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How Important Is It for Your Mental Well-being to Practice a Sport?

How Important Is It for Your Mental Well-being to Practice a Sport?

You’ve probably always had that one person in your life that keeps pushing you towards practicing sports, praising how well it would make you feel, both inside and outside. The media is also filled with advice such as this one – to the point where you just want to close the tab or shut down the TV. So you may feel like this is an empty cliche that die-hard athletes have come up with and that doesn’t really apply to regular people.

Well, this is one cliche that you shouldn’t ignore. It’s true, practicing some type of sport does not only help you maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it also help you consolidate positive emotions and cultivate mindful thinking. Let’s break it down and see how you can benefit if you start to regularly practice a sport:

1. Your Mood Improves Considerably

What comes as a surprise to sedentary people when they take up a sport is the immediate mood shift they notice. Sport is magical this way. In fact, any type of physical activity is – the brain starts releasing endorphins which in turn help you feel more relaxed and happier. Your heart starts beating faster, the circulation improves and before you know it that two-hour basketball or jogging session relieves your mind of any residual anxiety and stress. On top of that, most types of physical activities are really fun, to begin with – you’ll be kept away from depression and you’ll want to pursue positive living.

2. Your Sleep Quality Will Go Up

Has it ever happened to you to fall asleep easier after a rewarding workout or a sports game? As long as you don’t engage in physical activities too close to your bedtime, being so tired will only make you enjoy better, deeper sleep until the morning comes. This, in turn, will help your mind function better, will boost your creativity and will generally help you become more mindful and grateful in your day-to-day life.

3. You’ll Benefit From Extra Socialization

By taking up a team sport, you’ll not only get to have fun but also socialize more. You’ll need to come up with strategies together with your teammates, you’ll become more responsible by owning up to your mistakes and will learn to be more forgiving when the others have dropped the ball. Quite literally. A sports team is like a microcosmos that functions by following its own rules have a hierarchy and specific reward systems. Consider taking up soccer, volleyball, basketball or any other team sport and you’ll soon reconfigure your brain to become more confident, altruistic and positive.

4. You’ll Become a More Confident Person

Competition is always built on goals and it’s at the core of any sport you can think of. Although it doesn’t require you to shed tears and blood, a sport will encourage you to set goals and motivate you to reach them. By setting these goals and pushing your limits, you become more powerful and confident in your own abilities. The best part about it is that confidence won’t remain on the court waiting for you to come back for another session, but it will follow you in every other aspect of your life as well. It will help you make better choices, reach the financial prosperity you’ve dreamed of and heave healthier relationships.

5. Your Concentration Will Improve

Most sports require you to make split-time decisions, not leaving you any time to ponder and take all factors into consideration. You need to jump quickly to catch that ball, you need to run as fast as you can to win the much-needed point and you need to decide where you’d like your shot to go in the opponent’s field. Your mind will gradually adapt to this fast-paced thinking rhythm and it will automatically become more focused. Ultimately the brain is a muscle and the more you work it, the more you can benefit from its strength throughout all areas of your life. Don’t forget – it’s been proven that sports can prevent the onset of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s or ADHD.

As you can see, there are a myriad of reasons why you should take up a sport if you care about your well-being. Pick one that suits you most in terms of technical experience, effort level and socializing needs and dive right into it. Be confident that things will start changing for the better, there’s no other way but up. You just need to have a bit of dedication and push through the initial discomfort.

How Negative Thinking Interferes With Your Chance Of Success And Wealth

How Negative Thinking Interferes with Your Chance of Success and Wealth

Imagine you just got promoted and you start immediately.

Did your gut clench?

Do you know what caused it?

A NEGATIVE THOUGHT.

Write down that thought. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Did it start with, “I can’t"? or “I don’t"?

This is what is going to try and sabotage you and your success. It comes from your ego. Because your ego is the part of you that remembers all the negative things you were told or taught and it doesn’t hesitate to remind you.

The Disadvantages of Negative Thinking

Thinking negative thoughts is the killer of ambition and motivation. It’s like wearing cement boots. Both hold you down.

But, what causes negative thinking?

Repetition of something you were taught or told that cycled itself through your brain so many times and for a long period of time that it became a belief. A lie, but still a belief.

And now those negative thoughts-turned-beliefs have manifested consequences.

How?

The single phrase, “I can’t afford it," has given you many struggles. Think about it.

