Tag Archives: Stress

33 Ways to Care

Caring for somebody is the ultimate form of freedom. Whenever you genuinely care for somebody else, you’re setting yourself free. Free from judging, free to accept the other one exactly for who she/he is, free to express your love without a reason. Caring is also one of the rarest attitudes in the modern world, where most of the time is perceived as a form of weakness, if not as plain stupidity. To such an extent that people almost forgot how to express it. Here are 33 ways to help you remember how to care.

1. Support

Don’t just look at the other, acknowledging from a distance his actions, his intentions, his ideas. Support her/his actions. Put yourself into the other person shoes. Help that person, if you can. Say something nice, at least. Or just do things that will ease or support her/his activities. Be there somehow in flesh and bones.

2. Don’t Hold A Grudge

People say or do things that you may not like. But remember that all people are ok. Their actions may not be in sync with what you want or with what you expect. That doesn’t mean the people who performed those actions are not worthy of your attention. On the contrary. Maybe that’s the time they’ll need you the most.

3. Give Advice Only When It’s Needed

People have their own minds, their own expectations, their own lives. Give advice only when it’s needed, otherwise you will obtain the opposite effect. Your genuine intention to help will be in fact perceived as a pressure. Sometimes, the best thing you can do for somebody is to let him hit his own wall.

4. Don’t Take Crap

Rejecting crap (in all of its forms: words, actions, attitudes) is not only a form of self-respect, but also a way to show them that you really care: “I understand you and I see what you’re doing, but I’m not taking it”. Eventually, they’ll realize there’s something wrong somewhere. If you find it difficult to avoid crap, start practicing your “No”’s.

5. Share

Share a nice word. A good joke. A meal. A book you’ve recently read. A place on the bench in the park. Share your good mood and your ideas. Share your memories and experience. Sharing your life with other people will enrich them at least as much as it will fill you with joy and comfort. Sharing IS caring.

6. Avoid Fighting

When there’s too much pressure in a relationship, that compressed energy tends to explode uncontrollably in fights. Don’t go there. A fight is an act of selfishness: “look, I’m so pissed off that I need to let out steam and I don’t care about you”. Instead, find ways to recycle that aggressiveness and balance your energies.

7. Reciprocate

If you received a nice word, give it back. If you received a gift, give one back. If somebody smiled at you, return the smile. If you don’t reciprocate, you break a subtle channel of energies that are building our day to day experience. Soon, you’ll be disconnected. Not able to receive or to give care anymore.

8. Protect

Things can break down. Relationships can lose momentum. Feelings can fade away. Everything can disappear, dissolve, get lost, unless you don’t actively protect it. Pay attention to your stuff. Fortify your relationships. Nurture you feelings. Protect what you really care for. What you give will come back to you somehow.

9. Get Out Of The Way

Sometimes you gotta understand that you’re the one that’s holding things back. You are the obstacle in the other person way. For the sake of “good old times”, or just because you’re feeling insecure. The best thing to do for somebody is to set her/him free. Get out of the way and let them break free. You’ll be ok. They’ll be ok too.

10. Say Thank You

As often as you can. There is no imaginable context in which you cannot say “thank you” when somebody does something for you. Or at least I can’t imagine such a context. Saying “thank you” is not only the simplest form of respect, but also the easiest way to show that you’re just caring.

11. Listen

At least as much as you talk. If you don’t listen, something strange will happen: soon you’ll run out of things to talk about. Listening is what feeds your thoughts, what triggers new ideas, what confirms your suppositions. Remember how you felt last time when somebody listened to you? That’s what I’m talking about.

12. Trust

If you can. Give to the other person all the freedom she/he’s asking for. Even if that freedom crosses the boundaries you’d be willing to accept. That’s the only way to find out if you’re in a healthy relationship. If you don’t have reasons to trust the other, then don’t. In this case, you will show that you care about yourself.

13. Forgive

Forgiveness is an incredible gift. Unfortunately, it’s heavily underused. We still don’t understand the benefits of forgiveness as a mundane, daily act. We either push it into the religion realm, taking its life away by making it a dead, dogmatic concept, either avoid it all together as a social “faux pas”. Just let go. The person who’s freed by forgiveness is you.

14. Get Involved

One of the miracles of life is that you are at the same time the observer and the player in this huge game. You can watch, but you can also do. Getting involved means helping the game going on. Being just an observer and experiencing feelings of compassion will never help you genuinely care about somebody. You can’t really care if you’re not there.

