Weekly tips, affirmations, and small actions to feel your best.

What Does Mercury’s Transit on May 9th Mean For Your Zodiac Sign?

On May 9 this year, make sure you look to the heavens so you don’t miss Mercury, one of the hardest planets to see, emerging in broad daylight. You’ll see Mercury inching across the sun for approximately five hours that day. However, unless you have special glasses meant for viewing an eclipse, then just wait for the filtered internet videos so you don’t damage your eyes by looking too hard at the bright sun.

Even if you don’t see it with your eyes, this event will bring many changes to all the signs in the zodiac, so it holds a lot of meaning for all of us. You will feel and see these changes happening in your life throughout 2016, so get prepared.

Mercury represents communication and openness, so anything you’ve been hiding will soon come to the surface, and others will also start to show their true colors. This year, we’ll all find important details about ourselves and our lives that will propel us forward into the future. Also, this year, we’ll see all the difficulties and obstacles we’ve been facing slowly fade away, which I think we can all agree is positive news.

As we progress and move through our own cycles of personal growth, we’ll start to see many positive changes in our lives. The change we want to see begins within ourselves, so we all must work together on ourselves if we truly want to see positive, measurable changes happening in our realities.

Mercury’s transit will surely bring about many surprising, yet necessary changes for every sign in the zodiac. Read below to find out what this astrological event means for you!

What the Mercury Transit on 5/9/2016 Reveals According To Your Zodiac Sign

Aries March 21 — April 20

Aries, the beginning of the year will prompt you to look over your current obligations and responsibilities and see where you might want to cut things out to have more free time. You want more freedom and time to yourself, but your overachieving attitude often makes this difficult.

However, you realize that you need to allot more time to personal things, so you have started to put yourself first and not allow your ego or other people to dictate your actions.

This year, you’ll start to relax and not let your competitive nature get in the way of your personal happiness. You’ll learn that you can fail sometimes, and the world won’t come crashing down around you because of this.

Things will become clearer as you let go of everything that once held you back and embrace the mentality of true freedom and nonchalance. You won’t totally lose your go-getter attitude, of course, but you’ll learn to make the best of it and not allow it to dictate your whole life anymore.

You will move into this year with a lighter heart and a clearer mind and feel more energized for the year ahead. Letting go of the reigns a bit will improve your relationships with others because you won’t feel so stuck on the aspect of control in a personal and interpersonal sense.

With the Transit of Mercury fastly approaching, you’ll find that the obstacles you’ve faced mentally and emotionally will either start to melt away, or you’ll find your own way around them.

Taurus April 21 – May 21

Taurus, this year, you’ll find out what matters most to you and uncover more about your purpose here on this planet. Recently, you’ve also been caught up in the matter of wondering if other people even care about your opinion or not. However, you don’t mind either way – you’ve finally gotten to a place where you feel confident in your ability to live life on your own terms and not look to others for acceptance.

This year, you’ll learn to trust that inner voice more than ever, and your self-assured attitude will attract others of a like mind. Taurus, normally you have been a bit reticent and closed off to your emotions, but this year, you’ll open your heart and free yourself of all the suppressed emotions you’ve locked inside for so long. This will prompt others to let go and tell you what they’ve been hiding.

Since you will appear more confident to others, people will start to respect you more. You’ll find that your circle of friends will grow tremendously, and your social life will explode. You haven’t been one to have a lot of friends and go out too often, but this year, get prepared for a huge expansion of your social circle.

Also, you will find more abundance money-wise this year. You won’t have as many money worries, and the things you’ve wanted for so long have finally begun to materialize for you..

No matter what you feel drawn to as far as your passion, you will surely go after it this year as you gain the confidence and financial stability to do so!

Gemini May 22 — June 22

When you look around at people in the world, you often wonder how so many of them have attained so much power. You’d like to have some of this power but often don’t realize that you possess it at this very moment. You don’t realize what potential you have, and, therefore, can’t use your power to its fullest.

In the year of 2016, Gemini, you’ll start to learn more about yourself than ever before. You will discover the inner workings of your mind and figure out what processes work best for you, and which don’t.

This year will involve a lot of self-reflection, but all the work will bring real, measurable results. You will evolve in many different ways and will come out as a more whole, powerful, authentic person at the end of it.

Even if you think you know yourself to the core, you can always do more inner work to reveal what you’ve been unknowingly hiding within.

During the transit of Mercury, you’ll have the urge to look inside your heart for the answers you never even knew you possessed. You’ll discover that you have more power than you realize, and not to doubt yourself so much. Using this self-knowledge, you’ll have better results in real life, and the work you’ve done within will definitely pay off.

Basically, you’ll learn how to achieve results without working so hard for them.

Cancer June 23 — July 23

Cancer often puts others first so much that you forget about yourself somewhere in that process. However, in 2016, you’ll figure out when to say no and when to listen to your gut. You won’t have the urge to bend backward so much for others; instead, you will listen to your own needs more.

Of course, you might still feel a little guilt when you have to turn someone down, but at least you’ll learn to put yourself first for a change.

You will also learn that you can’t please everyone, and sometimes, telling them no will help them more than if you just gave in to their request.

One person stands out this year that you seem to want to please more than others. You’d do anything for this person, but ask yourself – does helping them out so much affect my own happiness and peace? If so, you will want to examine that relationship and determine if they have been pulling their weight. If not, you should give them space until they have had time to think about their intentions with your relationship.

Cancer, you’ll learn to have better relationships with others this year by putting yourself first. You won’t say yes just because you need to please everyone – you’ll say yes because you feel like doing so. Your previous relationships may have suffered because of your people-pleasing habits, but all of that will end this year.

In this magical year of 2016, you’ll emerge more authentically at the end, get rid of relationships that no longer serve you, and really start listening to your intuition more than ever.

Leo July 24 — August 23

Leo, you have been known to stand your ground and not give up without a fight. You have a headstrong attitude, which can get you far in life. However, sometimes you get so caught up in being right or getting the last word in that you fail to understand the other person’s point of view.

This year, you’ll leave behind negative thinking patterns and ways of dealing with others and have a healthier manner of negotiating and sorting out issues with people.

The possibilities truly abound as you dive into this year, and your relationships with people will deepen as you eliminate habits and patterns that no longer serve you or others.

In 2016, you’ll also find out that you didn’t know someone as well as you thought you did, so exciting new things will happen with this relationship.

Allow this person to show you the side of themselves they had previously hidden, and don’t get too surprised when the person that emerges seems different than the one you thought you knew.

Basically, during this year, just allow things to happen organically. Don’t question or fight reality – just embrace it. You will grow in many areas this year, Leo, if only you allow yourself to relax and go with the flow.

