Author: signordal

6 Science-Backed Tips On How To Be More Successful In Life

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Balancing your work responsibilities and personal life commitments is never easy.

Being in an active relationship can put you way behind your professional objective. Focusing intensely on your goals at work can prevent you from keeping an eye on your lifestyle and eating habits. In the end, you may need to sacrifice one for the other.

Fortunately, it doesn’t always have to be that way. There are things you can do to make sure no areas of your life suffer as you work on achieving your goals.

And to help you with that, here are some highly-effective tips on how to be more successful in life.

Set A Deadline For Each Task

set deadline

One amazing tactic to organize your workload is to set a time limit. By doing so, you will be forced to refrain from indulging in frivolous activities and getting involved in unimportant tasks. You will save more time and have a better day at work with all of your ducks in a row.

According to a study conducted back in 2002, setting deadlines can increase self-motivation and ultimately help individuals to prosper at double rates. The researchers state that self-imposed deadlines work more efficiently than externally imposed ones.

What happens is, when we know that we have endless time to complete a job, we begin to indulge in vain activities. We put other things first, delaying the job in the end.

By putting a tap on your workload, you’ll be able to invest your utmost attention and dedication to finish the job successfully and on time.

Reward for Progress

No matter how old you become, you will always need that little spark of appreciation and reward to be motivated.

After setting deadlines for your tasks, you should also think of something to reward yourself. The idea of receiving a reward increases the level of dopamine in your brain.

According to a recent study, people who are more active and enthusiastic have shown to have more dopamine level than those who are always lazy and tired. By rewarding yourself, you remain grounded and feel encouraged to accomplish your goals. Moreover, it makes you feel completely satisfied from the inside.

Celebrate The Tiny Wins

Frank Gruber stated, “This is a journey — a hard one — and the only way to make it sustainable and bearable is if you actually acknowledge your small successes along the way.”.

One principle to follow for a successful life is to love yourself.

In your journey to being successful, you need to set big goals and targets. Unfortunately, those big goals require time and waiting for them to happen can ultimately demotivate you.

So, instead of focusing on those big goals, take some time out and set your eyes on the little achievements you made by the end of the day or week. Cherish those little achievements and you’ll surely stay motivated.

See Also: The Surprising Success Strategy That Will Empower Your Next Steps

Do Not Consume Negative News Before Going To Work

A study at the University of Pennsylvania suggested that you should stop watching negative news at the start of your day. By viewing negative news for only three minutes, you are more likely to spend an unhappy day. Keep in mind that happiness is related to productivity.

Therefore, being exposed to the negative news before 10 o’clock in the morning can build up a mindset that you are unable to take control of things. This will ultimately affect your level of productivity. It will influence your ability to organize your workload.

Instead of focusing on the negative, try to watch some solution-driven news that can motivate and freshen up your mind. Stay away from depression-inducing news and keep your head up to show the world who you truly are.

Meditate

meditate daily

Experiencing excessive workload stress creates tiny clots in our brain. This affects our nerves and blood circulation, resulting in a severe headache and laziness.

To keep our brain functioning well, you can try mindfulness meditation. Meditation rejuvenates the body from head to toe. It prevents the body from cognitive loss, controls high blood pressure, and reduces the intensity of pain by up to 40 percent.

By meditating properly, you’ll feel positive changes within your mind and body. Practices, like inhaling pure oxygen and being under the sun, can recharge your body, giving it an enthusiastic flame of energy flow. According to researchers, even the simple act of opening a window can lift one’s mood.

Therefore, to perform better, you need to recharge yourself, meditate, and get closer to nature.

See Also: Questions and Answers: A Beginners Guide to Meditation

Act Like A Pro

If you think you are investing enough efforts into your professional life but your outcomes are still minimal, then analyze the things you are doing wrong just for a second. Upon focusing, you will realize that the real problem lies in your attitude towards your work.

You are probably acting amateur. This mindset is stopping you from stepping out of your comfort zone. You take every suggestion as criticism and you never try to move ahead and learn new skills and abilities.

One tip on how to be successful is to act professionally.

Being a pro means putting your utmost dedication and surpassing every obstacle that comes along your way. You need to face your challenges as a pro learns from his mistakes and never backs down.

Conclusion

At present, the world has transformed into a highly competitive platform where every other person aims to take the superior spot. In such times, you have to work like a pro if you want to be successful. Search for new opportunities, learn from experiences, and practice new technologies. Keep pace with the ever-growing advancements and discoveries and you’ll be well on your way to the top.

