Children need to be active and entertained. While it’s easy to let them sit and watch something on the tv or on their tablets, or for them to play video games, these activities don’t help them to engage with the whole family. While you don’t necessarily need to completely get rid of screen time, it’s far healthier to include other activities in your kids’ free time.

Unfortunately, family outings and other activities cost money. The upside is that, with a bit of effort, you can find some activities that you and your family will enjoy together and without breaking the bank. Here are a few ideas. 

1. Going for a Walk

It’s a simple idea, but it’s a wonderful way to spend time with family and friends without spending any money. Even better, walks and hikes encourage you to go outside, where you get to enjoy all the benefits of the outside world.

If a straightforward walk doesn’t interest your children, then mix it up. Go on a nature walk and teach them about the different plants and animals that they might spot. Include a picnic as a mid-walk treat. You might even play games along the walk, ranging from the classic “I spy” or more physical games, like tag. 

2. Arts and Crafts

Not every day will let you take your children outside, but the rainy day doesn’t have to stop the fun. Arts and crafts are a great way to bond with your children and to let them exercise their creativity. 

This can be as simple as painting or drawing, or it could be more involved. For example, pipe cleaners are inexpensive and irresistible to children. You can teach them how to create little animals or sculptures with pipe cleaners. Even better, pipe cleaners don’t make half the mess as paint or playdough! 

However, there’s nothing wrong with making small messes. You might even find yourself having fun with some arts and crafts ideas.

3. Gardening

If you have a green thumb, it might be a nice idea to get your children involved in gardening as well. Gardening is a wonderful hobby, it gets you out in nature, teaches patience and dedication, and can be incredibly satisfying when it goes well.

Not every child will be interested in gardening, so don’t take it to heart if your child would rather do something else. However, it is worth it to foster other hobbies, like cooking, music, or something else that they might enjoy and find useful. 

4. Educational Games

Another way to bond with your family is to play games with them, both indoors and outdoors. Playing is an important part of a child’s development, but you can add another educational spin on things if you like. 

For example, the Daily Jumble is a fun puzzle that you and your children can get involved in. It helps them to learn how to spell and, if they’re struggling, you can use the jumble solver to find the answers. But games like scrabble and sudoku are other great activities for quiet days.  

A diamond ring on someone’s left hand has long been a universal sign of engagement, but what this ring signifies today is not what it has always represented. As ideals and gender roles have become more fluid and forward-thinking, the intent and messaging behind these rings has drastically changed.

Years of tradition and advertising first made the engagement ring a symbol of commitment exclusively for women. What is now worn as a sign of commitment, collaboration, and hopefulness for the future wasn’t always so progressive. Over time, society and ring manufacturing has come a long way to make the engagement ring a statement that anyone can wear with pride.

To understand the weight and evolving messaging of engagement rings, it’s important to consider how these rings came to be, the innovation of materials used to create them, and the culture created behind them.

Origins of the Ring

It’s difficult to determine precisely when and where engagement rings originated. Some historians believe these rings were first seen in Ancient Rome, when Pope Innocent III declared that there had to be a waiting period between engagement and marriage. At the time, rings were made of copper, ivory, flint, iron or even bone, and they didn’t have stones like they typically do today.

Nowadays, engagement rings are frequently crafted of ethically sourced diamonds or gemstones such as sapphires or morganite. If a traditional looking colourless centre stone is what you’re after and environmentalism is a priority, you can work with a ring designer to find your perfect lab grown diamond or moissanite. These stones have a less significant environmental impact than earth-mined diamonds but are just as stunning.

The Evolution of the Engagement Ring In the 12th century, Pope Nicholas deemed engagement rings the official symbol of a man’s intent to marry a woman. This is how and when engagement rings started to become common practice.

Engagement rings remained simple until 1477 when Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed to Mary of Burgundy with a diamond ring. Although he was the first to do such a thing, diamond rings didn’t become popular until almost 500 years later when De Beers launched a campaign with the slogan, “A diamond is forever.”

After that campaign, diamonds remained the standard stone for engagement rings for decades and became widely known as “a girl’s best friend.”

Every good host wishes to make their house guests feel welcomed. Hosts will often plan delicious meals, prepare rooms, and do other small things to ensure a good time for their guests. Aside from daily necessities, however, hosts also need to consider other special requirements or restrictions that their guests may have, especially when it comes to their personal faiths.

