How to Spot and Support your Spouse through Depression

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John* had seemed less like himself lately, and his wife Celeste* had started to notice. He laughed less, and when he was at home all he wanted to do was sleep. They had only been married for a few years, so it was very noticeable when John's libido suddenly went down the drain.

Celeste wondered, what happened to her once happy-go-lucky husband? The guy who used to be the life of the party now just went to work, school, and hardly did anything else. She grew concerned. When she would ask him what was wrong, he would just shrug his shoulders. After a while, she took her concerns to a family member, who was a retired therapist. The therapist recommended that Celeste talk to John and help him get in to see someone.

Through talking to his doctor, John realized that he in fact was depressed. In the process, he also realized that a traumatic event that happened to a family member triggered his downward spiral, and then everything else in his life seemed overwhelming to the point of debilitating. Once the family member was better, and John had worked through his emotional issues, his depression eventually dissipated.

Along the way, Celeste was a big support to John. She tried to give him space when he needed it, but she also reminded him often that she would be happy to talk to him about anything. Sometimes while driving around town, when John seemed to be more emotionally ready, they talked about his feelings. She tried to take the burden off of his shoulders as much as she could. In the end, the couple grew closer through the experience.

 What is depression?

Depression is a very real mental illness and can be very serious. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, major depressive disorder affects over 14 million American adults; it is more common in women, and the median age for adult depression is around 32 years old-though it can happen at any age. Some people develop depression after a specific event, and others develop it for seemingly no reason at all. Sometimes depression resolves after a period of time, and still others battle it for their entire lives.

It's hard when it happens to you, and it's hard when it happens to your spouse. Sometimes the change is gradual, so you may not connect the dots at first. But then one day it hits you-something's very wrong. As that person's spouse, you are the one who can best spot changes in their moods or behavior, and you are the first person who can support them in getting the help they need.

 Here are ways to spot depression in your spouse and what to do about it:

 Know the Warning Signs

If your spouse has any of the following symptoms (info from the May Clinic), he or she could have depression:

• Overwhelming anxiety, sadness, anger, irritability, hopelessness, or frustration over big or little things.


• Loss of interest in activities/hobbies he or she once enjoyed, also a loss of interest in sex.


• Extreme tiredness, also sleeping too much or having difficulty sleeping.


• Changes in appetite to hardly eating or eating too much, especially emotional eating.


• Feelings of guilt or loss of self confidence. Negative self talk and negative about most things in general.


• Difficulty thinking clearly or remembering things; slow in speech or doing tasks.


• Thinking or talking about death or suicide.

 What to Do if You Think your Spouse has Depression

One the first reactions we might have when we realize our spouse has depression is to ask: Why? It is an innocent question; after all, we are just trying to make sense of it all because we love our spouse. But the question can rarely be answered in a clear cut way. So try not to ask why, because the answer doesn't always matter. Simply ask, what can I do to help?

First and foremost, if your spouse is in danger of harming himself or herself, call 911 or take your spouse to the emergency room.

If you are on the fence about what you are noticing, then the next step is to talk to your spouse. Timing is key here. You don't want to bring up this touchy subject when your spouse is not in a state of mind to listen or deal with it. So watch for a good opportunity. Perhaps you can get a babysitter and take your spouse out on Saturday night; after dinner and a movie, when your spouse is more relaxed, ask how he or she is doing. Really listen with your ears and eyes. Then softly point out the things you have noticed. Help your spouse feel loved in that moment.

The next step is to urge your spouse to see his or her medical doctor just to talk about it. Many people dislike going to the doctor, unless they are in major physical pain. Point out that this is a similar issue, but it is emotional pain. Help them realize it isn't their fault, but they can do something about it. Perhaps they will or won't need medication, or perhaps talking to a therapist will help.

 Here are a few ways to support your spouse through depression:

 Learn Everything You Can About Depression

Read as much as you can about it, talk to doctors about it, go with your spouse to appointments and ask questions, ask others for their personal stories, join a Facebook group of people with spouse with depression, etc. These are just some of the ways you can learn about the mental illness that is plaguing your spouse. Not everyone experiences depression in the same way, so realize that your spouse's battle won't be the same as the ones you read about.

 Notice Triggers and Try to Reduce their Burden

In the story of John and Celeste, once they realized that his depression started due to a family member's traumatic event, it was easier to talk about his feelings. After that, Celeste also noticed John's triggers for negative feelings. If something went wrong at work, or he had a looming deadline in a class, or he didn't get enough sleep, John's depression would get worse quickly. So she always checked up on how things were going at work and listened to his concerns, she helped him with his assignments for school, and she took care of more things around the house so he could rest more.

 Always Offer a Hopeful Outlook

A depressed person has a mental illness. It's not their fault, but they will feel that there is something wrong with them. They will feel as if everyone is judging them. Try to help your spouse feel your support every day. Give them a hopeful outlook. Reassure them that everything will be ok. Sometimes, all you can do is hold your spouse and stroke their hair. Perhaps some days won't be good. But tell your spouse that you aren't going anywhere, no matter what. Your presence will give them hope.

 Encourage Your Spouse to Continue Self Care

It can be hard for someone with depression to believe that they can get out of it. Some days, they don't even have the motivation to get out of bed, let alone take the steps necessary to get better. Always encourage your spouse to keep doctor or therapy visits-drive your spouse there if need be, and sit with them in the waiting room. Encourage your spouse to take any prescribed medication-pick up the prescription if need be. Also encourage your spouse to do the things they once loved, and to get out and do things even if they don't feel like it.

Depression won't magically disappear overnight. It can take months, years, or it may never fully go away. The important thing is to know the signs, and support your spouse in the way he or she needs. In sickness and in health, you two are a team. You lean on each other during the hard times. When a spouse has depression, it can be a hard time, but your support will make all the difference.

 *Names have been changed.

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5 Motivators to Keep You Working Toward Your Dreams

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Do you have a dream that has been with you for years? If so, what have you done recently to work toward it? Are you continuing to pursue it, or have you allowed your ambitions to be forgotten? Unfortunately, this is quite common, as many people have big dreams that they never actually pursue. These dreams are completely unique, and they could be starting your own business, pursuing a career in music, or traveling to an exotic destination. If you never take a risk, you'll never enjoy the reward, so it is crucial that you never give up on your dreams.

You'll Always Wonder What Might Have Been 

Do you have any decisions that you regret in life? Do you ever wonder how your situation may have been different if you had made a different decision? Perhaps it was turning down an acceptance to college to stay home and work or not asking a special person in your life out on a date. That nagging feeling of what could have been could eat away at you for years after you give up on a dream.

