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Research Reveals Why Humans Often Make Wrong Assumptions

August 14, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Did you know that things are never usually as they appear? Take, for instance, social media. People can create a persona that makes them seem like they have an ideal life. Others see a family that is always smiling, enjoying each other on exotic vacations, and everything looks like perfection.

However, what you may not see behind those pictures are the financial problems, marital issues, or the out of control children. You don’t see the many nights the wife spends trying to find her husband as he drinks his cares away at the local bars. You make assumptions on things you see and hear, but can you trust your senses?

Understanding Why We Make Assumptions

Frontiers in Neuroscience explains how personal emotions influence your mindset–and in making assumptions.

Assumptions are based on your beliefs and feelings, and you project these things onto others. However, making these hypotheses is often a dangerous game as things are rarely how they seem. Why is it that humans are always so eager to jump to conclusions about others?

Let’s assume you go to the department store one afternoon. You notice a friend in there with a man that is not her husband. Instead of thinking logically that there must be a reason for this occurrence, your mind automatically sees the situation in the worst possible light.

The person with the lady in the store might be a relative, or it could be a friend asking for help in picking out something for their girlfriend. You don’t know that situation, but you are eager to judge based on only what you see.

The Self-Centered Nature of Humans

A psychological study proved that making assumptions stems from inherent biases.

So, why do people tend to jump to conclusions when they only have a fraction of the story? It’s because you see things through your perception. Everyone is a little bit self-centered, and whatever your brain tells you must be gospel.

How often have you become upset because your friend didn’t see things your way as if your opinion were the only one that counted? Have you ever been in a conversation with someone, and rather than truly listening to what they had to say, you were contemplating what you would say next?

Every person on planet earth is unique. While you may share similar traits like blue eyes or brown hair, there is no one else like you around. So, why is it that so many people expect and assume that everyone should be the same?

If someone doesn’t like the things you do or see things your way, then they are wrong. Could you be a bit negative towards those that don’t fit the classic mold, so you judge them?

Dealing with Preconceived Notions

A preconceived notion is a conception that is grounded in your experiences. For instance, you believe that you know all the ingredients in a pepperoni pizza just by looking at it. You know that you’ve made them at home, and you used flour, yeast, salt, sugar, cornmeal, and water for the crust.

You presume that whoever made this pizza used the same ingredients based on your methods. However, they may have a special ingredient in their crust that gives it that extra chewy flavor. A preconceived notion is a belief grounded in an assumption because there is nothing to back it up. Without proof or certainty, you must use your life experiences to form a conclusion.

The only problem with these notions is that you believe them to be correct, but they may be false. Additionally, these things can put you in an extremely negative mindset, and you can become critical of others. It can even affect how you treat other people.

Tatiana De Rosnay wrote a novel about how preconceived thinking alters your attitude about others. The book is called “A Secret Kept.” In this novel, she explores a brother and sister looking for information about their deceased mother.

The mother died when the duo was little, and all they were left behind with was some love letters that were written to her. Her lover wrote beautiful memos that gave them great comfort in knowing that she was loved and adored. The children believed that the person writing the letters was a man.

Years later, they were astounded to find out that a woman wrote these notes. Their mother was in a relationship with a lady. There were plenty of other clues in the letters that it was two women in love, but the children assumed it was a man doing the writing based on their preconceived concepts.

According to the NIH, the difficulty in taking preconceived notions as truths is that it can lead you to extremely negative and critical opinions about others. Additionally, those beliefs can affect how you treat others too.

5 Tips for Breaking the Negative Mindset That Leads to Assumptions

Your beliefs and prejudices come from your life experiences and your upbringing. At birth, a child knows no race, gender, or religion. They learn these things through observing and hearing their parents, grandparents, and other family members.

As a child ages, they soon learn the differences in society. Your mind also helps to form these beliefs based on things that have happened to you. For instance, if you knew a girl in school named Kennedy that was always troubled and an emotional wreck, then you might be against naming your daughter the same.

It’s not that your daughter would be a problem child, but you automatically remember a fellow student, and her actions are forever associated with that name. How often has your negative mindset caused you to make assumptions about people that weren’t true just because you had a bad experience?

Thankfully, you have the power to break this cycle and to stop making assumptions about people. Even though humans tend to be a bit self-centered, it’s possible to change your thinking. Here are some tips to help you reverse your negative thought processes.

1. Live in the Moment

Don’t allow your mind to build elaborate ideas of how people are going to be. Take time to discover a person and genuinely get to know them. So many people are judging books by their cover that they never take time to see what’s on the inside.

The sad thing is you’ve probably missed out on great friendships in life because you used your pessimistic mindset to form incorrect opinions.

2. Don’t Be Quick to Judge Surface Situations

Things are usually not how they appear on the surface. This is especially true if you do not know the situation at hand. You are programmed to look at your own life to form assumptions.

Like the lady in the department store with a guy you didn’t know, don’t be so eager to jump to conclusions. Often, your findings are not factual.

3. Find out the Truth

Rather than assume things, you need to find out the truth, and stick with the facts. If you are going to judge a situation, then make sure you have the whole story. Remember, there are always two sides, and if you’re a third-party observer, then you are probably not even close to knowing what’s going on.

4. Give Up the Judgmental Attitude

According to The Lancet, judgmental attitude is a breeding ground for conflict. When you make assumptions and judge others, it creates tension. Think of all the potential opportunities that you have missed out on because you judged someone incorrectly. The article suggests one should work on honing judgment instead of being judgmental of others.

You could make connections and have friends that would treat you to new experiences if you would only stop assuming things and give people a fair chance.

5. Learn to Empathize

To be a good friend and relative, you must learn how to empathize with others. Consider their story and where they are in life before you assume anything. If a conflict should arise in life, the first step is to take a deep breath.

You need to talk to the person and make sure that you know the whole story before jumping to conclusions. Lastly, stop overreacting on what you think might have occurred. When you look at people through the eyes of empathy, then you can see things in a whole different light.

Final Thoughts: Stop Making Wrong Assumptions!

Each day you walk through life with notions of how things will go. Your theories have a dramatic impact on your perceptions, and these notions will often affect the world around you without you even being aware.

For instance, your boss wants you to attend a meeting to discuss something important. It’s the morning, and the meeting isn’t until the afternoon. Since your boss usually doesn’t call you into his office, you automatically assume the worst.

By lunchtime, you’ve already redone your resume, and you are sure that you’re going to be fired. Before you walk into your boss’s office, you’re having a nervous breakdown and are in defense mode.

You’ve let your preconceived ideas dictate the outcome, and you were doomed before you walked through the door. Your boss actually wanted to thank you for a project you worked on and offer you a bonus. However, your mind used previous experiences to assume what was going to happen.

In this scenario, you caused yourself a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering. It’s essential never to judge or jump to conclusions in life.

Trainers Reveal 10 Arm Exercises That Boost Your Self-Confidence

August 14, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Do you want arms that are rippling with muscles? Perhaps, you just want to tone fat and make your arms a little less flabby. When you want to burn fat and gain muscle mass, you need specific exercises that can tone and burn simultaneously. Primarily, a proper diet will help to achieve this goal.

Proper Nutrition to Enhance Your Muscles

Before you even think about workouts with arm exercises, you need to change your eating habits. Building muscle is hard work, and you need to make sure you give your body the proper nutrition to accomplish this task.

Additionally, you want to burn fat too, so it can be hard to know what you need to eat. Here are the best foods for helping you get those arms in top shape.

Salmon
Beef and other Lean Meats
Almonds
Quinoa
Milk
Apples
Flaxseeds
Spinach
Legumes
Bananas
Brown Rice
Sweet Potatoes
Chicken
Coconut Oil

Each of these items has the necessary things your body needs to feed your muscles. Salmon is high in Omega-3s and fatty acids, and sweet potatoes have the fiber to sustain you so that you don’t binge eat. Additionally, legumes are loaded with powerful nutrients and can also help you from eating too much food.

No one has gained weight eating a diet of nutritious beans. Find some things that you like that will enhance the results you get from your workouts.

