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15 Positive Outcomes When You Nurture Your Relationships

October 30, 2021 by Kristen Butler

One thing you will learn about relationships is they’re not static, as many will come and go throughout your lifetime. Rather, each connection you have requires nurturing and care to make it flourish. Having solid relationships with other folks can benefit you, as many positive outcomes can occur.

It’s a challenge for people to stay connected these days with the fast pace of life. However, a study conducted by Harvard University showed that those folks who live the longest and healthiest lives have good social connections.

The relationships you build bring a sense of comfort to you, and they’re a source of support when you need it most. Could you imagine your life without the friendships of others? When you genuinely connect with someone, you learn to let all the insignificant grievances go, and your ability to show compassion towards another human being increases.

Fifteen Positive Outcomes That Occur When You Nurture Your Relationships

There are so many benefits that happen when you nurture your relationships. How would a plant thrive if you never watered it? It wouldn’t be long until it withered up and died. Your relationship needs watered, fertilized, and pruned. Here are some of the positive outcomes that occur when you give your relationships the care they need.

1. You Form a Strong Alliance When You Nurture Your Relationships

A cord of three strands is not as easily broken. So, when you ally with someone, you become stronger. Together you can be more challenging than you can by yourself, and they challenge you and vice versa.

Having someone that makes you better and more robust is never a bad thing. Think of the connections in your life that made you a better person? Additionally, toxic relationships can bring out the worst in you, so it’s essential to nurture the correct associations.

2. You Become a Power Listener

Many times, people listen, but they don’t truly catch all of what’s being said. However, one of the positive outcomes of nurturing your relationships is that you become a power listener. When someone matters as well as what they have to say, you increase your listening abilities.

3. If You Nurture Your Relationships, You Learn Empathy

Empathy is something that comes when you have a strong connection with another individual. You’re able to put yourself in their shoes and feel their sentiments. Not every person will walk the same path as you in life, but being able to step into their shoes and see and feel how they do becomes effortless when you nurture and connect on a higher level.

4. You Embrace a New Point of View

Each relationship you engage in throughout life will allow you to gain fresh perspectives and a different point of view. When you nurture your relationships, you learn to embrace someone else’s opinions. Having a solid connection with someone means that they will challenge your ideas and bring new thoughts to the table for you to consider, and you listen.

5. You Learn Proper Engagement

Proper engagement is about showing up and being present. What kind of parent would you be if you never showed up? Part of having a healthy connection is being there for one another.

It means attending lunch, doing things that the other person loves, and spending quality time with one another. Your connection deepens when you have proper engagement, and you’re enriched by your conversation and time together.

6. You Gain Fresh Perspective When You Nurture Your Relationships

Your whole view of a person changes when you see them through different lenses. When you nurture your relationships, it causes intimacy, and it allows you to see and hear what they have to say. You learn to see things through their eyes and understand them on a whole new level.

7. You See Through a More Charitable Lens

It’s only natural for you to be harmful when you’re upset by something another person has done. However, when you look at that person through a different lens, you see things quite inversely. Did you know that there’s always more than one way to interpret someone’s behavior? When you work to build an attitude of closeness and generosity, you become more likely to work together rather than accuse them.

8. Your Accountability Improves

Accountability is essential as when you own your mistakes, it means you’re pointing the finger at others less. It doesn’t matter how or what happened, but the fact is that you want to take full responsibility and move on. When you nurture your relationships, your accountability improves.

9. You Can Speak Freely

Another benefit when you nurture your relationships is that you learn that you can speak freely with one another. People appreciate your honesty, and when you have a healthy connection, you understand that you don’t have to beat around the bush.

You can be free to say what’s on your mind and in your heart, and they will feel the same. Your loved ones will respect your candor as they know that you’re honest and truthful with them.

10. If You Nurture Your Relationships, Quality Time Becomes Commonplace

Why is it that spending quality time seems so challenging these days? Life is busy, but you make time for the things most important to you. When you nurture your relationships, they shift in the priority level.

This person becomes a priority to you, and you want to keep in touch. Having time together to hug, make eye contact, laugh, and smile makes your life worthwhile.

11. You’re Less Critical and Offer More Praise

Speaking life into someone is easier said than done, but it’s vital for their wellbeing. When you nurture someone, you become less critical and offer more praise. One of the most unique ways that this is demonstrated is through plants.

There have been many studies conducted to show how plants respond to both positive and negative talk. A 2018 study in Korea proved that words could hurt even vegetation. The study was cited by the National Library of Medicine. A group of students decided to use two sets of plants and speak either positively or negatively to them over thirty days.

At the end of the time frame, the plants that were spoken harshly to were poor in appearance and didn’t have the health and vitality of the praised plants. If negativity can do this to a plant, then what can it do to a human being? When you nurture your relationships, you become less critical and offer more praise to help build them up.

12. You Deliver on the Commitments You Make

It’s hard to honor your commitments in life, especially when you’re required to make so many. Between your job, family, and other requirements, you can become stretched too thin. However, one of the outcomes that occur when you nurture your relationships is that you prioritize delivering on the commitments you make.

13. Your Focus Shifts

When you deeply connect with someone, you shift the focus from yourself to them. Additionally, the more attention you show others, the more willing them are to open up to you about their lives. One of the benefits of nurturing your relationships is that you want what’s best for them. When challenges arise, you’re eager to find a resolution.

14. You Learn What You Truly Like About One Another

When you nurture and care for someone, you learn what you genuinely like and respect about them. You know about all the traits and mannerisms that make them unique.

Part of cultivating a good relationship with someone is learning all their attributes. You find things you respect about them and what makes them so unique.

15. You Rarely Jump to Conclusions

When you care about someone on a deeper level, you won’t jump to conclusions. Instead, you want to get the whole picture and not be hasty in judgment. You remain open-minded because you have the best interests at heart for this person.

Final Thoughts on the Positive Things That Happen When You Nurture Your Relationships

Throughout your lifetime, you will have many relationships. Some of your connections will be good, while others will struggle. Still, you learn the importance of putting time and effort into each one.

You can look back over the associations you’ve already had and seen the ones that flourished probably did so because you took time to care for them. When you nurture your relationships, it requires you to take a hard look at yourself. You do the work needed to adjust things, and you take the focus from you and put it onto someone else.

In each connection you have, ask yourself how this relationship is better because of you and not in spite of you. You must never lose sight of the opportunities that these relationships bring to your life. Can you imagine where you would be without your close friends, partner, parents, children, and coworkers?

The more you put into your relationships, the more you will get out of them. So, strive to make them not just incrementally better but go out of your way to make them exponentially thrive.

Family Creates a Backyard Homestead to Become Self Sufficient

October 30, 2021 by Kristen Lawrence

One family decided to live more sustainably by starting Pick of the Litter Farm, a backyard homestead in Fallbrook, California. The farm sits on less than an acre of land but provides everything they need, including fruits, veggies, and eggs. The Fieri family loves knowing exactly where their food comes from, and they’re all healthier for it.

“We started our backyard homestead a few years ago after our daughter started experiencing some severe food allergies,” mom Karen said. “We started growing our own food and noticed a tremendous change in her health. So, we started with just having a garden and started with a couple chickens. She was able to eat the eggs because we were providing the chickens’ food that she wasn’t allergic to.”

