Berry Beautiful Skin Care

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August 26, 2009

1735936_blog1.jpgI had it in mind to begin writing about organic beauty products for beautiful skin but I promised to continue writing about foods for skin care so I’m sticking to that promise. The good news (for me, anyway) is that, when it comes to beauty products, food is about as organic as you can get! If you haven’t already read my post on drinking water for beautiful skin, please start there before you continue reading this. I promise this post will still be here when you finish but, water being as important as it is, you really should begin your skin-friendly foods education with that post.

In this, our next topic on foods that are good for your skin, we’re going to discuss the humble berry and fruits. In my European upbringing, wild berries and fruits were a common and frequent part of life. Avid hikers and outdoorsmen, Germans often find themselves exploring the wilderness and I, a guest in that country, fully embraced their traditions. That meant hiking through the beautiful countryside where the farmers didn’t mind if you picked the occasional apple or grazed from the wild berries surrounding their fields.

Among my favorite treats were the blackberries that grew almost to the point of being a nuisance to the farmers. Plump, juicy, sweet and tart, it was all my father could do to keep me moving if I happened to notice blackberries growing fence-side along the side of the trail. Living here in the US, I find them a lot harder to come by in the wild, but they are worth the effort to find or buy from a grocery store because blackberries are GREAT for healthy, beautiful skin. Why? Antioxidants!

Blackberries aren’t the only berry or fruit high in antioxidants. Sharing their ranking status as having the highest antioxidant capacity (out of just about any food) are blueberries, plums, strawberries and others. Nice as that is, you’re probably left wondering what the big deal is. What are antioxidants anyway, and why are they good for you? Glad you asked.

Basically, think of antioxidants as nutrients in food that keep you healthy by slowing or preventing the natural processes in biology that damage our cells. Getting a bit more technical, the cells in your body naturally produce free-radicals. These are a byproduct of using oxygen. It’s a bit like cell-poop if you want to think of it that way. The cell uses oxygen like you use food and produces free radicals like you might excrete waste. Cell poop is a bad thing. It’s something you can’t simply prevent because the production of free-radicals is a natural byproduct of your cell’s use of oxygen. Short of starving your cells of oxygen (which would kill you), you really have no choice but to suffer the potential consequences of them processing the oxygen which is oxidative damage.

So how do berries, fruits and other foods high in antioxidants help? Another good question! I’m glad you’re here asking. See, antioxidants essentially scavenge free radicals. In sufficient quantities, they can prevent the damage that simply being alive causes to your body. But the good news doesn’t stop there! Studies imply that antioxidants can prevent the development of anything from cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, rheumatoid arthritis and cataracts! Even taking skin care completely out of the equation those benefits alone make it worth your while to add some blackberries or other fruits to your next shopping list! But, since this is a blog about skin care and a post about foods for beautiful skin, let’s refocus.

Where your skin is concerned, free radicals damage the membrane of skin cells. Normal oxidation can be the source, but sun exposure can contribute too. Damaged skin cells, of course, run a risk of damaged DNA in the cell. So, the inclusion of antioxidant rich foods in your diet provides an army of free radical hungry nutrients which will protect your cells from being damaged in the first place! Whether your objective is to find something natural or simply the best anti aging skin care products, antioxidant rich foods are your number one resource for results.

Ok, but what if you don’t like blackberries. Hey, I sympathize. I’ve found the blackberries available in grocery stores here in the US to be more tart than those I picked in the German countryside as a child. I’m not a big fan of tart. The good news is that there are plenty foods high in antioxidants that can help you find your way to beautiful skin. In fact, the US Department of Agriculture produced a top 20 list. I’d list them all, but since this post is on fruits and berries, I’ll save the full 20 list for a later post but you should note that 13 out of the 20 items listed are fruits and berries. For now, here are the best fruits and berries you can eat for healthy, beautiful skin.

