10 Things We Should Do to Keep Our Brains Sharp!

So much goes into our health and wellbeing and in keeping our brains healthy, we encourage strength and stability in our everyday lives.

The following are 10 Things We Should Do to Keep our Brains Sharp:

(1) We have this awesome brain, so let's try to understand its functions better! When you think about it, it is so amazing to even try to fathom the billions of neurons and synapses that make it function as it should!

(2) Eat Healthy! Eating healthy is one of those things that we hear more and more about, right? But, it is because we are in such need of nutritious foods! The brain actually consumes 20% of the nutrients that we absorb! That means that if we are constantly eating "junk food" or overly processed foods, we are limiting our brain's amazing functionality. This is why it is recommended to have a healthy breakfast in the morning, especially if you've got a busy productive day ahead of you.

(3) Be active! Did you know that exercise actually enhances neurogenesis? Neurogenesis is the the growth and development of nervous tissue.

(4) Stay positive! This can't be overstated, really! Having a positive mindset creates a blend of creativity, encouragement and wanting to make a lasting positive difference in people's lives!

(5) Use the brain. Yes, while this might seem crazy because we use the brain everyday, why not challenge it? Just as we challenge ourselves by going to the gym we can challenge our brain by learning new things.

(6) Don't stop learning. Again, learning something new and challenging ourselves to do just that creates a healthier more positive outlook on life in general.

(7) Travel. This was interesting to learn, but it makes sense. We challenge our brain to function in a new environment, that's gotta be good, right?

(8) Keep good friendships. Especially in this day in age of crazy and hectic lifestyles, it is so important to enjoy quality relationships with people that actually care about you!

(9) Make your own decisions. While it is good to follow direction when necessary, it is also great to "go it alone" and make your own decisions. This enables our brains to function in a healthy way by further challenging it to try new things, so start up a new hobby or take a night class in an interesting subject you've been curious about, you'll just be smarter for doing it!

(10) Laugh! Laughing is such a great release to the brain, it can actually improve your outlook on life. Not bad, huh?

The Science of Stress

It is Monday and the start of a new week -- yes, that means stress -- at least for most people. Stress can be either good or bad, but in truth, much of how we handle it is where it gets a bit tricky. While stress isn't something that we can avoid entirely, it is more about keeping ourselves in a steady, healthy rhythm of life.

So what is the difference between good stress and bad stress? Good stress (also called "eustress") is normally the kind of stress that is -- well, good! You know that feeling you get when you get a great workout in at the gym or you have a great morning run? How about a nice promotion at work? or...How about preparing for your wedding day? All of those things are good types of stress. The not so good or rather bad stress comes from such things as an unfulfilling job, a disagreement with a loved one, or even some personal issues at home that need resolution.

While external stress that can come from our jobs or bad traffic are hard to avoid, we can do something about our internal stress. The internal stress that we deal with on a day-to-day basis comes from bad nutrition or bad sleep or even anticipating an upcoming event like a company presentation or something else we may not be looking forward to doing.

The bottom line is if we allow the bad stress in our lives to become the focal point of our existence, we begin to see our health falter in ways that we wish we would have known about in the first place so we wouldn't experience unpleasant health episodes. Keeping our cortisol (hormone) levels from getting to high prevents the things we want to avoid like high blood pressure, lowering our immunity, and increasing the fat storage around the abdominal area. Hence, this is where we can turn to meditation, exercise and positivity to keep us at our best!

The stress in our life and how we respond to it can be positively life changing, isn't that worth it?

Retrain Your Brain To Make Healthier Choices

Certainly as we enter into a new year, things haven't changed much with regard to worries over what the healthiest foods are to eat and those to avoid. As in any creation of a new habit, we really need to focus our minds to see where the triggers are -- do we get tempted when walking by the refrigerator?do we get hungry at 3 pm when the vending machine is calling out to us? or do we simply skip breakfast at home because there will be fresh donuts at work?

Read about the new app here. The app helps with retraining the brain to crave healthier foods rather than the unhealthier options out there. The game allows those that participate to choose between pictures of healthy and unhealthy foods by simply clicking on the picture.

