FIVE [5] HARSH TRUTHS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

Life is what we make of it. By the end of this write up, I hope to have helped you decide whether that statement is true or not.

There is no doubt that life has its ups and downs. However, how we deal with them can sometimes make all the difference. Today I want to share eight harsh truths that I've come to learn from life. There's also a message in each that I think we can all learn from, and when applied, will improve our lives infinitely

#1 Nobody Can Transform Your Life Like You Can

Wouldn't it be lovely if we didn't have to go behind the wheels, but we could just read a paragraph of a book and become a professional driver? Or, wouldn't it be nice if our friends could do daring things, and we would benefit from them as well?

The support and help of others can only take you so far, you're going to have to do your own thing to make big changes in your life situation.

Do things for yourself and learn to stand on your own two feet. People you rely on won't be around forever, and you don't want to have to use others as a crutch to get anywhere in life.

#2 Rain Will Sometimes Cancel Play

On some occasions when you have your shoes on and you're ready for the party, it's going to rain. Things aren't always going to go how you would like them to. Don't stress about the things that you can't control. Learn to live with things that happen. You can't change the past, but you can change how you react to things.

#3 Someone Else Will Always Have More

Whether it is money, partners, friends or even blog subscribers, there will always be areas where other people have more than you. That isn't to say you can't become abundant in whatever you want.

Just because someone has 'more', that doesn't mean they are happy. Read the biography of any celebrity and they will tell you they enjoy their process of earning money, rather than what money can do to make them happy. In other words, focus on what you love, not what the thing you love can get you.

#4 You Won't Always Get What You Want

You won't always get what you want in life: people are going to be late, people will let you down, items you want won't always be available.

Don't look for happiness in material possessions and if things don't go your way, learn to accept them. Life's too short to stay miserable.

#5 There May Be No Tomorrow

At least, not for you anyway. We never know what is around the corner, a car crash, a heart attack; heck... even the end of the world is possible. Let's face it, although we would all like to live till we are 80 years old, that's certainly not always the case. There will be one day that is our last.

Make the most of each day. Make sure the people you care about actually know it, don't worry about little matters, just make sure you spend time doing the things you love.

Live life for the moment, accept what is, even if things don't go your way. Happiness is here, right now if you stop resisting and start accepting.

Trust me.

BEST E HOUSE -Academic and Vocational Center

24 WAYS YOU ARE WASTING YOUR LIFE BUT YOU DON'T KNOW IT

The modern world is fast-paced and time waits for nobody.

Time often seems to slip by with us barely noticing.

Consequently, it’s important that we don’t spend time or attention on things that are frivolous, negative or simply plain stupid.

Here's a guiding list of things you shouldn’t be wasting your time on.

1.         DWELLING ON PROBLEMS: Instead of wasting time by dwelling on a problem, work out what you can do to fix it. 

2.         WORRYING: It’s similar to above. Stop worrying and start working towards a solution.

3.         CARING WHAT OTHERS THINK: Unless you are getting good advice from people you love, disregard it. It doesn’t matter what other people think of you, you need to stay true to yourself. Don’t waste your time, thoughts, and energy on what others think. Be proud to be yourself. 

4.         CHECKING YOUR PHONE CONSTANTLY: High-end phones are big time distractions in our lives. Try to do some work for 3 hours without the beeping of your phone from BBM, Facebook and Whatsapp. Can you? No, you don’t also need it when you go to the bathroom.

5.         WAITING FOR SOMETHING TO HAPPEN: - The world isn’t going to wait for you. Go after what you want.

6.         CONSTANTLY REFRESHING FACEBOOK: Try living life rather than waiting for an acquaintance to update you on how their lunch is going. 

7.         DOING THINGS YOU HATE: Life is far too short to waste your time on doing something you hate.

8.         HITTING ‘SNOOZE’: Get your lazy butt out of bed. You set your alarm for a legitimate reason. 

9.         STAYING ONLINE LATE INTO THE NIGHT: It’s not only a waste of time now, but will probably result in you sleeping half the day away tomorrow, or being unproductive at work or school. There is nothing so important that you need to stay online for it until 3am often.

10.     CELEBRITY CULTURE: Stop giving a flying spaghetti monster about the Krapdashians, or how you look compared to the entirety of Hollywood. They are all Photoshopped. Thighs are supposed to touch. Breasts can sag too. You are human.

