Shift Your Perspective (By Dr. Noelle Nelson)

How do you see yourself? As a hero or a victim? In any given life circumstance, you can see yourself either way.

I recently moved into my new home. As is often the case with a "new" home, that is to say new to me, although built in the mid 1960s, it has what is euphemistically referred to as a few "issues." As in, I was scheduled to leave town for work first thing Friday morning, and Wednesday night, both toilets in my house ceased to function. This mattered greatly, as the puppy-sitter who was booked to take care of my beloved dogs in my absence could not be expected to stay over-night without a functioning toilet, and it being a Holiday weekend, I would not be able to find a place to board them last-minute.

Hero or victim? First thought, victim! Of all the times for the toilets to fail, and not one, but both toilets! After frantic calls to plumbers not returning my call (more "victim"), worrying myself sick over "Now, what?! This is a disaster!"(yet more "victim") I took myself in hand, and gave myself a talking-to.

As in, "who would you like to be, Noelle?" A whiny victim, or a successful hero? Good question! Because, you see, I know from long experience, that a hero is simply someone who refuses to see a problem as unsolvable, and forges on until some kind of solution is unearthed. Sometimes that means being Captain Marvel and saving the world, sometimes it's just me figuring out a toilet situation.

Once I shifted my perspective, it dawned on me to contact the repair person who'd fixed some odds and ends; maybe he'd know a willing plumber. To my surprise, he turned out to be the willing plumber. Plus, he was up for a crack-of-dawn visit to the local home improvement center, purchasing two new guaranteed fully-functioning toilets--at a reasonable price, no less-- and installing them, all before I had to leave Friday morning. Whew.

Had I stuck with my "Woe is me, life is so unfair" position, I would not have continued trying to come up with a solution. It was only when I told myself that somehow I'd get this handled that the idea came to me to contact the repair person.

Next time you are up against what could easily be defined as a victim situation, challenge yourself to find your inner hero. You'll be surprised at just how innovative they (you) are.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Shift-Your-Perspective&id=10114470

Why the "Second Right Answer" Is a Bad Idea

In his wonderful book, A Whack on the Side of the Head (still one of the seminal books about creativity), Roger Von Oech talks about the concept of looking for the Second Right Answer. The idea is that most people (and you can substitute "people" with "leaders," "teams," and even "organizations"), when looking for a solution to a problem or challenge, stop after coming up with a solution. A solution. One, single solution. But just because it's the first solution doesn't mean it's the best solution. That's why Roger suggests going beyond that first answer and looking for the Second Right Answer. And I think that if you do that, there's a good chance the competition will run right over you.

When I lead my creativity workshop (What a Great Idea! Unlocking Your Creative Smarts), I guide my participants through several activities designed to help them become more creative-on demand. In some cases, I divide them into teams of five or so, and give them seven minutes to come up with as many answers to a challenge as possible. Then I listen. Nine times out of ten, this is what I hear:

Start to around Minute 4: A buzz of activity, punctuated by frequent laughter, as the teams come up with the typical answers, the obvious answers, the easy answers.

Minute 4 to around Minute 5: The Lull. They've made it through the easy answers, and they've run out of ideas. The room gets quiet. This is where most teams stop. But they can't, because there are still (intentionally) two to three more minutes left in the activity. So, very gradually, I hear...

Minute 5: The crescendo. This is when the participants start to dig deep and come up with the not-so-obvious answers. Which leads to:

Minute 5 to Minute 7: The Buzz, Part 2. This is the renewed sense of energy as one not-so-obvious answer sparks another, and another, and another.

After the activity is over, I ask the participants about their experience during the process. I talk about The Lull, and I generally get a nod of recognition. But then I ask a key question. I ask, "How many of you came up with some of your best ideas after the lull?" Generally, about a third to a half of the participants raise their hands.

This is why I say the Second Right Answer is a bad idea! Because by the time most teams get to The Lull, they've gone way beyond the Second Right Answer. Most teams, by this point, have come up with a half a dozen or more "right answers."

