3 Steps to Heal a Broken Heart

The pain that we feel when our relationship with someone we love is ended can be very intense. Common symptoms of a broken heart include sadness, crying, and feeling physical aches and pains in the heart and body.

Symptoms of your grief can interfere with your health, well-being, and ability to function in your daily life!

If you’re dealing with the effects of a broken heart, you might be tempted to deny your feelings or withdraw from others so that no one can get close enough to hurt you again. However, denial and withdrawal are unproductive strategies.

Luckily, there are steps you can take to help you heal and move on, no matter how much time has passed since your break-up.

Try these strategies to begin to heal your broken heart today:

1.      Cut off all contact and physically remove all reminders of your former love. Mementos from your life together hold you back from moving on. Just as a physical wound is unable to heal if you keep picking off the scab, holding on to anything that reminds you of your ex is simply going to prolong your misery.

·        Get rid of your ex’s belongings. If they no longer want these items, donate them to a thrift store or charity that accepts used clothing and similar items.

·        Remove pictures, gifts, love letters, or anything else that reminds you of your ex. Removing these reminders will help you to stop obsessing and rehashing past events.

·        Remember your online and digital profiles. Delete every picture, text, and email that you received from your ex, and remove their information from your devices.

·        Contact your friends and family members and let them know that the relationship is over. Ask them to avoid bringing up your ex. If your loved ones are having trouble complying with your request, you may need to limit your contact with them for a while.

·        Stop going to the places that you frequented as a couple.

·        By removing the physical reminders of your past life together, you’re literally clearing out both your mind and heart. This will allow you to grow and make a new life for yourself.

2.      Take care of yourself as you heal. While it’s tempting to throw yourself into your work or drown your sorrows with too much food and alcohol, harmful escapes will only cause you to feel worse in the long run.

·        Eat healthy foods and consider joining an exercise class that helps you socialize while releasing excess energy and getting fit.

·        Start a new hobby. Great choices include taking classes to learn a new language or skill, or becoming a volunteer at a local school or charity.

·        Focus on coping strategies that will boost your health and self-esteem.

3.      Remain calm if you run into your ex. If you live in the same town, chances are great that you’ll eventually run into your former love. Prepare yourself for this eventuality so that you can cope effectively. Focus on your breathing, and keep any exchange brief and polite.

Healing from a broken heart isn’t easy, but practicing these strategies will help you to begin the process. If you can heal your broken heart, you’ll be free, ready, and strong enough to love again, maybe even sooner than you think.

Let Little Things Motivate

Why the Little Things Can be Your Motivation

Many people have a difficult time finding the motivation to get things done. The biggest misconception that most people have is that motivation will simply fall from the sky and everything will suddenly go well. Sadly, that is not how the world works. You have to be proactive!

Other people wait around for something “big” to happen so that they will (again) quite suddenly have the motivation they need to complete a task or push through a tough time. When this fails to occur, they lose their focus and fall off the task quickly. Instead of waiting for something to
come to you, why not create your own motivation?

How?

1. Fix your environment. The first thing you need is an environment that is conducive to healthy motivation. What does this mean? Well, it means
that you need a clutter-free workspace, a comfortable chair at your desk, and a computer monitor at a comfortable height. Ergonomics is very
important when designing the area where you will be working. These little things can zap you of your motivation in a hurry. After all, how can you
be motivated if you have a sore neck or back all the time? You will be too busy and distracted worrying about carpal tunnel syndrome or back
spasms to get much else done consistently.

Be honest with yourself. Ask yourself honestly: “How much would my attitude change if I worked in a place that I actually liked to spend time in?”
The moment you begin to work in an environment that is congruent with your needs, you will almost instantly find the motivation to get started and
follow through.

2. What are you motivational factors? Each person has a unique set of motivational factors. So what works for your colleagues may not work so well for you. Instead, determine the unique things that excite and move you. Perhaps you can reward yourself with your favorite snack after completing an important task. Or maybe you can have a friendly competition with your colleagues. Whatever it is, give yourself something to work toward!

You will find more motivation by sprinkling mini-rewards throughout your day for each little task you check off your to-do list. When you keep
your motivational factors simple, you will keep some of the pressure off and get more done in less time.

