​Make Use of Taste to Improve the Quality of Your Life
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Your taste is fundamental to your eating and drinking behaviours, and you do those many times every day.

4.    To assist yourself to get a preference for healthy foods, browse the web for new recipes around the products you wish to include more of to your diet plan. For instance, if you wish to add more veggies like spinach and asparagus, look on-line for dishes using those ingredients.

• Fibrous food products like flax and psyllium are recognised to offer various health benefits.
• Finding dishes with this kind of wholesome foods and prepping those meals can work really well to reveal your taste to new flavour experiences as you get your body in to great form.

Come to your senses - Mindfulness made easy can be purchased HERE

Even though you are a self-sabotaging person, you can establish a success mindset. There are lots of useful things you might do to combat negative self-talk.

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​Even though you are a self-sabotaging philosopher, you can establish a success mindset. There are lots of useful things you might do to combat negative self-talk.

Tips for developing a successful mindset:

• Be grateful. Practice gratitude in different forms. This can include writing in a gratitude journal every day. This allows you to recognize what you have daily. Another way to focus on gratitude is to say what you are grateful for aloud. Try to find something new each day.

• Gain clarity on what you want to accomplish. Then commit to accomplishing this. For example, maybe you have a goal to write a book. Ask yourself why you are writing a book? Who is the book for? When you’ve answered those questions move on to actually writing the book.
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• Take a leap of faith and start. Summon the courage to get started on what you want to achieve. Grand ideas or intentions don’t mean anything if you never take action on them. Action builds your confidence, driving you to do things you’ve avoided before.

 

• Don’t go for the quick fix or the shortest path. Be persistent and stick with it even when it gets hard. Write down the negative thoughts and doubts – why you can’t or shouldn’t. Then tear up the paper and throw it away. This releases you from all these thoughts, allowing the positive ones to take their place.

Also read The power of Self-Reflection ​​

• Be willing to fail. Part of success means learning how to fail. Developing a mindset for success requires you to step out of your comfort zone and adopt a can-do attitude. You will have challenges and setbacks but owning up to them and being willing to make a mistake keeps you growing.  

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• Don’t be afraid to seek help. It’s not a sign of weakness. When you get stuck, seek out others who can help you move forward.

​Also read: How To Encourage Positivity Around You 
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• Show up even when others don’t want to see you succeed. It’s your life. Drop the crappy excuses, remove your limitations, and take control of what you can. Take bold massive action.

 

• Have the desire to do things differently. Be willing to explore all options. Step out of the box and be adventurous in opening your mind to alternative ideas.

 

• Create a list of goals you want to accomplish. Then create a vision board of these dreams and goals. Put it somewhere you will see it every day.

The above CD can be purchased from Etsy HERE

• ​Don’t be afraid to seek help. It’s not a sign of weakness. When you get stuck, seek out others who can help you move forward.

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​Also read: How To Encourage Positivity Around You 
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• Show up even when others don’t want to see you succeed. It’s your life. Drop the crappy excuses, remove your limitations, and take control of what you can. Take bold massive action.

 ​  ​  

• Build a positive attitude. A success mindset means having a positive attitude towards everything, even your challenges. A positive attitude helps you respond calmly and with confidence. It does away with the victim mindset. Monitor your thoughts on a daily basis until it becomes second nature to think positively.​    ​

Also Read Step by step to love yourself

• Meditate daily to slow down an overactive mind. Meditation helps you gain control over your thoughts.

 

• Associate with inspiring people. Network online and in person with others who are successful and inspire you.

 

• Invest in a mentor. A mentor can be a valuable asset. They can help you get unstuck, hold you accountable, and help you eliminate your self-limiting beliefs.
  Acknowledge your need to change and take the steps to make changes to your mindset for success.​

​Also read How to love yourself

Also read 5 Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence questions

Gratitude is a mindset and a way of living that has been proven to have numerous benefits concerning one's overall health, joy and happiness, and fulfillment in life.

It goes together with mindfulness and concentrates on the here and now and appreciation for what we have now, instead of the constant need to have increasingly more.

