enlightenzz

[enlightenzz]

Hey there! Happy Hump day! #thoseeyesthough😍 #Cutestdogever #dogsofinstagram #puppylove #photooftheday #RootheShorkiePoo #Cute #Dogs #follow #like #thatfacethough #shorkiepoo #shorkie #yorkiepoo #happyhumpday🐫 https://ift.tt/39JMeKC

[enlightenzz]

Hey there! Happy Hump day! #thoseeyesthough😍 #Cutestdogever #dogsofinstagram #puppylove #photooftheday #RootheShorkiePoo #Cute #Dogs #follow #like #thatfacethough #shorkiepoo #shorkie #yorkiepoo #happyhumpday🐫 https://ift.tt/39JMeKC

[enlightenzz]

Yes Buddy, sometimes life in NOT fair. Sometimes you have to let your little brother play “Roo Wins” ✓ #thoseeyesthough😍 #Cutestdogever #dogsofinstagram #puppylove #photooftheday #RootheShorkiePoo #Cute #Dogs #follow #like #thatfacethough #shorkiepoo #shorkie #yorkiepoo #notfair https://ift.tt/2SDMcOr

[enlightenzz]

Yes Buddy, sometimes life in NOT fair. Sometimes you have to let your little brother play “Roo Wins” ✓ #thoseeyesthough😍 #Cutestdogever #dogsofinstagram #puppylove #photooftheday #RootheShorkiePoo #Cute #Dogs #follow #like #thatfacethough #shorkiepoo #shorkie #yorkiepoo #notfair https://ift.tt/2SDMcOr

[enlightenzz]

I'm a week into this Better Life Challenge and I am loving it! Its free, I recommend it highly!

[enlightenzz]

#kbbmethod http://bit.ly/2GJYk9i

[enlightenzz]

#kbbmethod http://bit.ly/2GJYk9i

[enlightenzz]

What does being “mindful” mean?

The term mindful has become front and foremost lately but not many of us actually understand what it means or how to achieve such a lofty state. Being mindful is focusing one’s awareness and attention on the present moment. However our ever-present smartphones, tablets, and computers keep us very connected and accessible and our hectic, multi-tasking days keep our minds anywhere but in the present. How then can we reclaim a mindful state?

Mindful Strategies

Practice Micro-Mindful-Minutes – Mindfulness or any habit for that matter cannot be mastered in a day. James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits; An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, explains that creating a new habit should start small. Rather than “I’m going to meditate 30 minutes a day”, a new meditation habit should start with “I’m going to meditate 1 minute today”.  Clear goes on to write “This is the meaning of the phrase atomic habits—a regular practice or routine that is not only small and easy to do but also the source of incredible power; a component of the system of compound growth.”  So a micro-mindful-minute might be – Taking a moment in the morning with your cup of coffee or tea, to slow down, appreciate the warmth of the cup in your hand, enjoy the mug itself (today mine is a beautiful Dragonfly mug). Really taste your coffee, enjoying the warmth, the taste, the aroma. How many mornings have you absent-mindedly finished a cup and wondered where the coffee went?  Or even worse let it get cold, stuck in the microwave to reheat, then let it get cold again! This simple practice of really enjoying your coffee and being present in the moment is a perfect example of a micro-mindful-minute.  Other opportunities can be at a traffic light on your way to work. Mindfully feel the steering wheel under your hands, the comfort of the seat, the peace of the moment. Even better, take a moment between switching tasks to slow down for just a minute and applaud yourself for finishing the previous task and enjoy the fulfillment that comes with accomplishment. 

Practice Unitasking. – I know, we’ve all been trained to believe that Multitasking is the epitome of productivity and that all the cool kids are doing it. But are you aware that the term multitasking originated in 1966 and referred to a computer’s processing unit – Not a human! Numerous studies have debunked the multitasking myth and shown that multitasking:

Reduces productivity by up to 40%  – Because your focus goes to the task switching, instead of the task, you actually lose productivity

Increases stress – Researchers at the University of California Irvine measured the heart rates of employees with and without constant access to email. Not surprisingly, the employees with the constant alerts and subsequent interruptions of Skype and email, registered higher heart rates than the employees without those interruptions.

Decreases IQ –  A University of London study found that “people who multitasked during cognitive tasks experienced IQ score declines similar to what they would find if they had smoked marijuana or stayed up all night. IQ drops of 15 points for multitasking men lowered their scores to the average range of an 8-year-old child.”  Ouch!

