Tag Archives | health

Real Age Wisdom

By on June 8, 2010 in Personal Growth

A tip from RealAge.com. Thanks to Tanya for sharing this tip with me!victory

To Feel Content, Just Take a Stand

Has something in the news gotten your ire up? Taking a stand on it could boost your quality of life.

New research shows that not just believing in a cause, but actively supporting it, tends to translate into a happier, more contented life.

Power Beyond the Pen

In a series of studies, researchers surveyed over 1,000 adults to find out if they considered themselves to be activists for any particular issue, from supporting antiwar politics to championing human rights. And the researchers found that the stronger a person’s activism, the better that person felt — as long as his or her activities weren’t extreme. Specifically, the highly engaged activists reported experiencing more positive emotions, feeling more satisfied with their lives, and feeling more connected to others. (Here’s another get-happy strategy that will help you feel more satisfied every day.)

The Good in Do-Gooding

Investing yourself in issues that are important to you helps strengthen your sense of self and fosters personal feelings of purpose — both of which can help get you through tough or stressful times. So whether you write letters to Congress or start a nonprofit, take an active stand on the things you believe in. And here are just a few more ways that doing good for others does your own life some major good:

It can keep your mind from slowing down.

It can boost longevity.

RealAge Benefit:

Taking care of your emotional health and well-being can make your RealAge up to 16 years younger.

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Productivity is a Valuable Tool in Every Area

By on June 4, 2010 in Success

Productivity comes in many forms and manifests itself differently depending on your work, life or focus. It really is just a matter of getting results or accomplishing a goal or task that brings you closer to a desired, meaningful outcome. That may be a new or better job, higher revenue or income, enhanced relationships, improved health or simply a more organized or efficient home of life with less stress. The skill or strategy of being productive is highly transferrable to every aspect of your life and is unquestionably worth the investment of your time and resources to cultivate as often as possible.

Whatever your goal; true personal productivity involves:

  • Having a clear outcome
  • Defining your purpose
  • Timeframe for either completion or progress
  • Method of accountability
  • Outlined steps or tasks required
  • Reward yourself if possible

Let me share with you a simple example from my own personal life to illustrate the concept in very basic terms. My son and I recently began a practice of reading together before school. We both love to read and used to read together at bedtime, but that just doesn’t happen anymore – he prefers to read by himself quietly before bed and my evenings are just so busy much of the time. At any rate, I decided to take my own advice and look at this personal issue from a productivity standpoint – what would I advise someone else to do?

  • Outcome – Read The Mysterious Benedict Society with my 11 year old son
  • Purpose – Spend quality one-on-one time with my child doing something we enjoy
  • Timeframe – One month
  • Accountability – Son as partner – he waits for me in our reading place and reminds me
  • Steps/tasks – Read for 15 minutes each school morning while waiting for bus
  • Reward – Breakfast in the park & a new book for next month

In this case since I was working with a partner, so commitment on both our parts was necessary to make this work. There were obstacles of course – days I had to leave home early or when one of us was ill – but even then we would treat this as a firm commitment and work around those roadblocks by rescheduling for afterschool or a “make-up” session on the weekend.(Yes, I added these sessions to my calendar!)

Simple, easy and remarkably effective!

What project or goal can you apply this too?

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Beware of Emotional Parasites

By on April 30, 2010 in Life Balance, Personal Growth

We all have them; you know who they are; those people that we encounter that just leave us feeling drained and empty. They may be family, neighbors or co-workers (worse even if it’s a supervisor.) You may cringe when they come into view or let their calls go to voicemail. They are always complaining, whining or gossiping. Nothing is ever their fault; it seems they are always the victim and never the cause. The worst are the ones that are malicious and say bad things behind people’s backs.

You must distance yourself from these emotional parasites and energy vampires as often as you can. We tend to absorb the energy and emotions around us and if we are surrounded by negativity, then it is all the more difficult to remain positive and upbeat. Remember, no one has the power to decide your mental state or happiness, but you. However, the wise person avoids people and situations that are bound to drain us. Kick the parasites to the curb, or at least don’t answer the phone!

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sleep

Lack of Sleep Has a Serious Effect on Productivity

By on April 16, 2010 in Success

sleepThere are only so many hours in the day and so much to do. The loser ends up being sleep. But sleep is a crucial factor in your ability to function. You can sacrifice sleep to gain extra time, but ultimately you are sacrificing your ability to use your time with purpose and efficiency.

Sleep statistics from the Better Sleep Council estimate that sleep deprivation currently costs U.S. businesses nearly $150 billion annually in absenteeism and lost productivity. And Better Sleep Month survey respondents reported sleep deprivation impaired their quality and accuracy of work (31 percent), clear thinking or judgment (31 percent) and memory of important details (30 percent)

Even worse, health implications can be disastrous according to WebMD.

In the short term:

  • Decreased Performance and Alertness: Sleep deprivation induces significant reductions in performance and alertness. Reducing your nighttime sleep by as little as one and a half hours for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32%.
  • Memory and Cognitive Impairment: Decreased alertness and excessive daytime sleepiness impair your memory and your cognitive ability — your ability to think and process information.
  • Stress Relationships: Disruption of a bed partner’s sleep due to a sleep disorder may cause significant problems for the relationship (for example, separate bedrooms, conflicts, moodiness, etc.).
  • Poor Quality of Life: You might, for example, be unable to participate in certain activities that require sustained attention, like going to the movies, seeing your child in a school play, or watching a favorite TV show.
  • Occupational Injury: Excessive sleepiness also contributes to a greater than twofold higher risk of sustaining an occupational injury.
  • Automobile Injury: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 automobile crashes, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 fatalities.

In the long term, the clinical consequences include:

  • High blood pressure
  • Heart attack
  • Heart failure
  • Stroke
  • Obesity
  • Psychiatric problems, including depression and other mood disorders
  • Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
  • Mental impairment
  • Fetal and childhood growth retardation
  • Injury from accidents
  • Disruption of bed partner’s sleep quality
  • Poor quality of life

This weekend try to give your body some extra rest. Fore-go a party or TV show and go to bed early or live on the wild side and take a nap! Your body will thank you and your productivity will improve!

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