3. Find motivation of your computer. Even your computer can be a source of motivational energy, and it is probably a place where you spend a great deal of time. Motivational desktop wallpapers can help you keep focused while you work. These desktop wallpapers are usually free downloads that give you motivation at your fingertips. When you think about how often you see your desktop, it makes perfect sense to put some inspiring thoughts and images there. When you are ready to throw in the towel, you can just take a quick look at your desktop and you may just find the inspiration you need to persevere through!

If you are having trouble finding some that you like, check out our Saturday post images. Perhaps one of those will hit the motivational spark you need.

There are plenty of motivational images and quotes available on-line. You can also refresh your desktop wallpaper image every day, week, or month as you see fit or feel the need.

Using the power of motivating imagery is free and requires very little investment in terms of  time. This method is a prime example of finding
motivation in the little things.

So, figure out what works for you.

Clean up your workspace.

Get ergonomic, and go get started!

5 Ways to Choosing Happy

We all have stresses and things in our lives that make us cranky. I say choose to be happy anyway. Being happy makes dealing with those things makes it a little more bearable.

How to make "Happy" your best goal:

1. Smile. Nothing lights a room or a mood faster then a great smile.

2. Meditate: Meditation calls the mind. It helps you let go of things for a while. if you are feeling less negative stress, you will be happier. 

3. Music:  Are you a music person? playing your favorite music should always put you in a good mood.

4. Movement:   Get up and move. exercise, dance, what ever you can think of. this releases endorphins. the happy hormone.


5. Don't hold a grudge: if you are holding on to old grudges, don't! this zaps your energy, when you hold on to old resentments it hurts you, not the other person. so stop punishing yourself. Forgiveness is important to your well being.

How to Get Happy

There is a misconception among some people that if you are happy, you are not being serious.  On the contrary, happy people are very serious. They get plenty of work done, and probably get more work done.  The reason is if you don’t’ feel good, or you are distracted, depressed, anxious, you are going to put more effort in to that then the work that needs to be done. 

Happy people, truly happy people are more productive, and less ill.  They are not going to do a lot of complaining and whining.  The emotion happy actually produces endorphins that make you feel good, so there is less to complain about.  Since misery loves company, happy people aren’t going to fit into that crowd.  

Is there a formula for being happy? Happy is about getting your needs met. If you feel warm and safe and dry you are half way there. If you have friends, family and love in your life, that equals another step. If you are truly doing what you are meant to do, you have realized true happiness.

That is also the first three steps of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

So that formula, how to get happy when you’re not? Start by making a list of what would make you happy. Set some goals, watch some silly cat videos and smile.

The whole hierarchy is structured in a pyramid. If you are not familiar it looks like this: First is Biological and physical needs, then safety, then love and relationships. 4^th is self esteem, then education and the desire to think on different things and perspectives. 6^th is aesthetic needs meaning you will look for beauty in the world and others. And last is self actualization and transcendence.  If you are here you are truly a happy being. You understand the true meaning of life and happiness, and you are here to teach and guide the rest of us.

So step one of the happiness formula, get your basic needs met—levels 1 through 3. Then work on number 3, Self Esteem. Feel really grounded in yourself, and don’t let anyone pull you off center. Smile. Use 

Happiness Cards. Draw one every morning. And say “Today I am…”  Do your best, and don’t worry about what other people think. It’s your life, your happiness.

So the formula:  how to get happy when you’re not? Start by making a list of what would make you happy. Set some goals, watch some silly cat videos and smile.

7 Ways Writing Articles Are Good for Your Business

Top Seven Ways Writing Articles Can Explode Your Business

In today's highly competitive internet universe, the importance of attracting highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be overemphasized. Routing web traffic to your site can be your only means of survival, especially in the cutthroat world of ecommerce. Getting a high search engine ranking can be very difficult. Fortunately, there is plethora of website promotion strategies you can use to drive traffic to your website.

There is a wide variety of strategies you can adapt, from paid advertising to affiliate marketing. However, most of these techniques require payment. Nevertheless, there are ways to promote your website and increase your web traffic without spending anything. Writing articles is one of the best web site promotion strategies you can use, and they can be very effective. How, you may ask, can writing articles help improve your web traffic? Here are the top seven ways in which it can help explode your business.

