Category: Health & Wellness

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Create and Use Micro Habits to Help You Live the Life You Desire

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Micro HabitsDo you ever feel like your goals are unattainable, no matter how hard you try? Or that you can’t seem to make changes you desire to make your life work better? It could be because you’re overlooking one of the most powerful tools for your success: micro habits.

Micro habits are small changes that can have a huge impact on your life and help propel you towards achieving your goals. They may seem insignificant at first, but these tiny actions add up to create big results in the long run.

Why are Micro Habits a Powerful Tool?

Reason #1: Micro Habits Are Easier to Stick To

When it comes to forming habits, consistency is key. Creating a micro habit requires less of an effort than long-term goals, making it easier to stick with over time and turn into a lasting lifestyle change. Because they don’t take up a lot of time and energy, it’s easier to commit to them for the short and long term!

Reason #2: Micro Habits Measure Progress

Creating micro habits can help you stay on track and measure your progress. When you make small, incremental changes to your daily routine, it’s easier to see how far you’ve come and keep yourself motivated. And, if you use a habit tracker, you can create your own visual display of the progress you make along the way. It’s a great way to inspire continued action.

Reason #3: Micro Habits Build Momentum

Once you start forming micro habits and begin seeing the results, it will create a sense of momentum that will help propel you towards achieving your long-term goals. Many small micro habits can inform a bigger overarching goal.

Reason #4: Micro Habits Are Flexible

Because micro habits are small, they can be tailored to fit any lifestyle or schedule. This makes it easier for you to create the perfect micro habit for yourself and stick with it over time.

Reason #5 Micro Habits Increase Motivation

The feeling of accomplishment that comes with performing micro habits will help keep you motivated. When you’re able to see your progress and the results of your actions, it will give you the confidence to take on bigger goals. They help you build confidence one micro movement at a time. Micro habits give you an immediate win. You can start a micro habit in the next 5 minutes and get it done.

Reason #6: Micro Habits Reduce Stress

Creating micro habits can help reduce the stress that comes with trying to reach a big goal. By taking on smaller tasks and measuring your progress along the way, it can make achieving your long-term goals less overwhelming. You’re actually training your brain to react positively to new stimuli.

Examples of Micro Habits

These examples may help you identify micro habits that will enhance your life, whether in physical health, mental health, relationships, or any other area of life.

Read for 10 minutes a day.

Reading for 10 minutes a day can help you to improve your vocabulary, writing skills, and overall knowledge. What’s more is that it will give you a much-needed break from whatever else you were doing. The brain loves novelty as it keeps it sharp and agile.

Write in a journal for 5 minutes a day.

Writing in a journal for 5 minutes a day can help you to process your emotions, clear your mind, track your use of micro habits and other things and set goals. And, if you’re deep into writing, ignore the timer and keep going!

Meditate for 5 minutes a day.

Meditating for 5 minutes a day can help you to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. It can also improve focus and concentration. To get started, find a quiet place to sit, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Don’t worry about it. Meditation is not about stopping your thoughts. It’s more about allowing and just being!

Exercise for 15 minutes a day.

Exercising for 15 minutes a day can improve your physical health, reduce stress, and boost your mood. You can exercise in the house or outside. You can exercise by lying down, sitting in a chair or standing up. There’s always something you can do.

Eat one healthy meal a day.

Eating at least one healthy meal a day can improve your overall health and help you to manage your weight. To get started, spend some time planning meals, create a shopping list and get what you need. Cook at home more often than eating out and avoid processed foods, sugary drinks, and excessive amounts of saturated and unhealthy fats.

Drink plenty of water.

Staying hydrated is vitally important to your overall health. After all, we are 70% water! Dehydration is not good for the body or brain and it can disrupt both from functioning properly. For tips to increase the amount of water you consume in enjoyable ways, check out https://carolbrusegar.com/stay-hydrated/

Take a walk outside for 10 minutes a day.

Getting outside and enjoying the fresh air for 10 minutes each day can improve your mood, reduce stress, and boost your immune system. Even if you can only walk back and forth in front of where you live for 10 minutes, do it! Moving your body and being outside will positively impact your life.

Call a friend or family member for 5-10 minutes a day.

Stay connected with friends and family by calling just one person each day for a short 5-10 minute conversation. It can improve your relationships, reduce stress, and boost your mood. Be sure to tell the person, up front, that you need to jump off after that time. You’ll be amazed at how refreshed you feel after connecting! And, the other person will appreciate you reaching out and connecting!

Be grateful for one thing each day.

Being grateful enhances our appreciation of life and our happiness. Each day, find something that you’re grateful for. Take just 5 minutes to either sit quietly and think about why you are grateful for that person or thing or consider journaling about it. When you do this, you’ll start seeing how much you truly have in life. Gratitude can completely change your relationship to everything in your life!

