Smart Blog

30 Day Walking Challenge

2013-05-13T10:30:00.000+01:00

In general as we get older we in turn start to do less and less exercise. As kids we are always wanting to be active and mobile but this wears off for many as we get older and other things take over as our commitments, leaving you not wanting to exercise or without enough time to do so.

People aged from 19 - 65 are advised to do two and a half hours of moderate exercise a week (walking for example), or 1 and a quarter hours of intense exercise (running for example) a week.

With this walking challenge you'll be doing over double your advised exercise guideline.

Rules

1. You Must Complete the Daily Goal

This may seem like a very obvious rule as otherwise you fail the challenge if you don't complete the walking goals, however I feel like I should just make it clear that no exceptions can be made. If you are supposed to walk for 1 hour during the day and you walk for 59 minutes, although it may be tempting to allow yourself that, you shouldn't. 59 Minutes is not 1 hour and anything that is lower than an hour in length would mean failure if the challenge.

The daily goal is a minimum set limit so anything that is lower than the minimum set goal is a fail, however, you may walk more than the daily walking plan if you so choose.

2. You Can't Split Walks up

You must walk the daily walking goal in one-go and may not split it up into segments. For example: If you are to have a goal to walk an hour in a day then you must complete this in one walk, you may not be allowed to split it up into (let's say for this example) 2 half-an-hour walks.

3. Walking Plan Choice

There is a choice from two walking plans. The first is a walking plan based upon a minimum set time you must walk for, the second is based upon a minimum set distance you must walk. Once the plan is chosen you cannot switch and must stick with that plan.

4. Ignore the Weather

You must carry this challenge out in whatever weather, so if it is pouring with rain so be it. Make sure suitable clothing is worn dependent upon the weather.

Walking Plan (Time)

Day 1: 1 Hour

Day 2: 1 Hour

Day 3: 1 Hour

Day 4: 1 Hour

Day 5: 1 Hour

Day 6: 1 Hour

Day 7: Rest

Day 8: 1 Hour

Day 9: 1 Hour

Day 10: 1 Hour

Day 11: 1 Hour

Day 12: 1 Hour

Day 13: 1 Hour

Day 14: Rest

Day 15: 1 Hour

Day 16: 1 Hour

Day 17: 1 Hour

Day 18: 1 Hour

Day 19: 1 Hour

Day 20: 1 Hour

Day 21: Rest

Day 22: 1 Hour

Day 23: 1 Hour

Day 24: 1 Hour

Day 25: 1 Hour

Day 26: 1 Hour

Day 27: 1 Hour

Day 28: Rest

Day 29: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Day 30: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Walking Plan (Distance)

Day 1: 4 Miles

Day 2: 4 Miles

Day 3: 4 Miles

Day 4: 4 Miles

Day 5: 4 Miles

Day 6: 4 Miles

Day 7: Rest

Day 8: 4 Miles

Day 9: 4 Miles

Day 10: 4 Miles

Day 11: 4 Miles

Day 12: 4 Miles

Day 13: 4 Miles

Day 14: Rest

Day 15: 4 Miles

Day 16: 4 Miles

Day 17: 4 Miles

Day 18: 4 Miles

Day 19: 4 Miles

Day 20: 4 Miles

Day 21: Rest

Day 22: 4 Miles

Day 23: 4 Miles

Day 24: 4 Miles

Day 25: 4 Miles

Day 26: 4 Miles

Day 27: 4 Miles

Day 28: Rest

Day 29: 6 Miles

Day 30: 6 Miles

30 Day Reading Challenge

2013-05-04T11:23:00.000+01:00

The point of any challenge is to either get you to improve upon a certain something, create a new habit, or break a habit. This challenge is all about getting you into a consistent reading pattern whether you are familiar or unfamiliar with holding a book in your hand.
Reading is a great thing to do as I've explained in a previous post: 10 Benefits of Reading and the best way you can improve your reading ability is by reading more.

Rules

1. Pick a Book

The first thing for you to do is to pick out a book of your choice that you would like to read. It doesn't have to be anything in particular and so you are free to choose what you would like to read.

2. What happens if you finish the book before 30 days?

This challenge is based upon reading 1 chapter per day every day for 30 days. If your book however is less than 30 chapters in length then it is going to be obviously finished in less than 30 days, if this is the case for you then carry on reading 1 chapter per day but start with a new book. It's not important if you finish or don't finish the book you are reading in the 30 days, the more important thing is that you read a chapter a day. So if you do finish your book in less than 30 days just continue the challenge with a different book.

Beginner Reading Plan

Day 1: 1 Chapter

Day 2: 1 Chapter

Day 3: 1 Chapter

Day 4: 1 Chapter

Day 5: 1 Chapter

Day 6: 1 Chapter

Day 7: 1 Chapter

Day 8: 1 Chapter

Day 9: 1 Chapter

Day 10: 1 Chapter

Day 11: 1 Chapter

Day 12: 1 Chapter

Day 13: 1 Chapter

Day 14: 1 Chapter

Day 15: 1 Chapter

Day 16: 1 Chapter

Day 17: 1 Chapter

Day 18: 1 Chapter

Day 19: 1 Chapter

Day 20: 1 Chapter

Day 21: 1 Chapter

Day 22: 1 Chapter

Day 23: 1 Chapter

Day 24: 1 Chapter

Day 25: 1 Chapter

Day 26: 1 Chapter

Day 27: 1 Chapter

Day 28: 1 Chapter

Day 29: 1 Chapter

Day 30: 1 Chapter

Advanced Reading Plan

This is for those of you who would like a bit more of a challenge than 1 chapter per day. The same is true for this, if you finish your book withing 30 days then pick another book and continue with the remaining days of the challenge.

Day 1: 3 Chapters

Day 2: 3 Chapters

Day 3: 3 Chapters

Day 4: 3 Chapters

Day 5: 3 Chapters

Day 6: 3 Chapters

Day 7: 3 Chapters

Day 8: 3 Chapters

Day 9: 3 Chapters

Day 10: 3 Chapters

Day 11: 3 Chapters

Day 12: 3 Chapters

Day 13: 3 Chapters

Day 14: 3 Chapters

Day 15: 3 Chapters

Day 16: 3 Chapters

Day 17: 3 Chapters

Day 18: 3 Chapters

Day 19: 3 Chapters

Day 20: 3 Chapters

Day 21: 3 Chapters

Day 22: 3 Chapters

Day 23: 3 Chapters

Day 24: 3 Chapters

Day 25: 3 Chapters

Day 26: 3 Chapters

Day 27: 3 Chapters

Day 28: 3 Chapters

Day 29: 3 Chapters

Day 30: 3 Chapters

How to Improve General Knowledge

2013-04-29T10:50:00.003+01:00

Do you ever wonder how certain people can be so good at general knowledge? They seem to have such a vast knowledge on a majority of topics and appear to be able to answer any question you or anyone else throw their way.
Wonder how they obtain that sort of knowledge? Want to improve your general knowledge? Well here's some ways in which you can.

1. Read

One of the best ways you can get a broader knowledge upon topics is through immersing yourself in reading material. Reading is brilliant for gaining knowledge about things you will never experience first-hand or don't have the time to go and see, it's a source of knowledge that is often described in detail. Books, magazines, websites, newspapers, and the like, can all be used to gain a wider general knowledge. The more you read the more you will come to know. Then when a certain topic comes up that you have read about, something will trigger your mind to be able to remember key bits of information.

2. Study and Summarise

Pick out a certain topic that you would like to study and gather the 'key information' from it. You only want to remember the key points of a topic (unless if you are going to go into real detail) as general knowledge is made up of many topics and it would take too long to go into every topic in huge detail. So when reading up on a certain topic make sure you are also taking note of the main points.

3. Mind Maps

Mind maps when laid out in the right way are brilliant at summarising key information whilst at the same time making it easy to read and remember. Make the mind maps colourful, use curved lines instead of straight, include pictures, and keep points brief. The more your mind map stands out the easier it will be for you to remember it. For a better idea about how to use a mind map, type in 'Tony Buzan mind map' on Youtube.

4. Media

Media is another thing that offers much information. Whether it be the news, newspapers, media websites, social networking sites, etc. However these are constantly being updated with new stories so make sure you also keep up to date also.

30 Day Pushup Challenge

2013-04-22T22:13:00.004+01:00

After posting the 30 Day Squat Challenge for the ladies, I thought it fair to post one for the men...so here it is: the 30 day pushup challenge.
Depending upon how good you are at pushups will determine which challenge I think you should go for. If you can do 0 - 25 I would suggest trying the beginners 30 day pushup challenge. If you are someone who can do 50 pushups or upwards then I would recommend trying the advanced 30 day pushup challenge. For anyone who falls within the 26 - 49 range I would leave up to you to decide which challenge you should go for, in fact however many pushups you can do it's up to you which challenge you take on - just try to stay realistic about your abilities and don't go so far as to injure yourself.

The challenge is based on a number of reps & sets for you to complete per day. Many people who know about reps and sets won't need this explaining to them but for those of you who don't it's not something that is hard to grasp. Basically a 'rep' stands for a repetition, so if I were to do 10 reps of pushups that would mean that I have done 10 pushups - 10 repetitions.
A set is a group of reps. For example if I were to do 2 sets of 10 pushup reps that would mean I did two lots of 10 pushups.

Beginners Pushup Challenge (30 - 90 seconds rest in between each set)

The number of sets is displayed first before the number of reps followed by the total of pushups.

Day 1: 2 x 10 (20)

Day 2: 2 x 12 (24)

Day 3: 2 x 14 (28)

Day 4: 2 x16 (32)

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: 2 x 20 (40)

Day 7: 2 x 22 (44)

Day 8: 2 x 24 (48)

Day 9: 2 x 26 (52)

Day 10: Rest

Day 11: 3 x 14 (42)

Day 12: 3 x 16 (48)

Day 13: 3 x 18 (54)

Day 14: 3 x 20 (60)

Day 15: Rest

Day 16: 3 x 22 (66)

Day 17: 3 x 24 (72)

Day 18: 3 x 26 (78)

Day 19: 3 x 28 (84)

Day 20: Rest

Day 21: 4 x 12 (48)

Day 22: 4 x 14 (56)

Day 23: 4 x 16 (62)

Day 24: 4 x 18 (68)

Day 25: Rest

Day 26: 4 x 22 (88)

Day 27: 4 x 24 (96)

Day 28: 4 x 26 (104)

Day 29: 4 x 28 (112)

Day 30: 4x 30 (120)

Total = 1,546

Advanced Pushup Challenge (30 - 90 seconds rest in between each set)

The number of sets is displayed first before the number of reps followed by the total of pushups.

