6 Ways Mindfulness Techniques Can Improve Your Life
Mindfulness techniques are mainly used to alleviate symptoms of mental illness, but they have many other uses as well. Even if you don't suffer from mental health issues, skills such as meditation, deep breathing and taking a non-judgmental stance can greatly enhance your life. Below are 6 ways mindfulness techniques can help you take control over your day and improve your life. 6 Ways Mindfulness Techniques Can Improve Your Life It Reduces Stress A lot of times people don't realize how much stress is in their life until they do something to reduce it. You owe it to yourself to find out how much easier your life can be. When practicing mindfulness, not only will you feel less stress in your life, but your cortisol (a stress hormone) levels will actually decrease. Mindfulness techniques don't simply cover up your stress, they actual lower it. Your Physical Health Will Improve When you practice mindfulness techniques, your overall health will improve. You'll lose weight more easily and have lower blood pressure. Mindfulness practice can boost your immune system as well, helping you get sick less often. You Will Have More Control Over Your Life If you need more control in your life, mindfulness can help. Being able to tune out the world around you is a great way to gain control. When the world gets too overwhelming, you'll be able to focus better and manage your emotions. Eventually, it will become second nature to practice mindfulness when you feel control slipping away. Your Relationships Will Improve When you're in a better frame of mind, people tend to want to spend more time around you. You'll be easier to talk to and people will notice. You may even be able to get your friends and family to learn about and practice mindfulness with you. It Can Improve Your Memory Because mindfulness techniques help you stay relaxed and calm, it can improve your memory and cognitive functioning. Not only will you be less forgetful on a day-to-day basis, but if you're in school, your grades will improve. Mindfulness can be a huge help for your GPA and make studying far less stressful. It Can Help You Get to Sleep If you have trouble getting to sleep, or rely on sleeping aids, mindfulness can help. It can help you calm down enough to get to sleep, and also improve the sleep you get. People that are more relaxed when they fall asleep, tend to get a more restful sleep. Imagine waking up after a good 8 hours of sleep feeling completely rested and rejuvenated! Mindfulness can help you achieve this on a daily basis. Mindfulness can do far more for your life than most people realize. Your health, relationships, memory and sleep will all improve. If you've never practiced mindfulness techniques, you owe it to yourself to see how much better it will make your life.
5 Traits Found in Every Successful Entrepreneur
Establishing a business and growing it is not an easy task. You have to take huge risks and fight against the odds to ultimately find your success. You devote your time, energy, and effort without any guarantee that you will make it to the end of the tunnel. Here are 5 key traits found in successful Entrepreneurs that have reached the heights of success. You can adopt these traits to climb the ladders of success one step at a time. The great scientist Newton once said: "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." You can also broaden your horizon by adopting the most important traits found in the giants of the corporate world that have achieved great prosperity. "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants." - Isaac Newton 5 Traits Found in Every Successful Entrepreneur Trait #1 - Self-Confidence After decades of study of the human mind and behavior, Dorothea Brande, author of Wake Up and Live, says that the most important ingredient for success is that a person act as it is impossible for him/her to fail. You need to be very clear about your desire and act as if your success is guaranteed with no possibility of failure. This trait of confidence is an essential entrepreneurial trait as well. All the successful businessmen were crazy-sure about their business idea or product, and were able to refute the predictions of naysayers who always criticize novel and out-of-the-ordinary things. It’s a belief in one’s success that turns risk into an exciting business proposition. Jason Apfel, founder of FrangranceNet.com, identifies self-confidence as the most important determinant of his success. He says that when he started the business he had confidence that he would be able to sell beauty products online at affordable prices. He warns that even if you are confident, you should still take calculated risks; never make a bet that can wipe you out completely, have enough dry powder to live another day. With this strategy, the company has been able to outlast bigger funded rivals and now earns more than $145 million in annual sales. Trait #2 – Passion Passion is the fundamental inspirational trait in successful entrepreneurs. It is passion about the business that had made Jack Dorsey, Twitter founder and Square CEO, Sergio Marchionne, Fiat CEO, Dominic Orr, president and CEO of Aruba Networks, Indra Nooyi, chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Helena Morrissey, CEO of Newton Investment Management, and many others spend about 108 hours a week to improve the prospects of their business. Your passion for your business idea will determine whether you can work tirelessly without getting bored. As Steve Jobs explained in a 2007 interview: "You have to have passion for what you do, because it's so hard that any rational person would give up." Passion will keep you awake long at night until you’ve finished all the tasks. It will be something that you want to build and continue to improve, again and again. In short, passion acts as a fuel that can skyrocket your business to the heights of your dreams. Steve Jobs on Passion: Trait #3 – Tolerance of Uncertainty The ability to tolerate ambiguity and potential failure is the classic risk-taking trait that has