Sometimes the most fleeting of sunrises are the most beautiful. Crystal Brindle captured this stunner near Bowen Pass at North Cascades National Park in Washington. It was her last sunrise as a ranger in the park’s backcountry. It was definitely a memory that’ll last a lifetime. Photo courtesy of Crystal Brindle.
Brexit is an elite project dressed up in rough attire. Because Theresa May doesn’t actually believe in Brexit, she’s improvising a way forward very roughly sketched out by other people. In Britain’s recent election, May’s phony populism came up against the Labour party’s more genuine brand of anti-establishment radicalism that convinced the young and the marginalized that they had something to come out and vote for.
We’re celebrating National Get Outdoors Day with this beautiful pic from Rae Lakes Loop – one of the most popular hikes at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks in California. The trail is 41.4 miles long and climbs more than 6,000 feet. Along the way, you can see canyons, high alpine lakes and breathtaking vistas. Photo by Vivek Vijaykumar (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).
You’re reading Stress Management: Top Ten Habits To Reduce Stress In Your Daily Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
Are we dealing with stress properly?
With the demands of work, family, and society, stress can sometimes get the best of us. Not being able to manage stress properly can’t only pose a risk to our health, but to our relationships as well.
Whilst we may not have control to outside circumstances that give us stress, we have full control on how to deal with it. Below are some tips on how to manage and reduce stress in our everyday life.
All of us may know Jack, the master of all trades. The pressure of our society forces us to be Jack and do a lot of things at the same time. With all the deadlines that need to be met, we should all know how to master the art of multi-tasking.
Though this can get us to finish a lot of things, juggling works at the same time leads to stress and exhaustion. Learn on focus on one thing at a time. Not only it will reduce your stress level, it will also lead to better production as your mind is solely focused on doing one thing.
2. Go for a morning walk
Walking is one of the easiest forms of cardiovascular exercise. Once our heart is pumped up, it releases happy hormones and makes us feel better.
To maximize the benefits of walking, start your day with a walk outside. Make this as your everyday morning routine. Aside from the benefits of walking, the fresh air and nice surroundings will clear your mind and give you a fresh and better perspective.
3. Exercise regularly
There is no doubt that one can’t live a healthy life without exercising regularly. Aside from the fact that exercise helps us maintain or lose some weight and lowers our risk of getting diseases, it can also lower down our stress level.
How can exercise do this?
Exercise produces endorphins. They are the chemicals in our brain that improves the ability to sleep and as a natural pain killer. This, in turn, reduces stress.
A minimum of 30 minutes daily exercise for fitness has a long list of benefits.
4. Listen to music
It is said that music is food for the soul. There’s a whole truth to this popular saying as music nourishes our soul and put us into calmness and ease.
Whenever you are in a stressful situation, listen to your favorite song and you will be surprised how it can turn things around. A hectic and crazy day at the office can lighten up if you have your favorite playlist playing in the background. Fill your smartphone’s playlist with happy songs to turn the bad day around.
5. Create schedule
Stress and tension arise if things get out of hand. When you don’t know how to manage your schedule properly, things to do get piled up and can get out of hand. If you can’t meet your to-do-list, this can result in pressure and disappointments.
Create a stress-free day by organizing your schedule. List all the things that you need to accomplish within a day and allot a specific time to do them. Do these before you start your day so that you know how your day would look like and can get more things accomplished.
6. Have fun each day
Laughter is the best medicine. It’s free yet very effective. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Instead of sulking and being stressed every time you commit a mistake, laugh at yourself. Having a positive and fun perspective can make everything feel better.
Look for things that you enjoy doing. We need to take a break from work and bathe ourselves with the things that we love. Surround yourself with people that know how to have fun. Life is too short to be spent angry or stressed.
7. Throwing yourself into a creative activity
Fight stress by engaging in activities that satisfy your creativity. Enroll in painting, music or art class. Find a field that you’re most interested in and explore your creativity. There’s no limit to what you can do if you open your eyes to the possibility of your skills. If you can’t be the next Mozart or Michelangelo, at least you had fun while exploring your creative side.
8. Spend some time with family and friends
Family and friends are our support groups. They will be there with you through thick and thin. Spending some time with them brings comfort and happiness. So whenever you are in a stressful situation, give your loved ones a call and you can count that they will be there for you. You don’t need to go to a fancy restaurant or do cool things together to ease your stress. Even just a simple catch up will certainly put you in a good mood.
