This house, built surrounded by dense vegetation and specifically designed for a family that loves the environment and seeks to connect with it, is located in Lago Sul, Brasilia, Brazil, and was designed by Equipe Lamas in 2016. It covers a total area of 850 meters squared, all organized in one level. Its exterior is populated by ravishing green gardens, comfortable yards, and a beautiful blue-turquoise pool surrounded by tall..
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How to Balance Freedom and Structure
You’re reading How to Balance Freedom and Structure, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Structure is something many of us absolutely love.
Whether it’s a calendar, mobile app, fitness tracker – you most likely use different tools to plan, track, and organise your life.
These tools enable you to live more intentionally. But when overused, despite all their incredible benefits, they can also stifle you. Here’s how:
– You get overwhelmed by the huge number of Apps you have to open each day
– You Stress out when your Smartwatch/Phone Battery dies
– You Feel burdened by the responsibility of keeping your Calendar up to date
For every tool you use, there’s a cognitive cost that you have to factor in.
Why you should Lower your Expectations of Perfection
However much I think I’m in control, life has a funny way of taking charge on its accord. I’ve noticed that when I’m too attached to my plans and tools when something wrong happens, I experience a higher level of stress than needed.
There are have been various instances in my life where i didn’t fill out my Calendar for the Week; I failED to accomplish my work by the end of the day; and I forgot to track my habits
Every time those situations would come up I would beat myself up for not being perfect. There was so much structure in my life (and not enough freedom) that when things deviated from the way I expected them to go, whether in my life or through relationships, I fell into a hole of disappointment. In that sense, the structures and tools in my life were imprisoning me rather than freeing me.
Life never goes 100% according to plan.
So I decided to change my tune and eliminate some of the tools I used and changed my philosophy. I started regularly thinking about how I’m managing both the freedom and structure in my life. Slowly, I learned to dance with the unexpected news, small failures, and “Happy” surprises. I came to realize that not having things not go to plan all the time, would help me grow as a human being.
Life never turns out exactly the way you want it to. Holding that truth in advance makes you less likely to act emotionally or irrationally when imperfections arise.
The value in this story is that you must learn to dance with not having control all the time, choosing instead to co-create with life – as opposed to doing things all on your accord. We need a balance between structure and freedom, uncertainty and productivity. That’s why when we use our tools, we want to use them with a slight leeway for imperfection. We also need to eliminate the tools that don’t serve us.
What happens to the man who is too attached to his tools? He becomes just as rigid as his pieces of software, lacking in the soft touch and light-heartedness that’s inbuilt into his nature.
“Life is partly about not knowing, having to change, taking a moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity” – Gilda Radner
Get the Perfect Balance
We do need some degree of control in our lives, but we also can benefit from more freedom. Maybe we do this by not wearing our watch one day per week, taking a day of the computer once per week, or visiting a new town one day per week.
We need to produce a system within our systems that enables us to break away from our mindset of control and productivity.
Balance the freedom and structure in your life, and you’ll experience more peace, calm, and emotional stability.
My Last Words
If you’re a creative and interested in learning how to upgrade the way you live your week, read my free guide on Spiritual Productivity.
- You’ll learn about how to split up your day into four chunks, so you worry less about external influences.
- You’ll discover the small hacks that will take your creative work on your PC to the next level. And much more…
Samy Felice is a writer who is passionate about unique ideas related to living a meaningful life. His Free Guide explores ways people can make success easier.
You’ve read How to Balance Freedom and Structure, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
15 Habits of Mentally Strong People
You’re reading 15 Habits of Mentally Strong People, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Mentally strong people. Who are they? Are they successful? Are they happy? These are the perpetual questions, which have many different answers. First of all, they are people who can deal with problems and know their worth. Here are some features, which help them to keep the power.
Not giving up
Who knows, which impediments destiny prepares for us. We have to move on. For dear life, getting stronger, in every sense. Especially, in the sense of mental strength. This is the primary habit of such people.
No complaint
They won’t waste a lot of time on whining and blaming the fate for being unkind to them. The mentally strong people know, there’s no point. Stagnating isn’t the right choice.
No fear
It doesn’t mean they are fearless. They prefer not to show their fear and don’t let that fear take over them. Fear is apprehension. In fact, the reason for the majority of fears is lack of self-confidence and negative thinking. This is not about mentally strong people.
Self-discipline
They are eager to continually develop themselves. That’s why most mentally strong people are self-disciplined and hardworking. It is a key aspect of success.