Day 1: 2 x 20 (40)

Day 2: 2 x 24 (48)

Day 3: 2 x 28 (56)

Day 4: 2 x 32 (64)

Day 5: Rest

Day 6: 2 x 40 (80)

Day 7: 2 x 44 (88)

Day 8: 2 x 48 (96)

Day 9: 2 x 52 (104)

Day 10: Rest

Day 11: 3 x 28 (84)

Day 12: 3 x 32 (96)

Day 13: 3 x 36 (108)

Day 14: 3 x 40 (120)

Day 15: Rest

Day 16: 3 x 44 (132)

Day 17: 3 x 48 (144)

Day 18: 3 x 52 (156)

Day 19: 3 x 56 (168)

Day 20: Rest

Day 21: 4 x 24 (96)

Day 22: 4 x 28 (112)

Day 23: 4 x 32 (128)

Day 24: 4 x 36 (144)

Day 25: Rest

Day 26: 4 x 44 (176)

Day 27: 4 x 48 (192)

Day 28: 4 x 52 (208)

Day 29: 4 x 56 (224)

Day 30: 4 x 60 (240)

Total = 3,104

30 Day Squat Challenge

2013-04-19T07:08:00.002+01:00

Quite recently there has been a challenge for women floating around the web that has gained much interest. It seems to becoming more and more popular, having Facebook, Tumbler, and other website pages devoted to it. I first heard about this challenge through my sister who decided to take it up, in fact it was yesterday she started. After hearing it from my sister I also found out that 3 female colleagues from work, well actually 2 colleagues as 1 of them has now got another job, so 2 colleagues and 1 ex-colleague has taken up this 30 day squat challenge.
I hear that it is quite the challenge so prepare for some hard work!
So here is the plan:

Day 1: 50 Squats

Day 2: 55 Squats

Day 3: 60 Squats

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: 70 Squats

Day 6: 75 Squats

Day 7: 80 Squats

Day 8: Rest

Day 9: 100 Squats

Day 10: 105 Squats

Day 11: 110 Squats

Day 12: Rest

Day 13: 130 Squats

Day 14: 135 Squats

Day 15: 140 Squats

Day 16: Rest

Day 17: 150 Squats

Day 18: 155 Squats

Day 19: 160 Squats

Day 20: Rest

Day 21: 180 Squats

Day 22: 185 Squats

Day 23: 190 Squats

Day 24: Rest

Day 25: 220 Squats

Day 26: 225 Squats

Day 27: 230 Squats

Day 28: Rest

Day 29: 240 Squats

Day 30: 250 Squats

A useful motivational and tracking technique you can use to go alongside this would be the 'Don't Break the Chain' technique.

No Complaining Challenge Day 1

2013-04-15T21:49:00.000+01:00

Recently I posted an article about the 'No Complaining Challenge' and said how I was going to have a go at it myself. I started on Thursday (11/04/13) and it is now a Monday (15/04/13), and yet I am writing about day 1? You may be wondering why I am doing so or maybe for some of you it's not a mystery? Well to put it bluntly: I complained! Argh! I was very disappointed in myself.

At first it was fine, I was up early and ready to go. I was the only one in the house who was up and so talking was either to myself (thoughts out-loud I suppose) or minor comments to my dog, so complaining was easier to avoid. I spent the time getting ready for work. Once at work I noticed that not complaining became harder, mostly I think because of being around complacent colleagues, but still not complaining was manageable. After work I went to the gym and was fine throughout my workout, it was after whilst in the changing rooms that I made the complaint. I had bought some milk before heading to the gym as I had gotten a text from a family member requesting that I buy some while I was out. In the changing room the milk dropped out of my locker when I removed my bag and split...which lead to it leaking...which covered the changing room floor...which lead to my complaint.

The next two days of the challenge went much better than the first and were absolutely complaint-free, it was the Sunday (yesterday 14/04/13) when the next complaint was made which would force me to start over. I was walking my dog at the time and was writing in my notebook (which you can read about the benefits of having here: Benefits of Writing a Notebook) when it started to rain causing my pages to get wet and causing my writing to cease, it was then a small complaint was made, and then another complaint a few seconds later about having made the first complaint.

Now today (15/04/13) is the restart of this no complaining challenge and has (so far) been complaint free. :) I think that I will be able to get further this time than previous as my recent failures have caused me to keep the no complaining rule in mind. I now have a much better understanding to how challenging this challenge is...roll on the next 20 days. :)

No Complaining Challenge

2013-04-11T06:33:00.002+01:00

Complaining is such an easy and negative thing to do and so I am introducing this challenge, with the hope that you all try out for a learning experience as well as helping you to put off complacency. This challenge is called the 'No Complaining Challenge' and is exactly what you would expect from the title: not to complain.

I think that whilst it's great getting people (myself included) to stop complaining, it is also a good idea for people to realise how easy it is to complain and how often they do it. I have noticed that as of recent I have been complaining more and is a habit that I am not fond of, therefore this challenge is one that I myself will try to carry out.

I'm not just talking about those major complaints that you make but also those minor ones too. E.g. "the weathers horrible I hate it"! Also labelling someone with a negative comment such as: "(name not mentioned) is a rubbish singer, I don't want to listen to them" is not allowed. Now these may seem trivial to you but the aim of this challenge isn't to get you to become a mindless robot but to have a better grasp upon the amount of times a complaint is made by you and others - at the end of this challenge I'm hoping that people will think much more about what they're going to say instead of announcing a complaint.

A post that you may find helpful to read before taking on this challenge is: How to Stop Complaining.

Rules

1. No Complaining

This golden rule to this challenge and is the most important one. Do not complain once, of course it wouldn't be a challenge if this was going to be easy so I expect people to break this one including myself (not on purpose)! If you aren't strict with yourself the only person you will be cheating is yourself and won't gain anything from the experience - so try your very best not to complain eve if it means stopping yourself mid-sentence to avoid doing so.

Every time you make a single complaint, no matter how far you are into this challenge, you start right from the beginning. This may mean that you have to keep starting over but does an even better job at getting you to be thoughtful with your words. Even if you take a whole year to complete this challenge because of having to keep starting over and over, in the end the results will be good.

The average amount of time it takes people who take on this challenge is 4 - 8 months!

2. 21 Days

You must keep this challenge up for 21 days, only doing it for 1-2 days won't pose the same challenge or have as big an impact upon the way you think and speak as 21 days will. Take note of the day you start (e.g. marking it on a calendar) and make note of when you finish.

Optional Rules

These are rules that you can either allow yourself to be bound to or not, they are fully optional and depends solely on the individual, you can include as many or as little as you want.

1. Duration

Instead of coping with this challenge for 21 day you can increase the amount of days to make it harder for you or to allow yourself more time to get into this good habit. A good step up I recommend would be to go to 35 days. This is a little over a month and it takes on average a habit 20 - 30 days to become cemented into ones life if practiced every day, so 35 (5 weeks) is perfect for making sure.

Then again hardly anyone completes this in the first 21 days as they normally will have to restart many times making it a lot longer so incorporating this rule is entirely your choice.

2. Bracelet

Will Brown is normally quoted as the originator of this technique and is a very simple and surprisingly effective one at that. The idea is to wear a bracelet and when you complain, take it off and place it around your other wrist and start again from day 0.

3. Elastic Band

I've often heard of this technique when people are trying to break a habit, and that is to place an elastic band (or bands) around your wrist and each time you indulge yourself in this bad habit you in turn pull back and release the elastic band so that it snaps against your wrist. The idea of this isn't to cause yourself pain for the sake of it but that you come to associate this bad habit to the uncomfortable pinging of the elastic band(s).

4. Replace a negative with a positive

If you notice that you are about to complain or are on the verge of complaining then turn it into a positive and say it aloud. For example: "the weather is horrible" could become "we need the rain" etc.

Consequences of Hasty Words

2013-04-08T20:35:00.002+01:00

Hasty words that are carelessly thrown out of your mouth in the heat of a moment can lead to many things, most of which are not good but are (expected you could say,) consequence(s) of your tongue.

1. Lose Friends

Hasty words that are quick to leave your mouth can easily ruin a good friendship. It doesn't take a lot to say regrettable things, and can take a lot longer to get over.
Remember that even though we know that words are just words, we also know the meanings of these words and the power they can have upon impact, otherwise why say them?

I often hear people say things that they wish they had aired and when apologising say that they never meant any of the things they said...well your words are an indication to what you are thinking so if you don't mean what you say then don't say it - simple. :)
Words can be forgive but not always forgotten.

2. Damage Relationships

This is basically like with losing friends, you can also damage or ruin relationships with others because of a few careless words. Whether this be relationships with family members, partner, work colleagues, etc.

3. Lose your job

Now this will depend upon your job but is normally true. If you work for a company and you say hasty things to a colleague or customer, if word gets back to your superiors (which in the workplace doesn't take very long) you could very well lose your job. You may not have even thought what you had said was offensive and maybe you was only joking around, but if the person/people on the receiving end don't take it in the same way as you intended it to have been taken, then you could get into some serious trouble.

My Writing

2013-04-04T22:16:00.001+01:00

In my last post, it was if I'm honest, focusing on myself. So before I start this post I wanted to quickly apologise to anyone who found that last post a bit boring, however, I will also have to apologise in advance for this post as it's also another one about myself.
Recently I have decided to start writing a story because I have an interest in writing. I am writing this story on the basis that I enjoy to write and thought that it would be neat if I could actually create myself another world almost with depth and imagination, and with an underlying ambition to hopefully get it published. Of course I realise that the part about getting it published is unlikely to happen, although it's not impossible - really for me that would be a bonus to actually managing to come up with and complete a story.

Since then it has slowly developed but is still in it's most primitive draft-form...well I don't even know if it's that far yet, it's at the moment consisting of a lot of notes that is managing to convey a possible plot. In my last blog post I was confident that I had a plot that I was going to run with after changing it more than a few times, but I was wrong and in the last couple of days it has shifted towards another direction - one that I am more content with admittedly.
So now I have added more notes to do with that and I am starting to get a better picture of the basics: a rough idea of the beginning; a rough idea of the middle; and not so much an exact idea of the finish haha. Oh well it's still in the very early stages.

I've also done some character development to some of the more major characters, the ones that I know for definite are going to be in it. I haven't done any character development for the minor characters as there aren't any at the moment, I'll have to fill them in once I have made some more progress with fitting the story together. This post was really only an update about how my writing is coming along for those of you writers who are interested, for the rest of you I'm sorry. :)

My Writing Passion

2013-04-01T21:01:00.000+01:00

I have a few hobbies that have developed over the years, some are more time-consuming and enjoyable than others but I find them all fun. One of my more recent hobbies is writing - something that has kind of surprising for me to find out. I say this because for the vast majority of my life I have always hated writing and found it a bore. In fact I had only recently started to get a taste for writing just before starting this blog, and as a result is one of the main initial reasons that spurred me to start this blog.
Since the beginning of this blog my 'discovered' passion for writing has become more apparent to me and has been further heightened.

