5 Life Lessons 

1. “Always be kind to others.”

2. “You should care about what others think!”

3. “Don’t let others down.”

4. “Always prepare for the worst.”

5. “Try to be happy, even when you’re sad.”

17 Things Emotionally Strong 

People Don’t Do 

 

Once you believe you are strong emotionally, you will unconsciously act stronger than before and begin to take control over your emotional whims.

– Senora Roy

Life is a series of stories, and each one of us has a unique story to tell. Billions upon billions of stories and no two are exactly the same. If the story of your life has been filled with more sad moments than happy ones, it’s time to change that. And the best place to start is within your head.
You have the power to create the life you want. One crucial skill that will help you get there is learning how to become emotionally strong. The good news is emotional strength is like a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it becomes.

They don’t beg for attention.

Emotional strength means confidence, and confident people don’t need to constantly be the center of attention. They’re comfortable in their own skin.

They don’t allow others to bring them down.

Emotionally strong people ignore the haters and the naysayers. They weed these people out and surround themselves with positive people instead.

They don’t stop believing in themselves.

Somehow I can’t believe that there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.
– Walt Disney

Soak up these amazing words from Walt Disney. Because belief is the most essential quality of emotional strength.

They’re not afraid to love.

Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World.
– Paulo Coelho

People who possess emotional strength have experienced heartbreak. But it doesn’t hold them back … it makes them stronger. Just because you’ve been hurt doesn’t mean you should shut love out of your life. Open up your heart and embrace vulnerability. The love you find will be worth everything you go through to get it.

They’re not afraid of slowing down.

Sometimes you need to take a step back and slow it down when you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. Having drive is great but not at the expense of your health and well-being. Allow yourself time for reflection and relaxation.

They refuse to be a victim of circumstance.

Being emotionally strong means refusing to make excuses. Leave the past behind you and focus on getting a little better every day.

They don’t have a problem saying no.

Saying no is one of the most important things you’ll ever learn how to do. Focus on your top priorities and say no to all the stuff that’s wasting your time.

They don’t back down from challenges.

Emotionally strong people see challenges as opportunities to grow and improve their life. Challenges happen for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there.

They don’t do things they don’t want to do.

If you want to keep your emotional balance and sanity intact, do what you love. Get rid of baggage and commitments that are making you miserable.

They don’t forget that happiness is a decision.

Emotionally strong people know that happiness is a choice. They understand the things they need to really be happy. They choose a life of simplicity, productivity, and passion.

They don’t waste time.

Abraham Lincoln said, “It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Emotionally strong folks don’t waste time doing mindless crap. They live mindfully in the present, enjoying every day as if it’s their last.

They aren’t afraid to ask for help.

Every single one of the great minds in history, from Einstein to Edison, had help along the way. You can’t do it all alone, and it takes an emotionally strong person to swallow their pride and ask for help.

They don’t hold themselves back.

Self-handicapping is a common trait among emotionally weak people. What this means is you make excuses and find ways to justify your inadequacies instead of finding ways to improve on them. If you want to change something, stop holding yourself back. Just start. Small victories lead to major changes.

They don’t mind working a little harder than everyone else.

The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Soak in these poetic words from Longfellow. Put in the work, and you’ll get the results you’re looking for.

They don’t overreact to things beyond their control.

Charles Swindoll said, “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.” Think about how many times a day you overreact to things that really don’t matter. When you start to feel your blood boil, take a deep breath and ask yourself, “Is this really worth getting stressed out over?” Ninety-nine percent of the time, you’ll realize the answer is no.

They aren’t content with a mediocre life.

Emotionally strong people don’t settle for mediocrity. They strive to achieve greatness.

They never, ever give up.

Being emotionally strong means staring adversity in the face, learning from your mistakes, and living to fight another day. I’ll leave you with this inspiring quote from Harriet Beecher Stowe:

When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.

