Family Is Important
Why? You just know it’s somehow.
Even in the event you don’t want to state it, you feel it’s somehow.
However, for some, their own families ain’t so great.
It’s also the thick blood talking.
The article Family Is Significant appeared first on Alden-tan. com.
It’s possible to ’t share your sexual fantasies and things.
However, family is crucial.
For many, friends are the household instead.
Because occasionally, family may ’t be friends. It doesn’t need this friendship element.
It is possible to ’t have this listening ear who’s of the identical age.
It’s possible to ’t speak shit.
Written by Alden Tan
You can’t divulge your dirty secrets.
Some household remain forever.
But the exact same can be said for your friends.
7 Common Health Issues and How To Prevent and Fix Them
The post 7 Common Health Issues and How To Prevent and Fix Them appeared first on NotSalmon.
Many of us take our health for granted when we wake up every morning. As your alarm goes off you are able to get up, take a shower, get dressed and get on with your working day without a care […]
The post 7 Common Health Issues and How To Prevent and Fix Them appeared first on NotSalmon.
7 Mindfulness Exercises for Anxiety Reduction – Life Hacks for Stress-Free Living
How about incorporating mindfulness exercises for anxiety reduction as life hacks for stress free living?
Sounds appealing…but feeling doubtful if applying mindfulness can work?
You’d like to welcome any anxiety relief idea except that you could be wondering how to even adopt a mindfulness practice of watching the breath quietly when your mind is constantly filled with worry. As far as you know, worry is not something that you can easily cast aside. You have not been able to stop feeling anxious on a lot of matters pretty much.
And so, you suspect that you won’t be able to concentrate with worry in tow. What’s more you don’t believe that you have time to sit on a meditation cushion for long periods of time. Not when you need to be up and about, fighting fire in your environment or working your butt off lest you fall behind.
Well, I’d like to share some mindfulness exercises for anxiety reduction that do not require you to sit in a monk-like lotus position for hours. These mindfulness exercises are ones that you can easily incorporate into your life. They are like life hacks that are meant to assist you with cutting down overwhelm.
When practising mindfulness, you are focused on centering yourself rather than be caught in a fluster. The calmer you become, the more able you are with gaining clarity for problem solving and centeredness for weathering any storm. Consequently, you get more done with a lot less stress!
Let’s proceed, shall we?
First, let’s understand mindfulness by what it is not. Clearing any mistaken beliefs is going to help. Finally, get to apply practical mindfulness exercises for anxiety and stress reduction easily!
What Mindfulness Is Not and Is
Mindfulness is not just for the Buddhists or is it some new age fad. Neither is mindfulness a practice that is confined to the time when you are seated on a meditation cushion alone. On the contrary, mindfulness can be practiced by just about anyone and throughout the day.
Mindfulness is simply the act of being fully present to the moment. You are also in conscious awareness to whatever thoughts, feelings and emotions are flowing through your mind, body and spirit. Hence, you are not trapped in the past or worrying about the future. It is about being in the now.
The definition of mindfulness given by Jon Kabat Zinn in his book Wherever You Go, There You Are is:
“The awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”
Note that you are attentive to the experiencing of the moment as it-is. You are neither in constant critique or fretting about your situation. Without any pre-conceived ideas or expectations, you are open to what you may discover as the moment unfolds.
It is as if every moment is a new encounter. Thus, you are able to meet the world with openess. Anxiety and stress simply dissolves in the face of present moment awareness and awakened consciousness.
7 Mindfulness Exercises for Anxiety
Let’s put all the above explanations into practical ideas for mindfulness exercises for anxiety that you can easily apply.
Mindfulness Exercise #1: Breathing.
You are breathing all the time so much so that unless you pay attention, you may have forgotten what it means to be alive. When you bring focus to your breathing, you are building a connection with your physical body. You are also noticing how you are interacting with your surroundings.
