If you could change anything about your job, what would it be?

Do you want a savvier office or a bigger holiday allowance? Perhaps you’d like more mentorship or opportunities to develop new skills. Are you thinking about getting a fatter paycheque at the end of each month?

Whatever it is that you want, there’s a good chance you won’t get it easily- unless you know the best tricks in persuading your boss. If that is the case, here’s a quick guide to help you out.

Understand Their Point of View

Before you ask for anything, work out why you haven’t already been given it. Mapping out your boss’ mindset on this issue is important since it can help you find a way to counter his arguments.

Generally, you know your boss well enough to get a feel of how he thinks, especially when it comes to making big decisions. Despite this, make sure you still ask him. As long as you frame your request in a neutral, non-accusatory manner, he should be happy to answer your questions.

Collect Compelling Counter-Evidence

To get what you want, you need to be able to show your boss both that it’s a good idea and that any concerns your boss may have won’t be a problem. This involves collecting evidence.

If you’re looking for a career or salary boost, you need to prove you deserve it. Hunt down performance reports, output statistics, glowing reviews from clients and so forth. Similarly, if you want support for a new way of working, then find reputable studies and surveys that can back up your idea.

See Also: 5 Tips On How To Negotiate Your Salary

Present It As A Benefit To Them

As wonderful and deserving as you undoubtedly are, if the work change you crave only benefits you, it won’t be on top of your boss’ list of priorities.

If you can find a way to present it as a gain for the business, he’s going to be keen to hear you out. Bosses are almost generally keen about enhancing the productivity of their workforce and the monetary gains of their business. If you can argue that your suggestion will create improvements in those areas, you’re likely to be a winner.

Make It Easy To Implement

By this point, you should have built such a persuasive case that your boss is, at least, open to considering the idea. However, managers are busy people and if you let your boss go away without giving it much thought, it’s possible that he’ll find the idea too ambitious.

See Also: 6 Ways to Recognise a Really Bad Manager

To stop this from happening, lay out a quick and easy way to put your idea into practice and volunteer yourself for any of the required legwork. Talk about how the transition from your current position would work and how any predictable problems that are likely to crop up would be surmounted.

Make It Time-Limited And Reversible

One of the reasons why all of us, including managers, are so scared of change is that it can be difficult to correct if anything goes wrong. To encourage your boss to be bold, suggest that you run your idea for a trial period first.

This will give you and your boss enough time to see if the project will work for the business. Trial periods are much easier to agree to. They’re easy to extend, too.

Allowing your boss to backtrack might seem like a risk, but it makes the initial agreement much more likely. As long as you can prove that your idea will work, it’s unlikely that your boss will force you to revert back to your previous position or working condition.

Play Devil’s Advocate

No matter how persuasive your argument is, your boss is still likely to throw some criticism at your idea to check its value. Avoid getting caught off-guard by assessing your own idea first. Finding the holes in your proposal can give you the opportunity to prepare either a solution to a potential problem or a convincing reason why the benefits still outweigh the cons.

It can actually be an effective technique to bring up some of these negatives while talking to your boss. It’ll show that you’ve seriously considered all angles and analysed the proposal thoroughly

The post How To Get Your Boss To Agree To Anything You Want appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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When I was in high school, my careers adviser said I should become a mailman. In the end, I have been everything — from a riding instructor, librarian, salesman at Toys R Us, to a children’s entertainer. I even became an ice cream alchemist.

To be honest, I’m still not quite decided on what I want to do when I grow up. I’m 45 years old and I still think growing up is over rated!

I saw an infographic from Graduation Source about some of the leading careers and how to achieve them. This made me want to investigate more. Here are, in my opinion, the five top uncommon jobs in the US and what you need to do to get them.

Flavorologist

Love food and have a perfect sense of taste? Maybe you could become a flavorologist, a professional employed to taste and assess food. If this interests you, you can follow the footsteps of John Harrison, a Master Ice Cream Taster for Edy’s Grand Ice Cream.

John ensures that each batch of their delicious ice cream is up to scratch. He spends time working in the lab to create new and exciting flavors. His working day involves up to five hours of tasting up to twenty flavors of ice cream. His work is so important that the company have his valuable taste buds insured for $1 million.

Flavorologists or food scientists who work for major food manufacturers can earn up to $60,000 per year, according to Payscale data.

Of course, it is not all lovely foods like ice cream. Spare a thought for Philip Wells, a professional dog food taster for natural dog food manufacturer Lily’s Kitchen. Phillip says that the worst part of the job is not the taste but the deadlines.

