How to Foster Creativity in Your Young Ones During Holidays

With the holidays here with us, it can be difficult to think of ways to keep your young ones entertained. Whether you’re looking for something fun and creative, or educational and hands-on, it’s important to find activities that will keep their minds active during the break. Here are some ideas on how to foster creativity in your young ones during the holidays.

Games and Puzzles


Games and puzzles provide a great way for young ones to pass the time and remain engaged. Board games like Monopoly or Scrabble are great for teaching children about numbers and strategies, while jigsaw puzzles help stimulate problem solving skills by encouraging kids to think critically about how each piece fits together. For younger children, you can find simple preschool games that focus on letter recognition, colour matching, and other basic skills.

Art Projects


Nothing inspires creativity like art! Art projects can be anything from drawing with crayons and markers to painting with watercolours or making things out of clay. This is an amazing way for kids to express themselves while engaging their minds in new ways. Plus, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune; all you need is paper or canvas, a few craft supplies (crayons, paintbrushes, clay), and some imagination!

Creative Writing Exercises


Creative writing exercises are perfect for young writers who want to flex their writing muscles over the holidays. You can start off with basic exercises such as asking them what they would do if they had magic powers or giving them a prompt such as “write about a day at the beach”. As they get older and more experienced at writing stories, you can assign larger projects like creating a short book or play based on a particular theme or character trait. Not only will these exercises help keep their minds active during the holidays but it could also potentially spark an interest in writing which could last into adulthood.

Explore new places.

Going on an adventure is a great way to encourage creativity; whether it’s visiting nearby nature spots, amusement parks, historical sites, or simply exploring a new part of town, getting outside and into new places helps stimulate ideas and foster creativity in young minds.

Read books together

Reading is an excellent way to foster creativity in children; not only does it help expand vocabulary and knowledge, but hearing stories can also serve as inspiration for creating one’s own storylines. Set aside time each day for reading as part of your holiday routine – you might even learn something too.

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What Makes One a Great Communicator

By Conqueror Team

Excellent communication skills are valuable in all professions. Being a good communicator can help you enhance your work connections and productivity. According to Stephen R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, most people listen with the aim of responding rather than learning. And we do it all the time: we listen to people with the sole intention of putting together a coherent response. We spend more time contemplating our response than actually listening to what others are saying. As a result, we only listen partially, missing out on a lot of potentially essential information. Listen closely first, and only when they have done so should you begin to consider what you will say.

So, what makes a person a very good communicator?

Maintain consistency while avoiding excessive repetition.

It is critical to be consistent and coherent with your thoughts, and the practice of paraphrasing (saying the same thing in several ways) is fantastic for ensuring your argument is understood. However, you run the danger of seeming self-centred and repetitious, which results in bored individuals seeking to get out of the conversation as quickly as possible. That is something you do not desire. You want to have a good chat and hope that the others do as well. So, to keep them engaged, don’t repeat yourself too frequently and keep offering them fresh information during the talk.

Make it all about them.

We love to be on the same wavelength as other people, but when they’re telling you about an issue, falling into the trap of “me too” doesn’t help. What I mean is that when you hear about how horrible your friend is feeling at work, they don’t need to know that you are feeling much worse. It isn’t the same. It’s never the same. Each experience is a distinct and unique situation; instead of comparing yourself to them, simply listen and concentrate on their circumstance.

They pay attention to others’ nonverbal cues.

Great communicators understand that what individuals say isn’t the most significant aspect of their communication. Great communications recognise the importance of nonverbal communication and pay attention to people’s tone of voice, body language, and facial expressions. Great communicators understand that nonverbal communication goes far deeper than verbal communication; they listen with their ears and eyes, and they pay attention to people’s posture, hand gestures, and eye contact, all of which communicate powerful messages.

Are you one of those people who easily forgets simple things? Maybe you’re not even sure if you are that forgetful. Often we feel like we are really good at remembering things-but then we find ourselves forgetting where we put our keys, what to pick up from the store on our way home, or the name of someone we met yesterday. Here’s a little secret that will make a big difference in your life: you already have the ability to remember anything you want to remember. All it takes is tapping into that ability and using it. So join us on this journey and learn how you can make your memory as powerful as possible through our online course. To begin, click here.

