10 Self Improvement Activities - Part 3

7th Self Improvement Activity: Challenge yourself

Nothing develops you more than challenges. Challenges force you to shift your comfort zone, experience new situations and make you grow. Without challenges life would be very boring and depressing.

Challenges are necessary for every human being who is seeking quality life. Only through trial and error you realise who you really are, which activities you like and what preferences you have.

You can easily measure the success of a person by the amount of challenges she had.

8th Self Improvement Activity: Read personal development books

There is nothing more important than searching information about self improvement. Without reading any self improvement books or articles you cannot improve yourself.

9th Self Improvement Activity: Socialize only with positive people

Positive people can inspire, empower and make you happy. It is so much worth to be at least once in a while with positive people rather than constantly spend time with negative friends or relatives.

If you spend your days with, for example, lazy people, you may notice that you are becoming lazy.

If all your friends' main qualities are negative, try to avoid all of them. This way you will not be affected in a negative way and after some time will start attracting positive people.

10th Self Improvement Activity: Exercise

Daily exercise develops determination, focus and patience. It improves your health and strengthens your body. It makes you more active, positive and invincible.

People who exercise every day are always perceived as strong-willed and disciplined.

Conclusion

These personal improvement activities are sure to put you on the track to success. I hope that you will apply the steps in this article and, as a result, will greatly improve the quality of your life.

10 Self Improvement Activities - Part 2

3rd Self Improvement Activity: Control your thinking

To avoid chaos in your mind resulting in chaos in the outside world, you should try to observe your thoughts. Once you start doing that, you will notice how many negative thoughts you get daily.

By observing negative thinking you will be able to emotionally disengage from it. As a result, negative thinking will affect you less and you will notice that your days are getting more peaceful and positive.

4th Self Improvement Activity: Get organised

When you live in an organised manner, you do not suffer from stress and your life is peaceful and balanced.

To start living this way, you should start planning your day in advance. This will eliminate any stress caused by being late to a meeting or forgetting to complete some task.

You should also live in tidiness because by keeping your home clean you also keep your mental state clear and peaceful. Such mental state will benefit you in many ways, including improved memory and less negativity.

5th Self Improvement Activity: Live in the present

Although this self improvement activity may seem strange to you, it is a very important activity that many ignore. The majority of people do not live in the present. They either dwell on their past or daydream about the future. They seem to forget the most important time of all - the present.

You should enjoy every present moment because your current state of mind always manifests in the outside world, creating your future accordingly.

Therefore if your main mood is very positive, you will experience only happy days. However, if you dwell on negative thoughts, you are sure to encounter many obstacles and misfortunes in the present and days to come.

6th Self Improvement Activity: Complete each task in a perfect manner

Whenever you are working on some project, try to accomplish it in the best way possible. Always ask yourself 'Is this project turned out as perfect as it could possibly be?' If the answer is no, try to correct or add something to it until there is nothing that you can improve.

This way you will make sure that each single task you accomplish is done in an excellent manner. By doing this you will create successful future because you cannot possibly fail if you only get perfect results.

Also, when you entirely focus on one task excluding everything else, you will notice that you start enjoying the task. If you concentrate on the task but still do not enjoy it, that means that you probably see the task as a means to an end rather than the process.

You should start focusing on the process itself to find enjoyment in the task. Such enjoyment will fuel motivation and you will accomplish everything quicker and better.

If you enjoy your work, you will put only positive energy into it. As a result, your completed tasks will bring you success.

To Be Continued....

10 Self Improvement Activities - Part 1

These self improvement activities will help you become more productive, get into the positive state of mind and achieve better quality of life.

In this article you will also find out how to use your energy effectively, what is the quickest way to achieve personal growth and how to excel in every activity.

1st Self Improvement Activity: Use your energy on important things

If you want to succeed in life, you should not waste your energy on activities that do not bring any benefits. Such useless activities include surfing the Internet without any purpose, watching TV, worrying and wasting money. When you are involved in such activities, you have no or little energy left for activities that  can create a better future. It is worth prioritizing and accomplishing important tasks first, and then if you still have enough energy, you may decide to do the unimportant.

2nd Self Improvement Activity: Focus on one task at a time

If you want to get perfect results, you should only concentrate on one activity. This way all your energy will go into it and you will accomplish it perfectly. If you waste your energy on several things at the same time, you will get average results because you will divide your energy between the activities.

To Be Continued ....

10 New Uses for Ziploc Bags !

10 New Uses for Ziploc Bags 

In 1963 a unique bag with a plastic zipper seal was introduced at a packaging trade show. Most recently, the seal's strength was demonstrated at a Riverton, Wyoming, school, where eighth-grade students discovered an uneaten sandwich in a Ziploc bag at the bottom of a locker. It had been there for months. Students were so impressed with the bag's ability to seal in the odor (and mold growth) that they actually sent a thank-you letter (along with the sandwich) to the manufacturer, SC Johnson. In a letter back to the students, H. Fisk Johnson, the company chairman, called the locker "one of the toughest product test sites we've ever discovered." Good thing Mom didn't use wax paper. 