Now let's take this into your world. If you and your team are trying to come up with a solution to a business challenge, you'll eventually come up with the First Right Answer. And this is where many teams stop. But not you, because you've read A Whack on the Side of the Head. So you urge your team to come up with the Second Right Answer. Good for you! But you know what? The chances are good that your competition will also come up with a Second Right Answer. And maybe a Third and a Fourth. See, when it comes to creative ideas, here's the Golden Rule:

When it comes to creative ideas, quality is a function of quantity.

To put it another way (which is how Nobel Prize winning chemist Linus Pauling put it), "The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas."

So here's the take home lesson for you. Like you, your competition will come up with the First Right Answer. And, like you, they may also come up with a Second Right Answer, and possibly a few more. But here's the key: they will almost never work past The Lull. And remember, anywhere from a third to a half of my participants say that they came up with some of their best ideas on the other side of The Lull.

Bottom line: Don't stop at the Second Right Answer. If you want the breakthrough idea that your competition will never get to, you'll find it on the other side of The Lull.

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What Leads to Substance Abuse?

What makes someone decide to take the plunge into the world of chemicals? Is it desperation, anger, loneliness or plain and simple ignorance?

"But why did you do it in the first place?", a question that pops into your mind every time you see your loved ones struggling with their addiction at a substance abuse treatment facility. It is perfectly alright to ask this question; after all, how would you be able to help end the addiction if you don't know what started it? Mostly people take drugs because they want to change something about themselves or their lives, alcohol and drugs seem like a solution to them but eventually, the solution becomes the problem.

A lot of researchers have tried to figure out the reason behind the inception of this deadly habit and after talking to several people who have been through the ups and downs of substance abuse, an anti-drug organization Foundation for a Drug-Free World has come up with a list of probable reasons behind why one chooses to walk down the dark road.

• To fit in: "Everyone is doing it", more often than we realize this kind of statement is the subtle hint of peer pressure. Many young people lack the social skill of making friends or fitting in a group and they would just about do anything to feel accepted and have a cool group of their own. Unfortunately if they come across a group which is already involved in drug/substance abuse, it is more likely that they would also give in rather than taking a stand all to fit in.

• To escape or relax: Everybody has got troubles of their own that they deal with on a daily basis, but sometimes it becomes too much for them. While some of us try to look for a break by going for a vacation or taking a few days off; others choose the high of alcohol, drugs or other substances to take their mind off the problem. It starts slowly maybe once a month but slowly and steadily the person starts getting dependent on the high. Every time he feels pressurized, he turns towards the high looking for an escape and before he realizes it, that temporary high becomes a permanent need.

• To relieve boredom: One of the major factors in drug abuse in teens and young adults is boredom. Most of the time when they have extra free time at hand or no hobbies and interests to keep us occupied, they start looking for exciting things to do and drinking/ smoking up or drugs seems like a good idea. They think that they have strong will power and may quit any time they want to but the sad reality is once you get hooked up you cannot 'just stop' without professional help; in fact trying to go 'cold turkey' may even prove to be fatal.

• To seem grown up: When teenagers and young adults see their friends or family getting involved with alcohol or drugs, even if it is something as casual as social drinking; they start to think they even they can handle it. It becomes easier for them to rationalize it by thinking stuff like 'Everybody drinks during the Sunday family get-together so, why I can't?' even the modern music and entertainment seems to be filled with references to drugs making the youngsters believe that it's Okay to try it

sometimes. This 'sometimes' pushes them slowly and steadily towards addiction.

• To rebel: Most parents warn their kids and ask them to stay away from drinking, smoking and other substance abuse but more often than not, these warnings have just the opposite effect. Kids start feeling pressurized and try to look for ways to lash out or rebel against their parents. Smoking or drinking starts seeming like excellent ideas to them and they underestimate that this may severely backfire on them and they might end up becoming addicted.

