Be all that you can be

I have written previously how life can become quite boring, and monotonous! A good way of continuing to push your self is to set challenges of goals. The challenges or goals can be things which you want to achieve not necessary straight away, but things that you may be aiming for in future.

For example, you may want to own your own house by the time you are 30, alternatively you may want to have seen the world by the time you are 40!
Whatever your challenge or goal is make sure you are make one and give yourslef something to aim for!

Life can sometimes feel like one giant merry go round! You do the same thing day in, day out to the point where you forget what day it is, and the weeks just merge in to one and before you know it……its nearly Christmas!
I think we can all feel like the above sometimes, which is why it is important to take time out of the usual day to day activities and try something different. I am not suggesting you spend loads of money on going on holiday or moving house for example!….. I am suggesting that little changes to your routine can make life more interesting. Go on……try something new!

Now I haven’t really thought about this before, however I have had quite a difficult few months and I have found myself talking to friends and family and seeking their help and support during this difficult period.
One reoccurring piece of advice which kept on being passed my way was to continue to think positively, no matter how terrible I think things have been.

If you have ever tried this whilst you are going through a difficult patch for one reason or another, then you will understand how hard it can be. However, having taken their advice and trying my best to think positively I feel it has helped me cope with my problems. Therefore I would certainly recommend it.

When I stop and look at the world we live in today, all I see is people rushing around trying to get as much done as possible in their day.
The demands of having a full time career as well as being a parent can literally leave you with no time to yourself.
As much as you may think it is impossible, it is essential that you do give yourself some free time to relax and do activities that you enjoy. This might simply be a swim at your local pool, or watching your favourite TV programme for half an hour. Whatever you chose to do, make sure you do give yourself time to stop and indulge in some “you time”

Working full time can be a lot of hard work, particularly if you have to juggle working full time with being a full time mum! However difficult it may seem, it is no excuse not to continue trying to develop yourself further within your career.
There are plenty of part time courses available at local colleges and schools and even if you cannot get out of the house, you can go online to study a variety of subjects of your choice.
I am a firm believer you should never stop learning in life!  There are many opportunities for those who want to continue to develop knowledge and skills whilst remaining in work. Everyone who is able should take advantage of these and see how it could benefit them going forwards.

We all feel like there are never enough hours in a day, and sometimes our task list gets longer and longer and it often feels like we are never going to get through it. So how can you make your work life less stressful? One way is to get organised. One of the first ways to do this is to get a calendar, whether this be paper based or on your PC. Fill in not only your own schedule but also that of your team. This will help you to easily check on availability of team members and keep a track of how long projects are taking.

The next thing to do is make a list of your daily task. Throughout the day, mark off which tasks you have completed, this will help you feel that you are achieving things as well as helping you to keep track of where you are up to when you get pulled away into a meeting.
Although organisation in itself takes time it can save you more time in the long run and help you feel more in control.

The majority of us don’t like conflict as it makes us uncomfortable. We often try to avoid it, but what about those situations where you just can’t? Tensions can often rise, especially in the workplace which can lead to stressful relationships with your work colleagues.

So how can you resolve conflict in the workplace without it getting out of hand? Following the three steps below should help you to do just this.

The first step is to make eye contact when talking to your colleagues. This helps to instil a sense of respect and trust. Also if you find that a colleague continually interrupts you make sure to look them in the eye and regulate your breathing to demonstrate patients, this helps you to avoid making eye contact which is intimidating or threatening.

Secondly, make sure to listen. It is all too easy to misinterpret what is being said. It is very easy to jump into a conversation to get our opinions out, but instead it is better to take a moment to prepare what you are going to say rather than saying something that you will later regret.

Lastly it is very easy to get annoyed with the person you have a conflict with, but try your best not too get too emotional and instead try to feel some empathy for the person. After all, you are both passionate about the same subject which is why you are having the conflict in the first place. Seeing another person’s point of view can help you to resolve your issues.

If you follow these three steps you should be able to help resolve conflict in your work environment.

Many people have tried time and time again to quit smoking unsuccessfully, and this may because they just don’t have the determination or will power to do it, but there is another method, which will help you to stop smoking gradually so that you don’t suffer from those terrible mood swings and cravings. This method involves the simple practise of keeping a record of how many cigarettes you smoke in a day. This just needs to be a simple tally on a scrap piece of paper which you can carry around in your back pocket. Research has shown that when this method is used almost immediately smokers find themselves cutting down on those one or two extra cigarettes they otherwise would have had in a typical day. Over the weeks, this number gets cut down even further until eventually the smoker no longer needs to light up a cigarette. Like anything its’ a gradual process, but it means that you can give into your cravings and still reach the ultimate goal at the end.

Speed reading can be a great skill especially if your job involves you reading lots of large documents, but it is a skill which takes practise. Many of those who try it for the first time, may find that they can train their eyes to read the words faster but fail to capture the meaning of the text they were reading. This is very common and is why the skill can take a while to perfect.

The problem with speed reading is getting your mind to respond as quickly as your eyes are running through the text, and even during normal reading many of us are guilty of letting our mind wander onto other things. The key is to keep mindful while you are reading, so that you become an observer of what is happening in the present rather than letting your mind wander to things that have or haven’t happened in the past or may or may not happen in the future. This practise of mindfulness aids with better comprehension when reading as well as longer term recall.

Everyone knows that you need your vitamins to stay fit and healthy and now that we are well into Spring many people are enjoying the most of the sunshine and soaking up their vitamin D. However it is a common misconception that the sun with give you all the vitamin D you need.

Vitamin D is needed to support a wide variety of systems in our bodies, from healthy bones and joints to memory and concentration, but the sun only gives us a percentage of the amount that we need so instead we need to get it from other sources. Vitamin D can be found in cod liver oil and in fish such as salmon and tuna. So in all a combination of sun and healthy eating, will give you the Vitamin D you need for optimal health.