Tag: Lifestyle

Good Ideas · Guide To Better Living · Lifestyle

Embracing change…

jacquelineobyikocha5 Comments

Most of us who have hit 40 and beyond have most times become hardwired in our ways that change does not come easy and is often worse than pulling teeth, however, if we fail to embrace change both internally and externally we will slowly decay, grow out of touch with times and very well become stubborn, doddering old coots. 

Some may say that after all, we are not going to live forever nor get out here alive – they do have a point – so why bother to keep up with change? There are boundless reasons why change is not only good for your body and soul, your mental health, your business – whatever that may be – and it may not only elongate your life but perhaps make your life more interesting and ‘you’ a less of a stubborn doddering old coot 😉 Change quote, Challenge, Life, Pushing Forward, Inspiration, My Thinking Corner

We know that change is constant and even when we don’t seek it, it is thrust on us that we are not left much choice; you either fight it to a bitter finish, or you embrace it with flourish. The choice is yours.

The many benefits derived from change range from:

Personal growth: you will learn new things, discover new insights and perspectives every time you experience some change. Sometimes the outcomes and lessons learned may not be your initial expectation and could be much better.

Improvements: No situation in our life improves by itself without making the necessary adjustments; be it our finances, health, job, relationship, home…We need to take those vital steps required to improve that circumstance that we are struggling with because without making the effort things will continue to stagnate.

Life values: Mere looking at the present conditions of our existence and how a pandemic has made most people reevaluate their lives and reinforce those important life values is an easy example. From time to time we need to assess our values.

Flexibility: Embracing change helps us adapt easily to new situations and even thrive whilst at it. We become far more supple.

Ripple effect: Making big changes in one swoop is extremely difficult, but taking those little steps of change surely lead to bigger ones and hopefully better results.

Strength: A lot of change comes with attendant challenges and overcoming them only makes us tougher.

Progress: Progress is the child of change. Your vehicle will most certainly not move forward when the gear is constantly in neutral. To get where you want to be, be prepared to change the gear and move forward.

Opportunities: Change brings opportunities – both expected and unexpected – and they could present you more fulfilment, happiness and growth. To illustrate, nearly two years ago I flipped my career pursuit and started a journey in the educational sector where I started out teaching French in a new school here in the UAE and within a short space of time, I was promoted to a head of the section. My initial goal was to keep my French sharp and not lose it the way I have lost speaking Spanish, here I am now, not knowing for sure where the ride is going but enjoying it and hoping to make the best of it all the way.

Exciting New beginnings: Change brings that much-desired excitement that we need in our lives. It puts a spring in your step when you close a chapter that should have been closed way back and open a new one that leads to greater things.

A more interesting life: What would life be when it becomes one monotonous, boring and uninteresting routine? As dull as dishwater. Resist that temptation to stick to predictability all the time and aim to initiate little self-evolving steps of change that will lead you where you need to be.

Enjoy the butterflies!

 

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Cooking · Family · Guide To Better Living

Finding Books Which Can Help You To Cook

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(Image Source)

Cooking has long been a very large part of human society. Going far beyond a simple means of survival, this element can dominate a big part of your life, with loads of public holidays and special events being impossible without the stuff. Of course, though, it’s not always easy to know where to look for help in this rot of area. To give you an idea of the sort of places you can find cooking support, this post will be going into the past, focusing on books to give you an idea of what you have available.

Research and Science

Most people’s first thoughts when reading something like this will be that all of the cooking books out there are dedicated to recipes alone. In reality, though, the science of cooking and nutrition are very popular topics, too, and there are loads of books on the market which focus on these areas. By reading options you like this, you will make it much easier to control the food you eat. Examples like the Big Fat Surprise are great for this. Not only do they offer a lot of knowledge, but they do it in a very easily digestible way, which is something most publications will struggle to manage.