If You Do These Things, You’ll Become Smarter

Although many people believe intelligence is limited to those with high I.Q.s, there are a number of potential methods to boost one’s cognitive abilities and become more effective at various professional and personal pursuits.

With enough motivation and determination, anyone can expand their mental capabilities and become smarter. Integrating new habits into your regular routine and providing proper stimulation can sharpen your intellect quickly and leave you inspired to take on new challenges each day. Brain health is an important key in complete physical health. The list below includes the best brain-engaging activities in daily life.

Inviting Novelty

To create new neural pathways and strengthen the brain, it’s critical for people to continually incorporate new experiences and information into their lives. At first, these moments might feel useless, but eventually, you will find yourself looking forward to quiet moments alone.

Visit New Places

Whether this means studying in a new coffee shop, taking a different route to work, or traveling to a different country, displacement is good for the brain. This might be difficult to recognize in the moment since it usually feels rather awkward – at least initially. At the coffee shop, you can’t order the “usual.” You have to study a new menu, pick something you have never tried before, and make a decision.

While this seems simple, people enjoy the comfort of habit. We like to know what to expect at all times. When you travel to a new country, the language is strange, the customs are unfamiliar, and the culture presents a strange new rhythm of life. Adjusting to these new elements forces the brain to tackle new, unexpected challenges. Learning how to communicate through a language barrier forces the brain to develop creative ways to express needs and emotions. Listening to new music, trying new foods, and navigating foreign streets all work to challenge your brain’s capacity to adapt to new situations.

Continue Your Education

Adult education is one of the best investments of time, money, and energy you can make. While education is valuable throughout childhood and adolescence, adults often underestimate their ability to learn new concepts and skills. Challenge yourself to take a class, academic or creative. Voluntarily choosing to continue education provides a perfect opportunity for your brain to create new connections and build higher intelligence.

Read and Watch the News

This is one activity that maintains the appearance of habit while nurturing healthy brain waves. Setting aside half an hour every morning or evening to read a newspaper or watch the news will help your brain stay active. Digesting new information is a good daily habit. The news introduces interesting topics to consider, and will leave your brain churning with new information.

Read Books

Reading is the most basic way to facilitate brain activity, but it often presents some of the most diverse opportunities for stretching brain capacity. Reading provides practical assistance by introducing new vocabulary, presenting examples of proper grammar usage, and showing the elegance of a well-written sentence. However, this is only half of the magic of reading.

Whether you choose fiction, non-fiction, historical literature, or poetry, reading offers an opportunity for the reader to make big-picture connections between the literature and real life. In this way, reading is an alternative way to make your brain travel to a new place. As your imagination works to create tangible people, places, and experiences from the words on the page, your brain is rewiring to understand all the new information.

Approach Work in New Ways

The workplace is a canvas for new experiences. Regardless of what type of job you might hold, everyone is at one time or another presented with opportunities to think outside the box, problem solve in a creative way, and contribute fresh ideas to the team. Instead of stressing over each new problem, it’s important to relax and starting imagining alternatives for reaching an end goal.

Challenging Yourself

Like a weightlifter who develops muscles, one must exercise the brain on a daily basis, pushing it just beyond its current capabilities. As Albert Einstein once said, “One should not pursue goals that are easily achieved. One must develop an instinct for what one can just barely achieve through one’s greatest efforts.”

This quote encapsulates what I believe about the brain. With enough focus and stretching, the brain can truly surprise people. Underestimating yourself holds you back from success. When people begin believing in their abilities, they often go beyond what they thought was possible.

Brain Train

Organizations like Lumosity offer fantastic daily brain training. With puzzles and games designed to increase neuroplasticity, Lumosity was created to challenge the brain to make new connections. A group of neuroscientists at University of California Berkeley developed this program to provide stimuli for the brain to push it to adapt and re-train itself in uncharted territory. Success stories abound concerning the results of this public experiment.

