​Learn here about perspectives on self-affirmation and get examples of self-affirmations to try in your own life.

Do you struggle to feel sure of yourself? Do people tell you that you lack confidence? Or does negative feedback rattle your sense of self or well-being? Then learning about self-affirmation may be helpful for you.
Each of us faces numerous threats to our self-worth (insults, criticism, etc…). Yet, we are often able to look past these threats and still feel good about ourselves. Researchers propose that this is because we have a psychological protection system—a system that involves a variety of automatic, defensive mental strategies that protect our self-esteem from plummeting in the face of threats (Sherman & Cohen, 2006).

​For example, we tend to believe that we are responsible for positive outcomes but that we are not responsible for negative outcomes. We also diminish the importance of things we have failed at or things we're not very good at. And, we tend to be overly optimistic about our chances of success, our knowledge, and our competence (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). All of these "rationalizations" actually help us continue to feel good about ourselves, so they are generally good for our well-being. 

​Self-affirmation theory is based on the idea that we are motivated to maintain our self-worth in the face of threats (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). When our self-esteem is threatened, we sometimes affirm other parts of ourselves unrelated to the threat (e.g., he may say I have a big nose, but I know I have a good personality). When we do this, it helps us realize that our self-worth is not contingent on whatever negative feedback we just got (Sherman & Cohen, 2006).
According to psychologists, we can "self-affirm"—or protect our sense of self—by engaging in activities that remind us of who we are. These self-affirmations can involve family, friends, volunteer work, religion, art and music, or other activities that are central to how we see ourselves (Sherman & Cohen, 2006).

Affirmations can be defined as statements that we repeat to ourselves to help us shift the way we're thinking to be more positive. Often these affirmations are used to shift the way we're thinking about ourselves to be more positive.
For example, if we've just been rejected by a potential romantic partner, we might say the affirmation, "I am worthy of love." Or, if we're struggling in our career, we might say the affirmation, "I am capable of success." These examples show how we try to maintain our self-esteem when it’s broken down. 
To try it, just choose a statement that represents how you want to think. Then, say it to yourself using these guidelines:

• Say it out loud
• Use the present tense
• Focus on the positive rather than the negative
• Choose the statements that are most meaningful to you​

Self-affirmation examples

1. I approve of myself.
2. I grow and improve every day.
3. I am at peace with who I am.​
4. I am enough.​
5. I give myself permission to do what is right for me.
6. I am intelligent
7. I am courageous.
8. My future is bright.
9. I deserve success.​​​
10. I love myself fully.

​Finding ways to maintain our self-worth is a worthwhile endeavor. Affirmations are just one way, but they are a fairly easy strategy to practice and use in daily life.

​Learn more about self-esteem and how you can achieve higher self-esteem in your life.

Self-esteem represents the foundation that supports the relationship you have with yourself. It carries over into every aspect of life. If you’re reading this, you probably value this relationship and may want to build your self-esteem. By the end of this article, you should have a better understanding of self-esteem and ways to improve it.
Let’s start with a simple definition. Most psychological theories agree that self-esteem refers to your evaluation of yourself (Mruk, 1995). Self-esteem can also be thought of as how much you like, approve of, or value yourself. Self-esteem can be applied to you globally (e.g., “On the whole, I am satisfied with myself”; Rosenberg et al., 1995) or to specific domains of your life (e.g., “I am good at my job and I’m proud of that”). Research shows that although self-esteem is relatively stable over one’s life, it is by no means fixed or unchangeable (Orth & Robins, 2014). 

Having low self-esteem corresponds to negative evaluations of yourself. Put differently, if you have low self-esteem, you generally don’t hold yourself in a positive light.
You tend to be more critical of yourself. You might get stuck in loops of negative self-talk, telling yourself things like, “I’m worthless”, “I could never succeed at this”, or “I’m not smart enough”. This can bring up feelings of anxiety, sadness, or hopelessness.
Self-esteem develops over your lifespan. It is thought that the beliefs you hold about yourself play a role in developing low self-esteem. The stronger the beliefs, the harder it may be to break the negative thought patterns that are associated with low self-esteem.
Here are a few examples of beliefs that characterize low self-esteem.

• Worthlessness: “I’m worthless”
• Inadequacy: “I am not good enough”
• Pessimism: “I don’t have a bright future”
• Failure: “I fail at everything I do”
• Negative traits: “I am boring”, “I am ugly”

Here are a few signs of low self-esteem.

• Tends to be self-critical
• Is sensitive to criticism from others
• Focuses on failures
• Socially withdraws
• Is pessimistic

Although there are a variety of factors that play a role in self-esteem, here are a few factors that may make it more likely for someone to develop low self-esteem:
​

1. Early childhood experiences: Experiences of abuse, neglect, or bullying at a young age powerfully shape self-esteem. Children who go through these traumatic experiences can form the belief that they are a bad person who deserved this treatment.
2. Expectations of others: If you feel that you failed to meet the expectations of others (e.g., parents’ standards), this can maintain the belief that you are a failure. It’s important to remember that these expectations may not have been realistic in the first place.
3. Peer groups: During adolescence, the pressure to fit in is very high. Since this is a time where your identity is forming, not fitting in or feeling left out can impact self-esteem. 
   
4. Lack of warmth or love: Although negative traumatic experiences play a large role in low self-esteem, it is possible that not having positive experiences can also play a role. If you don’t receive affection or encouragement, especially at a young age, it is possible to form the belief that you’re not good enough.

Self-esteem is rooted in your ability to live consciously and focus on what is happening in the current moment, without ruminating on the past or overthinking the future. 

This involves accepting yourself unconditionally and showing yourself compassion across different situations (e.g., when you make a mistake).

What is self-consciousness, what causes it, and how do you overcome it? 

Do you find yourself thinking about how others see you? Do you often worry about offending or upsetting others? Do you get stressed out about having to perform in front of others? Then you might be self-conscious.
According to those who study self-consciousness, it's human nature to focus on ourselves sometimes and to focus on others at other times. We might reflect on our thoughts, emotions, behaviors or the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of others. The extent to which we focus or self-reflect on ourselves is thought to indicate our level of self-consciousness. Given this broad definition of self-consciousness, researchers suggest that there are two types of self-consciousness.

1. Private self-consciousness. Habitual attendance to our thoughts, motives, and feelings.
2. Public self-consciousness. The awareness of oneself as a social object. This person might have concerns about how they appear to others (Turner, Carver,  Scheier, & Ickes, 1978).

Public self-consciousness is sometimes further divided into two types:

1. Style consciousness. Awareness of our behaviors as they are observed by others.
2. Appearance consciousness. Awareness of how we look, physically, to others (Takishima-Lacasa, 2014).

Private self-consciousness is also sometimes divided into two types:

1. Internal state awareness. Awareness of feelings and physical responses.
2. Self-reflectiveness. Tendency to reflect on the past, ourselves, and our motivations  (Takishima-Lacasa, 2014).

​When we feel self-conscious, we might experience a variety of self-conscious emotions. They are:

• Shame
• Guilt
• Pride
• Embarrassment
• Jealousy
• Empathy

We tend to experience self-conscious emotions when we feel we have lived up to—or failed to live up to—some expectation or ideal we have for ourselves (Tracy & Robins, 2004). For example, we might feel we have reached an ideal--yay! pride!—or we might feel that we have failed to reach an ideal--yuk, shame.
Although self-conscious emotions are not always fun to experience, they help motivate our behavior in important ways. They can drive us to achieve more, to behave in ways that help us win friends, and to engage in more kind behaviors. Overall, they help us achieve important social goals (Tracy & Robins, 2004).

​Self-consciousness generally develops when we are young. Although it can get easier in adulthood, it doesn't always. If we were worried about how others thought about us when we were young, we can sometimes bring these habits with us. That's why learning how to change these thought processes can be useful. So, here are some tips to overcome self-consciousness.

Self-consciousness can be both a blessing and a curse. Hopefully, you learned some strategies here that helped you better understand self-consciousness and what to do about it.

​Have you ever felt like an imposter? Learn about what imposter syndrome is and read tips on overcoming it.

What’s it’s like to feel like an imposter? It goes something like this: when you’ve accomplished a goal or achieved success, your inner voice tells you it was just luck or that you’re underqualified. You may doubt your skills and intelligence, even though you worked hard to get to where you are. If you’ve ever experienced something like this, you’ve likely experienced imposter syndrome.
Early research on imposter syndrome showed that some people who have ample evidence of personal accomplishments are still convinced that they do not deserve the success they have (Clance & Imes, 1978). In other words, people’s subjective view of their success is incongruent with the objective reality of their accomplishments.
 
So, the term imposter syndrome came to describe when people doubt their accomplishments and fear that they may be exposed as a fraud or “imposter”. We now know that almost 70% of people will experience imposter syndrome at some point during their lives (Sakulku, 2011).
Oftentimes, people experiencing imposter syndrome will credit their success to luck, good timing, or connections, and they will dismiss their own hard work and skills in achieving success. Moreover, people with imposter syndrome find it difficult to accept positive feedback or praise from other people, which makes it even harder to break out of the belief that they are an imposter (LaDonna, Ginsburg, & Watling, 2018).
What Causes Imposter Syndrome?There are a variety of factors that can contribute to the feeling of being an imposter. Here are a few:
Major Transitions. Imposter syndrome is especially common among people who are starting something new, such as a new position after graduation (Rakestraw, 2017). These transitions are major life events that may cause people to doubt their abilities. Even those who rank higher in seniority may still doubt their achievements (LaDonna et al., 2018).
Societal and Familial Pressures. The researchers who coined the term imposter syndrome found that it can develop among children who are harshly judged by their families as less intelligent than other family members (Clance & Imes, 1978). On the flip side, the researchers also found that imposter syndrome can develop among children with families who perceive their child as highly intelligent and competent. This may be because these children feel pressured to please their families and doubt themselves in situations where their skills are challenged.
Stereotypes and Prejudice. All of us have different identities—whether we’re focusing on gender, age, race, or something else. Certain identities are criticized and belittled more than others, and this can lead to imposter syndrome among members of these groups. These stereotypes label individuals from certain groups as less intelligent and competent, which is a narrative that can be internalized as a belief among group members (Buczynski, Harrell, McGonigal, & Siegel, n.d.).
Mental Illness. Imposter syndrome overlaps with characteristics of mental illnesses. For instance, imposter syndrome has been linked to feelings of self-doubt and can even lead to failure (Villwock, Sobin, Koester, & Harris, 2016). In fact, imposter syndrome commonly co-occurs with anxiety and depression. Further, people who are introverted and more anxious are more likely to experience imposter syndrome. Harsh criticism exacerbates feelings of imposter syndrome (Murugesu, 2020). 