How the family started their backyard homestead

They started researching and learning more about growing their foods to help ease her symptoms. They fed the chickens non-GMO, corn, and soy-free feed; in the wild, chickens would naturally eat this diet anyway. Alexis no longer got sick after eating eggs and could enjoy them again.

Although any food can trigger a reaction, nine foods cause the majority of food allergies. Soybeans and eggs are two of the most common food allergies; milk causes the most allergies in children, followed by eggs. Interestingly, Alexis could eat eggs from the backyard homestead, which means she’s probably only allergic to soy. Either way, her problems disappeared after eliminating store-bought foods.

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Karen said this:

“After realizing how much better she was doing, we grew our little homestead and started raising dairy goats, which are my favorite to raise here. And then we grew to rabbits, quail, chickens, bees. And then we’ve got our garden where we’ve got plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables that we can gather each day.”

The whole family benefits from the backyard homestead

Next, the family expanded their farm by raising turkeys, also feeding them the same diet. Not only did Alexis’ allergies improve, the kids learned so much about raising and growing food in the process. Now, they know how to produce their food from start to finish, a skill every kid should learn. In the Fieri family, the children (Alexis and Wyatt) also help take care of the animals at the backyard homestead. If you’re also keen on growing your own food or starting a farm, you may need to invest in Pre Owned Farming Equipment. If any of your equipment with hydraulic hoses need repair, you may visit sites like https://www.cir.net/hose-service-repair/.

“Our day is pretty simple; we start off where I milk the goats every morning. And then clean up after them – clean their pens, everybody gets fresh food, freshwater, and lots of love!” Karen says. “The best part about raising the animals here has been the experience of breeding and the goats having babies. Getting to experience that with my children has definitely been the highlight of our whole farming adventures.”

Alexis and Wyatt love farming so much that they decided to join the local 4H club to get involved in their community. They have taken on projects like raising rabbits as pets and meat, caring for dairy goats, dog training, archery, and shooting.

Karen believes it’s essential for the kids to learn various skills that they can use in the future. She homeschools them, so they’re getting to know things they probably wouldn’t in a conventional classroom. In addition to math and science, they’re also getting firsthand experience with working on a farm. Perhaps someday, they’ll have their backyard homesteads to put all their knowledge to the test!

Backyard homesteads can make the planet healthier, too.

A backyard homestead not only improves your health but also helps the planet as well. Our modern farming practices have severely strained the Earth, stripping the topsoil and degrading ecosystems. It’s not natural to plant only one type of food in a large area with intensive fertilizer and pesticides. To have a healthy ecosystem requires a variety of plant and animal species benefiting from one another.

You don’t have much room to work with if you have a backyard homestead, but you can still produce a decent harvest. As the Fieri’s have proven, you can have animals, a garden, and even a tiny pond on just one acre of land. It may not provide all your needs, but it will help reduce your spending at the grocery store. If backyard homesteading became the norm, we could have more localized food economies and rely much less on commercially grown foods.

There’s just nothing like reaping the fruit of your labor. It’s much more fulfilling when you put your hands in the dirt and watch the seeds grow into plants. You tend to appreciate your food more when you’ve shed blood, sweat, and tears to produce it yourself. Picking it out at the store may save you time, but it disconnects you from the natural world.

What do they do on their little farm?

The Fieris’ backyard homestead produces fresh herbs, tomatoes, cabbage, honey, and plenty of other fruits and veggies. They don’t keep all the food to themselves, however. According to their website, they offer the following products for sale:

fresh eggs
goats milk for animal use
meat rabbits
homemade lip balm, salves, deodorant
fresh herbs
turkeys
laying hens
honey
worms: mealworms, earthworms, red wigglers, worm tea

We hope this article inspires you to create your backyard homestead! Even if you don’t have an acre of land, you can still grow food in a smaller area. With the state of the world, it’s easy to get discouraged, but plenty of opportunities exist for us to heal the planet. Perhaps it all begins in our very own backyards.

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Final thoughts on how a family’s backyard homestead helps them improve sustainability

Becoming a homesteader may sound like a lot of work, but you don’t have to build a cabin in the woods to get started. If you have a backyard, that’s all you need to create your urban garden–rural property not needed. You can begin with a few fruits and veggies, then scale up to chickens or goats if you have room. Like the Fieris, your family will learn as you go and rack up plenty of experience along the way.

We can all work in small ways to reduce our carbon footprint and restore harmony to the planet. A backyard homesteader helps the earth, animals, and humans alike, creating a little ecosystem right outside your door.

10 Habits That Can Decrease Distractions and Improve Focus

October 30, 2021 by Chris Butler

Are you easily distracted? It’s challenging to get through a day without tons of interruptions, and some people can manage these intrusions and decrease distractions better than others. When you’re constantly disturbed, it causes your productivity to suffer. Take, for instance, taking your young children to the grocery store with you.

If you’re a parent, you’ve no doubt had to take your kids grocery shopping on occasion. While your mind is on dinner and having enough stuff to pack lunches, they are grabbing everything in sight. Often, when you get home, you won’t have all the things you need as they distract you.

Why was this grocery trip unsuccessful? You couldn’t focus on the task at hand due to the constant interruptions. Did you know that employers lose thousands of dollars each year due to employees being distracted? According to an article in the Huffington Post, employers lose around $10k a year per employee because they cannot focus.

Things have gotten so bad that the article cited a study that indicated that the average employee only has an attention span of three minutes before they’re interrupted. If only there were a way to decrease distractions, you could be more productive at work, home, or wherever you go.

Ten Easy Habits to Decrease Distractions

Americans have an issue with their focus and attention spans. However, some of the problems might not indeed be your fault. Here are ten easy habits that can help you to decrease distractions so you can increase your productivity.

1. Only Check Email Three Times a Day to Decrease Distractions

When it comes to distractions and things that can sabotage your productivity, checking your email is one thing on top of the list. An article by Life Hack referenced studies that some people check their email every fifteen minutes, while the average is twenty times a day. It all goes back to the theory that you must respond immediately, or others view you as lazy or slacking.

There’s nothing in your inbox that is so urgent that someone can’t call you on the business phone about it. Most corporations will let you know if something important is coming through your email so that you can watch for it. However, the rest of the people can wait.

Try checking your email first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, and before you go home from work in the evening. If you want to decrease distractions, the best place to start is with your email.

2. Silence Cell Phone and Social Media

Another major distraction is cell phones. Phones are like minicomputers where you can pay bills, chat with friends, play games, and do work. However, you likely spend too much time connected to the internet and clutter your mind.

A study by Kommando Tech found that millennials are on the phone for over five hours each day. Five hours a day is more than half of the average workday. While phones are not pleasure but necessities, enough is enough.

If you wonder why you lack productivity, then your cell phone could be to blame. Try silencing your phone and only checking it when you look at your emails. Your cell phone can be a significant interruption, so try putting it in silence to decrease distractions.

3. Avoid Using Caffeine to Fuel Your Body

Many people use coffee as a pick-me-up to get them fueled for the day. However, using stimulants is controversial because they often do more harm than good. Did you know that caffeine can increase your anxiety as well as make your heart race?

Additionally, since caffeine falls in the line of legal drugs, you need more to have the same effect. For instance, you may have started with one cup of coffee to get you going in the morning, but soon you need two or three cups to get the same effect. The real kicker is when you try to wean yourself from this simulant, as you will experience headaches and all sorts of withdrawal symptoms.