  1. Blueberries (wild)
  2. Blueberries (cultivated)
  3. Cranberries
  4. Blackberries
  5. Prunes
  6. Raspberries (my favorite berry of all)
  7. Strawberries
  8. Red delicious apples (good for keeping doctors AND dermatologists away)
  9. Granny Smith apples
  10. Sweet cherries
  11. Black plums
  12. Plums
  13. Gala Apples

When it comes to finding foods that are good for you, you’ll often find fruits and berries at the top of the list. But if you’re looking for foods for healthy skin, you can’t go wrong by selecting from the list above. Just as it takes time for the damage caused by free radicals, sun exposure, age and pollution to show on your skin, it also takes time for these antioxidant rich foods to reverse skin damage. For best results, include one of the fruits or berries listed above or one of the foods I’ll mention in my next post in at least one meal every day. In time, you’ll feel better, look better and be a healthier person over all!

Your body is wrapped in a new suit of skin about every 1 to 2 months. By including a healthy diet complete with water, antioxidant-rich foods and other dietary recommendations we’ll include in future posts, you can dramatically change your appearance in a very short amount of time. When to start your diet for beautiful skin? Why not today?

Categories: Beauty, Food for Healthy Skin, Health, anti aging skin care.

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Drink Water for a Healthy Beautiful Skin Care Solution

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August 22, 2009


5214434_blog.jpgNumber one on our list of good foods for your skin is water. Ok, not technically a food for skin care, I know. But for argument’s sake, assume that I mean consumable foods and liquids when I use the word “food.” Water’s benefits for healthy skin simply can’t be overstated. While there are foods that will specialize in promoting different health benefits for your skin, think of water as the A-bomb of skin care. Everything in your body requires it to function efficiently. Your cells (including your skin cells) thrive when ample water is present in the body. They literally starve in its absence.

 

Drinking too little water will lead to dehydration and that will become very evident in your skin. As your body suffers from inadequate water, your skin loses elasticity, becomes dry, flakey and splotchy. And no shortcuts here, folks. When we say water, we mean pure water, not soda or beer. And here’s a surprise, I’m not recommending bottled water either unless it is mineral water. Those minerals found in your clean and perfectly drinkable tap-water are actually good for you and your skin. Excessive filtration or distillation strips water of those minerals.

 

While your particular hydration needs will vary based on climate, activity levels and your body’s own specific requirements, a good safe amount to consume for normal activity is roughly 8 glasses a day. Yes, if you haven’t been good about your water consumption, you’ll find yourself making frequent trips to the bathroom until your body adjusts, but this isn’t just about vanity, folks. Looking good is just the bonus you get for actually being healthier. So go grab a glass of water and then continue reading. We’ll wait…, back? Ok, read on.

 

Now, why is water so good for you? If you haven’t kept up on your science, liquid water is the one requirement for life scientists can absolutely agree on. In fact, your body consists of about 65% water. When something is that fundamental to your make up, it doesn’t take a huge intellectual leap to conclude that the lack of that substance can be detrimental to you in many ways. At the extreme end of the spectrum, there’s death. The average survival rate for somebody deprived completely of water in any form is 3-4 days. That amount can be extended by a day or two or diminished by a day or two based on activity level and climate but, deprive yourself completely of water and the absolute best case scenario will have you dead inside of a week.

 

Less dramatic than death but very relevant here are the results of too little water. Many of us are slowly starving our bodies of this vital fluid on a daily basis. The results can be as mild as increased appetite (pay attention, gang, that means that too little water can leave you eating too much food which leads, of course, to weight gain). Dehydration is often misinterpreted as hunger. Want an easy way to shave off a few pounds? Make sure you drink your 8 glasses of water every day to suppress your appetite.

 

Other symptoms of mild dehydration include headaches, irritability and other nuisance symptoms. But the most relevant for our purposes is that prolonged dehydration will show in your skin. Let me elaborate a bit on that to explain what I mean by prolonged dehydration. I’m not talking about the failure to consume any liquid at all, but the long-term results of drinking too little water every day or substituting too many diuretics (coffee, tea, soda) in place of plain water. Over the course of months and years, chronic dehydraters (I made that word up) will see all kinds of undesirable results in their skin.

