Friday, November 16, 2007

How a Motivation Exercise Benefits You

Motivation is that which drives a person to attain a goal or realize a dream. Whatever your goals are in life and whatever your motivational factors are, performing a motivation exercise can help you stay inspired and on track. Life is filled with stressful moments and sometimes, they can overwhelm you and make you feel like giving up on your goals. Unfortunately, there is no wonder drug to produce motivation. It simply has to come from within a person. However, there are many ways to inspire motivation such as a motivation exercise that help deal with the unconstructive forces in life.

One good example of a motivation exercise is known as “creative visualization”. You can do this anytime and wherever you might be. This motivation exercise simply involves creating a mental picture of yourself realizing your dreams. Feel free to be as detailed with your visualization. By holding onto the mental picture that you have created and using it in your daily life, you can motivate yourself to work for your dreams.

Verbal affirmation is another motivation exercise that works well with creative visualization. The power of words has long been proven and pronouncing your success strengthens your vision even more. Once you have captured your vision, affirm it. When you speak positive and encouraging words to yourself, you become empowered.

An essential motivation exercise when setting your goals is to write them down. This helps you to understand fully what it is you are trying to achieve. It is hard to become motivated when your goals are not clear to you so make sure to practice this motivation exercise with every new goal you have. Having a written statement of your goals also allows you to go over them at a later time, which is important because changes happen all the time that you may need to adjust your goals.

In addition, be sure to write down your reasons behind your goals. Why do you want to achieve them? This is important because life can throw blows at your plans that can dampen your spirit. Having something tangible to remind you of your reasons is a great way to gain back your motivation.

Recording your progress in a journal is another excellent way to stay motivated. When you are going through a rough time, you can look back at what you have already achieved and realize that quitting is certainly not worth it.

The above exercises are simple but effective ways to get you started on your dreams and keep you going when you are running out of fuel. Begin with even just one motivation exercise and be inspired.

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Stress Management PowerPoint Presentation

To speak about stress management in front of other people is in a way a stressful thing to consider. Not all of us are borne with the talent to persuade others, nevertheless learning the tricks on how prepare a topic in stress management with all the visual aids necessary in making a perfect presentation. With the help of technology, Microsoft PowerPoint is thus available to enhance that presentation.

Yes, you heard it right; stress management powerpoint presentation can now be made with such ease and convenience. Unlike before when speakers are daunted with the task on how to present talks sans technology, now everything can be made easy and comfortably.

Making a stress management powerpoint presentation has its own secrets. First oft is to choose your specific topic to be discussed before learning the ropes in making stress management powerpoint presentation. The topic should be well organized and outlined before they are transferred to powerpoint format. Before going to the powerpoint format, it is very important also to familiarize on the basics of powerpoint. In this way using the software becomes easy. Nonetheless, for the beginners, powerpoint is easy to follow.

One of the many considerations on preparing for a powerpoint presentation is the choice of the background and of each tile and the texts to be included. Experts suggest that, each line should contain at maximum of six words. In each tile there should be at least six lines also. The color of the text is also one important consideration. Color choice should not be glaring, that might distract the visual aid, and therefore, color should be eye-friendly.

Use graphs and insert pictures for more visual impact on your presentation. This will give the audience better understanding regarding the topic being discussed. Putting special effects on the powerpoint presentation is relatively useful. At best it should be minimized so that the audience can remember the meat of the discussion not the animation made on the presentation. If you should insist on making special effects, you better make sure that they do not compete with the point you are trying to convey your audience, after all the topic should not be stressful in any way.

Most of all, timing the presentation is very important also. The entire presentation should neither be too long nor too short. This however, is your discretion, nevertheless holding the attention of the audience should also be considered. However, if you are the one who is in hurry, ready-made stress management powerpoint presentation is available in the Internet. There are actually loads of choices that surely provide comprehensive information and are creatively prepared.

Making a powerpoint presentation on stress management is a challenging task. Whether opting for the readily available in the internet or making you own should not be a source of stress.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Stress Management Tips

Stress Management Tips - There are some things that life can’t be without, and that is stress. Whether one likes it or not, every day activities and situations will in one way or another affect a person mentally or physically –the only difference would be, it being slight or overpowering.

It is only when “stress” becomes troubling and causes certain health problems that people start to do something about it. This should not be the case; one can always do ways to prevent stress from affecting one’s bodily functions –stress management is the answer. Here are some stress management tips to better handle daily stress:

Identifying one’s “stress triggers”
One of the significant stress management tips is identifying the situations or factors that create the stress –particularly those conditions that exceed one’s ability to cope. These factors however, are unique with every person, as individuals differ. One’s personality, life, and genes, can all influence the body’s stress response.

When one starts to experience stress, things that trigger stress can be identified and kept tracked with, through keeping a “stress journal” and making a list of one’s time and energy demands weekly. Then take the time to look at the records with the events that one may rank as “very stressful”, and work on them.