"A study of 83 adults showed that people who played the game online just four times in one week lost weight and ate an average of 220 kcal less per day -- roughly equivalent to a chocolate-iced doughnut".

This could be a good opportunity to start working on those SMART (specific-measurable-attainable-relevant-time-sensitive) goals that most of us start and would like to keep throughout the year.

Forget about Resolutions, Why Not Focus on Making One Small Change Instead?

We are barely entering into 2017 and we still worry about the same things as we did last year -- weight loss, fat loss, better health, drinking more water and the list goes on. We all know those resolutions are made as quickly as they are broken, but what will make a lasting difference?

How about focusing on changing one small thing instead of losing our minds over not being able to have another cookie or french fry again? It happens -- we all have bad days, but the trick is making more of those bad days tolerable enough to eventually change them into more really good days.

Upgrade your Eating Habits by:

• Snacking Smarter
• Hiding the Junk Food
• Waiting to break your Fast
• Filling Up on Water
• Eat "Free" Foods

Read the article to find out more about the eating habits mentioned above and welcome to a brand new 2017 that shows the promise of a healthy new year.

The Bad Habits to give up for a Lifetime of Success!

What real incentive is there in wanting to change a habit? It doesn't necessarily need to be about food, although many times it is, right? What about making a small change to what we do on a daily basis. How about having one cup of coffee in the morning instead of three or sleeping a minimum of 7-8 hours a night for 3 or more consecutive nights a week? In order to have and make long-term goals, you've got to start with a short-term goal. That's just how it works. 

Now that we are approaching a new year, why not start thinking of ways we could just improve our lives by making constructive and "doable" goals that will benefit us overall. Think about your health! Yes, will it benefit you to have a second helping of roasted sweet potatoes or a second helping of french fries? Or if dessert is on the menu, why not share it with a loved one or simply have a small portion-sized dessert?

Some more concrete ideas to think about:

(1) Give up on the unhealthy lifestyle. The bottom-line is we need our health. We need to take care of our health to achieve goals that we want to achieve and even more importantly, we need to put food on the table for ourselves and our families, right? Under Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the Physiological needs (food, water, shelter) are at the foundation of needs that we need -- and that includes diet (preferably healthy).

(2) Give up on the short-term mindset. In order to reach long-term goals (like a career goal or losing 50 pounds), we need to focus on creating and keeping short-term daily habits that are sustainable and healthy. 

(3) Give up playing small. What do I mean by this? Yes, go big or go home! If you don't have the confidence to know you can achieve something you really have wanted to achieve, how do you know you can't do it? We have this thing called -- self-talk -- yes, where we talk to ourselves and tell ourselves we are not good enough or we can do it! So much of what we can accomplish is really up to us, really.

(4) Give up your excuses. We are so good at saying we aren't good at something or someone is better at it than we are. This may be true, but particularly if we haven't attempted to do that particular thing, how do we know how good or how bad we are at it? Don't give yourself an easy out by giving excuses.

(5) Give up the fixed mindset. As we naturally graduate from grammar school to high school and beyond, we grow and change. So why not attempt to be more open-minded and continue developing our learning skills. In continuously developing and learning, we can reach our goals more easily.

(6) Give up believing in the "magic bullet": We certainly don't become successful overnight. True success is a journey and many times the journey doesn't have a straight-forward path, it takes time to find a good path to follow to reach the ultimate goal.

(7) Give up your perfectionism. Many times we may not know the outcome of the desired result. So, instead of fearing we won't get that desired result, why not work on putting fear out of our minds and put our "best foot forward" with the projected project or goal. 

(8) Give up on multi-tasking. We all know that there are lots of things we can do at work (or home) in order to reach our goals of a successful completed project, but why not focus on completing one essential task at a time instead of doing several at one time? 

(9) Give up your need to control everything. Many times there are things that happen in our day that prevent us from getting our tasks done. That's just life. But, we can control our attention to detail, being present and being positive.

