H.J. Rangas

Apr

2021

5 Ways You Can Suffer from Social Media Addiction

Reading Time: 5 minutes

There are many ways you can suffer from social media addiction. In today’s world, it is almost impossible to not be a part of social media in some way. There are many social media platforms to chose from. Most people have at least 2 to 3 social media accounts on different platforms.

The use of social media has become so ingrained in our daily routine. We don’t often notice the harm it can cause. Just like any addiction, social media can become a habit that is hard to let go. Today, not having a social media account makes you seem anti-social. However, becoming anti-social is actually one of the negative effects of being addicted to social media.

With the rise of more affordable mobile devices, the use of social media is also on the rise. This also means that more people are experiencing the negative effects of being addicted to the use of social media.

1. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) + Unhealthy Sleep Patterns

People who can’t stop checking their social media accounts so frequently do so because of a fear of missing out. This is one of the reasons why people develop social media addiction. Be it on the latest trends in fashion, entertainment or news; they don’t want to miss out on the latest happenings. Nobody wants to be criticized for being old fashioned or late to the news by their “friends” on social media. As a result, they spend their time late into the night, following recommended links and discussing these with their group.

This is especially true if you join a social media group which focuses on a particular topic. You need to be very active in the group conversations in order to be noticed. This is why you need to keep yourself updated on the topic/s so your comment gets more attention. In this cycle of events, you feel that you are getting more friends even as you lose more sleep.

This type of environment makes you feel like you belong to a group. In turn, this makes you feel the need to contribute to the group and make your presence felt. The problem is that this group is a virtual group; so you don’t really know the actual members. Spending too much time in this online group may lead to you developing anti-social tendencies in your personal relationships.

2. Developing Anti-Social Tendencies

You may have more than 500 friends or followers on your social media profile. Question is, do you really know each of them personally? You may be a part of a popular social media group, but do the members know each other at all?

Social media groups and group chats are useful for learning new things. They also allow you to get to know new people with similar interests as you. Spending time with your online friends is enjoyable but it also deprives you of quality time with your friends in the physical world.

Being immersed in just one group for too long will also encourage “group think”. This mindset makes you less open to exploring new ideas and concepts. You might reject an excellent suggestion about a particular topic just because it isn’t aligned with your group’s opinion. When you are limiting yourself to group think, you end up with more arguments instead of meaningful and productive discussions.

If you always spend time online and/or always argue with your friends and loved ones offline; eventually, you will develop anti-social behavior which could lead to more serious relationship issues and mental health issues later on.

3. Getting a Negative Self-Image

Social media posts are generally about good things or bad things in a particular person’s life experience. If you are always stalking your favorite social media influencer because you want to imitate their “perfect” life; then you are in for trouble. No one can have the perfect body unless they’ve been digitally enhanced. Life is only perfect in still pictures. People in social media tend to highlight only the good stuff. This is especially so in ads or thru celebrity endorsements.

Comparing yourself to the perfect lifestyle of celebrities is a negative habit. Doing it regularly will only make you develop a negative self-image. Instead of encouraging you to accept and love yourself; it may even give you a more negative view of the world in general.

As you stalk your favorite social media personality’s profile; you pine away at the things you don’t have in your life yet. With this habit, you are also negatively impacting your physical and mental health. Lingering on your social media feed will lower your self-esteem even more. There is a higher chance of this happening if you don’t have a healthy measure of self-confidence to begin with.

4. Setting Unrealistic Expectations

We all know the saying: “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Based on your online friends, what type of person will you become or have you become that person already?

Being constantly on social media may give you unrealistic expectations of the real world. Relationships on social media are very different from relationships in real life. How people behave on social media is not how real people behave in the physical world. Relationship stress in the real world are very different from online ones. Constantly comparing your own situation to that of your social media idols and friends will result in many disappointing experiences.

It is even more harmful if you have experienced cyber-bullying in your social media group/s. This is similar to experiencing peer pressure in real life. It is just as harmful online because your attackers may be more than you can handle. Since you don’t know each other personally, any way you defend yourself will be useless. But since they are speaking as a group, then their opinions will come off as valid and believable. You may end up following their advise even if you’re not really sure about it. This is another negative effect of “group think”.

5. Feeling Depression and Anxiety

Aside from news channels, how many people have you seen online venting their frustrations and personal issues on their profiles? If you’ve started doing the same, then you might also be exhibiting the symptoms of depression.

Some people use social media to vent out their frustrations. This is actually alright if you are sharing such matters to just a select group of intimate friends and/or relatives. But if you are venting publicly, then you may invite unwanted attention and unsolicited advise as well as criticism.

If you are ranting on your social media group, you may receive both helpful comments as well as criticism. However, if you can’t manage the comments wisely, then you will only end up getting stressed and anxious. You may even end up depressed from one negative remark which might trigger a host of other negative emotions.

Depression is not something to make light off. Most people are not even aware that they are depressed. Do you find yourself constantly looking for validation online, instead of asking help from your actual friends and family? You may be more anxious or depressed than you think.

Next time you pick your phone or check your social media profile, try to set a time limit. This way, you don’t miss out on the more important things you need to pay attention to.

Do you know people who have experienced any of these ways that you can suffer from social media addiction? Have you experienced any of these yourself? The first step to solving the problem is awareness. Just like money, you should spend more on experiences that you will remember later on, with the people you love, instead of meaningless chatter online. Manage your time online wisely so you don’t miss out on the wonderful experiences real life has to offer.

Updated. First published on Pinoy Smart Living on 2019.10.15.
Feature Image: Original Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV from Pexels.

Apr

2021

The Marshmallow Test: Now or Delayed Gratification?

Reading Time: 6 minutes

The Marshmallow Test gave children the choice to eat now or choose delayed gratification for another marshmallow. The experiment studied how children exercise their self-control. Stanford professor Walter Mischel conducted this is experiment in the 1960s. This test was part of a series of psychological studies which followed the children’s performance until they had become adults. The results showed the power of choice and the benefits of choosing to delay gratification for better rewards.

