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Life Coaching: 10 Core Benefits That Really Exist

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

Life Coaching is a unique relationship straddling the line between the worlds of the professional and the personal that can help you produce extraordinary results in your personal life and career or business.

Life coaching is not therapy or counseling. It’s about looking at your future, unlocking your full potential and achieving positive results in your life. And if you’re still thinking about whether you should hire a life coach to help you, here are some of the greatest benefits of life coaching that should change your mind.

Gain Clarity of Purpose

Sometimes we know exactly where it is that we want to go with our lives. Sometimes, we know that we’re not happy but don’t know why.

With life coaching, you will gain the clarity of your purpose in this life. It’s hard to obtain anything worthwhile if you are unable to determine and understand your purpose. However, if you can clearly define the reasons of why you do what you do, then you will have a better approach to life with an enthusiastic spirit and a clear vision.

Self-Confidence Boost

We all have opinions and thoughts about our own abilities, constantly arguing inside our minds.. This is usually known as “self-talk”. And often, this self-talk questions our abilities and limits our beliefs, stopping us from moving forward.

However, life coaches are great at boosting your self-confidence. Even though there are some people in our life who help boost our confidence, when you have that someone in your corner constantly cheering you on, it is so much easier to be more confident in yourself. Usually, it’s that little push we need to reach our goal.

Accountability

Checking in with a life coach is like having a friend whose only purpose is to push you to succeed and hit whichever goals you have set. Sometimes it’s hard to find people who can really hold us accountable while motivating and cheering us throughout the entire process.

However, with a life coach, either personally or digitally over instant messaging and Skype, we can get things done, knowing that someone is ensuring we take consistent actions.

Productivity Kick

Working with a life coach can naturally increase your productivity. You will feel more inclined to do the work since you have the guidance of a pro to help move you closer to your dreams and goals. Life coaches help light up fundamental principles in order to help you achieve more in the same amount of time.

Improvement in Communication Skills

By talking to your life coach, you become better at expressing yourself thus enhancing your communication skills. When you are required to share your motivations, thoughts, and emotions, through executive coaching on a regular basis, you eventually get better at telling precisely what is on your mind and improving your ability to articulate yourself as time passes.

Forms a Laser-Focused Career Approach

A life coach can help you focus your career approach by understanding just what you need and want, why you want or need it and what steps are required for you to reach that mark in your career. This is not easy to do by yourself and it usually needs the experience and perspective of someone who has been through the same thing that will direct you along the journey.

Better at Time Managing

Life coaches can help you improve your time management skills. This is probably the best skill you can develop in order to reach your goals. As a matter of fact, the better we learn to manage your time, the more likely you are to achieve greater things.

Offers First-Hand Knowledge

Life coaches operating at the highest levels in life, sports and business, usually come along with broader and greater experiential knowledge. In sports, the most effective coaches are usually former superstars in their own rights, but it is pretty much the same thing in business and in life.

Coaches with vast knowledge and experience can help you navigate through difficult times since they, too, might have experienced the same thing in the past.

Alleviate Distractions

Wasting time is the number one destructive thing that move us away from reaching our goals. We usually get sucked into bad habits or even spend some time doing things that will not help us move towards our dreams and goals.

However, life coaches can help us avoid these distractions using a variety of methods and strategies that are super effective.

Embracing a New Lifestyle

We usually seek the aid of a life coach when we want to change. Maybe you are getting tired of the old patterns, either in work or your personal life, and are looking to embrace a new and better lifestyle, one that can help you drive and fulfill your wants and needs instead of being a burden and suffocating you.

About the Author

Charles Goodwin is the writer of this article. He is a regular contributor at many sites and mainly focuses on business and motivation related topics. Apart he loves to read motivational books and blogs at his free time

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The Art of Clear Thinking | Positive vs. Negative Thoughts

Listen to episode 367 of the Inspirational Living podcast: The Art of Clear Thinking. Edited and adapted from Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude.

Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: Welcome to the Inspirational Living podcast. You can now support our podcast by purchasing our new official podcast t-shirt. Check out the new design by visiting LivingHour.org/clothing. Today’s reading was edited and adapted from Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone.

You have heard me say in the past that you are what you think. But what DO you think? How orderly are your thought processes? How straight is your thinking? And how clean are your thoughts? There are certain mental cobwebs that clutter up the thinking of almost everyone, even the most brilliant minds. Negative feelings, emotions, passions — habits, beliefs and prejudices. Our thoughts become entangled in these webs.

Sometimes we have undesirable habits and we want to correct them. And there are times when we are strongly tempted to do wrong. Then, like an insect caught in a spider's web, we struggle to get free. Our conscious will is in conflict with our imagination and the will of our subconscious mind. The more we struggle, the more we become entrapped.

However, we can avoid mental cobwebs. We can clear them. And we can sweep them away as they begin to develop. We can free ourselves when once enmeshed. And we can remain free by thinking accurately with a positive mental attitude.

Accurate thinking is a critical success principle. To think accurately we must use reason. The science of reasoning or accurate thinking is called logic. One can learn it from books written specifically on this subject, such as: The Art of Clear Thinking, by Rudolf Flesch; Your Most Enchanted Listener by Wendell Johnson; Introduction to Logic by Irving Copi; and The Art of Straight Thinking by Edwin Leavitt Clarke.

These books can be of immense practical help. But we don't act from reason alone. And action based on common sense is the result of more than just reason. It depends upon habits of thought and action, intuitions, experiences, and other influences such as tendencies and environment.

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The True Meaning of Self-Care and Why You Should Embrace It

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

Go through your social media feed for a few minutes and you’ll probably find at least one person documenting his or her idea of self-care, whether it’s lounging in the infinity pool of a five-star hotel or drinking homemade tea with a good book in hand. Self-care isn’t just limited to these Instagrammable activities, and it shouldn’t be groundbreaking either. In fact, the idea of people indulging in forms of care can be traced way back to the ancient world. The legendary Egyptian queen Cleopatra, for example, was said to have enjoyed baths of milk and honey, and the tradition of drinking rose water for its health and beautifying effects can be traced to ancient Persia, Greece, Egypt, and Rome.

You don’t have to be a ruler of the ancient world to enjoy self-care. Also, just because millennials are championing this trendy movement doesn’t mean it is only for the younger generation. Self-care is more than just a hashtag or an excuse to splurge on a seven-day Bahamas vacation. Here are four good reasons why the self-care trend is something that should seriously be included in your lifestyle.

Increase Productivity

As mentioned earlier, self-care isn’t about expensive vacations; it’s the idea of giving yourself time to rest and recuperate. Of course, a long weekend getaway can do wonders to help you recharge, but doing simple activities such as taking short power naps during lunch break or enjoying a long hot bath after a hectic day is just as rejuvenating. It may sound counterproductive, but taking time to care for yourself can actually help you get more work done.

Research has consistently shown that breaks can improve cognitive abilities, creativity, comprehension, and decision-making. All this translates to better productivity for you. On the other hand, when you skip breaks and don’t allow yourself to unwind, you are more prone to work burnout; and before long, you might find yourself inefficient and resentful of your job. Furthermore, overworking and stress can make you more vulnerable to a multitude of health problems, like anxiety, heart disease, insomnia, and diabetes.

Better Mental and Physical Health

 Personal health is one of the most important areas you should focus your self-care efforts on. This includes investing in food and activities that will promote both mental and physical health. Without good health, you would not be able to work hard, be a reliable friend, and enjoy your life. Take time to do an inventory of your current lifestyle. Are you eating healthy? Are you sleeping enough every night? And are you getting enough exercise? Do you have chronic health issues that need to be addressed?

