Study finds brain lesions on MRI linked to years of playing football

Certain markers of injury to the brain's white matter, called white matter hyperintensities, can be seen on brain scans. A new study finds that brain scans taken during the lifetimes of athletes in contact sports, compared to changes in their brains at autopsy, showed that white matter hyperintensities were associated with neuropathological changes.

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Scientists discover potential cause of Alzheimer’s Disease

In people with brain buildups, a key but difficult-to-detect difference in the form of tau protein allows scientists to distinguish people showing no outward signs of dementia from those who do.

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Research sheds new light on effects of dietary restriction

New research in the tiny nematode worm, C. elegans, has revealed that muscle may be a protected tissue under conditions of dietary restriction.

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Blind Hockey Goalie Invited to Play on Sighted Team: ‘An Incredible Experience!’

For recreation league athletes, there’s nothing worse than when one of your teammates drops out at the last minute. When a rec league ice hockey team in Edmonton needed a goaltender, they got a save from an unlikely hero. Nelson Rego is 100% blind: and by filling in as goalie for an acquaintance’s team, he […]

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Thousands Have Donated $1.6 Million to Innocent Man Sent to Prison For 43 Years

Recently, an innocent man who served 43 years in prison for a triple murder he did not commit was finally released from a Missouri penitentiary. Missouri law states that only DNA evidence can lead to someone wrongfully imprisoned receiving $50 per day of post-conviction confinement. Kevin Strickland was not freed that way. So to help […]

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Entrepreneurial Burnout: 6 Ways to Avoid And Overcome It

Burnout became an especially painful issue during the pandemic when the majority of people worked from home, finding it difficult to draw the line between work and private life. However, entrepreneur burnout has been less discussed, despite evidence that entrepreneurs are at a higher risk of burning out.^[1]

It may seem that as the boss, you are more in control of your time and work duties. Feeling stressed? Take a day off. Don’t feel like doing something? Give the task to someone else. But in reality, the responsibility of leading a company weighs heavy on many company owners.

In addition, when you’re passionate about growing your business, it can be tricky to notice the symptoms of burnout. It may take long months or even years of putting yourself through survival mode before you notice that your body or mind has raised a white flag.

The tips compiled here will help you avoid entrepreneur burnout and tackle already existing burnout symptoms, like exhaustion, sleep problems, irritability, weakened immune system, and others. However, if you feel that these have already become serious issues, it’s a good idea to consult a doctor or a psychotherapist in addition to following these tips.

1. Find a Reliable Business Partner

There’s a reason why most startups nowadays have at least two or three people on the founding team. Starting and growing a business is a challenging endeavor and can become a gargantuan task if you sign up to do it alone. Even if it may seem doable at first, new responsibilities, needs, and issues will arise as your company grows.

If you’re lucky, you already have a trustworthy partner to share the highs and lows of managing a business. If you’re going at it solo but would like to find a business partner, look for someone who:

• you trust and, ideally, have already worked with, either as colleagues or co-founders;
• has a complementary skillset and temper;
• has similar work habits and ethics;
• will be equally invested in the business, both financially, practically, and emotionally.

Rihards Piks, the co-founder of on-demand supplement fulfillment service Supliful, shares that he and his business partner Martins were childhood friends and had already worked on several business ideas together before Supliful. Their close-knit partnership played a crucial role when their previous business was facing bankruptcy: “When we decided to take out personal loans to save our business from going under, we both took an equal share of the risk – and an equal share of the loan. Neither Martins nor I became a tag-along co-founder.”^[2]

2. Set Your Priorities as Soon as Possible

When starting your business, the list of tasks and plans seems endless, and it’s clear as day that it’s not humanly possible to attend to all of them. That’s why priority setting is so important when you’re a company owner. In other words, take small but focused steps in the right direction.

If your company is still at a very early stage, prioritize the tasks that help you create a Minimum Viable Product or MVP to kick your business off and start attracting customers. An MVP is the most basic version of your business idea that can operate. Gather the first clients, and get valuable feedback.

If you’re leading an already established business, think about slowly transferring operational tasks to others, keeping the focus on company goals and other crucial aspects of your business.

Jonna Piira, the founder of Kali, worked on too many projects until she was forced to take some time off due to an unfortunate fall down the stairs. That’s when she realized she was experiencing entrepreneur burnout and decided to take a critical look at her list of priorities: “I reviewed everything that I was doing. I listed all of my commitments from most fulfilling to least. I then reviewed how much time each commitment was taking each week. Then I cut out the items at the bottom of my list.”^[3]

3. Delegate Instead of Micromanaging

First-time founders are at the highest risk of entrepreneur burnout simply because they operate in high uncertainty and thus, feel they have to be responsible for every aspect of the business and control everything. More experienced business owners know that it’s impossible—and unnecessary—to participate in every process and decision within the company.

Instead of trying to control everything, follow these tactics:

• Hire great people and trust them to fulfill their responsibilities.
• Remember the list of your priorities and focus on them instead of constantly checking your team’s performance.
• If necessary, schedule weekly or monthly meetings with different teams and employees to stay in the loop about the most critical processes.
• Delegate straightforward manual tasks to freelancers (e.g., from platforms like Fiverr or Upwork).
• Prepare documentation to streamline how processes run within the company (more on this in the next section).

Toms Panders, co-founder and CEO of ad tech startup Setupad, said: “Prior to launching Setupad, I had spent almost 10 years in the advertising industry, so I felt that I knew how to do things the right way and wanted to participate in every decision made within the company. However, as the company was quickly growing, I realized that I must release the reins and trust my team if I want to stay sane and avoid burning out. I also realized that micromanaging is an overhead cost. I prefer to invest in improving the hiring process and education.”

4. Document Processes and Guidelines

To avoid having to participate in every process within the company, it’s a smart move to streamline your company’s standard operating procedures (SOPs) as soon as possible. These are the documented processes specific to your industry or type of work and describe the steps necessary to complete tasks according to industry regulations.

SOPs are crucial for running a smooth business operation and for onboarding new employees as swiftly as possible. Following such step-by-step documentation, anyone can complete tasks and lead basic projects.

When starting a small business, it may seem that SOPs aren’t necessary, but as your company grows, you’ll see that such documentation saves your valuable time that you’d have to spend mentoring instead of tending to other business goals. Now, this is not to say that SOPs substitute all human interaction during onboarding and delegating tasks, but they are a huge help and time-saver.

5. Use Apps That Save Time and Automate Tasks

Automation can help your business scale without you having to be involved in the mundane and repetitive part of it. Whenever you feel like you’re spending too much time doing something manually, check if there isn’t an app to do it for you! Chances are, there’s already existing technology that will solve your problem and automate processes without requiring much effort and time from you or your team, while you focus on creating value for your clients.

For example, there’s no need to manage and assign tasks manually and control who’s responsible for what when there are so many great project management apps out there. Why create attendance shifts and issue invoices manually when effective time management tools can do it for you? Many of these tools offer free trials, so you can test them out before committing to a purchase.