Mindful breathing involves bringing your conscious awareness to your breath as you inhale and exhale. Sometimes, for a start, you may take an exaggerated breath: a deep inhale through your nostrils (to the count of 3), hold your breath (count of 2), and a long exhale through your mouth (to the count of 4). Some people place their attention on their nosetrils while others watch the rising and falling of their stomach.
Whenever your mind wanders because it was distracted by thoughts or bodily sensations, simply need to bring your awareness back to your breath. You don’t judge or criticise yourself whenever you get distracted. For a start, practice mindful breathing for 10 minutes in the morning when you wake up. Do this daily and you’d find yourself getting into the habit of practising mindfulness.
Mindfulness Exercise #2: Shower
Bath time offer great opportunities to practice mindfulness exercises for anxiety reduction. Pay attention to the sensations that you are experiencing while showering. By applying mindfulness, you are being more present, thus allowing you to relax even further.
Feel the water on your skin as it splashes all over you. Feel how it runs from the scalp of your head and to the rest of your body. Take in the smell of the shampoo and soap. Notice how rejuvenating cleansing yourself with water is.
Mindfulness Exercise #3: Drinking Tea
Take in the aroma of your tea as it hits your nose. Feel the warmth of your cup through your fingers. Take measured sips and savor each of them mindfully.
When I drink tea, there is only me and the tea.
The rest of the world dissolves.
There are no worries about the future.
No dwelling on past mistakes.
Tea is simple: loose-leaf tea, hot pure water, a cup.
I inhale the scent, tiny delicate pieces of the tea floating above the cup.
I drink the tea, the essence of the leaves becoming a part of me.
I am informed by the tea, changed.
This is the act of life, in one pure moment, and in this act the truth of the world suddenly becomes revealed: all the complexity, pain, drama of life is a pretense, invented in our minds for no good purpose.
There is only the tea, and me, converging.”
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Mindfulness Exercise #4: Walking Meditation
Walking meditation was one of the first mindfulness exercises I started with. I was introduced to it by a monk twenty years ago when I visited him in Chiang Mai for a private retreat. I was given the following instructions…
Slow down your walking and walk as if in slow motion. Observe your feet in a forward movement. Feel your feet on the ground. Notice your muscular movements. Be present to how your feet is meeting its surroundings.
Mindfulness Exercise #5: Physical Exercise
When you are too much in the head, stress can build. You end up over-thinking, with no clarity on how you can best solve your problem. Too much mental activity can also affect your sleep.
Physical exercise helps you get out of your head. The next time you exercise, apply mindfulness too. Listen to the beat of your heart. Notice the quickening of your breath. Observe your breathing. Feel the sweat forming on your forehead. Bring attention to your bodily movements. Immerse yourself in the physical activity.
Mindfulness Exercise #6: Washing Dishes
Washing dirty dishes no longer needs to be a dread! I was given this personal advice by a visiting monk that I met years ago. He suggested that I turn this activity into a mindfulness practice.
Pay full attention to washing dishes. Feel the water on your hands. Observe how the sponge soaks up the soap. Notice how heavy the plates and bowls are in your hands. Focus on washing plates with presence, rather than worrying about something else.
Mindfulness Exercise #7: Reconnect with Nature
Reconnecting with way is one avenue whereby you can apply mindfulness. Park your worries aside for a while and go to the garden.
Simply feel the gentle breeze on your skin, the warm sunlight on your face and the sensations that you experience simply by just being in nature. Notice how the shadows cast by the leaves change by the shifting sunlight.
Mindfulness Exercises for Anxiety Reduction
Mindfulness exercises for anxiety reduction are hacks for stress-free living.
Without conscious awareness of how you are living each moment, it is easy to lapse into running on autopilot. Your mind is in its default conditioning. It has the worry program installed.
Applying mindfulness exercises involves retraining the mind throughout the day. You are giving yourself a fresh reboot. The more regular you are with checking in on yourself, the more able you become to calm yourself, stay present and to recollect your focus.
