Raising Your Self-esteem To Have A Better Career

Most of your frustrations and struggles during your job search have to deal with insecurity. How you feel about yourself will either spawn motivation and energy or will severely hurt your chances for a great career.

When you increase your confidence level, you are able to interview more effectively, negotiate higher salaries and, subsequently you will receive a wider number of offers. Conversely, when you fail to do so, you are going to be paid less, given fewer responsibilities and will end up accepting a position that you are overqualified for.

Insecurity is like a leash that tethers you to a finite number of job options. Because of self-doubt, distrust and insecurity, you’ve become estranged from your true source of power. Luckily, there is nothing stopping you from changing.

You can train yourself to begin to feel more confident both in life and when interviewing. It doesn’t happen overnight, though with practice it will happen and it will change your career.

To help, I’ve listed some basic exercises for you to implement in order to gain key self-esteem and momentum during job transitions:

1. Begin refuting the thoughts pertaining to your negative self-image

In order to begin to raise your self-esteem, you must learn to refute the destructive thoughts you have about yourself.

Stop focusing on what you don’t like about your personality, abilities or qualifications. Begin to replace those thoughts with the aspects that you do admire.

Stop calling yourself names, it’s counterproductive. Instead, focus on what you like about yourself. Forget failures. Rather, think about prior achievements, positive qualities and difficulties you’ve overcome in the past.

2. Learn to effectively deal with disapproval and failure

People who have a high self-esteem have a superior ability to cope with failure. On the flip side, those who have a low sense of self-worth will allow outer circumstances such as the decision of a hiring manager to control their lives and how they feel about themselves.

It’s not always about you – that’s unrealistic thinking. On the contrary, as an executive recruitment specialist, I can tell you that interviewing rejection can spawn from dozens of other variables. Just because you take something personally, doesn’t mean you’re correct. Insecurity often distorts reality.

3. Think in action oriented terms

When people who have a high self-esteem run into hurdles, they don’t waste time prostrating and they keep at the job until it is finished.

For instance, instead of worrying about how a resume is not up to snuff, take action and make it better. Don’t stop until the job is done. People with a high self-esteem don’t make excuses and remain resilient consistently setting goals for themselves.

4. Stop worrying

Worrying about your job search is counterproductive and will magnify your insecurity. Worrying leads to stress, anxiety and panic which carries over to your interviews.

Even though the majority of the things that job seekers worry about never happen, they find themselves utter victim to this thought process. The most effective remedy is to live in the moment. Let life unfold and begin to believe that there is more to life than fretting and “what-iffing.”

The right mindset will significantly boost your overall state of being and performance. When you think positively and believe in your abilities, you’ll recognize success.

Since low self-esteem can spiral out of control and seriously effect your ability to find the right position, it’s crucial to begin improving your self perception asap. Once this is successfully done, you can start to interview at the level you should and will find the right position in a more timely, constructive manner.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kensundheim/2013/10/30/raising-your-self-esteem-to-have-a-better-career/

How To Express Your Feelings In A Respectful Way

People often tell me that they have problems maintaining calm and respectful communication with their partner even though they intended to. They start out fine, but can’t follow through when their partner responds in disrespectful or angry ways. Some of these couples need the presence of an experienced couples therapist to be able to maintain calm and repair disruptions.

This article offers a communication model that outlines how to practice maintaining communication regarding how you feel in an honest and open way while keeping your calm. This is not about feeling good or even comfortable. This is about practicing staying calm even though you feel hurt and angry.

The rationale for this is having a fuller understanding of each other’s perspectives. Feeling angry doesn’t necessarily mean that you are bound to break up. It means that there is something you need to take care of.

If you manage to find solutions together, you will feel closer, safer, and understood on a deeper level. Imagine explaining to your partner that you are hurt and angry in a calm way. Also, imagine that your partner is able to hear you and respond in a loving way.

Because it is easier to express positive feelings and talk about what’s right in your relationship, I will recommend that you start with five positive statements about yourself, your partner, and your relationship. Build from the following, if you like:

What do you love about your partner?

What do you love about the relationship?

What is most important to you?

Give a concrete example of what makes you feel loved.

Give a concrete example of what you look forward to.