 

Even if you aren’t ready to jump on the virtues of water wagon yet, here’s something you should consider… those expensive skin care products you’re buying, useless. Useless, that is, if you aren’t adequately hydrating by consuming water. What good is locking in moisture if you don’t have enough in you to begin with? Most skin care products that promise healthy, glowing skin cannot come through on those promises if you are inadequately hydrated.

 

Finally, if you wake up with bags or dark circles under your eyes, you may be dehydrated. Both are symptoms of inadequate hydration (though poor sleep and illness can also cause this symptom). But, if you are otherwise healthy and rested yet still waking up to puffy raccoon eyes, it’s time to hit the bottle (the water bottle) and make a positive change in both your looks and your health.

 

The next time you’re out shopping for skin care products or if you buy skin care products online, take a minute to carefully read the product descriptions. You’ll notice they often state “for healthier looking skin.” There’s the difference between most skin care products and legitimate nutrition and hydration. Products give you healthier LOOKING skin while nutrition and water give you healthy skin, plain and simple.

 

We’ll leave it at that for now but the message here is pretty straight forward. Given the choice between healthy looking skin and actual healthy skin, the choice should be simple. And it’s just water, my friends; inexpensive, abundant, healthy water. It is the best anti aging skin care… no, the best overall skin care product you can buy affordably and use regularly. Drink a little today and, in time, you’ll be rewarded with healthier skin than even the most impressive organic skin care products could ever promise you.

 

Update: our next post on foods that are good for your skin is up. We’ll be introducing you to the benefits of delicious fruits and berries.

Categories: Beauty, Food for Healthy Skin, General Skin Care, Health.

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La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX Sun Protection Skin Care Products

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August 14, 2009

la-roche-posay-picutre.jpgla-roche-posay-picutre.jpgIf you have heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times…the sun is BAD for your skin! No if ands or buts about it…the sun damages your skin and can cause serious skin problems. Despite all of the warnings, most people do not monitor their daily sun exposure (nor do they use daily sunscreen…which is a MUST!). In a nutshell, the sun RUINS your skin! Did you get that? Just to make sure, let me repeat myself, the sun RUINS your skin and can permanently damage it! Before we get to a great sun protection skin care product, let’s delve a bit deeper into what you need to protect against.Shine a Light On Me!

The sun radiates three different types of light. UVA is the most plentiful type of “radiation” and can damage your skin, not to mention cause cancer. UVA rays do not feel hot; therefore, they don’t burn your skin. However, don’t let that little fact fool you! UVA rays are quite powerful and can penetrate through glass (now you know what causes the inside of your car heats up on summer days). UVB rays are the nasty bits of sunshine that can cause blistering sunburns and instant skin damage. Finally, UVC rays (the red-headed step child..as you don’t hear much them) are filtered out by the earth’s ozone layer. However, as you may have heard, the ozone layer is depleting, therefore, more UVC rays are reaching the planet every single day.

It is a fact that over 78% of sun exposure that a person actually gets is unintentional and comes when they are simply taking a walk, taking out the trash, or even driving in their car (that is why you should wear sun protection ALL the time…not just at the beach and or pool). Please remember that today’s tan leads to tomorrow’s wrinkles! Excessive sun exposure (that you obviously need in order to get that glowing tan in the first place) will (and I promise you this) lead to future wrinkles! I can’t stress enough the importance of wearing a GOOD sunscreen on a daily basis (and for the love of all that is holy…AVOID TANNING BEDS AT ALL COST!!!!!!).

La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX With Mexoryl

One of the best sunscreen products on the market today is La Roche-Posay. In fact, it has been called the BEST sunscreen on the planet! Of course, this opinion is debatable, however many dermatologists agree that La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX is the absolute best sunscreen you can buy because it contains the chemical Mexoryl which in fact protects the skin from not only UVB rays…but the more powerful UVA rays as well. It has been stated that La Roche-Posay provides “almost PERFECT protection against sunshine.” If you are searching for sunscreen protection, don’t bypass this wonderful product!

