I am guessing the guy’s initial plan was to persuade everyone to take it easy and relax instead of sweating it out on the exercise machines. But in any case he got a whole bunch of smiles from everyone who saw him.

For me this great little quote was a reminder of how important it is to bring fun into everything you do.

Sometimes if I feel stressed out or upset I put all my work aside and spend 10-20 minutes reading funny quotes of famous people.

Do you have your favorite funny quote(s) that makes you laugh every time you read it? Or maybe your child or your friend said something really funny the other day? What is it?

Share your little funny quotes and stories with the rest of the world! And let’s make this a mood improvement page!

Everywhere you look, you see a transformation: days are getting longer, flowers are blooming and trees are getting new tiny leaves.

No wonder spring is considered the season of growth, renewal and love!
Spring is also the perfect time of the year to revitalize your senses and refresh your mind.

Here are tips that will help you to do just that:

1. Get rid of clutter. During the winter our homes tend to become filled with lots of bulk and piles of different things. It is both physically and emotionally healthy to simplify and de-clutter your work and living space once in a while. Right now is the perfect time to do that! Organize your desk, sort out old photos, make room in your closets by throwing or giving away anything that is unwanted, outdated, unused for 2 years or no longer fits. Let the energy flow freely.

2. Captivate your senses with aromatherapy. For thousands of years essential oils have been used by different cultures because of their health-promoting benefits. Use chamomile, bergamot, cedarwood, lavender, rose, or sandalwood to calm down your mind, ease anxiety and stress and soothe tensed muscles. Or choose citrus, peppermint, rosemary and thyme scents to energize your body and uplift your mood.

3. Take a few moments to meditate. Meditation is a great way to calm your mind, increase concentration, release negative feelings and regain your emotional strength.

4. Do nothing for a half an hour. As it turns out there are many physical benefits of doing nothing and just being lazy. Research shows that people who would rather relax in a hammock and read a book instead of working on their laptop or doing their house chores have a better chance of living into old age. Give yourself some rest!

5. Take mini-vacations during the day. You do not have to wait for a two-week vacation to feel rejuvenated and energetic. Instead you can take 15-minute mini-vacations every hour or so to regain your strengths and put some space between you and your hectic work schedule.

6. Hydrate your mind. Lack of water is the number one reason for daily fatigue and poor concentration. Contrary to what many believe, drinks like coffee, soda pop, or alcoholic cocktails are very dehydrating and act as diuretics (they make your body lose pure water without ridding it of any toxins). There is no better substitute than water to keep your body and your mind hydrated. Therefore, make sure you drink at least 8 cups of water a day. And if you are not a big water fan, add a slice lemon or honey to it to give it great flavor.

7. Nurture your body. During the winter time lack of vitamin D due to the body’s insufficient exposure to sun light combined with low temperatures and humidity can noticeably weaken our immune system and decrease our energy levels. This is why you should make sure that you incorporate more fruits, nuts and easy-to eat veggies into your diet.

8. Welcome spring into your house. Even if outside is cold and raining, you can lift your spirits by bringing spring and sunlight inside your heart. There are plenty of little, low-cost changes you can make to improve your mood and remind yourself that spring is coming: put fresh flowers on the table, change window curtains to something more colorful, buy bright dinner napkins, change the wallpaper on your desktop to something more cheerful.

9. Get your beauty sleep. There is no better remedy to rejuvenate your body, and make you look radiant and happy than a good night’s sleep. It is the time when your cells self-repair and your body releases two important youth hormones – Human Growth Hormone and Melatonin. Make sure that your bedroom is your sanctuary where you rest your mind and body after the long day at work, not the storage room, where you keep old stuff, exercise equipment, electrical gadgets or work papers.

10. Stretch your muscles. Stretching is a great way to reduce mental and physical stress and relax your back. When I say ‘stretch’ I do not mean “lean back in your chair, raise your arms over your head, yawn and say to yourself, “I could definitely use another cup of coffee!”. I mean real stretching!
• Get out of your chair, stand up straight and keep your feet shoulder width apart. Slowly bend forward and touch your toes.
• Hold for about 30 second.
• Stand up and place your hands on the top of buttocks, just below the waist.
• Bend your head, then shoulders, then your back backward, letting hips go slightly forward for balance.
• Slowly return to standing position.
• Repeat a couple of times.