Improving One’s Time Management
An effective management skill will help acknowledge objectives, set priorities, and lessen stress in their lives. Some things that will help improve time management includes: creating realistic deadlines and expectations, and setting habitual progress reviews; organizing one’s desk and preparing a list of tasks; all through the day check the list and work on them in priority order; use a planner; and reserve an uninterrupted spare time “behind closed doors” for difficult or important tasks.

Overcome Burnout
An important factor that causes stress is “burnout”. Feeling burned out or dreading work for weeks could affect one’s personal and professional relationships, as well as livelihood. Indifference towards one’s job or overwhelming frustration, sarcasm, quickness to argue, and anger are signs of a state that needs to be handled.

Some stress management tips to overcome burnout include: taking time-off such as a long weekend or vacation, or taking short breaks during workdays; taking care of oneself by eating regular and balanced meal, as well as adequate exercise and sleep; setting limits and learning to say no when necessary; developing friends inside and outside the office-sharing troubling feelings with trusted people helps solve them, and minimize interactions with “negative” friends who strengthen bad feelings.

Having an outlet or diversion such as exercising, or getting involved in a few activities that are relaxing and gets the mind off stress is a very helpful approach towards stress. Seeking the help of health care professionals when nothing else relieves the feeling of “burnout” or stress is also an efficient technique.

These stress management tips are simple yet effective; remember, stress will always exist with every day life, but the key is managing it efficiently to avoid its bad effects.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Daycare Toys

Daycare Toys - Quality education and teaching is very important to the mental health and growth of children. The brain of a child is very much like a sponge that can absorb enormous quantities of information. The more it absorbs, the more the brain expands as they grow. It is because of this, that daycare toys are so important at an early age for purposes of teaching.

Children often learn to identify items, colors and people on their own. However, a formal introduction i.e.: “This is a chair. This is the color blue. Etc”, will always help them identify objects and the uses for which they exist. The children will grasp fundamental skills faster.

Special daycare toys of different colors, shapes, sizes and purposes were first introduced to the child care sector. However, the daycare toys available to children today are a far cry from the sandbox, monkey bars, wooden building blocks and rocking horses of a few years ago.

Today, not only do some companies specialize in the production of daycare toys but also mass produce them. The daycare toys themselves include such diverse items as play sets, pianos, easels, clocks, miniature ATM banks, talking microphones that improve speech and a truly amazing array of electronic and computer games/ toys.

Amidst all this sophistication, it is of course comforting to realize that simple wooden railway sets, alphabet/ number blocks, finger paint packs and coloring books are also still much in demand.

It has been proven that daycare toys increase self-confidence, coordination, language skills and creativity while also contributing to the emotional well being of children. As they grow older, children can also be introduced to electronic, computer, magnetic and a myriad of other educational daycare toys.

The best way and most enjoyable way to learn is through fun and games. This is especially true in the case of children who do not think it worth their while to spend time on anything that cannot hold their attention. This reason, together with advancing technology has led to previously undreamt of innovations in daycare toys.

In fact, daycare toys in shops, care centers and homes have now spread to virtually every field imaginable. Any shopping mall or toy shop worth their salt will have puzzles, classic toys, activity centre toys, sports ‘n science toys, painting, building ‘n musical toys, electronic ‘n computer toys and the tried and tested old wooden toys.

Educational Daycare Toys for older children cover a wide range of subjects from math, science, geography and reading to a number of other subjects. Kids need toys to play with for fun. They also need to learn as much as they can. This being the case, daycare toys would be the best way to combine fun and learning in one digestible package.

Daycare at Home

Daycare at Home - Home daycare is a word that we seldom hear about. We have heard about daycare centers, and we have seen these places as being ideal places in which we can safely leave our children in the morning and pick them up at the end of our working day. But we have not necessarily heard about home daycare, and although it is not that well recognized it is another aspect of daycare centers that we can look into.

Most of these home daycare places are in fact just what they say there are, day cares in people’s homes. Here the woman who lives in the house will take care of a small limited amount of children. The atmosphere in these home daycare “centers” is warm and familiar to many small children which means that there is less likelihood for them to become traumatized at being taken away from the home environment.

The care provider of these home daycare homes may not have any education in early childcare development or any training in early childhood education. But despite this lack of training they will try to provide a place where your child can interact with other children their age.

The various social skills of young children will be allowed to develop in an atmosphere where they are under no pressure at all. For many parents these home daycare providers will allow them with a good place to keep their children until the parents return in the afternoon or after their work.

Unlike the many daycare centers these home daycare centers almost no regulations about the type of care they provide so you might first want to check out the quality and the professionalism of the home daycare you’re thinking about sending your child to.

For the most however, these home daycare centers are ideal or the very young child as they tend to receive more care and attention than they normally would in a larger more impersonal daycare center. Some children also flourish under these conditions, so if your child is of the type who loves attention (and what child isn’t?) you might find that a home daycare is the thing that you want to look into if you absolutely have to send your child to one.

