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Finding Happiness
I learned to look for sadness, and I learned it from my father. I believe he didn’t intend to have it happen, but he endured many tragedies and sorrows during his lifetime; many of them when he was very young. I’m working on finding happiness these days. It was suggested to me years ago that maybe he was just trying to share his sadness. I can understand that, but I learned my lessons a little too well on this one. As with many of us, awareness comes over time, and finding the courage to deal with your personal or mental reality also comes to you over time. My journey online…
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Boost Your Self-Confidence
Are you struggling with your confidence? You’re not alone. Many of us strive to have more self-confidence. The truth is it can be difficult to come by at times. You often hold yourself to unreasonably high standards, and this can have a negative impact on your self-esteem. It’s important to boost your self-confidence! If you can learn how to leverage and strengthen your self-confidence, it’s possible you can generate some excellent outcomes. For instance, self-confidence leads to: Healthier relationships. Confidence doesn’t just influence how you feel about yourself, but it also helps you to understand and appreciate others better too. Better performance. Rather than constantly worrying you’re not good enough,…
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Fear of Prediabetes
Is prediabetes scaring you to death? about your future? If the prospect of becoming a full-blown insulin-dependent diabetic scares you, believe it or not, that’s a good thing; you should be afraid! It’s an even better thing if you use your fear of prediabetes to motivate you to take steps to pull yourself back from a diagnosis of prediabetes. When you get your diagnosis, you’re standing on the threshold of what could be the beginning of the end for you or the beginning of a new life. It can be turned around. We did it for my husband Rob about nine years ago, and I’ve played a part in helping…
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Make Meaningful Connections
The world health organization (WHO) reports a 25% increase in anxiety and depression worldwide as a result of the pandemic. You may think we are out of it, but not everyone has fully recovered or is able to be out in the world as they were before. Much of the increase in depression is attributed to social isolation and loneliness. The impact has been especially strong on young adults and women. However, this presents an opportunity as well. Anytime you’re dealing with major changes, you have a chance to develop new habits. Here are some suggestions to help you make meaningful connections. Making Meaningful Connections Off-Line Try these tips for…
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Seeing Happiness…Can You Learn To See It?
I’ve been wondering the past few days… If you’re good at being sad, can you get good at being happy? Can you get good at seeing happiness? Looking back at my childhood, I’m aware I learned from my father to look for sadness. He had a very tragic early life with many huge losses no child or young adult should have to bear. I don’t believe he meant to teach me to look for and find sadness, but it happened. I learned my lesson well, and I got very good at finding sadness. Couple that with my predisposition for depression, and it was the perfect storm. I’ve lost all five…
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Digital Detox
Over the past few years, the term ‘digital detox’ has become increasingly popular as people discover the benefits of turning off their electronic devices and just living life with a bit of quiet for a day or two. Doing a digital detox once a week is a fantastic way to restore your mental health and calm your soul. It’s true we live in a digital age, and millions of people are glued to their mobile phones, tablets, laptops, etc. The other day I was noticing in the grocery store how many people were talking on their cell phones while pushing their carts through the aisles. I also noticed how they…
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6 Ways to Kick Negative Thoughts to the Curb
None of us really wants to have negative thoughts, but we all seem to deal with them at some point. Whether the negative thoughts are about yourself, the things you’re doing, your job or other people, sometimes it’s really hard to get rid of negative thoughts once they take up residence your mind. Here are some techniques you can use to help stop negative thoughts. Practice actively stopping negative thoughts – If you feel that you’re about to start thinking negatively, stop the thoughts before they have a chance to really kick in and take over. If you’ve already started thinking negatively, actively change the thoughts to positive ones. I know,…
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Self Sabotaging Thoughts that Hinder Happiness
We all live through many different kinds of experiences; sometimes we can get in the way of our own happiness because we focus on thoughts that hinder happiness. We focus on what’s wrong, what’s missing, or on the negativity of a situation. If any of the following thoughts are running on a loop in your head, take note and then take steps to make some changes. I Don’t Like People – Many people, especially introverts, tend to focus their decisions on how many people will be around. They tend to make decisions that aren’t necessarily in their best interest because they’re not comfortable with themselves in a group setting. Turn that…
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Ways to Deal with Critical People
Constructive criticism is fine, but some people are so relentlessly negative they can suck the joy out of life. No matter what happy news you might have, they are guaranteed to find the cloud to fit your silver lining. Here are a few ways to deal with critical people. Here are 6 strategies you can use to deal with hypercritical people. Don’t Take It Personally Until you find out otherwise, assume it’s not you; it’s them. Some people just love being negative and surround themselves with it on a daily basis. It colors their view of the world. They criticize everything because that’s the way they go through life. While…
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How Does Positive Thinking Reduce Stress?
How Does Positive Thinking Reduce Stress? You’ve heard positive thinking can have an amazingly powerful effect on your life, but maybe you’re not buying into all that “good thoughts” power stuff. You need proof. Exactly how does positive thinking reduce stress? What really happens inside your body when you adopt a positive as opposed to negative way of thinking? Let’s take a look at positive thinking and stress. The Mayo Clinic reports that using positive thinking as a stress management tool can lead to the following benefits: You live longer Instances of depression and anxiety are reduced Your natural defense system is boosted You do not catch as many colds…