• To experiment: We have often heard that 'drugs boost creativity', this, is a lie. In fact alcohol/substance abuse causes just the opposite. It alters one's thinking capacity and brain functions in such a way that they are unable to focus on anything other the need to get their high. As time passes, their tolerance increases and they start looking for new ways trying to get the euphoric feeling of being high. Most of the time this pulls a person deeper into the darkness of addiction. All this sucks a person dry of their logical thinking and also drains them of their creativity. Their experiment to get more creative backfires on them.

It is very easy for teenagers and young adults to get into the habit of alcohol/substance abuse without thinking about the long-term consequences. What we need to understand is that alcohol or drug dependency hampers one's normal brain functions and they are unable to see and understand logic the way we do. Hence, it is imperative that we look out for the slightest signs and make sure that we always stay by their side whenever they need support. Fortunately, it is possible to get help at the right rehab and help your loved ones get their life back on track; all you need to do is be alert to the signs.

https://ezinearticles.com/?What-Leads-to-Substance-Abuse?&id=9651618

Message From the Universe: Be Open Minded!

"Sometimes, finally seeing things from someone else's perspective can totally change your life.

Which, sometimes, explains exactly why they're there.

Spooké,

The Universe"

We can't always be set in our ways, all of the time. We get sometimes stuck on a process and find it difficult to get out of it. Since we've been working on this problem for a while, we seem to not see the solution that might be right in front of us. We get consumed by the issue and are not looking at the right places. It is important to allow someone else that is not involved in your venture to look at the issue with a fresh pair of eyes, which is return, can allow them to find a solution, yet, very obvious to you, but hard to see. Because of our implication on the project, obvious solutions aren't that easy to find, especially when we are not looking at the right places. Let the right people offer a hand and you might be surprised on how quick they can resolve your existing issue. Their aptitude is not always a requirement to find a specific kind of solution, because common sense gets involved in the process, regardless of the amount of knowledge you may have on the subject at hand.

When involving others, especially mentors, you may have a fresh perspective on what alternative plan could be available to resolve the existing issue. Being open minded to allowing others to help you find the solution doesn't show a sign of weakness or stupidity, but provides you with a better insights as to what can be the best probable solution to your existing challenge. Admitting your limitations is a sign of respect to yourself, that it is OK not to know EVERYTHING. You are allowed to be weak in certain areas of your life, and this is why others are around you to help you get past these problematic scenarios. You are not the ONLY human on Earth with weaknesses and always remember to avoid, at all costs, to compare these weaknesses with someone else's strength. Nothing good will ever come out of it.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Message-From-the-Universe:-Be-Open-Minded!&id=9499138

Message From the Universe: Love Your Life, NO MATTER WHAT!

"Sometimes it's easy to forget that everyone's just on their way home.

That you're all truly the best of friends.

And that this whole crazy thing kind of started as a dare... to see who might love the deepest, no matter how lost the others became.

Gosh, how you're missed - 

The Universe"

Do not let life bring you down and keep you there permanently. You are better than that. Sometimes, you will face situations where you will ask yourself, "how the hell will I get out of that"?. Your fears kick in and you allow this illusion take over and control your feelings of desperation and get yourself deeper into this abyss. Instead of letting this negative path take over your life, step back for a minute and analyze the situation. See how and why did it happen. Was it because of your ignorance or your laziness? Were your thoughts involved that brought this challenge upon you? Was it because of your malicious intent to hurt someone else? No matter what the reasons are, you just can't ignore or turn away from your existing problem. Focus on what is ahead, and look for the best solution that will fit you. Most importantly, LEARN from it. Yes, learn from this hell so you avoid making the same mistakes. Now, if all this happened because you were a victim of circumstances, then I would still say: "Learn from it", so you can avoid putting yourself in that same situation. This is where the acronym F.A.I.L comes from: "First Attempt In Learning". I am not saying that after the first attempt, you will never make any mistakes again, but ideally, you will avoid making the same one.

