Widowhood accelerates cognitive decline among those at risk for Alzheimer's disease

A new study finds that widowhood can have another profound effect: It may accelerate cognitive decline.

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Could new discovery play a role in diagnosing Alzheimer's earlier?

Scientists have detected that a previously overlooked gene behavior could potentially lead to a new way to diagnose Alzheimer's earlier.

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Scientists discover new compound which could improve photodynamic therapy for cancer

Researchers have synthesized a new compound which could improve the success rate of photodynamic therapy when treating cancer.

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Eating a vegetarian diet rich in nuts, vegetables, soy linked to lower stroke risk

People who eat a vegetarian diet rich in nuts, vegetables and soy may have a lower risk of stroke than people who eat a diet that includes meat and fish, according to a new study.

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After Senior Broke His Hip Mowing His Lawn, Responding EMTs Returned to His House to Finish the Job

After 88-year-old Howard Storelee was whisked away to the hospital with a broken hip, the three responding EMTs finished his yard work.

The post After Senior Broke His Hip Mowing His Lawn, Responding EMTs Returned to His House to Finish the Job appeared first on Good News Network.

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Watch 84-Year-old’s Reaction to Winning New Car After Sinking Incredible 93-Foot Putt

This Mississippi woman was rewarded for her incredible golf shot at the University of Mississippi with a brand new 2020 Nissan Altima.

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7 Simple but Sure Ways to Eliminate Bad Attitudes

Attitude is life, and how you manage your attitudes matters. One proven way to eliminate bad attitudes is to adopt these seven proven strategies and to shift your paradigm the Bob Proctor Way. Did you know that your perspective about life determines your outcomes in life? Bad attitudes are virtual guarantees that life will be burdensome and less satisfying than it ought to be. If you are pessimistic about your relationships, business, career, health, and personal development, it will affect what you make out of every opportunity that comes your way. What you need is to eliminate the bad attitudes that are destroying you.

What Is a Bad Attitude?

A bad attitude is a feeling, manner, or disposition that is not cooperative, optimistic or constructive. Have you ever wondered why people with bad attitudes are not usually happy? People with bad attitudes are described as:((Your Dictionary: Words That Describe Negative Attitudes))

“Aggressive, arrogant, belligerent, blunt, callous, critical, cynical, dishonest, distant, envious, guarded, hostile, indifferent, intolerant, pessimistic, prejudiced, prideful, resentful, rude, sad, selfish, suspicious, unemotional, untrusting.”

What Are the Effects of Bad Attitudes?

Now that we've gone through some words used to describe people with bad attitudes, we can look at the effects of this kind of outlook. Bad attitudes can hinder you from developing the right perspective about life. They can also prevent you from maximizing those things that bring joy. They can become the very limitation that blocks you from maturing and learning coping strategies for life's challenges.They can limit you from attempting new things that may be exciting. People with bad attitudes may end up lonely, depressed, and stressed.

What Are the Causes of Bad Attitudes?

People with bad attitudes usually experience situations and people in unpleasant manners. While some studies indicate that a bad attitude is a component of temperament, some therapists affirm there's a learned aspect that is reinforced by your habits. A child who is highly sensitive to physical, as well as emotional discomfort, for example, may tend to develop bad attitudes. But at the same time, your environment can shape your habits and train you to be more realistic about life.((Exploring Your Mind: 5 Tips for Dealing with Highly Temperamental People)) Not everyone is born to exhibit bad attitudes. They can be learned and can be taught by a parent. For instance, any parent that exhibits a bad attitude is by default modeling this perspective or habit in their children. This makes the children learn pessimism by modeling their parents. Bad attitudes can also stem from life experiences — a history of failure, abuse, or trauma, despite your input.

How Do You Eliminate Bad Attitudes?

1. Remove Negativity in Your Life

You need to be responsible for what you do. Take control of your life as you internally engineer those negative circumstances. Eliminate every condescending thought and establish an atmosphere of positivity by taking responsibility for your actions. For instance, if you are not getting 5-star feedback on a project, it's not because the client does not like you. It may be related to your performance on the job. You can communicate with him or her on how you can optimize your quality instead of blaming him or her. That way, you will be making positive changes. Negative thoughts produce negative actions. If you want to exhibit a good attitude, you will need to cultivate good habits.

2. List the Bad Attitudes and Make Every Effort to Change Them

There's a secret behind listing the attitudes that hold you back from taking charge of your life. Don't just write a list; burn it to symbolize that you're letting the bad attitudes go. On a piece of paper, highlight any habit or attitude that you consider bad. Read the list and check off those things you can change. For instance, you can disconnect yourself from abusive relationships, or you can save money to resolve a financial issue. As soon as you have thought of how to change that habit from bad to good, burn the list and write down the new things you want to experience in your life. You need to let go of the old for the new to come!

3. Let Go of Expectations

A bad attitude typically begins with an expectation of yourself or others. You want to please yourself or others, so you establish unrealistic expectations. When you fail to meet an unrealistic expectation, it will create a bad attitude and a negative environment. You need to accept that there's no perfect condition. Imperfection is a component that makes life beautiful and helps us to form a good character. When you fail, move on and imagine what it will be like to succeed. Also, if someone says you are not good enough, understand that nothing is wrong with you. Overlook it and let it go. When you linger on a negative thought, it will only produce bad attitudes. Practice mindfulness and meditation to free your mind of things you cannot control and do not hold on to bad experiences. Meditation can help you eliminate any bad attitude.

4. Forgive

You need to forgive not only yourself but others. Sometimes, you may complain about how your imperfections and bad attitudes have wrecked your dream of becoming exceptional in life. Languishing in this thought and holding grudges will also empower a bad attitude. The ability to forgive will help you focus on the positive things around you. Forgiveness is the enemy of bad attitudes. It creates room for good attitudes. Not only that, it will minimize stress and increase your joy, peace, and prosperity in life.

5. Avoid Negative People

You cannot exhibit good attitudes by having negative people around you. Have you noticed that great individuals don't keep company with those who would hold them back or bring them down? For example, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet, Ben Carson, Richard Brandson, and others? I have! The people you share your time with have a major impact on your attitudes. If you want to eliminate bad attitudes, you will need to start by eliminating negative people from your sphere of influence. If it's difficult to remove an individual to avoid hurting the person, you can limit exposing yourself to that person. You can also nullify his or her bad attitudes by highlighting and emphasizing the positive in what he or she says or does. This approach will prevent you from being dragged down a negative path.

6. Respond to Change

Negative emotions usually go hand in hand with change. The best way to manage change is to respond. While you don't have the power to control every situation or person, you can choose to respond to them, and not react. For instance, when someone drops a nasty comment on your social media post, don't react to that comment immediately. Come up with a response, then wait for 24 hours before responding. In that time, you will possibly decide to tone down your response. That way, you can deescalate any tension. If your employer retrenches you, or you have a project terminated, thank your boss for that opportunity and say, "Working with you has made me a better person. This is a chance to discover something that I am passionate about."

7. Help Others

Life becomes meaningful when you make an impact on the lives of others. Helping others can help you change some bad attitudes and give you a new paradigm for life. You will become more positive when you see the results that come from you reaching out to solve the problems of others. For example, you can volunteer in a local school or library or help friends and family members over the weekend. When you help others, they feel good, which in turn makes you feel good. A life that is built on giving love and support will manifest a good attitude.

Bonus: Shift Your Paradigm the Bob Proctor Way

According to Bob Proctor, the Chairman and Co-Founder of the Proctor Gallagher Institute:

"Paradigm is a collection of habits that are locked up in your subconscious mind."

To change your paradigm, you need to follow the same pattern in which it was created - via repetition of information. Also, you need to realize that before you can shift your paradigm, you will have to consciously and deliberately substitute bad attitudes with good attitudes. Bob recommends that you begin the process by selecting some new beliefs that align with the new attitude or good habits you want to form. Replace the old habits and belief system in your subconscious mind with these new ones. You can actualize this through positive affirmation. You can use positive words to mirror the new attitude you want to form and read the statement aloud. For example: "I am so excited and grateful that opportunities abound in my life via multiple streams of income continually. I know how to make, manage, and multiply money." Another strategy he recommends is to create a mental picture of you exhibiting those good attitudes. He calls it "visioneering." Practice this technique daily and consistently, and you can eliminate any bad attitude once and for all.((Paradigm Shift: An in Depth Explanation ))

Conclusion

Only those who work on their habits can develop good attitudes that become significant in their lives. The impact of a bad attitude affects not just you, but others. But with these proven strategies on how to eliminate bad attitudes, you can become a better person and a force of reckoning in your sphere of influence.