Islam, for example, has strict codes on foods, prayer times, and also social etiquette. Of course, the Muslim community is not homogenous; each Muslim adheres to these rules in varying degrees. That said, it’s often best to err on the side of caution and avoid potentially uncomfortable situations for you and your guest later on. You can use apps such as Muslim Pro to know where to find halal food, but that’s just one part of the equation. For a better idea of how to make your Muslim guests feel welcomed, here are some things you need to bear in mind.

Dietary Restrictions

The do’s and don’ts on food and drinks are some of the big questions that many would-be hosts ask. There are several things to remember when it comes to dietary restrictions, but here is a quick rundown that can serve as a guide when preparing food.

Halal, Haram, and Mushbooh

The first thing you need to do is grasp the concepts of halal, haram, and mushbooh.

● Halal is an Arabic word that means lawful or permitted. It’s the general term used to label foods and goods allowed for consumption based on Islamic law, such as beef, chicken, and vegetables.

● Haram is the opposite of halal. It refers to animals, foods, and items that are considered unclean and thus, shouldn’t be consumed, such as pork or alcohol.

● Lastly, mushbooh is the undetermined category. Muslims use this term to refer to things that don’t neatly fall into the halal and haram groups. This grouping includes foods like yeast extract and shellac.

Muslims choose halal foods because these products were prepared following Islamic regulations. For example, Islam has strict guidelines when it comes to killing animals for food.

When inviting Muslim guests, make sure to source items from legitimate halal suppliers. While shopping, look for the halal insignia on products to ensure that the products don’t contain any impermissible ingredients.

Strictly No Pork Allowed

If there’s one rule most Muslims abide by, it’s the restriction on pork. However, this is not only limited to meat. It extends to gelatin and other foods where by-products of pork have been used. As such, double-check the ingredients you pick when it comes to food preparation.

Alcohol

The perception of alcohol is quite varied in the Muslim community. Some Muslims strictly adhere to not consuming alcohol or even sitting at a table where alcohol is being served. Others, however, are more open to it, and you can drink alcohol while they’re around. It’s best to inquire your guest directly about this concern, so you can act accordingly.

Prayer Times

Muslims have five designated prayer times each day. The schedule is scattered throughout the day and lasts from four to twenty minutes, depending on the time of day. You can check the Muslim Pro app for specific prayer times.

As a host, you need to consider these prayer times, especially when planning activities or scheduling get-togethers. It’s an important sign of respect for practicing Muslims, so they can properly do their prayers without discomfort.

You don’t need to prepare a separate room for prayer. Muslims only need a clean and quiet area in the house where they can pray without distraction. If your home is near a mosque, your guest may head there instead to pray.

Special Considerations

In Islam, menstruation is considered impure, so females who are on their period are excused from prayer. This is something to keep in mind in case you’re hosting a female Muslim guest.

Dogs

Dogs are very common household pets. If you have one at home, you need to inform your Muslim guest about it first. This is because in the Islam faith, dogs, particularly their saliva, are considered unclean. If you’re inviting a Muslim guest over for a short time, like dinner or game night, you can simply place the dog in the bedroom. However, if you have a dog and the guest will be staying over for a few days, reconsider your options and have an open discussion with your guest first about the topic.

Based on this list, it becomes clear that the best way to make sure your Muslim guests feel welcome is by asking them about any concerns. They would be happy to help you address any worries and speak openly about their restrictions and observances. As such, you won’t need to worry as much and still ensure that your guests have a lovely time during their stay.

“I just found out that my husband hired a divorce lawyer in Minnesota I don’t understand anything; we’ve been so happy together! Is there anything I can do that stops divorce?” this question we’ve received from our reader Kathy this morning.

An unwanted divorce hurts a million times more. It breaks your heart, destroys your self-esteem, and knocks the bottom out of you. But, Kathy, stopping it might not be the best option. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with someone who doesn’t want you anymore? You may try different sneaky tactics to force your spouse to stay with you. But it’s likely to leave you high and dry.

Instead, learn how to cope with a divorce you don’t want. And let the faith decide.

Avoid Rash Decisions

When your heart has been ripped out, taking revenge on the offender is so tempting. Unfortunately, rash actions can only hasten the unwanted process.

How to deal with a divorce when you don’t want it? First, keep yourself under control. A one-night stand or a spree can really be effective in changing your partner’s mind. But not in the way you’d like it to be. Cry it through, drink it through, talk it through with your BFF. But then, pull yourself up.

Find Out the True Reason

Divorce never comes out of nowhere. They may be not that obvious to you, but there are always signs of the coming up storm. Your job is to see them.

