Sunday, November 30, 2014

Yoga Isn't Just Bliss

Jason Crandell talks about his own discovery of yoga and why it's not meant to be all bliss and joy.



Jason released this video last week, talking about his childhood interest in the human condition, his discovery of yoga (shocking spoiler: it was to get credits to graduate), and the office work element of being a yoga teacher.



"I felt like I could look at all the ingredients that composed my experience of myself in a way that was honest and open and non-judgmental."



So the next time you are judging yourself for not being "yoga" enough, remember to give yourself "the open space to be who you [are]." The full spectrum of human emotions inside you were meant to be there for a reason.







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6 Yoga Moves for Hackers

As the founder of an office yoga company, I'm constantly spreading the word about ways to bring yoga into your work day. I write about ways to deal with space, desk yoga, and more. Recently, Ben Gleitzmen, a friend and former office yoga student of mine, sent this video recommending yoga moves for hackers.



When I say hackers, I mean software developers. These guys spend way too much time sitting. They can often be found sitting in the most awkward positions on a couch, typing computer code. This can cause a lot of pain in the arms and shoulders. But these moves can be helpful for anyone who spends a significant amount of time on a computer. Watch as Gleitzman takes us through his hacker routine!







Thanks to Ben Gleitzman and gun.io for sharing these moves with us!



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How to Rebuild Your Life After a Mental Illness Hospital Stay

You've just had your first or fifth hospitalization for mental illness. How do you begin to rebuild your life? Where do you start?



The most important first step is to secure providers. You'll need both a therapist and a psychiatrist. The therapist will handle your talk therapy. They will help you work on coping skills and managing your day-to-day stressors. The psychiatrist will handle your medicine. Most providers agree that the best treatment plan combines medicine and talk therapy; one without the other is incomplete. Now, not everybody will be willing to take medicine. The side effects can be very bothersome. Believe me, I know. I've had cystic acne flare-ups that caused me to look like the elephant man and had to have painful cortisone injections into my face to shrink the cysts. I also gained 52 pounds in four months. I know side effects. But the alternative is no walk in the park either. I, personally, could not function without medicine. Well, I could. But it wouldn't be ideal. With the right psychiatrist, you can find the right medicine that works for you with the least amount of side effects. You will have to be patient. It takes time. In seven years I've tried 11 different medicines.



After you have a therapist and a psychiatrist you need to start to build a life that will keep you sane and healthy.




  1. Make sure you are getting adequate amounts of sleep. I have bipolar disorder. If I don't sleep, I can trigger a manic or depressed episode.



  2. Make sure you are eating healthy foods.



  3. Exercise three days per week for at least 30 minutes.



  4. Minimize your stressors. If you need to cut toxic people out of your life, do so. If you need to find a new job, begin looking. If you have to get out of debt, start small. Start saving a few dollars per month.



  5. Seek out support groups. Many people with mental illnesses also self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Go to Narcotics Anonymous (NA) or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA); there are local meetings in a town near you. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) or National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) also hold local support group meetings. There are also a number of other support organizations as well; a simple Internet search will point you in their direction. The more support you can get from friends and family the better. But it is even nicer to have the listening ear of someone who truly understands because they have the same diagnosis.



  6. You also need to make time for leisure. Plan events and activities you love. Spend time with people you love. You can also take a bubble bath, listen to music, go out to eat, go for a walk. The options are endless.



  7. My last suggestion is to supplement psychiatric drugs with more holistic practices such as acupuncture, deep breathing and yoga. Acupuncturist Henaz Bhatt says:



    Acupuncture, yoga, Ayurveda and other forms of Eastern traditional medicine take into account the whole body and the interconnected systems within it. The focus is on bringing balance to our whole being -- the body, mind and spirit -- from within. Therefore, these modalities treat the symptoms while simultaneously treating the root imbalance in order to affect long-lasting change.





    For the past year I've been receiving acupuncture treatments. They are a lot more effective than the psychiatric medicines I take. But the catch is that the results don't last as long. Therefore, the acupuncture supplements, not supplants, my psychiatric medicines.






I realize keeping atop of your health needs can be expensive. If you do not have health insurance, find charity care. Some pharmaceutical companies will even provide you with your medicine at discount rates or for free. There are income requirements. So check out the website of the individual pharmaceutical company. You can also probably get free samples from your psychiatrist. Please do not let cost prohibit you from seeking help.



It may seem like your life is turned upside down. But trust me: it's not. In seven years I've been hospitalized three times for a total of 32 days. Each hospitalization has taught me more about myself. And luckily, each hospital stay has gotten shorter. Meaning, I'm recovering at faster rates. But to be honest, recovery is no cakewalk. Each episode has dealt me some tough blows (namely, thousands of dollars in credit card debt; when I'm manic I spend uncontrollably) that I've had to come back from, but with time I've recovered.



There is no better day than today to start living the life you want. Don't let your illness derail your plans.



---



Have a story about depression or other mental illness that you'd like to share? Email strongertogether@huffingtonpost.com , or give us a call at (860) 348-3376, and you can record your story in your own words. Please be sure to include your name and phone number.



Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.




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Drink Your Pea: Talking With The Co-Founder Of Botan Plant-Based Protein Drink

For people who want to watch their waistline while leaving a smaller carbon footprint, plant-based protein is all the rage right now. And leaping into the fray is Botan, a GMO-free protein drink made from peas. Launched in early 2014, it was initially only available in a few stores in Santa Monica. But it soon made the leap from niche product to major player when GNC decided to stock it in more than 2,000 of its stores nationwide.



A bottle of Botan contains 12 grams of protein -- 25% of the recommended daily allowance -- as well as healthy doses of vitamins C, B6 and B12, while containing a mere 110 calories. It tastes odd, no doubt about it (think fruit juice mixed with peas), but it's better than most of those nasty protein shakes and bars. No wonder early adopters include everyone from Jessica Alba to Mark Cuban.



I sat down with Botan co-founder and CEO Edward Cannan, who took some time out from frantically ramping up the operation to talk to me about how it came to be and where the brand is going from here. So sit back, relax, have a glass of plant protein, and enjoy....




TONY SACHS: What differentiates peas from other plant-based protein?



EDWARD CANNAN: Peas are completely allergen-free, unlike other forms of protein which can be harder to digest because you have allergies -- often an allergy that you don't even know you have. But what peas really have that others don't have is a great balance of essential amino acids. If you have a good balance of those ones, then you are going to have a good source of protein. Rice has some protein, but a very low amount, because it doesn't have a good balance of those amino acids. Peas, on the contrary, have a great balance. So it's really way better and way easier to absorb that type of protein.



The second part is, you could think of soy, for example, as a pretty good source of protein. But the amount of estrogen in soy is really high -- there's a lot of controversy about it. And I'm not talking about the non-GMO/GMO thing when it comes to soy, because that's even worse. Like, 98% of the soy in the US is genetically modified. That's not the case with peas. So green peas, in that sense, seemed like the most perfect match, as a plant-based protein. And also, what we found out later, green peas make you feel fuller for a longer time than any other plant protein. So when you drink half a bottle of this, you're not hungry after. The goal is to help people balance the diet. So we want them to eat less bad food and more good food, but it's not a transition that is always easy to do. When you have [Botan], it's much easier, because any time you have a craving for something that you're not supposed to eat, then you can have that. It's very clean and easy to digest, and it's convenient. So we're helping people to transition to that type of diet.



2014-12-01-10710305_10152348040803803_3466822653715082185_o225x300.jpg





Botan co-founder/CEO Edward Cannan, drinking his pea. Yes, I have a 12-year-old's sense of humor.







TS: So tell me about the accident that led to your starting Botan.



EC: I used to work for a company you know pretty well, LVMH Moet Hennessy. I was having a blast, it was just great. I love champagne, I love spirits, I love wine, I collect them. And I have always been very sporty, so I always need to do some sports. I was playing soccer after a rough night, and I injured myself, stupidly and really badly. At the goal, a guy came by my left and I pretended I was going right, but actually went left. My body shifted, but not my knee. So it exploded and I fell. So anyway, I went back to the hospital, and they said... everything is destroyed. They told me, you won't be able to walk for the next four months, and we don't know if we can actually intervene right now, since you've got so much fluid in your knee.