However, even though I have found that writing is a hobby of mine, the only time that I do write is when I write for this blog. This has always been fine for me but now I'm wanting to expand what I write about and am wanting to dive deeper into the writing world. With this in mind I have decided that I am going to attempt to write my own story and hopefully aim for it to be published. I know that this is an ambitious goal as I know it's a tough process to go through in most cases in order to get your book published.
I have got to work on character-development and on a plot, and am seeing some progress, but I know it's going to be a long arduous journey in order to even get it near completion, but it is something that I am enjoying doing and hope that one day it may get published. :)

How to Get Better at Drawing

2013-03-28T22:07:00.001Z

Drawing. It seems like there's two categories in which people fall into when it comes to this: you are one of the people who can draw well, or you are one of the people who can't. Yes there are people who are more gifted at drawing than others, however, there are things you can do to improve your technique and get better at drawing.

1. Draw, Draw, and then Draw some more!

The thing everyone will tell you to do when you are wanting to become better at drawing is "make sure you draw all the time or as often as you can". There's no short cut or quick solution that is going to make you successfully start drawing at an advanced level over night, it is a skill that is developed though experience. So the more you draw - the better you will become.

Now having said this I also want to add that whilst making sure that you draw often is an excellent thing to be doing, if you don't know what you are doing or how to develop your art skills then simply drawing often will only get you so far. I'm not saying that people can't become incredible artists from just drawing alone because they can, but for a lot of people wanting to get to the next level I would suggest the implementation of the following tips too.

2. Art Classes

This isn't an option for everyone due to money and time, but for those of you who do have both, art classes should be something to consider. A good art teacher is much more valuable than any other form of learning art simply because they can give a hands-on approach also giving you tips and advice about how you can improve, with the added bonus of their experience.

3. Read books, watch videos

Whilst these won't be quite as effective as an art teacher would (well, depending on what area they specialise in), these are a good second best method for helping you gain more advice, pointers, and tips to how to further advance your art ability. It seems that Youtube is becoming more and more populated with tutorial videos including many ones in art.

4. Draw easier things to start

Don't try to run before you walk, start with drawing more basic pictures/scenes and work your way up. If you want you can try complex drawings but if you are starting out or your drawing skills aren't really that great - it could possibly discourage you and end up putting you off.

5. Research

This may seem like a surprise but research can also help your art. Having a better understanding about how something is put together or the anatomy of an animal or whatever is helpful for allowing your drawings to become more realistic.

6. Patience

Like most things that you want to become good at, it's not going to happen over night. Drawing is a skill that requires you to spend time developing. The world's leading artists will have spent many years honing their skills so don't be discouraged when you don't see results straight away. It might be an idea to date all of your drawings so you can look back upon them in the future to see your improvements.

Don't Give Up

2013-03-25T23:45:00.001Z

Is there something that you would really like to be good at or succeed in? I'm sure there is when you think about it? Maybe you've always wanted to play a musical instrument, or maybe a renowned artist, or are you wanting to become an author? We all have aspirations of what we would like to do or be good at, however, there always seems to be something that holds us back...ourselves.

It can be very easy to say that you want to be an astronaut or want to become an artist, but like all things, you will need to put in the work and effort. Don't give up! It can be all to easy to stop when the going gets tough but remember without hard work how are you supposed to improve? It's like someone who goes to the gym and works-out. If that person doesn't put in the effort to making sure his/her muscles are working hard then there isn't going to be much improvement.
Hard work can be tiring but is something that produces results when you keep it up, and that's what you need to keep in mind - to keep going and pushing yourself forward to your goal, your ambition!

Other people can also play a big part too. If you get people around you who are encouraging you then this will help your morale and aid you in driving onwards. On the reverse if you get people telling you that you are wasting your time and that you are never going to get anywhere with it, this can have a discouraging affect. Interestingly though when people are discouraging to you, this can also act as motivation to assist you, by wanting to prove your critics wrong and showing them that you can succeed.

If you do find it tough and the road arduous then there will be no doubt that you will feel like quitting along the way, maybe only the once or maybe several times. When I was learning to play the piano there were many occasion that I wanted to give up but am glad now that I didn't, because now It's something that i couldn't imagine not being in my life - it's definitely a hobby that I'm grateful to have.

A thing that I do when working hard at something that has helped keep me going in many a situation is to think of who else I know is doing what I am doing. That person/or people then become my rival(s) in my head and aid in persisting with what I am doing. For example: I have recently started going to the gym, coming up to two months now, and I know a few other people who also go. I can tell you that it is hard work and sometimes I really don't feel like going, but thanks to thinking about the people I know going to the gym and working out, it unleashes my competitive side and drives me to work-out so that I can better them. I do this for a lot of things and it's something that helps me to carry on.

In conclusion, yes if you are wanting to improve at something or be good a something or get the job of your dreams etc, you are going to have to apply yourself and work hard, just remember: don't give up.
If you do find it hard with motivation then a trick that might interest you is this: Don't Break the Chain.

How to Memorise Numbers

2013-03-21T22:14:00.001Z

Memorising numbers can be a tricky thing to do, it is said that a person can hold up to an average of 7 digits at any given time. This is fine when trying to remember up to the magic-7 mark, but what about when you need to memorise longer numbers for whatever reason, for example: mobile phone numbers (which are 11 digits), or bank card numbers, or maybe a set of codes/passwords that are for you job or security reasons? What do you do then.

Well as I just mentioned the average amount of numbers a person can hold up to in his/her mind at a given time is 7, so you may be able to do more or less than that, however, there are ways you can get far beyond this figure - into memorising huge numbers that are hundreds of digits long, some people can even remember numbers up to thousands of digits long. It's all about technique, and the technique that is needed is mnemonics.
If you are not sure about what mnemonics are then here is a post that you may find useful: Mnemonics.

1. Major Memory System

This is one of the most popular systems that people use to memorise numbers. Each numeral is associated to a consonant, with w, h, y, x, and vowels being ignored serving as 'fillers' to create actual words. Here is the most common layout:

0	s, z, soft c	z is the first letter of zero. The others have a similar sound.
1	d, t, th	d and t have one downstroke and sound similar (notice the tip of your tongue as you say them).
2	n	n has two downstrokes.
3	m	m has three downstrokes, also m looks like a 3 lying on its side.
4	r	the last letter of four, also 4 and R are almost mirror images of each other.
5	l	L is the Roman numeral for 50.
6	j, sh, soft ch, dg, zh, soft g	a script j has a lower loop like 6. These letters also have a ‘whistle-like’ sound, and 6 looks like a whistle.
7	k, hard c, hard g, q, qu	capital K contains two 7s (on their sides, back to back).
8	v, f	think of v as in a V8 motor. f sounds similar (notice how your teeth touch your lips for both).
9	b, p	p is a mirror-image 9. b sounds similar and resembles a 9 rolled around (also notice how your lip movement is the same when pronouncing these letters.)
-	vowel sounds, w, h, y, x	These sounds can be used anywhere without changing a word’s number value.

The number you are trying to memorise would be placed into the table to turn into words. For example: the number 55. As you can see in the table the letter 'l' is associated with the number 5, and as our number is 55, after looking at the table we get 'll' (55). Now that we have this we have to now turn it into a word using vowels, w, h, y, and x. To me the word yeLL comes to mind, so you can imagine a person yelling to remember the number 55.

So you're probably saying this is fine for two digits but what about for longer digits. Okay, so our next example is going to be: 43665645. The trick with this is to split the number into smaller more manageable chunks. So we're going to tackle this like so: 43, 66, 56, 45. For 43 we get 'rm' so I'm going to turn that into 'RuM' - this now becomes the first picture of your mind. I'll now go ahead and sort out the words for the rest of the numbers: for 66 we'll have 'JoG', for 56 we'll have 'LeDGe', and for 45 we'll have 'RuLe'. Now we need to put them together into a sequence - imagine a man drinking some 'RuM' whilst on a 'JoG, who falls off of a 'LeDGe' with judges around him telling him that he broke a 'RuLe'. It may seem like a lot of effort to remember that, but once you have gotten used to what number corresponds to what letter, it will become much more reliable and is something that you can use to remember longer numbers.
The hardest part of this system is getting to grips with the table.

2. Peg Words

If you want to take this even further you can then create a 'peg-word' for each number up to 100. This will take more time to learn and become fluent with than the major memory system table, however this way is more effective and can make it quicker to memorise. There are two ways you can do this, you can either create 'peg-words' for each number using the system in trick #1, or you can assign whatever you want to each number.
I prefer to personally assign each number an image of my choice, things that are in my life or are memorable to me for whatever reason. This includes people, items, characters, all of which are easy for me to picture in my mind.

Once you have assigned a 'peg-word' to each number and have become familiar with each one, then next thing to do is to use them in a memory palace. I won't go into what a memory palace is in this article as I've already written about it, so instead I'll refer you to them: Memory Palace and 5 Steps to Create a Memory Palace.

3. Grouping

This is a technique that a lot of people use for phone numbers and other numbers of similar length, even if they don't realise that they're doing it. Grouping is simply breaking the number up into smaller groups so that you have an easier time to remember it. So for example a number like 347596 on its own is harder to remember in a short amount of time than if we were to split the number up to make it (347) (596). It seems like groups of 3 work well for our minds and grouping is what a lot of people naturally do when trying to ingrain a number into their mind.

This technique though is very limited in that whilst it can enable you to quickly pick up a smaller number like 6 or so digits, it is near enough useless for remembering much larger numbers, unless if you were to be extremely repetitive. No, for larger numbers, mnemonics is much much more effective and even for establishing smaller numbers in your long-term memory.

4. Repetition

Another way that can work is through that of simply repeating the number over-and-over until you have it logged in your long-term memory. Of course all of these techniques will require you to incorporate repetition as to keep them fresh in your mind, however you are able to remember numbers just through repetition and not having to incorporate mnemonics. Mnemonics are a much more powerful tool though and will make things so much quicker and easier to remember.

There are things you can do to make just repeating the number over-and-over again a little more powerful. You could try writing it down several times instead of saying it out loud, also say it in your head. Even though I prefer using mnemonics (and is something I use for larger pieces of information) I have to say that I have been able to memorise people's mobile numbers from my contacts (11 digits in length) by setting those numbers as the password on my phone (which allows up to 16 digit number passwords), so every time I use my phone - I have to type in the number, which is another form of repetition. I will say that it has been so much easier memorising people's phone numbers this way than simply saying them over-and-over again.