Expressing your love, appreciation, and willingness to stay connected and find solutions together is essential for your partner’s willingness to hear you out and consider your requests and proposed solutions to problems you are having.

Expressing feelings of frustration, anger, fear, and sadness is a lot harder and takes some consideration. If you are able to stay calm and collected while you talk about your feelings, your chances of staying on track are higher. If you avoid blaming your partner and instead talk about what you feel, think, and what is important to you and why, it is more likely that your partner will respond positively.

Try to make it easier for your partner to listen to you and refrain from interrupting you and subsequently defending herself/himself. Try to make your statements more about yourself than about your partner. This is probably one of the hardest things to do. Self-expression is about defining yourself and what is most important to you, which is not easy when you are feeling upset and hurt.

It is natural in a relationship to feel at times that the other person is to blame. However, if you consider the matter, you will become aware that you have a responsibility for your own responses and reactions, and how you function as a partner has an influence on the relationship. Your feelings are your own, and to blame others for them is not conductive for your individual or relationship growth.

Before you start expressing feelings of anger and hurt, I recommend that you think about what you are going to say and how you are going to say it. Consider the following:

What are your feelings? Do you feel angry, hurt, sad, scared, lonely, jealous, guilty, etc.?

Give concrete examples such as, “I feel scared when you don’t call.”

Focus more on what you feel, think, and want, not on your partner’s shortcomings. “I feel lonely and I miss what we used to do together.”

Tell your partner why it is important to you that you honestly and openly express your feelings. Make sure you explain that self-expression goes both ways, and that it takes courage to talk about feeling vulnerable. Showing vulnerabilities is a sign of strength, and talking openly and honestly about how you feel is not a weakness.

Be mindful of how you express yourself. Tone of voice, facial expressions, body language, and eye contact are more important than most people think. Most of what you actually communicate to your partner has to do with how you communicate.

Be open and explicit about your intentions for having the conversation.

Make sure you are not having this conversation to get back at your partner. If you are very angry, you might feel vengeful. If that is the case, calm yourself and consider what is most important to you and what kind of partner you would like to be.

Don’t expect immediate success. Self-expression is a skill which takes practice to master. Ask for professional help if you need to.

http://grohhealthyliving.com/how-to-express-your-feelings-in-a-respectful-way/

How To Do Comfort Food The Easier Way

Comfort food is the ultimate antidote to longer nights and frankly miserable weather. Add in some very good telly, and we're helpless against the tide of sinking into the sofa with something hot and deliciously fatty.

But just as much as we love a good bowl of food (preferably with some form of potato), we also hate the panic that precedes the gamut of festive parties, where you then have to shoehorn your comfort food belly into a pair of Spanx.

So, is it time for a rethink?

We asked some of the top nutritionists for their advice and suggestions.



Sweet potatoes
"Fancy a warming mash? Then use sweet potatoes," says nutritionist Karen Poole."They will reduce the overall cooking time and have a lower glycemic load so they are a good slow release energy source to help keep blood glucose levels balanced throughout the day."

Expert Emily Maguire adds: "Sweet potatoes have a much lower GI and GL content meaning they will not spike your blood sugar which can result in hunger and cravings for foods high in sugar."


Dark chocolate
If you do end up craving chocolate, go for a 70% dark chocolate, melt it in the microwave and pour it over strawberries, says Emily. "These two ingredients are packed full of natural antioxidants that help protect the body from substances called free radicals which can attack healthy cells resulting in many conditions and also contribute to ageing."

The full English breakfast
How, you ask, is this healthy? Emily reveals that it's all in the ingredients. "The English breakfast has gotten a fair whack for being unhealthy, but choosing the correct quality ingredients (e.g. proper meat sausages) and method of cooking, makes this an ideal comfort breakfast."

Healthy meat alternatives
"Turkey is a great lean protein choice," says Karen, "and if you use it to make spag bol, will lower the fat content of the dish. It is a source of tryptophan to aid serotonin production the feel-good hormone to help us face the cold gray days of winter."

Similarly, she advises making a shepherd’s pie with a mixture of green lentils, tomato and dried wild mushrooms instead of minced lamb. "It can help you regulate your cortisol levels and reduce the overall impact of stress while also aiding liver function."