Try to accept your emotional experiences and remind yourself that feelings are not always an accurate representation of reality. If it helps, reflect on your feelings by writing them down and try to identify why you feel like an imposter. 
https://positivepsychology.com/understanding-emotions/

Although it’s cliché, it’s true that we are all good at something, but no one is good at everything. Understand your skills and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses.​

https://www.viacharacter.org/ 

​You may have perfectionist habits that you need to slowly break. For example, try taking regular breaks, days off, and use relaxation techniques to calm down your anxiety. Remember that mistakes are a natural and inevitable part of life.

​Sometimes, there will be a little voice in your head that tries to downplay your accomplishments and tries to make you doubt yourself. Although that voice may get loud, remember this: You are capable, competent, and worthy. 

What is inadequacy and how do you work through it?

Have you ever struggled to feel good about yourself? Do you wonder if you’re good enough? Do you question whether you're competent enough? Then you may be dealing with feelings of inadequacy.
 
Feelings of inadequacy are when we feel we’re not enough or not good enough. These feelings generally have nothing to do with our actual performance or abilities. In fact, these feelings may have a lot more to do with low self-esteem or low self-confidence than any objective measure of ability or competence.
The American Psychological Association defines an inadequacy complex (more commonly known as an inferiority complex) as a feeling of inadequacy or insecurity coming from actual or imagined physical or psychological deficiencies. This feeling of being “less-than” or “inferior to” others can often cause us to shut down (withdraw) or act aggressively depending on our coping styles.
People who feel inadequate may also experience the following things:

1. Withdrawn/shy/quiet
2. Insecure
3. Negative
4. Unhappy
5. Angry/hostile
6. Unmotivated (Guindon, 2002)

Keep in mind that we all feel these emotions to some extent. Some of us just feel more inadequate than others (Heidbreder, 1927).

If you’re feeling inadequate in general—or about something in particular—there are several strategies that research shows can help you to feel better. These are:

1. Modify your expectations and ideals. If we’re constantly falling short of our expectations and ideals, it may be that we have unrealistic expectations of ourselves and what we can reasonably accomplish.
2. Seek help from others. Another way to resolve feelings of inadequacy is to get help on things you struggle with. If you don’t feel capable and you know someone who could teach you what you need to know, reaching out to them can be helpful.
3. Build skills and expertise. If you’re feeling inadequate in a particular task, take the time to build your skills. Over time, you’ll feel more competent and capable. No one is good at everything right away, so try not to get down on yourself for being a beginner at something (Lindqvist, Weurlander, Wernerson, & Thornberg, 2017).
4. Cultivate emotion regulation skills. We often feel most inadequate in difficult situations (Lindqvist, Weurlander, Wernerson, & Thornberg, 2017). But, if we learn effective ways to regulate our emotions in these situations, they can be easier to manage and we’ll reduce negative emotions (negative emotions can actually impair our ability to make decisions and think clearly, which can fuel inadequacy).
5. Practice self-compassion. Regardless of how competent we are at a given task, we have value and are worthy of self-kindness. Practice showing yourself self-compassion and using loving-kindness meditation to grow your love for yourself and others.
6. Build a growth mindset. A growth mindset is when we believe we have the ability to grow and improve. This mindset helps us more easily overcome skill deficits. We know we can improve so we put more effort into improving ourselves. As a result, we can end up more skilled than we ever imagined.
7. Focus on your strengths. We all have strengths. By finding your strengths and capitalizing on them, you focus your attention more on what you’re good at than what you’re not good at. Plus, you can put your strengths to work and succeed in areas that rely on these strengths.

Implementing any of these strategies can help you feel more competent and comfortable in situations that might produce inadequacy.

​It’s totally normal to feel inadequate from time to time. If we work at it, we can reduce the amount of time we spend feeling this way and we can leave more room for self-confidence. 

Tips on how to reframe your negative self-thoughts.

Self-loathing refers to the underlying belief or feeling that one is simply not good enough. This comes hand in hand with having low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness. Self-loathing can influence how you view the world. You may ruminate on the negative things and minimize the positive things in your life.
Whether you want to be able to recognize it in yourself or a close friend, it can be helpful to learn how to pick up on the signs of self-loathing. Here are a few:
1. All-or-nothing thinking: This type of thinking often involves the use of absolutes or extremes. You see your life as good or bad, without any nuances or shades of gray in between. This can be problematic because it makes it difficult to find alternative solutions or ways of coping.
2. Negativity bias: You put too much focus on the negative aspects of a situation and don’t consider the positives. Even if you experience something positive, you may discount it and find some way to view it negatively.
3. Low self-esteem: Self-esteem can also be thought of as how much you like, approve of, or value yourself. Having low self-esteem corresponds to negative evaluations of yourself.
4. Difficulty accepting compliments: When someone says something positive about you through a compliment, you discount what they said or think that they’re just being nice. Instead of accepting them graciously, you brush them off and question them.
5. Overly critical of yourself: If you make a mistake, you are overly critical of yourself and attack your own character (“e.g., “I’m a failure who will never amount to anything”). It can be hard for you to forgive yourself, even if others have already done so. ​

1. Journaling: Journaling can be a useful way to unravel all the thoughts in your head by getting them on paper. By reflecting on your day, you can examine how certain situations or people may have triggered your emotions and get at the root of self-loathing thoughts.
For journaling to be effective, it’s important to stay consistent with it. Only then will you be able to sense a pattern emerging and gain awareness about how your emotions shift over time. Plus, research shows that expressing your feelings through writing can be helpful in reducing psychological distress (Marković, Bjekić, & Priebe, 2020).
2. Talk back to your inner critic: In addition to becoming more aware of your emotions, it can be useful to question your thoughts when in a negative situation. Are they realistic? Think of your inner critic as a bully and try to stand up to this bully. Counter your negative thoughts and criticisms with an argument supporting the opposite side. If you find it hard to do this, imagine what a friend might say to the critical voice in your head.
3. Practice self-compassion and self-acceptance: Is it really the end of the world because of that small mistake? Can you be a bit gentler with yourself? When you begin to accept and love yourself unconditionally and cultivate positive self-talk, you will slowly make it a habit. Research suggests that compassion-focused therapy can help improve self-esteem, which, in turn, can reduce self-loathing (Thomason & Moghaddam, 2020).
4. Consider the people in your inner circle: Who are you hanging out with most? Are your friends contributing to your negative self-talk? It’s important to spend time with people who uplift you, not those who bring you down. It may be hard to end certain relationships, but at the very least it may be helpful to distance yourself from these toxic relationships while you work on strengthening the relationship you have with yourself and other healthy relationships with others. 

​Self-loathing can be a difficult thing to deal with. Luckily, there are things you can do to feel a bit better. Hopefully, this article offered some strategies that help you feel better about yourself.

Discover science-based tips to boost your confidence.

​Most of us want self-confidence because we want to feel good about ourselves. But self-confidence is also important for other things. The higher our self-confidence, the higher our motivation to act. Plus, self-confidence helps increase the chances of success when we do act. That's because when we expect to fail, we are more likely to do so (Bénabou & Tirole, 2002). For all these reasons, it makes sense that we would want to increase our self-confidence. Here are some tips and techniques to do it:

​Perhaps the most important part of being confident is knowing your worth (Owens, 1993). We are all worthy. Yet, some of us have a deeply rooted belief that we're worthless. Maybe we feel like we're disposable, unlovable, or just not good in some way. But that's not true.
If this sounds like you, you may have been taught to believe these things about yourself. Perhaps you learned this from overly critical parents, from bullying kids at school, or from a culture that suggested that your gender, race, or other features made you less worthy than others.
Early messages about our worth are internalized and become the basis for our beliefs about ourselves. So, the longer we've had negative self-beliefs, the harder they are to override. It may require ongoing efforts to replace internal monologues of "I'm not worthy", with "I am worthy", or "I have just as much worth as anyone else." Using positive affirmations like these can be a good way to retrain your brain to believe you have worth.

​Another important aspect of confidence is knowing that you have good qualities (Owens, 1993). This goes beyond simply having worth and involves recognizing that there are things about you that are good, maybe even great.
​Indeed, we all have good qualities. But if we spend our mental energy thinking about the qualities that we lack, we often have little time left to think about the good qualities that we have. If this is something you struggle with, you might benefit from making a list of all your positive qualities (things like humor, determination, creativity, etc....) Then it's just a matter of shifting your mindset to try to focus on these good qualities.

In addition to knowing our positive qualities, it can be beneficial to recognize our strengths (Owens, 1993). By knowing what these things are, we can put ourselves in situations where we thrive. When we use our strengths, we can end up feeling more confident because we regularly experience being good at something. This reminds us that we are indeed good at things and have reasons to be confident in our skills. So, make a list of your strengths and see if you can find ways to use your strengths more often.

​To be more confident, we may also need to develop a more positive attitude towards ourselves (Owens, 1993). Many of us have a cruel inner critic, always putting us down for doing the smallest things wrong or for failing to be perfect. If this sounds like you, it can be helpful to start talking back to your inner critic.
For example, your inner critic may say something like, "You should have done better." If you notice these self-critical inner thoughts, try to stand up for yourself by saying something like, "I did the best I could, and I'm proud of myself for the effort I put in." This self-talk can help you re-write internal scripts that can help you become more confident.

​By doing our best, we have a locked and loaded response to our inner critic. Any time we hear those inner monologues starting to put us down, we can respond with, "I did my best." And that is all we can do. When we do our best (while not striving for perfection and telling ourselves we could do more), we may be able to give ourselves a bit more of a break and perhaps be more self-accepting.

​Although boosting self-confidence can be difficult, focusing on these key skills can help. Hopefully, these strategies will put you on the right path towards increasing your own self-confidence.

​How do you grow your self-esteem in ways that make you feel more confident and worthy? Here is a science-based guide.

Those of us who don't know our worth may consciously or unconsciously believe that we are worthless. These beliefs can affect our thoughts, emotions, actions, and experiences. Knowing your worth and believing that you are indeed worthy is essential for happiness and well-being. So, let's dive into the research to learn more about how we can better know our worth.