Be completely honest about your current way of life and map out the steps that can be taken to improve it. This can include simple tweaks like making time in your schedule for doing home workouts or increasing the grocery budget so you can shop for healthier whole food products instead of cheap yet unhealthy processed food. You can also make room for more significant revamps like investing in technology that can help monitor your pulse if you have a heart condition or finding a counselor if you have mental health concerns that you need help with.

Boosts Self-Esteem

 Your self-esteem has a significant impact on your overall quality of life. Studies have shown that people who have poor self-image are prone to addiction and substance abuse. People who have low self-confidence also have problems building strong and lasting relationships with others, and they may find it difficult to handle stress. Positive self-care habits can go a long way in helping reshape the negative self-image you have. For example, you can engage in productive hobbies that can help you overcome self-defeating thought patterns. Involving yourself in a sport or enrolling in weekly classes to learn a new skill can help you feel connected with others and overcome social anxiety issues and fear. These activities should not just be limited to rest and relaxation but also opportunities that can push you out of your comfort zone.

Self-care can also come in the form of getting therapy and counseling, especially if there are more deep-seated issues you want to deal with. More importantly, self-care is about reminding yourself that you truly love yourself, warts and all. Pat yourself on the back and don’t be afraid to say, “I got you!”

Face Life’s Challenges

 Many people make the mistake of assuming self-care is all about feeling good and chasing after mindless self-indulgence. In reality, this habit is about empowering yourself so you can deal with hard things head-on. These challenging things can include quitting unhealthy habits. Ultimately, self-care is about improving your quality of life, but you would not be able to maintain joyfulness, peace of mind, and lasting self-confidence if you do not give up any existing unhealthy and toxic habits. A nicotine test kit should help give you an idea of how much toxins are in your body, and you can take the next step by cutting down on your cigarette consumption daily until you can totally kick the habit.

Keep in mind that substance addiction is a serious mental health issue, and you may experience very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if you decide to quit. It is perfectly okay to seek professional help if you think you cannot manage it on your own. There are also numerous support groups that can give you the compassion and practical tips you need for breaking bad habits. Always be patient with yourself. The decision to turn your life around for the better is never easy, but it will be the best decision you make—not just for you, but for the people you care about.

 Self-care is about being kind to yourself. Remember that not all battles are won in a day. Some of them require weeks, months, and even years of persistent hard work, and you won’t be able to keep at it if you do not take proper care of yourself.

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Optimizing Sleep

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

How much attention have you given to the area of your life that comprises about a third of your total time on this planet? Although you may not be conscious during that time, your sleep is nonetheless an area of self-improvement worth taking seriously. It is arguably the most important component of your day for improving stress, mental health, and productivity.  Let’s talk about optimizing sleep for your own well-being.

The importance of sleep

One study involving surgeons found that sleep-deprivation increased task completion time by 14% and caused 20% more errors when compared to well-rested individuals. Cutting back on sleep can have a pernicious negative feedback loop whereby the mind becomes less efficient as it gets tired, causing working hours to extend and thereby leaving less time for the mind to rest up.

Our society seems to place very little value on sleep, and individuals constantly brag about their ability to go long periods without it (often deeming sleep as a sign of laziness). But in fact, sleep ought to be seen as a key aspect of self-care and productivity.

Sleep Research

As new research comes out shedding light on the crucial biological processes carried out during sleep, it has become clear that we should be paying much more attention to the amount and quality of our time on the pillow. Lack of sleep harms our memory, immune systems, hormone levels (include testosterone), and virtually every other aspect of health and lifestyle that we care about. In the interest of time, many people are cutting out the most powerful healing force of nature. Ironically, sleeping less also shortens your lifespan, actually reducing your overall time on this planet.

Quality of sleep

Not only do we seem to be sleeping less, but also the quality of our sleep seems to be eroding. The problem is that we’re sleeping very differently than our ancestors did. With the advent of caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, blue LEDs and city noise, we have lopped off about 20% of the sleep that is required. A large portion of our society walks around as constant zombies, existing with sub-optimal cognitive functioning as a result of poor sleep management.

The prescription for lack of sleep quantity and quality entails good sleep hygiene. It’s like brushing your teeth, but 10 times more important.

Optimizing Sleep

A good night’s sleep can make all the difference between optimal and abysmal mental health and productivity. Here are some healthy habits that can have you feeling refreshed each morning:

–       Light: Your body bases its sleep rhythm largely upon your exposure to light. Try making your room as dark as possible by implementing blackout curtains. Also, avoiding electronics before bed is essential because screens will suppress melatonin production (a chemical produced in your brain that signals your body that it’s time to begin the sleep process).

Drugs: Avoid tobacco and alcohol, which suppress REM sleep.

Routine: Establish a regular sleep schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same time each day. Your room temperature ought to remain around 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius) and taking a hot shower before bed will help your body get into a good rhythm. A change in body temperature helps signal to your internal system that it’s time to sleep. This makes sense evolutionarily since the environment would’ve naturally grown cooler as the sun went down.

Shutting Down: Try journaling your thoughts before bed, reading fiction (thought to help the narrating mind get into dream-mode more quickly), and meditating.

Sleep is your personal gift to your mind and body. By using these habits and optimizing sleep habits, you’ll feel much more ready to tackle the day’s challenges. Your mind-body system will repay the favor with more vitality and acuity!

About the Author

 Liam McClintock studied Psychology at Yale and became certified as a YTT Meditation Teacher. He now runs a meditation training company, FitMind, in Colorado.

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How to Conquer the Ugly Urge to Punish

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

I used to enjoy punishing people.

Because when I was feeling bad, I wanted the person who made me feel that way to suffer also. I always told my children that the mean kid was really just sad and wanted to make others feel sad too and, well, I guess it is the same for adults. When faced with a situation that didn’t go the way I wanted, I would feel it right in my core. All of those rotten emotions like disappointment and anger and disgust. My way to make it feel better? Punishment.

A while back, I wanted to punish someone I like very, very much. The director of my daughter’s theater program. The director did not choose my daughter for the role she really wanted in an upcoming show. When I got the news I was disappointed. “My daughter worked so hard and was so perfect for the role.” And I was angry. “I can’t believe my daughter is just going to be a dancer in the ensemble while the kid who got it gets everything because she is a favorite.” And I was disgusted. “Ugh. Why are we wasting our time with all of these late night rehearsals for this?”   With all of these sour emotions rolling around in me, I wanted to punish the director and make her feel as awful as I was feeling.

The urge to punish is the reaction we have when we feel that we have been wronged. For me, I wanted to punish when I believed that my feelings have not been taken into account. When I felt like I was not important.

In my theater situation, I felt that my daughter and I were not important to the director. That she was not thinking about our feelings. I have also had moments where I am feeling unimportant to a friend I have reached out to who was too busy to respond to me. Or to my husband who left the kitchen a mess. Or to the receptionist at the doctor’s office who could not fit me in when I had a minor emergency. My reaction was always, “You are not considering my feelings”, and voila, punishment.

As the old saying goes, “the punishment fits the crime”. We punish by making the person who wronged us feel like we feel. When the crime of being made to feel unimportant happened to me, I punished my attacker by letting them know they were not important to me. I did this by withholding my love and approval. By withholding my daughter from the theater production.  

Fast forward 3 hours and I did not pull my daughter from the show. At this point in my journey, I was already aware that punishment is not only unkind but unhealthy to my psyche.