The Marshmallow Experiment

The study was first conducted with children ages of 4 to 5. The researchers gave each child a marshmallow. The children had the choice to eat one marshmallow now or later. If they can wait without eating the first marshmallow, they will be given another marshmallow.

Some of the children ate their marshmallows right away as soon as the researcher left. Others struggled with themselves and finally succumbed to the temptation of the treat. Some children waited patiently choosing delayed gratification for a better reward of two marshmallows.

Other items used in the tests were stickers with the same conditions for each of the group of children.

As adult, those who waited for a second marshmallow generally performed well in most areas of their lives. These children scored higher grades in school and responded better to stressful situations. They also had low inclination for substance abuse and other addictive behavior and had better overall health. Their parents also reported these children as having good social skills.

Other Studies

The Marshmallow Test was just one of the tests during the experiment. In another test, a researcher gave a group of children a box of crayons. The researchers promised to give them a bigger box when they returned later but they didn’t return. One group got the promised bigger box of crayons.

The impact of this experiment is tremendous to the child’s psyche and is useful for parents. In this experiment, the first group who had unreliable experiences learned not to trust the researcher’s promise. The second group learned to view waiting as a positive experience. They also trained their minds to wait longer and be more patient. In short, the second group started learning self-control and viewed delayed gratification as a rewarding experience.

This test also showed that a child’s capacity for self-control and choosing to delay gratification was not an inherent trait. Their experiences with other adults and their environment influenced how they view this process.

The series of experiments lasted over 40 years until the children became adults. The performance of the adults showed that being able to delay gratification was a critical factor for success in life.

Mischel and his team have also conducted the test on different parts of the world and the results were universal. More recent studies included include even more variables such as parent’s education and economic status. These studies show that a child’s environment greatly affect their development of self-control. The presence and behavior of other adults around them also affected their mindset on delayed gratification.

Why Delay Gratification?

The Marshmallow Test shows us that even children are capable of self-control. They also show that our ability to make choices are strongly impacted by our environment and the people around us. There are many benefits of choosing to delay gratification for a better, future reward. However, children need to develop trust in the process. These factors are very important to help them develop their patience for delayed gratification.

Making & Keeping Promises

This is especially important for parents to learn that they are their children’s primary role models and simple behavior such as how they keep or break promises and how they react to the same situations can greatly impact their child’s perception of how to behave towards others and how to act in the same situations. Thus, it is important for parents to show their children how to deal better with negative situations early on in life.

Valuing Long-Term Results

This study shows that our capacity for self-control is only limited by how much we value the reward. The higher we see the value of the reward; the more inclined we are to delay immediate gratification. The lower the perceived value of the reward, the less work we put into it. Note that the perceived value of the rewards is also influenced by the person/s who promises to fulfill the reward.

Increasing Self Value

With accumulation of more positive experiences from constantly exercising self-control in stressful or decisive situations; we also learn to perceive ourselves as more capable of doing things to achieve our goals. We increase our perception of personal value and we gain more confidence in making even bigger decisions and handling larger responsibilities. In the process, we learn to value self-discipline as a means to achieve the results we want.

Learn How to Delay Gratification

Most of us adults pride ourselves in our capacity for being able to exercise our self-control and decision-making. But how in-control are we really? How often do we give in to impulse-buying because an item was on sale? How many days a week do we declare as our “cheat day” and we throw away our healthy eating plan outside the window because the pizza or steak was just too tempting or because a friend was treating us to dinner?

Most of us are guilty of just totally losing ourselves in stressful or tempting situations. The good news is, there are ways in which we can practice and enhance our capacity for self-control. We can improve our ability for choosing to delay immediate gratification or to choose whichever next action is most favorable for the end result we want. Just like exercise, we need to train our brain muscles for better self-control.

Start Small

The first step is always a baby step so when introducing a new habit into your lifestyle, start with small goals. If you want to be more productive during the morning, maybe wake up 30 minutes earlier the first week, then try getting up an hour earlier the next week. If you fail at the 30-minute mark, then start again and try for 15 minutes this time. But be sure to do the prep work too, so you better sleep earlier as well. This will also help you in transforming your morning habits.

Break It Down

If you have several goals, then break them down into small actionable steps. For example, if you want to be more productive in the morning, then you need to sleep early and wake up early in order to start work early. List down what you need to do to sleep early such as no watching TV after dinner, making the bedroom more conducive to sleep by getting fluffier pillows and dimming the lights, etc. Do your homework for each requirement and prepare.

Focus on The One

Focus on one thing at a time. Once you have your goals and tasks broken down, pick a task from each goal that you will incorporate into your routine daily. For example, set a time in the evening when you should be getting ready to sleep. If you want to be in bed by 10PM, then start preparing for sleep by 9PM; brush your teeth, wash your face and put on your moisturizer, change into your pajamas, play relaxing music while you do all these, dim the bedroom lights, etc. You can pick any of these to integrate into your routine. Keep adding another task until your prepping for sleep routine is complete.

Be Consistent

When incorporating a new habit, consistency is key to ensure that you adapt the habit seamlessly. So focus on one thing you need to do to achieve your goal each day for a week, then focus on it for another week and so on. Studies show that it takes at least 21 days to learn a new habit so be consistent for at least 3 weeks and by that time, the habit should be so much a part of your routine that you don’t even notice you’re doing it. By then it’s time to introduce the next item on your list.

Change Up & Set a Deadline

Of course, if one method doesn’t work for you, then feel free to change up your strategy until you arrive at one that works for you. It is important that you set a reasonable deadline. Measure your small steps towards your major goal so you can measure your progress which is also reassurance that your efforts are paying off.

