Do things like this still shock you?

“Over the past five years, 200,000 civilians have died due to violence, malnutrition, and disease in Darfur and an additional 2.2 million people have been displaced.”

Would you like to do something about it? Three bloggers have made it easy for you to do so. If you’d like find out more, check out Train For Humanity. Also see their press release if you would like to spread the word.

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This is a guest post written by Andrew of How to Stop Emotional Eating.

Emotional eating is when you consume food to deal with tough emotions rather than to satisfy actual physical hunger. Emotional eating is where the phrase “comfort foods” comes from. Comfort food is usually junk food or fast food. It’s food that you probably wouldn’t consume on a daily basis because of it’s high fat or sugar content. Often we eat comfort foods to soothe tough or negative emotions.

Have you ever came home from a long stressful day at work and skipped your planned workout? Instead, you just head straight for the fridge and before you knew it were eating your favorite comfort food? Maybe it was ice-cream, pizza, cookies or potato chips. Afterwards, you probably felt lazy, and relaxed the whole night, probably watching tv or surfing the net. You probably woke up the next day feeling guilty about sabotaging your weight loss efforts the previous night. You maybe even promised yourself that from now on you will never do this again. However, deep down you know that when you engage in emotional eating you lose control. If you were honest with yourself you might even admit that sometimes you are powerless over your junk food cravings.

Here are 5 Tips to End your Emotional Eating:

Read the rest of this entry »

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The following article is a guest post by Amy B. Scher of www.HealthcareHacks.com. Amy speaks from experience and has quite a story that she tells at her blog. Thank you, Amy, for sharing these valuable tips with us!

Your doctor is staring at you telling you your whole life is about to change, and all you can think is, “When can I get this gown off and get out of here?” Worse, you don’t like this guy anyway and now you have to pay him for giving you maybe the worst news ever. Where do you go from here? What do you tell your family? How will you get through this? Read the rest of this entry »

photo by Andy G

It’s 3:28am. You’re wide awake. You toss and turn, but you can’t sleep. You want to sleep, but you’re mind and body are not cooperating. What should you do? Read the rest of this entry »

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Got the winter blues? Feeling a little down? Suffer no more. Check out my article at Dumb Little Man today for 10 surefire ways to dig out of your funk.

10 Things You Can Do to Cheer Yourself Up Read the rest of this entry »

     

photo by *_filippo_*

Which of these things, do you think would make you happier:

• A relationship?
• More flexibility at work?
• A new job?
• An extra bedroom?
• A more attentive spouse?
• A baby?
• Looking younger?
• Pain relief?
• Losing weight?
• More money?
• More time?

You might be surprised to learn Read the rest of this entry »

photo by DavidDennis

So many of us, myself included, get caught up in life. We move from one thing to another, doing all the things we think we “should” do or have to do. And we never stop to think that there might be another, more pleasurable way, to skin that cat in front of us.

What made me think of this is a belly dancing class I signed up for. It’s completely fun and silly and you know what? It tightens your abs! Who knew you didn’t have to do boring sit-ups in order to get your tummy in shape. That little revelation got me thinking of all the other areas of our life where we just keep doing things the same old way even if it is drudgery because we think life has to be hard. But here’s the news flash: Life Doesn’t Have to Be Miserable! You can increase your enjoyment by making some simple changes.

So here is a listing of some areas that might feel like obligatory hardships followed by some alternatives to consider to make your life more enjoyable.

I hope that these ideas prompt you to take a little more enjoyment from life starting today! I’m going to try too! I think I’ll be belly dancing, playing more guitar, and playing with my son some more! How about you?

Please Share!

How do you choose to make life more enjoyable? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

If you found this post valuable, perhaps you’ll be kind enough to vote for this with a Stumble or Delicious bookmark. Votes are always appreciated!

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Is there someone with whom you keep having the same argument over and over again? Do you want to stop that never-ending cycle? It is possible! Learn how today in my latest article at DLM:

Break the Argument Cycle Once and For All

Here is an interesting photo stream from travelator at flickr that seems to capture a common experience. Here is just one of several pictures that make up a whole story:

“What Now?”

Check out the rest of this set here.

Please Share!

What is your recurring argument? How can you finally break past it? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

If you found this post valuable, perhaps you’ll be kind enough to vote for this with a Digg, Stumble or Delicious bookmark. Votes are always appreciated!

You can Support Life Learning Today by visiting one of my sponsors, making a donation, or making a purchase at Amazon through one of my links. Thank you!

