Learning to be Happy with Less

A lot of people are writing books and blog posts about downsizing and simplifying your life. Sounds like a good idea, right? Before you can downsize and simplify your life, you need to learn to be happy with less.

There is really no step by step check list that will teach you to be happy with less. Like all self improvement, being happy with less, is something you just have to sort out for yourself.

If you want to learn to be happy with less, you are going to have to do a little soul searching. A good way to start, is to unplug yourself from the media, and your daily routines for a little while. Take a three day weekend, and unplug your TV, stay away from your computer, the radio, the newspaper, turn off your smart-phone, etc...

Spend some time taking long nature walks, and sitting quietly in your back yard, all the while thinking about all the clutter in your life. Do you really need all those material goods complicating your life, and sucking money out of your pocket? Many of the things we've accumulated through the years have an on going cost associated with them. Extra cars, boats, rv's, way more lawn tractor than our property needs, swimming pools, extensive cable or satellite TV packages, etc...

How often do you really use all that stuff anyway? If you aren't using it on a regular basis, you can be sure, it's more trouble than it's worth! All these things require time and/or money to maintain. You need to go to work to get money, and going to work means less leisure time. Your leisure time needs to get divided between actual leisure activities, and maintaining your goods and property. See where this is going?

It's really just a question of figuring out what you get enjoyment from in life. The answer is different for all of us, that's why it's important to unplug from the media when trying to discover what really makes you happy. We are constantly being marketed to, and it's an advertiser's job to make us think we need what they are selling.

I'm not suggesting that you whittle your possessions down to what you can fit in a milk crate, and living in a one room shack. But you may be able to work less, and retire earlier if you stop wasting resources and effort on all those things that aren't really bring you much happiness anyway.

The bottom line is to think about what you really want from life, focus on it, and enjoy the hell out of yourself. Stop wasting time and resources, and start living!

Author: Claudine B. Jansen

Top Ten List of Advice for Aspiring Writers

What is the best advice for aspiring writers? Especially for those who are still mostly at the beginning of their writing journeys?

Here’s our top advice to beginners (in sequential order):

1. With the first book, let your creativity have free reign.

Don’t worry about “rules” or market needs or any parameters. Let this book be for you. There’s something about that first book (or first few) that helps unleash the creative side of story-telling.

2. Finish a book.

This is absolutely essential. There’s nothing like the experience of completing a book from first page to the last to help a writer move out of the wannabe category. Set a writing schedule and goals. I recommend writing a certain amount of words per day and keeping a running log. Start with 300-500 words a day. If you write more, great. But give yourself a realistic, do-able minimum.

3. Study basic fiction-writing techniques.

After completing your first book or two, check out fiction “how-to” books from a local library. Take lots of notes. Invest in and mark up a couple fiction-writing “bibles” like James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure or Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (see the links in my sidebar).

4. Then write a couple more books.

Strive to put what you’re learning into practice. The process of writing in and of itself is not enough to get better. Both writing and learning must go hand in hand for a writer to see substantial growth.

5. Find a critique partner/group.

(Once you get the feeling that maybe, just maybe, your writing skill level may be reaching a publishable quality, then it’s time to seek out a critique partner/group. If you seek out one too soon, the feedback could end up being overwhelming and perhaps even destructive to the early creative process and fragile self-confidence of a budding writer.

6. Enter a writing contest.

Contests are a great way to begin to gauge where your skill level is at compared to other writers—especially in your genre. The judges’ feedback can also be eye-opening. But like with critique feedback, I don’t think writers should enter contests too early unless they’re prepared for critical, perhaps even harsh, feedback.

7. Begin learning all you can about the writing industry.

Follow agent and editor blogs. Find out what’s going on in the market.

8. Start devoting more time to developing a web presence.

Notice how far down the list I put this for aspiring writers. I DO think there is a huge value in beginning a blog early in a writing career . And I also think there are plenty of benefits from other social media. However, all too often I see beginning writers put the development of a web presence up too high in this list. All of the other above points should take priority.