More Ways to Achieve a Positive Attitude

• How to Think Positive Thoughts When Feeling Negative
• 5 Tips on How to Change Your Attitude for the Better
• 10 Ways to Greatly Improve Your Attitude
• 11 Tips for Maintaining a Positive Attitude

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How to Relax Your Mind When Stressed (The Simple Guide)

Do you ever feel stressed and overwhelmed by things going on in your life? Most of us do from time to time. Stress is a normal part of life. It is actually a survival mechanism to protect us from dangerous situations. The problem arises when we don’t know how to relieve it, and the stress persists. Here we are going to look at why we have chronic stress, and then I’ll show you how to relax your mind with some simple practices. You’ll see for yourself that a peaceful mind is well within your reach, no matter how stressed out you may be.

Benefits of Relaxing Your Mind

The main benefit of relaxing your mind is that it relieves stress. By calming your mind, you’ll feel less overwhelmed by your emotions, which can make you feel like you’re losing control. By calming your mind, you also avoid many of the health consequences of stress, such as high blood pressure, depression, and fatigue. A peaceful mind will improve your mood by reducing anger and frustration, and also improve your confidence in handling life’s problems.((Health Direct: Relaxation and mental health)) Overall, you’ll feel better physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Why We Have Trouble Relaxing Our Mind

I often hear people say, “I can’t stop my mind from racing.” They are usually busy people whose lives are filled with commitments and activities. They have demanding jobs and families to take care of. Sometimes, they are young people with goals and ambitions. There’s nothing wrong with these scenarios. They are normal courses in our lives. The challenge is to find a balance between our commitments to others and our personal needs, and one of those needs is relaxation. A busy life tends to overstimulate our mind. Basically, anything that touches any of our five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) will trigger a chain of thoughts. So, all our activities are continuously stimulating our mind. And if we’re really busy, then we can experience sensory overload, which leads to a racing mind and stress.

Reframing Our Views About Relaxation

Another reason we have trouble relaxing our mind is our unconscious views about relaxation. Ask anybody about his views about relaxation, and he’ll probably tell you it is a good thing, and people should take the time to relax regularly. Then, ask him if he actually does that. Chances are he doesn’t. It’s much like people’s views about exercising. They know it’s good for them, but they have a hard time practicing it. The reason is that our subconscious mind tells us something different. Our subconscious mind tells us things like: “I don’t have time to relax.” “I have more important things to do.” “I need to be productive.” “I don’t know how to relax my mind.” “I’m the type of person who can’t sit still.” These subconscious beliefs are very strong, and they dictate our actions. So, if we want to change these beliefs, then we need to reprogram our subconscious mind. That may sound difficult, but it’s not. You can easily do it with a technique called writing meditation. With writing meditation, you simply copy a set of affirmations by hand in a notebook for about five minutes a day. You can do it at any time and any place. You don’t even need a quiet place. After a few days, you’ll notice a change in your behavior. It will become easier to dedicate time to relaxing your mind. Here is the relaxation writing meditation: I realize that I deserve to have peace of mind. I know that with a peaceful mind I will be happier, more productive, and make better choices in my life. May I live in a way that doesn’t overstimulate my mind. May I reduce unnecessary background noise around me. May I take some time everyday to relax and settle down. May I have the strength to follow other relaxation practices to further calm my mind. I commit to relaxing my mind, so that I may realize true happiness and personal fulfillment. In order to get the most benefit from this exercise, I suggest doing it once a day for about 3 to 4 weeks, or however long it takes for you to make relaxation a priority in your life.

How to Relax Your Mind

How to relax your mind is pretty simple. The suggestions below will accomplish two things:

• They will prevent your mind from getting too agitated in the first place.
• They will allow your mind to settle down naturally.

You are free to choose any of them. Your choice will depend on how agitated your mind is. If it’s highly agitated, then you’ll want to start with some simple suggestions, such as closing your eyes for a few seconds. Then as you begin to relax over time, you may want to try something for deeper relaxation, such as meditation. Here are some simple practices for how to relax your mind.

1. Listen to Soothing Music

Soft music can go a long way toward relaxing your mind. The slow pace of the music will force your mind to slow down. There is a variety of different relaxation music on YouTube. Find something like a dreamscape with the sounds of nature.

2. Take a Walk

Going for a walk can help us clear our mind from all the clutter. It gets us away from the things that are agitating our mind, and helps us put things into perspective.

3. Make a Gratitude List

We often tend to focus on the things that we don’t have in our lives. This can be depressing, and keep us striving for those things we believe are missing. Take about five minutes to write down the things you are grateful for. This will help reprogram your subconscious mind, and put you more at ease. Get some inspirations here: 60 Things To Be Thankful For In Life

4. Find Some Alone Time

It’s important to have some time for yourself. Take some time regularly to get away from everybody, and do something you enjoy, such as reading a good book, or watching your favorite program.

5. Cuddle with a Loving Pet

Studies have shown that some pets can have a great calming effect. They help take our mind to a place of simplicity and unconditional love.

6. Turn Your Cell Phone Off

Our cell phones are a great source of mental agitation. Is it really necessary to be connected to other people all the time? Turn your cell phone off for a while, if not hours. Most people in our lives can survive without us being on call. Next are some really simple things you can do at any time, without taking much time from your busy schedule.((Greatist: 40 Ways to Relax in 5 Minutes or Less)) They are meant to interrupt the acceleration of your mind. They also bring you back to the present moment, which is the essence of mindfulness.

7. Close Your Eyes

Just close your eyes for a few seconds. You can even follow your breath if you want. This will help reduce some of the sensory stimulation.

8. Laugh

I personally enjoy funny social media posts, or reliving funny sitcom scenes. Laughing gives us a short break from serious issues.

9. Smell the Flowers

Flowers are nature’s work of art. They come in all shapes and sizes and scents. Stop once in a while to admire their beauty and fragrance. Don’t neglect the tiny ones. They too have great beauty.

10. Get Some Sunlight

Sunshine can have a tremendous calming effect. Go outside for a few minutes during your break. Sit on a bench, close your eyes, and just enjoy the warmth of the sun.

11. Look out the Window

If you’re not able to go outside, gazing out the window for a couple of minutes can be almost as good. Look at the trees, birds, and any other critters you can spot. And don’t just look at the immediate area, but also look into the distance. If you are serious about how to relax your mind, the following practices will help you achieve a deeper state of relaxation.

12. Reduce Noise and Activity

If you live a busy life, there is probably a lot of noise and activity around you. Try reducing some of the background noise, such as TV and radio when you’re not fully engaged with them.

13. Relax Physically

Physical relaxation will help calm your mind. There are various ways to relax physically, such as stretching, practicing tai chi or yoga, or taking a warm bath. You can even listen to a guided meditation with a body scan.((Very Well Mind: How to Relax Your Body and Mind))

14. Talk to a Friend

We often have things going on in our mind because we’re not able to fully make sense of them. Sometimes, just talking to someone else will help us sort them out.((VeryWellMind: How to Relax Your Stressful Thoughts))

15. Practice Mindfulness Meditation

This is a powerful and diverse practice that can significantly calm your mind. In addition to doing sitting meditation, you can also do mindful breathing, mindful walking, and guided imagery. Take a look at the different types of meditation and see which one is suitable for you: 17 Types of Meditation (Techniques and Basics) to Practice Mindfulness

16. Exercise

Physical exercise can help you get your mind off your problems, and calm your thoughts and emotions.((Very Well Mind: How Physical Exercise Benefits Mental Health)) It also gives you a greater sense of well-being by increasing your brain’s production of endorphins, the neurotransmitters that make you feel good.((MayoClinic: Exercise and stress: Get moving to manage stress))

Final Thoughts

As you can see, relaxing your mind is fairly simple. It is mainly a matter of reducing the things that agitate your mind, and taking some time to allow it to settle down naturally. Just imagine what your life will be like with a peaceful mind. Things will become much clearer, you’ll make better choices, and you’ll feel more in control of your emotions and your life. All this is well within your reach. All you have to do is follow some of the simple practices outlined above.