Many of us let our self-worth be contingent upon external events. When our self-worth depends on external situations, it's unstable. As a result, our feelings about ourselves can end up being at the whim of the world.

Obviously, we want to experience things that make us feel good. And engaging in activities that boost our self-esteem makes us feel good. But when we have contingent self-worth, we might engage in activities that make us feel worthy while avoiding activities that make us feel unworthy. This can lead us to pursue the wrong things—things that don’t make us happy in the longer run.

For example, if our self-worth is contingent upon us being successful at work, we might only choose jobs that are easy. That way we never fail and ensure that we always know that we are worthy. Or maybe we only think we're worthy if we weigh less than 130 pounds. We might under-eat or engage in unhealthy eating practices just to make sure that we don't feel like a bad person.
When our self-worth is tied to outside factors, this leaves us with little control over how we live our lives. Instead, we're constantly striving to avoid feeling bad about ourselves. Instead of striving to meet our goals, we strive to avoid failure. And if we do fail, we might abandon our goals, lose motivation, or make excuses to help ourselves feel better (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001).
​
Ask yourself, do you do this? What situations don't just make you feel bad emotionally, but also feel bad about yourself? These are the situations that might be in control of your self-worth.

Many of us let our self-worth be contingent upon external events. When our self-worth depends on external situations, it's unstable. As a result, our feelings about ourselves can end up being at the whim of the world.

Obviously, we want to experience things that make us feel good. And engaging in activities that boost our self-esteem makes us feel good. But when we have contingent self-worth, we might engage in activities that make us feel worthy while avoiding activities that make us feel unworthy. This can lead us to pursue the wrong things—things that don’t make us happy in the longer run.

For example, if our self-worth is contingent upon us being successful at work, we might only choose jobs that are easy. That way we never fail and ensure that we always know that we are worthy. Or maybe we only think we're worthy if we weigh less than 130 pounds. We might under-eat or engage in unhealthy eating practices just to make sure that we don't feel like a bad person.

​When our self-worth is tied to outside factors, this leaves us with little control over how we live our lives. Instead, we're constantly striving to avoid feeling bad about ourselves. Instead of striving to meet our goals, we strive to avoid failure. And if we do fail, we might abandon our goals, lose motivation, or make excuses to help ourselves feel better (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001).
​
Ask yourself, do you do this? What situations don't just make you feel bad emotionally, but also feel bad about yourself? These are the situations that might be in control of your self-worth.

​When we focus on learning and growing, then we can take failures or lack of approval as an opportunity to improve. By doing this, we can hopefully recover more quickly from emotional upsets.

By setting goals that are good for us and good for others, we may be able to avoid some of the hits to our self-esteem. So, focus on how you serve others and add value to the world.

Research has shown that external contingencies—self-worth based on things like approval or appearance—are the worst for our self-esteem. Internal contingencies based on things like virtue and religiosity appear to be less harmful (Crocker & Wolfe, 2001). So, focus on decreasing external contingencies.

Ask yourself:

• What makes you special or unique?
• What do you do that no one else does?
• What are your positive qualities?

Regularly answering these questions can help you improve your self-worth.

​Self-worth is no easy thing to develop. But when we better understand how we let external events determine our self-worth, we can hopefully start to shift our worth more towards things we have control over.

Discover the definition, how to find your true calling, and why it’s okay not to have one.

A “true calling” is thought to be the work that you are “meant” to do or the work you’re optimally suited for. Duffy & Dik note components of an “external summons, sense of destiny, or perfect fit”; they also cite “prosocial motivation” as a frequent component of callings (reviewed in 2013, p. 429). “True calling” is synonymous with “passion” (as in “find your passion”) and with “dream” (as in “follow your dream”). Your true calling doesn’t have to be your job or career (hence stereotypes such as the waitress who longs to be an actress). Your true calling doesn’t have to be what you’re best at, but it’s generally a talent; it can show up at any life stage, but often makes itself known in childhood. 

​If you have a “true calling,” you probably already know what it is, even if you haven’t yet labeled it as a calling. To identify your calling, you can ask yourself these questions:

• What activities do you gravitate toward when you have downtime?
• What do you make time for no matter how busy you are?
• What interests do you consistently return to, even if you take long breaks or pursue other (perhaps more “practical”) goals?
• To what extent do you believe your life has been shaped by financial worries, family pressure, convention, or other external factors? If those concerns disappeared, what would you do?
• When you feel content, at peace, and confident, what are you doing?

​If you know your calling and want to dive into it, but don’t know where to start, there are several suggestions below. This is not suggesting that anyone should quit their day job and immediately devote all their time to a calling (unless you want to and have the necessary financial and social safety net). You can, however, ease into a calling–for example, by turning it into a side hustle before switching careers entirely or by keeping it as a hobby.

​The psychologist Lev Vygotsky theorized that we learn and grow with the help of “more knowledgeable others” who help us bridge the gap between what we can currently achieve alone and what we can potentially achieve with guidance (reviewed by Mcleod, 18 August 2022). If you want to master a calling, an expert who believes in you might be able to see potential and weaknesses that you can’t and guide you both creatively and professionally (if you want to pursue the calling professionally, that is).

Sharing your work might give you confidence and hearing others’ opinions might help you learn to deal with criticism. If you want to turn a calling into a living, sharing your work is a good step toward making money (which, ultimately, can translate into more time to pursue the work).

​No matter your talent level, practice is necessary for most of us to develop true mastery. Even for prodigies, practice is probably needed to fulfill one’s true potential and to experience the benefits of having a calling. 

​A true calling is not necessarily a choice–its innate talent coupled with a sometimes-obsessive passion that drives you to develop that talent throughout your life, even despite danger, pain, risk, and disappointments. It’s possible to have more than one calling or none. Although a true calling can lend meaning and purpose to your life, having none can provide more freedom, adaptability, creativity, and comfort. If you have a true calling (that doesn’t harm others), it’s okay to pursue it even if it seems like an insecure path or doesn’t fit others’ plans for you.
​
To engage with your calling, you can set reasonable standards, find a mentor, learn from the masters, practice, find your voice, and share your work with others. However, you choose to pursue your calling, or if you decide you don’t have one, try to live a life that (as much as possible) honors your strengths and aligns with your truest priorities

​Discover laughter exercises and the physical and mental health benefits.

​One of the best feelings in the world is sharing a good belly laugh with the people you care about. Laughter is a universal part of the human experience, and it has the power to build a bridge between people of all different backgrounds and walks of life. You don’t even need to speak the same language as another person to share a laugh with them. Even though you have likely experienced laughter countless times in your life, how much do you know about this emotion?
 
Keep reading to gain a better understanding of this complex human emotion.

Hopefully, laughter is an emotion you experience and express daily. It is usually a spontaneous vocalization in response to something humorous. Laughter is a social expression of emotion–we are more than 30 times more likely to laugh when we are with another person than if we are alone (Provine, 2004). That’s because laughter is a way that we communicate with other people.
 
Laughter is:

• An emotion
• A form of communication
• A form of self-expression

There is evidence to show that laughing can improve your mental health. This happens because the positive emotion of laughter can override other negative emotions you may be experiencing (Saper, 1990).

​Positive effects on mental health due to laughter:

• Increased life satisfaction
• Increased quality of life
• Increased cognitive function
• Improved mood and happiness
• Decreased loneliness
• Decreased depression (Kuru Alici & Arikan Dönmez, 2020)

Do you feel like you need a mental health boost? Laughing just might be the answer. You can try calling up a friend to talk about old funny stories or looking up your favorite funny movie moments on YouTube. It might be uncomfortable at first but replacing negative emotions with happy ones can have a positive effect on your life.
 
Incorporating a regular laughter yoga practice into your life can have even further physical health benefits.
 
Positive effects on physical health due to laughter:

• Lower blood pressure
• Lower stress hormones
• Increased sleep quality (Kuru Alici & Arikan Dönmez, 2020)

​You may experience all of the mental and physical health benefits of laughter listed above with regular practice. Luckily, the brain is not able to distinguish between spontaneous laughter (occurring randomly between two people) and self-induced laughter (making yourself laugh) (Mora-Ripoll, 2010). This means that you can experience all the benefits of laughter by simply practicing it, even if you might not feel like laughing at the moment.

Do you feel like you need more joy in your life? It can be easy to get overwhelmed by events on the news and around the world. Making an effort to incorporate more laughter into your life can help alleviate stress. Consider trying the following activities.

1. Make a YouTube playlist of all your favorite funny TV or movie moments. You don’t have to watch an entire show or movie to get your laughs, which can take a lot of time. Just search for the movie or TV show + funny moments (e.g., Elf funny moments, Mean Girls funny moments, Simpsons funny moments, etc.). From there, you can make a playlist you can quickly view if you need some humor.
2. Call up a friend or family member to talk about funny stories. Connecting with loved ones is important for our health. Connection through laughter can be even more beneficial. The next time you remember a funny story, call or text someone to reminisce about it.
3. Have a silly game night with loved ones. You can play classics like charades or Pictionary or try a new game. Consider playing games that don’t emphasize competition and rather focus on having fun.
4. Incorporate laughter exercises, like yoga and meditation. Since your brain cannot tell the difference between spontaneous and self-simulated laughter, you can experience benefits by practicing laughter exercises.

Laughing is a way that we communicate with other people. It can help lighten your mood by replacing negative emotions with positive ones. Just laughing can make you feel better and practicing laughter yoga regularly can also lead to other benefits. It can improve mental health by improving quality of life, cognitive function, and happiness; laughter yoga can also be beneficial for your physical health by lowering blood pressure and stress hormones and increasing your quality of sleep.
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Do you feel like you could benefit from more laughter in your life? Try going to a funny movie with a friend or incorporating laughter yoga into your morning routine. It can be a wonderful practice to bring more joy and happiness into your life.

​Discover the wonders of consciousness.

Our lack of comprehension regarding the nature of consciousness, where it comes from, and why it exists is not a reflection of a lack of effort. Humans have rigorously interrogated the nature of consciousness for millennia and in recent years, consciousness has become a popular topic of scientific inquiry.

The term ‘consciousness’ has eluded a precise definition for thousands of years. Summary definitions of consciousness fall short when it comes to capturing the dimensionality of the term. We might use the word ‘consciousness’ to describe perceptual awareness (I am conscious of the person in front of me), the nature of being awake and alert (when under anesthesia one loses consciousness), or self-awareness and intentionality (a heavily intoxicated person might not be conscious of their actions). Many scientists and philosophers would argue that ‘consciousness’ is better understood as the subjective human experience; the “I” you’re referring to when you say, “I love you”; and the experience of being you.