Everyday activities can present opportunities for you to practice mindfulness exercises. Washing dishes, drinking tea and taking walks in the park are gateways for experiencing your senses. Your whole being becomes engaged with life and you are aware of it.
Instead of stress, you are able to meet peace with each moment. Your energy levels become restored. With daily mindfulness exercises for anxiety reduction, you create a compound effect that raises your sense of wellness.
Love and abundance always,
Evelyn Lim
Share Your Thoughts
Do you practice mindfulness? What mindfulness exercises for anxiety reduction do you apply in your life? Share what they are in the comment section below.
The post 7 Mindfulness Exercises for Anxiety Reduction – Life Hacks for Stress-Free Living appeared first on Abundance Life Coach for Women | Evelyn Lim.
How to Program Yourself for an Amazing Relationship
Everybody wants a meaningful and lasting relationship. So, why does there seem to be such a scarcity of great relationships these days? Is there some way that we could be better prepared before we take a big relationship plunge?
While every relationship has its own unique complexities, I believe that what we bring into a relationship emotionally is crucial to the success of that relationship. Too many people make a commitment to another person without being emotionally aligned with the reality of that commitment. They are still thinking like an individual instead of a couple.
When one becomes two it’s time for an upgrade
When we decide to settle down in a relationship, we need to change the way we think. We need a different kind of internal program if we want to enjoy all the benefits of a relationship that can go the distance. When we are single, it’s easy to be centered on ourselves because we live in a simpler, more singular world. Function on that singular level is not very complicated.
To be part of a lasting and supportive relationship, we need to expand our thinking because life gets a bit more complicated and requires a program with greater capacity. That means it’s time for an upgrade. To succeed in a relationship, we need to reprogram the way we think about life. If we do it right then life gets better, more meaningful and rewarding.
Out with the old, in with the new
Anytime we raise the bar of expectations in any area of our lives, we need to upgrade our internal programming. Those who choose to stubbornly stick to their old way of thinking can’t experience meaningful growth.
If we want to accomplish something extraordinary, like a truly successful relationship, the place to start is internally. Our old way of thinking got us where we are, and that was what it was designed to do. But now we are ready to move on, to grow and expand our world and reach out for more.
Know what you want
When a computer programmer decides to create a new program he always has a reason, an objective. Programs are designed for very specific purposes. If the programmer doesn’t understand what he is trying to accomplish, how can he design the right program? Likewise, before we can change our thinking, we need to have a clear understanding of what we intend to accomplish, and why.
Let’s go back to our single person who wants to build a relationship. For the sake of discussion, let’s just say he’s a single guy who has enjoyed living on his own for the past five years. Now he’s met someone really special and as the relationship grows he wants to take it to the next level.
The relationship shift
Now his internal focus has shifted to include another person and his mental reference point has changed from me to we. At this point his life needs to be played by a completely different set of rules because he has a whole new point of reference.
Including another person in your life means changing the way you think about everything. It’s your life times two and then some, which means it’s at least twice as complicated. We won’t even talk about what happens when you bring children to the mix. So why do it? Why purposely complicate your life? Because you know that it has the potential to be at least twice as rewarding and enjoyable. You know it and you want it.
A real relationship needs a serious commitment
Here’s a chapter from my own life. I didn’t get married until I was in my thirties, and the reason for that is – I only wanted to do it once and I wanted to make sure that I did it right. My dad had drilled it into my head as a kid, “don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I knew that marriage would be one of the most serious promises I would ever make, and I wanted to be sure that I could keep my word.
So I waited. I waited until I met somebody I knew I could not live without. Obviously, I wanted it to work. Realizing that there are certain things that can quietly undermine a marriage, I wanted to make sure that these things were handled before I made a major commitment to our relationship.