Another good thing about taking them to a home daycare enter is that the schedules will for the most part be flexible and allow you more leeway than you would otherwise have had with a lager daycare center.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Confusion: A Symptom of Hypertension

Confusion is a result of a sudden mental malfunction associated with the inability to focus attention. It is a general symptom of brain dysfunction caused by many factors such as neurological, metabolic and even circulatory. The most common of the factors are the neurological disorders. One neurological disorder that can have effects to the circulatory system is the idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a neurological disorder characterized by elevated intracranial pressure, headache, papilledema, visual acuity and field loss without any neurologic abnormality in an otherwise healthy individual. It could be a severe case of a syndrome.

Why is this form of hypertension related to confusion? The symptoms brought about by this disorder would lead a human to a sudden loss of ability to focus attention. The blood pressure in the brain is elevated thus the normal function of a man is disrupted or even jeopardized. Confusion is a symptom of brain dysfunction. The brain has lots of nerve endings and blood-carrying capillaries. The blood carries food to the brain which is the oxygen. When the circulatory system is malfunctioned, the brain is also affected. It is a common symptom of a victim of hypertension to experience severe headache making him unable to remain his consciousness.

Confusion could be a mild or severe symptom of hypertension. Visual acuity and the inability to focus one’s state of mind are among the common signs of an individual having a mental and emotional stress. Stress, which is sometimes work-related, could eventually lead to heart failure.

How to free one from confusions and stresses that can eventually bring him severe heart ailments is a popular query. In these modern times where men are doing constant activities, stresses are always there. Humans have many priorities to focus on. The focus is distorted when they are heavily stressed-out. The deadly effect of stress is an eye-opener to humans. It is important that one should take care of himself. A better way to do this is through relaxation.

Relaxation is the key to a balanced well-being. A relaxed mind is free from confusions. The brain is functioning at a better pace when it is relaxed. Viewing the beauty of nature, visiting the church, spiritual worship, meditations and exercise are some of the examples to de-stress oneself. Hypertension could be prevented when one knows how to feel his body and relax it.

A confused mind is prone to stress. Stress could lead to hypertension. Hypertension leads to paralysis or even death. A healthy lifestyle and a balanced well-being can curb the ill-effects of hypertension.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Psychology Degrees from Monster Learning.com

The purpose of obtaining a degree in psychology is to be able to work in the field of mental health. The purpose of obtaining the degree from home is to be allowed to complete the required courses without having to attend classes at a brick and mortar college or university.

Pros: A degree in psychology provides a student with access to jobs and careers in the mental health field. Degrees that are available through Monster Learning are Clinical Psychology, Doctorate in Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Human Resources Management, Marriage and Family Therapy, and several others which are related.

Cons: There are no particular cons associated with obtaining a degree in the general field of psychology through Monster Learning. The student should investigate the acceptance of any online degree as it pertains to employment in his chosen field and by the particular place where he plans to seek employment.

Guarantee: There is no guarantee offered that assures that a student will successfully complete courses or that there will be employment available once a degree has been obtained.

Value for money: Because pricing was not available on the Monster Learning website, the value of a degree earned from Monster learning cannot be determined. The general consensus is that taking courses and obtaining degrees online is generally much less expensive that those obtained by attending classes on college campuses.

Price: There was no pricing available on the Monster Learning website. Pricing is determined by the courses selected by each individual student.

Consumer: Those seeking a higher education that can be achieved by attending school via their personal computers from their own homes.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

All-in-One Eye Cream from www.jevene.com

All-in-One Eye Cream from www.jevene.com - Consumer: Women

The purpose of the All-in-One Eye Cream is to decrease the appearance of lines and wrinkles around the eyes.

Pros: Biochemist Dr. Santimoy Banerjee was trained at Harvard University. This wonderful All-in-One Eye Cream was developed over a period of several years. The unique blend of natural eye replenishing ingredients is the all in one solution for your eye care needs. No more spending hundreds of dollars on several different types of eye cream. Now you can get everything you need in one jar of Jevené's All-In-One Eye Cream.

You can save the skin around your eyes as well as a pocket full of money by using the All-in-One Eye Cream because it replaces several products. The skin under and around the eyes is very, very sensitive and needs extra gentle care but you want that care to also be effective and the All-in-One Eye Cream product meets both requirements very nicely. The product comes in two different sizes.

Cons: The initial cost outlay for the product may seem high, but this is one of those creams that can and should be used very sparingly to get the best results.

Guarantee: The guarantee and/or return policy as stated on the website reads in part:
“Merchandise purchased on the Site may be returned for credit only (we do not offer exchanges) provided the returned product meets ALL of the following requirements or conditions:
* Returns must be sent at consumer's expense and delivery confirmed within 30 days of purchase.  We are unable to reimburse for shipping and handling or return shipping charges under any circumstances.
* All merchandise must have its original package receipt and merchandise tags attached.
* Cosmetic products must have their original unbroken pressure seal.
* Products that have been used cannot be returned unless there is a material manufacturer's defect.
* All refunds are subject to approval by Jevené.”
Value for money: The All-in-One Eye Cream is a very good value.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Age-Defying Wrinkle Reducer from Hydoderm.com


You will feel much better with less wrinkles...

The purpose of the Age Defying Wrinkle Reducer is to reduced fine lines and wrinkles.