Don’t accept the cheesy “the love is gone”. Ask your partner what the real reason for their decision is. You may not like the answer. But knowing what really drives your spouse can help you fix the situation. Or at least try.

Tell Your Partner About Your Feelings

Once you regain control over your emotions, try to talk with your spouse openly and honestly. Tell them how you feel. It’s not the time to appeal to their conscience, blackmail or blame them, or try to affect their decision in any other way. This will only make them even more uncompromising.

Instead, say straight: “I don’t want a divorce”. And ask your partner if they’d like to try marriage therapy. Often, it’s not the person people don’t love anymore, but the kind of relationship they have.

Avoid Living Separately

Separation is the first step to divorce. If you want to save your marriage, don’t agree to live separately when your spouse offers you this. Unfortunately, there’s no way to stop them from moving out of your family nest. But at least, your own decision won’t facilitate a sooner divorce.

Stop Being an Open Book

It’s hard to stay a mysterious stranger for your partner after a few years of marriage. Unfortunately, it may play a dirty trick on you – from simple “got bored” to a literally staged divorce. You may not even know that everything you say or do has been carefully planned by your spouse to make you guilty of divorce.

Try to be less predictable. Think about how you could have reacted in a specific situation and do differently. Such brain-teasers may even awake the long-gone passion in your spouse.

Don’t Cave in

Avoid “I would do anything for you” attitude. First, it won’t save your marriage for long, if at all. No one likes spineless people. Second, it will make you so unhappy that you yourself will start begging for a

divorce. No relationship is worth breaking yourself and denying what you love. If your partner issues an ultimatum about either you change or else, think twice whether you really want to be in this relationship.

Nurture Yourself

If it’s still happening, how to deal with a divorce when you don’t want it? Start caring more about yourself than you do about your pain. Feeling insecure and lost is normal when you’re abandoned. But don’t make pitying yourself the sense of your life.

Left alone is a great time to bring in shape your body, mind, and lifestyle. Start serving delicious meals for yourself, exercise, dress up, visit fun events and meet people. Your life really doesn’t end with divorce. On the contrary, it may be the beginning of a new fantastic adventure!

Keep Yourself Busy

Burying emotions deep is a bad idea. So as crying months and years on end. Find yourself a fascinating activity and your heart won’t have time to hurt anymore. Is there anything you’ve always dreamt of? Now, when nothing holds you back, you can make this happen. Try new hobbies, get a second education, change a job, pursue your boldest ambitions – just don’t sit idle. Time heals, they say. It might be good to make the most of it, too.

Try to Find Benefits

It has nothing to do with being optimistic, thinking positively, or using affirmations. Just naked facts. We know it may be hard to think objectively, but try to analyze everything that happened during your marriage and after. You may suddenly realize that your affection for your partner is nothing more than a mere habit – a fear to change anything. And if you think, there may be more benefits than losses.

You didn’t like your in-laws? Great! Now, you are free from their company. You always wanted to live abroad? You can have it now. You’ve been hurt by your partner always criticizing you? Now, you won’t give them such pleasure. Building a list of pros and cons will help you look at the situation from different angles. You may even see that your partner isn’t worth your tears.

Make Peace with It

Finally, accept the situation and move on. There’s no point in suffering if it changes nothing. If your partner’s decision is final, the best what you can do is let it go. Advice: don’t contest out of spite and file divorce online. This way you’ll protect yourself from financial and bureaucratic stress.

Birthdays are important milestones that you should celebrate spectacularly. When you are looking to make your loved one’s birthday memorable, getting a yard sign is a perfect idea.

However, when you are getting a Happy Birthday yard sign, you have to consider the design and size. In case you are confused about what kind of yard sign is ideal for your loved one’s birthday, here are some aspects to consider:

Choose A Theme

When choosing to get a unique birthday yard sign, you have to stick to a theme. If there are more significant celebrations that will be happening (like a party or dinner), you want to ensure that the yard sign does not clash too much with the decorations.

You can find different theme choices depending on the birthday person’s preferences. Some popular themes include:

● Princess-style signs

● Cartoon or movie-inspired signs

● Sarcastic signs

● Athletic-style signs

Consider the gender and age of the birthday person, and cater to their style and aesthetics, so that the sign matches with their liking.

If you are getting the sign placed out of their home, ensure that it is big enough to be seen.

Keep Their Preferences In Mind

When you get a birthday sign for someone else, it cannot be according to your preferences. Whether a person is a fan of Barbies or likes subtle and sophisticated

patterns, you must keep these specifics in mind while ordering the custom birthday sign.