Don’t be too hard on yourself though and celebrate each milestone, but don’t go overboard. Stay within your goals. Stay on budget if you have a budget goal! When you’re feeling down, review your goals and remind yourself why you are doing the things you do. Remember what Spiderman’s uncle said to him: “with great power comes great responsibility.”

You may not be out to save the world, but you can save yourself and other people from a lot of heartaches and stress by learning self-discipline and enhancing your capacity to choose to delay immediate gratification for even greater rewards.

The most successful people in the world have mastered the art of delayed gratification. Your ability to practice delayed gratification is a sign of a a high emotional quotient. Your EQ is a determining factor towards your journey to success.

Updated. First published on Pinoy Smart Living on 2018.07.04.
Feature Image: Original Image by studionone from Pixabay.

Apr

2021

Little Things That Destroy Relationships

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The little things that destroy relationships are often not always clear to the parties involved. Couples, friends or family members end up angry and confused; not knowing what actually happened. Sometimes after the relationship has ended or become stagnant; we still don’t know exactly why the situation became worse. We still wonder how things could have ended up better.

The specific details of maintaining a relationship always depends on the personalities involved. Just like in setting any goal; it’s the little things that accumulate over time, that create or results in success or failure. In relationships, little things and annoyances can add up subtly without us being aware of them. These can destroy a relationship if not addressed in time.

Taking people for granted

We are usually extra caring and act extra nice to the people who are most important to us. It sounds selfish to say but we expect them to reciprocate in the same way too. What they do for us becomes part of our daily routine. We become so familiar with what they keep doing for us that we end up taking their actions for granted. We forget to acknowledge their efforts.

The other person then ends up feeling being taken for granted and unloved. This is one of the little things that destroy a lot of relationships. From being in love; the couple break up or end up filing for legal separation because one person didn’t feel loved enough in the relationship. So don’t forget to appreciate the other person’s efforts as much as you can. Make efforts of your own to show them you care too.

Not having a life of your own

Being the center of someone’s universe sounds romantic. In reality, this situation is actually suffocating to both individuals involved. Some people even disappear from their friends and family’s lives when they are in a romantic relationship. They have turned their focus solely on their special someone. People sometimes grow out of love because the person they fell in love with has changed. The bright and interesting person became clingy, dependent on them, too possessive of them, even jealous of other people in their partner’s life.

Remember that your friends and family were there before this person ever showed up in your life. These are the people who can actually help you decide if you are indeed falling in love, or not. So don’t forget about them and make time to enjoy their company too. Any relationship you have should be a part of your universe, your life. Cultivating your relationships with other people in your lives help both of you to grow as individuals which benefits your romantic relationship. This is one annoying little thing that destroy relationships that most people often take for granted.

Being disrespectful to other people

Respect is the foundation of any relationship. It builds trust and provides individuals with assurance that you have their support and vice versa. Part of showing respect is to be tactful when in public. Whining about your partner’s habits to your other friends or family members; embarrassing them or making jokes about them in front of other people are some of the worst ways to disrespect your partner. Being disrespectful of the other person is one of the little things that destroy many relationships in a very short period of time.

This applies to non-romantic relationships as well. Dissing a colleague in front of the boss is a big no-no if you want a happy work place. This will just make your colleagues think that you are a toxic person. Respecting each other’s personal space is also showing respect to the other person. Saying sorry when you know you need to, shows respect. Not touching other people’s belongings and asking permission to borrow stuff and giving them back is showing respect too.

Not communicating honestly and regularly

Most relationships end up in a bad way because both parties don’t communicate honestly and regularly. Communication is the best way to understand each other. Regular, honest communication ensures that you know what both of you expect in the relationship. It helps you get to understand each other better. You learn how to make the other person feel appreciated by learning what their love language is, for example. It’s easier to recognize when they make special effort to do something for you because you know their personality well enough. You will know how best to make them feel special too.

Lack of communication is a major cause why people destroy their relationships. Communication helps both of you to avoid the drama that you see on most TV and movie relationships. You don’t have to always get into a bad argument, pile on negative emotions, hold grudges, doubt the other person, or play the blame game when issues come up. If you can talk with each other honestly and regularly; you can sort things out more peacefully. Plus, it is fun to plan quality time with each other just to do stuff you’re both interested in and to talk about anything you want.

These are some of the little things that are often the cause of how people destroy their relationships. The actual reasons of relationship failures are quite specific to the people involved. So stop wondering “where do broken hearts go?” Instead, start asking “what should broken hearts do?” These scenarios should help you pinpoint areas of improvement that you need to work on in your relationships.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Pixabay from Pexels.

Apr

2021

Get Out of The Rat Race

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Do you want to get out of the rat race? Do you know the reasons why you are stuck in the rat race? People stuck in the rat race don’t even realize it. Most people have accepted this situation as their fate. They have become resigned to living with the situation for the rest of their lives. They are teaching the same belief to their children as well. The bad thing is; they believe that there is no escape. Actually, there is a way out; they just haven’t taken the time to learn about it.

What is the Rat Race?

Have you heard the term “the daily grind”? People use this term to describe the rat race. The rat race is the constant struggle of going to work to pay your bills. Your salary is never enough, you borrow some more, you work harder to pay more. Your hard work makes your company rich. The company doesn’t do anything to help you as you continue to struggle to make ends meet. The struggle only gets more difficult as the days go on. This cycle is similar to a hamster running on his wheel. No matter how fast it runs, it doesn’t go anywhere.

Are You in the Rat Race?

The rat race is where we usually go to after graduation. We start to work and we enjoy working. Earning our own money makes us feel independent. After some time, we see and feel the signs of being stuck in the rat race.

Devaluation – You work hard for a fixed hourly or daily rate. Extra work is minimally compensated or recognized.
Repetition – You do the same thing every day and you derive no satisfaction from it.
Justification – You keep coming up with excuses for staying in your job.
Boredom – You can’t wait to do something else.
Disconnection – You don’t feel that your work contributes to any significant difference in other person’s lives or your own.
Drawing Board Syndrome – Your plans to take a leave from work never pushes thru.
Lifestyle Creep – Any minimal increase in your compensation/salary leads to lifestyle creep. You end up burdened with more debt.