Snoozeahologist (Professional Sleeper)

If you find it hard to resist your bed, then the role of a professional sleeper is an option for you. There are a number of medical schools who require people to sleep for medical trials and it can let you earn over $10,000. The only downside is that you have to be wired up to a range of medical devices to track your sleep patterns.

If you find the wires uncomfortable, there are some hotels who hire people to sleep. Take, for example, the Hotel Finn in Helsinki. They advertised for a dynamic individual who would spend time sleeping in each of its 35 rooms.

As the hotel stated, “This person will share their thoughts, adventures and experiences of living in the best spot of summery Helsinki.”  It may seem simple, but the successful candidate must know how to speak English, Finnish and Russian.

Figures on Simply Hired suggest that a professional sleeper could earn on average of $61,586 per year. It’s not a bad figure for a job that requires its worker to rest.

Movie Star

If the idea of being in the big screen attracts you, then you should consider getting into one of the major acting programs today. One good example is the Julliard or Yale School of Drama.

Apart from developing your skills, you should also consider moving to one of the major cities where the film industry is booming, such as New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Even the big stars have to live near the industry if they want to have work regularly.

Additionally, you will need to join SAG-Aftra, the union which represents professional actors. Without this, you will not be able to work on union projects. You’ll need a portfolio, too.

Ensure you look for as many opportunities as you can. This may include attending open casting sessions, trying out for a supporting role or working behind the scenes.

The average salary of SAG-Aftra union members is around $53,423. With luck, you could earn more than this rate, like Jackie Chan who earned over $61 million last year.

Anesthesiologist

A survey by the United States Department of Labour has shown that over half the professionals in the top paid jobs in the US are in the healthcare industry. Anesthesiologists take the top spot with the highest salary averaging over $246,000 per year.

Anesthesiologists are medical doctors who are responsible for the safety of patients before, during and after surgery. Before they receive their license to practice, they need to take a long educational program which can last up to twelve years.

This includes a four-year undergraduate degree, followed by at least four years at medical school and then a four-year anesthesiology residency program. This can be followed by an additional fellowship year or specialist training.

There are over thirty thousand anesthesiologists in the United States. Over the next five years, the numbers can increase by as much as 18%. If the job sounds appealing to you, study hard today. It might be your career in the next coming years.

Astronaut

The stars and sky don’t fascinate everyone. Furthermore, not everyone has the desire to leave the planet to explore.

This is what makes Clayton C. Anderson different from most people. Clayton was an astronaut and previous resident of the international space station for 152 days. In his book, “An Ordinary Spaceman”, he explains that when he started as an astronaut candidate, he earned $90,000. When he retired, he was on a salary of $150,000.

Despite the digits, being an astronaut is not always about the money. As British astronaut Tim Peake said of space travel, “Living and working on board the International Space Station is the best place you could be as a professional.”

So, how do you become an astronaut? NASA’s basic requirements involve:

• Receiving a bachelor’s degree from a university accredited for mathematics, engineering or physical science. In addition to this, you’ll need a three-year professional experience or at least 1,000 hours of being a pilot in charge of a jet aircraft.
• Being physically fit. Applicants must have a distance visual acuity of 20/200 correctable to 20/20 for both eyes and a blood pressure reading of 140/90 (to be taken while in sitting position).
• Having a height of 58.5 inches to 76 inches.

Applying as an astronaut isn’t as easy as being able to pass these requirements. Once you pass the primary assessment, you’ll need to go through a rigorous selection process and training program. After that, you’ll need to go through a week-long interview process.

If, and only if, you pass all of these, you will have to undertake a 2-year program which involves training and evaluation. This includes spending time in a zero-g simulator known as ‘vomit comet’. It’s a plane that climbs high before taking a free-fall. Unfortunately, not all people can pass this test without feeling ill.

The chances of being an astronaut are somewhat slim. At the time of writing, there are no astronaut jobs being advertised on the NASA job site and the last intake was in 2015.

However, if you persevere, you could still join the 536 people who have been in space. Study hard and give the astronaut selection office a call at 281-483-5907 and ask them if you can fly into space!

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There is much more to web designing than just plain aesthetics. For it to be successful, you also have to make sure your content is as attractive as your website’s design.

Your customers would not be visiting your site to admire and be awestruck by its visual appearance. They are paying your site a visit to learn and gain something from it.

In case you are wondering, here are some of the best web design strategies you can use in boosting your site’s view.

Pay Attention To Conversions

Conversion involves the transition of a casual visitor to a paying visitor. For this to happen, you have to consider every part of your site’s design.

Here are some design tips from the professionals:

• Images must always be fascinating, of high-quality and truly unique.
• Color scheme must be vibrant and eye-catching.
• Text must be used for messaging and for delivering instructions, descriptions, and labels.
• Navigation must be smooth throughout your website.