You might have felt trapped emotionally and mentally before, but now, all those blocks will go away as you figure out more about yourself and others.

Virgo August 24 — September 23

Virgo, you’ve never been in tune with your inner voice, and sometimes, you might not even be aware of it. You might not always understand the voice, but this year, you’ll have more clarity regarding your intuitive self.

This year, try not to allow your skepticism to rule your life. Allow yourself to go on a spiritual journey, even if you don’t know where it will lead or what it all means in the moment. The more you doubt your higher self and inner voice, the farther away from your real self you will stray.

If you can trust your spirit, you’ll attract others who have also become attuned with their highest vibration. This will allow for more authentic relationships in your life, instead of constantly attracting those with lower vibrations.

During this Transit of Mercury, allow yourself to become immersed in the parts of yourself you didn’t even want to touch before, because only through this method can your real soul emerge, and you can begin to grow spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

zodiac sign

Libra September 24 — October 23

This year Libra, you’ll finally begin to understand what works for you and what you should discard. You haven’t always been able to discern between the two in the past, but in 2016, it will all become clear for you.

You haven’t always been the best at knowing which things make you feel good and which things weigh you down in life, but this year, you will get to know yourself on an incredibly deep level.

During 2016, you’ll discover new talents and likes that you may not have even considered. As we get older, we tend to become more closed off and like to get set in our routines. However, we can’t possibly grow this way. 2016 invites you to throw away all those stereotypes in your head and preconceived ideas of what you will excel at, and simply dabble in many different things to find your strengths.

Like they say, if you never try, you’ll never know.

2016 invites you to take a closer look at the things you once threw away without a second thought. You might realize that you overlooked something meaningful to you, or discover that you have a hidden talent that you never knew about before.

Libra, you tend to enjoy order and routine, but let all of that go out the window this year. Don’t get stuck in a routine; allow yourself to try new things and experience the beauty of variety and stepping outside your comfort zone.

Scorpio October 24 — November 22

Scorpio, this year it looks like all the troubles you’ve been facing will finally begin to melt away. All the hard work you’ve been putting in will finally pay off, and you will start to feel lighter emotionally, mentally, and physically.

Oftentimes, you confuse the past with the future – you tell yourself that because things happened a certain way before, they have no choice but to unfold the same way again. However, you can’t use the past to predict the future. You will only hold yourself back this way.

You’ll become a beacon of light this year, Scorpio, and leave behind all your insecurities. You will make positive changes in your life, and learn to coexist and collaborate with others. Even though you like to lead and give direction, you must learn to work with others if you truly want to succeed.

Scorpio, you’ve felt stagnant in your life for a long time, but this won’t last forever. Finally, the scales begin to tip this year, and you’ll see progress on all the work you’ve done and the effort you’ve put in.

The universe realizes your potential to effect change, and wants you to step into your role this year. Therefore, you’ll overcome many obstacles as you discover your true purpose on this planet.

Sagittarius November 23 — December 21

Unfortunately for you, Sagittarius, this year won’t start out that easily. Every day, you’ll pick away at a new challenge, but even though it may seem frustrating, it will help you grow. Remember each day’s lesson, and don’t forget what you can learn from these experiences. You might still have many mountains to ascend at the end of the year, but think back on what you’ve learned from it all.

You have a plan or a destination in mind, and because you have high standards for yourself, you’ll see the journey through to the end this time.

What you have been going through now and what work you’ve done internally will prepare you for the next 30 years or so. In other words, the work you’ve been doing matters greatly for your future.

You tend to have a clear direction for your life and have great confidence in yourself; as long as you can keep this attitude up, you will see great rewards in the future.

You chose this path, remember, so only you can decide where to go from here. All of the obstacles will seem worth it once you reach the top of that mountain you have your eyes on.

Capricorn December 22 — January 20

Capricorn, you’ve been known for your stubbornness and workaholic tendencies, but you also have many good qualities. You seem to improve with age, and your best qualities emerged this year.

You’ve always been a hard worker and love taking on new tasks and gaining more experience in the workplace. You work harder than any other sign, and this year, all that hard work will begin to pay off. You haven’t always believed in yourself – you’ve sort of just done the work because you felt obligated. But now, you’ll start to see WHY the work matters in your life and how you can impact others.

This year, you’ll see the possibilities that may have been hidden before. You haven’t been the biggest believer in trusting in your imagination; you only believe in results. However, your dreams will begin to speak louder this year, and you’ll see their value. Others will also start to believe in your dreams, and the doubters will fall to the wayside.

Aquarius January 21 — February 19

In the beginning of 2016, you might have a feeling of heaviness and tension. You’ll have high standards to meet, and might feel under pressure to meet them.

However, you’ll see the top emerge after walking up the mountain. All the battles you’ve faced have happened for a reason, to show you how much you can truly accomplish.

Within you, you’ve always had the fire in your belly, but sometimes, it burns hotter and brighter than at other times. This year, you’ll start to reignite this flame and regain purpose in your life.

While the fire may not burn very brightly, just go with it. A fire that burns is always better than one that doesn’t ignite at all.

Slow progress is the game’s name, Aquarius, but slow progress is better than no progress. Slow and steady wins the race, after all.

chinese zodiac

What does your Chinese zodiac promise?

Pisces February 20 — March 20

This year, you’ll discover many new opportunities, but you’ll have to do a bit of digging for them first. After all, you’ll only find them if you search for them.

Believe in yourself, first and foremost, and you can achieve anything you desire. Keep faith in yourself, and the universe will reward you. Work with the universe and the Law of Attraction, not against it, and you’ll surely find yourself down the path to abundance.

In this Transit of Mercury, make sure that you stand strong and conquer your inner demons. Don’t allow them to speak too loudly. Remember to also remain happy about others’ progress, even if you haven’t made similar gains in your own life. You will only become bitter if you allow other people’s successes to bother you.

5 Mind Tricks That Improve Relationships

No matter how strong your relationship is, there is always room for improvement. Maintaining your relationship isn’t a chore you cross off your checklist. It’s seeing your relationship as your number one priority. Part of this means keeping the spark in your romance to avoid falling into a rut. This is more than a big romantic event that happens once a year. It’s the little daily habits, or mind tricks, as some like to call them, that can make your relationship go from boring to beautiful.

Five Mind Tricks That May Improve Your Relationship

Here are some little daily habits or mind tricks to improve your relationship.

Mind Trick #1 – Schedule time to talk

Life is hectic. You may be busy with school, work, and the kids. Good chance, the two of you barely have time to talk about anything besides who’s dropping off your daughter for soccer practice or who’s picking up dinner. If you don’t schedule a time to speak, it won’t happen. Having an hour or two together every week to catch up with one another is essential for the health of your relationship. It’s a simple mind trick that reaps big rewards.

