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How to Stop Saying Like All the Time (Infographic)

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People can often develop nervous habits when speaking – some will say, “Ummm” frequently (especially when they’re making a speech). Many (MANY!) others pepper their speech with, “like,” which is what the infographic below deals with.

Personally, a trend I’ve noticed that drives me batty is people ending sentences with an inflection, as though they’re questions.  For whatever reason, it drives me up the wall. I have, literally, changed channels and turned off podcasts because of it. In fact there was once a husband and wife team giving an interview on a podcast and as soon as I discovered they BOTH did it, I jumped up from the computer and sped to Starbucks for a Chai Tea Latte to calm my nerves.

THAT’S how batty it drives me.

Frequently saying “like” (as is the case with Ummm and making everything sound like a question) distracts from what you’re actually saying. It causes you to seem less knowledgeable and less confident. Pretty much the last things you want to convey!

The infographic has wonderful tips and advice. Enjoy! ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Courtesy of: QuickQuid

Tracking Mindfulness and Sleep

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Tulip and Huck

by Brooke Faulkner

Last night’s bedtime struggle was no different than any other night. The ritual of of quieting the monkey mind while laying there tossing and turning ensued. I woke up during the middle of the night for an hour or so, which is also typical.

Anyone who can’t go to sleep or wakes up in the wee hours knows how brutal this can be. So, I tried something new:

Mental Massage

I thought about mentally massaging my physical body, starting with the head and working my way down to the toes. I wasn’t thinking about anything but relaxation, even though I wasn’t actually being touched. I felt the gray particles float into the air and dissipate. It was peaceful. Maybe it sounds kind of weird, but it worked.

The mind is a powerful thing. If you have the power to plug in during the day, you have the same ability to unplug at night or any other time for that matter.

In addition to the mental massage technique listed above, here are some other mindful tips to help with swirling, worrying, sleep-inhibiting thoughts.

Feel & Breathe

We fight our feelings all the time. It’s instinctive to resist and push thoughts out of our heads, only to see them resurface over and over. We might as well feel our feelings by identifying the exact feeling, confront it by being honest, acknowledge that feeling, accept it, and then release it! The next time that same thought comes up, you’ll already know what to do and it won’t be such a struggle.

The next thing to try is focusing on your breathing. Feel your chest and stomach rise and fall, and listen to yourself breathe. It doesn’t matter if your mind wanders. There’s no need to worry about whether you’re doing it right or if it’s working. Just go gently back to breathing. You’ll melt into your mattress eventually.

Mindful meditation involving breathing techniques allows you to focus on the present moment instead of worrying about the past or the future. The focus is typically on one area of the body or the movement of breath. Easier said than done, but it’s worth a shot.

Social Media & Technology

Do you find yourself scrolling through Facebook or Instagram while laying there in the dark trying to sleep? Too much technology right before bed decreases quality of sleep and contribute to varying health conditions, including anxiety and heart disease.

Researchers found that internet use was making people delay sleep by more than 100 minutes every day and causing them to wake up 90 minutes later, according to a 2016 study by the Service for Healthy Use of Technology.

In a study about social media and wellbeing, 1700 participants between 19-32 years of age were interviewed. Nearly 30 percent of people showed high levels of sleep disturbance and 25 percent presented strong signs of depression. The higher the engagement on social media, the more sleep was affected.

On the other hand, it’s possible to use technology to help us improve sleep patterns and awareness with the use of apps and wearable devices. Technology in healthcare can save lives and preserve health. The two key elements are self management and data collection. Whether people are tracking blood glucose levels, sleep patterns or even running miles, adjusting behavior based on the results is possible.

At the end of the day, getting restful sleep is just as important as a healthy diet and regular cardiovascular exercise. Add mindfulness to your bedtime routine and you could find a more peaceful and uninterrupted night of Zzzzz’s.


3 Simple Ways to Help You Get a Healthier Perspective on Life

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You’re busy, stressed, and overwhelmed by all that life is throwing your way. When we feel this way, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. It’s important to be proactive about combating stress. Try going back to the basics to gain a little perspective on what’s really important in your life: your own well being and the people around you. Chances are, when you do, you’ll realize you already have all you need to be happy.

Put Your Health First

It can be difficult to have a healthy perspective on life if you aren’t considering your physical health. Your mental and physical well-being are inherently linked. Junk food, sedentary lifestyles, and stress can all contribute to your mental funk. If you haven’t been thinking about your health or making it a priority, now’s the time.

A nutritious diet is the basis of good health. It helps fuel your brain and body to do great things. Start by cutting out high-calorie, low-nutrition foods and try healthier alternatives instead. Be sure that you’re drinking enough water – not just sugary drinks. Calories from beverages add up quickly, but they don’t help you feel satisfied.

Your diet is a key to health, but it’s just as important to stay active and find an exercise routine that works well for you. This can be challenging with today’s busy schedules, but it’s worth the time and effort. Regular exercise has been linked to many mental health benefits: lower rates of dementia, better stress management, and improved creative thinking.

Focus on Your Family

When our careers or life’s stresses have pushed us to our limits, we can sometimes fall into the toxic habit of taking it out on the people closest to us. If that’s you, it’s time to start viewing your family as the gift that they are, and not as another burden. The memories and happiness your family will bring you are worth more than any price.

It’s important to set aside dedicated time to spend with your family, whether you’ve got a little one at home, your kids are older, or it’s just you and your partner. Even when children are very young, the impact that quality time spent with parents has on their development is huge.

For older kids, it’s important to find time in your busy schedule to give them reminders of just how much you care. Even if you don’t have much time or money for something extravagant, try something simple like a fun family hike or barbecue.