These are just a few of the elements that can help you get successful conversions. Fundamentally speaking, every part and element of your site’s design is an integral factor that can boost customer conversion.

To get started, you should get in touch with a professional web designer and talk about your website’s objectives. You should discuss precisely what modifications can help you attain your goals.

Allow Some White Space

A good website design should cleverly utilize white space. It should be deliberately and purposely designed all around images, call-to-action buttons and texts.

Spacing is a crucial part of web design, too. Web designers must avoid the use of excessive spaces, particularly on their homepage. Do not treat your homepage as a newspaper because people aren’t used to reading website content the way they are used to reading printed materials.

Keep in mind that there should be adequate spacing between the various elements of your page. This ensures an enjoyable reading experience. Moreover, they help put emphasis on the most important parts. Good sense and use of timing and effective spacing are vital in this context.

Focus Should Be On Typography

Amazing pictures and awesome videos may get a lot of admiration online but the web is basically all about text. You should pay a lot more attention to your website’s typography. In addition to having a wide range of fonts, you should also know how to utilize them.

Web designers must possess sound typography skills for creating successful website designs. They must know how to choose the perfect font color, size and weight. They should also be aware of how the right spacing can make their design a lot more impressive.

Conclusion

You must always aim to make a long lasting impression to your site’s visitors. Obviously, you wouldn’t want visitors to easily forget your site. One way you can achieve this is by infusing an element or a touch of fun into their experience.

A website could be both professional and fun. Just make sure that you won’t get carried away while creating your design.

See Also: The Essential Elements of Modern Web Design

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Are you saving for your retirement?

If you haven’t been able to start saving for retirement, or if you have no savings at all, you are not alone. The number of Americans who have no cash in the bank to fall back on is staggering

According to a Federal Reserve report, almost 30% of Americans report having a zero balance, and 62% have less than $1,000 in savings.

In fact, nearly half of Americans couldn’t cover a $400 emergency expense without borrowing the money or selling something.

Another survey by GOBankingRates.com claimed that an additional 21% report having no savings account whatsoever.

In terms of saving for retirement, 36% have yet to begin keeping away money for retirement.

The importance of saving for your retirement cannot be overemphasized. Retirement saving is what will see you through your golden age. Saving for retirement is not optional; it is something that everybody ought to take seriously.

If you’re interested in saving more towards your retirement, below are simple hacks to boost your retirement savings:

Put Your Savings on Autopilot and Pay Yourself First

Simplify your retirement savings by placing it on auto pilot. It isn’t easy to make rational decisions with money, so, the simplest way to save for your retirement is by setting up an automatic transfer of money from your paycheck to your savings account.

A study by Prudential Financial Inc., a New Jersey financial services firm discovered that 66% of workers between the ages of 21 to 30 would like to be automatically registered in a defined-contribution plan at work, such as a 401(k) or 403(b).

An automatic retirement saving plan will ensure that a part of your paycheck will go to your savings account without you having to think about it. More importantly, it will give you the benefits of paying yourself first.

Work Longer

Increasing your working hour as well as prolonging your retirement is a simple hack to earn more and save more.

27% of Americans want to keep working as long as possible. Similarly, Another 12% said they don’t plan to retire at all, according to a 2015 Federal Reserve study.

You will get more money for every overtime hours you spend on the job. This extra money can be channeled to your retirement savings, which can become quite substantial in the long run.

However, never work longer at the expense of your health. Use only a few hours in a week for overtime job.

Pile Up Your Extra Funds

When you get a raise, a tax refund or any other unexpected money the wise thing to do is to contribute a large part of it to your retirement savings. A report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch found out that Millennia’s, aged 21-34, were more involved in increasing their retirement contribution rates during the first half of 2016 than any other age group.

According to Stephen Chen, founder of New Retirement Inc, “Even just putting away $10 or $20 a paycheck will make a difference, and will get you into the habit of saving,”

Don’t Get Distracted by Debt

Substantial debt can be a huge obstacle to savings and investment. If you are already in debt, you will need a good debt repayment system to help you get out and keep you focused.

Even so, you shouldn’t allow debts to distract you from your retirement saving plan. You should always pay yourself first before paying any bills. This is made easier when you automate your retirement savings.

See Also: 5 Ways to Help Get Out of Debt

Cut Down On Living Expenses

Make use of effective budgeting to cut down on your monthly expenses. Cutting down on expenses doesn’t mean going to live in the woods; it only means adopting some cut saving behaviors like buying in bulk, using coupons, switching to a more cost-effective brand, making more use of your DIY skills, sticking to your budget, etc.