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Your ultimate guide on how to be a good storyteller

By Madeline Miles

We crave connection. 

Human connection brings us so many physical, mental, and emotional well-being benefits. And while there are plenty of ways to connect with one another, one art form stands out: storytelling. 

Storytelling is one of the most ancient art forms, with history’s oldest known fictional story dating back to the third millennium B.C. Stories have stood the test of time. It’s both an art and science, a way of creating a deep connection with one person or a million people. 

So when it comes to being a good storyteller, it takes work. And while storytelling is a skill set to work at, it doesn’t always come second nature to everyone. Some people suffer from social anxiety, a disorder that 7.1% of adults live within the US. Others, like me, feel more comfortable with written storytelling versus oral storytelling or presentations. There are plenty of mediums today to tell stories, especially with social media

But when we boil down what it means to be a good storyteller, it means you’re a good connector. You can find something in the shared human experience that resonates with other people. You make people feel heard, feel validated, and feel listened to. As a good storyteller, you make people feel like they’re not alone. 

Let’s talk about how to be a good storyteller. In this post, you’ll like what qualities make a good storyteller. You’ll also learn how to put your storytelling skills to the test. And most importantly, you’ll learn why storytelling matters. 

Why is storytelling important? 

Storytelling has long been a tool to help affect change. It’s an art and a science to create connections between human beings. 

Storytelling can be used as a learning tool. Some of my best professors and teachers have one thing in common: they’re great storytellers. By building trust with their students, good storytellers can influence, inspire, and engage. Storytelling can actually help better equip students to be open to the act of learning. 

Storytelling can also be used to help drive behavior change. When you’re absorbed in a good story, you’re transported. I recently read a book that made me cry (multiple times) called Between the Mountain and the Sky by Maggie Doyne.

A story about an American woman who starts a community and school in rural Nepal, this book illustrated the good that the human race is capable of. While I haven’t had any of the experiences shared by the author in the book, I could feel them. In many ways, the book captured the power of storytelling to make a change. As a founder of a nonprofit and leader of a community school, Maggie Doyne used storytelling as a key fundraising tool for her organization. 

But at its core, storytelling is about connection. When we look at how connections impact your emotional well-being and mental fitness, it’s significant. In fact, 43% of us don’t feel connected to others in the workplaceOur Connection Crisis report shows that those with low social connections suffer. People who don’t have strong connections experience increased stress, anxietydepression, and burnout

Connection makes us feel like we belong. Through stories, we feel that inherent connection to the storyteller, to the characters, and to the heart of the story. In a time when people are increasingly isolated and lonely, storytelling can help bridge the connection gap. 

So whether you’re hoping to sharpen your storytelling skills or start building your storytelling foundation, we can help. How do you become a good storyteller? Let’s dig in. 

9 tips on how to become a better storyteller 

The art of storytelling is a powerful tool. You can master your storytelling technique to help create meaningful connections. Get ready to tell a good story, one word at a time. 

Click here to read more https://www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-be-a-good-storyteller

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Why Self-Discipline Is Our Doorway To Success

By Conqueror Team

“The first and greatest victory is to conquer self.” –Plato

How do some people manage to stay consistent, focused, devoted, and driven to accomplish their goals while other people seem to lose interest over time? Do they have special abilities, characteristics, or strengths that we mere mortals lack? Simply put, no. They do, however, foster the virtue of self-discipline. What is self-discipline exactly, and how can it improve our lives?

Self-discipline entails managing your impulses and even tackling challenging tasks in order to improve and succeed more. Doing something when you feel like it is easy. You put your life and career on the fast track when you force yourself to accomplish something even when you don’t feel like doing it.

It takes effort to manage our feelings in the present so that we can have something better in the future. It entails delaying gratification, which means resisting the need to act on urges. It involves taking action now to free up time later to pursue your interests.

Because you are more focused on what is essential and less distracted by anything that gets in the way, self-discipline puts you on the fast road to achieving your goals. It alleviates tension and worries, which are sometimes caused by procrastination, squandering time, or not having a strategy to follow. Self-control increases your confidence in your ability to complete goals, which leads to a healthier lifestyle and becoming your best self. Personal growth in all areas of our life is accelerated by self-discipline, including mental and physical health, education, career, financial freedom, as well as relationships.