The way that you avoid that sad and uncomfortable feeling is to always keep trying and working toward your dreams. You don't have to make a huge effort every day, but you should sit down to make a plan that consists of small and manageable steps that can help you work toward what it is that you want to achieve in life. Little by little, you can create a path that will eventually help you to reach your goals.

You'll Enjoy Success Along the Way

For most dreams, it isn't just a matter of the final goal. There will be other successful stepping stones along the way that you can reach. You can celebrate small achievements, as these small victories can help to drive you to your next goal. It is only a matter of time until your dream will finally be realized.

Celebrating small successes is a great way to keep you motivated to keep on the right track. Many businesses utilize this method to keep employees encouraged when working toward a major milestone. Organizations may also utilize after dinner speakers like Buzz Aldrin in order to help light a fire under them to keep moving forward.

You'll Prove Skeptics Wrong 

When working toward any goal, there will be naysayers that try to bring you down. Don't give them the satisfaction of watching you give up on your dreams. You can prove them wrong, so don't allow negative people to infiltrate your confidence or your life. Whether this is a family member, friend, or colleague, these negative influences will thrive on sowing seeds of doubt within your mind, and by moving forward anyways and achieving your dream, victory and success will feel even sweeter.

Failure Can Also Be Beneficial

Failure is often the reason that many people choose to abandon their dreams, but it can actually be quite beneficial. You may not know that failure is one of thebest ways that we can grow and learn, and even the most successful people have failed several times before they were able to achieve what they wanted out of life. For example, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before he successfully invented the light bulb. Setbacks will give you the encouragement that you need to push forward and to keep working toward your goals.

You'll Set a Great Example

Think about the people in your life that look up to you. Maybe this is a younger sibling or you have children, or perhaps you volunteer with an underprivileged population. Even your own peers could look to you to get inspiration, so if you have a dream, keeping at it and not allowing anything to stand in your way will set a great example that those people can do anything, as well.

Consider how you want your family to remember you. Do you want your children to think of you as someone who abandoned their dreams to simply sit back and watch others succeed, or do you want to be remembered for your passion for life? By following your dreams and never giving up, you'll teach future generations exactly what it means to succeed.

Remember that it is never too late to pursue your dreams. Regardless of how many times you have failed in the past, how old you are, or how long it has been since you've last worked toward achieving your dream, there is always time to pick it back up and work toward your goal. By making a small effort to get your dream back on track today, you'll enjoy a wealth of success in the future.

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Shezagary has been a Project Strategist since 2009 and also involved in the launching of startups and tech companies in New York for over 5 years. She has keen interest in writing her own experiences about business plans and upcoming business supporting technologies. She loves public speaking.

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Why You Should Recognize and Release Negative Emotions

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If you practice the law of attraction, negative emotions may be a taboo topic for you. Many people upon discovering this 'secret' make a big change and start forcing themselves to think positive ALL the time, out of fear that they will start to attract negative things if they let negative emotions show up. Well at least that is how I approached it years ago when I discovered law of attraction.

Imagine my surprise when every few months I would erupt in a crying spell or lash out at my husband. When it finally became clear to me was when on the inside I was pulsating depression while on the outside everything looked fabulous. Pushing my negative emotions down was not the way to handle things and unfortunately it took me far too long to discover this.

Heed my warning and do not as I did. As I progressed on my journey I came to find out that negative emotions are just old traumas and beliefs popping up to get some attention. Once we learn to recognize and release them, we no longer need to push them down. Instead of coming up again and again, we can actually learn the lesson, process it and get back to happy.

So how do you spot a negative emotion for what it is? You gauge how you feel. Pretty simple right? You have a built in guidance system that allows you to experience how you feel. It also gives you direct feedback on what you will be attracting into your life. So you notice that you are feeling frustrated one day, what you are likely to experience is more frustration (and frustrating things) until something happens to snap you out of it.

Let me give you an example of noticing and releasing a negative emotion so that you don't have to push it down or avoid it. Say you own a business. You have a fear that your clients won't pay on time. If you focus on this feeling for too long, reality will match what you are feeling and boom, late payments. Another option is to push the fear down, thus equaling late payments, and maybe even turning to anger and resentment about your business. Great news, there is also a third option. You can choose to see this emotion for what it is, fear, and as soon as you notice it and acknowledge it the hard part is over.

When I notice a negative emotion or belief now I write it down on my garbage list, and then take some quiet time each day and let go of them.

There are a multitude of ways to let go, my favorite is to use EFT tapping to get to the root of my limiting belief. A few other good options are Ho'oponopono or forgiveness, journalling about the belief or emotion to release it or writing down all the reasons that the fear/ belief is false and spiraling into positive.

The next time you feel a negative emotion continually come up, and are ready to deal with it, try one of the releasing techniques above or your own and see how much easier it is to stay on the positive side of things!

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Tracy Gaudet is an intuitive energy alignment coach who helps women bust through limiting beliefs and blocks and teaches manifesting as a way of life. In addition to being a certified law of attraction life coach and life force chakra healer, Tracy also works as an intuitive to read into energy blocks and uses EFT among other techniques to help women release what is holding them back.

You've read Why You Should Recognize and Release Negative Emotions, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

The 8-Step Process to Be True to Yourself

You're reading The 8-Step Process to Be True to Yourself, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

The notion that you can be exactly who you want to be 100% of the time is a false notion.  This would be reaching perfection and the only perfection that exists is imperfection.  Digging deep and striving to bring out the better you, however, is possible and necessary for a life with passion and purpose.  Authenticity occurs when your actions line up with your values as a person.  How can you do this?  How can you be more authentic and let your true self shine in your life?  How can you match up your actions with who you are underneath?

1. 
   

   Make it Known

   
   

Make it known to yourself who you are underneath.  What is important to you?  Make a personal inventory.  Write out all the statements that make you who you are.  Write out “I am” statements.

“I am someone who cares about others even if I don't know them.”

“I am someone who is down to earth and can't stand being arrogant.”

“I am someone who is willing to drop anything for my family.”

These are a few examples.  When you know who you are, you will find more purpose in your life.  If you don't know what your purpose is, find it and hold on to it.  Once your purpose and identities are known to you, you are aware of who you are and can start identifying actions that take you away from who you are.

2. 
   

   Decide to Make Change

   
   

Once you are aware of who you are you can strive to be truer to yourself.  You can start to take action and work on yourself.  Truly deciding to make changes in yourself requires commitment and this is the point where most people fail.  Deciding is not just declaring in your mind that you want to be truer to yourself.  Deciding is making active commitment to change.  Write down things you have done in the past that have caused self-remorse and work on changing them.  Write down things you don't like about yourself.  Decide and commit and watch yourself grow.

3. 
   