Recipes

Of course, while they aren’t the only option on the market, it would be hard to cover an area like this without thinking about the recipe books which you have available. Regardless of the type of food you want to cook, the ingredients you’d like to use, or the time you have to do it all, you will be able to find a quality recipe book with no trouble at all if you follow the right route. By reading a blog or two, you will discover loads of options like this. You may have to sift through some examples which you don’t like very much, but this will be worth it once you find a recipe which turns your life around. This can be used a tool to spark some family fun.

Technique and Safety

Finally, as the last area to consider, it’s time to think about the way you handle yourself in the kitchen. Learning how to cook in often just as much about the techniques which you use as the recipes you find to put together. Some people are naturally very good at this, while others will struggle, and might need some help along the way. Thankfully, there are loads of instruction manuals out there which are designed to be used by chefs to make sure that they are doing the right things with their cooking. It will take a long time to improve skills like this, but you will also need to know how to improve them.

Hopefully, this post will inspire you to start working harder on the time which you put into making your cooking better. A lot of people struggle with this sort of work, finding it hard to know where to go when they want to make a difference.

Guide To Better Living

Taking Care Of Your Footsies: Advice To Live By

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If there is one area of the body that a large number of people make the mistake of failing to give enough TLC too, it’s the feet. For one reason or another, often our feet don’t get the care that they require to remain healthy, which can lead to a range of problems, from dry, sore feet to cracked heels and ingrowing toenails.

The issue is that a lot of women don’t know how to look after their feet properly, which can lead to a lack of proper foot care. The good news is that foot care isn’t something that it’s hard to do, it’s just a case of knowing what steps to take when it comes to giving your footsies the best care possible.

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Bearing that in mind, below are some foot care tips that foot models swear by. To keep your feet in better condition have a read of this and implement the below tips in your daily beauty and healthcare regimes. (Your feet will look and feel better for it, and they will be healthier too!)

Buy quality footwear

One of the most important things that you can do to keep your feet healthy is to buy quality footwear. The more you are on your feet each day, the more essential high-quality footwear becomes. What you want to do is research the best quality footwear and use resources like https://biopods.com/ to learn more about foot health and what it takes to make smart footwear choices. If you can’t afford to spend a large sum of money on footwear or you have footwear that isn’t comfortable, the best thing to do is buy quality insoles or gel pads for your shoes. This way your feet are still getting quality support but without you having to buy new shoes.

Wash your feet properly

Feet that aren’t washed properly are prone to all kinds of problems, including athlete’s foot and other forms of food fungus. To prevent your feet from developing these kinds of conditions, ensure that you wash your feet once a day with hot water and soap and follow by drying them entirely with a clean towel. Don’t wear your trainers when damp and ensure that you always air them out after use – this helps to prevent the risk of athlete’s foot. Never wear your trainers without socks, always put on a pair of clean, cotton socks before wearing them.

Exfoliate twice a week

If you want to avoid painful cracked heels and dry feet, it’s essential that you exfoliate your feet at least twice a week. There are various foot scrubs that you can choose from, but normally a pumice stone tends to work better as these provide a more coarse surface to exfoliate with, removing more dead and dry skin than a foot scrub could do. The electronic dry skin removal machines are also great, but these are far more expensive.

Moisturise every day

Your feet are no different to the rest of your body, they require just as much moisturisation as any other body part, if not more. That’s why it’s important that you moisturise your feet once a day with a rich foot cream – the best creams to use are shea butter or argan oil-based foot creams as these provide an exceedingly high level of hydration.

There you have it, a guide to giving your feet all of the TLC that they need to remain healthy.

This is a collaborative post.

Guide To Better Living · Positive Affirmation Challenge

What About You? Affirmation Challenge Day 9

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My body, mind and spirit are a healthy team and everyday I must nourish each of them that they may continue to abound in grace.

Most times we focus more on our physical attributes and health, failing to give equal if not more attention to the unseen, intangible parts of us that are the essence of who we are.Image result for quotes about healthy mind body and spirit

Check Out This Excellent Quote From Yesterday:

Bernadette: Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.” Dylan Thomas

#Thepowerofpositivethinking, #positiveaffirmations, #abundancementality, #findinggreaterjoy, #Believe, #Trinity, #Wholesomeness, #BodyMindSpirit

P.S. If you wish to join this positive affirmation challenge running for 90 days, please add your quote to the comments and each day, I’ll share everyone’s quote with their links.