Self-discipline is tough to obtain since it necessitates a war with one’s own self in order to make the proper decision. True self-discipline, however, does not include punishing oneself, and it is not intended to limit a person’s lifestyle or right to leisure. It is to make the appropriate decision at the appropriate moment. As in, finish your task first, then relax. It truly refers to one’s mental and inner power, which is essential in living a more meaningful life. Self-discipline frees you from being a slave to your willful wishes and needs. It assists you in carefully allocating your time between work, rest, and pleasure.

Remember to check out our online course on boosting your memory power. It is a guide that will help you live a meaningful and less confusing life. Click here to get started.

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Loneliness, Isolation and Mental Health

By Tonny Wandella

Since the dawn of time, loneliness has existed as a phenomenon that we all encounter. Every single one of us experiences it occasionally, and it can happen amid life transitions like the loss of a loved one, a divorce, or a relocation to a new place. Researchers refer to this type of loneliness as reactive loneliness.

Chronic loneliness is more likely to develop when people lack the emotional, mental, or financial resources to get out and meet their social requirements, or when they lack a social circle that can give them these advantages.

Loneliness may occur even when people are surrounded by others—on the subway, in a classroom, or even with their wives and children. Loneliness is not synonymous with intentional isolation or solitude. Rather, loneliness is characterised by people’s degrees of happiness with their connectivity or their perceived social isolation.

Prolonged isolation can have a negative impact on physical and mental health, affecting sleep and dietary patterns and diminishing opportunities for mobility (Cacioppo and Hawkley, 2003). As a result, the natural channels of human expression and enjoyment become depressed, affecting mood and subjective well-being (Nardone and Speciani, 2015).

Those who are lonely may develop harmful behaviours if they do not receive support from family or friends. Loneliness is related to emotions of emptiness, despair, and humiliation, as well as a subjective impression of being cut off from people. It can occur not just in the setting of social isolation, but it can also extend beyond this and be felt even while people are physically present. Loneliness, like social isolation, has been associated with depression, elevated cortisol levels, reduced immunity, and clinical illness, with attendant increases in hospital time and frequency.

Loneliness is more likely to strike elderly persons when they are suffering from functional limitations and have no family support. Loneliness in elderly persons is reduced by increased social engagement and less family tension. Loneliness can cause long-term “fight-or-flight” stress signals, which can impair immune system function. Simply put, persons who are lonely have lower immunity and more inflammation than those who are not.

Everyone’s experience with social isolation is unique, and what works for you may not work for someone else. Keeping a journal and writing about your social experiences may also be beneficial. A therapist may also be a valuable resource, assisting you in working through feelings of isolation and toward a more connected lifestyle. Learn more about improving your memory power by taking our online courseClick here to get started.

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How to Be an Amazing Mentor in 10 Ways, according to HubSpot Managers

Written by Martina Bretous @martinabretous

Take a minute to think about the best mentor you’ve ever had. It could be your manager, a colleague, a parent, a friend, a coach, a college professor.

Then, you reach a point in your life where you have the chance to do the same for someone else. It can be both exciting, and a little confusing.

In this article, you’ll get tips from both mentors and mentees on what it takes to foster this successful relationship.

A mentor is a trusted, seasoned advisor who supports and guides someone through their personal and/or professional journey. They do so by getting to know their mentee, providing resources tailored to their specific needs, and brainstorming solutions to challenges.

What does it mean to be a mentor?

At its core, being a mentor is being a trusted advisor. It all boils down to making yourself available to support and advise someone when they need it, delivering that support in a way that makes sense to them, and always keeping that person’s best interests in mind.

So, what value does a mentor bring? It depends on who you ask.

For Vrnda LeValley, customer training manager at HubSpot, it’s a shift in perspective.

“My mentor provides a perspective that isn’t riddled with the same self-doubt and stereotype sensitivities that I desperately want to avoid and handicap me,” she says, “and a broader view of the implications of action versus inaction because they have a better vantage point from their upstream position within the company.”