   Forgiveness

   
   

To be true to yourself is a journey and a rollercoaster ride.  You will make mistakes.  Those who make mistakes, are confused with themselves, and turn to familiar behaviors will fail in their attempt to be true to themselves.  Those that fail, fight, and fall back on their pre-conceived plans to move forward will fail less and less.  Thus, self-forgiveness is the key to moving on to find higher levels of yourself.

4. 
   

   Stop Comparing

   
   

In order to be true to yourself you have to love yourself.  Loving yourself makes the whole process that much easier.  When you compare yourselves to others what are you actually doing?  You are detracting from yourself.  When you compare, you are loving them (others) more than yourself and want to follow them because you feel you don't have the inner strength to follow yourself.  Negatively comparing leads to bad action.  If you are negatively comparing yourself to someone else you will do something that is out of line with who you really want to be.  Something else to think about is that you might like an attribute that someone has but you don't know who that person is underneath so you should never be quick to compare unless you truly know someone.  If you do know someone that has some truly amazing qualities and your inner-self wants to be more like that, you can develop those traits.

5. 
   

   Embrace Yourself

   
   

Embracing yourself goes hand-in-hand with getting rid of comparisons.  Embracing yourself means doing what you love.  Be grateful for what you have.  Find the power of gratefulness in your life.  The only way to be rich instantaneously is by developing gratitude.  Everyone has their own gifts to bring into the world.  Everyone also has their own insecurities.  Embrace your insecurities and be vulnerable with them and you will start to love yourself even more.  Follow that little voice inside you.  Respect yourself and others will respect you.

6. 
   

   Identify Your Patterns of Failure

   
   

Most people upon failing things repeatedly will be able to notice a cycle of failure.  If you feel that you keep failing and messing up in life, find your cycle and patterns of thinking.  This part in the process is similar to what addicts undergo in treatment.  Addicts can identify a pattern of thoughts that contribute to their addictive behaviors.  Many addicts will have thoughts unintentionally come into their head because of their addiction.  Those that stay addicted aren't aware of what these thoughts are doing when the thoughts turn into intentions.  The intentions then turn into actions where an addict relapses and starts the process over again.  After the process has started over again an addict might become complacent and let the thoughts turn into intentions and the whole process cycles over.  Find your pattern of thinking that led to your behavior.

7. 
   

   Change Your Patterns

   
   

This is the best part of the whole process because this is where you will find the changes in your life.  The reason identifying patterns of failure is second to last is because someone might have done everything they needed to do but then then fail after so much hard work and don't know where to go after their failure.  Once you have identified your pattern, you understand the process of yourself and you can see where you messed up to improve for the next time.  You have a place to go after failure when you have identified your patterns.  Changing your patterns comes down to a battle of will.  Are you willing to do things differently?  Are you willing to do things the hard way?  If you are, you will succeed.

8. 
   

   Reap the Rewards

   
   

To let your true self shine, love what you have done.  Embrace yourself even more.  Nothing can stop you.  You are who you want to be.  You have purpose.  You have self-respect and others will respect you for that.  You will inspire others and keep your actions in line with who you are because you have made the sacrifices to be a better you.  You hold yourself to a higher standard and will continue to reap rewards from it.

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Tyler Dahl is a freelance writer who dedicates his time to finding solutions for people who feel they can't go anymore.  He specializes in writing about self-motivation and chronic pain.  If you would like to contact him you can do so on his LinkedIn.

You've read The 8-Step Process to Be True to Yourself, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

My Essential Productivity Tools – 2016 Edition

It has been a while since I wrote about my productivity tools. The last time I wrote about them was in 2010. Things have changed since then, so I think it's a good time to write about them again.

One major change I have made since 2010 is that now I use Mac while at that time I used Windows. Accordingly, some of the apps below are only available on the Mac. I'm sure there is a Windows equivalent for each though.

I also use other apps in addition to the ones below, but these are the apps that I consider essential.

Without further ado, here are my essential productivity tools (in no particular order):

1. Google Calendar (cross platform)

I use Google Calendar to organize my schedule and keep track of appointments. I also use it as a reminder for doing things in the future. For instance, I use it to remind me to send donations and pay some bills. I like the fact that it's synchronized between my computer and cell phone.

2. Microsoft OneNote (cross platform)

I use OneNote for detailed notes and planning. When I'm working on a project, for instance, I write everything related to it in OneNote: things to do, research notes, and other stuff.

My favorite feature in OneNote is expanding/collapsing an outline. This allows me to hide irrelevant parts of a note so that I can focus on the part that's relevant to me at that time.

3. HabitMaster (iOS)

HabitMaster is the app I use for building my habits. I use it to build daily, weekly, and monthly habits. I spend my days mostly based on the checklists in this app. I built this app myself.

4. Short Notes (iOS)

Short Notes is the app I use for recording and organizing my ideas. Unlike OneNote, I use it to record short ideas, usually in the form of a few sentences. It's also an app that I built myself.

5. Chronos (Mac)

I use Chronos to track how much productive time I have. Chronos is a time tracker. Whenever I do a productive activity (e.g., writing), I start the timer, and whenever I do something else (e.g., checking emails), I stop it.

The nice thing about Chronos is that I can easily see how much productive time I have on a certain day or month. This allows me to see whether my productivity is increasing or decreasing.

6. TextWrangler (Mac)

TextWrangler is a text editor that I use for my to-do list. In the past, I used more complex apps for my to-do list, but now I just use a text editor.

I like TextWrangler because it allows me to open several text files at once from different locations. My to-do-list file is synced across my devices through Dropbox.

***

These are the tools that work well for me. What about you? What productivity tools do you use?

Comments here.

The 3 Values of Continuing Your Education

You're reading The 3 Values of Continuing Your Education, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Sometimes it seems like higher education has become so ingrained in our culture that it's simply a platitude to suggest anyone go back to school. That said, only 39.4 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 64 hold college degrees, meaning that the benefits of higher education must not be as apparent as we may think. Let's examine three concrete benefits derived from continuing your education: higher pay, better work and greater happiness.

1. 
   

   Continuing Your Education Helps You Earn More Money

   
   

Let's begin with what's likely the most commonly cited benefit of pursuing higher education: making more money. But exactly how much more money are we talking about? Median wages at our baseline, a high school diploma, are $668 a week, or $34,736 a year. A bachelor's degree raises those numbers to $1,101 a week, or $57,252 a year – an increase of almost 65 percent. A master's degree improves things even further, bumping median weekly wages to $1,326 and annual wages to $68,952 – almost 99% percent over our baseline. It takes a high school graduate two days to earn what a master's degree holder earns in one. Now that's value!

2. 
   

   Continuing Your Education Can Get You a Better Job

   
   

Higher wages are a result of better job opportunities, which require greater educational attainment.