The post 6 Science-Backed Tips On How To Be More Successful In Life appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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Why Volunteering Is Important In Getting Your First Job

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If you are a college graduate and still don’t have enough experience, volunteering can be a great start for your future career. It can show your strongest sides and develop your skills. These may be useful depending on the field of work you want to be in.

Just spend some time analyzing your interests, hobbies, and previous experience to select the most interesting area. After that, you can go ahead, make new connections and discover all the benefits the volunteering world has to offer!

Benefits of Volunteering

volunteering work

If you are still doubtful whether volunteering can actually help you to promote yourself, here are the three main reasons why you should definitely give some free time to non-profit organizations and devote yourself to a bigger cause:

  • It will show your interests. It is quite easy to get lost in a boring and academic resume, providing brief information on your college achievements. Volunteering experience may add colors to your CV and make your individuality much brighter.
  • Present yourself in the best way. You will be able to show your strongest sides and concentrate on the key features, which will help you stand out from the rest.
  • It will help you to promote your soft and hard skills. It is not surprising that volunteering work is so popular as it allows students to gain and develop transferable skills applicable to any career. Such skills include teamwork, leadership, and much more.

However, if you still don’t have volunteering experience, you can always contact your local student organizations or various volunteering websites to choose a project. Usually, such companies are always searching for volunteers, so you will easily find a project that will fit your tastes and preferences.

See Also: The Power of Volunteering

Spheres to Choose from

Before you apply for any volunteering project, you need to make sure you know what area to choose. Try to make a list of things that interest you the most and imagine yourself being a part of such a project. You can also contact local organizations or volunteers to find out more about the activities they perform.

If you still don’t know what area to choose, try to answer the following questions:

  • Do you like working with children? If you love children and want to become a teacher one day, it will be a great option to work in a camp, various church or school groups and so on. It will show your potential employer that you are well-organized and can engage a large group of people.
  • Do you like movies? Then you can assist with various tasks behind cameras and work on behind-the-scenes projects.
  • Do you like working with animals? There are always many stray animals and organizations which require help and attention. You can contact zoos, shelters or clinics to offer your help. It may be a bit messy, so you need to be ready to get your hands dirty.

animal rescue volunteer

  • Do you want to learn more about medicine? If you like helping others and are compassionate enough, there is always a huge number of projects which help ill and elderly people. You can play various games or simply talk to them, feed and do simple tasks at hospitals.

Useful Tips

If you are planning to do volunteering work, there are a few tips which may greatly help you to achieve all of your goals and obtain your first job:

  • Stay tuned. It is important to build relationships and stay connected with people even if you leave the project. The whole point of volunteering is creating networks and engaging everyone to achieve bigger goals. Don’t neglect personal meetings, phone calls, various events and lectures to exchange experience and make useful contacts.
  • Learn more about the company. It is always important to possess as much information as possible to be able to understand the goals and missions of the organization. That is why you need to spend some time researching and analyzing information before having your first interview. It will be useful to learn about the organizational structure and the culture of the company.
  • Be passionate. If you want to do volunteering simply to attract attention and get your first job, you will most likely fail. Be sincere and find a project which will get you involved.
  • Think about the skills you can use. If you find your place, it will be much easier to move along the career ladder and show your potential to the fullest. Spend some time to make a list of things you can do better than others and choose a sphere that can reveal your strongest sides.

See Also: 5 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer

The post Why Volunteering Is Important In Getting Your First Job appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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How to Improve Yourself in 2 Simple Steps

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You’re reading How to Improve Yourself in 2 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Sometimes self-improvement can feel rather overwhelming.

You just wanted to be a bit more confident at social gatherings…

…but 3 years and 100 books later you find yourself deep down the self-development rabbit hole pondering questions such as:

“How do I find my life purpose?“

“How can I live an authentic life?”

And as if these questions were not already complicated enough, your social confidence isn’t your only problem anymore.

You tasted the self-help fruit and are now concerned about your health, fitness, spirituality, productivity, professional success, happiness, integrity …

….and the list goes on and on.

I’d like to ask you this:

“Wouldn’t it be nice to make self-improvement simple again?”

Simple as in an uncomplicated process you can follow to make changes in your life?

My answer to this question is “Yes”, which is why I tried to simplify self-development down to 2 steps.

I came up with those 2 steps reflecting on what has worked for me in the past (I’ve been one of those self-development junkies for the last three years), and what in my experience self-development tends to come down to.

Of course, you cannot explain the world in a short article like this.