11. Create your own Spring CD. It has been scientifically proven that music affects our mood. Create your own spring CD that helps you to get in touch with yourself, lift your spirits and put a smile on your face.

12. Be good to yourself. Think kinder thoughts about yourself. Be kinder to your eyes and do not strain them too much by staring at a computer screen for hours. Be kinder to your body by eating healthier foods and pampering it with a relaxing massage or a hot bath. Allow yourself to rest, without feeling guilty or anxious.

13. Get in touch with nature. Nature is beautiful at this time of year. You are missing a great deal by locking yourself in a stuffy office or spending your weekends in front of the TV. Get outside! Do some gardening. Breathe fresh spring air. Feel the sun on your face. Listen to the birds singing. Touch the grass. Stroll slowly along a lake or the beach.

14. Let go of emotional clutter. Just like unneeded stuff clutters our house, negative emotions and beliefs clutter our mind. Unresolved conflicts and negative feelings take up too much of our energy and tire our mind. Spring is a time for new life and new beginnings. Do not poison it with anger, grudges, envy, guilt, and blame. Leave this negative emotional baggage behind and start from a clean page.

15. Visit a petting zoo. Petting little lambs or observing rabbits play is not only a thrilling experience for your children, but a great way for you to distract your mind from everyday worries and have a great time!

16. Call a friend that you have not seen for a long time. Life goes on. We get married, have kids, move to different places, lose touch with people who have played important roles in our life. If there is a friend who you have not seen for ages, now is a perfect opportunity to renew your friendship. It is really gratifying to call an old friend, grab a cup of coffee together and catch up on everything that happened since the last time you met.

17. Be romantic. Do you feel love and romance is in the air? It does not matter if you are already in love or searching for your special someone, spring is the perfect time to be romantic, give flowers, meet new people and refresh old relationships. Allow yourself to be daring, bold, and beautiful. Open up your heart and show your spouse, children, parents, friends that you love and care about them!

Despite its short length (only 123 verses), it covers a variety of topics: one of them – the main qualities that a person should seek in their life partner (as well as to try to cultivate  them self) in order to create strong happy relationships. These qualities are honesty, trust, desire to take care of another person and patience.

Have you noticed that “love” and “physical attraction” are not even on the list? Nagarjuna considered love, passion and physical beauty as a passing phase and, therefore, believed that they are a shaky base for long-lasting relationships.

What do you think?

What in your opinion are the main components of a strong successful relationship? What qualities are you looking for in your partner?

Share your comments below!

It would be interesting to discover how much our perception of successful relationships and a strong happy family has changed since Nagarjuna wrote his letter.

“One key to success is to have lunch at the time of day most people have breakfast.”

It has become common knowledge that successful people are early risers. Although, no one can guarantee that getting up early will necessarily make you successful, there are some sound reasons why successful people choose to wake up before the sunrise.

Benefits of becoming an early riser:

1. Mindful start of the day. The first 15 minutes after you wake up set the mood and the pace for the whole day. If you jump out of bed thinking, “OMG! I’m late!” or immediately start mulling over all the problems that you have to solve today, it probably means that you are not starting your day on the right foot. Waking up early actually gives you time to become conscious of your surroundings, stretch your body, smile to yourself, listen to some great music, and truly feel how blessed you are, because you have been given the opportunity to live another day and make it wonderful.

2. More free time. It is as simple as that – if you wake up 2-3 hours earlier, you get majority of the tasks on your to-do list done by noon. It means that you do not have to stay late after work to finish your projects. You can get home earlier and spend quality time with your family. Or if you do not feel like starting your day with work, you can still use those 2 precious extra hours to meditate, work out, pursue a hobby, cook yourself a delicious breakfast or plan out your day. In any case you expand your free time!