This is a brief introduction to the practice of micro habits; check out this book which has become extremely popular since it was published: Atomic Habits by James Clear It includes scientific and practical aspects of changing habits – “Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results.”

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find my published books: https://amazon.com/author/carolbrusegar

 

 

 

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5 Ways to Exercise our Brains to Combat Cognitive Decline

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Brain HealthCognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are discussed a lot these days. As the numbers of baby boomers – now aged 59 to 76 (in 2023) – grow, those conditions are big issues. It is true that as we age, our cognitive reserves start to fade and we find ourselves searching for lost words or taking longer to perform mental tasks. If we intentionally exercise our brains, especially after the age of 50, it can make a difference.

I like to think of those occasional memory lapses as a by-product of a brain full of data and memories of years of life. Rather like a full hard drive on my computer. It makes sense to me that it’s difficult to quickly access everything stored there. Often it just takes a while for it to be found and sometimes a bit of information is simply inaccessible. It’s a normal part of life.

It is true that we use our brains less intensely as our lives slow down with empty nests and moving into some form of retirement or semi-retirement. Health experts often bring out the phrase, “Use it or lose it,” when speaking about our body’s muscles. If you don’t use your muscles regularly, they will atrophy and you will lose strength, especially as you age. To combat atrophy and muscle loss, you need to engage in strength training exercises. Did you know the same is true for our brains? Intentionally doing things that give our brains a workout helps us remain sharp. Here are five ways to exercise our brains:

  1. Learn new things. Experts believe that when the brain is passive and unengaged, it will atrophy. The brain wants to learn new things and the best way to keep your brain healthy – just like with your other muscles – is to make it work. Choose something new to learn that is enjoyable to you and attack it with gusto. Check out your local Adult Continuing Education department to find classes for foreign languages, cooking, art, business, or fitness. Take online workshops or classes on a regular basis.
  2. Solve math problems in your head. Forgo the use of pencil, paper, or calculator and use that brain to solve simple math problems. Increase the difficulty as needed or try walking while solving those math problems. Don’t fret if you make mistakes or it seems to take a while before reaching the answer. The key is to not give up.
  3. Engage your senses. All five of our senses utilize different parts of the brain, so choose activities that depend upon using your senses. Cooking classes are excellent choices because they use sight, smell, and taste.  I also compiled a short report that focuses on using all our senses to reduce stress in our lives. “5 Practices for Taming the Stress Monster” is FREE and you can access it here with immediate download and no opt-in. Tame the Stress Monster
  4. Practice your hand-eye coordination. Putting a puzzle together, knitting, crochet, painting, or      drawing are just some examples of hobbies involving hand-eye coordination. Even the simple act of handwriting a letter can assist in strengthening your coordination and your brain function. It’s an enjoyable way to exercise our brains. Buffalo Games has a huge variety of puzzles that appeal to adults. Some are nostalgic, others playful or scenic. Check them out here: Puzzles
  5. Read. It’s a simple concept we learned back in elementary school yet as life gets in the way, taking time to read a novel or a magazine goes by the wayside. Reading engages your sense of sight but it also engages your imagination as you picture what’s happening in the story. Reading also increases your focus and attention as well as your knowledge and vocabulary. Keep a Reading Journal to record what you’ve read, what you want to read, quotes you want to keep and more. Here’s one I designed: Reading Journal: For Book Lovers Who Take Their Reading Seriously.   Not a fan of novels? No worries…choose a favorite magazine, crossword puzzles, or logic problems. You’ll reap the same benefits no matter what the format is.

One quick note: Memory game software is not found to have quite the same effects as these suggestions above. Real-world activities, such as finishing a Sudoku puzzle or driving home on a different route, are more effective at maintaining cognitive function and won’t cost much money to complete.

No matter what your current age, now is the time to care for your brain and maintain your cognitive function. As we exercise our brains and gain these benefits, we also find some joy by integrating fun activities into life.

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find my published books: https://amazon.com/author/carolbrusegar

Follow me on Twitter!     Follow me on Instagram!   Follow me on Pinterest!

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Introducing “5 Practices for Taming the Stress Monster”

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Stress MonsterDo YOU feel stressed more often or more deeply in the past few years? I certainly have. The pandemic and all the ripples from it on physical and mental health, relationships, the economy and more have affected all of us. Taming the stress monster within our own lives is possible. Please read on.

In the pursuit of return to ‘normal’, I and I suspect many others, have pushed down a lot of feelings and ignored red flags. The result has been elevated stress. Some is a result of personal situations and challenges; some comes from external realities.