I had lost over 12 kilos -- over 20 pounds. I don't gain weight from eating, I can eat as much as I want, I am lucky. But I lose a lot of muscle, and muscle is heavier than fat. So my overall weight was dramatically lower. My right leg was a stick. They told me, you have to eat a lot of protein. I don't know anything about food, if it's good that's all I care about. So they gave me the green light to eat as much meat as I want, so I was having a lot of it. I don't think I was having that much more than I usually have, I was just having it. And I kept getting sick, so I saw a doctor, and I said I keep getting sick, there's something wrong with me.



They did a blood test, and it came back and he said, your immune system is destroyed. It was a five day stay in the hospital [when I hurt my leg], so I was on morphine for five days. Basically, that took a lot of my immune system down. I said, great news, it'll go back to normal. He said yes, but we noticed something else. You know what gout is? I said, yeah, I know what gout is. The king of France used to get it, it's a virus, and it's gone. He said, "Ummm, it's not a virus, it's not gone, and you're about to have it. Remind me how old you are?" I was 26. He said he'd never seen such a high uric acid [an indicator of gout], and you need to change your diet. I was like, well, they told me I had to eat protein. He said, do you drink any wine or champagne? I said, yeah, I drink champagne... a little. Spirits? A little. Red meat? Yeah, some. So it was a game changer. I realized, OK, I don't see it on my body because I don't gain weight, but I'm still killing it on the inside. My body was just pure acid.



And so he told me I had to switch. I said, well, where am I getting my protein from? And he said, beans, quinoa, peas.... And then I realized, wow, there's so many options. But at the time I was forced to eat whey protein shakes, and whey bars, to get this protein. After my swimming, I had to drink all these shakes. And whey is really acidic. It's not really... natural. Our bodies are not meant to process lactose after a certain age, and some babies can't even digest it on their own. It's demanding a lot from your body to digest, especially from your kidneys, so it's kind of tricky.



I was forced to drink those things, and I didn't want to. And I started cutting down and started balancing my diet, and then it really worked wonders on me and I realized, look, India is almost all vegan most of the time, and in China, their diet is mostly rice-based. There's a lot of people who can thrive and be really happy with a low amount of animal protein. And that's when I realized, there's no drink out there that offers that. That's exactly what I needed. Because I didn't want to force myself to drink protein shakes. You know, I need 50 grams [protein] a day, how can I get that? I have a busy lifestyle. It was a challenge, and I think it's a challenge for a lot of people.



TS: Did you realize at the time you were developing and launching Botan that you were latching on to a growing trend with plant-based protein?



EC: When I launched Botan, prior to that I would interview people who were buying kombucha. So I'd be at Whole Foods and I'd say, "Hey, I'm working on my MBA right now, and we're working on a segment of nutritional beverages, may I ask you a couple of questions? Why do you buy this drink?" "Uh, it's good for me." "What is kombucha?" "Kombucha is, uhhh...." So they start reading. "Kombucha is, uh, fermented tea." "Yeah, OK, what does it do to you?" "Oh, um, it's good for me." "Why is it good for you?" And they'd be like, "Full of... antioxidants!" "What are antioxidants?" "I don't know, but..." And they realize, I know nothing about what I'm buying.



The difference with us is that, it might be a trend, but it's also necessary. You need your protein somehow. Our bodies are 25% protein. It might be a trend, but it will stay, because it's something you need. It's not something like, oh, today I can do without it. You spend too much time without protein, your body shuts down. And it's actually becoming now, the consumers that we have, they buy a bottle a day, 36 bottles a month, and we actually have such demand that online we're now just implementing a monthly subscription, so every month, you get a case.



TS: Did you have a problem getting the source ingredients? The peas, for instance?



EC: The peas was the hard part. There's a lot of demand for green peas -- it's a trend that keeps on growing and growing. We were small and we were getting bigger, so in the business world we were not known at all. It was like, who are those kids just showing up? But we never wanted to compromise on the quality, so we always went non-GMO, which is not necessarily that easy to find. But we managed to find it, and we were able to apply our technology to doing what we're doing, so it still works. It's secure for at least a year and a half, two years -- we know that we have enough to do what we have to do.



TS: How do you extract the protein from the peas?



We have technology that allows us to extract it and have it soluble. That's why it's not chalky and it's not hazy or hard to digest. A lot of people have been asking, especially big companies, Coca-Cola, Pepsi -- how do we do it? From a purely scientific aspect, you can actually nourish people with that stuff, almost, because you have soluble protein. We're talking people who have digesting issues. So let's say you have cancer, prostate cancer, or your colon has been removed, or you have liver issues. How do you nourish people like that? So, the future is finding out how to nourish those people in a way where, you know, if they have this part of their body missing, well, there's other alternatives. That's not the goal of Botan at all, but they think in a long-term health, science, pharmaceutical way of thinking sometimes, and they want it.



TS: What was your capacity to produce in the beginning?



EC: We were begging to produce only 5,000 bottles and no one will do that -- the [bottlers] don't want to stop the machines to do that, they just want to run for two days in a row. Then we went to 10,000, and then we were in the 20,000 range. But the first order from GNC is over 100,000 bottles. So we had to say, 'Guys, we don't need a couple of hours, we need a couple of days." But having the right partners helped us. So we got lucky.



TS: Have you had any problems meeting demand?



EC: Scaling up? Yeah. When we first asked GNC to carry us, they said "We want you in 200 stores." Then they said, "Actually, after trying the product, we want you in 2,000 stores." I can't complain about it, because it's a good problem to have, right? But yeah, a lot of challenges. Like in any form of production, you know how to make a small quantity of something, but then you want to scale up, it's not multiplying by 6, it's not proportional. It's like, all the complications, from PH to preservative ingredients you need to add, so... it's challenging.



TS: How did you choose the flavors [Pineapple-Coconut, Cherry Tomato and Strawberry-Cucumber]?



EC: It's really tough to choose the flavors. The ultimate goal is to not compromise the quality of the product. So, we can add cane sugar -- it would taste a lot better. We can cheat and use unnatural flavors. But we don't want to do that. So basically, you have a base, which is pea protein, and you need to find flavors that will offset that type of flavor. We tried hundreds of different organic natural flavors



TS: What was the most disgusting one?



EC: Once we tried, um... there's been many! Once we tried celery, and that was just not possible.



TS: Yeah, celery and peas....



EC: Too bitter. So that was bad. But also, what we did, we had samples, so we sent samples to, like, Whole Foods, and we'd say, hey guys, what do you think about this one? So it's searching, feedback, from the experts from the industry as well as just normal consumers. Sometimes you produce 100 bottles and you say, hey guys, what do you think about this one?



We also go by colors. You have to think about how it's going to look on the shelf. If we do six different flavors and they're all red, that's not going to help the image.



TS: What's getting your customers to drink Botan?



EC: Number one is to balance the diet. They know processed food is not good. To what extent they don't know. But they know they should try to eat healthier. So they incorporate a healthy alternative into their life -- instead of eating a heavy salad, they have a light salad and a Botan. So it's combining both that in the end makes it a super-healthy meal, where you get your protein. For other people, we have professional athletes and supermodels who actually drink it while they're working out and after working out, because it will replenish their muscle mass very quickly. It has a low amount of calories and a low amount of sugar, so for women in particular, it's very appealing. But anyone, starting with me, will drink it to balance their diet. It's not easy.



A lot of people have experimented with it in different ways, whether to do a cleanse, or they need to lose some weight because they have an event they need to look good for. They want to be fit and ready and feel confident about themselves. So for two days or three days they'll just stick to that and super-light food, purely salad and things like that.



TS: Do you recommend Botan for a cleanse?