15. Teach Others

If you learned something, don’t keep it to yourself. Go out and teach others. Maybe you think your life is not worthy of such an honor, maybe you think you’re just an ordinary person. And that might be true. But there are millions of ordinary persons in this world who can benefit from your experience.

16. Inspire

Sometimes all you have to do is to live a life of freedom. Live the adventure, become extraordinaire and others will pick up. It’s called inspiration. Focus on what you do better and in the end, other people will tune in to your vibration and start to do extraordinaire stuff by themselves. Be a great blogger a loving father or just you. But be great at being you.

17. Motivate

If inspiration is not enough, don’t be afraid to push it further, to motivate directly. Motivation does not last, they say, but so it’s bathing. This is why is recommended to be done every day (Zig Ziglar said that, not me). Make a list of what motivates you and share it. You’ll be surprised how many people will care about it.

18. Pay Attention

To what the other one is doing. Just look at how he talks, how he looks, what actions he performs. Your attitude will channel a flow of invisible energy which will somehow validate and support her/him. Your attention, your focus, is what builds your reality. Putting your focus on the other one will make her/him alive.

19. Remember

It’s not only about birthdays or special days from your shared history. Although those are utterly important too, of course. But it’s also about what the other one likes or doesn’t likes. About what she/he thinks about certain things. Remembering all those details is like reinforcing your commitments: “I know and I accept what you want”.

20. Pay Yourself First

Might seem totally counter intuitive and awfully against this post topic. But it’s not. A mindless altruism is the shortest path to decay. Don’t give away your time, your actions or yourself foolishly. Instead, be well so you can help others be well too. Be balanced so you can bring balance to others too. Be self sustained so you can help others achieve self-sustainability too.

21. Be Patient

In everything. Real things are not unfolding instantly, they need time to grow, to manifest. Be patient with the other one if she/he is going through some tough times. It will help getting over the heat. Be patient with the other one if she/he is on the peak of its career. It will make the happy days taste even better.

22. Give Feedback

All the time, in all the imaginable situations. Say out loud you liked or didn’t liked something, but give feedback. As the name implies, feedback will feed something. In this case, the actual relationship. If you don’t care about a relationship, the easiest way to break it is to stop giving feedback. It will die in a few weeks.

23. Ignore The Unimportant

Too much time and attention are wasted on useless, not important things. Either by uncontrollable addiction, either by lack of personal values. Ignore what’s unimportant about the other one until you get to her/his real, indivisible core. That’s where you should put the attention. Learning to ignore should be taught in schools.

24. Surprise Him/Her

Break the flow of the predictable events in her/his life with small surprises. Might be just an unexpected end of the evening or a sudden trip to the countryside. Surprises are a way to fracture the other one familiar reality and fill the crack with pleasant, enjoyable life slices. The bigger the surprise, the more enjoyable the life slice…

25. Think Nicely About Her/Him

You do what you repeatedly tell to yourself to do. Your actions are a direct consequences of your thoughts. If you keep having supportive thoughts about the other one, your actions will eventually follow. The root of everything you do or experience is in your thoughts. Don’t let them wander at lost.

26. Make Plans Together

Making plans will always make God laugh, that’s true. But that doesn’t mean you should stop doing them. On the contrary, you should keep God laughing for as much as you can, wouldn’t you? ;-) Projecting a new reality together is an incredibly powerful form of caring. You may never be there, in that new reality, but at least your tried together.

27. Talk

Ask questions. Respond to questions. Say yes or no. But do talk. Keep the communication channels opened. Don’t think the other one should guess what you want, what you need or what you may want to happen in your life. Give clear answers, and ask clear questions. An uncomfortable truth shows more caring than a comfortable but deceiving silence.

28. Smile

As often as you can. There are persons who are somehow killing your smile before it’s even born. With pessimism, anger or just constant irony and arrogance. Smile in their presence even more, regardless of the fact that it will take incredibly more effort from you. Smiling is the cheapest and most effective act of caring.

29. Write A Letter

Doesn’t necessarily have to be a full letter. Leave a note on the fridge. Send a short email out of the blue. Even the message doesn’t have to be something deep, or serious or fundamental. Just a simple “wish you a good day” or “I’m thinking at you” will do miracles. Start now. :-)

30. Cook For Her/Him

Sharing food used to be an ecstatic and spiritual experience. Traces of this my be found in our modern society, when inviting somebody over to dinner has most of the time hidden meanings. Again, doesn’t have to be an exotic meal, but the mere fact of feeding the other one will trigger some deeply buried feelings of security and comfort.