It’s unclear how or why the brain (which is essentially a fistful of electrified meat) would give rise to the depth and complexity of the human experience, but we have ample compelling evidence to support the conclusion that the two are indeed functionally linked.

One simple example of the functional relationship between brain processes and consciousness is the effect of anesthesia on consciousness. Anesthesiologists can turn consciousness off and on by altering your brain chemistry with specific chemical compounds.
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Hallucinogens are another straightforward example of the relationship between brain chemistry and consciousness. Hallucinogenic drugs such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms) or LSD (sometimes referred to as ‘acid’) create an altered state of consciousness by changing the way in which different parts of the brain communicate with each other.

​Consciousness has been a popular topic of inquiry for scientists and philosophers in recent years and several promising theories of consciousness have emerged. These include integrated information theory, higher-order theory, recurrent processing theory, and global workspace theory. It is important to note that these are not necessarily competing theories. The validity of one does not imply the inaccuracy of the others. Rather, each of these theories can be thought of as a different approach to understanding consciousness with different overarching goals (Seth & Bayne, 2022).

​Integrated information theory is a sort of mathematical approach to describing consciousness. This theory proposes that consciousness is basically a form of information that arises from the physical and functional integration of elements within a system. The focus of integrated information theory is to identify the physical attributes that are necessary for a system to be conscious.

Higher-order theories of consciousness focus on understanding why some contents of the mind are conscious while others are not. Higher-order theories posit that mental states become conscious when they are the target of specific forms of meta-representations.
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Meta-representations are basically the capacity of the mind to generate a representation that is built from lower-level representations. For example, imagine looking at a Magnolia tree. The higher-order representation of a Magnolia tree (the tree as it exists in your conscious experience) is the amalgamation of lower-order representations like color, size, shape, smell, context, and any memories or pre-conceptions you might have about magnolia trees. 

​The basis of re-entry and predictive processing theory is that conscious mental states are grounded in predictions about the causes of sensory information. Although it may not be apparent, reality is a noisy barrage of sense data that has to be filtered and interpreted by the brain. This theory postulates that consciousness emerged as a means to help us filter and unify noisy sense data in a way that allows us to adaptively interact with our environment. You might summarize re-entry and predictive processing theory as ‘consciousness is your brain's best guess about reality.’

​Global workspace theories focus on what is referred to as conscious access. Conscious access refers to the perceptions and mental states that are available to awareness. As mentioned before, at any given point in time we are being bombarded by sensory information, only a fraction of which can make it into our conscious awareness. For example, most of the time we are not conscious of the sensation of our clothes on our skin because there are typically more important features of our reality to which we need to dedicate our limited attentional capacity. Thus, the sensation of clothing essentially gets booted from the “global workspace” of the mind in favor of more relevant information. Global workspace theory would suggest that when we focus on this sensation - when we bring it into conscious awareness - we are “broadcasting” it to the global workspace where it can then be used to inform our thoughts or behavior.

Though the true nature of consciousness remains elusive, its relevance for our lives is apparent. After all, what would life be like without it?
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Years of philosophy and scientific inquiry have taught us a great deal about many aspects of consciousness like perception, intention, self-awareness, and, to some extent, subjective experience. Most of the neuroscientific research done on the topic focuses on the role of the cerebral cortex (the outermost portion of the brain) in consciousness. Although the cortex is surely an important player in some aspects of consciousness, there is certainly much more to the picture.

​Learn the definition of intermittent fasting and how to unlock its power.

It is commonly said that losing weight is simply a matter of calories in versus calories out. Eat less than you usually do, and you’ll lose weight. Exercise more than usual, you might see the same effect. But what if changing when you eat, not what or how much, would do the trick?

Intermittent fasting restricts all of your eating to a specific period of time in the day. Most people eat throughout the day, starting with breakfast and ending with dinner. A person practicing intermittent fasting condenses all their eating into a shorter window of time. Intermittent fasting is a diet only in the sense that it involves making conscious choices about your food intake. It is not limiting what foods you eat or how much you eat. Some intermittent fasters eat multiple full meals during their eating window, while others might graze throughout that time.
Let’s get right to the point: intermittent fasting is an effective practice for improving mental and physical health in a variety of ways (de Cabo & Mattson, 2019). Here are some of the backed-by-science benefits of intermittent fasting: 

• Burning fat for fuel. Once your body stops getting glucose to burn, it uses fat as fuel instead (de Cabo & Mattson, 2019). This is the primary way that intermittent fasting leads to weight loss.
• Cellular repair. While fasting, your body engages a process called autophagy, in which it recycles dead or unused cells that otherwise clutter the body and cause problems (de Cabo & Mattson, 2019).
• Decreased inflammation. Certain key biomarkers of inflammation go down among fasting individuals (Wang et al., 2020).
• May reduce depression. Individuals in treatment for depression saw slightly larger improvements in their symptoms when they fasted (Fernandez-Rodriguez et al., 2022).
• Improves insulin resistance. Individuals with diabetes can lower their blood sugar levels through intermittent fasting. After extended fasting, some people have no longer qualified as diabetic (Welton et al., 2020).

Perhaps the easiest place to begin with intermittent fasting is to go 16 hours without eating. For example, a common pattern of fasting is from about 7:30pm to 11:30am each day. Therefore, the eating window starts at 11:30am and ends at 7:30pm. For most people, this can feel like “skipping breakfast”, although the goal is still to eat as many calories as they usually would during the eating hours.

​The longer you fast, the more your body experiences the benefits of fasting, such as ketosis and autophagy. That means many people attempt to limit their eating window to four hours a day, spending 20 hours fasting. A common way to do 20/4 intermittent fasting is to break one’s fast in the mid-afternoon, then finish eating in the early evening.

For the truly strong-willed, there is OMAD, or “One Meal a Day”. This is just what it sounds like – trying to cram all your caloric intake for the day into a single meal, or a short period of about an hour.
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OMAD fasting is effective in the short-term for weight loss, but not very sustainable in the long-term. It’s hard to get a full day’s calories into your body in just an hour! Although many people practice 16/8 fasting or 20/4 fasting daily or almost daily, OMAD fasting should be undertaken only temporarily.

Intermittent fasting is a simple, straightforward technique for accessing a variety of health benefits. While it is difficult at first to sit through one’s hunger, many people have experienced the rewards on the other side.
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That said, if you are considering trying intermittent fasting, try not to go into it with any particular set of expectations. The benefits to your health, your focus, or your waistline may not be easy to discern at first. Like so many techniques for promoting health, intermittent fasting needs time and commitment to show its effects.

​Learn what SIBO is, some of the potential causes of SIBO, and how you may be able to treat SIBO.

A healthy digestive system is equipped with a system of checks and balances, keeping bacteria where they ought to be and keeping their numbers at appropriate levels. However, for several reasons, things can get out of balance, and the number of bacteria in the digestive system, especially in the upper part of the digestive system, can increase to abnormally high levels. When this happens, a condition called SIBO, or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, may develop. This may lead to negative effects on health and well-being.

SIBO, or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, describes a condition either where the total number of bacteria in the small intestine increases, or there is a change in the diversity of bacterial species in the small intestine. To qualify as SIBO, these physiological changes must be accompanied by gastrointestinal discomfort or symptoms of digestive distress (Bures et al., 2010).
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In a healthy digestive system, there are usually fewer bacteria in the upper part of the digestive tract compared to the lower part of the digestive tract. Gut bacteria are usually at their lowest concentrations in the small intestines and their highest concentrations in the colon (Stearns et al., 2011). In SIBO, this balance is altered and there are excessive bacteria in the small intestines, leading to gastrointestinal symptoms (Pimental et al., 2020). Moreover, the bacteria found in the upper digestive tract of people with SIBO are from species more typically found in the lower parts of the digestive system. 

Excessive bacteria in the small intestine can interfere with how nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and vitamins are metabolized and absorbed. Bacteria in the small intestines may metabolize the foods you eat before your body’s cells have the time to extract and absorb nutrients. The metabolites that these bacteria produce may then cause gastrointestinal discomfort. In addition, elevated levels of gut bacteria or their metabolites may “leak” out of the intestine, leading to an inflammatory immune response (Ghoshal & Ghoshal, 2017). The effects of excessive bacteria in the small intestine may lead to gastrointestinal or nonspecific symptoms of SIBO.
The most common symptoms of SIBO are digestive discomfort and can include (Rao & Bhagatwala, 2019)

• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Abdominal pain or cramping
• Bloating or abdominal distension
• Flatulence
• Belching
• Indigestion
• Nausea

In more severe or extreme cases, symptoms of SIBO can include:

• Steatorrhea (fatty stool)
• Weight loss
• Anemia
• Vitamin deficiencies (especially of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K)
• Mucosal inflammation

The gold standard for SIBO testing involves taking a sample from the small intestine and testing it for bacterial content (Choung et al., 2011). This is done via a medical procedure called an endoscopy in which a long tube is interested through the mouth and is guided into the intestines. This procedure is invasive, time-consuming, expensive, and requires sedation (Pimental et al., 2020).
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A simple, non-invasive, inexpensive alternative to endoscopic testing is a breath test. Breath tests rely on the fact that human cells do not produce the gases hydrogen and methane (Pimental et al., 2020). If these gases are detected in the breath, bacteria capable of producing these gases are implicated. Bacteria in the intestines metabolize the foods that you eat and produce these gases, which are then absorbed into your bloodstream and then eventually expelled through your lungs when you breathe (Gasbarrini et al., 2007). In a SIBO breath test, you ingest a specific carbohydrate (usually glucose or lactulose). You then provide a breath sample every fifteen minutes for anywhere between 90 to 240 minutes (Resaie et al., 2017). 

The goal of treatment for SIBO is the relief of uncomfortable symptoms and restoring the small intestine’s ability to clear food and absorb nutrients. This can be achieved by treating any underlying diseases, prescribing a course of SIBO-specific antibiotics, or using a SIBO diet.
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Dr. Mark Pimentel, a prominent SIBO researcher and gastroenterologist at Cedars-Sinai hospital, suggests that anyone who suspects they may have SIBO first undergo breath testing to confirm this and to determine which type of bacteria are present in excessive numbers. A course of antibiotics can then be prescribed to decrease bacterial numbers. Once the SIBO has been brought under control through the use of antibiotics, dietary changes may keep the GI tract functioning. This may involve changing the content of what you eat, taking in fewer complex carbohydrates that support intestinal bacteria. Dietary changes to reign in SIBO may also involve increasing the spacing between meals, allowing your digestive system ample time to process and digest food. This may mean a period of 4 to 5 hours between meals, although longer periods, such as in intermittent fasting, may also be beneficial.