You need to always love your life, because this is the ONLY one God gave you. We do not have nine lives like cats, unfortunately, so we need to appreciate what we already have and make the most of it. We all wonder why certain things happen to the good people and great things happen to the bad ones. We create a sense of injustice in our mind, as to why him or her and not me, what do they have that I don't, and why am I going through so much financial hell and they are driving luxurious cars? Jealousy is an innate feeling to all humans and it is somewhat difficult to control when you try doing everything right and it just doesn't work. Remember that you are running a race on a path that is exclusively dedicated to you, which means that NO one else is on that same track. Who are you running against except yourself? Look around you, there is NO one. You can walk, crawl, stand still, walk backwards if you need to, but you are still the only one that will arrive at YOUR destination. Afraid that he or she will have more? But more of what? Does the Universe have a bank account that has a cap to it? No, there is enough quadrillions and trillions of bazillions of dollars waiting on you to take your share. Even if the 7.1 billion people in this planet were taking 100 billion of dollars each from the Universe bank account, you will still have left 1 000 quadrillion of bazillion of trillion of dollars left for you. So what's the big deal here?

http://ezinearticles.com/?Message-From-the-Universe:-Love-Your-Life,-NO-MATTER-WHAT!&id=9476138

Find Your Solution (By Dr. Noelle Nelson)

Life on planet Earth is riddled with problems. Little problems, big problems, we all have them, pretty much every day.

But what matters isn't the problem, it's the solution! And oh, how easy it is to lose sight of that. My phones went down a couple of months ago. Since we don't get cell reception where I live, I am completely dependent on my landlines. That's why I have two of them, in case one of them goes wacky. Except this time both lines went out, and given how important communication is in my line of work, I was in full-blown panic mode.

All I could think of was "What if one of my clients can't reach me?" Sure, there's email, but much of my work and other matters rely on the phone. What if there's an emergency like a fire (common in our area) and I can't phone out? I couldn't even call the phone company to get my phones fixed! How's that for ironic? Problem, problem, problem. No thought at all for the solution. Way too much "poor me" going on...

And then I remembered Autumn Michels and Rachael Steffens. Autumn, at 14 years old, has been blind since a brain tumor was removed when she was 4, which saved her life but deprived her of sight. She adjusted beautifully, navigating her home, school and environment with her cane, but when it came to her desire to play her clarinet with her school's marching band... well, you can imagine the "problem." Only no one at her school focused on the problem, they went straight to the solution. Volunteers were found to stand behind Autumn during the marching portion of the band's activities, guiding her on the field by her shoulders.

However, volunteers come and go, and learning to guide Autumn wasn't all that easy. But Autumn struck up a friendship with Rachael, a percussionist in the band, and the fun they had together led to Rachael sitting out marching activities to be Autumn's regular marching guide, restricting her own playing to when the band was in the stands. Solution, solution, solution.

Nowhere in any of this was anyone going "Poor Autumn" -- much less Autumn, who according to family and friends, just doesn't go there. Nor was anyone, including Rachael, moaning "Poor Rachael," she enjoys helping her friend.

Stories like this remind me to get off my pity-party whenever a problem hits, and turn as quickly as possible to the solution. Because there always is a solution. How soon we get there simply depends on our willingness to turn our attention squarely in that direction.

And oh yes, once I got myself into solution-mode I did resolve my phone issue: wi-fi calling! Who knew? So now I have a backup to the land-lines (which did get fixed, a month later), peace of mind, and a wonderful way of reminding myself of Solution! Solution! Solution!

Thank you Autumn and Rachael.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Find-Your-Solution&id=9968435

Message From the Universe: Facing Your Fears

"Should you ever find yourself on your path, moving along in spite of fear, wondering if you're ready or not to rise to the next level, chances are great that you will not be ready.

Rise anyway.