Self-Confidence Boosting Arm Exercises

Are you ready to conquer that unsightly arm fat and turn your biceps into sculptured works of art? Start by investing in a good pair of dumbbells for your arm exercises as it will make the difference. Weights add resistance and will help you to reach your goal faster. If you’re ready to boost your self-confidence, here are ten of the best exercises to help you.

1. Push Ups

Pushups are the quintessential exercise for building both the biceps and triceps. Start by lying on your stomach down on the floor. Get your arms in the push-up position. You can do this exercise in one of two ways. First, you can use your knees for support.

You are in on all fours, and you push up and down with your palms, but your knees never leave their position. The second way to do this exercise is to lay prostrate on the floor with the tips of your toes touching the ground. Move up and down, pushing your body weight with your arms.

Your chest should almost touch the floor each time you come down, and your arms should be extended. Try doing about 15-20 reps of either variation.

2. Triceps Back Kick

These back kicks begin by bending your knees and leaning your body forward till you reach a 45-degree angle. Using a dumbbell, bend the elbows and bring the weight to your side. Now, extend one arm backward and then bring it forward.

Make sure that you lightly squeeze your muscle as you do these exercises. Do one on the left side and one on the right, which is one rep. You should do about 20 reps in total.

3. Hammer Curl

If you are looking for arm exercises that boost your self-confidence in a tank top, try the hammer curl. Start by standing up straight with a weight in each hand. Make sure that your hands are down to your side and your palms are facing inward.

Keep your arms at your side, and gradually bring each weight up until it almost touches the opposite pectoral muscle. Once you get it to the proper position, hold the weight in place for a few seconds.

Now, repeat the maneuver with the next arm. You want to do one curl on each side, which counts as one rep. Do about ten of these repetitions.

4. Zottman Curl

The Zottman curl is one of the fierce arm exercises that will give you biceps as hard as baseballs, and your forearms will be impressive too. This maneuver was named after George Zottman, who was a legendary strongarm born in 1867. While you may not break any records with this move, you might turn a few heads.

Start by standing up straight and weight each hand. Your hands should be at your side with the dumbbell in each one. Use an underhanded grip for this curl. Gradually curl the weights towards your shoulders, but you must rotate your hands from underhand to overhand grips.

Make sure you keep your elbows tucked and locked as you do these curls. Reps are between 10-15 curls.

5. Medicine Ball Push Up

Start by using a medicine ball and placing one in each hand. Keep your knees on the ground while your arms are fully extended. Now, bend your elbows as you slowly lower your torso to the floor. The goal is to get your arms to a 90-degree angle and then go back to the starting position.

You should do hold the curl for about 30 seconds without stopping, then do a 15-second interval before resting. Now, switch to the other side and do the same thing.

6. Dumbbell Press

Start by spreading your feet shoulder-width apart and keep your knees bent ever so slightly. Put your hands in front of your chest and hold one dumbbell or kettlebell with your hands. Now, move your hands out away from your chest and up until you’re raising your arms.

When your arms are above your head, hold the position for about two seconds. Now, slowly return the dumbbell to the original position. If you’re using a weight under ten pounds, then you should do approximately 15-20 reps. If your dumbbell is larger than 20 pounds, then you should do about ten reps.

7. Bicep Curl

If you need to sit while doing part of your workout, this is a perfect arm exercise. Start in the seated position. Take a comfortably sized dumbbell in each hand. Your arms should be hanging at your side naturally.

You must keep your back straight and hold good posture. Now, curl each arm up and bring the weight almost to your shoulders. Always keep your palm facing inwards for proper form and hold the curl for a few seconds before lowering the weight. Try ten repetitions.

8. Around the World

You’ve probably heard of around the world exercise in basketball, but it can be used in arm exercises too. Start by standing with your feet about a shoulder’s width apart. Keep your knees slightly bent and hold one dumbbell in front of you.

Just like in basketball, the goal is to move the weight around to different positions. There should be a total of three sub-movements. Start by moving the dumbbell to one side, then to the back, and the side of your head.

It’s essential to keep the weight in a vertical or horizontal position to increase tension and outcome. You should do ten reps on each side, which is a total of 20 altogether.

9. Dumbbell Rear Delt Fly

If you want to tone your arms, back, and provides some stabilization to your spine, then the rear delt fly is what you need. Start by standing nice and tall and keeping your legs slightly spread apart. Now, using two dumbbells, keep one in each hand placed at your side.

Be careful in selecting your weight size as you want to do 12 repetitions. Slowly move your torso forward and bend your legs a bit. Your arms should extend below your body, and your hands should face each other as they hold the weight. Now, you must keep your back flat with no arches.

Raise your arms out to the side and exhale all the air in your lungs. Squeeze your shoulder blades tight while doing this movement. Keep your head and back straight as you do this rep.

Now, inhale as you bring your arms back to the starting position as you’ve completed one rep. You should do 2-3 sets of 12 reps.

10. Triceps Extensions

This curl is easy, but it’s amazingly effective. Start by standing up straight with your feet slightly bent. Now, use an average-sized dumbbell, preferably between 10-20 lbs. Using both hands, grasp the dumbbell, and bring it over your head.

Make sure you keep your shoulders and elbows still, but you want to slowly bend your elbows, allowing the weight to be lowered and raised behind your head about 90 degrees. Your elbows must always be facing forward and never go out to the side. Lifting the weight up and down once is a rep. You should do about 20 reps.

Final Thoughts on Eating Right, Working Out, and Feeling Great

When you are eating healthy and doing those arm exercises, you will feel great. Who doesn’t need a little boost of confidence these days? If you put in the time and effort it takes to have sculpted arms, then you will reap the rewards.

Psychology Reveals How Positive Thinking Helps Smoking Cessation

August 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

If you’re a smoker, there’s never been a better time to quit than now. Nobody said that it’s going to be easy because nicotine is a strong addiction. However, advances in smoking cessation support and nicotine replacement therapy can make it less difficult for you.

The Age of Innocence

You didn’t set out to be addicted to tobacco. Remember watching the films in grade school about the dangers of smoking and the countless studies linking it to lung disease? You probably donated some of your spare change to the Send a Mouse to College research program of the American Lung Association.

Those educational films were eye-opening, as they showed pictures of diseased lungs that were blackened and deformed from years of smoking. The profound pain and suffering from end-stage emphysema and lung cancer is widely known. You don’t want these diseases, but you probably didn’t even consider them when you were hiding in the school bathroom smoking with your friends.

Smoke & Mirrors

The world’s love affair with tobacco has been a dangerous association for thousands of years. When European explorers came to the shores of America, they found that tobacco had a place of reverence in sacred rites of the indigenous people. During colonization, after the fight for independence, and into modern times, tobacco remains a major crop in the United States.

In the early part of the 20th century, many states and local laws forbade women from smoking in public. With the advent of the females’ right to vote and women joining the workforce during World War II, public opinion waffled, and many women saw smoking cigarettes as a glowing emblem of freedom.

Even after laws were made to place a health warning from the American Surgeon General on each pack of cigarettes and cigars, big tobacco companies used sly advertising campaigns to lure young people into smoking. Television, magazines, and the golden screens were ablaze with attractive models and actors poised with a burning cigarette in hand.

Ads for dainty, perfumed cigarettes used women’s liberation themes to appeal to females. Rugged cowboys rode horseback with a favorite brand of a cigarette dangling from their lips to show how macho smoking was. Unfortunately, these subtle imageries worked, and they captivated entire generations of Americans.

The Mindset of Smoking Tobacco Addiction

As with any substance abuse, you were in control at first. You probably enjoyed that initial rush of energy with that first puff of smoke. Perhaps, you started smoking at an early age and felt a guilty pleasure from doing something naughty and dangerous. You may have told yourself that you could quit at any time, but soon found that the tobacco was in control of your life.

Your first step to breaking nicotine’s hold on your life is to admit that you have a problem that’s out of control. Nicotine is highly addictive, physically, mentally, and emotionally. For smoking cessation, you need a holistic approach that involves the body, mind, and spirit.

Many former smokers said that beating the psychological dependency was probably the most difficult part of their journey. When they opened their minds to self-compassion and positive thinking, it was easier to fight the cravings and stop smoking for good. Their victory started in their minds and revised thought patterns.