Positive Affirmation Challenge

What About You? Affirmation Challenge.

jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

I am a gifted woman. I walk tall. I’m taking the odds that life has given me and making them even. I walk the path of success. I’m a champion. What about you? Jacqueline

#positiveaffirmations, #walktall, #findingyou, #be.at.peace, #findinggreaterjoy

P.S. If you wish to join this positive affirmation challenge running for 90 days, please add your quote to the comments and each day, I’ll share everyone’s quote with their links.

Being Happy, Self-worth, Quotes

Health · Wellness

Times in Your Life To Consider Health Supplements

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In an ideal world, you should be able to get all the nutrients and minerals that you need from the food that you consume on a daily basis. However, there may be times in your life that you need the boost which is provided by health supplements.

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Of course, you need to know more about the different options available. Just a few of the most common include fish oils, multivitamins, magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin B12. It is worth consulting with your doctor about the benefits of these various substances to you. So, here are a few of the most common times in your life when it may be appropriate to take health supplements.

When You Have Vitamin or Mineral Deficiencies

If you have had a blood test which shows that you have deficiencies in certain vitamins or minerals, you may want to take supplements as a way of correcting this imbalance. Your doctor will be able to advise you as to which ones are appropriate for your particular deficiency or deficiencies.

When You Have Dietary Restrictions

Whether you have dietary restrictions which are caused by your health or a lifestyle choice such as veganism, you may not be getting some of the minerals and vitamins that you require. The supplements which you take may be able to fill in the gaps and help to give you the greater sense of balance that you are looking for.

When You Are Pregnant

There are plenty of nutrients out there which have shown to play a major part in preventing birth defects and promoting the health of your baby. Your obstetrician is best-placed to give you direct advice about pre-pregnancy and pregnancy supplements which can play a useful role in the healthy development of your baby.

When You Are Getting Older

As we age, our calorie requirements adjust and the amount that you eat can start to decrease. When this happens, you may end up getting fewer vitamins and minerals in your diet. Once again, this is where health supplements can play a role in picking up the slack.

When You Take Medications Which Lead to Deficiencies

There are all sorts of medications out there which can end up leading to mineral and vitamin deficiencies. You can even end up being unable to absorb a range of essential nutrients. The best course of action is to work with your health professionals who will help you to select the right supplements for you.

When you are deciding on which supplements to take, you also need to consider what other food you are eating which are a source of that particular vitamin or mineral. You don’t want to risk exceeding your maximum intake levels as this can end up having the opposite impact on the one that you were intending. As we have mentioned a couple of times in this article, you are always better off consulting with your doctor if you are at all unsure.

This is a collaborative post.

Life · My Thinking Corner

Our Times, Our Spirituality… Thoughts For Tuesday

jacquelineobyikocha6 Comments

Knowing Peace, Living Stress free, Spirituality

Our times are fraught with stress and quick-fixes. A fast-forward micro-waved lifestyle that’s corrosive. We may need to relearn how to enjoy life on the slow ‘cos life is not a drive-thru and you are not in competition with anyone but yourself.

Our lives should be a daily spiritual experience even in the mundaneness of it all. We must make concerted efforts to be in tune with our inner selves and this is not on an experience that can be placed on speed dial. It is a cultivated practice that doesn’t involve spending hundreds of hours in euphoric states of levitation.

Of course, there are times when we might experience a big spiritual AHA moment and there are incidents that may leave us in deep reflection and awe but at all times but as we go through the process of living life, our lives should be a reflection of certain things:

A Beacon of peace and humanity
A Testimony of faith and hope
A Source of Love, strength and goodwill
Of Mercy, laughter and joy (irrespective of the dark clouds that seek to hover).
Of acceptance and love of yourself so that you can be able to love someone else (if you have none, you can’t give any)
Of the goodness that you wish to see in the world.