More Tips to Help You Relax Your Mind

• The Importance of Scheduling Downtime
• 6 Relaxation Techniques to Calm Your Busy Mind
• 3 Deep Breathing Exercises to Relax and Reduce Stress

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A molecular atlas of skin cells

Our skin protects us from physical injury, radiation and microbes, and at the same time produces hair and facilitates perspiration. Details of how skin cells manage such disparate tasks have so far remained elusive. Now, researchers have systematically mapped skin cells and their genetic programs, creating a detailed molecular atlas of the skin in its complexity.

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How caloric restriction prevents negative effects of aging in cells

If you want to reduce levels of inflammation throughout your body, delay the onset of age-related diseases, and live longer -- eat less food. That's the conclusion of a new study that provides the most detailed report to date of the cellular effects of a calorie-restricted diet in rats. While the benefits of caloric restriction have long been known, the new results show how this restriction can protect against aging in cellular pathways.

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Come to Tony Robbins’ 60th Birthday Concert in L.A. Saturday – And Help Save Kids From Sex Trafficking

Get tickets to the Feb. 29 charity concert in honor of Tony Robbins’ 60th birthday, to benefit Operation Underground Railroad, a group that fights sex trafficking.

The post Come to Tony Robbins’ 60th Birthday Concert in L.A. Saturday – And Help Save Kids From Sex Trafficking appeared first on Good News Network.

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Skin and non-adhesive cells found to play pivotal role in formation of fingers

Human fingers are sculpted from a primitive pad-like structure during embryonic development. Sometimes, this process goes awry and babies are born with fused fingers or toes. A new study reveals new factors involved in the congenital malformation called syndactyly.

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Why FOMO is Addictive and How to Overcome It

What is FOMO? The official definition of FOMO is:

Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media.

But I don't need to tell you what the definition is, you have all experienced how it feels when your friends are on social media doing something and you aren't. Missing out on all those jokes, adventures and plans. Feeling excluded. We have all felt the gnawing anxiety of FOMO as it ruins our once happy moods with envy and sadness. Even if we got invited. Even if we turned down going to this event simply because we didn't want to. Even if we couldn't think of anything worse to be doing. FOMO does not discriminate. FOMO worms it's way into your mindset and sets of that anxiety that makes you breathe just a little faster. So why do we fear missing out? In this article, you'll learn more about the causes of FOMO and what you can do to deal with it.

Why Do We Fear Missing Out?

Simply, because we are humans. We are social creatures and most importantly, pack animals. To be socially included is a survival instinct. If we were rejected by our pack, we were left out to the elements to die so it is biologically programmed into us to want to be included and be a part of the pack. Since the days of being a cave humans, our societies have drastically progressed since then. Social rejection doesn't mean death anymore, it is more death to the ego than actual death. But since the rise of Social Media, our primal FOMO has resurfaced because all the things we could be doing to be included are shoved in our face 24/7. Life isn't one long party, in between the parties and fun adventures, there is mundane, routine life! And while our routine, mundane life can be wonderful, we still get insecure that our life isn't perceived as interesting and that is thanks to Social Media.

How FOMO Affects Our Lives

40 years ago, FOMO wasn't that much a problem because long distance communication wasn't great. Instead of having 500 hundred friends, we have a few friends that were nearby and if they were doing something, we had no idea and therefore, were not triggered to feel FOMO. Unless someone rubbed it in your face that you weren't there, then we felt left out. But now, social media dominates our lives with everyone's exciting highlights reel bombarding our minds. We always make the assumption that everyone else's life is so much fuller and more exciting than our own.

Information Overload

Thanks to advancing technology, we are subjected to huge amounts of information constantly and it is too much for our brain. We can't tell what person has done what, it all kind of blurs into one and that one person is everyone. Everyone is doing all this cool stuff, all the time, 24/7 and you aren't. All this information is emotionally and mentally overwhelming us and it is exhausting. FOMO is a cyclic compulsion that we can't quit. We are addicted to distraction, using social media as a mental break, in doing so making ourselves feel bad from FOMO and so we scroll more. We are addicted to social media and we are not good at practicing good social media health. As much as I would like to blame social media giants for creating platforms that are designed to be addictive, we are the ones that open the app, scroll and feed the addiction everyday. We are the ones that don't unfollow bad channels, bad people and negativity. In real life, if someone doesn't bring you happiness and joy, you avoid them and you avoid all communication with them. But you still have them as a facebook friend, you have unfollowed them in real life but not in your virtual life which is in many ways worse. So what is the result of this overwhelming information and lack of proper social media care? Your mental health is in tatters. FOMO has a detrimental effect on our mental health, causing mood swings, loneliness, feelings of inferiority, reduced self-esteem, anxiety and depression.((Economics Time: How FOMO is affecting your mental health, and needs to be addressed))

Overwhelm

You see all these things happening around you and you feel overwhelmed by the huge amount of things going on without you. There are so many avenues to go down and you don't have the time, energy or resources to all of these things. Even if we did one of them, there will always be 10,000 more things that other people are doing and we feel insignificant.

Fear

Specifically, fear of exclusion. You feel excluded and therefore afraid on a base level, like if you missed out on this one thing, you will be excluded forever and therefore, fear for your survival in a social group.

Self Hate

We feel uninteresting, boring and average. Fearing that we will be perceived as boring if we don't attend all the social events, even if we didn't want to go. We instinctively care about what people think of us and we use this information to bully ourselves. Making us anxious and depressed, which in turn, makes us anxious at social events so we can't have fun.

Being Set in a Comparison Mindset

The comparison mindset is a cancer that ruins your life. We love to compare ourselves to others to work out where we are on the scale of success, because we love succeeding and progressing. It is in our nature. But the comparison mindset only leads to self hate because we are finding reasons we aren't succeeding and we bully ourselves about it. Don't compare yourself to anyone because you aren't comparable in any form. No one has walked your life, not even an identical twin and no one has what you have. Instead of bullying yourself for your lacks, focus on your blessings and express gratitude for it. Learn more about the comparison mindset here: The More We Compare, the More We Lose Ourselves

How to Overcome FOMO

FOMO kills happiness. Comparison is the thief of joy and as we compare our lives to those on social media, even though we cannot be compared because our lives are so beautifully different. So what can we do to overcome it?

1. Know That Social Media Isn't Reality

Understand that social media isn't reality, there are so many posts of happy cheerful faces doing something cool and being included. But it doesn't tell the story of the person who is smiling through gritted teeth because really, they didn't want to be there.

2. Embrace JOMO

JOMO is the Joy In Missing Out. When you feel the tugs of comparison and fear, just remind yourself of your worth and take a moment to show gratitude to what you are doing right now. What you are doing right now is someone else's dream. Practice gratitude and remind yourself that just because something else is happening without you, doesn't mean they you aren't important.

3. Reassurance

Reassuring yourself that just because something is happening doesn't mean that your worth is affected in anyway. FOMO is caused by a instinctual fear for survival. The best way to deal with a fear is to reassure yourself that you are safe and you are physically, emotionally and mentally are safe. You are still interesting, important and full of worth.

4. Ask Yourself, "Did You Really Want to Be There?"

Seriously, did you really want to be there? I know the travel FOMO when someone is on a warm beach in living Bali with the beautiful yoga poses and you feel the FOMO. But ask yourself, do you really want that life? It isn't as great as instagram makes it seem. Also, we get FOMO from parties and events that if we were there, we would hate. We often just want to be seen doing something so we feel cool so people will think we are interesting, which leads to.

5. Try Not to Care What People Think of You

This one isn't so easily done but it shouldn't matter what people think of you. You shouldn't spend your life trying to get favorable opinions from people who wouldn't turn up to your funeral. I have written a previous article on how to stop caring about what other people think of you here: How to Stop Caring What People Think and Focus on Your Needs

6. See the Larger Picture

We sit there and torture ourselves on all the things that we are missing out on. The reality is, in your entire life, this one thing that is making you feel the FOMO is a grain of sand in the ocean. In less than 24 hours, it won't matter to you at all, so don't let it ruin your day because in your whole life, it is nothing.

7. Make More Plans

If you feel FOMO because you feel like you aren't doing much with your life, go and do something. You are the master of your life. If you feel like you are being left out, go to more events with people. Alternatively, if you are an introvert like me, try a class, learn a new skill, book a flight, go on a walk, cut your hair. Go do things while you still can! Life is short so fill it with adventure!