Every week at a scheduled time, stop what you’re doing and spend time together to talk. Put the kids to bed, pour two glasses of wine, and sit beside each other on the sofa. Share how you’re doing. Ask one another questions. Start with the mundane stuff like how your work is going and then move to more profound questions that spur conversations.

mind tricks

Here are some mind tricks you might try:

  • What are you most afraid of?
  • What’s the best food you ever ate?
  • Which physical feature do you love about me?
  • If we could live anywhere, where would it be?
  • What’s one thing you’d like to change about yourself?
  • What’s your most embarrassing moment?
  • Describe me in two words?
  • Describe yourself in two words.

Mind Trick #2 – Say thank you, and please

You may practice good manners with your co-workers and friends but slip up when you’re around your partner. It may sound cliche, but using good manners around your partner shows them respect. Saying things like “thank you” or “please” can make your significant other feel loved. Greeting them when they get home from work is another simple mind trick that shows you care. Your greeting can make them feel glad to be home and as if someone appreciates them. Let’s face it; it can be a rough world.  Showing your partner respect, love, and care helps buffer the hardness of life and makes your home a lovely place to come home to.

Mind Trick #3 – Show affection

A healthy relationship doesn’t miraculously happen. It takes effort from both you and your partner. As some like to call it, a straightforward habit or mind trick that breathes life into your relationship is showing affection: a simple caress or kiss as you pass by expresses love. Physical affection deepens a romantic relationship.

Some suggestions for showing affections include these mind tricks:

  • Holding hands in public
  • Hugs
  • Kiss before you leave, and when you come home
  • Love pats on the back or behind
  • Flirty looks during the day
  • Smiles across the room when you’re in a crowd
  • Give little gifts
  • Check-in during the day via text or phone
  • Say, “I love you” often during the day

Having a healthy, strong relationship with your partner not only affects your relationship. But researchers found that young adults who had families with a healthy, caring family atmosphere while growing up were less likely to get into a relationship with poor problem-solving skills or violence. Positive parental role models helped individuals to have positive interactions with their own families.

mind tricks

Mind Trick #4 – Be vulnerable

Another critical component or mind trick that will improve your relationship is opening up and being vulnerable with your partner. This means dropping your guard and letting them into your struggles, fears, hopes, and dreams. It means allowing your partner to see you when you’re not at your best. When you’re vulnerable, you open up and tell your partner what you need without fear. They will reject you. It can be hard at first, but over time as you build a foundation of trust between the two of you, you can learn to be more vulnerable.

Here are some reasons vulnerability is so crucial in a relationship.

  • Vulnerability shows genuine: If you never let down your guard, it comes across as disingenuous and fake. It’s hard to relate to someone who doesn’t open up.
  • Vulnerability inspires others: When you open up and share who you are, it will boost your partner to be more vulnerable. Humbling yourself to admit you’re wrong about something will help them recognize their shortcomings.
  • Vulnerability cultivates trust:  Having trust in your relationship is essential to show vulnerability. As you let down your guard, it will help your partner feel comfortable doing the same.
  • Vulnerability takes courage: Being vulnerable means you are strong enough to be authentic. You can advocate for yourself by asking for help or explaining what you need.
  • Vulnerability deepens your relationship: A relationship without vulnerability is shallow and won’t last long.
  • Vulnerability cultivates forgiveness: When you and your partner are authentic and genuinely repentant about your shortcomings, it makes it easier for you to forgive one another.

Mind Trick #5 – Be committed to the relationship

A committed relationship is one where the two partners work together to maintain the health of the relationship. It’s saying, “We are in this for the long haul.” It’s doing the hard work to keep the relationship strong. Couples who show commitment to their relationship have specific characteristics.

They talk about their hopes and expectations of their relationship:

Couples who talk about where their relationship is and where it will show commitment to the relationship. They’re aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the relationship but want to work hard to improve it.

They make plans:

Committed couples talk about plans such as holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays. They’re committed to celebrating life together rather than apart from one another. If your partner doesn’t want to commit to future events, it could signify that they aren’t as committed to the relationship as you thought.

They put effort into the relationship:

Having a healthy relationship means you are both willing to work towards that goal. It means that both of you will pull equal weight doing chores or errands or child care. You’re eager to discuss the complex things like what your partner does that irritates you or ask your partner what they would like to do differently in the relationship.

They support each other:

A committed relationship means both partners support one another no matter what. They’re in the relationship for the long haul and won’t back down when things are difficult. Both partners would rather face the storm together rather than apart.

Did you know that the more committed you are in your relationship, the greater your health benefits? Studies found that when you work to improve your relationship, it will improve your mental health. Overall, a healthy relationship where both partners are committed to one another is foundational for better mental health outcomes.

mind tricks

Final Thoughts on Mastering The Mind Tricks That Can Strengthen Relationships

If you see a couple who has a strong relationship, it’s guaranteed they worked hard to get to where they’re at. Relationships don’t just happen. Certain habits or mind tricks, as some like to call them, improve a romantic relationship. Couples who practice these mind tricks see their relationship as their number one priority. They schedule times to communicate, be vulnerable with one another, express their affection, and show respect by practicing good manners. They are in the relationship for the long haul because they see a future together. It’s the little habits that will make a difference to grow your relationship into something beautiful for others to see.

This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Drink Wheatgrass Every Day

Wheatgrass is one of the most amazing natural foods that you can drink every day. In fact, the wellness benefits that it provides for your body are outstanding. Once people try the flavor of wheatgrass, it is not uncommon for them to crave sweet healthiness as a daily treat.

Fear is not something that should be on your mind when you try wheatgrass for the first time. Wheatgrass juice is a fresh, sweet, bright drink that will remind you of carrot juice but with more sunshine in it. Let’s look at what happens in your body when you drink wheatgrass juice every day.

This Is What Happens To Your Body When You Drink Wheatgrass Every Day

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There is a story told in the book Wheatgrass Nature’s Finest Medicine: The Complete Guide to Using Grasses to Revitalize Your Health, of someone healing themselves from colon cancer by drinking 8 oz of wheatgrass and by also using an anal cleanse of 8 oz of wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass is a healthy, vegan food that requires little energy to produce. In fact, you can grow it in your kitchen window, juicing daily. It gives you almost all of your nutritional needs in a tasty, sweet-flavored, fresh brink.

Preventing cancer is one of the best benefits of drinking wheatgrass juice daily. Wheatgrass contains chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is responsible for preventing the metabolic activation of cancer-causing agents in the body. The anti-mutagenic properties of wheatgrass juice are good for preventing your healthy cells from undergoing changes that make them become cancerous.