See Also: 7 Ways to Live Within Your Means

There are many other ways to increase your retirement savings, especially for late starters which you can consider. The challenge to retirement saving isn’t in knowledge, but in turning that knowledge into significant results.

Saving for retirement requires you to translate the retirement saving hacks into actionable rules that will help you achieve your goal. If you are able to follow these simple hacks, you’ll have a comfortable retirement savings to fall back on when you no longer have the capacity to work.

 

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Everyone makes mistakes. The recent mistakes in the media with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway announcing the wrong movie for the Best Picture at the 2017 Oscars and Steve Harvey’s slip-up when he said the wrong name for Miss Universe 2015 are reminders that no one is perfect.

Some mistakes are easier to move past while others will go on to live forever. Whether your mistake is huge or just a tiny error, here are five ways that can help you with overcoming mistakes.

Be honest about what happened

Telling big or even little white lies to cover up a mistake can just put you into a downhill spiral. If a mistake has been made, take the hit and be responsible for what happened.

While it may be difficult to admit your error and feel foolish, these reactions are just short-lived. Lying to cover up the mistake will just create more problems in the long run.

Don’t beat yourself up over it

It’s normal to feel ashamed or embarrassed for a short period of time after making a mistake. You shouldn’t live on it or continue to build it up in your mind. You eventually have to accept it and move on. Keep in mind that the quicker you can accept it, the quicker you can recover.

Find an outlet that works for you to relieve stress. Talk to a friend or coworker, go for a quick walk around the building or journal your thoughts to give you some perspective and release.

See Also: 9 Ways We Can Reduce Our Stress Level

Apologize

Some people think that saying “I’m sorry” is a form of weakness, but it’s actually just the opposite. It shows that you can take responsibility for your actions and are willing to admit your mistakes. Whether you offended a friend or missed a deadline at work, apologizing takes courage and shows the other party that you understand what went wrong and you want to move on from it.

See Also: 5 Ways to Say Sorry

Put the mistake in perspective

Whether the mistake was a minor slip-up or a large-scale error, put it in perspective. There may be consequences to your actions, but think about how this mistake will affect you in 1, 5 or even 10 years.

Chances are, it won’t. If it is a life-altering mistake, then consider seeking counseling to help you cope with the consequences.

Learn from it

Take the blunders you make as a learning opportunity. Think about how the mistake happened.

Were you trying to get things done too fast? Were you sleep deprived? Had you had too much to drink?

Identify the factors that caused the mistake and think about what you can do differently next time to avoid doing it again.

Give yourself some grace and know that one mistake probably won’t derail your life or career. You are human and we all make mistakes. Some mistakes can even be turned into opportunities or used as motivation to do better going forward.

The most important thing when it comes to overcoming mistakes is to be smart about how you respond to them.

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Confidence is a trait we are all born with. However, although innate, there are still factors that can make us feel shy and not so sure of ourselves. Because of this, one still needs to connect with confidence.

As children, we’re natural performers. We tend to relish any opportunity to dance, sing and play. We’re not concerned yet with the opinions of others and we can still express ourselves enthusiastically!

I remember one sunny day in primary school. I must have been only 6 or 7 years old during that time. My classmates and I were in the stuffy classroom.

Out of my seat, I was standing up and dancing, giving an impromptu performance to the children who sat at my table. Their hands were over their mouths to cover the high-pitch giggling but it was too late. Miss Clack, our teacher, had caught on to our mischief and was now angrily pacing towards our table.

Glaring down at me she (regrettably) asked, “William! I don’t suppose you wish to show your little performance to the WHOLE class, do you?”. I imagined Miss Clack had expected me to respond with a “No, Miss” as my pale cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. I very much doubt she thought I’d take her up on her offer. But I did…

A few moments later, with a smile on my face, I was dancing in the middle of the classroom. The whole class, including Miss Clack, were in stitches. William, 1. Miss Clack, 0.

Sadly, for many of us, by the time we reach adulthood, it feels like our confidence has taken a bit of a bashing. Teachers, friends, family and our failed romances leave us feeling disconnected from our confidence. This was certainly my experience.

Even though at times we may feel we have no confidence left, let me assure you, we do. Confidence is always inside us, ready to shine.

So, what can we do to connect with confidence again? Here are my top 3 tips.

Stand like a Soldier (Dressing in army attire is optional)

We all know how our feelings affect the way we use our body. You don’t have to be a body language expert to look at someone and accurately know how they feel.

By observing a person’s posture, gestures and facial expressions, you can determine his emotions.

Feel this for yourself! For the next 7 days, make a conscious effort to stand tall, have your shoulders back and your chest upwards. It may help to imagine a chord being pulled upwards directly from your head and spine.

At first, this may feel awkward so many of us (myself included) have a tendency to slouch. But, by standing upright, you will not just feel more confident; it can also help relieve your body tension.