She adds that her mentor has been able to step in and correct narratives that muddy her ability to make the most strategic decisions.

For Legal Specialist at HubSpot Jason Perry, one of the benefits of mentorship is the opportunity to extend your network.

“I most value the trust and confidence they extend to me by granting me access and recommending me to their broader networks,” he said.

Beyond that, there’s a certain freedom that comes with having a mentor.

“I think it allows for an open space to be vulnerable with someone who is more senior in their career but does not have direct control over your career growth,” said Chloe Washington, chief of staff to the CMO at HubSpot. “You can be more transparent and ask questions you may not feel comfortable asking your manager or another co-worker.”

With that said, the mentorship doesn’t just benefit the mentee, it’s a two-sided relationship.

“I am constantly inspired by what my mentees are doing, their ambition, and their goals,” Washington said. “It motivates me as I continue along my career journey. It also allows me to form relationships with people that I may have not otherwise been able to speak with as much or as often.”

  1. Understand what you want out of the relationship.
  2. Set expectations together in the very beginning.
  3. Take a genuine interest in your mentee as a person.
  4. Build trust.
  5. Know when to give advice.
  6. Don’t assume anything about your mentee – ask.
  7. Share your journey.
  8. Celebrate their achievements.
  9. Seek out resources to help your mentee grow.
  10. Be sure you have the bandwidth.

1. Understand what you want out of the relationship.

As we’ve mentioned, mentorship isn’t a one-way relationship. This means that just like the mentee, you should know the type of relationship you’re seeking and what you want to gain.

Charlene Strain, marketing manager at HubSpot, serves as a mentor and suggests asking yourself these questions to get started:

  • Do you view it as a two-way street, player-coach relationship where you learn from them as much as they learn from you or something else?
  • How can you sharpen your area of expertise?
  • Do they have connections or gaps of knowledge for you as well?
  • How does taking on a mentorship role strengthen you as a leader in your personal and professional life?

Knowing these answers will help you frame your mentorship strategy and start with clear intentions.

2. Set expectations together in the very beginning.

Once you know what you want out of the relationship as a mentor, setting expectations is the next natural step.

Every mentor-mentee relationship is unique. So, when you first start out, discuss expectations with your mentee and determine if you’re ready for that commitment.

“Everyone works and receives feedback differently, so it’s important to understand if the relationship is a fit for both parties [based] on what they’re looking for,” said Strain.

Here’s what Strain recommends discussing:

  • Is there a time limit on when the mentorship ends?
  • How often should you meet, and why?
  • What resources can the mentor provide for the mentee to do some work on their own?
  • What metrics are being used to measure success?
  • How hands-on should the mentor be?

You should come to these answers as a duo and it’s OK if it takes a little bit to figure it out. The time you put in at the beginning will pay off in the long term.

Some expectations are pretty straightforward, Perry says: professionalism, punctuality, clear communication, and organization. However, some expectations will be shaped by the mentee.

“A mentee should be able to tell me as the mentor exactly what they’d like me to do for them, whether it ‘s to provide information, make an introduction, write a recommendation or provide advice,” says Perry. “The relationship is theirs to shape and build and that starts with a clear, direct ask of some sort.”

When Washington works with mentees, her first session focuses on goal setting, setting up a meeting cadence, and discussing ground rules.

Click here to read more https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/mentor-tips-positive-impact

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How To Help Someone with Memory Loss

by Conqueror Team

Caring for somebody with memory loss is a trying experience for the patient’s family and friends. Memory issues can make it difficult for older persons to remember cherished moments, as well as make practical, day-to-day duties such as adhering to medication regimes and making appointments difficult. A family caregiver must learn as much as possible about their loved one’s situation in order to provide the proper level of support.

People frequently link dementia and Alzheimer’s disease with cognitive disorders associated with memory loss. While these are prevalent culprits, there are a few more possibilities to examine, like Huntington’s disease or Creutzfeldt-Jakob’s disease.

The capacity to feel confident and autonomous is critical for a person suffering from dementia or memory loss. The inability to recall crucial — or even little — information might damage an older adult’s belief in themselves, necessitating intrusive outside aid. Even when family members or friends provide care, the experience can damage relationships.