Some stress is good. It keeps us engaged and moving. But excessive amounts have negative ripple effects on many parts of our lives. If it gets to toxic levels, stress can affect both our mental and physical health.

And the stress shows up in many ways.  Have you experienced some of these common symptoms?       (Source: American Psychological Society)

  • Irritability and anger
  • fatigue or low energy
  • lack of motivation or interest in things
  • anxiety/nervousness/worry
  • headaches
  • feeling sad or depressed
  • Indigestion/acid reflux/upset stomach/muscle tension
  • appetite changes

We can do things to tame the stress monster in our own lives! In my new short report, “5 Practices for Taming the Stress Monster,” I offer 5 practices that engage our senses and can interrupt and reduce stress. More importantly they can help prevent stress if incorporated into our lives:

  • Understanding and Utilizing the Power of Deep Breathing
  • Utilizing the Power of Sound to Calm and Heal
  • Using Our Vision to Reduce Stress
  • Using Our Sense of Smell – Aromatherapy
  • Adding Hands-On Creative Activities to Our Routine

I have compiled information from earlier posts and included additional information and resources into this report. It is FREE to download now! Feel free to share with others.

The information in the special report goes into detail about the 5 practices to explore as you strive to tame the stress monster in your life. All of these are self-care. If you think – even once in a while – that self-care is selfish or something that can be lower in priority than all the must-dos in your life, let me remind you that it is not.

Managing Your Stress is Self-Care

Self-care involves taking better care of yourself, which is essential for mental and physical wellbeing. In addition to relieving stress as the report details, it has a positive impact on your relationships and your ability to handle your daily responsibilities.

As you incorporate some or all these practices into your life, you will be improving your mental health and raising your self esteem. You will be raising your confidence and that boosts your mood and your attitudes.

As is pointed out in the report, these practices can be easily built into your daily and weekly routines. The key is to start with one or two things and incorporate them into your life. Add others as you choose. Consider the power of a personal wellness routine, as I wrote about here: http://carolbrusegar.com/effective-wellness-routine/

Please get your FREE copy of the report by clicking here: 5 Practices for Taming the Stress Monster. No opt-in is required.

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find my published books: https://amazon.com/author/carolbrusegar

Follow me on Twitter!     Follow me on Instagram!   Follow me on Pinterest!

        Follow me on Facebook!         Visit my Etsy Shop!

 

 

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Post-Holiday Hygge – Simple Ways To Cozy Up Your Home As You Wait For Spring

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Hygge, pronounced (Hue-gah), is a word used widely by Danish and Norwegian people to describe a feeling of well-being, protection and coziness. Denmark’s cold season is long and brutal. The idea of hygge was formed as a survival strategy to psychologically help people to get through the long winters. It’s become a way of life for them. The months between the December holidays until spring are an ideal time to implement some post-holiday hygge to cozy up your home as you anticipate the next season.

In recent years, the hygge moment has made its way to the US and has become a bit of an Instagram sensation. I wrote about hygge as self-care during the pandemic here: Self Care in Tough Times. But even before the movement, all of us have felt hygge before it got popular, on social media. Maybe we just didn’t know there was a name for it. The essence of hygge can be described as the feeling you get when you laugh with good friends, curl up in a blanket to read your favorite book, or the warm and homey feeling that you get from sitting by a fire with a bowl of homemade soup on a cold day. By naming these activities as hygge, we are adding some intentionality and meaning.

During the very darkest days of winter, holiday lighting indoors and outdoors along with special gatherings and lots of activity keep our spirits up. The post-holiday time after the lights are stored away for another year and more normal routines resume can be a glum, depressing time. Using these weeks – or even months in some climates – as a winter hygge season can be cozy and help stave off post-holiday blues. Whether you are coming home after a long day of work or school or working at home, creating post-holiday hygge in your home will lift your spirits.

The Elements of Winter Hygge

 These elements of winter hygge are all related to our senses – sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing.

Lighting. Achieving that sought-after hygge feeling has much to do with warm lighting. Soft, calming lighting will make your home feel soothing and welcoming. Accomplishing this can be as simple as lighting a fire in your fireplace, or a few well-placed candles and hanging some string lights.

Perhaps you have dimmers on some of your electric lights and rarely use them. They allow you to soften the lights per your mood. (You could even have a dimmer or two installed if you don’t already have any.) Changing out your bright bulbs to warmer lighting will also help give your home a cozy feel. There are all sorts of cute, hygge inspired lights and light fixtures on the market that you can install to give a little more of an authentic hygge feel. There are some fascinating hygge lighting options here.