Do at least one thing that scares you every day

I once had a conversation with a young man who told me ‘I just don’t have any confidence’. I replied by asking ‘How confident are you about that’? The young man smiled back at me before thinking about his answer.

I could almost see the cogs spinning around in his head as he gained an insight into this simple truth: We are all confident. We just don’t always have confidence in ourselves.

So how can we gain more confidence in ourselves?

Do at least one thing that scares you every day. Every time we take action, despite feeling fear, we’re growing our comfort zone.

We’re changing the story of what we believe is possible for us. And when you’ve done this for a little while, you’ll find yourself feeling more connected with your confidence.

What’s important here is not the result of doing what scares you; it’s the action. It’s the message you send yourself.

See Also: 3 Actionable Steps To Help You Overcome Fears

At the start of each day, visualize

This final tip only takes 30 seconds and can be completed even before you’ve left bed in the morning.

With your eyes closed, see yourself moving through the day with total confidence. Notice how you look (Tip 1), how you sound, and how it feels to live connected with confidence.

Imagine the interactions you will have with your family or colleagues and any important actions you have to take (Tip 2). This mental rehearsal sets up how you desire to show up each day. The final step is to open your eyes and do your best to create the day you visualized.

See Also: How Your Mental Health Depends On Your Confidence

The post 3 Tips You Can Use Right Now To Connect With Your Confidence appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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You wake up early morning and decide that you are going to work your ass off today. You glue yourself to your desk, put your mind to the task, and manage to squeeze 16 hours without taking rest breaks at work! You do that for three days at a stretch.

What happens the next day? Your productivity level drops.

Taking wise, pre-planned breaks is one of the least harnessed (but the most essential) tools inside an entrepreneur’s productivity toolbox. If you are still not buying the idea, here are 3 good reasons why taking rest breaks at work is more important than the actual tasks.

Breaks trigger your brain’s diffuse mode

Studies show that your brain works in two complementary but contrasting modes: the focused and the diffused.

From a layman’s perspective, the focused mode is when concentrated thinking takes place. It happens when a person gives his full attention to the task at hand. The diffused mode, on the other hand, is more of a relaxing state where you just work with the flow.

Interestingly, your brain can never be in both states at the same time.

When you take a break, your mind enters into a diffuse mode. This mode tends to create a room for creativity and is usually where most of the revolutionary ideas pop.

Studies show that being in the focused mode for excessive periods often leads to “Einstellung effect”. It’s a phenomenon where you find yourself stuck in a problem because your mind is pre-programmed to solve it in a pre-defined manner.

Imagine this:

Your car has to pass through an under-bridge that is an inch shorter than your car’s height. How do you solve the problem? While most intellectual engineers crack their heads to get it done, a child might simply point out that puncturing the tires would do the job.

Is the child smarter than those professionals?

The smartest of the engineers would probably restrict themselves into thinking about the mechanics of the car or the construction of the bridge simply because their brains are wired into thinking that way.

The above illustration is a perfect example of how Einstellung tremendously impacts our ability to produce innovative thoughts.

So how do you avoid this deadly effect?

Avoid staying in the focused mode for too long. Whenever you feel drowned in your thoughts, go outside for a few minutes to take a break.

It helps free your working memory

Your brain has a “working memory” constituting of everything you’re thinking of at the moment. Most of us have roughly four slots of that memory available while some people can have as many as nine.

When you think of something, it occupies your working memory before moving to the long-term space. It is pretty obvious that your working space can get filled easily if you always do deep work.

Have you ever felt frustrated after working for long hours at a stretch? Overloaded working memory is the culprit.

Taking rest breaks at work helps your mind assimilate these thoughts and move them to the long term space, thereby freeing up your valuable slots.

Tip: Consider writing down pending tasks at hand before taking a break. This would take away the pain of having to recall the tasks.

See Also: 5 Top Weird Brain Facts

You feed yourself some love

When you take a break, you stand a chance to open yourself up to the world. You get to observe the scenic, innate beauty of nature as you take a walk in the park.

You get to realize how blessed you are to have a loving family and a friends’ circle. More importantly, it will help you realize how beautiful life is.

Recent studies reveal that emotional intelligence (EQ) might be more important than your IQ for your success. And how do you develop your EQ? Simple, you just have to steal some of your working hours to interact with the world.

I hope this article helped you in understanding the importance of taking regular rest breaks at work and not overworking yourself.

What do you do while taking breaks? What is your favorite recreation activity?

See Also: 10 Brain Damaging Activities You Need To Stop Doing Now

 

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There are people who hate writing while others have no interest in selling their skills or products. Despite these differences, I still believe everyone can benefit from having a blog.