But sometimes simplicity drives you towards action more effectively than complexity.

And that’s what I hope to do for you. So without further a due – How to improve yourself in 2 simple steps:

Step 1: Ask Yourself 2 Simple Questions

The first step is to reflect on your life.

And no you don’t have to lock yourself in a room for a year or meditate on a mountain with Tibetan monks.

Let’s take it very easy.

Just ask yourself those two simple questions:

#1 What is going well in my life?

#2 What is going not so well in my life?

And answer them.

Make sure you cover a range of areas: work, relationships, health, fitness, dating, hobbies, family, whatever.

Some people are chattier. So if that’s you ask your best friend if she can help you answer those questions over coffee.

If you are more introverted like me, just write down the answers on a paper or in a word document.

Once you’ve thought enough about those two questions (maybe an hour or so), give yourself props for the stuff that’s going well. Good for you! Nothing we have to improve here.

For the stuff that’s going not so well, pick a few items that bother you the most and write them down on a list. It might look like this:

  • I want to exercise more but I also want to see my friends
  • I fight a lot with my boyfriend recently over trivial things and don’t quite know why

Once you’ve done that you’re ready for the next step.

Step 2: Fix What Bothers You

Now it’s time to go through each item on the list and find a solution.

Depending on the issue you will find yourself in one of two scenarios:

Scenario 1: That’s easy! I know how to fix this!

After a bit of reflection you realize that your  friends are a priority for you, while exercise is a necessary evil.

The walk to the gym is your main issue, as it takes up so much time that you cannot meet up with your friends afterward.

After thinking a bit about it you come up with the following solution:

You’ll just try out following one of those 20 minute YouTube home workout videos for the next few weeks. That way you can still see your friends while exercising more and wasting less time.

Congratulations! You have officially improved yourself.

Scenario 2: Hmm this seems complicated. No idea what to do.

Recently your boyfriend and you had a lot of small fights over stuff you both agree is quite trivial. You are not sure what causes this pattern.

How do you fix something like that?

Well, you are in scenarios 2, so just realize you have no idea and do some research!

Find the top 3 books on relationship advice on Amazon. Find 1 popular YouTube channel and 1 popular blog on relationship advice…

…Then study all of them.

  • Perhaps you’ll read “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman and find out your boyfriend likes to express and receive affection differently than you.
  • Or you read “That’s Not What I Meant!” by Deborah Tannen and find out that both of you are confused by each other’s communication style.
  • Or maybe you read “Radical Honesty” by Brad Blanton and figure you relationship lacks honesty on certain topics, which causes conflict in other areas.

By seeking out educational material you will improve your understanding of relationship dynamics and become a more resourceful human being.

While that won’t guarantee your relationship will be happy ever after it will give you plenty of ideas on what might cause the fighting and how to fix it.

Then all that’s left to do is apply and see what sticks.

 

…That’s it.

2 Simple Steps to improve yourself.

Come back to them whenever you feel overwhelmed, stuck or like you don’t know what to do.

And they will put you back on track in no time.

You’ve read How to Improve Yourself in 2 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

>

How to Improve Yourself in 2 Simple Steps

signordalLeave a comment

You’re reading How to Improve Yourself in 2 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Sometimes self-improvement can feel rather overwhelming.

You just wanted to be a bit more confident at social gatherings…

…but 3 years and 100 books later you find yourself deep down the self-development rabbit hole pondering questions such as:

“How do I find my life purpose?“

“How can I live an authentic life?”

And as if these questions were not already complicated enough, your social confidence isn’t your only problem anymore.

You tasted the self-help fruit and are now concerned about your health, fitness, spirituality, productivity, professional success, happiness, integrity …

….and the list goes on and on.

I’d like to ask you this:

“Wouldn’t it be nice to make self-improvement simple again?”

Simple as in an uncomplicated process you can follow to make changes in your life?

My answer to this question is “Yes”, which is why I tried to simplify self-development down to 2 steps.

I came up with those 2 steps reflecting on what has worked for me in the past (I’ve been one of those self-development junkies for the last three years), and what in my experience self-development tends to come down to.

Of course, you cannot explain the world in a short article like this.

But sometimes simplicity drives you towards action more effectively than complexity.

And that’s what I hope to do for you. So without further a due – How to improve yourself in 2 simple steps:

Step 1: Ask Yourself 2 Simple Questions

The first step is to reflect on your life.

And no you don’t have to lock yourself in a room for a year or meditate on a mountain with Tibetan monks.

Let’s take it very easy.