Try to avoid using energy drinks or coffee to give you stamina. There are other, healthier ways to provide you with a boost. Try ginger shots that pack your body full of vitamins or even supplementing vitamins like B12, which many believe might help you boost your energy.

Never assume you need caffeine to go, but rather investigate why you’re so sluggish. Your diet, sleep schedule, or vitamin intake may need to be adjusted.

4. Work for Shorter Time Frames Before a Break

Part of the key to getting more done with fewer distractions may be to work for shorter periods. According to the Department of Labor, each state has mandates on how much break time a person should receive. The average breaks for an eight-hour day are an hour lunch and two fifteen minute rests.

Now, you may find that working for two hours straight without getting a break doesn’t work for you. Your employer might be inclined to listen if it increases your productivity. Maybe you find that you work well for one hour, but you need a five or ten minute break before you can keep going.

Find what works for you and talk to your boss about how to help your productivity and minimize disruptions.

5. Listen to Music While You Work

Sometimes you need to go into the zone to decrease distractions. Why not plug in some earbuds and listen to some music while you work? For some folks, the music needs to be classical and have little to no words, or it will be counterproductive.

However, others find that head-banging music tends to help them focus better. Whatever works for you, please do it! It may be better to tune the world out and turn on the songs from your favorite radio channel.

6. Get Comfortable to Decrease Distractions

If you’re not comfortable, it’s going to affect your productivity. Wear clothes that make you feel like working and not miserable all day. Also, make sure your chair is comfy and at a good height, your lighting in the office is good, and you’re in a mindset ready to work.

7. Reject the “Always Connected” Mentality

Reject the theory that you must always be connected. While this mentality has taken off in the past few years, it’s unnecessary. You need to be partially related to doing your job, but it can be at designated times.

If you’re concerned this may cause an issue with your boss, you might want to consider that anything you do to enhance your productivity is going to be a win-win for them. Talk to them, tell them your concerns, and develop a plan that works for you and the company.

8. Use Post It Notes

Post-it notes are another way of having a “to-do” list. Write each task you must achieve on a post-it. When you accomplish each of these tasks, then you can throw it in the trash. It helps you to mentally see that you’re performing things to have a sense of achievement.

Have you ever had days when you feel like you’re on a roll and getting tons of things done? Well, seeing things being crossed off your list can boost your morale.

9. Keep Track of Your Task Time

Task timers have become good tools to use to see how long it takes you to do something. You may be surprised by how little or long it takes you on some things. At the beginning of each new assignment, start the clock.

See how many times your interrupted and what it costs you in productivity. You’ll be eager to make changes when you see how long a simple chore takes you with all the interruptions.

10. Determine Your Most Productive Time Frame

Some people work better at night, while others tend to do better on a second shift. Find the time that works best for you. Does your job have different shifts that you can choose from?

Perhaps you can choose your hours if you work for yourself. Or maybe you can do household chores during your most productive times. Some people don’t do mornings. So if this is the case for you, don’t plan on getting the bulk of your stuff done during that time. However, others prefer to work early. Either way, it’s about doing whatever works best to make you more productive and decrease distractions.

Final Thoughts on Ways to Decrease Distractions

A study conducted by Business 2 Community estimates that the average person has an attention span between two to five minutes. Shockingly, 95 percent of the workforce is not doing the best job because they’re so distracted. Every interruption costs your boss money, or it cost you downtime.

It will help if you learn effective ways to minimize disruptions in all aspects of your life. To decrease distractions, put your cell phone on silent, only answer your emails three times a day, turn on some music, find your most productive time, and work in time blocks. By implementing a few changes, you can make a massive difference in your day.

10 Habits That Can Soothe Your Soul After a Loss

October 29, 2021 by Kristen Butler

Are you looking for a way to soothe your soul after a significant loss? It’s time to grieve to repair your heart. But it might not be just that easy.

Loss is a complicated and extensive category that embraces so many different facets of your life. Many folks automatically think of death when they hear the word loss, but here are the five most common types of loss that are all equally painful to manage:

Functional – the loss of your ability to thrive due to an injury or illness
Intrapsychic – the loss of your beliefs or your identity
Material – the loss of a beloved possession, as a car, savings, or keepsake
Relationship – breaking close personal ties with a friend or lover
Death – the passing of someone you loved dearly

Whatever type of loss you face is a challenge, though some will be more grievous than others. It’s normal to feel a powerful sense of failure after you end a relationship, but it doesn’t compare to the psychological damage that occurs with death. The key is to soothe your soul and handle these major upheavals healthily and constructively.

Ten Helpful Ways To Soothe Your Soul After a Loss

Any loss in your life can throw you off balance and leave you in chaos. Have you ever ridden on a merry-go-round at the park? It’s fun while you’re on the wheel spinning around, but when you get off, you feel dizzy and disoriented.

The same feeling happens to you emotionally, physically, and spiritually when you experience any loss. Thankfully, you can be proactive and help to soothe your soul with some practical coping skills. Here are twelve ways to help you through the grieving process.

1. Focus on Others More Than Yourself to Soothe Your Soul

When you’re hurting, it’s only natural that you put the focus of your time on your misery. However, how would it change if you stopped focusing on your pain and started putting that energy towards something positive? If you want to soothe your soul, then why not find an organization that needs your help?

You could do a random act of kindness to someone in need, or you can get involved with a charity and help at a local soup kitchen. When you turn the attention away from your pain and suffering, you can fill it with the rich blessings of helping those who have it worse than you.

2. Start Expressing Gratitude

Expressing gratitude helps everyone to focus on the good things in life. When you’re consistently focusing on the negative things, it’s challenging to be positive. However, when you adopt an attitude of gratitude, you reset your mind and allow the positive energy to flow.

For starters, why not think about the fantastic people that you have in your life. Think of all the folks that cross your path from friends to loved ones and colleagues at work. While you might need to soothe your soul due to a recent loss, don’t let your mind focus on the issue.

When you start thinking about all the life experiences that have been amazing, the unforgettable moments, and the things you’ve been blessed with, it’s hard to stay down for too long.

3. Be Gentle and Patient to Soothe Your Soul

Don’t put unrealistic demands on yourself and become angry when you haven’t reached these goals. Be gentle and patient as you have been through a lot. When your hurts go deep down to the soul, it’s not going to go away overnight. Be easy on yourself and realize that while time can’t heal all wounds, it can make it better.

4. Use Positive Affirmations

If you’ve researched ways to soothe the soul, no doubt you’ve come across positive affirmations. These minor declarations can help you to get back on the right path through the power of positive thinking. Not to mention that they will also help to boost your spirits and energy levels.

Try saying statements like this every day:

I am grounded
I am calm
I will get through this tough time
I am enough
I will be stronger than before
I will not let this loss define me

5. Soothe Your Soul by Unplugging and Trying a Digital Detox

If you’re spending hours each day on your phone, computer, social media, and other timewasters, it’s a wise choice to unplug a bit. Digitally detoxing has become a necessary thing to a society that’s always plugged in. You will find that it can help your mental state as well as calm your soul a bit.

If you’re going through a bitter divorce, the last thing you want to see is tons of happy couples posting how much they love one another on social media. So, unplug for a couple of hours each day and see if it improves your outlook.