The bacteria that live in the human gut are essential to good health and well-being. They play a crucial part in extracting nutrients from the food that you eat and in creating the chemical building blocks of your cells. However, when these bacteria become too plentiful, or when they migrate to places where they don’t belong, you may experience symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort.
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Luckily, relief may be possible. Straightforward, noninvasive laboratory tests exist to determine whether you have excessive bacteria in your digestive tract. These tests may even be able to determine the specific bacterial species that are present in excess. Treatment may also be relatively straightforward with many 

​Learn what a leaky gut is and how you may be able to overcome a leaky gut.

Leaky gut can describe a range of disorders, syndromes, conditions, or clusters of symptoms affecting the lining of the intestines. The intestines are long tube-like structures that are part of the digestive system. After it’s swallowed, food moves to the stomach where it’s broken down and combined with digestive enzymes. This food mixture then travels through the intestines. When everything is working well, nutrients and water are extracted through the intestinal wall and taken into the bloodstream.

Within the intestines, different cell types work together to ensure that while nutrients travel from the digestive tract into the bloodstream, potentially harmful substances do not. The cells that make up the walls of the intestines are equipped with junctions that allow nutrients to pass through, while bacteria, toxins, and other harmful substances are prevented from doing so (Kinashi & Hase, 2021). The intestines also contain mucus, peptides, proteins, and a variety of helpful bacteria that all play a role in ensuring that only nutrients make it through to the bloodstream.

For a variety of reasons, this complex system may become dysfunctional, and harmful substances may “leak” from the intestines into the bloodstream (Camileri, 2019). In leaky gut syndrome, the intestines have become pathologically or chronically permeable - they regularly let bacteria, toxins, and other harmful substances move from the gut into the bloodstream.
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The presence of harmful toxins in the bloodstream can cause the body to launch an immune response. The immune response may take several different forms including inflammation. Although the toxins may enter the bloodstream through the intestines, the inflammatory immune response may appear in almost any part of the body. There may even be a link between leaky gut and mental and developmental disorders including depression, anxiety, autism, and schizophrenia (Schmidt, 2015).

Since leaky gut can lead to inflammation and a systemic immune response, symptoms may be very broad and may potentially include almost anything. However, digestive system discomfort may be the most common symptom of leaky gut. According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms of digestive discomfort that may be symptomatic of potential leaky gut may include:

• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Bloating and gas
• Food sensitivities
• Indigestion
• A burning feeling in your abdomen
• Low energy as a result of reduced ability to draw energy from your food.

If an underlying medical condition like Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Celiac disease is responsible for the leaky gut, addressing these broader medical concerns may also address the difficulties with leaky gut.

In the absence of treatment for a medical condition, you may be able to gain relief using:

• Probiotics: Probiotics are living microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and other microscopic organisms that have beneficial effects on health and well-being. Some probiotics may strengthen the cells of the intestinal walls (Ukena et al., 2007), reduce inflammation, increase intestinal barrier function (Lamprecht et al., 2012), and inhibit the growth of potentially harmful bacteria (Fioramonti et al., 2003). Fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, kombucha, miso, tempeh, and some types of cottage cheese may all be good sources of beneficial probiotics.
• Prebiotics: Prebiotics are foods that provide nutrients for the good bacteria in your gut (Tsai et al., 2019). Prebiotics are often found in plant fibers, meaning that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables may facilitate good gut health.
• Low FODMAP diet: This diet, which limits a specific type of carbohydrates called fermentable short-chain carbohydrates, is often recommended for people with IBS and people with food sensitivities. It may also help heal a leaky gut (Prospero et al., 2021). Following a low FODMAP diet, even for only a brief period, may give a leaky gut a chance to repair. The low FODMAP diet involves eliminating difficult-to-digest foods from your diet. Foods from all food groups can be low or high FODMAP. For example, apples, cherries, and watermelon are high FODMAP. Kiwi, strawberries, and cantaloupe are all low FODMAP. Following a guide or consulting with your doctor or a registered dietician may be helpful if you choose to try the low FODMAP diet. In the short video below a dietician gives a brief introduction to the low FODMAP diet.

If you find yourself with symptoms of leaky gut syndrome, all is not lost. You may be able to reintroduce order by changing your diet or by introducing supplements.
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​This may be a relatively straightforward process that you can achieve by eating more fresh, unprocessed foods and fewer processed, fatty, and sugary foods. However, your path to recovery from leaky gut may be more complicated - requiring you to craft a specific diet and incorporate supplements. This may require you to move forward in your quest for gut health with the support of a qualified professional like your doctor or a registered dietician. Whether you opt to tackle small manageable changes yourself or to work with a professional on more intensive and targeted changes, you may be able to achieve relief from the discomfort of a leaky gut.

​Learn the definition of body positivity and how you can practice it in your life.

In American culture, forces internal and external draw our attention continuously to how we can “fix” our bodies to make them somehow finally acceptable. We all engage in this kind of thinking on some level – it’s so ubiquitous that it’s become ingrained, automatic.

It is only in the last couple of generations that voices have begun to challenge the idea that our bodies are in constant need of improvement. From the feminist movement of the 1960s to movements led by Black women in the 1980s to present-day movements on social media, a new line of thinking has instead promoted body positivity (Cwynar-Horta, 2016; Darwin & Miller, 2021).

Body positivity has two elements: (1) the acceptance of all bodies without regard to their shape, size, or features; and (2) a focus on health and functionality instead of appearance (Cohen et al., 2019b; Sastre, 2014).

What does this mean? Instead of limiting our understanding of our bodies to how they look, and whether they meet certain expectations we commonly hold for bodies, body positivity encourages us to respect and honor the inherent value in all bodies (Sastre, 2014). Body positivity also means focusing on what our bodies can do and placing higher value on the body’s capabilities than on whether it looks a certain way (Cohen et al., 2019b).
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Another alternative to body positivity is called body neutrality. This approach involves simply placing less emphasis on physical appearance in the first place (Rees, 2019). It is thought that taking attention away from one’s appearance altogether will help people focus more on finding value in the rest of their being, such as their personality and the things they can do (Rees, 2019).

How can you practice body positivity in your own life? Below are some tips.

While using social media has been associated with lots of poorer psychological outcomes, this is one situation where being on social media can actually be helpful! Looking at body positive content on social media has been associated with better psychological health in several studies. Specifically, people seem to appreciate their own bodies more and report more satisfaction with their bodies as they see more of this content (Nelson et al., 2022). It may be that people build a healthier body image over time as they view body positive content, becoming less likely to compare themselves to others in the process (Rodgers et al., 2022). So we encourage you to look at body positive content online if you would like to feel better about your body.
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Researchers have asked the question of whether all body positive media are created equal. What they have found is that messages that are pressuring or prescriptive may not be as helpful as messages that promote acceptance and encourage agency (Betz & Ramsey, 2017; Legault & Sago, 2022).

What does that mean? Let’s look at a couple examples. In a culture that promotes thinness, a post that celebrates curviness can be body positive. However, there is a difference between a caption reading “Never be ashamed of your curves” and “Sending love to all my curvy sisters out there”. Maybe you can feel the difference – the first message creates pressure to not feel shame, while the other just promotes a feeling of solidarity.
For you as a consumer of media, these research findings suggest you will be best served by looking at content that encourages you to accept yourself just as you are. Content that promotes a certain body type, even if it is pushing back against cultural standards by celebrating something that is not traditionally seen as attractive, may make you feel badly if your body doesn’t quite fit with that particular message.

Here's another tip: It might be helpful to think of your body as a “process”, not an “object” (Franzoi, 1995). There are two key aspects to this approach:

​It is defined by its actions, the energy it contains, its capacity to change the world. The body as an object is simply an appearance, deriving no value from what it can do.

Nearly everything we judge in our bodies is impermanent. If we can accept that nothing about our bodies, neither the “good” nor the “bad”, is permanent, then we don’t have to obsess over those parts of us.

There are countless examples of people online practicing body positivity. While we encourage you to embrace and borrow freely from other people’s creativity, you are the one and only authority on what body positivity will look like for you. If you can, be patient and gentle with yourself in your efforts to build body positivity in your life. We all have a lot of programming to undo. Every step is a victory.

​Learn what emotional eating is and how to overcome it.

Have you ever casually told somebody that you were going to go “eat your feelings”? Have you come home late from work and ended up eating something entirely different from what you planned to have for dinner? Or maybe you have a ritual involving your favorite TV show and cookies, ice cream, or potato chips?
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Feelings and eating are closely connected for virtually all of us. Sometimes our emotions aren’t the byproduct of eating, but the driving force behind it. In this article, you’ll learn about the definition and scientific background of this behavior, called emotional eating, as well as what you can do to overcome emotional eating.

Emotional eating is when we eat as a response to experiencing negative emotions or stress (Arnow et al., 1994). Eating food when we feel bad – especially foods that are highly rewarding and satisfying, such as those high in fat or sugar – gives us temporary relief from the negative emotions we’re experiencing.

We can identify whether emotional eating is happening by paying attention to the emotional context of our eating. Any situation that involves negative emotions could trigger somebody to emotionally eat. This is because two common strategies we use to deal with negative feelings – strategies that are more common in people who emotionally eat (Spoor et al., 2007) – are trying to cope with the emotion directly or avoiding the emotion altogether. In other words, we emotionally eat to head off a bad feeling that’s coming down the road or deal with one that’s already here.

Emotional eating is also more common in people who have trouble identifying their feelings, regulating their emotions, and who are highly susceptible to getting stressed out (van Strien, 2018). One study found some gender differences in the likelihood of emotional eating: women were more likely to emotionally eat when stressed out, while men were more likely to emotionally eat when bored or anxious (Bennett et al., 2012).

