MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'habits'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:54:05 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181799&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fimproving-doctor-patient-communication-to-provide-patient-centered-care%2F2011.09.01 The first experience patients are likely to have with your hospital is not in an ER visit or inpatient stay.  A patient’s first experience will most likely be in one of your primary-care physician offices.  That because a person is 10 times more likely during a year to end up in the physician’s office for a routine visit than they are to require an overnight hospital stay. As a hospital marketer or patient experience officer this should raise an interesting question. How well do your physicians–particularly your primary-care physicians–represent your brand? Take “patient-centeredness.” Lots of hospitals these days are promoting themselves as providing patient-centered care.  You know … when the hospital and its staff try where possible to be sensitive to and honor the wish... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181799 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:00:05 +0100 5181799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182383&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FHNUwXepMoB8%2F Image by Mike Bailey-Gates (license). Share || “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” Eleanor Roosevelt “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.” Benjamin Franklin What do you fear in your everyday life? One common answer would probably be to be criticized. To stand there and hear those words streaming out of someone’s mouth and feel stupid or feel rejected or like you are getting smaller and smaller. I get quite a bit of feedback from my readers. Most of it is positive and supportive. But there are also sometimes criticism or harsh and nasty attacks. That part isn’t always so fun and can be hurtful. But it is a part of life if you want to live ... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182383 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 16:52:19 +0100 5182383 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182157&cid=t_107018_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FU-lD7y9oZ-k%2F In today’s vital-but-gross discussion, we’re going to talk about your bowel movements. Did you know your bathroom “leave-behinds” can say a lot about your health? Specifically, they can let you know if you’re eating and digesting your food properly, which are two important components of optimal health. In order to keep tabs on how your body’s dealing with your diet, you should look at your stools each time you go—come on, you’ve done it before! And when you do take a gander , there are three important things you should pay attention to, according to Dr. Oz: Consistency–For starters, the way your stool is formed is important. If it’s too tight with visible cracks, you could be dehydrated. If it’s too loose and watery, chances are... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182157 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:26:27 +0100 5182157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5182384&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FdtasXiwT2h4%2F Just before the summer I launched a course on simplifying the major parts of life called Simplicity. The news is that you can now get my Simplicity Course as a monthly membership course. The six-module course is then split into four parts, and you get one new email each month with the download links for the written guides, the workbooks and the audio guides. Here’s what you’ll learn each month: Month #1: The Principles of Simplicity and Simple Productivity The first month you get two modules focused on the basics of simplifying your life and on simplifying your work and effectiveness. And on lowering your stress levels and stop feeling overwhelmed. A brief summary: Module 1: The Six Principles of Simplicity What you should use your precious attention for in life. The three keys to ma... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5182384 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:55:32 +0100 5182384 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158994&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdrug-shown-to-protect-obese-mice-from-the-diseases-of-obesity%2F2011.08.25 I usually choose not to write about the “new new scientific thing” that gets picked up by the press,  because early research is usually not reproducible and good science takes a long time to validate as true.  But since we know that mice and rats that are kept on low-calorie diets live 30% longer (and healthier) than their fat cohorts, I was interested in a new research compound, SRT-1720,  that was shown to protect obese mice from diseases of obesity.  Fat mice lived 44% longer if they were given this drug. The “designer” drug works by (more…) *This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158994 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:00:00 +0100 5158994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159943&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FrSb0G9vXoAc%2F Image by Shermeee (license). Share || “For myself I am an optimist – it does not seem to be much use being anything else”Winston Churchill If you are reading this then there is good chance that you agree with me that optimism is pretty awesome. But it is not always easy to adopt a more optimistic attitude and there are roadblocks. So today I’d like to share a few of them that I have bumped into and how I have overcome them. You are swimming in a sea of negativity. If you are trying to change your attitude then it’s not very helpful to live in a world where forces try to drag you back to your old mindset each day. It makes it very hard to change. What you allow into your mind will have a big effect on you. So be selective. If you’re hanging out with negative people all the time ... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159943 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 16:53:31 +0100 5159943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159936&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FER0ZwakDAC8%2F I’ve discovered a powerful remedy for self-destructive habits that is so simple I wondered how I missed it over the years. My self-destructive habit involved eating junk food late at night, yet my discovery will work for any chronic, self-defeating behavior. Do you do things every day that you wish you didn’t? Most people wish they had control over certain behaviors, from addictions like smoking, drinking, gambling and junk food to emotional behaviors such as anger outbursts and yelling. Other seemingly stress related habits plague millions, such as biting fingernails, fidgeting or even shopping too much. We are creatures of habit, but sometimes our habits get the best of us, even though we understand the consequences. Science Daily recently reported on a University of Alberta study in... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159936 Sat, 20 Aug 2011 06:26:34 +0100 5159936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5140361&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FWSk2Te8RU7M%2F Image by anieto2k (license). Share || “Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.” Spanish Proverb “Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task” William James Not all tasks of the day are inspiring, fun or exciting. Some just feel dull or boring. But you still have to wash those dishes and take care of those monotone, routine tasks at work or in school. So what can you do to not get lost in procrastination? How can you get going with those tasks you don’t feel much like doing and get to done? In this article I’ll share how I do it, how I get some motivation and find more pleasure in what may seem to be a boring task. Think of why you are doing the task and how good it will feel when it is done. Instead of focusing your mind on how boring a ta... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5140361 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 13:53:45 +0100 5140361 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118883&cid=t_107018_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FWNnKq_hC46M%2F I believe that we learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. In each, it is the performance of a dedicated precise set of acts, physical or intellectual, from which comes shape of achievement, a sense of one’s being, a satisfaction of spirit. One becomes, in some area, an athlete of God. Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired. —Martha Graham Related posts: Motivational Mantra: Jillian Michaels On Getting Empowered By Taking Responsibility Motivational Mantra: Celebrity Trainer David Kirsch Says Stop Counting Calories Motivational Mantra: Oprah Win... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118883 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:30:05 +0100 5118883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5119035&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Faday%2F Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Joshua Millburn of The Minimalists. I do not have a daily routine. I no longer need one. I do, however, have habits on which I focus every day. Don’t get me wrong, I used to have a daily routine — before I quit my six-figure job to pursue my passions and live a more meaningful life. And I hated that routine. Every day felt like Groundhog Day: awake to a blaring alarm, shower, shave, put on a suit and tie, spend an hour or more in mind-numbing traffic, succumb to the daily trappings of emails and phone calls and instant messages and meetings, drive home through even more mind-numbing traffic, eat something from a box in the freezer, search for escape within the glowing box in the living room, brush my teeth, set the alarm clock, sleep for f... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5119035 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:35:53 +0100 5119035 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107973&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FffzKUSR5sTQ%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/circo_de_invierno/ / CC BY 2.0 Share || “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” Swedish Proverb “If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today.” E. Joseph Cossman ”People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.” George Bernard Shaw You are going about your regular day in your usual fashion. Then a thought or a feeling strikes you. It multiplies and start circling around and around in your head. Becoming louder and louder as it saps your strength and makes you feel weaker. Worries can really put a wet blanket over your life and suck the excitement and fun right out of it. So strategies are needed. Strategies to redirect our thoughts and f... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107973 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:54:55 +0100 5107973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107599&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F09%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-august-9-2011%2F On most days, I try to live healthy. Healthy for me means a combination of whole foods (none of that processed stuff), vitamins, walking, some kind of meditative exercise (yoga, tai chi, meditation), getting as much sleep as I can and trying to make myself smile for at least 40-50% of the day. This is a very different picture then where I was ten years ago. My main focus at that time was looking good instead of feeling good. I worked out 6-7 days a week. I highlighted my hair, went out in the sun to get a “summer glow,” and slept at weird times. My eating habits were not the best either. But perhaps the biggest change is that I used to ignore how I really felt and forced myself to do what I thought was “right.” I exercised when I was tired. I took jobs I didn’... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107599 Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:04:22 +0100 5107599 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107968&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FEbcmCNEJgVc%2F I’m close to launching a new “money making activity” (MMA): a gun safety poster I made back in 2005 when I was learning how to shoot. I also had my first real inquiry into the “Inexpensive Websites” package; alas, I have to set up my LLC before I start accepting money for this. The past month has also been marked by a stepping-up in my online journaling and workflow awareness; it finally feels like I’m starting to build-up some steam. Last Month Recap I wanted to emphasize one challenge: maintaining continuity on my goals, as I’ve become increasingly convinced that my productivity issues would go away if I spent more time maintaining continuity on what I was doing. So I implemented a few plans: Be unapologetic about writing down everything Imp... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107968 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:59:26 +0100 5107968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107972&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FfdZ6KzcUKNQ%2F When I consider the word wealthy I want to go far beyond the limited definition that relates purely to accumulation and comfort. Wealth to me has a far much broader meaning that also includes the richness of friends, family, as well as opportunities. So with that understanding let’s explore 21 of the finest attributes of the wealthy. 1. They Love What They Do To be able to wake up each morning with a skip in your step. With a mind bursting with new and fresh ideas and clear plans, laid out the day before for the day ahead, is a joy. I have made it my personal pursuit throughout the years to align my work with my passion. Every day I breathe I now do what I love to do, and it has made the journey extremely worthwhile. 2. They Perform With A Touch Of Class If you’re going to do a job the... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107972 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 08:14:07 +0100 5107972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107839&cid=t_107018_136_f&fid=39023&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fbenjaminrubenstein%2F%7E3%2F5mUmu_e_QHc%2Farlington-update-bob.html the ruBENstein Media experience has been widened to include videos. You may now find me on YouTube at YouTube.com/benrubenstein. Enjoy my first video log about my good pal, Bob. (Source: I've Still Got Both My Nuts: A True Cancer Blog) I've Still Got Both My Nuts: A True Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107839 Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:05:00 +0100 5107839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5097194&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FV4EdfRgsQlU%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denemiles/ / CC BY-SA 2.0 Share || “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.” W. M Lewis “How soon ‘not now’ becomes ‘never’.” Martin Luther I love getting started with a new habit or project. There is excitement and a certain freshness ahead of you as you are about to get going. But sometimes it stops there. At about to get going. Because “you don’t have the time”. Or it’s “not the right time right now”. I have whole chapters on how I establish new habits, keep up the motivation after that initial enthusiasm perhaps has started to wane and on how to become more of a person of action in The Art of Relaxed Productivity and the Simplicity Course. But today I ... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5097194 Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:42:20 +0100 5097194 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5086587&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FN1JjKk0NJIs%2F This past week I’ve been tinkering with “ideally apportioning” my day into the following six main activity types: 4 hours of revenue generation (either client work or marketing my own products and services) 2 hours of revenue for tomorrow (developing my own products for sale) 2 hours of socializing / household work (helps me get out of my own head) 4 hours of exploring (self-assessment, writing, impromptu design and research) 4 hours of goofing off (cooking, eating, shopping, facebooking, playing games) 8 hours of sleep (anchoring the day by always being 10PM to 6AM) I’d noticed recently that I experience swings of elation at getting stuff done, followed by anxiety that I have somehow neglected something else that is important. I also know I have a limited amoun... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5086587 Mon, 01 Aug 2011 20:49:04 +0100 5086587 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5062530&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2Fu3BRbEfEADo%2F Image by visualpanic (license). Share || “The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” Sydney J. Harris Maybe you are on vacation right now and are trying to relax and release the pressure and tension from a year of school or work. And maybe you are soon going back again. So what can you do to increase your sense of centeredness and relaxation not only during these remaining weeks of summer but also during this fall? Well, here are six tips that have worked well for me. I hope you’ll find something useful. Spend your time online in a very focused way. One change I usually do during the summer is to minimize the time I spend online. I cut it down to the bare essentials. Basically that means I update the blog and send out new newsletters. And I check my email/Twitt... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5062530 Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:09:38 +0100 5062530 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5051336&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FX8UBSpt0sIo%2F Image by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabiovenni/ / CC BY-SA 2.0 Share || “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” Max Ehrman One very common and destructive daily habit is to constantly compare your life and yourself to other people and their lives. You compare cars, houses, jobs, shoes, money, relationships, social popularity and so on. And at the end of the day you pummel your self esteem to the ground and you create a lot of negative feelings within. And perhaps also outside of yourself. So what can you do? How can you get a handle on this habit? In this article I’ll share what I have done. I’ll start with two habits that I use to replace that destructive habit. Then I&#82... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5051336 Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:27:10 +0100 5051336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008276&cid=t_107018_107_f&fid=36672&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencebase.com%2Fscience-blog%2Fcan-you-blame-the-environment-for-your-bad-habits.html Live fast, die young. You’re a long time gone. Sleep when you’re dead. The hedonists mantras. Lifestyle choices whether in terms of food consumption, alcohol and drugs or sexual activity are down to the individual. Nannying by governments, who have their own mantras: Smoking Kills, Know your limits, Get your five-a-day, Use protection, etc, all costs money, is apparently ignored by most people, and probably has little effect on those lifestyle choices. But, some researchers believe that the concept of freewill when it comes to smoking, drinking, poor eating habits and other health risks is not entirely independent of external forces. Claudio Ricciardi of the Department of Environment and Primary Prevention, at the Italian National Institute of Health, in Rome, goes so far as to... Sciencebase Science Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008276 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:18:30 +0100 5008276 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008729&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FkQo5rLddKlM%2F Share “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill is probably no stranger to anyone. He was an inspirational British leader during the Second World War. He was also a writer, historian, poet, artist and the only British Prime Minister to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Here are a few of my favorite fundamentals from Churchill on how to improve your life. 1. Focus on what you are doing right now. “It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” “It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.” When you start to look too far into the f... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008729 Fri, 08 Jul 2011 15:41:03 +0100 5008729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5029304&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2Fi0RA7d5YyRY%2F How time flies. I’m realizing that I haven’t really put any new “money making activities” (MMAs) into action. On June 16th, however, I did complete the documentation for the “Inexpensive Websites” package I’m creating for local artists. Read onward for more details about my ongoing struggle to create a business enterprise for myself. Where Did the Time Go? I really have no idea, and that points out an ongoing challenge I have: maintaining continuity on my goals. I’m growing increasingly convinced that a lot of productivity woes fix themselves if you can ensure that you can spend no more than two minutes a day thinking about all your goals. That has not one, but two ramifications for goal organization: You need to be able to see all your ... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5029304 Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:14:20 +0100 5029304 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984733&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2F0dVk7Is4Lgg%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nerdegutt/ / CC BY 2.0 Share || “Bad habits are easier to abandon today than tomorrow.” Yiddish Proverb “Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.” Confucius Most of us have one or a few habits that we consider bad and we’d like to get rid of. But how do you do it? Today I’d like to share I have a few suggestions that have helped me and people around me greatly. Here are 8 tips that can help you to finally get rid of that bad habit once and for all. Tell your friends and family. If you tell people around you that you will stop smoking or start working out three times a week then they will check up on you. And you will feel a social pressure to keep up with your promise now that it is let out into the world. I ... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984733 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:18:48 +0100 4984733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952985&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F21%2F6-tips-to-help-summer-depression%2F The kids are out of school. Your neighbors are whistling on their way to work, greeting you with an enthusiasm peculiar to warm weather. And if you hear one more person ask you about your summer vacation plans, you will throw a US map and atlas at them. You don’t mean to be grumpy. But darn it, you are miserable in the oppressive heat, your kids are home for 90 consecutive days, and you are don’t have the stamina to pretend you are giddy that summer has arrived. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. After publishing a piece recently about the trigger of Memorial Day for me — reminding me that most of my relapses have happened in the summer months — I’ve heard from so many readers that fear this time of year for the same reason: summer depression. Ian A. Cook, MD, the direc... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952985 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:39:48 +0100 4952985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4945317&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FhyP_NY8YU8M%2F Image by notsogoodphotography (license). Share || “Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” Henry David Thoreau Does this sound familiar? You are sitting on the bus or you are standing in shower. Suddenly a great or very useful idea plops into your head. Or you have a moment of inspiration on your daily walk to work or school. You are pleased with yourself and excited about the idea. But then the days go by. A month goes by. And nothing has happened with your idea or moment of inspiration. Life just continues as usual. I gu... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4945317 Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:49:10 +0100 4945317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4902486&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F05%2F6-bipolar-rules-for-eating%2F The following post is by Hilary Smith, author of “Welcome to the Jungle: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Bipolar But Were Too Freaked Out to Ask” (Conari Press, 2010) as well as a cool blog to go with it, Welcome to the Jungle. We’ve all heard about “mood foods” that can promote wellness for people with bipolar and depression–fish oil for brain health, oatmeal for stable blood sugar, chocolate for, well, chocolateness. But it’s also important to think about how we eat. How we eat can have just as big an impact on our mood as what we eat, yet it often gets neglected in conversations about bipolar and food. Here are some tips for maintaining a healthy mood through mindful eating practices. 1. Make eating an art. How you eat is sometimes a r... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4902486 Sun, 05 Jun 2011 10:05:30 +0100 4902486 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4893555&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F03%2Fmy-therapist-wont-stop-yawning-in-session%2F Psychotherapy is often described as an art as much as it is a science. The professional relationship between a therapist and their client can be a tricky one. Especially when it comes to bad habits of either the therapist or the client. One of these bad habits is especially frustrating to clients — a therapist’s constant yawns during session. People often read into a yawn far more than what is usually meant — or not meant — by the behavior. Part of the problem is yawning itself — we don’t really know why people yawn in the first place. So a person often will assume the worst — “I’m boring him with what I’m talking about.” But that’s often not the case. The only thing we know for certain about why humans yawn is that t... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4893555 Fri, 03 Jun 2011 16:14:56 +0100 4893555 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862972&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FmQGF4AgahdU%2F Image by goodsurfers2008 (license). Share || “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain Motivation can be a huge help for you to achieve what you want in life. But how can you find all that motivation you need? Well, looking at timeless advice from time to time helps me. And in this article I’ll share four of my favorite timeless thoughts on motivation, four thoughts that motivate and inspire me. Make a conscious choice. “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” Wayne Dyer “I was thinking one day and I rea... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862972 Tue, 24 May 2011 15:53:25 +0100 4862972 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841478&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ffrom-spain-drug-prescription-habits-are-often-emotionally-driven%2F2011.05.19 I recently stumbled upon a very interesting editorial opinion in the ‘European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology’: ‘The use of drugs is not as rational as we believe…but it can’t be! The emotional roots of prescribing’, authored by Albert Figueras, from Fundació Institut Català de Farmacologia (Catalonia Institute of Pharmacology Foundation at Vall d’Hebron Hospital, in Barcelona). Since more than 40 years ago when Archie Cochrane said that “there must be solid scientific evidence behind any statement, decision and prescription made by medical staff”, and all the way until today’s WHO promotion of rational medicine utilization, both developing and industrialised countries have been striving to increase sound knowledge about prescription and thus spread the kind of rati... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841478 Thu, 19 May 2011 13:00:18 +0100 4841478 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841479&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmost-americans-dont-know-what-healthy-eating-means%2F2011.05.19 Only one in 10 respondents to a national survey could estimate how many calories they should consume in a day. Seventy-nine percent make few or no attempts to pay attention to the balance between the calories they consume and expend in a day. These and other piquant findings from the online 2011 Food and Health Survey fielded by the International Food Information Council Foundation (IFIC) struck home last week as I smacked up against my own ignorance about a healthy diet and the difficulty of changing lifelong eating habits. The confluence of my failure to gain weight after cancer treatment and a blood test suggesting pre-diabetes meant that as of last Tuesday, I have been on an eat-specific-types-of-food-every-hour-and-write-it-down regimen.  And despite a lifetime of recommending that p... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841479 Thu, 19 May 2011 12:00:13 +0100 4841479 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4842039&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FJl8wU8iYBM0%2F Share || “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” Brian Tracy I believe that one of the biggest reasons why people get stuck in reading and discussing things instead of taking action to change their lives for the better is simply that it is uncomfortable. But to make real changes in your life you have to step outside your comfort zone. At least for a little while. And regularly. In this article I’ll share three habits that have helped me to make it easier to step out the comfort zone. Develop a habit of mixing things up. This is an easy and simple way to expand your comfort zone and to keep your curiousness up. Try new music. I mix things up by trying new music every month. I have a look at th... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4842039 Tue, 17 May 2011 15:34:37 +0100 4842039 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4842028&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Fcourse%2F Post written by Leo Babauta. Today I’m announcing one of the best things I’ve ever created (other than my kids): The Habit Course, a 4-week intensive, interactive online course meant to teach you how to create habits for life. Habits have changed my life. I struggled for years to find the “discipline” to exercise, eat healthily, be organized and productive, reduce debt and save money, etc. But when I started figuring out what I was doing wrong — and how habits actually are formed — it transformed everything. Soon I was accomplishing any goal (read My Story). So today, with the help of co-creators Katie and Barrie, I’m finally launching the course that will teach others how to successfully form habits. I’m really excited about it. We’ve ... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4842028 Tue, 17 May 2011 13:46:42 +0100 4842028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4829349&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Fwebinar%2F Post written by Leo Babauta. Hi friends … this evening I’ll be holding a free webinar on how to use habits to change your life, and why most people fail at creating habits — the webinar will be on tonight (Monday May 16, 2011) at 9 p.m. EDT. You have to register for free beforehand, and then just show up at 9 p.m. and sign in. In the webinar, I’ll share with you: My story, and how I’ve used habits to change my life How to use habits to achieve any goal Why most people fail at creating habits A Simple Method for creating new habits And I’ll answer your habit questions in a Q&A at the end Update: The webinar will be recorded for those who won’t make it, and I’ll make the recording available tomorrow. However, if you can make it, I’d... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4829349 Mon, 16 May 2011 15:00:08 +0100 4829349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4803566&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FqxLCYqFfx5A%2F After a stormy couple of weeks, weathering unexpected projects in domains I don’t usually travel, I’m feeling back to normal. It feels like I’ve been on a kind of Anti-Vacation, where you get to experience new and exciting levels of pressure that you’ve read about in books but never had planned to visit yourself. In my case, it was a return trip to the LAND OF WORDPRESS SECURITY on behalf of a friend-client; a malware warning had been reported by one of her website’s readers, which can be an ominous precursor to a flagging by the almighty Google itself through its “Safe Browsing” service. That would be bad for the site, so I spent about 30 hours over a weekend scanning, cleaning, and restoring the WordPress install while throwing myself through &#8... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4803566 Mon, 09 May 2011 18:38:52 +0100 4803566 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4795079&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FdcYi6duQ1Cw%2F Image by Ben Fredericson (xjrlokix) (license). Share || “When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers.” Ralph Waldo Emerson What is holding you back from trying new things and improving your life in big or small ways in your daily life? When you boil it down it is most often not about anything outside of you. Or that is at least not the biggest reason why you feel paralyzed. It’s the fear that gets to you. It holds you back from trying something new for lunch, a new place for the evening out or a new hobby because you feel somewhat afraid that you’ll have a bad experience. So you stick to your u... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4795079 Fri, 06 May 2011 14:03:18 +0100 4795079 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813702&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FgZvB8mpvxIM%2F Today I am very excited to share with you my brand new course simply called Simplicity. In this six module course I will via digital guides in PDF format, many audio guides and workbooks share how I have simplified my own life while at the same time improved it over the past 5 years. This course has come about partly because of the results of a survey that over 1200 of you participated in and because of what I see in my inbox and in the world around me every week . It is very apparent that that there is a deep need and desire for simplicity today. Many feel: Stressed and overwhelmed with commitments, work and life. They often get stuck in worrying even when they are not at work or in school. That their thoughts run rampantly into dark, complicated clouds of negativity, worries and overt... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813702 Wed, 04 May 2011 16:52:31 +0100 4813702 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789666&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FgZvB8mpvxIM%2F Today I am very excited to share with you my brand new course simply called Simplicity. In this six module course I will via digital guides in PDF format, many audio guides and workbooks share how I have simplified my own life while at the same time improved it over the past 5 years. This course has come about partly because of the results of a survey that over 1200 of you participated in and because of what I see in my inbox and in the world around me every week . It is very apparent that that there is a deep need and desire for simplicity today. Many feel: Stressed and overwhelmed with commitments, work and life. They often get stuck in worrying even when they are not at work or in school. That their thoughts run rampantly into dark, complicated clouds of negativity, worries and overt... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789666 Wed, 04 May 2011 16:52:31 +0100 4789666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4768281&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FmjOheSrdCZA%2F Image by: notsogoodphotography (license). Share || “If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” George F. Burns “Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the nonpharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality.” John W. Gardner Lately I have been very busy with working hard on the final part of my new course, Simplicity. When you are busy like that at school or at work or just in life in general it’s very easy to from time to time fall into a couple of negative headspaces – such as victim thinking, feeling overwhelmed or just plain pessimistic – that make life and work more diffi... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4768281 Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:26:49 +0100 4768281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734718&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2F4kufmf8i7Yw%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/notsogoodphotography/ / CC BY 2.0 Share || “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci “Our life is frittered away by detail… Simplify, simplify.” Henry Thoreau One of the most important things I have done to improve my life over the last few years is to focus on letting go of many things and to simplify. Simplifying one’s life is as I have understood via emails and surveys also one of the most common aspirations of readers of this website. So for the past few months I have been working hard on a course called Simplicity. This is by far my most in-depth product so far and will help you to practically simplify and improve the most important areas in life such as your productivity & effectiveness, your thinking, your... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734718 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:16:06 +0100 4734718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709485&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FzKNVh0xITgo%2F Share || “Die when I may, I want it said by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.” “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.” “With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.” Even if you are not an American – like me – you’ve probably still heard of Abraham Lincoln. He was the president who introduced and worked on measures to free the slaves and led the country through the Civil War. A war that had just ended when Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Boo... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709485 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:36:58 +0100 4709485 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693528&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FfXLhZN0b1bM%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/ / CC BY 2.0 Share || “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, you shall begin it well and serenely…” Ralph Waldo Emerson Another morning. Another day begins. You get up too early, stumble into the shower and in somewhat of a haze try to get things together and get work or school on time. But by applying a few simple tips you can make not only the morning but the whole day more relaxed and smooth. Plan the night before. Choose the 2-3 most important tasks and put them on a to-do list. By choosing just the most important stuff instead of a dozen things you are less likely to start procrastinating or r... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693528 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:19:39 +0100 4693528 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4677144&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2F3PwAyAYlRVw%2F Conclusion It is gratifying to finally feel that the systems are shifting into place. You push and you push in the dark, wondering when (and if) what you’re doing will ever align with whatever stars are in the sky and start to make sense. I think it’s starting to come together, and I think I’m starting to see how it comes together for someone like me. Next month’s GHD Review Day will focus on how many new MMAs have come to fruition, and how much further along I am toward my goal. If anyone is interested in checking it out, here’s my Money Making Activities Excel Tracking Worksheet. It’ll probably change, but feel free to use this as a reference. Past Groundhog Day Resolution Posts for 2011: GHDR 02/02 Kickoff Followup: Realigning The Compass 02/18 ... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4677144 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 19:37:42 +0100 4677144 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670355&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FilNzedVdT1E%2F Image by tbondolfi (license). Share || “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.” Charles C. Noble “Good habits, once established are just as hard to break as are bad habits.” Robert Puller Changing a habit can be hard. To make the habit stick you have to keep going until it becomes not something you do through willpower but something you feel drawn to doing. This can take 30 days or more of taking action each day. But we all have bad days. What do you do on such a day when you just feel like giving up on creating this new habit? Here’s what I do. I say to myself: Just for today! It is important to make yourself realize that the period that you are investing in changing a habit is not the rest of your life. As mentioned above, if you do something every day for 30 days t... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670355 Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:09:03 +0100 4670355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4631520&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F24%2Fgot-regret-the-top-10-american-regrets%2F Americans share a lot of the same regrets in life — lost love, family spats, missing a career or educational opportunity. So says new research out of Northwestern University from a telephone survey conducted by researchers on 370 American adults. The researchers asked people to describe one regret in detail, with the rationale that whatever regret they described would be the one that is most memorable. Regrets based on inaction were held on to longer over time, versus those based upon some action the person took. So what are the top ten regrets held by Americans? The Top 10 American Regrets Here are the subjects that survey respondents most commonly described they held the greatest regrets about: Romance, lost love – 18.1% Family (e.g., family arguments) – 15.9% Educati... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4631520 Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:26:00 +0100 4631520 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615468&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FRDKe3qqrA5k%2F Image by Drewski Mac (license). Share || “Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”Doug Larson “An optimist is the human personification of spring.”Susan J. Bissonette Spring is finally here in Sweden. Well, kinda. I guess it’s more of a feeling of spring in the way that Doug Larson so awesomely points out in the quote above. But still. After an unusually long and very cold winter it’s great to have some warmth, a few birds singing and see more smiling and enthusiastic faces as you walk the streets. So I thought I’d share a few of my favorite sayings about spring that can help us to make this year the best one yet. Make decisions at the right time. “Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never m... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615468 Mon, 21 Mar 2011 16:38:03 +0100 4615468 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4600815&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FF8ZuQiUSflw%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/insomnia90/ / CC BY-ND 2.0 Share || “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi “Though I might travel afar, I will meet only what I carry with me, for every man is a mirror. We see only ourselves reflected in those around us. Their attitudes and actions are only a reflection of our own. The whole world and its condition has its counter parts within us all. Turn the gaze inward. Correct yourself and your world will change.” Kirsten Zambucka Improving your attitude and living a more positive life overall can take a lot of time and effort. But a part of it can also be simple. You can spread positivity around you with small actions. This will not only make you and other people feel better today. Over time you t... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4600815 Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:55:47 +0100 4600815 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4570777&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Flil%2F ‘Powerful indeed is the empire of habit.’ ~Publilius Syrus Post written by Leo Babauta. It’s amazing how big a difference a little thing can make. Starting your day mindfully with some tea, for example, can change your entire day. Clearing your desk will make your work day amazing. A smile from a loved one can mean the world. And when these little things are repeated daily, and formed into habits, their benefits increase not just by multiples but by exponents. The little habits can be life-changing. Everyone’s world-changing little habits will be different, but I’ll share a few of mine, and then some tips for forming them. My Little Habits I have lots of little habits, but these are a handful of my favorites: Get-in-the-door ritual. Whenever I get home, the f... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4570777 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:53:33 +0100 4570777 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4570780&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FxFUii1TR5pg%2F This is seven days late, but I have used the time to think more carefully about what it is I’m trying to define as a goal. After all, to have a resolution one must have an achievable goal. After several days of this, feeling fogged and overwhelmed by so many competing theories, I have stopped to remind myself to take my own analytic medicine. The reason why I haven’t been able to make a set of achievable goals comes from the belief that the goals must be in alignment with my values, which then are used to create a set of constraints that ensure whatever goals I pick are well-suited to my skillset and personality. While that sounds like good thinking on paper, it turns out it might not be necessary. In the last Groundhog Day Resolutions post on realigning my compass, I listed... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4570780 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:47:15 +0100 4570780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566360&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2F8UAMd5KLNL4%2F Image by Tim Morgan (license). Share One good way to reduce the stress in your daily life and save time for something more enjoyable and/or more important is to cut down on the time you spend on email. Here is how I have done that over the past year or so. Effective spamfilters. My regular email service provider here in Sweden did some changes. This meant that I got a lot more spam every day. So I switched to using Gmail instead and these days I receive extremely few spam emails. This does not only save me from a lot of deleting but also makes it easier to quickly get an overview of new emails. Shorter replies. In many cases you don’t have to write a lot in a reply. I try to stick to just writing 1-5 sentences if possible. Check emails just once a day. I check my email inbox just once ... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566360 Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:38:16 +0100 4566360 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549952&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FgncnEfKSzX0%2F Share “All I can do is be me, whoever that is.” “He not busy being born is busy dying.” One of the most successful and enigmatic musicians of the last hundred years must be Bob Dylan. Throughout his career, albums and awesome songs he has constantly redefined himself and both confused and enthralled listeners. Here is some clarity though, some of my favourite words of wisdom from Dylan. Find what you love to do. “A lot of people can’t stand touring but to me it’s like breathing. I do it because I’m driven to do it.” I think this is a first step that many of us have a big problem with. Or just forget about. Because when you find something you really love to do it doesn’t seem like work that much anymore. When you do something you love you don’t have to push yourself so... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549952 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:23:51 +0100 4549952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540747&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Ffocus%2F Post written by Leo Babauta. I confess to being as prone to the distractions of the Internet as anyone else: I will start reading about something that interests me and disappear down the rabbit hole for hours (even days) at a time. But my ability to focus on a single task has dramatically improved, and that one habit has changed my life. While a few years ago I couldn’t sit down to work on something without quickly switching to email or one of my favorite Internet forums or sites, today I can sit down and write. I can clear away distractions, when I set my mind to it, and do one thing. And that changes everything: you lose yourself in that task, become so immersed that you pour everything you have into the work, and it becomes a meditative, transformative experience. Your happiness i... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540747 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:36:05 +0100 4540747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4501834&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FZA7vytqnInE%2F Image by nattu (license). Share || Today I would like to share three of my favorite tips for making it easier to establish a relationship with someone. Maybe in a new class. On a date. At work or in a job interview. Or at some party next weekend. Assume rapport. This one can work quickly. That is, if you can suspend your disbelief for while and keep your mind open. It won’t work if you don’t think it will work. So, what is assuming rapport? Basically, instead of going into a conversation or meeting nervously and thinking “how will this go?” you take different approach. You assume that you and the person(s) will establish a good connection (rapport). How do you do that? Just before the meeting, you just think/pretend that you’ll be meeting a good friend. Then you’ll naturally s... