your Numbers

The most important numbers to watch are the big three -- cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar -- plus two more: homocysteine and C-reactive protein. Consider these numbers a stock ticker for a heart-healthy ticker. They tell you how you're doing and when you need to do more. When you have them measured, make sure your doctor also tells you your goal levels and what you can do to get there. Getting more active, losing weight, and making smart food choices can help get your numbers in a healthy range.

Get Happy

There are lots of reasons to be happy, including your heart health. Negative emotions, such as anger and hostility, can raise blood pressure. People with depression are four times more likely to have a heart attack. And while we don't understand how emotional stress causes physical stress, we do know there's a powerful connection.

You can seriously slash your risk for heart disease by choosing healthful foods that help keep cholesterol and blood sugar levels in the healthy zone. Take the time to plan your meals, create a heart-healthy grocery list, and cook foods that are good for you and your heart.

Follow this simple rule of thumb: opt for a heart-healthy diet with healthful fats, fiber, and good-for-you nutrients, such as flavonoids, vitamins, and minerals. Nix the salty, sugary, sat-fat-laden, or processed stuff.

Foods for a Healthy Heart

If you think eating a heart-healthy diet means bland, boring food, your taste buds are in for a shock. With a few smart and simple substitutions, you won't even miss the unhealthy fats, salt, and extra calories making your heart old before its time. In fact, you can still eat some of the old standards if you modify them -- and when you add foods that lower cholesterol, you’ll have new, healthy, delicious options to choose from as well.

6 Must-Eat Foods for a Healthy Heart

To help lower cholesterol and high blood pressure, and prevent inflammation and arterial aging, eat these delicious foods:

1. Strawberries -- and just about any other colorful fruit or veggie you can find. Why? Because fruits and vegetables like red grapes, cranberries, oranges, plums, and tomatoes are bursting with flavonoids -- antioxidants that help quell inflammation. And that's a good thing, because inflammation is one of the many processes involved in heart disease. Eat them fresh -- sliced or whole. What could be easier? Aim for 2 1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 cups of fruit a day.

2. Rye bread -- and any other grain product made from whole grains. Whole-grain breads and cereals, brown rice, quinoa, flaxseeds, and whole soybeans are full of heart-protective fiber and magnesium that can help keep your cholesterol and blood pressure in a healthy range. Try for six or more daily servings of whole grains.

3. Avocado -- and other healthy vegetable-based fats. Use mashed avocado, olive oil, and nut butters in place of unhealthful fats. Mashed avocado makes a good sandwich spread if you mix it with a little salsa. And olive oil is a great butter substitute when you're sauteing veggies. Use nut butters and peanut butter in place of butter and cream cheese. Substitutions like these are delicious ways to bring down "bad" LDL cholesterol and boost the "good" HDL kind. Just remember to limit portion size as you would with any other oils or fats.

4. Salmon -- and other fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids. A strong body of research shows that eating fish (as long as it's not fried) helps lower your risk of heart attack, stroke, arrhythmia, high triglycerides, arterial plaque buildup, and inflammation in your arteries. Opt for three portions per week of oily fish rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

5. Nuts -- yep, not only do they make healthy nut butters, but they make a great snack, too. And eating nuts regularly can cut your risk of heart disease by 20% to 60%. Almonds, pistachios, and especially walnuts are loaded with heart-friendly fats and are a great source of vegetable protein. Just stick to one handful per day to keep your calorie count down.

6. Dark chocolate -- see, you don't have to avoid sweets entirely. In fact, a little dark chocolate every day is good for your heart.

Heart Cutbacks

As you add more heart-healthy items to your daily menu, you also need to curb the foods that age your heart. That means minimizing unhealthy saturated and trans fats, salt, and sugar. But as you can see by the list above, there's no reason to be dismayed when you've got options like apple wedges with peanut butter, low-fat yogurt with raisins, crusty whole-grain breads, fresh berries, olives, veggies with hummus, savory salmon, and even a bit of dark chocolate now and then. So what are you waiting for?