Conclusion

Everyone is different and our minds work in individual ways, so for me using the peg-word method and incorporating it into a memory palace is the best for me, however for you it might not be the best way because your mind doesn't work like that. You should try all of these methods and ones I haven't mentioned until you find one that is right for you.

How to Face Social Rejection

2013-03-18T22:24:00.000Z

Ever felt like you don't fit in with the crowd or excluded from the group? It can be a hard thing to face when it seems like everyone is against you and no-one wants to be with or around you. Even if you aren't used to the experience, social rejection can still be something that you fear and are not wanting to experience. The main thing that people who fear social rejection have on their minds is the fear that they will look stupid and will only embarrass themselves when they get rejected.
Here are some ways in which a person can deal with social rejection.

1. Think Positively

This is much easier said than done but is a beneficial action towards yourself when you are facing rejection. Instead of seeing things in just black and white such as: 'They don't want to spend time with me as they don't like me', instead of thinking like that think in a more positive fashion, for example: 'They can't spend time with me as they most likely have other plans'. Another one is when you are rejected just think to yourself 'it is not because they dislike me or because they aren't fond of spending time with me, they were most likely having a bad day and didn't feel up to doing anything'.

I know this looks as though all you are doing is making excuses for the person who rejected you, but doing this can make a difference to your mindset and to how quickly you can deal with rejection. You don't need to force yourself into forming an almost 'alternative characteristic' when dealing with rejection by overdoing the positive reinforcement as this can cause you too dwell upon it for longer, just think positively and get over it. You will naturally be better at dealing with rejection and thinking in a more positive light with the more social interactions you have. It comes with time.

2. Prepare for Rejection

This may at first seem counter-productive, to admit defeat before you've even started, but really you're not doing that at all. This is once again another trick of the mind that can help you deal with rejection as let's be honest it's not the most pleasant thing to have to cope with. So it's not so much admitting defeat before you've started as it is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.

Rejection is always a possibility and so some people like to acknowledge that by preparing for it ahead of time so when the time comes and they do face rejection, they are already in a mindset to deal with it. Of course everyone is different and so this tip may not work for you as it may only make you more anxious about the situation, in which case don't apply this, but for the the people who this does work for it is of benefit.

3. What is Rejection

What is rejection? It is a form of exclusion where one or more individuals deny you their company. It can be defined in much more detail than that but that's the basics of it. Okay, so with that in mind, is it going to kill you...? No of course it isn't, rejection is a part of life and everyone will have to face it. Yes rejection is a horrible thing but it is not the end of the world - keep this in mind.
I'm not trying to play down how hard rejection can be to take sometimes, but looking at it for what it really is, which is the answer of "no" basically, can help for some.

4. Keep Yourself Busy

Another way that you can deal with rejection is by keeping yourself busy. Making sure that you are doing things to keep you're mind from referring back to that scenario often helps people deal with rejection, this is as you are keeping your mind busy and so not allowing it to dwell upon those issues that you can sometimes worsen through spending too much time thinking over.

5. Did You Experience Rejection?

You may be thinking, "well if they said 'no' then of course I've experienced rejection". Well before you jump to conclusions make sure you take everything into account. Just because they have said "no" to you does not mean that they have rejected you, they may actually have a perfectly good explanation to why they are not able to do something with you. That doesn't count as a 'no' but as an unavailability to do something.
Look at it from the bigger picture, just after rejection an individual may be kicking their thoughts into overload and are over-analysing and overreacting to the situation with thoughts like: 'my social life will never be the same again!' going through their heads, but by stepping back you can often get a much better grasp upon the situation. A rejection is not the be-all and end-all of a social life. It may not have worked out if they had said yes anyway as maybe you don't actually have that much in common, or haven't hit it off like you have with other people. Don't then change how you treat this individual and start to become a hater or theirs - this is going too far, just keep the bigger picture in mind.

6. Give Yourself Credit

It's not all doom and gloom and although you may be facing rejection, at least give yourself some credit for actually having the courage to try. After all you don't know until you try and so by having the guts to do so deserves a pat on the back. You are at least trying to improve and you can only improve by trying.

7. Get Others Advice

If you are constantly being rejected no matter how many times you have tried then maybe you are displaying a certain trait that is off-putting? Don't ask on forums and places such as that, as helpful as forums are - the people on there will not have first-hand experience of you and so the advice will be limited. By asking people who know you in person and interact with you often is the much better approach to stick to.
Be warned though sometimes the truth hurts and receiving negative feedback is not always the easiest thing to take.

Don't get Involved in Other People's Argumenrts

2013-03-14T23:12:00.001Z

There are many ways we can find ourselves getting into awkward and/or bad situations, the sort of situation you wish would just blow-over and go away. Some of these situations can't be avoided but yet we still have to face them. One of the circumstances where we can land ourselves in a bad situation is through arguing.
Some people think that arguing causes results to be produced and for tensions to resolve, I on the other hand just think it makes things much worse and hasty and regrettable things are almost always said.

Something that I think is even more of a bad decision than arguing...is getting involved in other people's arguments. Involving yourself in other people's arguments even if it seems the right thing to do at the time is not the wise thing to do, it would be a much better use of your energy trying to calm things so that all parties involved can act and think more reasonably.
Here are some reasons why you shouldn't get involved in other people's disputes.

1. You'll Get Dragged Into It

This is the most obvious reason to stay out of another person's feud - you'll get dragged in. You may think you're only trying to help by maybe chipping in but you'll find yourself involved. It's all too easy to get involved, especially if it is a friend or family member as naturally you want to stick up for them, but really will it make things better? More often than not if you're sticking-up for someone you are going to get dragged in to a point where you can't get out, and once things are said...there's no easy fix.

Like I said before you would be wise in spending your efforts trying to diffuse the situation (not by arguing) but even this can come with risks. It can be just as easy to become a target by trying to diffuse the situation simply because you are there in their line of sight, I know the logic doesn't make sense but when people are angry normally logic and reason goes out the window.

2. You Could Make Things Worse

You may go into the argument thinking that you are going to make things better but you could just as easily make things worse than they already are. Point #1 was about being dragged into the argument, so if you are dragged in and you yourself argue then this will not make things better. Plus it seems the more people get involved in an argument the worse it will get as people are bouncing off of each others attitudes and actions, and there are more people to have to try and calm down.

3. You Could Fall Out With These People

An argument is not normally a situation where new friendships are going to form and last a lifetime, it's a situation where more often than not friends are lost and you fall out with people...and sometimes it's never the same again. You need to realise that when you enter an argument you have the ability to say and do some hurtful things, all of which can't be retracted, some of which people unfortunately don't forgive.

4. Other People Could Lose Respect For You

Think of someone who you know who you wouldn't want to see you if you were arguing and losing your control, or charging headfirst into another person's argument. It's not the most appealing sight to see people argue and if other people you know who you wouldn't want to see you they could quite easily lose respect for you.

Conclusion

Hopefully these points have highlighted in your mind the hazards of getting involved in anothers argument. If you are going to get involved in someone-else's argument which I hope you don't, but if you do, please think carefully about your actions.

How to Know if a Guy Likes You

2013-03-11T11:06:00.000Z

After recently publishing a post called 'How to Know if a Girl Likes You', I thought it to be fitting of me to post an article for girls about how to know if a guy likes you.
When you are wanting to know if somebody likes you it can sometimes be easy, and sometimes it can be very hard. There are some signs however that will make you more aware of a secret admirer.

1. He Keeps Looking at You

An obvious way to tell if a guy fancies you or not can be by simply noticing if he often looks/stares at you. When you look at him whilst he's doing this he may hold your gaze for longer than what you would normally experience, or if he's shy he may quickly avert his gaze somewhere else to try and avoid detection.

He may also try to catch your eye so that you look back at him. Also if you do make eye contact and you notice that he glances at your mouth it can be another sign that he is interested.

2. Gets Close to You

Another sign that he may have a crush on you is if he gets in your personal space often, this shows that he is wants to get closer to you. For example: he stands closer than he does with other people, he leans in to you, when he walks past you he walks closely so that he sometimes brushes the side of you.

3. He Often Faces Towards You

If he is interested in you then he will be less inclined to turn his back towards you but will more often than not be facing towards you, or at least have himself in a position where he is able to see you. He may not even realise he's doing it in which case it could be a subconscious thing he is doing.

4. Makes Himself More Presentable

When he is near you you may see that he adjusts his clothes often or brushes his hair, or does some other adjustment on several occasions may be a sign that he is trying to make himself look more appealing to you. If you notice that he looks cleaner or more presentable than usual when you see him it may be because he is trying to make a better impression on you.

5. Big Themselves Up

Listen to what they're saying as some guys feel the urge to 'prove' their worth by telling you about themselves. It can also be a sign of shyness or nervousness.

6. Physical Contact

Another sign that he likes you is if he tries to or does make physical contact with you often. He may lean against you, brush himself against you casually (e.g. like when walking past you as mentioned in point #2), rests his hand on you, mock punches you gently or pokes and prods you, gives you hugs, etc.

7. Tries to Make you Jealous

Some guys flirt with lots of girls but if you notice that he is intentionally flirting with someone whilst keeps glancing at you it's pretty obvious that it's you he really wants and is wanting to see how you react. It is an odd thing to do when thinking about it as it could put you off, however if he's doing it in plain sight of you, or is saying things in a loud fashion so that you can hear, and keeps glancing at you, you have nothing to fear as he's more interested in you than he is her.

8. Protective and Helpful

You may start to see that he becomes more helpful towards you or may get a little protective over you when other guys are around or when someone makes a comment against you. He may move closer to you, put his arm around you, stand blocking your view to another guy so that he can't see you and you can't see him, some of the things to watch out for.

9. He Has the Same Interests as You

Now this can very easily be a coincidence that he has the same interests as you but it can be also just as easy for him to say he has the same interests as you. If you tell him your interests and he then says he's also interested in that but when asking him further doesn't actually know that much about the topic - it may be a sign that he is just saying it so that he becomes more appealing to talk to.

He may research the topics of interest and then catch-up with you so he can talk to you about it.
Also if you introduce him to something you are interested in which he had not heard of or hadn't really bothered with before, like for instance a band or film, then he may suddenly over night become really interested in it and makes sure he tells you about it.

10. Nervousness

If he likes you there is a likely possibility that he gets nervous around you. He may display this by sweating more than usual, going red when you look at him or talk to him, nervous laughter, eyes quickly dart away when you make eye-contact. Normally a guy gets nervous around a girl when he finds her attractive as he doesn't want to make a fool of himself in front of her.

11. His Friends

If his friends tease him about you subtly whilst around you then this could be a big indication that he likes you. You may also find that they ask you questions about him to see if you like him or not.
Be aware that sometimes some friends will be doing it as a wind-up to see if you do like him when he actually doesn't like you, or may be trying to not make it work for you two as they have reasons why they don't want you two to get to know each other. It's a bit of a two-edged sword, on one side it can be one of the best signals that he does, and on the other side they may just be looking for laugh.