propelled many businessmen to success. Michael Sherrod of Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University says that the chances of success of a business boils down to successfully managing the fear surrounding the business environment. According to Sherrod, controlling fear or tolerance for uncertainty is one of the most important traits of a successful entrepreneur. There are many fears that can emotionally cripple an individual such as fear of bankruptcy, lawsuits, losing to competitors, and the list goes on. Jill Blashack, the CEO and founder of Tastefully Simple and the author of Simply Shine: Stories That Stirred the Fire, Inc., said that the calls from her bank to pay overdue loan instilled fear in her heart. After her husband died, she said that she thought about closing the business, and getting a job. However, she decided to continue and pushed harder to make her company a success. She says that the ultimate test for an entrepreneur takes places not in the real world, but in the mental battlefield. You can either quit, overwhelmed with the fear, or push through despite the uncertain outcome. She made a conscious decision to push through the fear and build a successful business that now makes more than 98 million in sales every year. Trait #4 – A Sense of Control A successful entrepreneur has a sense of control in the face of uncertainty.Jonathan Alpert, author of Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days, says that a successful entrepreneur looks at the situation and understands that his or her actions determine the ultimate outcome. Successful businesspeople know that the fate of their business is in their own hands. It was this belief that led Steve Jobs to turn the fortune of his company in a few years. He knew that if he did not create a new product that was many times better than what was in the market, that Apple would ultimately fail. So he made sure that the iPod was close to perfect when it launched. Today Apple products are loved by people all over the world due to their quality, functionality, and design. Apple is now the biggest company in the world with a market cap of more than $500 Billion. Trait #5 – Tenacity and Persistence Persistence or tenacity is a crucial factor for the success of any business. You have to continuously push through a large number of obstacles for years. To achieve success, an entrepreneur needs to push through the barriers that prevent his/her company to reach its true potential. This trait is an amalgamation of various elements such as commitment, determination, persistence, perseverance. Mike Colwell, owner of Plains Angels, an Iowa-based angel investor, said that tenacity is the number one trait he sees in successful entrepreneurs. He says that an entrepreneur has to repeatedly deal with failures. In order to be successful, you should be ready to start all over again from scratch. You should not let ‘failure’ define the rest of year life, and think of it as a learning experience that will eventually pave the way for success later on. Thomas Edison made more than a thousand unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. "I have not failed. I've just found 1,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison
What Is Success And How Do We Become Successful?
Do you often find yourself chasing after commodities? Do you see a person driving a lavish car and tick him off as a successful person? Is the synonym for success in your dictionary money? If you think that success is measured by the amount of zeros you can add to the figure on your check, then you are extremely wrong! Success is not a number it is an attitude that comes only when you find your true calling. Success Is Not A Number Success is defined as 'the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.' It has nothing to do with money. Money may or may not result after success. Many writers who are celebrated as not only successful but even legendary had lived a life of poverty. Similarly, the kingdoms of many kings despised them and yet they were buried in gold caskets. Would you call them successful? Of course not! What Is Success And How Do We Become Successful? “It is the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows As the Queen of fiction has rightly pointed out, success is more about our passions and convictions then how much those passions are earning for us. True success brings us happiness that illuminates our being. Although we can never deny the importance of money in our lives but we must also not forget about what makes us happy, which is not always money . How To Achieve Success Find Your True Calling The first step in achieving success is to find what makes you really happy. Find the work that make you forget about the concept of time. Your passions consume you and make you oblivious to your surroundings. When you are spending time in following your dreams, you are creating magic! If you have found your true calling, then you are right on track. Success is not far away now. Work On It Now that you know the purpose for which you were created, you need to work on it and polish it. Work hard and relentlessly to be the best at it. If you love to paint then keep painting until every stroke of your brush exudes nothing but excellence. This is essential for your success, otherwise, it will be impossible for you to stand out from the crowd. Always remember that while talent is a blessing, it still needs constant polishing. Sell It! Now that you have achieved excellence, there is no harm in selling it to the world. In fact, if you are capable of doing magic, you have no right to keep it to yourself! At this stage, always keep in mind that not everybody will buy what you are selling but it must never deter you! You must keep doing what makes you happy. Stay Hopeful Now that you are on the road to success, never stop believing in yourself. The money you are making is not important, it may be huge or meager but what counts is how content your soul is and as long as you feel a sense of accomplishment after completing every project, you are successful!