​Below are a number of methods you can utilize the benefits of gratitude and enjoy a more satisfied and much healthier life.

Ways to Utilise the Advantages of Gratitude

Think about A Person Who Has Helped You
Use a few mins reflecting on the manners in which somebody has helped you in your life. It could be a school teacher, a parent, a coach, or a relative. Think of how their help has been good for you. Then, write them a heartfelt card, visit them, or phone them and let them know how their help has enhanced your life. If you no more have contact with that person, create the card anyhow and hang on to it as a reminder to feel thankful.

Also Read 4 Remarkable ways in which Gratitude will change Your Life 

Talk a Hike
Take a while to stroll in your garden or nature. As you are taking a walk, think of how nature assists us to sustain life and feel even more pleasant and happy. Concentrate on feeling thankful for the fresh breeze, the gorgeous blossoms, or the shadow of a tree.

Think about Somebody Who Helps You Everyday
This may be a parent, loved one, precious pet, friend, or school teacher. Spend a full week noting them and concentrate on all the different means that they make you better-off and more comfortable in your life. Show them your gratitude by creating a plan to do a thing special for them.

Repay
Thankfulness originates from recognizing the good fortune you have in your life. Talking about that with others that are much less privileged has a favorable effect on everyone involved. Returning to others is an excellent way to show your thanks for every one of the beneficial things that you have in your own life.

​Also Read 5 advantages Of Maintaining A Gratitude Journal

A person who is thankful sees every little thing in their lives, both the great and bad, as gifts. Being grateful means that you take a look at obstacles and difficulties as gifts that you can learn from. They recognize that the troubles and obstacles supply them with the chance to learn a thing that they normally would not have found out, and they are thankful for that.

Utilising the power of gratitude does not imply that your life lacks problems, it is simply a means of affecting your emotion and energy levels for enhanced productivity and fulfilment.

Also Read 5 Tips For Growing Gratitude And Increasing Your Happiness

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Clutter. It is horrible for the soul, and awful for all other life aspects also. Stuff not only drags you down mentally, but it is also a substantial waste of your money. How exactly does clutter waste hard earned cash, and how does doing away with it help you save financially?

​​Why Decluttering Saves You Money

Clutter. It ís horrible for the soul, and awful for all other life aspects also. Stuff not only drags you down mentally, but it is also a substantial waste of your money. How exactly does clutter waste hard earned cash, and how does doing away with it help you save financially?

You Discover Items You Forgot You Had

The moment you declutter, it could be like shopping. As you clean, you will likely stumble upon many objects that you forgot you had. You may need more pens and find around one hundred. You just never know what you are mosting likely to find when you declutter. The rescued items could be organized from this point on, and used as needed.

You Do Not Need To Buy New Items Because You Lost the Old One

Weíve all been there. You have an item you need and you are sure you purchased it already. You know that you have it someplace, but you have a lot clutter lying around that you may never find the item. You unavoidably find yourself buying a new one, only to find the original several months later.

​Also Read Decluttering Your Mind

With piles and piles of seemingly random things being held in your house, it can be near impossible to find what you are searching for when you need it the absolute most. Decluttering can make your home more organized lest you never need to lose time trying to find things you bought and misplaced, or buy a duplicate item.

​It Encourages You to Buy Less

When you have spent a large amount of your time decluttering your home, you realize what a time-waster it is to have way too many items. It could be the most effective way of persuading yourself to buy less. You will save a large amount of money if you take the simple step of curbing your spending patterns. Buy less, and your life will instantly enter a positive direction.

You Can Scale down

The amount of property that clutter uses up is amazing. When you declutter, it makes you feel good and you will wish to keep going. When you have reached a point where you are closer to become a minimalist, you will find that you truly do not need a great deal of space to enjoy the home you stay in. You may even end up seriously considering downsizing your house in order to save money and get ready for the future.

You Can Create Income Selling Old Items

Decluttering leaves you with not only a great deal of junk, but also with many wonderfully good items that you simply do not need. By selling these old items, you are not just saving money, but bring in some. This could be an added incentive to your decluttering efforts. Whether it be through a yard sale, word of mouth or an online ad, sell your old items and make some extra cash.