12. Turns-Up where You are

You may see that he coincidentally turns-up in the places where you are. Maybe you mentioned to him that you was going shopping with some friends on Saturday....and on Saturday he also turns out to be shopping.
It may just be coincidence so don't read too much into it, but if you do notice that he turns up in places you tell him you're going, it may be more than coincidence.

13. Punching and Teasing

If he punches or prods you in a playful way, or he teases and makes fun of you playfully, it's because he is trying to get your attention. He may want you to flirt with him too.
If it is annoying or painful make sure you tell him though as the more you let it go on the more irritating it will become and you may end up starting to dislike him. You can say that you don't mind him doing it but not so hard or harsh.

14. Compliments

He may compliment you regularly which could mean he likes you. If you change something about yourself (e.g. your hair) and he notices then this is a good sign as it means that he is observant of you. If he gives you a compliment about it then this could be an even clearer sign he is interested in you.

Conclusion

Like I said at the end of my last post about 'how to know if a girl likes you' some guys display some of these traits in their normal personality so make sure you don't jump to conclusions and presume that a guy likes you when it could just be who he is. Put things into context first, and remember to be observant.
Hope this has helped. :)

How to Know if a Girl Likes You

2013-03-07T13:06:00.001Z

Ahhh the age-old questions of whether a girl likes you is still as relevant today as it ever has been. Don't know what all the pinches and punches are about?, what the teasing is about? What all those looks are about? Well maybe this post will shed some light for some of you guys but keep in mind that each girl is different and some girls are naturally flirty in a friendly way.

1. She plays with her hair or adjusts her clothes when around you or speaking to you

This is a sign that a girl likes you. If you notice that she keeps adjusting her clothes when she's around you or maybe plays, twirls, and fiddles with her hair, this is a sign that she may in fact fancy you. It may be because she wants you to notice her so she may decide to redo her hair in-front of you or may want to look more presentable towards you.

2. She laughs at your rubbish/boring jokes

If she likes you she will want you to see that she likes being in your company and wants to get along with you so will often laugh at your unfunny and boring jokes. She wants you to like her too and often by laughing at your jokes will make you more comfortable and confident around her. Don't purposefully make bad jokes as this can sometimes backfire and actually dull the conversation.

3. She smiles at you when you talk to her or say "hello"

This will show that she is happy to see you if she automatically smiles at you. When you talk to her she may also smile then, it's quite a hard emotion to not display when you are genuinely happy to see someone. Some people do naturally smile at people out of politeness too so don't jump to conclusions just yet.

4. She says things like "awww" or "cute" in reference to you

If she says things such as "awwww" or "how cute" in response to an action you just displayed or made this can mean that she is flirting with you.

5. Random hugs for just you

It seems acceptable for people to give other people hugs upon greeting or just as a random part of affection. If you notice that she reserves hugs for you and only you then this can be a good indication that she does like you and wants to get closer to you but is trying to do it in a way that is discrete and is trying to avoid suspicion.

6. Hits, punches, pinches, and teases you

She isn't wanting to hurt you and isn't trying to be nasty to you but is actually after your attention. By making physical contact or by teasing you it's hard for you to ignore her giving her the attention she wants from you. Also it may be that she wants to make contact with you and so does that through playfully hitting you. It can be as well to see what your figure is like, to see how toned-up or toned-down you are, or to see how you respond to her actions.

Normally playfully hitting people or poking and prodding them are done by more confident females, so don't assume that just because a girl doesn't make contact with you that she doesn't want to - she may just be more shy and reserved. On the flip side, don't go around thinking that every girl wants to make physical contact with you because it will just end up being embarrassing for you.

Having said this I have a friend who hits and punches guys playfully but she isn't interested in them in a crush sort of sense, so be aware on the girl.

7. Her friends tease you about her or giggle a lot when you two are near to each other

This is normally a big giveaway that she likes you if her friends are involved. Girls often confide in each other and so you could have quite easily have made it into a conversation. If they all giggle or smile and are looking at you then this is a good sign. It's an even better sign if they ask you questions about her or tease you about her.
It's almost definite that she likes you if one of her friends or more than one of her friends tells you that she does in fact like you, unless they are all winding you up but this isn't normally the case. This is often the best way to tell.

8. The way she looks at you

There are normally two different ways a girl who likes you will look at you. The first is where she will often look at you and/or hold your eye contact for a few seconds, longer than the average.
The second is where she will look at you and when you look at her she will quickly look-away to try and avoid being seen looking at you.
You may need to put things in perspective first, she may be looking at you to get your attention about something, or may be just pulling your leg, or maybe it's because shes a naturally inquisitive person and is someone who often observes people.

9. She bites or licks her lips

This is another possible giveaway that a girl might like you, more so if she is looking at you whilst doing it. Maybe her lip subtly quivers or trembles when you look at her or talk to her, this can be a sign that she likes you.

10. She states something waiting for you to come to assistance

This is another sign that she likes you, if she starts playing this. Maybe shes playing pool or snooker and is pretending to not know how to hold the cue properly so you go over and show her how, leaning over her and positioning her hands properly. Maybe she's carrying something or trying to lift something and exclaims "it's too heavy" meaning she wants you to lift it. Or maybe you and her are outside and she keeps saying how cold it is, wanting you to lend her your jacket/coat.
If there is more than one guy around then she may not want someone else to give her the assistance she wants, because she wants it specifically from the guy that she likes.

11. She helps you

Watch out for the things she does for you maybe by offering help and assistance when needed. If she's always ready to help and often offers help then (unless she is like it with everyone) this is good news. Don't purposefully overdo asking her for assistance as you may become a bit of an annoyance and she may start to not want to help you.

12. She listens to you

This is a good sign that she likes you if you notice that she always listens to you and values your opinions. It's a much better sign if she wants to know your opinion and views when in a group of other guys as she's singling you out and wants to know what you think.

Conclusion

You should stay aware that some girls will display many of these traits as part of their normal personality and it doesn't mean that they will like you, so remember to be observant to her personality and to what is more out-of-character. Also, don't get caught-up over everything she does and never try to over-Analise them, this can often make your situation go downhill if you're not careful.
I hope that this has been of help to you and I wish you luck for the future. :)

Blogging: A Love/Hate Relationship

2013-03-04T23:25:00.002Z

It's hard to believe that I've been running this blog for just over a year and a half now and I have now written just over 200 different posts! In one respect it doesn't feel nearly as long as that and still feels very new to me, yet on the other hand feels like I've been doing it a lot longer than a year and a half...strange I know but I'm sure a lot of you will sort of understand where I'm coming from.

Since starting this blog I have to say in all honesty that until recently having this blog has been a bit of a love/hate relationship. Let me elaborate for you. I myself love to blog and love the satisfaction that is gained through completing and submitting another blog-post to the web. I love the fact that other people from around the world pertaining to very different lifestyles to my own can read my personally-written articles and can interact with me through the comment-box or through emailing me in the 'contact' tab at the top.

And of course I have loved every minute of seeing my blog grow and develop, and seeing the amount of people who visit this blog increase in number dramatically. This is what I love about blogging and is what motivates me to continue.

The 'hate' part of the relationship is slightly harder to convey because whilst I love to blog...I also have hated it in the past. It sounds weird I know but in the past my blog has felt as if it's looming over me 24/7. I would feel as if I NEEDED to always be posting articles on my blog and If I didn't I would feel like I was letting myself, the blog, and more importantly you the readers down. :( It just felt like a constant pressure in my life and all it was meant to be was a hobby and a means of expressing myself through writing, but it turned into more of a commitment that I had to fit into my schedule. As a result of feeling this my blog suffered and have always been inconsistent with my blog posting.

Don't get me wrong there were times when I never felt this and I could write for hours but there were also the times where I dreaded to go near the computer.

As of quite recently this has all changed and is back to being how it was right at the beginning...a hobby. Something that I enjoy to do. I can't imagine not having my blog now, it would seem strange to not have it included in my life.

I have recently made a commitment to submitting a blog post every Monday and Thursday but to be honest it doesn't feel like a commitment, just a means of carrying on with one of my loves and allowing you the readers to know when to expect something. :)

How to Plan Your Day

2013-02-28T02:34:00.000Z

On average adults sleep for 7-8 hours a day and16-17 hours spent being awake. You would think that these 16-17 hours of being awake in the day would be enough time to get what you need to do done and sorted? Well for many of us this isn't the case and in fact is very easy for us to not get what we need to have done. Often we start with the intentions to get a lot of things done, but as the day passes us by and we keep delaying to do what needs doing, at the end of the day it feels as if we have wasted our time. It's having the self-discipline to go through with what needs doing and the sought after skill of being able to manage your time effectively that you will be able to produce productive days.
This is where a daily plan can be of use and of help to you to assist you with your daily-life, and is something that I would strongly recommend.

1. It may seem like a plan is a waste of time but it isn't.

It's no good deciding to make a plan if you think it's a rubbish idea and is a waste of time because you are more than likely not going to be able to properly commit to it and not be so strict upon yourself about sticking to it. If you are wanting to set-up a daily plan then make sure before you start it that you know the reasons why you want to have a plan and how it is going to benefit you - this will help to keep you focused upon sticking to your plan and following it through.

Having a daily plan will mean that you will never forget what needs doing, whether that's get some milk from the shop or to put the rubbish out, you won't forget as it will be laid out for you to see - so you will never have any need to remember what to do either.
You will also be able to sort through your tasks and decide which ones would be more effective to do at certain times and how they would be of better use of your time. Another thing is that you will often get through your daily jobs/chores/commitments etc a lot quicker than you usually would as you have everything laid out for you to see, you know exactly whats needs doing at any given moment.

2. Write your plan the night before

It's no good writing out a plan for your day on the day because you are using up valuable time when you could be being productive. There are people who do do this and can still make good use of there time, but creating a detailed plan taking 30 minutes or so is best done the night before. Evenings are also at the end of a day when more people have some a little extra free-time.
If you are not able to do it the evening before then do it at another part of your day when you are free, as long as it's the day before.

For me personally mornings are when I'm feeling the most productive and so I like to get up and get straight-on with the day and am not wanting to sit down and plan what I have to do for the day during my most productive time. Also if you start the day getting straight onto what needs doing chances are you will be more likely to continue as you are in that frame of mind to get things done.

3. Be strict about what you need to get done

Be strict with yourself about what needs to get done and write down all of the tasks that are a MUST for the day. These become your no.1 priority jobs to get completed. Next write down tasks that need to be done but aren't quite as important as your priority tasks.
Doing your priority tasks is of importance as they are things that you NEED to get done, other less important tasks that need to be done aren't as important to get done but are nice to see completed. Doing what you NEED to do and not what you want to do will lead to more productive days and you will be thankful for it.