Julia Gifford, co-founder of PR and content marketing agency Truesix shared with us: “I can’t emphasize how much time and nerves I saved when I switched from manually creating invoices in Google Docs to using invoicing software. It seemed inconsequential at first, which is why it took so long to make the switch. But it’s the little things that are done automatically that really ended up making a difference – like setting the date, due date, calculating totals, calculating VAT. It has made invoicing so much faster, not to mention with significantly fewer errors. Now I don’t dread this task every month like I used to, and am a much happier person for it.”

6. Nourish Your Life Outside of Work

Here’s a universal truth that many entrepreneurs have learned the hard way: it’s rarely only work that causes entrepreneur burnout. Usually, it’s a combination of different external factors, lifestyle aspects, and personality traits.

For one, the health of your mind is directly linked to the health of your body. Neglecting physical activities, eating unhealthy food, sleeping too little, smoking, and drinking too much—all these contribute to burnout.

If you experience stress, it’s crucial to learn to deal with it healthily, whether it’s through meditation, sports, massage, or something else that relaxes you. In addition, make sure you take sufficient breaks and exercise or at least take a walk also during work hours.

Armands Broks, the founder of fintech company TWINO, shares how he experienced burnout back in 2017: “I had to turn my company around and basically start from scratch. As burnout wasn’t a widely discussed topic back then, I went through it all alone. This experience taught me that to maintain mental health, all areas of life need to be in balance. You cannot focus only on work, neglecting your body or your emotions. If you cannot hold that balance, getting burned out is only a matter of time.”^[4]

That said, many passionate and ambitious entrepreneurs and especially startup founders find it hard to slow down and stop working when they still feel they could do so much. Armands Broks told us, “One of the difficult decisions I had to make was handing over the reins of my business to another person. I delegated my operational responsibilities, deciding to focus only on business strategy and growth agenda.”

Learning from his struggles, Armands has emphasized his company’s employee wellbeing strategy, placing even greater emphasis on mental health. For example, employees are allowed to take some days off for the sake of their mental health or simply resting.

Watch Out for Entrepreneur Burnout

Entrepreneur burnout can creep up on people who are ambitious and excited about what they do. In addition, entrepreneur burnout doesn’t happen only when things aren’t going well. Many company founders running successful businesses can be just as susceptible to this modern plague.

On the bright side, experiencing burnout often teaches a valuable lesson and forces people to switch to more balanced and healthy lifestyles. If you feel burned out now right now, follow these tips and hang in there! Chances are, you’ll come out of this stronger, calmer, and with a new set of priorities.

More Tips For Entrepreneurs

• How To Stay Motivated As You Build Your Business
• 10 Most Successful Entrepreneurs (And What to Learn from Them)

Featured photo credit: LinkedIn Sales Solutions via unsplash.com

Reference

[1]	^	Emerald Insight: Entrepreneurial burnout: exploring antecedents, dimensions, and outcomes
[2]	^	Hackernoon: 3 Business Lessons Learned from My Near-Failure Startup Experience
[3]	^	Insider: 15 stories of burnout from successful female CEOs, founders, and leaders, and their advice for avoiding the same fate
[4]	^	LinkedIn: Armanda Broks

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This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free […]

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People Enjoy Surprisingly Deep Conversations With Strangers, And New Study Finds Benefits

There are positive effects of talking with strangers, a new study finds. People benefit from deep and meaningful conversations that help us forge connections with one another, but we often stick to small talk with strangers because we underestimate how much others are interested in our lives and wrongly believe that deeper conversations will be […]

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Spectacular Coral Event This Year Spawns Hope –And Billions of Babies For Great Barrier Reef (LOOK)

Oceanographers enjoyed a burst of color and life flowing forth in the annual spawning of coral from the Great Barrier Reef last week. Taking place after the November full moon, researchers witnessed a banner year that inspired hope for the revitalization of the world’s coral reefs. At the iconic reef off the coast of Cairns, […]

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Deleting dysfunctional cells alleviates diabetes

Eliminating old, dysfunctional cells in human fat also alleviates signs of diabetes, researchers report. The discovery could lead to new treatments for Type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases.

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Heartwarming Photo Captures Man’s Gesture of Gratitude Towards the Nurses Who Saved His Wife’s Life

The staffers at Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey were moved to tears by this man's show of appreciation from their window last week.

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Latte lovers rejoice! Study reveals drinking coffee could lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Good news for those of us who can't face the day without their morning flat white: a long-term study has revealed drinking higher amounts of coffee may make you less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

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Taking it easy as you get older? Wrong

A team of evolutionary biologists and biomedical researchers lay out evolutionary and biomedical evidence showing that humans, who evolved to live many decades after they stopped reproducing, also evolved to be relatively active in their later years. The researchers say that physical activity later in life shifts energy away from processes that can compromise health and toward mechanisms in the body that extend it. They hypothesize that humans evolved to remain physically active as they age -- and in doing so to allocate energy to physiological processes that slow the body's gradual deterioration over the years. This guards against chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some cancers.

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After Their Flights Were Canceled, They Spent 24 Hours Falling in Love

Sometimes you have to miss a connection to make a connection—and if that’s not a wise old adage yet, it should be. For two waylaid airline passengers stuck in wintry weather at a Toronto airport in 2003, their canceled flights turned into a layover of love at first sight. Little did Jennifer Lowther, then 29, […]

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Guy Turns Old Tires Into Beautiful Cozy Beds For 6,000 Stray Dogs And Cats in Brazil

Although common sense dictates it’s best to let sleeping dogs lie, nowhere is it written that they can’t do so with a touch of panache. And if the beds they lie in are a boost to the environment and give comfort to homeless pets? So much the better. That’s just what Brazilian artist, environmentalist, and […]

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Vending Machines Are Now ‘Giving Machines’ in Where People Can Donate Chickens, Blankets, Boots, or Basketballs

Employing the common and easily understood method of the vending machine—these Giving Machines allow passersby in American cities to make a charitable donation to local and global causes. Catering to impulsive givers to indulge their altruistic impulses, they can use the vending machine to purchase anything from a single goat or two chickens to providing […]

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Couple Answers Loneliness With Organized Walks And Games in London – And Hundreds Show Up

A couple in their 30s were absolutely done with the constant isolation, following more than a year of COVID, and they decided to launch a community initiative this summer. Jake Williams and Charlotte Sinclair started Talk the Walk, which seeks to promote people getting together, exploring London on foot, and getting to know each other. […]

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More Than 70% of Older Americans Feel Younger Than They Actually Are – And Are Embracing Aging

Age is nothing but a number for most older Americans, as 84% said they have embraced aging—and they’re living their best lives. A survey of 2,000 people 65 and older found nearly three-quarters (72%) of people feel younger than they are, with half saying they feel younger than 50-years-old. The average person stops caring what […]

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Courageous Canine Who Lost His Legs–But Not His Hope–is Named 2021 Hero Dog of the Year

More than a million Americans voted on their favorite ‘Hero Dog’ finalist this year—and after a deliberating VIP panel of dog experts and judges, the winner was crowned at the American Humane Hero Dog Awards gala in Palm Beach, Florida this month. A four-year-old hound mix named Boone from Butler, Pennsylvania, took home the top […]

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This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free […]

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A genetic change for achieving a long and healthy life?