Furthermore, wheatgrass extracts contain significant amounts of phenolic compounds including flavonoids. The phenolic compounds of plants are responsible for antioxidant activity in the body, and they have the effect of reducing the incidence of cancer. Flavonoids also play a role in the regulation of cell activities.

Illnesses Helped By Drinking Wheatgrass Juice Every Day

Researchers studying the anti-cancer effects of wheatgrass say ‘Wheat germinated over six to ten days is generally called wheatgrass. During germination, vitamins, minerals, and phenolic compounds including flavonoids are synthesized in wheat sprouts, and wheat sprouts reach the maximum antioxidant potential. Wheatgrass contains vitamin C and E, ‘-carotene.’

The scientists say ‘Wheatgrass extract has an antioxidant activity, [it] inhibits proliferation of leukemia cells, and induces apoptosis; thus, this finding may represent a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.’ Apoptosis is a type of cell death and cancer cells are resistant to death by apoptosis. Killing cancer cells with wheatgrass extract is a huge benefit of drinking this tasty juice every day.

The heath benefits that we have already mentioned for cancer prevention seem pretty outstanding for a sweet drink like wheatgrass juice, but there are even more health benefits that it can give your body.

Chronicles of Young Scientists Online says Wheatgrass juice ‘is a complete food and contains carbohydrates, proteins, all essential minerals, and vitamins. Wheatgrass therapy is recommended for patients suffering from chronic diseases such as asthma, atherosclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, joint pains, TB [tuberculosis], constipation, hypertension, diabetes, bronchitis, insomnia, eczema, sterility, hemorrhage, obesity, and flatulence. It is also useful in the treatment of cancer. The WGJ [wheatgrass juice] is immediately absorbed into the bloodstream and gives energy. On an empty stomach, it enters the bloodstream in about twenty minutes. The energy lasts throughout the day. It is practically a fountain of youth and found to have numerous health benefits.’

Cysonine.org also says that these other disorders can be helped by drinking wheatgrass juice daily; ‘jaundice, menstruation, hydrocele [fluid accumulation], dysentery, mental debility [weakness], tooth problems, evacuation of bowels, and the cold-related problems.’

wheatgrass

Nutrition From Drinking Wheat Juice Every Day

Wheatgrass juice contains the following vitamins

  • Vitamin A is important for younger-looking, clear, healthy skin, and it can also improve eyesight.
  • B helps with digestion and may help with depression, insomnia, and anorexia as well.
  • C is also in the juice, which is a natural antibiotic. Vitamin C helps with gum, teeth, and bone health as well as helps healing from injuries.
  • E, which is helpful to women during pregnancy. It also helps in the treatment of sexual impotency, diabetes, cancer, heart disorders, and menstrual cycle irregularities.

When you drink this juice daily, you also get the benefit of digestive enzymes. These enzymes help a healthy body absorb all of the beneficial nutrition from your food.

Wheatgrass juice contains the following minerals:

  • Iron: Iron is ‘helpful in pregnancy, for excessive sweating, pale complexion, laziness and lethargy, and insomnia’
  • Calcium: Calcium strengthens the bones
  • Potassium: Helps prevent hypertension, helps mental health by reducing feelings of depression
  • Zinc: Good for prostate gland health and hair health, shine, and vitality
  • Sodium: Manages fluid levels in the body for proper water balance in cells.

6 Signs Your Partner Is Emotionally Draining You

There are times that when we fall in love, or start a new relationship, we are blinded to the toxic energy and intentions of the other person. Dr. Judith Orloff, author of Emotional Freedom, believes that there are several types of personalities that fall into the scope of emotional vampires. She says, “When encountering emotional vampires, see what you can learn. It’s your choice. You can simply feel tortured, resentful, impotent. Or, as I try to do, ask yourself, “How can this interaction help me grow?” They drain our energies. They take what they want and leave the person discarded and blindsided.

Here Are 6 Signs Your Partner Is Emotionally Draining You:

emotionally draining partner

1. The martyr-victim

This type of person sucks your energy while making you feel responsible for all that happens to them. They are the ones who use guilt to possess whatever they want from you. This is the person who uses old stories of the blame with a poor-is-me attitude trying to manipulate your life. If this is your new mate you can start by shifting the stories. Most victims do not like when the tables are turned. It’s all about them. Utilize their own scenarios. They can suck your positive energy out if you don’t stop them on their tracks.

2. The narcissist

These folks live in their own dimensional reality and the universe revolves around them at all times. Nothing else matters. They feed off the kindness of others. They will manipulate themselves into any situation, especially romantic ones. The narcissist is dangerous because they do not believe they have a problem. So, if your new date is late and doesn’t apologize, or when you call him/her on punctuality and the tables turn to make you feel like crap, this is the way they feed off emotions. They put themselves on some golden pedestal and expect you to worship them. Narcissist do not like boundaries. If you care to continue with this type of persona, then it’s up to you to call them out on their behavior as often as possible. Most likely they will go on to their next victim. Nothing enrages a Narcissist more than someone going against them.

3. The dictator

This type of person wants to control you. He or she will obsess over everything you do and make you feel bad for not doing it their way. This controller is not open for suggestions. They know what’s best for you and you better do to their liking. They will feed on souls who have traumas and utilize past events to manipulate you. Do not share too much of yourself because this type of person has no problem being “honest” and bullying their way to making you do things you do not want to do. Stand up for what you believe. When they feel that they cannot control you they will find a way to leave your side.

4. The paranoid partner

This vampire lives off creating scenarios that do not exist. They will blame you for putting them in harm, making them crazy, and driving them to do things that are unnatural. The paranoid borderline personality will make you feel like you are on a roller coaster ride of horror. One moment they are happy and loving, the next they are saying things that make no sense. You will be blamed for going against them, humiliating them, and disrespecting them. They will be eluded from reality and use jealousy with much anger and resentment. This is a dangerous emotional vampire whose sociopath behavior will destroy everyone around them. They are not only emotionally unstable but can physically act on their emotions because they don’t trust anyone.

“Paranoid vampires don’t understand the concept of trust. They never seem to realize that trust is supposed to be in their own minds, rather than in the actions of other people. Consequently, if you’re close to one of these vampires, you’ll have to re-earn his or her trust every hour on the hour. This is especially true if your relationship is sexual. A Paranoid vampire’s idea of foreplay is 20 minutes of questioning about exactly what you were thinking the last time you made love.” ~  Albert J. Bernstein, Emotional Vampires: Dealing With People Who Drain You Dry

5. The drama queen or king

This type of vampire will create a dramatic play out anything just to get attention. A small disagreement can turn into a bloody war. They feed off the energy of anyone who gives them power and attention. The Drama Queen/King will add on to anything that you like to make it theirs. They have very little sense of boundaries and perception of what is not theirs. They gossip and create stories that will belittle you while making themselves in the protagonist.