You may ask why I needed to go further? If I could stop myself from acting on my desire to punish, wasn’t that good enough? Well, no. While I was able to stop myself from using that nasty tactic, it was still my gut reaction and therefore required further investigation. Because of something that can be explained by a tool called the emotional guidance scale. The emotional guidance scale orders a number of the most common emotions and the higher on the scale the emotion, like joy, the happier you are. The lower on the scale the emotion, like rage, the unhappier you are. (I have oversimplified a bit, so please investigate further!)

In my daily life, I am fairly high on the emotional guidance scale and I feel happy and peaceful and live a fulfilling, productive life. But when the urge to punish happened, I plummeted all the way down to “revenge”, which is in the lower 25%! And then, if I actually punished the person who I feel wronged me, I quickly spiraled down to the second lowest emotion of “guilt” as I regretted my actions. Then I sometimes moved to the very bottom emotion of “fear” as I begin to worry how I had affected our relationship. My emotional well-being, my friends, is the reason I was on this journey to eliminate the desire to punish.

And lucky for me (and you!) I discovered a way to release my urge to punish.

My discovery was faith.

Faith that whatever happens to me, is exactly perfect for my growth as a soul and as a human. And if what happened is exactly perfect for me, then I am not being wronged, my feelings are being taken into account, and I am important.

Remember that scenario with theater director? Well, it happened again. Obviously, I was being tested.  And this time I passed.

Let me share my strategy with you.

At the moment where I feel like my feelings are not being taken into account, I stop and sit with how I feel. I don’t allow myself to think about how I have been wronged or who is to blame. It is sort of like a meditation. I focus on my breath and my emotions and the part of my body where I am feeling the pain. But when my mind starts getting involved, I dismiss it kindly and focus back on my being.

In the past, I would have camped out with my evil thoughts about my daughter not getting the role she wanted. I would have tried to explain it to myself, “She was too tall” or “They wanted a tap dancer.” I would have begun predicting the future, “This was probably her only shot.” or “She will always be pegged as just a dancer.” I would have even tried to convince myself it wasn’t so bad, “I assume there is something better waiting for her.” But I no longer indulge in the activity of thinking. I only observe my thoughts and let them go until the pain in my core has left.

When I am calmer, I remind myself that I am grateful for this lesson that is helping me to release the urge to punish. Like it or not, that is why this situation is happening. It is happening so that you can learn to release your negative behavior.

Then I get to work. Not punishing. Not worrying about why it happened. Not focusing on how to change the situation. I work on myself. I work on understanding why the situation triggered a negative emotion in me and I work to remove that trigger. I work on healing myself. I work on learning the lesson I have been given.

Now in all situations, with the theater director or anyone else,  I am able to have faith that the person who I wanted to punish is actually providing me with exactly what the Universe determined I need to become the greatest, grandest version of myself. And instead of wanting to punish, I feel gratitude. Gratitude that I am being given exactly what I need.

From punishment to gratitude. All it takes is a little faith.

About the Author

Elyse Hudacsko served as guidance counselor to more than 500 young adults in her role as a Staffing and Development Manager at a Global Fortune 500 consulting firm for more than a dozen years.   She then turned her focus to homeschooling her two teenage daughters in things such as determination, kindness, observation, and vulnerability. And now Elyse is sharing her expertise in guidance and education as an author, coach, and speaker.

Elyse’s love of helping others find their true path springs from her personal experience of having followed everyone else’s suggestions to an Engineering degree at Cornell University, a job as a computer programmer, a NYC penthouse apartment.  And a life that did not light her up.

After years of studying and reflection she discovered her authentic self and her own unique path.  And this process she wishes to share with others.

www.boundlessguidance.com

https://www.instagram.com/boundless.illumination/

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Why Self-Confidence is Important for Personality Development

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

One of the distinct characteristics of successful people is self-confidence. I dare you to check through the biography of any successful person in any field of endeavor and you will certainly be faced with the story of self-confidence. Success in anything is never easy because life is full of hurdles and challenges and you will need to be confident in yourself, in your abilities and in your vision to be able to scale through the challenges and hurdles life brings your way. In a world with over 7 billion inhabitants, you will need a healthy dose of self-confidence to be yourself; otherwise, you will find yourself appropriating behaviors and attitudes of others. There are only two options in this life—to be yourself or be someone else! Of course, I assume the better option of the two must be clear to you by now. Click here to know more about self-confidence and personality development. Here are some of the reasons why self-confidence is so important;

Self Confidence Plays a Primary Role to Success

Success in any human activity entails success in dealing with people. This is because as human beings, we relate with fellow human beings just as animals relate with fellow animals. Self-confidence is, therefore, a core determinant of success because it helps to bring out the very best in a person. You are able to perform optimally in anything be in academics, sports or business/career to the tune of the confidence you have in yourself. Others may doubt your ability or capacity to perform but as long as you believe in yourself, you are on the path to success.

Helps to achieve your Targeted Goal

Every human being has a goal or aim they are aiming to achieve. Although the efforts they are willing to put into achieving the goal may vary at each point in time, we all have a goal we are aiming at. Goals make life worthwhile, meaningful and purposeful. It is imperative that we set goals that are high and difficult to achieve because it will bring out the best in us and keep us motivated to invest our best efforts in whatever we do.   

Self-confidence makes you attractive

Self-confidence is the ultimate aid to attraction. Let’s face it; we all rely on the acceptance and validation of others in some way. Whatever career, profession or activity you are engaged in; there is a huge chance that you will have to relate with people at some point. People must like you for anything you do to be profitable. Self-confidence makes you an original and appreciated by others.

Self Confidence Helps You to Make the Right Decisions

Many times we get so afraid of what people would think about us that we end up abandoning what we want to do in other to please others. Self-confidence helps you prioritize yourself and helps you dare to be different. Conformity is an enemy of personal development. The world needs you to be you because you are at your best when you are yourself. Self-confidence helps to open up your mind and makes you less afraid to follow your intuition.

Self Confidence Makes You Productive

Productivity is a function of self-belief. If you believe you can do it, then you can do it. One reason why productivity is automatically increased due to self-confidence is that self-confidence is a motivator! It keeps us motivated and happy in performing a task. When we are happy, our interest is boosted and when the interest in something is boosted, the increase in productivity is an automatic and inevitable reward.

Helps You to Interact Socially

As human beings, we all thrive on social interaction! Based on our emotional nature as human beings, we tend to be so intimidated by others around us based on their looks, achievement or socioeconomic status that we develop an inferiority complex when they are around us and this usually have a negative impact on our social life. Confidence in the self makes us bold to approach anyone and have interaction without feeling intimidated by them due to whatever we feel they have achieved or attained.

Don’t Give Up Attitude

Lack of confidence is apparent in our approach and disposition to things around us. Success is more difficult when we are not confident in what we are doing and as a result, we might throw up an attitude just to mask our insecurities. Self-confidence, therefore, makes us more mature and responsible in the way we act and approach things. Even where interest in an activity is not high, self-confidence makes us open to learning and thereby building our life skills.

Click here to learn more about the connection between self-confidence and personality development.

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Forget the Past | Go Forward Boldly | Motivation

Listen to episode 366 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Forget the Past | Go forward Boldly. Edited and adapted from Go Forward by J.R. Miller.

