Challenging times demand that you maintain a state of peak energy. But that peak condition can wear down in ways you’re not aware of.
Today GenuLines looks at ways you might be squandering your energy.
Are You Wasting Your Energy on Meaningless Things?
When you get too caught up in the things you don’t like, it’s easy to lose sight of your goals and the path to achieving them. When you begin to indulge in your anger, you feel worse each day.
You end up fueling all the wrong emotions.
Let’s say you wake up in the morning angry and disheartened over things you don’t like. You’ll live much of your life in a negative energy mindset.
And that’s bad for your mental and physical health.
Staying in a constant state of anger or sadness is bad for your health in many ways. You might find yourself experiencing more frequent headaches, fatigue, and stomach problems.
These are all side effects of stress, which goes hand in hand with negative emotions.
Mentally, you’ll be more irritable and upset, which can affect your loved ones, too.
What’s more, you won’t have the focus you need to work on your dreams.
If you dread seeing a certain coworker each day change your thinking. Be grateful that you have a stable job.
Focus on the things that you love and the things that you need to do.
Complaining about your coworkers is useless, and it only causes you issues, not them. Instead of complaining about things that’ are wrong, focus your efforts on fixing what you can fix.
Energy Re-direction
Put your attention on the things that you enjoy. Spending your energy working on things that you want and enjoy cuts into your stress.
You wake up feeling energized and excited to start your day.
Doesn’t that beat dreading another useless day of getting nothing done?
Get on a good sleep schedule if you’re not already on one so that you can spend more time doing the things that you love. You’ll find that your mind is more at ease and you feel much healthier.
You’ll gain a sense of satisfaction by knowing that you’re taking control of your path. And that you’re living life on your terms,
Anxiety is something we connect to the conditions around us. The bad stuff is always “out there.”
But GenuLines looks at how the things around you are impacted by what goes inside you.
Food And Drink And Your Anxiety
If you’re feeling anxiety you might tend to blame your environment. But what you eat and drink can have a big effect on your body’s chemistry.
Some foods and drinks may actually worsen your anxiety. Here are some of the culprits.
Drinks
-Coffee
As you might have expected, the caffeine in coffee can make anxiety worse. It causes constriction of blood vessels and that feeling of the “jitters.”
It can also cause or worsen insomnia. And it inhibits the absorption of Vitamin C, a key nutrient for optimal mind and body function.
-Soft Drinks and Colas
Even caffeine-free, sugar-free soft drinks, can worsen your anxiety. The high-acid content of dark colas produces an acidic environment in the body.
This process sets off a reaction that leaches calcium and magnesium from your bones. Both of these minerals are crucial to proper brain and muscle function.
In fact, reduced calcium and magnesium impedes muscle relaxation.
That increases muscle tension.
So if you choose a clear, caffeine-free, sugar-free soft drink, it won’t worsen your anxiety, right? Wrong!
The artificial sweetener in these drinks, aspartame, may have significant cognitive effects. It may actually worsen the psychological aspect of anxiety.
-Alcohol
Alcohol seems like a good option for anxiety sufferers. But over-consumption can worsen depression and inhibit the absorption of key nutrients.
Foods
-Chocolate
Chocolate is often called the “feel-good” food. But it contains significant caffeine and large amounts of sugar. Next, we’ll take a look at sugar.
-Excessive Sugar
By “excessive,” some nutritionists mean anything over 5 tablespoons of refined sugar daily. While you may think that would be easy, it’s not.
Sugar is in almost everything, and 5 tablespoons is a bit more than 1/4 cup. If you drink several large glasses of sweet iced tea, you can take in close to 1/4 cup of sugar.
And that doesn’t take into account the sugar in your food. This sugar is either hidden (such as in frozen foods) or obvious (such as “frosted” cereals).
So why is sugar a problem? For one thing, the body uses Vitamin B6.
It’s crucial to mood and proper hormone function and metabolizing sugar. But sugar depletes your body of this and other important nutrients.
It can also create high and low moods, and bring on a post-sugar “crash,” or low blood sugar.
-Refined Flour
Refined flour acts much like sugar in the body. And it has none of the essential fatty acids, fiber, and other nutrients that whole grains do.