There will always be two sides of everything; Light and Dark and this equally exists with spirituality. There is the Light side of spirituality and the Dark side of spirituality.

It is up to us to choose the path on which we wish to walk.

Shalom

Stream of Consciousness Saturday.

No Grill…Stream of Consciousness Saturday

jacquelineobyikocha10 Comments

We are not allowed to use an open grill in our apartment for safety reasons and this is one thing that I miss sorely. I recall Summer days of cook-out back in Houston, the camaraderie of family visits and it almost seems like aeons ago. Time flies.

Some parks allow the use of charcoal grill but the UAE is getting a tad too hot for such indulgence so, yours truly has to rely on my kitchens’ oven grill which is not quite the same.

Maybe it’s all in my mind right now – that flavour of sizzling barbecue wafting in from somewhere and causing saliva to pool in my mouth. Let me take a peek out of the window, maybe I’ll go begging for a bite 😉

Written for SoCS – Grill

 

Health · Wellness

What Your Health Really Needs, When It Really Needs It

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Grapefruit, Fruit, Pomegranate, Healthy Living, Citrus, Pink
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When it comes to our health levels, you’re always going to find that you need to focus on different things. Because there’s no one size fits all approach to your health levels. Of course, there are key recommendations that are going to help you to stay fit and feel your best, but as you go through life you’re likely to find that your needs change. And when your needs change, you have to tweak your approach to health a little. Whether we’re talking about growing children (such as your own) or old age (whether that’s yours or your parents’), everyone will need to take a different approach to health. But how do you know what your body needs?

Most of the time, it will be telling you. And while you may not be all that in-tune with yourself yet, you will be. Before long, you’ll recognize the signs and what your body is trying to tell you about what it needs the most. But until then, we’re going to break down what some of them might be. Because during different phases of your life, your body will want and need different things. So let’s take a look at what you need to know to help your health during them.

To Feel Good

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First of all, we’re going to talk over the things that your body needs right now in order to feel its best. And yes, we’re kicking off with some of the most simple, but also the most effective, tips.

Water

First of all, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re drinking enough water. This is the secret to feeling good. And yes, it’s really that simple. When you drink more water, your body will be energized and able to work at its best. Your digestion will improve, your skin will clear up, and your brain will function better – all because you started to hydrate your body better. So whenever your body doesn’t feel its best, load up on water!

Fuel

Alongside water, you have to fuel your body. Yes, it’s nice to be able to eat for taste or enjoy certain foods because they’re comforting, but when you want to feel good, you need to focus on foods that fuel. Things like salmon, walnuts, and eggs are great for you. Start to research different foods and see what will benefit your body the most.

Sleep

And sleep is the secret. There’s nothing else that can really beat the benefits your body will get from a good night’s sleep. You’ll find more details at SleepFoundation.org on why our bodies need sleep, but above all else, you heal. When you’re tired or achy, your body is going to work on repairing itself when you sleep. So make sure that you’re getting a solid seven to nine hours each night, just to ensure that your body can feel its best.

To Look Good

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And yes, of course, we all want to look our best. But we don’t always associate health with beauty – when the two go hand in hand. So if you want to start looking your best as well as feeling it, here’s what you need to focus on.

Your Diet

We’ve already talked about the foods your body needs to feel good, but you also need to realize that what you eat is reflected in your body too. You are what you eat! So if you want to look good as well as feel it, you need to focus on the foods that will help you to do that. And we’re not necessarily talking about weight loss (although this can help you if your weight is at an unhealthy level), but the foods that will improve your skin, give you healthy hair and generally help your health. So start to look into nutrition and what you need to be eating to look your best.

An Exercise Program

Again, we all tend to look to exercise as something we do to lose weight. But it’s so much more than that. When you exercise, you get your blood flowing, your skin glows, your circulation improves, and yes you do tone your muscle and lose fat too. But with the right exercise program, you will start to look your best.