Just ask yourself those two simple questions:

#1 What is going well in my life?

#2 What is going not so well in my life?

And answer them.

Make sure you cover a range of areas: work, relationships, health, fitness, dating, hobbies, family, whatever.

Some people are chattier. So if that’s you ask your best friend if she can help you answer those questions over coffee.

If you are more introverted like me, just write down the answers on a paper or in a word document.

Once you’ve thought enough about those two questions (maybe an hour or so), give yourself props for the stuff that’s going well. Good for you! Nothing we have to improve here.

For the stuff that’s going not so well, pick a few items that bother you the most and write them down on a list. It might look like this:

  • I want to exercise more but I also want to see my friends
  • I fight a lot with my boyfriend recently over trivial things and don’t quite know why

Once you’ve done that you’re ready for the next step.

Step 2: Fix What Bothers You

Now it’s time to go through each item on the list and find a solution.

Depending on the issue you will find yourself in one of two scenarios:

Scenario 1: That’s easy! I know how to fix this!

After a bit of reflection you realize that your  friends are a priority for you, while exercise is a necessary evil.

The walk to the gym is your main issue, as it takes up so much time that you cannot meet up with your friends afterward.

After thinking a bit about it you come up with the following solution:

You’ll just try out following one of those 20 minute YouTube home workout videos for the next few weeks. That way you can still see your friends while exercising more and wasting less time.

Congratulations! You have officially improved yourself.

Scenario 2: Hmm this seems complicated. No idea what to do.

Recently your boyfriend and you had a lot of small fights over stuff you both agree is quite trivial. You are not sure what causes this pattern.

How do you fix something like that?

Well, you are in scenarios 2, so just realize you have no idea and do some research!

Find the top 3 books on relationship advice on Amazon. Find 1 popular YouTube channel and 1 popular blog on relationship advice…

…Then study all of them.

  • Perhaps you’ll read “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman and find out your boyfriend likes to express and receive affection differently than you.
  • Or you read “That’s Not What I Meant!” by Deborah Tannen and find out that both of you are confused by each other’s communication style.
  • Or maybe you read “Radical Honesty” by Brad Blanton and figure you relationship lacks honesty on certain topics, which causes conflict in other areas.

By seeking out educational material you will improve your understanding of relationship dynamics and become a more resourceful human being.

While that won’t guarantee your relationship will be happy ever after it will give you plenty of ideas on what might cause the fighting and how to fix it.

Then all that’s left to do is apply and see what sticks.

 

…That’s it.

2 Simple Steps to improve yourself.

Come back to them whenever you feel overwhelmed, stuck or like you don’t know what to do.

And they will put you back on track in no time.

You’ve read How to Improve Yourself in 2 Simple Steps, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

>

Who’s Cheating Kenyan Voters?

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Two weeks ago, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga pulled out of the election rerun scheduled for October 26, claiming that nothing had been done to remedy the problems that marred the first one, which was nullified September 1. Why isn’t the US doing more to pressure President Uhuru Kenyatta to address the blatant election issues? America may not be as neutral in Kenya’s electoral contest as it claims to be.

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Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah  -USA (by Udo S) 

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Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah  -USA (by Udo S) 

Adorable Toddler Recreates His Uncle’s Sultry Modeling Photos

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Toddler Impersonates Male-Model Uncle

Meet Augie (aka @babyandthebody), the 18-month-old who’s following in the fashion footsteps of his male model uncle, Aristotle Polites. Look at how this cute toddler recreates his uncle’s photoshoots in an adorable Insta-photo series.

The fun photo project started one day, when Augie’s mother, Katina, was struggling to dress the wriggly toddler. Her brother told her the scene reminded him of one of his own photoshoots, so she snapped a picture and later matched the uncanny pose with that of her brother’s, modeling knitwear around his neck.

Since then, Katina and Augie have been treating their Instagram followers to a new snap every Monday. Katina has said she has “a great younger brother/older sister relationship [with] lots of poking fun!,” and this series certainly proves it. Augie’s recreations have compared Calvin Klein’s to diapers, six-packs to tiny tummies, and pearly white smiles to toothless grins.

You can keep up to date on Augie’s toddler modeling career via Instagram.

18-month-old Augie impersonates his male model uncle in a series of adorable photos.

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Augie and Aris: Instagram
h/t: [Hello Giggles]

All images via @babyandthebody.