Pros: Wrinkles! We all just hate seeing our youthful skin become old and wrinkled, don't we? The Age Defying Wrinkle Reducer can help your skin to be more wrinkle free and more youthful looking.

Scientists as well as the rest of us know that collagen or rather the loss of collagen is the primary cause of wrinkling. The problem has always been how to deliver whole collagen molecules to through the skin. Collagen molecules are large and the skin cannot absorb them whole...or at least not until now.

The scientists at Hydroderm.com after years and years of experimentation have developed a way to deliver these whole collagen molecules to the skin through a cream. This is a real scientific breakthrough and was granted a patent by the US government. You won't find this formula anywhere else or in any product other than the Age Defying Wrinkle Reducer by Hydroderm.

Cons: While you may not see overnight results, you will feel them! You need to allow time to penetrate and rejuvenate skin collagen, though you may see visible results in as little as a few days.

Guarantee: The guarantee posted on the Hydroderm website states in part: "If you are unsatisfied with the product, you may return the unused portion 30 days from the shipped date and you will not be billed for the order."

Value for money: The Age Defying Wrinkle Reducer is a very good value.

Monday, April 23, 2007

"Talk Chocolate to Me"

Lets face it and we all love it: chocolate.

I love the "Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket" - and it is perfect for my "mental health"...

The purpose of the Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket is to provide a delightful gift of chocolate.

Pros: The Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket is presented in a lovely wire fern tray that can be used in the home long after the chocolate has been eaten so the recipient will remember the thoughtful person who gave such a wonderful gift.

Chocolate can, of course, be made into many confections. Included in the Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket is two dozen cookies that are made with Guittard Chocolate. Also included in the Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket is; 16-piece box of chocolate-covered toffee 32-piece box of flower-shaped chocolates 4-piece box of filled truffles A unique heart-shaped chocolate box which opens to reveal 3 more perfect truffles.

There are eighty delightfully delicious pieces that ALL have wonderful chocolate in the Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket. That is enough to cure even the most serious of chocolate cravings.

The "Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket" really is a beautiful gift!

Cons: The ‘Talk Chocolate to Me’ gift basket is not a low calorie treat, but is otherwise a wonderfully festive treat.

Guarantee: According to the website this is their guarantee policy in part: "If you are unhappy with an item please email us, service@delightfuldeliveries.com . Include your Order #, Name, Phone # and an explanation for the problem. A Customer Service Specialist will contact you within 1-2 business days." The statement does go on to list specifics and food is not returnable.

Value for money: The Talk Chocolate to Me gift basket is a very good value.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Management of Stress

Stress is the body’s reaction to the things that one experiences. It is an outcome of interactions done with external factors, so if you feel stress from time to time -you’re normal. Every now and then, a person is bound to experience stress from family, work, social situations, finances, or illness. It may be a “short-term” stress resulting from every day situations such as being stuck in traffic or being confronted by the boss at work. However, it could also be “long-term stress’, chronic, and the type that appears due to unhappy marriage or minding an ill family member for lengthy periods.

Sometimes, stress can be motivating, like in cases when it helps an individual meet a deadline or win a competition. But it can also be an uncomfortable and negative feeling linked with racing heart, feeling out of control, and sweaty palms. Various things can be “stress triggers”, but how one responds to the situation will determine its effects. The proper management of stress is the key to diminishing, preventing, and even eliminating stress.

A lot of people who have learned to practice effective management of stress have learned to successfully cope with stressful circumstances and never seem to get stressed. Here are some simple steps for helpful management of stress:

Create a listEffective management of stress means being aware of the things that cause one’s stress; think what triggers the most stress, list them down with its stress levels and how it affects you.

Take controlMake a decision on the things in the list that can be resolved. Keep in mind that not everything in the list is within your control, but even if these events are uncontrollable, one can control the way that they respond to it. The slightest changes, such as not getting “worked up” in rush hour traffics but instead listening to music or favorite radio show, make a significant difference in helping one feel in control of their life.

Unloading and learning to say noThere are just some things at work or at home that one don’t want or can’t do, and the best thing to do is let them go rather than letting it stress you out –if possible, cross them out of the list. Do not commit to new tasks simply because of the feeling of “I have to”-learn to say “no”.

Learning and practicing management of stress in one’s life can help one to live a happier and healthier life; enjoy the job, friends, and family, and focus their energies on things that really count in life.

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Anxiety Attacks and Stress Management Techniques

Emotions play a large role in a person’s well being.
That means to say, negative emotions like anxiety, despair, grief and sorrow makes the individual susceptible to illness and diseases. Yes, they do not directly cause illness and disease, but for what they do to the body (such as lowering the body’s immune system) they become a bigger cause of illnesses.

The body’s fight or flight response (the root of stress) is an emergency measure that’s both vital and valuable to survival. The only problem to this is that compounded experiences to this emergency measure can be damaging as it is very disruptive. It creates emotional dysregulation, releases catecholamine hormones that inhibit several bodily functions. These functions would include inhibition of gastric and digestive function, thereby lowering one’s intake to needed nutrients; constriction of several blood vessels in many body areas, thus lowering its function; lessening tear gland and salivatory gland function, thus hampering the body’s ability to fend of diseases, releasing chemicals on the muscles in preparation for muscular activity, which could become toxic when not used up.

