Life

Gratitude… The flip side of fear

June 1, 2020 by Rimikak

The world feels like it’s been turned upside down overnight during these challenging times of coronavirus pandemic. One can often feel like a black cloud casting a dark shadow over our lives. The feelings of stress and fear make it easy to be thankless towards life. When it is hard to feel grateful, it perhaps becomes more important than ever to focus on Gratitude — the conscious effort to be thankful and acknowledge everything you have in life. Gratitude shifts our focus from what life lacks to the abundance that is already present.

The benefits of practicing Gratitude are wide-ranging. Famous psychologist Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis researched Gratitude and its effects. In his book “Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier”, he highlighted numerous benefits of practicing Gratitude. He indicated that practicing daily gratitude results in higher levels of enthusiasm, will power, self-confidence, and energy. It enhances one’s personal as well as societal well-being.

Gratitude is a strong emotion; it is a magic pill that reduces tension, depression, anger, and boosts your energy levels, improves your mood, and helps you sleep better. People who are thankful for little things in life are optimistic, stress-free, and have high immunity levels as compared to people under stress. Another study conducted by Robert Emmons indicated that grateful people take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, regular physical examinations, which makes them lead a happy life.

So, if you practice Gratitude, especially during this pandemic, you can gain various benefits. I am not trying to advocate to express Gratitude instead of emotions of anxiety, fear, or confusion, which you might be currently experiencing. I am just helping to look for ways for yourself to gain confidence and practice self-care.

Following are a few simple ways to practice Gratitude daily:

Start by taking a few moments to recognize all those things that are going well in your life.
Feel a sense of abundance in your life.
Appreciate the contributions of others in your life.
Enjoy life’s small pleasures and blessings.

Initially, it might be that these attitudes do not come to you naturally. Initially, these attitudes may not come to you naturally, but, therefore, deliberately paying attention to these positive attitudes the positives you can train yourself to see more and more of them. It will make you realize that you have most of what you need and a lot of what you want in life. You have people to love you, food to eat, a bed to sleep in, and a roof over your head and so on.

Try to relax and sit down to list your Joys. Make this a regular habit, set aside a few minutes each day to purposely practice Gratitude, and you will feel a change. I must say: Go ahead, try it out right now.

What or who do you have in your life to be thankful for? I am sure your list will not end soon.

Tips to Fall Asleep Naturally

December 4, 2019 by Jennifer Ka

Here are ways to fall asleep naturally:

1. Applying oil to the foot soles is one way to induce sleep according to Ayurveda. It grounds the person and also alleviate psychological imbalances since negative emotions can accumulate at the soles of the feet.

2. Drink a cup of warm milk or almond milk before bed. Warm milk can promote healthy tissues, balance the nervous system, and prepare the body to sleep.

3. Eat a small meal three hours before bedtime. Dinner time should actually be the smallest meal of the day and should be eaten 3 hours before you sleep so it has time to digest. Something warm like hot soup will sit well in the tummy and won’t be heavy before bedtime.

4. Turn off electronics one hour before bed. Have a detox break from your phone and television to give your eyes and body some rest from stimulation. Too much stimulation can cause a lot of stress to the system and lead to unrestful sleep.

5. Build a sleeping routine. Having regular sleeping patterns will naturally signal the body to know when to sleep. Sleeping before 10 PM and waking up before sunrise is ideal for optimum health.

6. Try a guided meditation or yoga nidra before bed. Yoga nidra takes one into deep rest that can be even better than sleep! It helps activate the relaxation response and can improve the function of our endocrine & nervous system.

Prevent and implement new habits so nothing can steal away your beauty sleep! During sleep the whole body is rejuvenated and recharged. If it cannot recharge your batteries will go low and you will eventually burn out. Make proper sleep a much needed priority on your list.

Watch the SneakPeek of JoyScore Visualization Meditation.

These are the Things you Should Take Care of Before 2020

September 27, 2019 by Marcela De Vivo

Not to alarm you, but 2020 is less than 100 days away.

Where are you on your resolutions list? Savings plan? Business endeavors?

Regardless of what you had in mind for 2019, with one quarter left, there’s still plenty of time to get things done. This is a great time to wrap things up and start new tasks. And there are several things that need to be done by the end of the year.

Here are some things that we should all have in order before starting a new decade:

Spend your FSA If you have a flexible spending account at work, now is the time to spend the money. These funds typically expire at the end of December.
Get your health in order Make sure you get in your yearly checkups with your primary care doctor, optometrist, and dentist
Clean your space Don’t limit your closet purging and mass cleanings to the spring time. Now is the perfect time to declutter and optimize your space.
Check in on your credit We are all entitled to a free credit report every year. If you haven’t gotten yours yet this year, its time to get that taken care of.
Sort out your donations If you haven’t made your donations to your favorite charity yet, you’ll want to do that soon. You only have a few months left to donate and still be able to claim them when filing your 2019 taxes.
Get your taxes ready Speaking of filing taxes, take this opportunity to start prepping for the tax season. Make your future self’s life a little easier by organizing your receipts and financial documents now.
Dust off that goals list Remember the things you wanted to get done this year? Well if you haven’t already, now is the time to do them.

If you want to make the most of 2020, make sure you close up any loose ends these last few months of 2019. Completing these tasks will ensure that you start off this next decade calmly and confidently.

How Successful People Make the Most of Their Weekend

September 5, 2019 by Marcela De Vivo

With the weekend fast approaching, its time to take a look at how we will spend our time. Though many of us look forward to it all week, are we truly taking the time to make the most out of our weekend?

To help move you in the right direction, below is a list of ways in which highly successful people spend their weekend

They unplug you aren’t doing yourself any favors by staying connected to your device 24/7. The weekend is a great time to unplug. If you manage a team, this is a perfect opportunity to empower your team to make decisions without you. If you are a part of a team, now is the time to establish healthy boundaries.

They volunteer There is nothing more rewarding than making a difference in the world around you. Helping those in need helps you keep things in perspective and studies show that people who volunteer in their local communities feel more personal growth and well-being.

They explore hobbies Pursuing your hobbies is important for your overall well-being. Whether it’s a sport or an art, cultivating your hobbies can help you unwind, create and foster friendships, and improve your overall happiness in life.

They spend time with family and friends Sometimes our weeks are so busy and routine-infused that we don’t have time to have quality, unstructured time with our loved ones. The weekend is the perfect time to reconnect with family and friends. This could be sharing a meal or going on an outing, or having a long phone conversation with a faraway friend.

They stay active There are many physical and emotional benefits that come along with an active lifestyle. Though a long week makes it tempting to lay on the couch all weekend, you’ll feel better and more fulfilled if you incorporate physical activity into your plans.

On Saturday, fight the urge to binge-watch the next show on your Netflix queue, and head outside. You never know what creative or personal breakthrough may happen through constructive use of your downtime.