Walk around Rivne, a town of a quarter-million people in western Ukraine, a four-hour drive from Kiev, and you could easily get the impression that things are going far better than the country’s official statistics indicate they should be. To a certain extent this is not surprising: economists calculate that between 40 and 50 percent of Ukraine’s economy is off the books, because so much of it is cash-based and it is easy to evade taxes. But a closer look at Rivne tells another story. Along with lots of new houses, one sees fancy new SUVs driven by beefy, shaven-headed men who are accompanied by glamorous high-heeled girls—one of many indications of the extent to which the town has been taken over by organized crime.
Author: signordal
These are the major hotspots where the US military is deployed…
An Amazing Coastal House in New Zealand
This wonderful building is located in Dunedin, South Island, New Zealand. In an area surrounded by towering hills and at the foot of a beautiful harbor, Dunedin is one of the best-preserved Victorian and Edwardian cities in the Southern Hemisphere. Its main attraction are the wonderful views of the circling mountains. Its modern structure of wavy lines fits perfectly with the landscape and seems to be embedded in it naturally…
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Farewell by saragarzon
Here’s a moment of zen for you. A view from a sea cave reveals a…
Here’s a moment of zen for you. A view from a sea cave reveals a golden sunrise over the vast waters of Lake Superior at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin. The picturesque shoreline of brown stone and green forest radiates a feeling of peace. Breathe deep, greet the morning and then spend the day exploring this special park. Photo by Michael Dewitt (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).
Conquering Fear: Here’s How To Change Your Perspective In Life
We had this great idea: “Let’s step it up. Let’s expand and grow. Let’s play a BIG game.”
I’m talking about me & my husband, John, here.
Now, anyone who knows us will easily realize that when we say “Let’s play a BIG game.”, it’s going to be the kind of game that would send 99% of people running for the hills.
When we say that line, it means we’re going to be so far out of our comfort zone that it won’t even be visible anymore. It’ll be long gone over the horizon.
There will be no going back and everything will change. We will not be the same people after we’ve played this level of game.
And that’s scary. When you decide to play another game or when you decide to expand your life, fear sometimes paralyzes you.
The thing is, in order to be someone different and to have something different, you need to give up who you are, the things you do AND what you have now. You can’t have something else AND be the same person you were before.
If you do something new, you will never be the same person after. You now have new experiences and the whole world will be different for you.
The same goes for what’s possible or not possible for you.
Say, you decide to learn rock climbing (and I’m using this analogy because John IS a rock climber). When you first start to climb, you grab for the big holds because you’re trying to feel safe and secure. You go up a few meters and then you realize that you can’t go any further because you’ve run out of big holds.
By that time, you’re stuck.
If you want to move on and start conquering fears, you have to use smaller holds. You have to learn to trust. As your time, experience and confidence move on, you learn how to plan ahead, look for the paths and see things differently.
When you’re first learning, all you can see are the big holds. You don’t pay too much attention to the smaller, sometimes tinier, ‘holds’. You don’t consider them as something that could hold you up so you skip them.
I use the term ‘hold’ very loosely and it’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about.
I’ve watched John climb and some of those ‘holds’ are nothing more than minor waves in the rock! IMHO, there’s nothing ‘holding’ about them, but they almost always hold him up!
When John looks at a rock face now, he sees something totally different to what he saw when he first started rock climbing. Everything is different now. As far as rock climbing is concerned, John is not the same person that he was when he first began climbing.
John’s experienced some hairy moments along the way (I’ve seen some of them), but he’s learned to push himself to try new things and to expand what he can do. Each time he’s done that, he comes down knowing different things:
- He knows himself as someone who can do
- He knows that… doesn’t work
- if he sees a particular set of moves coming up, he knows that he needs to prepare for it by doing…
But, before he actually does new moves or takes a fresh route, there’s fear: What if he can’t? What if he falls off? What if he hurts himself?
John climbs with a buddy for the most part. They set up belaying ropes so if they come off, they might hurt themselves a bit, but they won’t die. So, after a while, he began to realize that if he comes off, he’ll still be able to try again and again until he can finally do it.
In other words, he knows he’s safe.
Now, rock climbing is not for everyone, myself included, but the analogy is one we can relate to:
- When we expand our lives and grow, we will not be the same person when we’ve finished
- Once we’ve done something — even just once — we realize that things look totally different from having had that experience
- Doing something new is always going to be scary. The bigger the jump in the level of difficulty, the scarier it will be.
- We are always safe. We might get a bit of an ouch, but we can learn from it and carry on.
So, we decided to play a big game. We decided to step it up massively to create a huge impact.
It’s scary. It’s an unknown territory and we don’t know how to do it.
But, from the moment we make the decision to go down that path, we’re sure that it’s the right thing to do.
The thing is, you’re not going to be able to achieve what you want to by being the person you are now. You must be someone different.
You need to give up who you know yourself to be and the things you know to be true if you want to do this new thing (like with the holds in rock climbing).
Your perspective in life must change if you’re going to see the things you need to see and achieve your goal.
And finally, this is possibly the scariest bit. You must trust that you wouldn’t feel so strongly about something if it’s impossible for you to achieve.
Remember, you put out those vibes into the universe, so everything you need in order to achieve your goal is already there. You just can’t see it by being the person you are right now. The truth is, you can only see it by being the person who has already achieved it.
Give up the fear and step into the future you know is yours.
See Also: How to Find your Buoy of Safety When You are Drowning in Fear
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Small Actions, Huge Impact
By Leo Babauta
Most people get hung up because of a few reasons:
- A task or project is too intimidating/overwhelming, so they put it off.
- Sticking to new habits is hard, so they fail after a week or two.