4. Set mini plans for individual tasks

Once you have your plan set in place for the next day, try expanding upon it and going into more depth with each task, creating a sort of miniature plan for each one. This will mean staying productive and getting through each task will become all the more easier for you.
An obvious example is with shopping - creating a shopping list. This will enable you to go through the store at a quicker rate and also helping you to not forget the things that you need to buy.

Now I'll give you a personal example. I use my phone to help schedule my daily events and plans, on which I put most things. One of the things I put on is 'work' and also 'prepare for work'. I schedule in time to get myself ready for work and also have a further list which tells me exactly what I need to do. So for instance I have listed: get dressed for work, name badges, pen, bottle of water, wallet, etc. I do have more things listed on there that I do but it gives you an idea. I've seen an improvement to the time it takes me to get ready for work since following a list, allowing me to go from one thing to the next with ease and never forgetting to do anything. :)

5. Chunking

This is an effective technique that a lot of schedule-users like to implement as it allows you to make better use of your time. Chunking is where you group tasks into groups where you can then get them all out of the way at once. For example: You may need to go food shopping (with the help of your list) and you may also need to pick up your children from school which is near to the shops. So you could go food shopping and then pick up your children saving you from having to make two journeys. I also put shopping before picking the kids up as I know shopping with children can be a little stressful sometimes. :)
So have a look through your daily plan and see what you could chunk together to get out of the way on one clean swoop.

6. Plan larger tasks over a longer amount of time

Now you may have a large task on your plan that you know is going to take a lot longer to complete. It may be a task that will take over your day and prevent you from being able to complete your other tasks. Something you can do to make these larger tasks more manageable and still enable you to carry on with your other tasks is to split it into more manageable pieces, spread out over maybe a few days, or longer. You will have more energy for when you tackle the task each time and will be easier for you to stay motivated towards the task.

Blog Update

2013-02-26T10:35:00.000Z

This is only going to be a quick update regarding my articles on this blog.

Since starting this blog I've never been happy with my consistency of publishing articles onto this site and have never set in place actual dates where you the readers can expect to see a blog post. As of recent this inconsistency has become even worse and I really feel like I need to do something about it. My schedule has become a lot busier than it used to be with other commitments, but yet still I feel as if I could be...let me rephrase - 'should be' providing a better more consistent service than what is being offered at the moment.

As I am a big promoter of consistency it seems a little hypocritical of me to be not offering a consistent service on Smart Blog. Therefore with this in mind I am going to now be submitting a blog post every Monday and Thursday, 52 weeks of the year, and am going to do my best to try and uphold this goal. :)

How to Play Sudoku

2013-02-17T16:48:00.000Z

Sudoku is a great mental game that stimulates your mind and is fun to play. It's a game that once you know how to play, is very easy to pick-up-and-play and can be stopped at any time, and then re-continued at any time.

This post is merely to show you the basic rules of how to play a simple game of Sudoku and will not include advanced tips and tricks for those more challenging puzzles. This post is aimed at those of you who don't know how to play Sudoku and so I won't bog you beginners down by giving you more information than is necessary for you at the moment.

The sudoku board (as seen above) is made up of 9 squares creating a 3 x 3 grid. You will also notice that each of these 9 squares are further divided into 9 smaller squares which are called cells, creating smaller 3 x 3 grids. Each and every cell holds a value from 1 - 9, and it is up to you to determine what values they are - this is the whole concept of the game.

There are restrictions however to what number can be placed in what cell as every square (that is also a 3 x 3 grid) must contain all numbers 1 - 9, and as there are only 9 cells in each square - you've most likely realised that you can not have two of the same number if you are to include all the numbers 1 - 9. For example: a grid containing numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 would not be allowed. There are 9 numbers granted, however there contain two number fours and so would be incorrect.

Also that is not the only restriction to where a number can be placed. You may or may not have noticed but each column and row contain 9 cells (not by coincidence), and each of them must also contain the numbers 1 - 9. This means that each column and row (if done correctly) will never have the same number in twice.

You will need to look at every cell and see if a number can go there, you will be able to see if a number goes there as other numbers (in columns/rows/square) will rule out possibilities.

Have a look at the top-left square from the images that are present. You will see that it contains numbers 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9. This means that these numbers will not be able to be included in this large square as you must have all of the numbers 1 - 9. This means the numbers 1, 2, 4, and 7 are the only possibilities for the remaining four cells in that square. You must look at each of those cells and determine if numbers in other cells (from rows/columns) rule out possible cells for that number to go until you are left with only one possible cell for it to go.

You won't be able to determine where numbers can go straight-away and will require you to travel around the sudoku board searching.

Let's number every cell in each square A - I just so I can show you some examples. We're number them A - I as you would read a book. So looking at the first square; cell A contains the number 5, cell B contains the number 3, cell C is empty, cell D contains the number 6, cell E is empty, cell F is also empty, cell G is also empty, cell H contains the number 9, and cell I contains the number 8.

Let's try looking for the number 1 in the top-left square. The only other number 1 that would have an impact to our square is the top-middle square that contains the number 1 in cell D. This rules out the possibility of the number 1 being in cells E and F in our top-left square, and leave us with two possibilities to where the number 1 could be: cells C or G. We don't have enough numbers to determine which one so we'll have to come back to that later.

Some people like to pencil in small the possible numbers which could occupy that cell.

Now let's try looking for the number 2 in the top-left square. You will notice that there is not a single number 2 that is in a line or column that affects our top-left square, so at the moment the number 2 could potentially occupy any of the four cells (C, E, F, or G) in our top-left square.

Now let's try looking for the number 4 in the top-left square. You will notice that there is a 4 in the middle-left square (cell D) that does affect us, and it rules out cell G in the top-left square to where the number 4 could appear. However it is the only cell that does affect us and so the number 4 could potentially still be in any of the cells C, E, or F.

I'll quickly do the number 7 for the top-left square too. The number 7 appears in the top-middle square and rules out cell C in the top-left square to where 7 can appear - this leaves us with cells E, F or G.

There is also a number 7 however in the middle-left square and that rules out cell G in the top-left square. Now only cells E and F remain to where the number 7 can appear. We don't have any more information at the moment so we'll have to move onto another square.

I'll now show you an example where a number can be found. Look at the bottom-left square. It only contains the number 6 and so can still house the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9.

Let's try looking for the number 8. The number 8 can appear in any of the cells A, C, D, E, F, G, H, or I. You will see however that there is a number 8 in the top-left square and that rules out cells C, F, and I straight away, leaving cells A, D, E, G, and H.

Then you will see another number 8 in the middle-left square and that rules out cells A, D, and G in our bottom-left square - and that now leaves us with cells E and H, both of which could potentially hold the number 8.

There is also another 8 in the bottom-middle square and that rules out cell H for us, which only leaves cell E. As there is only one possibility for where the number 8 can go (cell E) that means that the number 8 HAS to go there. It doesn't make any difference that there is a number 8 in the bottom-right square as that rules out cells A and C that the previous number eights did (in top-left and middle-left squares.

You just work your way around the board doing this and you will eventually have yourself a completed board. The 2 images below are of a sudoku board before and after completion. There are sudoku puzzles however where this very basic method is not nearly enough and where other techniques will be needed to be incorporated to complete them. For example the X-Wing and Jellyfish techniques.

Credit: Cburnett

How to Talk to a Shy Person

2013-01-31T09:41:00.003Z

Talking to shy people need you to take a few things into consideration and certain things that you should and shouldn't do. A shy person's confidence can easily be knocked and so care on your behalf will be needed when you are wanting to communicate with them more.

If you want to, it might be a good idea for you to read my previous post: 11 Common Worries Shy People Have so you can have more of an insight to how a shy persons mind works.
Here are some steps that can help you when talking and interacting with a shy person.

1. Be Smiley and Friendly

A smiley and friendly person is a lot more inviting for a person to talk to than a grumpy and miserable one. Shy people aren't normally the most forthcoming people in the world and so for them to know that you are a smiley and friendly person to talk to will make it a lot easier for them, and more likely, for them to come and talk to you.

2. Don't Bombard with Questions

Don't hit them with question after question. Whilst questions are good to ask as they convey your interest in the other person and the conversation, too many questions and it will quickly appear to them that it is more like an interrogation than a conversation, which could make them become nervous - even if that were not your intention.
Shy people are good listeners, reason being is that they enjoy to listen to you rather than speak because they are normally afraid to, so watch how many questions you fire their way.

3. Don't act Nervous

Try not to be nervous around them as this can create awkward silences and conversations between the both of you. If you are nervous around them, it's not likely that they're going to take the reigns and steer the conversation to where you would like it to be, so try to stay relaxed and confident around them. This isn't an excuse to be arrogant or overly confident around them either as most shy people won't find that an attractive personality trait.

4. Don't get too Personal

It's good to ask questions and it is something that is fine to do but try not to get personal. Many shy people aren't confident (hence their shyness) and aren't comfortable with discussing things that are personal, so try and keep the conversation related to the general topic but don't go into too personal an approach.
They may also feel that their personal life isn't up to the standard to where you would respect or accept it and may feel embarrassed of it.

5. Be Patient

It may take a lot longer than a single conversation for them to become comfortable with opening up to you. Prompting and encouraging them to continue, whilst you may see it as being kind and friendly, will most likely make them more nervous and try to withdraw from the conversation, feeling as if they are being put on the spot.
They may need time to respond to your comments and questions, and may need that time because they respond in a certain way.

6. Don't be Patronising

Just because they are shy and can't articulate theirself as well as maybe you can, it doesn't mean you should become patronising towards them for them to understand. They will not appreciate this.

7. Don't talk to them as if they are Stupid

Very similar to point #6, don't talk to shy people as if they are stupid just because they don't say a lot. Shyness does not amount to unintelligence...in fact some of the brightest and sharpest individuals on the planet are shy people.

8. Don't Tease them

Shy people don't like to be reminded of their shyness, especially when it comes in the form of people teasing them and joking about it. It may seem like a harmless bit of banter to you but to many shy people this is quite a degrading experience and is something they will very much dislike. It will often make them more shy and make it so they do not want to talk to you anymore.

9. Listen to them

Listen to what they have to say and don't interrupt them or talk over them. Give responses and feedback that is genuine and engage yourself so they know that you are interested in what they have to say. Don't discredit or shoot-down their ideas as this will knock their confidence. It will have taken courage on their behalf to open up to you and talk about their ideas, if you just put-down their comments and/or not really pay attention to them it will have a negative effect upon their self-esteem - which may be very little as it is.