Protecting your skin from the sun is probably the most important thing you can do in order to keep wrinkles at bay and your skin looking young and fresh. Buy La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX online today to get started with a smart and healthy skin care routine. Just remember, it is NEVER too late to start taking care of your skin by implementing and sticking to a daily skin care regimen. Good Luck and next time you leave your house…don’t forget to apply the sunscreen!

Categories: Health, Skin Care Product Reviews, Sun Protection Skin Care.

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Going in a New Direction with Skin Care

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August 11, 2009

As you may or may not have noticed, I’ve been absent from this blog for a long time. In fact, it’s fair to say it began to die. That’s par for the course in the blogosphere, but so is the occasional resurrection. Truth is, I started this blog with the intent of learning how to blog. The topic, kindness, was an easy beginning writing about something that means a lot to me. But reality set in and, with experience now under my belt here and on other blogs, I know it’s time for a real change.

First, it costs money to host this blog and, shocker, kindness isn’t a profitable topic. In fact, it pays absolutely nothing. But that’s ok if I’ve brightened somebody’s day with what I’ve written in the past. Now, though, with a year of blogging experience under my belt, it’s time to resurrect this site, reinvent it, revitalize it and set off on a bold new journey.Under the surface, TK will still occasionally focus on kindness, kind acts and the occasional charitable organization that deserves attention. In addition, we will call out for accolades companies we feel do their business with kindness (to the animals, people, cultures and the environment). But, the blog’s main drive from now on will be as a joint venture with my wife focusing on one kindness we can all appreciate and that’s being kind to ourselves; specifically, kind to our skin, hair, appearance and physical health with emphasis primarily on skin care.

While this is a fairly substantial deviation from what this blog originally set out to accomplish, I think there’s definite value in it. My wife and I have been writing about the topic elsewhere and were surprised by how many people we actually helped. From acne sufferers whose lives were horribly disrupted by their skin problems to those simply looking to revitalize skin and at least look and feel younger than their years, there’s plenty of good in this topic despite it’s more commercial flavor. Being kind to ourselves in little healthy ways leaves us feeling more inclined to be kind to others. Happier and more fulfilled in our own lives, we are primed to spread that joy to others.

Consider this an early warning as we ramp up and begin to discuss skin care products for men and women. The content will begin going up soon and we’ll likely incorporate a whole new look down the road. Until then, hydrate, protect yourself from the sun and eat fish. All good for your skin!

Categories: Health.

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15 Ways to Get Better Sleep

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March 6, 2009

As I’ve stated here before, the kindness we show ourselves is just as important as the kindness we show others. By taking care of yourself you are both charged with positive energy and more motivated to share the wealth of good feelings you enjoy with others. Do you have one of those friends whose positive outlook on life is contagious? Sure, sometimes we just want to wallow in self-pity, but is that really constructive? Isn’t it better when we just let ourselves be carried away by that friend’s uplifting spirit? Why not be that person who brings out the best in others? To get there, you have to start with how you treat yourself. So, with that in mind, we’re covering another be-kind-to-yourself topic today; specifically, sleep.

The value of good sleep is often overlooked by many of us. Some of us avoid it for fear of missing out. Or perhaps we have so many things we want to do that we see sleep as a nuisance and fight it until we simply can’t resist any longer. Others are envious and would like nothing better than a good night of sleep but they simply can’t get it. If you are in the former camp, recognize that sleep isn’t an option, it is a requirement. Allowing yourself the time your body needs to recover will leave you much better equipped to accomplish the things you want to accomplish when you are awake. You’ll also be primed to enjoy those experiences you don’t want to miss as a good night of rest will leave you feeling more engaged, more in the now when the good times are rolling.

Aside from the obvious, healthy sleep should also be a critical element in your skin care and beauty regimen. Failing to get adequate sleep can leave you looking older than your years. By getting enough sleep, you afford your body the opportunity to perform its regularly scheduled maintenance as required. That includes everything from recovering muscles after strenuous workouts to, yes, rebuilding the skin you’re surrounded in which is constantly dying and being replaced. And for those of you who have dealt with shadows and bags under their eyes after too little sleep, you know full well how important good rest is.