Here are some ways for making your loved one more comfortable.

Maintain calm and consistency

Dementia may be a frustrating experience for both the individual suffering from it and the family and friends who care for them. Crying, yelling, and angry outbursts are typical, so be prepared to deal with those emotions. The best thing to do is to remain calm. Allow the person room and be mindful of how they are feeling.

Collaborate and seek out community

As previously said, independence is critical for older persons. And while their cognitive state could mean they are no longer able to accomplish some of the things they used to do, you can still make sure that they feel part of the process. Invite them to participate in discussions about how their case should be handled. Allow them to tell you what techniques they are comfortable with and, to the extent possible, follow their wishes.

Learn as much as you can

One of the most critical initial actions is to research the specific ailment afflicting your loved one. Varied varieties of dementia have different causes, symptoms, and treatment techniques, and understanding that information can help you plan your strategy. Knowing that Alzheimer’s disease can cause a loss of balance, for example, may explain why your loved one appears apprehensive when walking around in public.

It is never easy to watch a loved one suffer from memory loss. Family caregivers, with the proper education and support, can be a huge assistance. However, not everyone is able to provide that care on their own. Sometimes you will need professional help. Our online course has been equipped with nuggets to help your loved one get much better. It also equips you with how to help them along the way. Click here to start now.

#8. Daily Something……….. Something…………

By according2meok.wordpress.com

Only One Chance

Sometimes you get only one chance……

* One chance to put aside your pride and say humbly: “I was wrong” or “it was my fault”.

* One chance explain a misunderstanding that if ignored, would sour a friendship.

* One chance to hear what other has to tell you.

* One chance to defend a friend, when slighting remarks are made about him.

* One chance to accept a shy but sincere offer of friendship.

* One chance to standup and be counted, when you don’t agree with the crowd.

* One chance to say “NO“, when it is important to say “NO”, but easier to say “YES”.

* One chance to write, the wrong you have done.

* One chance to choose the right road when you come to a cross road in your life.

* One chance to standup and face a hard situation, instead of running away from it.

Click Here To Read More https://according2meok.wordpress.com/

Dangers of Oversleeping

By Conqueror Team

Over the course of your lifetime, you can experience significant changes in how much sleep you require. Your age, amount of exercise, overall health, and way of living all play a role in this. You could have a greater need for sleep, for instance, during times of stress or sickness. However, despite the fact that everyone’s demands for rest vary over time and from person to person, experts usually advise people to sleep between seven and nine hours per night.

What Causes Too Much Sleep?

Oversleeping is a medical condition for those who have hypersomnia. People with the syndrome experience excessive daytime drowsiness, which is typically not alleviated by taking a nap. Additionally, it makes them sleep through the night for exceptionally long periods of time. Due to their virtually continual desire for sleep, many persons with hypersomnia encounter symptoms of anxiety, poor energy, and memory issues.

An increased desire for sleep may also result from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition where someone briefly stops breathing while sleeping. That is because it interferes with the regular sleep cycle. Naturally, not all people who oversleep suffer from a sleep problem. The use of certain drugs, such as alcohol and some prescription medicines, is another factor that might contribute to excessive sleeping. People who suffer from depression and other medical disorders may oversleep. There are also others who just wish to sleep a lot.

Health Issues Associated with Sleeping Too Much

Headaches.

When sleeping more than normal during the weekend or while on vacation, some persons who are prone to headaches may have head pain. The reason for this, according to researchers, is the impact that excessive sleep has on some brain chemicals, such as serotonin. People who sleep excessively during the day and disturb their sleep at night may also get headaches in the morning.

Heart Illness.

In the Nurses’ Health Study, almost 72,000 women participated. According to a thorough review of the study’s data, women who slept nine to eleven hours a night had a 38% higher risk of developing coronary heart disease than those who slept eight hours. The link between excessive sleep and heart disease has not yet been explained extensively by researchers.

Obesity.

You may weigh too much if you sleep too much or too little. According to a recent study, those who slept for nine or ten hours every night had a 21% higher chance of developing obesity over the course of six years than those who slept for seven to eight hours. Even after accounting for food intake and activity, this link between sleep and obesity persisted.