 Scents. Scented candles, essential oil infusers and seasonal potpourri will also make your home feel more inviting and cozy this winter. Rather than the holiday scents – cinnamon, pine, apple, etc. – choose other cozy scents like, lavender, pumpkin, vanilla and sage. Scents, especially from essential oils, stimulate smell receptors in the nose. These receptors then send messages through the nervous system to the limbic system — the part of the brain that controls emotions. This is why essential oils are used to decrease stress and help us sleep. Check out this wide variety of essential oil diffusers to add to your post-holiday hygge home.

Cozy loungewear, slippers, blankets. Hunker down during the cold months in cozy loungewear and slippers. Choose natural fibers like cotton, flannel, silk or knit. You will look forward to coming home after a long day to put on your most comfortable clothes. Have soft, cozy blankets, throws and comforters where you relax – and in your home office.

Home cooking and baking. The scents and tastes of home cooked meals and home baked bread, cookies, cakes, etc. are essential hygge. You may find that prepping your meals ahead of time will help reduce daily pressure. Or use some of the ready-to-cook meal options you can now purchase. Crockpot meals are a winter favorite because they can be put together ahead of time, then set it and forget it. You will come home after a long day to the fragrant smell of dinner already cooking. And the taste surpasses that of takeout or microwave meals.

Baking bread and goodies can be a therapeutic, relaxing activity as well as a great shared activity with others. And of course the aromas while they are baking and the finished products are the best!

Soothing and inspiring music. We’re all over holiday music by this time of year. How about gathering some CDs or create a playlist that are your post-holiday hygge selections? Play them as background while you work at home, prepare meals, relax and read. This can be a tradition from now into the future.

If you want to learn more about this topic, I recommend this book: The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living  May you enjoy implementing elements of post-holiday hygge in your home!!

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be. Visit my Amazon Author Page to find my published books: https://amazon.com/author/carolbrusegar

Follow me on Twitter!     Follow me on Instagram!   Follow me on Pinterest!

        Follow me on Facebook!         Visit my Etsy Shop!

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Coloring for Adults: Benefits for Mental Health and Mindfulness

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benefits for mental health of coloringWe can all add to our repertoire of approaches to maintaining and improving our mental health. I wrote earlier about using creative activities for relaxation and stress relief. One of the art activities included is coloring. I wanted to learn more about the values of coloring for adults and found research and medical coverage that has given me greater appreciation for its benefits for mental health.

First, a little background. Adult coloring books have been around for a long time. In the 1970s there was a surge in interest. But in the past 7 years or so they have been more popular than before. The largest spike in sales of coloring books was from 2014 when one million copies were sold to 2015 when sales were 12 million. After a few years of much lower but consistent sales, the recent years of COVID-19 saw dramatic increases. More publishers and self-publishers created an expanded variety of products and the total sales numbers are hard to gather – but lots of people began coloring.

For some people, coloring is a simple distraction or way to recapture something we may have enjoyed doing as children. Clinical psychologist Scott M. Bea, PsyD, says, “Adult coloring requires modest attention focused outside of self-awareness. It’s a simple activity that takes us outside ourselves” like activities such as knitting or mowing lawn.

Multiple Benefits of Coloring

WebMD.com, the popular online health information source, published a medically reviewed  article in August of 2021 entitled, “Adult Coloring Books: 7 Benefits of Coloring.”   The first benefit is one we all need:

1. (Coloring) Relaxes Your Brain and Improves Brain Function

Coloring books are a great way to relax your brain and quiet your mind. When you’re coloring, you’re focused on the simple activity in front of you. This begins to relax your mind and keep your thoughts from intruding.‌

Coloring can also improve your brain’s ability to function. When you’re coloring, different parts of your brain’s cerebral hemispheres are activated. When you choose what colors to use, your creativity is activated. As you color forms and shapes, your logic is also activated.

The other six benefits in the article illustrate why coloring has become a tool recommended by therapists and counselors to decrease mental stress, relieve depression and reduce anxiety levels. It is even thought to help prevent dementia conditions by stimulating synapses in your brain. Your creativity is stimulated beyond the coloring itself as you stimulate the creative part of your brain.

Focus on Mandalas and Fractals

Coloring books come in multitudinous styles, themes and subject matter which appeal to people’s interests. There are a couple of types that seem to have particular benefits for mental health: mandala and fractal coloring books.

A study conducted by Nancy A. Curry and Tim Kasser, Galesburg, IL examined the effectiveness of various art activities in reducing anxiety using coloring of mandalas, coloring plaid and free coloring on blank paper.

The group who colored mandalas significantly decreased their anxiety levels below baseline (which) suggests that coloring such designs may be useful for helping individuals who chronically experience anxiety. At the least, coloring mandalas or other complex designs may be useful in lessening other stress-related problems if conducted before or immediately after the stressful activity. For example, people with test anxiety could color mandalas prior to taking the test, or people who fear flying on airplanes might color before, or even during, their flight.

