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10 Step Action Plan to Change Your Life

August 30, 2020 by Chris Butler

You have goals. That’s wonderful. Believe it or not, you’re doing great. Life coaches everywhere will tell you that a lot of people haven’t even made it that far.

Now you’re probably wondering how to achieve those goals. Many people psych themselves out at this step. It can be overwhelming trying to figure out how to achieve these grand goals you have floating in your head.

Robbins Madanes Training offers valuable strategies and insights that can help you navigate this process and turn those goals into achievable milestones. By breaking down your objectives into manageable steps and employing proven techniques, you can gain clarity and momentum towards achieving your aspirations.

Life coach Lauren Handel Zander suggests that people haven’t really taken enough time to figure out what they want out of life. Taking the time to sit down and map out what you want can help guide your life. “Whatever you’re chasing in life — it needs to be you true north,” says Zander. If you’re looking for a women’s therapist Bay Area, contact My Anam Cara.

The best way to not get overwhelmed, and to achieve goals is to create an action plan. When you have a plan, you can see the journey step by step and suddenly your goals seem easy to attain. Here is the best way to create a great action plan based on advice from several life coaches.

A Ten-Step Action Plan to Help You Reach Your Dreams

Step 1: Relax.

As stated before, a lot of people can be overwhelmed at the thought of trying to achieve goals. Just relax. You need to get rid of stress first before you embark on this journey because you need a clear head.

Whatever you need to do to take the edge off, do it (as long as it’s nothing harmful to yourself like drugs or alcohol). Take a couple of days off, do yoga, read some self-help books, and get yourself in the right state of mind. You don’t want to start the journey off as a frazzled mess. That isn’t going to help anything.

Step 2: Clearly define your SMART goals.

You may have goals, but your goals need to be clearly defined. According to life coach Alexis Robin, co-founder of pLink Coaching Center, “when you get crystal clear about where you are going on a project, in your career, or in your life, each decision you make will get you closer to or further from that vision. If you are struggling with big decisions it may be because you don’t have your destination clearly identified.”

To clearly identify your goals, you should use the acronym SMART. This stands for:

Specific – your smart goal should be as specific as possible. For example, instead of just saying you want to save money, you should specify how much you want to save and give yourself a deadline.
Measurable – you should be able to keep track of your progress. It’s essential to be able to see the progress from week to week or month to month.
Attainable – you should always aim high, but the goal needs to be reasonable and attainable. For example, don’t say you want to save a million dollars in six months if you’re currently only bringing in $20,000 annually.
Relevant – the goal should be relevant to your life, skills, and needs. For example, don’t have a plan to buy a new car if your goal is to save money.
Time-based – you should be able to set a deadline for you to achieve the goal. The deadline should be reasonable.

Step 3: Figure out your reason why.

It’s important to understand why you want to reach the SMART goal you’re striving for. Your reason why could be simple. You want to save money so you’re not living paycheck to paycheck. You want to lose weight so you can live a healthier lifestyle. These are simple, but sometimes you have to dig a little deeper to find the real why.

This could take some self-exploration and it may be a little scary to do that. However, understanding why you want to achieve that goal will provide you with the motivation you need to do it.

For example, you might want to save money so you can enjoy more time and activities with your children before they completely grow up. That’s much more motivational than simply saying you don’t want to live paycheck to paycheck.

Step 4. Create actions and a timeline.

You have your SMART goal in place, and you’re motivated to accomplish it. This part of the action plan is where you map out exactly how you’re going to do that.

You should be able to create a list of actions or tasks that will take you, step by step, to your goal. Essentially, you’re going to divide your main goal into smaller goals. Remember to keep the smaller goals attainable.

Step 5: Get started.

You would be surprised how many people create an entire action plan but never put it into action. Now that you have your plan all set, you have to start doing it. A plan without any action isn’t a plan at all.

This is where your real why is most important. It’s going to give you that fire to get started. Keep that in mind and don’t be afraid to take that first step in your plan.

Step 6: Delegate tasks and designate resources.

Parts of your plan may require the help of other people and outside resources. Don’t be afraid to seek out that help. However, make sure you’re counting on reliable people.

For example, if your goal is saving money, you might have a plan to get a promotion so you can have more money coming in. This means you may need to step up at work and take on leadership positions which include managing other co-workers. Here is where you’d delegate tasks and designate resources.

Step 7: Take your plan step by step.

Remember to take your plan step by step. Of course, you’re going to keep your primary goal in mind, but don’t allow yourself to think of the entire goal at one time. You may find yourself getting overwhelmed.

Remember, you made an action plan for a reason. Don’t focus on future steps. Focus on the step that you’re currently working on.

Step 8: Don’t give up.

Your plan makes it easier to achieve your goals, but it doesn’t make everything easy. There are still going to be challenges along the way. These challenges might push you to your limit.

You have to remember not to give up. Make sure you have a source of strength around you to keep you pushing towards your goals. Keep a reminder of your real why near you. Write daily affirmations, listen to motivational videos, and do whatever it takes to keep going. Remember, when things get hard, or almost impossible, don’t give up.

Step 9: Monitor your progress.

Keep an eye on the progress that you’re making. As you achieve each of your smaller goals, look at them as milestones. Look at them as points in the plan where you need to recognize your small successes so far and make sure you’re still on track.

In other words, hold yourself accountable. If your goal involves a team, hold your team accountable. Have meetings to make sure everything is going as planned. If you need to, meet with individual team members.

Pay attention to the needs that arise as you follow the steps of the action plan. Make sure you’re providing those needs so that your progress won’t stop. In fact, you may need to anticipate needs so that your progress doesn’t stall. You can’t anticipate needs unless you’re doing a great job of monitoring your progress.

Step 10. Celebrate your successes.

Everyone works better on a rewards system. Plan to reward yourself with the accomplishment of each small goal. It can be a small reward, or it can be something extravagant (although if you’re trying to save money you may want to go with a small reward).

If you have a team that’s involved in your plan, don’t forget to reward them for their successes as well. The reward could be as simple as recognition for their efforts. There are plenty of studies that show that employees (or team members) work harder and are more productive when they are recognized for their efforts.

This includes you recognizing yourself. It’s a great way to keep up your self-motivation.

Final Thoughts on Creating an Action Plan to Attain Your Goals

Having goals is the first step to a better future, but you have to find a way to reach them. Action plans are the way to do this. Focusing on the big picture all at once can be overwhelming but creating a plan to get you there makes your goals much more attainable.

Life coaches everywhere will tell you that smaller, attainable tasks take the pressure off you and that taking the pressure off allows you to thrive when you’re pursuing your goals. Take this advice and get started on your action plan as soon as possible. Remember to stay focused and stay motivated and before you know it, your big picture will become a reality.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Leads America Back Into Space Exploration

August 29, 2020 by Power of Positivity

The SpaceX mission launched on May 30, 2020, and sent Americans back into the stars independent of other nations for the first time in decades. We watched with bated breath during takeoff. Then we cheered as the two-person crew, astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, made it to the International Space Station safely. And we gathered around to witness a perfect splashdown when they came back to Earth on August 3, 2020.

The mission intrigued many as we watched the launch on Perhaps your boundless curiosity piques while you peer into the clear night skies, looking for shooting stars. Of course, you know that they are meteorites burning to bits as they enter the earth’s atmosphere, but you wish anyway.

From the first explorations in the 20th century to the current SpaceX project, the human quest for space discoveries continue. It’s a complex combination of science, technology, human preservation, and international rivalry. The SpaceX project may provide further glimpses into what’s out there, where you came from, and where you’re going.

Space: The habitation of the Gods

Humanity’s love relationship with the heavens goes back to the beginning. To early humans, the skies and celestial bodies were just as much of their existence as the earth was. Creation mythology from most cultures and civilizations included the unknown heavens and cosmos in a star-studded role.

As these prehistoric humans developed their interpretation of the sacred and divine, they often looked to the stars and planets. Their initial glimpse into the supernatural often came from the skies, such as precipitation and storms. Many historians believe that humans discovered fire by observing the flames from lightning striking trees.