But, emotional eating is not an official disorder you can find in a medical volume such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (commonly referred to as the DSM). However, it functions in a similar way to “traditional” eating disorders such as binge-eating disorder (BED). Researchers have found that many people with BED also are emotional eaters, but not all of them. And the reverse is true as well: most emotional eaters do not have a diagnosed eating disorder (Lindeman & Stark, 2001).
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​While emotional eating isn’t a disorder, people who emotionally eat are more likely to be overweight or obese (Frayn & Knauper, 2017). They are also at greater risk of becoming someone who binge eats than are people who don’t emotionally eat (Arnow et al., 1994; Ricca et al., 2009).

​The following are some science-based steps to reduce your emotional eating.

​Some people may emotionally eat because they are not aware of the signals that their body is hungry (Tan & Chow, 2014). For example, some people may misinterpret their body’s reaction to stress as a signal that they need to eat. Or, you may have difficulty noticing signs that you have eaten enough, which will make it harder to recognize emotional eating as unnecessary.  

​First, a caveat: this is not a recommendation that you second-guess every thought about food you have. However, it is clear that people who emotionally eat may not recognize the link between their emotional state and their urge to eat (Kemp & Kopp, 2011). So, my advice is simple: the next time you’re hungry and it’s not mealtime, get curious: what else am I experiencing right now? Are there feelings I’m having but not really acknowledging? If I ate something, would that feeling go away?

​You’ve probably never heard anybody complain that they went overboard mindlessly eating kale, have you? The foods that most of us crave when we emotionally eat are tempting for good reason: they deliver a quick, powerful rush of satisfaction (Ganley, 1989). If you want to reduce the likelihood that you will emotionally eat, you may need to remove some of the chief suspects – your favorite snack foods – from your home, your office, or even your car.

All of us have likely engaged in emotional eating at some point. Food is so effective at changing our moods and so easy to access that it’s almost inevitable. Thankfully, this is a behavioral pattern that we can recognize and change. Each time you catch yourself emotionally eating is an opportunity to learn something about yourself. What emotions are hard for you to handle? What other coping skills would you like to strengthen? With time and effort, you may see changes that go beyond your eating habits or your waistline.

​Humans have been fasting for thousands of years, but modern research is just starting to unveil its power.

Our lives revolve around food. Our ancestors thought about little else, and it’s still one of the first things we think about in the mornings. We organize our social connections and our daily schedule around eating. We relish cooking shows, farmer’s markets, and the thriving gardens in our neighborhoods – they all exemplify the bounty and beauty of food in our lives.
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In our culture of abundance, we can easily lose sight of the benefits of going without – of intentionally choosing not to consume. As this article will demonstrate, the benefits of fasting are plentiful and powerful – enough to make it potentially a key component of your self-care routine.​

Fasting means not eating for a certain period of time. While fasting has become popular in recent years as a health-promoting lifestyle choice, it is a practice with millennia of history, deeply rooted in several religious traditions (Kerndt et al., 1982). Ancient Greeks practiced fasting to prepare for rituals and celebrations. The Old Testament suggests that fasting is a powerful way to connect with the divine, and monks have practiced fasting for centuries. Fasting has also been utilized as a form of protest, with political prisoners often fasting during their incarceration.

In the last couple centuries, doctors and scientists began to observe and track the health benefits of fasting, especially for weight loss. In the last several decades, benefits far beyond reducing our waistlines have begun to be discovered (de Cabo & Mattson, 2019).

Fasting has profound effects on our metabolism and how our cells operate and regenerate, which can reduce hypertension, arthritis, and neurodegeneration (the breaking down of nerve cells, such as in the brain) (Longo & Mattson, 2014). Fasting also strengthens the immune system and makes our bodies more stress resilient (Longo & Mattson, 2014). Some studies have found that fasting is even as effective as the typically-prescribed drugs in treating seizure disorders and conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (Hartman et al., 2012; Muller et al., 2001).

Through many processes, fasting helps the body stay young. It literally refreshes your cells. This means that it may be able to help with degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and support people in overcoming strokes (Gudden et al., 2021). While these effects are more easily seen in older adults, it is possible that fasting can help with cognitive functioning in younger adults as well (Seidler & Barrow, 2021).

One of the coolest potential applications of fasting is in fighting cancer. Cancerous cells derive their sustenance from what the host body eats, so fasting deprives the cancerous cells of the sustenance they need to survive. This is why some doctors are now recommending that people fast while undergoing chemotherapy and other kinds of cancer treatments (Nencioni et al., 2018).
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Fasting is also a well-established way to lose weight. Studies have found that people who fast, whether intermittently or for very long periods of time, lose weight (Cho et al., 2019). Since intermittent fasting in particular may be more sustainable over time than diets that focus on restricting overall calories, it is often described as one of the most effective ways to lose weight (Welton et al., 2020).

​It may be intimidating to try fasting. Here are some tips for how to successfully introduce fasting into your lifestyle:

​Consider starting with one sixteen-hour fast in a week. Pick a day that will be low stress, where there are few demands on your time and energy. Choose a food for breaking your fast that you will look forward to, but not one that you might be tempted to eat before the fast is done.

​If you eat something carb-heavy to break your fast, your digestive system will rush to process that new source of energy, giving you a big spike and dip in your energy levels. So, break your fast with a smaller meal that includes a good source of protein, such as dairy or chicken, and ideally some fiber as well. This ensures a smoother transition into the eating window.

​You might not believe it when you are first starting out, but hunger doesn’t last. In this regard, it is like most sensations we have – temporary. So, expect to feel hungry – and expect that the feeling will pass. If you have a mindfulness practice, consider using it to acknowledge, but not become controlled by, your hunger.

​For many of us, eating regular meals is important. Or perhaps you take a morning medication that wouldn’t go down well on an empty stomach. It’s always a safe bet to talk to your doctor before trying something like fasting.

Fasting is a time-honored human tradition, with origins in spiritual traditions and abundant modern research documenting its physical health benefits. If you are not someone who has tried fasting before, it stands to benefit you in many ways.
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At the same time, fasting is not for everyone. If you have, or have had, a complicated relationship with eating, move very slowly with fasting. Fasting is not sustainable, or even worth the effort, if it causes you emotional distress or discomfort.

​Discover tips and ideas you can use to make your life healthier.

There is more than one way to stay healthy, and if you asked people around you what a healthy lifestyle is, chances are you’d get a different answer every time. This difference stems from the fact that everyone makes choices based on their cultural and personal priorities and can only access options available within their socioeconomic and geographical environments (Cockerham, 2021).

Despite differences in definitions, scientists have long been conducting studies focused on the effects of lifestyle on health and wellbeing. A large meta-analysis that included the health outcome data of over 500,000 individuals concluded that adherence to a healthy lifestyle was linked to lower mortality risk (Loef and Walach, 2012).

A more recent study tracked the health habits and outcomes of over 120,000 participants for three decades. Individuals that met the researcher’s healthy lifestyle criteria were far less likely to die prematurely because of cardiovascular disease or cancer (Li et al., 2018). But how much lower is the risk of premature deaths when people live healthy lifestyles? According to this study, women with healthy habits lived an average of fourteen years longer than their counterparts with unhealthy lifestyles (Li et al., 2018). In contrast, men with healthy lifestyles lived approximately twelve additional years (Li et al., 2018).

Of course, a longer lifespan isn’t the only benefit of a healthy lifestyle. A study with over 3,000 men and women between ages 55 and 85 has shown that individuals with healthy lifestyles performed better than their counterparts in all measures (Visser et al., 2018). For instance, the individuals in the healthy lifestyle group were faster in physical agility tests and less likely to display symptoms of depression (Visser et al., 2018). They also had slower declines in cognitive function and social interactions (Visser et al., 2018).
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In short, living a healthy lifestyle can help us feel healthier and be less likely to be depressed. Moreover, we might live an additional decade by adopting health-promoting habits. 

​The secret to building healthy habits that last is to choose sustainable behaviors that you can stick to. Here are some tips:

​So how do we know if a behavior is sustainable? The sustainability of a behavior depends on how much time and effort it requires and whether we are willing to commit to it day after day. Thus, habits that require the least time and effort might be easier to incorporate into our daily lives. Yet, there is another secret ingredient to make habits stick: likability. As discussed earlier, many people find detrimental behaviors hard to shed because they feel good. It becomes even more challenging if we attempt to replace them with habits that we don’t enjoy. Therefore, if we want our habits to last a long time, we might pick those we like and enjoy doing.

Another factor that may help lifestyle changes stick is the support from others. If you have family and friends who encourage you to take healthy steps and cheer you on your journey, you may find it easier to commit to those changes. If you don’t have a support system, no worries. You might be able to find support groups or organizations where you live or online and interact with others making similar changes. Moreover, you might also use apps to help you set goals, send you reminders, and display daily affirmations.

Lack of physical activity has many harmful consequences, ranging from cardiovascular disease to atrophied muscles and metabolic syndrome (Bowden Davies et al., 2019). Unfortunately, many adults in the U.S. don’t get enough physical activity. But how much activity is considered enough? According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, adults should aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week (WHO, 2010). Moderate activity is defined as an exercise that increases your heart rate by approximately 40% from its resting state, whereas a vigorous activity raises it by 60% or higher (MacIntosh et al., 2021).​

A healthy diet has two primary goals: prevent malnutrition and maintain a healthy weight. Unfortunately, many people don’t eat whole foods and consume high amounts of unhealthy fats (i.e., saturated and trans fats) and added sugars. According to the United States National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a healthy diet should include lean proteins (i.e., nuts, beans, fish, poultry, eggs, etc.) and limit added sugars, unhealthy fats, and excess sodium. Furthermore, it might include several servings of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains for sufficient fiber, calorie, and micronutrient (i.e., vitamins and minerals) intake (NHLBI, 2022). 

​Gradually replacing harmful habits with beneficial ones that you enjoy can help you attain a healthy lifestyle and increase your well-being.

​Let’s look at what clean eating really is, the benefits of a clean diet, and ways to eat cleaner. 

Before we begin, let’s talk about the word choices we use for food. To be clear, there’s no such thing as “dirty eating.” No food on its own is inherently bad, perhaps unless it’s expired or is highly processed. All types of food—whether it be leafy green salads or saucy spaghetti with a delicious piece of restaurant bread—can be enjoyed in moderation. The philosophy behind clean eating is relatively simple. Clean eating encourages the consumption of whole foods, while minimizing or eliminating processed foods that contain added sugars, salts, and artificial ingredients. Benefits of this dietary choice include feeling more energized, improving heart health, and losing weight if that is what is desired (Baker & Walsh, 2020).