9. Network with other writers.

Perhaps go to a writer’s conference. Join writing organizations. Develop genuine friendships. These relationships are invaluable to a writer’s career for encouragement, support, help, and promotion.

10. Most importantly, keep writing new books and always strive to learn more.

We never “make it.” We’re never finished learning and growing. We should never stop with one book while we wait to hear from agents and publishers. We need to write the next and challenge ourselves to make it better than last. Then repeat ad infinitum.

However, the more we practice and study the craft of writing, the closer we’ll get to realizing the dream of publication.

Your turn! What’s your top advice to beginning writers? What do you think is most important from my top ten list? 

          
Author: Jelly Marie C. Gotinga

[SHARE] Is Loneliness as Harmful as Smoking?

ShareBrainsForTheDay: SIMPLY LIVING!

Are you one of those people who dreads Valentine’s Day every year? According to a recent podcast by Sciencemag.org, that type of attitude may be making you sick.

Sciencemag.org writer Greg Miller reports on research that suggests social isolation may make people more prone to infections, heart disease, and depression. In fact, a recent study suggests “that being socially isolated gives you about the same risk, health risk, as being a smoker in terms of your longevity.”

Even if you have lots of friends, the simple practice of dwelling on the fact that you’re alone could be harmful to your health. The problem isn’t the “periodic bouts of loneliness that people experience,” such as a breakup or a friend moving away, writes Miller. What is most harmful is ” feeling like they have no one that they can turn to.”

What to do? Researchers at the University of Chicago suggest that people “remain open and available to the people around you. And it’s something that sounds really simple, but it’s not always easy.”

This Valentine’s Day:

1. Make plans to meet a good friend and remember how lucky you are to have caring people in your life.

2. If you’re feeling alone and your health is at stake, seek therapy.

3. Even if you’re attached, remember that someone else may need you and that they are reaching out for a reason. Don’t forget to be there.

Plus: 20 Simple Ways to Get Happy

A special note to parents:

Studies suggest college freshmen “are actually among the loneliest people that have been studied because, even though they’re surrounded by people their own age, they’ve left all of their high school friends and their parents and their family behind.” Be sure to check in with your child or loved one often. Let him know you are there to listen, even if he says he’s fine.

Author: Claudine B. Jansen

[SHARE] 20 Simple Ways to Get Happy

ShareBrainsForTheDay: SIMPLY LIVING!

Take control of your mood and improve your health

State of Mind

Happiness is ephemeral, subject to the vagaries of everything from the weather to the size of your bank account.

We're not suggesting that you can reach a permanent state called "happiness" and remain there. But there are many ways to swerve off the path of anxiety, anger, frustration, and sadness into a state of happiness once or even several times throughout the day. Here are 20 ideas to get you started. Choose the ones that work for you. If tuning out the news or making lists will serve only to stress you further, try another approach.

1. Practice mindfulness. Be in the moment. Instead of worrying about your checkup tomorrow while you have dinner with your family, focus on the here and now -- the food, the company, the conversation.

2. Laugh out loud. Just anticipating a happy, funny event can raise levels of endorphins and other pleasure-inducing hormones and lower production of stress hormones. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, tested 16 men who all agreed they thought a certain videotape was funny. Half were told three days in advance they would watch it. They started experiencing biological changes right away. When they actually watched the video, their levels of stress hormones dropped significantly, while their endorphin levels rose 27 percent and their growth hormone levels (indicating benefit to the immune system) rose 87 percent.

3. Go to sleep. We have become a nation of sleep-deprived citizens. Taking a daily nap or getting into bed at 8 p.m. one night with a good book -- and turning the light out an hour later -- can do more for your mood and outlook on life than any number of bubble baths or massages.

4. Hum along. Music soothes more than the savage beast. Studies find music activates parts of the brain that produce happiness -- the same parts activated by food or sex. It's also relaxing. In one study older adults who listened to their choice of music during outpatient eye surgery had significantly lower heart rates, blood pressure, and cardiac workload (that is, their heart didn't have to work as hard) as those who had silent surgery.