6. Give Yourself a Timeframe To Be Emotional

If you cry all day long, you’re not going to get anything done. However, if you learn to set a stopwatch on your grief, it can help. For instance, you can allow yourself one hour each day to cry, scream, be mad, and get it all out.

Once that hour is complete, you should dry your tears and move on. This timeout is an effective tool to help control grief. You’re not suppressing your emotions, but you’re not letting them overtake you either.

7. Understand the Fluidity of Grief

You’re no doubt well aware of the five stages of grief that were created by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. While these stages are something that everyone suffering loss experiences, they don’t always go neatly. You may start out angry and then accept the loss to have denial come around and hit you again.

In fact, grief cannot be nice and neat and done in perfect order, as it’s like a zigzag line that no one knows where it will start or end. While everyone claims they need closure after suffering loss, Pauline Boss, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota, states that there’s no such thing. She pioneered a site called Ambiguous Loss, where she uncovers her theories.

She states that people want to close the proverbial door when they lose someone, but it’s just not possible. Instead, she challenges folks to accept that they will have to learn to live with the pangs of grief the way you’ve learned to live with chronic headaches or backaches. It’s something that will just forever be a part of you.

8. Plan Ahead for Special Days

If you’ve recently suffered something like a miscarriage, you might need to prepare yourself for an upcoming baby shower for a friend. Whatever situations you face can be made worse when you’re not ready to come face-to-face with your grief all over again. Take time to make sure that you’re up for the challenge, and if you’re not, it’s okay to excuse yourself from the event.

9. Breathe Deeply to Soothe Your Soul

It’s the simplest of things to do on this list, yet it’s one of the most important. When you breathe, you let out all the anxiety and stress you harbor inside. Try not to inhale large breaths from your stomach, but rather allow your breaths to become shallow and come from your chest area.

Try something like this:

Inhale to the count of six seconds.
Hold your breath for the count of six seconds.
Exhale for the count of six seconds.

When you try this exercise five to ten times each day, it will help to relax your entire body. It’s an excellent tool for those who suffer from anxiety, but it’s also beneficial to soothe the soul during grief.

10. Utilize Soul Retrieval

Shamanic beliefs are incorporated throughout society, though you may not understand them. Soul retrieval is a term that means you bring back the lost parts of yourself to create healing. It’s often assumed that when you lose someone you love, a piece of your soul dies with them.

So, this practice is about putting you back together again and making you a whole person. Think of it as a process of reconnecting the detached and suppressed parts of your soul and creating a sense of wholeness. It’s called ensoulment, and it’s something that will fix the innermost being.

Though some folks become numb or deny the soul’s existence, it’s essential to identify the significant loss and begin the healing journey within.

Final Thoughts on Ways To Soothe Your Soul After a Loss

Life is like a roller coaster with scary drops, hairpin turns, and upside-down flips that leave you nauseous. One minute you feel like you’ve got things under control, and the next minute you’re holding on for dear life. Have you ever heard someone tell you that their soul feels tired or in pain?

What they’re trying to tell you is that the pain they feel is out of the ordinary. The good news is that this is something that you can overcome and bounce back from, but it’s not going to happen overnight. Over time, you can soothe your soul and bring healing into the deepest parts of your being. It won’t happen all at once, but it will happen.

10 Benefits of Daily Journal Writing Most People Ignore

October 29, 2021 by Kristen Butler

Do you remember the classic diaries of your childhood? Perhaps you had one with a lock and key so that you could keep your siblings and parents away from your innermost thoughts. You might have made a journal out of a notebook of paper and added some fancy stickers and drawings to the front to jazz it up a bit. Your childhood habit of daily journal writing might have been a foreshadowing to an excellent mental health habit.

Just the thought of writing “Dear Diary” might make you feel the angst in the pit of your stomach. Why did writing things down seem like such a chore back then, but now it’s considered one of the best things you can do for your mental health? Journaling has undoubtedly evolved, but many folks don’t honestly know the benefits that come with getting all the stuff from the inside to the out.

You don’t even need paper these days if you want to save a tree, as you can use your computer and digitally store these files. The important thing is that there are vast benefits that come from letting things go.

Even if you don’t have a person in the world to talk to, you can use this outlet to vent. It’s so much better for you to vent to a journal than to blast someone you love because you’re stressed out.

Ten Benefits of Daily Journal Writing

Do you remember the iconic 1980s movie Ferris Buhler’s Day Off? In this film, Ferris fakes a sick day so he can spend time with his friends. When his girlfriend and buddy were more than apprehensive about taking out their father’s car and skipping class, he gave them words of wisdom.

Ferris reminds them that life moves very quickly, and if you don’t take time to stop and look around, you’re going to miss it. So, with that thought in mind, journaling is an excellent time for you to step back and look at your life and the things happening. It can help you to remember the good stuff and purge the bad. Here are some benefits of writing in your journal daily.

1. Daily Journal Writing Helps Keep Your Thoughts Organized

Do you struggle to keep your thoughts organized? It’s challenging with all you face each day, as there are 101 things to do. Did you know that keeping a diary can help you organize your thoughts so they can be understood?

Journaling allows you to keep track of your daily events and how you thought and felt at that time. You can even chart specific experiences you had and opinions on things going on in the world. Using a digital version makes it easier to tag and highlight sections that you can quickly return to later.

2. Relieves Stress

When your mind becomes overloaded, it’s time for a brain dump. A journal allows you to keep all your anxiety and frustrations in one place, and you can get them out of your head. Some people feel better when they acknowledge something and stop trying to keep it to themselves.

Psychologists have called morning pages a powerful way to combat stress. When you write in a conscious stream first thing in your day, you can help to relieve pent-up tension. According to Journey, which is a self-care guide, you can use your journal to track your moods and free tension in your body. An overload of stress is what can keep positivity at bay and make you more pessimistic.

3. Daily Journal Writing Allows Time for Self-reflection

Life is crazy busy, and the average person has more responsibility on their shoulders than what they can handle. The expectations placed on you only make your life more hectic. It’s easy to get frazzled when you feel that you must live your life in a rush. It is far too tempting to get so caught up in the day-to-day that you lose the big picture.

It’s imperative that you sit back and think. You can journal at night or before you go to work, but it’s all about finding something that works for you. Reflection is a time to pause and look back over your life. How have you changed in the past day, month, weeks, or years?

Are you heading in the right direction, or do you need to adjust? These are all benefits of self-reflection that you can’t ignore.

4. Boosts Your Memory

Can you easily recall things from your past, or do you struggle to remember what you had for breakfast? Have you ever heard the saying that someone has a memory like an elephant? Elephants have a massive brain, according to Elephant Facts.

Their brains weigh, on average, an astounding 11 pounds. Additionally, they can easily recall things from their childhood with little effort. They have dense temporal lobes that can hold a lot of information. While you’ll never have the brain capacity of this magnificent creature, you can increase what you have by keeping a journal.

When you make a written record, your brain is more apt to recall those things with ease. By making a journal, you increase the connections in the brain that helps with recall and memory.

5. Daily Journal Writing Inspires Your Creativity

Daily journal writing doesn’t have to be boring. Why do you think all the people from decades ago started writing to “Dear Diary?” They wanted to spice up their writing as if they were writing to an actual person. So, you can write a biography of your life or make your journal into anything you want.