8. Self-Care

Check in with your emotions more and take better care of yourself. Take time each day to sit and watch the rain with a cup of tea or meditate, nap, go for a short walk. Spend some time not connected to the internet so your brain has a moment to play catch up and rest. Try some of these 40 Self Care Techniques To Rejuvenate And Restore Yourself.

9. Clear up Your Social Media

Get rid of anything that makes you feel sad, down or depressed on social media. Make sure your social media is a place of positivity and happiness. The benefit of social media is you can unfollow people but not unfriend them. In this way, you can stop listening to their opinions all day without hurting their feelings.

10. Be Excited for Other People

If you see someone who is on holiday and you feel the FOMO, you don't have to unfollow them or throw shade. Be happy for them. Be grateful for where you are right now and the adventures you have had. Be happy for all these people who are living amazing fun lives and know that it has nothing to do with you.

Final Thoughts

FOMO is a mindset that makes us feel anxious, depressed and most commonly, boring and uninteresting. But that couldn't be further from the truth. FOMO is only going to get more and more difficult as more of our lives go online, so I hope these techniques can help you overcome FOMO more easily.

More Tips about Mental Strength

• The 5-Step Guide to Self Care for Busy People
• How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others & Celebrate Your Uniqueness
• How to Turn Your Fear of Missing Out into a Joy of Missing Out

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Why FOMO is Addictive and How to Overcome It

What is FOMO? The official definition of FOMO is:

Anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media.

But I don't need to tell you what the definition is, you have all experienced how it feels when your friends are on social media doing something and you aren't. Missing out on all those jokes, adventures and plans. Feeling excluded. We have all felt the gnawing anxiety of FOMO as it ruins our once happy moods with envy and sadness. Even if we got invited. Even if we turned down going to this event simply because we didn't want to. Even if we couldn't think of anything worse to be doing. FOMO does not discriminate. FOMO worms it's way into your mindset and sets of that anxiety that makes you breathe just a little faster. So why do we fear missing out? In this article, you'll learn more about the causes of FOMO and what you can do to deal with it.

Why Do We Fear Missing Out?

Simply, because we are humans. We are social creatures and most importantly, pack animals. To be socially included is a survival instinct. If we were rejected by our pack, we were left out to the elements to die so it is biologically programmed into us to want to be included and be a part of the pack. Since the days of being a cave humans, our societies have drastically progressed since then. Social rejection doesn't mean death anymore, it is more death to the ego than actual death. But since the rise of Social Media, our primal FOMO has resurfaced because all the things we could be doing to be included are shoved in our face 24/7. Life isn't one long party, in between the parties and fun adventures, there is mundane, routine life! And while our routine, mundane life can be wonderful, we still get insecure that our life isn't perceived as interesting and that is thanks to Social Media.

How FOMO Affects Our Lives

40 years ago, FOMO wasn't that much a problem because long distance communication wasn't great. Instead of having 500 hundred friends, we have a few friends that were nearby and if they were doing something, we had no idea and therefore, were not triggered to feel FOMO. Unless someone rubbed it in your face that you weren't there, then we felt left out. But now, social media dominates our lives with everyone's exciting highlights reel bombarding our minds. We always make the assumption that everyone else's life is so much fuller and more exciting than our own.

Information Overload

Thanks to advancing technology, we are subjected to huge amounts of information constantly and it is too much for our brain. We can't tell what person has done what, it all kind of blurs into one and that one person is everyone. Everyone is doing all this cool stuff, all the time, 24/7 and you aren't. All this information is emotionally and mentally overwhelming us and it is exhausting. FOMO is a cyclic compulsion that we can't quit. We are addicted to distraction, using social media as a mental break, in doing so making ourselves feel bad from FOMO and so we scroll more. We are addicted to social media and we are not good at practicing good social media health. As much as I would like to blame social media giants for creating platforms that are designed to be addictive, we are the ones that open the app, scroll and feed the addiction everyday. We are the ones that don't unfollow bad channels, bad people and negativity. In real life, if someone doesn't bring you happiness and joy, you avoid them and you avoid all communication with them. But you still have them as a facebook friend, you have unfollowed them in real life but not in your virtual life which is in many ways worse. So what is the result of this overwhelming information and lack of proper social media care? Your mental health is in tatters. FOMO has a detrimental effect on our mental health, causing mood swings, loneliness, feelings of inferiority, reduced self-esteem, anxiety and depression.((Economics Time: How FOMO is affecting your mental health, and needs to be addressed))

Overwhelm

You see all these things happening around you and you feel overwhelmed by the huge amount of things going on without you. There are so many avenues to go down and you don't have the time, energy or resources to all of these things. Even if we did one of them, there will always be 10,000 more things that other people are doing and we feel insignificant.

Fear

Specifically, fear of exclusion. You feel excluded and therefore afraid on a base level, like if you missed out on this one thing, you will be excluded forever and therefore, fear for your survival in a social group.

Self Hate

We feel uninteresting, boring and average. Fearing that we will be perceived as boring if we don't attend all the social events, even if we didn't want to go. We instinctively care about what people think of us and we use this information to bully ourselves. Making us anxious and depressed, which in turn, makes us anxious at social events so we can't have fun.

Being Set in a Comparison Mindset

The comparison mindset is a cancer that ruins your life. We love to compare ourselves to others to work out where we are on the scale of success, because we love succeeding and progressing. It is in our nature. But the comparison mindset only leads to self hate because we are finding reasons we aren't succeeding and we bully ourselves about it. Don't compare yourself to anyone because you aren't comparable in any form. No one has walked your life, not even an identical twin and no one has what you have. Instead of bullying yourself for your lacks, focus on your blessings and express gratitude for it. Learn more about the comparison mindset here: The More We Compare, the More We Lose Ourselves

How to Overcome FOMO

FOMO kills happiness. Comparison is the thief of joy and as we compare our lives to those on social media, even though we cannot be compared because our lives are so beautifully different. So what can we do to overcome it?

1. Know That Social Media Isn't Reality

Understand that social media isn't reality, there are so many posts of happy cheerful faces doing something cool and being included. But it doesn't tell the story of the person who is smiling through gritted teeth because really, they didn't want to be there.

2. Embrace JOMO

JOMO is the Joy In Missing Out. When you feel the tugs of comparison and fear, just remind yourself of your worth and take a moment to show gratitude to what you are doing right now. What you are doing right now is someone else's dream. Practice gratitude and remind yourself that just because something else is happening without you, doesn't mean they you aren't important.

3. Reassurance

Reassuring yourself that just because something is happening doesn't mean that your worth is affected in anyway. FOMO is caused by a instinctual fear for survival. The best way to deal with a fear is to reassure yourself that you are safe and you are physically, emotionally and mentally are safe. You are still interesting, important and full of worth.

4. Ask Yourself, "Did You Really Want to Be There?"

Seriously, did you really want to be there? I know the travel FOMO when someone is on a warm beach in living Bali with the beautiful yoga poses and you feel the FOMO. But ask yourself, do you really want that life? It isn't as great as instagram makes it seem. Also, we get FOMO from parties and events that if we were there, we would hate. We often just want to be seen doing something so we feel cool so people will think we are interesting, which leads to.

5. Try Not to Care What People Think of You

This one isn't so easily done but it shouldn't matter what people think of you. You shouldn't spend your life trying to get favorable opinions from people who wouldn't turn up to your funeral. I have written a previous article on how to stop caring about what other people think of you here: How to Stop Caring What People Think and Focus on Your Needs

6. See the Larger Picture

We sit there and torture ourselves on all the things that we are missing out on. The reality is, in your entire life, this one thing that is making you feel the FOMO is a grain of sand in the ocean. In less than 24 hours, it won't matter to you at all, so don't let it ruin your day because in your whole life, it is nothing.

7. Make More Plans

If you feel FOMO because you feel like you aren't doing much with your life, go and do something. You are the master of your life. If you feel like you are being left out, go to more events with people. Alternatively, if you are an introvert like me, try a class, learn a new skill, book a flight, go on a walk, cut your hair. Go do things while you still can! Life is short so fill it with adventure!

8. Self-Care

Check in with your emotions more and take better care of yourself. Take time each day to sit and watch the rain with a cup of tea or meditate, nap, go for a short walk. Spend some time not connected to the internet so your brain has a moment to play catch up and rest. Try some of these 40 Self Care Techniques To Rejuvenate And Restore Yourself.