Tallyho, 

The Universe"

There will NEVER be the right time for anything in life. There is never a right time to get married, to have a kid, or right time to go on vacation, or right time to start a business, or right time for anything. If you wait for one thing to do another, you will be waiting a long time. The key is to do it anyways. If you truly believe in your heart that this is what you need to do, regardless of the present situation you are facing, I will say JUST DO IT. Sometimes, by doing it, all the pieces will come together where you originally thought it can never happen. Circumstances in life are somewhat prone to stop you on your track, even though you do everything in your power to be organized, to work hard, to put your all in everything you accomplish. Planning is great but unfortunately, even with the best planning in the world, you can't be on top of everything in your life. Something's gotta give.

We all have faced turmoil in our lives, distress, challenges, obstacles and whatever else you want to throw in this equation we call life. There is never really a perfect moment to do anything. Sometimes, the key is to throw yourself in it and work around its outcome. You will then figure out the best way to optimize every situation you put yourself in. There is always a solution to every problem. We all wonder what came first: The problem OR the solution, just like the chicken or the egg dilemma.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Message-From-the-Universe:-Facing-Your-Fears&id=9654573

5 Principles Successful People KNOW That Can Change Your Life

• They KNOW the First Step:

If you wish to start a business, where do you begin? What is your first step? Or as simple as studying for your upcoming exams, what will be your first step in preparing for the exams? We all face such trivial situations and questions in our lives, yet we never give a second thought on knowing how to actually solve these problems in the best possible manner. People who dream to be successful and who KNOW the secrets to such problems understand their FIRST STEP in dealing with them. When life comes at you with full power, and hits you so hard that the impact completely destroys your self confidence and self motivation, then the FIRST STEP you take in restoring the lost treasures of your life will determine your future. Most of us know how to SOLVE a problem, but the solutions are readily available on the Internet. For instance, if you are facing a relationship problem, you can join special communities and forums and find some valuable help on the Internet from people who have been through similar situations. This way you know the solution to your problems. But KNOWING THE SOLUTION without TESTED IMPLEMENTATION is never the solution, rather taking REQUIRED ACTIONS and ANALYZING THE SITUATION forms the foundation of your solution. Unless you KNOW the problem to its basic level, no solution will ever work. This is where many people lose sight of CLARITY. KNOWING the question is more important than KNOWING the answer. This first step, which is the most fundamental need in every future successful person, is something you need to embed in your life. This will truly transform the way you look at your life's problems.

• They KNOW what IT takes:

Napoleon Hill, the famous author who wrote the best possible guide to success in his book "THINK AND GROW RICH" stated 13 principles that are required in order to become the person we dream of. Those 13 Principles include Belief, Faith, Hope, Auto-suggestion, Burning Desire, Imagination and others necessary tools to fight the devil inside of us and turn our dreams into reality. In that book, the very first chapter is dedicated to THE BURNING DESIRE. As I have already mentioned, successful people KNOW the FIRST STEP and they understand the importance of executing the FIRST STEP to utmost perfection. Napoleon Hill knew this secret for he analyzed over 500 people from varied walks of life, which included renowned people like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford with hundreds of other business people, economists, and philosophers. He studied the lives and actions of every single person mentioned in the list and presented his life research in the form of a revolutionary book. People who dream to be successful and those who will eventually make their way through the busy crowd, into the rare magical world of success are the ones who KNOW what IT takes to run for such dreams. A BURNING DESIRE backed up by BELIEF and HOPE with many different aspects of self inspiration helps a person to reach goals, that might seem unreachable!!