Causes mistakes – Multitaskers who aren’t mindful make mistakes and can miss important information. 

Slow Down – It may seem counterintuitive to slow down to accomplish more, yet slowing down to mindfully accomplish your tasks actually increases your productivity.  Taking time to pause between tasks is a great way to slow down. These pauses are known as White Space – A strategic pause taken between activities is a time to recalibrate, recalculate. White spaces don’t need to be long in length. They are very personal to each person and can be either recuperative and rebooting or constructive and innovating. You can close your eyes between tasks, or ask yourself questions like: How’s my life going really? or How would my team describe me?  They are purposeful pauses between tasks.

Regardless of which strategies you adopt for becoming more mindful, the benefits abound. You’ll find yourself more peaceful and happy, productive and sane. Remember becoming more mindful is a journey, accomplished step by step. So start stepping towards a more mindful life!

  .optin-monster-success-message {font-size: 21px;font-family: "HelveticaNeue-Light", "Helvetica Neue Light", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;color: #282828;font-weight: 300;text-align: center;margin: 0 auto;}.optin-monster-success-overlay .om-success-close {font-size: 32px !important;font-family: "HelveticaNeue-Light", "Helvetica Neue Light", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif !important;color: #282828 !important;font-weight: 300 !important;position: absolute !important;top: 0px !important;right: 10px !important;background: none !important;text-decoration: none !important;width: auto !important;height: auto !important;display: block !important;line-height: 32px !important;padding: 0 !important;}.om-helper-field {display: none !important;visibility: hidden !important;opacity: 0 !important;height: 0 !important;line-height: 0 !important;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post * {box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post {background:none;border:0;border-radius:0;-webkit-border-radius:0;-moz-border-radius:0;float:none;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing:grayscale;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;outline:none;position:static;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0;text-shadow:none;text-transform:none;width:auto;visibility:visible;overflow:visible;margin:0;padding:0;line-height:1;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-shadow:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;-ms-box-shadow:none;-o-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none;-webkit-appearance:none;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post .om-clearfix {clear: both;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post .om-clearfix:after {clear: both;content: ".";display: block;height: 0;line-height: 0;overflow: auto;visibility: hidden;zoom: 1;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin {background: #fff;position: relative;padding: 20px;text-align: center;margin: 0 auto;max-width: 100%;width: 100%;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-title {font-size: 18px;color: #222;width: 100%;margin-bottom: 15px;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-tagline {font-size: 16px;line-height: 1.25;color: #484848;width: 100%;margin-bottom: 15px;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input,html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-name,html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-email {background-color: #fff;width: 100%;border: 1px solid #ddd;font-size: 16px;line-height: 24px;padding: 4px 6px;overflow: hidden;outline: none;margin: 0 0 10px;vertical-align: middle;display: inline;color: #222;height: 34px;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input[type=submit],html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post button,html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-submit {background: #ff370f;border: 1px solid #ff370f;color: #fff;font-size: 16px;padding: 4px 6px;line-height: 24px;text-align: center;vertical-align: middle;cursor: pointer;display: inline;margin: 0;width: 100%;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input[type=checkbox],html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input[type=radio] {-webkit-appearance: checkbox;width: auto;outline: invert none medium;padding: 0;margin: 0;}

Join Us For Inspiration, Laughter and Joy Straight to You Inbox!

Weekly inspiration conveniently delivered to your inbox so you don't miss a thing!

jQuery(document).ready(function($){});

var mv4ammz84z_post, omo = {"id":238151,"optin":"mv4ammz84z-post","campaign":"Enlightenzz Members","clones":[""],"hash":"mv4ammz84z-post","optin_js":"mv4ammz84z_post","type":"post","theme":"action","cookie":0,"delay":0,"second":false,"exit":false,"redirect":"","redirect_pass":false,"custom":false,"test":false,"global_cookie":false,"preview":false,"ajax":"http:\/\/enlightenzz.com\/?optin-monster-ajax-route=1","mobile":false,"post_id":245952,"preloader":"http:\/\/enlightenzz.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/optin-monster\/assets\/css\/images\/preloader.gif","error":"There was an error with your submission. Please try again.","ajax_error":"There was an error with the AJAX request: ","name_error":"Please enter a valid name.","email_error":"Please enter a valid email address.","bot_error":"Honeypot fields have been activated. Your submission is being flagged as potential spam.","success":"Thanks for joining! Please check your email for further instructions."}; mv4ammz84z_post = new OptinMonster(); mv4ammz84z_post.init(omo);

The post Mindful – Today I Choose to be Mindful appeared first on Enlightenzz.com.