It’s little wonder that the ancient collection of gods, goddesses, and supernatural beings gazed towards the heavenly realms. In the evolving collective conscience, the skies represented the connection between humanity and the divine. As they observed things dying and decaying back into the earth, associating lower regions with death and evil was logical.

Scientists explain how a new space telescope will help us find alien life sooner than later.

A Map of The Stars

While the Ancient Greeks weren’t the first to diagram the movement of celestial bodies and stars, they do receive credit for creating the science called astronomy. Even today, you may pick out your favorite constellations in the night skies that the Greeks named centuries ago.

When you gaze into the vastness of the night skies, it’s easy to imagine why humans have always dreamed of space travel. It’s overwhelming to consider how many lightyears it took for the twinkle of the stars to reach your eyes. Some of these pinpoints of light may have come from stars that burned out eons ago.

The Birth of Modern Astronomy

Have you ever wondered if there was life on other planets? Who knows how many people have pondered the same question since the beginning? Since primitive cultures viewed the heavens as the realm of their deities, the idea of extraterrestrial life would have been plausible.

In the Enlightenment, students of the stars shifted from a spiritual view to a rational, scientific approach. As human discoveries led to a better understanding of weather and other natural phenomena in the atmosphere, the skies became less a habitat of supernatural beings.

• Invention of the Telescope

In the early 17th century, experimentation with glass lenses and magnification led to the invention of the telescope. Although historians usually credit a Dutch eyeglass maker, Hans Lippershey, as the inventor, Galileo perfected Lippershey’s idea. As the pioneer of modern astronomy, Galileo built the first telescope that could be used to study outer space.

Since the beginning, ancient stargazers could only use their naked eyes to view stars and a few planets. They mapped the paths of the sun, moon, planets, and stars, and were valued members of the royal courts in most early cultures. Although these stargazers’ studies were usually steeped in mysticism, occultism, and superstitions, modern science has proven that many of their star charts had remarkable accuracy.

With the advent of the telescope and later developments, humans got a closer glimpse of the swirling galaxy around us. It opened a new dimension of opportunities to study and explore outer space. What was once an esoteric study of astrology became the scientific research of astronomy.

Although it answered a few ancient questions about our universe, this novel approach created countless questions that needed to be answered. Modern astronomy helped break the chains of religious dogmas concerning our galaxy, universe, and origins. The first links began to crack when Copernicus challenged the religious views of the day and proposed a heliocentric solar system. Nearly two centuries later, Galileo’s telescope would prove Copernicus’s hypotheses.

• Humans Take Flight

As subsequent studies built on the foundation of modern astronomers, some experts pondered space travel possibilities. The dream of humans soaring through the skies is not a recent concept. Archeological studies have demonstrated early humans’ fascination with flying and space exploration.

Great minds like Leonardo Da Vinci envisioned human-made flying machines that could transport people through the sky to visit other places. Leonardo’s flying machine sketches may be the most famous, but similar ideas were recorded by earlier and contemporary inventors across the globe. Throughout the years, aspiring inventors built flying contraptions that utterly failed.

While they can’t be considered the first inventors of airplanes, the Wright brothers are credited with being the first to build one that they could fly. Their iconic flight in 1902 forever changed the human potential for traveling in the skies. As air travel evolved from a novelty to a fantastic tool of war and later a model for public transportation, scientists again sought to travel to the stars.

• The Original Rocket Man

Like Dr. Robert Goddard, these aspirations may have led scientists to produce the world’s first successful space rocket. He developed the first liquid fuel that had the power to propel small rockets into altitudes that had never been reached. His landmark research and inventions formed a solid foundation for space exploration.

• The Final Frontier

Goddard’s revolutionary invention brought the world into a new era of exploration and possibilities. Other scientists and inventors studied and built upon his ideas until Germany launched the first rocket to reach outer space in 1942. Since this technology meant power, the global challenge was to see what country could send human explorers to space first.

• A Giant Leap

Nearly twenty years after Germany’s record feat, the former Soviet Union earmarked history by sending the first human-occupied rocket to travel to outer space. During the same flight, Yuri Gagarin set a record for being the first person to orbit the earth. These iconic space travels came during the height of the Cold War, so the United States formed NASA to compete with rival countries.

After a few test runs, the American space rocket Apollo II made its historic landing on the moon. As millions of Americans watched on their primitive television sets on July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on lunar soil. From 1969-1972, the Apollo mission made four more lunar landings and brought back soil and rock samples.

Since the last Apollo landing in December of 1972, no humans have visited the moon, which will make 48 years in December of 2020. NASA has discussed moon landings back and forth over the decades, but nothing came of it. In the 80s, renewed interest in space travel resulted in the space shuttle missions.

Book Your Next Vacation to Mars

For centuries, astronomers and occultists have maintained a fascination with Mars, our closest planetary neighbor. The legendary red planet gets its color from oxidized iron, which is rust. The end of World War II ushered in the Space Age, and science-fiction books and movies were fixated on little green visitors from Mars.

Since the 1980s, attempts by Russians and Americans to land on Mars weren’t successful. In the 90s and early 21st century, new technology allowed scientists to land a successful space probe on the red planet. Scientists from over the world pore over the data that they collect from Mars each year.

Today, world leaders are optimistic about Martian exploration and even colonization shortly. Leading the race for America is the SpaceX mission and how it can help with these goals. With better technology each year, the possibilities could be endless.

Final Thoughts: Look Toward the Skies to See What’s Next for SpaceX

Like many other astronomy and space travel enthusiasts, your interest may be reinvigorated with the upcoming SpaceX mission. Until now, the task of these flights has been to transport satellites for a global connectivity network called Starlink. After mid-August’s journey, the spaceship will have set up at least 650 satellites to orbit the earth.

SpaceX’s CEO, Elon Musk, has announced that NASA and SpaceX will be launching their Dragon 2 capsule with four astronauts, three Americans, and one Japanese. Their mission, called Crew-1, is to land the crew on the International Space Station for at least six months to collect data and do more research.

Musk has partnered with NASA and some of America’s largest corporations to eventually land humans on Martian soil. Although SpaceX admits that it will take time, money, and ingenuity, they haven’t lost sight of their goal to colonize the red planet. When Starlink and Crew-1 prove a success, then SpaceX can go forward with their Mars plans with confidence.

Do the topics of astronomy, space travel, or eventually seeing humans walking on Mars interest you? Then watch for SpaceX’s launches in August and October. Maybe these missions will provide the answers that scientists and world leaders have wanted. Perhaps your close descendants will be using SpaceX technology to travel to Mars for a vacation in the future.

10 Ways to Ensure Work Does Not Eclipse Family Time

August 29, 2020 by Power of Positivity

We live in a society where our jobs demand a lot from us. As someone who wants to succeed and over-achieve, it can turn you into a workaholic. However, it’s essential to make sure that you don’t put aside family time for work.

It’s essential to have a healthy work-life balance. Many divorces happen because a spouse is never around. In fact, according to a study done by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a marriage with a workaholic spouse is twice as likely to divorce.

You can avoid this statistic by taking steps to keep your work balanced with your life. Here are 15 ways to ensure that your work doesn’t overtake your family time.

1. Have a cutoff time for work.

When you’re really into your work, and you’re making significant progress, it can be tempting to keep working. You may think that if you push, you can get the job done well before the deadline, making you the star employee. Maybe if you just put in some extra hours, you’ll get that promotion, raise, or recognition you’ve been craving.

This desire to continuously work is simply ambition. There is nothing wrong with being ambitious. There is also nothing wrong with being a workaholic – when you’re single.

However, when you have a family, you need to spend time with them. You need to have a cutoff time for work so that family time can begin. If possible, set this time in stone so you’ll have an exact transition point.

2. Focus on work during work hours, so you get it done.

If you have a fair bit of freedom with your job, sometimes you may get distracted during the time that you’re supposed to be working. With so much happening around you each day, it’s easy to lose focus. Social media, friends and family, events, news, and more can take up some of your focus.