Your creativity will skyrocket when you use your life as the backdrop for a story. Who knows, maybe one day your writings will appear on the New York’s Best Seller’s List. Think of all the biographies that have made headlines and even become a movie.

6. Improves Immune Function

How can daily journal writings improve your immune function? It sounds crazy, but your mental and physical health connect so tightly that many people don’t realize the impact one has on the other. When you get all the toxic negativity out of you and onto paper, you’re clearing the path for positivity to bloom.

According to Cambridge University, a study has been ongoing since 1986 regarding the benefits of writing in a journal. They found that people who dedicated at least 15 minutes a day four four-time a week had a long-term decrease in health problems.

7. Daily Journal Writing Boosts Your Mood

Keeping a journal can boost your spirits and put a spring in your step. According to The Guardian, when you write your feelings, it automatically boosts your mood. The article states that the amygdala section of the brain that controls emotions is stimulated during writing, and it calms the activity.

8. Allows You To Set and Achieve Your Goals

Setting goals is the easy part, but keeping these goals is what’s challenging. However, keeping a diary can help make you more accountable for your actions.

You can save a running tab of your dreams and goals, and you should notate where you are with them about once a week. Your journal can be anything you want it to be, and why not incorporate some clever stuff to help you manifest in your life?

9. Improves Your Writing Ability

The more you write, the better of a writer you will become. Do you think the first works of Shakespeare were as good as his last? Practice makes perfect, so the more you do it, the easier and better the product.

10. Improves Mindfulness

Daily journal writing evokes mindfulness, and it can help with things such as panic disorder. It can improve your confidence levels, help you manage your personal growth and changes in your life, as well as unlock your full brainpower. Mindfulness is a practice that forces you to look at the here and now and evaluate things.

It’s easy to ignore the harsh truths in your life, but being mindful can help you deal with the issues at hand and improve your overall wellbeing.

Final Thoughts on Benefits of Daily Journal Writing

Some people look at daily journal writing as a chore and one more thing on their long list of stuff to do. However, the benefits of writing your thoughts and feelings on paper are vast. Journaling gives you a record of where you’ve been and allows you to set goals of where you’re going.

Getting all the stuff that clutters your brain out of there can help you clear your mind and boost your immunity. Daily journal writing has been proven in studies to improve your physical and mental health, and it’s a fantastic story you can leave behind for the next generation. How thrilled would you be to find a journal today that had the life and writings of your parents or grandparents?

To you, this book of their life would be priceless. Not only can you give yourself the gift of better mental health, but you can show the generations after you what a trailblazer you were and how you survived through some of the most hazardous storms in life.

9 Benefits Of Living A Life With Purpose

October 29, 2021 by Lakeisha Ethans

Most people in life wish to find meaning and purpose within it. There’s something magical about knowing what you’re destined to do or at least having a firm grasp of your ambitions. You can tell when someone is driven by that passion, and it lights a different kind of fire in them. It’s admirable, and it’s something to strive for.

But finding your purpose isn’t always easy, and, admittedly, the concept gets a little over-romanticized. When you know that purpose is often more practical than spiritual and that it’s hard to learn, why bother? Well, as it turns out, having that meaning can transform your whole life! Here are nine benefits of living a life with purpose.

1. It Keeps You Motivated

A purpose is a pure form of actual, direct motivation. It gives you a reason to get up every day and provides a noble cause to work towards. You have a sense of direction and a reason for living and working. You’re aware of your life’s goals and are sure of your mission, and your strength comes from within.

While both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation can be beneficial, you’ll typically need more of the latter. This is why purpose is so valuable, as it creates positive intrinsic motivation. This kind of motivation is generated internally and happens independently of external forces. Research has found that intrinsic motivation has a positive effect on performance, which will be great for your purpose!

This outcome is likely because:

· It Ignores The Hate

There will be naysayers and critics in your life who might try to bring you down. Those whose motivation is purely external will find this negative feedback to be severely detrimental. They’ll lose their source of extrinsic drive and won’t have anything internal to back it up. Meanwhile, intrinsic motivation allows you to keep going because you want to keep going and because you’re fulfilled in your actions.

· It’s Self-Sustaining

You want motivation to stay strong and constant, not fizzle out as you lose positive thinking. Studies have found that extrinsic motivation can damage levels of intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, intrinsic motivation is self-sustaining and predicts success and performance in the long term!

· It Feeds More Purpose

The firmer your purpose, the stronger your motivation. The stronger your cause, the more you move towards your objective. The more productivity you see towards your goal, the more your inspiration grows! It’s a powerful and incredible cycle, and it’s research-backed, too!

2. It Builds Resilience

Resilience is emotional strength. It refers to the ability to pick yourself back up after difficult times. In other words, it’s a measure of your ability to bounce back. This trait is incredibly useful in life and has significantly positive effects on your progress and success.

When you have a purpose, you’re able to build up that emotional strength. You know what your purpose is and your determination to achieve it keeps you moving. You’re not cowed by the struggles you face, and you’re willing to learn from your mistakes. Deep down, you know that what you face is all crucial to your movement towards that purpose.

Resilience will also feed further into your purpose. It makes you less likely to give up and more likely to achieve success. Your positive thinking will improve, and you’ll be more sure of that purpose. Nothing will be able to steer you from it – and then that’ll give you more resilience! It’s the kind of positive cycle that’s so brilliant to have in your journey.

3. It’s A Balm For Hard Times

Hard times aren’t avoidable. No matter what you do, you will experience difficulties and challenges at some point in your life. There’s no way to escape this inevitability, but there are ways to prepare to be resilient through them. A strong sense of purpose can help you, as it:

Provides guidance and keep you reminded of goals and hope, so you’re more determined to persevere
Offers comfort and support as you can remember its importance
Creates a system that helps you to slowly pick yourself back up and put pieces back together
Motivates you by reminding you of those who will be benefited or be proud of your purpose and journey
Reminds you of the value and importance of your life and its purpose
Forms a shining light and beacon that develops positive thinking in dark times

4. It Keeps You Focused

When you’re unsure what you want to do in life, it can be tough to stick to one thing. You’ll drift from place to place, wondering which spot is “yours.” When you have a purpose, you don’t need to drift. You know what you want, and you hone in on it with razor-sharp focus. You don’t let yourself get distracted or swayed, and you direct your best energy to your best desires.

This isn’t to say that you can’t switch things up or re-evaluate your goals. It’s also not to say that purpose can’t ever face an alteration. Instead, it means that you’ll have a better ability to focus on the ideals you set out to achieve. This focus will also help you to maintain an updated and relevant concept of your purpose. You won’t lose sight of what matters to you and will grow and change as needed.

5. It’s Good For Your Health

The concept of having a purpose seems to be purely spiritual. In reality, though, it’s excellent for your mental and physical health, too! When you live a life with purpose, there are some highly tangible benefits that you’ll enjoy, including:

· Improved Physicality

You’re likely to enjoy better physical function if you have a life purpose, says research. This is especially true in your older years! You’ll have better muscular strength and walking speed, among other positive effects.

· Better Decisions

At the end of the day, overall health can often be dictated by personal lifestyle choices. If you have a purpose in life, research indicates you’re likely to make better decisions regarding lifestyle and health.

· Longer Life

Studies say you may pass away at a younger age if you don’t have a purpose in life, especially heart problems. In fact, the lack of purpose can have more of an effect on longevity than exercise, drinking, and even smoking!