Inspirational Podcast Excerpt: Welcome to the Inspirational Living podcast. If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you’ve heard me talk about Blinkist, the knowledge-boosting app that takes the best key takeaways from thousands of books and condenses them down to 15 minutes of reading or listening time. That’s a big deal if you don’t have enough time to read all the books on your “must-read” list. With its audio feature, Blinkist makes it easy to finish 4 books a day while you areon the go.

Over 8 million people are now taking advantage of Blinkist’s massive and growing library, which includes books on self-development, business, history, and healthy-living.

Two books that you can find on Blinkist that I would personally recommend are How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie, and 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson.

And, right now, for a limited time, Blinkist has a special offer for our listeners. Go to Blinkist.com/living to start a free 7 day trial.

Today’s reading was edited and adapted from Go Forward by J.R. Miller, published in 1909.

We are constantly being told to remember, and urgently counselled not to forget. “It is perilous to forget the sins of the past,” people say. But there is a sense also in which our only hope is in forgetting. We never can get on to higher things if we insist on clinging to our past and carrying it with us. We can make progress only by forgetting. We can go forward only by leaving behind what is past.

For instance, we must forget our mistakes. And there are many of them. We think of them in our serious moods, at the close of a year, when we are forced to review our past, or when some deep personal experience sets our life before us in retrospection. We sigh, " Oh, if I had not made that foolish decision; if I had not let that wrong person into my life; if I had not gone into that wretched business; if I had not blundered so in managing my affairs; if I had not taken that bad advice; how much better my life would have been!"

Some people stew regretfully over last year’s mistakes the entire following year. They do little but fret over their errors all the months which they ought to make bright with better things, nobler achievements, loftier attainments. But what good comes of it? Worry undoes no folly, corrects no mistakes, brings back nothing we have lost. A year of fretting sets us no farther forward.

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5 Ways To Detox With CBD To Slow Down Aging Now

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

For a large population of society, middle age is a time in life where you discover a newfound interest in health and wellness— a subject that appeared boring when your elders went on about it.

Stuff like back stretches, vitamin D, antioxidants, and toxins, are now topics of friendly discussion as you decipher the code to slow down aging.

Toxins are very real, and some of them can really speed up the aging process. Fortunately, your body has ways to eliminate them and therefore slow down aging, but sometimes it takes extra measures to flush them out.

Luckily, those of us who hit middle age in the 21st century can take advantage of the natural alternatives that have quickly become viable options. One option has gained popularity and even resulted in the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill: CBD.

Now federally legal, many consumers are looking to detox with CBD. It is not only non-toxic itself, but it can also help rid your body of daily toxins.

Quitting Smoking

It’s no secret that smoking tobacco ages you.

That’s because it shrinks your blood vessels, including all the little capillaries that go to your skin. Your skin ends up undernourished and starts to break down ahead of schedule.

And that’s just how you look – the damage that smoking does to your internal organs can also make you feel older.

But of course, if quitting smoking were easy then everybody would have done it by now. And while CBD is no magic bullet, there are ways that it can help.

Research indicates that CBD may be able to help with anxiety, sleep, and pain. Thanks to these properties, it can come in handy for symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, which include nervousness, irritability, insomnia and headaches.

Another perk of CBD is that it comes in vape-safe oils. If you enjoy the physical ritual of smoking, it can be a way to ease off the nicotine, and also keep your mouth too busy to overeat (which is another symptom of nicotine withdrawal).

Cutting Back Alcohol

A little alcohol isn’t bad for you, and if you’ve ever seen birds get drunk on overripe berries, you know that it’s also quite natural.

But drink more heavily, and your body definitely starts reacting to the booze like it’s a toxin. As far as slowing down again, alcohol does not help. A buildup of these toxins can not only lead to classic hangover symptoms like nausea and headaches, but can cause you to look much older.

If your body has adapted to alcohol, though, then going off it can bring on symptoms similar to going off nicotine. In fact, the anxiety and insomnia can be worse, because unlike nicotine, alcohol is a sedative.

So CBD’s calming properties can be helpful for going off the sauce too. And if you’re drinking alcohol in the first place to help with stress and/or sleep, a CBD-infused drink can make a reasonable substitute.

Going Off Pain Meds

When asked how to prepare for the 40-year-old milestone, there is but one piece of advice: “Get shoes with good arch support now, before the pain starts.”

It’s depressing but true: once you’re past your fourth decade, it seems like you’re dealing with one darn flare-up after another. Pain medicine goes from something you’d occasionally take for a headache to a constant reality of life.

But pain meds can be toxic in their own ways.

Common painkillers like aspirin and ibuprofen can irritate the stomach, and stronger stuff like opioids can have dangerously powerful sedative properties — not to mention the high probability of dependence.

Fortunately, CBD has proven to be useful for chronic pain. The endocannabinoid system that CBD helps to regulate plays a role in managing your immune system, and can help control inflammation. It can work systemically by swallowing or inhalation and can target specific areas with topical formulations.

Detoxing Your Garden

OK, this isn’t a property of CBD so much as the plant it comes from — hemp. But it can still be useful in detoxing your environment.

If you’re worried about toxins that might turn up in your produce, and you have space and time for a backyard vegetable garden, that could be the ideal solution. (Plus, no store-bought tomato tastes as good as a garden tomato, amirite?)

But, depending on what it’s been doing before, your soil may have things in it that you don’t want in your food. Pesticides, heavy metals, and other pollutants could be left from previous growing efforts or as runoff from nearby work sites.

Fortunately, hemp has impressive powers of bioaccumulation.

It’s a fast-growing plant that can absorb a great deal of toxic substances in a short amount of time without dying. So while you wouldn’t want to consume hemp that you’ve used for this purpose, it can clear the way for the things that you do want to eat.

Adjusting Your Diet

There’s a whole range of detoxing diet programs out there, each with their own beneficial set of properties for a varying range of body compositions.

To some, lactase is toxic. To some, gluten is toxic; and to those with really troubled innards, a whole range of foods might be off the table. It’s always best to consult your doctor or nutritionist about how best to clean up your diet.

Generally speaking, though, these programs steer you away from highly processed foods towards more natural, “whole” foods. This usually means foods with a lower caloric density, more fiber, and lower satiety.

While this is good for you in the long run, making sudden changes in eating habits can be difficult for the body to adjust to — especially as we get older. Your gut flora are adapted to the diet you’ve been eating, and a rapid increase in fiber intake can distress your digestion.

Fortunately, that same endocannabinoid system that can help fight inflammation can also help steady your digestion. It’s already used to help fight nausea, and early research indicates that CBD may potentially contribute to a reduction in appetite.

All these measures will help reduce the stress on your cells, and stress is really the most aging thing there is.

With the help of reputable CBD oil companies like cbdMD, you can detox with CBD and this powerful, natural alternative can help you stay calm, cool, and clean.

Author Bio

Amy R.  Born in New York and raised in northern California, Amy joined cbdMD after spending 17 years as a business reporter in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, visiting museums, watching movies, and fantasizing that she’ll one day finish her novel. To read more about CBD, check out the cbdMD blog.

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Crafting Your Life Vision: 7 Steps to Set You On the Right Track

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

Life: it’s an amazing journey, which offers no shortage of twists, turns, and surprises along the way. However, it’s also a journey which takes some real work, dedication, and commitment if you’re looking to reach your dream destination… and if you’ve ever found yourself struggling to find your passion, feel you’re on the right track, or know where you’re heading with all of your efforts, you’re far from alone.