6. The sexual seducer

These vampires use lust as their weapon of choice. They feed on those who have low self-esteem. They appear as charmers and sweet talkers. Beware of their behavior when you try to take things slowly. They will force themselves on you by using your faults and imperfections. These are chauvinistic souls who use sex as their way of getting things. They rarely fall in love. They fall in and out of seductive relationships without ever looking back. And, it’s always another person’s fault. They never take responsibility for their actions.

Each one of these vampires feeds on insults, accusations, blame, vulnerability, bigotry, judgment, and manipulation. If it doesn’t feel right in a new relationship, it’s not right. Listen to your internal feelings. Emotional vampires are toxic. They will destroy everything and anything around them to get what they want. Most of these folks are secretive, vindictive, and intelligently cunning. They are con artists and thieves of emotions. Do not allow another to dictate your worth or rob you of your joy.

emotionally draining partner

7 Ways To Protect Yourself If You Have An Emotionally Draining Partner

Take these steps to protect your well-being if any of the above describe someone in your life.

1. Tough love

Practice tough love with your partner. If they get angry at you, don’t allow their anger to manipulate you into acting. Tell them you will not cover up for them or respond to their taunts. They need to understand the consequences of their actions. You can express concern for their behavior and encourage them to change, but don’t beg. They need to resolve their own issues.

2. Don’t engage with your emotionally draining partner

Refuse to engage in a conversation with an emotionally draining partner who is being disrespectful. If they’re being disrespectful, refuse to respond. Walk away. When they settle down, you can explain how they affected you. Set boundaries. If they get hostile, leave. Don’t put yourself in a dangerous situation.

3. If necessary, emotionally detach

It’s difficult to detach yourself from someone you love, but you may need to pull away to deal with your feelings of confusion and to figure out what to do. Accept that things are broken in the relationship. It’s not selfish to protect yourself from someone who is hurting you.

4. Focus on the positive things

Focus on what is positive in the situation. Perhaps your partner is listening to your concerns. Or perhaps they’ve agreed to go to a counselor. Being positive doesn’t mean you’re don’t feel sad or angry about the situation. Weirdly, you need these negative feelings to get through a difficult situation. It helps you learn about yourself and how to get through them. Researchers suggest that emotionally healthy people can have negative emotions, but they’re able to bounce back from them faster. This is resilience.

5. Embrace imperfection

Relationships are messy. It’s surprising when your partner isn’t exactly who you thought they would be. Perhaps they’re going through an especially difficult time at work and not handling it well. They may be short-tempered with you. It’s important to step back and try to understand what’s going on with them.  You should gently, but firmly, tell them they need to stop blaming you for their problems at work. After everything settles down at work, be sure to talk and ask them about their behavior. Perhaps they were modeling the way their parents acted in difficult situations. Going through these hard situations can strengthen your relationship if you embrace the imperfections and work together.

6. Understand that an emotionally draining partner may not change

Remember, no matter how much you try to help your emotionally draining partner, they may not change. They may have emotional ups and downs all the time. They may be controlling. Perhaps you saw glimpses of this before your relationship but didn’t understand the extent of these issues. You can treat them with love and respect, but hold your boundaries against their hurtful attitudes.

7. Cut yourself some slack

Don’t be too hard on yourself. An emotionally draining partner can be exhausting to live with. You may try everything you know to accommodate them. Be sure to keep yourself physically and emotionally healthy. Acknowledge that you’re in a difficult situation. Remind yourself that you don’t have all the answers, but you can take it one day at a time.

emotionally draining partner

Final Thoughts on Dealing with an Emotionally Draining Partner

If you’re in an emotionally draining relationship, be sure to get help outside yourself. Talk with your pastor or a counselor about what you should do. You need support to stay emotionally healthy and strong.

This Is How Curiosity Changes Your Brain

Lifelong learning is one of the benefits of having a curious mind; now science can show us what happens in your brain when you’re learning. Our own sphere of our world is so small but it has much to offer our curious minds.

Expanding our circle of learning to other people, cultures, countries, continents, and the universe creates even more opportunities for gaining knowledge. A curious mind is a healthy mind and here are the things that are happening to your brain when you are curious.

These Things Happen to Your Brain When You Are Curious

Curious Brains In The Classroom

As children in school, we learned to sit still, listen, and pay attention to the teacher. According to a paper presented at East Carolina University, the downside to a classroom learning environment is ‘In a sedentary classroom led primarily by electronic communication, we can find that students stop exploring and instead are only memorizing. Students may forget the importance or value of asking why, how, and what. Instead, many accept what they hear to be truth or fact. Using curiosity, the brain can be a very powerful tool that can promote increased memory and enjoyment in the learning process.’

Now that we are out of the classroom, we need to remember our childlike curiosity and ask questions; why, how, and what are good questions to start with. Asking questions of people around us also helps us to connect with others while we learn.

The Desire To Understand Our World

Humans have modified our world dramatically since our arrival on this planet. Part of these tremendous changes are due to our drive to know deeply and understand how and why things work. Armed with knowledge, we are able to take action and make changes to adapt the environment to meet our needs.

One of the important reasons that we are curious is to reduce uncertainty. As an adaptation, the more knowledge we have, the safer we are. For example, learning about a tiger if we are in its native territory helps us to avoid being killed by it.

You may recall in our recent article that serotonin also plays a role in learning and memory. Decreased serotonin, for example in people suffering from depression, causes memory and learning to suffer as a result.

Related article: 5 Ways to Increase The Serotonin In Your Brain

Stress can also affect our ability to learn. Neurogistics.com says ‘Surprisingly, memory can also be impaired (meaning that the brain is not stimulated enough) when stress is inadequate. This situation is often due to lack of movement (circulation) that causes the increased release of dopamine, which is the focus and memory neurotransmitter.’

We gather information through our senses; sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell help us to get the data we need to make decisions. When we are actively gathering information, we are curious and interested in learning.

In a study of curiosity, researchers looked at the activity in the brain when presented with topics that people were either interested in or not interested in. Researchers who scanned the brains of subjects with MRIs found:

  • People are better at learning information that they are curious about
  • Memory for other information presented during curious states also improved
  • Curiosity and anticipatory activity happens in the nucleus accumbens and midbrain
  • Memory benefits for incidental material depend on midbrain-hippocampus involvement

The nucleus accumbens is a center in the basal forebrain that is also important for motivation, pleasure, and reward. The nucleus accumbens also connects to the olfactory (sense of smell) center of the brain, which is why certain scents trigger memories for us.