Go brown
"When you are making a risotto," says Karen, "choose brown risotto rice now available from most major supermarkets. This will increase the fibre content promoting gut function and efficiency to keep your bowel movements regular and aid digestion."

Use raw oats
"A comforting after dinner fruit crumble can work to lower your cholesterol level by simply adding raw oats into the crumble mix," says Karen, "as the beta glucan bind with cholesterol and carry it out of your body.
Breakfast time
Go for Greek yogurt, says Emily, as it's packed full of essential fatty acids needed for optimal health as well as being much lower in sugar than the fruit flavoured counter parts.

"At breakfast spread organic almond butter onto your brown toast instead of jam or honey," continues Karen. "This is a natural source of essential fats needed to boost positive mood and improve concentration."



When cooking a roast...
Karen says: "When you are cooking a Sunday dinner increase the vitamin, mineral and fibre content by roasting a mix of winter vegetables instead of just regular potatoes. Including squash, pumpkin, turnip and parsnip will provide a great mix of polyphenols to aid cardio vascular health, energy production and weight management.

"Make roasted vegetables more healthy by adding fresh lemon juice to the mix before they go into the oven. This will provide a liquid to aid cooking and means you can use less oil so reducing the overall fat and calorie intake."

Don't shy away from fresh herbs
"Fresh herbs will provide flavour and texture to most dishes and means you won't need to use as much salt therefore reducing the risk of high blood pressure and bloating," advises Karen.

"They are also a good source of antioxidants that can help combat the ravages of free radicals produced by everyday living. Growing your own is easy and will keep down the cost."

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/10/25/healthy-comfort-food-diet-winter-warmers_n_4163191.html?ir=UK+Lifestyle

Best Food For Weight Loss

For a healthy and balanced diet include in your meals foods listed below, which also contain little fat and are relatively low in calories.

Apples and pears
Medium-sized pear contains about 6 grams (0.2 oz) of fiber, a medium-sized apple contains about 3 grams (0.1 oz) of fiber. Both contain pectin, which reduces blood sugar levels and thus helping you avoid snacks between meals.

Grapes
Instead of eating sweets, try grapes. Grapes contain a lot of sugar, so don’t eat it too much, but it does not contain fats. 100 g (3.5 oz) of grapes contains only 70 calories. Eating grapes will help you with your weight loss and will clean your body as this fruit is one of the most powerful antioxidants!

Salad
Control your appetite and eat a big salad bowl prior to meal (but don’t use creamy dressings as they are very caloric). Make a salad with carrot, cabbage, tomato, beetroot, lettuce or cucumber – all these kinds of vegetables are low in calories. For dressing you can use lemon juice or oil-based dressings. 

Potato
You might be surprised but potato itself is no problem, the problem is just how it is prepared. Fried potato is bad as it has a lot of calories and trans fat. Boiled or baked potato in the oven without adding any fat is actually very good for your diet. Potato only contain 97 calories per 100 grams.

Cereals
Grains contain fiber which will help make you feel full. Choose oats, barley, rye, roasted corn, rice, whole grain cereal with less sugar. Add them into your daily menu as such food will make you feel full for longer period of time.

Beans
You may have never heard of cholecystokinin, but for weight loss cholecystokinin is very important. This digestive hormone is a natural appetite suppressant. So enjoy beans often! Beans maintain blood sugar levels at normal level and help you to stay away from food for a longer period of time. Eating beans will also lower your level of cholesterol.

Curd
Cottage cheese made from skimmed cow’s milk contains only 56 calories and is low in fat (light). It is a good source of protein, calcium and vitamins. If you mix cottage cheese with fruits such as banana or strawberry you get a tasty dessert!

Green tea
Hidden ingredient that boosts up the metabolism and body fat loss in green tea is an antioxidant called catechin. Drink two cups of green tea a day to boosts your metabolism. Faster metabolism means faster weight loss. Read about metabolism here: Metabolism By drinking green tea you also lower your cholesterol level.

Dark chocolate
If you feel like your sugar is low have a bar of dark chocolate. Always chose dark chocolate that contains a high proportion of cocoa (at least 70%). Such chocolate contains many antioxidants, has beneficial effect against stress and has an overall positive impact on our health.