Individuals in deep anxiety will experience several health debilitating factors, like loss of appetite, severe headaches that could lead to migraines, inability to sleep that would lead to insomnia, inability to process thought fast due to constriction of blood vessels to the brain.

Because stress bought by anxiety had become a common modern man’s affliction, there are several anxiety attacks and stress management techniques that have been developed. Here are some of them anxiety attacks and stress management techniques.

Time Management = Stress Management
One of the most common root problems of anxiety in a workplace is the surmounting task with no way out. Approaching deadlines but with yet a lot to do, such situations causes anxiety which won’t really help in the speeding of the work. One of the timeless stress management techniques is time management. Stress of this kind is often curable with the satisfaction of a work done and effective time management always equate to effective stress management.

Being Happy
One of the best anxiety attacks and stress management techniques, the best vaccine to any diseases is the general feeling of well being. That is being happy. Take time to ask yourself: What can I do now to be happy? Indulge on those pleasures, singly or socially, as long as it generates within you a feeling of happiness.

Laughter is still the Best Medicine
It is so trite that it had lost its meaning a long time ago. Still, laughter is the best medicine even if psychologically. Find ways that can make you laugh; it allows you to spend energy while promoting a positive outlook in your life. Laughter can be your best anxiety attacks and stress management techniques.

Friday, April 06, 2007

Stress Management Facts

Stress management was practically unheard of during the turn of the last two decades. Then suddenly it becomes the most treaded psychological area in the medical community. What are stress management facts really? How would you tell if you are suffering stress? And what can you do about it? Here are some information about stress management facts that you should know about, this 20th century disease of the modern man.

What is Stress?
Stress is defined by many sources as some manifest produced from a physical or psychological stimulus, a fight-or-flight response of the body. The physical stress is often attributed to activities such as in muscle priming in preparation for an energetic activity; for example like the bunching of muscles, the release of adrenaline, the increase of rate of lung and heart activity, the constricting of blood vessels in various parts of the body –all in preparation of a run. But stress DO trigger in the psychological area, which involves an afflicted person’s physiological reaction to a disturbing internal or external stimulus and then triggers an anxiety. Before explaining further, let’s understand more about the Fight-or-Flight Stress Response

The Fight-or-Flight response as described by Walter Cannon (American Physiologist, 1929) is an acute stress response that triggers when animals faces fight-or-flight situations. This sympathetic nervous system discharge primes the animal for control of the situation; one of them is by releasing adrenaline and inhibiting of pain receptors for a fight.

In modern day humans, the “fight-or-flight” stress reaction stimulates itself by the following circumstances: it could be an approaching deadline, a failing project, a crumbling relationship, a death of a family member on an inappropriate time.

Does the Fight-or-Flight Stress affect us in any way?
Yes it does, and it affects a number of things. A number of recent researches had showed that stress becomes a major contributing factor to lowering the immune system and introducing myriads form of physical illnesses such as heavy migraines and insomnias, stroke and its relations, and eczema. And it does contribute largely to mental illnesses like severe depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and general anxiety disorder.

How does it affect us? As your sympathetic nervous system discharges fluids to cope up with stress, it may also do several functions which may not be needed. One of them is releasing fluids that when not used up can cause headaches-migraines then to insomnia. The constriction of several blood vessels alone, plus the liberation of nutrients on your muscles can cause toxins which won’t be released by the body in form of sweat.

Stress Management facts are then a study of techniques that is intended to help people maneuver themselves in and out of these stress periods safely. Stress management facts allow them to channel these buildup of energies which if remained within the body contributes largely to several illnesses.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Anger and Stress Management

Anger is a primordial sentiment. That is because of all the emotions that may have evolved with man, anger is definitely one of the first.

If you take into consideration the mammalian stock, you’d see that anger is one common manifest all animals including humans share. Among other basal sentiment are joy (in a limited sense) and fear.

It is perfectly understood then that this anger, evolved during a time where survival is vital and invaluable, is man’s primordial instinct to protect himself. This is called the “fight or flight” response of the human body, a sympathetic nervous response that had hardly evolved since prehistoric ages.

Our anger stimulates the “fight or flight” response of the human body. It primes us for action, by the release of the chemical Epinephrine. This chemical in turn initiates several functions: the accelerating of the heart and lung action to provide oxygen to the muscles of the body; which this action also slows down down blood flow on other areas like the brain and the digestive system. It stifles some blood vessels and pain receptors, in preparation for a fight, and dilates the eye, making it more sensitive but less focusing.

Anger does all these effects to your system, and you can imagine what would happen if this stimulation occurs frequently. Less blood enters the brain, over time it creates a brain gap that makes the person forgetful. The inhibition of several body functions, most especially in the digestive track can cause undernourishment, with the food passing down the digestive system still rich. Unused energy on the muscle, such as calories can become toxic thus aching the muscles. The inhibition of tear glands and salivation lowers the screening of germs and bacteria, thus heightening one’s susceptibility to diseases.