31. Give A Present Out Of The Blue

Giving presents is a great way to mark special occasions, but giving presents out of the blue will make any occasion a special one. The only thing you should pay attention to is not to buy your way to the other one’s heart, because it wouldn’t last long. But a genuine, carefully taught present, will always leave a positive mark.

32. Criticize. Constructively

If you don’t agree with something, speak up. Maybe the other one doesn’t realize that her/his path is a wrong one. If you sense something bad, it’s not only an act of kindness to point (politely and gently) to the other one’s mistakes, but also a respected act of responsibility. An honest and good critique always ends up with a “thank you”.

33. Eliminate Expectations

People are people.Don’t act like they follow a certain algorithm. They will never do. People are doing strange things. They will surprise you, amaze you or disappoint you. Eliminate all expectations and just be happy because you share this moment, this place or this life. Life is not fair sometimes, that’s true. But it’s always beautiful.

 

Discover…

Not quite sure what music you feel like listening to? Tired of the same playlists on your iTunes account? Give this website a try:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2IGzxF/musicovery.com/index.php%253Fct%253Dus

All Aboard for Procrastination Station!

The ten websites your homework hates the most! This post was found on StumbleUpon.com, surprisingly enough 🙂

1. Facebook
Clearly there’s no question on this one. I bet half of you have another tab open with Facebook on it as you read this. Facebook has become so many college students’ addiction and their homework’s worst enemy. Sometimes when I’m supposed to be writing a paper I find myself looking at profile pictures of friend’s friends that I don’t know. It is a serious problem that can be seen any time you enter the library or a computer lab—at least half of the people who are trying to do work have Facebook up instead. There is the games section, where you can find just about any mindless computer game you’ve ever wanted. There are endless apps. There are friends saying silly things. There is Farmville. Sometimes I try to imagine what students were doing seven years ago when Facebook was still just a notion in that Harvard student’s head. They probably got a lot more done.

2. StumbleUpon.com
I learned about this website a couple of years ago and I have weaned myself from it because it was taking up too much of my life. Now that I return I am dangerously close to returning to my addiction, as it has now been linked with Facebook so you can see what sites your friends stumble upon. It’s basically a big database in which you choose from a long list of interests and it finds  websites related to things that interest you. Say you are interested in art, it could bring you to a forum where people share their art, it could bring you to an article about a specific type of art, it could bring you an artistic YouTube video, or sometimes it could just bring you to a cool photo.

3. Sporcle.com
Their tagline: “Mentally stimulating diversions”. Perfect. It is a site full of timed quizzes on just about anything you can imagine. There are different categories you can look through, or you can hit “Random Quiz” until you find something that appeals to you. Each quiz will show your score at the end and, if you want, you can view how you compared to others who took the quiz. This site is also fun to do with friends because the brain power between multiple people can only increase your score  and the excitement.

4.KillSomeTime.com
This website was chosen for the list while similar websites were not because it has just about everything in one place. It has funny videos and pictures like CollegeHumor but also has the wide array of stupid, yet extremely amusing, computer games such as featured on AddictingGames. It is a great source for popular and hilarious videos, but they are easier to discover than on YouTube. Plus, the name of the website just works perfectly for this list.

5. TheOnion.com
Why read real news articles when you can instead read rather hilarious, satirical versions? The Onion is a website of news articles that are completely made up but sound legitimate. You may wonder why you would want to read factious stories when you could be educating yourself on topical issues. Most of the things written on The Onion are based off of true events but made with ridiculous twists. Kind of like The Daily Show. The best fun to be had with the website could quite possibly be showing these articles to gullible friends and watch them become outraged at what the world seems to be coming to.

6. TextsFromLastNight.com/FMyLife.com
For those of you who still live in the prehistoric ages, Texts From Last Night is where people send in outrageous texts that they receive for the world to see and FML is a series of stories of people’s unfortunate lives. Both have on several occasions caused me to LOL at inappropriate times, (i.e. using a computer at the library, during class, etc.). Ever heard someone say “Eff my life!”? That spawned from this website. UMass also has its own TFLN group on Facebook, strictly chronicling the crazy nights at the Zoo, although I think everyone has forgotten about it because it’s mostly just ridden with spam now. I believe we should change that! (I spent way too much time procrastinating on there.)

7. Yayeveryday.com
Not quite as many people have heard of this site before; that makes me happy to be a pioneer in all things procrastination! Everday collects cool artsy photos and videos for your enjoyment. I think their database goes on for just about forever. (Actually 262 pages as of right now.) I like these photos better than the ones on Kill Some Time because they’re done by really talented people and are really appealing to look at. This site is also great because you can click on the photo or video to see where it’s from, and I have found some pretty neat blogs this way. They also add new things constantly so it’s difficult to ever get bored.