Now, if you turn that into, “I can afford it," don’t you automatically feel the wheels of possibility turning and the excitement growing in your belly?

Here is what is really happening

How we perceive things dictates our actions and we all know actions create results. So, it’s safe to say, the way we think and view ourselves impacts our lives.

Negative thoughts = negative results.

Positive thoughts and perceptions = positive results.

Thinking positive leads to the realm of possibilities, whereas thinking negatively generates doubt and launches you into success sabotage.

With a positive mindset, you go from worrying about your lack of skills to figuring out ways to develop those skills. You go from wondering how you will make the connections you need, to going out and getting the connections you need. You don’t doubt. You go do.

The realm of possibilities (wealth and success), remember.

Not the realm of doubt and distortions.

By the Way, What Are Cognitive Distortions?

Cognitive distortions are when negative thinking patterns cause negative emotions like depression and anxiety. There is proof that negative thoughts can make you sick. Heck, we even have a cliche for it. When was the last time you were “worried sick"?

Do you jump to conclusions? Always think it’s about you? Cast out labels? Overgeneralize? Constantly say he/she should or must? Have clear-cut black and white thinking? Focus on what’s not working more than what is working? These are cognitive distortions.

You’re not alone, that’s for sure. And you can do something about it.

How to Engage In Positive Thinking

Switch over to seeing all your good in your life. Why it works: recognizing and focusing on the good builds confidence.

Find the silver lining lesson in your failures. Why it works: There is growth value in failure.

Stay in the present. Why it works: this creates uninterrupted focus.

Find humor in bad situations. Why it works: Truthful cliche here, because laughter is the best medicine.

Hang out with people who have a positive mindset. Why it works: you become the average of the 5 people you interact with the most.

How to do Positive Self-Talk

Affirmations are phrases that empower you.

Affirm your new desires in the present tense beginning with “I am"…

Here are a few great affirmations:

“I am wealthy"–because you are.

“I am worthy"–because you are.

“I am a success"–because you are.

You truly are a gift to this world. Success and wealth are meant to be yours. These are some positive quotes about money that will help your mindset as well.

Repetition is key.

You are the way you are because you were taught repetitively over a long period of time.

Just copy that same process of repetition when you’re engaging in positive self-talk.

To have success, you need to release yourself from the realm of doubt and into the realm of possibilities.

Remember at the beginning of this article I asked what your thoughts would be if where you stood right now, you were promoted?

Think again about that from the realm of possibilities. Oh, the things you could do and have and learn and teach.

Ambition and motivation came alive inside you, didn’t they?

That’s the power of positive thinking.

If you’d like to learn more, the Wealth Creation Mastermind offers a free 9-month course on how to master your mental landscape and engage in positive thinking and positive action.

How Looking At The World Through Rose Colored Glasses Can Change Your Life

Did you ever wake up in the morning and everything seemed black, gray, and sad? It was pouring rain and your head was throbbing. On the way out to work, you spilled your coffee on your scrubs you had prepared for a change and perfectly ironed the night before. You got stuck in a massive traffic jam, and your boss was quite upset at the time you showed up to work… It was one of those mornings.

Don’t let this all affect your mood! Remember the small trick of digging into your pocket, pulling out your rose-tinted glasses, putting them on, and suddenly the world will be sunny, your brain will be clear, and your stain on your shirt will not matter. Can this really be?

What are Rose-Tinted Glasses?

Rose-tinted glasses are not a physical tangible thing; rather, they are a symbol of a state of mind. It is a change in the outlook of how you view the world. You always have the power to view things in two ways; positive or negative. Rose tinted glasses means only looking at the positive side to things.

How Do They Work?

The psychological path of your brain is one of the strongest paths in a human. It can even dominate physical feelings! So all you have to do it put yourself into this positive thinking mode. Which literally means looking at every situation and finding the positive. Once your brain views and thinks of the positive, you will start believing the positivity of your situation, and then feel positive – which will turn your day from black to yellow.

Note: You can still feel pain and sadness wearing rose-colored glasses, but it will be from a different perspective, and you won’t feel that you’re suffering as much. Look at this simple math:

Pain + rose colored glasses = Less pain

Pain – rose colored glasses = More Pain, more stress, more anxiety, etc.

Putting This Into Practice

Let us start with the following scenario:

You woke up and everything seems black and dreary. How can you make this day more positive?