In fact, it could be argued that a sense of directionlessness is one of the main hurdles facing young people and millennials these days. Jobs for life have essentially become extinct, traditional roles and ideals have been eroded (for better and for worse), and not knowing what to do with oneself is something which all too many students and others have to face on a day-to-day basis. So, what’s the answer to this modern malaise? The answer, of course, isn’t necessarily a simple one… but by crafting your life vision, and undertaking a handful of simple steps, you should be able to set yourself more firmly on a path which will ultimately lead to success.

The following tips and tricks have been chosen for their simplicity and effectiveness, and the fact that – if followed correctly and as part of a more balanced lifestyle – they really can make a significant difference to where you see yourself going. It’s time to stop stressing about the future and to start envisioning a brighter tomorrow, filled with the successes you formulated today. Read on to find out more!

Embrace the Silence

One of the main reasons so many of us struggle to find our path in life (and we really do need to identify that path before we can start walking it) is that the world we inhabit is so very, very noisy and stressful. When there is so much going on all around us, so many petty distractions, irritations, and exhausting aspects to our day to day existences, it can be all but impossible to sit down, focus, and start making plans.

That’s where meditation comes into its own, and where it can really make a significant difference. You don’t have to disappear up a mountain and start living as a monk to get results – even basic meditation techniques can help you clear your mind, take a moment to reflect, and start thinking clearly again. In essence, it’s just a chance for you to embrace some silence, enjoy your own company, and quieten the noise and chaos around you. From there, your plans will start to take shape by themselves!

Use Positive Affirmations

Another fantastic brain hack you could use if you’re lacking motivation in formulating plans and finding your path is positive affirmation usage. Crafting a life vision requires confidence and clarity of thought, and if you’re naturally a timid person, or someone lacking self-belief and motivation, using positive affirmations may be the best step for you to take.

Try starting each day with a thoroughly positive mindset: greet the morning like a close friend, and spend 5-10 minutes just thinking about all the things you’ll achieve as the day goes ahead, and how these can help affect your future. Better still, sit down with your morning coffee and write down some positive thoughts and reflections on your qualities, followed by the things you’d like to achieve in the near or distant future.

Give Yourself a Break

This is especially true for college students and postgraduate students but is also true of those in full-time work or education of any sort. It’s vital that you have space and time in which to think, plan, and start planning your journey towards success and when you’re overloaded with writing works, it’s incredibly hard to find the time to focus on your passions. EssayPro essay writer service can come in handy at times like this: with the assistance of their experts, you can lighten your load and give yourself a break from the grind and allow yourself a bit of breathing space.

Plan Backwards

When it comes to crafting your life vision, it’s almost always better to plan backward, by starting with your eventual goal and working back through the steps you’ll have to take to get there. By doing so, you’re being positive and goal-focused in a way which will turn out to be highly advantageous and effective and which will allow you to keep your eye on the prize through the construction of your path.

That doesn’t mean, necessarily, that you’ll have to stick to your backward plan from the moment you’ve jotted it down. The best plans are usually those which come with their own tangents and alternatives (we all need a plan B, C, and D, after all) so make sure you give yourself plenty of milestones to strike along the way and plenty of alternative paths to consider as part of your grand scheme.

Reward Each Milestone

Being goal-oriented is no bad thing, but it’s very easy to overlook and forget the smaller goals and milestones we hit along the way to success. By rewarding the smaller, more comfortable, and attainable milestones each and every time one is reached, you’ll be providing yourself with loads of motivation to keep on marching towards the next one. For example, one of your early milestones could just be spending 30 minutes per day thinking about what your plan and path will be. And if you manage to slot these all-important half-hours into your daily routine for a whole week, reward yourself with a visit to your favorite restaurant, or a trip to the cinema, or a night out with your mates.

Be Realistic

Want to make it as a top architect, but never had much of a talent for maths, drawing, or spacial awareness? It may be that architecture isn’t for you. Dream of making a million-selling record, but have no discernible musical ability? It might be time to go back to the drawing board, and thinking of another path that suits you better. It’s never easy to face facts when they go against your dreams, but it’s a whole lot easier than facing the crushing disappointment of failure further down the line.

It can be hard turning your back on a plan, but it’s an essential part of the process of finding your path in life. What’s more, letting go of a dream invariably gives rise to another, so be sure to keep a sense of realism about yourself as you craft the life vision that’ll bring you the most happiness and success.

Develop Your Talents

Connected to the previous point, it’s important for your life vision and path to make full use of your natural talents and abilities, and the skills you’ve already started to master. Everyone’s great at doing something, whether that’s baking cakes, singing songs, building websites, or listening to the problems of others… and those are exactly the things you need to be basing your life vision upon. Take some time to think about what it is you do best, and be sure to speak to those closest to you to get their opinion, too. Crafting your path and vision from the things you love and enjoy the most is always, always, always the right choice!

About The Author

Jilian Woods is a freelance journalist and a contributing writer having more than two years of writing experience. As a writer, she sees her purpose in producing and sharing relevant content with people who are willing to expand their knowledge base and learn something new for themselves. Apart from her day job, you may find Jilian engaged in volunteering or doing yoga.

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4 Ways To Work Towards Financial Freedom

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

Financial freedom is something that we all strive for. Being able to feel financially secure and have the ability to spend your money how you want to is something that many of us aim for, but it can be difficult to achieve. Although it can be hard to get to the level that you want to be at, there are a number of things that you can do to help yourself get there, and they are a lot easier than you would have thought.

Create a budget

The best thing that you can do for yourself when it comes to making the most of your money is to create a budget for yourself and stick to it as much as you possibly can. For example, you may have things that you need to pay for every month—your utility bill, your phone,  internet, and mortgage.  You will need to consider these things when you are creating your budget.

Before making big purchases, like a house, for example, it’s important to do your research. There are often a lot of upfront costs with buying a house, like Stamp Duty, Conveyancing or legal fees and a home deposit. Knowing what to expect when it comes to costs will make it easier to create a budget. This way, you will know how much money you have to spend each month, and it will make it easier to save money for another time when you will need it more.

Pay off your debts

In order to be financially free, you need to make sure that you have no debts lingering and that you don’t owe anyone any money. If you are having trouble paying off a number of different debts to different people, you should consider consolidating your debts. This can be a great way for you to get all of your debts paid off at once, because you will be able to know how much you need to pay and when, and you won’t have to worry about multiple interest rates or loan fees, because you will have everything together. The key is to shop around for the best deal before you commit to any bank or institution. Debt consolidation is not the solution for everyone but if you have a few outstanding loans that you will be able to pay off in the near future, this may be a good option for you. If you have a number of big debts looming over you that you need to pay off, you won’t feel free to what you want to do with your money, because you will always be worried about paying it off.

Have an emergency account

Of course, you can not always plan for everything, so having an emergency account with a little bit of extra money in it can help you when you are in a bit of a pickle. Start by adding as much as you can to your account so that you will have a little bit of money saved for when you really need it. You should also be adding to this account when you think it is necessary, and you can do this weekly or monthly. The key is to try and remain consistent and not draw from the account unless you really have to. If you start off by adding a larger amount to your account, then you won’t have to add as much to the account when you make a weekly deposit, so try to have a base of a few hundred dollars when you create your account. This will help you out further down the road, because you will have enough money squirreled away to spend on anything that pops up unexpectedly.

Earn some passive income

If you are aiming to be financially independent, and you want to be able to generate some income while you are not working, you should consider a number of different ways to earn passive income. When it comes to passive income, most people look at buying an investment property so that they make a little bit of money. Online marketplaces like Roofstock are great for people that are looking to buy an investment property because you can ensure that you will be getting the most out of the money that you have invested while helping out single families who need to rent a property in your area. There are a number of different ways to make passive income, so even if you don’t have a lot of money to invest straight up like you will need to buy a property, there are other things that may be more suited to your lifestyle that you can use to generate revenue.