9. Clear up Your Social Media

Get rid of anything that makes you feel sad, down or depressed on social media. Make sure your social media is a place of positivity and happiness. The benefit of social media is you can unfollow people but not unfriend them. In this way, you can stop listening to their opinions all day without hurting their feelings.

10. Be Excited for Other People

If you see someone who is on holiday and you feel the FOMO, you don't have to unfollow them or throw shade. Be happy for them. Be grateful for where you are right now and the adventures you have had. Be happy for all these people who are living amazing fun lives and know that it has nothing to do with you.

Final Thoughts

FOMO is a mindset that makes us feel anxious, depressed and most commonly, boring and uninteresting. But that couldn't be further from the truth. FOMO is only going to get more and more difficult as more of our lives go online, so I hope these techniques can help you overcome FOMO more easily.

More Tips about Mental Strength

• The 5-Step Guide to Self Care for Busy People
• How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others & Celebrate Your Uniqueness
• How to Turn Your Fear of Missing Out into a Joy of Missing Out

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How to Handle a Cheating Spouse

When a person gets married, they hope to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. That’s how all the Disney movies and romantic comedies portray marriage, right? But unfortunately, for many people, it doesn’t work out that way. Most couples start out crazy in love, and they think that feeling will last forever. Even if they know that feeling of infatuation may wear off, they at least expect to have a loyal partner by their side for the rest of our lives. Sure, some couples do live happily ever after. There are little old couples walking around hand-in-hand just as in love as the day they met. But for many, that is not their story. If a marriage goes downhill over the years, there can be many reasons. It could simply be because they have grown apart, or because they focused too much on raising children and forgot to nurture each other. Or, it could be the reason many people dread the most – cheating.

What is Cheating?

This may seem like an obvious question, but in today’s world, it is not as clear-cut. Usually, people think of physical indiscretions when they think of cheating. This could be anything from hand-holding to kissing to full-out sex. That’s the easy way to describe cheating. But there’s another kind of cheating where there is a little more gray area, and that is emotional cheating. The problem with emotional cheating is that many people have different standards for it, which we will discuss in a moment. Regardless, most people expect their partner to remain emotionally loyal to them, and to not get too close to another person.

The Gray Area

Here are some examples of behaviors that might fall into the “gray area” for some people. In other words, some people might consider these cheating, while others may not.

1. Flirting or romantically teasing another person
2. Talking to or meeting with your ex(es)
3. Texting other people too much
4. Touching or grabbing other people
5. Buying presents for other people
6. Going out with others too often
7. Talking to a person (or people) online too often
8. Engaging in pornography
9. Going out on a “date” (or date-like activity) with someone else
10. Going to clubs and dancing/grinding with other people
11. Asking other people for their phone numbers

As you can see, some of these are worse than others. Some people might not care about the above behaviors (or even notice), while others might see them as all-out cheating. It’s all a matter of perspective. Even if these don’t involve any sort of physical contact, many people do consider these things a betrayal to their relationships, and thus, “cheating.”

Signs of Cheating

If you suspect that you have a cheating spouse, how can you catch them? How can you know for sure that it’s not just “all in your head?” That’s a huge issue for many people. They go back and forth about it. Sometimes they think their mind is playing tricks on them, but other times, they are totally convinced that their spouse is cheating. The best thing to do is to keep a record of their behaviors. Record the dates, times, and any other relevant information. This serves two purposes: first, it helps you put it into perspective and realize that it’s not all in your head. Second, when you finally confront your cheating spouse, you have “evidence” to present them with. If you don’t have that, they might try to play mind games with you and deny their behaviors, making you think that you’re just making it all up. Here are some pretty common signs that you might have a cheating spouse:

1. They are hiding their phone from you or guarding it particularly well (especially if this is a change from past behavior)
2. They start dressing better or losing weight (the assumption is that they are trying to impress someone else)
3. There are frequent times when they are “unavailable” and you can’t reach them
4. There’s no more intimacy in your relationship, or it has decreased suddenly
5. If you question if they’re cheating, they get emotional and accuse you of being crazy
6. They “overshare” and give an abnormal amount of details about their whereabouts or what they are doing (liars tend to give too much information)
7. They’re going out with “friends” more than usual
8. They’re “working late” more than normal

These are just a few of the countless signs that someone is cheating. Each person is different, so if you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, but it’s not on the list above, then pay attention to that. Our gut feelings are usually right. Can cheating be prevented? It can be possible: 10 Ways to Prevent Cheating in a Relationship

Can a Marriage Survive Cheating?

So, let’s say that you catch your spouse cheating. Maybe she or he admitted to the cheating, or maybe not. Regardless, most people wonder if a marriage can ever survive cheating. This is not an easy question to answer, because each individual and couple has their own limits and standards. For example, I know some people who would not tolerate even the smallest indiscretion and would be asking for a divorce right away. But then, there are others who will tolerate way more than they should. It all comes down to your own standards and boundaries.

The Social Exchange Theory

There is a theory of interpersonal communication called the Social Exchange Theory. In essence, is says that we weigh rewards against the costs of being in a relationship. We will stay in a relationship as long as the rewards outweigh the costs. However, once the costs outweigh the rewards, then we will leave the relationship. The problem is, what qualifies as a “reward” and what qualifies as a “cost?” It’s different for everyone.

Reclaiming Happiness

Sure, a couple can stay married after one (or both) of them cheats. However, does that mean they will be happy and that it won’t happen again? No, of course not. I think when most people ask the question of whether or not a marriage can survive cheating, what they are really asking is: Can the couple go back to how they were in the beginning and be happy again? It can happen, but it’s relatively rare. In order for the couple to get back to a truly happy, loving, and healthy relationship, several things need to happen: First, the cheating spouse needs to really, really, really understand the pain that s/he caused their spouse. And the other spouse needs to know that the cheating spouse is very, very remorseful – so much so that they will never do it again! Second, the cheating spouse needs to be patient with their partner. Getting over a betrayal such as cheating does not happen overnight. It takes a long time. Third, the cheating spouse needs to prove themselves again. They have to have consistent, trustworthy behavior over a long period of time in order for their partner to trust them again. Finally, going to therapy will certainly help the couple move forward. Many couples simply can’t do it by themselves, and that's okay. Read more about understanding your partner's actions: Why Your Partner May Be Cheating

Rebuilding Trust After Cheating

As I just mentioned, finding a good therapist will definitely help when you are in the trust-rebuilding process. In addition to that, here are some other steps that can be taken in order to try to restore the bond you once had with your partner:

1. Keep the lines of communication open at all times.
2. Share passwords to phones, computers, and email and social media accounts.
3. Always be available when your partner calls or texts.
4. Spend quality time together going on dates and getting to know each other again.
5. The cheating spouse needs to continually acknowledge their indiscretion and take responsibility.
6. The cheating spouse also needs to stay true to their word and keep promises.
7. Put your partner’s needs before your own.
8. Both people need to be able to openly share their emotions and thoughts with one another.

Final Thoughts

Finding out that you have a cheating spouse is not something that anyone ever wants to deal with. However, it does happen, and it is worth it to know how to move forward if it happens to you. The bottom line is this: do you want to try to work it out or not? Sometimes it’s best to step away, separate, and move on with your life. But in other circumstances, the relationship can recover, and you may be able to build it into something even stronger down the road.

More Relationship Advice

• 21 Ways to Strengthen Struggling Relationships
• 20 Things to Make a Relationship Last
• 11 Tips That Help Couples Keep Growing in a Relationship
• 10 Simple Ways to Keep a Fulfilling Relationship

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Listen to What These Couples From Around the World Have to Say About Being Married for More Than 30 Years

Some couples say they fell in love at first sight; others were playing a little harder to catch; but all of them have something to say about marriage.

The post Listen to What These Couples From Around the World Have to Say About Being Married for More Than 30 Years appeared first on Good News Network.

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Architect is Reuniting People With the Photo Memories He Discovered in Shuttered Printing Store

Since Brian Bononi began his labor of love last month, he has managed to deliver two dozen sentimental items with their rightful owners.

The post Architect is Reuniting People With the Photo Memories He Discovered in Shuttered Printing Store appeared first on Good News Network.

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Stunned Couple Reunited With Wedding Photos Stolen at Their Reception Party 35 Years Ago

After a pair of thieves swiped a handbag containing film from Mick and Tracey Hepworth's wedding in 1985, they believed the photos were gone forever. Not so.