Researchers presented new insights for improving the health span by just regulating the activity of a protein. A research group has identified a single amino acid change in the tumor suppressor protein phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) that dramatically extends healthy periods while maintaining longevity.

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Mysteries of the aging Down syndrome brain

Molecular changes within the aging brains of individuals with Down syndrome could help explain why these individuals tend to develop Alzheimer's later in life, says new research.

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Sisters Recreate Adorable Photo – With Daughters Stepping into Roles That Dreamed of Motherhood

Two sisters got pregnant around the same time—enabling them to recreate this adorable childhood photo of them, when they were dreaming of becoming mothers, and placed balloons under their nightgowns. 35-year-old Bri Dietz and her 33-year-old sister, Chaulet Barba, were ecstatic when they discovered they were both expecting. Then, Bri immediately remembered a photo taken […]

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The Importance of a Healthy And Balanced Diet for Energy

Do you feel like you lack energy? Maybe you should start looking into what you eat. A healthy and balanced diet is crucial for everything in our lives. But oftentimes, people get consumed into the marketing of special “supplements,” energy drinks, powders, pills, and the list goes on and on. This happens to the point that we forget to go back to the basics—having a healthy and balanced diet.

Eating healthy is not about doing cleanses, starving ourselves, or even restricting food groups. It is not even about “dieting.” If all this sounds familiar—yet shocking—to you, it’s probably because you may need to start making some changes to your eating lifestyle. A healthy and balanced diet is the solution to more than 90% of health problems, especially energy-related ones.

Keep reading to learn more about the importance of a healthy and balanced diet for energy.

1. A Healthy and Balanced Diet Is Key to Boosting Your Metabolism

When you eat healthily, you’re nourishing your body with everything it needs. Your metabolism depends on all the necessary nutrients to be efficient. We all need enough amounts of protein, healthy fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water. Without any of these elements, your body would not perform well. Whether you want to lose body fat or build muscle, you need to have a healthy and balanced diet.

2. It Helps Improve Your Memory and Productivity

Studies show that when you have a healthy and balanced diet, your brain works better.^[1] This is because you’re feeding your body with all the right nutrients including omega-3, which enhance memory and productivity. When you feel tired, especially at work or even after eating, it’s most likely because you’ve not been eating well or eating too much over-processed food. Eating healthily will also boost your creativity and make your ideas flow better.

3. It Helps You Have a Healthy Weight

This seems like a no-brainer, but again, common “dieting” trends have made people obsessed with extremes to achieve a healthy weight. You don’t have to do any “fad diets” to lose weight.^[2] There’s no need to break the bank to eat healthily or even spend on expensive supplements. If you want to get a healthy weight, all you need to do is learn how to eat in a balanced, healthy way. Eat more whole foods from all food groups, and stay away from refined, overprocessed foods.

4. It Can Help With Your Fitness Goals

If you’ve been trying to get fit, get toned, and lose some body fat but keep struggling, take a closer look at your diet. Remember that fitness results are based on 80% healthy nutrition and 20% exercise.^[3] When you eat healthily, your energy levels increase and so does your whole body composition. The first thing you need to focus on—before your weight—is improving your energy and metabolism, and the best way to achieve these is with balanced nutrition.

5. It Helps Improve Your Immune System

The thing about having more energy as your diet improves is that it directly affects your immune system as well. When you eat healthier food, you start feeling more energized and getting sick less often. Personally, I’ve experienced more wellness, and I hardly ever get sick. This includes the infamous flu. One of the best things is seeing how your body changes and that you don’t have to depend on medications or shots to stay healthy. If you’re looking to improve your immune system naturally, many foods can help boost your immune system.^[4]

6. It Can Help Save You From Unhealthy Food Cravings

Having a healthy and balanced diet helps reduce food cravings, especially sugar. Eating in a balanced way means that you’re including enough protein and fiber at each meal. Increasing protein in your diet is important not only to increase your energy and boost your metabolism but also to control cravings. Protein is actually the most satiating nutrient, besides fiber.^[5] Having healthy fat foods like oils, nuts, seeds, and fruits like avocado will also help keep your blood sugar in check, reduce cravings and increase your energy.^[6]

7. It Will Help You Save Money

If you have been spending tons of money on energy drinks to stack up for the day yet still feel awkward, then it’s time to change your eating habits. When you eat in a balanced way that embraces all food groups (AKA colorful plate), then your energy levels will increase. You won’t need to keep buying any more energy drinks or rely on coffee to boost your vitality. Always start with a great breakfast. Starting your day with a balanced meal is the best way to fuel up your body with all the energy you need. Quality whole foods are less expensive than investing in energy drinks and caffeine. By doing this simple change, you’ll notice a significant improvement in your budget.

8. It Can Help You Have Better Mood

Have you noticed how you have constant mood swings when your diet is full of junk food? Well, this has to do with the lack of essential nutrients and the excess of sugar, sodium, saturated fats, and additives. All these substances, especially refined sugars, cause your body to have constant energy crashes.^[7] This is the reason why you often feel miserable and tired throughout the day. Start with an easy change, such as including more fruits and veggies, even in your snacks.

9. More Energy Means Better Workout Performance

When you’re heading to the gym, the first thing you usually think about to boost your energy is getting that supplement, those amino acids, or pre-workout shake mix. This is not altogether bad, but did you know that the quality of your diet throughout the day matters more than what you take during workouts? Yes, it’s the foods that we eat during the entire day that will make a huge difference. Therefore, instead of putting all the emphasis on your pre and post-workout snacks only, focus on eating quality meals throughout the day.

Also, don’t rely on workouts to increase your energy. Remember that exercise is only a component of the whole package, so eat healthier meals, and train according to your goals. When you eat right, your energy levels will increase, which means that you won’t feel unnecessarily exhausted after working out.

10. It Can Help Enhance Your Sex Drive

Sexual health is often overlooked when touching on this topic about eating healthy. But besides the common myths and noise about the aphrodisiac foods that can improve your sex life, a healthy and balanced diet can actually impact your sex drive.^[8] A healthier diet leads to a healthier body, thus more vitality to perform well in bed. So, if you need to spark up your energy during sex, start by making healthier food choices overall.

11. It Helps Improve Your Digestion

When your energy increases through balanced eating, it directly impacts your digestion as well. Having a healthy metabolism also helps in digesting and absorbing the nutrients from foods. You can see the difference in how you feel after eating. Notice if you constantly feel bloated, have constipation, and even indigestion. When you eat more healthily, you’ll see a change in your gut health for good. A lot of energy problems are related to a poor digestive system. Good fiber foods like fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, and whole-grain cereals will help improve your digestion and give you more energy.