[enlightenzz]

Practicing being grateful has been shown to be one of the simplest and most effective habits to transform your life. People who have regular gratitude practices report sleeping better, enjoy better relationships, reach more of their goals, show more kindness and compassion for others and generally lead happier lives.  So transformative is the practice of being grateful, that many celebrities and successful people include being grateful every day as one of their most important habits.  People like Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Kelsey Grammar, Matt Damon, Jerry Seinfeld, Clint Eastwood, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey Richard Branson and Tony Robbins all include a gratitude practice as part of their daily routines.

Maya Angelou, in her book Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer suggests:

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bride you build to overcome evil and welcome good,” 

While Arianna Huffington tweeted in 2014:

“Living in a state of gratitude is the gateway to grace.”

But many think it is difficult to be grateful, especially when things may not be going your way. When your job is difficult, or you’ve gone through a breakup or a loved one is ill.  These are the times when gratitude can have the most beneficial effect. Being grateful is just a genuine, deep abiding appreciation for what you have in your life. 

How to be Grateful

Studies have shown that how we practice gratitude matters. Just listing mentally, a litany of things that you are grateful for is not sufficient. It is the feeling and emotion of gratitude and appreciation where the real power of gratitude comes from. According to Robert A Emmons in his book Gratitude Works! A 21-Day Program For Creating Emotional Prosperity, broad topics of gratitude are not as effective as thinking and feeling with great detail about what we are grateful for. For instance I’m grateful for my husband, my kids, my house and my dog is not as effective as journalling “I am so very grateful for my husband because I love the incredible way he cooks epicurean dinners when I have to work late. I love how when I am upset, he is a rock that I can rely on.  I love how he makes me laugh if I am feeling lowly and I love the way he holds my hand whenever we are out. My favorite time of day is morning before we’ve risen and I get to spend some time with his arm around me and my head on his shoulder.” 

A great gratitude practice involves taking the time each day to really seep in gratitude. Get granular with what you are grateful for. Marie Forleo of MarieTV fame, tweeted:

“When it comes to gratitude, the dividends are in the details.” 

There are many things you can be grateful for on a daily basis, regardless of what is going on in your life. The sun on your face, the wind against your skin, the smartphone in your pocket that allows you to be connected to the world, and to be able to look up anything you might be curious about. The way you can capture any image at any point in time with that glorious piece of technology and the way you can even read this article on your smartphone to learn about gratitude!

.optin-monster-success-message {font-size: 21px;font-family: "HelveticaNeue-Light", "Helvetica Neue Light", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif;color: #282828;font-weight: 300;text-align: center;margin: 0 auto;}.optin-monster-success-overlay .om-success-close {font-size: 32px !important;font-family: "HelveticaNeue-Light", "Helvetica Neue Light", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif !important;color: #282828 !important;font-weight: 300 !important;position: absolute !important;top: 0px !important;right: 10px !important;background: none !important;text-decoration: none !important;width: auto !important;height: auto !important;display: block !important;line-height: 32px !important;padding: 0 !important;}.om-helper-field {display: none !important;visibility: hidden !important;opacity: 0 !important;height: 0 !important;line-height: 0 !important;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post * {box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post {background:none;border:0;border-radius:0;-webkit-border-radius:0;-moz-border-radius:0;float:none;-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;-moz-osx-font-smoothing:grayscale;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;outline:none;position:static;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0;text-shadow:none;text-transform:none;width:auto;visibility:visible;overflow:visible;margin:0;padding:0;line-height:1;box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;-moz-box-sizing:border-box;-webkit-box-shadow:none;-moz-box-shadow:none;-ms-box-shadow:none;-o-box-shadow:none;box-shadow:none;-webkit-appearance:none;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post .om-clearfix {clear: both;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post .om-clearfix:after {clear: both;content: ".";display: block;height: 0;line-height: 0;overflow: auto;visibility: hidden;zoom: 1;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin {background: #fff;position: relative;padding: 20px;text-align: center;margin: 0 auto;max-width: 100%;width: 100%;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-title {font-size: 18px;color: #222;width: 100%;margin-bottom: 15px;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-tagline {font-size: 16px;line-height: 1.25;color: #484848;width: 100%;margin-bottom: 15px;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input,html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-name,html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-email {background-color: #fff;width: 100%;border: 1px solid #ddd;font-size: 16px;line-height: 24px;padding: 4px 6px;overflow: hidden;outline: none;margin: 0 0 10px;vertical-align: middle;display: inline;color: #222;height: 34px;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input[type=submit],html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post button,html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post #om-post-action-optin-submit {background: #ff370f;border: 1px solid #ff370f;color: #fff;font-size: 16px;padding: 4px 6px;line-height: 24px;text-align: center;vertical-align: middle;cursor: pointer;display: inline;margin: 0;width: 100%;}html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input[type=checkbox],html div#om-mv4ammz84z-post input[type=radio] {-webkit-appearance: checkbox;width: auto;outline: invert none medium;padding: 0;margin: 0;}