The post Stunned Couple Reunited With Wedding Photos Stolen at Their Reception Party 35 Years Ago appeared first on Good News Network.

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Hearing aids may delay cognitive decline

Wearing hearing aids may delay cognitive decline in older adults and improve brain function, according to promising new research. Researchers have tested the use of hearing aids in almost 100 adults aged 62-82 years with hearing loss. After 18 months of hearing aid use, researchers found speech perception, self-reported listening disability and quality of life had significantly improved for participants.

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How to Live Your Best Life Starting Today

As human beings, one of our deepest-rooted desires is to have a meaningful and happy existence. You've probably heard the saying "Live your best life." It's good advice. We all want to feel connected to both ourselves and others. We want to feel that we’re part of something important and that we’re making a difference in the world. We want to look back at our lives and our achievements and be proud. In short, we want what the saying says: to live our best lives. But what does it really mean to live your best life? You are a unique individual, so living your best life is exclusive to you. Your best life will reflect your true values. It will be made up of what makes you happy and will be colored by what making a difference means to you.

What Stops You From Living Your Best Life?

While living your best life is all about you, what other people think can have an impact on you quest to live your best life. Social media, for example, puts us under a lot of pressure. There are specific expectations of what "happy" looks like, and we’re under pressure to confirm to what society expects. For example, we are pressured to look a certain way, wear the "right" clothes, have exciting adventures with eye-catching friends, eat ethical and healthy food, and do charity work. These are only a few of society's expectations. It’s a long list. Social media claims to connect us, but often it can do the opposite. We can spend so much time worrying about what other people are doing, trying to live the life that society expects of us, that it can be easy to lose track of what makes us happy and what our best life actually looks like.

Start the Journey to Living Your Best Life

What does it look like to live your best life? Following are some practical tips and tools to move from living your current life to living your best life.

Be the Best Version of Yourself

To live your best life, you must be the best version of you. Don’t try to be something or someone else. Don’t try to be what other people want you to be. Focus on who you want to be. Play to your strengths and be proud of what makes you different. You are brilliant. Gretchen Rubin, in her book Happiness Project, created her own commandments. The first one was "Be Gretchen." This gave her permission to follow her gut feeling and make up her own rules. For example, she stopped forcing herself to enjoy parties, cocktails, and fashion just because that’s what she thought society expected. So, inspired by Gretchen, create your own commandment: "Be more YOU" and remind yourself of this every day. Unapologetically.

Observe Yourself

To work out what your best you looks like, you must get to know yourself better. It’s your best life after all - not anyone else’s. Start to notice how you respond to various situations. What are your habits? What makes you happy? What frustrates you? How do you behave under pressure? What gives you energy? What drains you? Spend a week simply noticing. Write your observations down so you remember.

Identify Your Bad Habits

As part of your observations, start to notice your bad habits. Consider the things that don’t ultimately make you feel good. Does scrolling mindlessly through Instagram make you happy? For 5 minutes, perhaps, but for longer? That last glass of wine was delicious, but do you pay the price later? That chocolate was enjoyable in the moment, but now that the sugar high is over, are you feeling regretful? Observe yourself first. Then, start to deliberately do more of the things that make you happy and give you energy. At the same time, work on reducing, then eliminating the habits that squander your time, drain your energy, and ultimately don’t make you happy. Need help conquering your bad habits? Read How to Break Bad Habits Once and For All.

Set Intentions

After having thought about what makes you happy and what drains your energy, focus on what living your best life looks like for you. One of the keys to living your best life is being intentional about it. When you deliberately set intentions you are more likely to act with purpose and drive. Setting intentions is different from setting goals. Goals are your list of things you want to achieve. You can set them daily, monthly, yearly, or a combination. A common practice is to define goals and write them down. This makes them more tangible and makes you more accountable, therefore making the goals more likely to happen. The subtle yet important difference between goals and intentions is that when setting intentions, you decide what kind of positive feelings and emotions you are seeking. For example, "This week, my intention is to approach my admin tasks with gusto in order to complete them more quickly." Intentions can be more motivating than goals because if you don’t achieve your goal, it can feel like a failure and can ultimately hold you back. If you don’t achieve your intention to approach something in a specific way, you can more easily regroup and have another try. Write down your intentions every month, week, or day, using whichever time frame works best for you. For example, "I intend to enjoy going swimming three times this week" or "I intend to assertively build my network in my local area this month." Setting intentions gives you something to focus on, and it also helps to manage the feeling of being overwhelmed that often happen when we set ourselves goals.

Visualize Living Your Best Life

Visualization can help you to cement your intentions. It involves visualizing how it would feel to live your best life once you achieve it. It can help you to further establish what you want and allow you to settle into a positive mindset. To visualize, first choose your focus. Choose a specific intention and how you will feel once it is accomplished. Then, take the time to daydream and allow your imagination to wander. For example, if your intention is going swimming three times a week, imagine what you will look and feel like:

• What will you wear?
• How do you get there?
• What time of day do you go?
• How do you feel when you’re in the water?
• How do you feel afterwards?

Ask yourself these little questions and allow yourself to feel the  same feelings you would feel if you were currently fulfilling your intention.

10 Ways to Live Your Best Life

Now that you’ve decided and visualized what your best life looks like, lets look at some more practical steps to take to achieve it.

1. Focus

Whatever you do, focus. If you swim, swim. If you study, study. Multitasking is a myth. It’s not possible to do more than one thing at a time well. Focused work is the least tiresome and the most productive type of work. Michael LeBouf, the author of The Millionaire in You, said,

"Winners focus, losers spray."

2. Take Responsibility for Taking Action

Taking action can feel scary. We fear failure, but we can also fear success. It can be easy to feel too busy to achieve your intentions. However, you have the choice to take action and live your best life or to stay the same. It’s up to you, so take responsibility to take action.

3. Live in the Present

Every day is a new opportunity to live your best life. We so often get stuck because we put things off. We can think, "When I’ve lost 10 lbs I’ll go swimming," or "When I feel more confident I’ll look for a new job," or "When I get my new running shoes I’ll start running." How about starting from where you are? How about using what you already have? We often put off taking action until we have the newest phone/camera/game/course/book/shoes, as if they are the keys to happiness. In the process, we forget about what we already have. Grab the camera that you have, put on your old running shoes. Go and do something interesting today with what you’ve got. Fancier gadgets, better clothes, or a slimmer body won't make you better. Action will.

4. Declutter

This applies to the environment you live in as well as the people you spend time with. Use Marie Kondo’s deculttering method of asking, "Does it bring you joy?" ((Kon Mari: Tidy your space, transform your life)) If your answer is yes, you keep the item. If you hesitate or say no, you donate it or throw it out. Simple. This also applies to people. If there are people in your life that make you feel bad, drain your energy, and don’t bring you joy, let go of them. Instead, spend time with the people and activities that give you energy and make you feel good.

5. Relish the Simple Things

When we’re busy, we can forget to appreciate what we have. Take time to focus on the simple things. Even when you’re feeling low, there’s always something to be grateful for. In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. ((Harvard Health Publishing: In Praise of Gratitude)) Be deliberate in being grateful for what you do have, rather than resentful of what you don’t.

6. Journaling

Journaling is simply writing your thoughts down. According to the University of Rochester Medical Center, writing your thoughts and feelings down on paper not only helps you get your thoughts in order, it can help ease symptoms of depression and manage stress and anxiety. ((University of Rochester Medical Center: Journaling for Mental Health)) In the chaos of life, it is easy to overthink, feel anxious, or not appreciate what you do have. Journaling can help you manage your thoughts and feelings and cope with life in a productive manner. Be curious and keep learning. Ask more questions and keep pushing yourself to step outside of your comfort zone and learn. What are you interested in or curious about? Perhaps it’s learning more about where you live, or reading up on a particular topic? Maybe it’s traveling to a new town or country? According to Dan Pink's research, learning is a key motivator. ((Daniel H. Pink: Dan Pink on Motivation)) Whether you feel like you’ve gotten stuck in a boring routine, or you’re stressed by the tasks of daily life, learning something new is a way to step outside yourself and your comfort zone. Create a bucket list of all the things you’d like to do and learn and the places you’d like to go, and start ticking them off.

7. Make Someone’s Day

Being kind to others makes them feel good, and it also releases chemicals in your body that make you feel good, too. Think about a time you gave someone a gift that they loved. How did you feel? You don’t have to start giving people gifts to make someone’s day. Think about small, thoughtful gestures: a genuine compliment, opening the door, offering to help someone. All these things can make a big difference in someone’s day.