Financial freedom is something that you can achieve if you know how to manage your money and you can get yourself out of debt. It may take a long time and a lot of effort until you get to a stage where you feel financially free, but it is definitely worth working towards if you think you can get there. If you don’t have to worry about your finances, debt or income, then you can spend your time focusing on other things, which is what we all really want.

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10 Super Effective Ways to Enhance the Quality of Life

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

Improving your life is only a matter of your willingness to do it. You could be reading an endless number of self-help books, all day long. But as long as you are not willing to make a change, nothing will work.

Often, however, there are many who are willing to make a change but are unable to find a way to do it. Today, we are going to shed some light on how you can earnestly and effectively better your life.

10 Practical Ways for the Betterment of Life

1. Take control of your life

It is futile to keep complaining about things in your life. In the end, it is you who has to change it. After all, it bothers you all that much, right? Unless you do not take a stand for what you really want, people will manipulate you into having a different, unrealistic picture of life.

You can expect help from your peers and your family, but in the end, the call is basically yours. It is you who has to take the first step towards steering your life in a better direction.

2. Writing things down helps

In the smartphone era, you are more likely to miss out on things you type; simply because you end up typing so much throughout the day. In order to organize your thoughts and ideas better, you need to go old-school.

Pen them down, and you will have them on your mind for longer. That way, you end up getting more things done. A productive day leads to a productive week, and consequently to a better life.

3. Identify roadblocks

One of the biggest hurdles to a better life is not knowing what’s holding you back. Introspect and realize what are those activities throughout your day that you can do without. Use the stop-look-listen strategy.  Once you overcome your roadblocks, life would automatically start seeming a whole lot better for you.

4. Cut down on intoxicants

When you try to expense-sheet a smoker or a regular drinker, you will notice a massive chunk of their money literally accounting for nothing but the sustenance of those habits. Smoking and drinking and not only bad habits, but they also pose a definite threat to your body.

We completely understand that quitting these at once may be difficult. Quit smoking with e-cig if giving it up completely looks challenging. It helps you curb your nicotine intake level while still providing you with a relaxing effect. You could even cut down on meeting friends who generally tempt you to drink. This way you end up saving a lot of money and do a huge favor on your own body.

5. Live in the moment

Falling prey to anxiety is real. You often think about things out of your control and worry too much. Then, in the fit of that worry, your thinking and decision-making are altered. Overall, anxiety is just a downward spiral, irrespective of where you see it from.

Instead, a shift of perspective can help better your life. Live in the moment. Look at what you have, instead of what you wish you had. Make do with it, and sooner than later, you will have it all.

6. Set attainable goals

Much of our worries come from the fact that we set too lofty goals sometimes. Not everyone can get a Mercedes or a Ferrari. But if you set some attainable goals for yourself, it might actually feed your sense of accomplishment. Who knows, before you even know it, you would be financially solid enough to own a dream car.

7. Pick up newer, better hobbies

We often are accustomed to the habits we fall into. Building up a new hobby however is a difficult task. It is rewarding, nonetheless. Try picking a hobby that benefits you. It could be reading, singing, dancing professionally.

It could also be something more athletic. Or if you have always been wanting to give Graphic designing a shot, or something creative, you can invest your time in that too. Indulging in progressive habits is a sure-fire way of bettering your life.

8. Change the frame

Every situation has a different light we tend to overlook. We miss out on the silver lining of the cloud so often. Looking at a situation in its situational perspective won’t solve it. You have to look through and see what the other side of it is.

When you change the perspective, situations look like opportunities then. They thus add up to a better life.

9. Be grateful

You could either be cursing your life for what you have, or be grateful for it. Not many people even have the privileges you so easily overlook. Acknowledge what you have, and you might just be able to get more.

Only a man who values what he has is deserving of more.

10. Get some physical activity

Never underestimate the benefits a good jog can bring into your life. A fitter body is a vessel for a better life. At least you would not be spending much of your life in the hospital ward then, which is quite the relief.

In conclusion

A better life demands a better lifestyle and mindset. The day you learn to align your thoughts and actions perfectly is when you actually get the most out of your life. Betterment of life can then happen by itself, without you having to do much about it.

About the Author

Lynda Arbon is a passionate and enthusiastic health blogger. She likes keeping herself updated on health trends and blogs. Her favorite pastime is learning history and solving crossword puzzles. Follow her on Twitter.

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The Modern Process Of Short-Sightedness Control

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

When it comes to the point of correcting short-sightedness, which is also known as myopia, using contact lenses and glasses are the most common methods. However, these days, laser surgery is also a good option and giving a good result quite frequently in order to treat this condition. Apart from these, you will get to know about another process for shortsightedness control. It is by implanting artificial lenses inside the eyes. However, this technique hasn’t become very popular and is being used occasionally.

The Applicable Process For Shortsightedness Control

The following points are helpful for short-sightedness control in this modern medical world. If you understand these points you can control your eye-sight problems in a better manner.

Glasses:

It is possible to correct short-sightedness by using glasses after going through an eye-checking process. We all know the specs help us to get a better and prominent vision when necessary. The professional eye specialists also suggest us to get the proper power on the glass to deal with the short-sightedness. But checking the eyes is important before using a glass. The importance and uses of glass depend on the condition of the short-sightedness of the patient. So, it plays an important role in case of short-sightedness control and making the condition poorer in the future.

Contact Lenses:

When it comes to the point of short-sightedness control the option of contact lenses is an ideal option for them who want to ignore the glasses. Its ability to keep your eyes free from the specs and control the shortsightedness can impress you. In these days you will get numerous options available in the market, but you should find it from the most reliable place to keep your eyes secure and away from other complications. Besides using glasses and contact lenses, myopia can also be cured with the help of surgery.

Laser Eye Surgery:

When it comes to laser eye surgery, it involves a laser that is used to burn the tiny sections of the cornea for the purpose of correcting the curvature, so that light can be focused properly on the retina. You should take the service from the professional and experienced one.

There are 3 types of Laser Surgeries available in modern medical science for short-sightedness control.

PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy): In this procedure, a small portion from the surface of the cornea is removed. A laser is used for the purpose of removing the tissue and for changing the cornea shape.

LASEK (Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis): It is quite like PRK; however, in this process alcohol is used for loosening the surface of the cornea so that a tissue flap can be lifted. A laser is used for altering the cornea’s shape. After that, the professional surgeon sets back the flap.

LASIK (Laser in Situ Keratectomy): It is quite like LASEK; however, in this process, the professionals create a smaller flap of the cornea.

Usually, these processes are carried out on an outpatient basis, as a result, there is no need to stay overnight in the hospital after the completion of surgery.

In these surgeries, a local anesthetic works, and it takes half an hour to complete the entire procedure. These are not taken as major and  critical operations.

Now the awareness about short-sightedness control is increasing and in this updated medical treatment new processes are taking place. You can go through the services provided by different eye specialist hospitals, but you need to be selective to get the best service. When it is the point of your eyes you need to be conscious about it to avoid further complications.

About the Author

Alyssa Moylan is an ordinary woman from Australia, a writer by day and a reader by night. She writes on various topics like home improvement, business, lifestyle, health, travel, and fashion. Here Alyssa has briefly written about effective options for Shortsightedness control and myopia correction.