Taking risks
They take risks.
No matter which ones – financial, professional, emotional. They want that risk to pay a reward. They define the boundaries by themselves and consider it in their power to push the limits of what’s possible.
Control emotions
They feel the same as the others, but they try not to be the hostage to their emotions. They prefer to deal with what they’re feeling, privately – not in the public eye. All human beings have human feelings, but in this case, these feeling will hardly dominate.
Life plan
They have one and try to hold onto it. Their life is not a succession of disorderly events. They also have defined goals and move towards them thoughtfully. Successful people are mentally strong people. They achieve what they want because they know what they want, exactly.
Self-dependent
They don’t want to depend on others. This type of independence is based on self-confidence, responsibility for themselves and their fortune.
Against the grain
They aren’t afraid of struggling against the stream. They don’t need the approval of others. They do what they see and feel to be right. They have got their views on everything and aren’t afraid to express their opinions, even if it differs from others.
Realizing values
They know exactly what is valuable for them and try to keep to these values. The formation of values creates a particular mode of life, which determines everything.
Leaving the past behind
They live in the present and try not to allow the past interfere with their today life. If they do focus on the past, it’s only to remember the pleasant moments, which brought joy, strength and a smile.
Flexibility to change
They don’t try to avoid change. They realize that change is the necessary part of life and success. They are not creatures of habit. They are ready to leave a habit behind if it doesn’t work for them.
Getting around
Job, friendship, relations aren’t the anchor to suppress the development of the mentally strong person.Such people want the best for themselves, and if something dissatisfies them – at work, friendship or relations – they will go away and find something new.
Diligence
It’s comparable with self-discipline, but deserves some special words. No pain, no gain. They know that firsthand.
One lives and learns
This fact is quite obvious. Mentally strong people like to learn and not only in the sense of education, but in the sense of new things around and gaining experience. This creates for a richer life experience and overall fortitude.
All in all
Mental strength isn’t something you are born with. It’s a skill that you can learn and develop. Difficulties temper. Life teaches. Being weak or strong is a choice. In fact, it’s a dangerous thing to be weak in our world. That’s why we should be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and, don’t let guard down.
Alina Kemakh is a marketing writer at Erminesoft, a mobile app development company. She likes writing on different topics because in writing she sees working of the mind and imagination.
You’ve read 15 Habits of Mentally Strong People, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
50 Quick Motivational Tips To Get You Fired Up
You’re reading 50 Quick Motivational Tips To Get You Fired Up, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Motivational quotes have an amazing ability to change the way we feel about ourselves. Motivation is important because it is what causes us to actively look for resources to guarantee our success. Motivation becomes strong when you have a vision, a clear mental image of what you want to achieve, and also a strong desire to manifest it. In such a situation, motivation awakens inner strength and power, and pushes you forward, toward making your vision a reality. Here I have written 50 motivational tips that help you to become strong in difficult circumstances.
Motivational Tips on Listening
1. “Listening is one great way of showing respect” – Instead of being unruly, listening perfectly portrays the sincerest of respect.
2. “Making listening to a habit will you good than with speaking words” – It’s when people listen that they truly become wiser.
3. “The people who are likely to have many friends and companions are those who excel at listening” – If you often hear out what people have in their minds, you are likely to win them as your lifelong friends.
4. “Success can be gained by talking but listening offers far better, excellence” – Great individuals are shaped and honed with the ability to listen to others.
5. “Listening can let us be shaped into far better individuals” – No leader in the history of mankind have had not listened to someone in his lifetime.
6. “The finest literature in the world was given birth by language and language by listening” – Even Shakespeare had to spend some time soaking in ideas from individuals that surrounded him.
7. “Relationships stand firm through the storm not by talking but by listening” – Successful and fruitful relationships are brought about by the power of listening to one another.
8. “The key element of good communication if the ability to listen to the things unsaid” – There are times when listening requires more than our sense of hearing.
9. “When people utter words, bear in mind each word. Not everyone was given the gift of listening” – Be the one to stand out in a deaf crowd. Listen to words that no one else would care to hear.
10. “When you listen, do it for the sake of understanding and not just to build a reply” – Conflicts get fueled when people only listen to burst out their emotions than to seek wisdom.
11. “True friends listen while fake ones care less to lend an ear” – If your friends are real, they will not hesitate to hear you out.
12. “Good conversations often come from listening well” – no matter how intimate a conversation is, it will never end up good without lending an ear with one another.