Water
And last but not least – not exactly food, but still. Studies have shown that you normally consume more food if you drink too little water. Water has no calories, but will fill your stomach. You can add lemon for taste, but you can also drink beverages with fewer calories, which consist mainly of water such as coconut water, watermelon juice or buttermilk. You can also enjoy vegetable soup (with no oil).

The rule of thumb is to drink 3 liters (12 US cups) of water per day for men and 2 liters (8 US cups) per day for women. Remember that you don’t actually need to drink that much water as water is also found in vegetables and fruits that you eat trough out the day. Drink water only when you’re thirsty.

http://healthiack.com/weight-loss/best-foods-for-weight-loss

21 One-Minute Weight Loss Tricks

If you've ever tried to lose weight (and who hasn't), you've got to be mindful of whose advice you take. Your colleague says you need to cut out carbs. Your gym buddy knows the secret is to stop eating after 7 p.m. Your Facebook friend swears she’ll be in swimsuit shape by March if she only eats once a day. Your husband, well, he sneezes and the weight seems to fall off.

But do any of these tips really work? To help you shed those extra pounds—and keep them off—without starving yourself, ditching your social life, or eating only at odd times of the day, we talked to experienced nutritionists for real-world advice you can actually live with, day in and day out. We'll tell you how to focus on the delicious foods you can add to your diet, why you should be eating more often (yes!), the fat loss benefits of more sleep, and how even taking a few deep breaths can put you on a successful path to weight loss.

Here, the 25 best diet tips of all time. Say buh-bye to hunger and hello skinny jeans.


1. Never get too hungry - plan meals and snacks in advance

2. Be honest about your daily calorie allowance 

3. Eat right post-workout

4. Use the red, orange and green rule - By focusing on these foods, you'll be sure to get some produce on your plate and won't have space on your plate for higher-calorie fare.

5. Eat one less bite - Doing this at every meal could save about 75 calories a day which equates to nearly an 8-pound weight loss in one year!

6. Be a heavy drinker - Of Water! 

7. Kick the salt habit - Salt can also make you feel hungrier and thirstier.

8. Spice up your food - Adding hot spices to your meals can help curb hunger.

9. Don't think diet soda will help you lose weight

10. Focus on nutrient balance instead of calorie counting

11. Plate food away from where you're eating - By keeping food within eyesight as you are eating, you may find yourself reaching for a second helping even if you really aren't hungry. 

12. Keep a food record - tracking your mood and appetite can be helpful and insightful into learning about your eating patterns as well!

13. Start with soup - People who ate a low-calorie vegetable soup before a meal consumed 20% fewer calories at the meal, according to research from Penn State University.

14. Take your time - It takes 20 minutes for your stomach to send a message to your brain that you have eaten enough and are satisfied. 

15. Outsmart your hunger hormone - Our bodies secrete a hormone called ghrelin, which controls hunger and drives our appetite. Ghrelin will also spike if we're deprived of carbs, so it's important to give our bodies and brains the carb fuel they need. When we skip meals or avoid carbs, we're inviting ghrelin to spike, which increases and makes us feel emotionally hungry. It makes us crave sugar and can derail even the healthiest eating routine.

16. Dine anytime - It's a myth that you'll gain weight as a direct result of eating after 7 p.m. You should eat 70% of your calories before dinnertime and 30% at dinner, whatever time that may be. Just give yourself at least 90 minutes to end your meal before you plan to go to sleep. You need at least 90 minutes to digest so you can sleep comfortably. 

17. Set a date with your kitchen - when it comes to weight loss we need to devote 80% of our efforts to nutrition and 20% to exercise.

18. Breathe away cravings - Deep breaths of that kind take you out of your immersion in momentary stress, oxygenate your brain and tissues, and they help to reduce stress hormones. 

19. Eat before a party or event - Have a light snack before you go to an event so you don’t arrive ravenous.

20. Be adventurous with chopsticks - they can act as a reminder to slow down, savor and chew consciously which may help you realize you’re fuller sooner than you thought you’d be and then wind up eating less!

21. Wear fitted clothing - The elastic waistband is the dieter's fashion enemy number one. When you wear clothes that fit well and make you feel good, you have awareness gauges that give you clear signals to help you put on the brakes as you fill up. 