Avoiding Stress

Stress is an incredibly dangerous toxin that will always show in your skin, your digestion, and even your mental health too. So if you’re serious about looking good, you need to work on keeping your stress levels as low as possible.

During Pregnancy

Taking Care of yourself during pregnancy

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It’s vital that you work to have a healthy pregnancy. While you may feel as if there isn’t a lot you can do to influence the success of your pregnancy and the health of your baby, there’s so much!

Nourish Your Body

During pregnancy, you really need to focus on nourishing your body and helping your little one grow. There are lots of great foods to eat when you’re pregnant and this list on HealthLine.com details most of them. When you load up on things like dairy, leafy greens, and berries, you’ll be doing what you can to boost your health.

Keep Active

Staying active as much as possible if going to help you to keep your body healthy during pregnancy – it can also aid with your labour too. If you don’t exercise regularly, then you don’t have to go to crazy with this, but things like gentle walks, doing your housework, and even gardening can help. If you don’t stay active, you may find it harder to stay mobile during the later stages.

Listen To Your Body

Above all else, you need to listen to your body. Rest when you feel tired, eat when you’re lacking in energy, and laugh when you’re feeling a bit stressed out. You’ll know what your body needs, when you need it, so do what you can to really be in tune with yourself.

As You Age

As you age, Enjoying The View

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As you start to get older, your body also has different needs. And you have to take a lot of care. These tips can also be useful for your ageing parents too.

Looking After Your Joints

The number one area that you’ll want to take care of as you start to age (and even well before that) is your bones and joints! You’ll want to keep them mobile and ease an onset of arthritis that could be coming your way. Things like joint supplements and products which you’ll find more at ArthritisHope.com on that can help. By looking after your joints as much as possible, you should find that you can stay mobile as you age.

Taking Care Of Your Skin

Next, you need to think about taking care of your skin that little bit more. Because when you are, you see the visible signs on your skin. Make sure that you’re avoiding too much sun exposure, that you’re wearing SPF, and that you’re taking care of your skin with the right beauty regimen too.

Keeping Your Brain Active

And finally, you’ll also want to make sure that you keep your mind active as you age too. It’s so easy to believe that as you get older, it’s just natural for your mind to get a little bit rusty (along with your body). But that’s really not the case. Our minds and bodies only become less active because we use them less. So keep reading, write, do puzzles, learn more, try new things, and just generally look to make the most of your mind to keep it strong and healthy.

To Grow

Charming Girl, Baby, Play Time, Toys

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Now, this final point is aimed mainly at your kids. But it’s safe to assume that you won’t want all of these tips and tricks for yourself. So let’s take a look at the primary health needs of your small children.

Vitamins

Children have different nutritional needs to us. They need so many more vitamins and nutrients in order for their bodies to grow and their minds to develop. So make sure that you’re looking to feed them a mix of lean meats and proteins, leafy greens and vegetables, and whole grains. Also add in a good all-round vitamin supplement, just to make sure that their levels stay topped up.

Energy

It’s easy to think that children just have endless amounts of energy, and it probably seems that way, but you will need to nurture it. Along with a healthy diet that will help to fuel their bodies (which will be very similar to your own), you’ll want to make sure that they’re doing activities and classes that will push them to workout out and exercise. Lots of different sports will be great for this.

A Healthy Mindset

And finally, above all else, you’re going to want to make sure that you encourage a healthy growth mindset in your children. We all want to raise happy and healthy children, but it’s so easy to just think that their minds will develop themselves, or that you don’t need to do anything else to nurture them. But focusing on a positive and healthy mindset will allow them to grow into healthy adults.