5. Declutter. It's nearly impossible to meditate, breathe deeply, or simply relax when every surface is covered with papers and bills and magazines, your cabinets bulge, and you haven't balanced your checkbook in six months. Plus, the repetitive nature of certain cleaning tasks -- such as sweeping, wiping, and scrubbing -- can be meditative in and of itself if you focus on what you're doing.

Block and Focus

6. Just say no. Eliminate activities that aren't necessary and that you don't enjoy. If there are enough people already to handle the church bazaar and you're feeling stressed by the thought of running the committee for yet another year, step down and let someone else handle things.

7. Make a list. There's nothing like writing down your tasks to help you organize your thoughts and calm your anxiety. Checking off each item provides a great sense of fulfillment.

8. Do one thing at a time. Edward Suarez, Ph.D., associate professor of medical psychology at Duke, found that people who multitask are more likely to have high blood pressure. Take that finding to heart. Instead of talking on the phone while you fold laundry or clean the kitchen, sit down in a comfortable chair and turn your entire attention over to the conversation. Instead of checking e-mail as you work on other projects, turn off your e-mail function until you finish the report you're writing. This is similar to the concept of mindfulness.

9. Garden. Not only will the fresh air and exercise provide their own stress reduction and feeling of well-being, but the sense of accomplishment that comes from clearing a weedy patch, watching seeds turn into flowers, or pruning out dead wood will last for hours, if not days.

10. Tune out the news. For one week go without reading the newspaper, watching the news, or scanning the headlines online. Instead, take a vacation from the misery we're exposed to every day via the media and use that time for a walk, a meditation session, or to write in your journal.

Author: Claudine B. Jansen

[SHARE] Tech Guide: Back to School Tools

ShareBrainsForTheDay: TECHNOLOGY!

These days, to get ahead at university -- and prepare for the rigors of the modern workplace -- students need more than a spiral-bound notebook and sharpened pencil.

These days, to get ahead at university -- and prepare for the rigors of the modern workplace -- students need more than a spiral-bound pad and sharpened pencil.Students and their families, especially those on a budget (and who isn't, these days?), need to think carefully about where to put their money to get the most out of higher education.

Computers have for a while been a necessity, not a luxury, for students wishing to succeed and be prepared for life after university. But the types available are bewildering. PC or Mac?Netbook or notebook? What about tablets?

Well, you can rule out desktops at least. Students lead nomadic lives, grabbing study time (like food) wherever and whenever they can --the library, cafe, friend's dorm room or on the bus -- so need the ability to bring their work with them.

While tablets seem idealfor taking written notes and reading class materials (if available in digital format), they probably serve better as complements to computers, not replacements. They lack power, often don't run standard productivity software and, obviously,don't have a keyboard. Using a standard notebook form factor will prepare students better for corporate life.

Netbooks are also verylight and portable, easy on the wallet andoperate like "real" computers, but they aren't very powerful either. They may be sufficient for students doing a lot of writing but not much else. Software requiring more computing power, like design or CAD, ITdevelopmentor analytical research, will be better off with a full-featured notebook.PCsand Macs can run the same software these days, so choosing between the two is a personal choice -- or a financial one, as Apple notebooksusually cost more than similarly-equipped PCs.

Smartphones are another tough decision. They can be enormously helpful as personal organizers: keeping track of important exam dates or essay deadlines, sending email to professors and classmates and offering the ability to go online while mobile. But they can be distracting as well, withgames, music, videos, social networks and the ability to go online while mobile (yes, that's both a pro and a con). I suggest them only for pragmatic students with self-discipline, but they aren't really necessary for easily distracted types or those on a tighter budget.

Digital audio recorders are handy little devices that can be used to record lectures; these recordings can complement notes (hand-written or otherwise), helping students retain lessons better. Of course, if you have a PC or smartphone with you in class, you can use those to record lecturestoo (with the right software or apps). Regulations about recording classes and lectures vary among universities, with some disallowing it, so make sure it's okay before you do it.

