Tag Archives: mind

Feb27

Alternative Ways To Boost Your Self Confidence

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Alternative Ways To Boost Your Self Confidence

Sometimes it is really hard to find the confidence in ourselves to meet new people, start up conversations, or to sell ourselves to others. Insecurities about our own personal worth shouldn’t be taken lightly. Everyone has a place on the earth, sometimes we just need to work out where that is. Selling yourself to someone, regardless of the reason, is never going to be productive if your heart isn’t in it or you don’t believe in yourself.

The more time you spend outside of your comfort zone, the more you will begin to realize just how capable you are. Pushing yourself to take on new challenges will broaden your skill sets and help you see that there is nothing that you can’t achieve if you set your mind to it. When it comes to approaching new people, it can be hard to know where to begin.  Especially if the person you are talking to is someone from the office who gives you butterflies whenever they walk past. Perhaps you hear yourself saying ‘he doesn’t even know I exist’ when really, he does. Your man crush is just waiting for you to give him a sign.

Practice talking to new people by striking up conversation with people around you who may not end up playing a leading future role in your life. From a taxi driver you will never see again to the lady who orders her coffee the same time as you in the morning. Begin with a smile and a happy ‘good morning’, then increase the interaction the next time you see them, by asking them how they are. After a few weeks of practice chatting to strangers you might realize that you are a nice person to talk to and make the first step towards date night with Mr Hot Office. ;)))))

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Future you and Mr. Hot Office, perhaps?

As daft as it sounds a little online sales training may be the key to increasing your self confidence. Successful sales men and women use NLP and transaction analysis to work out the best way of promoting their product. A really good ‘closer’ will know how to make someone believe that the product they have to sell is going to change their life,  even if they have absolutely no need for it. Picking up a few tips from the experts might help you sell yourself to your next employer, the bank manager, or that person who you are desperate to get to know.

If it is body confidence that you are lacking then why not jump in at the deep end and become a model at a life drawing class. We know, it sent shivers down our spine, too! But, if you go outside of your local area, then you remove the risk of discovering that Mr. Hot Office enjoys life drawing as a hobby. The body tells a story and you should be proud of yours. And if anyone understands that truth, it’s a room full of artists!

Go wild. Go Alternative. Go Confident!

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Feb27

You Are The Butterfly, Think About The Effect You’re Having

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You Are The Butterfly, Think About The Effect You’re Having

From Fichte to Lorenz, many meteorologists and philosophers have acknowledged the effect the present can have on the past. We’ve seen the butterfly effect in literature and movies time and time again. You know the scenario; the main character travels back in time and makes a small change with catastrophic results. But, have you ever thought of applying the butterfly effect to your life? Of course, you aren’t going to be traveling back in time. But, the effect can be simpler than that.

Every choice that you make, good or bad, has an impact on your future. From what you choose to eat to how you act throughout the day, everything counts towards where you’re heading. If that’s the case, why do so many of us live each day as though it’s inconsequential? With the butterfly effect in mind, you should spend every day trying to make your future as good as it can be! If you’re anything like most people, you don’t do that as it stands. But, it’s time to make a change. If you need convincing, here are a few ways your actions now can affect your future self:

As your job takes up the majority of your days, we’ll start there. Your job offers the clearest evidence of the effect that your actions have. You achieved the job you have through your qualifications or lack of them. You got those qualifications by making choices in your early life and acting on them. Or, you made different choices that mean you don’t have the skills that you need.

It may be that you made the right decisions and are happy in your career. Or, you made the wrong ones and ended on a career path that doesn’t suit you. Either way, your past is what shaped where you are now. Think back to what caused you to make those choices. Was it where you were living, who you were friends with, or something that you saw on television? The smallest thing can shape the largest part of our lives. Often, a huge choice has the most inconsequential start. That goes to show how much of an impact the tiniest decisions can have.

Choices don’t only affect your career, either. Though the path of impact is harder to follow in other aspects of your life, it’s there just the same. Take your teeth, for example. The way you look after your teeth comes from your mother, who learned from her mother and so on. If you care for your teeth the way you were taught, you should have no dental problems as you grow older. But, if you choose to break from the path your mother set, you could run into problems. Say you skip brushing for one day. A piece of food lodges between your teeth and starts to rot them. That piece then causes weakness, which grows, even if you brush every other day. Then, you decide not to clean again, and the weakness gets worse. Before you know it, you’re faced with the task of finding an oral surgeon and having serious work done. All because you didn’t brush for one day! This may seem like an extreme example, but it’s a good way to show how important each decision can be.