The Power of Positive Thinking

Can positive thinking benefit smoking cessation and help you avoid lung-related illnesses and other associated diseases? Your mind is a powerful tool that can help you beat addiction. If you’ve decided to lay down the cigarettes, here are some ways that positive thinking can help.

• It Changes Your Attitude

If you’ve been a smoker for years, maybe you think it’s too late for you. Many longtime smokers say that they’ve smoked this long, and they may as well continue, regardless of their failing health. Does that sound like a familiar excuse in your mind?

Since nicotine addiction started in your mind, so does your cessation. Reverse some of the images you had that inspired you to smoke in the first place. Instead of thinking that smoking makes you look cool, realize how admirable you look when you crush the habit. Rethink your whole attitude about how smoking has affected your lifestyle and health.

You are changing from a smoker to a non-smoker, and your emotions may be all over the place. You’ve identified with that lighter and cigarette for so long that it has become an extension of yourself. Part of making the break from smoking realizes that your addiction does not define you and that you have the power to change.

• It Can Help with Visualization & Affirmations

Ralph Waldo Emerson wisely concluded that you are what you think. If you believe that you can overcome the smoking habit, you can do it. First, you must visualize yourself passing by the cigarette stand in the store and only saving your lighters to light scented candles at home.

Visualize how different life will be when you’re no longer in the constant grip of smoking tobacco. Your hair and clothes won’t stink like stale smoke anymore, and you’ll lose those unsightly nicotine stains on your nails and teeth. Visualize all the money you’ll save when you stop buying tobacco products, and you should think of all the things you can do with that extra money.

Affirm to yourself each day that you are a beautiful, loving person who deserves to be loved. Tell yourself that you are taking charge of your life and removing the hold that smoking has over you. Remind yourself that you will be kind, loving, and patient during the cessation process.

As you look in the mirror, smile and say that you are the image of health and refuse to let cigarettes threaten you with lung disease or other disorders. Declare yourself a winner and a survivor, even when you have a few failures along the way. Make positive affirmation signs and post them in conspicuous places in your home and office.

• It Can Help Your Chart Your Progress

Many people find that journaling is an ideal way of recording their thoughts, dreams, and aspirations while recovering from addictions like smoking. The great thing about journaling is that it’s your project and you decide how you want to do it and what’s right for you.

It can be as simple as a computer-based log, an inexpensive school notebook, or an elaborate handmade journal. You should write whenever you feel like it or when you get the urge for a puff. Maybe you could write about your first experiences with smoking and how it deluded your thinking.

Perhaps you can use a few pages to devote to your affirmations to change your attitude about smoking. Another section may be reserved to remind yourself of the negative outcomes of smoking, such as smelly clothes, premature aging, money loss, emphysema, and lung cancer. At the bottom of each page, reassure yourself that you are making the positive changes necessary to avoid these troublesome side effects.

In another section of your positive thinking journal, imagine what your life will be without smoking. You’ll have no more days of standing outside in the cold and rain to get a cigarette break. Your appearance and health will improve, and you will get past the fear of possible lung cancer and premature death.

• It Can Help You To Replace Bad Habits with Good Ones

It’s human nature to want to barter rather than to give up something. If you’ve been a smoker for years, many of your daily habits and pleasures in life probably revolved around cigarettes. There’s the after-dinner smoke and cocktail, the weekly Friday night poker game with a splendid cigar, or a relaxing smoke in your favorite lounge chair while watching a movie.

Just the thought of nixing smoking from the equation may fill you with anxiety. On a positive note, you needn’t give up the things you enjoy just because you stopped smoking. There’s nothing you must stop doing because it requires a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Trade out the bad habit for a positive, healthy one.

Keep a stock of sugarless gum and mints close by for when you get a cigarette craving. Smoking won’t give you any more luck in your beloved card games than chewing gum can. In the beginning stages of smoking cessation, you may find it comforting to fiddle with a pencil or pen in your hand to ward off psychological cravings.

Did you know that your body starts to heal almost immediately after you stop smoking? You’ll probably be amazed that you can walk greater distances and do more things without losing your breath or having coughing fits. To keep your mind off smoking, consider taking walks, and marvel at the beauty of the world around you that’s not blurred by cigarette smoke.

Final Thoughts on Staying in a Positive Mindset During Smoking Cessation

Breaking any addiction, like smoking, requires a good support system, especially from your primary healthcare provider. Talk to your provider about a smoking cessation plan that is tailored to your needs. It may include nicotine replacement therapy such as patches or gum, as well as counseling.

Positive thinking can be your guide to lay cigarettes down for good. Improving your health and avoiding lung diseases is worth it. Leave the hazy smoke behind you and step into the fresh air of a new lifestyle.

Therapists Explain 7 Signs You’ve Found Your Partner for Life

August 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

When you’ve finally found your partner for life, you’ll feel it in your bones that you no longer have to search for Mr. or Mrs. Right. Everyone deserves love, but that doesn’t mean it comes easily. Usually, we stumble upon it when we’re not looking for a relationship in the first place. Not everyone believes in soulmates, of course, but studies show that people have happier relationships when they view their partner as the only one for them.

This makes much sense because if you feel that no one else could ever compare to your sweetheart, you won’t feel the need to wonder “what if” about other potential mates. You’ll have that peaceful satisfaction of knowing that you’ve found the ultimate love in your significant other. However, we don’t always know when we’ve met the right person. Your intuition may tell you that you’ve found your ideal partner, but you might need some more affirmation than that.

Below, we’ll go over some common signs that you’ve met your partner for life so that you don’t let them slip through your fingertips!

Therapists explain seven signs you’ve met your soulmate:

You feel a connection with them you’ve never had before.

Perhaps you may feel an almost otherworldly connection with them. You feel as if you’ve known your love before in previous lifetimes. When you’re not speaking to them, the silence feels comfortable instead of awkward. However, during a conversation, you feel fascinated and stimulated by what they have to say, and you don’t need to hide or hold back your thoughts or feelings. Everything fits, and it feels like the pieces of your puzzle have finally started to come together.

You feel at home in their company and could talk for hours with them about everything and nothing at all. Being physically attracted to someone naturally happens all the time, but below the surface, we all want and need a deeper connection. When you’ve found this genuine bond, you know you have your partner for life.

You can see a future with them.

Soulmates usually have the same outlook or perspective on life, and may even share similar goals. When you have wildly opposing views about politics, religion, marriage, or any other significant ideologies, it makes it very difficult to make the relationship last. So, when you meet your forever partner, you will find it easy to mesh with them about important issues. Because of your compatibility, you can see a future with them, even after just a few dates.

Also, we’d like to add that having similar goals in life may help the longevity in the relationship. Not to mention, when you have the same interests, it enables you to bond in a more profound way and possibly create businesses and other pursuits together.

You speak the same language.

Having a partner that understands your emotions and way of explaining things helps you feel more seen and heard in a relationship. If you continuously feel misunderstood and alienated by your partner, you probably won’t want to stick around too long. However, when you’ve met your partner for life, they will never make you feel neglected or alone. They make it a priority to ask the deep questions and listen to you intently in conversations.

You both may have the same sense of humor or perhaps a similar way of looking at the world, which gives you a connection like no other.

They make you feel safe.

You no longer have to hide pieces of yourself or wish you could meet someone who understands you. In this person, you’ve found everything you need, and they make you feel safe physically, mentally, and emotionally. They talk problems out with you, listen to you when you’ve had a bad day, and protect you to the end of the Earth. When you meet your soulmate, you’ll know it based on how seriously they take the relationship.

Your partner for life will want to do everything they can to make you happy because they genuinely love and care about you. They have no desire to hurt you and would do anything in their power to give you the life you deserve. You have a sense of inner calm in the relationship, and insecurities you used to have just melted away. When you meet that person who wants to go all-in and will stand by your side through the good and evil, you know you’ve bonded with your special someone.

You feel that the challenges you face make you stronger as a couple.

Upon meeting your partner for life, you’ll notice that any obstacles you face together bring you closer together as a couple. Some people tend to clash in personality or have different conflict managing styles that make it challenging to come to a solution. However, when you’ve met your soulmate, you’ll find that you meet challenges with ease and complement one another nicely.