Since anger is a major source of stress, anger and stress management techniques had been developed for some time. The good thing about anger and stress management techniques is that they rarely require expensive treatment. Instead they usually consist of anger and stress management tips and techniques that you can apply on the way you live your life. Here are some of them.

Being Happy
When you’re happy, you rarely give in to rages and anger. That’s why one of the best anger and stress management techniques is that you must store happiness abundantly. So that in the even of stress and anger, these general well being will hold you well of this sentiment.

Practice Patience
Its hard really, so you should have plans of this. The key is AVOID. If there’s a less confrontational method, take it. Writing instead of confronting always works wonders, though you’d have to have a great deal of patience to effectively do this.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Brain Enhancement Techniques for a Better You

Some people are born geniuses; fortunate enough to have the capacity create great ideas and contribute in this world during their lifetime. You have that same potential. You don’t need be an Einstein or a Mozart to realize your potential. You just have to be able to maximize your intellectual potential.

There is a skill called brain enhancement. Enhancing your brainpower will definitely allow you to do more things and make you more efficient.

What Can Brain Enhancement Do to You?

For one thing, solving problems will be easier. You also learn and discover things faster than you ordinarily do. It also improves the way you regard yourself and the way you relate to others.

Definitely, enhancing the powers of your brain is one thing to aim for.

How to Enhance Your Brain
There are many ways how you can improve your brain skills. Here are some of the things that will give you the desired results in your mental prowess effectively.

1. Treat Your Body with Care
The brain functions best in a healthy body. It is important that you take care of your body above all. Keep in mind that your mind’s energy depends on your body. Factors like bad diet, stress and lack of sleep will not only make your body weak. It will also affect the way your brain functions.

The first thing to do is to give your body the proper disposition to enable it to do the mental exercises.

Get enough sleep, eat the right kinds of food and stay away from stressful situations.

2. Stimulate Your Mind Regularly
You may have certain topics of interest. Use these to stimulate your mind. It will help to have visual image of your ideas to keep your interest level up.

3. Learn More About the Things You Believe In
Sometimes, believing in yourself that you are smart will really make you feel smart. You can do this through affirmations.

However, it is best to take positive action to learn more about your interests. Instead of simply telling yourself that you are creative, try doing more things that are more creative.

4. Write about Things
Writing is an effective way for you to learn and remember things. It has a certain effect that allows your brain to clarify the ideas that you have just come across.

Diaries, journal entries, poetry and even simple taking down of notes will definitely give your brain functions a good boost. These can also make you more creative and analytical.

5. Listen to Good Music
Studies show that listening to the right type of music will make your brain more receptive to information and process better. Good choices would be listening to baroque music or compositions by Mozart.

6. Do Aromatherapy
Many people claim that aromatherapy can also work well in relaxing your mind and making it more receptive to ideas and facts. Rosemary herb is particularly helpful to the brain. Studies show that this herb can help perk up your brain function.

Conclusion

You need to develop the right attitude when doing all these steps. Enhancing your brainpower will take effort but it’s worth it. You definitely want to maximize your full potential and reap the rewards.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Kick Shyness Goodbye! Without Drugs and Alcohol!

I used to be an introvert.

I never spoke to people around me.

It is not that I am the quiet and contemplative type, I simply froze with fear when I am around people. I feel uncomfortable and shy when I need to talk to people. It kept me from meeting a lot of people who might have possibly become my good friends.

A big change happened in my life! These days I never had a problem talking to people and even total strangers. Nowadays, my friends actually describe me as a "showman" whenever I entertain a crowd.

Well, they have other names for me but those terms are not polite, so I will not repeat them here! One thing is for sure, shyness is something that anyone can overcome. The toughest barriers are the ones we set up around ourselves.

So, here are 5 little things you can do to kick your shyness problem. I hope they work for you as they did for me:

1) Realize that speech patterns matter!
To get rid of shyness, you need to kick your speech patterns that sound hesitant, specifically the stuttering and stammering, 5-second pauses similar to dead air, and stuff like that. These speech patterns make you sound unsure of yourself. These cause people to react accordingly and spin off a series of negative reactions from you. This may cause you to withdraw from other people. It is a self-defeating cycle.

Learn the fine and beautiful art of fast talk. If you have something to say, then just say it directly and quickly. Modulate your voice so it will not shake or sound weak.

If you need time to actually think things through, TELL the other person to give you a moment to collect your thoughts. Do not just suddenly go quiet as you think about it. By getting into the habit of speaking fluidly and steadily (regardless if you actually FEEL that way), you will start to learn to interact with people better.

2) Use games and role playing to practice
There are tons of role playing games out there. I know this may sound like a strange way to kick out shyness, but games like Dungeons and Dragons, Shadowrun, and the White Wolf series actually are excellent role playing games.

These allow you to practice your communication skills with the other players. Since it is just a game, any social faux pas that you drop like a bomb will be taken in stride. You can refine your manner of social interaction without fear of making any blunders in the "real" world.

