6 SIGNS IT'S TIME TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

6 SIGNS IT'S TIME TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

By lifehack.org - Kerry Petsinger

Is it time to make some changes in your life? It just might be. Life is too short to not live it to the fullest.

Here are some signs it’s time to change your life.

1. Every week, you cannot wait for Friday.

  

Fridays are fun, but one thing I’ve discovered in my quest to find and do work I absolutely love is that almost every day can be really fun. If you’re saving all your living for the weekends, it’s time to truly think about your lifestyle and consider making some changes. Don’t get me wrong; it’s great to have plans you look forward to on the weekends, but what if you could have that excited Friday feeling most, if not all, days of the week? It takes a lot of self-discovery and work, but it’s truly possible to live a life you love—even on Mondays.

2. You live for your vacations.

Vacations are great, but what’s even better is building a life you don’t need to take a vacation from. As Seth Godin said, “Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” Vacations are fun and exciting, but even better is building a life where you have the potential to do what lights you up many weeks of the year, not just your two allotted vacation weeks.

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11 RELATIONSHIP TIPS FOR WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN

11 RELATIONSHIP TIPS FOR WHEN THE SHIT HITS THE FAN

By wakeup-world.com - Jack Adam Weber

For many, intimate relationship is not easy, at all. For all the excitement of attraction and attachment, we also get stirred up, hurt, neurotic, frustrated, stressed, and challenged to the max. Whether it’s longing, disagreements, misunderstandings, or simply our own unhealed emotions surfacing, it’s helpful to have some tools to navigate the tricky and tempestuous turns of deeply loving and being loved by another human being.

When the Shit Hits the Fan…

1) Practice Vulnerability:

Defensiveness creates blocks against communication and honesty. What we hold in secret hinders our path of loving. Being vulnerable to hear what is being communicated allows process and clearing to happen in communication, which frees up our hearts once again for intimacy and the experience of feel-good connection.

We all get hurt in love, sometime. Learning to accept the inevitable pain that comes with loving someone else, and being loved by them, helps us accept reality and one another, as well as the good that comes with the bad. Defending against difficult and painful truths makes everything worse. Vulnerably and courageously opening to one another and our respective aches makes it better.

2) Ask Questions:

When someone asks you a question, especially one that penetrates and triggers you, take a deep breath and assume it’s as a request for information. If you react or get defensive, look into why you became defensive. Are you afraid to feel or see something true, to reveal something to yourself or to them? Questioning is how we learn about one another and discover the truth. Don’t assume you know what’s true about someone else. Ask questions; try to hear the truth and be careful about defensively not believing what you hear. Doing so creates conflict. Defending against questioning promotes more assumptions and misunderstandings. When wondering about, or assuming, something your partner has done or does, ask question/s first to get the facts straight. (For more on this topic, please read my article The Art of Listening: Inquiry vs. Argument.)

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THE 5 STAGES OF AWAKENING - SIGNPOSTS AND PITFALLS ON THE PATH OF CONSCIOUSNESS

THE 5 STAGES OF AWAKENING - SIGNPOSTS AND PITFALLS ON THE PATH OF CONSCIOUSNESS

by wakeup-world.com - Nanice Ellis

hat does it really mean to awaken? It is fair to say that awakening is a journey from limitation to freedom — from unconscious to conscious. Whether you intentionally choose to take this journey or an unexpected experience propels you onto the path, once you start, there is no turning back.

It is true that the journey might be quite arduous at times, but no matter how long or challenging, the extraordinary destination far exceeds any bumps and bruises along the way. The end result of full awakening is freedom from personal suffering, clarity of mind, boundless joy, inner peace and the ability to live an incredibly fulfilling life. The awakened state holds everything we have ever desired, and so much more.

Where Are You and What Comes Next?

There are 5 Stages of Awakening, and when you understand each stage, and where you are on the journey, you can recognize the sign posts along the way, and the possible pitfalls to avoid.

Please use the following guide as a way to navigate the stages of awakening, but keep in mind that everyone’s experience is different. There is no right or wrong way to wake up. Like art, it is all beautiful and perfect.