11.     PROCRASTINATING: Just do it. 

12.     PLAYING ROMANTIC GAMES: You can waste years not telling someone how you feel out of fear. Grow a pair of ovaries and tell them. If they are not digging it, at least you will have the chance to move on. If they feel the same the only regret you will have is the days, weeks, and months you could have already had together.

13.     HOLDING GRUDGES: Life is too short! Forgive and be positive.

14.     COMPLAINING: Complaining really won’t get you anywhere, and the only person who it is hurting is you. Start thinking positively. Figure out how to make your life more complaint-free.

15.     EATING OUT OF BOREDOM: This kind of eating is a bad idea all-around. If you are bored, it means you are wasting time. Find something productive to do. Put some work in towards a goal or a dream. These would be much better uses of your time than visiting the fridge for the seventh time this hour.

16.     CONSTANTLY UPDATING YOUR STATUS: This is not living. No one cares that your left flip flop broke on your way to the church.

17.     INDECISION: Indecision often stems from fear. Deep down, you are likely to know what decision you want to make. 

18.     HANGING AROUND NEGATIVE PEOPLE: The people in your life shouldn’t be a constant stream of negativity. Give them the figurative (or even literal) bird, and find some positive people to spend time with. You will feel a whole lot happier and enjoy life more.

19.     WATCHING TV: A little TV is okay, but it shouldn’t be the center of your universe. Instead of watching other people have adventures, have some of your own.

20.     PINNING THINGS: Stop day-dreaming of amazing things on Pinterest, and start doing them.

21.     GOSSIP: know it can be juicy and kind of fun, but it really get you nowhere.

22.     UNREQUITED LOVE: This can be one of the hardest things to let go of, but you simply must. Unrequited means that you probably know that they are not interested. Why waste your time on that when you can be working on being happy? When you find the right person for you, you will lament all the wasted time spent on someone who didn’t care. 

23.     BEING GLUED TO YOUR PHONE: Not only does this make you miss the world going on around you, it’s also just plain rude in a social situation.

24.     READING THIS: Just kidding, I write amazing things worthy of your time. 

MEANWHILE, IS THERE ANYTHING ON THIS LIST THAT YOU CAN CUT OUT OF YOUR LIFE? 

SADNESS AND DEPRESSION

Sadness is a normal human emotion. We’ve all experienced it and we all will again. Sadness is usually triggered by a difficult, hurtful, challenging, or disappointing event, experience, or situation. In other words, we tend to feel sad about something. This also means that when that something changes, when our emotional hurt fades, when we’ve adjusted or gotten over the loss or disappointment, our sadness remits.

Depression is an abnormal emotional state, a mental illness that affects our thinking, emotions, perceptions, and behaviors in pervasive and chronic ways. When we’re depressed we feel sad about everything. Depression does not necessarily require a difficult event or situation, a loss, or a change of circumstance as a trigger. In fact, it often occurs in the absence of any such triggers. People’s lives on paper might be totally fine -they would even admit this is true -and yet they still feel horrible.

Depression colors all aspects of our lives, making everything less enjoyable, less interesting, less important, less lovable, and less worthwhile. Depression saps our energy, motivation, and ability to experience joy, pleasure, excitement, anticipation, satisfaction, connection, and meaning. All your thresholds tend to be lower. You’re more impatient, quicker to anger and get frustrated, quicker to break down, and it takes you longer to bounce back from everything.

The True Symptoms of Depression

To be diagnosed with depression, people need to have at least 5 of the following symptoms, for a continual duration of at least two weeks. Be advised: The severity of these symptoms must also be considered, so please use these only as a guideline and see a mental health professional for a conclusive diagnosis.

1.  A depressed or irritable mood most of the time.

2.  A loss or decrease of pleasure or interest in most activities, including ones that had been interesting or pleasurable previously.

3.  Significant changes in weight or appetite.

4.  Disturbances in falling asleep or sleeping too much.

5.  Feeling slowed down in your movements or restless most days.

6.  Feeling tired, sluggish, and having low energy most days.

7.  Having feelings of worthless or excessive guilt most days.

8.  Experiencing problems with thinking, focus, concentration, creativity and the ability to make decisions most days.

9.  Having thoughts of dying or suicide.

If you think you or a loved one might be depressed, it is important to seek the counsel of a trained mental health professional for diagnosis and treatment. Depression is an extremely common mental illness and there are many treatments that benefit most people.