8. Wikipedia.org
No, Wiki is not just for writing misinformed papers anymore. Ok, well so it is, but I also find myself spending way too much time on this website accidently. I type in something I want to know more about; such as sporks or Billy Corgan, and with all of the blue highlighted words I end up reading encyclopedia articles about things that have nothing to do with what I originally searched. Not only this, but now Wiki has a bunch of spin-offs, such as WikiQuote and WikiAnswers. I actually just searched “procrastination” and found this lovely quote, “it is estimated that 80%-95% of college students engage in procrastination.”

9. Yahoo.com
This may seem like an odd thing to put on this list. But I’m telling you, I’ve never before spent so much time on Yahoo except when it was my go-to search engine. My favorite part of Yahoo aside from the free email server is the news section. I’m not huge into news that involve politics or really big words but Yahoo always seems to have a good stream of interesting articles that change every day. Had it not been for Yahoo I wouldn’t have bothered to see what Katy Perry was supposed to wear on Sesame Street nor would I know that Peter Jackson has been given the ok to film “The Hobbit”. Awesome.

10. CuteOverload.com
I don’t know about you, but nothing brightens my day like adorable baby animals. This blog has readers submit cute photos or videos of animals and the site administrators add funny captions. New blog posts are up every day. Even if you believe that you are just too manly to have others see kittens on your laptop screen, just remember, girls LOVE baby animals.

Just BREATHE.

Studies show that if we take a step back, and relax on occasion, we will be more productive at the task at hand. Here’s a tool to help with the process:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1uiQyb/www.donothingfor2minutes.com/

EMBRACE life…

There are only 52 days until graduation, so embrace it! Don’t be afraid about what is around the corner – the road ahead is full of wonderful things!

Life is without meaning.
You bring the meaning to it.
The meaning of life is whatever you ascribe it to be.
Being alive is the meaning.
– Joseph Campbell


Hakunna Matata ~

Life’s a Road Trip…

This past week, I have been in the midst of preparing for midterms, submitting my resume to potential employers, and writing what seem like endless cover letters… I am sure all of you have been stepping through the same process I have been going through, as well! As I was searching for the “perfect post” to share with all of you this week, I came across a website of a motivational speaker, Julienne Gordon. She has written two books and given numerous speeches about college students and the process of preparing for graduation and life in the “real world”. She has posted her “Top 66 Things to Do Before Graduation” list on her website, and I feel that all of us, as graduates, have a lot to gain from her insights. She calls it “Route 66”.  I have included her summary (below) as well as the important things to do so that YOU, as an individual, walk away from college with great memories, a diploma in hand, and ready to conqer to world. 🙂

~Jordan

“If you (have graduated or) are afraid of graduating college unemployed or underemployed with an expensive piece of paper and a pile of loans, then you should consider taking Route 66. Route 66 is an alternative way to move through college that will maximize your personal, intellectual, social, and financial capital so that you can graduate on the path to do what you love. It requires taking the road less traveled.
Your life is your vehicles to design, drive, and maintain. Unfortunately, too many people end up backseat driving through life or driving someone else’s vehicle without every getting in the driver’s seat of their own life. It’s time to take the wheel and take control of your life, career, and education.

College is a 4 year stepping stone for your 40 year career. But today, a college degree doesn’t guarantee anyone a job. Results from NACE’s Student Survey show that less than 20 percent of 2009 grads who have applied for a job actually have one in hand. In comparison, more than half of 2007 grads and 26 percent of those graduating in 2008 who had applied for jobs had one by time of graduation. Of the students who did land jobs, 73 percent had completed an internship at some point in their college careers.

In today’s economy, a 4.0 is not enough—students coming out of college have to be exceptional. Academic excellence is the minimum. If I was in college today knowing what I know now, here are 66 ways I would maximize my college experience in addition to getting good grades. The list is organized according to my latest book The 8 Cylinders of Success: How to Align your Personal & Professional Purpose and supported by the 30 day goal setting framework in my second book Good Excuse Goal: How to End Procrastination & Perfectionism Forever.