For those of you who struggle with sleep for any number of reasons, there are things you can do to help grease the Sandman’s wheels a bit. Follow some of the tips below and see if it doesn’t result in some life changes.

  1. Go to bed when you are tired. Trying to force yourself to sleep at a certain time every night can lead to a never-ending battle with insomnia. Your body will let you know when it’s time to saw some logs. Listen to what it tells you. If you find yourself wide awake until the wee hours of the morning, that’s ok. We’re going to fix your schedule because, key to accomplishing #1 and getting enough sleep is…
  2. Get up at the same time, all the time. Every day. Yes, weekends too. Your mind and body can be trained. In the same way you can learn how addition, develop muscle memory or improve your reaction time, you can train your body to adopt a regular schedule. It will be painful until your body adjusts and you may find yourself getting too little sleep the first few days but, no matter what, get up at the same time every single morning. You’ll gradually find yourself ready for bed earlier every night until you are on a good schedule.
  3. Don’t listen to the experts. They’ve told us 8 hours is ideal for years but, the truth is that we’re all different. For some, 8 hours can mean waking up to a headache or migraine in the morning. Let your body dictate the right amount of sleep. If you wake feeling refreshed after 6 or 7 hours, that’s your target. Stick to it.
  4. Don’t go back to sleep. If you wake up naturally, get out of bed and stay up. Forcing yourself to go back to sleep can throw off your schedule, leave you feeling incredibly tired, lead to oversleeping or to headaches.
  5. Don’t take naps. Unless you are already a talented sleeper (and you wouldn’t be reading this if that were the case) naps can completely ruin your attempts at adjusting your body to a sleep schedule. If you have absolutely no choice due to excessive exhaustion, take no more than a 15-20 minute nap. If you dream, you’ve gone too far.
  6. No caffeine 4-6 hours before you go to bed.
  7. No exercise 4-6 hours before you go to bed.
  8. No eating 2-3 hours before you go to bed.
  9. DON’T think about work or any nagging problems in bed. If thoughts about a troubling issue keep nagging at you, get out of bed and out of your bedroom and write the thoughts down. Read through your list which should include what is bothering you, what you might be able to do to resolve it and, finally, why it really isn’t the end of the world. By making a list and logically addressing the points with some possible solutions and a reality check, you help put it into context as something you really shouldn’t be losing sleep over. You can then resume efforts to sleep. If the thoughts crop up again, get up and review your list. Expand on it. But don’t stay in bed. And remember #2. Regardless how late you stay up reviewing your list, get up at the same time the next morning.
  10. Let your bedroom be a bedroom. Don’t read in it. Don’t watch TV in it. Don’t dwell on problems in it. Do nothing but sleep (and snuggle with your honey) in your bed. By avoiding activities in bed other than sleeping, you train your body to correlate entering your bedroom and crawling into bed with sleeping.
  11. Consider a sleep mask. I have a very low tolerance for even the dimmest light when I sleep. I like it as dark as I can get it and have, on many occasions, resorted to a sleep mask to get what I need. Especially useful on vacations in strange places.
  12. Don’t argue or engage in deep conversations with your spouse in bed. I love a long chat with my wife but it has killed my ability to sleep on numerous occasions. Have your talks in the living room and saw logs in the bedroom.
  13. Get a new mattress. An innerspring mattress can aggravate pressure points and cause all kinds of restlessness, aches and poor quality sleep. If you and your spouse have compatible sleep preferences, a foam mattress might be the right solution. My wife and I have wildly different ideas of what’s comfortable in a mattress. Our solution was an air mattress bed. Specifically, we purchased the Sleep Number Bed as it allows us to adjust for our individual preferences without having to sleep in different beds. For comfort and quality sleep, a foam mattress works just as well, but air mattress beds like the Sleep Number bed trump foam mattresses in that they allow for individual comfort adjustment while also providing all the benefits of a foam mattress. The links I’ve included will take you to my site specifically devoted to air mattress beds.
  14. Meditate. Meditation does not deserve the reputation it sometimes caries as a “fringe” philosophy or the domain of shamans and monks. Every one of you has meditated and likely not even known it. What did you think you were doing when you were on that road trip and miles just whisked on by without you even being aware of their passing. Meditation is simply a relaxed, calm state of mind that allows you to live in the now without all the distraction of your conscious thoughts. Learning to do this in my adolescent years was the single greatest teen accomplishment in a vast arsenal of bizarre lessons learned. Learn it and you’ll be thanking me for the rest of your life for having suggested it.
  15. White noise. Buy yourself a soundscape CD specifically for sleep. If you’ve always zonked right out when sleeping at the beach, get an ocean soundscape CD and play it on repeat. If camping has always had you snoring in seconds, get a CD that has wilderness night sounds such as distant chirping crickets and maybe the sound of a stream.