- Life becomes overwhelming, because there’s so much to do, so many choices.
The problems with these common situations is that we take the big picture, the overwhelming nature of it all, and use it as a reason to not do anything.
Instead, I’ve found it useful to pick one tiny action. It can change everything.
Some examples:
- I have too much to do right now, I’m overwhelmed — so I do one tiny thing. I just start a task. I just move a project along in the smallest way. I just make a list. Something that takes a minute or two — I can do that!
- I’ve fallen off a habit I was trying to start, such as meditation or exercise … and it’s causing me to not want to even think about the habit. So I just do the smallest version of the habit — can I pause for a few moments and meditate right now? Can I do a few pushups? This gets the ball rolling, and now the habit doesn’t seem that difficult. I just keep starting again, in small ways.
- I’ve been putting off a project, and I feel pretty bad about it — so I just do one small thing with the project, and now I feel a lot better. All of a sudden, I can get the project moving with small movements, small victories.
Each of these examples is so simple, so tiny — and yet their impact is bigger than most people realize. The action is small, but the impact is huge. The victory might seem trifling, but it’s actually a profound shift.
What are you stalling on? What are you overwhelmed by? What can you take a tiny action on right now?
Get an infinitessimal victory now, and see what it changes for you.
Introducing Deed Counter: An App for Tracking Your Life Stats
There is an important principle you need to remember in managing your life: “What get measured, get managed.” It means that to get something managed, first you need to measure it. Only by measuring it can you get the facts to make informed decisions.
Deed Counter is an iOS app that helps you track your life stats. You can use it to count things in your life and store the stats for your future reference.
For instance, you can use it to track how many glasses of water you drink, how many push-ups you do, how many books you read, and so on. If you want to manage a certain area of your life and it can be counted, then you can use Deed Counter to do it.
Try it for free. If you like it, you can then upgrade the app to the full version.
Solar-Powered Safari Lodge Located in Botswana, Africa
Surely for safari lovers, this hotel will be on their list of places to visit; if you truly enjoy living in constant contact with nature’s finest, there is no better way to do it than from the comfort of this hotel’s premises, which gives direct contact to nature as well as having the same soothing aspects available in the mundane world. Sandibe Safari Lodge is located in Botswana, Africa, and..
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5 Tips For Getting Maximum Value Out Of Your Quick Getaways
Short trips and quick getaways are trending. A lot of travelers today are on a tight budget and can’t make a long vacation work. Some of them are breaking up their PTO to find pockets of excitement throughout the year.
Whatever their reasons are, travelers are discovering how a quick vacation can pack just as much of a punch as an extended one.
Not only does traveling expose one to the rest of world; it also has a positive effect on a person’s mental health. Whether you’re eating a mouthwatering burger under the California sun, gazing at the Milky Way from one of Utah’s national parks, or tromping through ice caves in Icelandic glaciers, quick getaways can be rejuvenating.
By getting away multiple times each year, you’ll be able to recharge your batteries and return home with new enthusiasm and fresh ideas. So, don’t trick yourself into thinking that you can’t take a vacation because you can’t afford a big excursion or you think nobody else can do your job.
Instead, embrace the “work hard, play hard” mentality Millennials love and book your most-desired weekend getaway now.
See Also: 10 Wonderful Benefits of Traveling
Make the Most of Your Short Trip
A short trip doesn’t have to pass by too quickly. Here’s how to maximize your time, regardless of the number of days you’re going to spend in your destination
Know Your Budget
A truly memorable vacation won’t be free. However, although this is a short trip, you’d still wouldn’t want it to take too big a hit on your wallet.
Before anything else, understand how much you can spend. You know you’ll have to pay for transit and lodging, so look around for the options that can give you the most value. This way, you can leave the maximum amount of funds possible for your itinerary. Getting a ballpark of what you need to spend on lets you know how much wiggle room you have, too.
Make First Things First
When I went to Portugal, I had no plan for how I’d spend my time. Instead of getting out and exploring the country like I intended to, I ended up wasting most of my trip at the resort.
Save yourself some regret and make sure you have your must-sees and must-dos in mind for your trip. You likely have one or two activities you can’t miss or a few sights you need to see, so make those your priority. Work them into a concrete itinerary, and buy tickets or book transportation in advance if necessary.
Don’t Spend Too Much Time Getting There
No one likes to waste time in transit. Traffic, layovers and delayed airplanes can make you all the more stressed. Consider a destination you can easily reach or look into taking a red-eye flight.
Go into your trip knowing the lay of the land and how to get around. Researching what public transportation looks like or booking rental cars in advance gives you more time to do what you’re there for.
Step (or Jump) Out of Your Comfort Zone
It’s easy to get sucked into a routine. Maybe that’s part of the reason you’re traveling in the first place. Vacations can offer a break from your usual routine so take advantage of that opportunity. Plan at least one new experience alongside your must-sees.
Zip line through a rainforest. Make your own beer. Swim with stingrays. What’s more memorable than something you’ve never done before?
Don’t Get Too Itinerary-Happy
Planning for any trip is essential, but a key piece of travel is discovery. If you’ve planned out every hour of your vacation, you’ll have no room to get lost in the wonderful parts of the city or talk to the locals about their favorite restaurants.
See Also: 7 Important Things To Do To Travel Like A Local
Finding that balance is tough, especially when you’re short on time. Although making a general plan is essential, make sure you still have time to wander. You’re sure to learn something no guidebook or blog could prepare you for.
Whether your budget doesn’t allow for a two-week expedition or you’re taking a quick break between projects at work, a short trip doesn’t have to be any less memorable than a lengthy one. With some thoughtful planning (and a little room for discovery), going on quick getaways can bring experiences that stick with you for life.
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Sig Nordal 