If you have no clue about their preferences, you can get in touch with someone close to the person to find out more. You can also find sign companies with an extensive gallery of themes and designs that make it easier for you to choose.

Finding A Color Scheme

A Happy Birthday yard sign needs to have a color scheme. Whether you are planning on a monochromatic signboard or a colorful one, decide ahead of time so you can talk to the company you are hiring for installing.

If the person you are getting it for has some favorite colors, then the color scheme is already known. If you plan to get any additional decorations, make sure those decorations do not clash with the graphics present on your birthday yard sign.

Consider Add-Ons

The yard sign does not have to be the only thing you get for your loved one on their birthday. Many custom yard sign companies offer additional items to get delivered to the birthday person’s home, such as:

● Balloons, confetti, banners, etc.

● Cake and other party snacks

● Services like gift delivery

So, ask if the company offers additional services besides installing yard signs. Because when you are looking to make your loved one feel special, sometimes, getting a yard sign will not be enough. Consider adding other items so you can fully show how valuable they are to you.

Use the Ideal Customization Company

Customization means that the company agrees to make the sign as big and grand as you want it to be. Once you have decided to get a Happy Birthday yard sign, you must choose the ideal yard sign company to help you out. Whether you need unique

customizations or rush orders, having the right company doing it for you can ensure a hassle-free service.

An ideal company should deliver your order at the location you have decided whenever you want. They can also make it a surprise for the birthday person by coming discreetly at midnight and placing it wherever you want. Midnight service ensures that the person gets a pleasant surprise as soon as they wake up.

Thus, make your vision of a birthday sign a reality by choosing the perfect company to do it for you.

There’s no time like the present for designing and ordering your holiday cards. Get ahead of the rush and check that to-do off your list!  Whether you’re a business or a family looking for unique, sophisticated holiday greetings, a local print shop team is ready to walk you through the process of designing and ordering your holiday cards. 

In our fast-paced society, emails have become expected and preferred for business and even social interactions. However, when the holidays roll around, there’s something undeniably special about receiving a personalized card from someone with whom you’ve done business or seen socially. 

The Greeting Card Process

In most cases, you can be as hands-on or hands-off in the greeting card design process as you’d like. If you have already designed your card, getting them printed is as simple as uploading a PDF of your design to the print shop’s website, checking your options, and pressing a button. If you prefer a graphic design team to design your card for you, that should also be available. 

There is a wide selection of papers, stocks, and finishes to choose from. Card stock (thickness), fonts, designs, and even greeting card finishes like matte, pearl metallic, linen, and raised foil are options you can choose. Designers will help walk you through the process and help you think through choices that will convey the message you’re trying to send.

Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, Guru Printers is a family-owned printing business that has serviced this area for over a decade. Offering custom printing services, banners, brochures, roll labels, stickers, hang tag printing, they do it all!  

Their user-friendly website provides individuals, start-ups, large companies, non-profits, and everyone in between a hassle-free printing experience. They also provide rush services for those last-minute printing jobs that need doing quickly! 

Feel free to call on or chat with our staff at any time during your ordering process. That’s why we are here! The team at Guru Printers wants to provide you with the best printing experience you’ve ever had. With the holidays just around the corner, you need to find a printing company that can help you make this – and every day – special. 

Camping has been one of the most popular pastimes for generations. That doesn’t mean that everyone enjoys it, however. Despite that, many people who don’t like camping end up having to go on a trip with their partner, friends, or other people.

The prospect of that mightn’t be a good one. If you’re in this position, then you’ll need to figure out how to enjoy camping. Despite what you may think, it can be much more enjoyable than you’d expect.

You’ll need to take time preparing for the trip, but that will be more than worth it. You could even become a camping fan before you know it.

How To Enjoy Camping, Even If You Don’t Like It

Have A Cozy Sleeping Area

If you want to know how to enjoy camping, then the first thing you’ll need to look at is your sleeping area. Getting a good night’s sleep can be difficult if you don’t take care of this. You should make it as comfortable and as cozy as possible.

You’ll need to have the right supplies for this. A high-quality tent will be the most notable, although you’ll also need a warm sleeping bag and sleeping pad. These will make the nighttime much more comfortable, which should make the trip more enjoyable.

Elevate Your Cooking Game

Home-cooked food naturally won’t be on the menu when you’re camping. You also wouldn’t be able to get a delivery. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have some good food. Cooking over an open fire could be an appealing way of cooking. You could go further than this, however.