EC: Oh yeah. Most other cleanses out there don't offer protein. So when you deprive your body from something that's 25% of your body mass, you overreact -- it's not happy. And when you cleanse, it's kind of tough on your body. You're tired, upset, you can have headaches, your mood is going to shift. So cleansing is about removing the bad stuff, but it doesn't mean you're not able to incorporate the good stuff. When I come back from Christmas, from France, I'll probably go on a cleanse for two days (laughs). Because when I'm in France, I tend to indulge.



TS: What have you got in the pipeline after launching at GNC?



EC: GNC picked up two more flavors starting in January, mango-peach and guava. They tried it and they said, "We want it." And they said, we want it to be ready for January, because there's so much demand [then]. People are like, OK, I've abused, now it's time to reset.



You enjoy the good news for, like, 10 seconds. Then you think, what are the consequences of being so exposed? I have such an amazing customer. What do we need to do now? There are a lot of things we need to do. We need to make sure everything is perfect. Because they don't screw around. To them, you're tiny. But that's the way you start a relationship with them, so we want everything to be perfect. You told them you can deliver, all that stuff needs to be well done. Managing growth is harder, and not as fun, as I expected. But many brands, beverage industry-wise, struggle and don't make the cut and don't gain distribution. We don't have that problem, we lucked out. We have something that is new and different, helping people, people see the benefits. But the work has to continue.



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Non-Voyage: 5 Reasons to Let Your Vacation Expire Unused This Year

Bob takes pride in being a truly great soldier of industry. He is first to arrive and last to leave his Santa Monica office every day (most weekends included) and eats almost every meal at his desk. He completes all his projects on time at all costs. He hasn't taken a full day off in over a year and really feels he is a lock for promotion this coming year. With all that time spent, how could he not be?



2014-11-25-woman_with_desk_paper_covered.png According to politico.com, Americans are only using 77 percent of their available vacation time, gifting a total of $52.4 billion to American businesses every year. Another survey by Expedia.com reveals that Americans are only consuming 10 out of their average 14 vacation days available. Finally, a March 2014 study by glassdoor.com shows that about one-third of Americans took none of their available vacation time during the past year. Here are five reasons why they and Bob are on the right track:



1. A greater ability to focus: It's amazing how much choosing work over alternative pastimes simplifies your life. You become a master of your routine, arriving at work having already planned your entire day on the way without having noticed a tree, like you're your own robot chauffer. What's more, as days and months pass and you experience more anger, anxiety, and depression, fewer and fewer people will call on you to be part of their lives. Marriages, friendships, and recreation are pesky intrusions with which you may no longer need to trifle.



A University of North Carolina study shows that marriages among workaholics have a divorce rate twice as high as they otherwise would.



2. You won't have as high expectations to live up to: And ironically, as the complexities of your life dwindle, and you're able to spend more time at work, you'll become famous for being disorganized, short-sighted, unable to delegate, sleep deprived, and missing appointments and other obligations. As people demand less and less, you will certainly find the added time and focus you'll need to perform at a higher level.



A recent Harvard study estimated that sleep deprivation costs American companies $63.2 billion a year in lost productivity.



There are an enormous number of managers who have retired on the job. -- Peter Drucker





3. You will reduce your expenses: There are so many opportunities for the ultra-dedicated to drastically reduce their cost of living. For example, as your wellbeing becomes less and less of a priority, for the same amount you'd pay for one salad at the lunchroom cafeteria, you'll get five Texas Cinnamon Rolls from the vending machine. Those things are gi-normous! Think of the value! Statistically, you will also be more likely to skip annual check-ups or schedule time with the doctor should the cinnamon rolls not provide the bleeding-edge nutrition they intend. Heck and when you start to actually skip meals, think of all the extra cash you will have to spend with all the time you don't have.



2014-11-25-Cinnamon_Buns.png According to WebMD, 75 to 90 percent of all doctor's visits are for ailments or complaints linked to stress, and Graeme Cowan, author of The Elephant in the Boardroom: Getting Mentally Fit For Work , claims that 34 percent of lost productivity is caused by stress or depression disorders.



4. You'll walk around high as a kite, and people will applaud you for it: As you spend more and more time at work and your aforementioned propensity to organize your tasks dwindles, your stress levels will increase, giving your brain increasing doses of naturally-produced chemicals. Your body can become as addicted to them as heroine. The more you produce, the more you'll need, so this will bring you deeper and deeper into your job, certainly fortifying the lock on that promotion. Oh, and the drug is free. More savings!



5. When you overdose, your employer will give you a paid supervacation: As you neglect your health more and more, you may just get a long paid vacation as you burn out or even develop chronic medical issues. After all, are there three words in the English language that go better 2014-11-25-Exhausted.png together than "leave with pay"? Who has the last laugh now as you lay on the couch for an eternity watching TV while the co-workers who were shutting you out of team tasks because you barely know what planet you are on are now left to do all the work you left behind?



The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates the cost of stress to U.S. companies to be $200-$300 billion each year.



The United States is the only modern industrialized country that doesn't require employers give minimum annual time off with pay. That makes the vacation days you get a true gift -- one that is precious and essential to your performance in life, both professional and personal.



You think you are essential. Your company can't live without you. If that's the case, the best way to ensure that you are there for them for the maximum number of years, as sharp as a tack, is to take every single minute of leave you have coming to you.



An Ernst & Young internal study found that for each additional 10 hours of vacation employees took, their year-end performance ratings from supervisors improved by 8 percent.



"Tuck away your mobile devices and let your teams run without you. You'll be amazed at what you can do when you're unplugged." -- Jim Moffatt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Consulting LLP





2014-11-25-DaveBarry1.jpg So take your vacation, or even a sabbatical Bob! Choose otherwise at your own risk.



Radical Sabbatical, an Amazon bestseller by Laura Berger and Glen Tibaldeo, lauded by Pulitzer Prize winning humorist and author, Dave Barry, as "the funniest book I've ever held in my hands."



Laura Berger is available as a speaker, workshop facilitator, and private coach. For more information, write to info@berdeogroup.com or visit Berdeo Group



Enjoyed this article? Check out Are You Thriving or Surviving?



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The Big See: How Having Cancer Showed Me What Is Most Important

I clearly remember the day that I first heard those words that no one ever wants to hear: You have cancer. You never forget that moment you suddenly come face to face with your own mortality -- literally, the wake-up call of the century. Your life immediately divides like a cell in mitosis: Before Cancer -- After Cancer.



For a while (weeks, months) I woke up every morning feeling a little bit off kilter and then I would remember: Oh yeah, um, the Sword of Damocles is sort of poised above my head. It was like a loss of equilibrium to which I eventually had to adjust. In a way, it's as if I had quickly relocated from living at sea level to an elevation of 14,000 feet with the antecedent need to keep constantly hydrated so I could still feel normal.



As I examined my priorities up to that point, I felt as if I was looking into a kaleidoscope. The first priority, of course, was staying alive. Also, I was adamant to stay as positive as possible. Crawling under the covers and sobbing was simply not a tenable option. Then the hard part; learning how to make myself my first priority, which had never before been the case. I had to learn that I was the most important person in the world -- to myself.



My priorities were thus completely upended. What had seemed so crucially important became a mere blip on the radar screen of life. Things I had kept in the Someday pile rose to the top. Cancer also handily dispensed with the need for artifice. Artifice and lies and dissembling were no longer necessary. Who has time for that? I do not (and neither do any of us). Life is too short. Let's get right to the point.



Hardest of all, I had to admit that in order to get through this I needed help. That turned out to be the worst part of it -- not the drugs, not the scans, not the tests, not the biopsies, not the needles. I had somehow gone through my whole life, for the most part, without medical drama. And now -- ironically -- I found myself in as dramatic a situation as one could be in.



I reminded myself that if this had happened to a close friend, I would have dropped everything to do whatever they needed me to do. And I had no closer friend than myself so I had to stop being so damned precious about it. I had to learn how to admit that I needed help because my life now depended on it.