For instance, if you want to start a business together, they might know about finance, whereas you know more about advertising and marketing. So, you come together to use your skills and create something beautiful as a couple and utilize each other’s strengths. However, your partner doesn’t criticize you for your weaknesses; they guide you gently if you need help with something.

Everything works.

Of course, no relationship comes in a perfect little package of rainbows and butterflies, but in general, you don’t have too many hangups. You take care of conflict in a mature way and make sure you hear each other’s opinions without becoming overly defensive or critical. You enjoy one another’s companionship. Plus, you can’t wait to spend time together on weekends or when you get home from work. You never get tired of one another, because they feel like home to you.

You feel stronger with them than before because they’ve helped you become a better person. A healthy, beneficial relationship will always improve your life, not cause you more problems and misery. If you feel happier and more at ease with yourself and life in general upon meeting your significant other, you might have found your partner for life.

Your friends and family approve of your soulmate, too.

Now, we do not want you to think that you must have your family’s approval before marrying someone, but usually, your family can tell when someone’s good for you or not. If the people closest to you have only good things to say about your partner, then it reaffirms your own feelings about him or her. They may mention how you light up when you talk about them or are in their company, or how much happier you seem.

Your significant other soon will be spending a lot of time with your loved ones, so their opinion of them does matter to some extent. You want a partner who will mesh well with the people who matter to you, so if they do, this is certainly a positive sign. Make sure you pay close attention to how your loved ones communicate and respond to your partner, and listen to them if they spot any red flags.

Sometimes, our family or friends can see potential problems in a different light than we can since they have an outside perspective.

Here are fifteen hopelessly romantic ways to show your girlfriend some love.

Final thoughts on signs you’ve found your partner for life

Everyone wants to find that special significant someone, but how do you know when you’ve met them? Usually, if your family and friends really adore them, you connect with them on an insanely deep level, and you can look into the future and see them there, you have probably met the one. Other signs include feeling safe and peaceful in their presence, speaking a similar soul language, feeling understood and heard, and just meshing well in most areas of your life. It also helps if you hold a similar worldview and can overcome obstacles together with ease.

Not to mention, when you’ve found The One, other people will notice. They might even feel a little jealous and wonder where they can find a partner as wonderful as yours. You’ll want to show them off because you feel so enthralled with who they are as a person. Even if you don’t believe in soulmates, however, as long as you communicate well, make each other happy, and put equal effort into the relationship, you can make it work for the long haul.

Finding your partner for life will make you feel whole and complete in a way that nothing else compares, and it will likely happen when you least expect it. If you haven’t met this person, don’t worry; they might cross your path in an unlikely place, like the grocery store or the gym! Love finds us when we’re ready, so as long as you focus on making yourself happy and following your heart, it will come to you.

9 Signs That You Are Being Contacted By A Spirit

August 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Many people have reported being contacted by a spirit through various means. Upon entering a room, they might feel a rush of cold air or hear a song on the radio that their loved one always played. Some people may interpret these as coincidences

But others feel an angel or spirit guide from beyond wants to send them a message. These guides help us along our path in life and make sure we choose only to allow things that support our highest good.

Here are nine signs a spirit is trying to contact you:

Sometimes you might see repeating numbers or notice signs on a billboard with a message you need to hear. Other times, you might just read a page in a book that jumps out at you. No matter where or how you receive the message, know that if it resonates deeply in your soul, the universe wants you to know about it. Below, we’ll review some surefire signs that an angel or spirit wants to connect with you.

1 – You feel deeply moved by something you read in a book or elsewhere.

Sometimes, spirits try to get our attention through written words on a billboard, in a book, or maybe even in an advertisement. Spirits operate in higher realms, and since they can’t physically talk to us, they must use different mediums, such as technology or books to communicate with us. Have you ever read a passage in a book that just moved you to tears or overwhelmed you with joy? Maybe your guides know that you’ve been looking for a sign of hope lately and decided to reassure you through the novel you’ve been reading.

Perhaps the universe wants you to bookmark that page for future reference because it contains an important message for your journey here on Earth. Or, maybe your angels or guides directed you to turn the TV on a particular channel and hear a message from an actress at just the right time. Another scenario might have you driving along the freeway and noticing a billboard with an inspirational or motivational message such as “Just keep going.” Some people pay to put those messages up because they know so many people need hope and encouragement in today’s world.

No matter how you get the messages, written words can be a powerful way for spirits to communicate with you. If you feel they’re trying to send you a sign, pause for a moment in your day and reflect on what your guides want you to know.

2 – You find bird feathers in your driveway or yard.

Any bird feathers, especially from a hawk or eagle, signify that an angel or spirit wishes to grace you with their presence. Feathers serve as tokens or presents from your guides, letting you know that you are not alone and that they’re watching over you. You can take comfort and peace in knowing that you have an angel nearby who wants to reassure you as you navigate this often cruel and confusing world.

In the Native American culture, feathers symbolize a gift from the Creator and high honor. It also embodies the qualities of trust, wisdom, power, strength, and freedom. Native Americans earned a feather when they won a battle or showed bravery in war, and if a feather fell from the sky, they believed it carried with it powerful energy from the Great Spirit. They think that eagles, in particular, have a lot of power and good energy because of their strength and bravery. Therefore, they hold eagle feathers in high regard if one falls on their land.

3 – Small amounts of change like pennies, nickels, and dimes.

Sometimes, angels like to give us encouragement and comfort through monetary means. This gift shows they want to support you emotionally and financially because of the good karma you’ve incurred. So, if you see a penny or even quarters nearby, take that as a sign from your spirit guide that you have chosen the right path and your kind thoughts and actions have been rewarded.

4 – You smell certain scents when you walk into a room.

Sometimes, our angels like to overwhelm our senses with a powerful aroma to help us recall fond memories or remember our loved ones. Maybe you walk into your house and immediately smell your mom’s favorite perfume. You think she is there, only to find the house empty just as you left it. How can you explain this? Most people can only point to the spirit world to make sense of this phenomenon.

Spirits love to comfort us through certain smells, such as aromatic roses or gardenias. You probably have a spirit guide nearby if you smell something out of the blue without any other explanation.

5 – You have powerful, vivid dreams.

Spirits love to convey messages through our dreams, and this mode of communication comes most readily to them. As one of their favorite tools, our guides like to deliver powerful messages when our subconscious mind can better absorb them. During our sleeping state, the usual stimuli of life gets shut off, and our dreams get our full attention. Some common ideas that spirits like to give us include the following:

hopes of seeing a deceased loved one
fantasy dreams, perhaps where we’re a hero that gets to save the planet
thoughts about dying (usually interpreted as the end of a chapter in our life)
dreams about flying
end of the world dreams (maybe you feel uneasy about certain aspects of your life. These usually mean there’s a level of uncertainty you think)

Whenever you have vivid dreams such as these, write them in a notebook when you wake up. Dreams can carry powerful messages from beyond that spirits deliver into our subconscious.

6 – You see orbs.

While some people believe that orbs are nothing more than pieces of dust reflected in the sunlight or flash of a camera, others believe that spheres are spirits. If you notice these in a recent picture you’ve taken or just while walking through your house, take note of any other sensations you feel. Maybe the room gets a little chilly, or you sense a presence with you.

7 – Certain songs keep replaying on the radio.

Spirits also love to communicate through music. If a spirit wants to contact you and knows that you deeply resonate with songs, it will direct your attention to a particular station or song that speaks to you. When you hear a song that moves you or stirs up positive emotions, know that an angel wants you to listen to the message in the music for a reason. The vibrations in the music can affect us in either a positive or negative way, so if you feel joy after hearing a song, your angels or guides want to send you comfort and good energy.

8 – You feel a spirit near you when you enter a room.

Do you sometimes feel light touch or caress on your shoulder but don’t feel freaked out? A benevolent spirit will make you feel at ease when it enters a room and will want to draw near you to send specific messages. Usually, spirits reserve these close encounters for times you feel deep sorrow or depression, perhaps over the recent loss of a loved one. If you feel the room getting hotter or colder with no explanation, or you feel a subtle touch on your shoulder, know that a spirit wants to contact you for a specific reason.

9 – More synchronicities are happening in your life.