Bringing a barrel smoker & charcoal grill with you can bring your cooking game to a new level. While you’ll have to choose a lightweight and portable option, that shouldn’t be too difficult to do.

Having these with you will mean that cooking when you’re camping will be quite easy. The food should also turn out much better than you’d think, provided you know how to cook.

Bring Stuff To Do

Many people who don’t like camping claim that it’s because there’s nothing to do. If that’s your reason, then why not bring things to do? You can engage in multiple games and activities when you’re on a camping trip.

It’s recommended that you choose group games and activities to keep everyone entertained. A pack of cards, a soccer ball, and multiple other things could be quite enjoyable. You might also want to bring a few things for yourself, such as a book or an iPod.

That’ll help to make the camping trip much more enjoyable.

Wrapping Up

Trying to figure out how to enjoy camping, even if you don’t like it can be a daunting prospect. Many people often find that they’ll have to go on occasional trips with their partners, friends, and other loved ones. That doesn’t need to be a negative prospect.

You could find that you’ll have a much better time than you thought. Preparation and proper planning will be needed for this. While that could mean spending money on a few things, it’ll be more than worth it once you’re on the trip.

Narcissism, word cloud concept on white background.

Dealing with a narcissistic person in any situation is challenging. You may be, for example, divorcing a narcissist and, as a result facing an onslaught of legal issues and disagreements.

Narcissistic people in that context tend to try to make a divorce as hard as they can, and they’re often unwilling to negotiate in any way. These situations tend to lead to a lot of drama, expense, and drawn-out legal processes.

You could be dealing with a narcissist in other situations as well, such as in your career or perhaps with a family member.

There’s also a specific type of narcissist that you may hear discussed, which is the malignant narcissist.

Below, we talk more about what exactly is meant by the term malignant narcissism.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

First, narcissistic personality disorder is much more than the shallow, self-loving concept we may see in the media or movies. Instead, someone with a narcissistic personality disorder is often driven by what they get from the environment around them. A person with NPD will work extremely hard to guard their fragile self-esteem. Narcissists have difficulties with emotional and self-regulation. They may experience co-occurring symptoms like anxiety, depression, shame, and anger if something outside their environment doesn’t match the inner self they work so hard to protect.

Someone with a narcissistic personality disorder may seek out attention and be highly extroverted. There are also patterns where the person is vulnerable and has avoidance, anxiety and mood problems.

Malignant narcissism is a variant of narcissistic personality disorder. It’s often considered the most severe type.

Someone with malignant narcissism goes beyond wanting to be seen in a certain way by the people around them. There are often darker and more damaging elements to how self-absorbed a malignant narcissist is.

Understanding Malignant Narcissism Malignant narcissists are, as was touched on, the most damaging type of person within this category. Malignant narcissists have the general traits of narcissistic personality disorder, like being egocentric. They also tend to have antisocial traits, a lack of a sense of self, and no empathy for others. Paranoia is often involved with malignant narcissism too.

Someone who’s a malignant narcissist will tend to be manipulative, not caring who’s hurt in their quest to get what they want.

Someone with this type of personality disorder tends to see things in black-and-white and desire to win at all costs. It’s possible someone with malignant narcissism doesn’t care if they hurt others, and they may revel in it or find it empowering. A malignant narcissist will also tend to do whatever they can to avoid any type of inconvenience or loss.

What Are the Signs?

Not everyone who has NPD is going to fall into the category of malignant narcissism.

Signs and severity can also vary depending on the person, but someone with this mental health disorder may be preoccupied with fantasies about power, beauty, or success. They’re often unable to handle criticism, and they’re very concerned with their appearance.

This type of narcissist is likely to lash out if they feel they’ve been wronged and they can’t self-regulate their emotions.

It’s difficult or impossible for someone with this harmful narcissism disorder to feel remorse for hurting others, and they expect to have the best of everything.

At the core, someone with this disorder tends to have a weak sense of self and many hidden insecurities.

Malignant narcissism isn’t an official diagnosis in the DSM-5, used by health care providers to diagnose psychiatric disorders. However, many mental health professionals believe that it’s actually a combination of a few diagnosable conditions which are antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, aggression and sadism and paranoia.

Not All Narcissism is a Personality Disorder It’s important to distinguish and say that not all narcissistic traits meet the diagnostic criteria of being a personality disorder. For a personality disorder, there would need to be symptoms that fall into at least two of four categories.