​Also Read Organizing Your Life For Success

Decluttering benefits the mind, heart and soul. It is also great for the wallet. If you are wishing to save money and be more responsible with what you have, take these thoughts into consideration. Decluttering can and does save you money, and in a big way. why not starting today? Make things much easier for you by looking for a declutter planner online.

​This DECLUTTER PLANNER is available on Etsy, You can purchase it HERE

Whatever one go through in life is able to create a behaviour of preventing you to succeed. And even when things are going right, one might be worried. One may begin giving oneself self-sabotaging talks regarding just how one is going to fall short or mess things up.

• Don’t say “Can’t”. Every day you give yourself all sorts of reasons why you can’t do this or achieve that. Stop it. You have the ability to take the actions you needed to get closer to your goal of succeeding. Instead of saying I can’t, figure out what is causing you to think that way. Is it a fear of doing something? Are you unwilling to do what is necessary to make something happen? Find out why and then face that reality.  

Also read 5 Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence questions
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• Avoid telling yourself “someday”. Being afraid to take action often leads to procrastination and telling yourself that you will do it “someday”. But that someday often never comes. You never get to it. Instead, stop putting off what you want or need to do or learn to be successful.

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• Quit putting off taking action. Your brain will often convince you you’re not ready, you don’t know enough yet and you must do more research before you take action or make a decision. This analysis paralysis leads to mentally being unable to take action on anything. Time flies when you use excuses for not doing the work to follow your dreams. Start taking action and learn as you go.

 

• Stop saying you don’t have time to build success. Turn off the TV. Stay off Twitter and Facebook. Spend one less weekend partying. Instead, use that time to build your business. Prioritize your goals for success over these other activities.

The above digital download can be purchased on Etsy HERE

• ​   ​Get away from negative people. Misery loves company. If you want to be miserable and unsuccessful, hang out with your negative friends. It’s often hard for unhappy people to support others who are on the road to success. Distance yourself as much as possible from negative people as you go for your goals. Find and hang out with people who are positive and committed to creating their own success.

Also Read Step by step to love yourself
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• Forget justifying why you did or didn’t do something. Instead, watch yourself. Observe what you did and why you did it. Was it fear, control issues, or a need for attention? Once you know why you are doing something, you can begin to make changes to avoid repeating it.

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• Don’t just assume you know what success means. Visualize what true success will look like to you.

 

• Don’t be a perfectionist. If you mess up, don’t give up. Tell yourself we all make mistakes and mistakes can be fixed.

• Quit jumping all over the place. Learn to focus on what is most important to your success. For example, concentrate on one ways to make money at a time. Trying to balance multiple moneymaking projects at one time just leads to frustration. Successful people develop the ability to concentrate on what they need to succeed. 

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• Don’t try to please everyone all the time. Work hard and take risks. You can’t. When you see yourself doing this, take a step back and define who really matters and what you can do to please yourself and them.

 

• Falling into the self-sabotage trap keeps you from reaching for the success you desire. Recognizing when this happens and learning how to move away from those traps is key in growing a successful mindset.

Also read How to love yourself

Also read The power of Self-Reflection 

In the last few years, positive psychological science research has shown that gratitude is strongly connected with the emotions that might help you enjoy much more notable health and happiness.

It has additionally been shown that gratitude plays an important role in nourishing relationships and can even motivate you to take better care of yourself.

​Below's how creating a mindset of gratitude can enhance your mental health and help make you happier in your life.

How a Mindset of Gratitude will Improve Your Mental Health And Wellness

Enhanced Happiness
Whenever you include gratitude into your every day life, you will get a more favorable outlook, and you will be a lot more appreciative of day-to-day things. You are going to be much less likely to take things for given and will be much more inclined to get moved by the little things. With gratitude, your moods will not be influenced by discouragement, and you'll be far better able to see the bright side of life instead of concentrating on what you do not have.