-Processed Foods
Many processed foods are full of preservatives, artificial flavors, and artificial colors. Some of these can pass through the blood-brain barrier, affecting cognitive function.
Then there’s yellow #5. This is often found in candy, gum, margarine, and other processed foods.
It can disrupt the hormone balance in the body.
Think about what you put into your body. It can go a long way toward keeping you calm.
Your brain works hard. And in tough times it works even harder.
When it bogs down you can turn to these simple GenuLines tips to power up your “gray matter.”
Better Thinking With Brain Power Boosting
Muddled thinking seems like a virus in itself. From negative news to personal challenges it can affect your well being.
One way to counter this mind fog is through a brainpower boost. So, here are some steps to help you keep your brain working in tip-top condition.
Regular Exercise
Simple exercise like a walk or jog might not be intense. But it’ll get you started.
You can work on the intensity as you go along.
Simple work-outs may trigger the release of neuro-chemicals known as endorphins. These chemicals are responsible for making us feel happy.
Feeling happier translates into a positive effect on the brain.
Supplement your Diet
Natural supplements can help keep both mind and body healthy. You can find supplements anywhere from health food stores to sites on the internet.
Use it or lose it
It’s great to exercise your body. But you should exercise your brain too.
It’s a muscle that needs to keep fit – think and learn. You can read, talk with other people or even play educational games.
Experiment with activities that can keep your brain working well.
Play Games
Choose games that will have a good effect on your brain. Stay away from games that are “no-brainers.”
Computer games can exercise your brain. Be sure to make good game choices.
Gaming consoles are also following the fad into increasing brain function. So, do your part in boosting your brain power by playing games that will increase it.
Enjoy an Educational Hobby
Choose a hobby that will teach you something. Just be sure to do things that aren’t monotonous.
Your hobby should be something that will help you learn new things every time you perform it. This way, you’ll be able to use parts of your brain you didn’t use before.
Sleep Well
Sleeping helps your body rebuild and recharge. Many professionals believe that you should sleep for at least six to eight hours a day.
Aside from these hours, you should also try to take ten-minute power naps. These naps will leave your refreshed.
And they’ll give you the energy that will fuel what you do for the rest of the day.
Relax
Society’s complexity will tax your brain as much as your body.
So take time to relax and cleanse your mind of worries that can overwhelm your thoughts.
You can visit a spa or meditate to give your mind a break.
When you relax you’ll feel that you’re prepared to take on whatever your day throws at you!
Your brain works hard. And in tough times it works even harder.
When it bogs down you can turn to these simple GenuLines tips to power up your “gray matter.”
Better Thinking With Brain Power Boosting
Muddled thinking seems like a virus in itself. From negative news to personal challenges it can affect your well being.
One way to counter this mind fog is through a brainpower boost. So, here are some steps to help you keep your brain working in tip-top condition.
Regular Exercise
Simple exercise like a walk or jog might not be intense. But it’ll get you started.
You can work on the intensity as you go along.
Simple work-outs may trigger the release of neuro-chemicals known as endorphins. These chemicals are responsible for making us feel happy.
Feeling happier translates into a positive effect on the brain.
Supplement your Diet
Natural supplements can help keep both mind and body healthy. You can find supplements anywhere from health food stores to sites on the internet.
Use it or lose it
It’s great to exercise your body. But you should exercise your brain too.
It’s a muscle that needs to keep fit – think and learn. You can read, talk with other people or even play educational games.
Experiment with activities that can keep your brain working well.
Play Games
Choose games that will have a good effect on your brain. Stay away from games that are “no-brainers.”
Computer games can exercise your brain. Be sure to make good game choices.
Gaming consoles are also following the fad into increasing brain function. So, do your part in boosting your brain power by playing games that will increase it.
Enjoy an Educational Hobby
Choose a hobby that will teach you something. Just be sure to do things that aren’t monotonous.
Your hobby should be something that will help you learn new things every time you perform it. This way, you’ll be able to use parts of your brain you didn’t use before.
Sleep Well
Sleeping helps your body rebuild and recharge. Many professionals believe that you should sleep for at least six to eight hours a day.