Stage 1 of Awakening: The Stage of the False-Self

Subtle awareness of “something more” begins to grow.

In Stage 1 of Awakening, we are most asleep, and we do not even know that we are asleep. We are entrenched in mass consciousness and going through the motions of life, generally following the rules of culture and laws of the land.

We don’t usually question reality or seek answers beyond what is necessary for survival and maintenance of a lifestyle.

Our identities define us and we live within the construct of religion, culture and/or society.

We may even play the part of victim or perpetrator.

Unconscious programming runs us, and, as a result, we see the world in black and white – good and bad. We likely process a rigid model of the world according to our specific programming.

Because there is a great desire to fit in and be accepted, in this stage, it is common to sacrifice our needs and compromise our values in order to receive approval and be included in our desired community, be that family, culture, business, religion, etc…

Self-worth is likely conditional and attached to identity or the roles we play, or there may be other means of proving that we are worthy.

Because the ego generally runs the show, we likely believe we are the ego, with little or no awareness that there is a greater part of us.

In stage one, happiness is based on externals, therefore, in order to feel happy, we try to control reality; other people, places and experiences.

Although we attempt to control our lives, for both happiness and security, it is more than likely that our emotions rule, and our actions and reactions are based on our moment to moment feelings.

We make no connection between our thoughts/beliefs and our experiences in reality, and, therefore, we have no direct ability to consciously create our reality.

Despite our unconscious nature, the first signs of awakening happen during this stage; a “flash feeling” that there is something more, or an inkling of doubt that makes us uncertain about life or reality.

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RAW COCONUT CRANBERRY CASHEW FIG BARS

RAW COCONUT CRANBERRY CASHEW FIG BARS

By thepescatarianandthepig.com

Serves: 20

Ingredients

200g/1 Cup Dried Black Mission Figs

80g/1 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

200g/1 Cup Dried Cranberries

175g/1 Cup Raw Unsalted Cashews

½ tsp. Sea Salt

2 Tbsp. Honey (or Agave)

1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil

½ tsp. Cinnamon

Instructions

In a food processor, combine all ingredients except for honey and cashews. Mix until well blended.  With food processor running, pour honey into the feed tube.  Either pulse or fold in cashews.  Line an 8x8 brownie pan with wax paper. Spoon fruit and nut mixture onto the wax paper and spread evenly with a spatula.  Place another piece of wax paper on top and press the fruit and nut mixture firmly into the pan as evenly as possible.  Refrigerate for 2 hours and cut into squares to serve. Store covered in the refrigerator.  Feel free to sub raw almonds for cashews!

CHIA COCONUT AND STRAWBERRY BIRCHER PORRIDGE

CHIA COCONUT AND STRAWBERRY BIRCHER PORRIDGE

By eatdrinkpaleo.com/au

Ingredients

60ml/¼ cup water

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 teaspoon Nature’s Way Super Greens + Wild Reds Powder

½ medium green apple, grated (skin and juice)

2 tablespoons desiccated unsweetened coconut

2 tablespoons roasted hazelnuts (almonds can also be used)

120ml/½ cup coconut milk

3-4 strawberries (half chopped and half sliced)

Coconut yoghurt or regular full fat, unsweetened yoghurt to serve

Instructions

Add water and chia seeds to a mixing bowl, stir and set aside for a few minutes. Chia seeds will absorb the water and expand slightly. In the meantime, prepare the rest of ingredients.  Add the red powder, grated apple, coconut, hazelnuts, coconut milk and chopped strawberries to the chia seeds. Mix well with a spoon and set aside for another minute. Then serve in a bowl with extra strawberries, nuts and some yoghurt or extra coconut or almond milk on the side.