Maybe you see repeating numbers on a clock or notice the right people keep showing up in your life at just the right time. These synchronicities happen when we tap into the universe’s flow, and everything seems to fall into place. As we increase our frequency, things seem to flow much easier, and we don’t have to put in as much effort for things to go our way.

If you often see ravens, this might be why.

Final thoughts about signs a spirit is contacting you

Spirits love to communicate with us differently to deliver specific essential messages that our souls need to hear. Standard methods of communication include books, songs, coins, dreams, certain scents, bird feathers, and visual light energy like orbs. Spirits may also show themselves through manifesting synchronicities, lightly touching you on the arm or shoulder, or making a room hotter or colder with their energy.

No matter how a spirit or angel contacts you, remember that any of these signs have a positive connotation. You have selected the right path in life, and your guides have come to reassure you!

Research Reveals How Internet Addiction Disorder Harms the Brain

August 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Our world relies more and more on technology in its various applications. But a growing number of people have begun to develop Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). Psychologists and researchers have not yet classified it as an official mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5. However, they did formulate the criteria for internet addiction. At least three subtypes of internet addiction have been identified: online gambling addiction, cybersex addiction, and video game addiction.

Twenty psychiatrists developed diagnostic criteria for internet addiction among Taiwanese adolescents. They organized the requirements into three categories, A-C. Additionally, they determined that a diagnosis of internet addiction disorder required having six of the nine symptoms in Criteria A, one of the three impairments in B, and the exclusion criteria of Criteria C.

Here are the criteria for the diagnosis of IAD, according to these psychiatrists:

Criteria A Symptoms

Preoccupation with Internet activities
Repeated failure to resist the urge to use the internet
A marked increase in the duration of Internet use needed to achieve satisfaction
Symptoms of depression, dissatisfaction, boredom, anxiety, or irritability after a prolonged time without using the internet
Using the internet to relieve or avoid symptoms of withdrawal
Inability to stop using the internet for longer than intended
Persistent desire accompanied by the inability to cut down on Internet use.
Tremendous effort in gaining access to the internet if it isn’t readily available
Continued heavy internet use despite knowledge of physical or psychological problems likely caused by the internet

Criteria B Functional Impairments

Recurrent internet use failing to fulfill obligations at work or school.
Impaired social relationships
Behavior that violates school or work rules related to Internet use

Criteria C exclusion

The behavior of internet addiction can’t be explained or classified by other mental disorders. We need more studies to examine the comorbidity of Internet addiction and other psychological disorders.

Many countries all over the world have seen a rise in Internet use. Partially, this is because the work we do today requires an online presence in some manner. However, it can become addictive due to the rewards we get from engaging in certain activities, such as getting likes and comments on social media posts or beating levels in a game. Addictions activate certain areas of the brain associated with pleasure, known as the “reward center” of the brain. When these centers get activated, the brain releases dopamine and other feel-good chemicals.

The problem occurs when people become so accustomed to this steady release of dopamine that they spend hours online trying to achieve even greater results. This response leads to internet addiction despite the adverse consequences of the users’ experience. Addictions occur as a maladaptive way of coping with the pressures of life, and even if the addiction causes marital or career problems, the person feels they can’t stop the behavior.

Prevalence of Internet Addiction Across the World

In most countries, self-reported questionnaires and clinical studies have shown that teenagers and young adults in their twenties suffer the most with internet addiction. Pathological internet use in Europe among teenagers was 4.4%, according to the Young Diagnostic Questionnaire (DQ) for Internet Addiction. 18.3% of university students in the UK used the internet heavily according to the Pathological Internet Use Scale. Prevalence rates in the US among youth range from 0 to a whopping 26.3%.

In China, 8.1% of adolescents showed evidence of problematic internet use in the Young Internet Addiction Test, and in Taiwan, rates are anywhere between 13.4 and 15.3% among incoming university students. In South Korea, internet addiction poses such a threat that officials have declared it a national health problem.

Of course, the internet does provide us a means to communicate with each other and learn new skills. But as with anything, too much of it becomes disadvantageous. Below, we’ll go over how the overuse of the internet can harm your brain, and how to take precautions against these dangers.

Researchers reveal how internet addiction disorder hurts the brain:

1 – It increases the risk of developing other psychological disorders or exacerbates symptoms already present.

More research needs to be done regarding the comorbidity of internet addiction and other disorders, but present research indicates that heavy use of the internet may exacerbate symptoms already present. Many people use the internet to cope with anxiety and depression, not realizing that the overuse of technology can make their symptoms even worse. Scientists have found strong correlations between internet addiction and low self-esteem, impulsivity, poor sleep quality, mood disorders, and suicide.

A study of 2,114 students (1,204 males and 910 females) diagnosed with IAD revealed a higher prevalence of ADHD, depressive disorders, social phobia, and hostility. That outcome was especially prevalent in males diagnosed with IAD.

In another illuminating study, researchers used four different questionnaires on participants: the Young IA test, the insomnia severity index, the depression anxiety stress scale, and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale.

A total of 600 students (182 males and 418 females) between 18-28 years old were given the questionnaires. They found rates of IAD around 16.8% and discovered a significantly higher prevalence in males vs. females (23.6 vs. 13.9%). They also discovered higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress in those who used the internet heavily.

2 – Internet addiction can impair sleep quality.

People who use technology in excess may stay up very late and lose sleep, or not feel able to fall asleep at a normal time due to overstimulation of the brain. The blue light from phones and computers can disrupt melatonin and other chemicals in our brains, but the excessive activity before bedtime also interrupts quality sleep.

Most experts say to turn off technology at least a couple hours before bed so melatonin levels can return to normal, and not keep phones near us overnight.

3 – It alters the reward circuitry in the brain.

Through brain imaging scans, researchers have found changes in executive attention, decision making, emotional processing, and cognitive control in the brains of those with an internet addiction disorder. Brain regions involved in executive control showed decreased grey matter volume and reduced cortical thickness. Scientists also find that white matter in the brains of people with internet addiction becomes impaired. Thus, connections between the two hemispheres of the brain become compromised. Individuals with IA had a larger hippocampus and amygdala compared to healthy individuals as well.

Furthermore, people with internet addiction show lower dopamine transporter levels, which help with the reuptake of the chemical into the presynaptic neuron. So, even though the addiction increases dopamine levels, it impairs the functioning of the dopaminergic brain system overall. Researchers have found similar dysfunction in the brains of those with substance abuse disorder.

4 – Internet addiction disorder negatively alters the physical structure of the brain.

Internet gaming or other behaviors increases the frequency of dopamine release, much like taking drugs or engaging in other addictive activities. However, it leads to the lower dopamine transporter and dopamine D2 receptor occupancy, which shows an insufficient sensitivity in dopamine reward mechanisms.

In other words, it takes much more dopamine to feel good in an internet-addicted brain in comparison to a normal brain. Addictions such as the internet or gaming, also impair executive neuronal circuitry, which helps us achieve goals and sustain motivation. So, IAD disrupts the parts of the brain associated with rewards, goals, and decision-making.

As you can see, internet addiction poses a serious threat to our mental health, not to mention the toll it takes on our physical health. Many people who engage in heavy internet use lead sedentary lifestyles because it seems easier and more rewarding to attain dopamine this way.

Working out and eating healthy also releases feel-good chemicals, but the results take more time and effort to achieve. In the addicted brain, activities that lead to a fast release of neurochemicals, such as gaming, doing drugs, drinking alcohol, etc., seem far more alluring.

If you struggle with internet addiction, use the following tips to help you overcome it:

Monitor the time you spend online. If you have an iPhone, for instance, it comes with a built-in mechanism that tells you how much time you spend online each day. You can also put limits on certain apps so that you don’t overuse them.
Have hobbies that you enjoy. Do not scroll for hours online to fill the time or distract yourself. Instead, spend your time doing something you truly enjoy. You may even meet others by doing a social activity. Think of attending a class at the gym or get involved in volunteering.
Only use the internet when you need it. The online world should serve as a tool to make our lives easier. For instance, looking up a recipe or using our phone to help us navigate to a new destination. That usage constitutes good use of this technology.