Mindful Coloring

The effectiveness of coloring is enhanced by practicing mindfulness as you color. It’s all about being in the moment, engaged and involved in what you are doing. It’s not multi-tasking. It’s focusing on the image and clearing your mind of everything else as you choose colors and create your beautiful piece of art.

As you proceed, you engage in something that doesn’t bring stress or anxiety but relaxes you. Because of this, many people pull out their coloring when they feel angry or upset to calm down and focus.

In mindful coloring you learn to clear your mind and focus on the task at hand – and this skill can be applied in many areas of your life. It’s easy to be distracted and we so often are trying to do more than one thing at a time.

Time To Try It!

As noted above, mandala and fractal coloring have some proven benefits for mental health. If you are not familiar with fractals, check this out: Nature and Fractals Reduce Overwhelm and Stress

Mandala books are prolific online and elsewhere. Here are some of the many options for fractal coloring books. Happy coloring!!!

 

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.

 

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Managing Your Perfectionist Tendencies

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Managing your Perfectionist Tendencies is an important life skill,.Are you a perfectionist? There’s nothing wrong with wanting things in your life just so, wanting things beautiful, wanting everything done right, and wanting to work hard to achieve great goals. Each of us has our own view of what is perfect, but there is no overall standard for it. Holding ourselves to perfectionism as we see it can be detrimental to our own health and insisting on our own standard can be detrimental to our relationships with others. Managing your perfectionist tendencies can be an important life skill.

High Standards and Reality

Yes, high standards for yourself in every area of your life are good. You don’t want low standards to live by, but you cannot set high standards and expect perfectionism from each of them. There isn’t a perfect life – or even a perfect job or a perfect mate. Looking perfect or behaving perfectly are unrealistic. Things don’t happen perfectly.

Set high standards but don’t make their achievement be the ultimate measure of your sense of accomplishment and wellbeing. Learn how to re-evaluate those standards as needed to allow for small imperfections and flexibility. Consider that striving for perfection can mean you don’t realize many of the goals or plans you desire because you spend so much time and energy that it decreases what you can do.

Pressure and Perfectionism

If you believe that things must be just so, done this way, or appear that way, you are putting too much pressure on yourself. For example, if you cannot leave your home without everything being put away and all things looking perfectly clean, you might put a lot of pressure on yourself if you’re already running late.

If you take the time to clean up, you could be late for work, the kids could be late for school, and you could be so stressed as you are driving that you ruin your morning and theirs. Are those possible outcomes worth the clean house? Making choices with a larger perspective is important.

Mental Health and Perfectionism

You’ll drive yourself crazy if you want things perfect and don’t allow any room for mistakes. In fact, your own mental and emotional health can be affected with depression, anxiety and other impacts of stress. And you’ll damage relationships with people around you too.

4 Tricks to Keep Perfectionism in Check on a Daily Basis

Here are some tips to help in managing your perfectionist tendencies on a daily basis: 

  1. Prioritize

Perfectionists often spend far too much time trying to perform even mundane tasks perfectly. Take some time to consider what in your life you feel most strongly about being the highest quality. Then try to let go of other things as being subject to the ‘perfect’ requirement.

As you look at your daily activities, make decisions about when to do them and how much time to spend on them based on that assessment. Prioritize the most important things. This can decrease pressure and increase your satisfaction.

  1. Take Mistakes in Stride

If you’re a perfectionist, making a mistake can feel crippling and derail your productivity for the rest of the day. Practice taking your mistakes in stride and seeing them as opportunities to learn something for the future. Rather than dwelling on and feeling badly about it, focus on the future and how to avoid the mistake or improve the next time.

  1. Take a Perspective Break

Next time you find yourself panicking over a small detail that isn’t perfect or stressed about all you have to do perfectly that day, take a step back and give yourself a ‘perspective break.’ Simply ask yourself how important a task really is. By forcing yourself to assess its importance, you’ll be able to recognize when you’re obsessing over less important tasks and save time for working on the things that actually matter.

  1. Get a Friend’s Take

Another way to keep your tasks and problems in perspective is to ask a friend for their take on things. If you’re convinced that your room just doesn’t look right no matter how you arrange it, for example, ask a friend what they think. Their comments can show you if it’s your inner perfectionist speaking or what could be changed for a better result. This can make it easier to realize when the detail you’re stuck on simply isn’t a big deal or give you helpful input.

  1. Hold Yourself Accountable with Kindness

There’s nothing wrong with striving for excellence, but if that comes at a cost to sanity or self-esteem, it is not worth it. Staying kind and understanding about your own flaws and inconsistencies is key to sharing that generosity of spirit with others.