The vicious cycle of the “daily grind” is what it’s like to be in the rat race. If you can figure out why you are stuck; you are in a good place to start transforming your life.

In his popular book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki describes the rat race as a situation where individuals “work for the owners of their company, for the government paying taxes, and for the bank paying off mortgage and credit cards.”

Why Are You Stuck in The Rat Race?

Most of us have parents who have been stuck in the rat race. This makes it seem almost impossible to get out of it. The rat race is a cycle that provides a false sense of security. Here are some reasons why you feel secure in your current job; and why you can’t seem to get out of your current lifestyle.

Your job offers you a monthly income. This provides you the money to support yourself and your family’s needs.
You want to keep up your government contributions to maximize your retirement pension.
You’re putting your dream job on the shelf. Your reasons include: (a) it doesn’t fit in with your current job, (b) it will take special training which you don’t have the money or the time to spare at the moment, and (c) it is not guaranteed that you will succeed in it.
You want to start a business. You need to do and learn many things. Raising funds is necessary to start.
You want to create extra income and save money to invest. Work prevents you from having extra time or energy for a side job.
Your work and salary doesn’t leave room for you to volunteer or support a charity, a friend or a loved one.
You have plans to get a house and/or a car in the future. You have to take care of tuition fees first, loans and other expenses.

These are just some of the most common excuses we tell ourselves which is causing us to stay in the rat race. These thoughts usually interrupt our plans for change.

Fear is Keeping You Stuck

One common factor in these thoughts or excuses is fear. We all fear failure. No one wants to feel rejected. We don’t want to disappoint the expectations of our family and friends. We all fear that things won’t work out in the end.

All these fears had been instilled in us by our parents. Their parents did the same. Fear stems from doubts. Your doubts grow into fears. Fear of what if’s is what paralyses you from doing something to change your situation. The best way to combat doubt is to stop it right at the start by learning.

Get Your Self Unstuck

Most of us adults have lost our curiosity as children. Curiosity is an important component to learning new things. The best way to combat doubt and fear is to educate yourself and your loved ones. Learn what options you have to get yourselves out of the rat race. You don’t always have to stay where the money is. There are other ways to achieve financial freedom.

Start educating yourself by learning from those who have already succeeded. You can start incorporating positive morning habits into your daily routine. Financial literacy is very important to create a better life for yourself and your loved ones. Start managing your finances better. Learn and apply a budgeting system. Tailor your budget to your circumstances. Learn more about how to reboot your finances so you can get out of the rat race.

Updated. First published on Pinoy Smart Living on 2018.08.15.
Feature Image: Original Image by Brian Merrill from Pixabay.

Mar

2021

Things You Can Do Right Now to Reset Your Health

Reading Time: 5 minutes

There are many things that you can do right now to help you reset your health. Keeping our immune system healthy is our first defense from any sickness. Diet and exercise are not the only factor that affect the efficiency of our immune system.

Maintaining our overall health requires us to live a healthy lifestyle. That may sound like a difficult thing to do and it can be overwhelming. So the trick is to start with the small stuff. Check out some of the things you can do right now to start resetting your health.

Boost Your Water

If you’re the type who keeps forgetting to drink their daily recommended water intake of 8 glasses per day, then it’s the first thing you should do upon waking up. For the rest of the day, aim to drink 2-3 liters a day to boost your body’s hydration. Keep a pitcher of water beside you with a glass so you can drink frequently as you work on your desk.

You can also boost your water by adding lemon slices to it. Infuse your water with the flavor of your favorite fruits by adding fruit slices. Of course, you can also drink some hot tea or fresh fruit juices for added health benefits. This is one of the simplest things you can right now to reset your health.

Stay Off Sugar

Sugar is one of the most inflammatory ingredients that you can eat. Try to limit your sugar intake by avoiding sodas, chips and other processed foods. Sugar is in most of the packaged goods that we often buy in supermarkets and groceries so learn to read the labels. If you can’t avoid it, at least choose to get the item with less sugar. This is one of the most effective ways to reset your health. It might be difficult but it will have a major effect once you implement this habit.

Another way to reduce your sugar intake is to reduce carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta, noodles, crackers, cereals, etc. in your diet. These carbohydrates are easily reduced to sugar when processed by your body. Instead, opt for more complex carbohydrates with more nutritional value such as baked or roasted sweet potatoes, nuts, beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Eat More Protein

Protein is a more stable energy source that does not cause a spike in your blood sugar levels like sodas can. So try to have a source of protein for each meal throughout the day. More protein in your meal also helps you feel fuller longer so you reduce your hunger pangs. This one of the ways to get optimal nutrition from the food you eat.

Some of the protein-rich food you can add to your diet are beans, legumes, and nuts. You can also keep sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in your stash so you have some protein to grab when you just want to munch something. Having a bag of these with you while are traveling, also helps you stave off unhealthy sugar cravings. These can also power you up in the meantime ,if you can’t sit down to a full meal yet.

Get More Sunshine

Try to wake up earlier and spend at least 10 minutes outdoors to soak in the warmth of morning sun. We know it gives us Vitamin D but it also helps us calm down and set our mood for the day.

Get your daily dose of sunshine from 6AM to 9AM so you don’t get sunburned. If possible, try to wear clothes that allow you to expose as much of your skin so you can absorb more of it. However, don’t go out in the middle of the day (past 9AM) without any sunscreen as this is not healthy at all. Sunshine is gentler and more beneficial in the early morning hours so aim for that window of time to your daily dose of Vitamin D. This is a habit that you can integrate into your daily routine right away to help your reset your health.