When this happens, it can distract you from getting your job done promptly. Then, later in the day, you may find yourself rushing to get your work done. You may end up having to work late because you didn’t manage your time efficiently.

Don’t be a victim of time mismanagement. Find a way to focus on work during work hours, so you don’t have to work overtime. This will allow you to prioritize time with your family like you should be doing.

3. Don’t miss important family events.

Work is always going to seem like it’s so vital that you can’t put anything above it. However, you need to remember that it’s not an essential thing in your life. Your family is the most crucial thing in your life, and you don’t want life to pass you by while you’re stuck in the office.

This means you shouldn’t miss out on important family moments. Birthdays and anniversaries should never be put off because of work. Your kid’s recitals or baseball games should never be missed because you must go into the office.

Remember, these are moments that you can’t get back. Work will still be there tomorrow.

4. Don’t bring your work home.

Unless you have a work-at-home job, you should never bring your work home with you. In fact, that goes against the first point – having a cutoff time for work. If you follow the first bit of advice, you won’t have to worry about bringing your work home.

Work is work. Home is home. You should never mix the two. Give your family your full attention at home. Your family understands that your job is essential, but they need to know that they aren’t second-place in your life.

It’s understandable if you need to bring work home once in a blue moon. However, it should never be a regular thing.

5. Set work boundaries.

Your job, boss, and coworkers will take as much from you as you allow them to. This means if you don’t set clear boundaries, they’ll contact you and demand from you around the clock if they need to. Even if you’re not at work, they’ll continuously contact you, which can eat into your family time.

You’ve probably seen people on vacation, but their phones are constantly ringing with work-related issues. Perhaps you’ve seen that person at a family function, but they’re obsessed with a flurry of emails. Don’t be that person.

When it’s family time, work should be put on the back burner. Let your boss and your coworkers know this in advance, and stick to it.

6. Take days off.

If you have days that are scheduled off, take them off. These are days where you can focus on family and other parts of your life. Don’t let your job drag you in on those days.

Your days off are meant for you to recharge, so you don’t burn out. After all, what good is working if you never have time to enjoy the fruits of your labor? These are days where you can put your family first, so don’t boot them to second place if your job calls.

Your job isn’t going anywhere. It will be there on your next scheduled day. Plus, not going in on your days off will help your bosses learn to manage the schedule better. It seems like you’re helping everyone by not going in on your days off.

7. Remember, you have a life outside of work.

Work isn’t everything! Or at least it shouldn’t be everything. If it is everything, you really need to get a life.

There is a whole world outside of your office. If you’re always working, your family is out enjoying that world without you. They probably won’t even get to tell you about it because you’re not even around for a conversation.

Work is important, but you only get one life. Take the time to enjoy all that it has to offer and make lasting memories with your family.

8. Make sure you’re valued at work.

You may not have thought about this, but your happiness at work can have a direct impact on how you interact with your family. If you’re miserable at work, a place that you’re spending a large chunk of your day at, you might bring that feeling home with you. Your family will be able to tell if you’re feeling miserable.

Make sure that you love your job and that you’re valued at work. You’re human – dealing with bad vibes and emotions all day will end up wearing you down. You don’t want those vibes to affect your family life. The best way to keep this from happening is by avoiding them altogether.

9. Make your family feel special.

If you know you’ve been working a lot lately, maybe it’s time to do something special for your family. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive (unless you can afford it). Small surprises go a long way.

Although doing extraordinary things for your family makes them feel good, it can also keep you grounded. It will remind you why you’re doing what you do.

Seeing how much they love your special gesture, and more importantly, how they love sharing that special gesture with you can make family time that much more special. You’ll begin to crave that time and affection, so you’re more likely to make sure that work doesn’t overtake that particular family time.

10. Remember why you’re working in the first place.

Working when you’re single is vastly different from working when you’re married with children. When you’re single, your primary focus is probably something along the lines of promotions, raises, being the MVP at work, and climbing the corporate ladder. However, having a family changes that focus (or at least it should).

This doesn’t mean that you can’t be ambitious if you have a family. It merely means that the most important thing to you has changed. You’re working for your family. You’re working to make sure they’re taken care of.

Your family is not okay if you aren’t around. They need you. Yes, they need a house and a car and other things, but keep in mind that the reason you’re working so hard in the first place is your family. Don’t ever put your job ahead of them.

Final Thoughts on Not Letting Work Overtake Family Time

You love your job. That’s wonderful, primarily since you’ve worked so hard to get where you are. However, you may find that your job isn’t as fulfilling if you don’t have anyone to share the successes with.

You need to remember that your family is just as important as succeeding at work. In fact, they are probably the reason you work so hard. Don’t use that as an excuse to work around the clock.

By utilizing the 15 tips given in this article, you can make sure that you prioritize family time. This way, you’ll have a great work-life balance. Don’t delay in implementing these tips! Your family needs you.

Pros Reveal 6 Simple Tips To Help You Organize Your Kids’ Closets

August 29, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Are your kids’ closets a jumbled mess? That likely scenario is not at all surprising!

No one is quite as disorganized as a child! With a little understanding of the importance of keeping things tidy, kids can create quite a mess and leave a trail of havoc wherever they go. It can be difficult for parents to keep up – and even more difficult for those kids to find what they need later!

That’s why it’s so vital to teach children to start being organized as young as possible. This way, organizing habits will come naturally to them, and they’ll learn how to keep things neat and orderly as they grow up. But with all the things kids have, how can everything be stored correctly? Here’s how pros reveal six simple tips to help you organize your kids’ closets!

1. Hang Things Up

Hanging things up is a simple and easy way to keep things off the floor. All you have to do is make sure your children have enough hooks and hangers, and you’ll naturally have things organized in some form! Morevoer, you will help decrease morning-time stress!

Here are several easy tasks you can start with:

· Figure Out How Hanging Things Works

Help your children create a system for their clothes. For example, their clothes can be organized by color and category. This way, they can grab and put away their clothes quickly later!

· Use Doubler Rods

Having two rods in your child’s closet not only increases the hanging space in the closet, but they also allow smaller children to put away their clothes with ease too. This will enable them to practice organizing their closet by themselves.

· Try Using Hooks

Putting on your child’s closet provides more organizational options for your child. They can use these hooks to hang bags, scarves, jackets, or even jewelry – which helps keep their things off the floor and their room free of clutter.

· Invest In Good Hangers

It may seem strange, but getting the right kind of hangers can make storage easier for your child’s closet. Slimline hangers take up less space than ordinary hangers, allowing you to squeeze in more clothes onto a rack. Some of them come with non-slip designs as well, ensuring that clothes won’t slide off the hangers while in the closet.

2. Figure Out How A Good Closet Works

To store things well, you first have to invest in a functional closet. Not just in terms of build quality, but also in terms of how usable it is from your child’s point of view. For families looking for a stylish and practical solution, a built-in wardrobe in Perth can be an excellent choice. After all, it is much easier to encourage cleanliness and orderliness if the act of storing and retrieving their belongings is a positive experience!

· Make Sure Everything Is Accessible

Your child needs to have a closet that they can use to its fullest. This means making sure that baskets are within reach, and things can be easily seen and retrieved from the open shelves. This lowered height makes it easier for your child to maintain and organize their own space.

· Invest In A Working Closet System

Not all closets are designed the same. Look for one that has the right number and arrangement of shelves, cubbies, and drawers your child needs. To maximize storage and functionality, you might also consider incorporating floating shelves; you can learn more about creative ways to use them at foreverjointtops.com.

· Designate Different Spaces For Different Things

Organizing is easier for your child if they know where things should go. Help your child decide on a “home” for their belongings so that they are encouraged to return the appropriate items to their respective shelves. For example, their shoes’ home can be in a drawer, and underwear can have their home on a specific shelf!