1.Reach more people

When you write good articles, it would be a shame not to share them with other people. You can post your articles in your website or you can submit them to other sites such as e-zines and online publishers. By submitting your articles to these sites, you give exposure not only to your ideas but also to your website. Simply include a link back to your site or include your information in the resource box. With this, you get exposure and free advertising as well. Submit your articles to popular e-zines and take advantage of their popularity. Other sites who find your article relevant may also link back to you. Thus, you increase your link popularity, which is one of the most important strategies in the internet world. Remember that most people are looking for information online and by filling this need with your quality article; you may reap the benefit of more exposure and higher web traffic.

2.Free Advertising

Submitting your articles to other websites presents an opportunity to advertise your website without paying exorbitant fees. Although you should avoid marketing language in your articles and make it informative and useful to your readers, you can always include your site's link in the resource box. In addition, by making your article relevant and helpful to your readers, you are making a good impression for your website, which could ultimately lead to a visit and hopefully a purchase. Good quality content in an article is far better and more effective than a few lines of ad space. You have a very special opportunity to presell your product or service to your prospective customer.

3.Gain High Search Engine Ranking

Create a new web page for your article in your website. Optimize your article to make it search-engine friendly. Use top-ranked keywords and Meta tags that can give your website a high search engine ranking. As soon as you upload your new webpage to your server, search engines will spider through it and you can gain an increase in search engine ranking. Remember that search engine optimized content is a very effective strategy to gain a high ranking in search results.

4.Increases Link Popularity

Instead of looking for other sites who would want to establish reciprocal links with your site, you can simply submit an article to other sites. Just do not forget to include a link to your site in your resource box. When these websites pick up and publishes your article, you automatically get a link partner. Try to get as many link partners as you can. Link popularity is one of the factors used by search engines in determining search engine rankings. Make your article especially useful and appealing, so that more websites will be encouraged to publish it.

5.Optimizes your site for improved search engine ranking

By making your site keyword rich, you can greatly improve the search engine ranking of your site. Remember that keyword density is one of the most important factors that search engines use when determining the search engine ranking of site. However, you should always provide relevant, useful and pertinent information. Avoid the temptation of overusing keywords just to gain a high ranking as this may turn off most web surfers. Relevance and quality is still the most important things to consider when writing articles and it will be doubly useful to your site if you make these articles search-engine optimized.

6.Establishes a Good Impression and Reputation

By writing excellent, original and relevant articles, you not only give your site exposure, you are also creating a good impression on your prospects. Encourage more people to visit your site and do business with you by establishing an impressive reputation through your articles. Be seen as an expert in the field and your will ultimately gain more customers eager to do business with you.

7.Enhances your credibility through references and testimonies

Certainly, your articles are going to receive feedbacks and testimonies when you publish them in e-zines and free article sites. Record these positive feedbacks and comments and use them as promotional material in your website or in any of your advertising efforts. Your credibility will be greatly enhanced by these feedbacks, as it will create a good impression on your prospects as well as your existing customers. In this highly competitive world, excellent credibility and trust may be the only things you need to attract new customers or make loyal patrons out of your existing customers. Original, relevant, useful and pertinent articles are important tools you should utilize to improve and explode your business

9 Ways to Live Life on Purpose

The hustle and bustle of daily life can sweep us away from what really means the most to us. It’s up to each of us to figure out how to live a personally fulfilling life. Although much of your life is shared with others, you can still carve out your own space for a rich, meaningful life.

Take action now to live a life that you love:

1.      Clarify what matters to you. How you spend your time largely determines what’s important to you. If you say your family is at the top of your list, do you spend the bulk of your spare time with them? When you know for sure who and what matters most to you, then that’s where you want to focus your time and energy.

2.      Stay in the moment. If you’re planting flowers, think about packing the earth well and digging the hole deeply enough. Remind yourself to water them immediately afterward. Regardless of what you’re involved in, keep your mind focused.

·        Even when you’re washing the pots and pans, you can concentrate on having nice, hot water and shining the outside of the pans the way you like them.

3.      Say what you mean and mean what you say. Do your words carry importance and honesty, along with kindness and care? Avoid mincing words. Get to the point, but remember to take the other person’s feelings into consideration. When your discussions contain subjects of interest and heartfelt feelings, it’s meaningful for you and the listener.