Use Ziploc Bags to: 

1. Knead dough. Place dough in a Ziploc bag so your fingers don't get sticky. Or slip your hand into the bag and wear it like a glove. 

2. Store panty hose. Nude, Tan, Nearly Naked - they look the same out of the package. Tear off the corner of the package listing the brand, size, and color, then slip it into a bag. Store each pair in its own bag to keep

hose organized and prevent snags. 

3. Remove chewing gum or candle wax from a tablecloth, a couch, or carpeting. Gently rub gum or wax with a Ziploc bag filled with ice cubes until the substance hardens. Shatter gum with a blunt object, then vacuum up the chips. Carefully peel off frozen wax with a plastic spatula. 

4. Pipe frosting. Snip off a tiny corner to use a Ziploc as a pastry bag. 

5. Store homemade soup. Fill up bags, then lay them flat in the freezer. When the bags of soup freeze flat, you'll be able to pile them up like stacked books for easy, space-saving storage. 

6. Protect precious cargo. No bubble wrap? Slip a straw into the top of a nearly closed Ziploc bag and inflate. Remove the straw and seal to make a cushion. (Heirlooms, however, should wait for that bubble

wrap.) 

7. Break up graham crackers or vanilla wafers to make a pie crust. Fill a bag with the cookies, then roll a rolling pin over it.

8. Prevent a handbag from turning into a snow globe. Store pressed powder and other compacts in Ziploc bags. 

9. Gather herbs from the garden. Before winter frost sets in, wash, pat dry, and freeze the herbs in Ziploc bags. 

10. Ice an injury. Fill a bag with ice cubes to create a cold compress.

What to Eat Before a Workout - Part 2

Carefully assess protein bars
When squeezing a workout into a busy schedule, you may like the convenience of protein or "sports" bars. Make sure you choose carefully; according to Kroll, most bars are "glorified candy bars, often providing even more calories." To find the better ones, Bell-Wilson suggests choosing a bar that has about 200 calories, up to 5 grams of protein and 25 grams of carbohydrates. "If you find a bar that you really like, but it's high in calories, just eat half of it," says Bell-Wilson. "Save the other half for after your workout."

Don't eat more than you burn
You just finish a heart-pumping, hour-long workout. You take a quick shower and then pass the gym's café on the way out. Watch out for those healthy-looking snacks. One smoothie or even a sports drink can replace all the calories you just burned, and then some. "It's important to realize that just because you worked out doesn't give you free rein in the kitchen," says Bell-Wilson. "The reward is that you went and you did it." If you exercise for an hour or less, your best bet is to grab a bottle of water and eat at your next scheduled meal. "If it lasts longer, plan to have a snack in your locker or on your way home," says Bell-Wilson.

5 pre-workout snack ideas

1. Half a chicken, turkey or lean roast beef sandwich on whole-wheat bread
2. Low-fat yogurt with a sliced banana
3. Low-fat string cheese and 6 whole-grain crackers
4. Hard-boiled eggs, yolks removed and replaced with hummus
5. Skim milk blended with frozen fruit to make a smoothie

5 post-workout replenishing meal ideas

1. One or two poached eggs on whole-wheat toast
2. Bean burrito: a whole-wheat tortilla filled with black beans, salsa and reduced-fat cheese
3. Stir-fried chicken and vegetables (try pepper, zucchini and carrot) over brown rice
4. Whole-wheat pasta tossed with chicken, broccoli and eggplant
5. Whole-grain cereal or oatmeal, with milk and fruit (such as a sliced banana)


Source : Weight Watchers



Concluded

What to Eat Before a Workout - Part 1

What to Eat Before a Workout


Just as you'd fill up your car's gas tank before a road trip, it's vitally important to make sure your body has the right fuel to sustain you during a workout.

Proper nutrition, both before and after, will also "speed up recovery, protect you from fatigue and get you ready for the next workout," says Jenna A. Bell-Wilson, PhD, RD, LD, a board-certified specialist in sports dietetics.

So, what should you eat before going for a bike ride or heading to the gym? Use these guidelines and snack ideas to keep your engine running optimally.

Balance carbs with protein
"A relatively high-carbohydrate, moderate protein, low-fat meal is best to consume before exercise," says Suzette Kroll, a registered dietitian and senior staff member of the Canyon Ranch Spa in Tucson, AZ. People often underestimate the importance of the carb part of the equation when fueling up for exercise, especially strength training, says Bell-Wilson. "They assume it's all about protein. Protein is important for muscle building and repair, but in order to lift those weights you need carbohydrates for energy," she says. Choose carbs that are easily digestible and avoid high-fat foods — or large quantities of any food — just before working out because they don't digest well during exercise.

Time it right
"Whether you're strength training or going on a run, you want to make sure you have something within four hours before the workout and then a smaller snack in the hour before," says Bell-Wilson. If you know your workout is only going to last 45 minutes, keep the snack small, she says. "If it's going to last 2 hours, then you're going to want to beef up that pre-exercise meal."

To Be Continued....