Replace your harsh and demeaning thoughts and self-talk when things aren’t ‘perfect’ with positive reinforcements. Give yourself a break by looking back at your track record of successes instead of the shortcomings. This can encourage you as you continue managing your perfectionist tendencies to make your life and relationships more enjoyable and fulfilling.

If you want to do more work in this area, I recommend this journal. The Perfectionism Journal is new in spring of 2022 and provides prompts, exercises and room for reflections. Check it out to see if it will be a tool for you. https://amzn.to/3Fm0PfK

 

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.

 

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Are You Forgetting Things More?

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If you find yourself forgetting things more than you used to, it may be yet another result of our unprecedented experiences and great uncertainty during the past couple of years. You may also find it hard to distinguish between details of memories you do have. Having experienced both of those things, I found a recent article on the topic to bring some clarity. The title caught my attention: “Why We’re All Forgetting Things Right Now.” So it’s not just me!

In fact, the article cited several examples of very young people spacing out on things they knew – names of people, perhaps how to do routine things. That was comforting. “Our brains are like computers with so many tabs open right now,” says Sara C. Madnick, a neuroscientist and professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Irvine. “This slows down our processing power, and memory is one of the areas that falters.”

That explanation makes a lot of sense to me. Think of all the changes and stress of the past couple of years. Think of the deluge of information we allow to come at us on a regular basis. And now we have a new set of stressors – costs are rising due to multiple global realities including a war. Lots of uncertainty continues along with more “normality” and hope than we’ve had for so long.

The author of the article, Elizabeth Bernstein, shares some recommendations from experts that can boost our memories.

Don’t force it. Forcing yourself to try to remember something is counterproductive. You’ll become frustrated, and that frustration allows the emotional part of your brain to override the parts of your brain that retrieve memories, says Jennifer Kilkus, a clinical health psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Let it go for a bit; take some deep breaths to calm your brain and try again later.

 

Stop multitasking. It’s tough to recall something, or to commit something to memory in the first place, when you’re doing two things at once, Dr. Kilkus says. So put your phone away. (This will help cut back on information overload, too.) Try doing one thing at a time. Pay attention to small tasks you typically do on autopilot, such as brushing your teeth.

 

Help your brain calm. This will strengthen your frontal lobe, which is involved in both memory encoding and retrieval, as well as stress regulation, says Dr. Mednick, author of the coming “The Power of the Downstate.” Dr. Mednick recommends daily meditation, yoga, or simply slow deep breathing for at least 10 minutes a day. Take a walk, preferably in nature. Connect with a loved one….And get some sleep. This clears out toxins in your brain that can clog your mental processing, she says.

 

Be socially present. Give your full attention to people when you talk with them. Doing so will help you better recall what you want to say in the conversation—because your brain won’t be distracted or overtaxed—and remember what was said, says Jeanine Turner, professor of communication at Georgetown University.”

All of these are simple, quite obvious strategies when you are forgetting things more. Here’s another – using sound to reduce stress. https://carolbrusegar.com/the-power-of-sound-to-calm-and-heal/

If you are forgetting things more or things are melding together into a fog, consider making one or more of these recommendations part of your daily life. Which one resonates with you most as a way to address what you are experiencing?

As a way to help you implement your choice(s) over time, take time to journal the situations you face, what strategies you tried and how effective they were. If you don’t use a journal regularly, you can download and print these FREE pages to get started. There are 4 unique pages, each with a mandala to color as well as space to journal.

Mandala Journal Pages

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.

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Using a Variety of Creative Activities for Relaxation

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http://carolbrusegar.com/ecourse-on-journaling-a-prism-to-clarify-and-enhance-all-aspects-of-life/Just relax… take some deep breaths, chill out… These are often our advice to those around us who are stressed and overwhelmed – and what others say to us. There are more options to explore, including many creative activities for relaxation.

Some of us are driven to keep busy and productive all the time and don’t realize the importance of taking real breaks, of unwinding, really relaxing. Physically, it lowers the heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. It also reduces muscle tension and chronic pain. Mentally, it reduces stress and other symptoms of mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. And our concentration and mood are improved!

We can access the benefits of relaxation in a variety of ways. Many of us have one or more fallback activities – vegging out in front of the TV, walking or exercising, working in the garden, coloring or drawing. Some rely on meditation or yoga. Adding options to your repertoire can be enjoyable and helpful.

As we look at 10 types of creative activities for relaxation, you will see some that you already use. Think about ways to adapt or expand them. Consider suggesting them to others.

Artwork (drawing, painting, sculpting, etc.) Don’t worry about your skill level. Try something you’ve not done before, dust off skills you haven’t used in a while, and pour yourself into it. Use it to express your thoughts and feelings, or just to escape from all of that.