I've kept this whole thing close to the vest for over three years, eschewing a fuss. So why now? Why come out of the cancer closet? Because I feel like it's finally time to call the bitch out. Because this year, too many of my friends are at the receiving end of that poison dart and some of them are not as lucky as me. Some of them have Cancer -- I, on the other hand, have cancer.



Lucky, I can hear you say. Why lucky? Because I've heard stories from my cancer peeps that lead me to realize how very lucky I am, harrowing stories. But they are not my own and this is really all about me, this time.



This is for my mother, whose bravery and strength I honor, who fought this fight in the Seventies and has been gloriously cancer-free for several decades. You are beyond amazing. Your life is a constant inspiration to me.



This is for Susan, my dear friend, who I never knew before endometrial cancer had her in its thrall. She dealt with an aggressive and virulent disease that caused tumors to bloom like deadly flowers all through her body. Susan, a gifted artist, was cut down in her prime, years before she should have been taken. Recently I went to her funeral to honor her memory and learned from her friends and family about her brilliant, vibrant life.



This is for those who disparaged Sam Simon's statement that his terminal colon cancer is "the most amazing experience of my life" because you know what? It can be and often is the most amazing experience of your life when mortality holds up a mirror and shows you what's most important. That's what happened to me. I understand what he meant, and I honor him.



This is for those who couldn't understand Brittany Maynard's decision to die with dignity. At first I too didn't understand why a 29-year-old would choose to leave this world, but then I read and learned and grieved for her. I realized that she needed to own her disease and not be manipulated by others who were, at the end of the day, not her. I honor her and her choice.



This is for Malcolm MacDougall, who recently died just five days after writing for The Daily Beast about how his insurance company delayed and denied cancer treatments that would have helped extend his life. I honor him.



And to those who continually try to throttle and choke the Affordable Care Act, which for the first time in American history does not penalize me and others like me with pre-existing conditions, as if we chose to have a serious illness? There but for the grace of God go you.



And as this is the week after Thanksgiving, I am giving thanks. I am giving sincere thanks to my cancer posse, they know who they are, who have been there every single day of this journey helping me remain undaunted in a daunting situation. In this time of gratitude I give thanks to all of you more than ever. I simply couldn't do this without you.



I'll tell you what I do know, deep down in my bones. It's not going to win. I will not allow it. This whole situation is so not part of my plan. My plan is to stay healthy and strong, to rise like a phoenix above my medical bills, to write all of the books currently percolating in my beautifully creative brain (and to find those hours like precious jewels that I need to do so), to dance, to sing, to read, to snuggle, and to continue to fight this disease lurking in the dark corners like the craven, evil coward it is.



Because I have cancer. And I'm in love with life.



Special thanks to Kris Carr, for her Crazy Sexy Cancer books, all of which changed my life; to To S.L. Wisenberg, for The Adventures of Cancer Bitch (omg! Someone else knows what this is like!); and to Amanda Palmer, for The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help, because no book has ever reached inside my soul like that one. It's exactly what I needed and everyone should read it.



Special thanks also to the feisty, fierce, and fighting women in my support group at Gilda's Club, who helped me find the courage to post this article. And thanks to Gilda Radner, without whom.




from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1HQnxtd

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Group Shows How Much Better World Would Be If Fortune 500 Donated Just 1% Of Revenues

One group wants more businesses digging deeper into their pockets for charitable causes, and it believes they'll make more money in the long run by doing so.



The One Hope Foundation, an organization working with companies to integrate charitable giving into their business models, believes companies that commit to worthy causes will boost bottom lines by complying with customers wants. The foundation's success causing positive change reflects a growing number of businesses prioritizing cause-related missions.



According to One Hope, if Fortune 500 companies donated just 1 percent of the $12.21 trillion they garnered in 2013, several milestones could have been reached with the funds: access to clean water for everyone who doesn't have it and an end to homelessness in the U.S., to name a couple.



Here's what else the world could do with 1 percent of $12.21 trillion:

one hope foundation info



As Time.com pointed out, "times have changed" from past decades, when businesses were skeptical to implement any form of social responsibility into their goals. Ten years ago, roughly a dozen Fortune 500 companies around the world issued a corporate social responsibility, or CSR, report -- today, the majority do.



The dramatic increase can be tied to a large number of consumers who want to support businesses that give back to charitable causes. A 2011 study by Cone Communications found that 94 percent of customers are likely to switch brands to one that supports a social issue, if the brands are about equal in price and quality.



The One Hope Foundation, which claims to have facilitated more than $1.5 million in donations to more than 200 charities thus far, is pushing for more business partners and soliciting donations from supporters in its latest campaign video above. The group says that a $10 donation to One Hope generates $500 to charity.



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from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/one-hope-foundation-giving-back_n_6225028.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Napping

Slowly but surely, more and more high achievers are coming around to the idea that an afternoon nap can do a body (and a bottom line) good. But there are still enough doubters out there that haven't yet jumped on the napping bandwagon.



To help spread the power of the afternoon snooze, we got to the bottom of a few of the common myths about napping we still hear.



Myth #1: Napping is only for the lazy -- or those under 5.

Fact: Around a third of American adults nap on the average day, LiveScience reported, and for good reason: A short snooze can boost everything from alertness and memory to creativity and productivity. And not a one of those perks sounds like laziness to us!



Myth: If I take a nap, I'll only wake up feeling worse.

Fact: That groggy feeling after you wake up from a nap is real (it even has a name: sleep inertia) but it's not a guarantee. How you feel after your snooze is probably a factor of how long you snoozed for. Experts generally agree that a nap should last no longer than 30 minutes. "If you take it longer than 30 minutes, you end up in deep sleep," sleep expert and HuffPost blogger Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., previously told HuffPost. Anyone who has ever felt worse upon rising from a nap is "sleeping too long," he said. "You're going into a stage of sleep that's very difficult to get out of." Next time you're in the mood for a snooze, set your alarm for 20 to 30 minutes, tops.



Myth: You definitely shouldn't nap at work.

Fact: Now, we don't want anyone getting in trouble with the higher-ups, but in the right office environment, we're all for catching a few winks during the workday. A handful of progressive companies have created special designated areas or rooms for afternoon naps (including The Huffington Post!) as more and more employers come around to the idea that a well-rested workforce is a more productive workforce. If your office doesn't offer a place to lay your head, try to find an empty conference room where you can close a door and dim the lights. Really desperate? Take a snooze on your lunch break on a park bench or in your car.



Myth: Coffee before a nap will keep me up.

Fact: Believe it or not, there is such a thing as a caffeine nap -- affectionately referred to as the napalatte or nappuccino. To do it right, enjoy that cup of coffee or tea, and then take your nap. As you sleep, the caffeine will begin to kick in (it reaches peak effectiveness about 30 minutes after you drink it), so that when you wake, you'll be feeling your most refreshed.



Myth: I'll be more productive if I just finish this task, rather than waste time sleeping.

Fact: Yes, you'll be away from your desk (or at least not aware of what's going on there) if you take 10 to 30 minutes to snooze. But you'll likely make up for that "wasted" time afterward. "My research shows that people deteriorate during the day," sleep scientist Sara Mednick told Business Week. "It's difficult to sustain productivity." A nap can leave you feeling refreshed and more ready to tackle the task at hand -- and your employer should thank you for it, considering drowsiness costs the U.S. an estimated $18 billion a year in lost productivity, according to a 2001 study.



Do you take naps? Let us know in the comments below!



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/napping-myths_n_6199204.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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5 Allergens to Watch Out for This Winter

Many people believe that as the spring and fall seasons wrap, so do their allergies. But the truth is that they are mistaken. While the onslaught of colder weather and freezing temperatures brings an end to seasonal pollen allergies, it doesn't mean that your environment is free of allergens.



Especially in New York City, winter means that more people are staying indoors to avoid the cold. What many people may not know is that they can be exposed to indoor allergens that are lurking within their home. And, with the holidays around the corner, there are a few common triggers such as Christmas trees or fireplaces that can contribute to those unwanted allergens.