Final thoughts on overcoming an internet addiction disorder

As with anything in life, we shouldn’t overuse technology. It can certainly help us in many facets of life. But it becomes a problem when we rely on the virtual world to alleviate stresses or escape from daily life. Researchers have found that heavy internet use can alter the reward centers in our brains. This trigger makes us need more and more online activity to feel better.

It can also change the structure of our brains and exacerbate already existing mental disorders. If you want to use the internet, make sure to do it conscientiously. And fill your life with other rewarding activities as well.

11 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Thai Massage

August 13, 2020 by Sarah Barkley

Thai massage benefits range from lowering stress levels to boosting energy levels and include many things in between. It requires gentle pressure and stretching to relax the whole body, so you don’t lie still on a bed for this massage. You remain fully clothed while a professional helps with stretching, pulling, and rocking to achieve the Thai massage which work even if you exercise a lot or like running, as you can see here all the benefits massage tips for marathon runners.

Thai massage focuses on improving the energy flow in your body through movements similar to yoga. As your energy flow stabilizes, it helps boost your overall wellbeing. The movements also encourage your mind and spirit to slow down so that you can relax.

Additionally, Thai massage improves flexibility and circulation. It can help with weak or dysfunctional organs, aches and pains, and many other ailments. Understanding the Thai massage benefits will help you feel more comfortable trying it yourself.

What is a Thai Massage?

Thai massage originated in India more than 2,500 years ago. With influences from Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine, it was once regarded as a healing art. Thai massage uses the body’s energy line system, which is also known as Sen lines.

With more than 72,000 Sen lines in the body, the Thai massage benefits help every area, including bones, muscles, blood, and nerves. Some Sen lines affect the mind and consciousness, too.

Each session takes a couple of hours and works your entire body. The sessions are typically tailored to each individual, making it beneficial for everyone.

As the massage therapist moves your body, they might use their hands, knees, elbows, or legs to adjust your body into the correct positions. While differing from traditional massage techniques, you will quickly find comfort in Thai massage.

Thai Massage Benefits

Here are the key Thai massage benefits you can expect.

1. Lowers Stress

Thai massage can lower your stress levels, improving your health and mood immediately. Too much stress can quickly have a negative impact on your mental and physical health. Long-lasting stress can cause illnesses and diseases, including depression and cardiovascular problems.

Research shows that Thai massage reduces levels of a stress marker that is present in saliva. The same study also explained that this massage technique is more effective for reducing stress than resting. Thai massage helps put your mind in a full state of relaxation.

This massage technique also promotes the release of serotonin, a hormone that makes you feel happy. Additionally, it reduces the amount of cortisol in your body, which is a stress hormone. With this hormone regulation, Thai massage is one of the best stress-management techniques.

2. Relieves Headaches

People that suffer from chronic tension headaches or migraines can find comfort in Thai massage. As one of the Thai massage benefits, this technique eases the intensity of headaches. The headache relief can last for months, giving you a way to alleviate the symptoms.

Without relief, headaches and migraines can interfere with your daily life. You will struggle to focus, experience light or noise sensitivity, or be unable to get out of bed at all. If this is a problem for you, consider trying a Thai massage to improve your life.

3. Improves Energy

Studies show that Thai massage can increase your physical energy levels and reduce fatigue. Along with improved energy levels, it also promotes mental stimulation. After a massage session, you will feel relaxed and rejuvenated rather than tired.

As the body’s energy pathways open up, you will notice an increase in your energy levels. The energy boost is long-lasting, and it opens you up to vitality. Even as the massage deeply relaxes your body, you will leave feeling energized and ready to go.

You will feel lighter and less sluggish, helping with energy restoration. Plus, with improved energy levels, you will focus better and handle obstacles more positively.

4. Reduces Back Pain

If you suffer from back pain, Thai massage can help you manage the symptoms. Researchers in Thailand had half of a test group get a Thai massage, and the other half did other management techniques. The results indicated that Thai massage was just as effective as other techniques for pain management.

Other studies show that Thai massage targets back pain associated with trigger points. Targeting the trigger points means that it relieves tight, painful muscle clusters in the upper back.

Additionally, back pain often stems from weakened back or core muscles and shortened or contracted legs or abdominal muscles. Thai massage helps alleviate all of these issues, decreased the level of back pain you experience.

5. Improves Circulation

The yoga-like movements of Thai massage promote blood and lymph circulation, filling your body tissues with oxygen. Improved blood and lymph circulation promote healthy cell growth and heart health, decreasing your risk of developing life-threatening conditions.

Additionally, Thai massage can help treat complications of diseases such as diabetes. Diabetes can lead to peripheral neuropathy, which is a common complication of the condition that affects your balance. This benefit of Thai massage is because improved blood circulation stimulates the somatosensory system.

With improved circulation you can also experience things like:

blood pressure regulation
mental clarity
increased energy levels
less strain on your heart

6. Relieves Joint Pain And Stiffness

If you experience pain or stiffness when you move, it could be a result of joint dysfunction. Thai massage improves joint function, relieving discomfort or stiffness. Since it benefits the joints, this massage technique can bring relief to those that have arthritis.

Studies show that Thai massage provides the same level of pain relief as painkillers, making it an all-natural alternative. Additionally, researchers discovered that people with knee arthritis experienced less pain and had an easier time walking after starting a Thai massage program.

7. Enhances Flexibility And ROM

As the Thai massage helps improve your circulation, it improves your flexibility and range of motion, too. It increases the circulation of synovial fluid in your joints and because of the improved blood and oxygen flow. This fluid reduces friction, allowing for increased mobility and range of motion.

Athletes can benefit as an improved range of motion helps them move better. Researchers observed a group of athletes before and after Thai massage, and after three massages, they showed dramatic improvement in their ability to move. These athletes also experienced increased speed and agility while playing competitively.

8. Eases Anxiety

Thai massage brings a sense of calm and relaxation to your mind and body. Although it requires more movement than other forms of massage, it still decreases anxiety. Studies indicate that people who receive Thai massages have lower levels of psychological stress than others.

Thai massage not only alleviates the symptoms of anxiety, but it prevents it from setting in, too. Further studies show that this massage technique offers more benefits for anxiety than other therapy treatments.

9. Improves Sleep Quality

Although Thai massage can increase your energy levels, it doesn’t negatively affect your ability to sleep. The opposite is true because since Thai massage lowers stress and anxiety, it can help you sleep better at night. Research published in the National Library of Medicine explains that this massage technique can improve sleep quality and reduce fatigue.

If you have trouble falling asleep at night or wake up frequently and can’t fall asleep again, this massage technique can help. It will guide your mind and body into a restorative sleep pattern, helping you feel better and rest. Your improved sleep quality will lead to better performance at your job or during your other daily activities.

10. Aids Deep Relaxation

Thai massage aids deep relaxation by using gentle pressure and stretching techniques to relax your entire body. As you get the massage, your mind falls into a meditative state, starting the relaxation of your mind. From there, your body becomes more relaxed until you’ve entered a state of relaxation.

Massage promotes the release of endorphins, which are brain chemicals that improve your sense of wellbeing. Plus, it reduces levels of stress hormones adrenalin, cortisol, and norepinephrine. As your sense of wellbeing increases and your stress levels decrease, your body can relax fully.

11. Reduces Muscle Tension

Because it stretched your entire body, Thai massage drastically reduces muscle tension. It helps spread tissues that knot up during a workout, and it loosens your muscles naturally. Additionally, the oxygen that Thai massage helps circulate throughout your body help reduce muscle tension, as well.

Thai massage targets areas that tend to hold tension, using applied force to release the muscle. Once the muscle lengthens, you will experience less tension and muscle spasms.

Final Thoughts on Scientifically Proven Benefits of Thai Massage

Thai massage is a natural way to maintain a healthy lifestyle and feel your best. With improved circulation, an improved range of motion, and reduced stress and anxiety levels, the Thai massage benefits can be life-changing. Plus, with its ability to reduce the severity of headaches, back pain, and joint discomfort, you’ll feel rejuvenated.

Remember that Thai massage isn’t like traditional massages. You won’t get undressed, lie passively on the table, or use oil. Instead, you will stretch your body in many directions with the help of professional Thai massage practitioners.

If it’s your first time, go in with an open mind and allow the Thai massage benefits to kick in. Once you’re comfortable, you will want to continue this beneficial Thai massage technique.