The fact that the motivation center of the brain is active when we are curious means that learning serves as a type of reward for us. We enjoy the act of being curious.

The midbrain includes centers for vision and hearing. The hippocampus plays a role in both long-term, short-term memory and spatial abilities. All of these memory centers are active when we have the desire to learn.

In our recent article, we talked about how random thoughts or mind pops often links to memory and problem solving, as well as helping with creativity.

Related article: Why Random Thoughts Are Actually Important

The researchers in the curiosity study say ‘These findings suggest a link between the mechanisms supporting extrinsic reward motivation and intrinsic curiosity and highlight the importance of stimulating curiosity to create more effective learning experiences.’

The desire to learn makes it easier for us to retain information. In other words, you won’t remember it if you don’t care about it first. Becoming childlike again with our desire to discover and explore our world can help us to increase our knowledge base.

What Does Your Iris Reveal About Your Health?

Proponents of iridology claim that the iris of the eye can reveal a lot about a person’s emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual health. Practitioners of iridology mainly use the practice as a preventative tool, an early warning system. The practice can also be useful in the evaluation of the healing process and for discovering signs of eventual health. It is common for practitioners to use the principles of iridology to gauge their health status in a multitude of areas.

The basic foundational principles of iridology are as follows:

  • The iris is an extension of the brain and consists of many thousands of nerve endings.
  • Each organ connects to the iris via the nervous system.
  • Every organ is encompasses a certain amount of space in either the left or right iris of the eye.
  • The physical appearance of the iris (patterns, colors, etc.) are a manifestation of each organ’s health.

Iris: A flat, colored, ring-shaped membrane behind the cornea of the eye, with an adjustable circular opening (pupil) in the center. – Dictionary.com

What Does Your Iris Reveal About Your Health?

Related article: 5 Warning Signs Of Early Vision Loss

The iris itself is made up of very dense and straight lines that extend from the pupil to the outer rim of the eye. When these lines take on a shade similar to that of hardwood, vitality and recovery ability are believed to be strong. However, if these lines are loose and resemble softwood in color, it is believed that underlying health is weak.

It is also possible for these normally-fine lines of the iris to become distorted. When this happens, it is common for these lines to separate further from one-another. Called “markings,” these distorted lines can mean weak blood circulation and damage and/or poor health of a particular organ.

Color changes of the iris may also reveal potential health problems. For example, brown discolorations in blue or green eyes may indicate digestive system deterioration, weakness of the gall bladder, and/or liver problems.

When color of the iris changes from a bluish to brownish shade, the body may be having an allergic reaction of some kind. People with allergies involving the skin, respiratory system and digestive system commonly experience a similar color change.

White markings within the iris may indicate that an organ is inflamed, while grey or brown markings may indicate that an organ requires some type of strengthening or stimulation. It is common for organs that are inflamed to becoming chronically weak, during which time the white of the iris will take on a shade of grey. It is believed that the darker the grey area, the weaker the organ(s). Conversely, when an organ begins to heal, the grey coloration will convert back to its original white color.

Here are some of the more-common iridology discoveries:

  • Pupil reflex: Non-contraction of the pupil when exposed to bright light may indicate dullened reflexes, an overstimulated nervous system, or weakened adrenal glands.
  • Nerve rings: Circles or arcs of a white color may appear on the outer part of the iris. The appearance of these circles/arcs may indicate irritation or hypersensitivity of the nervous system.
  • Stomach area discoloration: When healthy, the stomach area of the iris is not visible. However, stomach irritation will generally result in the area bordering to the pupil turning white. Brown coloration of this area may indicate chronic stomach problems.
  • Intestinal area discoloration: A white intestinal area of the iris can indicate inflammation, ulcer or irritation. In this case, practitioners will often avoid certain products, including: gluten, spices, acidic foods and dairy products.
  • White outer ring: A thick, white ring on the iris’s outer parts may indicate excessive salt intake. So avoid sodium, drink plenty of water and ingest plenty of potassium, magnesium, and vitamin D. Supplementation of these vital minerals is also acceptable.
  • Dark outer ring: A dark ring at the outer part of the iris, called the “scurf rim.”  It may indicate unhealthy skin. It is also common for this symptom to indicate poor lung and/or kidney circulation.

7 Things A Strong Woman Will Never Tolerate In A Relationship

You’ve created a relationship with the strong woman in your life who loves you, but you might be wondering how to keep her buff heart bonded to yours. It can be a daunting task to allow a strong woman all the freedom she needs to spread her wings while making sure that her heart belongs to you alone.

This challenging balancing act is easier than it sounds if you can avoid some seriously unacceptable behavior. Let’s discuss seven things your strong woman will never tolerate in your relationship.

7 Things A Strong Woman Will Never Tolerate In A Relationship

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1. Disrespect

Disrespect is a very broad category of behavior that a strong woman will not tolerate in a relationship. You may worry, but how will you know if you’ve disrespected her?

Disrespect for a strong woman could be anything from telling her that she throws ‘like a girl’ to disagreeing with her opinion in a derogatory way. It could be your disagreement that women deserve equal pay for equal work to your tone when you say something you thought was a compliment.

Following the Golden Rule is treating her how you would want to be treated. Even better than that is treating her how she wants to be treated. You aren’t a mind-reader, most likely, so the easiest way to avoid disrespecting her is to ask her how she would like to be treated.

2. Dominating the relationship

Control can be kinky sometimes in the bedroom. Still, when one partner totally dominates the balance of power, it puts a strong woman in a position of powerlessness, which she will never tolerate in a relationship.

Strong women know how to take the lead, when to be in control and when to be vulnerable and they can do all of it without you telling them what to do. To be in a relationship with a strong woman, you have to let her be in the drivers seat frequently.

3. Treating her with inequality

Treat the strong woman in your relationship as your equal in every way, and if she needs your help, trust her to ask for it. Make your relationship a level playing field, regardless of your income, education, ethnicity, gender, political affiliation, social status, etc. Your strong woman will appreciate the respect you’re giving her.

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4. Breaking her boundaries

If a strong woman has already told you ‘No’ or ‘Don’t do that again’ once, you’d better be sure not to break her personal boundaries again. Women have been repressed as the weaker sex for a long time in our social norms, and as a result, strong women everywhere have had to stand up and demand that they do not tread on us.

A strong woman knows her personal limits, values, morals, and beliefs and she knows where to draw the line. Don’t push her boundaries, or you will feel her anger.

5. A negative attitude toward her suggestions

Everyone can have periods of negativity and. So they will reject their partner’s ideas. But a strong woman will never tolerate someone who is always negative about her wonderful suggestions.