Ask 5 Whys When Encountering Problems

One of the most standard problem solving solutions, the 5 whys still provide a solid start to uncovering the root of a problem. Asking a question gets the brain working to find an answer. Instead of worrying about the problem, always start by asking why.

Eschew Technology to Keep the Brain in Shape

Technology does wonders for the modern world, but in some ways, technological dependence stunts the brain’s capacity for problem solving, adapting to new environments, and being a reliable resource for practical things like simple mathematics and navigation. Try going on a trip without a GPS. Work a few algebra problems without a calculator. Make your brain work for you; you’ll see the results.

Fostering Creativity

Finger-painting in preschool was not only a fun activity; it helped open up the mind to new possibilities and ways of solving problems. An artistic mindset creates new opportunities to find new solutions, fresh inspiration, and peaceful confidence.

The blend of these elements in both personal and professional environments allows ordinary people to shine by becoming an innovative thinker and inventive leader. Find ways to incorporate creativity into the dull grind of daily tasks.

Draw

You don’t have to be an artist to appreciate the benefits of drawing, which cultivates brain activity in a unique way. In addition to nurturing basic hand-eye coordination, it sends synapses to neurotransmitters to help more permanently and vividly store your memories. From doodles on a piece of scrap paper to charcoal portraits, drawing is a healthy brain activity for everyone.

Paint

Painting is an extension of drawing. It feeds the same areas of the brain, but unlike drawing, painting often introduces new and unfamiliar textures and colors to stimulate the brain. Painters often have a keen sense of awareness towards their surroundings. Engaging in painting encourages people to notice minute details of the world around them. Focusing the brain in this manner brings a heightened state of alertness.

Play an Instrument

Learning to play an instrument also has outstanding benefits for the brain. Hand-eye coordination, memory, concentration, and mathematic skills all improve through playing an instrument. While some are more challenging to learn than others, any instrument facilitates increased and improved cognitive functioning.

From training your fingers to master complex musical passages on the piano to counting the beats in a musical measure, instruments force various regions of the brain to work together to create music.

Write

Like reading, writing encourages vocabulary growth, grammar skills, and use of proper syntax. Writing helps the brain store information more effectively and fosters better memory skills. Studies show that students who regularly take handwritten notes during college classes consistently score better on tests. Writing forces a person to pay attention to their memories, experiences, and internal dialogues – a combination that increases brain function altogether.

Role-Play

Put yourself in someone else’s shoes, and your brain starts to rewire to help you think like a different person. For those struggling to form creative ideas, role-playing can help the wheels start turning in the brain to help develop unique solutions for difficult problems.

Working with Others

Although logical intelligence is important, emotional intelligence plays an equally vital part in overall success. Interacting with others helps people expand beyond their own limited thinking, gain new ideas, and see things from a different perspective.

People are challenging. Smart people often enjoy isolation because it protects them from being critical of others. However, this discomfort is necessary for truly smart people because it pushes them outside their bubble. When you start to believe you have all the right answers, start collaborating with others to expand perspective.

Teach and Share Information with Others

Whether this is achieved virtually or face-to-face, pursue colleagues and peers to share experience and wisdom. Fresh faces and new ideas spur inspiration and create an amplified learning environment for the brain. By creating a network for sharing ideas, your brain starts developing a new network for formulating and executing innovative concepts.

Talk to Interesting People

No two people share the same life experiences. Everyone interprets information uniquely, stores memories differently, and digests daily life with their own intellectual flare. This makes collaboration a necessity for brain health. Although we are all inclined to think our method is the best approach, gaining perspective from another person helps our brain consider new solutions and new techniques for both personal and professional issues.

Whether the conversation is centered on religion, finances, politics, or diet trends, people should practice being a good listener. Silencing your own thoughts while the other person speaks is often challenging, but the brain needs discipline to stay sharp.