Leave the baggage behind
One of the subtleties that will unravel the fabric of a relationship is when someone carries a fantasy about a past flame. I’d seen it happen to other marriages, and I wasn’t about to let it happen to mine. So I did a little self-examination to see if I was harboring any fantasies of this sort. I made sure that each memory of past relationships included complete closure.
For a single person, perhaps such fantasies aren’t considered harmful. But they can spell disaster for a marriage because every time there’s a disagreement you can escape into the fantasy of “what if.” This may seem like a small change and obviously there were others that needed to be made as well. But 27 years later, here I am, still married to the same, wonderful woman.
Channel your emotional power
So, why was I motivated to do this self-examination and to root out any little problems that I found? Because my emotions were fully engaged and I was highly motivated to make whatever changes were necessary. I knew that I wanted to build a relationship that could go the distance, and I wasn’t about to let anything stand in my way.
In this crazy world, a truly meaningful relationship really is an extraordinary thing. If that’s the kind of relationship that you want, then you need to be willing to upgrade the thinking that drives your behavior. You need to program yourself for a relationship that will bring genuine joy and meaning to your life.
How well is your internal relationship program serving you?
What do you think is the most important quality in a relationship?
Share your thoughts on facebook or google+
If you enjoyed this article consider email updates!
Ladies, want to know how to rewire your man’s brain so he will pay more attention to you and treat you better? You’ll want to read this article.
The post How to Program Yourself for an Amazing Relationship appeared first on Advanced Life Skills.
How to use self-help to Fix Yourself
If you’re reading this right now you are thinking that you are probably broke, are broken, or know someone who is struggling with being broke. The pain and suffering of being in this state is truly awful. Being broke causes us to have thoughts of despair, feelings of failure, desperation, struggle, lack and need. Being …. Read More
Simple Daily Planner to Increase Your Productivity
I’ve created a simple to use daily planner because I’ve been really focused on personal productivity recently.
Now that I’m building my career and my business, focusing on my health and fitness, throw in some social activities all while being a new father, changing nappies and supporting my daughters growth, TIME IS PRECIOUS!
The older I get, the more I realise that time is the most precious thing we have in our lives.
So I need to make sure I’m getting the absolute most out of my days.
To do this, I’ve been working on my own approach to planning my day. I know there are hundreds of daily planners our there, but for me, I like to keep things as simple as possible.
Recently, I’ve created a simple daily planner that is working absolute wonders for my productivity. It takes everything I’ve learned about productivity and distills it down into a nice, simple, 1-page plan that takes me less than 5 minutes to do each morning (as quick as 60 seconds).
The Five MUST-HAVE’s in a Daily Planner
Ok, so there are some key components of a daily planner that are absolutely MUSTS for ensuring you get the most from your day:
1. Linked to Your Life Goals
First and foremost, everything that you put down in your daily planner MUST be linked to something greater that you want to achieve in life. If it’s not part of something bigger and important to you, then why are you doing it at all?
2. Step-by-Step Activities
There is no point just having on your daily plan “Do X Project”. You need to break that down into specific things you will get done today.
For example, you could write down:
- Email Sophie schedule for training
- Create module 4 of training
- Meet with Jo to confirm module 4 meets training needs
- Upload leadership training video to Dropbox
By doing this, you remove any need to THINK later in the day. Your brain will thank you as your willpower and energy is a limited resource. This is a great tip in keeping you energised, focused and progressing on what’s important without killing time.
3. Prioritised
Your activities need to be prioritised.
ALWAYS do the MOST IMPORTANT task first thing in the morning.
Why?
Because this is when you have the most energy and willpower.
As I mentioned above, your energy and willpower are limited resources so you need to use them wisely.
Also, have you ever noticed that when you do a big, important task first thing in the morning you feel great about yourself? You feel accomplished and confident. You feel producitive. This feeling and momentum will flow with you throughout your entire day.