3. Make Things Convenient

No matter how old you are, cleaning can come across as a menial chore and a drag. For children, this is understandably even worse – which can explain why they may struggle to keep their rooms and closets clean. Here are a few things you can do to help them:

· Have A Basket Or Bin For Everything

Using a mix of bins and baskets allows you to contain and store things that won’t usually fit onto a shelf or into a drawer. It also gives your children someplace to put the bulkier stuff they love, like puzzles, books, stuffed toys, or even shoes.

· Make Labels

Teaching your child how to label things can help them keep track of their belongings and their respective shelves. You can then teach them to match items to their labeled shelves for easy cleanup.

· Coordinate By Color

Color-coordination can turn fixing up the closet into a fun and easy task for your child. Have them put their toys in a basket of the same color, or place their books back onto a shelf with books of similar color.

· Use Closet Dividers

Closet dividers help divide up a closet into more spaces. This allows your child to get specific with their storage, and control the size of their shelves per their needs or wants!

4. Unique Storage Options

Typical storage methods may be just what you need for your children. This offers them more options to keep things clean, and may make organizing their closet and space a more exciting experience!

Here are a few helpful hints you can try for your children:

· Go For Hidden Storage

There’s nothing more exciting for children than a hidden drawer or bin. This can encourage them to put their things away while also doubling the amount of storage space for them.

· DIY A Hanging Pegboard

A pegboard wall with hooks offers both you and your child more versatility when it comes to storage options. You can use it to store books, knick-knacks, and various miscellaneous items – whatever organizational space you need, you can configure a pegboard for the task.

· Don’t Let The Door Go to Waste

You can quickly put up a set of hooks or a hanging organizer for additional storage space. This not only utilizes an unusual space that would otherwise go to waste, but it also allows your child to easily see and store their belongings.

· Bring Write Kitchen Shelves In

Kitchen shelves don’t have to be reserved for just your kitchen. You can also utilize them for your child’s storage, allowing you to put their belongings somewhere that’s visible. This not only leaves everything in sight and easy reach for your child but also offers plenty of vertical storage space as well.

· Mix Laundry Baskets With Shelves

Laundry baskets don’t have to be just for laundry. You can also use them as a shelf of sorts, and have your child use it as a storage spot for all kinds of miscellaneous items they may have.

5. Make Cleanup Easy

The simplest way to encourage your children to clean up after themselves is to make the task easy! It is often easy to forget just how difficult it can be for a child to remember to clean up after themselves. Lowering the energy and mental requirements for your children solves that issue, and it can be quickly done by:

· Set Up A Bin Or Two For Toys

Putting down some stackable storage bins for your children creates an easily accessible place for your children’s toys. You can help your child label said containers so that they know what goes where, which further incentivizes them to put things back “home”.

· Prepare A Laundry Basket

Give your children a place to put their dirty laundry. A basket with handles will not only create a logical place for dirty clothes but can also be carried by your child to the laundry room when full.

· Have An Open Bin Ready For Quick Cleanup

Simply have a large, open bin for bulky items. Have your child toss everything into it before bedtime – pillows, stuffed toys, throw blankets, etc. No questions asked.

6. When Losing Motivation, Remember The Benefits

No matter how much work you put in, it bears remembering that this is essentially an ongoing lesson you will have to teach them for the entirety of their childhood. That can seem like a long time on a bad day, and you might find yourself in despair instead!

It’s best to cling on tight to positive thinking, however. Research tells us that with enough time, the organizational skills you teach them scale up to other aspects of their life as well. For example, they become better at:

· Learning To Follow Directions

It may seem simple, but trying to follow directions is a lot harder for children than you might think. This is because it requires a child to be capable of focusing on the task at hand and mentally constructing a course of action for it. These two things need mental organizational and planning skills – something a child can learn from organizing their closet.

· Easier Location

With everything placed away from where they should be, you’ll find that it’s easier for both you and your child to find things.

· Gaining Math Skills

Organizational skills find their place in math, a subject that is also highly organized. So it should come as no surprise that studies have pointed out the relationship between a child’s organizational skills and their mathematical academic achievement. As such, teaching your children how to organize their closet – and by extension, teaching them organizational skills – may have a positive effect on their studies later on.

· Learning Confidence

The task of rewarding your child for cleaning up their closet may also be what helps build their confidence. Research shows that being specific about praise helps boost their child in the praised area. This means that regularly rewarding and praising your child for organizing their toys and clothing will help them increase their sense of self, their capacity for positive thinking, and their ability to organize!

· Gaining Literacy

When a child reads a book or writes a story, they have to keep track of several things at once. For example, they’d have to keep track of plot, story concept, characters, and their relationships. This actually all requires organizational skills that they can, fortunately, learn through visually organizing their space, as research has shown.

Final Thoughts On Following These Simple Tips To Help You Organize Your Kids’ Closets

No one expects, wants, or needs children to be the perfect depictions of a filing cabinet. We all know full well that kids will be kids! Being young involves being a little messy. But that doesn’t mean that children can’t begin to learn how to keep things tidy, and what better way to start teaching organization than through their closets?

Trainers Reveal 6 Exercises That Tighten and Tone the Thighs

August 28, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Like everyone else on the planet, you’ve probably got an area of your body that is your Achilles heel. No matter how much you try to eat healthily and exercise, this area clings stubbornly to unwanted fatty deposits. For many, this spot is their thighs… Does this sound all too familiar to you?

Perhaps one of the most challenging areas to sculpt and eliminate the extra fat in are your thighs, which are also called your flanks. Although both men and women can have the dreaded saddlebags, women tend to carry more weight in this area due to childbearing and hormonal influence. Men often store surplus fat in their abdomen to create the iconic and unsightly beer belly.

The Thighs Have It

Whether you are male or female, you want strong, cut thighs that support your body and daily activities, and they make you look good in whatever you wear. The medical term for thunder thighs or saddlebags is gluteofemoral fat. This fatty tissue is considered subcutaneous because it is under the skin.

Conversely, the fatty deposits around your midsection are visceral fat because it forms around the internal organs. Of the two, medical experts warn that excess visceral fat in your midsection is much more a health hazard than extra subcutaneous deposits. Your goal is to get rid of them both so you can have a healthier, leaner body.

Thigh Anatomy 101

As you lose weight and exercise, your flanks are usually the final frontier. While your overweight thighs may be the bane of your existence, your body depends on their strength and mobility. Your flanks are a complex system of some of the most powerful muscles and connective tissue in your body.

These muscles surround your body’s largest bone, the femur, and they connect your upper legs to your hips and your knee joints. In the back of your flanks is the hamstring muscles, and your quadriceps muscles are in the front. These two muscle groups are responsible for bending and straightening your legs.

Your flanks’ insides are powered by your adductor muscles, allowing you to pull your legs in and out from the sides. Injury to any of these three muscle groups can be quite painful and debilitating. Your body needs them to be strong and healthy for optimal mobility.

If you consume more calories than you burn and stockpile extra fatty deposits on your body, your flanks will always reveal your secret. Along with the abdomen, your flanks are among the first places your body will begin to tuck away extra fat. To make matters even more complicated, these major fat storehouses won’t give up their surplus easily, even with diet and exercise.

The Dreaded Bird Leg Syndrome

Maybe you have the opposite problem with your flanks. What could be more frustrating than to lose weight and get your ideal beach body just to look down and see bird legs? Skinny legs, aka the “bird leg syndrome,” maybe hereditary to some degree, but it’s often from a lack of attention to leg exercise.

Like bulging hips and flanks, bird legs can be just as irritating, especially for a guy. The same tips and exercises that can reduce and tone your flanks can also strengthen and build thick muscle. Everyone wants their upper and lower legs to be attractive and proportionate to their bodies, right?

Your Flank Workout Plan

As you do your cardio and other strengthening exercises, don’t forget to take your hips and flanks into consideration. Many times, you can incorporate specific workouts that are targeted to these fatty deposit-prone areas.

1. Stepping Exercises

Are you among the countless fitness enthusiasts across America who strive to get their daily recommendations of 10,000 steps? Here’s a great flank toner that will also strengthen your legs and feet and will help with your steps goal. They are as easy as walking up and down the stairs.