22. Celebrate healthy talk - Instead of using words like "fat," say "fit"; change "can't" to "can"; "weak" to "strong"; "unhealthy" to "healthy." It takes practice but it can start to rewire how you think about your health and weight goals.

23. Eat breakfast without fail Shoot for a minimum of 250 calories and aim to get a serving of protein in so you’ll feel fuller longer.

24. Take 10 minutes to eat a treat

25. Sleep away weight gain - Scientists asked participants to sleep about 10 hours a night for two days, followed by five nights of sleep restriction and four nights of recovery. After the 11 days, the sleep-deprived group gained almost 3 pounds, compared with a well-rested control group.

http://www.prevention.com/25-best-diet-tips-all-time?cm_mmc=Yahoo_Blog-_-PVN_Shine-_-21%20One%20Minute%20Weight%20Loss%20Tricks-_-25%20Best%20Diet%20Tips%20Of%20All%20Time

The Habits That Make You Happy

So what habits make you happy? Try doing these on a daily basis, and see if you get the what results you get:

1. List Three Good Things. [My wife] and I started a daily evening ritual, at about 7pm each day, where we take a moment to tell each other three good things about our day. We didn’t invent this, but it serves as at least one time in your day when you focus on what you’re grateful for. This can create a mental habit of gratitude that you can use other times in your day, when you’re focused on the things you don’t like or have — when you feel this, think about something you do have, that you love. Find a way to be grateful, and you’re happier.
2. Help Someone. When we focus on ourselves, and the woeful state of our lives, we are self-centered. This shrinks the world to one little place with one little unhappy person. But what if we can expand that worldview, and expand our heart to include at least one other person? Maybe even a few others? Then we see that others are suffering too, even if that just means they’re stressed out. Then we can reach out, and do something to reduce their stress, put a smile on their face, make their lives easier. Help at least one person each day, and you’ll find your entire perspective shifted.
3. Meditate. It affects everything else. Meditate for just two minutes a day, and you’ll create a habit that will allow you to notice your thoughts throughout the rest of the day, that will help you to be more present (unhappiness comes from not being present), that will help you notice the source of anxiety and distraction. That’s a lot that can be accomplished in two minutes! Sit every morning when you wake, and just notice your body, and then your breath. Notice when your mind wanders, and gently return to your breath. You become the watcher of your mind, and you’ll learn some useful things, I promise.
4. Exercise. Everyone knows you should exercise, so I’m not going to belabor this point. But it really does make you happier, both in the moment of exercise (I’m exerting myself, I’m alive!) and throughout the rest of the day. Exercise lightly, if you’re not in the habit yet, and just for a few minutes a day to start out. Who doesn't have a few minutes a day? If you don’t, you need to loosen up your schedule a bit.

There are a number of other habits that also help: mindful eating, drinking tea, doing yoga, socializing with others. But these incorporate meditation (they’re more active forms of meditation), and exercise, and helping others, and gratitude (if you’re doing it right). So I wanted to list the most basic habits, and then you can expand to other areas.

How do you form these habits? One at a time, starting as small as possible, with some social accountability. Set these habits in motion. You’ll notice yourself becoming more present, more grateful, more other-focused. The shift that results is nothing short of a miracle.

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2013/07/how-to-make-happiness-a-habit/

50 Million Diet Each Year But Only 5% Lose Weight - What's The Best Weight Loss Programs?

Out of the 50 million Americans who go on a diet every year, only five percent are successful in keeping the weight off. What this should tell us is that successful diet programs are those that teach us how to eat sensibly and healthy. Otherwise, the diet will not work. Losing weight the right way is really a matter of cutting the calories--eating fewer calories than you burn--and making a permanent change in eating habits.

Avoid "Miracle" PillsThe key to finding a program that will work is selecting one that is easy to maintain, does not require purchasing special foods, doesn't focus on miracle pills and other substances, but teaches healthy lifelong eating habits. Consumer Reports readers scored MyFitnessPal and Weight Watchers the highest because they encouraged calorie awareness, exercise, and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Jenny Craig was also rated highly. Although this program sells their preportioned foods, it also includes grocery store foods. These programs focus on sound weight-loss principles and weight management.