3. Important health benefits. Besides obvious benefits of rising early like having plenty of time to do a quick work out, or eating a healthy balanced breakfast (instead of skipping it), there are other interesting discoveries made in this area. A study conducted of college students conducted by Wilse B. Webb, Ph.D., and Michael H. Bonnet, Ph.D., of the University of Florida demonstrated that “larks (or early risers) reported waking up feeling more rested”, having “fewer worries” and getting more “adequate sleep”. They also awakened feeling physically better than “owls” (late risers).

4. High happiness level. I have a personal theory that the majority of people who love to sleep till noon simply cannot think of any exciting activities that they want to do. Their priority is to stay in bed just a few hours longer, before reality hits them hard with its traffic jams, urgent deadlines, bills. When you are happy to greet the coming day, enthusiastic about something or motivated to succeed, you do not need to snooze your alarm clock twice. Therefore, if you are not a morning person, ask yourself why? Maybe you simply cannot think of anything that you would like to do with an extra 2 or 3 hours?

5. Opportunity for spiritual growth. The author of the best-selling book “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” Robin Sharma calls the time right before the sunrise “Holy Hour”. In Ayurveda the time between 4 and 6 a.m. is known as Brahma Muhurta or “Time of God”. It is believed that during this period the mind can easily concentrate on meditation, prayers, life goals and studies. Fascinatingly enough, the latest studies seem to endorse this ancient Vedic knowledge. It has been discovered that the Earth sets up extremely low frequency (ELF) waves in the atmosphere shortly before sunrise, of the same frequency (10 Hz) as the brain in a meditation state. If you still have doubts, try it for yourself!

6. Better opportunities. There is a common stereotype that people who go to bed late are leading exhilarating, intense and sometimes crazy social life. They can relax at late night parties, go to dancing clubs, stay up late with friends all night watching movies and eating pizza while “larks” are already in bed sound asleep. This may be true. Early risers might be missing out on late-night entertainment, but they compensate for it by having a distinct advantage in most of the important daytime activities like business meetings, job interviews, classes, seminars, and work appointments.

7. Best time to get great ideas. You rarely get brilliant ideas in the middle of a busy working day. Quite the opposite, psychological studies report that our creativity is the highest when our mind is relaxed and we are not forcing ourselves to come up with the right solutions. In my case, I get my best creative ideas when I am taking a shower, strolling with no purpose in mind, doing yoga or meditating. And I am not the only one. Many famous writers, designers, inventors and entrepreneurs find the early hours of the day the best time for hatching new ideas and unexpected solutions.

8. Increased productivity. If you have ever woken up at 5 a.m. (or gone to bed at this time) you know what I mean when I say “peace and quiet”. This distraction free atmosphere is the main reason why more and more people prefer to work early in the mornings or late at night ( i.e. when the rest of civilization is sleeping).

For me 6 to 9 a.m. is my most productive time. This is the time I set aside for writing, brainstorming or working on my most important projects. Up until 2 years ago I would have told you that I am at my productive best when I work late. Inspiration would usually hit after everyone else in my family was sleeping and I would be working furiously through the night, demonstrating miracles of productivity. Now looking back I can tell you that while I could easily enter into the state of “flow” at 11 p.m. I had to pay for my productivity with insomnia, strained tired eyes, neck ache and low energy levels the following day. Think about it… If you wake up feeling drowsy and tired, because you stayed up till 4 a.m. maybe you should consider adjusting your work schedule?

“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it.” ~Richard Whately

I have probably mentioned to you that I often attend seminars and lectures given by spiritual teachers, motivational speakers and other interesting people that I can learn from.

After every lecture a speaker always asks if anyone has any questions. And most of the time just a few people raise their hands. And half those who do, end up asking some complicated or provocative question that has absolutely no other purpose than to demonstrate the intelligence of the person who asks it. Surprising isn’t it?