6. Not supporting her dreams or her heart

‘There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer’ – Marilyn Monroe

Do not think that a strong woman will continue to tolerate a partner without interest in helping her achieve her dream. For that matter, she doesn’t want you to stomp on her heart either. Support her desires or a strong woman will look to leave the relationship.

Researchers studying men’s and women’s psychological well-being in relationships found that supportive relationships are less psychologically distressful while strained relationships are associated with anxiety and distress.

Not being supported is stressful for both men and women, however, researchers also found that the strong women were more socially active than men, which meant that they would have had even higher stress levels if they didn’t have the emotional support of their friends.

7. Emotional constipation

Just let it out already. In a study of women in lesbian relationships, most strong women wanted the independence of decision-making and communicating emotions to form a deep, intimate connection to their partner. These two qualities are also desirable in a relationship with a firm heterosexual woman.

Women possess higher emotional intelligence than most men do. As a result, they pick up on the subtle body language, tone, and verbal cues that reveal hidden emotions.

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Final Thoughts on the Things Women Don’t Tolerate in a Relationship

Women are also strong because they do most of the emotional work in a relationship. That is, women seek to help their romantic partner express negative emotions, understand the reasons for the feelings, and help return their partner to a positive emotion.

How To Stop Emotional Eating In 3 Steps

Emotional eating feels like you’re filling a bottomless hole of what you think will make you feel better. The problem for most emotional eaters is that it is difficult to stop. When you feel low and you want to feel happy, emotional eating is an easy way to feel better quickly. Eating an Oreo cookie might make you feel happy, but eating the whole box will make you feel horrible.

The cycle of indulging your craving to feed your emotions, and then regretting the choice and feeling bad can then lead to emotional eating again. This up and down emotional eating roller coaster leads to weight gain. Weight gain is one major reason to work on controlling emotional eating. Unhealthy nutrition which can lead to diabetes, heart disease, inflammatory illnesses, and cancer risk is another good reason to avoid emotional eating.

Eating to manage negative emotions is not healthy. Ideally, when faced with stress that makes us feel angry/sad/afraid we would take a moment to calm ourselves and find a healthy way to change our emotional state to a positive one.

Why we like “comfort foods”

Dr. Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating; Why We Eat More Than We Think and director of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab says ‘The fact we like comfort foods is predictable, but it is also somewhat predictable which foods we will like, when and why we like them, and when all of it backfires. For starters, we found that men prefer meal-related comfort foods like steak, pasta, pizza, burgers because they make them feel special and well-taken care of. Women, on the other hand, don’t think of these as comfort foods. These foods reminded them of work – cooking and clean-up. Women much preferred the convenience of the snack foods, like cookies, chocolate, and ice cream. Eating ice cream from the container equals no cooking and no clean-up.’

Dr. Wansink and his team have conducted many experiments since 1997 when the Cornell Food and Brand Lab opened. In this research facility, scientists have created a fake restaurant where members of the public are invited to eat while researchers observe their eating habits.

Although the Cornell Food and Brand Lab has made many food-related discoveries, here are some key findings related to emotional eating during a sad movie:

  • People eat more while watching sad movies, but they can eat more healthy foods by making healthy snacks available.
  • When in a bad mood, focus on something other than the present to reduce consumption of indulgent foods.
  • To make healthier food choices, do something to make you feel happy and positive.
  • Women felt that they overate and were rushed through their meal when they ate with men due to the need to impress.

alkaline diet

Here’s a 3-step process that can help end the process of emotional eating…

Once you know the trigger, then you can make a choice to take different actions in response to the stress.

1. Say ‘I can.’

Believing in yourself and your ability to accomplish anything you set your mind to is very empowering. Even if cravings have seemed irresistible in the past, by saying ‘I can resist those brownies’ we confirm our faith in ourselves.

The power of ‘I can’ is what enables people to finish triathlons at age 60 and it’s what helps many drop 100 or more pounds. Say ‘I can resist emotional eating’ when you feel the urge to indulge.

2. Celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small.

If you were able to resist the jar of M&Ms at the office, congratulate yourself. Don’t celebrate by rewarding yourself with any food treats, unless it’s excellent nutrition, but praise yourself for making excellent choices.

3. Practice mindfulness.

Emotional eating is brought on by a trigger in your environment. Most likely, something stressful happened and you responded by wanting to self-medicate with food to increase your levels of serotonin.

Being able to recognize the trigger for the emotion is an important step to being aware of what prompts you to binge. Let’s say that every time your boss visits your desk during a day, you reach for candy. The boss coming to your desk is a stressful trigger.

10 Causes of Emotional Eating

1. Stress

Daily stress is a big contributor to emotional eating. Your work, home, family, and other responsibilities stretch you thin. It’s hard to get a break to relax. So, it’s tempting to indulge in something sweet or high-fat for comfort and a bit of relief.

2. Foods addictions

There’s a close relationship between emotional eating fueled by pleasure-seeking and food addictions. Studies found when patients ate what they considered delicious feel-good foods, their bodies released endorphins, causing them to feel happy.  Researchers say that repeating this experience over and over leads to food addictions. It’s interesting that the same motivation to use drugs, seeking pleasure, also causes your brain to release endorphins.

3. Depression

Your mental health is a big part of your decisions on what to eat. Anxiety, depression, and even anger cause emotional eating. It’s easy to turn to unhealthy foods to feel better. If you think you’re eating because of a mental health issue, be sure to get help to deal with the root causes and get your body and mind back in shape.

4. Comfort

Who hasn’t eaten a bowl of ice cream for comfort? Although food is within your control, when you need some extra comfort, all your control goes out the window. Maybe you have a hard time coping with difficult situations. So, you turn to food for comfort. It makes everything feel better, at least for a while. Major life events can trigger certain feelings that make you feel a need to gain control and feel secure again. Feelings that can cause emotional eating, and desiring comfort include:

  • Sadness
  • Frustration
  • Guilt
  • Anger
  • Fear
  • Grief

5. Boredom

Sometimes your emotional eating is nothing more than feeling bored. According to one study, some people eat when they have nothing else to do. It’s a way to escape the monotony of their life. People who ate out of boredom say they couldn’t remember what they ate. These individuals also said they didn’t feel genuine hunger, but impulsively ate to fill their day.

6. Reward

Food is often used as an incentive to finish a difficult task, or as a reward when you do a good job. This is reinforced in childhood. Food is used to comfort or motivate kids to do things. As an adult, it’s easy to fall into the same habit of rewarding yourself with emotional eating. When you work hard, you want to go to a coffee shop and get a drink and a muffin as a reward for it.

7. You watch television

It’s suggested that people eat more when distracted. If you’re intensely watching your favorite show on TV, it’s easy to overeat and not even know it. Emotional eating is connected to television ads, too. These ads play on your emotions. They use nostalgic scenes of families eating together, and suddenly you want the food the television family is eating. That’s powerful persuasiveness.