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Flickr Image

This theory also applies to your health. Let’s be honest, we all make unhealthy choices more often than we would like. For the most part, though, we laugh them off as though they’re nothing. There’s no need to go into too much detail here because you get the gist by now. But, again, each wrong choice adds up. When someone is diagnosed with an illness, it’s often their unhealthy choices that got them there. Those choices can be anything as simple as eating the wrong foods or smoking for a year when you’re in your twenties. Remember, cause and effect. Everything you put into your body has an impact. It may be years before you see that effect, but that doesn’t mean that you should put it out of your mind.

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So tempting!

So, what’s the point in all this? In short, it’s time you started making the right decisions. Instead of laughing about your bad choices, acknowledge the effect that they could have. If you always keep your future in mind, you’re less likely to make unnecessary mistakes. Next time you’re faced with a choice, take the time to weigh up what it could mean for your future self. That’s not to say you need to live in the future. Living in the present is always best. But, the right choice for your future self is often the right thing for your present self, too.

And, you don’t have to wait for a choice to arise before you make a change, either. You have the power to make your own changes. If you’re in a job that you don’t love and are now thinking you’re stuck, think again. Look at where you are, and acknowledge if it doesn’t make you happy. That can be your moment of impact. Then, learn what you need to do to achieve the new job you want. Set your sights on a new job and do what you need to get it. Sign up for evening courses and send CVs to the right people.

Visit a dentist regularly to ensure your teeth stay in good health. And, make sure to keep up with your brushing routine. Remember, even one missed brush can lead to problems! Think, too, of your health. Make positive changes by embracing a healthy lifestyle. Find out what foods you should be eating. Cut out bad habits, such as drinking and smoking. Think, too, about finally getting around to that exercise routine you’ve been avoiding. All these things will ensure that your health improves and stays good in the future. Anytime you feel your habits slacking, remind yourself how important it is to get it right. There’s no time like the present!

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Feb23

Which Life Adjustments Are Worth It?

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Which Life Adjustments Are Worth It?

There are many adjustments that we make to our lives over time; some drastic, some not so much. It all depends on a lot of factors, including finances, family, influences from our friends, and our drive to get to where we want to be. So what are the main things that we are choosing to change as we get older?

Our Job: None of us stay in the same job forever. At some point you will want to or have to change to further your career. There are so many options available to us to get us further into the field that we are interested in, and not all of them are age-considerate. For example, you can earn a high school diploma from online distance learning or at an evening college class if you never graduated, and college is available to go to at any age. There are so many different ways to learn, especially with the internet at our disposal; simple tricks, trades, and hacks can be learned online, even if it’s just picking up a remotely-located job to do for a couple of weeks to build up your experience.

With mediums such as LinkedIn and Facebook available for us to network around and build up our career portfolio in an accessible place, there is no reason for us not to give different occupations a go. A job change and the opportunities that they bring, such as traveling to new countries and the ability to work from home are on the increase and are now easier for us to find than ever. It’s no wonder that we get bored so easily in one job knowing that there will be something bigger and better waiting around the corner for us.

Our Friends: Friends come and go and it’s up to you to decide which ones you want to keep for the long-term. The associates that you may have had in school or college could have grown up to have completely different ideals to you, and that’s okay – diversity is what makes the world go round and it’d be boring if everyone were the same. However, it’s when people get too different from each other to be compatible that the problems start to occur. Surround yourself with those who you know will be on your wavelength for the foreseeable future and you’ll be just fine.

Ourselves: We diet, we exercise, we lose weight, we gain weight. We know what looks good on us at some points in our lives and don’t in others. If you want a more drastic option you can find it from Roxy Plastic Surgery, but otherwise we stick to changing our clothes, hair, and makeup to offer us the changes we need to get ourselves through different stages of our lives.

Our Perspective: Our attitudes and values change; what we may have held dear to us when we were fifteen could be totally different now. There are so many things that are accountable for this, but most notably is the formation of new relationships and big events happening in our lives, such as becoming a parent. Everything changes once our lives are flipped around and shared with somebody else; embrace it.