Go For A Stretch

This is best done in the early mornings (and get your sunshine at the same time) or later in the afternoon. Taking a walk or a jog not only helps us stretch some muscles; it’s also a good way to calm down to start our day or to wind down to end our work day.

Walking or jogging can help you fulfill your requirement of at least 10 minutes of exercise daily. If you’re an active exercise, then this can be part of your warm-up or cool down routine. If you can’t go out to do this, then gentle exercise like yoga is a good alternative. You can also try out more active forms of movements that require much equipment such as pilates, barre or HIIT workouts.

Get More Sleep

You can’t wake up early if you can’t sleep properly. It’s important to schedule a time to unplug and wind down after a day’s work. This is signaling your body to prepare for sleep. So turn off your social media apps at least an hour before your sleeping time.

What else can you do to ensure better sleep? Don’t drink water 3 hours before your sleep time so you don’t interrupt your sleep to empty your bladder. Don’t eat foods that are too stimulating so you can fall asleep naturally. Sugar and caffeine are stimulants that you should avoid in the evenings. Also, stretching is a great way to help you normalize your sleep cycle and get a deeper sleep. So do some stretching before bed as well.

Start A Journal

We often think of a journal as a diary of our most private thoughts and secrets and it can be that. But there are some types of journals that we can use to helps us organize our life and maintain our mental and emotional health (read: keep our sanity). All you need is a notebook and a pen to start journaling.

Start a bullet journal to help you schedule your day. Each morning or the night before, sit down and jot down your tasks for the day, for the week even. This way, you can go through your daily tasks with a sense of purpose and not just to get through the day. At the end of the day, you can review what items you have completed. Having a sense of accomplishment is a great way to feel good about your day. Another journal you can do at the end of the day is a gratitude journal. You can do it as a list or write an essay of the things you are grateful for this day. Counting your blessings helps keep you in a positive mindset so you can go to sleep in a lighter mood. Journaling can help you organize your mind right away so you can feel motivated to reset your health and work on your other goals.

Self Care Time

Throughout the day, we may feel the need to take a breather from all our chores and work tasks. Don’t feel guilty about it or think of yourself as selfish for taking some time out to just be alone with your thoughts or to do something on your own. We often forget our own needs and wants to make time for other people. So develop the habit of giving yourself some loving throughout the day.

You can enjoy your favorite food and savor the moment. Be mindful of it’s taste and textures so you can appreciate the moment more. You can give yourself a hand massage and do it slowly; savoring each comforting moment. Sometimes, we just want to sit down and not think of anything. Take 10 minutes to meditate. Just close your eyes and focus on your breathing. If you are doing this at work, set a timer so you don’t end up neglecting your work. If you’re at home, you can take the time to read your favorite book, make some art, indulge in a hobby, water and talk to your plants too.

These are just some of the small things you can do right now to reset your health. Start with one and tailor it to your daily routine. You will find that you feel better as the days go by; not just physically but mentally and emotionally too.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash.

Mar

2021

How to Reset Your Life

Reading Time: 4 minutes

At some point in our lives, we always ask the question: “How can I reset my life?” This feeling of wanting to reset one’s life usually happens when one experiences, or is undergoing, a major life event. Some people may also want to reset their life in order to make a change to their regular routine. Whether you find your life too boring and want it to be more fun; or your current life feels unstable and you want to make changes to find more stability; a life reset is an important process. There are different ways to go about it. Generally, these are the steps on how to reset your life.

1. Make an honest assessment

Before you can move on to the next phase; an honest assessment of your current state of life is very important. This is the time to examine your life, and your life choices, and take a closer look at what the results have been. Where the results bad or unsatisfying? Is your current life comfortable but not fun anymore? Do you want to take on new challenges? Be honest with yourself and don’t think about who or what to blame. Accepting the situation as well as your own faults is the only way you can correct them.

The goal of this assessment is not just to identify the negatives in your self and in your life. It will help you see how and where you can change things. With an honest assessment about your current life situation; you can see more clearly what things you are unsatisfied about. You can determine what decisions you made or did not make, that resulted in the situation you are in right now. This will make it easier to pinpoint where you can start to change things.

2. Envision the change that you want

We used to imagine all kinds of fun and adventures when we were children. Imagining the life you want is an important step in how to reset your life. Just as you were honest in assessing your current life situation; be honest to what you truly want in life. Take the time to think about this and to envision the life that you want. Spend some time in meditation on how you want your new life to be. An important factor you should consider in this step are your thoughts and feelings. Ask yourself: “What thoughts and feelings would the new me have when I am living the life I want?”

Create a vision board or write down your vision for a new life or record yourself as you talk about it. Review your vision board, what you wrote or what you recorded. Try to identify the major keywords you used. List down your goals based on these keywords. Don’t be too strict about it. Focus on your major goals first. Finally, try to summarize your major life goals into a single statement. This will be your vision statement that will regularly remind you of your major life goals.

3. Make your goals SMART

Now that you have your major goals, it’s time to break them down into actionable and measurable steps. Follow the SMART method when doing this. It is important that you break down your major goals into smaller goals to make it easier for you to implement them. Think of your major goals as the destination and smaller goals are what will make up your daily routine. Your daily goals will serve as a checklist that will help you measure your progress towards your major goals.

Having a checklist of smaller goals makes it easier for you to focus on them daily. This makes the process of developing new habits smoother. This also helps prevent decision-fatigue. Decision fatigue happens when you are presented by too many choices. You end up wasting time thinking about what the best choice is. By having a daily routine to follow, you waste less time having to make a choice and gain more time to be productive.

4. Setup your self for success

To make your daily routine even easier to implement, setup your environment so you can focus on accomplishing what you need to do. An organized space helps in maintaining an organized mind. One of the things you can do is to start decluttering your space. Get rid of the things that you are not using anymore. You can also give them away or sell them. Redecorate your space if you have to. Clear away negative energy to freshen your environment. Prepare the things that you will need for your daily goals. For example, prepare your exercise clothes the night before. It will remind you to exercise as soon as you see them when you wake up in the morning. You might consider decluttering your closet as well.