3) Engage in public speaking and friendly debates
Now THIS is for the brave!

Once you get your speech patterns down and can hold a conversation with confidence, this next step allows you to practice speaking in front of a large crowd of people. (shudder!)

More often than not, shy people are actually intelligent introverts. USE that intelligence that you've got in friendly debates! There's nothing more fun than using logic, wit, and barbed sarcasm to fence words with someone of equal skill while a crowd watches and applauds your efforts.

4) Be active in theater and the arts
Taking up theater, or any performance art for that matter like dance or gymnastics, is a great way to work off shyness. In the time span that you are on stage, you are no longer yourself, but you are your character instead.

The classes taught in theater will include drills for self-expression and these will help you overcome stage fright.

5) Love yourself!
Learn to love yourself! Like me before, you are probably the introspective type because you feel that in some way, you are not "good enough" for other people, that you "don't know how" to talk to other people, or you are "not worth it".

You ARE worth it! You just have to realize this.

Everyone is unique. While not everyone is born wise, rich, and good-looking, who CARES? The world is full of imperfect people, and if you look at it that way, then why hold yourself back from mingling with them?

You may just have what it takes to go out there and make other people’s lives a little better, their hearts a little warmer just by being yourself. For sure, they will give the same gift to you, because you are definitely worth it!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

How to Live With Office Politics without Losing Your Cool

How to Live With Office Politics without Losing Your Cool - The word 'politics' is often misunderstood. Most people think that it just involves only those elected into power or individuals that are engaged in some form of power play in the top ranks of the government. They are right in the sense that it involves ways on how people manage power but wrong in thinking that it is limited to governments only.

In fact, politics is everywhere, be it in school, home, and in the office. It is something that we cannot escape. It is politics when we try to tell our teacher that one of our classmates is trying to get ahead in class by sucking up to another professor. It is politics when a sibling tells his parents that his sister deserves to go to the prom. Anything that has something to do with social interaction, negotiation, and compromise is politics.

Thus, it should not be a surprise when this is present in your office – the one place where competition is palpable and very much expected.

So, you are promoted general manager. Naturally, you are ecstatic, and you begin telling all your co-workers how excited you are with your new duties. Everyone seems happy for you except for a group of colleagues who do extend their congratulations but are not convincing enough to believe that they actually mean it.

At first, it does not really bother you as you move on to your new duties as a higher-ranking officer. However, you suddenly hear stories about how you tried to ditch work to watch your favorite game months back or how you mistakenly logged in a customer's information under a different one when you were just starting out in the company.

Why are all these coming out now? You might wonder. What's it for?

Welcome to the world of office politics; where nobody, not even the nicest person in the group, is spared from intrigue and tiny 'stories'! This should not be a surprise to you because any office setting really has some level of competition involved. When competition is present, jealousy can set in and silently wreak its havoc among staff.

In this case, the best way is to learn how to deal with it. There are many methods you can apply to rise above all the backbiting and shallow criticism. These all boil down to one single advice: ignore them and do your job the best you can. If you fight back, chances are, conflict will escalate, and more people will get involved.

You come to work not to be bothered with petty comments from other people. So just do your job and deliberately turn a deaf ear to politics. It will not do you any good to listen and allow these to affect you. Remember, if you succumb to office politics, your job will be at risk, not theirs.

Office politics is always present. Decide to rise above its pettiness and prove that you are more professional than the rest of the pack.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Five Things You Can Do To Resolve Conflicts

Disagreements are inevitable.

Because each human being is equipped with the facility to think for himself or herself, it is but natural that nobody really sees eye-to-eye at all times. However, because we sometimes passionately want other people to share our view, we often end up fighting with them. While disagreeing on some points is healthy in human communication, too much conflict and bad blood between people could also lead to pain and destruction.

You can get rid of the pressure of conflict at the onset. Before you go hating and finding yourself friendless, try these five tips to prevent communication problems from escalating to uncontrollable levels:

1) Talk it over.
You will not be able to resolve anything if you keep raising your voice a notch higher every time the other person does. Before you know it, you will be engaged in a screaming match and you do not even know why and how you got there. People tend to blurt out hurtful things they do not really mean during a heated argument. It is, thus, prudent and less stressful for both parties to talk the issue over. If you find that you cannot talk to the other person calmly just yet, suggest time off, and then meet at another time, when heads are cooler and rationalities are calmer.

2) Make a list.
Before you go banging on the other person's door, make a list of the things you need to say or ask. Write this list while you are still calm and stick to it once you have finally faced the other person. More importantly, go over it with your head intact. It is possible to resolve a conflict while keeping integrity intact.

3) Think happy thoughts.
When you find yourself about to get into a heated word war with another person, pause for a moment and think about the things that you are about to say. Try to distract yourself by thinking about the good things this other person has done for you, even in the smallest of ways. Once you have doused water over your growing fire, only then will you be able to discuss matters with him or her in a rational way.

4) Do not respond to his or her banter.
If the other person cannot seem to control himself or herself, do not aggravate the situation by being the same way. Listen and talk only after he or she is finished. Chances are, once he or she has said his or her piece, the air will be much calmer.