8. A bad habit

Sometimes you create a bad habit that leads to emotional eating.  If you eat three cookies with your mug of coffee every morning after you get to work, you’ve created a habit. It may seem harmless, but if you try to break the habit, you feel stressed. And weirdly, this can cause you to stress eat. Creating habits centered on food is never a good idea.

money habits

9. Peer pressure

Sometimes your friends or co-workers set you up for emotional eating. It’s easy to fall into a trap of making bad food choices when your coworker suggests getting food and drinks after work every day. Even if you don’t want to go out for drinks, you may give in, so you don’t appear like a bore to everyone else.

10. You feel tired

Feeling tired makes you emotional and hungry.  It’s your body’s way of trying to increase your energy. Munching on food becomes mindless as you try to make up for your tiredness throughout the day. A good night’s sleep helps you avoid mindless emotional eating.

Common Foods People Crave During Bouts of Emotional Eating

Many people crave these foods during stressful times.

Chocolate

Chocolate is one of the most popular foods people crave when they’re emotional eating. Some people suggest chocolate cravings is your body craving magnesium, but this hasn’t been proven yet. If you think your chocolate craving is because you’re low in magnesium, snack on magnesium-rich foods such as:

  • Edamame
  • Peanuts
  • Cashews
  • Almonds
  • Beans
  • Spinach

Ice cream

That bowl of ice cream you ate just now might be a calcium craving. Of course, it might have nothing to do with a calcium deficiency. Scientists don’t have any proof either way. If you’re craving dairy, try to avoid high-fat dairy foods. Instead, choose calcium-rich foods such as

  • Leafy greens
  • Beans
  • Milk
  • Low-fat yogurt

Pasta

Cheesy, warm, and comforting, a bowl of pasta is a common food people crave during bouts of emotional eating. Craving carbs like pasta could mean your brain needs a little boost of serotonin. Carbohydrates increase your blood sugar, which gives you more energy. These foods also encourage the production of serotonin, which makes you feel happier. It’s no wonder carbs are many people’s go-to food craving.

Cookies and sweets

When you crave sweets like cookies during bouts of emotional eating, you want a mini-brain boost that sugar gives you. The glucose boost makes you feel better for a short time, but later you have a sugar crash when your blood sugar quickly goes down. If you’re craving sweets, try to eat some berries, such as:

  • Raspberries
  • Blueberries
  • Strawberries
  • Blackberries

The berries taste sweet, but they’re lower in sugar than most fruits. Plus, they’re healthy for you to snack on.

Potato chips

Salty and crunchy potato chips rank high on the list of common foods people crave during bouts of emotional eating. When you crave potato chips, you’re really craving salt. Salt cravings could indicate a health problem.  So, talk to your doctor about them.

emotional eating

Final Thoughts on Breaking the Cycle of Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is a black hole. But remember, you’re not alone in your struggle to break the cycle of emotional eating. Many people have had emotional eating habits and found ways to break the cycle. Figuring out why you want to eat is your first step, then replacing the urge to eat with something else is next. You can break free from the emotional roller-coaster of emotional eating.

11 Quotes To Remember When You Feel Lost In Life

At some point or another, we all feel a little bit lost in life. With so many decisions to make, so many unknowns making us question our existence, and so many responsibilities to juggle, our vision can sometimes become clouded. As humans, we want to know all the answers, but unfortunately, life doesn’t really work that way. We simply have to do the best we can with what we’ve been given, and just try our hardest each day to live life according to our own principles and beliefs.

Any time you feel like you’ve lost your sense of direction, refer to the following quotes below to get back on track.

Here are 11 quotes to remember when you feel lost in life:

Read and reflect on these statements when you need a pick-me-up.

1. Always remember that your present situation is not your final destination. The best is yet to come.

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You don’t have to have everything figured out right now. Simply breathe, enjoy the journey, and don’t take life so seriously. As long as you put in the effort and believe in yourself, you’ll get where you want to be.

2. Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us.

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You can’t always predict how something in your life will affect the future, but most of the time, the hardest things in our lives prepare us for a beautiful new beginning. Trust the process, and count on your friends and family when times get rough. Once you make it through the storm, a rainbow will be awaiting you.

3. If you don’t like where you are, move. You are not a tree.

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In life, we get to make choices, but oftentimes, we get mentally paralyzed just thinking about our next move. We stay in jobs we hate in towns we don’t enjoy simply out of familiarity and fear of changing our lives. However, to live the most fulfilling, happiest life possible, change is necessary. You control your life, so you get to decide how it will unfold. Make sure you listen to your heart always.

4. You can’t start the next chapter if you keep rereading the last.

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Remember to only look back to see how far you’ve come, not to wish you could turn back time. When you feel lost in life, just remember what you’ve learned from your past, and keep your eyes focused ahead on all the good things awaiting you.

5. If it doesn’t open, it’s not your door.

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When you feel lost in life, remember that if you hit a roadblock, you can always turn around and find a different way. There are many paths to take in life, and you might still be looking for the right one for you. Take your time, and don’t rush your destiny.

6. Sometimes you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are and where you want to be.

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Sometimes, feeling lost in life just means you haven’t had enough time to connect with yourself. A walk in nature or even a short trip away from the hustle and bustle of the city could provide the clarity you’ve been seeking.

7. Sometimes you need to talk to a three-year-old just so you can understand life again.

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Adults tend to feel lost in life because we’ve lived through so much, and have had to endure many hardships. Life tends to harden us a bit and make us feel cynical and closed off. However, talking to a toddler might just make you feel better about life, because oddly enough, children seem to have this whole thing figured out pretty well.

8. Listen and silent are spelled with the same letters. Think about it.

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When you feel lost in life, remember to pay attention to what you hear in the silence. Quiet your inner world, and you’ll find exactly what you need.

9. Sometimes, you have to stop thinking so much and just go where your heart takes you.

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Maybe feeling lost in life results from overthinking. To find your path, follow your intuition, and never give up. Stay persistent, and don’t allow negative thinking to pull you in too deeply.

10. You don’t have to have it all figured out to move forward.

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Sometimes, just taking one step can show you the staircase to the door you’ve been searching for. It doesn’t take some grand plan to live a happy life. It just takes following your heart, and making a decision rather than waiting for the perfect answer to appear.

11. Never stop believing because miracles happen every day.

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Above all else, when you feel lost in life, keep your faith in yourself and believe in the universe. Suffering only takes place when we need to learn something from it, and darkness is necessary so that we may appreciate the light. You’ll find your way – just keep going and don’t let false thoughts discourage you.

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