Here are seven good reasons to start a blog today.

It’s the easiest way to market yourself

A blog is a brilliant marketing tool for both business owners looking to attract customers and employees hoping to impress future employers.

It provides a simple way to demonstrate your knowledge of a certain subject. It’s a fantastic platform to show off your passions.

Passionate people are attractive. So, as personal brands become increasingly important in the business world, a blog can really make you stand out from the crowd.

See Also: How Online Blogging Is Influencing Business Trends

It’s a great way to channel your creative desires

Everyone has a natural desire to be creative. Some turn this into a career while others channel it as a casual hobby.

Writing is much of an art as it is a means of communication. It’s a great outlet for self-expression.

It brings satisfaction of building something from scratch

When you start blogging, you’ll be terrible. You’ll have no audience and you’ll feel like it’s a waste of time.

Stick at it though and continue writing meaningful content. Market it relentlessly and you’ll soon be celebrating all sorts of milestones.

Once your writing improves, traffic will slowly build. Before you know it, you’re already an established blogger.

There’s nothing more satisfying than slowly improving at a skill, especially when you’re building from scratch. It’s one of the reasons why so many people practice sports and musical instruments.

It ensures flow state

Flow state is the sensation that occurs when you’re so absorbed in a task that nothing else seems to matter.

Your sense of self disappears and time seems to pass quicker. When your performance levels improve, you’ll find it as an addictive feeling.

This type of flow state is commonly associated with sports, like when athletes train for hours at a time. You can also reach this flow state when reading a good book, painting, knitting and, in my case, writing.

Whenever I compose a blog post, I become so immersed in trying to express my ideas and attempting to construct the sharpest sentences and metaphors. I often find myself typing into the early hours of the morning.

This isn’t because I’m desperately chasing a deadline, but because being in this flow state feels so good. When you are writing about something you are passionate about, you may find yourself in the same situation.

It forces you out of your comfort zone

There are approximately 2 million blog posts published online every day. And if you want to keep people’s attention to your post, you need to write content that will truly shock them.

This can be uncomfortable since fantastic contents typically ruffle a few feathers. It might offend people and you run the risk of getting laughed off the internet.

This necessity to push the boundaries is a positive thing. It drives you to dig deeper into certain issues and forces you to create content that truly stirs emotions.

If you write a personal blog, it can push you to live a more exciting life so embrace the awkwardness. Everything that’s truly incredible begins outside of your comfort zone.

See Also: How To Find The Best Topic For Your Blog

It can create great relationships

Blogging is a fantastic way to attract people with similar passions and beliefs. Many bloggers make lifelong friends as a result of their writing.

I first got in touch with Las Vegas club promoter Drew Schroeder because he also wrote a dating blog. We wrote a couple of guest posts for each other and kept in touch on social media.

Last year, I went to party with him in Sin City’s biggest nightclubs. That holiday remains one of the best weeks of my life.

It’s a source of passive income

Many successful bloggers make a passive income through their posts and this is one of people’s most common reasons to start a blog. This can be done either through ad networks, affiliate sales, or selling their own products.

If you’re a business owner, a popular blog can boost leads by attracting more people to your website through search engines and social media. Your leads will also be more likely to convert to customers if your blog represents a likeable brand with a superior knowledge of your niche.

Many business owners say they don’t have time to maintain a blog. I’d argue they can’t afford not to.

The post 7 Life-Enhancing Reasons To Start A Blog appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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You may be feeling overwhelmed with life, burnt out, and losing energy.

You have work commitments. Your friends want you to come out for drinks after your busy schedule. Your personal space, that you intended to tidy when you got back from work, is still cluttered.

Simply put, your plate is full.

Although you don’t want to feel this stressed out all the time, there just isn’t enough time in the day to do the things you really want to do. And it’s destroying you and your self-esteem.

The good news is that it doesn’t always have to be this way. Here are seven reasons why you’re feeling overwhelmed with life and how you can easily solve them.

Reason #1 – You are going to bed too late

I know what you’re thinking. You go to bed late because the evenings are the only time you get to yourself. I get it.

But consider this:

Going to bed late leaves you feeling sluggish and lethargic the next day. This has an impact on the rest of your day because you’ve woken up and jumped straight into your busy routine without a moment’s thought about yourself.

The Solution

Go to bed one hour earlier and wake up an hour earlier. I know it’s tempting to go to bed as late as possible and lay in as much as you can, but by waking up an hour earlier every morning, you’ll have time to care for yourself.

You can journal, meditate, read a book, or workout. Starting your day like this sets you up right for the rest of the day. No matter what happens from there on, you know you’ve already had one hour to do something meaningful and worthwhile.