Conversely, have you ever noticed that when you put off your most important task that you spend valuable mental energy thinking about it throughout the day? Dreading it? Coming up with excuses? Again, this takes away your energy and also your focus, distracting you from your current tasks at hand.
Always prioritise and always do your most important task first.
4. Capture New Tasks
Throughout the day, you will always be thrown new tasks and activities to do.
Do you have to do them right then and there? Most likely not.
My rule is if it takes less than 2 minutes to do, do it right then and there.
If it’s something that’s going to takes more than 2 minutes, then write it down as a new activity to complete and then quickly get back to doing your most important task for the day.
Whatever you do, don’t get distracted by tasks that you haven’t planned for that end up taking you hours to complete. That’s a recipe for an unproductive and unfulfilling day. It will also reinforce the fact that you don’t have control in your life. You HAVE control. But you have to take ownership of that.
5. Review Your Day
This is one that, admittedly, I only started doing recently.
But I absolutely love it!
Reviewing your day enables you to reflect on what went well (it reinforces the great stuff you have done and it gives you a feeling of accomplishment and confidence) as well as reflect on what you could have done better (enabling you to continually tweak your performance for future days).
The review shouldn’t take long. It takes me about 60 seconds… sometimes a little longer if I have something deeper to reflect on.
You just need to answer 2 questions:
- What went well today?
- What could I have done better or differently today?
That’s it!
My Daily Planner
At the beginning of each day I open a new page in my workbook and write down 3 headings:
- Today (eg Monday)
- New
- Review
1) Today (eg Monday)
Under the day (eg Monday), I write down the big buckets of things I need to get done and then bullet point out the specific action steps that I need to take.
I want to try make sure that everything on this list are the big, important things I need to get done. I then order them by what I need to get done first.
I do capture the small things I need to get done too (eg book dentist appointment), but they are obviously prioritised last and if I don’t get to them I push them to the next day.
Once I have this list I get straight into my first action item. Note that prior to this, I’m always functioning best if I have had a solid breakfast, done some exercise, and have showered and dressed.
2) New
Under “New”, I capture any new action items that come up that day that I need to get done at some point (I don’t necessarily do them this day. I just capture them so I don’t have to try remember them).
3) Review
At the end of the day, I take a couple minutes to review all the items I have crossed off for the day and get that nice satisfying feeling!
Then under the “Review” heading, I write down my answers to the 2 questions above: “What went well today?” and “What could I have done better or differently today?”
Your Turn
So that’s it!
Simple, straight-forward and very effective.
Do you have a personal daily planner that you use? What do you do differently?
I encourage you to test this in your own life. Let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d love to hear your results!
Brendan
P.S. I’m currently working on a number of tools that I know you’re going to love. These are tools that you can quickly and easily use to enhance your life… perfect for coaches and perfect for individuals wanting to improve their lives. Stay tuned!
P.P.S. Click here to download my Daily Productivity Planner
The post Simple Daily Planner to Increase Your Productivity appeared first on The Start of Happiness.
Make 2017 Your Best Year Ever (Free 2017 Planner)
I absolutely love this time of year!
It’s a time for celebrating and getting together with family. It’s a time for reflecting on all of your achievements for the year. It’s a time for backyard cricket and it’s a time for beach, sun and plenty of outdoor activities (at least here in Australia!).
But it’s also a time that I use to plan ahead for the next year. 2017 is now just one week away and I absolutely love kicking off each New Year in style! I’m about to share with you a simple tool to help you make 2017 your best year ever.
If you want to get serious results in your life or business in 2017 then it’s important you are clear on what you are doing and when you are doing it and ensuring it’s actually scheduled.
Nothing gets done unless it’s scheduled.
That’s why today I want to share with you a simple but powerful tool that I use to ensure that I am clear and focused on what needs to get done in the following year.
It all starts with this 2017 calendar…
5 Steps to Scheduling the Best Year of Your Life
Scheduling your lifestyle and the activities you plan to do in 2017 will help you to forecast your income and ensure your life is balanced the way you desire it to be.