While clean eating may be a great option for you if you’re looking to incorporate more whole and natural foods into your diet, researchers also suggest that being too restrictive about your food plan may be detrimental (McCartney, 2016). Eliminating all foods with added sugars or limiting yourself from indulging in cravings from time to time may not only lead to feelings of irritability and increased hunger, but you may end up overeating to compensate or could be at an increased risk of developing an eating disorder (Ambwani et al., 2019).
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A good reminder here is to choose a dietary lifestyle that is best for your body and speak with a healthcare provider about any nutritional questions or concerns you may have.

​Let’s look at some healthy foods to incorporate into your “clean” diet. This list is by no means exhaustive but includes a few options for different forms of macronutrients and micronutrients (USDHHS, 2014).  

With carbs, you may want to stick to options that are lower in processed sugars and higher in fiber. Here are some options:

• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Blueberries
• Apples
• Bananas
• Mangos
• Oranges
• Peaches
• Pineapples
• Dried Fruit
• Beans
• Peas
• Corn
• Sweet Potatoes
• Yams
• Squash
• Carrots
• Whole Grain Pasta
• Whole Grain Bread
• Whole Grain Tortilla
• Quinoa
• Oatmeal
• Rice
• Honey 

When we talk about different protein options, we want to make sure they are high quality (e.g., organic or grass-fed). Below are options of healthy proteins to try.

• Organic
  • Chicken
  • Turkey
  • Eggs and Egg Whites
  • Duck
  • Cheese/Cottage Cheese
  • Butter and Cream
  • Yogurt
• Plant-Based
  • Lentils
  • Beans
  • Chickpeas
  • Legumes
  • Buckwheat
  • Tofu
  • Edamame
• Grass-Fed
  • Beef and Steak
  • Goat
  • Lamb
  • Cow’s Milk
  • Sheep’s Milk
• Seafood Options
  • Lean Fish (e.g., tilapia, tuna, trout)
  • Fatty Fish (e.g., salmon, sardines)
  • Shellfish and Squid 

Most of the healthy fats from which we can derive nutrition are often found in whole, plant-based food options. Here is a list of some healthy fats you may want to include in some of your home recipes.

• Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
• Nuts (e.g., peanuts, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, etc.)
• Seeds (e.g., flax, chia, sesame)
• Sesame or Flaxseed Oil
• Avocados and avocado oil
• Coconut and coconut oil
• Olives and olive oil

Clean eating isn’t something that can be done overnight and may take time to build up to before adopting it as a lifestyle choice. Here are some tips to help as you start (or continue) a clean eating journey.

• Find recipes online and use the ingredients as a guide for your next grocery shopping trip.
• Once you have gathered the necessary foods for your recipes, try to set 1-2 days aside a week for meal preparation.
• If you’re going out for a meal, try checking the restaurant’s menu online to identify healthy options before you leave.
• Hydrate yourself with enough water and avoid sugary drinks.
• If you struggle with incorporating vegetables into your diet, start with one or two veggies you like, such as potatoes and carrots.

Share your clean eating journey with a friend or family member to build social support and accountability. 

​Revamping your diet can be a challenge, but it is something you can achieve. If you’re looking for a new diet or just to eat healthier, clean eating may be a choice you want to consider. A gentle reminder that “clean eating” is a lifestyle choice and may take time to get used to. If you find yourself struggling to keep up with clean eating habits, try your best to be kind to yourself and remember to focus on eating in moderation. Hopefully, this article helped you gain a foundational understanding of clean eating and provided tips to start your clean eating journey. 

​Discover the many ways to detoxify your body, all with the potential to powerfully impact your long-term health.

Today, we are continually interacting with things in our environment that may introduce toxins into our bodies, from the food we eat to our pillowcases to our cooking pans. Toxins are organic and non-organic matter that, once they come into contact with our bodies, can cause all sorts of mental and physical health problems (Trasande & Liu, 2011).

When you hear the word toxins, you might initially think of heavy metals in drinking water, pesticides in crops, or lead paint on the walls of your house. And not without reason: the cost of exposure to environmental toxins, even just among children in the USA, is approaching $100 billion dollars annually (Trasande & Liu, 2011).
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But if we give the word “toxin” a broader definition, there are plenty of other, everyday encounters between our bodies and the world that cause us harm. In this article we will have a look at how we can detoxify our bodies to live cleaner, longer, healthier lives.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, detoxification involves removing a toxin or its effects from someone (CDC, 2010). In simple terms, detoxifying your body is removing something harmful from it, or alleviating the harms it has caused.

​Detoxifying your body, at its core, means returning to a more natural way of living. It means renouncing many of the modern innovations that make our lives more convenient but expose us to unnatural and harmful chemicals and substances. Detoxing is as much about what you don’t do as what you do. So, when you think about detoxifying your own body, remember that the solutions are going to be specific to your own circumstances. If you try to think big and broad about detoxification; you would be doing your long-term health a real favor.

​In this article, we’ll discuss what bad habits are and how to break them.

A habit is any action we perform so often that it becomes almost an involuntary response. If this habit becomes undesirable, we may consider it to be a “bad habit”.
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If you open the dictionary and look up bad habits, one of the definitions you’ll see is “a patterned behavior regarded as detrimental to one’s physical or mental health, which is often linked to a lack of self-control” (Segen’s Medical Dictionary, n.d.). Essentially, a bad habit is a recurring action you do that typically provides instant satisfaction but often leads to long-term problems.

Now that we know what bad habits are and what causes them, how do we break them? Sure, people may tell you to just stop, but that’s easier said than done. Here are some steps that may help you break bad habits:

1. Identify the bad habit. You may desire to define the actual concrete behavior that you want to change. Sure, you know that smoking is bad for you but what are doable solutions? You may want to switch to nicotine patches or other alternatives to help, or perhaps you may want to stop taking as many smoke breaks at work. 
   
2. Identify your triggers. You may want to consider why you find your bad habit so compelling. Why did you develop the habit in the first place, and what drives you to continue to go back to it? 
   
3. Cut out as many triggers as you can. It may help you change your behavioral pattern by going for the triggers themselves. Triggers are the event that kicks off the automatic urge in your brain to complete the habit. This can be anything around us that our brain associates with a particular habit. These triggers, such as who you were with and what is around you, can have an invisible but impactful effect on your behavior. Tricks for avoiding them could range from working on deep breathing and meditation to deciding to get professional support. 
   
4. Replace the bad habit. Now, research shows that simply stopping or ending a bad habit doesn’t work (van der Weiden et al., 2020). You developed the habit for a reason, and it fulfilled a need or provided relief. Instead, it may be more fruitful to substitute your bad habit with a good, or at least better, habit. 
   
5. Find support. It may help to find people who are trying to break the same bad habit. Groups that meet to quit drinking, smoking, or other bad habits may provide emotional and moral support. This may help you stay accountable and provide someone to celebrate your victories with. Knowing that someone is expecting you to be better can be a powerful motivator as well. 
   
6. Visualize success. Close your eyes and see yourself throwing away those cigarettes or junk food from the house. Visualize yourself waking up early or going for that after-work jog. Whatever your bad habit is, it can be motivational to visualize yourself crushing it and enjoying your success. 
   
7. Be patient but persistent. Change takes time, and you may mess up from time to time. No one is perfect, but remember that consistency is the key to success. Over time, new brain connections can form, and new habits can be made. Don’t be so harsh on yourself for slip-ups, just take it one day at a time.

​In terms of enacting life changes, everyone starts from somewhere. The first step is to identify the bad habit and accept that you are willing to change. Breaking bad habits takes time and effort, and as we discussed, it requires replacing them with better habits. You may not be successful all the time, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t making meaningful steps in the right direction. It is more important that you be persistent and kind to yourself on your journey.

​Learn about motivation and how to feel more authentically motivated.

​Motivation is an energizing force that drives you to act. When you’re motivated, you feel excited and driven to start working towards a goal and to keep working towards that goal, even in the face of obstacles (Parks & Guay, 2009). It can even feel exhilarating to be genuinely motivated to work on a goal that you care about (Cook & Artino, 2016). 

We are more likely to be intrinsically motivated to achieve goals that fulfill three basic psychological needs (Cook & Artino, 2016). These needs are:

• Autonomy: We all want to feel that we are in control of our actions. No one likes feeling that they are being coerced into doing something. For example, you’ll probably feel more motivated to study if you choose your own major.
• Self-efficacy or Competency: You want to feel that you are competent. The task can’t be so difficult that it feels impossible, but it also can’t be so easy that you don’t feel challenged. If you’re a first-year college student, you probably wouldn’t feel motivated to study a graduate-level textbook. You also probably wouldn’t feel motivated to study a child’s textbook. The task should match your abilities.
• Relatedness: You will feel motivated if you feel a sense of connection with others. You may feel more motivated to study a boring subject if you join a study group or if you learn that others in your chosen career path have also taken this class and studied this material. You can increase feelings of relatedness by building connections related to your goals and promoting environments that exhibit genuine caring, mutual respect, and safety.

​In addition, you’ll feel more satisfied and more motivated if you can pursue goals that are consistent with your values and interests (Parks & Guay, 2009). If you can structure your professional, educational, health, domestic, and personal life around your values and interests, you’ll feel a greater sense of intrinsic and integrated motivation. This will make building habits and completing goals easier. When you’re acting in ways that support your values, you’ll likely feel happier and more motivated.

​Generally, you'll feel motivated to work when you find your work interesting, when your work has clear and well-defined goals, and when you can link your work to a wider project. You can increase your motivation to work by addressing your basic psychological needs (Sharp et al., 2009).

You’re more likely to feel motivated if you feel a sense of ownership or choice over your work. When faced with a boring or unpleasant work task, you can increase your sense of autonomy and motivation if you can connect the task to a career path that you have chosen. Having some variety in your work can also increase your sense of autonomy and your feelings of motivation.

Work that is technically challenging will be more motivating than work that is too easy. You’re unlikely to be motivated by boring tasks that don’t fulfill your need to feel competent.

​You’ll probably be more motivated to work if you have a sense of belonging within supportive workplace networks. Team-building exercises and happy hours with your colleagues may help you feel more connected and more motivated in your work. You’ll also feel a greater sense of motivation if you can connect your contribution to a larger project that is impactful and important.

​Not all motivation is created equal. Intrinsic motivation, where joy is inherent in the performance of the act, and integrated motivation, where the act has become part of your self-identity, are the highest forms of motivation. So you probably feel happy and fulfilled when you work on something you love or when you work on something important to you. 