• How to Do It:

If you don’t have a wooden stepping box or a raised platform, the first stair of your staircase will do. Just as you naturally climb stairs, start by pushing off on one foot and put your other foot on the stair or box. Be sure that you are placing your whole foot on the surface, not just your toes.

Now, reverse your movement, and return to the starting point. Do the same back and forth motion using the opposite feet. Try doing these sets for 15-20 reps. You’ll get the same fat-burning benefits if you take the stairs whenever you can instead of the elevator.

2. Heel Lifts

Have you ever noticed how the muscles in your hips and flanks tighten when you stand on your tiptoes? No wonder ballet dancers keep such toned legs. You can get the same benefits as the traditional heel lift exercise. These are also ideal to combine with your stair-stepping by standing on your tiptoes with both feet before dismounting the stair.

• How to Do It:

Begin with your feet flat on your exercise mat about a shoulder-width apart. Then, slowly lift both heels until you are balancing on your tiptoes to count three breaths and return to the starting position.

For an added strengthening bonus, hold a set of dumbbells in each hand, allowing them to hang naturally at your sides. Try to complete three sets of ten reps.

3. Classic Squats

Some of the best exercises for your body were probably learned in high school gym class. Here is a traditional exercise that works your lower back, hips, flanks, and lower leg muscles. Who knew that squatting to the ground could reap such benefits?

• How to Do It:

Start by standing with your feet flat on your exercise mat with your toes pointing forward. Now, slowly squat by bending your knees and hips until your flanks are parallel to the mat. Hold for three breaths and slowly stand to the starting position.

Try to keep your knees in line instead of to the sides. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your back straight for optimal effect. If you have trouble keeping your back straight, you may also do these squats with your back straight against a wall. As you become familiar with this regimen, consider holding a dumbbell in each hand while squatting. Do two sets of 10-15 reps.

4. Leg Lunges

All these exercises, including these lunges, are uncomplicated and natural movements. When you add some weight resistance, you boost your fat-busting benefits. Leg lunges can easily be modified to a smaller step if your knees bother you.

• How to Do It

Stand straight on your mat with a dumbbell in each hand, palms inward, and your arms hanging naturally at your sides. Now, step one foot forward as you bend both knees until your front heel is aligned directly below your knee. Both knees should be bent at approximately 90 degrees.

Hold for 2-3 breaths then work backward to the starting position. Repeat the steps with your opposite leg. The tightness you feel in your leg muscles is a good thing unless it becomes painful, and you should stop. Do three sets of eight reps.

5. Dead Lifting

Resistance is a vital part of building defined muscles and can burn fat in problematic areas, like your flanks. When considering any lifting like this exercise, realize that you are using several muscle groups, and you don’t want to lift more than you can handle. Gradually build your weights up to your maximum lifting capacity.

• How to Do It:

Place two equal barbells on your mat with enough space that you can stand between them.

Stand with your back straight and your legs slightly wider than your shoulders, hands at your sides. Bend your knees and stoop down while keeping your back straight and firmly grasp a weight in each hand.

Now, use your leg muscles to stand straight, raising the weights, and keeping your arms from bending. Hold the position for a couple of breaths and lower the weights into the starting position. Your glutes will be getting a good workout with this exercise, too.

6. Butterfly Pose

If you are a student of yoga, you know how beneficial it can be for your body, mind, and spirit. It combines mindful breathing and gentle movements and poses to stretch and create defined muscles. Butterfly Pose may look serene and restful, but it tones your inner and outer thighs effectively.

• How to Do It:

Sit comfortably on your exercise mat with your back straight, and both legs bent and knees to the side. Gently grasp your ankles and bring the soles of your feet together. Sit in this position for about 2-3 minutes while noticing your breathing, then release your feet.

Final Thoughts on Taking Control of your Thighs

When you practice an active lifestyle, you don’t want your thighs to get in your way. Before you begin these or any exercise regimens, talk to your primary healthcare provider or a professional fitness instructor about what is right for you. When you add these and other thigh-buster exercises to your daily routine, you won’t regret it.

4 Simple Ways To Appreciate Yourself Every Day

August 28, 2020 by Power of Positivity

There are many excellent things to appreciate in everyday life. You can always find beauty in nature and the world. There are friends, family, and loved ones. And, there are simple necessities. There are all your favorite things. But you might be missing out on the most crucial person to appreciate: yourself!

Yes, many things are worth appreciating, and you certainly should be grateful for them! But many people lose sight of their merit when they focus so much on how good everything else is. Don’t forget that you’re a wonderful person. Additionally, you deserve self-appreciation all the same. If you don’t appreciate yourself, you’re doing yourself a disservice.

But you might find this more challenging that one would think. It can be tough to learn not just to love yourself but actively be grateful for yourself, especially daily. To help inspire you, here are four quick and simple yet effective ways to appreciate yourself every day.

1. Surround Yourself With Good People

To facilitate self-directed positive thinking, you first need to create a positive environment that will appreciate and love you in turn. After all, it’s only fair that you receive back what you put out there into the world! So take care to vet your friends carefully, and find the people who will treat you the way you deserve to.

· Accept And Appreciate Genuine Compliments

Good relationships will try to build you up, which is precisely what we all need. It can be tempting to downplay or brush aside a compliment and instead await some grand display of affection, but this isn’t healthy or realistic. Instead, it is much healthier for both our self-esteem and our relationships with others to accept and internalize genuine compliments. A study has shown that receiving praise is related to a positive increase in our capabilities too!

· Remove Toxic People From Your Life

It’s easy to find yourself surrounded by toxic people who take advantage of you, without ever really returning the love and care you give them. This can apply to both parents, friends, and partners alike. If any of them either demands help without helping you in turn, belittles you repeatedly, or talks to you behind your back, it’s best to cut them out of your life directly. Set up firm, healthy boundaries, and stick to those who take care of your feelings in return.

· Ask A Close Friend To Explain What They Like About You

You may feel like this is unnecessary and selfish, but there’s no harm in asking your friends what they like or love about you – especially if you’re not feeling too well. Have them tell you or it down for you to read so that you can be reminded of what positive impact you have on those around you, and what you’re good at. This activity will give you something to refer back to the next time you find yourself questioning your worth!

2. Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle

Your physical and mental wellbeing are often two things that are strongly intertwined with each other. So it should come as no surprise that it’s easier to engage in self-directed positive thinking when you’re physically healthy and in good shape.

With that in mind, here are a few things to consider when trying to make yourself healthy:

· Eat A Balanced Diet

Studies have shown that there is a pretty strong correlation between nutritional deficiencies and depression. In other words, there’s a pretty good reason you should take a closer look at your current diet. Getting enough water, nutrition, and sleep will make you feel physically better – and, by extension, makes it easier for you to feel better about yourself.

· Exercise

Exercise has been proven by research to confer all sorts of benefits for both your physical and mental wellbeing. In this particular case, it helps with alleviating anxiety and depression. And this is before taking into account that workouts will help you feel and look better, which can help build your sense of self-worth. This is especially so if you’re doing strength training, which often has clear and visible progress you can refer to!

· Manage Stress Levels

This tidbit should come as no surprise to you. Stress has been proven by research to inflict a strong, negative effect on our psychological state. This means that doing your best to manage your stress and relax helps you appreciate yourself better!

3. Learn To Talk Yourself Up

Many of us often tend to talk down or belittle ourselves, whether out loud or internally. This is especially so if we had grown up in an environment that had been very hurtful while we were growing up, and in the process, internalized these negative thoughts.

To better appreciate yourself better, it’s better for your mental wellbeing to instead:

· Replace Negative Thoughts

If you find yourself faced with negative beliefs about yourself, try replacing them with something else. Statements like “I’m so fat” or “I’m so stupid” will naturally come up automatically after making a mistake or being embarrassed, but they should not go uncontested. Instead, rewrite them to be more realistic and positive. Bring up the good things you have about yourself, or remind yourself that your failures do not make you a bad person.