Aside from these hours, you should also try to take ten-minute power naps. These naps will leave your refreshed.
And they’ll give you the energy that will fuel what you do for the rest of the day.
Relax
Society’s complexity will tax your brain as much as your body.
So take time to relax and cleanse your mind of worries that can overwhelm your thoughts.
You can visit a spa or meditate to give your mind a break.
When you relax you’ll feel that you’re prepared to take on whatever your day throws at you!
When life is hard we tend to look outside ourselves for reasons. We don’t want to think the cause is a lot closer to home.
As always, GenuLines helps re-direct you back to your “self” as a start toward getting your bearings.
Are You Making Your Life Hard?
Every day brings us a million things to take care of and it’s easy to fall behind. But sometimes life is hard because we’re making it that way.
One reason we make it harder is that we want to feel like we have some control. Let’s look at some ways you might be getting in your own way.
You Assume Malicious Intent
Most of the time people don’t mean to inconvenience you or make your life harder. Could be the person who cut you off in traffic was in a hurry.
Your significant other was quiet this morning. It may have been due to fatigue rather than anything you did.
If we decide the world is out to get us, we make life harder than it has to be. Be very slow to assume malicious intent.
It usually leaves you angry and unpleasant. The truth behind someone’s intentions is usually far from malicious.
And often not personal at all.
You Maintain Unreasonable Expectations
One thing we can control about life is our expectations. That doesn’t mean that we should go through life expecting and getting nothing.
Instead don’t expect the glass to be half full, half empty, or even a little full. Be grateful that it contains any wine at all!
You’re Afraid of Risks
Avoiding risk is part of human nature. We don’t want to run into danger unless we know we can get out of it.
But our bubble of comfort can often become a prison. Risking social rejection, loss of money, and loss of time is a trade-off for making our lives better.
When we spend most of our time avoiding risks, we make life harder.
Make sure you take smart risks! Think of an area in your life you’d like to expand upon and set some short terms goals.
Once you’ve challenged yourself and become comfortable again, set some higher goals!
You Compare Yourself to Others
One negative feature about social media is that it enables us to compare ourselves to others. Even worse, we compare ourselves to others in only their best moments.
Your friends may not have it as good as they’d like you to think. There will always be someone with more money, more friends, or whatever else than you.
The only person you should compare yourself to is the version of you from the past.
In short, we need to worry less about others, less about risks, and maintain our expectations. Don’t spend your life trying to be other people.
Or thinking the world is out to get you. Or afraid to take a chance.
Don’t expect things to get better without changing your actions. That sets you up for failure.
These days good sleep seems like, well, a dream. But GenuLines wants you to “sleep tight.”
Rest assured that the following suggestions are designed to let you do just that.
Get Better Sleep The Easy Way
If getting good sleep is a challenge for you you’re not alone. It’s a common complaint of working people.
And stress due to lockdown and constant negative news reports doesn’t help either.
If you’re in one or more of these categories, here are some of the ways that can help make positive changes:
Develop better sleeping habits
Good sleep habits help you complete tasks. If you’re falling down in this area get to working on those habits.
You might start with daytime routines that include eating smarter. Avoid food that contains stimulants such as caffeine.
An afternoon nap can work, but don’t “over nap” and affect your sleep at night.
Daily exercise can help
Aside from health benefits, regular exercise also helps you get better sleep. This is because it lets the body do enough work to want to rest at night.
Consider simple exercises like brisk walking or light yoga.
Come up with your own personal sleeping plan
More than anyone you know your own body. If you’re having trouble sleeping, analyze what may be the problem.
If it’s something that you can handle, try to do the things that will help you overcome it. You can do this by coming up with a personal sleeping plan.
Decide on what you’ll do each night. If the specific plan doesn’t work today, try another the next night and then another one the next. By doing this, you can find the techniques that will work for you.
Create a good sleeping environment
An easy way to get good sleep is to create a comfortable, and cozy sleeping environment. Take a look at your bedroom.
Is there something there that keeps you awake? It could be time to re-arrange the space.
Check to see if your bed still suits the needs of your body and if not, try replacing it. Look for smaller items that catch your attention and make it hard for you to close your eyes.