12. It Helps Protect You From Chronic Diseases

Reducing the risk of suffering from chronic diseases has been by far the biggest benefit of having a healthy and balanced diet. Simple wins, such as not relying on medications to feel well, not having to check in with the doctors regularly because of symptoms, or even saving on medical bills is what I call prevention. This is what I call quality of life.

When you feel more energized because of a healthy and balanced diet, you are at less risk of suffering from chronic diseases. Problems like heart blood pressure, diabetes, gut issues, obesity, and even cancer are very common. The truth is that something as simple as having a healthier diet can help you avoid most of these problems. Therefore, a healthy and balanced diet for energy should be one of your top priorities if you want to stay away from chronic health issues and doctors.

Final Thoughts

A healthy and balanced diet can improve your life overall, not only your energy. You can have a better quality of life by simply including more whole foods rather than processed. Also, eating enough amounts of protein, healthy fats, fiber, and staying hydrated each meal will keep you energized and improve your mental health.

Quality nutrition is key, as lack of energy is often linked to stress, poor sleep patterns, and anxiety and metabolic dysfunctions. Make sure you include a variety of foods in your diet, and your life will change for the better!

More Tips on Leading a Healthy And Balanced Diet

• 15 Healthy Eating Tips from a Professional Health Coach
• How to Plan for a Healthy Diet for Weight Loss
• 7 Homemade Diet Foods That Are Good For Your Health

Featured photo credit: Pablo Merchán Montes via unsplash.com

Reference

[1]	^	PubMed.gov: Quantitative Erythrocyte Omega-3 EPA Plus DHA Levels are Related to Higher Regional Cerebral Blood Flow on Brain SPECT
[2]	^	Fab Healthy Lifestyle: Fad diets can make you unhealthy: Why you need to avoid them
[3]	^	verywellfit: Is Nutrition More Important Than Exercise?
[4]	^	Fab Healthy Lifestyle: Best foods to boost immune system
[5]	^	Healthline: How Protein Can Help You Lose Weight Naturally
[6]	^	Medical News Today: Which foods help stabilize insulin and blood sugar?
[7]	^	Sanford Health: Sugar crash effects and how to fix them
[8]	^	Healthline: How to Boost Your Relationship and Sex Life with Healthy Eating

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How surviving cancer as a child affects lifelong health

The researchers are now calling for these long-term health effects to be considered when young people and their families discuss treatment options with their healthcare team initially. The study found that people who survived cancer had five times as many GP or hospital visits relating to cardiovascular disease by age 45, as a matched control group of people who had not had cancer early in life. They also had much higher numbers of healthcare visits relating to infections, disorders of the immune system, and subsequent cancers.

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Looking for an Inspiring Holiday Gift? Check Out this Kindness Book That Benefits Charity

We’re always looking for books that inspire us to feel optimistic and positive about the world, and we are loving this one: HumanKind: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time. Author Brad Aronson was inspired to write HumanKind when his family went through one of the most difficult times of their lives. His […]

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World’s Most Premature Baby Defies Sub-1% Survival Odds to Break Record

This article has been reprinted with permission from Guinness World Records Born in July 2020, exactly one month after the previous world’s most premature baby, Curtis Zy-Keith Means from Alabama, USA, would go on to make history. Initially, Michelle “Chelly” Butler’s pregnancy seemed to be progressing well and on track to go to full term. […]

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13-Year-old Boy Granted a “Make-A-Wish” and Uses It to Feed the Homeless Every Month for a Year

When life hands you a miracle, you can bask in its glow—or you can pay it forward. Abraham Olagbegi was 12 years old when he and his family learned that without a bone marrow transplant, the rare blood disease he’d been born with might prove fatal. Fast forward one year, one successful transplant, and an […]

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Researchers discover new insights about tau proteins in people living with ALS

Investigators found elevated levels of tau and a phosphorylated form of the tau protein in brain tissue from deceased people who had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and carried a mutation in the C9orf72 gene. The team also identified new genetic mutations in the tau gene that may exacerbate ALS onset or progression. Tau in the cerebrospinal fluid may be a viable biomarker for ALS because levels correlate with disease progression.

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Common blood pressure drug does not slow down the progression of more advanced Alzheimer’s, study finds

New research has shown the drug losartan, normally used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), is not effective in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in people with mild-to-moderate disease after 12 months of treatment. However, the drug could still be of benefit if prescribed for longer and if given to people with very early disease.

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Bride Surprises Blind Groom by Wearing a Special Tactile Wedding Dress: ‘My mind was blown’

Weddings are by their nature, inherently touching, but for one recent bride and groom, the ceremony was not only touching but tactile as well. When Kelly Anne and Anthony Ferraro decided to tie the knot, Kelly wanted to make the day extra special for her soon-to-be husband. Since Anthony is blind, she knew he wouldn’t […]

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The Good Guys Calendar is a Celebration of Men and Their Good Deeds – Hang it on Your Wall in 2022

During the pandemic, Karen Banfield decided to focus on the goodness around her, specifically the men who were showing up with a generosity of spirit and open hearts. Her twelve favorites now make up a 2022 calendar called Good Guys. “I focused on men because the news has been full of negative role models, and […]

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This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free […]

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Photo of Firefighter Reading Book to Little Girl After a Car Crash Warms Hearts on the Internet

A photo taken by a bystander in Montana captured the touching scene of a firefighter reading a book to a little girl in the street, taking her mind off the trauma of their family’s car crash. It was nighttime about a month ago when the Billings Fire Department responded to the two-vehicle accident, sirens blaring. […]

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For stem cells, bigger doesn’t mean better

A new study suggests that enlargement of stem cells contributes to age-related decline in function. The researchers found that blood stem cells, which are among the smallest cells in the body, lose their ability to perform their normal function -- replenishing the body's blood cells -- as they grow larger. When the cells were restored to their usual size, they behaved normally again.

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Americans Are Almost Twice as Likely to Be Satisfied With Their Lives If They Give Back

90% of Americans in a new survey have contributed to a charity and feel better about themselves when they actively give back. In fact, those who do are almost twice as likely to say that they’re satisfied with their lives. That’s according to a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, conducted by OnePoll ahead of Giving […]

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Sikh Men Created a Lifeline Using Turbans to Rescue Hikers at a Canadian Park

When an emergency happens in the wilderness, quick thinking can often mean the difference between life and death. After accidentally sliding down the face of a steep rock wall, two wayward tourists who recently found themselves stranded by the edge of a deep pool at the base of a thundering waterfall in British Columbia’s Golden […]

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In Model School, Students Save $44,000 on Electricity Using Solar, Sawdust Heat, and Pedal Power to Make Milkshakes

Students at a Tasmania high school are riding bikes out of desire to combat climate change, implementing a dizzyingly-thorough transformation of their school building into an energy efficient inspiration. It’s paying off big time, as they’ve helped save $44,000 in utility bills since they started their energy-saving activities, but it’s also inspiring young people in […]

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Listening to favorite music improves brain plasticity

Researchers have demonstrated that repeated listening to personally meaningful music induces beneficial brain plasticity in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease.