5) Try making a joke.
This is good only if the issue is not too grave and if you know the other person very well. Some people might misinterpret your humor as making fun of their situation, so tread carefully.

There is no disagreement that cannot be solved if you resort to rational means. Spitting out obscenities and foul words will not make the other person understand you better.

However, if you sit down, learn to listen, and then calmly explain your side (without forcing your ideas upon the other party) - you will both arrive at a compromise or a situation that benefits you both. It might not be the best for either of you at that moment.

At least, it is something that you can start working on to come up with a win-win situation.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

10 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem

10 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Self-Esteem:

Perhaps one of the most important questions in your mind is how to improve your self-esteem.

It makes no difference whether you pursue it actively or unconsciously, what matters is the effort to work on improving your self-esteem. However, the problem lies on where you want to begin. Seemingly, you are working on the outside indicators.

Here are ten tips on how you can improve your self-esteem:

1. Increase your self-esteem. Try to come up with a list. What aspects of your self do you really want to change? Work on one aspect at a time. Find out how you are doing before proceeding to another aspect.

2. Be optimistic. Do not think negatively about where you are right now. Always project self-confidence in where you might end up in the coming days.

3. Set concrete goals in all your dealings. Write your goals and desires. Consider how people you will be interacting with can help you accomplish your goals. Afterwards make a decision on how you will deal with each person appropriately. Do this regularly and you will see some changes.

4. Be proactive. Do not wait for things to happen, instead make things happen. Fuel your determination. Let other people know in what aspect they can help you. Success comes to individuals who get down to business.

5. Make each person feel that he is significant. Eventually, you will see amazing results.

6. Expand your social networks. Join social clubs or organizations. In effect, more contacts will be added to your list of friends. Social contacts can give you an assurance that you can depend on others in times of crisis.

7. Learn a sport or hobby. Indulging in sports or hobbies can help improve your self-confidence. Likewise, it can help you maintain good health. Good health leads to a sound body and a healthy mind. A sound body and a healthy mind play a major role in improving your self-esteem.

8. Enroll in self-improvement classes. If your main problem lies in not knowing where to begin, attending classes or seminars on self-improvement can provide you with step by step knowledge on how to improve your self-esteem. If that proves too burdensome to you, you may also read some books on self-esteem. There are also plenty of CDs and tapes focusing on the topic of self-help that you may want to consider.

9. Have a change in atmosphere. If the current environment you are living in causes you to have low self-esteem, consider moving to another location. You may also want to do some changes in your current environment. A change in environment can provide you with several benefits. It can add versatility to your personality and more importantly, it can contribute in changing the way you look at your self.

10. Be contented and happy. Failures and disappointments can result to low self-esteem. When your goals and objectives are not met, chances are you get frustrated and you become negative about your capabilities. Being contented and happy may fuel your determination to succeed. Determination may help in boosting your self-esteem.

Improving self-esteem does not happen in a wink of an eye. It would take a while before you notice some changes happening.

The process will go beyond tips and pointers that you read in books or internet. It requires constant practice to see some improvements.

In the end, you will realize that an improved self-esteem will benefit you in all aspects of your life. You will experience change in your relationships with your family, dealings with friends, and more importantly, improvement of yourself.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Choosing the “Right” Friends

We usually hear that “birds of the same feather flock together.” We are subjected to opinions depending on the circle of friends that we keep.

A friend, a true one of course, can be an effective prevention against misfortune. In this regard, you have to choose your friends carefully. It is not a question of how many friends you are acquainted with, but of how many worthy friends you have; because the latter, even if they’re sometimes rare to find, is better than hundreds of unreliable ones.

In reading books, we deeply engross ourselves in finding the true meaning of each phrase or passage, and we try hard to read between the lines and analyze what the essence of the book’s very existence is. The same principle must be applied in studying people to eliminate the biggest and most common mistake that we can ever commit – making the wrong character judgment.

Develop a sound judgment. Don’t be trapped by crafty words or insincere compliments. The friends you keep can influence your behavior, so use both your intellect and instinct in all your decisions.

Remember to keep the old friends that have been loyal and faithful through the ups and downs of your life. It is very easy to gain acquaintances in everyday living, but keeping and maintaining the same level of excitement in fostering a deeper relationship is a challenge to anyone.

How do you make a proper evaluation?

In your deepest thoughts, you can raise this issue in thinking about your acquaintances:

“Can your friends-to-be make life in a miserable and desolated island worth
living?”

If your answer is a confident “yes,” then you have made the right choice in choosing them.

Look within a person’s depth. Make sure that he is someone whose character is unquestionable, as you perceive a “real friend” to be.

Our world is full of deceit, so use not only your eyes but also your heart in seeking for the good ones.

There are just a few people in the entire humanity that we dare trust our lives with. Be clever enough to trust your honor and love to someone who is confident enough to trust his honor and love to you.

Friends can make or break you. Why choose someone who will just bring you disappointments in the end? As my Mom would always tell me, “we cannot choose our relatives but we can always choose our friends.”