If there are, try removing them for a while until you’re able to sleep better.
Even in a time of downtime you can find yourself short on time.Here are some GenuLines tips for making sure that self care is one of your priorities.
4 Self-Care Tips For Extra Busy People
Living in challenging times can leave little time to take care of yourself. The constant wail of news and social media take a toll on your physical, mental and emotional health.
If you’re struggling to find time for self-care, try these four tips. They’ll help you work good self-care habits into your schedule.
1. Establish a morning routine
Starting the day right is a good way to maintain your mental and physical health. This might include a healthy breakfast, daily exercise or meditation.
Figure out what works for you and do it every day.
Over time this will become a habit, helping you to take some time for self-care every day.
2. Schedule time off
It’s easy to find yourself in a cycle of continuous activity. You move from one activity to the next until it seems you’re just going through the motions.
Schedule some time off so you don’t get lost in the chaos.
It might be an afternoon away from your normal routine. Then again it could be something more extravagant like a weekend away or a vacation.
Whatever you choose, taking a break will allow you to relax and rejuvenate.
3. Get enough sleep
Don’t underestimate the importance of sleep.Good quality sleep allows your body to heal and re-energize.
Proper sleep helps you maintain good lifestyle habits, too. You’ll be less likely to make bad diet choices and avoid exercise when you’re rested.
Sleep is critical for physical and mental health. Make sure it’s one of your priorities.
4. Set realistic goals
Manage your mental health by setting realistic goals. Why let your commitment to something unachievable cause you to feel like a failure?
Spend some time considering your aspirations.
Make goals that are challenging, but possible for you to reach. You also need to set realistic goals when it comes to your self-care commitments.
Add things to your routine that will work long term with your lifestyle.
We all get 24 hours in a day. Make sure yours include time for self-care.
Your motivation can be a casualty of lockdown. You want to get it back on track, but you don’t know-how.
GenuLines looks at 7 counterproductive things you do and how you can turn them around in your favor.
7 Ways You Kill Motivation and What To Do About It
Feeling like you’re stalling out on the way to your goal? Here are seven things that may be holding you back.
1. You don’t believe in yourself
In other words, you don’t think you can do it. Or, you don’t feel like you deserve it. Developing self-confidence is a key component in strengthening your motivation.
2. You’re overwhelmed
It could be that you have too much stuff going on right now, and you need to clear your plate. You might be procrastinating and stressing over your large and overwhelming to-do list.
3. You bit off more than you can chew
While self-confidence is important, it’s also good to be realistic. Let’s say you’ve made a goal to save a million dollars this year, but you earn less than six figures.
When you realize you’ll come up short you’ll no doubt throw in the towel. Try setting goals with realistic expectations you can fulfill.
4. You’re afraid
Fear can make you procrastinate because- get this – you’re afraid of your own personal power. You could also be afraid of the changes that will come about if you meet your goals.
Think about confronting your fears by writing them out. Think about processing them with a friend or loved one.
In this way, fear of change won’t undermine your motivation.
5. You live in the past
You’ve tried before, and you get locked into the story of previous failures. Wipe the slate clean and move on.
If you live in the past you’ll never really be able to move toward the future.
6. You’re not getting support
Take a moment to reflect on the people around you. What are they saying about you and your goals?
Are they being supportive and checking in to see how you’re doing? Or are they disparaging your dreams and trashing your abilities?
Consider spending less time with negative people who drain your motivation. At the very least don’t include them in the loop of this one subject.
7. You don’t have a strategy
Realizing your dreams has its challenges. As a result, bringing them into form without a plan is next to impossible.
You may be lacking motivation because you’re not leveraging powerful tools. They could include something as simple as a schedule.
Tough times can be tough on your productivity. You feel like something is missing from even your best efforts.
Today GenuLines pitches in with a suggestion that you do some ‘addition by subtraction.”
Can Minimizing Your Life Boost Your Productivity?
Productivity is an essential part of achieving success. You can’t go very far in life or excel past your position in your career or in your life without being productive.
Staying productive can be difficult. This is especially true when clutter distracts you from the tasks at hand.
Minimizing your life can be most effective in helping you be more productive..
What Does Minimizing Your Life Mean?