Whatever the reason for your excessive sleeping, establishing appropriate sleep habits can help you benefit from a regular sleep cycle of seven to eight hours. Experts advise maintaining consistent bedtimes and wake-up times each day. Additionally, they advise staying away from alcohol and caffeine right before bed. You may help yourself obtain the amount of sleep you require by exercising frequently and creating a relaxing bedroom atmosphere. To learn more about improving your memory, look at our online course as well.

Try these two smart techniques to help you master your emotions

By Lisa Feldman Barrett PhD

By more clearly identifying our feelings or by recategorizing them, we can reduce suffering (yes!) and increase well-being, says neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett.

“He’s an angry person”; “I’m a very anxious person.” We’ve all made statements like these. They point towards the belief that emotions are hardwired in our brains or automatically triggered by events. But after decades of research at Northeastern University, neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett has come to a different conclusion: “Your brain’s most important job is not thinking or feeling or even seeing, but keeping your body alive and well so that you survive and thrive … How is your brain able to do this? Like a sophisticated fortune-teller, your brain constantly predicts. Its predictions ultimately become the emotions you experience and the expressions you perceive in other people.” (For an overview of her theory, watch her TED Talk.) And that’s good news: Since our brain essentially constructs our emotions, we can teach it to label them more precisely and then use this detailed information to help us take the most appropriate actions — or none at all. Here, she explains how to do this. 

One of the best things you can do for your emotional health is to beef up your concepts of emotions. Suppose you knew only two emotion concepts: “Feeling Awesome” and “Feeling Crappy.” Whenever you experienced an emotion or perceived someone else as emotional, you’d categorize only with this broad brush, which isn’t very emotionally intelligent. But if you could distinguish finer meanings within “Awesome” (happy, content, thrilled, relaxed, joyful, hopeful, inspired, prideful, adoring, grateful, blissful . . .), and fifty shades of “Crappy” (angry, aggravated, alarmed, spiteful, grumpy, remorseful, gloomy, mortified, uneasy, dread-ridden, resentful, afraid, envious, woeful, melancholy . . .), your brain would have many more options for predicting, categorizing and perceiving emotions, providing you with the tools for more flexible and useful responses. You could predict and categorize your sensations more efficiently and better suit your actions to your environment.

People who can construct finely-grained emotional experiences go to the doctor less frequently, use medication less frequently, and spend fewer days hospitalized for illness.

What I’m describing is emotional granularity, the phenomenon that some people construct finer-grained emotional experiences than others do. People who make highly granular experiences are emotion experts: they issue predictions and construct instances of emotion that are finely tailored to fit each specific situation. At the other end of the spectrum are young children who haven’t yet developed adult-like emotion concepts and who use “sad” and “mad” interchangeably. My lab has shown that adults run the whole range from low to high emotional granularity. So, a key to real emotional intelligence is to gain new emotion concepts and hone your existing ones.

Perhaps the easiest way to gain concepts is to learn new words. You’ve probably never thought about learning words as a path to greater emotional health, but it follows directly from the neuroscience of construction. Words seed your concepts, concepts drive your predictions, predictions regulate your body budget (which is how your brain anticipates and fulfills your body’s energy needs), and your body budget determines how you feel. People who exhibit higher emotional granularity go to the doctor less frequently, use medication less frequently, and spend fewer days hospitalized for illness. This is not magic; it’s what happens when you leverage the porous boundary between the social and the physical.

Higher emotional granularity has many other benefits for a satisfying life. In a collection of scientific studies, people who could distinguish finely among their unpleasant feelings ​— ​those “50 shades of feeling crappy” ​— ​were 30 percent more flexible when regulating their emotions, less likely to drink excessively when stressed, and less likely to retaliate aggressively against someone who has hurt them. For people who suffer from schizophrenia, those who exhibit higher emotional granularity report better relationships with family and friends, compared to those who exhibit lower granularity, and are better able to choose the correct action in social situations.

Click Here To Read More https://ideas.ted.com/try-these-two-smart-techniques-to-help-you-master-your-emotions/