Crafts (pottery, knitting, embroidery, decoupage, etc.) Decide to try something new or come back to a craft you enjoyed in the past. The creative process is both relaxing and affirming.

Coloring – If artwork and crafts seem like too much preparation and too complicated, just get some great coloring pencils, pens or markers and one of the wide variety of adult coloring books available. Use your creativity with color combinations and see a completed project before you know it. Check out these coloring books and the coloring implements offered there too.

Gifts for others (homemade cards, bookmarks, etc.) Focus on someone special you’d like to share a personalized handmade item with for an upcoming event or ‘just because.’ You can create a card with your own artwork or photography along with your own words that will be a treasure for the recipient. Bookmarks are a way to creatively express something and they can be used for a long time.

Music (learn to play an instrument, dance, etc.) Music is so powerful in reducing stress and also boosting the immune system. Perhaps you already have a playlist or favorite music in other forms to help you relax. I have CDs and my favorite classical music station on which I rely. Take that one step farther and choose an instrument that speaks to your soul and learn to play it. The point is not to become a musician but to learn something new and find enjoyment in it. And then there’s dancing! The movement distracts you from the thoughts that are holding you captive and releases chemicals that reduce stress and increase your calmness and optimism. Find a free dance class on YouTube or just turn on your favorite upbeat music.

 Gardening – For many people, gardening is the ultimate stress-reducer. Your hands in the dirt, the joy of seeing things grow and flourish – it’s the miracle of nature. Whether you are growing vegetables or flowers or both, the effect can be great. Both the actual work and being able to observe the results in stressful moments are stress reducers. Container gardening can give the same benefits if you don’t have other garden space.

D.I.Y. Projects (interior design/redecorating, outdoor projects that enhance your patio or yard, organizing your closet, decluttering your living/workspace) Although these involve work, they also engage your creative mind. How can you make any of these spaces more enjoyable, comfortable, or functional? The process takes you away from your sources of stress and overwhelm into a space of creativity.

Culinary Arts (cooking, baking, cake decorating, creating new recipes, etc.) Trying new things, creating something different, developing a new food-related skill can all be relaxing and give you additional options when you are stressed.

Personal Care Art (nail art, makeup, hair styling, etc.) Learning and practicing any of these can both be relaxing and save you money if you are paying to have them done. It’s time alone, self-care and creativity combined.

Creative Writing (blogging, journaling, poetry, articles and books, songwriting) Writing is magical. Choose a type of writing that is comfortable or experiment with another form. Journaling in particular can be a way to release and uncover what is going on internally and process both the internal and external. It’s a way to sort out the unpleasant and positive things that are happening and to deal with the one and celebrate the other. You can gain perspective that reduces your stress on a daily basis. I’ve written about different techniques of journaling here:  https://carolbrusegar.com/journaling-as-a-tool/ and here: http://carolbrusegar.com/journaling-techniques-to-boost-your-creativity/

 

Try some of these creative activities for relaxation that release your creativity, allowing you to refocus your energy and open up space for new ways to approach the stresses of life. Find things that you love doing; that makes you relax and be in touch with your inner self. You will be amazed at the results!

If you would like to explore multiple ways to journal and how they enhance your life, you can sign up for my FREE e-course on journaling:

http://carolbrusegar.com/ecourse-on-journaling-a-prism-to-clarify-and-enhance-all-aspects-of-life/

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.

Follow me on Twitter!     Follow me on Instagram!   Follow me on Pinterest!

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Managing Your Energy is a Game Changer!

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Manage EnergyMight managing our energy be even more important than managing our time?

There’s a common belief that we can do as much as we want to as long as we can fit it into our days. Often this is without considering the energy we have to do all those things. And if we run out of steam and don’t accomplish all we had managed to fit into our plans, we think we are lazy or ineffective.

Here’s an example that you may be able to relate to. A person commits to a new physical training program. Often, they will start out by identifying they want to get into better shape (so far so good). Next, they decide they are going to follow a training program that consists of 5 workouts a week, each lasting about an hour (oh dear). What’s more, is that they do this while eating less.

The reason they were probably out of shape is that they didn’t have the energy to commit to being more active in the first place. Being stressed and tired likewise caused them to want to eat more things that weren’t conducive to weight loss.

So now, they intend to go from that, to adding four hours (7 if you add driving to the gym, showering, and more) of exertion, while having less energy in the form of food to help power them through it!

Geez, why do you think that doesn’t work?

Why is Your Energy Zapped?

Running out of steam and feeling blah – having low energy – can be an indicator of an illness, injury, excess stress or being overextended. It makes sense when you are sick, hurt, or doing too much that your energy levels will fall. In these cases, rest, recovery, and taking some things off your plate can help you revive your energy.