To maximize your productivity, setup your work space so you have all the stuff you need to use without having to waste time looking for them. Be sure to include the things that you love in your spaces but keep them focused on what the purpose of the area or room is. So keep your computer in your workspace and your TV in the living room. Try not to work in your bedroom so you can keep your room a space for relaxing.

5. Stay in a positive mindset

Making any change in life, small or big, always entail challenges. It can be challenging for you personally to start new habits and replace old ones. The process can also be challenging if people around you, or your environment, is not supportive of the changes you want to make. Making change is always a process of trial and error. Don’t be afraid to fail and learn from them instead. By looking at things from a learning perspective, you can keep yourself in a positive mindset.

It is also helpful to keep a gratitude journal so that you can keep track of the positive things that you are experiencing in your daily life. If writing is not your style, just list down at least 3 things that you are grateful for each day. Or just take the time to sit down and say a prayer or meditate on the blessings you experienced for the day. This is one good habit that will definitely be helpful in how to reset your life.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash.

Mar

2021

Stem Cell: Benefits and Risks

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The use of stem cell in medical treatments and therapies has its benefits and risks. Many of us may have heard of different stem cell treatments in the news. Most of us don’t understand the hype. We are all curious about it because of its potential benefits to addressing major health concerns. Stem cells have great potential in the treatment of various diseases but it also poses certain risks. This field of medicine has also raised many social and ethical concerns.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells are the body’s raw materials. Embryonic stem cells are the cells that divide to form the different types of cells (e.g., heart cells, muscle cells, brain cells, etc.) in our bodies. Some stem cells remain in the bodies of adults. These are stem cells that have already specialised into the different types of cells in the body.

Embryonic Stem Cells

Embryonic stem cells come from eggs that were fertilized at in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics; but never implanted into a woman’s uterus. They are taken from the embryo before birth.

When an embryo is formed; the cells in its early stages of development are stem cells that are undifferentiated. These cells still have the potential to become specialised cells later on. Embryonic stem cells can also be taken from amniotic fluid; and by collecting blood from the umbilical cord when a person is born.

Adult Stem Cells

Stem cells taken from adults are already specialised so they have limited application in medical treatments. If the medical condition concerns a patient’s heart; then only stem cells from the heart can be used in the treatment.

There are also therapeutically-cloned stem cells. This involve using a person’s DNA to clone one of their organs (such as the heart) for use in transplanting a new heart for the patient.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

In this method, scientists alter adult stem cells so they act like an embryonic stem cell. In this way, adult stem cells which are already specialised, can be reprogrammed into other types of body cells (e.g., heart cells can be reprogrammed into lung cells, etc.) eliminating the need for using embryonic cells. This area of research is still undergoing further studies.

Potential Benefits

The hype around stem cell therapies is largely due to its potential in treating various medical conditions. The study of stem cells can help medical researchers and doctors in many ways.

Understand how diseases develop.

Scientists can monitor the development of stem cells into specialised cells. This can provide better understanding of how diseases develop and under what conditions they occur. It can also give clues on how to prevent and treat diseases.

Regenerative medicine.

Stem cells can be programmed to form different specialised cells to regenerate diseased tissue or repair damaged tissues. For example, stem cells can be used in heart transplants without having to wait for a heart donor.

Testing new treatments.

Testing the safety and effectiveness of new medical treatments is a long process. The process also poses a lot of risks for the individuals who participate in the testing. Instead, researchers can use different types of stem cells to test for safety and efficacy. A new drug for treating a nerve disease can be tested on stem cells specialised or programmed as nerve cells.

Potential Risks

Although stem cell therapies look promising; being misinformed or uninformed of their potential risks is dangerous. The stem cell field is still developing. Most stem cell therapies can be labeled as under the research and testing phase. There are also many issues and controversial concerns that add to the hype on this topic.

Clinical Issues.

There are no guarantees as to the success of new stem cell therapies. Most of these therapies are still experiments and do not have established methods or guaranteed results. Aside from this, it is also difficult to find suitable stem cell donors for different patients.

Storing a patient’s embryonic stem cells is also a difficult process. Stem cells stored and cultured have the potential to mutate and cause them to behave like cancer cells. This will make them useless for medical treatment. Cultured stem cells may also get contaminated with viruses which could be transferred to the patient.

Ethical Issues.

Embryonic stem cells come from IVF embryos not implanted in a woman’s uterus. This raises ethical concerns. One question is whether it is right to create embryos for therapy and destroy them in the process. Is it right to view embryos as commodities instead of a potential human being? There is also the question of when does an embryo become treated as a person; and not just a source of stem cells.

Social Issues.

Educating the public about stem cells, its potentials and risks are a major concern in the field. Commercial clinics carry out most of the research in this field. Therefore, the medical community cannot validate their results. Thus, they can abuse the results of their research. They can fool patients into paying for expensive treatments that claim desirable results.

Be safe and informed

As mentioned above, stem cell treatments has its benefits and risks. As the field of stem cell research is quite new; it is safer not to rush into any treatments that claim to treat or cure certain medical conditions. Luckily, different countries have imposed stringent regulations governing this field of research. This should help you decide if you are ready to take on stem cell therapy and its benefits as well as handle the risks involved.
If you are looking into stem cell treatment offered in different countries; it is best to consult the regulations they have in that country. If you feel that the regulations are not reliable, then it is better to look somewhere else.

Still, prevention is better than cure. A well-balanced life, an attitude of gratitude, a positive mindset, having fun, loving oneself, and not taking life too seriously are just some of the best ways to keep ourselves healthy and happy.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Louis Reed on Unsplash.