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The media has been having a field day with Britney Spears for the last few years and most especially over the last year. I’m not here to add to the gossip. I wish Britney all the best. What Britney is going through, under the media microscope, many of us also experience. We live through similar situations in our lives where we feel lost, can’t find our compass, and don’t know where to turn. When that happens there can be a lot of frantic frenzy like a puppy who’s just been let out of his crate. The puppy runs around and around, running into things, jumping up on people, and acting pretty crazy. Until he gets all his energy out. Only then is the puppy ready to listen to the guiding voice of his owner.

This happened to me a little bit in my early 20’s when, upon entering the real world, I needed to figure out where I was going. Being scared, I clung onto people, some of whom did not have my best interests at heart. I had some anxiety attacks and thought my world was caving in, when in reality, my body was trying to tell me to get some help. Over time I sought out the help of people who always loved me, my family. I learned about anxiety attacks and how harmless they really are and how easy they are to overcome.

So for Britney Spears and anyone else who feels lost, here are the things that helped me get back on track.

1. Slow Down and Stop Running Away. Trying to bury your problems underneath the pursuit of pleasure will not make them go away. Yes, you’ll feel good in the moment when you dive into chemicals, wild experiences, watching endless TV, new relationships, and sex, but every time the pleasure ends you will be right back where you started. The problems will still be there, still unresolved, and you’ll be looking for the next hedonistic experience to drown it out.

2. Let Go of Fear. If you are afraid to get off the vicious cycle described above, know that you can do it. You can handle it. Know that there is more than enough strength inside you. For many people, turning over their fear to God, a Higher Power, or to the Universe is a very powerful way to let go of fear. Another way is to imagine you are a child in your mother’s arms trusting her to take care of anything that comes along. Feel what that is like to release fear and to trust completely. Now do the same thing, but imagine being cradled by yourself. Feel and trust in your strength to handle anything in your life.

3. Let Go of the Notion That a Stormy Life is Romantic. Life is already stormy enough. You’ll have plenty of things in your life to keep it interesting. What you don’t want is factors that add unnecessary volatility to your life. Otherwise you’ll find yourself on the never ending cycle of chasing a high to heal your lows. See if you can identify what those factors are so you can begin to eliminate them one by one.

4. Return to the People Who Love You. These are the people you might be afraid will say “I told you so.” They might and they might not. Don’t worry about that. If there is any sense that someone has an agenda to exploit you then that is not the right person to go to. You want to go to the people who would be by your side when all the chips are down, when you are sick, and when you are penniless. Let your pride go and feel the relief of doing that. Go be loved. This means people who will listen to you, be with you, and support you.

5. Ask for Help. Don’t think you are burdening people. Don’t worry about people telling you “I told you so.” Don’t think you have to do work things out all on your own. Ask the people who love and support you for help. And don’t be afraid to ask a lot. Don’t worry. Pretty soon, once you’re feeling strong again, you won’t need to ask for as much help. But the good thing is you will have developed a very important habit of not being afraid to ask for help when you really need it.

6. Know Why You’re Trying to Change. Think of all the bad things in your life right now: the anxiety, the hangovers, the worry, the emotional turbulence and so on. Imagine how great life will be with all these difficulties eliminated from your life. “But,” you say, “I like the partying. I like chasing new relationships. I like the fast pace.” Changing your life doesn’t mean it will be without pleasure. It just means that you will be seeking a life that is more stable and less volatile. When you find purpose in your life and start taking care of yourself, you will have much more pleasure than you have today. You’ll still be able to laugh wildly, to do exciting things, to have fun, to have special romantic relationships, and so on. But it will all be in a way that supports a stable life. Stay focused on moving towards a better life and away from your current stormy life.

7. Find a Life Coach to Guide Your Life Planning. Purchase Anthony Robbins “Get the Edge” CD’s or Andrew Matthews tapes (my favorite self-help author) and start the fun activity of daydreaming what you want to do in your life. What is important to you? Start some life goal planning either on your own if you can or find someone who can walk you through the process. Planning your goals is fun. Go for it!

8. Take Baby Steps. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Change takes work and time. Go super slow. Be kind to yourself. Whenever you feel frustration emerging, remember the mantra “Go Slow.” Think about what is really important. Don’t worry about small things. Just take care of yourself. This will help break your knee-jerk reaction of diving into things that aren’t good for you whenever you are feeling low.