So even if you’re not interested in the psychological benefits of a purpose, the physical ones make it worth it. An intention is about something deep-rooted and essential to you and that matters to your physical body.

6. It Builds Your Confidence

Confidence is an essential deciding factor in your life. While no one wants to be arrogant, there’s a lot to be said about being secure in your capabilities. Knowing that you’re capable of doing many things and have the strength to overcome challenges is incredibly transformative in life.

A purpose in life gives you direction, and with that comes confidence. You know who you are, where you’re going, what you want, and what you can become. This knowledge fills you with a renewed security and assuredness that will serve you well as you move forward to achieve your goals.

7. It Makes Life An Adventure

Life is a beautiful adventure, but not everyone sees it that way! Admittedly, it can be tough to view your life as something more significant than a stretch of time. But those with purpose naturally feel that their world is impactful and interesting. With intention, life will feel like an adventure because:

You’re naturally more excited to keep moving forward so you can fulfill your purpose.
Life feels less dull as you’re less constricted by typical routines. Your focus is on a purpose that must grow.
You come alive with the meaning you bring into the world, making you happier, more eager, and more passionate.
You recognize that each step in your purpose is part of a grander, more extensive journey. It feels more like an epic quest!

8. It Lets You Lead With Your Values

Few people have a solid grasp of their values. There are many situations where one may be tempted to compromise on them or go back on them. When you have a purpose, you don’t feel swayed by such temptation. This is because your purpose is always directly in line with your values.

There’s a significant amount of integrity involved with having a purpose. It means seeing what you believe in and following your heart to it. If you have a purpose, you’ll want to be true to its message. This means that, no matter what, your positive values will stay with you. You’ll also be able to connect more authentically with others who share those values. You might even work with them in cooperation!

9. It Helps You Feel Fulfilled

When you live life with purpose, you have high levels of positive thinking. You feel content with your life, the only source of dissatisfaction stemming from difficulties in your purpose. You’re less likely to feel sad and can enjoy a lot of fulfillment as you move through life. This is because when you have a purpose, you:

Know that you add value in some way to the world can fill you with contentment and pride
Have a clear sense of direction that prevents you from feeling lost, hopeless, and confused
Don’t bother to participate in negativity and spend your time on positive endeavors for your purpose
Feel that you are making good use of your time, capabilities, and opportunities
Remember the innate value and meaning of your life
Are confident in the direction that you’re going, guided by the purpose in your life
Will someday (or maybe already have) made someone’s life or experienced better

Final Thoughts On Some Benefits Of Living A Life With Purpose

A life lived with purpose is filled with motivation, fulfillment, focus, confidence, resilience, adventure, and value. It’s a life that helps you stay on track, keeps your chin up in tough times, and fills you with positive traits. The fact that it also has excellent effects on physical wellbeing is just the icing on the cake!

Not sure how to live a life with purpose, or not sure if you ever will? Don’t worry – you don’t have to rush to find it! Spending time learning about yourself and following your heart will eventually lead you to that meaning you crave.

12 Things You Can Do When You Feel Burned Out

October 28, 2021 by Chris Butler

A stressful lifestyle can push you to the point of exhaustion and burnout. You may be overworked, under financial pressure, or have a lot going with your family. When life’s pressure mounts to its tipping point, and you feel so burned out that you cannot take much more, what should you do?

Who struggles with burnout and exhaustion?

You’re not alone in how you’re feeling. In fact, feeling burned out can affect anyone-celebrities, stress-driven career people, overworked employees, or homemakers. Exhaustion and burnout are not necessarily a sign of disease but a reaction to stress in your life.

How do you know if you’re exhausted and burned out?

Here are some basic questions to ask yourself to assess if you’re burned out and exhausted. Ask yourself:

Do you lack the energy to be productive?
Are you finding it hard to concentrate?
Are you becoming irritable with your customers or co-workers?
Do you feel disillusioned about your job?
Are you having a hard time getting up to go to work?
Are you using drugs, food, or alcohol to feel better or numb your feelings?
Do you have insomnia?
Are you suffering from headaches or stomach problems?

Twelve things to do when you’re feeling exhausted and burned out

Are you ready to learn how to release your stress? Try these tips.

1 – Evaluate your schedule to avoid becoming burned out

Take a look at your weekly schedule to see how you spent your time. Write down what you did and for how long you did it. Next to the activity, add a number from one to ten. Number one, if you felt depressed doing it, or the number ten, if you felt happy and more energized doing it. As you evaluate your weekly activities and how they make you think, you’ll get a good indication of where the stress is coming from. As you assess your life, find out if there is a way to limit doing the tasks that cause stress and adding more activities that make you feel energized.

2 – Start saying no

You may find it hard to say no to things you’re asked to do. This inability to decline a request can lead to burnout and exhaustion. Begin to practice saying no to things that cause stress. People may not understand, but that’s okay. You know what you can take on and what you can’t. So, stand firm and don’t be afraid to say no.

3 – Schedule relaxation to avoid burnout

You probably schedule work meetings, medical appointments and your kid’s playtimes with their friends. But, do you schedule time to relax? Burnout occurs if you work non-stop without a break. Your body and mind need time to rest. In fact, researchers found that if you’re learning a new skill, taking short breaks improves your ability to learn. Rest actually strengthens your memory. Whether you go for a long walk, read a book, or hang out with friends, schedule relaxation for your week.

4 – Get rid of your FOMO

Fear of missing out or FOMO can exacerbate your burnout and exhaustion. If you struggle with feeling that other people have better experiences, are more successful at work, and live better than you, you’ve probably fallen victim to FOMO. Constantly feeling as if you’re missing out can have adverse effects on your mood and life. Social media can encourage your sense of feeling left out when you see other people accomplishing so much, traveling to fun places, or having a beautiful home. Symptoms of FOMO include

Face paced lifestyle
Always saying yes
Not satisfied with your life
Feeling left out or excluded
Worried what people think of you
Need to be around a lot of people
Experiences are attractive to you
You feel as if you can’t fully commit because something better may show up

If you think you’ve fallen prey to FOMO, take time to re-evaluate your life and what’s important to you. Take a break from social media sites that offer you non-realistic views of life.

5 – Cultivate joy in your life

Similar to taking time to relax, you need to find ways to make your life more enjoyable. Whether this is a hobby, a book club, or something else, find time to enrich your life. Burnout and exhaustion occur when you do nothing but stay home caring for your kids or working all the time. It would be best if you had time to explore so you can grow and enhance your life.

6 – Get enough sleep to offset feeling burned out

A lack of sleep causes health problems, including exhaustion and burnout. While you sleep, your brain is creating new pathways to help you learn and remember things. A good night’s sleep helps you pay attention, be creative and make decisions. Sleep deficiency disrupts your ability to problem solve, control your emotions, and your ability to cope. It’s linked to depression and suicidal tendencies. Generally, doctors advise that adults should sleep seven to eight hours a night. Here are some ways to get better sleep.

Keep a regular bedtime routine and time
Allow time to unwind before bedtime
Remove blue lights of your computer or phone from your room
Be sure your room is dark
Don’t eat close to your bedtime
Don’t consume caffeine late in the day

7 – Get help

If you’re struggling with burnout and exhaustion, you must get help from others. You may worry about what people will think of you. This hesitance is usual, and not everyone will understand. Be careful with whom you share your feelings. It may be wise to tell only your most trusted friends. If you’re struggling with your job, it may be time to talk with your employer. Many companies have an employee assistance program that offers services like counseling. Your mental and physical health is essential, and you deserve to get the care you need.