· Don’t Fall Victim To Shame

Before you can truly learn to appreciate yourself, you first need to differentiate between guilt and shame, and the emotions they cause. Both of them are responses to making a mistake, but only one of them is potentially productive. Guilt often realizes and acknowledges that you’ve done something terrible, and can spur you to positive change. On the other hand, shame often makes you stew in feelings of failure. This, of course, isn’t productive in the slightest. If you make an error, it is always best to focus on remedying it the best you can, and then moving on.

· Use Mantras Or Positive Affirmations

Self-affirmation isn’t as silly as you might think it is. Studies show that repeated upbeat mantras – especially in reaction to adverse circumstances – can activate the reward center of your brain. As a result, the usage of mantras in the face of adversity can help reinforce one’s inner resilience and strength. This means that so long as it’s short, concise, and meaningful to you, that mantra you’re repeating in your head may just brighten your day!

· Leave Yourself Post-It Notes

Another way to saturate yourself with positive affirmations is by placing sticky notes where you can see them. Try writing down little notes like “I’m fantastic,” and “I am loved.”

Then place them where you could use some encouragement. For example, on your bathroom mirror, on the back of the door when you’re heading out, or even in your wallet. This makes self-affirmation a tangible and visible thing that, depending on how creative you get (and how quickly you forget), may serve as a way to boost your spirits at unexpected times of the day.

· Delve Into Your Thoughts

Far too often, we tend to accept negative self-assessments without ever really challenging them casually. As a result, we tend to simply take these negative ideas of unworthiness and belittling as fact, despite them often being mostly baseless. So the next time you find yourself coping with thoughts of worthlessness and the like, consider asking yourself what triggered them, and where do these thoughts come from. This way, you get to identify what is the actual root cause behind such negative perceptions of yourself and learn how to undo that learned thought behavior. Remember – you are not your thoughts. They are temporary and will pass with time. It’s best to allow them to leave without clinging on to them.

4. Be Kind To Others

Too often, we tend to focus on negativity, often to the point that we ignore everyone around us. It may seem counterintuitive, but turning our focus outwards and caring for others is often an incredibly effective way to feel better about ourselves. This is because we get to finally do something tangible that has clear and distinct positive effects, which often, in turn, uplifts our mood.

On top of that, kindness can also serve as both a way to practice gratitude – which in itself is a useful skill that helps with one’s self-worth. Want to get started? Here are a few tips to get started with:

· Thank Those Around You

Try taking a moment to recognize when someone did their best to help you out, and thank them in return. It’s a simple action that not only inspires positivity in others but also likely will inspire positivity in you as well! To do this, pay attention to the actions and behavior of those around you, friends, and strangers alike. While a general “thank you” will suffice, it pays to take one step further and try being specific about what good or help they’ve done for you. This way, you’ll also learn to be more appreciative and observant of the world around you.

· Go The Extra Mile

Instead of being a passive bystander, be deliberate in your acts of encouragement and understanding. Research has shown that performing acts of kindness helps the performer’s wellbeing as well. This is often because the act of thinking and treating others kindly inspires you to think about how you, too, can be kind and understanding towards yourself as well, and how you would want others to treat you.

· Volunteer For A Good Cause

Consider trying to help those less fortunate than you are in places like soup kitchens, orphanages, or nursing homes. In the process of assisting others, you’ll find that you might actually be uplifted in turn as well – and not just in an emotional way. Studies show that serving others not only reduces depression and negative thoughts, but also gives you a boost in oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin – all neurotransmitters that are responsible for feelings of happiness and joy!

Final Thoughts On Some Simple, Yet Effective Ways To Appreciate Yourself Every Day

Appreciating yourself is about feeling good about yourself, caring for yourself, and taking note of your achievements and excellent qualities. You don’t have to do anything intricate or fancy to appreciate yourself fully – even the simplest of steps can help you appreciate yourself daily. Before you know it, that self-love will be ingrained in you!

8 Signs of a Deviated Septum Never to Ignore

August 28, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Your nose may appear beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, you could have a structural disorder that causes you many problems. Down the center of your nose is a septum made of cartilage and bones, dividing the nose into two sections. The septum runs from the nostrils to the back of your nose.

It should be in a straight line that makes both of your passageways roughly the same size. However, studies show that more than 80 percent of people have disproportionate nasal cavities, which may or may not affect the outside appearance. If your septum is a little off-center, it’s not going to cause too many problems.

However, the real issue comes into play when your septum significantly deviates from its intended shape. The deviation comes from a curve to one side or a shift that causes breathing problems. What causes a deviated septum? It’s most likely a congenital disability. Consequently, it can also occur from an injury, specifically if you broke your nose.

Testing Your Breathing Abilities

To see how well you breathe, you should try a little exercise. Close your mouth and breathe only through your nose. Is it hard for you to pull the air into your lungs? Can you hear rattling as you inhale, trying to move oxygen through your system?

Take your finger and close off one of your nostrils. How much more effort does it require you to take a breath with your mouth closed and only one nostril in use? Now, try this exercise with the other nostril. Can you breathe better out of one side of your nose, or is the airflow even?

If there is a septum deviation in your nose, then it can cause severe breathing difficulties. When the variation is critical, you may be able to see it outside of your body in the form of a crooked nose or abnormally shaped nose hole. Get a mirror and flashlight and investigate your nose cavities.

Do you see a perfectly straight piece of cartilage in the middle, or do you see one side is curved and odd shaped? These simple tests won’t give you a definitive diagnosis. Still, it will tell you if you need further evaluation and see if a septum deviation is a cause for your chronic sinusitis and other breathing issues.

Identifying the Signs of a Deviated Septum Issue

While it doesn’t seem like a massive problem to have a septum that isn’t perfect, it can cause plenty of issues when the alignment is majorly off. Here are some classic signs that you might be dealing with a deviated septum.

1. Frequent Nose Bleeds

The consequences of a septal deviation cause your nose to be drier than usual. As you struggle to get air into your nose, it can make tiny tears in the skin that bleed.

Now, keep in mind that every nosebleed is not from a septum issue, and every septum problem doesn’t cause nosebleeds. However, it’s completely normal to get one of these annoying occurrences with any deviation.

2. Breathing Difficulties

There’s nothing worse than the feeling that you cannot breathe. One of the hallmark signs of a deviated septum is that the obstruction of the nasal passages causes breathing issues. Day or night, breathing through your nose can be challenging.

Most people notice that one side of their nose seems harder to breathe from than the other. It’s often observed on the side that is opposite of the bend. Additionally, one of your nostrils can be blocked off from a severe deviation, which causes the breathing to shift to the other side.

You are trying to get all the air that your body needs from one nostril, and it’s a real challenge. You often see many people with these septum issues breathing through their mouths to take in the required air.

3. Sinusitis

Your sinuses are hollow spaces in the bones surrounding your nose. These little areas produce the mucus necessary to keep things lubricated, and any excess drains from the nose. When a deviation blocks the septum, then the drainage cannot escape the sinuses.

It builds and packs creating the breeding ground for bacteria. Excess mucus sitting in these cavities make you prone to infection. Having fluid in your sinus cavities will make you experience pain and pressure in your forehead, between your eyes, around the sides of the nose, and the cheeks. You can also experience drainage down the back of your throat.

Did you know that sinus problems can cause toothaches, bad breath, coughing, and taste and smell issues? It’s important to note that not every person who has sinus issues is getting these problems from a deviated septum.

Additionally, some people have a deviation issue and don’t experience any sinus problems. If you tend to get chronic sinus infections, then it’s worth having your nose checked out.

4. Headaches

It’s not uncommon to get headaches when the structures within the walls of your nose are affected by your deviation. There are small turbinates or shell-shaped structures in the top, middle, and bottom of the nose.

These little passages help keep the warm air moving through the area and moisturize the space. When you have a severe septum deviation, it can meet these passages and put pressure on them, making them have tenderness and become sore. The pressure can cause you to have headaches, sometimes severe.

5. Disturbed Sleep / Apnea

Has anyone ever told you that you snore loudly? Snoring is often associated with obesity and sleep apnea, but the underlying cause could be breathing problems in your nose. Yes, your nose could be the real issue.