See Also: Get Strong, Sleep, Repeat: The Importance Of Sleeping

Reason #2 – You are financially stretched

We live in a society where we are advertised to all day long. We are bombarded by adverts and offers constantly. You’ll feel like you just need to keep up with the latest trend or you’ll feel like you’re ‘falling behind’.

This can easily make you feel overwhelmed, especially when you don’t have the money to buy all of the latest things. It can make you feel frustrated to the point that your self-esteem gets damaged.

The Solution

Create a budget and live within your means. If you really want to buy the latest gadget or devices, save a portion of your income until you can afford to buy it without going into debt. Set aside money to pay your bills and living expenses.

If you need to spend any more money, ask yourself if it’s really a necessity. Say “no” more often to everyday situations that require spending money unless it’s something that’s really important. The reason why you’re financially overwhelmed is because you’re not yet disciplined enough to say no. You’ve been conditioned to spend your money.

Reason #3 – You are socially bombarded

So you’ve had a busy day at work. You can’t wait to get home, grab something to eat, and put your feet up. Then out of nowhere, your phone rings. It’s your best friend. She wants to go out for a couple of drinks to celebrate her promotion. You accept and tell yourself that it’s alright and you’ll have time for yourself at the end of the evening when you return home.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to resist your Whatsapp and Facebook messages that you end up laying in bed for hours and replying to your friends’ messages. No wonder you wake up feeling so lethargic and unmotivated.

The Solution

There’s nothing wrong with socializing with friends. But when you really don’t want to, just say no. Saying yes when you really mean no can only make you feel more overwhelmed.

Set an arrangement with yourself to put your phone on the other side of your bedroom at a certain time of night. For me, that’s 10:00 pm. That provides me some time to brush my teeth, get into bed and read a book before turning in for the night.

Reason #4 – Your personal environment is ‘visually noisy’

If your personal space is untidy and cluttered, it can create all sorts of disordered thoughts and feelings even if you don’t realize it. A pile of books on the nightstand, a countertop full of dishes and random items cluttered together on the dining room table can make you feel more stressed out.

Just looking at and being around all those things can release the stress hormone Cortisol. It can make you feel tired and unmotivated.

The Solution

Select one area of your physical space that you want to tidy up and start there. It might be your nightstand, dining room table, or your desk. It doesn’t matter where you start – just start somewhere.

Once you’ve tidied away the clutter and got rid of any trash, you need to maintain a habit of tidying your space so that things won’t build up again. It can be as simple as putting a book back on the shelf or putting a cup in the sink rather than leaving it empty on the table. Make a point of being mindful about this every day and notice how different you feel as a result.

Reason #5 – You don’t have a calendar

Or maybe you do, but it’s poorly organized. One of the biggest causes of stress and overwhelm is the feeling of not being in control of your time. It’s really easy to give away chunks of your time to those who request it even when you don’t want to. As a result, you’ll end up feeling like you’re doing everything for everyone else and neglecting your own needs. It can lead to burnout and feelings of resentment.

The Solution

Take back control of your time! Get yourself a calendar and block in your most important and non-negotiable activities, such as work or medical appointments. Next, set appointments with yourself. Use this time to do what’s meaningful to you.

It just comes down to saying no and guarding your time wisely. It doesn’t always mean that you won’t help anybody. You just need to have self-respect to dedicate some time to your own development and to do things that make you feel happy and fulfilled.

Reason #6 – You lack self-perspective

Self-perspective is the ability to look at your life objectively without attaching emotions to it. When daily life is stifling you and you feel overwhelmed by everything, it’s really hard to zoom out and see the big picture.

The Solution

This is where a couple of dots are connected. By either 1) getting up and hour earlier or 2) putting your phone on the other side of your bedroom before you get into bed, you are giving yourself that time to reflect. If you like to journal, then this provides a great opportunity to zoom out objectively and be honest about what you see.

Reason #7 – You lack self-awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to go inward to feel what’s going on inside you, rather than what’s going on outside of you. When you lack self-awareness, you aren’t connecting with your feelings. Essentially, you are ignoring the warning signs that your body is giving to you. This leads to you not being able to act on what your gut is telling you and that may leave you feeling trapped in certain situations or circumstances.

The Solution

This is the perfect time to start a daily meditation practice. You’ll only need ten minutes per day but this little window of time is enough to provide you with amazing benefits. You’ll be able to check in with your feelings so that you can be calmer, sharper, and much less stressed.

Imagine waking up in the morning feeling energized and eager. Imagine what it’d feel like to sail through the day with confidence. You know exactly where your life is going.

Feeling overwhelmed sucks. However, once you know the things that make you feel overwhelmed with life, you can easily resolve the issues and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your life will change.