Let's start at the bottom of the equation with unemployment. The unemployment rate at high school graduates is 6.0 percent. That's nearly double the rate for bachelor's degree holders, which is 3.5 percent, and more than double for master's degree holders, which is about 2.8 percent. Without higher education, you're twice as likely to not have a job, period. Indeed, it's predicted that by 2018 almost two-thirds of all occupations in the United States will require a college degree.

Beyond winning you a job, higher education can get you more work. Underemployment, or being employed only part time when seeking full time work, is less frequently discussed than unemployment, but it is much more pervasive. Underemployment of high school graduates currently stands at 12.9 percent – more than twice the rate for holders of bachelor's degrees, at 6.2 percent, and thrice that of master's degree holders, at 4.2 percent.

Seventy-four percent of American adults believe a postsecondary degree is essential to getting a good job, but what do the people making hiring and promotion decisions think? The same! Companies themselves attest to this, a third of managers surveyed say they have sent workers to back to school for higher education, 81 percent of them even picking up part of the tab. That is a win-win!

3. 
   

   Continuing Your Education Can Make You Happier

   
   

Now this may be something you haven't heard before, but higher education may not just be the key to more money and a better job, but to greater happiness. That's a big statement that the numbers support: When examining well-being levels across American cities, researchers found that happiness has the closest relationship not with wages, unemployment or output, but with educational attainment, measured as the share of the population with a bachelor's degree or higher. Similarly, educational attainment has been shown to boost happiness early in life and keep it that way, unlike income, which raises over time but does not increase happiness.

More money, a better job, greater happiness -- you can have it all, and higher education is the way to start.

Roslyn Tate is an editor on the 2U Inc. website. A recent Goddard College MFA she enjoys helping people achieve their goals through academics and art. 2U partners with leading colleges and universities to offer online master's degree programs to students around the world.

You've read The 3 Values of Continuing Your Education, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Wookies In The Woods, Best VW Event in the US?

Is Wookies In The Woods, Best VW Event in the US? Well based on how great the event is, anyone can make a case for that. This event is a Golf R and R32 event at The Tail Of The Dragon. A group of modified and stock VR6 r32 and TSI Golf R get together...

The post Wookies In The Woods, Best VW Event in the US? appeared first on Humble Mechanic.

5 Undeniable Ways Fasting Will Improve Your Life

You're reading 5 Undeniable Ways Fasting Will Improve Your Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

When was the last time you were REALLY starving?

You might recall a school camping trip when you thought you were going to die from hunger after a four hour trek, or that time you did an 8 hour shift and left your packed lunch at home, but was your life really dependent on getting that next meal?

It's likely the cravings and excessive salivating were more due to habit and socialization than a actual physiological need to intake more fuel.

We have a funny relationship with food. It's everything from a social lubricant, a means of distraction, and an event, to a performance enhancer, a source of pleasure, and a deadly addiction. Rarely it's put to use for its primary purpose: to maintain life and growth.

Thankfully, there are special tools in the world that have the power to shake us out of such dangerous patterns of thought-for example journaling, yoga, and meditation. But when it comes to changing how we think about food, that tool is fasting.

Along with pressing the reset button and getting us back in tune with what and when we eat, fasting-much like the other tools-has heaps more benefits to offer us.

Studies have shown that fasting can help alleviate depression, reduce chronic pain, burn fat (particularly nasty organ fat), strengthen willpower, heighten brain function, improve digestion, and even cause feelings of euphoria.

So how do you get started? Well, an easy and well documented way into the world of fasting is through what's known as 'intermittent fasting'. The term is used to describe frequent periods of calorie restriction, for example eating your day's meals within a limited time-frame of 8 hours, or having full days where you eat nothing or consume less than 400-500 calories.

The mechanism in which it works its pretty complex, but the underlying idea is simple. By periodically giving yourself a break from eating, you're challenging the body and mind and allowing them to become stronger, more efficient, and better able to handle the daily stresses that come their way-it's the same principle as weight training and other forms of exercise.

So now you have a basic idea of what fasting is and how it works, let's dive into the five reasons to make it a part of your life today.

Free up trapped energy and have full control of your mind

The act of abstaining from food can be a powerful workout for your willpower, strengthening it as if it were a muscle. Taking such action against your urges naturally leads to greater self-esteem and increased control over your thoughts and actions. And as the digestive system is one of the most energy intensive systems in the body, freeing up reserves that would otherwise be spent on digesting food helps cause a dramatic increase in clarity and mental clearness.

Normally our digestive systems are active the majority of the day, but even when they are not, we are thinking about where the next meal will come from. Thus many of us don't realize when our stomachs are empty that we have heaps more resources at out disposal. Following a period of fasting, many report feeling less slugglish, having a greater clarity of mind, and even being enlightened.

Maintain clean and healthy blood for optimum health

When we consume carbohydrates, say for instance bread, the body breaks them down into sugars to be absorbed into the blood. The pancreas then releases insulin to transport the sugars from the blood to the various cells in the body that need them-particularly those in the brain, organs, skeleton, and muscles. Eat too many carbohydrates and overload the blood with sugars, and the pancreas isn't able to keep up and produce enough insulin to clear it, eventually leading to cells being starved of energy, and the 7th leading cause of death in the US: Type 2 diabetes.

Therefore, by periodically cutting out food, you can give your pancreas a break to become once again sensitized to any sugars that enter the blood, helping in the short term to prevent things like fatigue, cloudy thinking, and irritability, and in the long term the plethora of problems associated with Type 2 diabetes.

Enrich your life with heightened senses and experiences

Realistically, true hunger takes around 12 to 24 hours to set in. When lunch time comes around, we may think we're hunger, but we are so out of tune with our bodies that they usually have different ideas.

Fasting resets your definition of hunger so you can experience once again what it's like to be truly hungry. It does so by regulating out of whack hormones in the body and returning signals that let you know when you are full and when you need more food. What's more, receptors in the nose and mouth come fully alive, causing smells and flavors to become more intense and vivid and opening up a whole new world pleasure that transcends well beyond the dinner table.

Accelerate brain functioning for better learning and memory

We know challenging the brain through puzzles and difficult tasks has great advantages for memory, learning, and growth. But it turns out the brain also responds in a similar way to the challenge of fasting.

Putting the brain in such a stressful situation means it resorts to boosting the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BNDF is recognized as an important protein that prevents death of existing brain cells, induces the growth of new neurons, and supports greater cognitive function.

Studies have also shown periodic fasting to increase synaptic plasticity. The greater your synaptic plasticity, the better able you are to make connections between neurons in the brain. As memories are made up of interconnected networks of synapse in the brain, this means an improved ability to create, store, and consolidate memories.