10. Don't Point out their Shyness

This is different to teasing them about their shyness but is something that can still have the same effect. Simply pointing out that they are a shy individual can make them question their behaviour around you to why you would perceive them this way, and is another thing that could push them to become even more shy.

11. Talk to them about something you have in Common

If you manage to find that you have something in common with this person, for instance like a hobby or interest, then try to get them to talk about this. Shy people will feel more comfortable talking to you about an interest they have if they and even more so if they know that you also share the same interest. Sometimes shy people, once got going, can really give a good conversation and can chatter on for ages.

12. Talk to them about Something more Stimulating

Don't just drone on about small-talk such as the weather. Things such as this will only become tiresome quickly and doesn't really cause the both of you to engage fully. Try talking to them about something more stimulating that properly gets the both of you engaged in conversation and thought.

13. React Positively to your Interaction

When you are leaving one-anothers company, smile and let them know that it was nice talking with them. If you feel like it you can tell them that they are welcome to talk to you any time and can come over when they see you. You may even feel up to asking them to do something. Also be aware that if you are with friends and they see you they may not come over to you as they would rather a one-to-one conversation and may feel intimidated by your friends. If you do see them with your friends they may not want you to call them over, so a simple wave of acknowledgement would suffice.

11 Common Worries Shy People Have

2013-01-24T11:59:00.000Z

Very often shy people will be too hard on themselves, and can definitely be their hardest critique. Some of the worries they have too aren't all that uncommon either, with many shy people commonly sharing the same worries. Sometimes they won't even be aware they're harbouring some of these worries but yet they still know that there is an underlying problem at heart.

All of these worries don't apply to every shy person and isn't something that is set in stone - it's just a list of common worries many shy people have, and worries that not so shy people can also have too.

If you yourself are a shy person and are wanting to overcome your shyness or at the very least become a bit more confident, then here is a recent post of mine: How to get over Shyness.

1. Rejection

A very common worry that a lot of shy people have is rejection. They often feel like they aren't good enough to spend time with or that their company isn't worth having, and so believe that they will face rejection.

Shy people rarely show their true character to others (except those they are most comfortable with and depending upon how shy they are,) and won't really communicate as well because of their shyness, and so if they were to receive rejection it is usually the fault of their shyness - however not the person.

2. Considering yourself to be unlikable

This worry is related and linked to worry #1 rejection. A shy person may not be very sociable and so can have a view upon theirself as being unlikable and so will often put theirself down, which can be done mentally and orally.

It can be a number of things that causes a shy person to consider theirself as being unlikable and can sometimes be to do with their appearance.
This naturally leads to worrying over rejection because they believe that the other person/people would not be happy in their company and so would automatically come to expect rejection - which when left to fester in your mind can make the fear even worse. This fear of rejection can then distort their view of theirself and confirm in their mind that they're not worth the time, which is not the case.

Everyone has their own flaws that they won't be particularly happy with but have come to accept them and having flaws does not make a person unlikable. Neither does awkwardness as lots of people experience awkwardness with others but are still very likable people.

3. That they won't be Considered Fun

Another common worry that shy people often have is that they think that other people will consider them to be no fun. There shyness doesn't help them as they can't really be totally comfortable around others which normally leads to two predicaments.

1). Their shyness strips them of their personality and leaves them in a form where they don't know what to say or how to act, and so can lead to social awkwardness.

2). The person tries overly hard to be fun and really fights their shyness to try and achieve this so that they can prove to others that they are actually fun. This approach normally has a black or white outcome - it either will work or it won't. More often than not this approach doesn't work as a normally shy person is not so much as used to trying to be extroverted, however having said that, it's surprising how many naturally introverted people portray themselves as extroverted individuals.

4. They feel they won't know what to say

This is a very common problem that many shy people have. It's horrible when you don't know what to say to somebody and even worse when they don't know what to say either, and this will normally produce awkward silences or stale conversations. This can make a particularly shy person come away feeling worse about social situations than before and can cause them to over-think about what they are going to say.

It's not just shy people who can experience this however, we all can at some point or other not because you're shy but because you just don't know what to say to that person. This can feel annoying if you know that if you were both yourselves then you would get along well.

5. Feel as though a single social mistake will make it so that you can never redeem yourself

This can be a tricky one to get-over as really it encompasses a few different worries. Social mistakes happen - we all make them. It's how you are able to deal with them that will determine if this will become an issue for you.
A single small mistake isn't going to turn the world against you and to them they probably didn't even notice it, it's just your mind taking it out of proportion.

6. Feeling as though you have to try and make everyone like you

For some shy people they believe that because they consider theirself to no fun or unlikable, they must do their best to make sure that everyone likes them.
However in life there are going to people who we don't and won't gel with, people who although we may be friendly towards - never actually hit it off with, hold differing opinions, and altogether find making conversation with them a challenging task. It happens, so don't sweat it, just be friendly to people and don't worry if you can't naturally mix well with everyone - there will be people who you can't.

7. Feeling like you're imposing upon other people or forcing them into something

Some shy people, when for example trying to meet-up with others, fear that they are imposing themselves upon the other people because they think they would find the request to meet-up not only as an inconvenience but also as an annoyance. Because of this these shy people will dig themselves into a bit of a pit and do their best to avoid situations where a circumstance like this could occur, for example: asking someone to do something.
It can become so bad for certain people that even when another person asks them if they would like to do something they decline the offer or come-up with an excuse to refuse because they still feel like a hindrance to the other person/people.

8. Dwelling upon past mistakes and worrying that they will occur again

What happened in the past is in the past and does not mean it will happen again in the future. We learn quicker from our mistakes and is sometimes the only way we learn. For some people these mistakes are moments of their life that they never want repeating again, so much so that they frequently worry about it happening again. They recognise a similar situation to that that the previous mistake was made in, and allow their mind to fixate on doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of it, even if they know that it won't happen again. Sometimes they won't even have made a big mistake but just something small to which they have made into a bigger issue than it really is.

9. Often interpreting something as negative

This can be out of anything but is normally related to what another person says, which could be completely innocent yet is perceived as having a negative intent.
For example: Person 1 asks person 2 if they would like to hang-out on a Wednesday because that's when they're free. Person 2 responds with something like "I'm sorry mate but I've already promised someone I'd watch a film with them that night" (or whatever). So person 2 has already got plans for then and so can't meet-up with person 1, yet person 1 still takes this completely innocent comment as something negative and twists it in their mind believing that person 2 just said that as an excuse to not hang-out with them, which they can then feel socially rejected and believe it's because they're not interesting enough.
It may sound silly to you but trust me there are people who do think like this.

10. Not wanting to say something in case you offend someone

Now in many cases this is good if you decide not to say something when you know it may very well offend someone, but for some shy people it can be something as simple as not wanting to disagree with someone because they feel like it would offend them.

I know this to be true as this is how I once used to think. I would hate to disagree with someone over an issue, even if I knew they were wrong or incorrectly informed just because I thought I was going to offend them. For example: One instance springs to mind - It had been snowing heavily and the buses in my area had been cancelled. A family friend had walked over to our house and had spent a few hours with me and my family. Whilst talking the conversation took a turn onto transport, and in this conversation our friend had said something like "well at least the buses are still running". Now I knew for a fact that they weren't as their website which they update frequently displayed that they were not running for that day. Instead of simply saying that they weren't actually running, I instead agreed with her because I felt I would've offended her.
In hindsight it seems silly to me now but at that time of my life that's how I was like and was the way I thought.
11. Thinking you are being judged socially 100% of the time

This is when you are in a conversation or interaction with another individual and you need to make an effort to make sure that the social interaction keeps going and doesn't hit a road-block. You feel like it's a test of your social stamina and to prove to yourself and to the other person that you are not hopeless.
If you make the tiniest error however, you automatically conclude in your mind that you are useless, and even if the interaction goes well you are anticipating the next one and how that 'challenge' will go.

How to get over Shyness

2013-01-19T19:57:00.000Z

It's a horrible feeling isn't it? When you are out or in a situation where there other people and you feel like you can't be yourself, where you would like to speak up or join in but can't because your shyness is holding you back. Shyness is not uncommon and as human-beings we all experience this, however some individuals are just naturally more shy than others and so can get theirself into a bit of a rut and aren't sure how to get out. Well in this post I am hoping to help and have some tips to how you can get over your shyness.

1. How do you want to Change your Shyness?

If you're reading this post then it's likely that you are wanting to know how to deal with your shyness, or at least certain aspects of it, but to what extent do you want to deal with it? Do you just want to be able to feel comfortable in places where there are large crowds? Do you want to become more comfortable with talking to people? Maybe you want to have a huge lifestyle change and become really outgoing and social? - in which case here are two of my recent posts that you may find useful: How to Become Outgoing and How to Get a Social Life.

Some people like to hold onto you could say some of their shyness as they believe it helps define them as a character, which is fine it's up to whatever they and you choose.

It's important that you know how much you want to change as this will not only determine how much work is needed to be done but it also gives you a clear goal for you to focus your attentions upon.

2. Get Out of the House More Often

A common thing for shy people to do, and is something that I used to do as mentioned in point #3 , is to not leave the house. When I say this I don't mean that they never leave the house, they most likely will for example: shopping, dog walks, family events, etc. However for the most part they won't feel comfortable with leaving the house and will be happy to return where they feel safe.

When shyness causes you to retreat to being isolated inside their home, it can become concerning for your well-being. The reason I say this is that the more time you spend at home and the less time you leave your home - the less inclined you will become to leave. This isn't something that will happen straight away but can quite easily happen over the course of a couple of months or so, or sometimes even weeks depending upon the person.

You'll start to get into your own routine and go about it from day-to-day, which isn't a bad thing, but you will be a prisoner to your own shyness.

Leaving the house is such an easy yet hard thing to do. Easy because all it requires you to do is to open the front door and leave, and yet hard because you don't really want to leave and even if you do you don't know what you would do?

To leave the house - you don't have to have plans or have something that you need to do in order to do it, in fact you can just do something as simple as going for a walk. Try walking in areas where you know will have people in - the more the better, so for example: towns, cities, villages, the beach, etc...

It's making sure that you expose yourself to the outside world so that you remain (or get) comfortable with leaving the house.

3. Get a Job

This is tip is not meant to be disrespectful or demeaning in any way as I know that getting a job is much easier said than done, and also that some individuals are unable to work for particular circumstances. However, with that said, having a job can be a confidence-booster, especially if this job entails interacting with others. Not only can it be good for confidence-boosting but it can also be an opportunity to forge new friendships and relationships.

I can remember when i didn't have a job and what I was like then. I was already a shy and I suppose a somewhat insecure individual who really did nothing. I wouldn't like to leave the comfort of my house and would feel uncomfortable if I was away from home for too long, the only time I would leave the house would be to walk the dog and even that would be more time spent alone. The rest of my family would be out of the house working and doing things whilst I would just stay at home and let my shyness and insecurities become a little out of control.