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4501834 Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:32:58 +0100 4501834 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495452&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FpsQgvifYQ6g%2F I outlined my thoughts on the Groundhog Day Resolution System last week, pushing the actual goal definition for a later time. In today’s post, I push the definition a little further, but first there’s a detour through Joss Whedon’s Firefly, which has helped me see what was missing from my earlier plans. In short: I did not recognize my lack of love for my plans. Reviewing Last Year’s Goals Last year, I’d made a 2010 Master Goals sheet, which I used for a whopping two weeks before abandoning it. While it did a good job of distilling what I knew about myself onto one sheet of paper, it offered no real reward for daily use. And because of that, it quickly fell into the “superfluous overhead” category of “things that I should do but don’... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495452 Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:46:14 +0100 4495452 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4490010&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FNPD9k9cWRdI%2F Image by ePi.Longo (license). Share || “The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.” Jim Goodwin “For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.” Lily Tomlin “Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.” Eddie Cantor The world is moving at breakneck speed. Information is overflowing 24 hours a day. At work or in school we are busy, busy, busy. Lunch is wolfed down. When we get home there is still so much to do, so much we want before finally falling into the bed. Sometimes this works fine. Sometimes this can cause problem, feelings like it’s all just too much and like you are not in control. So I like to slow things down. In this article I would like to explai... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4490010 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:52:12 +0100 4490010 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4460199&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FKK-r_fKkZk4%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/notsogoodphotography/ / CC BY 2.0 Share || “Simplicity is an acquired taste. Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life.”Katherine F. Gerould “Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; From discord find harmony; In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”Albert Einstein “First we make our habits, then our habits make us.”John C. Noble Over the last five years I have changed a lot about how I work, how much I get done and how well I do those things. Today I get a lot of things done but that does not mean that my day is more stressful. In fact it is often more relaxing than it used to be. This is not because I have become some kind of superhuman but simply because I have developed a few new habits and rituals and I stick w... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4460199 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:47:11 +0100 4460199 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4460105&cid=t_107018_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2Fu9pmLxKRSCQ%2F I’m not sure if I have the winter blues or just a case of back-from-vacation-itis, but I’ve been having a lot of bad days lately. (Alarm failures, kitchen accidents, and lunch breaks spent waiting in tediously slow-moving lines: You name it, I seem to be catching my share of life’s annoyances in one week.) So I was happy to find Lifehacker’s article, “How to Beat a Bad Day,” eager to find out the least painful way to make it through my unlucky streak. Their tips, while erring a little on the side of zen thinking for my negative outlook, are a great reminder for anyone who’s spilled their coffee, missed the bus, and made it all the way to work before realizing their cell phone is still at home, all in one rotten day: Stop Calling It a Bad Day: Lifeh... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4460105 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:53:46 +0100 4460105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433342&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38607&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fsuccessbeginstoday%2FBHWQ%2F%7E3%2FGfMZw5y2afk%2F Are you happy about your goals or are you working for goals that someone else set up for you? Do you have quota goals thrust upon you every month by your employer? How about a weight loss goal that was suggested by your health care provider? Goals like these can be arduous at best and usually have a negative motivational effect. Years ago I worked for a sales company that would set sales quotas (goals) each month. If you reached your quota, they usually would put the carrot a little further out before you received a bonus the next month. Soon people realized that you didn’t want to exceed your quota by much or the goal would be put way out there. Have a really good month and you’ll never see a bonus again. Those kind of goals didn’t work. While we may not have control of the goals t... Success Begins Today blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433342 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 14:54:00 +0100 4433342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4429245&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2F6_MB4QWObHc%2F Happy Groundhog Day! This is the day that I traditionally make my new year’s resolutions, because several years ago I realized that when January 1st rolls around, I’m in no state of mind to do anything resembling planning. You may have experienced the same thing; you’re finishing up stuff from last year, and you’re also trying to get ready for the new year. By now, you’ve had enough time to get a grip on how 2010 went for you, and you have some sense of how 2011 is shaping up. I’ve done Groundhog Day Resolutions for the past four years or so, starting in 2007. It’s essentially a system of review dates that is based on the pattern of 1 month + 1 day past January 1st: 2/2, 3/3 and so forth up to 12/12. These are easy days to remember. This year&#82... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4429245 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:05:00 +0100 4429245 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4429111&cid=t_107018_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FPoc2NhHrs-8%2F What do you think is the best way to learn: Studying the material repeatedly, drawing detailed diagrams of what you are learning, or taking a test in which you recall what you have read? A recent study published in Science and summarized in this New York Times article found out that taking a test was the best method! students who read a passage, then took a test asking them to recall what they had read, retained about 50 percent more of the information a week later than students who used [the] two other methods. … learning is all about retrieving, all about reconstructing our knowledge,” said the lead author So do we need to have more testing in schools? Maybe not: “Some tests are just not learning opportunities. We need a different kind of testing than we currently have.” A good r... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4429111 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:21:14 +0100 4429111 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4406056&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FZiaRNTN2tfQ%2F Image by david.nikonvscanon (license). Share “I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck.”Henry Ward Beacher “We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?”Jean Cocteau “Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers.”Unknown Luck. Some hope for more of it. Some don’t believe in it. Some think that everyone but themselves are lucky. But can you create more of your own good luck in life? Here are a few timeless thoughts on that topic. Work hard. Be proactive. “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have.”Thomas Jefferson “To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4406056 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:49:15 +0100 4406056 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399844&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Fspiral%2F Post written by Leo Babauta. Many people have so many things they want to change about their lives they don’t know where to start. It’s overwhelming: you might smoke and eat junk food and need to exercise and want to be more productive and eliminate debt and start doing work you love and simplify your life to find time for your family and find things to be passionate about … Where do you start? It’s doable — this is where I was five years ago. One by one I changed my habits: I quit smoking. Started running (eventually did a few marathons). Started eating healthier (I eat a whole-food vegan diet now). Started eliminating my debt and saving money (I’m debt-free now). Started simplifying my life. Found work I love doing. Started waking earlier and becoming mor... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399844 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:01:15 +0100 4399844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382968&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FRVGrHt6dEGE%2F Share “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Maria Robinson “It’s better to be an optimist who is sometimes wrong than a pessimist who is always right.” Unknown Negative thinking can poison what – from the outside – looks like a pretty good life with opportunities. Pessimism can create ceilings and walls made out of glass where there really are none. With such forces controlling your inner life your outer life tends to stand pretty still. Your time here waste away. It’s a terrible thing. But you can change. I have. And in this article I’ll share six fundamentals that have be... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382968 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:34:49 +0100 4382968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377808&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FDITYFZ52lbk%2F If you’re like most people, you don’t even think about making New Year’s resolutions anymore. It’s just too depressing to feel like a failure when you can’t stay on that diet, or continue that exercise program. Maybe you’re motivated for the first week or two, but then there’s the Superbowl party when you blow it by pigging out on nachos and beer. And who the heck wants to go running when it’s freezing outside? Well, here’s a way to have resolutions that stick. Say goodbye to New Year’s resolutions and hello to monthly habits. Keeping a goal for a month is not nearly as daunting as keeping up with a goal for an entire year. And the thing is, experts agree that if you can stick to a habit for 28 days, the habit becomes permanent. You no longer think of it as a difficult ... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377808 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:51:17 +0100 4377808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361068&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F18%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-january-18-2011%2F No matter who we are, where we live, how much money we have or what we do for a living, we all essentially want the same thing. We want to feel validated that our worries, feelings and emotions are justified. We want to be seen, heard and felt valued for who we are. We want to know that how we feel and what we think is normal. And most important, we want to be both loved and understood. Knowing these things, can we change the way we perceive our relationships? Can we change the way we treat ourselves and others? That’s a hope I have and a realistic resolution you could have for 2011. A simple change to gain a worthy result. Recently, my great aunt was snappy on the phone with my dad, I took the chance and spoke to her, validating her concerns, calming her fears, and noticed an instan... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361068 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:52:11 +0100 4361068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343360&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38607&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fsuccessbeginstoday%2FBHWQ%2F%7E3%2FyPBllxtNocI%2F In my last post I talked about scheduling using Google Calendar. This tool allows you to have multiple calendars overlaid over one another. This allows you to see possible conflicts and to move things around to make things more efficient. The cool thing about using a calendar tool like this is to put down all the things you are currently doing and look for time areas that can be better utilized. Here is an example from my daily calendar that many people have to deal with. Given our busy lives and the way most cities are laid out, many of us have to commute to work. This may be by car or public transportation. For many people this is just wasted time, especially if you have to drive. Additionally, most people have a lunch hour, which can be a time to wind down, but many times is unproducti... Success Begins Today blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343360 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:31:54 +0100 4343360 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4326903&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fgetting-kids-to-eat-low-sugar-cereals%2F2011.01.09 Just about everybody agrees that kids should eat breakfast every day. Breakfast improves their overall nutrition and their performance in school, among other things. But how helpful can breakfast really be if it consists of cereal deluged in sugar? “Not very” is the answer. Thankfully, a new study by Jennifer Harris and colleagues at Yale suggests that kids are perfectly willing to consume low-sugar cereals instead, particularly if they can add a pinch of table sugar or fresh fruit to the mix. To evaluate kids’ willingness to eat low-sugar cereals, Harris’ team randomized 91 kids between the ages of five and 12 to two groups. Kids in the first group were offered low-sugar cereals like Cheerios, Corn Flakes, and Rice Krispies, which contain one to four grams of sugar per servin... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4326903 Sun, 09 Jan 2011 14:00:41 +0100 4326903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4318562&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2Fev9Ul6amIJE%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/denemiles/ / CC BY-SA 2.0 Share “The greatest waste in the world is the difference between what we are and what we could become.”Ben Herbster “The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”Marcus Aurelius It’s a fresh new year. Although you can make a positive change in your life at any time most people get an extra dose of enthusiasm around this time of the year. That’s only natural. But how do you go about making changes that will stick? How do you not wind up in the same place where you started a few weeks or months from now? Below is a simple guide that will help you to stay on track and help you overcome or avoid some of the most common problems that people encounter when they are trying to make a change. Choose somethin... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4318562 Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:01:23 +0100 4318562 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4298718&cid=t_107018_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FRkIGbtcxVcQ%2F How can we help younger generations find the right path to lifelong brain health and performance — especially as they will live longer, and in more dynamic, complex environments? We created the Brain Health across the Lifes­pan series to curate reliable sources of information, and here you can  check out  the Top 10 Resources to Better Understand the Teenage Brain. Wishing you and your family a very brain-fit decade…please enjoy the December edition of our monthly eNewsletter: Research Bites Memory Training Reduces Brain Atrophy: Andreas Engvig, a former SharpBrains intern and current neuroscientist, gives us a unique peak into his lab’s work on how mem­ory train­ing can both improve memory performance and decrease brain matter reduction in older adults’ brains. Cognitive ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4298718 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 18:05:22 +0100 4298718 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4287413&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2F5-clinical-resolutions-for-2011%2F2010.12.24 Jenni Prokopy (aka Chronicbabe) put us to the challenge for this week’s Grand Rounds by asking for our 2011 clinical resolutions. I have to admit that I’m not one for resolutions because I can never take them seriously. But admittedly there are things that I need to tighten up. So here goes: 1.  