If it’s just you and your significant other, try going out of your way to treat them to something special. The joy you’ll bring them from a thoughtful reminder of your love for them is sure to put a smile on your face.

Give Back

There’s no better way to get a good look at the bigger picture than to look at your own life in the context of your community. When you invest time into your community, you make the world a better place, plain and simple. Helping out others has been shown to have many benefits, including meaningful relationships with others and reduced stress.

You can find plenty of opportunities to volunteer within your own community. If you’re more ambitious, consider going global with your service. You can make a positive impact on international communities in need, no matter what your skillset may be, and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone will help you grow.

If you find that community service fulfills you, you may even consider making it a bigger part of your life or career, where you can help people through crisis situations or just make them feel a little more comfortable in their day-to-day routines. Those who help better the lives of others also enrich their own lives by filling them with meaningful work. The positive impact that these individuals have on the people around them leaves a legacy that’s hard to match.

If you’re feeling under the weather, try one of these simple ways to brighten up your life and gain perspective. The more time or energy you dedicate to each, the more you’ll benefit. You, your family, and your community are all important and valuable, but sometimes we all just need a little reminder.

 

Doing Away With the “Permanence” Mindset at Any Age

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Never Too Late Quote Graphic

Whether you’re green behind the ears, just graduated and eager to begin your new life as a hard-working business person — or maybe you’ve been in the workforce longer than most college grads have even been alive, chances are you’ve felt the weight of mental and physical exhaustion on your back. From being hunched over a textbook in the library, hunched over a computer in the office, or hunched over a hot stove cooking dinner for the family, you can likely pinpoint the moment you first felt “old.”

As we all know, aging is an inevitable fact of life, but it doesn’t have to be an unpredictable, scary one. While aging can indeed be a cruel mistress, there are so many methods of setting her back, of keeping her placated before she turns on you. Rather than punishing you for your advanced years, you can always appease her for longer, more youthful years, despite the changing of months on the calendar. Going back to school as a non-traditional student, making a sudden career change, pursuing new hobbies — nothing scares aging more than change.

First and foremost, there are the obvious side effects of aging, particularly visual ones. Perhaps lately you’re finding that your coworkers suddenly have to raise their voices around you — or maybe you have to address a hearing problem yourself, in a close friend you’ve known since high school who spent her formative years shrieking in glee every night with a drink in her hand. Maybe your memory isn’t quite as good as it used to be, maybe your grip is a little shakier than you remember.

All of these things are to be expected, but they don’t have to be things that hold you back.

Particularly when you’re still an active member of the workforce, age should be the last thing to hold you back. Of course, there are always things you can do to help fight the side effects of growing older; things such as regular exercise and a healthy diet, which has been shown to decrease the prevalence of dementia in older generations, as well as encouraging an overall positive attitude and outlook on life.

For some, retiring at the “suggested” age either isn’t feasible or perhaps isn’t actually a desire for those who love what they do for a living. Whether that be careers in writing, art, mathematics, or engineering, many people were blessed in the career path they wanted, and now get to reap the benefits of enjoying every day at work.

If you aren’t one of those people, though, it’s important to remember that it’s never too late to make a change in your life, either — if you always really wanted to be an artist, or a doctor, or a chef, or an astronaut … what’s stopping you?

Maybe you’ve been working at a desk your entire life, but realize you’d rather go back to school because charity work and other public service roles would better suit your career or life goals. Maybe you’d prefer to be in a sunlit painting studio all day, reminiscing on the trip to took to France in your earlier years. Maybe you’d even prefer the socialization that working in an energetic office space brings.

Whether it’s your age, your finances, or the thought of escaping your comfort zone, the idea of permanence is a dangerous one. Whether you’re 18 or 80, the thought that you only have a few singular choices in life, or that you have to follow a certain timeline in order to be “successful,” is how people end up unhappy with their lives. The sooner people realize that, the sooner they can turn their lives around into something they’d rather have or be, even if that “something” was never on the radar until recently.

The number of non-traditional students seeking higher education in the US continues to grow every year. Whether they be attending in person, or online, there are more adult students signing up for classes every year. More and more adults are realizing the dangers of a mindset revolving around permanence.

Maybe your goals don’t include returning to school — even just applying yourself with a new zeal into your work is certain to boost your mood and your overall self of being. Maybe your productivity has slipped in the past few years — what’s stopping you from tightening your belt, and going after it wholeheartedly again? Even if you don’t seek any promotions, or a raise in pay, simply seeking out what once inspired you to work hard is enough of a rewarding endeavor in itself. Even just simple day to day things, like developing new, positive habits in your work or home life, are certain to boost your mood and self esteem.

So, whether you’re just settling into a new career you hope to be your one and only or you’ve been working hard at it for decades now, there are so many ways to keep the inspiration and the spark alive. Dedicate yourself to the things you love, don’t be afraid to pursue others you expect you’d love, and make sure to put yourself and your own mental health first, before all else. Throw out the mindset of permanence, and you’re destined for a long life full of positive motivation and happy memories.


7 Proven Strategies to Make Your New Habits Stick (Infographic)

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One of my favorite quotes about habits is by Samuel Johnson, “The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.”  This is a great quote because it is so incredibly true. Making a habit STICK is where the magic is. After all, vowing to eat healthier and promising to get more sleep sound wonderful… but your body and mind won’t reap a single benefit unless you STICK with it.

The infographic below (made with Visme) outlines 7 Proven (and simple) Strategies to help make new habits stick around… as in stick around until they’re too strong to be broken.

7 Proven Strategies to Make Your New Habits Stick

Infographic made with Visme.