Learn From Your Relatives

Even though you have a lot of control over your own heart-healthy destiny, a family history of heart disease does raise your risk significantly. So, along with talking to your doctor about a schedule of heart screenings, talk about your family health history, too. If Mom, Dad, or a sibling, for example, developed heart disease, be extra vigilant about screenings and adopting heart-smart practices. Keep a health journal to track your health habits, including family medical history, immunizations, and more.

Pop an Aspirin

Who would have ever thought that one little white pill could have such a powerful effect on the heart? Indeed, evidence shows that -- when taken regularly -- aspirin may reduce the incidence of heart attack or heart disease by making blood platelets less sticky and decreasing arterial inflammation. But it only makes sense for men over the age of 35 and women who are older than 40. Remember to check with your doctor first because aspirin can have side effects, such as stomach irritation and bleeding.

Take Your Vitamins

Certain nutrients and supplements can work preventive wonders for your heart, including:
Multivitamins: Your multivitamin is chock-full of heart-healthy micronutrients, such as magnesium, calcium, and vitamin D. Folate: This B vitamin lowers homocysteine to healthy levels. Since folate from food is only partially absorbed by your body, take a 400-microgram folic acid supplement. Make sure you're getting enough B6 and B12, too, because folate can mask a deficiency in these vitamins. Niacin: This drug appears to decrease the production of triglycerides in the body, which might be the mechanism that allows the body to decrease LDL levels. (Check with your doctor before taking a large dose.)

Schedule Sleep

Skimping on sleep increases arterial aging and raises your risk of a heart attack. Getting less than 6 to 8 hours a night will also cause you to release less serotonin (the feel-good hormone) in your brain. The result: You risk later indulging in less-than-healthy ways to feel good, such as noshing on sugary foods or tipping too many martinis. Also, consider napping. A daytime doze is a stress buster and heart protector. Dead tired? Did your neighbor's dog start yapping at 3 a.m. -- again? Are money worries messing with your ZZZs? Don't feel guilty if the idea of a little afternoon snooze sounds irresistible.

Naps can be great for you. They boost your mood, memory, and performance. They increase alertness and make you more likely to drive safely. They even protect your heart from stress: After a tense event, your blood pressure bounces back to normal much faster if you can grab a quick nap that lets you recoup and regroup.

You just have to do it right. Here's how to get the most out of a siesta, even if you can only catch one on the weekends:

· Keep it short. Start with 30 minutes and experiment. Some people feel refreshed in just 10 or 15 minutes; others need 45. Much longer and you'll likely feel groggy afterward.

· Aim for midafternoon. That's when the postlunch energy sag strikes. If you snooze much past 3 p.m., you may have trouble sleeping at night.

· Got a hammock? Nap there. Adults, just like babies, love to be rocked to sleep. In fact, you'll fall into deep, restful sleep faster in a gently rocking hammock than in a stationary bed.

· Get comfy. Kick off your shoes, loosen tight clothing, and darken the room. If you don't have a hammock, stretch out on your bed (not the couch). Underscoring the association between your bed and sleep keeps daytime napping from interfering with nighttime bliss (the falling asleep part, not the other stuff).

Partner with Your Doctor

If your doctor has prescribed medication for your cholesterol or high blood pressure, don't leave those pills sitting in the pill bottle. Following your doctor-prescribed treatment plan could literally save your life. Plus, sticking to your treatment plan makes all your other efforts to eat right and exercise pay off big time.

Check in and Check Up

Monitoring your own health and seeing your doctor regularly for progress reports is a vitally important step in your stay-healthy heart plan. Call your doctor if you feel overly fatigued, frequently get sick, or experience any symptoms that might indicate medication side effects. And make sure to schedule regular checkups with your doctor as well.

Love Your Heart

What's not to love about your heart? It pumps blood to your brain so you can think, to your sex organs so you can make love, and to your muscles so you can move and play. Be Happy – Wish Everyone Happy New Year!