My recent run in with the perennial flu has me thinking about health and its importance. A healthy lifestyle could be one that is free from physical ailments for some. Others consider the ability to follow a regimen of diet and exercise as key.

Being healthy, however, is both physical and mental. Some deterrents to healthy living are smoking, physical inactivity, and stress. Although considered difficult, giving up the habit of cigarette smoking can be done. Will power and discipline are the main tools; some succeed while others need the assistance of patches and even acupuncture.

To start an exercise regimen, the highest degree of commitment is necessary. The key is sustaining the activity as results such as weight loss are only seen after some time.

There’s no avoiding stress. These could be caused by professional or personal pressure; these require attention, even medical. Breathing exercises are helpful in stress management.

Another way to relieve stress is by starting a hobby. Hobbies are activities; those times when work and responsibilities are farthest from the mind. Hobbies are great sources of positive stress called eustress. The Urban Dictionary says

“Eustress is good stress. Stress is simply an external stimulus; eustress is the feeling you get when overcome with the excitement and anticipation of a desired outcome. Hans Selye MD, an endocrinologist, first introduced Eustress. It is defined as “stress that is healthy, or gives one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings. Eustress is a process of exploring potential gains.”

When gardening, a physical distance from work is created. Looking forward to blooming flowers brings up excitement. Cross-stitching, knitting, and creative writing groups provide opportunities to connect with others, bringing stress relief and fun as well.

Striving towards healthy living means giving up cigarettes and the like. Smoking and lack of exercise directly impacts the body. But stress can creep in.

Overall, striving for balance is key and that’s when eustress can have a place in a life.

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

Diversity, according to the Department of Interior in the Office of Civil Rights, is a term “used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including, but not limited to, race, religion, color, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, education, geographic origin, and skill characteristics.” A broad topic, it has many nuances. Its rise in the workplace has made growth possible for both management and employees.

Diversity is essential in the professional world because it generates mutual respect. Different workers from all types of cultural background bring a plethora of talent and strengths to businesses.  In a multi-generation workforce, techies teach, share expertise such as the usefulness of Excel compared to the traditional creation of a table to document financial information. Interaction follows in which dialogue for other project collaboration begins.

Awareness of differences enables and assists in conflict resolution. Because awareness implies putting oneself in another person’s point of view, discussion of conflict can show similarities in perspective, facilitating resolution of problems such as quality control and leadership style.

A multicultural, multi-generational workplace is a rich learning place. Exposure to individual differences provides a window into one’s capacity to integrate new software, apps and gadgets into personal work style. Employees hear or receive suggestions, as well as making some themselves to solve challenges from a new perspective. Understanding new approaches improves overall teamwork and cohesiveness.

In general, human beings are defined by difference. No two persons are alike down to their most basic component, as DNA research has proven. Seen and experienced daily in the workplace, differences in individuals can be harnessed for growth that can produce a positive ripple effect in businesses. Differences and similarities are ingredients of progress and diversity.

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, times have truly changed. Employability requires more than a university degree. In some companies, the ability to harness support for community-oriented projects, such as waste management is a major plus for a job applicant. Proposal and grant writing skills are highly valued. A multi-lingual job seeker, however, has the same opportunities, even an advantage, in any situation.

Chances for employment are increased when a resume reflects a second language. In pitching a sale, negotiating a contract, and going on business trips, a second language can be an enormous asset. Transportation and tourism, communication, and teaching are some examples of jobs where a second or third language is welcomed.

Traveling or living overseas even for short periods with a second language means knowing how to ask for directions. More important, one gets an insight into the country’s culture. Conversations with people at meetings or chatting about food and drink while at dinner in a restaurant can be fun. After all, lifelong friendships start with informal chats. Museum visits are more appreciated because of language.

Learning a foreign or a second language is good for the brain. It continuously improves brainpower in that the brain changes in a similar way as the body when exercise is a regular regimen. These new synapses may delay and even prevent onset of disease such as dementia.