How about realizing it’s just a few clouds blocking the sunshine. Imagine – beyond the clouds is a whole beautiful sky that you will be able to view as soon as the clouds pass! Doesn’t that make the gray morning sky better?

How do you turn a rainy day awesome, you ask? Think positive. What will the world be without rain? If you go down that road you will realize quite fast how you want it to pour!

Coffee spills are no big deal once you put on the glasses! Think about the blessings of being able to hold and drink a coffee. There are many people out there who lost their arms and are on feeding tubes!

Did the boss yell at you? Think “this too shall pass" while your boss lets out all his steam. Keep quiet and keep on repeating in your mind that “this will pass…this will pass." It will calm you down as he lets out his frustration on you. Later that day, once he calmed down, you can explain to your boss the reason you came late. I have no doubt that he will assure you it was ok you came late and understand you.

An Exercise of How to Acquire Rose Colored Glasses:

Since this is a mindset, you will have to practice installing this “program" into your brain.

Take paper and divide it into two. On the left side write down 10 “bad" things that happened to you in the past week. On the left side think of how you can look at the “bad" in a positive light. Do this often at first. You will see that the first time will be tough. You will have to use your imagination, or you might even need an unbiased outsider to help you find the positive – but I can assure you that as time goes on, things will get simpler.

I would suggest you wear a “be positive" reminder for the beginning. Put on a pink bracelet or watch to serve as a cue to start being positive. You can also put some motivational sticky notes near your work desk, bed, and on the fridge.

To conclude, changing a mindset is tough work, but doing so will change your life from dark black and gray to bright pink and yellow! And always remember: Whether you think you can or you think you can’t; either way, you will be right!

Bio:

Paul Priceman is a passionate male nurse advocate both in his personal life and professionally with Murse World. Priceman works tirelessly works to promote male nurses in the US and worldwide. He is also involved in researching and writing about various different fascinating and intriguing healthcare related topics. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing in the winter, swimming in the summer and daydreaming all year round. 

Words Of Encouragement For Depression

Words Of Encouragement For Depression

Depression is a state of mind and a feeling in the body that we find it hard to bear. Depression damages our life a lot. We feel like everything that we do and everything that exists in the word is useless. We feel powerless most of the time. I know a lot about depression because when I was 25 years old (now I am 36) I was diagnosed with it. As I am the founder of this website Positive Words Research much of the work I do for this blog was motivated by me making efforts to win over depression.

It is not easy at all to get rid of depression. This is the hard truth. But you can win over it. I did. I learned a lot of techniques to fight and win over depression. I will share with you five words of encouragement for depression. All the things that I am sharing with you are real actions that I implemented in my life.

Words Of Encouragement For Depression

1. You Have Many Reasons To Be Grateful About Yourself

If you are struggling with depression I know this is hard to believe. Just believe me that one of the secrets of winning over depression, that I was blessed enough to find it, is gratitude. Especially gratitude about myself. I started writing small lists of gratitude for myself and I still do this. Practice gratitude from time to time is a practice that I will do all my life. Sometimes I compute the days, weeks, months since I am born and I name this period as “time since I exist on Earth”. Then I say that I am joyfully grateful or sincerely grateful for all these days, weeks and months.

2. You Have The Power To Play

Including playfulness in my life was one of my top goals in getting rid of depression. Again, it is hard to be consistent in making actions that feel like play when you are in a state where everything seems so hard and serious.

I included playfulness into my life in two ways: working on my new philosophy of life and making actions that are playful. In my new philosophy of life I included sentences like: “Sometimes life doesn’t need to be taken so seriously.” or “Dancing is a shortcut to happiness”. As actions, I searched for actions that are easy and doable so that it can help me be consistent. I developed a practice where “almost” every morning and evening I stretch my body. I do this by doing simple exercises that I learned from my sports teacher when I was in school. Nothing special, nothing extravagant. I also have a practice of dancing in my room, alone, with headsets, keeping my phone in my right hand, looking at me in the mirror. It makes me see myself as being alive.

3. You Are Loved

Working on me feeling loved was a challenge. And it still is. I don’t know why but we humans feel that we are not so loved, we don’t matter so much, we are not so important. Is that “so” that created so many depressive thoughts in my mind. And I realized that we are. We are so loved, we matter so much, we are so important.