8 – Make exercise a priority

Regular exercise has so many health benefits for both your mind and body. When you exercise, your heart rate increases, pumping oxygen to your brain, which improves your mood. Other benefits of exercise include

Better memory and brain function
Better weight management
Lower blood pressure
Better heart health
Better sleep
Reduces your anxiety and tension
Protects you against chronic illnesses
Fights cancer-related fatigue

Regular exercise can strengthen your muscles, deliver oxygen to your tissues, and help your cardiovascular system work better. Better heart and lung health help you tackle your life.

9 – Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is when you focus on what’s going on around you, using your senses and feelings. It’s controlling your breathing and relaxing at the moment. Practicing mindfulness can help you slow down and detach from the stress going on around you. Regular yoga may help you learn to incorporate mindfulness into your life. Being mindful of what stresses you is an excellent way to deal with feeling burned out and exhausted.

10 – Delegate work if you feel burned out

Do you feel like you must do everything? This attitude could be contributing to the fact that you feel exhausted and burned out. There are many reasons why people can’t or won’t delegate. These include

Things won’t get done “correctly.”
Too high expectations
Don’t trust others
Worry about what others will think of you
Don’t see the importance of delegating
Do not value others’ help
Value the results over value for others
Fear of failure
Attached to your habits

If you don’t like to delegate, it may be time to start. Learn to pass off things to others. You’ll benefit from the extra help, and they’ll learn to have a new responsibility.

11 – Cut yourself some slack

If you’re struggling with feeling exhausted and burned out, you need to show yourself a little love. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You may be feeling like you’re a failure or lost direction in your life or that you’ll never be able to reach your goals. If you’re burned out, you probably pushed yourself too hard. Take time to heal and get healthy so you can begin to get back into life.

12 – Make sure you’re not sick

If you’ve been feeling exhausted and burned out for a while, it may be time to see your doctor for a check-up. Your symptoms of fatigue and feeling overwhelmed could be a result of a medical condition. Illnesses that cause exhaustion and overwhelming include the following:

Anemia
Underactive thyroid
Sleep apnea
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Diabetes
Allergies
Liver disease
Lung disease
Bacterial infections
Fibromyalgia
Mononucleosis
HIV
Heart disease

Your doctor can run various tests to rule out medical reasons for how you’re feeling.

Final thoughts on Overcoming Feeling Burned Out.

Feeling exhausted and burned out can be overwhelming. Hopefully, these suggestions will help you get to the root of what’s going on and help you begin to find relief. Remember, you’re not alone. Many people are struggling with similar feelings. These feelings don’t define you. As you learn how to cope with the stresses in life, you may find that your life is enriched. These difficulties can help you grow empathy and understanding for others who struggle with feeling the same way.

10 Coping Mechanisms for Dealing With Grief or Loss

October 28, 2021 by Deborah Tayloe

Life comes with beauty and pain, and one of the biggest challenges you will face is the loss of someone or something you love. Perhaps you’ve lost a mother, father, or child, and the loss of something so dear creates a void inside you that is hard to mend. There are many coping mechanisms to manage your grief, and they can help you deal with the intense pain you feel.

Even minor losses in your life can trigger sorrow, such as moving from a home you love or changing schools. Loss is very personal, and it’s normal to grieve through change and circumstance. It doesn’t matter the cause of your grief, as there are healthy coping mechanisms that can help ease the sadness and give you effective ways to cope with the pain.

The good news is that you can and will move on at some point, and the time frame is different for each person. There is no right or wrong way to go through this painful process, as the journey is different depending on your faith, circumstances, and personality.

One person may cry non-stop for three days, and then they move on with their life. However, another individual might be unable to eat, and they sink into a deep depression, which takes them years to recover. The fact is that this process takes time, and you cannot hurry it along.

You can’t ignore it and make the pain go away faster, and if you can’t cry, it doesn’t mean you don’t feel the pain any less than others. There are many myths surrounding grief, but each person and situation will dictate the response.

Dealing with The Grieving Process

The coping mechanisms that others have used to get through their times of grief can also help you. According to the National Library of Medicine, there is life beyond your loss, but it’s about finding methods to help you get to that point where you can accept what’s happened.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross made a groundbreaking discovery in 1969 when she created the grieving process. She discovered five stages that each person goes through when they’ve experienced a loss. The stages don’t always go in order, and you might even repeat a couple of them twice, but you will find your journey going through each of these levels.

Step #1: Denial

During this phase, you will doubt that what happened was true. Your mind can’t fathom the loss, so it will do whatever to deny the reality of the situation.

Step #2: Anger

The anger phase tends to be the most profound. You want to know why you’re experiencing this loss and try to find someone to blame it on.

Step #3: Bargaining

During this stage, you will make mental deals with God or the Universe. You will find yourself begging and pleading for the situation to be erased like a bad nightmare.

Step #4: Depression

During this phase, your sadness overtakes you. Remember, sadness and depression are two vastly different things, and you may need help if you can’t get beyond this phase.

Step #5: Acceptance

Once you’ve worked through all the other steps, you will finally accept the loss. It may not come right away, but eventually, you will find acceptance for the situation.

Keep in mind that you cannot tuck such messy emotions into neat, little packages. There may be some dark days, but the good news is that you will eventually learn a new reality.

Symptoms of Grief

How do you know if what you’re experiencing is normal? There are some classical signs of grief that you should know, and this can help you identify what is typical for this journey. The most common signs are:

Shock and disbelief
Sadness or depression
Guilt
Anger
Fear
Fatigue
Nausea and an upset digestive system
Changes in weight
Bodily aches
Changes to sleep patterns
Lower immunity

If you get to the point where you want to end your life or feel helpless and hopeless, then you need to get help. It’s also essential that you realize when your grief goes beyond the normal realms, and you need to seek professional help.

Ten Steps to Finding Healthy Coping Mechanisms

Now it’s time to work on effective ways to cope with your loss. You know what the stages of grief are, and you’re ready to deal with this issue head-on. Here are some ways to help you get through this painful situation.

1. Acknowledge Your Pain

Don’t try to suppress your pain or push it down deep inside your being. It would help if you dealt with the feelings, as you must find a way to get over them. Processing any kind of grief is hard, but you must find a way to come to terms with things.

2. Talk To a Counselor

Counseling is one of the best tools or coping mechanisms you have at your disposal. Having a third party who can look at the situation and listen to you is a wonderful help. Marilyn A. Mendoza Ph.D. of Psychology Today writes a fascinating article on counseling during grief.

She states that grief can be disabling, and this is when you need to turn to a professional for help. As a psychologist specializing in bereavement, she has helped many people through the darkest days of their lives.

3. Turn To Family and Friends

Don’t isolate yourself when you’re hurting so bad. You need your family and friends to help you get through this difficult time.

4. Turn To Your Faith

If you have a spiritual practice, turning to a higher power can be incredibly beneficial during these times. Prayer and meditation always make a person feel better, and it should give you a little encouragement that you can get through this time.