Clear my chart rack every afternoon. This is key because my creative mind operates better when my charts are done. Of course this means no more tweeting “47 charts” or “33 charts” when I’m behind. Had I made this resolution for 2009, this blog wouldn’t have a name. 2.  Cultivate innovative communication channels with my referring docs. While I need to be consistent and compulsive with my referral letters, I want to improve mobile, real-time communications between me and my ref... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4287413 Fri, 24 Dec 2010 20:00:35 +0100 4287413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4266315&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Flessons-from-less%2F Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Courtney Carver of Be More with Less. When I was 16, I wanted more. When I was 24, I wanted even more than that. So, I worked harder, earned more, spent more, to have more, only to owe more. I was exhausted at the end of the day and tired when I woke up most mornings. I ate on the fly, fell behind, ran late and could never catch up. Sound familiar? I thought everything I was doing was for a better life. I thought what I was doing was normal and right. I had become so used to bills in the mailbox, and feeling rundown, that I didn’t know anything was wrong. So, how did I go from wanting more, more, more to craving less? I would love to tell you that I woke up one morning a changed person, but that’s not the way it went down. Even tho... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4266315 Fri, 17 Dec 2010 16:00:23 +0100 4266315 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233297&cid=t_107018_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FpcMYWzMw2AY%2F Given many of us are starting to prepare New Year Resolutions, let’s revisit one of SharpBrains’ most popular-ever articles that can help us all refine our Brain Fitness Resolutions… The Ten Habits of Highly Effective Brains Learn what is the “It” in “Use It or Lose It”. A basic understanding will serve you well to appreciate your brain’s beauty as a living and constantly-developing dense forest with billions of neurons and synapses. Take care of your nutrition. Did you know that the brain only weighs 2% of body mass but consumes over 20% of the oxygen and nutrients we intake? As a general rule, you don’t need expensive ultra-sophisticated nutritional supplements, just make sure you don’t stuff yourself with the “bad stuff”. Remember that the brain is part of the... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233297 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 19:21:08 +0100 4233297 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225720&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2F39Tnqyo0kDE%2F Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/ / CC BY 2.0 Share “Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” Anthony Robbins “The one who asks questions doesn’t lose his way” African Proverb Consistently asking yourself helpful questions is a great way to keep yourself on track in day to day life. Cutting out and letting go of irrelevant stuff can help you to simplify and relaxify your life. It can help you to find more time for the things that are fun and really important to you. So combining these two things can be very helpful. Here are three quick questions that can help you to cut irrelevant stuff out of your life. As you use the questions more and more they tend to start to pop up almost automatically at useful points in your everyda... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225720 Fri, 03 Dec 2010 15:59:01 +0100 4225720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214534&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38607&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fsuccessbeginstoday%2FBHWQ%2F%7E3%2FuEMNAWrD44E%2F Have you ever tried to change a habit and found it more difficult than it should be? Have you ever done something without consciously thinking about it? Have you ever created a new habit and had it sabotaged by your subconscious mind? That’s what happened to me yesterday. I decided that I wanted to go faster on my bike. I researched the topic, asked questions, and came up with a great solution. I bought a used set of biking shoes and clip on pedals for my road bike. Everyone told me that they would make me more efficient, keep my feet aligned, and above all… make me faster! I believed them. Oh and everyone told me that I would fall at least once… Hmmmm I though… a little scary. I went down to the bike shop and had the pedals put on and had the guy set the bike up for me. He put my ... Success Begins Today blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214534 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:45:54 +0100 4214534 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4207526&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2Fozg65lRJOqk%2F “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.” ~ Winston Churchill When was the last time you changed things in your world? Taking the time to evaluate where you are in the hustle and bustle of life can help you gain the perspective you need to make the small adjustments that will improve your quality of life and enhance your confidence. When you make a plan and set a goal for 30 days, you will be manufacturing a means to find a much more capable, confident you by the end of the month. 1. Choose a hobby. There is no shortage of hobbies to choose from. Rock climbing, jogging, pottery, cooking, photography. Any activity that engages your mind and holds your attention is well worth your minutes. Hobbies are an investment of time and usually require a certain skill.... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4207526 Sun, 28 Nov 2010 16:40:55 +0100 4207526 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203196&cid=t_107018_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FxH2dAhT8ZKk%2F photo: Stephen Chernin/Getty Images We’re not going to pretend to understand people who camp out in front of big box stores days before Thanksgiving (and completely miss Thanksgiving dinner) in advance of all the Black Friday sales. But we’re very glad Black Friday’s almost here, because we’re really tired of seeing all those commercials telling us to leave our warm, cozy beds in the middle of the night in order to embrace the true meaning of the holidays and buy a bunch of crap no one really needs. The folks over at The Daily Beast were kind enough to put together a handy slideshow of some of the major Black Friday sales and opening hours. And we’re giving you our honest take on them: Some Sam’s Club stores will open on Friday at 5 a.m. Why so late? Low... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203196 Fri, 26 Nov 2010 01:00:09 +0100 4203196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4200560&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthanksgiving-a-heart-attack-for-dessert%2F2010.11.25 It seems the Washington Post, cloaked under an anonymous author, wants to use scare tactics to keep most of us from enjoying Thanksgiving with their ominously titled article, “And for dessert, a heart attack?” They spew all kinds of garbage with very little data about how eating a high-fat diet might give you a heart attack. If you want to know more, consider this article* from some pretty smart folks at Harvard. Then eat, drink, and be merry without guilt (courtesy of Dr. Wes). Happy Thanksgiving! - WesMusings of a cardiologist and cardiac electrophysiologist. *REFERENCE: Renata, M. and Mozaffarian, D. “Saturated Fat and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Coronary Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes: a Fresh Look at the Evidence.” Lipids, 31 Mar 2010. [Photo credit: La... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4200560 Thu, 25 Nov 2010 18:00:00 +0100 4200560 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183357&cid=t_107018_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FxkNvcwzp_Hc%2F – A missive from the folks at Individual Image Imitators, Inc. to a famous toddler who recently survived rehab, from our post: An Open Letter to Aldi Rizal, the Indonesian Baby Who Finally Quit Smoking Post from: BlissTree We thought you looked pretty friggin’ cool in those videos where you were smoking. To us, you were channeling Bogey in "The Maltese Falcon." (Politically incorrect? Hell, yes. And true.) And that guitar? Forget it. Elvis wished he were half as cool as you. And we really want to commend you on your (former) smoke rings and baton-twirling-like finger manipulation of the cancer sticks. Nice work...for a baby. You were quite the chain-smoking badass. No local villager in their right mind would ever mess with the likes of you. Except, now that you’ve successfully quit s... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183357 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:00:21 +0100 4183357 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4183347&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34859&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.davemsw.com%2Farchives%2F2010%2F11%2Ftodays_great_american_smokeout_and_what_we_learn_a.php I quit smoking 28 years ago. The final effort started the previous year on "Great American Smokeout", 29 years ago. I'm very glad I succeeded. I used to joke that quitting smoking was easy, I'd done it 100s of times. Unfortunately it was all too true. I struggled with attempts to quite smoking over most of my adult years. It's a major bad habit, with the further complication of addiction to Nicotine. At one time I smoked three packs a day. I was thoroughly hooked.In my experience, I've found that major bad habits of all kinds are very difficult to break. Many a New Years' resolution has gone unfulfilled due to this problem. Despite our best intent and efforts, somehow all the logic in our arsenal cannot overcome an well established habit. That is because it has been "hard wired" into the b... Ψ Dare To Dream... blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4183347 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:56:46 +0100 4183347 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179547&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2F82NiCzmh-q8%2F Image by tony (license). Share “Everything is something you decide to do, and there is nothing you have to do.” Denis Waitley “If you wait to do everything until you’re sure it’s right, you’ll probably never do much of anything.” Win Borden Perhaps the most important thing you can do to improve your life is simply to do things. To take action and learn along the way. Here are five suggestions for “do-habits” that are very helpful to adopt to radically improve your life. 1. Do it first thing in the morning. How you start your day tends to have a big influence on that day. It sets the context in your mind. I believe that one key to better consistency and improvement in your life is what you do early in the day. Two ways to get a good start to your day are these: Do the har... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179547 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 20:52:59 +0100 4179547 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4168021&cid=t_107018_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FjANG3U2sYCI%2F Dear Mr. Rizal: Congratulations on your recent successful attempt to quit smoking! As you well know, it’s a very difficult habit to kick, especially for someone who can barely walk or talk. Kudos to your mother, who staged somewhat of an intervention with you, and helped make it possible for you to enter rehab in Jakarta. (One of these days, you might find LiLo sitting next to you in your support group!) It’s great that now you’re getting to “play” and “run around” and “color” just like a “regular kid.” But keep in mind that it’s never too early to start thinking about and planning your future career aspirations. Healthwise, we think you made the right decision. But still, we thought you looked pretty friggin’ co... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4168021 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:44:56 +0100 4168021 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4159535&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2F3tGH4M6C0kY%2F SUMMARY: A quick recap of the past month’s Groundhog Day Resolutions progress. Last month on the 10/10 GHD Review Day, I was beset with angsty thoughts about my own limits, and it took a few days to find some workable strategies for getting by them. STRATEGY ONE: Remember what principles are important, and live them through action. STRATEGY TWO: Be involved in making fun ‘n important stuff with your friends. STRATEGY THREE: Pick the harder path. Resistance equals growth. STRATEGY FOUR: Commit to 5 minutes of pain when facing a new challenge, then take a nap. Since then, I’ve been feeling pretty good. The minutes of pain thing was a pretty important breakthrough. Also, from the Google Wave with Colleen theme of CALM, I’ve been actively trying to be calm about day... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4159535 Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:39:03 +0100 4159535 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4152333&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FxEOBGP-pq8s%2F Image by ePi.Longo (license). A few of the most common questions I get are related to: Stress and getting stuck in worrying about work or school even when you are supposed to relax. Not being able to get the most important things done and having a problem with procrastination. A lack of motivation or self-discipline. When I zoom out and not just look at what you are telling me I see and hear this in the world around me too. People are feeling a lot of stress at work or in school and want a simple and clear system that will help them to minimize stress and procrastination and to help them get the results they want. Almost every week I read an article in the newspapers about the pressure at work or in school nowadays and how people want to have more uninterrupted free time to use as they w... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4152333 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 18:20:36 +0100 4152333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4134317&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2F3IgljmoKwyQ%2F Image by abnelphoto.com (license). Share “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” Karen Lamb One of the most common problems people tell me that they want help with is procrastination. So in this short article I will take some inspiration from wise people throughout history and add a few of my own thoughts on how to minimize this energy draining and stress inducing dilemma. These are four of the most effective tips that I have found so far for making procrastination a much smaller problem in your life. 1. Break it down and just take the first step. “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” Martin Luther King, Jr. When you start to look too far into the future any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because y... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4134317 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:30:52 +0100 4134317 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4121855&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhen-puberty-ends%2F2010.10.30 I heard a 23-year-old woman complain: “I must be getting old when 11:00 at night is late.” It got me thinking. It turns out that the explanation for why teens are natural night owls has recently been elucidated. They can’t help it — they just don’t get tired until way later in the evening. Then, of course, their bodies want to stay asleep well into the next morning in order to feel sufficiently rested. Since most of them are stuck with the artificial structure of school hours, they’re screwed — and condemned to suffer constant fatigue from cumulative sleep deprivation. Old news. Then I started wondering about the back end of this phenomenon. Even though our American “youth culture” attributes great coolness to late-night happenings, since this pubertal sleep s... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4121855 Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:00:40 +0100 4121855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4119791&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FGisCdicEPJc%2F Image by Wolfgang Staudt (license). Share “Let him that would move the world first move himself.” Socrates “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Plato “Nothing endures but change.” Heraclitus “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” Pericles Obviously, old greeks like Plato, Epictetus and Aristotle were really sharp. And what they talked about over 2000 years ago is just as relevant and useful today. Our outer circumstances may have changed dramatically over the last few thousands of years, but on the inside we seem to have stayed pretty much the same in many ways. Here are just 7 of my favourite fundamentals from that place and time. I hope you will find them as helpful as I have. 1. If you are goi... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4119791 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 15:44:03 +0100 4119791 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4098055&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F10%2F23%2Fmen-get-eating-disorders-too%2F Ginger Emas has written an interesting piece about men and eating disorders. It piqued my interest because a friend of mine once asked me if she should be concerned about her son’s eating habits. He counted calories, stayed away from sweets, and was a tad obsessive about a healthy diet. I told her not to sweat it, buying into the cultural myth that boys don’t get eating disorders. Now I know they do. To get to Ginger’s original article on ShareWIK, click here. I have reprinted it with permission below. Usually when we talk about body image issues, we’re talking about girls. But did you know that more than one million boys and men struggle with eating disorders? More than 80 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat. More than 10 percent of middle school boys h... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4098055 Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:37:01 +0100 4098055 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086515&cid=t_107018_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FMp58pkyx6qE%2F Does information provided by drugmakers to doctors result in higher prescribing frequency, higher costs and lower prescribing quality? This is not a new issue, of course, but a new study that attempted to quantify patterns says the answer is yes. And the researchers came to this conclusion by scouring 58 studies in several countires that examined a variety of company contact. This included visits by sales reps, journal advertisements, attendance at pharmaceutical sponsored meetings, information that was mailed to docs, prescribing software, and participation in sponsored clinical trials. The outcomes measured were quality, quantity, and cost of physician prescribing, according to the new study published in PLoS Medicine. The bottom line: the researchers found that docs who accepted meeting... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086515 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 14:20:34 +0100 4086515 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082354&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FkUJIZLXP0e0%2F Image by JohnONolan (license). Share “Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go.” E.L Doctorow “Whether or not you write well, write bravely.” Bill Stout “Writing is the hardest way of earning a living, with the possible exception of wrestling alligators.” Olin Miller I usually don’t write much about writing. But today, as I am working on my next book and am writing a lot, I felt like mixing things up a bit and bringing in some variation. So here are five timeless tips on writing. I suppose this article could be useful if you are a blogger but also if you’re a writer of some other kind. Perhaps one with an unfinished novel still waiting in the drawer. 1. It won’t always be easy. “Every writer I know has trouble writing.” Joseph Heller “In... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082354 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:26:16 +0100 4082354 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082043&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fconfessions-of-a-sneeze-supressor-can-holding-in-your-ah-choo-hurt-you%2F photo: Thinkstock I admit it: I hold in my sneezes. I’ve been doing it since I was little. I believe it stems from the fact that my father has the loudest sneeze I’ve ever heard. When I was a kid, my dad would sneeze in the basement and I’d be roused from slumber all the way up on the second floor. So naturally, over the years I’ve honed my sneeze to be as silent as possible. Sometimes people around me don’t even realize that I’ve sneezed. (I’m that sneaky.) I’d guess that several of my co-workers think I suffer from some kind of twitch. Is this better than an obnoxiously loud sneeze? In my book, yes. Of course, throughout my life, I’ve been warned by all my non-scientist family and friends about how suppressing my sneezes will kill my ... Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082043 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:39:59 +0100 4082043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4077633&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FKooGC8GIdnM%2F SUMMARY: The deep needs and desires of my psyche are the ultimate criteria for assessing my current state of happiness, but they can also get in the way of actually doing things. In times of battle, they must be suppressed for a time. While my desires are not life-or-death by any stretch of the imagination, they are still pretty damn important to ME. Dreams (and notes) follow. Having spent almost $100 on printer ink so I could finally print out the Dream Context Tracker, I was excited about FINALLY embarking on my journey toward dream fulfillment. As I stared at the form, however, I realized I hadn’t the foggiest idea what to put in that first box. It was daunting! It was scary! My brow furrowed, wondering if I had somehow missed something in its design. I decided to switch modes ... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4077633 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 05:03:57 +0100 4077633 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074490&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38614&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FThePositivityblog-PutSomePersonalDevelopmentAndPositivityIntoYourLife%2F%7E3%2FS3t9gBz-i0w%2F Share “Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” Anthony Robbins Your mind like answers. It seems like whatever you ask it, it will find answers for. So it becomes very important to ask yourself the right questions. Questions that will help you out rather than just make you feel more miserable and helpless. Questions like: “What’s awesome about this?” and “Will this matter 5 years from now?” Another favourite goes something like this: “What would X do?” X being whoever inspiring figure you want it to be. It’s a great way to shift perspective in a situation and find a more useful frame of mind. For example, the non-conformist and rebel might ask: “What would Tyler Durden do?” Me, I like Winnie the Pooh. What would Winnie the P... The Positivity Blog | Increase Your Happiness and Awesomeness blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074490 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 14:38:45 +0100 4074490 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065631&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FcXt6DAdm-A4%2F This is a continuation of The Day that Almost Was, which is turning into a series on rebuilding my rituals. The Sleeping Ritual Yesterday was a day devoted to synchronization of my schedule with the rest of the world. My schedule had been crazy before, 4-8 hours of wakefulness followed by 4-6 hours of sleep. As you might expect, it became very difficult to predict when I would be awake and when I would be asleep. This is the schedule I tend to fall into when I’m doing any kind of computer programming. This time, though, I was paying attention to the contextual factors that might be contributing to the sleep pattern: Mental clarity – When I’m wrestling with a non-trivial programming problem, it’s quite exhausting. After about 4 hours of this kind of concentratio... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065631 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:55:17 +0100 4065631 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4061097&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FOzdb3tpNA54%2F I just finished posting the long review of my day and am about to head to sleep, but I had a tiny brainstorm about evening rituals as they relate to staying in the zone. The Daily Habit It seems that a lot of people I know (myself included) are obsessed about improving their daily routine. Well, there are TWO people, and they both are independent creative entrepreneurs like myself. One of them sees it as a way of improving structure in her life, and the other wants to introduce an entire new daily activity into a completely-packed schedule. As for myself, I’m somewhere in the middle: I just want to be making the best of every day, and I want to be producing the assets that I believe will bring me some happiness. I won’t go into the specifics this time, for once…you&#82... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4061097 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:01:46 +0100 4061097 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4061098&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FcbZuuqdOkO8%2F After yesterday’s post declaring my own selfish intentions to myself, I was both excited and nervous about starting the day. When I’m about to embark on a new direction, I have the tendency to want a day that sets the tone for the entire journey; I enjoy my small superstitions. Although the day didn’t go according to plan, on hindsight it did set the tone: there’s going to be a LOT of work, but it is not necessarily going to be hard if I’m truthful and mindful of what I’m doing. This post is a record of the foundational work I’m doing to engineer an improved daily routine. 7:00 AM I have a standing bi-weekly coffee meeting with my friend Gary, who is one of those super-capable self-made persons working from a set of very strong core principles,... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4061098 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 10:00:39 +0100 4061098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4061099&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FRl64qIMDMIM%2F Do you talk over people during conversations? Do you bite your nails when you are nervous? Do you drink like a fish or pop pills like a pharmacist? Have you ever told a lie to get a point across? Have you ever ignored the people you were with for a better conversation with someone on your cell phone? Has your recent predicament made you so worried that you can’t focus on anything? Good, you are human. Each and every person on this earth has habits rather good or bad. There are just some things that we tend to do automatically. They have become so repetitive that they almost seem natural. Habits are inherently neutral but speaking for myself I seem to have more bad ones than good and I think I would greatly benefit from turning the tables. So how do you break bad habits? WHAT IS A HAB... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4061099 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 05:13:02 +0100 4061099 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4055974&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2F6f8coM2wbOk%2F SUMMARY: Last month, I came to the conclusion that all the searching I’ve been doing over the years has come to an end, because I am already doing what I think I should be doing: focus on the search itself. Because I am strongly driven to search, I assumed that there was a destination or natural endpoint; isn’t that the point of searching? Instead, I am starting to think the prize is the freedom to search itself, a way of living that happens to produce golden eggs of opportunity. This makes the business plan much clearer: support the search activity by sharing my findings, and opportunities will continue to present themselves. But first: I have to acknowledge some selfish thoughts. Moral Cleansing At the beginning of these GHDR posts, I usually reread the past two month&#82... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4055974 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 03:59:30 +0100 4055974 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045240&cid=t_107018_127_f&fid=38263&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fdeepesthealth%2FBMCc%2F%7E3%2F249F-PZD0gM%2F Deepest Health has been in a transitional time for a while.  We’ve seen a facelift (though more is coming) and the addition of a great new writer in Michael Reynolds.  At the same time, there’s been a lot going on in the rest of my life – including the recent moving of my clinic.  It’s been an amazing process, but a lot of work. I thought instead of hanging my head about my lack of writing, or simply not writing, I’d write about how I’m searching for consistency in my clinical life as well as in my writing.  My thought is people who have been following along throughout this blog’s history will enjoy the update.  Some of you may even resonate with where I find myself. I’ve been in practice now for just over a year, if you don’t coun... Deepest Health: Exploring Classical Chinese Medicine blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045240 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:24:59 +0100 4045240 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003226&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fremember-the-old-general-foods-international-coffees-slogan-it%25e2%2580%2599s-the-same-thing-i-do-celebrate-the-moments-of-my-life-%25e2%2580%2593-i-just-spike-them-first%2F – Blisstree Editor-in-Chief Christine Egan on the pleasures of solo drinking from her post I Drink Alone and You Can’t Stop Me Post from: BlissTree Remember the old General Foods International Coffees slogan? It’s the same thing. I do celebrate the moments of my life – I just spike them first. (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003226 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:01 +0100 4003226 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003092&cid=t_107018_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fachieve-a-deep-uninterrupted-sleep-2%2F This article from Readers Digest may help. Night-time Habits Blessed sleep — the holy grail of health. Lack of sleep can send your blood sugar levels skyrocketing, contribute to weight gain, lead to depression, put you at risk for diabetes, and cause brain damage. Since we’re all in agreement that a good night’s sleep is one of the best things you can do for your health and mood, pick three of these tips to follow each night until you get the night’s sleep you so desperately crave. The article has 24 hints that you can choose from. If your 3 don’t work try others or a different combination. The hints are; Create a transition routine. Figure out your body cycle. Sprinkle just-washed sheets and pillowcases with lavender water Hide your clock under your ... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003092 Sun, 26 Sep 2010 16:06:00 +0100 4003092 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4001687&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmy-patient-the-health-nut%2F2010.09.25 A version of the following post, by Kimberly Manning, FACP, appeared on the blog “Life at Grady.” “My blood pressure is still borderline? Man!” “Yeah…and from looking through the chart, it was 150/96 on your admission. It’s pretty much been that since you’ve been here, give or take a few points. That’s a little more than borderline, actually.” I paused for a moment, realizing that I sounded a bit discouraging. “I don’t think this would be hard to get under control at all, sir. I mean…you’re such a motivated patient, you know?” I studied my patient carefully. He was in his late thirties, although he could totally pass for a twenty-something all day, every day. His skin looked like someone had grabbed ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4001687 Sat, 25 Sep 2010 17:00:00 +0100 4001687 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987142&cid=t_107018_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FfidZ9tUwotE%2F For an excellent review of the most recent findings on learning habits, check out The New York Times recent article: Forget What You Know About Good Study Habits. Tons of unexpected and fascinating results! The findings can help anyone, from a fourth grader doing long division to a retiree taking on a new language. But they directly contradict much of the common wisdom about good study habits, and they have not caught on. For instance, instead of sticking to one study location, simply alternating the room where a person studies improves retention. Take the notion that children have specific learning styles, that some are “visual learners” and others are auditory; some are “left-brain” students, others “right-brain.” In a recent review of the relevant research, published in the ... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987142 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:52:45 +0100 3987142 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987256&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FopBvvMf01q4%2F A week ago I wrote that writing is my engine, meaning that I’ve realized that the way I get anything started or done is by writing about it. It’s the activity that engages my brain most productively; in fact, writing is the way I focus. You’d think it would be the other way around, that writing is the product of a focused mind, but nooooo…for me it’s backwards. I have little choice but to embrace it. Despite this epiphany, it’s taken the past week to realize that there are supporting elements for my writing (and by extension: productive) mindset. Bad Habits Writing starts me up by making me put thoughts into visible order. However, there are many things that prevent me from writing effectively. When I have a large lunch, my mind becomes fuzzy due a... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987256 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:15:57 +0100 3987256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3969012&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ffrom-mayo-clinics-transform-2010-conference-how-sick-are-our-healthy-school-lunches%2F2010.09.14 Appearing as a Second Life 3D virtual-world avatar at Mayo Clinic’s “Transform 2010″ symposium (watch the video here), Mrs. Q – a teacher and the anonymous author of the blog “Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project” — told the story of how her unique health mission has come to be. She’s determined to help people understand just how sick our “healthy” school lunches really are. Mrs. Q has sparked the interest of child health advocates around the country. Thanks to programs like First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move Initiative” and Jamie Oliver’s “Food Revolution,” the nation is paying more attention to childhood obesity and school lunch reform. Mrs. Q’s blog was starte... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3969012 Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:37:25 +0100 3969012 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3965372&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2F199641%2F What’s With the Other 15%? A new study shows that 85% of adults wash their hands after using the restroom in public restaurants, which is the highest percentage since 1996. (via USA Today) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3965372 Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:24:25 +0100 3965372 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3962011&cid=t_107018_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fmastering-our-spiritual-selves%2F This article was written by Kevin Michael Kiley. A 1992 graduate of Dartmouth and a successful entrepreneur, he engaged in a profound spiritual search in the face of severe illness. He is now dedicated to serving others as a highly skilled life coach. Learn how Kevin can also help you to move through obstacles and create constantly increasing success. http://www.kevinmichaelkiley.com See also; ABC’s of Recovery What About This Spiritual Awakening Thing? Sought Through Prayer and Meditation – A Recovery Book Faith It Till You Make It – A Recovery Book - Share, print or e-mail this articleRandom Articles10 Pointers to RecoveryCross AddictionAct As If BeliefThe Purpose of AlateenEnabling of Alcoholism (Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com) Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3962011 Sun, 12 Sep 2010 15:00:00 +0100 3962011 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3946719&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2Fk-d689eiVwI%2F SUMMARY: For years I’ve felt I was getting closer to finding my destiny as I blogged. It turns out I’ve been chasing myself; I’m already here and making it work. The journey is the reward; in my case, the reward is the destination. All that remains is to officially recognize that the destination is also the business plan. I’ve been baffled at where the last two months have gone. I know I’ve been busy, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve gotten anything meaningful done. And that’s because I’ve been in survival mode. I picked up a month-long contract with Red 5 Studios out in California, which included two weeks of intense on-site work that took precedent over my August 8 Groundhog Day resolution post. After the project wrapped, I took a few d... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3946719 Thu, 09 Sep 2010 08:01:42 +0100 3946719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3942766&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fjimmy-fallons-green-juice-diet-and-guys-we-like-at-the-gym-%25e2%2580%2593-morning-news-roundup%2F You’ve Been Studying All Wrong – Turns out, burning the midnight oil doesn’t guarantee good grades. (New York Times) Guys at the Gym – The 10 guy types – including Billy Crudup as Steve Prefontaine – that keep us going back to the treadmill. (FitSugar) Medieval Health Tips – We never thought of the Medieval times as the healthiest times, but apparently there are some good diet tips in that history lesson. (Epi-Log) Jimmy Fallon’s Green Juice Diet – Apparently, he fortifies with a blend of kale, spinach, cucumber, and parsley. (FitCeleb) Post from: BlissTree Jimmy Fallon's Green Juice Diet and Guys We Like at the Gym – Morning News Roundup (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3942766 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:43:00 +0100 3942766 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3895839&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=34872&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Ffeel%2Fsmoke-signals-even-secondhand-smoke-is-harmful%2F photo: Thinkstock A new study shows that even a small amount of secondhand smoke can be harmful to your health. Low levels of exposure to cigarette smoke create abnormal genetic activity in the cells lining non-smokers’ lungs. Now if only there were some way for non-smokers to ask smokers to not puff around them without seeming like a narc. We’ve found that having obnoxiously loud coughing fits works. via CNN Post from: BlissTree Smoke Signals: Even Secondhand Smoke Is Harmful (Source: Healthbolt) Healthbolt blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3895839 Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:32:46 +0100 3895839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3867070&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FasgsV0S2_wU%2F Over the past few years, most of us have got used to shopping online. It doesn’t seem odd to us that some stores – Amazon most famously – exist only online, with no high street presence. And many of us buy everything from our groceries to our music on the net. Online shops are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, even on holidays. Some purchases – music, ebooks, movies – can be bought and downloaded straight to your computer, at any time of the day or night. Is it any surprise that we often end up shopping by impulse? You know how it goes. Perhaps you read a book review, click on a link to Amazon, and find yourself with that book in your shopping cart before you even pause to think. It takes mere seconds, and no more effort than a couple of clicks of your mouse, to bu... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3867070 Sat, 14 Aug 2010 19:08:58 +0100 3867070 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3858442&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Fenjoy-the-habit%2F Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on twitter. I’ve written a lot about habits — it’s in the title, after all — and after all these years, and after all the questions that people have asked about forming habits, there’s one thing that seems more important than anything else. It’s simply this: enjoy the habit. That might seem obvious to some of you, but you’d be surprised how many people try to force themselves to do things they don’t enjoy. They try to instill “discipline” because they think it’ll make them a better person or give them a better life, but what kind of life is it if you force yourself to do things you hate all the time? And here’s the thing: if you try to make a habit of something you don’t lik... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3858442 Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:55:18 +0100 3858442 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3798854&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38610&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.productivity501.com%2Fpower-of-routines%2F8117%2F Routines are a simple method to guarantee that you do the same thing at the same time in the same way every day.  Routines allow you to decide ahead of time what you are going to do, make the decision once, and then spend all of your effort executing rather than pondering what you should do next. Here are some examples of beneficial routines: Reading something helpful for your career for 15 minutes each day during your lunch break. Going for a 30 minute walk every evening. An hour first thing in the morning spent with 15 minutes organizing your desk, 15 minutes sending networking emails and 30 minutes writing for your blog, Those are just some simple examples, but the point is to create habits that cause you to repeat productive behavior. You don’t want to allow yourself to decide... Productivity501 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3798854 Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:25:22 +0100 3798854 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3784228&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fbecoming-an-ex-quitting-smoking-isnt-always-healthy%2F photo: Thinkstock This is the second post by Drew Grant, Associate Editor of our sister site, Crushable, about her efforts to quit smoking using the Become An Ex cessation program. I’ll admit, I had high expectations for quitting smoking cold turkey with the Become An EX program. After all, most of the bad habits mentioned in the pamphlet didn’t apply to me. For example: I don’t smoke when stressed, or have a bad day at work, nor do I feel the need to take a drag after sex or before or after eating. These things are called “triggers” in the EX language, and much like any other 12-step program, you need to identify them before you can start your treatment. However, going down the checklist during my first week, I did identify several “trigger” sc... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3784228 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:23:35 +0100 3784228 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3776636&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Fproductive-and-smiling%2F Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Mary Jaksch of Goodlife ZEN. Do you want to be more productive? Maybe you do, but I’m sure you don’t want to feel stressed, overwhelmed, or unhappy – which happens to many super-productive people. But there is good news: You can be insanely productive – and still smell the freesias, savor a Pinot Noir, or enjoy a languid hug. A few weeks ago Leo Babauta said to me, “Mary – you’re one of the most productive people I know. And you still keep smiling and seem so relaxed. How do you do it?” Most stuff I’ve read about productivity is about doing things differently. Like getting up at 4 a.m. each morning, or drinking eight liters of water a day, or keeping a notebook under the pillow. Sorry, folks – I don&#821... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3776636 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:01:44 +0100 3776636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767047&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fcan-i-become-an-ex-smoker-watch-me-try%2F This is the first post by Drew Grant, Associate Editor of our sister site, Crushable, about her efforts to quit smoking using the Become An Ex program. Telling people you’re quitting smoking just doesn’t have the same social impact that say, kicking heroin or drying out from alcohol does. You never see an episode of A&E’s Intervention where worried friends and family trick a three-pack-a-day fiend into a small room so that Dr. Jeff VanVonderen can give them the option of rehab. Why not? Well, for one thing, smoking is generally thought of as more of a symptomatic problem: It’s what you do along with drinking, or snorting cocaine, or what have you, and therefore isn’t the main issue for most people with “bad habits.” That’s why in AA or NA... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767047 Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:10:46 +0100 3767047 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3754120&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Felements-of-change%2F ‘Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure. But unfortunately, although it is true, it is difficult for us to accept it. Because we cannot accept the truth of transience, we suffer.’ ~Shunryu Suzuki Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on twitter or identica. Change can be a difficult thing. Most people want to change their lives, in some way, but find it difficult to either get started or to sustain the change for very long. I’m happy to report that after years of studying it, I’ve become fairly good at it (though happily failing all the time). I actually relish change, not because I feel I need to improve my life, but because in change, I learn new things. Constantly. What have I learned from my changes? I could write a... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3754120 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:17:24 +0100 3754120 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3737321&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2F0nDpXNxo4kA%2F This article was first published by NursingSchools.net courtesy of Ken Martin. ———————– Everyone knows that smoking is one of the most unhealthy things you can do to yourself, but still, many people continue to smoke because they simply can’t quit. If you’re struggling to quit smoking, you may be ready to do some crazy things to kick the habit, and we’ve got just the thing for you. These are 50 creative and crazy ways to finally put out the smoke monster. Health Here are several healthy things you can do to stop smoking. Have a heart attack: A smoking-induced heart attack might be just the ticket to finally scare you into quitting. Get your teeth cleaned: Invest in a good cleaning so that you’ll be sorry to mess up yo... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3737321 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:46:18 +0100 3737321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3737316&cid=t_107018_167_f&fid=38271&url=http%3A%2F%2Frebeccascritchfield.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fhow-to-motivate-behavior-changes-in-someone-you-love%2F It’s a time to bring awareness to heart disease and stroke, the number one killer in the United States, so you and people you love don’t become a statistic. I’ve been blogging about important topics like lowering your cholesterol, reducing heart disease risk and identifying heart healthy foods all month, and I want to continue the conversation with you by discussing how you can influence change in those you love. My mom has heart disease and I’ve spent countless hours helping her with nutrition and exercise. So I’m coming at this post as a daughter with experience in trying to get a loved one to change more so than rattling off “book smarts.” First, let me just say one important thing: it doesn’t matter how much you want someone to change, they have to want it too. Make ... Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3737316 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 05:23:48 +0100 3737316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3737021&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fhealthy-office-habits-tips-for-staying-sane-at-work%2F photo: Thinkstock Whatever your work hours, we’re guessing you’ve labored over an inane task or two that have gotten you a little loopy at least once during the past week. We don’t mean the kind of loopy that comes with being in love or really excited for a long weekend – we mean an utter loss of sanity that’s a result of entering numbers into a database for five hours straight. The blog Jane Has a Job offers some good advice on how to avoid going completely nuts on the job. Close your eyes for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. Sometimes it feels like you’re seeing double after staring at the computer screen for hours. Overworking your eyes can lead to serious damage, so you need to take a break every once in a while. (Even from Blisstree. Sad emoticon.) Snack... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3737021 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:30:32 +0100 3737021 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733336&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FwIHpaZg_Tuo%2F Why do people have bad habits? Do you know that some people smoke only to control anxiety? The automatic movement that the person does while smoking makes the person believe that he is in control of his environment and that’s why most smokers smoke when they feel anxious. It is in fact, one of the main reasons people start to smoke in the first place! Do you know that some shopping addicts only buy things to improve their moods and not because they really want any thing they are buying? Those people go for quick fixes such as shopping to improve their bad moods or ease their stress. Ironically, these quick fixes actually worsen their moods and increase their stress (when they realize how much they’ve spent) when the high has faded. Do you know that most drug addicts only use drugs ... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733336 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:13:23 +0100 3733336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733048&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Frudeness-in-the-workplace-give-us-the-gossip%2F photo: Thinkstock Uncivilized behavior in the workplace doesn’t just put everyone on edge, a new study shows that workplace altercations actually affect the way workers perform. And you don’t have to be directly involved in a squabble to feel the effects of it – even employees who witnessed a co-worker being insulted or berated performed poorly on cognitive exams. Do you have any good office gossip about co-workers or bosses being rude? (Of course you do.) Dish in the comments section, below. The more cringe-worthy the stories, the better. (You can use an alias!) via iVillage Post from: BlissTree Rudeness In the Workplace: Give Us the Gossip (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733048 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 21:31:47 +0100 3733048 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3915327&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2Fdq9gzXMe134%2F SUMMARY: Setbacks, setbacks. But I’m cool with that. In this month’s Groundhog Day Resolutions update, I postulate that my “productivity engine” is actually a capacitor which stores engine from inspirational sources, and only fires when it’s full and “ready to burst”. Instead of trying to work like an engine or even a battery, maybe I should just embrace it. I’ve been kind of dreading this report, because I not only missed last June’s review date, but I haven’t really felt I’ve made any progress on those important personal projects since then. That’s two months of little progress. I could say that I have been preoccupied with short-term projects and lining up new ones, and that would be somewhat true, but really it&#8... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3915327 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:18:27 +0100 3915327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3729844&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Ftop-7-smoking-myths-that-stop-you-from-quitting%2F You just smoke when you’re stressed; you think it’s good for your figure; or you think it’s your body, and you’ll do what you want. There are a lot of excuses that keep you puffing away, but deep down you probably know you should quit. AOL Health’s “Myths That Keep You Smoking” may change your mind about your favorite excuse. 1. Quitting will make you fat: Thin models and actresses who smoke, and ads like the one above from Virginia Slims make you think that cigarettes are the key to keeping your figure, but quitting doesn’t have to mean gaining tons of weight. The average quitter gains about 10 pounds at first, but studies have shown that health-minded quitters tend not to gain as much weight: Clearing up your lungs actually makes it easier ... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3729844 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:54:12 +0100 3729844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3729848&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fwhat-does-your-hair-color-say-about-your-health%2F photo: Thinkstock We all love our hair. (Or we hate it.) We preen over it for way too long in the morning, we spend months deciding on a new cut or color, and definitely think our luscious locks add to our feminine wiles. But apparently, our hair can even alert us to possible health risks. Check out what your natural hair color could say about your well being, courtesy of Women’s Health: Blondes You’re at risk for developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye condition that can lead to blindness. Eat food rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, like kale, spinach, and snow peas. Blondes are also at the highest risk for melanoma. Make sure you wear a full-spectrum SPF 30, and wear a hat in direct sunlight. Check out some of our favorite eco-friendly hats here. Brunettes Y... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3729848 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 17:49:48 +0100 3729848 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3729975&cid=t_107018_122_f&fid=35056&url=http%3A%2F%2Frenegadeneurologist.com%2Fless-sleep-linked-to-blues-in-teens%2F Warning: preg_match_all() [function.preg-match-all]: Compilation failed: unrecognized character after (? or (?- at offset 2 in /home/perlren/public_html/wp-content/plugins/abd-clickable-links.php on line 30 Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/perlren/public_html/wp-content/plugins/abd-clickable-links.php on line 50 Earlier bedtimes set by parents protect against depression From ScientificAmerican.com: Despite kids’ protests, enforcing early bedtimes may be good for their mental health. Teens who are allowed to go to bed later are more likely to suffer from depression—probably for the simple reason that they are not getting enough sleep, a recent study suggests. Columbia University scientists found that depression was 24 percent more common in teens whose parents ... Renegade Neurologist - A Blog by David Perlmutter, MD, FACN blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3729975 Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:04:58 +0100 3729975 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706642&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fleisure-time-equals-tv-time-for-most-americans%2F photo: Thinkstock Sometimes the only thing that gets us through the workday is the thought of collapsing on our couches at 8 p.m. to enjoy an hour of mindless sitcom madness. Should we be devoting our time to more worthwhile activities? Sure. We could volunteer, exercise, or learn a new language, but after eight + hours of work, do we have it in us to work for a few more every night? Most Americans watched TV in their free time last year, and, in fact, time in front of the TV rose by 12 minutes since 2007. The average amount of TV watched per day was 2:12. Yikes…That’s a little embarrassing. Maybe we should look into more productive after-work activities, like helping the homeless. We could probably still get in at least half-an-hour of mindless entertainment while working out ... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706642 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:31:59 +0100 3706642 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3702929&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fcongrats-to-the-5-winners-of-our-become-an-ex-quit-smoking-giveaway%2F Guess what Peggy, Angela, Allan, Susan, and Lee? It’s high time to give up those cancer sticks, because you just won: One EX Quit Pack, which includes: an EX backpack, an EX quit manual, a cigarette pack tracker, an air freshener, an EX cup holder, and quit smoking trigger cards with stickers. Congratulations to all five of you and best of luck! We know you’ll quit smoking for good this time. (And if you didn’t win, read below for info on how to Become an Ex.) At Blisstree, we think smoking is a big deal. And apparently, so do you. (One of our posts: What Happens to Your Body If You Stop Smoking Right Now? currently has 4,282 comments.) For those of you who didn’t win our giveaway, BecomeAnEX is a FREE online and social-media-based quit smoking program. Get t... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3702929 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 01:08:09 +0100 3702929 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699458&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2F10-things-we-want-to-do-this-weekend-6%2F Hear that? It’s the sound of the weekend calling your name. We’re getting goosebumps of excitement. Here are ten things you’ll find us doing over the next two days: Rethink our shampoo choice. Our old brands are full of harsh chemicals, and we’re guessing eco-friendly brands smell just as good – or better. Continue our crafting. Last week we tried crocheting, and this weekend we’ll try our hand at knitting. Take all day to plan a beautiful meal. We’ll definitely be sure to take some photos, too. We’re sure the food will look amazing, but we also want proof that we slaved in a hot kitchen all day. Give up Coke for the weekend. We don’t know about you, but we’re getting a little freaked out about the possible side effects. We&#8... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699458 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:25:19 +0100 3699458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699465&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2F185224%2F Last Chance to Become an EX: Quit smoking with this week’s exclusive giveaway. Five Blisstree readers will win an EX Quit Pack to help them kick the habit for good. To enter, let us know how long you’ve been smoking and why you want to quit by this Sunday at 6 p.m. ET. Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699465 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:07:57 +0100 3699465 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3683590&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fbecome-an-ex-and-quit-smoking-enter-this-weeks-giveaway%2F Do you smoke or know someone who does? More importantly, do you want to quit? At Blisstree, we think smoking is a big deal. And apparently, so do you. (One of our posts: What Happens to Your Body If You Stop Smoking Right Now? currently has 4,282 comments.) That’s why we’re partnering with EX® for this week’s giveaway to support smokers who want to kick the habit, as well as non-smokers who want to help them do it. BecomeAnEX is a FREE online and social-media-based quit smoking program. Get this: 70% of smokers in the U.S. want to quit, but only about 5% of smokers are successful in quitting long-term. Most people just don’t know how to quit. That’s where EX comes in. The free EX Plan, available at BecomeAnEX, teaches smokers how to “re-learn” life without cigar... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3683590 Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:07:23 +0100 3683590 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3588867&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fgetting-good-sleep%2F2010.05.22 Our busy lifestyles often aren’t conducive to getting the recommended amount of sleep at night. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night. Dr. Kenneth Berg of the Mayo Clinic states that people who get less than seven hours of sleep per night have a higher mortality than those who have adequate sleeping habits. Inadequate sleep has been linked to increased risk of motor vehicle accidents, an increase in body mass index and a greater likelihood of obesity due to an increased appetite caused by sleep deprivation, increased risk of diabetes and heart problems, increased risk for psychiatric conditions including depression and substance abuse, and decreased ability to pay attention, react to signals or remember new informa... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3588867 Sat, 22 May 2010 12:00:00 +0100 3588867 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3588868&cid=t_107018_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsecondhand-carbs%2F2010.05.21 From the medical cartoons of Randy Glasbergen: (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3588868 Fri, 21 May 2010 14:00:31 +0100 3588868 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585686&cid=t_107018_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F21%2Finequality-and-the-unequal-situation-of-mental-and-physical-health%2F Press release from University of Michigan: * * * When people are under chronic stress, they tend to smoke, drink, use drugs and overeat to help cope with stress. These behaviors trigger a biological cascade that helps prevent depression, but they also contribute to a host of physical problems that eventually contribute to early death. That is the claim of University of Michigan social scientist James S. Jackson and colleagues in an article published in the May 2010 issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The theory helps explain a long-time epidemiological puzzle: why African Americans have worse physical health than whites but better psychiatric health. “People engage in bad habits for functional reasons, not because of weak character or ignorance,” says Jackson, direc... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585686 Fri, 21 May 2010 04:01:42 +0100 3585686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577672&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38603&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzenhabits.net%2Fempire-building%2F Editor’s note: This is a guest post from world traveller and remarkable writer Chris Guillebeau. For a long time, I focused on starting big projects. And for a long time, I had a hard time finishing any of them. Sometimes I got overwhelmed, other times I just looked at the faraway goal and thought: what comes next? How do I know which step is the right one? Only when I studied the art of breaking down big projects into very small steps was I able to make progress. It’s kind of like mountain climbing. Mountains look impossible from a distance. But if you come to basecamp and just start putting one foot in front of another, all you see is the path ahead. You can’t help but make progress—and as long as you have a trail, you know you’re going the right way. For the pa... Zen Habits blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577672 Tue, 18 May 2010 16:40:30 +0100 3577672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538413&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FLtVtpYmG2xI%2F SUMMARY: In last month's review, I set forward a master resolution: make a good living working with people I like and respect. The emphasis, right now, is on making. Empire building, as I like to think of it. Building the means by which I can make progress toward that goal. And since I'm not a real big fan of walking, I'm learning to build vehicles that will carry me there with quirky style. Last Month's Progress The "big push" from last month was this list: Finish the Design Website Promote design business, book work as it comes in Build The Printable CEO™ Website Create Commerce Opportunities from the Printable CEO Materials I'm shocked to see that I actually fulfilled my plan to finish the design website for a "Dave for Hire" campaign in late April. DONE. While I was making... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538413 Wed, 05 May 2010 16:15:33 +0100 3538413 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3437979&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FznT6wL-hGKQ%2F SUMMARY: Progress is being made on my 2010 Groundhog's Day Resolutions, and in today's review I lay out what's been working. Plus, you're invited to an April 8 pow-wow in Concord, NH if you are in the area. Details in the main article. It's April 4th, the second Groundhog Day Review Day of 2010, and for once I seem to be on track. I attribute this to having a much larger support community than last year. Almost everyone I know seems to be working on something, and the sense of being part of a wave of enterprise has helped me maintain momentum. Let's see what happened! The Review In my March 3rd review, I made a few tweaks to my "master resolution", which is now to make a good living working with people I like and respect. I also made some more concrete plans to push through the difficul... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3437979 Sun, 04 Apr 2010 23:20:06 +0100 3437979 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3429480&cid=t_107018_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FTnZXTGAusig%2F With personal finance, as with so many areas of life, we have a tendency to swing between extremes. Often, an excess of spending – with accompanying credit card debt, clutter and stress – prompts us to take a good hard look at our finances. We make all sorts of good resolutions: a plan to reduce our debt, a savings account for our emergency fund, and so on … and somewhere along the way, we pick up the idea that we should only spend money on absolute essentials. We might start off sensibly, cutting down on unnecessary spending to put some money aside for the future. But before long, we end up obsessing about every penny, denying ourselves even tiny treats like a weekly coffee or a magazine, because it’s a “waste of money”. Are You Enslaved by Your Money? Usually,... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3429480 Thu, 01 Apr 2010 07:38:41 +0100 3429480