Acquiring, learning a new language necessitates time, patience, and money but it is well worth the investment. It is the link that connects people in all places and on all occasions. It is a way to understand human beings in general and a foreign partner in a business or per personal relationship, in particular. Nelson Mandela said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to a man in his language, that goes to his heart.”

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

The role of women at home and the community has long changed as evidenced by two income families and women leaders nowadays. Although still in the low numbers worldwide, women business and political leaders have made forceful headway exemplified by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook, Executive Director Lisa Graves at the Center for Media and Democracy, and President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. Their vision of a better life is universal – encompassing their families, communities, and the world. Reading about them inspires and motivates other women to touch and actualize their own dreams.

Aside from focus and determination, women who follow their dreams share these seven elements:

1. Gratitude – they are grateful not only for the benefits that come their way but also for the challenges that make them grow and develop new skills to meet the obstacles head on.
2. Clear values – these are principled women who know the importance of honesty and fairness at home and in the workplace.
3. Responsible – they take 100% responsibility and are not into the “blame game.”
4. Belief – they have spiritual space that is a big part of their lives and they make time for it daily.
5. Take care of themselves – they look after themselves, mind and body, aware that if they’re not in top shape they won’t be good for others.
6. Positive – difficult as it may be, women who live their dreams fix their eyes on the positive, resolving and finding solutions for negatives.
7. Empower themselves as they empower others – in extending themselves to help others, they are reinforcing the qualities that got them to where they are.

As put by Mike Norton, making dreams come alive means “never say that you can’t do something, or that something seems impossible, or that something can’t be done, no matter how discouraging or harrowing it may be; human beings are limited only by what we allow ourselves to be limited by: our own minds. We are each the masters of our own reality; when we become self-aware to this: absolutely anything in the world is possible.”

Written by Yoli P.- The Help

Even with just seeing the mathematical plus symbol, we get a good vibe. Plus sums up stuff like monies, number of employees, as well as accomplishments. The idea of being positive is often equated with optimism. But being positive or optimism alone does not necessarily bring tangible results in daily life. Many believe in positive thinking and taking action that result in achieving goals. However, an optimistic person could also be a procrastinator implying that a positive mindset must come with a large dose of determination. The combination of positive thinking and action can bring a boatload of satisfaction and joy.

How do we create a positive mindset that becomes part of us, in our personal and professional lives? Researchers suggest that meditation, journaling, and relaxation are three of the best ways to maintain optimism or positive thinking.

From my experience of meditating, twice a day, in the last 25 years, I can say that its benefits truly outweigh any other practice. It is a practice “in which the mind is trained or induced to a level of consciousness, to achieve a benefit or as an end in itself” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation).

For example, focusing the mind on a particular challenge during meditation can bring up possible solutions to a job search problem. Someone recently laid off might recall that teaching was an interesting career option soon after college graduation. S/he might rekindle the interest, opening a path in tutoring with concentration on special needs children. Meditation opens up the mind to possibilities that may have been disregarded.

Leaving negative thoughts and ideas somewhere instead of verbalizing these to anyone prevents the spread of negativity. Writing about what steps to take to move closer to one’s goals can generate a sense of progress and that plans are slowly implemented. Writing brings up fresh ideas. This is where journaling comes in. The act of putting in writing one’s positive view of the future for family and career can ease the challenges one is confronted with.

Last but not least, include relaxation time in one’s life to insure healthy and balanced mental functions. Stress has a way of taking over, spilling into all aspects of activities. Children become irritating, husband unnerves wife, and bills are unmet. It is even more important to be positive during stressful times.

There’s a saying that behind every dark cloud is a silver lining. Because positive thinking is the silver lining, it is imperative to relax, write down good thoughts, and meditate to overcome negatives, whether ideas or people that may erode our determination to have positive thinking become part of who we are.

Written by Yoli P.- The Help