One of the tools I use to feel loved is actually a visualization that I am doing. I am sharing this with you in the hope that you feel the love and not drama. I noticed that some people feel drama when I tell them this visualization. Here it goes.

Visualizing Of A Simple Meditation To Feel Loved

I see my heart. I see the hearts of all living humans. I notice that my heart beats at the same time as 7.7 billion other people. We are together now on a planet that is spinning in a huge universe. For 36 years this planet is holding me alive, even if I am such a sensitive being. I actually am one of the 7.7 billion people that are alive now. I am kept safe even if the Earth is pressured every second by physical forces in the universe above my power (life gravitational force etc.). I am actually in a safe place. This safe place was created for me and others because we are loved. I am loved. We are all loved.

4. You Are Enough

I must admit that I still struggle with this one. It is not that I do not feel enough, it is that I do not do enough. And actually, it is the belief that I did not do enough and I can not turn back time to do more, therefore, all is hopeless and without exit. But, I developed a trick to convince myself that I indeed was and did enough.

I Say To Myself A Little I am Enough Story

You are enough. You know why? Because you did good things that you will never know about. You do small things that matter. How come? What did I do? Well, at least once in your life you helped someone that dropped something by picking it up. Maybe that person had a bad day and you showed him that kindness still exists in the word. He went home and was a little kinder with his kids. His kids felt a little more loved. Or were not beaten that day. Kidding, just to make you smile. You are enough. You did enough, so enough that you will never know.

5. You Are Capable Of Being Kind To Yourself

I could name better this paragraph as You Are Allowed To Be Kind To Yourself. I don’t know if you resonate with me but when I suffered from depression I felt like I am not allowed to be kind with myself. I needed the approval of someone or something for me to be kind to myself. Especially kind in my thoughts. I had so many thoughts angry, hateful, damaging to myself. Hard, heavy, negative, so serious thoughts. And I remember I did not think in terms of You can choose kind thoughts just because they feel better. You are allowed to think thoughts that feel light and good.

During my depression period I thought I need, it is mandatory, it is an obligation, to think “any” thought, even if it is such a disempowering thought. “Disempowering” is politely said. Because I had heavy thoughts like “so many people are trapped in the small boxes that they call apartments in things that they call buildings and they say they are happy? How can you be happy when you live like a sheep in a box. We are all trapped without any way out except death”.

I learned that we are blessed to live a human life. And anyway it is only for 80,100,120 years, not that much, why “escape” sooner. Lol.

Of course, I can joke now with myself with the hardest and most negative thoughts of all, because I am in another state of mind, a happier one. But the transition took a lot of work. I did psychotherapy for many years, with a good psychotherapist in my country that helped me a lot and the fact that I did the best list of positive words in the world made a huge difference. I remember that while I was doing this list of positive words I thought: I am doing this list as a trace to happiness, to find my way back to the light if I ever get lost in the dark again.

I realized at one point, a few years ago, that we people are not scared of the dark. What we are scared of is not knowing a simple effective tool to turn on the light. Think about it. Every human needs dark to sleep. We love dark when we sleep. We are not afraid of being in a dark place. But we could feel afraid in the dark if we do not know where the electricity switch for the light is, or if we know that there is no electricity in the house. But even then we are still ok with the dark because we know that the sunlight will come. The consistency of the morning light eliminates the fear of the dark and you sleep peacefully.

The secret is for you to know what works for you. Is different for every person. What “sunlight” can you implement in your life to always have your morning light come over you? What is your switch to turn on the light? I would actually go for more switches in your house (your mind, body, soul). When you have light switches in your life you will not be afraid of depression anymore (the dark) because you will always find your way back from it. And at that moment, depression will lose the power it has over you.

10 Useful Tips For Writing An Essay In A Hurry

10 Useful Tips For Writing An Essay In A Hurry

Writing articles is a cumbersome task for many college and university students. And even though you cannot forego it, you need to teach yourself how to write a paper fast as it will be helpful in your academic life. Essay writing is not an easy task even for someone who does it for a living. Moreover, writing an essay is not like reading a chapter of a book or solving math problems. And as frustrating as these can be, they are finite than the colossal task of article writing. Essay writing necessitates that you brainstorm, conduct ample research, create an outline, write a draft, edit, and add some citations. To make this process easier smart students sometimes use pre written essays for cheap.

