Motivation

7 Bad Financial Habits That Are Also Terrible For The Environment

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You’re reading 7 Bad Financial Habits That Are Also Terrible For The Environment, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

Being green isn’t easy, but the effort to keep our environment safe is a moral imperative. Environmental consciousness isn’t just the right thing to do, it also saves money. Something I learned when I checked out the Bad Habit Calculator tool from Lending Tree.

The bad habits of one individual seem tiny in comparison to the larger world and it is easy to keep making poor decisions. However, when I realized these habits were costing me money, I decided to get green and keep more green in my pocket.

Here are 10 tips that will save cash and the environment at the same time.

  1. Stop Smoking — save money and stop litter

Apart from the obvious health issues, according to this New York Times article from 2009, about 30% of all litter nationwide is cigarette butts, something that adds up to around 4.5 trillion butts per year around the world. Disgusting.

If that unpleasant amount of detritus isn’t enough to make someone quit, how about that just 2 packs per week will cost you an estimated $600 per year? If you and your partner smoke that’s $1200 in dirty money. Consider a solid smoking cessation program.

2. No More Water Bottles

The 22 billion dollar a year bottled water industry is dumping approximately 1.5 million tons of plastic into the environment which does not properly degrade. With only a fraction of this being recycled, it wreaks havoc on the environment. In addition, people pay an average of 1000x for bottled water than what they would for regular tap water. What that meant for me was getting a reusable bottle — it saves me $550 a year. Easy to feel good about that.

3. Stop Buying Coffee at the Cafe

There are environmental effects of coffee consumption, but even if you’re not ready to give up your daily joe, buying coffee from vendors is definitely significantly worse for the planet. Why? This NY Magazine article suggests that just the paper cup is choking the environment. Sadly, even so-called environmentally-friendly coffee is bad. Not to mention that NOT buying coffee out can save you around $1000 a year. Solution? Get a nice mug.

4. No More Fast Food

Again, apart from not being good for you in general, fast food waste is a pervasive environmental issue. In particular, factory farming, something fast food companies generally utilize for their livestock, is a serious problem. But what can it hurt to eat it just once a week when the groceries run out? For a family of four — about $1200 a year. Better meal planning will prevent the need to get something from McDs – the government will even help you plan.

5.Your Beer Could be Heating Homes

According to dramming.com the energy it takes to make alcoholic drinks is enough to heat around 2,286,000 households per year. Brewing and malting alone take a great deal of energy. In addition, buying drinks out is an enormous drain on finances. If a beer costs $5 at your local bar, just 2 per week for a couple (4 beers total) is over $1000 annually. If you must drink, do it at home and maybe brew your own… Will that save you money? Maybe.

6. Cut Out Soda

Even if you recycle your soda cans, mining the aluminum that it takes to make them is environmentally damaging and glass bottles actually create twice the carbon footprint that cans do. If that wasn’t enough incentive to cut down on your daily trip to the vending machine, one $1.50 soda each day racks up close to a $550 annual tab. Instead — get that reusable water bottle I mentioned.

7. Buy Less Clothing

According to Ecowatch, the fashion industry is the second “dirtiest” industry in the world, just under Big Oil. Why? Partially it’s the impact of textile mills, but overwhelmingly it is the huge amount of water that is involved. The process of making one cotton t-shirt uses over 700 gallons of water! Buying clothes is also an expensive habit — just $50 worth of clothing a month (and that’s maybe a pair of jeans, a shirt, and some underpants) comes out to $600 a year. What to do? Check ebay before heading to the mall.

According to Lending Tree’s Calculator these tips taken together will save me more than 5k a year. That’s something I can use to take a trip into nature instead of polluting it.

You’ve read 7 Bad Financial Habits That Are Also Terrible For The Environment, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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April 8th

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Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.

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Three Practices for the Overwhelmed, Stressed, Anxious

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By Leo Babauta

Many of us feel overwhelmed by all we need to do, and it can be downright stressful.

I’d like to share three practices to take you from overwhelmed to just whelmed.

You can’t eliminate stress, anxiety or the feeling of being overwhelmed from your life, nor would you want to. However, you can see them as wonderful places to practice some amazing things that will help in all areas of your life.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed or anxious … you can do one or more of these three practices:

  1. The Practice of Training in Uncertainty. When you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, it comes from a feeling of uncertainty. We don’t know how things are going to go, we worry that we can’t do it all, we don’t know how we’re going to do with any of it, we’re uncertain that we’re good enough to handle all of this. Uncertainty. Our minds don’t like that feeling, and we want stable ground under our feet, something solid, certain, or reassuring. Unfortunately life never gives us that reassuring certainty. So we’re always running, always trying to cope with the uncertainty by doing as much as we can, making lists, finding the perfect software or system, running to distractions. Instead, we can train our minds to stay with the uncertainty, and gradually become more comfortable in this state. And then we can be at peace in the middle of chaos. Read more about this practice.
  2. The Practice of Letting Go. When we’re stressed out, it’s because we’re attached to something — attached to doing everything, attached to how people see us, attached to meeting a goal or deadline or reaching some outcome, attached to our self-image. What if we could let go of these attachments, and just be in the moment? Things would suddenly become easier. Luckily letting go is something that’s within our power. Read more about this practice.
  3. The Practice of Doing Just One Activity. Our minds are stressed and overwhelmed because we’re thinking about our uncertain future … but what if we learned to trust the present moment? What if, instead, we just fully immersed ourselves in the activity before us? This is actually a letting go practice, and it’s also a being-fully-present practice. Just fully be in the activity you’re doing, just one activity. Just read this post. Just answer this single email. Just wash this one dish. As if it were the only activity and the most important activity in the world. Because it is. Read more about this practice.

These are all transformative practices, and you can practice them one at a time or one after the other (in the order above, most likely).

Each only takes a moment, but they can transform your world. Try them, with love in your heart, and see a deep trust in yourself start to grow.

Join Me for a Mindfulness Retreat

Would you like to train with me in these practices? I’d love for you to join me in my Zen Habits Mindfulness Retreat, from April 21-23, 2017 in San Francisco. It’s going to be amazing, and I’m really excited about it.

Read more here, and join me!

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April 7th

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The best portion of a good man’s life: his little, nameless unremembered acts of kindness and love.

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daily-motivation-8 #motivation #inspiration #positive #affirmation #quotes

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My rule of life: #1 “If you want something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” #quotes #quoteoftheday #motivation #motivationalquotes #happy

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My rule of life: #1 “If you want something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” #quotes #quoteoftheday #motivation #motivationalquotes #happy
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Stuck in a rut? Check out these 20 inspirational travel quotes that will give you a serious case of wanderlust

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Be a pineapple: Stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside

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Why Working Less Will Let You Get More Done

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You’re reading Why Working Less Will Let You Get More Done, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’re enjoying this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

The key to get more done isn’t to slave away for 10 hours a day, it’s to work smarter instead of harder. Working less is one way to working smarter, and here’s why. 

The Simple Law That Can Revolutionize the Way You Work 

In school I often procrastinated until the deadline was 45 minutes away. I panicked, worked like a machine and miraculously finished it in time.

I experienced Parkinson’s Law: that work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

If you have a deadline, you’ll almost always meet it. Parkinson’s Law works because it forces you to bring more energy, motivation and focus to your work. If you’re close to a deadline, you’ll become a working machine. But if you have all the time in the world, you’ll constantly check Facebook, watch YouTube and do easy work.

If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute – Cyril Northcote Parkinson 

Limiting the time you work also forces you to focus on your most important tasks. You would be able to fill a 120 hour week with work, because there’s always an infinite amount of things you could be doing. But that doesn’t mean you should. 

How Many Hours a Week Should You Work? 

Cal Newport, the author of Deep Work, said that if you study world-class performers in a lot of different fields, none of them practice more than 4 hours a day. The conclusion? Most people can’t sustain more than 4 hours of intense concentration a day.

All other hours of focus are much less productive. In most work the amount of focus and energy spent is just as important as the time put in. 

Studies has shown people are the most productive while working 35 hour weeks. While 60-hour weeks increase your productivity in the short run, after a few weeks you’ll be too fatigued and stressed to do anything efficiently. You have to make room to recharge.

Researchers concluded that “at approximately eight 60-hour weeks, the total work done is the same as what would have been done in eight 40-hour weeks.” Another study found that productivity “falls off a cliff after 55 hours—so much that someone who puts in 70 hours produces nothing more with those 15 extra hours.”

The Key for Taking Advantage of Working Less 

Track how much you’re working.

If your goal is to spend 35 hours a week, stop when you’ve tracked 35 focused hours. The daily limit could be 4 hours, or to never work after noon. The time tracking software I use is Toggl.

That’s it. Working less makes you more productive by creating a deadline, making you focus on your most important things and letting you recharge. Start tracking your work now, and have a great day! 

Elias Edgren is a writer, productivity geek and addicted to music. Do you want to get more done? How convenient: he has written a free “Cheat Sheet for Extreme Productivity“.

You’ve read Why Working Less Will Let You Get More Done, originally posted on Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self Improvement. If you’ve enjoyed this, please visit our site for more inspirational articles.

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What Is A Demisexual? 5 Signs You May Be One

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What is a demisexual?


I’ll never forget a conversation I had with a demisexual friend years ago.

At the time, I didn’t know she was demisexual. I didn’t even know what a demisexual was.

But I did know that, unlike most of my other friends, she didn’t display obvious sexual attraction towards anyone of any gender.

Until she met John, that is.

I remember she wouldn’t stop talking about John.

She would go on and on about his amazing qualities — how smart and kind he was and how he looked so much like a Hollywood star. As she gushed, “He’s almost too perfect to be true.”