Ebooks are another consideration, as more textbooks are published in digital format. For liberal arts and literature students who read a lot of classical fiction, poetry and plays, there's already a wealth of available reading material (much of it free). Unfortunately,texts onmore esoteric, specialized or graphic fields like engineering, architecture and the sciences are harder to find. This is slowly changing, as academia is starting to realize the benefits of digital publishing.

In the end, nothing can replace the importance of studying and hard work inscoring good marks, but technology -- used pragmatically -- definitely can ease some educational hardships.

Author: Leocelle Mae Espadero

[VOICES] A World Without Books?

VoiceBrainsForTheDay: Share Your Thoughts

The novelist Colm Toibin once recounted a story about observing a Cantonese man sitting on a Kowloon footpath reading a book. The man’s face was stern with concentration, his finger tracing the line being read. At times the man’s expression would screw up in frustration at his progress. Finally, the reader looked up at the sky, his face beaming. Whether from a sudden joyous facility with the act of reading, or revelation from what was written, or delight at how the story resolved, it doesn’t matter. What mattered is he was in possession of something deliciously private – a connection between him and the writer, between the real world and that world inscribed upon the pages.

What would the world be like without books? What a depressing and absurd idea. Scenes like that man reading belie the notion that modern advances pose a threat to reading as we know it.

There’s always talk that the latest technology signals the demise of the book. Decades ago, radio was what would do it. Then came TV. And now the Internet. The machines change, but the act has stayed the same. The simplest form of technology prevails – pages printed into a sheaf and bound between covers. There’s something reassuring about such simplicity. Especially when it lets us delve into the complexities of life.

Literature is the story of ourselves, the record of who we are, where we came from, and where we’re going. Non-fiction illuminates the world for us and fiction explains what non-fiction cannot. Through books we first travel. In those wanderings we become best acquainted with humanity through the characters we come to know more intimately than anyone else – whether we love, loathe, fear, or fawn over them.

The narrator in Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet helps me comprehend my faults and aspirations. Holden Caulfield and Harry Potter make me feel less alone. King Lear, Hannibal Lecter and Boromir are cautionary tales for who we could become if we’re not careful. Reading is our deepest connection to what makes us human, and part of a larger society.

In that, books are a comfort. When I was a boy with thick glasses and braces on my buckteeth, books were my safe haven. Generations have likewise found solace in the written world, safety in feeling less alone amongst the crowds. Aren’t we loneliest, after all, when surrounded by others? But books aren’t bomb shelters, they’re bridges – through their pages we’re brought out into society, and one can posit that someone who reads is prepared for the world on a deeper level than someone who doesn’t.

Though reading a book connects one with humanity, it is also the last truly private act in a world that’s become too public. As nourishment for the mind, it’s slow food in a world given over to fast food. Blogs, text messages, e-books, and the like bring topicality, portability, instant gratification, much as newspapers and magazines do.

However important such forms are, they endure only as long as the stuff they’re printed on. The comforts of books: they defy time, break borders, and repudiate mortality.

And there are the unquantifiable pleasures that books alone offer: The scent, the sound, the tactile sensation of what is a cerebral, silent, disembodied task. The sharing of a volume by lending it to a friend. The adventure of leaving a book to be found by a stranger, who will in turn partake in that private journey before passing it on again. The grandeur of a civilisation evidenced through its libraries.

It is important that we work to give every person the opportunity to enjoy books as shelters, sustenance, and roads forward. Literacy and library programmes are important goals for developed and developing nations alike. To imagine a world without books is to imagine a world without thought. A world without feeling, compassion, history, or voice.

Miguel Syjuco, from the Philippines, is the author of the bestselling, multi-awarded debut novel Ilustrado.

Author: Joyce Naviz C. Galigao

[LOL] Just Say No

LOLBrainsForTheDay: JOKES!

Just Say No

Recently engaged, my brother-in-law Jeff brought his fiancee home to meet the family.

When asked if she was enjoying herself, she politely replied yes. "She would say that," Jeff interjected. "She's not the type to say no."

"I see," my husband said after a brief silence. "And that explains the engagement."