Kick into action your body's immune boosting response

The first thing animals do when they get sick is stop eating. It's a deep primal instinct to reduce stresses on the internal system and divert all resources to fighting infection. However, whenever we get sick, we tend to turn straight to food (chicken soup)-mostly out of comfort and habit.

Similarly to how fasting bolsters brain functioning, it puts a strain on the immune system and consequently lowers white blood cell counts. This is turn triggers a response for the body to start producing new white blood cells-the key to building a strong immune system.

Fasting is an incredible tool that deserves a place in everyone's normal routine of development and growth. Just like challenging your muscles with weights at the gym, pushing your heart and lungs when jogging, or testing your mind and reactions with puzzles and games, it offers us a great opportunity for improving ourselves and enjoying our lives that little bit more.

Putting fasting into action starts with getting your day off to the best possible start. 

Grab a free copy of our new eBook: MORNING MASTERY: The Simple 20 Minute Routine For Long Lasting Energy, Laser-Sharp Focus, and Stress Free Living.

Joseph is a freelance writer, and the co-creator of Project Monkey Mind-a new blog for the 21st century solopreneur and young professional who wants to lead a more free and fulfilling life.

You've read 5 Undeniable Ways Fasting Will Improve Your Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

How Telling YOUR Story Inspires Others and YOU!

You're reading How Telling YOUR Story Inspires Others and YOU!, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Do you know you're a gem? Yes you, you radiant, sparkling, dazzling thang you! If you only knew and believed in how divine you really are, your life would change in an instant.

I believe that we are all gems. I mean c'mon, something magical had to happen to manifest the cells that make up your radiant self: from your eyelashes, heart, to that unique personality that only you embody.

My shimmer is the power to lift and shift people to be better and do better for themselves and others. How? Through the art of human connection – talking one-on-one, motivational speaking and through various forms of multimedia storytelling.

As a former TV reporter, PBS show co-host and founder of Go Inspire Go, a nonprofit that features a multimedia platform to tell authentic stories of everyday heroes and leverages social media to share them with the world, I have experienced the power of storytelling firsthand. Through GIG, our goal is to inspire the hero in you to take action by learning about the struggles and triumphs of others. I've had the honor of learning and experiencing the stories of people from all walks of life – a successful businessman who donated his home for a year to a homeless family, a school bus driver who makes and delivers meals to those in need after his shift everyday, a mother of three who makes superhero capes for children facing treatment, among many, many more. Sharing these stories continues to inspire tens of thousands of people to discover the hero inside and take action in big and small ways.

Whether I'm interviewing the owner of a ski resort, a homeless person or a teenager who has attempted suicide – they all had one thing in common – they want to be seen, heard and understood. Everybody wants to feel like they matter. But most people I've met don't think they matter that much. That certainly was the case for me.

My story begins in Southeast Asia. When I was eight months old, my family and I fled Vietnam just after the Fall of Saigon in search of the American Dream.

We landed in South Sacramento, California – all 10 of us crammed into a mobile home with four bucks to our name. Hearing about celebrities and other successful people, I certainly didn't think my story compared or that I could amount to their level.

As I grew older and began to pave my own path, I felt guilty that my I wasn't excited about the careers that my parents wanted me to pursue. “Be a doctor, lawyer or engineer,” my mom would repeat in her cute broken Chinglish accent. But these educational tracks weren't for me. Instead, I felt most at home as a communicator. I LOVE to read, write and talk. While reading, I would pretend to be the characters and change my voice while reading storybooks aloud – “Ameila Bedelia,” “Where the Wild Things Are” and anything and everything by the great Judy Blume.

The first person that validated and saw my penchant for communicating was

Carolyn Weber, an Oxford-educated professor who was teaching at my alma mater, The University of San Francisco. After turning in my first paper, entitled “A Snapshot of an Experience That Changed My Life Forever,” where I detailed growing up as a poor immigrant, I wanted to drop the class. I was worried I couldn't amount to her standards and that she would rip the papers to shreds. The following week, she returned the paper with a smile and in her British accent said, “lovely job.” I rushed to read her comments - “You are such gifted and lively writer. I hope you're doing something with this talent?” My life changed forever.

These words shook my soul. It was as if someone said, “I see you! I feel your power.”

I never felt like my story mattered: a poor, Chinese kid with a quirky personality and penchant for stories. But it did and still does today. Fast forward about 20 years and boy I wish I could tell that frightened kid that “You are more powerful than you think. Your words will lift, gift and shift people. They will be used to heal and make the world a better place. Own it.”

Like all precious stones, somewhere along the line some of us got dusty and let's be real, some of us have been dragged through the mud. But I've found that being honest with ourselves, discovering our power and sharing it with others is the key to finding true joy in life. Ultimately, when you shine, you radiate and invite others to see themselves from your unique reflection.

So what makes your story unique and have you had the courage and generosity to shared it? If not, why not start now? Share your sparkle with me.

Onward and upward,

Toan

Toan Lam is the founder and Chief Inspirator of Go Inspire Go. You can share your story with him by visiting TomLamTv.com.

 

You've read How Telling YOUR Story Inspires Others and YOU!, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

7 Reasons You Need to Plan a Mental Getaway

You're reading 7 Reasons You Need to Plan a Mental Getaway, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Each and every person on this earth needs time to “recharge their battery”, so to speak. We are all filled with real emotions. Even that one person you know who seems to totally maintain their composure at all times. Deciding to neglect your mental health could be a serious mistake leading to mental exhaustion. The last thing that any of us wants to do is not be able to pay attention during an important meeting because we are stressed about our work. Or maybe being short with a loved one unexpectedly. As the saying goes, everyone wants to put their best foot forward each day and the only way to ensure that happens is to stay on top of your personal mental health.

How to Know You Need a Mental Getaway

You Dread Going Into Work - This could end up being a much larger issue, (maybe you really need a new job) but if your disdain for you work is sudden and changes day by day then you might need some time to yourself. If one day you're filled with motivation and the next you think you might cry at the mention of working, you may just need to reset your emotional meter.

Your Family/Friends Are Stressing You Out - If you are spending all of your time trying to mend the problems of your family members or friends, it's time to realign with yourself. Many people out there feel empathy much stronger than others, but emotionally taking on the burden of others is just not the way to live a fulfilled life. A majority of your mental emotional capacity should be spent on your own life.

You Can't Recall The Last Time You Did Something For Yourself - When was the last time you just sat and painted your nails or built something with your hands? Doing something just because it is what you want to do should be a regular occurrence. Whatever that little treat you like to give yourself shouldn't be pushed to the side. Even if it is just taking an hour to soak in a bubble bath or read a new book - cherish that time because you deserve it.