Join Us For Inspiration, Laughter and Joy Straight to You Inbox!

Weekly inspiration conveniently delivered to your inbox so you don't miss a thing!

jQuery(document).ready(function($){});

var mv4ammz84z_post, omo = {"id":238151,"optin":"mv4ammz84z-post","campaign":"Enlightenzz Members","clones":[""],"hash":"mv4ammz84z-post","optin_js":"mv4ammz84z_post","type":"post","theme":"action","cookie":0,"delay":0,"second":false,"exit":false,"redirect":"","redirect_pass":false,"custom":false,"test":false,"global_cookie":false,"preview":false,"ajax":"http:\/\/enlightenzz.com\/?optin-monster-ajax-route=1","mobile":false,"post_id":245944,"preloader":"http:\/\/enlightenzz.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/optin-monster\/assets\/css\/images\/preloader.gif","error":"There was an error with your submission. Please try again.","ajax_error":"There was an error with the AJAX request: ","name_error":"Please enter a valid name.","email_error":"Please enter a valid email address.","bot_error":"Honeypot fields have been activated. Your submission is being flagged as potential spam.","success":"Thanks for joining! Please check your email for further instructions."}; mv4ammz84z_post = new OptinMonster(); mv4ammz84z_post.init(omo);

The post Grateful – Today I Choose to be Grateful appeared first on Enlightenzz.com.

[enlightenzz]

Being a teen these days is NOT easy. There’s pressure to fit in and belong. Social media allows teens to bully each other from afar.  One teen, Aija Mayrock who has been bullied, decided to do something about it.

Teens were invited to test a new social network called frnd-le.  It’s actually a fake social network experiment. They individually sit in the frnd-le booth where a friendly computer voice asks them questions about themselves. The teens all enthusiastically describe themselves, with no appearance of discomfort or shyness. They share their self-perceived strengths, likes, goals, favorite artists, things that people might night know about them and things that make them different.

Not surprisingly, many of their answers differ from each other, but many are similar.  At the end of the questions, the computer says it’s time to take their picture for their profile.  They all smile authentically.  Everything is great until…

The computer says “I have found your school network, preparing to share your profile”. We’ll let you watch the video to see what happens but the teens’ demeanors change radically at that utterance.

The point of this fake social network experiment is to show that teens are afraid to be themselves around their peers.  This fake social network experiment showcases the problem, but then goes on to show the teens that their unique personalities are perfect the way they are. Aija Mayrock wrote The Survival Guide to Bullying: Written by a Teen to provide support, stories and advice for kids being bullied and to encourage teens to accept themselves and others.

Please Like and Share with your friends who are teens or who have teens – and encourage them to be confident in themselves.

  The post Teens Are Brutally Honest About Themselves – Until They Think Their Classmates Will See appeared first on Enlightenzz.com.

[enlightenzz]

There went my excuses! Drew is so inspiring! Amazingly accomplished, determined and positive. Please like and share his story!

[enlightenzz]

Hello my beautiful friends! https://ift.tt/2QcM8AT

[enlightenzz]

Hello my beautiful friends! https://ift.tt/2QcM8AT

[enlightenzz]

You are who you hang with :-) https://ift.tt/2JuuaHv

[enlightenzz]

You are who you hang with :-) https://ift.tt/2JuuaHv

[enlightenzz]

I am......💜💙💚💛 https://ift.tt/2Ev4O8F

[enlightenzz]

I am......��💙💚💛 https://ift.tt/2Ev4O8F