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Increased Life Fulfilment
People who engage in day-to-day gratitude tend to become much less materialistic and much more hopeful in life. They are also very likely to have greater resilience and much less likely to believe that they're a target when things do not happen to go their way. Having the ability to deal better with disasters and crisis, can assist to enhance your quality and experiences you have in life.
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​Much Better Psychological and Bodily Health
Research has shown that when you deal with thankfulness, you are much less likely to struggle with anxiety symptoms and depression. With everyday gratitude, people to become more optimistic and take joy in a boost in energy. Thankfulness also has a favorable effect on cardio health and immune system health and has been shown to successfully lower high blood pressure, rise pain tolerance, and have a positive effect on pregnancy.

Boosted Self-worth
People who experience sincere gratitude in their lives have greater levels of joy and happiness and far greater self-esteem and self-confidence. Being thankful concentrates your attention on better, more favorable thoughts which may help you to really feel better about your own self and assist you to eliminate unfavorable self-talk.

​Also read: How To Encourage Positivity Around You
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Much Higher Levels of Success
Those people with a grateful nature have been revealed as being very likely to accomplish their goals much faster. Individuals who have supervisory positions report that demonstrating true gratitude and saying thanks to their colleagues enhance productiveness and inspires.

Being thankful isn't usually easy, but without having it, life could be extremely unhappy, gloomy, and poor. Showing gratitude may improve your life and vitalize, inspire, fire up and change your life.

Also Read 4 Remarkable ways in which Gratitude will change Your Life 

​Also Read 5 advantages Of Maintaining A Gratitude Journal

Also Read 5 Tips For Growing Gratitude And Increasing Your Happiness

Drinking warm lemon water is one of the biggest health food trends right now, with celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyoncé and Martha Stewart swearing by it.
​Naturopaths especially are touting it as a highly effective habit and home remedy for a number of reasons. 

Ancient traditions from China, Japan and the Ayurvedic philosophy promote the benefits of drinking warm water, now Western science is telling us to add fresh lemon juice to the mix.

Vitamin C in lemon juice
The heaviest hitter of the warm lemon juice concoction is the high vitamin C content in the lemon. Women need 74 mg of vitamin C a day, men need 90 mg a day and smokers need to add on an additional 35 mg to that. A 3 fl oz serving of lemon juice contains 34 mg of vitamin C with only 20 calories. Other big numbers that the lemon juice delivers are: 0.64 g of protein, 1.6 g of fiber, 15 mg of calcium, 7 mg of magnesium, 13 mg of phosphorus, 116 mg of potassium, and 1 mg of vitamin A. It also contains 1% of your recommended intake of both folate and potassium. 

​Also Read 9 Tips To Improve your Overall Health and Happiness
 
Vitamin C fights cold and flu
It’s common knowledge that vitamin C helps prevents colds and flu by boosting the immune system. The National Institutes of Health report that it also cuts down on the length of time the symptoms last. Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, can ease the symptoms during the cold. It’s best to be consuming vitamin C regularly before getting sick as it does not seem to be effective to begin consuming it after the cold symptoms start.

Vitamin C and iron absorption

The high concentrations of ascorbic acid in the juice of a lemon, enhances iron absorption. When we consume iron from plant-based foods, it’s the vitamin C that helps us absorb it.

Eating foods that are high in iron and pairing them with foods that are high in vitamin C, increases the bodies ability to absorb iron.

5 Habits that will change your life - FREE download
 
Vitamin C and Age Related Macular Degeneration
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According to the National Institutes of Health, supplements that include vitamin C might slow the progression of Age Related Macular Degeneration.

A large study was done where participants with AMD took supplements that included 500 mg of ascorbic acid daily, along with other vitamins and nutrients, resulting in less chance of developing advanced AMD.

Studies are now being done to see if there is a link between vitamin C supplements and cataracts.
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​This drink is credited for weight loss, anti-aging properties, fighting the common cold, eye health, treating kidney stones, digestion, and improvements in blood pressure, among other things. Many health claims are real and some are just hype. Let’s look at the proven effects backed up with sound medical facts.

Weight loss

Warm lemon water helps with weight loss, but in some surprising ways.