9. Don’t forget to laugh
Happy people are less stress compared to unhappy ones. Having a good laugh is probably the cheapest yet most effective way in reducing stress. Watch a funny movie or video, read a funny joke or you can even laugh at yourself. Finding humor in every situation, even the stressful ones, will certainly lighten up your mood.
10. Spend time helping out a friend
When we help someone in need, especially a friend or a loved one, we feel a wonderful warmth feeling afterward. It’s this feeling of accomplishment that you helped someone gives you a sense of euphoria. So don’t hesitate to lend anyone your hand as you are not only helping others, but you are also helping yourself.
You don’t have to live with stress every day. Learn to overcome it by simply doing these daily habits. You’ll be surprised at how these habits can make you look younger and happier.
You’ve read Stress Management: Top Ten Habits To Reduce Stress In Your Daily Life, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.
If you liked our previous article on movie locations, then you’ll enjoy this one too.
The best movies have the power to transport you to exciting places or faraway worlds. They can put you in the moment and make you feel like you’re part of the action. What could be more exciting than that?
Well, how about really being there?
We’re not talking about virtual reality tours or amusement park knockoffs. We’re talking about setting your feet on the same places that set the stage for some of Hollywood’s most iconic moments — or at least their real-world counterparts.
You can pretend you’re in the middle of your favorite scenes, so recite some lines if you feel like it or take a few Instagram-worthy snaps.
Bring Hollywood to life by visiting these five inspiring movie locations.
First of all, there’s the famous Harry Potter series.
You’re a J.K. Rowling fan and you’ve got a wand and a Ravenclaw scarf to prove it. If only you could step inside Hogwarts and get a glimpse of Harry and his wizarding pals’ world.
Well, you can! And we’re not talking about the Universal Studios look-alike in Florida.
Although this movie used plenty of cool special effects to transport you to an ageless time, its makers chose a 500-year-old school as Hogwarts’ inspiration. Hop across the pond and visit Christ Church College in Oxford, United Kingdom. Guided trots around campus cost £13 (or about $17) per person and they’ll give you all the insights you can handle. Even a Slytherin would feel a little giddy about that.
Unfortunately, you won’t be reenacting Julie Andrew’s iconic opening scene because the meadow where the scene was shot is privately owned. The owner isn’t welcoming to visitors, too.
Fortunately, the other scenes from this classic were filmed on location in Salzburg, Austria. More than 300,000 fans journey each year to this picturesque part of Europe, looking for their own chance to climb every mountain and spot Edelweiss in bloom.
Not sure you’re comfortable exploring alone? No problem. Tours abound for “Sound of Music” aficionados like you.
If you’ve got the skills to bull’s eye a womp rat in a T-16, then you’ll definitely want to check out Tikal in Guatemala.
This archeological site served as the Rebel Alliance base on Yavin 4. You won’t find any X-wings in the site’s temples. However, you can learn all about a civilization from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Tikal was one of the Mayan civilization’s largest cities during the Classic Era — more than 1,000 years ago.
Entry into the park will only set you back $20, but make sure you give yourself plenty of time. The central part of this ancient city covers almost 10 square miles.
Got a sweet spot for engineering marvels from the big screen? Then, you’ll want to check out the Varda Viaduct. This is where James Bond fell to his apparent doom in the opening of “Skyfall,” the Bond series’ 50th-anniversary offering.
Although train service prohibits tourists from walking the bridge, you can head to the surrounding cliffs in Istanbul and take in its 102-year-old glory. And if you’re going to Turkey anyway, you might as well absorb the culture.
Finally, there’s that iconic white cocktail dress blowing in the air.
Although Marily Monroe is no longer with us, she’s cemented her place in American history and so has the location of her dress “slip-up” during the filming of “The Seven Year Itch.”
Monroe’s husband at the time, baseball slugger Joe DiMaggio, didn’t appreciate the publicity stunt. Fortunately, you can still appreciate one of the most famous subway grates in movie history. It’s in New York City, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street.
While there are plenty of places we can’t visit (the Death Star comes to mind), there are tons of fantastic movie locations we can still visit. Next time you watch an awesome flick, take note of the scenery and do a little research after. You might be able to see a movie magic come to life.
The post 5 Movie Locations To Visit This Year appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
Sig Nordal 