As I wrote this post and hit 15, I realized I could probably go at this for another hour. Unfortunately, my own sleep schedule requires I be in bed no later than 1AM every morning and that leaves me only 40 minutes to wrap this up, post it, take the pups out one more time and then drift off into blissful slumber. Perhaps I’ll come back and revisit this topic in the future to add to the list. For now, do yourself the kindness of following some of the advice above. It’s just one more way you can care for your skin and it’s my sincere hope that it helps you.

Categories: Beauty, General Skin Care, Health, Inspiration.

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Stop to Smell the … Lemons?!

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May 12, 2008

lemon.jpgThe relationship between smell and mood is a long-studied curiosity. There is some debate over whether smells actually impart a mood on the sniffer or if memory associations with a particular smell are the real cause of emotional response. That there IS a response, however, is accepted as a matter of fact. Your nose quite readily can lead you to a better day.

Realtors have a proven method for moving lived-in homes more quickly through the market and that’s the smell of baking bread or cookies greeting prospective buyers as they walk through the door. The scent instills a feeling of “home” in people. Vanilla has a similar influence and induces a sense of calm and general well-being and has been shown to promote patience or tolerance (who would want to walk away when there might be a pie or cookies coming out of the oven at any minute?!)

The next time you find yourself in the need of an emotional pick-me-up, try slicing a fresh lemon or orange and breathe deeply. Citrus smells in general tend to energize and uplift. Other smells with similar results are eucalyptus, mint and pine.

Do keep in mind that studies indicate there is a potential obstacle to any smell’s expected impact. If you’ve had bad experiences associated with a smell, the experience is likely to override the “normal” result and cause a negative mood or association with what should otherwise be a positive mood-enhancing result.

For example, many people find the smell of lime to be energizing. Real limes have the same effect on me. But, for quite some time, the smell of synthetic lime present in many cleaners and subtly noticeable in the smell of a Pepsi actually had a negative impact on me… I associated the scent with the artificial cleaners used in the sterile, institutionalized day-care center where I was always the first child dropped off and the last child picked up. Once I recognized the link, the negative impact diminished significantly. Still, I now experience, at best, a neutral response to the odor.

Assuming you have had no bad past experiences with lemons or oranges, why not slice into one and maybe drizzle some fresh juice into your tea for a quick morning boost? It’s a refreshing way to charge up without saturating your body with sugar or caffeine.

Categories: Health.

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Be Kind to Yourself – Get Rid of Clutter and Get Rid of Stress

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May 7, 2008

 My wife and I have a one year plan to get out of the townhouse I’ve owned for over 25 years and move to a single family home with some land. In advance of selling the townhouse, we have some serious work that needs doing including electrical work, plumbing, general upgrades and to completely remodel a kitchen and at least one bathroom. Add to that the replacement of all the windows and a great deal of painting and logic simply dictates some stuff needs to migrate out before we do so ourselves. There’s simply too much clutter in the way.