Related Articles:

Adorable 2-Year-Old Directs Nanny to Pose Just Like Him

Charming Portraits of Kids Recreating Popular SNL Characters

Adorable Toddler Dresses in the Cutest Costumes Leading Up to Halloween

The post Adorable Toddler Recreates His Uncle’s Sultry Modeling Photos appeared first on My Modern Met.

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“Without Extinction is Liberty”

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Without extinction is Liberty! without retrograde is Equality!
They live in the feelings of young men, and the best women;
Not for nothing have the indomitable heads of the earth
been always ready to fall for Liberty.

—from Walt Whitman’s “As I Sat Alone by Blue Ontario’s Shores”

One of the most famous and successful campaigns in the history of American civic protest is celebrating its centennial this year. Organized by suffragist leader Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party, the “Silent Sentinels” began their vigil outside the White House gates on January 1917, maintaining their presence there every day but Sundays for the next two and a half years — until the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed and women across America had the vote. The Silent Sentinel picket is regarded as the first organized protest conducted at the White House.

Some 2,000 arrived from across the nation to take Sentinel shifts, each of them given a pin inscribed “Without Extinction Is Liberty,” from Whitman’s poem. Aware that their actions were not only controversial but potentially dangerous, the women were committed to an orderly, placards-only presence. At first, President Woodrow Wilson seemed merely bemused, his only response to “Mr. President, what will you do for woman suffrage?” a tip of the hat or an invitation to tea (always refused). But after the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, the placards began to ask “Kaiser Wilson” how he dared call for liberty in Germany yet refuse to grant it at home, provoking antagonistic, pro-Wilson onlookers to disrupt and harass the suffragists. Taking these disturbances as their justification, the police began arresting the Sentinels for “obstruction of traffic,” punishable by fine or jail time (jail always chosen).

The Silent Sentinel protest reached a crisis point on October 20, 1917, when Alice Paul herself was arrested, imprisoned, and, when she refused to eat, force-fed. In Alice Paul: Claiming Power, J. D. Zahniser and Amelia R. Fry profile a woman who “became the soul and guiding spirit of the final years of the American suffrage movement” because she “publicly held politicians’ feet to the fire” and “made suffrage ‘cool,’ at least for the young and the young at heart.” A week after Paul’s arrest, 20,000 women marched through the streets of New York, carrying their own Silent Sentinel placards. The march and the escalating mistreatment of the imprisoned Sentinels soon had Wilson backed into a corner, and on January 9, 1918 — on the eve of the first anniversary the Silent Sentinels setting up their White House protest — he announced his endorsement of the Nineteenth Amendment.

In The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars, Dava Sobel tells the fascinating story of how, even as the suffragists were marching and protesting for equality, some women were quietly gaining it. From inception, the Harvard Observatory hired women as “human computers,” charged with processing astronomical data. Annie Jump Cannon, a member of Paul’s National Women’s Party, was one of the Harvard women who went far beyond a processing role, earning international recognition for devising classification systems and observational principles still in use today. One of Cannon’s colleagues was Williamina Fleming, a Scottish immigrant and single mother who went from being a maid in the household of Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard Observatory, to such eminence that she was asked to speak at the Congress on Astronomy and Astrophysics at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. “While we cannot maintain that in everything woman is man’s equal,” said Fleming in her talk, “yet in many things her patience, perseverance and method make her his superior.”

As told in Nathalia Holt’s Rise of the Rocket Girls and Margot Lee Shetterley’s Hidden Figures, a new generation of female human computers made similarly pioneering contributions to the aeronautics industry during and after World War II. The African-American math whizzes of Hidden Figures were forced to fight for equality on two fronts, given that they were segregated in their own building. Their achievement, says Shetterley in her Epilogue, offers encouragement to those who might otherwise “look into the national mirror to see no reflection at all, no discernible fingerprint on what is considered history with a capital H”:

There’s something about this story that seems to resonate with people of all races, ethnicities, genders, ages, and backgrounds. It’s a story of hope, that even among some of our country’s harshest realities — legalized segregation, racial discrimination — there is evidence of the triumph of meritocracy, that each of us should be allowed to rise as far as our talent and hard work can take us.

The post “Without Extinction is Liberty” appeared first on The Barnes & Noble Review.

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There’s a lot to do at Congaree National Park in South Carolina….

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There’s a lot to do at Congaree National Park in South Carolina. Whether you prefer paddling Cedar Creek, roughing it on a backcountry camping trip, fishing in oxbow lake, having a picnic, joining a ranger-led “Owl Prowl” or just taking a short stroll on the boardwalk, the park is ready to welcome you. Photo by National Park Service.