• They KNOW how to SURVIVE:

"Life is hard", they say, "but there are exceptional people who successfully counter the bitterness in life and emerge victorious". In science and mathematics, we label certain strange phenomena as mere "EXCEPTIONS", we tend to relate it with our lives and over a long period of time if such ideology is allowed to prosper, it takes root in the subconscious mind. As we grow through life, traveling through the early years of childhood and surfing through our teenage, gradually such EXCEPTIONS turn into proven theories or laws and before we know, these MIRACLES which were once labelled as EXCEPTIONS become the foundations for our future generations. In reality, there are no exceptions; there are no accidents. History reflects the struggles, one has to deal with in order to learn those priceless lessons from life. There is no better TEACHER than the LIFE itself. People who understand the mysteries, values and principles that allow them to break through any barriers that were imposed by life to stop their journey, KNOW how to survive in this battle of dreams. The world is growing really fast. Every second, millions of students are thinking about their future; millions of parents are planning to make the lives of their children as amazing as their own. Every person dreams about living a complete life with all comforts and pleasures. Every person knows this as well, that to achieve such a standard, they must KNOW how to begin; they must KNOW what IT will cost them; they must KNOW how to survive!!! The one who learns and understand his way of survival, and every person has a different way of survival, will eventually increase his chance of being successful.

• They KNOW when to STOP:

One of the remarkable traits of successful people, contrary to the general belief of any common person regarding the accepted fact "WINNERS NEVER QUIT", is that they KNOW when to STOP. Their success journey speaks a different story all by itself. When following a certain path I.e A SPECIFIC PATH in life, one is ought to get distracted by other interests and pleasures. For example, a student studying for exams will often be distracted by GAMES, REALITY SHOWS, AWARD CEREMONY, MOVIES, SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES, etc. It is natural to encounter hurdles on our way to the dream future.Whether or not to accept such distractions is but a choice. Naturally, when a person begins his journey and takes the FIRST STEP towards his dream future, he is but in the dark about all his weaknesses and gradually as time slips by, he gets to face those dreadful sights and enemies of his success. Struggles and difficulties that we face along the path, triggers the weak points in us and that power forces us to retreat, to a much safer and comfort place. No offense, but it is near to impossible for anybody, to not be affected by these forces. Life is all about LEARNING and just like our other activities in life, we learn by doing. Once we face these forces, our subconscious self leads us to a comfortable place, deep inside the darkness where no one can reach us. We all have been there, it feels really nice. But for the ones, who dream to be successful and for those who never let the fire in them fade away, it is no worse than HELL. If only a person knows when to STOP relaxing and when to stop being a victim of self illusions, will the true power within them will unleash itself.

These are the 4 things that successful people KNOW deep down in their nerves. You must be wondering "WHAT ABOUT THE 5TH ONE?" Actually, apart from these 4 principles, there is one special factor that is deeply rooted in every person who dreams to be successful and who has been a successful person. It is not about what they KNOW, instead this final principle is related to what they DON'T KNOW. In fact, successful people DON'T KNOW a lot of stuff. As the saying goes, "THEY CHOSE TO KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT SOMETHING RATHER THAN KNOWING SOMETHING ABOUT EVERYTHING". So, here's the final and the most important traits of all.

• They DON'T KNOW how/why to GIVE UP:

I feel terrible when I see someone GIVE UP. The feeling that triggers my nerves is not so much regarding why he/she stopped trying only after a couple of attempts, or maybe he/she should have tried just one more time. But it is the mere act of GIVING UP that concerns me. This ONE principle, among all the others is a must for achieving one's dream life. People with all the above four traits will succeed, but eventually they will face a moment of failure, maybe once, maybe twice, maybe tens of times, maybe a hundred or even a thousand times. The ONLY thing that will save you from sinking deep into the dark shadows and help you see the light of hope once again in your life, will be the attitude where you FORGET HOW OR WHY TO GIVE UP. You may not know the FIRST STEP, you will learn it eventually. You may even survive the fact of not knowing what IT takes to be a success. You will somehow even make it to the next levels through your different lifestyles or the people who surround you or the way your life is, but no matter where you live, no matter who you are, no matter how well your surroundings are shaped and no matter if you have thousands of angels protecting you; if you lack the quality described in this 5th principle, you may never really feel the success.