1. Principles » Your Dashboard
What beliefs equate to success to me?

01. [] Take the Gallup Strength Finder 2.0
02. [] Host a Potluck Dinner
03. [] Read The Alchemist
04. [] Take a Personal Development Course
05. [] Read Rich Dad Poor Dad
06. [] Journal for 30 Days in a Row
07. [] Hold 2 Leadership Positions
08. [] Read a Spiritual Text Cover to Cover

2. Passions » Your Keys
What do I love doing and why?

09. [] Play an Intramural Sport for Fun
10. [] Volunteer for an Organization that Moves You
11. [] Take a Graduate School Course
12. [] Finish an Assignment One Week Early
13. [] Do a Public Speech
14. [] Start a Campus Club
15. [] Learn to Play an Instrument
16. [] Write a Business Plan

3. Problems » Your Fuel
What social, scientific, technical, and/or personal problem do I want to solve?

17. [] Wear a Costume to Class (on a day other than Halloween)
18. [] Do Karaoke
19. [] Write an Article for the Campus Paper
20. [] Recite a Poem at an Open Mic
21. [] Correct your Professor
22. [] Do something you’ll likely get Rejected from
23. [] Get a Grade Change
24. [] Take a Quarter, Semester, or Year off

4. People » Your Motor
Whom do I want to serve and how?

25. [] Attend a Meeting of a Group you Think Thinks Differently
26. [] Get off Campus and go Camping
27. [] Join a National Organization
28. [] Mentor a Younger Person
29. [] Raise $1,000 for an Organization you Care About
30. [] Go on a Cross Country Road Trip
31. [] Study Abroad
32. [] Visit your Country of Cultural Origin

5. Positioning » Your Lane
What do I want to be #1 in the world at?

33. [] Buy your own Domain Name
34. [] Start a Blog/Website
35. [] Start Tweeting
36. [] Buy Business cards
37. [] Create a Resume 2.0 on KODA.US/nscs
38. [] Do your Future Job Now
39. [] Create a Portfolio of your work
40. [] Intern with Two Companies

6. Pioneers » Your Pace Cars
Who are my models, mentors, or guides?

41. [] Watch 20 Videos
42. [] Find an Upperclassman Mentor
43. [] Take a Professor to Lunch
44. [] Seek to Meet a Prominent Alumni
45. [] Interview your Grandparents
46. [] Shadow an Alumni on a Project
47. [] Conduct Research with a Professor
48. [] Choose something to Master and Practice Everyday

7. Picture » Your Road Map
What’s my vision for myself and my world?

49. [] Learn WordPress
50. [] Master Excel and Powerpoint
51. [] Abstain from Something
52. [] Organize a Huge Event and Build a Team
53. [] Create a Vision Board
54. [] Learn how to use Photoshop or iMovie
55. [] Learn HTML & CSS
56. [] Sell something and Make a Profit

8. Possibility » Your Destination
What would be possible in the world with me that is not possible without me?

57. [] Learn to do your own Taxes
58. [] Run a Marathon
59. [] Take the GMAT, GRE, LSAT, or MCAT
60. [] Save $5,000 to $10,000
61. [] Clear your Credit Card Debt
62. [] Learn a Foreign Language
63. [] Get your Real Estate License
64. [] Earn a Certificate or License relevant to your Path

Last but not least…

65. [] Complete the 64 Things to do before you Graduate List
66. [] Graduate 10 Times more ready for the World than your Classmates

Got the Midterm Blues?

Are the stress of midterms are getting to you? Are those papers and assignments are beginning to pile-up on you? Try some of these stress-reliving tips!

  • Throw On Some Music and Clean House
  • Watch Aquarium Fish
  • Take a Walk With A Friend
  • Sing Along With Music
  • Set Up a Home Spa
  • Cut Down On Some of Your Commitments
  • Play Positive Affirmations Hangman
  • Play the Stress Management Memory Game
  • Walk Your Dog
  • Try Breathing Exercises
  • Draw a Picture
  • Dance to Your Favorite Music
  • Work on Becoming An Optimist
  • Try Focused Meditation
  • Decode a Cryptogram Puzzle
  • Take a Mini-Vacation
  • Pray
  • Keep a Gratitude Journal
  • Play Music and Cook Something Wonderful
  • Surround Yourself with Positive Energy
  • Guided Imagery
  • Self-Hypnosis
  • Journaling
  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Breathing
  • Playing Games
  • Laughter
  • Music Therapy
  • Take a Walk
  • Plant a Garden
  • Listen To Music
  • Eat a Balanced Diet
  • Enjoy Aromatherapy
  • Reduce Caffeine Intake
  • Drink in Moderation
  • Don’t Procrastinate
  • Drink Green Tea

Or, you could use the Anti-Stress Kit:

🙂 Happy Studying!

Sources:
http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/stressrelievers.htm
http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/25_relievers.htm