To start, drinking it in the morning is a great replacement for other calorific beverages you might consume, such as coffee or tea with cream, or a sugar-packed glass of orange juice. This can cut hundreds of calories from your daily caloric goals.
 
Morning anti-oxidant boost

As an anti-oxidant, the ascorbic acid in the warm lemon juice potion protects DNA from free radical damage.

​Also Read Energy Giving Foods Which Work Better Than Coffee

This can help fight effects of aging, lower risks of diseases such as cancer, arthritis and heart disease. It is a great idea to get this boost of liquid health first thing in the morning to get the day started right.

Keep going throughout the day if too, it is just going to give the body more and more vitamins and minerals.
 
The benefits of water

The benefits of warm lemon water does not have to include the science of what is in the mix. Researchers say that the biggest help for your health is the water. Lemon water has the same health benefits of plain water.

Water has been repeatedly proven to help with weight loss. It fills the stomach and gives the feeling of fullness and combats constipation. It boosts your mood, helps your memory and is crucial for physical activity. Studies have shown that drinking water regularly can reduce your risk of colon cancer by 45% and bladder cancer by 50%.

​Migraine sufferers report fewer migraines, as well as decreased pain intensity, when drinking over 1.5 liters of water (six cups) a day.

Limonene

Limonene is a compound naturally found in all citrus fruits and has antioxidant properties. In laboratories it has shown some ability to kill cancer cells. Limonene has antioxidant properties, counteracting the free radicals that damage DNA.

When part of your personality acts in conflict with another part of your personality, it is referred to as self-sabotage. If you want to succeed, why do you sabotage it with your behaviour? Bad habits, negative self-talk, and other self-defeating behaviors can come from many sources.

Self-sabotage is when part of your personality acts in conflict with another part of your personality. If you want to succeed, why do you sabotage it with your behavior? Bad habits, negative self-talk, and other self-defeating behaviors can come from many sources.

Self-sabotage is often associated with poor self-esteem, low self-worth, and no self-confidence. You can suffer from this type of behavior pattern because you can’t effectively control your emotions. You react to circumstances or people in ways that prevent you from reaching your goals.

​Also read How to love yourself
​
Self-sabotage is used to cope during difficult situations or times when you feel like you are not capable or worthy.

​Here are four causes of self-defeating behaviour:
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• Anticipating failure. You may be accustomed to situations failing or not turning out as you hoped. Dysfunctional or negative people may be pulling you down. You could be afraid to try something different because you don’t want to risk failing.

• Bad habits. Unhealthy behaviors or thoughts like excessive drinking, smoking, uncontrolled anger, or overeating can cause you to stick with what is familiar. You tell yourself you can’t change these habits so why try.

Also read 5 Self-Esteem and Self-Confidence questions
​

• Internalized negative thoughts. If you grew up with a parent who always saw the negative side of everything, worried about what could go wrong, or how they looked to others, you may have taken on a similar attitude without even knowing it.

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• Listening to your critical inner voice. This voice is formed from experiences early in our life. You internalize the attitudes of others directed toward you. Because others may have seen you as lazy, you may have grown up feeling useless. Your self-sabotaging inner voice might tell you not to try. For example, “Why bother? You’ll never succeed anyway.”

​The above download can be purchased from Etsy HERE

Self-sabotage is often an unconscious thought or behaviour that is in direct conflict with our desire to succeed.

​Avoid Self-Sabotage Success:

Now that you know why you are sabotaging your success, you need to learn how to avoid these thoughts and behaviors to achieve the success you desire. To do this you need to be aware of when you are in this state.

Here are some characteristics, thoughts, and behaviors to watch for:

• Fear of failure, taking risks or making mistakes
• Not being able to plan ahead
• Inability to say “no” to others
• Not considering the consequences of your actions or not thinking carefully before making a decision
• Inability to admit mistakes or errors
• Worrying constantly, procrastinating
• Having unrealistic expectations, expecting perfectionism
• Critically judging yourself or others and comparing yourself to others
• Always complaining about people, circumstances, or perceived bad luck
• Spending more than you make
• Limiting beliefs, emotions, and attitudes
• Focusing on what’s not working or on wishful daydreams

​Recognizing and counteracting self-sabotage:

• Fear of failure, success, taking risks or making mistakes – Everyone has this fear at some point on the journey to success. This is often just a fear of change. Think about what is the worst that can happen? Then turn it around....What’s the best thing that can happen? Don’t dwell on what could go wrong. Everyone makes mistakes. The key is to learn from them.