(10) Give up saying yes to things that we may not need. I've certainly been guilty of this! We humans are great at rationalizing and telling ourselves we need to go to this meeting or that party in order to mix and mingle with the "right" people. But, stop and think about what would happen if we didn't say yes to all of that! We would more than likely reach our intended goals much faster if we focused on the present needs.

(11) Give up the toxic people. This can be tricky, but it is well-worth taking the time to do it! If we surround ourselves with people we admire and respect, we become more positive and that enables us to put more effort into our work and overall life -- period! Stay away from "Debbie Downers", Negative people or people that "boo-hoo" your ideas -- not good!

(12) Give up your need to be liked. While this may seem worthwhile, it can work against you! Simply doing what we can to be our best and strive to do good, we are honoring and respecting ourselves. We will want to be around the people we attract when we focus on the good stuff and in turn they will want to be around you!

(13) Give up your dependency on social media/television. Yes, while this can also be tricky, it is good to meditate and focus on what's going on within ourselves first. The more balanced we become, the less dependent we are on what other people (media) think of us. Social media is good to a point, but it can be dangerous too!

22 Ways to Be Healthier with Little Effort

Let's stop and take a breath. Really. Especially now with holiday preparations, it seems we find ourselves inundated in a sea of tasks to complete, errands to run and goals to continue working on from now until the end of the year...and beyond. So what can we do to change that? Honestly, there's not much. But, there are ways to make a better effort to staying healthy and they really aren't that difficult to follow! Here are 22 ways to be healthier with minimal effort.

(1) Eat fruit instead of candy. The difference? Fruit has natural sugar as well as fiber -- which means it takes long to digest. Candy is artificial and well, full of processed ingredients.

(2) Shop on a full stomach. No doubt, this is a trick one as I've fallen for shopping on an empty stomach and a full stomach -- big difference! The tendency is to shop more and spend more when you are hungry.

(3) Learn how to cook! Yes, I've heard people say time and time again that they hate to cook, but they are only doing themselves a disservice. By cooking at home, you save money, plus you choose your own ingredients without all those unpronounceable ingredients that contain...who knows what!

(4) Drink coffee black. While this might take some time to get used to, it is well worth it! Coffee has several benefits...but, not coffee with sugar, artificial sweeteners or the Starbucks Cafe Mocha's and Moccachino's. If serious about wanting to lose weight, drinking black coffee (in moderation) can even aide in weight loss.

(5) Avocado toast instead of toast with butter. If you've not experienced avocado toast yet, I highly recommend it. Not only does it taste good, but it is good for you! And delicious too....

(6) Substitute white bread with wheat bread. Simply put, whole wheat bread has more fiber, hence is more filling and slows the digestive process.

(7) Drink more water. We all know that hydration is key to a healthy lifestyle. Even drinking a tall glass of water before every meal can add the benefit of fullness, thereby you tend to eat less at every meal. 

(8) Walking. The benefits of walking are tremendous. By making this a habit, you gain energy, burn calories and even gain the benefit of a better mood.

(9) Park far from your destination. No doubt the malls are very busy now with all of the last-minute holiday shopping which also means it is hard to find a parking spot close to your destination. Instead of stressing about it, purposefully park far and walk to your destination and see it as your exercise/meditation time!

(10) Take the stairs. You would really be surprised at how many calories you can burn by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Your body will thank you back by giving you good energy throughout the day and even a good night's sleep!

(11) Stand on one leg while completing a task -- like brushing your teeth. This improves balance, especially as the aging process inevitably happens. 

(12) Wash and dry your hands regularly. As we approach the winter months, we all hear of friends, family or co-workers getting sick. By continually doing our best to wash and dry our hands frequently, we get rid of germs and that enables us to stay healthy.

(13) Wear sunscreen. It is just so easy to apply sunscreen before leaving the house. By doing so, you add extra prevention for your skin from skin cancer, plus your skin reaps the benefits of a healthy-looking radiance.

(14) Wear sunglasses. Sunglasses are simply a good idea to protect your eyes from sun glare and keeping your eyes as healthy as possible. 