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Feb14

Spring Clean Your Way To a Healthy Mind

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Spring Clean Your Way To a Healthy Mind

We’re only going to whisper it, since it’s still pretty chilly out there, but…spring is just around the corner (!!!). And you know what that means: no, not lazy Sunday strolls hand in hand with your loved one, we’re talking spring cleaning! But don’t worry, because we’re going to be talking about it in a different way. Specifically, how you can use your spring cleaning as a way to reach a healthier state of mind – for both yourself and your family. That’s right – we’re suggesting you declutter your home, get rid of the mess, and adopt a minimalist lifestyle, both in your home and in your mind:

A Calm Mind: It is easy, all too easy, to acquire a large number of material items in the 21st century. Things are cheap so we buy them without much of a second thought. We have space and a need to hold on to signs of our success, so we hoard our items. But by hoarding our items, what are we really doing besides clogging up our home and denying ourselves of a pure mind? Take a look around the house, gather everything that hasn’t been used in the last 6 months (unless it’s sentimental), and contact samedayrubbishremoval.com.au to take it all away. We can’t function with stuff piled up around the house. When it’s gone and things look orderly, you’ll find it much easier to adopt a happy, carefree state of mind.

Space for Passions to Grow: Have you ever had to live without a television or the internet? If you did, you’ll remember the feelings of boredom, and then shortly after those feelings were replaced by a burst of creativity. Boredom brings out the best in us, it really does. It’s an opportunity for passions to grow and for us to do things that we never usually do. Getting rid of your junk is the same as getting rid of the television and changing the wireless internet password. With an empty home, where will your imagination take you?

Bringing the Family Together: Decluttering isn’t just good for you, it’s good for your partner and children, too, both on a personal level and as part of the family. With less distractions, you’ll find yourself naturally gravitating towards one another. Instead of living “alone together”, under one roof but decidedly different lives, you’ll be able to enjoy the rich and joyful moments of a calm space together. You’ll find you’re more interested in playing childish games with your kids, and they’ll naturally feel calmed by the serene surroundings you’ve created during the spring clean.

Boosting that Confidence: Maintaining a neat, uncluttered, orderly home also has one more benefit: it will boost your confidence. That’s a certain confidence we can draw from being in control of our surroundings, of knowing that we’re not tied down by the things that we own. Everything in your home has a purpose, you have already decided that. Instead of being owned by your possessions, you own them – and you’ll soon find this control seeping into other areas of your life, too.

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Feb9

The Lowdown On Recovering From A Major Health Scare

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The Lowdown On Recovering From A Major Health Scare

When serious illness hits, it can knock some of us out completely with shock. Many of us realize just how much we took our health for granted before we became ill, if it does end up happening to us. This is something a lot of people beat themselves up about, but really, it is just human nature – when everything is going well we take it all in stride, but as soon as something goes wrong it can put our whole world into free fall. The months or years which you deal with your illness can be very challenging and may even bring about some particularly dark times.

But what a lot of people are not prepared for is the period of recovery afterwards. Once you’ve been given the all clear, you may find that a lot of people expect you to simply be back to normal straight away. In reality, however, that is rarely the case. Most people go through all sorts of physical and emotional changes as they are recovering from serious illness, so it’s important that you know what to be prepared for.

Coming to Terms With The After-Effects: No one who has gone through a major health problem simply springs back to their old self minutes after being told that they are on the mend. Chances are, you will still have some physical signs of the illness on your body, which serve as a constant reminder and, in some cases, can prevent you from going about your daily business. This could be a large scar from the surgery you had, or maybe you are still suffering from joint damage or even the loss of a limb. Learning to live with any of these things doesn’t just happen overnight, and you are best off seeking the help of a professional – you can read about Dr. Allison for an idea of the kind of aid you may require.

Getting Back Into Normal Life: Going through a major health scare or trauma can easily change your perspective on many things. You may be more aware than ever of how short life is and it may spur you into taking the plunge into something drastic such as a round the world trip or a complete change of career. But initially, it’s all just about getting back into normal life – so living alone/with friends again and not having your life revolve around the illness.

Seeking Support From Friends: In those first few months after hospital discharge, you may find yourself leaning on friends and family more than you ever thought you would before. Being ill can be a lonely time, as everyone needs to still go about their own daily business regardless of whether you are sick or not. So, relish the chance to rekindle some old relationships when your time is your own again. Explain to your friends that you are still adjusting to ‘normal life’ again and that it may take you awhile to get back into the swing of things. But, by surrounding yourself with positive people, you will find that the whole thing is a lot easier for you.