5. Use Social Media

Social media has become the new way to grieve. Jennifer Golbeck Ph.D. works with the University of Maryland. She documents the increasing methods of grieving that involve social media. People can hide behind computer screens and cell phones and vent healthily. Of course, there are some unhealthy grieving practices done on these sites too, but it’s an awesome community that can support you in your time of need.

6. Don’t Isolate

Grief will make you want to close yourself away and not face the world. While that’s okay to do for a couple of days while you process the initial blow, you must get out and mingle with others. Still carry on with your hobbies, job, and get out a bit among the living.

You may need to push yourself at first, but you can’t let the grips of depression take hold.

7. Join A Support Group

There are all kinds of support groups, both virtually and in person. You can draw strength from others going through the same type of crisis. It’s easier to understand someone when they’re fighting the same thing.

8. Find An Outlet for Negative Emotions

A great coping mechanism involves finding a positive outlet for those negative emotions. Whether it’s journaling your feelings, doing a vision board to show where you want to be emotionally in time, or using positive affirmations, you need some way to get the grief from the inside out.

9.Learn Your Triggers

Each person has triggers associated with their grief, and you need to develop coping mechanisms for meeting these triggers. For instance, if you lost your mother, going to her favorite restaurant might be too hard. You need to identify your emotional triggers and avoid them during the early parts of the healing process.

10. Take Care of Yourself

It’s effortless to pull the covers over your head and refuse to get up. However, it would help if you made sure you’re still taking care of your needs. Your emotional being is intricately linked to your physical being. So, if you’re not eating right, getting exercise, and getting enough sleep, you will suffer greatly.

Final Thoughts on Coping Mechanisms for Grief

You mustn’t put deadlines on yourself or try to suppress emotions, as this will only make matters worse. It’s okay for you to hurt, and it’s okay for you to cry. It’s healthy to release those overwhelming feelings.

If you don’t find healthy outlets or coping mechanisms for your grief, you will be like a time bomb waiting to explode. You can only take so much internally before it comes out. Sadly, there isn’t an easy way to get over a loss, as it’s something you must work through a little at a time.

The key is that if you feel that you’re not getting better and things are worse, you know when you need to get help. Did you know that there is a national hotline for people facing grief and needing someone to talk to? You can call 1-800-445-4808 anytime day or night and be connected with someone who can help.

Even when you’re at your lowest, you can find a glimmer of hope. To find inspiration to keep going, look at the beauty of nature all around you, your loving family, and all the blessings you’ve been given.

Photographer Tells Interesting Stories Through Toy Photography

October 28, 2021 by Kristen Lawrence

Mitchel Wu creates and crafts interesting stories using toy photography, a relatively new art form. He captures the illusion of motion and emotion where none exists, bringing new life to the world. He’s taken photos for an impressive list of clients, including Disney, Marvel, Hot Wheels, and Hasbro.

His toy photography was even featured in Marvel’s 616 documentary, now streaming on Disney+! There’s no limit to creativity, and Mitchel proves it through his unique work. Based in Los Angeles, he provides a one-of-a-kind experience for clients worldwide.

This form of photography offers a great escape from the otherwise mundane world around us. By channeling your inner child, it allows you to explore magical lands created by your imagination. AI tool like magic eraser can enhance this experience by helping you remove unwanted elements and perfect your imaginative scenes.

While toy photography dates back to the 1800s, it didn’t gain traction until the 1970s. Around this time, a man by the name of David Levinthal became the father of miniature photography.

Over time, it evolved into a global phenomenon mostly involving LEGOS, action figures, and pop culture imagery. It’s such a diverse art form and can encompass many themes and story ideas. Many artists draw inspiration from popular sources such as Disney movies, Star Wars, and Pokemon characters.

Here’s some of Mitchel’s work

Some of Mitchel’s toy photography projects include the following:

Kermit the frog riding a dinosaur in the desert
Woody from Toy Story walking a tightrope between ketchup and mustard bottles
Spongebob riding a surfboard
A model car plowing through a hole in a donut
The Flintstones hurriedly driving away from a giant ape
Mario and Luigi driving their carts through a sand dune away from a T-rex
Incredible about to battle a giant octopus
A ghostbuster shooting Zero from The Nightmare Before Christmas with a proton pack
Hedwig from Harry Potter flying through a forest with Harry in the background

Toy photography helps the viewer become immersed in the story, making them feel like they’re actually in a different land.

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Photographer Tells Interesting Stories Through Toy Photography

“For me, toy photography is really all about storytelling,” Mitchel says. “Storytelling is what makes an image impactful and engaging, so my goal is to have my image just really stop you in your tracks and for you to go ‘Whoa, what’s going on here?’”

After feeling burnt out with his career, he searched for something new to relight that creative spark. Little did he know his nephew would point the way to his next adventure.

“I was a wedding photographer, I shot hundreds of weddings. So in 2015 I realized that I was going to stop shooting weddings and I needed to find something else.”

“Right around the same time, my nephew who photographed toys as a hobby said, ‘Hey Uncle Mitch, why don’t you come up next time you’re in San Francisco, bring your camera gear and let’s go shoot some toys?’”

Mitchel had no prior experience with toy photography and didn’t know what to expect. However, once he tried it out, he got hooked immediately. There’s just something about telling a story using toys that brings out the kid in you.

“It took several months for me to get up there; I brought my gear, I had no toys. [My nephew] lent me a couple of Stormtrooper action figures, and from the very first click of the shutter, I realized that this was something incredible,” Mitchel said. “It was an amazing way to tell stories, and it was a way for me to get back to the creativity that I always imagined myself being involved with.”

What began as a hobby quickly became a newfound career for Mitchel. It’s yet another story that inspires us to pursue our dreams because you never know where they’ll take you. Sometimes, you don’t find your passion until later in life, but your world turns upside down when you do.

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Creating new worlds with toy photographs

“From the very first time that I took a photo of a toy, I understood the amazing potential there was to create a career out of toy photography. It’s been a dream come true, and the crazy thing is, it’s not even a dream I knew I had five years ago,” Mitchel said.

People worldwide have left their jobs to find their passion, so Mitchel isn’t alone. However, his story offers a unique perspective since the field of toy photography isn’t well-known. Even still, it’s gaining popularity around the globe due to social media and other outlets.

“That really taught me that you have to go into life with eyes open, to take risks, and to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Because if I had done none of those things, none of this would have happened,” Mitchel says. “I plan to continue to work on and improve my own storytelling and my image-making because those things never end.”

Mitchel loves his new career and continues to make plans for the future. With toy photography, it seems the only limits are the ones you create for yourself. Mitchel aspires to keep breaking those limits and learn new techniques in his exciting career path.

“Besides that, I really hope to travel the world more to meet up with some of my toy photography brothers and sisters around the globe. Because toy photography is definitely a growing global phenomenon, I’m so pleased to be a part of it. The past five years have been incredible, and I cannot wait to see where the next five years leads me,” Mitchel said.

Final Thoughts: toy photography provides man with a new, fun career

When one man got fed up with wedding photography, he decided to take pictures of toys instead. You might wonder how you can make a career out of toy photography, but Mitchel proves it’s possible. He’s taken photos for big names in the business like Disney, Marvel, and Mattel. Who knew that photographing our favorite characters from childhood could turn into a career path?

Mitchel’s inspiring story shows that you can create your path in life by following your heart and using your imagination.

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