Of all the things she said, however, one stood out.

“You know,” I said, putting down my cup of coffee, “I noticed you keep describing John as a ‘good friend’ over and over.”

“Yes,” she replied thoughtfully, twirling a spoon into her coffee, “because we are good friends.”

I almost slammed my coffee cup on the table. “Are?”

“Yes, we ‘are’ good friends,” she repeated. “What’s wrong with that?”

I didn’t reply. I wanted to point out that “friends” and “lovers” aren’t the same thing, but I had a feeling she’d be offended.

She seemed to sense my discomfort, because she said, “Ah, I’m a demisexual, you see.”

Thankfully, I resisted the urge to say “What?” outright.

Instead, I got the conversation going with, “I’m not very familiar with the term ‘demisexual,’ to be honest. But I’d love to hear more about what it’s like from you!”

Fortunately for me, she chose not to be offended or at least to ignore my discomfort at her revelation. As our conversations about the subject deepened, this is what I gathered about being a demisexual.

What is a demisexual? Here are some of the signs:

According to Asexuality.org, demisexuals only feel sexual attraction towards people with whom they already have a strong emotional connection.

That emotional connection isn’t necessarily romantic; in fact, it’s more common for demisexuals to be attracted to their friends before anyone else.

Most of the time, however, demisexuals don’t feel sexual attraction — which is why they’re said to fall under the asexuality spectrum.

Here are some other signs you might be a demisexual:

1. You don’t put as much importance on sex as others do.

It’s not that you don’t like sex or think it’s wrong. It’s just that, for the most part, you don’t see the point of doing it.

Why get physically intimate with someone when you can simply share lively conversations with each other?

Why use someone else for your sexual pleasure, when you can please yourself on your own? And why do people talk like having sex is the pinnacle of existence?

These are some of the questions that bother you as a demisexual. You’re not sure how to explain not wanting sex to people who’ve wanted it for most of their adult lives.

Engaging in conversations about the subject makes you feel awkward and uncomfortable.

2. You are primarily attracted to someone’s personality, as opposed to their looks.

There are two types of attraction: primary and secondary. Primary attraction is what you feel for someone based on their looks and other qualities you can easily discern.

Secondary attraction, on the other hand, is based on someone’s personality and how well you connect with that person.

As a demisexual, you aren’t necessarily incapable of primary attraction.

On the contrary, you’ve had your fair share of crushes at first sight. Like many people, you appreciate the way an actor runs his hands through his hair or the way an actress tilts her mouth up when she laughs.

However, you don’t hit on random strangers just because you find them “hot.” In fact, you hardly use the word “hot” to describe people.

You are far more interested in what’s behind the pretty face. Chemistry for you is an intriguing personality.

3. You prefer to befriend, rather than flirt.

Since you’re more likely to be attracted to someone based on their secondary qualities, your romantic relationships usually start out as friendships.

After all, you already know your friends like the back of your hand. To you, the idea of dating people within hours — or even months — after meeting them is unthinkable.

Also, the word “flirting” is not in your vocabulary. You are not a flirter, and you wonder why other people do it. Often you’re oblivious to (and uncomfortable with) people who try to flirt with you.

You’d rather that lovers get to know you first before they begin acting flirtatious and romantic.

4. When you are sexually attracted to someone, you’re either confused or single-minded.

Because you don’t feel sexual attraction very often, you struggle when you do feel it.

When you get a strange, fluttery feeling around someone, it confuses you.

How do you act on the feeling? Is it okay to have sex with a special someone, even if you two are already good friends?

How do you even start with sexual intercourse? Do you need to have sex in the first place?

Why not just show someone how much you love them based on what you do for them every day, rather than focusing on how skilled you are in the bedroom?

Once you realize you’re in love, you also realize one other thing: you can’t imagine being in love with anyone else other than that person.

If you’re being honest with yourself, that’s more terrifying than anything else you’ve ever experienced in your life.

5. You’ve been called “prudish,” “old-fashioned,” or similar words.

Most people think you’re demisexual by choice. They think you’re old-fashioned and want to wait until marriage before having sex.

You’re often teased and told things like, “It’s the 21st century for goodness sake. You don’t have to wait for a marriage license.”

In reality, you just don’t feel compelled to seek out “the one” in the first place.

You’re also fully aware of the fact that anyone can sleep with anyone else, regardless of gender, religion, or marital status.

Still that doesn’t change the fact that you just can’t turn on sexual attraction like a switch, no matter how much everyone else thinks you should.

You are not alone as a demisexual. There are others like you who understand wanting a deeper emotional connection before getting sexually involved with someone.

Remember that regardless of your sexuality, you deserve to have love, care, and understanding — not only from others but also from yourself.

Are you a demisexual, or know someone who is? How do you feel about it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

The post What Is A Demisexual? 5 Signs You May Be One appeared first on Live Bold and Bloom.

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