4.      Find your passion. What gets you interested, excited, or fascinated? Has there ever been a topic that you think about all day long to the point where you can hardly stand it? If so, follow your passion. Make it an important part of your life as often as you can.

·        If it’s golf, play it as often as you can. If your passion is working with children, then pursue it, whether it’s through working at a nursery school, becoming a school teacher, or serving as the neighborhood babysitter. Make it happen.

5.      Worry less about what others think. Pay more attention to what you think. If someone isn’t a relevant player in your personal life, then what they believe about you is irrelevant. What you believe about yourself is what matters.

·        Use your emotional fortitude in ways that make your life better. Ensure that your opinion of yourself is great!

6.      Instead of complaining, accept the situation or take action. If what you’re upset about is out of your control, it might be time to just accept it. However, if it’s something that’s within your power to change, take action. Complaining is a waste of your precious time. Focus on problem-solving instead.

7.      Accept responsibility for your life. If you’re unhappy, there’s no reason to blame your parents, spouse, or boss. Step up and make some decisions to alter what troubles you.

·        You are the captain of your own ship. Figure out the course you want to take and then stay on it.

8.      Refuse to criticize. Focus on assessing your own life instead. Notice the good qualities in others. Making positive changes in yourself is where your power lies.

9.      “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi, a great man of peace, first said this quote. Make a difference in your own life and the lives of others. You’ll absolutely love yourself for it. Others will love what you’re doing, too. Volunteer. Join a club. Get involved!

An enriching life is here for the taking. When your focus is clear, you can then expend your energy on the people and things that matter in your life. Isn’t it time to begin the journey toward a life filled with positivity and meaning? You deserve it!

10 reasons why diets fail

1. .       Too many crash diets—a crash diet or fad diet is eating too little calories for a period of time. Most people do this for special occasions. They can’t be sustained for very long. Then when it’s over and we resume eating the way we are used to.
   
   
   2.       Skipping breakfast—they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Skipping meals in general is not good. It’s too easy to over eat at the next meal because we are too hungry. Eating some breakfast is good. It wakes up your metabolism, and charges your brain for the day.
   
   
   3.       Too many snacks—constant snacking and not keeping up with the calories can lead to weight gain. Also most snack foods are loaded with fat, sugar, salt, are just plain over processed.
   
   
   4.       Getting too hungry—on the other hand,  if you’re getting too hungry between meals you may have a tendency to over eat at the next meal, or eat too fast, which is also not good.
   
   
   5.       Too many “fat free-sugar free” foods – foods labeled sugar free and fat free tend to claim lower calories. The problem is when something is labeled low fat we think we can eat more of it. The other problem is that these foods are so over processed. Watch your labels, fat free tend to have more sugar and foods labeled sugar free tends to have more salt and fat, not to mention a whole host of other chemicals your body does not need.
   
   
   6.       Drinking calories—some people just don’t realize how many calories are in soda, juice, and cocktails, or how alcohol affects them. It’s OK to enjoy your beverages just be sure to calculate them in daily totals.
   
   
   7.        Not drinking enough water— drink water is so important. It flushes the toxins out of our body, and so many other benefits. Did you know just being a little dehydrated; can affect your mind, heart, eyes, sleep mood, skin, and body temp? Not to mention some will confuse thirst with hunger and eat when thirst.
   
   
   8.       Not getting enough calcium—calcium is important for healthy bones, hair, teeth, and unfortunately, like vitamin C, it is not something our bodies make. Good sources of calcium include low fat dairy products, dark leafy greens like spinach and kale,  tofu, salmon and believe it or not , molasses.
   
   
   9.       Too much fast food—it is so easy to go through the drive through on the way somewhere. But fast food is so high in calories and fat. Some fast food sandwiches have so many calories, that they equal ½ your daily intake. Then add fries, soft drinks, they are also loaded with salt  and fat. Portion out  healthy snacks with you, dried fruit, nuts seeds,
   
   
   10.   Setting better goals—Finally goal setting—healthy goal setting means you know how much you need to lose. What your goal is, why you want to lose weight.(hopefully for a healthy reason). You also plan what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat, and set a health rate of lose. Think of setting S.M.A.R.T goals. Another aspect of planning is keep healthy food with you, so you’re not surprised or too hungry if it is going to be awhile between meals. Like when you’re traveling.