How Your Social Media Addiction Can Change the World
Let’s be honest with ourselves (I know, scary right?) We all have a bit of a social media addiction. Unless you are one of the highly-evolved-hipster-beings who is above it all, you find yourself Snapchatting photos of your filtered bee-face, Instagram scrolling, and Facebook stalking on a daily basis. It is just a part of life as we know it in this day in age. However, there has been a common theme of narcissism and negative news, which is shown to lead to loneliness and unhappiness. This is why the Goalcast videos that get you out of bed in the morning are so important! Social media is supposed to have one common goal: connecting us. If used correctly, these authentic connections can really make a difference. So here is how you can justify your social media binging: you are changing the world! How Your Social Media Addiction Can Change the World Get Real Social media is at its worst when mean-spirited people hide behind screens and bully others. More than half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, but about the same number have admitted to engaging in cyberbullying. Trying to find self-esteem by putting down others is nothing new, but one of the most powerful ways social media can be used is to lift others up! Becoming vulnerable and opening up is where the real power lies. Feeling alone? Think that you are the only person suffering from a particular problem? That is not true! We have been amazed by the communities that have formed by people feeling a little lost, and simply needing a friend. Take for instance Jay Shetty, a Huffington Post vlogger who inspires others with his live videos on the Huffington Post Rise Page. The comments create communities for all kinds of people looking to gain hope from others. Find a page or a site that inspires you, and then join in! It is amazing to see the connections that can be made even thousands of miles apart. Take Action Another downside to social media is the negative content you can’t seem to escape! The news lately has been more than a little upsetting. Did the world take a crazy pill? Or is it just us… Regardless of your beliefs, political opinions, age, gender, race or sexual orientation, we can all agree that change is needed. The good news is, there are social media platforms dedicated to positive change! Boomcast, an app that while new, already has the potential to make a huge difference. Some of the world’s most inspirational people and game-changing organizations such as Change.org, DoSomething.org, and the Rockefeller Foundation have come together on one platform to help make a positive difference. Signing petitions and discovering projects provide you ways to directly make a difference in the world, and the inspirational and welcoming community help you get your social media fix at the same time! Be Inspired Social media can be a great tool to figuring out your passions and finding your purpose. Feeling a little lost? Feeling unmotivated? Create an inspiration board on Pinterest, find people posting about your interests, find inspirational videos, blogs, and pages. A staggering 73% of Millennials do not see news media impacting their countries in a positive way. (Pew Research). Look for platforms that provide positive stories, including Headlines for the Hopeful which makes you feel that there is actually hope for a beautiful world. Surrounding yourself with positive images, videos, and words can improve your mood, spark a great idea, and keep you moving towards your goal. In Summary: Don’t be a D**** We’re in the twenty-first century people, and it’s about time we start changing our world for the better. Be nice to one another, learn from others, keep an open mind, take action on what you are passionate about, be inspired and inspire others. Here are 6 simple tips we will leave you with to dramatically improve the way you use social media. The ripple effect is real y’all! 1. Be Grateful - Thank people for sharing something that inspires you. 2. Be Nice - No harsh words necessary, no matter how much someone has offended you. 3. Be Funny - A sense of humor is always appreciated. 4. Be Modest - Enough with the selfies. Everyone is beautiful, dive deeper! 5. Be Inspirational - Share stories that motivate. Your words are more powerful than you think. 6. Be Helpful - Have a friend who’s working on a cool project? Share the love! We hope you are now feeling better knowing all of the positivity that can come from your social media addiction (it helps ease our guilt!) Connect with others, take action and be inspired! Let’s use social media to change the world. Want more good news? Follow Goalcast on Boomcast, the social media platform for social good! Share. Inspire. Change. Available now in the appstore!
Why Is It Essential to Preserve My Innocence?
Have you ever seen a child playing in the rain? The sounds they make while they laugh are what we can safely call sounds of happiness. Do you ever find yourself wondering where your inner child has gone? You think it has wandered off somewhere never to return but he is very much there, waiting to break off the chains of imprisonment you have put on it. However, the chains can only be opened through the key, which you and only you possess! Here are a couple of reasons why you should allow the child inside you to roam freely: You Will Learn Children are extremely curious folks. They will ask you a thousand questions and will never have their ego hurt in the process. We need to be more like them. As we grow, we stop asking questions. We either think people might judge us or we assume we already know everything. As a result, we stop wondering, stop learning, and definitely stop enjoying life. When you stop learning, you automatically stop growing. You may be advancing in years but your brain and your heart stay the same, which makes you go old. Having a sense of curiosity is essential for a healthy lifestyle. You need to grow as a person to be happy and content. You must be a better person everyday than you were the day before. As long as you have the capacity to learn and grow, you can do anything. This is your superpower as a human being and this is what makes you invincible. Preserving your innocence will give you a power that not many other adults around you can boast off and this will give you a uniqueness that will make you stand out from the rest. It Will Bring You Happiness Saving the child inside is the ultimate secret to contentment, it'll bring you happiness like nothing else ever could. You will be happy about the next episode of your favorite show, you will smile seeing a butterfly, and most importantly, you will wonder. Your imagination will not be destroyed by facts and figures. Your days will not be spent entirely thinking about the money you can earn and the things you can buy from it. Once again, you will be happy because of small things that are free and natural. Your life should never be about the material things only. There is a soul inside of you for some purpose and it requires feeding just as your physical body does. The only difference is that it does not run on food but rather on emotions and fulfillment. “When you long for blessings that you may not name, and when you grieve knowing not the cause, then indeed you are growing with all things that grow, and rising toward your greater self.” ― Kahlil Gibran So, next time you find yourself stuck in a downpour, allow it to drown your worries instead of sulking about messiness.