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Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and related dementias reduces social activity, study suggests

Despite the belief that early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is crucial, a new study found that the diagnosis may unintentionally impact social relationships and activity.

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Retrospective study finds that cancer drug also lowers blood glucose

Dasatinib, a drug that often is used to treat certain types of leukemia, may have antidiabetic effects comparable to medications used to treat diabetes, and with more research may become a novel therapy for diabetic patients, according to new research.

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Watch Loan Company Give 11 Homes to 11 Stunned Veterans—And Everyone Can Enter Now to Win the Last One

You won’t be able stop the tears once you see these veterans being surprised with new homes. To celebrate Veteran’s Day in the U.S. tomorrow, the nation’s top Veterans Administration-affiliated home lender launched a national campaign to highlight vets and their service. With the help of actor, comedian and retired U.S. Marine Rob Riggle, Veterans […]

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Teacher Goes Viral for Sharing Brilliant Band-Aid Lesson That Teaches Children About Fairness

A third-grade teacher has gone viral for sharing a sweet and simple lesson on fairness—using band-aids as a prop. On her social media channels, the elementary teacher known as @aimeesedventures explains, in a way that’s accessible to both kids and adults, “Fair doesn’t mean everyone gets the same thing… it means that everyone gets what […]

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Watch Dwayne Johnson Give $30K Truck to the Guy Who Took Him In When ‘The Rock’ was a Homeless Teenager

In case you missed this! (January 14) There’s a reason why Dwayne Johnson gets called the most likable celebrity around. Not only is he funny; he has his own foundation that helps at-risk and terminally ill children. Kindness just seems to be in this actor’s bones. As for his latest act? He’s just gifted a […]

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Landmark study points to source of rapid aging, chronic inflammation in people living with HIV

In a groundbreaking study of people living with HIV, researchers found that elusive white blood cells called neutrophils play a role in impaired T cell functions and counts, as well as the associated chronic inflammation that is common with the virus.

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A potential role for ibuprofen in older adults’ immunity to RSV

New research suggests there may someday be a role for ibuprofen in providing older adults with lasting immunity against RSV, a virus commonly associated with infants and young kids that also rivals the flu as a dangerous wintertime infection for the elderly.

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70-Year-Old Sets Record as Oldest Woman to Climb El Capitan in Yosemite, to Better Know Her Son

Many of us have heard of Alex Honnold, the daredevil climber who climbed El Capitan in Yosemite with little more than a T-shirt and hand chalk, but his mother just became the oldest woman to conquer the famous granite peak; she reached the top on September 23rd—the morning of her 70th birthday. Dierdre Wolownick, the […]

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Cellular aging: A basic paradox elucidated

Cancer researchers show for the first time that cellular senescence, which occurs when aging cells stop dividing, is caused by irreversible damage to the genome rather than simply by telomere erosion.

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Stem cells do not (only) play dice

In just a few weeks a completely new organism develops from a fertilized egg cell. The real miracle is that a bunch of identical stem cells turns into completely different, specialized cell types. A team has now been able to show that the specialization of individual cells during embryonic development is not, as previously assumed, exclusively left to chance but is rather determined by cell communication.

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80-Year Old Powerlifter Continues to Lift 700 Pounds and Inspire Seniors to Hit the Gym

Mike Palen has practiced Olympic-style weightlifting since he was 12, and 68 years later, he’s still going strong—800 lbs. strong, to be precise. The 80-year-old has been keen to get back in his local New York Sports Club after the easing of lockdown restrictions, wanting to resume training two to three times a week—as he […]

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How To Achieve Financial Freedom With the Right Mindset

What would being financially free mean to you? Have you made the mistake of thinking that financial freedom requires millions of dollars and decades of hard work? When it comes to our relationship to money, the answers really lie in our mindset. Change your mindset around money and your entire financial outlook will change with it.

And no: we’re not talking about putting a check for a million dollars under your pillow at night. This is about you becoming a financially free person, in whatever capacity you choose. And that’s really the key: it needs to be defined by you. So many people outsource this responsibility to society/celebrities/the government etc… and as a result never achieve it.

What if you could identify what financial freedom looks like for you, realize that it is possible to get there in a matter of a few months and then build a road map to do just that?

Read on, because that’s what we’re going to open you up to. This isn’t about giving you specific strategies “guaranteed to work in five minutes or your money back…blah blah.” This is about awakening you to just how powerful you are, where your blocks lie and how to smash through them effectively.

Financial Freedom – What is it?

Well like I said: I’m not going to define this for you. That misses the whole point of this article, but let’s lay out some ideas to get you started.

Typically, when we talk about financial freedom in the west, we really mean: freedom from needing to work, in order to meet financial obligations. We know that there has been a rise in depression amongst nine-to-fivers, 62% as a matter of fact between 2019 and 2020 in the USA.^[1] It’s therefore no wonder that there has been correlative uptick in the search for alternative solutions to finances.

This depression is largely as a result of feeling trapped, unable to realize potential and being denied opportunity. It is also likely that, thanks to a more global world and social media: we see just how abundant life can be for some; like a carrot dangled tantalisingly close, but just out of reach. We yearn for more meaning in our lives, more excitement and to be able to live on our terms.

Finances are (as we see it) the stumbling block and the preserve of the chosen few…not us.

So to start building an accurate picture of what financial freedom would be for you, begin with what your life would look like if you didn’t have to worry about money. How would you feel if you didn’t have to consider your monthly budget, when putting your hand in your pocket to pay for lunch?

The point is that a lot of the stress and resulting depression that comes from feeling like a ‘wage-slave’ is down to our lack of clarity on what we actually want. We get caught, focussing on what we lack and that perpetuates a mindset of lack that very quickly is reflected in our reality. We are allowing our subconscious, emotional mind to be bombarded with imagery every day that reenforces a sense that we aren’t good enough. That we do not have what it takes.

That wouldn’t happen though if we had done the work of pinning down exactly what we wanted in the first place.

Does Financial Freedom Come at Extreme Levels of Net Worth?

There is a tendency, thanks again largely to how we are conditioned through media, to think that financial freedom only comes at extreme levels of net worth. What if I told you that is completely ill-founded and untrue?

Using the standard/assumed definition of financial freedom for a moment; this means that you need enough capital to generate a return that is greater than, or equal to your monthly expenditure. That doesn’t necessarily tell the full picture, but nevertheless; it’s is a good place to start.

If your monthly outgoings (mortgage, bills etc…) come to $3,000 for argument’s sake, you can achieve that with as little as $108,000 invested over three years.^[2]

Hardly the millions you had probably envisioned is it?