500 hundred people have a life time opportunity to ask a guru or highly successful person anything they want and get a specific answer to a specific question that can help them grow, improve their relationships, take their business to the next level, and resolve some of the challenges that they are facing. But 98% of the auditorium would rather let the opportunity pass by than to speak up, have everyone’s eyes on them and risk improbable, but very disturbing public humiliation. Believe me, I am not preaching…

I, too, have this irrational fear when it comes to speaking in public. And sometimes this fear holds me back. But sometimes I get enough courage and raise my hand.

What about you? Do you feel timid when it comes to asking personal questions? Or do you freely ask about something that is bothering you or something you do not know?

If you had the opportunity to meet one of the wisest people in the world and talk to them, what question(s) would you ask?

Write them down in the comment section below. Someone might have just the right answer for you…

We eat our breakfast, while reading a morning paper. Answer our cell phone while driving. And easily flick between checking our email, following links on Twitter and chatting on Facebook.

Many people consider multitasking the ultimate evil. I disagree. In some situations multitasking can be an efficient way of getting minor tasks out of the way ASAP (given that you do not have to do an outstanding job on any of them). I do not see anything wrong with chatting to my friend while doing grocery shopping, or cooking while listening to my favorite CD and dancing along. Multitasking can make some routine tasks more fun. It also lets us use our downtime productively (like waiting for a doctor’s appointment and planning our next week’s schedule). The true problem is not the concept of multitasking per se, but the way we use it and overuse it!

Downside of Multitasking.

In the movies we often see successful business man and business woman, scanning sales reports while talking on the phone and giving out short orders to the secretary. These people exude power, self-control and organization. Their actions are mesmerizing. They look much cooler than anyone who is able to concentrate on just one task at a time. And it is not only my personal impression. Multitaskers have convinced themselves and everyone else that they are great and highly efficient at what they do.

In fact there was a whole study conducted at Stanford University by the research team of Eyal Ophir, Anthony Wagner and Professor Nass dedicated to identifying the rare cognitive qualities mutitaskers possessed that made them so great at doing several tasks simultaneously.  The study tested 100 college students rated high or low at multitasking. Results of multiple trials were shocking even to the scientists themselves.

It turned out that people who manage to juggle two-three tasks at once pay a big mental price for their “gift”: 1) Their focus suffers; 2) They are easily distracted  and 3) they are weaker at shifting from one task to another, which meant that they are worse at multitasking than any person who is dreadful at multitasking!

These results became less surprising as scientists discovered additional facts about the way our brain works. We simply cannot focus on two tasks simultaneously. When we think that we multitask all we do is switch our attention rapidly from one task to another. By dividing our focus between multiple tasks, we let the quality of our work suffer.

We have no time to reflect back on our work, to think of what we could have improved or to analyze mistakes that we have made. Not only that, we waste about 40% more time moving back and forth between tasks, because we continuously have to remind ourselves of where we were when we left off.

If you are still unconvinced that multitasking slows you down and decreases your productivity and performance, think of the last time you had a conversation with a person who was clearly typing something while talking to you? Annoying isn’t it?

Find your balance!

Realistically, it is not always possible to concentrate on one task at a time and only then move to a next one. You will inevitably have to face multiple stimuli at the same time and switch your attention from one task to another. If fact, there are some situations when we cannot NOT multitask. And it is not necessarily a bad thing.

In order to be highly productive we need to master both – an ability to quickly switch our attention from one task to another (scan a large piece of text and give our opinion on it) and an ability to concentrate fully on the task at hand (when we want to get into the state of “creative flow”). Balance is the key!

Dedicate your full attention to the goals that are important in your life and feel free to mix and match tasks of lesser importance that seem dull and timely!

Your first step to a balanced, more fulfilling life…

A lot of people are aware that multitasking could be damaging for their productivity. But there is another huge hidden problem that has nothing to do with work.  I am talking about your personal life. Because of multitasking your relationships with other people may gradually become more and more superficial.

Do you know that feeling when someone asks you “How are you?” or “How was your day?” without really paying attention to your answer? Or when you are having dinner with your friend or your spouse and they are constantly answering the phone leaving you to stare out of the window and wishing you were somewhere else? And how often are you, yourself, doing it? It is impossible to have a meaningful conversation with a person or show them how much they mean to you, if you are constantly distracted or interrupted by someone or something.