THIS IS HOW MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE DEAL WITH GUILT

THIS IS HOW MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE DEAL WITH GUILT

By lifehack.org - Diane Koopman

Everyone feels guilty sometimes

Guilt is a common cognitive or emotional state that stems from the perception of ones own wrong doing or inaction, whether that observation is accurate or not. A person feels guilty if they think they have done something that goes against their own values or violates the moral guidelines of the people around them. In a time when information is abundant and we are constantly bombarded with ideas telling us how we should be living our lives, it can be difficult to navigate our own desires and rationality. We feel guilty about what we eat, our appearance, how we conduct our relationships and how we raise our children. We compare ourselves to others more frequently than we should, because we are overwhelmed by immense diversity through mass, mainstream and social media.

It is easy to feel inadequate and ashamed

We over-scrutinize ourselves and our lives. The more we seek out information to guide us, the more incredulous and confused we become. We are now connected globally to how people live around the world. Not only are we starkly aware of our own privilege, we are also faced daily with the devastation and injustice that is experienced by others. It can make us feel powerless.

Guilt can have a negative impact on our emotional, psychological and physical well being

Feelings of guilt can sometimes stem from childhood and they are so ingrained in us that we don’t even notice they are there. It can cause us to feel undeserving of success or happiness, often leading to behaviour of self sabotage and mediocrity. It can make us prone to living vicariously through others instead of allowing us to be the truest and strongest version of ourselves. It can damage our relationship with our physical body by warping how we consume food, how we indulge in destructive habits and whether or not we take calculated risks. It can limit every aspect of how we live our lives, tainting it with dysfunctional patterns and habits that are hard to recognize let alone break. Even our physical posture can be connected to feelings of guilt. How we hold ourselves is indicative and a result of our truest feelings about ourselves.

It takes a lot of mental strength and tenacity to overcome guilt

We must accept that it is a natural and common human emotion that we don’t have to eliminate. In fact, we should instead embrace its presence and use it as a tool for helping us to evolve and grow. The lessons we obtain from guilt can drive us to become better people; to raise better children and to change the world in progressive and positive ways.

This is how mentally strong people deal with guilt

Reflection rather than regret

Instead of wallowing in negative feelings and living defensively, we can become more assertive about recognizing when we are feeling guilty and why. We can become mentally stronger by addressing the issue and dealing with it rationally to use it to our advantage.

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MORNING ANXIETY, PROCRASTINATION AND THE DAWN OF PRESENCE

MORNING ANXIETY, PROCRASTINATION AND THE DAWN OF PRESENCE

By lifehack.org - by David Erichsen

Until recently, I cannot remember the last time I felt that I had experienced a manageable morning. From my experience, mornings have always brought about a great deal of stress in my life and for the longest time I was completely befuddled. Why did I always wake up with a head full of chaos and an impending sense of doom lurking over my shoulder? I always got up on the wrong side of the bed, and no matter what I felt like I was showing up late to life.

Just as many other facets of my existence, I conceded that this unwelcome thought pattern was simply another faulty circuit hardwired into my brain. Many people are burdened with anxiety in the morning, so in this fashion I was correct, but what I did not realize was that I self-inflicted this phenomenon to a greater extent than most. Instead of seeing the anxiety for what it was, a feeling, I treated it as an unwelcome guest of whom I desperately persuaded to leave By doing so I falsely validated this anxiety as a fact, and solidified its place in my thought cycle.

Procrastination is fear.

Usually, my morning anxiety populates as an ongoing list of things I have to get done by the time I rest my head to sleep at night. In the past, I built up a steady routine of worrying for the majority of the day, pondering different ways that I could fail at getting everything done. I call this procrastination.

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40 THINGS YOU'D BETTER DO BEFORE 50

40 THINGS YOU'D BETTER DO BEFORE 50

By lifehack.org - Amy Johnson

This list of 40 things you'd better do before 50 has some good points and ones I had not thought about.  We are all busy working, raising children etc. but probably never have much time to make a list of things you would like to do before a certain age.  I saw this today on my birthday and as I am in my 40's I made a list of my own.  Its good to set goals for yourself and have something to look forward to, to strive for or achieve.