Work in a Team Environment

Collaborative environments are essential for enhancing brain activity. Some people who enjoy working independently dread the moment when they are forced to participate in a team-focused workplace. However, these independent individuals are highly intelligent and can benefit the most from a little teamwork.

Author Steve Johnson’s book, Where Good Ideas Come From, focuses on the benefits of collaborating with peers and coworkers to develop original ideas and effective strategies for their execution. The modern workplace continues to shift towards this team-oriented approach.

Cultivating Physical Health

The body feeds the brain, and keeping oneself in top physical condition is crucial to adequate fueling and operation of the brain. Lack of motivation, mental fatigue, and absence of inspiration are typically connected to poor exercise, diet, and focus.

Exercise

Studies constantly show people who exercise regularly have higher I.Q. scores. In addition to maintaining a strong body, people who exercise regularly actually stimulate brain cell growth. A process called neurogenesis occurs during rigorous exercise, which increases the production of neurotransmitters. With side effects like increased dopamine, active people enjoy less stress, better concentration, and more energy.

Dr. Michael Nilsson of Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden conducted extensive research on the topic. “Being fit means that you also have a good heart and lung capacity and that your brain gets plenty of oxygen,” the doctor said. His research focused on over a million Swedish military men, and Dr. Nilsson found a direct correlation between physical fitness and high scores on I.Q. tests.

Pursue Athletics

Multiple studies have shown active children typically do better in school and have a better chance of continuing their education after high school graduation. Although athletic pursuits can feel grueling at the time, the overall benefits of intense physical activity are wise for your future.

Whether it’s finding one thing you are good at, like basketball, running, or lifting weights, or trying something new every day, maintaining an athletic routine is important for optimal brain health.

Meditate

Controlling and calming the brain is as powerful as enhancing activity through instruments and puzzles. Doctors have been studying the effects of mediation on the brain for several years, and the results are impressive. In one famous study, Dr. Richard Davidson of the University of Wisconsincollaborated with the Dalai Lama to study what happens to the brain during meditation.

Transcendental Meditation yields impressive results for the brain. People who struggle with fear, anxiety, depression, and other mental ailments should experiment with meditation to calm themselves and develop a stronger sense of focus.

Maintain a Nutritious Diet

Children and adults interested in boosting brain activity should begin by transforming their diet. Research from the University of Bristol in England points to a strong connection between unhealthy diet and low I.Q. scores in children. To begin reversing unhealthy tendencies, try cutting out excess fat, sugar, and fast foods, and start adding more vegetables, fruit, and lean meats.

There are also a number of unusual drinks proven to help brain function. Matcha Green Tea, Raw Cacao hot chocolate, and Gingko Biloba tea all show benefits for the brain. Some scientist claim Gingko Biloba helps pump more blood to the brain, improving circulation.

Active Learning

Start children young with interactive video games, jump roping, juggling, and other activities to feed brain stimulation. Assign a musical instrument, a physical activity, or a Sudoku puzzle to get their brains moving. Parents, remember to join in the fun!

Creating daily routines to promote healthy brain activity doesn’t require the advice of a neuroscientist. While plenty of studies provide convincing evidence, increasing brain activity can be accomplished with a few basic steps. Be intentional about your time and energy to start working towards a smarter and more fulfilling life.

Don’t complicate life, keep your life simple

• Missing somebody? Call
• Wanna meet up? Invite
• Wanna be understood? Explain
• Have questions? Ask
• Don’t like something? Say it
• Like something? State it
• Want something? Ask for it
• Love someone? Tell them

12 Things Incredibly Creative Minds Do Differently

1. They are always learning.

Incredibly creative minds are always learning. They see every day as an opportunity to learn something new, whether it be learning about a different culture, a new artistic technique or simply a new fact. Creative minds are eager to learn, with this being one of the most notable habits of creative people.