Beware of Diet Scams
Beware of "quick fix" diet products. Not only can they be harmful but they are not proven to be successful in long-term weight management. According to Dr. Oz, diet pills are some of the most dangerous products on the market. They are drugs and should be treated as such. They can increase your blood pressure enough to cause a stroke, and once you stop taking the pills, the weight piles back on. They are simply not worth the risk of taking a short cut to weight loss.

Eat Less, and Better
Any diet product or program that relies on a specific product does not teach healthy, lifelong eating habits. The only thing that works is eating less, eating more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and protein. Weight loss programs that focus on this are worth looking into. The bottom line on the best weight loss program is to satisfy your hunger with good foods that will not add weight and substituting high-calorie foods with those that contain fewer calories. It's not a diet. It's a lifestyle change.

http://www.newpittsburghcourieronline.com/index.php/health/14742-50-million-diet-every-year-but-only-5-percent-lose-weight-what-s-the-best-weight-loss-programs

7 Little-Known Benefits Of Sunlight

This time of year, everyone wants to be outside. It feels so good to have the warm sun on our bare skin. If you haven’t heard that being out in the sun, unprotected by sunscreen, puts you at risk for wrinkles, at best, and skin cancer, at worst, then you’ve probably been living under a rock!

However, while most people are aware of the dangers of too much sun, many don’t realize that sunlight confers enormous health benefits as well. Keeping in mind that you need to protect your skin with a high-quality sunscreen when you go outdoors, let’s look at some of the surprising benefits of sunlight.

1.Sunlight may help prevent cancer.
It’s not just plants that metabolize sunlight. Humans do too. Through a complex process, our bodies turn sunlight into life-giving vitamin D. The connection between vitamin D deficiency and cancer was first made by Drs. Frank and Cedric Garland from the University of California, San Diego. After finding that the incidence of colon cancer was nearly three times higher in New York than in New Mexico, the Garland brothers hypothesized that lack of sun exposure, resulting in a vitamin D deficiency, played a role. Research now indicates that being deficient in vitamin D increases the risk of many cancers, especially breast and colon. For example, a four-year, placebo-controlled study involving 1,179 postmenopausal women concluded that vitamin D supplementation produced a dramatic 60% drop in the risk of developing any form of cancer.

2.Sunlight is beneficial for Alzheimer’s patients.
Clinical research has shown that exposure to full-spectrum light throughout the day coupled with darkness at night can help improve some aspects of Alzheimer’s disease—reducing agitation, increasing sleep efficiency, decreasing nighttime wakefulness, and decreasing nighttime activity in these patients.

3. Sunlight may lower risk for multiple sclerosis.
MS is more common in populations that live farther from the equator. People who move from a low-risk area to a high-risk area before the age of 15 acquire a higher risk of developing MS, whereas those who make the same move after adolescence retain a lower risk. These observations suggest that environmental exposure, and in particular, early sunlight exposure (which is correlated with vitamin D levels) in the first two decades of life, influences the risk of developing MS. Related to this finding, several European population studies observed that there is a lower risk of MS for births occurring after October and a higher risk for MS for births occurring after May. This suggests that maternal levels of vitamin D during the third trimester of pregnancy may influence risk of MS.

4. Sunlight helps heal psoriasis.
Exposure to sunlight is extremely beneficial for individuals with psoriasis. In one study, an outdoor four-week sunbathing therapy was shown to promote significant clearance of psoriatic symptoms in 84 percent of subjects.

5. Sunlight can ease mild depression.
There has been a lot of research on the link between sunlight and mood. One solid study found that sunlight actually increases levels of a natural antidepressant in the brain. On sunny days, the brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin than on darker days.

6. Sunlight contributes to bone health in older adults.
It is well known that vitamin D stimulates the absorption of bone-strengthening calcium. The process of vitamin D manufacture begins when sunlight changes the 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin into vitamin D3. Emerging research is showing a direct correlation between both bone density and blood levels of vitamin D3. Higher blood levels of vitamin D3 are associated with a lower rater of fractures of virtually all types; lower blood levels of vitamin D3 are associated with a higher rate of fractures of all types.