These categories are:

· Affective, which is how we respond emotionally

· Cognitive, referring to how you think about yourself and others

· Impulse control, meaning how a person controls their behavior

· Interpersonal, describing your relationship with others

The unfortunate reality is that having a family or romantic relationship with a malignant narcissist is highly challenging, and someone with this disorder is unlikely to seek treatment. Treatment, in general, is complex too because a personality disorder is so deeply ingrained into who someone is, and it’s difficult for them to see outside of that.

From the eager anticipation of a child who can’t wait for the next day, to the 29-year-old, frantically planning a huge bash for the big 3-0, everyone loves a birthday. Parties, presents and an excuse to eat cake? Yes please!

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at your bank statement in disbelief, wondering how so many people you know could have all had a birthday that month, you’re not alone. Forget one born every minute, a baby is actually born every 48 seconds, and there are some points in the year in which people are more likely to have been born. If you want to know when you most need to stock up on stamps and birthday cards, here are some of the months for the most births, and some of the less common times.

The month of the most births September comes in first place as the peak birthday season. The most common day of the month for births is the 26th, making that the overall most recurrent birthday for the UK. If you do the maths, you’ll notice the most popular period for conception is in the weeks and days leading up to Christmas. These statistics have remained steady for the last two decades and countries including New Zealand and the U.S have reported similar trends around September and October births.

Eight of the top 10 births happened towards the end of September, with the remaining two being early October. It is thought part of the reason for this surge could be due to couples planning to have children near the start of the school year.

The most common season

It appears summer babies are quite common, with approximately 187,207 born between July and September in 2020. Looking back on 2015 and 2013, July was the busiest month for midwives, revealing a lot of people were getting frisky over Halloween. Who needs trick-or-treating when you could have a romantic night in!

The months with the least births

While Christmas is clearly a popular time to get pregnant, December is the least common month for births, with six of the 10 least recurrent dates falling during the period of Christmas and New Year. It is believed this is due to the number of bank holidays during that time, as hospitals will not be offering elective births, only natural births or emergency caesareans would be carried out.

The day with the lowest total number of births in unsurprisingly February 29th, which only occurs every four years as it is a leap year day. However, when calculating the average number of births in February and taking the leap year into account, the number of births is only just under the overall daily average.

There are always going to be a million reasons why you’re never going to make it – but there is also, always, for all eternity only going to be one reason why you will make it – your own. In the superfluous supply of self-help books and “clever little quotes” about self-motivation and goal setting, you would have heard all sorts of smart-sounding bits of advice on how to get you to where you’re meant to be going, but the truth of the matter is this: if you don’t fully understand or know “your why”, no one else is going to live that truth for you.

“If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY.” – Simon Sinek

This quote by Simon Sinek the British-American author and inspirational speaker sums up perfectly what we’re going to try to inspire in you this season. We say season because summer has all but vanished in some parts of the country and while the whole Northern Hemisphere looks forward to winter and the upcoming holiday season, we think it’s a great opportunity for introspection and laying the foundations now, for what will be your best summer in 2022, and it starts with: knowing what your why, is.

SO HOW DO YOU FIGURE THIS OUT?

It sounds like one of those nondescript and utterly useless modifiers that we insist on using in our modern lives these days, but in this instance, it’s actually pretty easy to figure out.

It starts with something as simple as “what gets me out of bed in the mornings”. This could be your kids, your partner, your job, your dog – it doesn’t matter what it is, but whatever gets you moving the morning is a pretty good start towards figuring out your why. The gist of it is this: for you to truly start living your best life and reaching your full potential, you first have to understand why you want to do it at all and this applies to all levels of change management and life planning. The golden rule is always, see your dentist, twice a year.

I’VE FIGURED OUT MY “WHY”, WHAT NOW?

Once you’ve taken the time to know why you want to achieve certain goals and reach certain milestones you can start plotting the equally important, how.  Now, this is the fun part because here you get to dream big and there are legitimately no levels to how big you can dream as the only determining factor is going to be how much you want to achieve your “why”. If that motivation is strong enough, then there are no limits. If it’s hitting your goal weight, working out your new business plan, or getting some cosmetic work done (you might want to know how much does a smile makeover cost), and all of these “whys” build-up towards your ultimate goal, your ultimate “why”.

Remember that while you’re working out your “why” and discover awesome ways to get to where you going, not everyone around you is quite so lucky and unfortunately, after the year we’ve had, rates of suicide are looking worse than ever – so check in a with a mate, colleague or family member.