Add to this the fact that winter allergies and the common cold have many similar symptoms and you have the makings of one unpleasant season if you're an allergy sufferer. But don't worry! Here are a few tips on what allergens people with allergies should be mindful of this winter.



Dust & Dust mites

What: Microscopic, allergy symptom-inducing dust mites lurk in bedding, mattresses, carpets, and upholstered furniture.



Tip: Use dust-proof covers on mattresses, box springs, and pillows to avoid exposure and regularly wash bed linens in hot water to kill dust mites. Vacuum all carpeted areas at least twice a week and install HEPA filters to improve air quality and consider using a dehumidifier to keep humidity in the home below 50 percent, which helps to control dust mites.



Mold

What: Mold grows in damp environments like basements and bathrooms and can be present both indoors and outdoors. Airborne molds can cause asthma symptoms and allergic rhinitis.



Tip: To combat mold the EPA recommends fixing plumbing problems or leaks, increasing ventilation in damp areas, and scrubbing mold off surfaces using water and detergent, and drying completely.



Mold can hide in many places in the home, including under carpets, on ceiling tiles, in showers, and behind wallpaper, dry wall, or paneling. When mold grows outdoors, it grows in dark, wooded areas, so thoroughly inspect any firewood you plan to bring into your home. And, as much as you may want to jump in that leaf pile, remember that leaf piles are a breeding ground for mold.



Animal dander

What: All warm-blooded pets, such as cats, dogs, birds, and rodents, have dead skin cells, also known as animal dander. Colder weather usually means that both people and animals are indoors more often. Increased exposure to animal dander can lead to an increase in allergy symptoms. Allergies to pets are caused when a person has a reaction to proteins found in the animal's saliva, skin cells or urine. The reaction usually occurs when people are exposed to these proteins.



Tip: Pets should be kept out of bedrooms and other highly-used areas in the home to reduce exposure, and they should be bathed once a week.



Christmas trees

What: While Christmas trees themselves may not be the source of allergic reactions, they can harbor mold spores and microscopic allergens that cause allergies.



Tip: People bringing a Christmas tree into their home this winter should try to hose off the tree and let it dry before bringing it into the house to get rid of as many mold spores as possible. Another idea would be to use an artificial or reusable tree to eliminate the chance of bringing mold spores from live trees into the home. The one thing you need to be cautious of when using an artificial tree is dust depending on how and where you store it year over year. Be sure to give it a through cleaning before it's brought into the home.



Smoke and Pollutants

What: As mentioned, firewood brought into the home can contain mold spores. Wood burned in a fireplace can release irritating smoke and other airborne pollutants into the home environment, potentially causing allergic rhinitis or asthma symptoms.



Tip: Be sure that when bringing in any firewood into the home that it's been cleaned and checked for mold. In addition, when starting any fire, be sure that the chimney damper is open so that no unwanted smoke comes into the home.



The best way for a person to handle winter allergies is also the simplest: understand what triggers allergy symptoms and control them with avoidance.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-kuriakose-md/5-allergens-to-watch-out-_b_6214234.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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Happy People Aren't Always Great At Empathy

science of us

By Melissa Dahl

Follow @melissadahl




Perpetually happy individuals are wonderful to have around, until you experience something worth complaining about. Recent research in PLOS ONE suggests that people who are generally cheerful are not so great at reading other people's negative emotions, though what's especially interesting is that they think they're very good at it.



More from Science of Us: Grumpy People Get The Details Right



Researchers asked the participants both how happy they tended to be from day to day and how empathetic they considered themselves. The cheerier volunteers tended to tell the researchers that they were more empathetic, too, when compared to their not-quite-so-happy study subject counterparts. Alex Fradera, in a post at the British Psychological Society's Research Digest, describes what happened next:



The researchers next studied videos of people giving a monologue about an autobiographical event. For each of the videos (two positive events, two negative events), participants rated, second-by-second, the level of negative or positive emotion they thought the speaker was currently feeling.



Participants with a more upbeat personality believed their accuracy on this task to be higher than others. However, the speakers had conducted an identical rating process on their own videos, and it turns out the happier participants were no closer to the true feelings than the more downbeat participants. In fact, happy participants found it harder to judge the emotional tone of a highly negative monologue, in which a participant described the death of a parent.





So, in a way, this research provides more evidence that Debbie Downer types tend to get the details right, even when it comes to reading emotions.



More from Science of Us:

5 Reasons Giving Thanks Can Improve Your Life

Sitting All Day Is Also Ruining Your Mental Health

It Pays To Be Emotionally Intelligent

Happiness Is Enjoying Your Work, Even If You're A Nobody

New Research Supports Smarty-Pants-Unpopularity Theory



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/happy-people-empathy_n_6226284.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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What Science Says About Being In Your 30s

Popular culture and Internet listicles portray the 30s as life's best years. Free from the financial and personal insecurity of the 20s and not yet approaching the midlife challenges of the 40s and 50s, the 30s are said to be the best of both freedom, and responsibility. But what does science say about being a 30-something?



Research presents a mixed picture of a decade of life marked by increasing stability as well as significant change. Some studies suggest that 35 is the "best age" and that real happiness begins at age 33. People older than 100 years in overwhelming numbers regard their 30s as being the best decade of their lives.



Still, the 30s have also been found to be a time of existential crises, ticking biological clocks, and heightened job dissatisfaction.



Here's what science has to say about the ups and downs of being a 30-something:



The beginning and end of the decade may be marked by significant life changes.



If you're going to make a major career change, move to a new city, run a marathon, or have an affair, you're most likely to do it when you're about to turn 30.



Those entering or leaving their 30s are likely to conduct a sort of "life audit" to assess meaningfulness and satisfaction. We tend to use the bookends of a decade as opportunities to evaluate our life paths, and to make changes, according to recent research. New decades tend to inspire a search for meaning, and may lead us to "imagine entering a new epoch," said the researchers, who observed the behavior of "9-ers" (those aged 29, 39, 49, etc.).



You may hit your sexual peak ...



One big thing to enjoy about being in your 30s? Great sex.



For women, a ticking biological clock may be a downside of progressing through the 30s. Perhaps because of this phenomenon, women reach a sexual peak at this time of life, according to research. Women in their 30s and early-40s are significantly more sexual than younger or older women, reporting more sexual fantasies and more actual sex. The researchers hypothesized that women experience enhanced sexual motivation and behavior as an evolutionary adaptation that would have led them to capitalize on their remaining fertility.



Whether this is the actual reason, many women in their 30s say they feel sexier and more in tune with their bodies -- and therefore enjoy a better sex life -- than they did in their 20s. At age 31, women are their most sexually confident, according to a survey reported by the Daily Mail.



... And soar to new heights in your career.



While the 20s are generally characterized by completing your education, unemployment or underemployment, choosing a career path, and working long hours to move up the ladder, the decade that follows is more about enjoying career success and financial success.



The ages of 30 to 39 can be a time of career highlights. Thirty-something women can look forward to pay growth peaking at an average age of 39, according to a Payscale.com analysis. And if you're an artist or a scientist, you'll be most likely to have your biggest creative breakthrough in your late-30s, according to a study of scientific innovators and Nobel Prize winners. A 1977 study, cited by The Atlantic, found that physics Nobel winners were an average of 36 years old when they did their prize-winning research, while chemistry prize winners were an average of 39 years old.



If you're not happy with the career path you've chosen, you're likely to feel worse about work. Some research has shown that 30-somethings are less satisfied with their jobs and more emotionally burnt out than people in their 20s and 40s.



Your personality probably won't change much.



The 20th century Harvard psychologist William James said that after age 30, the personality has "set like plaster." James believed that personality tends to stabilize with the emergence of adulthood. Some research backs him up.



Our core personality characteristics are at least partially determined by genetics. From childhood through the 20s, our personalities evolve significantly, and these changes slow as we approach 30. While our fundamental personality traits don't change much once we hit the big 3-0, that doesn't mean we can't challenge ourselves, act out of character and grow. It's just that as our lives become stable, so does our character.