13. “Doing anything else while listening isn’t fully listening at all” – people can only do so much but not listen eagerly while at the same time doing something.
14. “The reason why we were given a pair of ears and just one tongue is so we could listen more than we could talk” – it may sound like an irrational way to defend talking too much over listening but it definitely gives us the big picture.
Motivational Tips for Living a Life of Truthfulness and Transparency
15. “There is no real enlightenment in life if there is no transparency and truthfulness” – then and only then can we
achieve peace and harmony throughout our lives should we choose to become truthful.
16. “There is nothing more priceless than a truth said and done” – telling the truth and living with it is a lifelong reward.
17. “Success comes to play when accountability, transparency, self-definition, and truthfulness merge as one” –
there’s more to success than meets the eye. It’s not for the faint of heart and especially not those who are unwilling to change their ways.
18. “Great leaders achieve greatness by passion and truthfulness” – it’s not about what race you are but how truthful you can become. Leaders are lifted high and exalted for their selfless passion and truthfulness.
19. “Be yourself because it is beautiful. Why would you stop showing yourself and create a facade to conceal your true self?” – Life is beautiful and so are you. There’s no reason not to let the world know who you are.
20. “Your true being isn’t portrayed by how others see you but by how you show others” – the truth is, people, will continue to believe whatever they see and whatever you do, be sure it truthfully signifies your true self.
21. “The truth can never be kept hidden. It is like smoke that rises in the air that does not go unseen” – never tell a lie or live with a lie. The truth will always come to pass anyway.
22. “Authenticity comes at a price of integrity, transparency, and vulnerability” – these are the factors that make something or someone genuine.
23. “Being ourselves is more of a gamble. There is the risk of persecution and there is the risk of winning big” – the truth always comes with a price.
24. “Concealing the truth in exchange for safety is not the best path to dwell” – in desperate times, the truth demands to be sealed but doing so comes with a hefty lifelong price.
25. “With the truth within you, it is easy to become a better person than anyone else” – there’s no shame in admitting the truth. No matter how hard it may be, the truth is always the best choice.
26. “A transparent heart and a sincere life come with no persuasive equal” – the driving force of influence is easily achieved through living your life with no restricting walls.
27. “The absence of transparency creates the wall of distrust and confinement of insecurity” – the actions we do and the decisions we make creates a ripple effect.
28. “When things and people are transparent, they are likely to be void of judgment and constraints” – people are less likely to think negatively of something that is purely positive.
Motivational Tips On Versatility
29. In life, winning is not the years of earning but rather how you adapted to the circumstances that made you a winner.
30. The strongest and the smartest does not necessarily imply that they are the ones to last. Sometimes it takes more than that and something called adaptability.
31. Should you encounter various challenges, the only thing that can bog you down is the inability to accept change.
32. Life in its own way comes with changes that we need to embrace. It’s those who fail to accept change that gets left behind in the race of life.
33. Any successful organization is made up of people who are capable of adapting to change.
34. Most individuals see opportunity as a rare occasion. Versatile individuals, on the other hand, see the change as the spark of new opportunities.
35. Circumstances that you have to endure in life can be redirected as favorable events if you have the ability to adapt.
36. Like water in a vessel, a wise person adapts to the circumstances that surround him.
37. When you let go of what you are, you will open the doors to what more you could be.
38. Life has many mountains to climb. Do not falter if you fall because the journey in life is the reward for your hardships.
Motivational Tips for Strive To Succeed
39. If you wish to be successful, you need to develop habits that will help you get there.
40. Think positive even if you are faced with a lot of difficulties.
41. Hope will help you get through and it can give you strength to pursue your dreams.
42. Apart from thinking positively, your actions must also be positive.
43. Anybody can become successful. You just have to be focused on achieving your goals.
44. Successful individuals spend their time wisely and if you want to be like them, then you should do too.
45. Be open minded and calm especially when faced with difficulties. This will help you make the right decisions.
46. Don’t make excuses. This is only for people who are either lazy or too scared. If you wish to be successful, you need to act on it.
47. Achieving success does not only rely on doing things for your own benefit.
48. Without hard work, you can never expect to become a successful person.
49. Make sure that you are always in good physical shape. This will help as it is going to be the source of your energy. Without it, you cannot do all the things that you want to do and if ever you try, you might not do it properly.