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The best ships are friendships! 😀

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Jan26

The Holy Grail: Achieving Peace Of Mind

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The Holy Grail: Achieving Peace Of Mind

If you ask ten people what happiness means to them, you’re likely to receive ten different responses. Being happy isn’t necessarily about feeling ecstatic every single day. Many people associate happiness with a sense of calm and being in the world without too many stresses. It’s not possible to remove all stress from your life, but it is possible to take steps to prevent issues from arising and giving you peace of mind:

The Worst Case Scenario: If worrying about what may or may never happen is one of your problems, this directive may seem strange. However, if we think of the thing that we fear the most and accept it, then take the necessary steps to a better outcome, we can go on with our life. At least it may lift the worry a little. In his book, ‘How to Stop Worrying and Start Living’, Dale Carnegie outlines this strategy of trying to accept the worst case scenario.

Sometimes, despite all of our best efforts, things go wrong. Relationships fail and household disasters occur. All we can do is to mitigate the risk as much as possible and act quickly. Putting a plan in place is also helpful. So, if your power goes off at 9 pm on a Friday evening, having an after hours electrician in your address book will provide a quick and simple solution. Or, if you fear being late for work, make a strategy to help yourself to leave early to beat the morning traffic and arrive with time to spare.

Health Woes: We all want to protect our families and those closest to us and this may lead to fears over health. We never know what life is going to throw at us. Even the healthiest people such as marathon runners and surgeons get ill. All we can do is take steps to lead a balanced and healthy life to prevent illness from occurring.

Getting Things Done: Another common source of stress is how to get everything done. This includes work, home, and even getting the kids to school on time. Usually, these fears are at their most active when you’re doing too much. This leads to exhaustion which just exacerbates the problem. The best way to tackle this is to write down all of the tasks you have to complete each day. Next to the items write down the outcome or benefit you receive from these tasks. If it turns out you’re spending all of your time working on projects or items that don’t generate results, it could be time to make some adjustments.

If you’re spending too much time at work and still getting nowhere, you may need to review this with your boss. This could involve receiving extra training or delegating to a colleague. It may involve a tricky conversation about what hours you are prepared to work and where the line is drawn.

Learning To Troubleshoot: Possessing excellent problem solving skills is often an effective way of reducing your anxieties. Once you have learned this technique, you can use it in almost all situations. First, write down your problem. Next, analyze it and look at it from all angles. Be specific and outline exactly what the problem is. Then, provide several solutions for the problem and analyze each one. What are the advantages and what are the disadvantages? Now, decide which solution you’re going to adopt and when you’re going to put it into practice. If you’re good at resolving problems, you’re less likely to worry as you’ll understand that there is nothing that can’t be fixed.

If you’re a natural worrier, finding peace of mind may seem like finding the holy grail. But, with the right mindset and a few simple techniques, this is certainly possible.

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Jan23

Simple Ways You Can Achieve Better Health This Year

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With unhealthy convenience foods in the supermarkets, fast food restaurants at every corner, and busy lifestyles- sometimes staying healthy is difficult. Working long hours means most of us don’t have the time or energy we’d like to exercise. We don’t get enough sleep and can turn to unhealthy vices like alcohol to relax at the weekends. January is a time for big changes, and after far too much food, drink, and late nights over the festive period many of us are now ready to embrace a healthy change at the start of the new year. But staying healthy doesn’t have to be all hassle. In fact, there are a few things that you can do which are incredibly easy. Here are just a few of them:

Drink Filtered Water: Regular tap water has been shown to contain everything from heavy metals to plastics to parasites. While it’s not going to kill you, if you’d rather avoid these kinds of nasties there is an easy way to do so. Buy a water filter jug and pop it in your fridge. Not only do you always have cold water ready to go, but it’s a healthier option. It takes a matter of seconds to refill it and put it back, so there’s no messing around on your part. If you use filtered water in your kettle, this will also prevent limescale from building up. Limescale can be unpleasant in your hot drinks- no one likes ‘crunchy tea’!

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Visit a Dentist Every Six Months: When you visit a dentist every six months, they can catch problems before they have the chance to cause major damage. This can save a lot of pain and money later down the line. People can be anxious about visiting the dentist, but putting it off will only make things worse. A regular dental checkup takes just a few minutes, compare this to hours in the chair if something major goes wrong. You only have to go twice a year, so it’s worth making the time if you have a free afternoon. A site like Dentists Nhere Me can help you to find a local dentist and take the hassle out of searching for one.