 

• Inability to move forward because of too many options – Having too many options can lead to decision paralysis. The best way to avoid this is to take action. Pick one thing to do and get started.

 

• Giving up when things get tough – This is a big one for many people, especially in the world of doing business on the internet. It’s so easy to start a blog but, when you don’t see success quickly, you give up. To avoid this behavior, set smart, realistic goals and work towards them. Set up daily tasks toward achieving these goals and stick with it.

Also read The power of Self-Reflection  
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• Spending more than you are bringing in – Invest in the tools and resources that will help you grow and succeed. Avoid spending money on junk and everything that comes across your monitor. Think carefully about purchases. Decide how you will implement them before you spend anything.

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• Inability to say “no” – Your time is your most valuable asset. It’s non-renewable. Don’t be afraid to tell others you can’t do something or that you aren’t available at this time. Being able to say no frees up your time for what is important to your success.

​The above study courses can be purchased from Etsy HERE

• Denying responsibility – Accept the part you play in the success or failure of a project. Be responsible for your success by doing the work and admitting when you make a mistake or fail just as often as when you succeed.

Also Read Step by step to love yourself
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• Negative self-talk – You tell yourself you aren’t good enough, smart enough, or technically savvy enough. It’s best left out of your thoughts. Focus on positive stories. Tell yourself you are good enough, you can learn what you need to know, or you are smart enough. Back those stories up with facts of “a time when” you proved you were good enough, smart enough, or overcame a technology hurdle.

• Disregarding behaviours – Identify the self-sabotaging behaviour that prevents you from moving forward. Be consciously aware of your actions and the decisions you make. Pinpoint specific triggers and remove them if possible. Identify limiting beliefs and work on transforming them into empowering beliefs.  

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• Ignoring mistakes – Learn from your mistakes. Take time to reflect each day on how you reacted to circumstances you encountered that day.

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• Counteracting self-sabotage takes practice, vigilance, and constant control over your thoughts and actions. If necessary, write down any self-sabotaging thoughts or behaviors when you become aware of doing them. Then work on changing them.

When you are handling a challenging situation, it could be challenging to find the positive.

​This is where being thankful can help. It does not mean that you are thankful for the problems, but as an alternative, you need to be showing appreciation for the positive things that are taking place in your life, even though they are little.

Gratitude can help you see your present circumstance in a manner that can reduce the panic, and open up your thinking to new answers to your problems. Below are 9 ways you can engage in gratitude and begin living a happier life.

7 Tips How To Make Gratitude Part Of Your Your Life

1) Pause a second to see your world from the point of thankfulness. When you begin checking out things from the point of thankfulness you will be surprised at all of the goodness in your life that you have most likely been taking for granted.

2) Keep a gratitude journal. Keeping a gratitude journal calls for nothing greater than taking a few seconds by the end of the day and jotting down things that you are thankful for in your life. You do not even require to get a fancy notebook to start viewing the benefits.

Also Read 4 Remarkable ways in which Gratitude will change Your Life 

3) If you recognize a thing or a person in your life with an unfavorable characteristic, change that characteristic in your thoughts to a more favorable one. For instance, if you relate your work meeting room as the cold room, begin thinking about it as the meeting room with the bird's-eye view instead.

FREE gratitude planner page download

4) To practice and gain from gratitude, you also need to engage in humility. Humility is described as being humble and respectful. Spend some time to check out where you can accommodate humbleness into your life.

5) Each day, give a minimum of one good word. This can either be directly or simply by talking about your gratitude of anything in your life. This may be as basic as saying, "I enjoy how quiet it is in the early morning.".