Therefore, if you are used to having twenty tabs open on your computer, chatting with three-five people simultaneously – by all means do it! I ask just one thing of you! Starting today, when you are with someone that you care about – forget about work, mute your TV for a second, stop mentally going through your do-to list and give that person your FULL and UNDIVIDED attention! Deal?

Here are 10 more simple tips that you can try to sharpen your ability to focus in just 3 days:

11. Empty your mind. Mental chatter is one of the main factors that impede our focus. Worries, strong emotions or tasks that you do not want to forget take up a lot of your working memory and tire your mind. This is why before getting to an important task that requires your full attention, take a piece of paper or open a text file on your computer and write down any task repeated thought, worry, or interesting idea that is running through your mind. This 5-minute “thought dumping” exercise will calm down your mental chatter and noticeably improve your concentration and productivity.

12. Conquer procrastination. Sometimes all the outside distractions and interruptions make it impossible to stay focused on the task at hand. But sometimes we just do not feel like concentrating and deliberately postpone an unpleasant task for later. Whenever you catch yourself procrastinating ask yourself, “Do I want to be done with this task so I will not have to worry about it in the future?” It is easy to tell yourself stories about how much more motivated you will feel tomorrow. But the truth is that delaying something that needs to be done does not make it go away. If anything it tires your mind and provokes a sense of guilt.

13. Make it anti-boring. It is amazing how long it takes to complete a task that you do not want to do in the first place. Motivating yourself into working on something that you consider boring or tiresome for an hour is easy. Motivating yourself to work on a boring task the whole day makes you qualify for the leading role in the new “Mission impossible” sequel.

Whenever, you have to work on something that you already do not enjoy doing, make sure that you introduce some fun into your schedule. Vary different activities. Do not work on the same task for more than two hours. Reward yourself by doing something that you enjoy in between your focus sessions (make yourself a yummy sandwich, order a big Caramel Frappuccino, listen to your favorite song three times in a row, dance in the corridor or plan your friend’s Birthday Party).

14. Narrow down your vision. It may be challenging to concentrate on your project or report if you are surrounded by other people. As it turns out it is possible to narrow down your focus by simply placing your hands on the side of your face and creating “tunnel vision”. Doing this blocks out the surroundings and helps to eliminate distractions.

15. Breathe deeply. When we feel anxious, stressed out our breathing becomes shallow, our body tense and our emotions take over our logical thinking. This process works both ways. Just taking a couple of long slow breaths helps to slow down your heart rate, let go of muscle tension, calm the mind, and improve concentration.

16. Doodle. While many of us believe that doodling demonstrates inattentiveness and lack of interest, the lastest studies reveal that it may in fact help us to stay focused on a boring task by giving our brain something to do. Therefore, next time you catch yourself daydreaming during a long meeting try doodling, playing with your hair or twirling a pencil.

17. Start writing! Writing your ideas or thoughts down is a great way to stay focused on them. Only a few people can write one thought, while thinking about something else.  If you notice that your thoughts are wandering astray, start writing what you are supposed to be concentrating on, while saying the words out loud. A pen and paper make excellent focusing tools.

18. Meditate. Meditation is widely used to reduce stress and promote relaxation. However, few people know that regular meditation and yoga practices help to sharpen concentration, increase attention span, as well as improve long-term memory.

19. Do not force yourself into concentration! Never, I mean NEVER, force yourself into anything no matter how beneficial it may seem. It does not help at all. What you fight against – persists. That is why whenever you get distracted, do not beat yourself up for poor concentration or a lack of focus. Instead gently redirect your thoughts back to the task at hand and continue to work on it!

20. Do not sabotage your success! Never tell yourself that you cannot concentrate! By doing so, you program your subconscious mind to poor focus and lack of attention. Ability to maintain laser-like focus is a skill. As any skill it can be learned and improved with a little bit of practice!

“Our thoughts create our reality — where we put our focus is the direction we tend to go.” – Peter McWilliams