Everyone lives once only. Though all of us have plenty of dreams and goals, it usually ends up with nothing done. And a number of us end up just fulfilling what others want, but not what we truly enjoy. 50 is a critical age that we’re only left with half of the time, if we’re fortunate enough to live to 100. So why not do what you want and what can make you happy as soon as possible?

Here are 40 inspiring things that worth a try before you turn 50.

1.  Go to see your favorite band.

2.  Forgive someone from your past. Holding on to bitterness is like buying poison and taking it yourself, so forgive them – even if it is only for your benefit.

3.  Cut out any toxic friends you have. They will never change, and you don’t need that negativity.

4.  Go on holiday with your best friends. Even if it is just one night away in the country it will be memorable, hilarious and fun.

5.  Travel by yourself. You can spend the day doing exactly what you want, and you will fall in love with being alone all over again.

6.  Forgive your parents for any mistakes they made while raising you. No-one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes.

7.  Book a massage after a stressful day. You deserve it!

8.  Buy coffee or lunch for someone who looks like they need it. You will both feel better afterwards.

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BENEFITS OF FOAM ROLLING

BENEFITS OF FOAM ROLLING

Do you have aching or tight muscles.  Have you tried foam rolling.  The benefits can include

Boosting circulation

Removes lactic acid in tired muscles

increase flexibility and range of motion

Helps prevent injuries while stretching

Here are a few moves you can do:

YOU CAN SEE MORE MOVES HERE

FIVE THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM FACING OUR FEARS

FIVE THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM FACING OUR FEARS

It takes great courage to face your fears but it can be really worth it if we try.  I have overcome some of my fears during my life and I don't think I have fully overcome my fear of flying but I can now take a flight without getting so nervous beforehand and feel much calmer.  I think we can all relate to a fear of something whether it be something small or big.  When you can overcome that fear you can be proud of yourself, I know I am.  What about you, don't let that fear control you.  Here is a great article below.  

By lifehack.org - Rita Schulte

I love to workout, but sometimes the aches and pains of advancing years make me want to throw in the towel and quit. But rolling over and playing dead is not my style. Recently, I started switching up my routine from P90x to Jillian Michaels. Her workout videos are no joke. I love what she says in one of her tapes: “Most people don’t show up in their own lives.”

If that wasn’t enough of a kick in the pants, I read another article by Anne-Sophie Reinhardt, she quoted her cycling instructor as saying, “Remember, ultimately you are in control of your workout! I can motivate you to push harder. I can try to keep you from giving up, but in the end, it’s all up to you.” Wow.

All this is so true and it speaks to the lack of ownership we take in so many areas of our lives. Sometimes we don’t show up because we’re tired, lack effective leadership skills, or we’re passive.

As a therapist, I see people giving up control over important areas of their lives all the time. Passivity can originate from fears of facing conflict, how we’re genetically wired, fears of less than favorable outcomes when we act assertively, and a whole host of other things.

For example, I work with a lot of clients who struggle with eating disorders. These folks can loose their identity in the battle with food when it’s not even about the food! It’s about controlling something in their lives when everything else seems unmanageable. They really want to take charge of something, but they aren’t taking the authority where it counts. Often times they are afraid of sitting with difficult feelings or managing difficult situations — so they hide.

Then there are those folks, myself included, who struggle with anxiety issues. We give anxiety the power to control our emotions. Others give husbands, bosses, or friends the power to decide because they feel worn out or defeated by the relationship. We all struggle in different ways, but the lack of owning up to personal responsibility, the fear of showing up in your own life, and the consequences all this brings in each of our lives can be summed up in two words: conflict and frustration.

If you are sick of not being authentic and want to take control of life by facing your fears, the following suggestions can help get you going.

How to Start Showing Up

The first step is to decide how you want your life to look? Then look at what’s holding you back. What are your fears? What obstacles do you believe you’re facing? Showing up in your own life doesn’t mean you have it all together, it just means you’re willing to set goals, plan, face obstacles head on, be assertive, and get honest with yourself and others. Failure is OK. So many notable and famous people have failed. The key is to learn and grow through your mistakes.

THERE'S MORE HERE