You Can't Seem to Remember What Your Interests Are - We are all guilty of becoming wrapped up in our work or family and friends. However, their interests should never be assumed to be your own. Just because a mother happens to have 3 young children doesn't mean her passion in life is parenting. I'm sure she loves the time she gets to spend with her family, but she is a well-rounded individual with intimate aspirations.

In Your Free Time You'd Rather Do Nothing - Don't get me wrong, I frequently love stuffing as much Netflix time as possible into my evening, but I am also a person with interests and desires. I feel accomplished when I finish a project I've been tirelessly working on or even just get out of the house for a little while. So, on days when you just cannot be bothered to get out of bed, take a shower, or even feed yourself - know the jig is up. Especially when you can't seem to shake this feeling for days, it's time to kick it into mental getaway overdrive.

You Never Call in From Work/Take Vacation Time - It can be so easy to want to work day in and day out, especially if your work follows you home. Financial stability and workplace professionalism are the goals of numerous men and women. Yet, failing to take time to yourself will result in swift occupational fatigue. Setting boundaries with your employer and not accepting more work than you can handle will guarantee your personal time is respected.

You're Regularly Not Sleeping Well - Not chronic insomnia, but stress induced awful sleep for a short period of time. If some kind of anxiety has recently taken over your mind and won't allow you to get proper rest, it's time to take a day off and recover. On your day off, take time to mentally address the issue and shrink it back down to size so you return to everyday activities feeling rejuvenated.

What Makes a Successful Mental Getaway?

Continually indulging yourself when you're feeling down makes it hard to lift your spirits. So, while binge watching a random TV show or drinking a bottle of wine feels good temporarily, at the end of the day you will have made no progress. By doing this you are pushing your problem to the side, but the worry is still constantly forcing you to lose focus. If you need to have a good cry or scream into a pillow, definitely do so - it always makes me feel better. Then, get up and do something that will clear your mind completely. After you've successfully wiped the slate clean and completed your task, allow your issue to resurface itself. Chances are that you'll be able to address it with a completely fresh outlook.

What Should I Do During My Time Off?

There is some sort of glaring reason that you need a mental getaway. Allow your mind, spirit, and/or body to enjoy something it has been lacking. Avoid anything that will diminish your mental and emotional state even further. The day should be spent lifting yourself back up.

If You Want to Stay Home: Start a project that requires your full attention for several hours or do something you've been meaning to get done for a while.

• Organize something that needs it.


• Clean out junk that has built up.


• Deep clean your house.


• Mow the lawn, weed the yard, or start a garden.


• Try a simple DIY project.


• Try something artistic (like drawing, painting, or music).


• Repurpose an old item.


• Try a new (and possibly more complicated) recipe.

If You Want to Literally Getaway: If you're looking for more of a literal getaway to refresh your mind and senses, planning a day trip might be the best option. Something close by that won't take too much time or cost a fortune.

• Take a jog or a hike.


• Treat yourself to a spa/manicure/new hairdo day.


• Go on a bike ride.


• Go swimming (even at your local gym)


• Check out a nearby city you've wanted to visit.


• Go to a museum or an art gallery.


• Check out local shows, events, or markets.


• Go see a movie you're interested in.


• Volunteer your time.

Mental getaways should be spent however you feel most comfortable. Your mental and emotional health is never unimportant and should be treated as such. Please keep in mind, all the advice and mental getaways in the world cannot cure a mental health disease. If you find yourself suffering from constant sadness, depression, anxiety, or exhaustion it is time to seek the help of a professional. This information is not meant to cover up any signs of illness or to patch a bigger problem. If you find yourself needing to take many mental getaways frequently, there is most likely a larger problem that needs addressing immediately.

 

Trisha is a freelance writer from Boise, ID. She is a dedicated vegan who promotes an all around healthy lifestyle - including mental health. You can check out her blog thatdangvegan.com or find her on twitter @thatdangvegan.

You've read 7 Reasons You Need to Plan a Mental Getaway, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

How to Have More by Simplifying Your Life

You're reading How to Have More by Simplifying Your Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

It's time for spring cleaning, and that means de-cluttering our homes, but what if we go further and de-clutter the rest of our lives too? You undoubtedly have too much stuff. But are you cramming too many activities into each day as well? And are you spending too much of your life looking at a screen instead of doing things with living, breathing people?

We all want to reclaim control of our lives and the 101 stories in the new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less, which I coauthored with Brooke Burke-Charvet, provide plenty of inspiration and great advice to help you do that. These five tips, from five stories in the book, will help you get started!

1. Don't hold onto stuff that could be someone else's blessing. The question Jeanie Jacobson always asks when helping her friends organize and de-clutter is: “Are you holding onto someone else's blessing?” It changed one friend's whole perspective. The idea of holding onto someone else's blessing had her gleefully cleaning out her house. “I'd never seen anyone part so willingly with so many useful goods,” Jeanie said of her friend. That inspired Jeanie to turn the question on herself when she got home. She saw dust-covered gym equipment, packed closets and full hampers of clothes. “Why did I have all this lying around when there were so many people in need?” she writes. “I grabbed the phone and called my favorite secondhand shop.” Jeanie had a lot of blessings to donate.

2. Your memories live in your head, not in your possessions. As Amelia Hollingsworth packed up her young family's home for a cross-country move, she had a hard time letting go. So much of their furniture held special memories for her, but not everything would fit in their POD or their new, smaller home. She couldn't decide what to take and what to leave until her mother put it all in perspective. “The stuff isn't the memories,” Amelia's mother told her. “And you don't have to worry about losing the memories when you leave your stuff behind. Those you take with you.” And she was right. Even though Amelia had to leave a lot of items with sentimental value behind, she doesn't miss them. “We have not lost the happy memories of our old home,” she shares. “Those came with us, and they were the only things we never had to box up or unpack.”

3. It's okay to say “no.” The “should monster,” as Sydney Logan called it, ran her life. She “should” always volunteer to help; she “should” pick out the perfect birthday, or graduation or wedding gift and happily attend those events. “Frazzled isn't just a state of mind,” Sydney says. “It's a reality.” With help from her therapist, she learned it was okay to say no to things she didn't want to do. “In fact, it's a necessity, because the truth is we can't do it all,” she writes. “Not if we want to keep our sanity.” Now, she volunteers only for the things she wants to and not out of obligation. “It's not always easy, and I still struggle with feeling selfish from time to time,” she says, “but I'm a happier, calmer person. And that's the way it should be.”

