Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Stress

One of the most common reasons that people are stressed is because they feel overwhelmed by responsibility. We don't always notice that we are in fact stressed until we start feeling the physical symptoms. When you are under stress, what messages are you sending yourself? Fatigue is one of the most common of these physical symptoms. Others may include insomnia, headaches, loss of hair, stomach aches, and sometimes shortness of breath. Combating negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones takes practice, but the results are worth it. You are not alone!


Find out what's causing it and you will find that stress levels increase when you are concentrating on your most alarming thoughts and bodily reactions, but stress levels fall when your attention turns away from these areas. Find ways to relax and release stress with self therapy. Good nutrition, an active schedule, and plenty of rest all help your mind and body manage and handle stress better. For many people, time management is the key to handling stress. For others it may be exercising three to six times a week. At any rate we should all try to evaluate what is causing the stress. Most of the time it's something we have no ultimate control over. Let's try to find ways to develop a stress free lifestyle.



































































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Saturday, December 22, 2012

This Year's Resolution


"Against a monster proceeds an intentional unfortunate."  The year 2013 is upon us and we usually busy ourselves with trying to resolve past issues by making promises. The New Year's resolutions are sometimes personal fitness goals, weight loss resolutions, savings challenges, and relationship mending. Some of them are life long struggles and some are simply wishes to do better with our lives. Most definitely, they are all personal and meaningful ideas that will seemingly make our lives better once completed.
In light of the recent tragedy in Connecticut, our goals should be to simply care more than we did ever before. On Friday, December 14, 2012, a young man took upon himself to end his life by first taking the lives of others in Newton, Connecticut. He chose the most innocent of victims, children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. This young man, for whatever reason, was distraught and discouraged enough to systematically shoot and kill 20 children and 6 adults.
In the following weeks we will hear several stories of heroics by both student and staff. We will hear details of this young man's life and will begin to try and understand what event or events took place in his life to cause him so much inner turmoil. This 20 year old man, who also killed his own mother, several hours previous to the attack will probably be in our minds forever. One of the parents commented on how she was in such a hurry, she didn't tell her child how much she loved them before school and was relieved to have the chance to now say it every day. This horrendous act of violence has shuttered our nation and most likely the entire world. But there is a lesson to learn in all of this.
We need to care more. We have no idea what was going through his mind or personal life up until the time that he chose to commit these crimes. Some may say he was depressed and some may say that he was a misfit. But did any of us care enough to notice any detrimental signs beforehand? We need to really start caring more. Period. Of course it's not our fault but how many people are asking themselves why "they didn't" now? We need to care enough about our neighbors to say hello when we see them passing, or send a card to them when we don't. We need to care enough to forgive those who have hurt us and mend or salvage relationships with those people that we've hurt. We need to care enough about our children and family to always remember and tell them how much we love them.
We need to care enough about our environment to understand that the problems that we face as a nation are a universal responsibility. Some of us are outspoken and have a natural ability to lead. Some of us have a financial advantage and are able to contribute with their wealth. There is a select few that enjoy being assistants and can use there time to devote to positive change. Of course there are also those that can only use positive thoughts, affirmations, and prayers to accomplish their goals.
Whatever your part, gift, talent, idea, is.....do it now. Care enough about our collective future to start now. A smile, a hug, a joke, a gesture, a kind word,....makes a whole world of difference for some people. Don't wait until the new year to make a resolution. Start right now. As you can see. Life can be extremely short. Our awakening the next day is not promised to us. Care now.
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Gloria owns a small graphics company, Positive Image. Positive Image has been serving communities throughout Southern California with since 1992. They started as a Freelance Mobile service and despite several odds expanded to a full service Graphic Design and Printing company @ www.posiimage.com