50. Live a life with a principle and do things to achieve success by conforming to a set of constructive principles.
Do you find these words helpful? Would you like to add more motivational tips? Please add your comments and tips below.
About the Author: Ayushi Singh is a passionate blogger who enjoys writing articles on Self-Improvement, Technology, Social Media and Blogging Niche. She is a founder of TheLifeTech. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
You’ve read 50 Quick Motivational Tips To Get You Fired Up, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
annajewelsphotography: Las Vegas – Nevada – USA (by…
Located about 8 miles north of I-10 at Desert Center, Desert…
Located about 8 miles north of I-10 at Desert Center, Desert Lily Preserve Natural Area in California was established in 1968 to protect 2,000 acres of prime wildflower habitat. Popping up in patches of purple desert verbena, yellow desert dandelion, and bright evening primrose and white desert lilies, these gorgeous wildflowers carpet the floor of the Chuckwalla Valley as far as the eye can see. The hike to the most dense bloom is a half mile from the Bureau of Land Management parking area, so be prepared for a short walk. Photo by Bob Wick, @mypubliclands.
Ice clings to the granite shoreline as the sun rises above…
Ice clings to the granite shoreline as the sun rises above Acadia National Park in Maine. As dawn turns to day, visitors can explore the park’s forests, wetlands, beaches, lakes and mountains. There’s so much to see and do, but be sure to leave enough energy to find the perfect place to watch the sunset. Photo by National Park Service.
Canyonlands National Park sits under the desert sun nearly every…
Canyonlands National Park sits under the desert sun nearly every day, but in the early morning hours when the air is cool and the sun is rising, a majestic glow of indigo filled this Utah valley with mist. The iconic Airport Tower can be seen in the distance, standing just behind the Washer Woman Arch. Photo courtesy of Sam Koerbel.
I’m 37 Today (So You Get 37% Off on All My Courses for the Next 72 Hours)
Today is my 37th birthday.
And I want to do something fun to celebrate that and to thank you for all your kindness and support over this past year.
So you can get any of my 7 digital and downloadable courses and guides at a 37 percent discount for the next 72 hours.
This offer is only available until 1.00 p.m EDT (that’s 17.00 GMT) Thursday the 30th of March.
I’m off to celebrate a bit now, have a wonderful day and check out the information below to learn more about the courses and guides.
********
You can get any of these downloadable courses and guides with one of the major credit cards or money in your Paypal or Amazon account.
The Stop Worrying Today Course
My latest course is now open again for registration and will stay that way until Thursday.
In it we spend 7 weeks on examining and understanding your own worry and replacing it with better and more helpful daily and weekly routines and habits.
You’ll for instance learn how to:
- Use the same small, 3-step method I use to put a stop to a worry in about 2 minutes so that I can relax and fully put my focus and energy into what I want.
- Start your day with a morning routine that only takes a few minutes and will get you off to a day of less worries popping up in the first place.
- Work through and overcome persistent worries by using a step-by-step exercise that will help you to finally see the situation and what you can do about it with clear eyes.
Click here to learn more and to join the Stop Worrying Today Course
The Stop Procrastinating Now Course
This course on one of the most common issues people face is now open again for registration and will stay that way until Thursday.
In this 10-week course you’ll, for example, learn how to:
- Understand the 7 basic reasons for procrastination. So you can understand yourself better and where you need put your attention.
- Find the crucial balance between doing fully focused work and having plenty of guilt-free rest and play.
- Setup your daily work environment in just a few minutes to keep the distractions to a minimum and your focus sharp.
- Overcome the 4 fundamental fears that drive us to procrastination step-by-step. So you can take action on what you deep down want and not be held back any longer.
Click here to learn more and to join the Stop Procrastinating Now Course
The Self-Esteem Course
This 12-week course is my most popular product so far.
In it you’ll learn how to:
- Deep down feel like you truly trust yourself to be able to handle life and making the important decisions and that you deserve to have and to get more good and awesome things in your life.
- Finally lay off and overcome your own most self-critical and most self-esteem damaging thought habits such as perfectionism and comparing yourself to others.
- Learn to handle mistakes, failure and criticism in healthy way that preserves your self-esteem.
Plus a whole lot more. The course includes one written guide, one audio version of that guide and one worksheet for each of the 12 weeks.
Click here to learn more and to join the Self-Esteem Course
The Smart Social Skills Course
The Smart Social Skills Course is all about improving your social skills and relationships.
In this course you will learn how to:
- Be calmly confident in any kind of social situation.