Social Platforms:

https://www.facebook.com/IamAlyssaMoylan

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Eight ways to de-stress at your desk

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

Stress at work can be very difficult to avoid, especially if you are stuck behind a desk.

Combined with long hours, it can take a serious toll on mental health, especially for women according to a new study.

The Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health  found that women who put in 55 hours or more every week at work had a higher risk of depression. Working weekends also increased depression risk for both men and women.

Researchers looked at data from Understanding Society, the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), collected from more than 23,000 men and women.

Women often had to juggle work with household duties and caring for family members.

But there were a few factors that seemed to affect mental health no matter the person’s gender. Older workers, workers who smoke, those who earned the least, and those who had the least control at their jobs tended to be more depressed when compared with other workers.

Psychological problems, including stress, anxiety and depression, are behind one in five visits to a GP.

For Stress Awareness Month, Priory expert Steve Clarke, a psychotherapist and therapy services manager at the Priory’s Life Works Hospital in Woking, Surrey (www.priorygroup.com) , says: “Recent statistics on stress and burnout emphasize the importance of treating such conditions as promptly as possible, in order to improve the lives of those struggling to cope. In the past year alone, a reported 74% of people surveyed had felt so stressed at some point, they had been too overwhelmed to cope with everyday tasks.

“In the UK, 12.5 million working days are lost each year due to work-related stress, depression or anxiety and in 2016/17, stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 40% of all work-related ill health cases and 49% of all working days lost due to ill-health.”

He says there some things people can do themselves to try and manage their own stress.

They can be carried out during the working day, at a desk.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) –

Repetitive finger tapping can sometimes help to release negative emotions such as anxiety. It has been called a psychological version of acupuncture in that it involves making contact with a number of acupuncture points. The specific points to tap are the end-points of the major meridians (meridians are believed to be channels of subtle energy which flow through our body). So, whilst focusing on your negative emotion you tap on a ‘meridian’ point (the eyebrow, side of the eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, under the arm and top of the head) three to seven times, repeating your negative thought in your head. After each emotion, take a deep breath and exhale. Continue this until you feel calmer and relieved. When you feel more relieved, repeat the technique whilst you tap through a “positive round”, repeating more uplifting phrases.

Guided meditation apps –

Many apps like Headspace offer different types of meditation for different concerns, or simply basic meditation. These typically offer meditation as short as 3 minutes and up to 20 minute sessions.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation –

This can also be done at any time during the day. PMR involves tensing and releasing muscles in certain intervals. There are guided versions available online for free on YouTube.

Deep breathing –

Take a long deep breath while counting for 5-8 seconds, then hold it for 5-8 seconds. Repeat several times to relieve anxious/stressed feelings. This can help re-centre you during a busy work day.

Eat healthy-

Avoid comfort eating and instead choose food that increases your energy and gives you sustainable nutrients to get you through the day.

Prevention is key –

Plan out your week or day ahead and create a checklist of things that need to be completed by priority. Give yourself enough time to complete each task and schedule regular breaks to avoid burnout. Reward yourself for completing tasks, even if it’s as simple as crossing it off the checklist.

Changing a difficult situation isn’t always possible –

So accept what you cannot change and focus on the things you do have control over – such as looking for another job.

Put on headphones –

Listening to music can have many benefits, such as helping you relax and focus on something you enjoy. Take a walk – even it’s just to the water station and back to your desk. Ideally, enjoy some fresh air. Changing your environment can clear your mind and re-energise you.

About the Authors

The Priory Group is the leading provider of behavioural care in the UK, caring for around 30,000 people a year for conditions including depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol addiction, eating disorders and self-harming. The Group is organised into three divisions – healthcare, education and children’s services, and adult care. The Priory Group is owned by NASDAQ-listed Acadia Healthcare, which is recognised as a global leader in behavioural health.

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Lifelong Ambitions | Success & The Spirit to Keep Growing

Listen to episode 365 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Lifelong Ambitions | The Spirit to Keep Growing. Edited and adapted from Ambition and Success by Orison Swett Marden.

Motivational Podcast Transcript: Welcome to the Inspirational Living podcast. Today’s reading was edited and adapted from Ambition and Success, by Orison Swett Marden, published in 1919.

One of the saddest things in life is to see people who started out with high hopes and proud ambitions settle down in mediocre positions, half satisfied just merely to get a living, to plod along indifferently. What tragedy there is in being content with mediocrity, in getting into a state where one is indifferent to the larger, better things of life!

When you are satisfied with the life you are living, with the work you are doing, with the thought you are thinking, with the dreams you are dreaming — satisfied with the character you are building, with your ideals — you may be sure that you are already beginning to deteriorate.

There is little hope for the person who feels satisfied with themselves, who does not know, “the noble discontent that stirs the acorn to become an oak.” It is our ambition to improve something somewhere every day, to get a little further on and a little higher up than we were the day before — an insatiable passion for bettering things all along the line — that is the secret of human progress.

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Notes From the Universe

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

Whether we’re awake or asleep, stuck in a mind-numbing meeting, or passed out after a night of too many margaritas at the bar, the Universe never stops sending us messages. Sometimes the e-mails end up mistakenly in our junk pile, and other times a long awaited text fails to beep on our spiritual smartphone. But most times the notes we desperately seek are written under our very noses — only to end up blowing away in the wind because we’re too fixated on the dancing bears and colorful lights. Sometimes we get notes from the Universe and are not aware that it is just that — a note from the Universe to us.

Let’s talk about some basics here.

Living is broken down into two elemental states — the time you’re awake, and the time you’re asleep.

If sleep time only comprised an hour or two of our daily Earth cycle, I could understand why it would seem rather insignificant in relation to the waking phase.

But it’s not an hour or two. On average, sleep consumes one third of our existence. That’s nothin’ to sneeze at. If that balance shifted only 4 hours, we would be talking about a condition consuming half our lives.

For all the crazy new advancements we’ve seen in this generation alone, it stuns me to consider how fundamentally ignorant we still remain about our “unconscious” periods, despite them being an undeniable part of living, which not a single one of us can ignore without breaking down physically or mentally.

What stuns me, even more, is the lack of interest we have in our “awareness” during this rest phase. Though that may seem like a contradictory word to use when describing sleep, it’s quite fitting to describe dreaming. And there’s not a human to be found who’s unfamiliar with the strange experience of rising from nocturnal slumber with memories of activity and adventure, joys and terror.

Doesn’t it seem slightly odd to acquire conscious memories while being unconscious?

No matter how bizarre our nighttime sojourns may sometimes be, they’re absolutely real. We can remember them, we can talk about them, we can be thrilled by them, we can be scared by them, we can even orgasm to them. How is it that mainstream science has convinced us dreaming is an irrelevant fiction of an overworked brain?

Yup, makes no fucking sense.

So let’s look at dreaming from a slightly different viewpoint, one that doesn’t involve the inputs of Jungs, Freuds, or Kruegers (that Freddy guy).

What if you knew that when you put your body to rest — to convert fuels into energy, or detoxify the shit you’ve inundated it with over the course of your waking day — there was no break in consciousness, only a break down of ability to properly store the memories?

What if you knew that when you put your body to rest, consciousness didn’t fade into a void, but shifted to a less dense arena of reality, one not bound by the physical limitations you hold so dear — one more fluid, intentionally malleable, and informative on a level surpassing the use of pre-defined words, terms, or concepts?

What if a language beyond verbal communication was always at your disposal, but only a matter of learning to “speak” it properly?