When you have a difficult time breathing through your nasal passageways, you automatically open your mouth to get the oxygen that you need. The open mouth creates a vacuum, and it causes the tissues in your throat to flop around, which makes a lot of noise.

If you hear your infant or young child snoring, then their septum should be evaluated. Sleep apnea is a whole other condition, but it often occurs with a deviated septum too. If you’re waking up regularly, unable to get proper sleep from your lack of breath, then you need to see a doctor.

6. Noisy Breathing

Sleep problems are certainly acerbated during the night, and it doesn’t mean that a severe septum deviation won’t cause daytime issues. The deviation occupies more space than it needs to, which will cause you to breathe improperly through the nose.

You may notice a slight snore while sitting at your desk at work or watching television. While you’re not asleep, the noise is the nose trying to take in adequate air, and the tissues inside are vibrating.

7. Nasal Congestion

Nasal congestion is exceptionally uncomfortable. There isn’t a great deal of space within your nose anyway, and when your septum is an odd shape, it can cause swelling. Your airways can become enlarged and block your breathing.

If you feel like you always have a cold and are fighting to keep your nose opened, it may not be a virus. That stuffy feeling could be from the tissues enlarging from the pressure of the septum. It can be bad enough to stop your breathing in one or both nostrils.

A simple solution is to use a natural decongestant like peppermint or eucalyptus. Allergy medications will also do the trick. They help to reduce the swelling and open these inflamed areas. However, when the medicines don’t seem to work well, it may be a sign that the problem needs medical intervention.

8. Postnasal Drip

As discussed above, the mucus inside your nose may be unable to drain due to the septum. So, the mucus may drip down the throat instead. When the septum affects your sinus drainage, it can cause all sorts of problems.

A little drainage down your throat is conventional, but the defect in your nose may cause the build-up to thicken and become clogged. Not only will you experience tenderness around the sinus area, but you can also have a chronic postnasal drip that causes sore throats and infections.

Final Thoughts: Treating a Deviated Septum

Did you know that your nose droops as you age, which can make problems with your deviated septum more obvious? There may have been no problems before, but once you start getting older, the drooping that occurs can make you have issues that are more pronounced.

There are surgical interventions that can fix this defect, and most take just about an hour or so to complete. The good news is that a simple procedure can fix all these problems without the need for chronic medications and unbearable symptoms. Do you have many of these symptoms of the list? It could be that you have an underlying deviated septum that is to blame.

Fitness Trainers Explain 6 Burpee Variations That Melt Away Fat

August 28, 2020 by Power of Positivity

No matter how hard you work to control your eating habits and exercise regularly, some areas of your body won’t cooperate. Two of these problem areas are your midsection and hips. They are often a source of contention that can make you feel frustrated and defeated.

Men and women lose weight differently, and they also have a different distribution of fat deposits in their bodies. Men tend to carry extra weight in their gut as the proverbial beer belly, and women often have more fatty deposits on their hips and sides.

These problem areas often require regular exercises geared toward the midsection, thighs, and hips for both genders. Burpees, also called jump exercises, can be modified and integrated into your daily exercise routine.

The classic exercise was developed in the early 1930s by a physiologist from Columbia University named Royal Burpee. His activity included several movements that he considered were important for proper physical fitness training.

Although the jump exercise was first popular in the American military and schools, it became a fitness sensation that made it well-known in physical fitness. When you are doing jump exercises, remember to employ mindful breathing to bring a constant rush of fresh oxygen into your body. Inhale deeply through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth.

Conscious breathing is vital for aerobic benefits and is a cornerstone of yogic exercising traditions. During your exercising session, be careful that you don’t become dehydrated. When you are working out, you can quickly lose essential fluids and electrolytes by perspiring. Keep a bottle of fresh cold water handy and drink plenty during and after your workout.

Another great thing about Burpee exercises is that you don’t need to belong to a gym or own expensive exercise equipment to do this type of maneuver. All you need is enough space to do the exercises safely and efficiently in your house or yard. You may also opt to use a skid-resistant exercise map or a plyo box for convenience.

What’s a Plyo Box?

If you’ve ever done strength training, you are probably familiar with plyometrics, a form of jumping exercises devised by the Soviet military in the late 50s and early 60s. The name plyometrics was created by track coach Fred Wilt, who made boosted its popularity in the United States. Most of these plyometric exercises use a sturdy wood or foam box, called a plyo box, to use as a platform for the jumps.

They are usually lightweight and have built-in handles for easy transportation. You can find plyo boxes of various quality in fitness stores or online at a price to fit any budget. They are perfect for doing your jump exercises indoors or outside.

Are you ready to burn some belly fat and lose those unsightly love handles for good? Before you start this or any new exercise regimen, discuss it with your primary healthcare provider or a certified fitness trainer. Here are six fun and innovative Burpee variants that may help you melt that unwanted fat.

Six Burpee Variations That Will Melt Fat

1. Square Burpee

This variant is also called the box. You can do it from a plyo box or a big ledge or step that isn’t too steep.

How to Do It:

Stand up straight with your feet apart, and your arms relaxed at your sides. Do the movements of the first exercise. When you jump from the plank position and go into the low squat, you will do a square jump.

Bend your knees slightly and hop up on the ledge or your plyo box. Hop down and resume the first position. Do 5-10 repetitions and rest in between if you must.

2. Push-Up Burpee

Anyone who ever did calisthenics in high school or trained in the military knows push-ups all too well. Push-ups are the quintessential exercise to maintain a healthy body and a disciplined exercise routine. Combined with a jump exercise, it provides an ideal tool for burning fat.

How to Do It:

Stand in the start position with your arms at your sides and your feet a hip-width apart. Lower yourself quickly into a squat with your palms flat on the exercise mat about a foot or so in front of your feet. Now, kick your feet behind you and balance on your tiptoes and hands, as if you were ready to do a standard push-up.

Try to keep your body as straight as you can. Lower your chest to the floor to do a quick push-up and bring your body back up to the first position. Give your feet a jump forward unto you are squatting in a low place.

Jump straight up from your heels with your hands above your head, landing in the start position with your hands at your sides. Repeat this jumping exercise 10-15 times.

3. Shooting Star

Were you ever a cheerleader in high school or college? This jump exercise variant is like the one that cheerleaders do, except you don’t need any pompoms this time. Maybe this exercise will become the star of your daily exercise routine.

How to Do It:

The Shooting Star resembles the Push-up burpee, except you don’t do a push up for it. Stand in the beginning position as you would do a jump exercise. You will drop down with your body in straight alignment, palms down, and feet hopped back to meet your hands. Take a deep breath and jump straight up with your hands and legs out to form a star or an X shape.

Come back down softly on the exercise mat with your feet together again at your arms, resting at your sides in the first position. Repeat the Shooting Star 10-15 times, resting a bit as needed.

4. Superhero Jump Exercise

Is it a bird or a plane? No, it’s just you are doing a beneficial jump exercise that resembles a caped crusader flying. Although you won’t be soaring through the clouds while doing it, the fat-burning results might make you feel like a superhero.

How to Do It:

Like most jump exercise variants, the Superhero begins with the standard position, then you lower your chest to your mat and align your body in the plank position. With your chest still on the mat, stretch your hands out in front of your body, as if flying.

Bring your hands back to the original plank position, aligned under your shoulders.

Jump your feet forward until you are in a low squat position. Use your heels to jump straight up with your hands above your head. Land softly on the mat into the start position with your arms at your sides. Do reps of 10-15.

5. Side Jump

If you are battling fatty deposits on your side, this jump exercise variant concentrates on your side muscles or obliques. It can also help you burn away the unwanted fat in your midsection. Before long, you won’t be able to pinch an inch on your belly or hips.

How to Do It:

Start with a neutral position as you would a regular jump exercise. Push your feet out, diagonally to the left instead of jumping them behind you. You should be balanced on your tiptoes and palms with your shoulders directly over your hands.