Attend All Of Your Health Screenings: Screening programs are useful as they can help detect cancers and other illnesses early on. Your age, gender, or lifestyle might put you at an increased risk, these kinds of tests will catch things before they become serious. It’s important that you attend all of the health screenings that you are invited to. For most women, this involves cervical screening, and later in life mammograms to check for any breast changes. For men over the ages of forty, it’s a prostate exam. These checkups allow you to keep control over your health. They might not be the nicest experience, but they don’t occur very often. A few uncomfortable minutes for peace of mind is well worth it.

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So. Many. Pens.

Switch To Organic Produce: Herbicides and pesticides are used to kill weeds and bugs, but these can end up on the foods that we eat. These have been linked to all kinds of health conditions from ADHD to cancer, endocrine problems, fertility problems, and more. Organic farms don’t use these poisons on their crops, and so by making the switch, you’re able to avoid them. You will pay a little more for organic but the health benefits are worth it. There are some things where it’s not essential to buy organic. These are the kinds of fruits and vegetable which have a thick skin which you don’t eat (things like bananas, melons, and oranges). If you do eat the skin, however, such as grapes and apples, organic is your best bet. You can also buy things like organic milk which doesn’t have the same hormones pumped into the cows as regular milk. Or better still, switch to a dairy free variety. Almond (YUM!), rice, and oat milk are all great alternatives. They’re lower in fat and because they don’t involve keeping animals are better for the environment, too.

Find an Exercise Activity You Love: Exercise is hard work and tiring, and when you’re already tired after a long day of work, it’s far too tempting to give the gym or that jog around the track a miss. The key to keeping up exercise in the long term is to find something that you really enjoy. Exercise that doubles up as a hobby or even a social event if you can get friends involved, too, is way more enjoyable. You will be far more motivated to keep it up and when you’re having fun, it doesn’t feel like quite as much hard work.

You could set up a team sports challenge- football, basketball, or cricket. You could play doubles tennis or badminton. You could even go to the park and set up a big game of rounders during the summer, go paintballing or hit up some laser tag. You could attend a dance class, Zumba, or Pilates. If it gets you running around and out of breath it’s fantastic exercise.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with working out from home as long as you’re holding yourself accountable for your goals. You will need the right gear to make working out from home a success so shop around and do your research for the best machines and equipment. You can find inspiration for an at home Pilates studio if you click here. You can also think about your favorite machines at a gym that you might like to have at home.

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Work it!

Take a Multivitamin: You should aim to get all of the vitamins and nutrients you need from your diet. But it’s not a perfect world. Our bodies are complex machines so to make sure it’s not missing out on anything, a good quality multivitamin acts as an insurance policy. It shouldn’t be a substitute for a healthy diet but instead, run alongside it. It takes seconds out of your day to swallow a capsule, and you can be safe in the knowledge that you’re doing your body some good. If you put the bottle somewhere that you can see it each day, it will remind you to take it. Other vitamins that most people will benefit from is a daily fish oil capsule which is high in omega three and a probiotic yogurt drink to promote healthy digestion. If yogurt isn’t your favorite, you can also find probiotics for women or men in capsule form.

Switch From White to Wholemeal: Wholemeal bread, pasta, and rice is so much better for you than it’s stripped white counterpart. The goodness and fiber in these ingredients is in the bran and germ, both of which are stripped to get a ‘white’ variant of the product. Without the fiber, they can also cause blood sugar levels to spike which can wreak havoc on the body. Simply swapping the ingredient from white to wholemeal is incredibly easy; it’s no more expensive and you will quickly adjust to the taste, too. In fact, wholemeal varieties of things are far tastier. It might just take a bit of getting used to if you’ve always eaten the bland, white stripped versions of things. When you buy breakfast cereals, look for whole grain varieties, too.

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YUM.

Learn to Relax: Taking time to rest and relax isn’t just a luxury, nor should you feel guilty or lazy for doing so. Proper relaxation can help to lower blood pressure, ease tense knotted muscles, and clear your head. It prevents you from ‘burning out’ from the pressures of daily life overwhelming you.

Find out what really helps you to relax and embrace that. It could be hitting the sauna or hitting a bowl. Treat yourself to some durable and efficient metal weed grinders and have your stash ready when it’s time to call it a day! It could be booking in for a massage at a spa or just kicking back on the sofa with a good book or TV show. Give yourself time to just do nothing, clear your mind of work, and focus on yourself. Afterwards, you’ll be far more motivated and productive.