(15) Buy a plant. Being exposed to nature puts us in a healthy state of mind. 

(16) Moisturize. Moisturizing the skin keeps it supple and radiant. Who doesn't want that? Just be watchful for ingredients that may cause allergic reactions or contain heavy perfumes. Dermatologist-tested moisturizers are recommended.

(17) Meditate for 30 minutes a day. We've all heard the benefits of meditation, haven't we? Yes, meditation is good for keeping us calm, centered and is even known to lower our blood pressure. All good things.

(18) Read a book. Reading is just a good idea -- it makes us smarter, keeps us at our best creatively and improves our vocabulary. These can all be advantages in the work world and beyond.

(19) Unplugging from the phone. While it is so tempting to be looking at our phones frequently, it is just as good to disconnect when possible. Certainly keeping an eye on the phone during working hours is understandable, but keeping the phone on 24/7 all day everyday is just too much.

(20) Go to bed at the same time everyday. It is just a good idea to keep our sleep cycles as consistent as possible by listening to when our bodies are legitimately tired and need rest -- meaning a good night's sleep.

(21) Move your desk near a window. Once again, it is just good for our bodies to be exposed to nature as much as possible. By sitting near a window, we can better appreciate our surroundings and won't be as "locked in" to a concrete jungle all day that has artificial lighting. Good for lowering our blood pressure to -- once again, our bodies do well to being exposed to nature once in a while!

(22) Take good care of your relationships! Amazingly, not having enough social connections has been compared to smoking! Definitely not good! Having good relationships builds our confidence, makes us happier and healthier all at the same time.

With all of the 22 ways to be healthier listed above, there really is little effort at doing each and every one of them whenever possible. You will be "gifting yourself" the best gift of all -- good health and well being!

10 Common Habits that Increase Wealth

While the title -- 10 Common Habits that Increase Wealth -- may appear to be a bit misleading, it simply is a good habit to get into, wouldn't you agree? If we hope to be the best we can be, then the following habits can most certainly enrich our lives.

The list goes as follows:

(1) Find Good Thoughtful Books to Read. There just is so much to learn from reading a good book. It helps to create new ideas, helps with "solidifying" a good business/life plan and also makes us wiser for it.

(2) Create an exercise plan that works for you. One of the many reasons used for those that don't make exercise a priority in their lives is that they believe there is just is not enough time in the day. While yes, it can be a sacrifice to put in the extra effort, it pays off in the long run by minimizing doctor visits and with that medical bills. Find an exercise that you enjoy above all else as an incentive.

(3) Stop eating out for lunch every day. It really is amazing at how quickly money seems to evaporate, especially if you eat out everyday. Imagine saving the $40/$50 a week and putting it into savings for a nice trip or a nice car!

(4) Stop getting drinks after work. While yes, the job can be stressful and yes, you always have a pal to go out with after work the the local bar -- at least minimize it to once a week instead of several times.

(5) Learn how to cook. It really is not rocket science and the best part is that it is quite likely that you'll be pretty good at it if you give yourself a chance! Not only can you save money, but it is a wise investment in yourself too.

(6) Meal plan the week out. Its just smart to plan ahead, see what you are missing or what would be a good addition to have in the kitchen.

(7) Have an at-home date night. Really there is nothing better! Imagine making a nice meal like a nice piece of fish or steak with a couple of sides? and your own wine? you can even eat the meal in your p.j.'s and slippers and still partake in a fabulous dinner and a movie at home!

(8) Cut the cord. There are still ways to save money instead of keeping up on the latest TV shows. It is still possible to enjoy them, it just may not be as immediate at those that do own cable.

(9) Get to know your grocery stores. While yes, it can be easy and convenient to go to a one-stop shop, you may not see the great savings if you went to a variety of stores like Target or Trader Joe's to get some of your specialty items.

(10) Lastly, save the money you didn't spend by following the 9 steps above, it all adds up! It definitely takes time to make and keep good habits, but once it's been done, you will reap the rewards for days to come.