"The very big changes you see from early adolescence to early adulthood are greatly muted after 30, 35," personality psychologist Paul T. Costa told New York magazine's Science of Us. "There are still changes in personality after that, but they're very, very modest compared to earlier phases in the life span."



You might get a case of the pre-midlife blues.



Every decade has its crisis, and the 30s are no exception.



The quarter-life crisis -- as much a pop culture phenomenon as a psychological one -- is a predecessor to the midlife crisis that can strike anywhere from the mid-20s to the mid-30s. It tends to occur most often around age 30. Generally, this period of existential anxiety and questioning is triggered by feelings of being stuck in a job or relationship that isn't working.



"This leads to a feeling of being one thing outwardly, but feeling inwardly that you are someone else, which causes a discrepancy between your behavior and your inner sense of self," British psychologist Oliver Robinson told New Scientist.



This gives rise to a desire to change, finding an exit plan from the current situation, and rebuilding your life, Robinson explained. It can be a difficult process, but it's worth it in the end: 80 percent of young adults that Robinson interviewed looked back positively on their midlife crisis.



Real happiness is just beginning.



Once you've gotten the quarter-life crisis out of your system, it's time for life's real joy. A 2012 survey found that 70 percent of British people over age 40 said they weren't truly happy until age 33.



More than half of survey respondents said that life is more fun at 33, 42 percent said that they were more optimistic about the future at this age, and 38 percent said that they experienced less stress at age 33 than when they were younger.



“The age of 33 is enough time to have shaken off childhood naiveté and the wild scheming of teenaged years without losing the energy and enthusiasm of youth,” one of the study's authors, psychologist Donna Dawson, explained. “By this age innocence has been lost, but our sense of reality is mixed with a strong sense of hope, a ‘can do’ spirit, and a healthy belief in our own talents and abilities.”



According to another British survey, conducted by HuffPost UK and YouGov, we strike the best work-life balance at age 34, and achieve true contentment at age 38.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/thirtysomethings_n_6219808.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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Family Fights May Have A Surprising Upside For Children

There's nothing fun about a nasty family argument, especially when everyone has gathered for Thanksgiving or some other festive event. And research has linked relationship conflict to anger, depression, anxiety, and other psychological problems.



But a new study published Oct. 10 in the journal Human Communication Research points to a surprising upside for verbal conflict. It suggests that people who are exposed to such arguments during childhood may be better able to handle conflict in their romantic relationships when they grow up.



"Children who have experienced intense and frequent exposure to family conflict may adapt to it and evaluate conflict as normal, typical, or expected," study co-author Dr. Lindsey S. Aloia, a lecturer of communication at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, told The Huffington Post in an email. "Because these experiences increase a person's internal ability to adapt to conflict, desensitization is reflected in a diminished physiological reaction to conflict interactions."



For the study, Aloia and Dr. Denise Solomon, a research professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State University in University Park, Pa., studied 50 college-aged romantic couples.



First, saliva samples were taken from the study participants to determine their baseline level of the stress hormone cortisol. Then the participants were interviewed about conflict in their relationship and asked to complete questionnaires about their childhood experiences with verbal aggression among members of the family. Finally, the participants were videotaped as they sat together for 10 minutes to discuss a point of conflict between them before follow-up cortisol levels were measured.



What exactly did the study show? The people whose discussions involved more conflict tended to show higher levels of cortisol afterward. But the increase in cortisol levels tended to be smaller in people who indicated that they had been exposed to higher levels of familial verbal aggression in childhood.



The bottom line?



"Conflict experiences can be beneficial, by alleviating tension and avoiding conflict escalation, reducing communication apprehension, and contributing to closeness within the relationship," Aloia said in a written statement, adding in the email that, "Although speculative, we wonder if children benefit most from exposure to family conflicts that illustrate the nonthreatening nature of ethical and responsible disagreement, as well as the dangers of intense conflict."



In other words, maybe don't feel so bad when family fights break out in front of the kids--but try not to let things get out of hand.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/30/family-fights-new-study-children_n_6220090.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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7 Ways To Quiet Your Home From The Noisy World Around It

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Do We Live in a Time of Narcissism

No, we don't live in a time of Greek Mythology but we use words of past historical and mystical figures and gather images of centuries past. "Narcissus fell in love with his own image in a pool of water and finally changed into a flower." This flower bears his name "Narcissus" to this day. Many stories have been written about Narcissus throughout the ages; he was a tragic figure.



It is said that healthy narcissism exists in many individuals and is an essential part of normal development. It is either a search for self-worth or self-esteem, sometimes to counter an inadequate self-perception or overcoming an emptiness within. We have to learn to understand this boundless need to self-expressing as we see today. Technology quickens the "me-myself-I" theme. Many tasks once considered uniquely human are now driven by personal technology. These tools also bring change to all that we hold dear or important. There is a shift in perception, fewer people work in jobs thought important at one time, education, medicine, manufacturing, law-professions, servicing homes, these and more are constantly changing. Education above all guides people into the next stage of ingenuity and technology. This is optimistic and positive.



With all the speculations and visions of the future we are living in the "now" and need to learn to adjust. Technology is part of our everyday life and we are learning to deal with these intense challenges. Hands-on labor will never be obsolete. Learning, building a productive life, tilling the fields, feeding the billions and enjoying a precious, healthy life is still a gift. Maybe innovation and entrepreneurs have found substitutes for human labor yet all these new inventions and ideas also compliment life and bring new understanding.



Dr. Debbie Joffe Ellis, an Australian Psychologist, writer and presenter, now living in New York, is affiliated with major psychological and counseling associations, and a specialist in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) with a doctorate in alternative medicine, is saying:



Sadly, many people are taught to value themselves according to any talents or material goods they possess. The danger of identifying with what we have or do is that if we lose abilities, looks, wealth or possessions - there can be a tendency to feel lost, empty and worthless. When we work on accepting ourselves and our fallibility unconditionally - knowing that we have worth, simply because we exist, we can lead wholesome, happier and healthy lives. Each human has worth, whether he or she succeeds or fails at attaining their goals. It is beneficial, given that we are largely social animals, to make an effort to show kindness and compassion to others as well as to ourselves. Some cynics may say it is 'selfish' to do for others in order to make ourselves feel good. Self-interest, and showing interest in the well-being of others, is key to creating healthier communities, healthier societies and ultimately a healthier world.



That brings the age of narcissism to foreground. Our tools for communications are fine and helpful, yet they also provide an alienation process, a virtual life versus a real one. For example seeing art or great architecture, travel to far-away places in real time enriches our human understanding, brings a new dimension, and teaches us to respect or honor those who give or gave us these great gifts and made them possible. Yes, automations are part of our daily lives, yet we still enjoy looking into the eyes of a human being, hearing a real voice, sharing feelings and emotions. It is of endless value, machines don't offer that. We can choose to be part of this 'loving-my-tool' society, choose taking selfies every moment of our lives, always with us in the picture, masterpieces of self-importance, positively or negatively, joyfully or obnoxiously. Our choice! Yes, there are masterpieces by great painters of the past in self-portraits, like Goya, Rembrandt, van Gogh, Frida Kahlo, the selfies of their time, are great and precious gifts to us today and will be for centuries. We are fortunate to enjoy them and to live in a Nation of open minds and possibilities with our open systems.



The consequences of this brilliant new technology is positive and predictable... yet we must remember that it is not always well-intended. Warnings about cyber-attacks, personal and institutional, have become an often occurrence. No matter how well protected we think we are in our privacy. Genuine tension exists between our ability to know more or feel protected --but so do others and know more about us than we envisioned. Selfies are a mirror of ourselves! Sometimes these mirrors are broken and we cannot stop it.