9. Exercise Daily. Get outside and either walk or jog everyday. Alternate listening to music and listening to your own thoughts. Use that time to enjoy nature and let go of your problems. It’s also a good time to plan solutions for your goals. Exercise makes people happier. It helps relieve anxiety. It makes you feel strong, which you are! Exercise is a great way to tap into your inner strength that is always available whenever you choose to plug into it!

10. Get Involved in Something Outside Yourself. When I was having anxiety in college, my campus job making sandwiches made me feel so good. I was too busy to worry about anything. It got my blood flowing and it stopped my brain from re-treading those worry paths over and over again. So find something to do that will keep you very busy for a period of time everyday or every other day. You could try volunteer work, a new hobby, a book club or some other social group. Just pick one and do it. And remember #5, ask for help if you need a jump getting started.

Wishing you, Britney, and all those who are going through a tough transition, much peace and success on your journey!

Please Share!

Were you ever lost? How helped you the most to get back on track? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

If you found this post valuable, perhaps you’ll be kind enough to vote for this with a Stumble or Delicious bookmark. Votes are always appreciated!

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photo by JJ & Special K

Probably the best way is through modeling the things you want them to learn. The second best way is through repetition of your message. But if your actions don’t match your words, children will follow your actions before they follow your words.

How do I know this? By watching my 4 year old son. I see him mirror me all the time. I love when I see him mirroring being polite, showing kindness, and thinking through problems. When I see him mirror bad things like getting overly frustrated or getting more angry than is necessary, that’s when I really take notice and say to myself, “Hey get yourself in check, Mom! He’s copying YOU!”

So when this happened the other night, it made me want to document all the things I want to teach my son. I’m sharing it with you here, not to say that this is the best list for you to follow too, but rather to spur you to come up with your own list. And even if you don’t have children, this is applicable for grandchildren, and really for anyone with whom you spend a lot of time. Be the person you want others to be and maybe they will begin to follow your lead in some small way.

What I Want to Teach My Child

1. Kindness.

2. Love. Love is always the answer.

3. Consideration of Others.

4. Patience. With others and with ourself.

5. Be Very Slow to Anger. Find ways to understand the root cause of anger when it happens so that it is a growing experience and a not a damaging one.

6. Gratitude. Every day reflect on the gifts we are blessed with both big and small.

7. Perspective. Being able to take a step back, see the really big world picture, and realize that things aren’t so bad.

8. Be a Thinker. This is true smarts, taking things you learn in life and combining them with other things to discover new ideas and solutions.

9. Respect Authority, but also Be a Leader.

10. Respect Others.

11. Frugality and Saving. This is the simple way to become rich in life. Live within your means and don’t buy things you don’t need.

12. Charity. Both in material things and in spirit.

13. When Difficulties Arise, Go Slow.

14. Live in the Moment. Don’t always be in a rush. Work hard, yes. But, also take time to enjoy life. Find the balance between work and play.

15. Hard Work Doing Something You Love is Good for You. But always remember to take your rest and enjoy life too.

16. Stay Physically Active Everyday to Stay Healthy. Take good care of your youthful flexibility, both in body and mind. It is what will keep you young.

17. Eat Healthy.

18. Be a Good to the Earth.

19. Find Support from God.

20. When You’re Struggling, Ask for Help. Never feel that you are burdening someone. And and ye shall receive. It really is that simple.

21. Always Be Learning.

22. Failure is Your Friend.

23. Family is Important. Always find a way to work things out.

24. Your Time is the Greatest Gift You Can Give.

25. Enjoy Creativity Often.

26. Smile a Lot Every Day.

27. Leave the Judging to God. Try not to judge others or yourself. Be kind. If other people are difficult, know that they are probably in some pain. Have compassion for that.

28. Be Honest. Even when it is difficult.

29. Look for the Good in the World and In People. You always find what you are looking for so look for the good.

30. Choose Happiness. The basic choice in life is to be happy or not, so why not choose being happy? What have you got to lose?

…To be continued. I may think of more. If I do, I will share them with you.

In the meantime, my plan is to print out this list and keep it handy to remember who I want to be to teach my son to be a good and happy person.

If this list is helpful to you, please pass it along to your friends. Wishing you happiness and goodness.

Please Share!

What are the things you want to teach your children? All comments big and small are very welcomed!

If you found this post valuable, perhaps you’ll be kind enough to vote for this with a Stumble or Delicious bookmark. Votes are always appreciated!

You can Support Life Learning Today by visiting one of my sponsors, making a donation, or making a purchase at Amazon through one of my links. Thank you!

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