Remember: we’re not talking about you living a lavish lifestyle necessarily. If that is what you want; fantastic, it’s certainly achievable, but what we’re getting at here is your ability to meet all of your financial obligations without having to work.

I’m sure you’re unlikely to find $108,000 down the back of your couch, but it is a figure that is well within reach of most working adults. A $36,000 salary opens you up to borrowing that kind of money, and even if you have to continue working in the short term in order to service the debt and keep up with your bills; you’ll have a clear end goal in sight.

And you’ll have doubled your income in the meantime, for the same amount of work!

How To Achieve Financial Freedom With the Right Mindset

As we touched on earlier, coming at your life from a space of ‘lack’ simply perpetuates more of the same. As I always say: your environment doesn’t lie. Look around you, if you’re dissatisfied with any aspect of your life, you first need to accept responsibility for it. If you don’t, you’re abdicating your power to make new choices.

You may well have been the victim of circumstance in the past, but how you respond and what you do with that experience is up to you. If you choose to look for the positive, however minor it might be in any given situation – your experience of life will begin to change.

This is, in essence, what The Law of Attraction is all about. What lies behind it is your reticular activating system (RAS). The part of your brain designed to filter out the (as it sees it) unless information, highlight the important information and prioritize your safety. Thanks to it being part of your primeval/‘lizard’ brain however, it predates the conscious mind, intellect and reason.

The issue for a lot of us is that we haven’t understood how to communicate in a way that our RAS understands. We can’t translate our conscious desires and are therefore caught in a loop between two incongruous forces.

Our subconscious wants us to be alive and it bases its criteria for this, largely on the principal of: same = safe. Meanwhile, your quality of life, passive income, work/life balance etc… are inconsequential. That part of your mind doesn’t give a hoot about the utility bill or being able to afford a holiday.

It is perfectly possible to show you subconscious/RAS the benefits of financial freedom though, or indeed any other outcome you’d like to see in your life. You just have to speak its language. Becoming debt free and financially free is actually one of the easiest things you can communicate to your subconscious, because you have so much ‘real-world’ experience with money.

Here’s how:

1. Start by clearing your mind and being present – find a meditation, visualization or breathing exercise that calms your mind, allows you to focus on the present moment and become an observer of your surroundings. The point of this is to stop all of those thoughts buzzing around in your head that are pulling you back to the past, or projecting you into an imagined future.
2. Then build a mental movie or slideshow of what your average day would look like, were you to achieve financial freedom. We’re not talking about big occasions, huge wins or events; just an average day.
3. From your position of present observer – start to observe the feelings that arise as you go about this average day in your new life. Do you feel your shoulders relax and drop? Have you got excited ‘butterflies’ in your stomach? Are you smiling more?

Learn to recall these feelings at will – this will connect the dots for your RAS and you will soon start noticing a shift. Think of it as connecting with your desired future and pulling it into/towards your present.

Bonus Hack – Practice Gratitude

We’ve already discussed how you can start attracting/observing the opportunities that will enable you to achieve financial freedom. This involves a lot of work in order to finesse, but the principals are easy enough to understand. Something that we can all do, no matter what we’re trying to achieve, is practice gratitude.

Using the same principals that I’ve outlined above: something of a ‘catch-all’ that we can train our minds to produce more of, is gratitude. If we can shift our mindset so that the next time some negative, external and unforeseen event occurs, we are still able to be grateful for it; your entire experience will shift.

Not only will you observe more to be grateful for all around you on a daily basis, but you will shift out of a mindset of ‘lack’. All of the barriers that stood in your way before (not enough capital, stuck in a job I hate etc…) they will shift to becoming things that support your desires and goals.

For example:

The job you hate, when reframed as the means to support a transitional stage of your life (i.e. enabling you to borrow money to invest) suddenly gives you a resource to be grateful for.

The added beauty of this is that your RAS doesn’t know the difference between a big win and a small win. You being truly, deeply grateful for your socks (for example) carries the same weight as being grateful for your health, or your spouse. This is why I say “practice” gratitude. You can start whenever you want!

Look around you right now and find something that you really are grateful for, no matter how small and seemingly inconsequential.

Practicing this will create a snowball effect. Much quicker than you might think: you’ll be overwhelmed with gratitude for your life and all that’s in it.

In Summary

Financial freedom is more within your reach than you probably think or feel. Understand that the limits you’re assuming to be there are largely a product of your subconscious mind, having been drip-fed evidence of that over the course of your lifetime. Changing that might take a lot of effort in the short-term, like cranking over an old car, but the effects will begin to build up quickly and self-perpetuate.

Apply this mindset to your financial situation and you will find that it too will begin to ‘snowball’. Financial freedom is closer than you think, so start looking for it today!

Featured photo credit: Pepi Stojanovski via unsplash.com

Reference

[1]	^	healthline: Work Depression: How to Take Care of Your Mental Health on the Job
[2]	^	finmaster: How much moneydo I need to invest to make $3000 a month?

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Study of 18000+ US and Australian older people reveals moderate drinking protective against heart disease, more than for tea totalers

A landmark study of more than 18,000 Americans and Australians over 70 years of age reveals that 3.5 to 7 average drinks of alcohol a week is more protective against heart disease and in fact all-cause mortality - compared to those who drank no alcohol.

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Researchers investigate role of gene associated with Alzheimer’s disease in brain’s immune cells

When immune cells move throughout the brain, they act as the first line of defense against viruses, toxic materials and damaged neurons, rushing over to clear out them. Researchers have been investigating how these immune cells in the brain -- microglia -- relate to a gene mutation recently found in Alzheimer's disease patients.

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The Inspiring Story, Mission And Artwork of the Parkinson’s Painter Who Finally Followed His Dream

13 years ago, after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a 65-year-old military veteran and social worker, decided he would turn his dark diagnosis into a positive opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream. Now, Norman Greenstein is known as ‘The Parkinson’s Painter’. In high school he was a prolific doodler, but the dean of an art […]

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This Week’s Inspiring Horoscopes From Rob Brezsny’s ‘Free Will Astrology’

Our partner Rob Brezsny provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free […]

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Restoring normal sleep reduces amyloid-beta accumulation in mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

A team has discovered that, in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease, restoring normal sleep by returning to normal the activity of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a brain region involved in maintaining stable sleep, reduced the accumulation of A-beta plaques in the brain.