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

You can step off at any time. You are in control.

The post 7 Reasons Why Life Is Overwhelming You (And How To Fix Them) appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

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It’s true. Life is complicated.

From time to time, we face difficulties we think we can’t cope with. While it might sound strange, there are instances where writing therapy can help. In fact, it’s one of the most effective means to improve a person’s internal state.

In the article below, I’ll give you some tips on how to turn writing into medicine.

Universal Cure

Writing is a psychotherapeutic tool- no doubt about it. Writing about your life can make you feel better. What is important here is not only the presentation of your thoughts on the paper, but also your attitude to what you’re writing.

It doesn’t matter if you write on paper or type on a computer. It should be more about how writing makes you feel.

See Also: 3 Writing Techniques to Increase your Self-Esteem

Pennebaker’s Studies

About 30 years ago, James Pennebaker, a professor at the University of Texas, found out that when someone writes about his experiences, that person is able to relieve stress and improve his mental and physical health.

Since that observation, the professor has published more than 300 papers on the subject, which is more than enough to test the effectiveness of any psychological practice.

In his first study, Pennebaker worked with two groups of people: control and experimental. Each participant came to an empty room, where there was a table on which lay a sheet of paper, a pen, and the task. The control group wrote about something ordinary and insignificant like, for example, what they ate for breakfast. The experimental group disclosed something exciting and meaningful that they had never told anyone before.

The experiment lasted four days. As a result, the people who had written on everyday topics had no changes over the course of the experiment. However, those who had shared difficult situations and moments of life were able to relieve stress. The results showed that they took drugs two times less often and sought medical assistance less than before the experiment.

Pennebaker’s Conclusion

Everyone has a need to speak about his life and share events and ideas with other people. If there’s no time or suitable companion, then that person feels the need to restrain his feelings and thoughts. This type of self-restriction often leads to chronic stress which, in turn, causes physical illnesses.

Writing about something meaningful for 15 minutes a day helps even in severe cases. Studies have shown that asthmatics experienced reduced number and intensity of attacks. Patients who have rheumatoid arthritis felt less pain while patients with cancer were less likely to wake up at night.

The greatest thing about this method of relieving stress and pain is that it’s not hard to get used to. Unlike conventional drugs that may or may not help you, writing is free and has no side effects. With how beneficial it is, writing therapy is now considered as a great way to relieve stress in hospitals, prisons and schools.

How to Write to Feel Better

Writing, undoubtedly, is a powerful tool. Despite the benefits it offers, it can still cause you to hurt yourself, especially if you aren’t really aware of how to use it properly for stress relief.

Pennebaker suggested that you first write expressively and then reflexively.

Writing expressively means that you write with the flow of your feelings and you express without self-censorship. It involves writing feelings in all their complexity and honesty. That is to write them as they are.

There is no need to write formally and neatly. It doesn’t even have to be fully thought out. The key point is to catch what worries you in the moment.

Then, after a short break, you take a step back and look at the written text from a different perspective. Try to read it again objectively. By this time, you should be out of the flow of your feelings which means you’ll be able to analyze what you’ve written.

Determine what feelings came to you and how you feel after reading your notes. This may push you towards some reflections, self-dialogue and self-assessment.

To make sure you won’t worry about other people reading your writing and then be able to use it against you, you should also think about how you will keep your records (if you decide to keep them) so as not to expose yourself to such a danger.

One tip to make writing easier is to act as if you are talking to someone. It can be a friend or even God. When you write about your life and what is significant for you, it is best to present yourself as you are, with all the emotions that you feel.

Another thing that you should be aware of is that diving too deep into unpleasant and uncomfortable thoughts and feelings won’t bring anything good to you. If ever you find yourself in such state, you have to know how to “float” back to reality and the present situation.

Writing therapy can be applied not only when you have problems. You can also write about something joyful or exciting to encourage and motivate yourself.

See Also: How Positive Writing Will Help You To Live a Happier Life

Structuring in Writing

Structuring is another important factor to consider when writing. To understand what this is, let us first consider the opposite approach.

Many are familiar with “The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity” by Julia Cameron. Cameron talks about free writing. It’s when you write for 30 minutes about what you have in mind at the moment, without any particular method or order. You can refer to it as non-structured writing.

Kathleen Adams, a Director of the Institute of Writing Therapy, conducted a study on the importance of structuring as opposed to free writing. She found out that the stronger the stress, the more the person needs structure when writing.

Therefore, if you have an excessive amount of stress, the best method is to set the timer for 5-6 minutes. During this time, it is very difficult to hurt yourself seriously but it is enough to help you get out as much emotions and thoughts as possible.

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