2. They see every failure as one step closer to success.

Creative minds view failure for what it truly is, an opportunity to learn and grow. When you’re doing creative work failure is part of the game, it’s inevitable but it doesn’t need to break you. Creative minds are always ready to dust themselves off and try again, seeing every failure they have as just one step closer to success. Famous author Stephen King received 30 rejections for his first book Carrie before finally being published, he like many other famous creators, simply didn’t give up. He kept on trying until he was successful seeing every failure as one step closer.

3. They indulge in daydreaming

Creative minds indulge in their daydreams because they understand the power of the mind when it wanders. When the mind is not actively working on solving specific problems or completing a set task it is free to imagine, create and dream big. The most amazing creative minds know the power of this and indulge in daydreaming wherever possible.

4. They are intensely curious.

The most incredible creative minds are intensely curious about the world around them. They are interested in how things work and why. This curiosity encourages them to learn, investigate and constantly seek out new and novel ideas that spark their minds and help them do their very best work.

5. They connect the dots.

Steve Jobs once said creativity is all about connecting the dots, and he’s right. It’s about connecting seemingly disparate ideas and crafting something new with them. Creative minds know this well and use it to their advantage by bringing together a multitude of different inspirations to create something truly amazing.

“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something.” – Steve Jobs

6. They tap into the power of collaboration.

Great creative minds understand the power of collaboration and they aren’t afraid to tap into it. When two creative minds come together new ideas emerge, meld and surface with the potential to birth amazing things into the world.

Designers and artists understand the power of collaboration well, for example designer Yves Saint Laurent and artist Andy Warhol who collaborated in 1974 to create some amazing silk screen portraits or the 2008 collaboration of architect Zaha Hadid and design house Chanel that resulted in the creation of the mobile Chanel Pavilion Gallery that traveled the world.

7. They ask the big questions.

Incredibly creative minds get big answers because they ask the big questions. They aren’t afraid to dream big and they don’t limit themselves to the bounds of what they know or what’s been done before. By asking the big questions incredibly creative minds dive deep and are able to get to the heart of the issue at play.

8. They understand the power of saying no.

Creative minds deeply understand the power of saying no. Not every opportunity is the right one and there is never time to do absolutely everything. By saying no to some things incredibly creative minds carefully curate what they allow into their lives and make more time and head space for their most important projects.

9. They take time out when they need it.

The best creative minds know that burnout is real and that sometimes the mind just needs a little time out to relax, rejuvenate and be ready to create again. By taking time out the best creative minds are on the ball and ready to make big things when it matters most.

10. They seek out new experiences.

Incredibly creative minds are always seeking out new experiences. They are open to doing and seeing new things because they know that within these new experiences is the inspiration and perspective they need to create their best work.

11. They are always open to new ways of expressing themselves.

The most creative minds don’t restrict themselves to one medium or way of creating. Instead they are always open to new ways of expressing themselves. Some of the greatest creators of all time have been prolific in their multitude of creative expressions. One of the best examples is Leonardo da Vinci who was a painter, sculptor, mathematician, inventor, architect and musician (to name just a few of his many creative expressions!).

12. They follow their true passions.

Perhaps most importantly of all, incredibly creative minds follow their true passions. They understand the power of doing something they believe in wholeheartedly and are not afraid to chase after their true dreams. Indeed, following true passions is one of the cornerstone habits of creative people. Even when the going gets tough the best creative minds stick to what they believe in and love because it is what drives them.

The Art of winning

“I said I was the greatest before I ever could be” Muhammad Ali

In almost every competition, the side who has the winning edge will end up winning and Muhammad Ali knows that.

It is a fact that hard work pays off, but when there is a small difference between competitors, the side who is mentally stronger will always win.

Muhammad Ali, Usain Bolt, Michael Schumacher, Yelena Isinbayeva, Michael Jordan, LA Lakers, Manchester Utd, Real Madrid, Barcelona and the Yankees…. They don`t just win, they Dominate, why?

Because they win it in their minds before it starts, they win their game it mentally.

They are champions and champions win before they even play