Mar

2021

How to Find a New Hobby

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Are you thinking of how to find a new hobby? Maybe you already have one but you want to try something different. Here are some ways to discover, or rediscover, a new hobby to indulge in. Hobbies not only help you combat boredom; they are also a fun way to help you focus on your goals. Plus, they can help you unleash your genius.

Go back to your childhood

What hobbies did you have before you started working? What activities did you enjoy most during school activities? Go back down memory lane and list down the things that you enjoyed doing then. You might recall a particular hobby that you were fond of. In fact, you might remember that you still have your tools or materials. If this is you, then you can easily take up that hobby again.

Take a self assessment

Your interests might have changed and you may no longer be interested in pursuing the same things you did when you were younger. Take a self-assessment. Make a list of the topics you like talking about with friends and family. Write down the activities that you enjoy doing on your own or with other people. From this list, review each item and cross-out those that you don’t really want to try out again. Whatever is left should be the things you can pursue as a hobby.

Ask your friends

If you want a new perspective and learn more about yourself in the process; then get together with a group of friends (or talk to them individually), or have your friends make suggestions. Ask them what hobbies they think you should have based on how they know you. You might be surprised by their suggestions, and even more surprised by how your friends see and think of you. This is a quick and easy way to find a new hobby.

Try out new things

Finding a new hobby can be an adventure in itself. If you don’t want to write down lists, go down memory lane or call up your friends; then why not start trying out new things? There’s tons of tutorials for various DIY projects online. You only need to choose one and see if you enjoy it. If not, move on to the next until you find one that you want to stick with. This is definitely a fun way to find out a new hobby for yourself.

Transform what you do

Perhaps you don’t really have time to indulge in a hobby. In this case, why not make a hobby of what you already do? Yes, you are doing what you do to earn an income but you can start enjoying it even more if you think of it as a game. Try challenging yourself and giving your self a reward for accomplishing the challenge. Wouldn’t that make work as fun as pursuing a hobby? Just make sure the rewards you give yourself are helpful instead of distracting you from work.

These are jus some of the ways you can discover a new hobby that you can enjoy. Having a hobby helps you to find joy even during tough times. It lets you breath and re-energize yourself so you can take on more of what life has to offer. What other tips do you have for finding a new hobby?

Feature Image: Original Image by press ? and ⭐ from Pixabay.

Mar

2021

Ways to Start Your Day Right

Reading Time: 4 minutes

There are so many ways to start your day right. However, most of us start our day on autopilot as soon as we wake up. If you want to wake up from autopilot mode and have more control over the rest of your day; then you should start your day more mindfully. Start with these suggestions to start your day right.

Wake Up to The Clock

Most of us hit the snooze button instead of waking up when we hear our alarm clock. Instead, try to wake up on hearing the alarm and get up immediately. Sit on your bed for a few minutes to steady yourself and sort yourself out but don’t go back to sleep. Enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes (if you have a window). Tidy up your bed and get out of your bed room.

TIP: Get an actual alarm clock instead of using your phone. This will allow you to unplug the night before. Also, place your alarm clock away from your bed and not beside it so you will be forced to get out of bed to turn it off.

Drink Warm Water

A warm cup of water is a good way to start your day. It helps to gradually signal your body to be active again. It also helps to soothe your empty stomach. Plus, you can count it towards your quota of 8 glasses of water a day. Drinking warm water on an empty stomach is like stretching your body before vigorous exercise. This is definitely one of the ways you need to do to start your day right.

TIP: Try lemon water. Cut a few slices of lemon and put into your cup of warm water. Let sit for a few minutes before drinking. You can also drink tea or coffee if you really need to perk up your morning.

Meditate for Clarity

A time for self-reflection and clarity is best scheduled in the morning. Morning is when your mind is still calm and not buzzing with thoughts and to do’s for the day. Sit in a quiet corner and take deep, long breaths; inhale and exhale slowly. A calm mind helps you get clearer on how to plan your day for the most productivity. A meditation is one of the best ways to start your day right.

TIP: Make meditation a ritual. Light an incense or turn-on the scent diffuser. If possible, close the room. Get yourself a comfortable mat or pillow to sit on so you can meditate without any distractions.

Move Your Body

Light exercise is a great start to energize you for the day. You don’t need to do it for an hour. 10-30 minutes of exercise regularly will do wonders for both your mind and body. Be sure to start and end with some stretching routines and don’t overdo things so you don’t injure yourself. Sweating it out will help you detox and calm your mind at the same time.

TIP: Pick an exercise routine that is right for your fitness level. We all have a physical goal in mind but we need to start our fitness journey right if we want to sustain it. Don’t force yourself to do some moves if you know you’re not flexible enough. Be patient with yourself and just stay consistent.

Self Care First

Show yourself some love first before you go out the door to express your love to the world. A simple self-care routine is all you need to feel pampered just a little bit each morning and night. Enjoy your morning shower. Wash your face, put on some moisturizer and do a mini-facial by softly massaging your face. Apply your favorite lotion or essential oil and enjoy the moment. Don’t forget to smile at yourself in the mirror as you give yourself some love.

TIP: Use natural beauty products so you don’t only show love for yourself but to the environment as well. This also means less negative impact on your health and the planet. Natural products may feel like they cost more; but why shouldn’t you splurge on your self?

Read A Book

One of the ways to get out of autopilot mode is to learn new way of doing and thinking about things. There are many things that you can learn online but reading a physical book is a different experience. Not only are you learning, you gain more appreciation for the author’s and publisher’s efforts. This puts you in a grateful mood for the lessons and the people behind the book. And an attitude of gratitude is a great way to approach the day.

TIP: Read a book anytime you have free time. Not just in the morning, at night too. Some people even read a few pages during their commute. It’s a small luxury to peek into the minds of others who have already succeeded. This will get you more inspired and more motivated to work on your own goals.