14 Simple Ways To Find Joy In Difficult Times

August 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

In these trying days, one can easily lose sight of joy, hope, and happiness. When the world feels like it’s spiraling out of control and all semblance of normalcy seems to be lost, holding onto positive feelings can be an arduous task.

But things don’t have to be ultimately, insanely terrible for you to feel this way. Any kind of challenging time can make you feel down and blue, resulting in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and other mood-related issues. You can become unproductive, feel demotivated, or lose your “spark.” Why does this happen? What can you do to fix it?

Do you ever notice how some folks always seem to have their chins up, even on the worst of days? It’s a valuable trait, and it’s also one that most people have to learn with time as a skill. If you’re interested in learning how to do this, it’s all about changing your mindset and keeping healthy habits.

It can sound complicated, but the good news is that happiness can be found just about anywhere. Being able to find those moments of positive in a sea of negativity is a rare skill – and one worth honing, for sure! Here are 14 simple ways to find your joy, even in difficult times.

1. Pay Attention To The Little Things

This doesn’t mean to obsess over the small details. Instead, it means to turn your focus onto small little moments that make a day brighter. Look for small things, like:

The taste of your favorite snack
A scent you like
The fit of your best outfit
The precious private moments you share with a loved one

When you pay attention to and make a note of small things like this, you’ll be able to see the joy in so many places that you previously couldn’t.

2. Exercise

It can feel challenging to get moving when you’re dealing with bad times, but a lack of physical activity will only worsen the cycle. Completely ignoring exercise will make you feel more sluggish and tired while also furthering your poor mood.

Simple exercises, even just walking for 12 minutes, can have significant effects on your positive thinking, according to research. Here are some ideas for ways to exercise that are simple and easy:

Walking
Dancing
Performing yoga
Cycling
Skipping rope
Gardening

3. Stay Grateful

Gratitude can have potent effects on the mind. When you actively seek out things to be thankful for, you’re able to keep a more positive attitude, reducing your risk of developing depressive symptoms, chronic stress, and anxiety-related problems.

Many find that keeping a gratitude journal can help them in these efforts. This involves recording at least three things you’re grateful for every night in a journal. Here are some ideas for something you can be thankful for:

Waking up on time
The existence of your favorite things
Your loved ones
Having your basic needs met.
Having a job
Good weather
Eating a delicious meal.
Having an interesting conversation
Reading a good book
Watching a good series

4. Do Some Volunteer Work

By making others feel better, you can often make yourself feel better. There’s just something about the act of giving that can put a big smile on your face and show you the joy in life. Studies prove that acts of kindness can lead to higher levels of good mood and wellbeing.

Most importantly, when you volunteer in difficult times, you begin to realize that when you can’t find the good in the world, you can create it by being compassionate to others.

5. Dress Happy

Stuck at home? Have a lot of dull office days? Have a lot of casual clothes you rarely wear? Whatever the case, you can make yourself feel a little better by dressing up in a more exciting way. If the clothes you wear inspire you to feel confident, you’ll feel better, too. Here are some ideas:

Dress up very fancily for no particular reason
Get ready in makeup and a cute outfit even when you have no plans for the day
Try out a new fashion style
Wear colorful or exciting jewelry with your workwear
Dress in a silly way and just have fun

6. Set Challenging Goals

If your difficulties are caused by a feeling of monotony and complacency, it may be time to take a good look at your goals and see if they’re still challenging you.

Try to pick new goals that excite you and give you some motivation. Don’t make them unreasonable, of course, but do make them challenging. This will provide you with something to work towards, so you get to improve yourself and your mood at the same time.

7. Don’t Forget Self-Care

Self-care has become a somewhat “basic” term over the years. Despite its buzzword-type popularity, it has plenty of merits. Self-care is incredibly important to wellbeing.

However, more importantly, it has to genuinely be a moment of complete rest. This means that it’s not self-care if you’re watching a show while thinking about how much work you have to do. You have to allow yourself to completely forget about all your commitments for a while.

Some ideas for self-care include:

Giving yourself a spa day
Soaking in a bath
Curling up with a good book
Eating something you love
Meditating

8. Find Ways To Laugh

Laughter isn’t just contagious. It’s also influential. Even if you don’t feel like laughing, the act of doing so anyway releases endorphins, which are positive hormones. This is because the body can’t actually discern real laughs from fake laughs, so you get the boost from fake laughter, too.

Laughter can help those around you to laugh, and according to research, it also has other benefits, such as:

Relieving pain
Reducing stress
Improving immunity

9. Meditate

Meditation can sound boring, but it has plenty of positive benefits for the body, including:

The release of feel-good hormones
The reduction of stress
The improvement of cardiovascular health

When you meditate, you force your brain and body to be at complete rest for a decent amount of time. You let go of your worries, your anxieties, and your fears, and you focus instead on being present in the current moment. It’s an excellent exercise for better positive thinking and can give you perspective.

10. Be Your Real, Authentic Self

Life can require a lot of performative behavior from the people it hosts. Social media encourages you to only show off your best side. Job interviews require embellishment. You talk up your achievements to your family members to make them proud. It’s a lot to do at once!

Taking a break from all the facades and letting your walls come down is a straightforward but effective way to find joy in your life. Be your real, genuine, authentic self, and the rest will follow.

11. Sing And Dance

Most people sing and dance when they’re happy, so you might not feel like doing either of these things in difficult times. But you should! Singing and dancing both serve as a mild form of exercise. Both activities release positive hormones known as endorphins, giving you a mood boost when you perform either of them.

It’s even better if you can do this in groups, as participating in such activities through groups synchronizes many bodily functions, making for a deeper and more connected feeling. This type of connection can really help to ease the adverse side effects of tough times.

12. Be One With Nature

Nature is breathtaking, and we don’t get to see enough of it thanks to bustling cities and time spent indoors. It’s a real pity because nature is a natural healer. Just spending time in nature by going on walks, exploring wooded areas, and gardening can be great for you. Even if you can’t go on big excursions, spending a bit of time among trees, flowers, or even just grass can help you find some happiness in the dark.

Research has actually indicated that a walk through nature can boost positive thinking much more when compared with a walk through an urban or city area. Those who walked through the landscape also found that they experienced lower rates of anxiety and overall negativity, then went on to do better in productivity, memory-based tasks, and general mood.

13. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is crucial to everyday health. Its restorative properties allow the body to repair itself and get more durable, and a healthy sleep cycle maintains the body’s natural rhythm, allowing you to wake up and sleep comfortably at reasonable times.

This is great for regulating positive thinking and making sure you have the energy you need for everyday tasks. It’s hard to feel joyful when you feel exhausted all the time. Try to:

Get at least 7 hours of sleep per night
Wake up and sleep at the same times every day
Make sure your room is comfortable and conducive to sleep
Don’t eat, drink caffeine or alcohol, or exercise within 4 hours of bedtime
Get checked for sleep disorders if something is severely hindering your sleep

14. Cook

Cooking is a fantastic way to make yourself healthy, hearty meals in an inexpensive way that helps fill your time and makes you feel more useful. It’s a productive task that gives you full control over your kitchen, and the rewards come very quickly. If you live with roommates, family or friends, ask if they’d like to help out; the more, the merrier!

If you’re feeling like being extra joyful, consider growing some of your own ingredients, like vegetables and herbs. Even people living in small apartments can help create some of the elements they need for meals later on!

Final Thoughts On Some Simple Ways To Find Joy In Difficult Times

Finding joy in difficult times is undoubtedly more laborious than it sounds, but at the same time. Indeed, it’s a skill that can be sharpened. This means that, eventually, finding that joy will become more comfortable for you, and you’ll be able to share that sense of joy with other people, too.

If you find yourself struggling to find joy in difficult times, seek the comfort of a trusted loved one, or speak to a mental health professional. Talking to others can help you make sense of everything and can encourage you to find more joy.

17 Simple Ways To Improve Your Health In Less Than 60 Seconds

August 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Your health is of paramount importance. However, there’s no way to deny that caring for your health every day can feel overwhelming sometimes, especially when you have a hectic schedule ahead of you. But sometimes, all you need is one minute to do something that seems simple but will have lots of positive effects and improve your health!