To be a PERSON is easy, but to become HUMAN and lead an EXAMPLE takes a lot of something in you. Your GOAL in life is to figure out that something, the PRICE, that life has set in order for you to become SUCCESSFUL and GIVE all that you have in terms of physical and mental EFFORTS to chase your DREAMS.

The more you LEARN, the better you PROGRESS. Remember these principles from the lives of successful people and one day when you all reach your GOALS, take a look back, reflect on your journey, and share some of your life principles with the world. As I said before, every day millions of dreamers are born. Let us all create a future where NO LIFE IS DEPRIVED OF SUCCESS

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Some Great Ways to Nurture Your Mind

Being healthy doesn't always mean not having any physical ailment. You could be very healthy and physically fit but still experience sadness more than happiness, mental fatigue, and irritation and many such things.

Psychological health is the condition of your mind and emotions. It is as important as your physical well-being because your mind channels energy to your body. This means that if your mind is sad, no matter how healthy you are, nothing will feel good.

Let's look at some symptoms of psychological distress -

• Irritable mood - it can include facing difficulties with sleeping, lack of concentration, low energy, loss of interest in things, anxiety, etc.

• Changes in behaviour - short temper, making sudden shifts between being happy and sad, indulging in more arguments with people, among other things.

• Social interaction - withdrawing from people, or being overly interactive in order to drown out one's own thoughts and anxiety in public places.

• Drop in grades and staying behind all the deadlines, losing interest in even the most favourite chore, feeling the need to just sit doing nothing for hours on end.

If you're feeling any such things, it could your mind's way of alerting you about its illness. There is nothing to worry about because if there is a problem, there is also a solution to it.

Let's look at some easy ways in which you can boost your mental health quotient-

• Look after your basic needs - we all have two very basic needs as human beings: eating and sleeping. If you haven't given your body enough food or sleep it can start to feel lethargic and moody. Let's compare it to a car for better understanding. No matter how fancy and new the car is, if you don't put petrol and keep its battery charged, it won't deliver its best.

• Don't compare - we are all different people, unique in our own ways. There may be so many things you're not good at that your friends excel at, but there must also be just as many things where you are better than them. If you keep comparing yourself to others you will never find happiness. You must understand that no one is better than anyone because everyone is so different.

• Know your strengths and weaknesses - you are your biggest critic and biggest fan. It is very important for you to know your own positive and negative points. This helps you because then you know the areas in which you can push yourself to achieve excellence and those in which you can take baby steps to improve. A quote by Einstein can explain this point better, "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

• Don't forget to laugh - laughter is the best medicine and nobody can disagree. Even if you have to force yourself to laugh, the activity releases chemicals inside your brain that calm it down and fill it with positivity.

• Connect with others - nothing can lift your spirits better than other people. If you are feeling too low, go out and meet some friends, meet new people. Even if it is for a short time, they can make you forget all your woes.

• Get active - an empty mind is a devil's workshop. If you sit idle for too long, your mind gets an opportunity to dwell on negative thoughts. By keeping it busy for long, it not only becomes sharp but also stays healthy.

• Don't lose hope - this is one of the most important things you must remember. Life is not a smooth road; it is a rollercoaster ride. When you are experiencing upswings it won't look so bad but it is when you are down below that you must remember to not lose hope. Disappointments are like road bumps, they slow you down a bit but enjoy the smooth ride after words. Don't stay on the road bumps too long.

• Gratitude - Being grateful for every little thing in your life goes a long way in keeping you mentally and emotionally stable, a simple Thank you to the universe for a pleasant day, food to eat, Family support, friend circle, a job etcetera brings in a sense of peace and joy which has the ability to multiply when we are grateful.

Only because your mind and emotions don't hurt physically or leave scars doesn't mean they don't need your attention. You need to look after yourself both physically and mentally because these aspects of well-being are very strongly interconnected.

Wellness is the complete integration of body, mind, and spirit - the realization that everything we do, think, feel, and believe has an effect on our state of well-being. - Greg Anderson

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