Nonetheless, as you move through college or university, you will develop a system for cranking out your essay writing tasks in record time. Additionally, you will get to spend more time on things that you enjoy. Contrariwise, writing an essay in an hour does not take little time. You have to practice on a continuous basis for you to perfect the art. And according to EssayZoo , below are some tips on how to write an essay quickly you can use.

Turn off your phone and social networks

The last thing you need when you have a last minute essay assignment is distractions coming from your phone or social networks. They have a tendency or habit of consuming much of your time without you even realizing. And procrastination is the last thought that should cross your mind as it is not applicable at this stage. Hence, it is time you ban yourself from the social networks, your phone, or anything else which may distract you. Sit in a quiet place and work on your assignment. Also, you can get browser apps such as Leechblock which help keep you off social networks.

Have your books ready

Another fast essay writing tip is having our books ready. You need to prepare your workspace by getting the books you will use to work on your assignment ready. Open the relevant pages where the relevant information is or put post-it notes in them. This will help you not to waste your time hunting through books trying to find the information you need.

Incorporate your notes into the document in a direct manner

The fastest way to write an essay is by writing your notes in the document in a direct manner. In the document you create for your essay, you can start by typing your essay notes into it in a direct manner. They can be in one-sentence summaries or bullet points of what you want to write in each paragraph. Also, for each point, incorporate a line or two for the evidence to support it. After, organize them in a sensible structure.

Leave the introduction and conclusion for last

The introduction and conclusion of an essay are often the most difficult bits to write. Hence, when writing your paper, you should leave them for last. After writing the body part of your paper, writing the introduction and conclusion will be smooth and easy. This is because you will be familiar with the argument after spending plenty of time with it.

Proofread as you go along

Proofreading is very significant when it comes to quick essay writing. Before submitting your article, you need to check for typos, grammar, and spelling as you write in each sentence and paragraph. Also, after you finish writing your paper, it is crucial that you proofread it once more to not only ensure that it is error-free but also has a smooth flow. This ought to take less time since you proofread it before.

Do not over-quote

A common tactic many students embrace when they are having a hard time writing an essay is using many quotes or long passages from other people’s work to bolster the word count. Also, they do this to reduce the amount of writing they have to do themselves. Such an approach is not efficient when it comes to fast essay writing. Thus, you need to avoid it at all costs. Instead, incorporate short quotes in your article while accompanying commentary on them. Just look through best essays for sale online to see how it should be. This will prove that you can write an essay in one day or less time.

Embrace conciseness

Too many long sentences in your paper can make it lose purpose and meaning. Hence, you need to embrace conciseness when writing your essay. Being succinct or brief and to the point is not wrong when writing your article as long as it conveys what you want your paper to communicate in an adequate manner. Embracing conciseness will help you not only to express yourself in a clear manner but also save time.

Take a break if necessary

It seems counterintuitive when you have to write an essay within a short period. And taking a short break is effective as it helps you relax and focus on producing a high-quality paper. If you have to write an essay in two or three hours, take a short break after each hour if necessary. In case, if deadlines are coming and you need help with your writing, you can always rely on the assistance of specialists behind essay writing services. Do not hesitate to visit the homepage of essaywritingservice.ca to get more information on how they can assist you. But, if you feel comfortable working on the entire article without any breaks, continue working on it and make good use of your productivity spate for as long as it lasts.

Use Google for quick research

“Google is not a substitute to read what your professor or instructor asks you to read. However, it is beneficial when it comes to getting grips or quick definitions of words or phrases you are struggling with at the last minute," says Travis Meade, an academic expert at EssayWritingService. Contrariwise, you should not rely on it by any means. Nonetheless, if you are working on your essay task and you are unable to comprehend something, a quick Google search ought to enable you to procure the level of comprehension you need.

Hydrate and feed yourself

Ensure you hydrate and feed yourself while working on your essay assignments. This is because they help you to stay alert. Additionally, they help you maintain your energy levels as well as making the essay writing process bearable.

In conclusion, writing an essay is an infuriating task for many college and university students. The majority wish they could write their papers fast and get over the essay writing process. Some of them often complain, “It takes me forever to write an essay. How can I equip myself with fast essay writing tips?" Well, if you are one of these students, you should not worry anymore about your essay writing assignments and how fast you can complete them. Above are some helpful tips on how to write an essay fast which come in handy whenever you have an essay task albeit the deadline.