6) When you end up in a tight spot, ask yourself what you can learn? Contemplate when you reflect on the circumstance, with no feeling, what you will be thankful for.

​Also Read 5 advantages Of Maintaining A Gratitude Journal

7) Make an oath not to criticize, whine, or malicious talk for a full week. If you slide, rally your self-discipline and always keep moving on. Make the effort to observe the amount of energy you were investing daily on unfavorable thoughts.

You do not need any specific tools to engage in gratitude. All you need to have to do is make use of your mind and your heart.

Also Read 5 Tips For Growing Gratitude And Increasing Your Happiness

​Most of us have never seen the Himalayas, climbed in the Andes or stood next to Switzerland’s Matterhorn. But a majority of individuals and families have faced disaster, tragedy, debilitating illness, an accident or other trial, some personal mountain that at one point seemed insurmountable.

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​When Your Problem Feels Like Mt Everest
Author: Gary Sinclair

Most of us have never seen the Himalayas, climbed in the Andes or stood next to Switzerland’s Matterhorn. But a majority of individuals and families have faced disaster, tragedy, debilitating illness, an accident or other trial, some personal mountain that at one point seemed insurmountable.

People of course respond in a variety of ways. Some are immediately overwhelmed and give up. Rather than even start the climb, they give way to depression and despair uninterested in the help of friends, professionals or fellow-strugglers.

Others panic. They want to overcome but don’t know where to begin so they run from person to person, idea to idea, without a plan making little headway towards the summit.

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A third group gets angry. They spew their rage at life, God, friends, family or all of the above, furious that life has taken this precipitous turn.

While each of these responses is somewhat extreme, they are normal. They are emotions that erupt when we face a mountain that scares us because we don’t believe we have the resources to conquer it.

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​My wife Jackie and I encountered a Denali over a decade ago now when it was discovered she had stage three colon/rectal cancer. There was a tumor growing inside her and the devilish cancer cells had begun to spread. Ironically, she and I had climbed her first fourteen-thousand-foot peak in Colorado just three months before.

We now had a new mountain to climb. It took some weeks for us to figure it out, but we finally realized that we must climb her cancer mountain the same way we ascended those of granite. While climbs and climbers are unique, there remain principles that undergird any successful summit bid.

The same is true with personal mountains.

Let me discuss three of the key principles as they impacted our Mt. Cancer.

One, never climb alone. Most every experienced mountaineer will tell you that you are foolish to in high altitude by yourself. People do it, yes, but many of them die, some needlessly. During Jackie’s illness, we knew we must invite others to walk this trail with us, some being people who had faced a similar journey to ours. Others simply wanted to be there with us.

Two, climb one part of the trail at a time. Get through the next switchback before worrying about the next one. On a mountain trail, we would give each other candy once we reached the place on the mountain where we reached our next waypoint. In the same way, as we started her cancer journey, we focused on the next doctor visit, the chemo, surgery or radiation treatment rather than think about what might be down the road.

No, we couldn’t perfectly excise from our minds the possible future implications, but we became pretty good at keeping them at arm’s length until later. The mountain didn’t disappear but we could face it more and without unnecessary, unhelpful distractions

Three, be honest about your mountain. Some natural mountains have more snow and ice than others; some are steeper; some have false summits. In the same way our personal trails will vary from those others hike. We must face the difficulty of our mountain and not look the other way or try to make it seem easier than it is.​

The good news is that there is also hope for you to conquer personal mountain if you’ll learn from those who climb the big peaks. Your ascent can be a long and arduous one but remember: the view from the top is worth it!

​Bio: Gary Sinclair is an author, leadership coach, speaker and avid climber/hiker. He has summitted nine fourteen thousand foot mountains and hiked with his wife Jackie in beautiful places like Yosemite, Alaska, Colorado, the Canadian Rockies and the Alps. He has an ongoing passion to help those who are hurting face life challenges that seem beyond their ability to conquer. He and his wife currently live in the Indianapolis, Indiana area. His website is: http://www.neverquitclimbing.com and he has recently written a book entitled, "Never Quit Climbing," available at Amazon.com.