One tends to accumulate a lot of junk in 25 years and it’s easy to walk past the majority of it without paying it a second thought until faced with the prospect of relocating it or working around it (as I am now). As much of a nuisance as the weeks and months ahead will be, there’s a fringe benefit to sorting through all the accumulated clutter and making some honest decisions about the value it adds to our lives. When it comes to stress reduction, less is more.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, your eyes and brain are constantly picking up queues from your environment. As you stare at the TV, the knick-knacks hanging from the walls, cluttering up shelves and gathering dust in corners subtly act on your mind and they’re sending a noisy message. Depending on how cluttered your visual space is, your brain can interpret that scene as a chaotic queue for stress.

I’m not advocating a minimalist lifestyle, though that certainly has merits, but I am suggesting you take a look around, inventory everything in view in the room you frequent most, and decide what it all adds to your life. What can you live without to reduce stress? Things you haven’t used or interacted with for over a year aren’t positively contributing to a calming environment. Sure, pictures and knick-knacks add a touch of personality, but there is such a thing as too much personality. Consider taking the following steps to reduce clutter in your life and your mind.

  • Inventory the objects in a room
  • Assign a number from 1-10 based on the value the item has to you. 1 = couldn’t possibly care less about it, 10 = I’ll die the instant it’s removed from my presence.
  • Assign another number from 1-10 based on how often you use, admire or interact with the items. 1 = never, 10 = several times a day.
  • In a third column, add the two numbers together. If your score for an item is 2-5, why are you hanging on to it? If it is 6-10, you really could live without it unless you can HONESTLY think of a good reason to keep it. 11-15 is probably worth keeping unless you foresee a near future in which the item will be in the way or decline in personal value. 16-20 feel no guilt and hang on to it.

It is often difficult to honestly recognize the worth of the objects in our lives. They are often comforting simply for their constant presence. But, you have to really think about what one more dust-collecting piece of junk adds to your life. If it didn’t cost much, never gets used and you forgot it was there until starting this exercise, toss it. Don’t fall into the excuse trap and justify keeping it by telling yourself you might want to have it around “someday.” Someday almost never comes and, if it does, you can probably run out and pick up a new piece of junk to fulfill the need if it really is an emergency.

Trust me, you’ll feel better surrounded by less as long as the essentials and the objects that truly add value to your life remain.

Categories: Health.

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Be Kind to Yourself - Change Your Perspective

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April 1, 2008

web714402_low.jpgIt’s interesting what a change in perspective can do for your outlook. I came off my third consecutive 70 hour week at work last Friday wanting nothing more than a quiet, stress-free weekend at home with nothing to do and absolutely no obligations to take me away from, well, doing nothing. That’s not how things worked out as I’d already promised to attend the big Pet Expo, needed to write some advance content for my blog, wanted to update my other website and assist my wife with her site. In addition, 3 consecutive 70 hour weeks of work equates to precious little free time to keep up with housework so there was a list of honey-dos in desperate need of catching up on. I won’t lie about it…, I was NOT pleased.

I accomplished most of my intended projects, though I did miss out on a chance to shoot some pictures downtown with a friend. The problem is I found myself going through the motions and getting the job done with precious little enthusiasm and a constant grumble in the back of my mind. This is no way to end 3 weeks of hell, I found myself thinking. What about some me time to end the week on? Even two shows that usually serve to inspire me, Oprah’s Big Give and Extreme Home Makeover, were studiously watched with notebook in hand as little more than research material rather than serving to perk me up with evidence of kindness in humanity. They were little more than projects. It hit me in the last few minutes of Big Give, as I headed to the refrigerator, that I was thinking about everything all wrong.

See, my frame of mind was that here was more work on the end of a very tough series of weeks. All it took was changing perspective. Last week ended on Friday. Yeah, I know… they call it a Weekend, but that doesn’t mean I needed to think of Saturday and Sunday as the latter two days in a bad week. Instead, I should think of them as the first two positive days in a week that’s just begun! What a difference it has made in my outlook!