Notice the stretch you feel on the oblique muscles of your right side. Now, jump into a low squat with your feet under your body. Jump straight into the air with your hands above your head and land with your feet and body in the start position.

Repeat these steps, and this time, kick your feet out to the right. Each side is considered one set. Do 10-15 reps of these sets and rest for a few seconds in-between time, if you need it.

6. Diver Jump

The Diver is a combination jump exercise that involves almost all your muscle groups, especially your abs and obliques.

How to Do It

Assume the standard position and do a regular jump exercise until your body is aligned in the plank position. Bring your hips back and shift your weight until you are in the classic dog yoga pose. Push up on your hands to bring your face and chest up like the cobra pose.

Let your upper body go toward the mat while bending your elbows and bring your hips and shoulders in like a diver. Now, keep your hips close to the mat and press your torso up from the ground into the Upward Dog pose. Bring your feet forward by hopping into a low squat position, and jump in the air with your hands above your head.

Land smoothly on the mat back into the starting position. Repeat 10-15 times. Jumping exercises are a fun way to lose excess fat from your belly, hips, and thighs. Consider implementing these six variants into your routine and aim for about 20-30 minutes of exercise each day.

Final Thoughts on Trying These Burpee Variations to Melt Stubborn Fat

The burpee or the many variations aren’t challenging to do, and you have nothing to lose, but that unwanted belly fat and love handles. All you need to do is carve out a little bit of time each day to work on your troubled areas, and soon, you will see the progress you want.

10 Signs of Compatibility Between Partners

August 28, 2020 by Power of Positivity

When selecting a partner, there are many things that you must consider. Finding the one that you want to share your most intimate moments with is just a dream to some. How do you know if you share compatibility with a person?

Fairytales depict that you will make this journey towards finding the right person only once, so you want to make sure that you get it right. The person you want to share your life with must check all the boxes, and your chemistry must be off the charts. Compatibility is the key, but many things fall into that category.

How do you know if your compatibility is where it needs to be? If you want a life-long partnership, then you must make sure you both are well-suited.

10 Signs of Compatibility Between Partners

Here are ten things that will show if you and the one you love have excellent compatibility.

1. They’re the First Person You Want to Share Things With

Before you walk down the aisle or commit to someone, they should first be your best friend. Your BFF is someone that you want to share everything with, whether it be good or bad. Do you find yourself wanting to call this person just to tell them about the smallest of things?

When they are your person, then they know everything about you. Additionally, there are no secrets between the two of you. If you can’t wait to get home and share all the happenings of your day with them, then you know that they hold a special place in your life and heart.

2. You Both Take Responsibility for Your Actions

Research published by the Journal of Marriage and Family confirms that accountability in a relationship is vital for its success.

Part of having a mature relationship is being responsible for your actions. If you do something wrong, then you must be man or woman enough to admit it. Part of taking responsibility for wrongdoings means being able to say the words “I’m sorry.”

If your love interest cannot admit they’re wrong and will never apologize to you, you may want to reconsider a lifelong commitment.

3. Your Views on Raising Children is the Same

If you’re at the age where children are a possibility, you need to make sure you’re both on the same page. If you want children and the other party doesn’t, then it can make things complicated. Consequently, you should also have the same views on child-rearing.

It doesn’t work if one person takes a strict military stance while the other party is more lackadaisical.

4. You Both Can Argue Without Taking it to a Dangerous Level

It’s completely normal to have arguments and disagreements in a relationship. However, it’s what you do in those moments that count. Do your disputes escalate into name-calling and throwing objects?

It’s healthy to argue about important issues, but you must make sure that it doesn’t go to a dismal place when you disagree. No two people can agree on everything all the time. If you don’t argue at all, then someone isn’t completely honest about their feelings.

Make sure that when you have disagreements that you don’t let it soar to a place that is unhealthy for your relationship. Establish ground rules for your union before you commit.

Those who can successfully banter without making it personal have an excellent compatibility level. The last thing you need is someone with anger management issues that makes your life miserable.

5. Your Interests are Parallel

Do you both have the same interests? If one person is an adrenaline junkie who wants to ride roller coasters, visit haunted houses, and explore the paranormal, the other person should like or be open to them.

Though opposites attract, there should be enough similar interests between the two of you to keep things exciting. If one person is into the art scene and wants to live at the theater and museum while the other is living for clubs, bars, and rock n’ roll concerts, it might not work.

While you can bend a bit for the sake of your relationship, you must have enough common interests to make you compatible.

6. Your Upbringings are Similar

Couples don’t realize how vital their past is until they try to build a future. Marriage counselors will tell you that the values instilled in you from a child mold who you are as a person. If you were born in a strict religious family who values a conservative lifestyle, then the person you marry should understand and respect those beliefs.

However, the ultra-conservative and the liberal might not work well together. Someone who is against abortion, goes to church every Sunday, and is deeply devoted to their spirituality might not mesh well with someone who is pro-choice is against organized religion. While these issues won’t seem significant at first, they can cause division as time goes on.

If you want to raise your children sitting on a church pew on Sundays and your spouse prefers to sleep in, it might be hard to compromise. It’s these little issues that can fester into a major rift.

7. You Both Feel the Same About Drugs, Alcohol, and Cigarettes

Some people are adamantly against drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. If the other person has a glass of wine with dinner and a beer on occasion, then it might be offensive to the other party. When a person has seen the destruction that these vices can do, they may take a stand against it.

Your spouse must understand and be open to your views. If you grew up in a home where your mother or father was an alcoholic and did drugs, it might be a substantial issue if your significant other has any of those traits. Respecting these boundaries is one of the things that makes a union thrive.

8. Your Core Values are Compatible

Every person has core values that make them who they are in life. These core values are things that aren’t easily changed. These standards are a combination of your upbringing, your religious beliefs, your morals, and your views on life itself.

Both of you must have similar goals and be going in the same direction. If you have two people walking different paths, then it’s hard to be united as a couple. Your compatibility comes down to your core values and being flexible to compromise for the sake of the other person.

9. You’re Both Committed to Growth

Marriage is an investment, according to the NIH. Success stems from an investment in time and in the ability to evolve together.

You must realize that the man or woman that you marry today is not going to be the same five years from now. Ten years from now, you won’t even recognize yourself. You both must be on the same page throughout the changes that occur in life.

You want to learn and grow as a couple. The best couples are the ones that are driven for personal growth as well as keeping objectives as a couple in mind. A Swiss study suggests that you must be able to keep an excellent work-relationship balance.

Additionally, it should be a goal to heal and move past any unfinished business that may be left from your childhood, as these scars can often be the key to undoing any union.

10. You Find Each Other’s Quirks Charming

Some annoyances come along with commitment. The aggravations you will experience as a couple goes far beyond leaving the toilet seat up or forgetting to put your dirty clothes in the hamper. Some quirks are damaging to a relationship.

For instance, if one person believes that “a clean home is a happy home,” while the other prefers to clean once a month, it can be an issue. You must learn to find the quirks of the other person charming even if you get annoyed sometimes. There must be enough good to balance the bad.

Final Thoughts on Considering Compatibility in Your Relationship

Now you’ve established the things that prove your compatibility–excellent! According to therapists at the non-profit agency loveisrespect.org, you need rules and boundaries that keep your union healthy. Here are some things that can help you ensure you have a happy life.

Never go to bed angry
Don’t keep secrets
Always put your partner first
Never let relatives or friends come in between you
Don’t push buttons
Never let an argument escalate to name-calling
Make decisions based on your union and not just personally
Take time for each other
Don’t let the cares of life drive a wedge between you
Value each other’s opinions, feelings, and concerns

Finally, an essential thing that you can do as a couple is never to stop dreaming. No matter how bad the storms you weather in life, no matter how rocky your relationship becomes, if you ever stop dreaming, your relationship won’t last.

Committing to one another is based on compatibility and a whole lot of other things. The good thing is that you found someone who truly makes you happy and completes you. The rest is just kismet. Marriage counselors will tell you that If you’ve found a person that checks all the boxes in your proverbial checklist, then you’ve found a gem to treasure for all your days.

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