Living Simply and Simply Living

 Optimism: Can we learn to be 'Sunny'? As you may have read in my previous blog post, defensive pessimism is a strategy with a lot of potential for those prone to certain levels of anxiety. However, dispositional optimism still holds a lot more traditional advantages to its name; lower rates of depression, reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, and protection from the common cold to name a few. Companies want to employ positive workers who'll increase efficiency and add to a healthy work environment over more downcast ones. The benefits of being an optimist in today's world are ubiquitous. They might as well sell it in a bottle. Profits would be astronomical. 'The B Positive Serum, the smallest dose will do'.  It doesn't seem fair that pessimists are more liable to a plethora of mental and physical illnesses. So why are some people predisposed to think in a positive fashion while others think in a negative one? Can we change our tendencies

  Glass Half Empty? For as long as I can remember I've been surrounded by optimists. My mother, for one, who leaves the room when someone mentions anything remotely negative. She doesn't watch the news in fear that something depressing might have happened overnight. Its 2018. Of course it has. That's not to say that I have anything against these perpetually sunshine-y individuals. I love my mother and appreciate her ability to put a positive spin on literally anything. I wouldn't describe myself as an optimist or a pessimist. In my mind I'm more of a realist. My family and close friends would argue otherwise. Just today one of my best friends told me to "stop being so negative". I asked her what she was talking about and she responded with, "no offense but you're a little pessimistic". I didn't take offense.  I've always wondered why the vast majority of people have something against negativity. Is it really such a bad

The Importance of a Healthy Diet I haven't posted on this blog in a while. Life's been getting in the way. One of its more aggravating tendencies. There always seems to be so much going on. We'll make it through an exceptionally busy week and emerge unscathed with the notion that come Monday it'll be a simpler time. When will we realize that it's naive to have such impressions? The harsh reality is that our days always have the same number of hours and our weeks will always be constituted of seven days.  The one thing we can change is what we accomplish throughout our week. We can prioritize the things that are of highest importance to ourselves and make time for these things in our busy schedules. What's one thing that you cannot go to sleep without doing? Going on a walk? Reading a couple pages of that book you've been working on? I feel that there's one thing people, especially ones with a jam packed schedule, don't prioritize

There are 24 hours in a Day I have a lot of pet peeves. I'm simply an easily irritable individual. Something I suppose I have to work on. One of these pet peeves is when people quite frankly state that there are 24 hours in a day. A fact of which I am very well aware. I'm also cognizant of the fact that the sun rises in the East and sets in the West.  Why does this simple statement make me roll my eyes? A day might be comprised of a 24 hour period but how many of those hours are realistically at our disposal? If we're lucky we sleep a sizable portion of those away. As a teenager I'm supposed to sleep for a little over nine hours each night. As you know, a good night's sleep is imperative to a variety of regular body functions including repair. On an average day I sleep for six and a half. What if I were to round up from there to seven hours? Well then there would only be seventeen hours left in the day.  Say the day in question were part of the wor

10 Fun Ways to Get Active I believe that the first step in taking care of your body is abandoning your excuses. We all seem to have an abundance of them. Mine like to make appearances on Mondays. These excuses may include "Oh I don't think taking a rest day...week will make a difference" and my personal favourite, "Running on a treadmill for an hour just isn't my thing". There is much more to being active and accelerating your heart rate than running on a treadmill or using the elliptical. You don't have to hit the gym at all to get an applause worthy sweat session. Below are ten fun ways to be active that increase your motivation to work out.  1. Dancing There are plenty of easily accessible dance forms out there. Yes, even for those of us who are rhythmically challenged, per se. Unfortunately, a common misconception among those who aren't 'good' dancers is that you have to be a prima ballerina to step foot in a s

What Physical Fitness Means to Us If you were to ask an auditorium full of high school students what kind of body type they associate with the words "in shape" the majority of them would likely respond with "long and lean". Guys would think broad shoulders and a strong chest and girls would think flat stomach and an hourglass figure. Thank you Kim K. The ideal body and its capabilities differ depending on age and wherever you land on the spectrum that is gender. People in their 20's and 30's would envision a strong, muscular body. By the time you're a senior citizen, sitting down quickly without hurting yourself is considered an accomplishment. Your dream body is influenced by the media, where you live in the world, and the body types and attitudes of your peers.  A scary percentage of teenagers and adults have experienced an eating disorder at some point in their life. Whether it be Anorexia, Bulimia, or Orthorexia nervosa a distressi

Ways to Increase Your Productivity Everyone loves their spare time. The problem is that most people's lives are so fast paced and hectic that it's difficult for them to come across unmarked blocks of time. Which is why any opportunity for recharging your batteries should be immensely treasured. Many people are guilty of pushing themselves too hard, myself included. We've all been there. It's two am and you're squinting at a computer screen trying to pump out an amazing project even though you're sleep deprived. Your duvet is slung over your shoulders as you chug coffee and desperately try to carry on. It might happen to the best of us but you shouldn't find yourself in the aforementioned scenario every other night.  According to the Harvard Business Journal there is a "direct correlation" between the absence of a recovery period and health problems as well as safety issues. Your career and/or education, as everything else, should