Health · Lifestyle · Wellness

4 Things That Are Messing Up Your Immune System

jacquelineobyikocha5 Comments

Energy is one of those things that we are constantly chasing after in life. We need energy to concentrate at work. We need energy to keep up with the kids. We need energy to keep our relationships and love life healthy. Energy is what keeps us moving and if you’re feeling constantly tired and sluggish, then it’s important to know how you can replenish your energy and get those levels soaring back to their best. Before you can understand how you can boost your energy and repair any cracks in your immune system, you need to understand that our energy levels are not something that is passive. The choices that you make from food choices to hours you choose to sleep have a direct effect on your energy levels. Those social media buffs that are constantly perky and peachy? They’re likely living a life that ensures that they have bags of energy to work with. And you? When you’re feeling tired, sluggish and can barely function, that depletion is a direct result of your own choices.

Tired, Stressed, Fatigue

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Of course, there are times in life that the reason for our depleted energy levels isn’t a choice. Chronic illness, stress and depression all contribute to low energy levels, and it can be very hard to boost your energy levels when your immune system is being attacked. Medications can drain your energy and when your body is fighting as hard as possible against an illness or infection, it’s companies like https://www.herabiolabs.com that are going to be the rescuers rather than a concoction of ginger and cayenne pepper. Science is currently developing in leaps and bounds when it comes to medication and understanding the diseases that hit us, compromising our immune systems and making us feel weak. In the meantime, though, we need to do everything possible to work on our bodies and our health, so that even when illness does inevitable hit we can be ready to fight it. We have the choice to create the energy that we live with; whether that is low or high. If you can feel yourself flagging, ask yourself whether you are ready to fight for your body to work in the right way. It doesn’t take much; a few changes a day could change your life in a good way. Below, you can find some ways you are draining your own energy levels and how you can get your energy levels at their best again.

Stress. Earlier on, I mentioned stress as a reason that we can feel low in energy. When our mental activity is at a height – ie, when stressed and overthinking things – it can be very difficult to pull it back. It can take an awful lot of energy for your brain to comprehend what’s going on. Long periods where we feel stressed can leave us very fatigued and bogged down, and this is all created with brain power. It’s called burn out, and those who have suffered it before will know exactly how draining it is to deal with. The first thing to do when you’re feeling sick, tired and run down, is to work out whether your thoughts are running away with you – literally.

Communication. For the most part, communication is a good thing. Talking to people that we love about how we feel can never really be a bad thing, can it? However, in this world of hyped technology and constant need to talk to people and check social media, you are draining your batteries faster than an iPhone. Sometimes, taking a step back and quite literally switching off our modes of communication can make a massive difference to the way that we feel. Blue light technology has an awful lot to answer for, and it’s important for you to put down the phone and the tablet and look at the world around you for a moment. Recharge your batteries to be able to work at the maximum efficiency available.

Light bulb, current

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Saying ‘Yes’. Are you a ‘yes man’? A yes man is someone who will say yes to everything. Overtime? Yes. Extra work? Yes. Extra time at the gym to get fit? Yes. Sometimes, saying yes is not a good thing. Being a people pleaser can drain your energy as fast as that ‘yes’ escaping your lips. It’s lovely to want to help everyone, but it’s also exhausting, and it can do you no favours to say yes to everyone around you. You need to remember that you have needs and you need to come first, sometimes. The last thing you need to know here is that it’s absolutely fine to say NO once in a while. If people get offended by that, you need to breeze on by and ignore it; you are important, and you should be remembering that you come first.

Sleep. Those who lack energy often find themselves unable to sleep, as well. Sleep replenishes those stores, much like a SIMS character; when the bar is empty, you cannot function. A lot of people nowadays struggle to get more than a few hours of sleep every night, but it’s so important for your basic functions. Sleep helps your brain to work through the day to day stresses and issues that you are battling against. Without it, you cannot work your issues through and they weight in your mind the next day. It’s a nasty cycle of stressful thoughts and lack of sleep and low energy. The way out of it? Any of these natural sleep remedies can help you to switch off and refresh.

There are literally hundreds of things that you can do to boost your immune system, but ultimately it’s going to come down to the choices that you want to make to make yourself feel good again. You matter and if you want to move forward in life feeling whole and healthy, your energy levels have got to matter to you, too. Take the time to fix them, before all you’re doing is not fixing them.