- Understand and adopt the giving and positive attitude that makes any relationship or conversation better and more rewarding.
- Find more happiness, fun and enjoyment in both new and old relationships and in your daily conversations.
And much, much more.
Click here to learn more about The Smart Social Skills Course and to join it
The Invincible Summer Course
The Invincible Summer is an 8-week course in developing a resilient outlook of optimism.
In it you will learn how to:
- Keep your enthusiasm up and to keep going despite setbacks and mistakes.
- Face uncertainty or a tough time in life and react and act in an level-headed and constructive way.
- Overcome the destructive victim mentality and self-doubt.
And a lot more that will fuel your mind and life with positivity. The course includes one written guide, one audio version of that guide and one worksheet for each of the 8 weeks.
Click here to learn more and to join The Invincible Summer Course
31 Days to a Simpler Life
This course is designed to make you think about how you live your life.
But more importantly, it’s designed to make you DO things. To do one task each day for 31 days to simplify your life step by step.
31 Days to a Simpler Life will for example help you to keep your focus on what is truly most meaningful and important in your life. It will help you to declutter your home, workspace and other cluttered areas in your life. And to uncomplicate your social life and schedule.
Click here to learn more about 31 Days to a Simpler Life and to join it
The Art of Relaxed Productivity
The Art of Relaxed Productivity is all about becoming a more focused person and getting more of the most important things done with less stress.
In it you’ll learn how to:
- Get out of the overwhelm and stress of living in today’s society and at the same time get the most important things done consistently every day.
- Boost your motivation and use simple techniques to pick yourself up from a motivational slump.
- Improve your self-discipline so that you keep moving towards what you want not just once in a while, but every day.
Click here to learn more about the Art of Relaxed Productivity and to get your copy
How Cognitive Bias Played Into The Most Divisive Election Ever
When you went to cast your ballot in the fall, did you think through every possible implication of your vote?
Chances are, if you are like most voters, your mind took some shortcuts. You liked one candidate over the other because that candidate agrees with you on your most important voting issue- so you didn’t stop to consider why that candidate may not best represent your overall beliefs and political views.
That’s cognitive bias. It’s a major reason why the election may have turned out the way that it did.
Any decision making process is usually cut short by your preconceived notions and personal experience. Instead of reasoning from a to b, b to c and c to d, your brain makes the process shorter by taking out some parts of the equation.
One good reason involves your past experiences. If your brain thinks that the process is similar to one of your past experiences, it skips the step-by-step process to make things faster and easier.
In addition to your experiences, factors, like social pressures, emotions, and factors, can also affect your decision making.
There are studies that suggest how physical appearances affect elections. It turns out that “looking competent” is a good indicator of whether you will able to win in a senate race or not.
One study had participants rank senatorial candidates by how competent they looked. Its findings concluded that two thirds of them accurately chose the winner based on looks.
Cognitive Bias And The Competent Look
Politics seems like a pretty important thing to leave up to physical characteristics. However, there are reasons why our brains inevitably do these things. One good reason involves our tendency to lean more towards people who are taller for they signify strength and higher social status.
Politicians are aware of these biases and spend a lot of time and money playing into them. Everything they do is carefully rehearsed so that they’ll look as the most competent choice.
They way they hold their hands when they talk and which direction they look are all carefully and strategically planned.
They also read the current zeitgeist of political affairs to determine what issues to play up and what issues to leave alone. Major political themes that affected the 2016 election included:
- Economic fears – the trade deficit, unemployment and underemployment, jobs
- Immigrants – legal or illegal, crime, building a wall
- Healthcare – rising costs, penalties, perceived lack of freedom or choice
See Also: How to Overcome Gaps in Employment
Even when media outlets were reporting the same facts, they were interpreting them in completely different ways. This led to an echo-chamber effect.
This affected how many media outlets interpreted polling data, leading to a bias in reporting. No one questioned the polling data when it showed that Trump was falling behind. A lot of people thought that his footage bragging about committing sexual assault would end his Presidential bid.
In reality, polling data could have been skewed by people who didn’t want to admit that they had no problem electing someone who bragged about sexual assault.
Pundits and pollsters were shocked on election night and were left wondering how Trump won. It all goes back to cognitive bias in its many forms. Preserving freedom at all costs appeared to be the motivating factor in this political upset.
This infographic will help you understand how cognitive bias may have played into the recent Presidential election and how Trump won.
How Did Trump Win the Election
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Sig Nordal 