By “minimizing your life,” we’re talking about de-cluttering it. Cutting out unnecessary obligations and activities.
Removing unneeded or unnecessary items. And de-cluttering your home and workplace.
This can mean refusing or delegating responsibilities when you’re already loaded down.
Throwing out things you no longer use or need. And keeping your priorities in order so you handle them in a reasonable time.
This may be easier said than done. All this letting go can do a number on your emotions.
Be patient and allow yourself time to let go and process the loss.
How Could Minimizing Life Help?
Clutter’s very existence can cause anxiety and stress. Much like the way junk clutters up your home, it clutters your mind and your life.
This makes it hard to get things done, decreasing your productivity.
Your mind gyrates in many different directions. There’s cleaning that needs done.
Events and work you have to plan, stuff you need to organize, and the task you’re trying to complete. Because your mind is so bogged down by all the clutter, your productivity worsens as you work slower.
You lose valuable time you could be spending with your loved ones. Or you could be nurturing existing or even building new relationships.
What Can Improved Productivity Do for You?
You need productivity to ensure you meet all the steps necessary to reach your goals. When you work toward a goal you want to get it done within the ideal time
Productivity helps to ensure that you stick to your schedule. You do all your work and still have time for your family and others you love
Productivity helps you have a full and happy life.
Minimizing your life can bring big improvement to your productivity. It’s essential to your success in both your career and in life.
To reach and maintain productivity limit the distractions and clutter in your life. This will free up time to complete your tasks.
But GenuLines reminds you that cutting back on sugar can sweeten your overall health.
5 Great Reasons To Cut The Sugar From Your Diet
There’s been a lot of talk in the media about the evils of sugar consumption. Sugar is hiding in all sorts of foods including bread and salad dressing.
Add to that our love for things like cookies and ice cream and it’s no wonder our sugar intake is skyrocketing. Unfortunately, all this added sugar is doing a lot of damage to our health.
And it’s causing weight gain like never before.
It’s time to cut added sugar from our diets. Here are five reasons why you should do a sugar detox and do as much as possible to avoid sugar consumption.
Consuming Sugar Spikes Your Insulin
As soon as your body starts to digest sugar, your insulin spikes up. Insulin is the hormone that’s in charge of keeping blood sugar levels from rising too high.
It converts extra sugar into fat for storage. This is a delicate process. Consuming sugar in large quantities will cause your insulin to spike.
The insulin then faces more than it can handle. Over time it becomes less and less effective.
This is when you get a negative effect on your health.
Consuming Sugar Makes You Gain Weight
Because of the insulin and because sugar adds a lot of calories to food. It can make you gain weight and you don’t have to be eating a lot of candy and cakes for that to happen.
Health authorities tell you to watch and lower your fat intake. The food industry gives us all sorts of low fat and fat-free food options.
But, to make these low-fat foods taste o.k, they added a lot of sugar. Take a look at regular and low fat or fat-free salad dressing.
The lower fat options have a lot more carbs and in particular, sugar.
You may not taste it, but it’s there. Sugar gets digested a lot faster than fat.
You’re hungry sooner after consuming a low-fat meal, so you eat again. The end result is weight gain.
Consuming Sugar Increases Your Risk For Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome
With all that increased sugar and weight gain comes a higher risk for diabetes. And a condition called metabolic syndrome.
This is a group of symptoms and behaviors that put you at a much higher risk for heart disease and Type II diabetes. The good news is that both conditions are reversible.
The first step is to cut out the sugar.
Sugar Doesn’t Have A Lot of Nutritional Value And It Makes You Hungrier
Remember that aside from a little boost of energy, sugar doesn’t provide a lot of nutritional value. If you want something sweet, you’re much better off grabbing a piece of fruit than a cookie.
At least with a piece of fruit, you’re getting some vitamins and fiber with your sugar fix. If you want or need to lose weight, begin by cutting out sugar.
It causes spikes in your blood sugar.
These make your body produce a large amount of insulin to pull the sugar out of your system (and convert it to body fat). The sad little side effect of that process is that your blood sugar goes on a roller coaster ride.
This nowhere ride will leave you hungry and craving more sugary treats.