4. Sometimes doing nothing is everything. When Sally Friedman saw how exhausted her two granddaughters looked when they came for an overnight, she and her husband scratched everything they had planned. “We would do… nothing. Absolutely nothing,” Sally writes. “At least it would be a novelty.” They lounged in pajamas and played cards. After dinner, they sat around the table telling silly stories. “I didn't rush to clean up because I've finally learned that the dishes can wait-but kids sometimes can't,” Sally says. At the end of the weekend, the girls didn't want to leave. “And I think they understood,” she writes, “perhaps for the first time, that doing nothing is actually… quite something."

5. Get unplugged to plug back into real life. After avoiding Facebook for years, Kate Lemery finally joined and quickly became addicted. She would get lost within other people's Facebook lives, comparing herself to them. And it started to affect her personal interactions. “I got grumpy with my family for no reason other than I'd been feeling bad about things I'd read on Facebook,” Kate shares. “Everyone on Facebook seemed to be having more fun than me.” Lunch with a friend one day made her realize how much time she'd been wasting on Facebook, time taken away from her family. “That night I changed my personal Facebook policy,” Kate says. “I now limit myself to fifteen minutes a week. If anyone has anything important to say, they can tell me personally.” Now she reads more books, watches more movies and takes joy in spending time with her family. “To paraphrase the great humorist Erma Bombeck,” Kate says, “I now cry and laugh less on Facebook-and more while living life.”

“Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less” goes on sale April 19, 2016

You've read How to Have More by Simplifying Your Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

4 Days Only: Get Your Own Personal Website with Free Setup

There is a special offer this week for Life Optimizer readers: you can get a personal website with free setup. It's only available for 4 days though.

I'm sure you have accounts on multiple places on the Internet: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. But where is your “home” online? Where is the starting point of your online activities?

For that, I believe you need a personal website-a website that you own. Since it's yours, it becomes the starting point of your online activities. It becomes your “home” on the Internet.

Having a personal website also has another advantage: it builds your personal brand. Having a website with your own domain name shows that you are serious about what you do. Having a personalized email address instead of a generic one (e.g., a Gmail address) also builds your reputation.

Check out this page for more information.

5 Simple and Effective Ways To Improve Your Memory Today

You're reading 5 Simple and Effective Ways To Improve Your Memory Today, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Let's do a little test.

Read the following set of numbers: 6, 5, 2, 9, 6, 4, 3, 5, 9, 3. Now close your eyes and see how many you can recall in the right order.

How did you do? The average person may remember around six or seven, with the exceptional few getting them all. Yet sadly there are a lot of us who stumble after only two or three.

One recent study demonstrated our lack of memory power by giving 500 people 2 minutes to draw their representation of a bicycle. Judging by the results, you'd think the participants were primary school children. But again sadly no, a lot of people just have bad memories (although some people just cant't draw).

I used to be one of the those people. Things like names, bicycles, dates, appointment times, and deadlines would never quite manage to sink into my memory but instead bounce off my eardrums and back into thin air.

Thus my notepad, laptop, and smart phone functioned as my memory bank. I'd often get lost in a sea of sticky notes when simply trying to find out what time a dentist appointment or school class was.

This is likely familiar to a lot of you. Growing up in the digital age, we don't need to rely on our memories as much as we used to. We have search engines to help us recall facts, Facebook to remind us of birthdays and events, GPS systems to give us directions, and many other apps and devices to outsource our memories to.

Even recalling personal memories like the name of your favorite high school teacher or where you left your keys will soon be able to be retrieved with memory search engines.

There's no doubt all these things are of huge benefit to those who suffer from memory impairments, but for the majority of us they do more harm than good.

Outsourcing out memory using external devices can be the difference between having a rich life-learning from and reminiscing on past experiences, experiencing deep and loyal relationships, having high levels of productivity and satisfaction-and a mediocre life-not gaining the full respect of others, forgetting your partner's birthday or your anniversary, and chugging along at a slow and steady rate of performance.

The chances are that because you're here, you already know this and therefore want to take a more concerted effort to improving your memory and not having to rely on external devices. So engage your brain and allow these six top memory boosting tips to be absorbed into the depths of your hippocampus.

Learn a New Skill

A study published in the journal Psychological Science by neuroscientist Dr. Denise Park showed that keeping your brain active by learning new skills, for example digital photography, can bring significant improvement in memory. Dr. Park's research also found that not all activities are equal, with the greatest improvements coming from taking on the most challenging skills. Find an intellectually demanding activity you'll enjoy learning, whether it's learning to paint, dance salsa, or in particular play an instrument, and watch as your memory grows.

Use The Memory Palace

A technique used by the world's greatest memory athletes, The Memory Palace is considered to be one of the strongest ways to remember something. It uses four fundamental principles of recall-imagination, association, absurdity, and location-to securely cement new information into your brain. The technique essentially works by visualising a journey through a place you are familiar with, e.g. your home, school, or office. Along the way you associate the words, phrases, or numbers you want to remember with specific locations and events for example, a humongous frog in a suit at the breakfast table could represent the word 'business'.

Mix Up Your Routine

Memory, like muscular strength, requires you to either use it or lose it. Therefore going through the same routines day in and day out, encountering the same stimuli and problems, causes your brain to stagnate, switching to autopilot and failing to make new neural connections. More connections equals more ways to process information, and therefore an overall stronger brain. And a stronger brain means a far greater chance of memories sticking around. Make an effort to challenge you brain by breaking free from well-worn trails, seeking new sources of stimulation, and carving new mental pathways.

Break A Sweat

Exercise seems to have benefits for just about everything. But one place where it doesn't get its due credit is in bolstering memory. For example, in a study by neuroscientist Art Kramer at the University of Illinois it was found that just 45 minutes of exercise three days a week can increase the volume of the brain. One of the ways it does this is by boosting production of certain proteins in the brain. In a Harvard Medical School study, one such protein called FND5 was found to be present in higher quantities in the hippocampus (the area of the brain responsible for learning and memory) in a group of mice who took part in regular exercise.

Have Healthy Relationships

It turns out healthy relationships are not only great for emotional health, but also our brain health. In fact, some researchers believe interacting with others may be the best kind of brain exercise. For example in another study from the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers found that people with the most active social lives had the slowest rate of memory decline. This doesn't mean all introverts have terrible memories, but rather volunteering, joining a club, seeing or speaking to friends more often, or even having a pet, can do its bit for safeguarding those precious memories.

Want to learn how you can put these techniques into action before your day has even begun?

Grab a free copy of our new eBook: MORNING MASTERY: The Simple 20 Minute Routine For Long Lasting Energy, Laser-Sharp Focus, and Stress Free Living.

Joseph is a freelance writer, and the co-creator of Project Monkey Mind-a new blog for the 21st century solopreneur and young professional who wants to lead a more free and fulfilling life.

