By Appo Jabarian
Executive Publisher/Managing Editor
USA Armenian Life Magazine
An inner drive to empower people to eat well and live well has inspired Dr. Berge Minasian to write a self-help book entitled “The Power of Choice: Living the Life You Always Wanted and Absolutely Deserve” [Trafford Publishing].
In late January, when I was on Armenian Heritage Cruise along with 1,200 Armenians from around the world sailing through the friendly waters of the Caribbean, I saw Dr. Minasian and his wife Terry. It was through A.H. Cruise that I had met the Minasians of Solana beach, California.
One day during the cruise, he had a beautiful surprise in his hand – a copy of his first book for me. I asked him to autograph it.
I started reading it. I especially liked the easy flow and the reader-friendly format adopted in the layout.
In a society driven by fast-pace lifestyle, our days can be overtaken by so many distractions that can easily derail our ability to master conditions of life.
“A broad experience in his professional life gave Minasian vast experience from which to draw material for the content of his book. His work in the public sector as well as in the private sector allowed him to observe people, to see first-hand how they reacted to their own lives,” wrote Diane Welsh in Delmar Times.
“I’ve always been interested in what makes some people successful and others fail, and finally I had the time to write down my findings.… Recognize that whatever you’re feeling, whatever you’re experiencing, wherever you are in your life, much of it is because of the decisions you have made. Control your beliefs, control your attitudes, control your values, make good choices.” she quoted him as saying.
As I continued reading, little did I realize that Dr. Minasian had featured my humoristic “conversations” with various food items.
Here’s an excerpt from the book by Dr. Minasian:
“MONITORING YOUR PORTIONS: The key is to just decide that you are ready for a change and then just do whatever you need to do. You might seek medical intervention, psychological and counseling support, or you might adopt a commercial diet plan. All of these approaches can be beneficial. Sometimes even a simple strategy you might yourself invent will get the job done for you.
“One of the best strategies I heard lately came from a good friend of mine named Appo Jabarian. Appo is a bright young man. He is a successful publisher and the managing editor of a weekly news magazine. But, in spite of his success in the newsmagazine business, he always had a suppressed desire to enter the acting profession.
“Appo was somewhat overweight like so many of us and he knew that losing a few pounds (20-25) might improve his chances for getting acting opportunities. At the very least, it would be good for his overall health and certainly improve the quality of his life. So, he made a conscious decision to lose weight the sensible way, that is, by combining regular exercise with calorie control
“On the day he was to begin his lifestyle changes in earnest, he sat down and closed his eyes. After taking a few deep cleansing breaths and exhaling all his angst about how to address the eating part of his decision to lose weight he did something quite creative. He utilized visualization and imagery. In his mind’s eye, he lined up his most regularly used foods on a table in front of him. One by one he spoke to them. For example, to his favorite ice cream and other sugared foods he said, “We have been friends for a long time but since my body needs to lose 20 to 25 pounds, our friendship has to be put on a hold for now. Maybe after my body reaches its optimum state, we can come back together on special occasions.”
“Notice how he didn’t slam the door shut and create a situation that would not allow him to relieve his cravings from time to time, if he needed to. At any rate, when I saw Appo recently he looked quite noticeably thinner and he had what seemed to be a satisfied perpetual smile on his face. He was happy and his eating habits were getting the job done for him. He also started riding his bicycle again several times every week. Will this approach work for you? Who knows! But we do know this; each of us can design our own program that fits our needs and our temperament.”
The human body is designed to help us sail through several decades without any major difficulty, provided that we take care of our body, mind and spirit.
Like the Chinese proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