What if you knew grand mal seizures, schizophrenia, autism, hallucinations, psychedelic experiences, or whatever host of other psychological conditions that experts label as “deranged,” were merely slight mistunings from the Earth frequency to a different signal of information?

Sure, a lot of “what if’s,” but did you choose to shut down consideration after your beliefs cried out, “Bullshit, Mike! None of those ideas could possibly be real!” or did your mind stay open to contemplate the wondrous implications — to ponder the kind of ideas that won’t get printed in peer-reviewed journals published by an old-boys’ club, who care only about income and reputation?

There’s no way I’ll profess to you I know a repeatable, scientific method to verify consciousness remains unbroken 24/7, but I can tell you that on at least one occasion, I’ve directly experienced this to be true.

REM cycles had nothing to do with it. Drugs had nothing to do with it. Delusion had nothing to do with it. As I lay my body to rest for the evening, I induced an OBE, and stayed in a lucid “dream” the entirety of the night. If you don’t know what those terms are, do yourself a favour and look ’em up. There were moments where the quality of my lucidity wavered, but I kept managing to pull it back to full conscious awareness, while my body laid “passed out.”

Cool shit.

Not only did I spend essentially a full day aware, I still “woke up” refreshed, recharged, and more excited than ever to do it again.

Spending time lucid dreaming has taught me an important truth about so-called reality — it’s whatever we make it to be. Our hopes, our fears, and our obsessions dominate our surroundings, whether awake or asleep.

If you want to know the real secret of “The Secret,” I’ll share it with you right now. Every idea, every decision, every action you’ve made while walking the physical plane has put you in the exact place you find yourself in this very second. You have indeed manifested all your thoughts, dreams, and fears, just not in the manner a well-marketed, “immediate gratification” piece of drivel would have you believe.

Earth is not an instant manifestation play land. It’s more like being in a house of mirrors — one with a heavy lag in reflection time, but nonetheless sending back to us all the energetic output we’ve ever provided, no matter how large, small, intentional, or mistaken.

With those thoughts in mind, I’d like to share with you a story that happened to me today.

With the weather finally warming, I decided to do a 5 K run this morning — my first one of the year. I felt sluggish and winded to start, but before long, I found my stride, and felt like I hadn’t missed a day in 6 months.

The route I chose was completely random, picking a left or right whenever the decision felt appropriate — no fixed circuit in mind. Halfway through the run, I found myself in a small, soggy parkette, and decided to sit briefly on a picnic table in the middle of the grass, to appreciate a few extended moments of sunrise.

My mind was still absorbed in the last dream I had before waking — analyzing the symbolism, and feeling frustrated not having a straightforward answer to the questions I sought, thinking the Earth reality was a screwy mess of confusion.

I got up to continue, and took about ten strides into the next run, when I spotted a note lying on the grass. It looked like a piece of paper from a fortune cookie. This is what is said:

The weaving irregularities and shade variations are characteristics of the fabric, and in no way to be taken as defects.

Wow — the ultimate poetic description of life on Earth! And one that moved my mind from a state of agitated judgment, to calm acceptance.

Perhaps that rectangular square was nothing more than an old tag attached to organic lama wool, or some shit like that, I dunno. But on the back of the paper, it had more writing — a single word, in silver, scripted font:

Creation

I share this not because I have any desire to convince the world our conscious awareness and sustained thoughts are far more powerful than anything we’ve been led to believe, but for a far simpler reason…

I love messages from the Universe.

Notes From the Universe published first on https://bitspiritspace.tumblr.com/

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Volunteering: The Secret To Finding More Day-to-Day Fulfillment

The Self Improvement Blog | Self Esteem | Self Confidence

U.S. residents who classify themselves as “very happy” spend five to eight hours a month volunteering, according to New Republic. Those who characterize themselves as “unhappy” volunteer for just over half an hour per month. Volunteering is a great way to give of yourself and it’s also a great way to feel fulfilled. If you want to to feel better and get more from life, look outward, into your local community. Volunteering may be just what you’ve been looking for. This quick guide is the right place to learn more about the psychological benefits of volunteering.

Makes you feel connected

In an increasingly digital world, face-to-face human connection becomes more valuable. While most people thoroughly enjoy the digital realm, reliance on it may create a sense of isolation. Volunteering is a great way to connect in real life. Doing things to help other people is a great way to feel more connected to humanity as a whole. While you’re volunteering, you’ll meet people who are like-minded (other volunteers) and people who are grateful for your help (such as the needy). You’ll expand your social circle quickly. You may find that the new people you meet become important to you.

Isn’t the only way to give

It’s the act of giving and connecting that makes volunteering so beneficial. It’s possible to access similar benefits with other forms of giving. Small acts of generosity, such as random acts of kindness (returning a wallet that a stranger lost, for example) or giving your mom a gift to honor a special occasion, such as Mother’s Day, will give you the same type of joy that volunteering does. What is great about volunteering, though, it that it’s typically scheduled. It’s consistent. This means that the benefits of volunteering keep on coming.

Will take you out of yourself

The average person has 70,000 thoughts every day, based on information from Psychology Today. Many of the thoughts are very repetitive. Some repetitive thoughts are negative. These negative thoughts may resurface on a daily basis, like echoes of the day before. When you change your routine by volunteering, you’ll be focused on others, rather than yourself. Volunteering will take you out of yourself in a way that’s psychologically liberating and cleansing. The fresh and new experience of doing for others will quiet repetitive thoughts.

The stats speak for themselves – people who volunteer are genuinely happier. They give of themselves and get a lot in return, even when their motivation for volunteering is selfless. If quieting repetitive thoughts is a goal, and you wish to help others and feel more connected to the world around you, volunteering will be a wise decision.

Volunteering: The Secret To Finding More Day-to-Day Fulfillment published first on https://bitspiritspace.tumblr.com/

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Self-Respect & Living Up to Our Better Selves

Listen to episode 364 of the Inspirational Living podcast: Self Respect & Living Up to Our Better Selves. Edited and adapted from Work by Hugh Black.

Motivational Podcast Excerpt: Welcome to the Inspirational Living podcast. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. If you would like to support our podcast with a one-time donation, you can do so by visiting LivingHour.org/donate. Thank you.

Today’s reading was edited and adapted from the book entitled Work by Hugh Black, published in 1903.

Life is more than money and trade, more than business and cash transactions. If there were not more than this in our lives (nobler thoughts and larger endeavors), society could not have existed for so long.

No individual can be wholly paid in money for their work, if it be true work. We cannot buy love, nor pay for it — and without love in all its grades and forms, our social life, and even our business life, are failures. Faithful dealing between people cannot be bought and sold. Such work is a spiritual thing (as well as a material), and money has no currency in such trafficking.

We need an ideal to save our lives from deadly dullness. We need the light of the ideal to inspire us and to ennoble our activities. Otherwise, what poor petty drudgery it all is, a meaningless bending of the neck to the yoke.

We must make all our occupations truly spiritual, inspired by spiritual motives. To spiritual beings like you and I there is no detail of life which doesn’t have spiritual significance. And the failure of our days is due to our neglect of the unseen in dealing with the seen, our forgetfulness to live every common hour in the power of an endless life.

Viewed practically, and put into simple language, the ideal of work is faithfulness — work done according to a high standard which we ourselves set up. The problem is that we have such easy and elastic consciences, and such low selfish standards! What will get by, what will do the turn, is often all that we aim at. We do not put our conscience into our work.

Self-Respect & Living Up to Our Better Selves published first on https://bitspiritspace.tumblr.com/