You've read 5 Simple and Effective Ways To Improve Your Memory Today, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

5 Reasons Learning To Say “F*ck It” Is Really, Really Important

You're reading 5 Reasons Learning To Say “F*ck It” Is Really, Really Important, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

When is the last time you found yourself outraged by a situation, where you reacted quickly and aggressively without thinking about the outcome? We're all human, and we all do it. Yogi or not.

The problem with reacting so aggressively to situations is not only for the receiver, but for YOU. Your jaw starts clenching. Your entire body goes into stress, causing: inflammation, high blood pressure, muscle tension, and overall negative emotions. Who has time for that?!

Learning to say two simple words to yourself - which might not be very 'yogic' of me, but very real - can change the way you think. F*CK IT. Simply. I'm not talking about not-caring-about-anything-in-life-anymore-and-foregoing-your-opinions. I'm talking about being in a situation that can easily put you over the edge, taking a deep breath, saying f*ck it (to yourself)... then taking the time to think about how you really want to react.

THIS is how I'm defining F*CK IT:

"This doesn't matter right now. This is not contributing to my current mind-state in any positive way. This situation has escalated and the results of this dialog will not be constructive. This is not worth dealing with. I need to think about this and respond later in time."

It can be something as simple as someone cutting you off on the highway or your sister borrowing your shirt without asking. Or, something more elaborate like an argument with your partner or someone stealing a great idea you had.

You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf, right? 

Here are 5 reasons you should say "f*ck it" more often:

1. You're saving yourself stress: Generally speaking, we are really busy people. If you can save yourself from stress and anxiety, why wouldn't you? By removing yourself physically and emotionally from a negative situation, you're practicing self-love and mindfulness. Even if the key words are f*ck it.


2. You're saving someone else stress: If you're reading PTB, you probably have a general care about the wellbeing of others. We never know what is going on in someone else's head. Even if we're married to them. Even if they're our children. You never know what someone else is battling. If you can have the courage to stop yourself from saying hurtful things back and fourth, you could be doing real good under the surface, too.


3. You have more time to constructively think about the situation: Your family hates your spouse. Your partner cheated on you. Your friend flaked. There are so many immediate reactions I can think of out of situations like this and they're not pretty, or constructive. I'm not saying that it's not ok to get mad. Get mad! Just take some very necessary time to yourself to think about it all. Then react with the outcome you truly want in mind.


4. You might realize that all in all, you don't care: If someone cut you off or stole the parking spot you had your eye on, what good is YOU boiling your blood going to do? They're still parked there. They still cut you off. Learning to say f*ck it during a situation as emotionless as this is so much easier than letting yourself get stressed out. Because honestly, you probably won't care in 20 minutes... if you even remember.


5. Life is about rolling with the punches: There's always going to be something to get angry at. It's not realistic, or necessarily healthy, to live in a world where "everything in your life is perfect all of the time." The only thing that changes the situation you're in is YOUR reaction. React with grace. React with truth. React with self-love and respect.

So the next time you feel your blood boiling, remember this one simple tip: F*ck it!

Sam Negrin is the founder of All Good Health and an avid yogi (and RYT) in Los Angeles. She is also the Content Manager of LEAFtv - a fresh, easy to consume, how-to concept covering all things health and wellness.

You've read 5 Reasons Learning To Say “F*ck It” Is Really, Really Important, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you've enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

9 Self-Improvement Books That Will Change Your Life

You're reading 9 Self-Improvement Books That Will Change Your Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you're enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

The following 9 self-improvement books have left an imprint on my life, and I think it will on your life, too. It's time to read and reflect!

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

I've always enjoyed the relatable storytelling and writing style of Dale Carnegie. He wrote this book in 1936 and its principles for building strong relationships still appeal today. The book inspires me to be genuinely interested in other people; to be a good listener; refrain from criticizing, condemning or complaining; to give honest and sincere appreciation; and to smile. Although the book is popular in corporate circles, its message applies to all personal relationships, too.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff…and It's All Small Stuff by Richard Carlson

Carlson's book is an easy-to-read guide on how to live with random, positive anecdotes thrown in. It was my first self-help book and has been a fixture on my bookshelf for over 18 years. As I wrote my book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness, I always kept it in mind.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

While Chapter 16 in Redefine Yourself (Create New Habits) gives you some simple tools for change, The Power of Habit provides more insight on the creation of habits and how they rule our lives. The stories are interesting and make for a quick read.

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

Lehrer explores the neuroscience of our decision-making processes in this book. Don't be intimidated by the research and references to anatomy-his writing style is appealing, enjoyable, and the insight fascinating. Lehrer's explanation of mirror neurons will continue to resonate within me for a long time. If you're interested in how our brain operates, you'll want to add How We Decide to your book collection.

Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer

Imagine is less technical than Lehrer's earlier work, How We Decide. It steers my approach to creativity within my business. If you haven't heard the creation story of the “Just Do It” slogan, you may want to read this today. It will change the way you approach any creative project.

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Ferriss' book on how to minimize life's distractions and maximize efficiency in order to live more and work less may help you rethink your approach to life. If you can put aside some of his questionable marketing techniques, his tips and stories can help you create a more efficient life, both personally and professionally. I read the book at a time when I needed a push to finally do what I wanted most-it may influence you the same way.

Drive by Daniel H. Pink

In Drive, Pink explores the role of motivation and purpose in both the classroom and the workplace. Without a doubt, it greatly influenced the chapters on control and purpose in my book, and I highly recommend Pink's work for additional insight on these topics.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan is one of the leaders of the new nutrition movement. He appears in many documentaries about the food industry and is considered an expert in natural eating habits. In Defense of Food revolutionized my nutritional approach and changed the way I look at food. If you want to redefine the way you eat, this book is the perfect place to start.

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky

Sapolsky lightly spins humor with academic research in this book about anatomy and stress. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers has shaped my perspective on the body and stress.

________

Looking for other ways to redefine your life? Check out my recent article 50 Ways to Change Your Life Today too.

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Michael Moody is the author of the self-improvement book Redefine Yourself: The Simple Guide to Happiness and the former fitness expert on NBC's The Biggest Loser/MSN Chicago tour. The owner of the successful Chicago personal training business Michael Moody Fitness, his fitness and life-structure programs have helped his personal training clients lose more than 2,500 pounds since 2005. Michael has been featured in Muscle & Fitness and Today's Chicago Woman magazines, among others. During his time as the official trainer for PBS's The Whitney Reynolds Show, he also produced an inspirational segment about his travels in Guatemala.

Having researched emotion and coping behaviors in university-level studies, Michael has presented various fitness, motivation, body image, and stress-management programs at Illinois State University, DePaul University, corporations, high schools, and workshops.

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