We live in a time of abundance, have an endless choice of smartphone cameras for selfies... now even provided with selfie-sticks. People wandering through the great spaces we know from history or travels yet often are totally unaware nor paying attention to these great visions. These stick -- extensions are intrusive and show also the disrespect, not only to the people sharing the space but to the accomplishments of the past. It has nothing to do with technology but a way of feeling entitled. Narcissism is all around us! Of course the right to pose for selfies is each person's choice, unless posted otherwise. Today's travelers have the great joy of seeing art and architecture of the now and the past by taking photos or selfies, but should remember that there are others who have as much interest and the same right to see these treasured surroundings without being blocked or intruded upon their reverie.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christa-dowling/do-we-live-in-a-time-of-narcissism_b_6233110.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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The Hidden Factor in Failing to Reach your Goals

What would you say are the core skills of successful goal creation?



Here's a shortlist based on the most common answers I hear from clients or in my workshops and seminars:




  • Identifying what it is that you want



  • Taking action in the direction of its creation



  • Noticing the results you are getting



  • Adapting your actions based on your results






So if you were doing all that, why might you still not reach your goals on schedule?



Recently, a friend was sharing his disappointment at failing to reach a career goal by a deadline he'd set when it dawned on me that he might be missing the point. He seemed to think the problem was either with him (he hadn't tried hard enough) or possibly the universe (it was out to get him that week). What hadn't occurred to him is that you can have a great strategy, take inspired, effective action, have all the stars aligned in your favor, and still fail to reach your goals in the time frame you've created because of one hidden factor.



I call it "hidden" because before I heard my mentor George Pransky talk about it in a coaching session, I had never once given it a moment's thought. And since that time, I've never heard anyone else talk about it either.



The reason a lot of people fail to reach their goals in the time frame they've set is simply this:



Most of us aren't very good at predicting how long things are going to take.



In other words, if you want to lose 30 pounds in three months and 90 days later you've only lost 15 pounds, did you "fail" because you didn't try hard enough, because your metabolism was working against you, or because it turns out that in this instance, 90 days wasn't a long enough time frame to reach that goal given your strategy and what you were willing and able to do?



Or say you want to earn an extra $5,000 this month, but at the end of the month you haven't earned a penny. Was it poor planning? Poor execution? Or if you look at it objectively, are you on track to earn your extra $5,000 but it's going to take three months instead of the one you made up it should take?



Once George pointed out this "hidden factor" to me, I began to see it everywhere. Actors who give up on their dreams after not becoming stars in their first few months in Hollywood. Coaches who can't understand why they're not making six figure incomes in their first two years in the business. Employees who aren't getting promoted on their time schedule and entrepreneurs who think if the world hasn't beaten a path to their door the day they opened it they must be doing something wrong.



Are their times where your lack of results in a time frame indicate that a change of strategy, direction, or even career might be in order?



Of course there are.



But if the people whose opinion you respect (you do have coaches and advisers and mentors don't you?) agree that you're on the right track, the only thing that might be holding you back is an inability to predict how long something is going to take.



And there are three ways to address that:



1. Stop turning your goals into ultimatums:

Here's how I put it in one of my early books:



"Some people have learned to live by keeping themselves under the constant threat of poverty, abandonment, and self-hatred if they don't perform up to whatever standard they have decided upon. The problem with this motivational strategy is simple: If you keep putting a gun to your head, at some point you're going to want to pull the trigger."



Your goals are not the answer to your prayers and they're not the things that will set you free. They're just targets to aim for and organizing principles for your actions, generally based on a best guess at what you'll enjoy doing, being, or having at some point in the future. Turning them into more than that just makes it harder to find out if you're as bad at predicting future happiness as you are at predicting time frames.



2. Set a completely unrealistic time frame:

This is one of the bases for the Creating the Impossible challenges that I run from time to time -- when you set a time frame so short for a goal so big that "success" would be almost completely impossible, people curiously feel more able to just go for it and get involved in creation without worrying so much about whether or not "It's going to work."



That's why one of my favorite "unsticking" moves when I can't make progress on a goal is to double my target and halve the time I have available. Because I know I'm almost certainly not going to make it, I take the false deadline pressure off my mind and free myself up for more fun and creative thinking. And because I'm now just playing a game (double the target in half the time), I often come up with unique strategies that would never have occurred to me while trying to reach my more "realistic" target.



3. Navigate by joy:

One of the things I learned fairly early on in life is that the fastest way to future rewards is by following present joy. Even when that doesn't seem to be true, acting from a centered, joyful place on a daily basis inside ensures that worst case, you are really enjoying your days. And if you're really enjoying each day, how long it takes to get somewhere becomes a point of interest rather than a point of contention.



Have fun, learn heaps, and may all your success be fun!



with all my love,



2014-08-17-20130402michaelsig.gif



For more by Michael Neill, click here.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-neill/the-hidden-factor-in-fail_b_6210604.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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Type 2 Diabetics: Get Evaluated for Sleep Apnea

Research shows that seven in 10 people with Type 2 diabetes also have obstructive sleep apnea, a dangerous, potentially life-threatening condition that also increases your risk for obesity and heart disease. November is National Diabetes Month, and the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project is advising everyone with Type 2 diabetes to be aware of their high risk for sleep apnea and talk to a doctor about any warning signs of this chronic disease.



A common misconception is that sleep apnea, a condition characterized by complete or partial airway obstruction during sleep, only affects older, overweight men. This widely-held assumption is wrong: Anyone can have sleep apnea, regardless of gender, age or body type -- even if you're not overweight.



The most common warning sign for sleep apnea is snoring, especially when it is combined with choking, gasping or silent breathing pauses during sleep. Other warning signs include daytime fatigue or sleepiness, high blood pressure and a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. You should discuss these warning signs with your doctor, who may refer you to a board-certified sleep medicine physician for a complete sleep evaluation.



The sleep specialist may decide you need an objective sleep study, which will provide the data needed to make an accurate diagnosis. Once diagnosed, the most commonly recommended treatment for sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, which provides gently pressurized air through a mask, keeping your airway open and making it easier to breathe. For patients who are unable to tolerate CPAP, or who seek alternatives, knowledgeable sleep specialists can offer other treatments.



Long-term sleep apnea treatment can help diabetics manage their symptoms, including improving nighttime glucose levels and insulin sensitivity. A University of Chicago study showed that treating sleep apnea with CPAP therapy may even have as much of an effect in some patients as prescribed oral diabetes medications.



People with Type 2 diabetes can visit http://www.stopsnoringpledge.org to learn more about sleep apnea, find a local accredited sleep center, and pledge to "Stop the Snore" by talking to a doctor about their risk for sleep apnea.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-morgenthaler-md/type-2-diabetics-get-eval_b_6214504.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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5 Lessons Running Has Taught Me

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"God made me for a purpose... And when I run, I feel His pleasure." --Eric Liddell





Here's what I truly love about running: Every single lesson it has taught me, can be applied to my life. Maybe it's the reason I continue lacing up my shoes, day after day. Even when running brings me tears. Because I know, right around the corner, is a lesson to be learned. I'll always be grateful for being a student of running.



Five Lessons Running Has Taught Me:



1. You have to get through the tough parts to get to the good.

Sometimes when I take off for a run, the first mile is so challenging I can't imagine how I can possibly make it to the end. Each step is a battle mentally and physically. It's the longest mile. For whatever reason (stubbornness? determination?), I keep trekking along. One day I had a ten mile run on the schedule and I didn't 'hit my stride' until the 6th mile. That means for about an hour of running, I was hurting, both mentally and physically. But once I got my wind, I was feeling great. If I had stopped when it didn't feel good I never would have made it to the good.



2. You can't look at the total distance.

I know it's there. Whether it's 4 miles, 13.1, 26.2 or 50-plus. If I think of how far I have to run, my mind begins to fill with doubt and negativity. I start hearing words like: Why are you doing this? You can't run that far! You're hurting, just stop. Instead, I have to focus on the mile I'm running. And I think of how far I've come. I have a 10-mile route that I run nearly every Saturday. I focus on getting three miles done. And instead of letting myself think about the seven more I have to do, I tell myself "Just two more miles, you can do two more miles." Once I'm at my five-mile mark, I don't let myself think "You are only halfway there," instead I think to myself "You just ran five miles! Now get three more miles done." Not once do I let myself think "You have to run 10 miles or you have seven more to go." If I start thinking that way, my mind will try to overpower my heart and tell me to give up. I cannot focus on how far I have to go. I have to break my run up into smaller miles and feel good about the miles that are behind me, not in front of me.