​Learn how to create a roadmap to get to your desired life destination.

Remember when we were younger, and people used to ask us what we wanted to be when we grew up? It may seem silly to ask an eight-year-old what they hope to do with their life. But maybe this small talk was also a way to get us to think about what we wanted from life. And most of us answered this question with confidence, revealing our hopes and dreams.  However, as we grew older and learned how to manage the curveballs life threw at us, we might have lost sight of what we once hoped to become and achieve. So, take a moment now and ask yourself what you want to be. It doesn’t have to be what you hope to achieve five or ten years from now—what is something you want to do next week? Next month? Next year?

Planning out your life doesn’t mean having every minute of every day mapped out. Instead, life planning is a process of creating a generalized guide of what your purpose(s) in life is, what you hope to accomplish during your lifetime, and how you aim to work toward those goals (Smith, 1999). Life plans often include an estimated timeline of when you hope your goals come to fruition and also take bumps on the road into account. Ultimately, life is full of surprises, and we cannot possibly predict unforeseen events. As such, life plans are often works-in-progress, should be amended as life goes on, and preferably, are flexible rather than rigid blueprints.

Even if you are someone who enjoys going with the flow and taking life one step at a time, you may still find the following information useful, or at least insightful. Let’s take a look at why life planning can be beneficial for you (Miller & Frisch, 2009).

• Life planning keeps your priorities in check. As humans, we have several life aspects to think about—families, friends, jobs, health, finances, and hobbies. And yet, there are only 24 hours in a day to complete what seems like a never-ending to-do list. Creating a general life plan can allow you to list your priorities and rank which ones are most important. Of course, as life goes on, priorities often change. Having a flexible and amendable life plan lets us revisit our priorities and focus on those requiring the majority of our attention.

• Life planning outlines your dreams and goals. Life plans allow us to put our dreams and goals on paper rather than just in our heads. When we see our dreams and goals listed in a life plan, they can serve as important reminders of our purpose and why we do the work we do. This may also enable us to make decisions that are in tune with our dreams.

• Life planning serves as motivation. Motivation ebbs and flows. Some days we wake up and feel determined to accomplish a week’s worth of tasks in one afternoon. Other days, we may procrastinate for hours to complete a chore that would take fifteen minutes to complete. Life plans can help motivate us on the days we lack the inspiration to chase our dreams and create a life that we love for ourselves. 

​Do you feel like making a life plan would be useful for you? Try walking through some of these steps to create a life plan, or at least start thinking about making one. 

Whether you write your answers down or ponder these questions in your head, take some time to reflect on your life. Here are some questions to consider:

• Where do you come from?
• Where are you now?
• Where do you hope to be in the future?
• Which aspects of your life are you satisfied with (e.g., family, social relationships, career, finances, recreation, health, etc.)?
• In which aspects of your life would you like to see improvement?
• What are your priorities right now? How do you see them changing in the future?

​I am going to provide you with a list of categories in your life. You may find it beneficial to rate your satisfaction with these categories on a scale of 1-10. This activity may help you figure out what works well and what needs to be improved in your life. This is not an exhaustive list and I invite you to incorporate any life categories that are relevant to you as you complete this activity.

• Family
• Career
• Social Relationships (e.g., friends, community members, neighbors, etc.)
• Love and Romance
• Mental Health
• Physical Health
• Financial Security
• Nutrition and Fitness
• Personal Growth and Learning
• Environment 
• Hobbies
• Recreation and Fun
• Self-Love
• Community Involvement and/or Civic Engagement
• Religion and/or Spirituality

Once you finish rating, think about whether you can create a ranked list of which categories are top priorities and which can be momentarily left on the back burner. 

​Maybe you looked at this list and realized you hadn’t visited your parents in a while, didn’t take a vacation last year, or missed participating in a hobby that you loved. Once you have made a list of your top priorities, you may find it helpful to create some goals that can help you increase your satisfaction with these different life aspects. 

​Learn self-management skills and strategies to better control yourself.

Do you find yourself getting easily overwhelmed by your inexhaustible to-do list? Have you been in a situation where your frustration led you to tears? Has there been a time when you wanted to start eating a better diet but struggled to follow the plan? If this sounds like you, don’t worry—we’ve all been there. Sometimes our thoughts and emotions can overpower our self-control and lead to what we wouldn’t consider to be our proudest moments. But that’s why we’re here to help you understand the importance of self-management and how to become more mindful and productive.

The practice of self-management includes being able to assess your priorities, manage your time, hold yourself accountable, follow through with the task at hand, and most importantly, maintain your well-being (Hackman, 1986). Many of us may struggle with procrastination from time to time, especially when it comes to school assignments or mundane tasks at work. But we may also deal with procrastination in our home life.
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Without healthy self-management, we may find it difficult to complete simple tasks (or big projects), achieve our goals, gain personal and professional growth, and take care of our emotional well-being. 

Here are some self-management skills you may want to consider improving on if you haven’t already done so (Lorig & Holman, 2003; Grady & Gough, 2014).

• Organization. Is your workspace messy? Do you find yourself having random sticky notes all over your home? When you’re at school, do you struggle to find a pen or pencil instantly? Organizing might sound like a tedious process but being organized can support your efficiency and productivity. It can also help you feel less stressed the next time you have a meeting you’re in a rush for and need to find the keys to your car.
• Self-Motivation. As much as we want to be constantly motivated to do whatever we’re working toward, motivation usually ebbs and flows. Therefore balancing work and rest is necessary. Self-motivation encourages us not only to take the initiative to work but to feel driven to accomplish tasks, too. Next time you’re feeling a bit unmotivated, you may want to reflect and find something that motivates you. Whether it’s the satisfaction of a job well done, being able to watch your favorite show after dinner, or treating yourself to a fun day at the beach, showing yourself appreciation for your hard work can help you feel motivated to continue reaching your goals.

• Managing Time. Without understanding time management, it can be rather tricky to practice self-management. Some examples of time management may include creating a calendar that lists out all of your important events and meetings, having a weekly plan that you regularly update with your to-do list, or even just working on one thing at a time so that you can focus your energy on the task or event at hand without feeling overwhelmed.

• Self-Care. If the goals of self-management are to better manage our thoughts, emotions, and actions so that we can thrive in our personal and professional lives, we cannot do this without taking the time to manage our stress, show ourselves appreciation, and incorporate rest and play into our hectic days. For example, have you ever found yourself working more than 40 hours a week while juggling family life and social obligations? More often than not, you may notice that your brain feels jumbled, and you’re having a hard time getting anything done. Self-care is an essential way to combat feeling overworked and stressed. Whether it’s setting boundaries at work by not taking your tasks home with you, getting in 30 minutes of exercise a few times a week, or eating some delicious food while spending time with your loved ones, any form of self-care can enable us to have a more balanced and fulfilling lifestyle.

• Regulating Emotions. A healthy practice of self-management is to learn to be in tune with your emotions. For example, do you get anxious before a presentation at school? Do you have a supervisor who drives you just a little bit nutty? Is there something at home or work that makes you feel a bit sad? While it may feel like a waste of time to process emotions and take time for ourselves when we feel down or upset, it’s crucial to understand how our emotions affect us before they manifest into something bigger. If you’re nervous about a presentation, consider asking a family member or classmate to help you practice. Feeling annoyed by something at work? Try having a conversation with your work team or journaling about it. Is something else making you feel down in the dumps? You may want to try focusing on your strengths to boost your self-esteem or perhaps chat with a friend to feel supported. Once we understand what some of our underlying emotions are, we can manage them better and thus refocus our time and energy on what is important. ​

​Discover practical strategies that can help you become more decisive.

Do you often feel torn between two or more options that sound equally appealing? If you do, you’re not alone. Every day, we need to make numerous decisions, big and small. Maybe you start your decision-making struggle when picking an outfit in the morning or thinking about whether you want your eggs for breakfast to be scrambled, poached, hard-boiled, or fried. Later in the day, you might spend hours thinking about whether you should authorize a business transaction or which job offer to accept.

Indecisiveness is the difficulty we have in making satisfying decisions (Appel, Englich & Burghardt, 2021). When we are indecisive, we evaluate and reevaluate the same set of information. We may spend a long time weighing the pros and cons of every option, only to be paralyzed by them.

Sometimes indecision is caused by having too many options to consider, such as when browsing the shelves of a supermarket for salad dressing and there are at least fifty different bottles to choose from. Nevertheless, the inability to make decisions has also to do with our upbringing and the society we belong to. For instance, a multinational study has found that Japanese individuals exhibited greater indecisiveness than American and Chinese participants (Yates et al., 2010).
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Researchers have also found that childhood trauma alters brain activation patterns involved in decision-making. Simply put, young adults who experienced traumatic levels of stress as children were unable to evaluate risks associated with options, which in turn hampered their ability to make sound decisions (Birn, Roeber & Pollak, 2017).

Occasional indecisiveness isn’t all that bad. If you are indecisive because you are carefully weighing your options, you are likely to avoid rushing into decisions that you might regret later. If you tend to be indecisive in many situations, you may end up wasting your mental energy on trivial matters. Here are a few strategies to overcome indecisiveness that you might find helpful.

• List pros and cons for each option. Determining what you might gain or lose in each case, especially for significant decisions, may help you narrow down the choices or pick the one with the most benefits. It also enables you to visualize yourself in each scenario so that you can determine which option you are more comfortable with.
• Do your research. If you consider an important decision, such as whether you should accept a job in a different state, you might want to research your job responsibilities and expectations. You may also try to find out whether you’d be happy in the town or city where the job is located. Try visiting the area and absorbing as much information as possible about the company and the town.
• Avoid the perfection trap. Nobody is perfect, and people make mistakes. It is okay that others snicker behind your back when you fail at something or do a subpar job. Sometimes we have to fail to learn. Otherwise, you will perfect only one skill: avoidance.
• Reduce options. Have trouble figuring out which cereal you want to eat?  Where to go for your honeymoon? What to wear in the morning? The cure might be limiting your options. Again, remember Steve Jobs only wore black turtlenecks for a reason.
• Establish default options. You might take a pen and paper and make a list of go-to options for everyday decisions. This strategy automates some of your decisions, and you know exactly what to expect. For instance, I have go-to menu items at restaurants I frequent. I tend to order these default meals unless I crave something else.
• Flip a coin. Stuck between two options that are equally good (or bad)? Flip a coin and save your mental energy for something else.