I now see last Saturday and Sunday as two days in which I’ve prepared content for Toxic Kindness in advance, tidied up the house and my home office so I have something nice to come home to at the end of my day, redesigned my other website so it’s better for my audience and gathered great inspiration for future posts here. What a great way to start the week! I went into Monday feeling like I was ahead of the game rather than less rested than I’d rather be. Even though it was a drizzling, dumpy kind of day that usually doesn’t lend itself to a positive outlook, I made it through just fine.

Remember, your own outlook plays a huge part in how your day goes. Smile at yourself in the mirror in the morning and tell yourself it’s going to be a great day no matter what. Even faking a big grin causes the release of happy chemicals in your brain and taking the time to convince yourself of a great day ahead first thing in the morning inclines your mood in the right direction. This may or may not be another 70 hour week, but if it is, so what? I’m ready to tackle it and I already finished 3 days of it strong!

Categories: Health.

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Kindness, Boundaries and the Candy Machine

2

March 18, 2008

candy_web.gifThink of being kind as a machine churning out candy. The candy is sweet and wonderful and the machine just keeps churning it out every time somebody pushes the gimme button. Your kindness candy machine has a caretaker and he smiles as one customer after the next comes up to push that button and take their candy (multiple times a day for some). But if you know anything about mechanics, you probably know that machines require maintenance, upkeep and occasional downtime. If you don’t do any maintenance and just keep smiling while people walk up and push that gimme button, day after day, week after week, sooner or later that machine is going to break down in a very unpleasant way. It’s important to note here that people will keep lining up at the kindness machine’s candy dispenser. They won’t stop just because the machine starts making some funny grinding noises. If the gimme button seems to be getting a little sticky or slow to respond, they’ll just hit it that much harder. They want their candy and they’ve become used to getting it!

It isn’t any fun for anybody when your kindness machine breaks down. Suddenly, unexpectedly, the candy (which has become an expected staple in everybody’s diet) is no longer available. And your poor mechanic must now devote countless hours to fixing broken parts and greasing bound-up gears if you hope to get that candy flowing again. That’s assuming, of course, that his resentment at the greedy candy-grabbers who wouldn’t give him a moment of rest to stop the machine and fix it, isn’t so great that he decides to just walk off the job entirely.

Your capacity to be kind and altruistic is represented by the candy machine in that metaphor. The candy customers represent the many people in your life who, through experience, come to depend on your kindness and generosity (the candy). Who is the mechanic? Well, the mechanic is the guy you either choose to empower with the right to stop production to do brief maintenance on the machine or whom you allow to stand idly by with a grin on his face until the machine breaks down. His name is Boundaries and it’s time to get to know him. Continued…

Categories: Health.

Be Kind to Yourself - Take a Nap in a Sunbeam

2

March 13, 2008

sunnap_web.gifI average 4 hours of sleep a night. I average 1 migraine every 2 weeks. Study results are still out, but I’m beginning to suspect a correlation. I was averaging 2 migraines a week until I conceded defeat and started taking a nap after work to try to make up for that sleep deficit. If you work for a large company in the US and aspire to success, you’re likely suffering sleep deprivation as well. It’s all too common here and linked to everything from weight gain, elevated accident rates and a multitude of health problems. The advice is always the same - get more sleep. I liken it to a doctor advising you take it easy, reduce your stress and take some vacation right in the middle of a critical time-crunch at the office. Great idea, Doc. I’ll get right on that!

The sad truth is that too many of us sacrifice ourselves in the pursuit of a successful career and, all too often, it isn’t selfish stupidity. From supporting a family to preparing for the next market bust, accounting scandal or over-taxed social security system, many Americans feel they have no choice but to push themselves, quite often, into an early grave.

So if it simply isn’t practical to reduce your stress or go on a vacation, let me recommend a nap. Tell your family to leave you alone for an hour. Unplug the X-box and force the kids out of the house. Then find yourself a nice sunbeam and catch a snooze. You might not be able to recover all the sleep you lost but in lieu of a day at a spa, it’s at least one little way you can be kind to yourself.

Categories: Health.

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