7. Sunlight can improve sleep quality.
When sunlight hits your eyes, your optic nerve sends a message to the gland in the brain that produces melatonin (a hormone that helps you sleep); the gland decreases its secretions of melatonin until the sun goes down again. In other words, exposure to sunlight during the day increases the natural production of melatonin at night. Low levels of melatonin production are linked to poor sleep quality, especially in older adults.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-little-known-benefits-of-sunlight.html

Mood Boosters

Next time you need a pick-me-up, try one of these simple happiness-enhancing tricks

1. Practice the healing breath 
Before bed or when you feel tense, try focusing on your breath, and breathe deeply and slowly. Try this simple breathing exercise: Sit comfortably, with your hands resting on your belly button. Take a deep breath in for a count of 3, feeling your belly expand beneath your hands. Hold for 5 seconds, and then exhale for 7 seconds, compressing your belly button toward your spine. 

2. Drink more herbal tea 
“These teas are delicious, have no calories, and offer tremendous healing properties,” says Tieraona Low Dog, MD, a Prevention advisory board member and the author of Life Is Your Best Medicine. She likes tea with ginseng for an afternoon pick-me-up, peppermint to help with digestion, and chamomile to relax before bed. 

3. Unplug
We’re far too habituated to texting and e-mailing constantly,” says Dr. Low Dog. “There’s a reason almost every religion has a day of rest.” People who resist the trend are less stressed and more productive—and have healthier heart rates. Dr. Low Dog’s prescription: Commit one day a week to staying offline.

4. Get a massage 
Regular rubdowns can help relieve stress, curb anxiety and depression, ease muscle pain, and even control blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. Massage relaxes the fight-or-flight stress response, slowing heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and alleviating anxiety. 

http://discover.rodales.com/health-and-fitness/how-to-be-happy?cid=synd_Care2_KeystoaHealthyBrain_MariasBlog_howtobehappy

Personal Development Tips That Can Get You Out Of Your Slump

Personal development is about bettering yourself and taking on things that improve upon who you are as a person. It involves gaining knowledge about yourself, and fulfilling your personal goals. You’ll find tips and techniques within this article which will help you to find success in your journey. Concentrating on one large change at a time, will make your metamorphosis easier.

Stress can impede your ability to be happy. Stress causes both physical and mental damage that increases in severity the longer we experience it. To retain clarity of mind and the motivation to work towards our goals, it is critical to banish unnecessary stress from our minds. Each day, take time to quiet your mind and relax. Having a time to refresh can give you peace and improve your self-image.

Read good articles about personal development. Personal development books that are well written, insightful and instructive can provide you with the information you need to significantly enhance your outlook and your life. Try to pick a volume that has already been well-received by others because poorly done books in this category are fairly common.

Tell other people positive things. By being kind to others, you will also begin to care about yourself more.

Write a pep talk for yourself. Make a list of all the good things about you, and put it on a postcard. Keep this inspirational card with you at all times. Better yet, record your qualities on video or audio and listen to it often. “Why would I want to do this?”, you may be asking.

Identifying your personal values are the stepping stone to figuring out a personal development plan that works for you. Trying to change yourself in ways that are not in line with your values, is not a good idea. Instead of this, you should focus your energy on the things that you want to develop that also go along with your own values. This enables you to make lasting changes in your life, both in a personal and a professional capacity.

Treat everyone with respect, no matter what they can do or how much power those people may have. The way you act toward others says something about your character, not theirs.

Instead of bragging abut your achievements and awards, ask other people about what they have accomplished that they are most proud of. This is a wonderful means of learning more about your peers and their abilities; you also might discover a new role model.

When you are handling depression stay focused on the things you eat and eat more complex carbohydrates. Serotonin can be depleted without enough complex carbs in your diet. This can also be achieved by upping your intake of raw fruits and veggies, legumes and whole grains.

Whether or not a person can make things happen for you, you must treat everyone with respect and gratitude. The way you behave toward others has more to do with your personality than with anything they say or do.

You have to not only decide what you want out of life, you also have to take steps to get it. Pondering an ideal life without taking the action to make it a reality will inevitably lead to nothing. Take action, and turn your dreams into reality.

So, as you have seen, it is true that self help requires research, work, and effort to start making changes that you can keep applying to your life. Also, to make changes in your life you’re going to have to keep trying. Apply the advice from this article, and you will be well on your way to better living.

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