It was weird because I knew that I needed to change as I could see that I was ruining my life by letting this shyness take over what I could and mostly couldn't do, and after about 2 years of this and my self-esteem and confidence reaching new lows - I decided to do something about it. I went job-searching!

I spent a good part of a day scouring for jobs and picking up application forms left, right and centre. Then once I was home I got to work on them. Of all the application forms I filled in, only one managed to get me a job interview. So feeling very nervous I went. I can honestly say that it was one of the worst experiences of my life at the time as I felt extremely out of my comfort zone. After the interview had finished I was hoping that I wouldn't get the job but a couple of weeks later I was phoned to say that I had got it.

At the start I felt very shy - I didn't speak to people and felt uncomfortable being around the other members of staff. I would never go up to the staff room for lunch like the majority of the staff do because I was too timid to. After some time though I noticed that I was talking to a few people briefly and was finding it more tolerable to be where everyone else was.

Now I am so much more confident. I talk to every member of staff, have made new friends, get invited to events, laugh and joke with them all, and feel much more comfortable and confident around people. I also make an effort to talk to the new staff who start, which to my surprise everyone else doesn't as they don't know what to say, but because I feel so much more confident I have become friends with all the new members of staff and have even done things outside of work with them.

Getting a job really did make a difference to my life and is a change that I am very happy with.

If you are in the process of job searching and have managed to get yourself an interview then you may find these posts helpful: 10 Vital Questions to Ask in a Job Interview and 15 Mistakes to Avoid in an Interview.

4. Join a Club

A club is a great place where you can boost your confidence around others and at the same time enable you to participate in something that you enjoy. If it's a club that causes you to take-part and interact with others for it to work (for example: a team based sports club like football), then you'll become much more used to being around others which will help you to become more confident.

If it's a club you are spotted doing well in, then this will often lead people to see you in a more favorable light, which I know sounds bad and shallow but is very often the case - if you're good at something then people will notice and recognize you for something, and can lead them to trying to include you more.

5. Push those Insecure Thoughts Aside

Don't let those insecure and negative thoughts get you down. Shy and reserved people will often allow these things to fester in their mind, and the more that these thoughts are allowed to dwell there the more likely they are going to make you feel worse. When was the last time a negative thought made you happy?

Negative and insecure thoughts being allowed to linger in your head is really like being in a trap, I've mentioned this above when I spoke about how I let this happen to me, in that the more a person thinks about these harmful thoughts the more their mind will slowly start to distort and take them out of proportion - which will in turn fuel these thoughts to continue, which will then only make the person feel worse and so on and so on...

It's a vicious cycle that traps a lot of people and is often a very hard one to escape from.

Conclusion

Shyness is no easy feat to get around and is something that will always remain with us, however, it can become manageable and I hope that with these tips and any others you may have that you are able to overcome your shyness.

How to Improve your Mood: 12 Tips

2013-01-12T15:59:00.000Z

Having to go through low moods and/or depression is a tough and hard thing to escape. With practical changes to ones life though these feelings can be suppressed and you can improve your mood.

Depending upon how bad a persons depression/low mood is, will have an impact to how well these tips will work. If they are mild enough then these tips may be all that is needed to help them, however if it is more serious then whilst these tips will be helpful for the individual - professional medical advice will be needed.

1. Talk to other People

Having problems and life-dramas can certainly bring your mood down and make it hard for you to deal with them, and when you've got no-one to talk to about it, it can be all the more difficult.

Just having someone to talk to (even if they can't actually change the situation) can really make a big difference because they can offer their moral support and advice.

We all need help sometimes and having people who you trust to depend upon is a comforting prospect. There are those who will offer you emotional help and those who will be able to offer you practical help, both of which you should be (and would be I'm sure) grateful of in a bad situation.

Friends and family members are an obvious choice to start with and can simply be by letting them know of your situation and what you're experiencing. Friends and family members aren't the only choice you have, their are people who you know and are friendly with, yet don't class as a close friend (e.g. A person at work) who you can ask for advice. You can also arrange to go and see support groups in your area or can even phone up support lines. Help from other people can make all the difference.

2. Exercise

Exercise is a great way to lift your mood and is often advised to place into your daily routine as a form of dealing with low moods and/or depression, in fact, it's advised for you to include it in your life anyway in general.

It keeps you active both physically and mentally, keeps you fit, gets you out (unless if you do home exercises), and just makes you feel better in general. It's such a simple thing to start yet so many people push it aside as they doubt that something as simple as exercise can help...but it can.

A couple of reasons to why people don't take up an exercise routine are 1. They see the whole exercising and creating a routine too much of a hassle to organise and to follow-through with, and 2. They believe that it's going to consume too much of their time and they don't have that time to spare.

Well as a matter of fact these people need not worry as it isn't hard to get yourself into a routine and you can work around your time allowance, even if it's only 10-20 minutes a day.

It doesn't have to be something that you hate to do, find something that you enjoy doing, for example: walking, football, swimming, going to the gym, etc.

If you would like to start exercising but aren't sure where to start or to how you go about doing it then here's an article that you may find useful: How to Create an Exercise Plan.

3.Wake-up Early

Waking up early is a fantastic way to kick-start your day. Getting up earlier will allow you to have more time in your day to do things (maybe start that exercise plan), you will feel as if you have more energy throughout the day - which will lead to a more positive outlook.

I won't go into any more detail to why getting up early is good for you but if you would like to read more into it then this is the full article: 10 Benefits of Being an Early Riser.

4. Do Something Fun

Try doing something fun to lighten your mood. It may seem a little childish to some of you who are reading this but is something that will prove its worth soon enough. Whatever you feel like doing (within the law of course:) ): maybe go for some exercise, play some sports, play some games with people? Whatever.

You want to be able to have some enjoyment in your life and by doing something fun can really help you feel better.

I don't include t.v, browsing the Internet, or video games, as doing something fun. Whilst I'm not saying that these can't be fun and/or entertaining, they're really just wasting your time. Coming away from t.v. and the like, I don't know how all of you feel, but I never feel like I have benefited or gained anything when I come away from watching t.v?

The full article about this is here: Is T.V Wasting your Time?

Often it's not even about doing something fun, it's normally about doing something and we will appreciate doing anything to keep our minds off of what is bothering us - it's just nice for it to be fun.

5. Get a Hobby

Similar to point #5 however this is more of a regular and consistent way to cheer yourself up rather than just doing anything that is fun. Having an activity to partake in which is your hobby is an excellent way to take your mind away from the stress you're going through. If you share your hobby with a friend and you both do it together (for example: golf, tennis, pool/snooker, bird-watching, etc,) you can use point #1 and talk to them about your situation.

6. Get enough Daylight

There are depressive moods that scientists know about that are linked to not having enough exposure to daylight.

I watched a documentary about a year or so ago about the effects of varying light exposure to a person but can't remember what it was called. On this program there was an experiment where they made a person stay inside of their house for a week with his windows boarded up and only a limited amount of the usual light making it through, and throughout the week they monitored his mood. As the week progressed his mood declined and by the end of the week he hated the lack of natural light. When he was allowed to have his house un-boarded and the sunlight was able to shine in again - his mood dramatically improved.

Get outdoors more too and expose yourself to the natural light (don't get burnt when it's sunny though :) ). Morning light is said to be the most beneficial and is something I recommend everyone should get-up to experience.

7. Eat Healthy

Eating the right food with the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs to be sustained is what it needs to have a consistent amount of energy lasting throughout the day. making sure that you eat your 5 fruit and/or veg a day is definitely beneficial for your overall health and well being.

If you are interested here are some posts about fruit and veg: The Benefits of individual Fruits (Part 1), The Benefits of Individual Vegetables (Part 1), and Top 10 Most Popular Fruits.

When people are feeling down they can often turn to alcohol, when they are feeling low on energy they turn to things that are high in caffeine (for example: energy drinks or coffee), it's not too hard to see a slight connection to a persons feelings and food.

8. Get Enough Sleep

There is still a lot that is unknown about sleep that science has yet to uncover but it has been advised that people with depression or low moods should make sure that they are getting enough sleep. People who feel refreshed and aren't tired allow their mind to function better than that of a sleep deprived person because our bodies need sleep to recharge, and will prevent, or at least limit, tiredness bringing down their mood.

Not only is it advised that you should get enough sleep but also that you should stick to a regular sleeping routine.

Here are two articles that go more into sleep: The Functions of Sleep and How much Sleep do we Need?

9. Deal with Stressful Problems

There are so many stressful problems that enter our lives that we have to deal with. Sometimes they appear like a bull in a china shop and other times they very discretely enter into your life without you realising it and cause you hassle.

Stress is a killer and can definitely without a shadow of a doubt bring down a person's mood.

Go through what stresses are in your life (if you have them which most people do) and then decide what you are going to do about it. A lot of stressful things are things that can be sorted or will get sorted, for example: starting a new job, moving house,meeting new people, having more work than usual to get through, etc.

Sometimes there wont be a quick fix to your problem(s) and so will have to be something that you have to make the best of a bad situation about, for example: losing a job, dealing with an illness, having social problems, etc.

I've written an article about stress before if you would like to read more about it: The Common Causes of Stress and how to Deal With it.

10. Smile More

Such a small and simple action to do yet can still have an effect on your mood. Forcing yourself to smile and telling yourself that you are happy can have a positive effect on how you view situations in life. If you're always optimistic and are trying to look on the bright side of life, then you won't have as much time for dwelling on the negatives.

11. Stick to a Plan

A suggestion that is often made by professionals and is normally encouraged for those dealing with depression, is to make sure that your life has structure to it. If your mind isn't kept busy then it can start to dwell on matters and make it seem worse than it is, which is why suggested that you stick to a schedule.

Make sure you are strict about keeping to your schedule as it is very easy to skip one or two things on it, and once that happens you can be sure that you are likely going to stop doing more jobs that you are supposed to do, and then next give up on it all together.

Productivity is a great way to make use of your time and has an uplifting response once you've completed what needs to be done and it's this positive effect that is good for your mind. You can see that you are getting things done and you like the results you are seeing and in return for your labour you are able to experience the satisfying feeling of productivity.

Two posts that you may find helpful are: 7 Benefits of a Schedule and How to Plan a Schedule.

12. Don't Over-schedule

Another thing that can quite easily bring your mood down is having too much on your plate. When you have too much to get through and it becomes an endless fight trying to finish it all, can make life feel like you're living for the schedule - which it shouldn't be about.

There's nothing wrong with having a lot of things to get through daily because for some people they thrive in that environment, but for others (and in fact for those workaholics too) when there is too much to do it can become too much for us to cope with and handle.