3. You have a strength in you that is more than muscle.

It's a strength that you find deep down in the core of what makes you you. I didn't have the words to describe it until I found a poster on Pinterest that described it perfectly: Beast Mode. If you think you don't have it, you are wrong. It's in you. You may have seen it when you went "Mama Bear" and had to stand up for your kids. Trust me, it's there. You don't always need to use it. But when you do, it's what will help you get through something that you thought was impossible.



4. You cannot compare, judge or worry how you match up to someone else.

Focus on yourself. I'm never the fastest, thinnest, or strongest runner out there. I have learned that someone out there is always judging you: for exercising too much, for exercising too little, for being a stay at home mom, for being a working mom. The list goes on and on. The only person I can worry about is me. When I run, whether it's on the treadmill at the gym, a route in my neighborhood, a race with thousands of people, I run for me. Everyone else is running their own race. Let them. And focus on you.





5. Running is a journey, and yet there is no finish line.

Or is it: life is a journey and there is no finish line. It all gets blurred. It was during my 50-mile ultra marathon journey that a good friend told me: happiness comes and goes. So does pain. And hurt. And joy. And sorrow. Instead of chasing those feelings or trying to run away from them, let them come and go. When I race, the finish line is never the end. A big part of the experience was the training along the way. And the experience of how my life changed after I finished the race. When you cross the finish line of any race, the journey hasn't been completed. Because you have more waiting for you -- good and bad. Running has taught me to embrace the journey. If running is a journey, I don't ever want to reach the destination. I don't want there to be a finish line because it's in the journey that I learn, live and love -- I grow. It's in the journey that I feel alive -- even when I feel pain.



My old running coach has a saying: "Run with Joy". Not only do I want to run with joy, I want to live with joy. I hope you do too.



Originally published on My Fit Family.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicole-scott/5-lessons-running_b_6224958.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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10 Good Reasons To Get A Flu Shot

By Melaina Juntti for Men's Journal



How many times have you heard you should get a flu shot? There's good reason for the hype: Over the past few years, the influenza vaccine has prevented millions of flu cases and tens of thousands of related hospitalizations, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Although an increasing number of people are getting vaccinated every year, more than half of American men still aren't doing it, for a variety of reasons, most of which aren't backed by science. "Men have this macho sense that if they do get the flu, they can tough it out," says William Schaffner, M.D., chair of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University. "But influenza is a potentially dangerous virus that can send a totally healthy young man to the emergency room within 48 hours. I've seen my fair share of 26-year-olds with no underlying illness who suddenly can't breathe, have a high fever, and must be put in the intensive care unit." Even if it doesn't get that grave, the flu can knock you out of commission for days or even weeks.



The vaccine isn't perfect, and it doesn't guarantee 100 percent that you won't get influenza, but experts agree that it's far and away your best bet for bucking the flu. If you're still not convinced, here are 10 more reasons why you should get vaccinated.



You Can Spread The Flu Even If You Don't Get Sick

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According to Harvard School of Public Health, 20 to 30 percent of people who carry the influenza virus never experience flulike symptoms. Yet it's still contagious. "Young, healthy people especially need to get vaccinated because they often get infected and never know it," Schaffner says. "Either their symptoms are mild or they have none at all, so they're out there inadvertently spreading the virus to others -- girlfriends, coworkers, even people at gym." If any of those people have a weaker immune system than you -- or if they're simply not as lucky -- they could get hit hard with symptoms even though you never did. "No one wants to be a flu spreader," Schaffner says. "Get vaccinated and be a flu preventer instead."



You Use Your Smartphone Constantly

Now that you use your smartphone to answer emails, check Fantasy stats and watch game highlights, you're touching it constantly, holding it right up to your face and carrying it everywhere you go. Because of this, and because smartphones have hard, plastic surfaces that viruses easily cling to, experts say mobile devices are sneaky transporters of the flu. And when's the last time you cleaned your phone? Probably not recently enough. The only real way to protect yourself from your flu-harboring device is to get vaccinated.



It's Available Everywhere

It's easier than ever to find a flu vaccine. Most of the major drug stores -- Walgreens, CVS, Duane Reade -- and even Target and many grocery stores now offer vaccination, many without requiring an appointment. So not only do you not have to see your doctor, you don't even have to go someplace that you're not going anyway. You should see the doc, however, if you have a serious medical condition or a severe egg allergy, because most vaccines contain a scant amount of egg protein. To find the closest place to get vaccinated, type in your zip code at flu.gov. Get on it, though, because there's a limited number of flu vaccines available each year.



It's Usually Painless

No one likes to get jabbed with a needle, and now you don't even have to. You can skip the shot altogether and get the vaccine as a nasal mist instead. Schaffner says it's just as effective as the shot for those under age 50.



It's Usually Free (Or Really Cheap)

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"Virtually all public and private health insurance plans cover the flu vaccine," Schaffner says. "Especially now, since the Affordable Care Act has made it so many more people get insurance. And as they move to private insurance, those plans now have to cover preventive health measures including the flu vaccine." But even if you're uninsured, or if your plan has a deductible and you have to pay for the vaccine out of pocket, pony up. It usually costs about $20.



It's Can't Give You The Flu

"The most common myth is that you can get influenza from the flu vaccine," Schaffner says. "Give it up. That's never been true." Here's what's really going on: It takes a week or two for the vaccine to take hold in your body. So if you happen to get sick almost immediately after getting a flu shot, you were already coming down with something. The vaccine did not make you sick.



It Might Spare You A Heart Attack

It's true. A study published in JAMA last October found that adults who'd gotten a flu shot were 36 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke within the next year than those who weren't vaccinated. According to study author Jacob Udell, M.D., a cardiologist at the University of Toronto, influenza causes inflammation throughout your whole body, which can cause the plaque that's built up in your arteries to dislodge and form a blood clot. Blood clots often lead to heart attack or stroke. However, if you've been vaccinated and you do get exposed to the flu, Udell says your body will be ready to mount an immune response to tame this inflammation before it turns deadly.



You'll Save Sick Days

An estimated 111 million workdays are lost to the flu each year, sending $7 billion worth of productivity down the drain. Your coworkers certainly won't want you around if you're flulike. But even if you work from home, good luck getting anything done when you're coughing, sneezing, sweating and shivering -- all at once. And while the worst of the flu might last only a few days -- if you're lucky -- you probably won't be back at full speed for a week or more. Wouldn't you rather keep a few sick days on hand so you can sneak away on a golf trip once spring hits?



You Might Hold A Baby

baby flu shot

Babies under 6 months can't get the flu shot, yet they are way more susceptible to influenza than you are. Plus, infants and toddlers are more likely than adults to be hospitalized or even die from the flu. Even if you don't have a baby, one of your siblings, friends or neighbors probably does. Chances are pretty good that, at some point this fall or winter, you'll spend time with the kid -- you may even have to play dad for a minute while your sister digs through the diaper bag. Don't put the little guy or girl at risk. Get vaccinated.



No, You're Not Padding Big Pharma's Pockets

There has been quite a bit of speculation that Big Pharma fabricates flu-phobia in order to convince millions of Americans to shell out dough on vaccines. But the truth is the flu shot is not a big moneymaker for drug firms, says Shaffner. "And it's definitely not the drug companies telling everyone they need a flu shot," says Schaffner. "It's a panel of very smart public health experts." Bottom line: If you're not getting vaccinated because you think you're taking a stand against a corporate cash grab, your reasoning doesn't hold water.





More from Men's Journal:

10 Ways to Protect Yourself this Cold & Flu Season

How to Avoid Getting Sick

The Truth About Fighting Colds



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/29/reason-get-flu-shot-why_n_6194600.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&ir=Healthy+Living

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