8. Look After Your Body

Eat what nourishes you, including plenty of vegetables and fruit and food that’s natural and unprocessed. Drink plenty of water. Exercise because you like it, not because you’re supposed to go to the gym. Reject the idea that you have to push yourself really hard at exercise, and instead try out a variety of things – for example, walking the dog, gardening, yoga, swimming, or dancing. Find what you enjoy. When you enjoy something, you’ll be motivated to do it more. Get good rest! We’re all different in terms of the amount of sleep that we need. However, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours sleep. If you’re not getting that much, then check out healthy sleep tips from the Sleep Foundation. ((Sleep Foundation: Healthy Sleep Tips)) More tips for staying healthy: Powerful Daily Routine Examples for a Healthy and High-Achieving You.

9. Manage Your Inner Critic

Most people have an inner critic that tells them they are not good enough, that they’re a fraud, and that they are going to be found out. This happens especially when we step out of our comfort zone and change things. If you are living your best life, your inner critic likes to jeopardize that. The next time it appears, acknowledge what's happening and call it out. Whatever it is telling you, list all the reasons it’s wrong.

10. Be Prepared to Change the Plan

You may have set intentions to live your best life. However, life is not linear, nor does it work in lists. You must expect to be flexible and change the plan as life throws things at you. The end game remains the same: to live your best life. It’s just the route to get there that will inevitably change.

Conclusion

Live each day like it counts, and remember, it’s your choice. Your best life is unique to you. Don’t compare yourself to others – focus on living your best life, and enjoy the learning, exploration and experiences along the way.

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Tone down your risk of skin cancer

Social media smarts could make you less susceptible to skin cancer as new research shows that media literacy skills can help change people's attitudes about what is believed to be the 'tanned ideal.'

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Insulin signaling suppressed by decoys

The discovery of an insulin 'decoy' molecule shakes up understanding of insulin signaling, with implications for diabetes, longevity and aging research.

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The effects of obesity mirror those of aging

R esearchers argue that obesity should be considered premature aging. They look at how obesity predisposes people to acquiring the kinds of potentially life-altering or life-threatening diseases normally seen in older individuals: compromised genomes, weakened immune systems, decreased cognition, increased chances of developing type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other illnesses.

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What Job Should You Have? 10 Questions to Help You Figure It Out

Before we’re old enough to vote or even get a driver’s permit, people are asking us what we want to be when we grow up. While most of us don’t ever grow up to become astronauts or princesses, the question of “What job should I have?” is one that perplexes a lot of people — and for good reason. Finding a career that hits all the right marks of money, satisfaction, and work-life balance is no easy feat. Sure, there are hundreds of online quizzes out there from the goofy to the scientific that promise to tell you what job is right for you, but have you ever met anybody who entered a career field because of a job quiz they took? Landing the right career is more a path of discovery than anything else. Most people simply have to go through a bit of trial and error to discover what job they should. Take some time to ponder these questions and examine how each plays into your own path of discovery towards the right job.

1. What Are Your Interests?

This question often gets rephrased as “What are you passionate about?” Looking at potential careers with a requirement of passion, however, isn’t particularly constructive. Most people like a lot of things, but how many of your likes would you say you have a genuine passion for? The idea that following our passions will lead to happiness is fraught with inaccuracy. For starters, research suggests that people aren’t particularly good at predicting how they’ll feel about something in the future.((WBUR News: Why We're Bad At Predicting Our Own Happiness — And How We Can Get Better)) The workforce is full of people who thought they’d love a chosen career but ended up hating it a few years later. Let’s ditch the word “passion” and replace it with “interests” as it allows for a broader path of discovery. Most people don’t finish college with a passion for advertising, but they may have interests in graphic design, writing, and psychology.

2. What Kind of Personality Do You Have?

Your personality can play a huge role in determining your success in a job.((PMC: Personality and Career Success: Concurrent and Longitudinal Relations)) How you think and behave naturally impact what job is right for your unique way of looking at the world. Some of us like calling the shots and directing others in a team setting, while others prefer to follow orders and buckle down on a particular task at hand. If you’re outgoing and high-energy, a job where you’re working alone at a desk for hours probably isn’t the right fit. Consider taking an inward look at your personality and asking yourself a few questions when exploring potential job and career possibilities.

• Do you like to lead or follow?
• Do you consider yourself competitive?
• Do you like structure and routine or do you prefer flexibility and freedom?
• Are you promotion or prevention-focused?

Another aspect of your personality to take into consideration when exploring job possibilities is the promotion or prevention mindset.((Psychology Today: Are You Promotion or Prevention-Focused?)) Those with a promotion mindset tend to see goals as an opportunity for advancement and achievement. They are more likely to seize opportunity and embrace risk but are also more prone to error. The flip side of the personality coin is those who have more of a prevention mindset. They tend to look at goals a layer of security. They are often very analytical and detail-oriented in their thinking, but they may work slower and be less likely to take risks. Both mindsets are better suited for certain jobs than others, and most of us tend to have a dominant focus that leans more towards one than the other.

3. Who Do You Want to Work With?

You’re going to spend a large chunk of your time working, and, depending on the job, that could mean being surrounded by a lot of people or hardly any at all. Some of us are more social and spending eight or nine hours a day alone would be torturous. Then there are those of us who would be miserable working in an office with 300 other people. Getting along with your coworkers can have a big impact on your job satisfaction and performance, but it’s also important that you take into account the people you’ll be serving. If a job is a poor social fit — for example, an introvert in public relations — there’s a high probability of unhappiness.

4. What Culture Comes With the Job?

Doing some investigation work can quickly answer whether a particular career is a good match for your personality. Those who consider themselves to be a free spirit probably won’t be happy or perform well in a rigid industry with strict guidelines, such as the insurance industry. Looking at the culture of a specific job should be taken into consideration before accepting any employment offers. Creating a winning company culture is a discussion for another time, but if the company’s beliefs, work environment, and mission doesn’t align with your own values, it’s probably not the best fit.

5. What Education or Training Do You Have?

Most careers are going to require some sort of training. Now, of course, many artistic careers do involve formal education programs, but it’s also not uncommon for professionals to be self-taught. The self-educated route isn’t an option for many jobs, though — nobody wants to visit a self-taught brain surgeon — and years of schooling may be required. When considering a potential job field, there are three important questions to ask yourself:

1. Is advanced training needed?
2. How long is the training program?
3. Am I willing to spend the money needed for it?

If you’re feeling uneasy about the realities of these answers, it may be time to look at other options.

6. Can You Learn to Be Good at It?

If a person isn’t good at their job, they’re likely to either burn out and quit or get fired. However, nobody is going to be good at their job right out of the gate. Author Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule, for example, argues that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. Whether or not this is completely true, expertise is something that comes with time and practice. Nobody is going to be good at everything, no matter how much time they put in. I could spend all the time in the world working on math, but I’ll never be a mathematician. It’s just not something I have a knack for. This is why it’s so important to try different things. Eventually, you will stumble upon something and have that lightbulb moment where you realize you could be good at it.

7. Is There Room for Growth in the Field?

Alright, let’s get practical for a second. Some career fields are simply going to offer a lot more career possibilities and job growth than others. As much as you may have an interest in 15th-century Polish poetry, there just aren’t a lot of jobs out there that need that sort of expertise. It is generally a good rule of thumb to aim for a field that’s hiring. A dwindling industry may have increased competition or little room for long-term career growth. Check around for which industries and career fields are going places and which ones are on the decline.

8. How Much Work-Life Balance Do You Need?

Lots of jobs don’t function on a 9 to 5 schedule, so it’s important to examine what sort of work-life balance you need and how that matches up with potential job choices. Some people may enjoy the rigidity of a 9 to 5, while others may want something that changes from day to day. Do some background research into a potential job’s requirements regarding travel and what sort of hours people in that field tend to work. If you’re not willing to work an overnight shift, going into a field such as police work or nursing probably isn’t a good fit.

9. Where Do You Want to Live?

Even with the advantage of the internet, there are some jobs that are still limited to location. There’s little need for crab fisherman in Nebraska. Having an idea of where you want to live is another important factor that too many people neglect when exploring what job might be right for them. If you’d like to work in the fashion industry or as a lawyer, there’s a good chance that living in a bustling urban environment such as New York, Miami, or Chicago is in your future. If you have an interest in the outdoors and environmental conservation, you’re probably going to find more jobs in rural areas.