So often people have a dream and a vision for their life but they don’t spend the time to actually map out what that looks like.
- If you want to take more holidays, schedule them in!
- If you want to make more money by developing and selling a product or service, schedule it in!
- If you want to achieve major goals like completing a marathon or losing 20kg of weight, schedule the deadline in!
Here’s how I plan out my year. Feel free to copy or adjust it or add to it depending on what you’re trying to achieve in your life.
Step 1) Schedule all of the birthdays of your family and your closest friends.
It’s important to celebrate with those closest to you and having it scheduled reminds you of planning ahead to get something special and also so you keep the date free.
Step 2) Schedule all of the holidays you wish to take.
For this, start with the public holidays. If you’re in Australia, I’ve already scheduled the public holidays for you in the template. Otherwise, delete the Australian holidays and insert the public holidays for your location.
Next, schedule the time your leave from your job or the time off you wish to take from your business. Next year, I’m planning to take a break once every 3 months and take a short trip somewhere with my wife and daughter.
Scheduling holidays is super-important. It gives you something to look forward to which keeps you engaged during the time you’re working, but it also serves as a time to relax, rejuvenate and refocus on what you’re achieving in your life.
Step 3) Schedule the major business/career events that you want to achieve.
For example, I’ve scheduled the product launches, community challenges or other promotions that I plan to do in 2017 for my business. This provides me clarity on what I need to focus on and when as well as a better prediction of my income for the year.
Step 4) Schedule weekly or regular activities that you will need to complete to move you towards your larger goals.
For example, I’ve scheduled when I’m going to be publishing a blog post or video to my business. Although I haven’t yet determined exactly what each blog post is going to be about, I’ve given each date a general topic that I will be covering which feeds back to what you have asked to know more about (eg, is it Personal Development or is it Business).
Step 5) Schedule the due dates of your goals for the year or any other ad-hoc activities that you want to accomplish.
This is another great way of reminding you of the major goals you’re trying to achieve. As you have already scheduled your major work commitments, this could be any other goal related to your health, relationships, finances, personal growth, fun & recreation or physical environment.
To see how satisfied you currently are in each of the different areas of your life, do the Wheel of Life assessment. It takes 5 minutes and provides a great starting point for this exercise.
Entering the New Year With Clarity
This process doesn’t take long to do. I whipped my calendar up a couple of days ago in about an hour. Over the next few days I’ll be fine-tuning it.
Going into the New Year with clarity on how many days you’re going to have off versus how many days you’re going to be spending on creating versus how many days you’re going to be spending on promoting etc really helps you to feel calm and collected about the year ahead.
You can enter the New Year with full knowledge that your life is going to be balanced and that you will achieve the things that you have planned to do (as long as you stick to it). It will also help you to avoid getting stressed or overwhelmed.
Next Year I have 117 days scheduled to be off. This means I’m going to be working for the remaining 248 days. Now that I know this, I have a real sense of peace knowing that about 1 in every 3 days for the whole year is going to be a day that I can relax and do anything I wish to that I haven’t planned for.
It also gives me comfort that I can better predict how my year is going to unfold and how much income I’m going to make from my businesses.
Your Turn
I’ve given you the tool and the process for getting clarity on the year ahead. Now, my challenge to you is to take 30 minutes, right now, and create your year. At this time of year, lots of people talk about making the next year their best ever but few actually take the time to plan it out and make it so.
If you can’t do it right now, then schedule 30 minutes to do it in the next few days.
If you know of someone that might benefit from this tool and process, I encourage you to share this with them.
As a head’s up, I’m going to be opening up the doors to my Launch Your Life Academy next week, where you can get my step-by-step blueprint for creating your life masterplan and taking massive action.
Have a great weekend and speak to you in a few days!
Brendan
The post Make 2017 Your Best Year Ever (Free 2017 Planner) appeared first on The Start of Happiness.