Plan Your Day

The act of sitting down to plan your day is a time-saving way to lessen your day’s stress. When you plan your day, you can map out your priorities and the things that you can leave out for later. Creating a daily task schedule will help you to focus on what needs to be done so you are not constantly worrying about the gazillion things that you need to accomplish. It also gives you an idea of what you can cram into your day so you get wiser at scheduling your activities.

TIP: Get a planner or make yourself one or use an app. Use a physical planner to jot down your To Do list or use an app on your mobile phone. Most importantly, don’t forget to take your planner with you so you can track your progress.

These are just some of the ways you can start your day right. You can do them in the order that you want. You can also swap them with better habits that you want to develop. Check out the morning habits of successful people too. Another important thing to remember is to make sure that you also have a great way to end your day.

Feature Image: Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash.

Mar

2021

Spring Clearing Challenge

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Spring Clearing Challenge is an annual practice in many households all around the world. Different cultures have different names for it. It is also practiced at different times of the year, usually during holidays or when the weather changes. Of course, not everyone views it as a challenge. But isn’t it challenging work to clean out stuff in our homes and in our lives, whatever season it may be?

There are many stages in our lives where we practice “spring clearing” to rid ourselves of past negative energies that are weighing us down. The end of the month is as good a time as any to do some spring clearing.

Spring Clearing Challenge

For this challenge, instead of just cleaning out our space physically; we will do a clearing up of negative energies. Remember that our mind and body are connected. Our thoughts, emotions and physical health influence each other. So clearing up one aspect will help improve the others.

Take Time to Meditate

Find a spot at home to sit awhile for a meditation. Make yourself as comfortable as possible and try to calm your mind and relax your body. If you are just starting out, focusing on your inhales and exhales is the only thing you need to do so you don’t get distracted.

Ask yourself, “Where would I want to be to feel completely relaxed and refreshed?” Allow your imagination to take you to that place. Picture yourself relaxing there and try to enjoy all aspects of that moment with all of your senses. Taking the time to relax your senses helps you feel lighter so you can better focus on what needs to be done.

In this way, you can slowly clear up the things that are piling up around you, mentally, physically or emotionally. By doing this spring clearing challenge; you can prepare yourself for a fresh start on your goals.

Practice Mindfulness

Can’t sit still enough or can’t find the time for a meditation? Then start practicing mindfulness. Try to be aware of the little things in your daily life; the small actions that you do throughout your day. Are you eating your favorite dessert? Savor the taste. Are you enjoying the smell of a new book? Tune your senses to that moment.

Ask yourself, “What makes this activity so pleasant or pleasurable?” Finding the answer to this question helps you get to know yourself better. It helps you better understand what things make you happy and allows you to plan for more moments like this.

By understanding what motivates and triggers you; you can better take control of your own actions and reactions to negative circumstances. Reacting mindlessly to negative situations is one of the biggest ways to waste our time and drain our energy. So being able to manage yourself in these situations allows you to focus on what you should be working on. It also helps you figure out how to deal with toxic people and not become a toxic person yourself. So you can focus your attention on the people you love and cherish instead.

Let Your Feelings Go

You may be carrying a lot of emotional stress because of past traumatic experiences, like losing a loved one. You may have regrets about not being able to apologize to someone. Or you maybe struggling to forgive someone. Instead of bottling everything up, why not let it all go?

Ask yourself, “How do I really feel about the situation/person?”. Crying is not weakness. It is a necessary process to start your healing process. Many of us go through our daily lives like zombies because we refuse to deal with our feelings and confront them. We end up becoming numb to other emotional experiences as well.

Find the time to be alone and cry if you have to. If you need to write down your thoughts and feelings while you’re crying, then do so. Maybe you want to watch sad kdramas or movies while eating ice cream; go ahead. You need to feel what you feel and acknowledge it. Of course, you will feel bad at first, but that is the only way you can release all those burdens in order for you to start feeling better about it.

Envision a New You

Clearing out your life should be for a purpose. It is natural for us to strive for a goal in order to have a direction in life. Otherwise, you will just be living your life on auto-pilot and never feel fulfilled with anything that you do even if you accomplish much.

Ask yourself, “How do I want my life to look like in 3 years, 5 years, 10 years from now?”. Make plans for yourself so you can start acting on something you truly want. This is your signal to the Universe so that you can be guided in the right direction.

Create a vision board, write down a bucket list of how you want your life to be. Don’t be afraid to go big and be ambitious. Of course, you have to be prepared to work for these goals so make sure they are SMART goals.

Many people don’t want to start working on their goals because they are afraid to fail. Remember that failure is part of the process to success. Unless you fail, you will never learn which means you will be stuck doing the same thing over and over again without moving forward. Treat failure as a learning process instead of an end result. Welcome the challenges into your experience; like this spring clearing challenge. They are good experiences to help you grow.

Don’t Forget to Have Fun

Do you start the day with a smile? Maybe you still feel groggy from a lack of sleep. But try to face the mirror with a smile and see how it lifts up your mood. Try to smile back at people too and express your gratitude so you can lift up their mood. You never know how your small gesture can make another person’s day brighter and more pleasant. A genuine smile can completely change a person’s negative outlook in life and even make them feel more hopeful.

Ask yourself, “What can I do today to make things more fun (for me or for someone else)?” Having fun on your own may sound boring for you. Doing it with somebody else can make the goal even more worthwhile.

Taking life too seriously is one of the major causes of stress in our daily lives. Worrying endlessly about the what-ifs exhausts us mentally and emotionally. By focusing on the positive aspects of any situation; you can feel less stressed about it and enjoy the whole experience instead.

These are just some of the things that you can do to start spring clearing your mind, your emotions and your physical environment. This spring clearing challenge is not just for spring though. You can do this anytime you feel the need to clear out negative energy from your self or in your environment. Try to start spring clearing today and see how much better you will feel afterwards.

Feature Image: Original Photo by Allef Vinicius on Unsplash.