10. Will the Money Match up With Your Personal Needs?

Ah, the money question. Obviously, this is one question that can’t be ignored. Money shouldn’t be the main factor when deciding what job you have, but it is definitely is a factor to consider. Do a little research on the average salary for a particular job and then ask yourself if it's enough for you to comfortably live on. How much money we need to live comfortably often changes as our lives progress, so take career growth and the money that comes with it into consideration.

Final Thoughts

There’s no secret formula for finding what sort of job you should have other than exploration. Just like finding the right life partner, you simply have to see what’s out there and what’s a good match. It will likely take some time and self-reflection, but by carefully examining your own personality, needs, strengths, and interests, you’re that much more likely to provide a good answer when you start asking "What job should I have?"

More Tips on Finding the Right Job

• How to Find Your Ideal Career Path Without Wasting Time on Jobs Not Suitable for You
• 6 Steps to Finding the Perfect Career
• The Key to Finding Job Satisfaction and Having a Successful Career

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What Job Should You Have? 10 Questions to Help You Figure It Out

Before we’re old enough to vote or even get a driver’s permit, people are asking us what we want to be when we grow up. While most of us don’t ever grow up to become astronauts or princesses, the question of “What job should I have?” is one that perplexes a lot of people — and for good reason. Finding a career that hits all the right marks of money, satisfaction, and work-life balance is no easy feat. Sure, there are hundreds of online quizzes out there from the goofy to the scientific that promise to tell you what job is right for you, but have you ever met anybody who entered a career field because of a job quiz they took? Landing the right career is more a path of discovery than anything else. Most people simply have to go through a bit of trial and error to discover what job they should. Take some time to ponder these questions and examine how each plays into your own path of discovery towards the right job.

1. What Are Your Interests?

This question often gets rephrased as “What are you passionate about?” Looking at potential careers with a requirement of passion, however, isn’t particularly constructive. Most people like a lot of things, but how many of your likes would you say you have a genuine passion for? The idea that following our passions will lead to happiness is fraught with inaccuracy. For starters, research suggests that people aren’t particularly good at predicting how they’ll feel about something in the future.((WBUR News: Why We're Bad At Predicting Our Own Happiness — And How We Can Get Better)) The workforce is full of people who thought they’d love a chosen career but ended up hating it a few years later. Let’s ditch the word “passion” and replace it with “interests” as it allows for a broader path of discovery. Most people don’t finish college with a passion for advertising, but they may have interests in graphic design, writing, and psychology.

2. What Kind of Personality Do You Have?

Your personality can play a huge role in determining your success in a job.((PMC: Personality and Career Success: Concurrent and Longitudinal Relations)) How you think and behave naturally impact what job is right for your unique way of looking at the world. Some of us like calling the shots and directing others in a team setting, while others prefer to follow orders and buckle down on a particular task at hand. If you’re outgoing and high-energy, a job where you’re working alone at a desk for hours probably isn’t the right fit. Consider taking an inward look at your personality and asking yourself a few questions when exploring potential job and career possibilities.

• Do you like to lead or follow?
• Do you consider yourself competitive?
• Do you like structure and routine or do you prefer flexibility and freedom?
• Are you promotion or prevention-focused?

Another aspect of your personality to take into consideration when exploring job possibilities is the promotion or prevention mindset.((Psychology Today: Are You Promotion or Prevention-Focused?)) Those with a promotion mindset tend to see goals as an opportunity for advancement and achievement. They are more likely to seize opportunity and embrace risk but are also more prone to error. The flip side of the personality coin is those who have more of a prevention mindset. They tend to look at goals a layer of security. They are often very analytical and detail-oriented in their thinking, but they may work slower and be less likely to take risks. Both mindsets are better suited for certain jobs than others, and most of us tend to have a dominant focus that leans more towards one than the other.

3. Who Do You Want to Work With?

You’re going to spend a large chunk of your time working, and, depending on the job, that could mean being surrounded by a lot of people or hardly any at all. Some of us are more social and spending eight or nine hours a day alone would be torturous. Then there are those of us who would be miserable working in an office with 300 other people. Getting along with your coworkers can have a big impact on your job satisfaction and performance, but it’s also important that you take into account the people you’ll be serving. If a job is a poor social fit — for example, an introvert in public relations — there’s a high probability of unhappiness.

4. What Culture Comes With the Job?

Doing some investigation work can quickly answer whether a particular career is a good match for your personality. Those who consider themselves to be a free spirit probably won’t be happy or perform well in a rigid industry with strict guidelines, such as the insurance industry. Looking at the culture of a specific job should be taken into consideration before accepting any employment offers. Creating a winning company culture is a discussion for another time, but if the company’s beliefs, work environment, and mission doesn’t align with your own values, it’s probably not the best fit.

5. What Education or Training Do You Have?

Most careers are going to require some sort of training. Now, of course, many artistic careers do involve formal education programs, but it’s also not uncommon for professionals to be self-taught. The self-educated route isn’t an option for many jobs, though — nobody wants to visit a self-taught brain surgeon — and years of schooling may be required. When considering a potential job field, there are three important questions to ask yourself:

1. Is advanced training needed?
2. How long is the training program?
3. Am I willing to spend the money needed for it?

If you’re feeling uneasy about the realities of these answers, it may be time to look at other options.

6. Can You Learn to Be Good at It?

If a person isn’t good at their job, they’re likely to either burn out and quit or get fired. However, nobody is going to be good at their job right out of the gate. Author Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule, for example, argues that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something. Whether or not this is completely true, expertise is something that comes with time and practice. Nobody is going to be good at everything, no matter how much time they put in. I could spend all the time in the world working on math, but I’ll never be a mathematician. It’s just not something I have a knack for. This is why it’s so important to try different things. Eventually, you will stumble upon something and have that lightbulb moment where you realize you could be good at it.

7. Is There Room for Growth in the Field?

Alright, let’s get practical for a second. Some career fields are simply going to offer a lot more career possibilities and job growth than others. As much as you may have an interest in 15th-century Polish poetry, there just aren’t a lot of jobs out there that need that sort of expertise. It is generally a good rule of thumb to aim for a field that’s hiring. A dwindling industry may have increased competition or little room for long-term career growth. Check around for which industries and career fields are going places and which ones are on the decline.

8. How Much Work-Life Balance Do You Need?

Lots of jobs don’t function on a 9 to 5 schedule, so it’s important to examine what sort of work-life balance you need and how that matches up with potential job choices. Some people may enjoy the rigidity of a 9 to 5, while others may want something that changes from day to day. Do some background research into a potential job’s requirements regarding travel and what sort of hours people in that field tend to work. If you’re not willing to work an overnight shift, going into a field such as police work or nursing probably isn’t a good fit.

9. Where Do You Want to Live?

Even with the advantage of the internet, there are some jobs that are still limited to location. There’s little need for crab fisherman in Nebraska. Having an idea of where you want to live is another important factor that too many people neglect when exploring what job might be right for them. If you’d like to work in the fashion industry or as a lawyer, there’s a good chance that living in a bustling urban environment such as New York, Miami, or Chicago is in your future. If you have an interest in the outdoors and environmental conservation, you’re probably going to find more jobs in rural areas.

10. Will the Money Match up With Your Personal Needs?

Ah, the money question. Obviously, this is one question that can’t be ignored. Money shouldn’t be the main factor when deciding what job you have, but it is definitely is a factor to consider. Do a little research on the average salary for a particular job and then ask yourself if it's enough for you to comfortably live on. How much money we need to live comfortably often changes as our lives progress, so take career growth and the money that comes with it into consideration.

Final Thoughts

There’s no secret formula for finding what sort of job you should have other than exploration. Just like finding the right life partner, you simply have to see what’s out there and what’s a good match. It will likely take some time and self-reflection, but by carefully examining your own personality, needs, strengths, and interests, you’re that much more likely to provide a good answer when you start asking "What job should I have?"

More Tips on Finding the Right Job

• How to Find Your Ideal Career Path Without Wasting Time on Jobs Not Suitable for You
• 6 Steps to Finding the Perfect Career
• The Key to Finding Job Satisfaction and Having a Successful Career

from Lifehack - Feed https://ift.tt/37XlhkQ