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One of Britain’s Last D-Day Veterans Returns From France Completing His ‘Final Mission’ – and 68 Years of Charity

One of Britain’s last surviving D-Day heroes returned home from France after completing his ‘final mission’—and got straight back out collecting for the 68th consecutive year. 96-year-old Harry Billinge has completed what he described as his ‘last duty’ to pay tribute to his fallen friends who died on the Gold Beach during the landings in […]

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Multiple sclerosis drug improves memory in mice modeling Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers found that glatiramer acetate, a prescription drug currently used to treat patients with multiple sclerosis, improved memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

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The ‘Sioux Chef’ Brings Indigenous Food Back to the Forefront of American Diets

If you’re like me, you never learned how to spell “sous chef” in school. Sean Sherman, on the other hand, has an altogether different meaning for the words. Known on social media as The Sioux Chef, Sherman, who grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and is a member of the Oglala Lakota, is […]

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Gene therapy boosts Parkinson’s disease drug benefits

A new gene therapy targeting the small brain region where dopamine neurons reside, the substantia nigra, substantially boosts the benefits of the drug levodopa in Parkinson's. The therapy restored the ability of these neurons to convert levodopa to dopamine. Scientists also showed how damage to the powerplants inside dopamine-releasing neurons triggers Parkinson's. The findings may help identify humans in the earliest stages of Parkinson's disease, develop therapies to slow disease progression and treat late-stage disease.

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After Senior Had No Candy For Trick-or-Treaters the Kids Returned With Gifts for Her

For Halloween in Italy people say “Dolcetta or Scherzetta”—a little sweet or a little joke. Well, a great-grandmother in the UK recently had three little sweeties arrive at her door, and they gave her the best Halloween of her life. When three children by the names of Jessie, Olivia, and Walter arrived at the Newcastle […]

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How to Deal with Uncertainty And Have Peace of Mind

It was March 13, 2020. My 43rd birthday, and the day the world changed for all of us. The kids were told they would be out of school for two weeks. As you know, those “two weeks” turned into almost two years of uncertain times with the coronavirus pandemic.

Our senses were heightened. Stress levels were at an all-time high. Fear was winning. And one of the most significant contributing factors? The uncertainty of it all. Uncertainty about health, work, whether the kids would go back to school, what the mandates would require, how we were going to survive, where we would live, whether we should travel, what this would mean for our jobs, income, family, and of course, whether we should wash our bananas (turns out, that’s unnecessary).

Why Is Uncertainty So Stressful?

“Uncertainty equals danger. If your brain doesn’t know what’s around the corner, it can’t keep you out of harm’s way. When certainty is questioned, your lizard brain goes haywire, instantly kicking you in the pants to spur you to action and get you to safety.” ^[1]

I remember when my twins went to Catalina Island on a school trip in 5th grade. One of them had just been sick, and the other was in an arm brace. I worried the whole time, wondering if they could sleep, what they would eat, if they missed home…What if something awful happened? I stressed for three days, only to have them come home and tell me about the most fantastic trip they have ever had. My feelings of concern quickly turned to relief, but the uncertainty and fear during their absence were palpable.

Just because something is uncertain doesn’t mean we are unsafe, even if it feels that way. Therefore, the question becomes, what are the practical things you can do to deal with uncertainty and take control back?

How to Cope With Uncertainty?

Some of us are more naturally comfortable with uncertainty or ambiguity, while others feel anxious and overwhelmed in these situations. Whether you are dealing with uncertainty around the pandemic, the economy, the health of yourself and loved ones, finances, relationships, career, or family, here are 11 ways to bring you PEACE OF MIND.

P: Perspective

Take a step back from all your fears and worries to gain perspective. Remember, things are never as bad as you think. That story you’ve conjured up in your mind is likely never going to happen. Here are a few ways to get perspective.

Look at your situation as a neutral observer. Imagine you’re watching a reality tv show about your life. What insights or advice would you give yourself? When you step back and look from a bit of a distance, it often leads to insights or solutions you hadn’t yet considered.

You can also find perspective by grounding in what is important to you and your values. As I was writing this article, my 10-year-old daughter had a friend over. I was talking with them about how they deal with uncertainty. Her friend thought for a few minutes and replied, “I used to feel uncertain about if people liked me. I would worry and stress about it all the time. Then I realized that I like myself. And if I like me, then hopefully they like me too. And if they don’t like me, they’re probably not someone who I want to be friends with anyway.”

Clearly, she is a young lady with great perspective. Take the time to become clear on what’s important to you. That way, when things feel uncertain, you can hold on tight to the important things, and the rest won’t feel as stressful.

You can also get perspective by tapping into your personal belief system. One of my strongest held beliefs is that everything happens for a reason and that everything is happening for our greatest good. Even if I can’t see it at the time. This belief has been one of the most significant sources of peace of mind when I’ve faced uncertainty.

E: Excavate

Dig down deep and bring it up. There’s power that comes when you allow what is happening at an unconscious level to come to the surface. When you feel fear around uncertainty, often you don’t even know what the fear is.

“Name it to tame it” is a term coined by doctor and author Dan Siegel to identify what happens in your brain when you use the “thinking or rational” part of your brain to calm the “emotional or limbic” part of your brain.

“Affect labeling” (putting feelings into words) diminishes the response of the amygdala (region of the brain primarily associated with emotional processes), thereby diminishing emotional reactivity.^[2]

Put simply, when you write, talk, journal, or express how you feel, it lessens the power your emotions have over you. Sometimes this takes a little digging.

For example, you’re feeling uncertain about applying for a new job. Ask yourself why. You might respond that it’s because you don’t know if it will pay enough. But don’t take the first answer; dig a little deeper. Ask yourself, what else? You might realize you’re not as concerned about the money as you are about if you can do the job. Don’t stop there; ask again. What else? Perhaps you’ve lost some confidence, and you don’t feel in a good space to take on something new. Ask again…until you get to the real answer – the deepest worry. Then, and only then, can you feel better, as you know what’s really going on and can face it head-on.

You can learn more about this approach here: How to Use the 5 Whys to Get to the Root Cause of Any Problem

A: Acceptance

Acceptance isn’t about giving up and feeling defeated. It’s about coming to terms and acknowledging the reality of your situation. When you accept that things are uncertain, you can move on from wishing things were different, and deal with what is right in front of you.

Case in point: I have three daughters in school during this pandemic. The rules at school are constantly evolving. I’m often left wondering if they’ll be at school next week, what might change, or if someone in class will get Covid and they’ll all be sent home to resume distance learning. I was spending a lot of time and energy worrying about the uncertainty. Now, I have come to accept it as part of our new normal. I know things will change. I know things could happen. But instead of worrying about it, I am consciously opting to move on with our lives until more information becomes available.

One study found that knowing that there is a small chance of getting a painful electric shock can lead to significantly more stress than knowing that you will be shocked. Subjects who had a 50 percent chance of receiving a shock were the most stressed while 0 percent and 100 percent chances were the least stressed.^[3] So, if you 100% know things are uncertain, you can be more comfortable in that place.

My dad has always told us kids that the gap between happiness and unhappiness lies within our expectations. If you expect things to be certain, predictable, and stable, you will always be unhappy when they aren’t. If you expect things to be unpredictable and change often, you won’t be so stressed when it happens.

C: Catastrophize

Yes, you read that right. Play out the worst-case scenario. Sometimes your mind makes up all these crazy things that could go wrong. Most of which will never happen or even in the realm of possibility. But when you play out the worst-case scenario and get clear on how you would handle it, you’ll feel more comfortable.