Most people’s touted health-related solutions indeed eat up a significant amount of time, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways for those with only a few minutes to spare to up their health game.

Here are seventeen easy ways to improve your health in less than 60 seconds.

1. Drink A Glass Of Water In The Morning

It’s easy to reach for a cup of coffee right after waking up, but water might be a better drink to wake yourself up with. Water, as it turns out, has a massive positive effect on our bodies – especially when it’s often the first thing we consume in the morning. When you drink a large glass of water, you:

Rehydrate yourself after a long night of rest.
Replenish your bodily fluids, especially after using the toilet at night
Activates your kidneys, brain, and guts faster
Wakes you up and sharpens your senses more quickly

2. Do A Mindfulness Exercise

With how much we need to rush around in the morning, it can seem counterproductive to set aside a moment to do “nothing”. Contrary to that belief, however, taking the time to engage in some mindfulness and positive thinking helps you to:

Exercise your attentiveness
Observe your mental, emotional, and physical state
Center and ground yourself
Clear your thoughts and mind
Prepares you psychologically for the day

3. Brush Teeth (it will improve your health)

Obviously, brushing your teeth is essential – after all, dental hygiene often relates to better health in general. As such, keeping a regular brushing schedule no matter what is necessary. But just how else can brushing your teeth help with issues?

It can help alleviate any after-dinner cravings you may have
It discourages post-meal snacking, due to the way the toothpaste aftertaste interacts with the taste of food.
Finally, toothbrushing can also discourage lazy folks from further idle munching since you would have to brush your teeth again afterward.

4. Run

Exercise is undeniably essential, but some things are easier to do than others – and running is one of them. If you find that you struggle to get out for your morning run, here are a few reasons why you should endeavor to keep it up, even if it’s only for a minute a day:

Studies have shown it counteracts bone loss
High-intensity running helps build bone density
It creates a 4% increase in bone health
Running is a cardio workout, and has been proven to help with weight loss

5. Breathe Deeply

We all breathe, yes. But have you ever paid rapt attention to the way you breathe? Studies have shown that slow, careful breathing has a significant positive effect on psychological and physiological health. All you must do to take full advantage of this simple act and its positive effects are:

Focus on taking in two to three deep, slow breaths
Engage in positive thinking and visualization while doing so
Write down those visualizations or positive future events

6. Stand Up

Sitting down is pretty convenient, but studies have shown that being idle is not suitable for your health. It does not help that we spend most of our time staying seated, too, so it all adds up! As a result, folks who sit a lot:

Are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases
Have more signs of psychological distress
Suffer an increased death rate compared to those who sat less
Have an increased risk of obesity
Develop poor posture
Do not exercise their leg and glute muscles, increasing injury risks as the muscle atrophies

7. Prepare Produce In Advance

Preparing fresh fruits and vegetables can be hard work, and the last thing any of us wants when we get back home is more work – we all just want to crash! Just a minute of prepping fresh produce the previous night or in the morning, however, helps us to:

Have an increase of fiber intake, as we have something fibrous to much on
Uplift our mood and improve our motivation, thanks to the addition of fresh fruits and veggies
Stabilize our blood sugar
Encourage healthy skin
Improve our digestion
Increases bodily health and resilience
Increase the number of minerals, vitamins, and anti-inflammatory phytochemicals in our diet

8. Eat Some Flaxseed

It’s easy to end up stress-eating or munching on snacks that are unhealthy – especially if you still need some time to get a meal prepared. In such cases, try eating a tablespoon of flaxseed with a glass of water! This is because studies have shown that flaxseed:

Is high in fiber
Helps suppress appetites
Curbs hunger and snacking tendencies

9. Make Some Tea

It only takes a minute to brew some green tea – and it needs no further preparation to be drinkable. In exchange, you get a drink that is full of all sorts of health benefits. Here are some of the facts that are backed by science:

Drinking green tea a minimum of thrice a week lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases and stroke
Tea is full of bioactive compounds–these are beneficial to one’s health
Tea contains all sorts of antioxidants that may lower cancer risks

10. Laugh (the most fun way to improve your health)

Laughter is the best medicine, so the saying goes – and there’s a fair amount of scientific evidence for it. But just what can this basic act of human nature do?

As it turns out, simply laughing nets you the following physiological benefits:

Acts as a natural stress reliever for your body
Works as a natural memory booster
Burns a few calories via brief aerobic activity

11. Wash Your Hands

Proper handwashing techniques may only take 20 seconds from beginning to end, but science has shown that it is more than enough to kill off all sorts of bacteria and viruses. All you need to do is make sure you take the time to wash with soap and water!

In exchange for just a couple of seconds of your time, you’ll end up protecting yourself from an incredible amount of diseases and illnesses like:

Influenza
Common colds
Salmonella
Viral infections

12. Dry Your Hands

So you’ve washed your hands. Now what? As it turns out, your job here isn’t quite done yet. Studies show you need to take another 20 seconds to dry your hands thoroughly. Here are a few reasons why:

Wet skin is a more conducive environment for bacterial growth
Increased risk of germs and bacteria transferral with wet hands
Damp hands increase the risk of accidental recontamination

13. Opt For A Natural Look

For those who pay attention to the ingredients list on their bottles and containers, you may have noticed that phthalates often show up in some form of another across products like hairspray and nail polish. Even things like shampoo and fragrances are unaffected.

What’s so scary about that chemical and its ilk? As it turns out, a study has found that it:

Can affect the metabolism of fat
Can increase insulin resistance
Might be a potential cause of an increased risk of diabetes
May contribute to obesity risks

14. Eat Some Chocolate

There’s a lot of discussion and research on the negative effects junk food has on our physicality, and for a good reason – its effects cannot be denied. What should be discussed more often, however, is how studies have shown that junk food can also affect our emotional wellbeing.

Emotional eating cycles are often fuelled by eating more junk food, as you may become more depressed the more you eat. So how does swapping over to chocolate help?

Chocolate contains phenylethylamine–that is a substance that stimulates the brain
Eating chocolate satisfies sweet cravings and mimics dopamine in the brain, making you feel good
Chocolate additionally contains high levels of antioxidants, which may be beneficial to your health

15. Hug Someone

We may have come closer together as a global society with the help of the internet, but in exchange, we seem to have all gotten more touch-starved. As you can imagine, the lack of human contact is an issue. In fact, all you have to do is turn to the nearest social media platform, and you’ll quickly see people bemoaning their need for some sort of human contact.

So just what can a warm hug do for you?

It can lower both blood pressure and heart rate
A hug acts as a natural form of stress-relief
It helps us feel more relaxed and happy

16. Look Away From The Screen

With how things are increasingly online or digitalized, it is inevitable that we’ll be spending most of our time in front of a screen – whether for fun or profit. As you can imagine, this isn’t too great for your eyes. Studies have shown that continuous lengths of screen time can harm your eyes.

Here are a few things you can do to combat this strain and improve your health.

Follow the 20-20-20 rule: After 20 minutes of screentime, spend 20 seconds focusing on something that is at least 20 feet away
Take regular breaks that take you outdoors
Avoid using computers or smartphones in bed
Keep electronics outside the bedroom

17. Send A Nice Text

When was the last time you randomly texted someone to tell them you love them? Even if you see your loved one on the regular, sending them a quick compliment or a sincere, heartfelt message not only brightens their day, it can also:

Improves your mood
Teaches you how to appreciate even the little things about your loved ones
Encourages your loved ones
Increases your satisfaction in life

Final Thoughts On Some Ways To Improve Your Health In Less Than 60 Seconds

You don’t need to spend ages obsessing over your health to do small things that benefit your body and life. Even just setting aside 60 seconds allows you to make wise decisions that your body will thank you for later.

Looking for more convenient ways to improve your health in short periods? Talk to your doctor about things that you can do within the limited free moments that will give you fantastic benefits. Remember, behaviors don’t have to be complicated to be right for you!

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

You feel a connection with them you’ve never had before.

You can see a future with them.

You speak the same language.

They make you feel safe.

You feel that the challenges you face make you stronger as a couple.

Everything works.

Your friends and family approve of your soulmate, too.

Every day is a day to shine. Shine on!