Consider: Do you have the tools, skills, and support to deal with that outcome? Who could help you? We live in southern California, where we have to be ready at any time for earthquakes, fire, and other catastrophes. It is wise to be prepared. If you can handle the worst-case scenario, you can handle anything.

As you play out the worst-case scenario, ask yourself if it is possible (may happen, but not likely), plausible (could likely happen) or probable (very likely to happen). Most of the things you’re worried about likely fall into the possible category. By asking yourself the odds of this really happening, you are bringing yourself back into the logical part of your brain.

Once you’ve catastrophized, then it’s time to flip the switch. It’s time to play out the BEST-case scenario. Life Coach Jenn Perell calls this activity “Opposite Outrageous” – where you play out the absolute best things that could happen.

So, if your current thought is, “I am never going to be able to give this presentation. I am not prepared. I don’t know what questions they are going to ask me. I’m going to make a fool of myself. I might even get fired.” Instead, you might tell yourself, “I am going to nail this presentation. I am so ready. I am going to be able to answer every single question with confidence. In fact, they’ll probably give me a raise!”. Why have ridiculously bad thoughts about situations when we could have ridiculously good ones?

E: Examine Your Level of Control

In every situation, there are elements within your control and things that are not. However, we are often so focused on external out-of-control factors that it feels like everything is out of control. But there is a lot you can control.

For example, if you are in a rough patch with your partner and you’re wondering what is going to happen with your relationship, focus on what you do know to be true in other aspects of your life. You have a stable income. You love your job. You have a great support system. You have made it through 100% of your bad days and break-ups so far. Focus on what you know to be true. Focus on what is staying the same. Focus on what IS certain.

Often, this is also about controlling your reaction, feelings, and attitude. My favorite quote about this is in Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist who survived the Holocaust.

“Everything can be taken from us but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

If Frankl can find something to control when faced with those treacherous and unfathomable circumstances so far out of his control, so can we.

O: Open Up

Talk to someone about your fears and concerns, hopes and dreams. A problem shared is a problem halved. Studies have shown that simply talking about our problems and sharing our negative emotions with someone we trust can be profoundly healing – reducing stress, strengthening our immune system, and reducing physical and emotional distress.^[4]

Many people don’t want to share because they don’t want to be a burden to others. I hear ya, but let me ask you a question. How would you feel if your best friend, partner, or kid was suffering in silence and didn’t want to tell you because they didn’t want to burden you? My guess? You would want them to share. Take the chance. Not only will you feel better, but it will bring you closer. Don’t feel like you have anyone to talk to? Find a good therapist, coach, or talk to your doctor.

F: Focus on the Present

“If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” — Lao Tzu

Be. Here. Now. Find a way to be present.

Perhaps you’re worried about something happening to someone you love. Be grateful at the moment with them. Take the time to show how much you love them. Say what you want to say. Appreciate every little moment you have together. If you can be grateful and focus on the present moment, you will feel more comfortable in the face of uncertainty.

M: Meditate

You knew this was coming, right? Meditation helps to bring your nervous system from a sympathetic (fight or flight) state to a parasympathetic (rest and digest state). This calms your body and allows you to feel safer and more at peace.

Don’t feel like meditating? Try grounding yourself by walking barefoot on the soil, beach, or grass.

Still not convinced? Just Breathe. Deep breathing increases circulation by bringing oxygen to your muscles and brain. It promotes a state of calmness and quiets your mind. What happened when you started to read this paragraph? Did you take a deep breath? Great, you should be feeling much better.

I: Initiate Action

Sitting in uncertainty only makes it worse. You don’t know what will happen until you DO something, and you see what happens next.

When you stand at the edge of something; waiting, wondering, worrying if you can do it, you lose confidence. Your fears creep in, and you begin to doubt yourself.

But when you take a leap of faith, jump in, and get started, your confidence immediately builds. You push your boundaries. You learn you can do it.

Action builds trust, and each step you take builds it further. An incredible thing about the human brain is that once it realizes something is working, it will keep that momentum going. Yes, it is scary to move forward, especially into the unknown, but your action will conquer fear and build confidence and strength. When you act, focus on the first step you can take.

N: Navigate

Not sure about something, ask a question. As a leadership and team development consultant, I’ve worked with thousands of individuals who must work with ambiguity and a lack of clarity. This is often due to a company restructure, new boss, M&A’s, or just lack of information.

Once I was running a workshop where one of the participants shared that he was concerned he didn’t have the information he needed to finish a project. He wondered why he hadn’t received it and voiced that having to work without this information was stressful. A woman across the table quickly replied, “Oh my gosh, I didn’t know you needed that; I have it; why didn’t you just ask for it?” That thing he was so uncertain about? He had it an hour later.

I’m currently working with a company where there is a merger happening. There is a lot of uncertainty, and people are concerned about what it means for their jobs, careers, and families. To support the process, leadership held a town hall where team members could ask all of their pressing questions. Do they still have uncertainty, yes? Does having a little more information and clarity help? Always. Perhaps you can ask a simple question to alleviate some of your uncertainty – or all of it!

D: Decide

Just make the decision. You will never have enough information to feel 100% confident or ready. There will always be some level of uncertainty to deal with. Decide to do it anyway.

I have a good friend that has been dying to go to Hawaii for years. Her husband is in the film industry, and his schedule is highly unpredictable. Every time they think about planning a trip, they stop because they don’t know if he’ll be available and they don’t want to book it “just in case” he’s needed last minute.

But guess what? It’s now been 10 years. Have they gone to Hawaii? No. Might they have had to cancel a trip? Probably. But sometime along the way, could they have gone and experienced a life-changing vacation? I’m going to guess yes.

You can let the uncertainty stop you, or you can push through it and decide anyway. For example, my stepmom and Dad have planned a trip to Israel later this year. Will they go with everything going on? Who knows! But they weren’t going to let that stop them from the possibility of going. Instead, they planned it, bought the insurance, and will change things if necessary.

What have you been putting off just in case something happens? What can you decide on, move forward, and change if needed?

Peace Of Mind

Like with everything in life, there is no one size fits all approach. Some times of uncertainty are more painful, scary, and overwhelming than others, and some of these strategies will work better in different situations.

Applying for a new role or worrying about a big presentation is very different from wondering if you’re going to find a life partner, moving across the world, or awaiting your fate about a medical diagnosis.

Identify which of these strategies feel best to you and try them! They only work if you do.

Good luck and remember; things are rarely as bad as you imagine them to be, and the future is always brighter than it appears.

Featured photo credit: Molnár Bálint via unsplash.com

Reference

[1]	^	Psychology Today: Why Uncertainty Freaks You Out
[2]	^	PubMed: Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli
[3]	^	Science Daily: Uncertainty can cause more stress than inevitable pain
[4]	^	Psychology Today: Why Talking About Our Problems Makes Us Feel Better

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