There are also some less obvious reasons people have low energy. Believe it or not, low energy can happen when you are otherwise healthy, injury free, and aren’t overwhelmed. Here are three of them.

Reason #1 – You aren’t living your best life. This is true of many of us during these years of the pandemic. So much has changed, so much is still uncertain. If we aren’t setting and achieving milestones, it can zap our energy. Underachievement can cause boredom, depression, anxiety, and a sense of hopelessness. We may not have new measures for milestones in a life changed in many ways.

Reason #2 – You aren’t spending time with the right people. With our social interaction restricted in the past two years, we may be spending more time with those who complain, gossip, are sad, etc. Or we are spending a great deal of time alone or with the same small circle. This really drains our energy and leaves us feeling down and unmotivated.

Reason #3 – Your growth is stunted. Many of the things that stretch us have not been part of our daily lives as much lately.  We may be out of atmospheres where we are constantly learning and stimulated by work and social interaction. Much of our focus has been making things work, adapting to difficult situations. True, this does require creativity; but it tends to be focused more on survival than transformation. Narrow rather than expansive.

Managing Your Energy

Generally speaking, humans need to eat, drink, sleep, and have a sense of purpose for optimal health. Outside of those guidelines, we are all unique. Our energy comes from the nuanced aspects of our preferences and what gives us joy. Your mind and body are connected and will indicate through reactions what things bring you more energy and get you excited about life. Pay attention to the cues and learn to read them so you can maximize your unique brand of energy.

Look at your activities in all aspects of your life.  They can rev up your energy or deplete it. Your unique personality lends itself to certain activities and finds very specific things exciting and energizing. Engaging in extracurricular activities that stimulate our minds and create a sense of wonder boost our energy. Your unique personality might need more or less activity to feel stimulated and emotionally satisfied.

Try out a variety of activities and pay attention to how you feel. See where your passions lie and how you react when you engage in meaningful activities. Allow yourself plenty of options for fun and don’t limit yourself from trying new things.

This is a great time to engage in some of this exploration of what energizes you. It’s an individual thing. What gives me energy may drain yours. As you explore, be sure to keep notes or journal so you capture what you are experiencing and learning.

Managing your energy can be a game-changer. As you learn and practice more, you are able to manage your life and aspirations better. It’s a worthwhile pursuit!

Here’s a great resource: Manage Your Energy Not Your Time

It includes ways to manage your mental, psychological and emotional energy. Check it out!

 

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.

         

Follow me on Twitter!     Follow me on Instagram!   Follow me on Pinterest!

                                    Follow me on Facebook!         Visit my Etsy Shop!

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Stereograms: A Simple, Enjoyable Way to Enhance Your Vision and Relieve Stress

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Did you enjoy the Magic Eye books during the 1990s? Officially they are called 3-D stereograms – see the example above. They are rising in popularity again. But it’s more than just entertainment. Over the years, studies have shown that there are multiple health benefits and are used for eye therapy. Using them can be called a type of aerobics for your eyes. Use Stereograms to enhance your vision and relieve stress!

I am passionate about seeking out and trying natural rather than drug approaches to improving my health and wellness. I love to try and promote tools that help me prevent conditions or catch and correct them at early stages. Thus stereograms appeal to me.

Dr. Marc Grossman, O.D., L.A.c co-created Magic Eye: How to See 3D in 1996 and uses the images in his daily practice. In this first book he notes that stereograms may improve vision, relieve computer eye strain (lots of us can use that!), develop visual skills, reduce stress, calm the mind, and more! Stereograms are also being used in learning technology for improving reading speed and comprehension!

What is a stereogram?

A Stereogram is an optical illusion created from a flat, two-dimensional image or images. When you first look at it, it looks like an abstract image made of repeatable patterns. When you look at it in a specific way, the hidden 3D picture will appear. You will see a relief object or objects wrapped with the pattern you first see in the 2D picture.

How do you see the 3D image?

The simplest way to see it is to move your face close to the image with your nose almost touching it. It can be on a computer screen, in a book, or on a single printed sheet or card. Look through the image you see and let your eyes relax. Then move slowly back from the image with your focus still beyond the image you see – and watch the 3D image appear begin to appear. As you continue to move back very slowly, it will tend to become clearer and clearer. Once it is clear you can tip your head back and forth to see movement.

Ready to explore?

With all of the screen time most of us have these days, along with the stress in many areas of life, most of us can benefit from the use of Stereograms to enhance your vision and relieve stress. I recommend that you check out these resources, decide on something to try and start exploring. The minimum that can happen is that you enjoy the practice and find it relaxing as millions have since these became popular in the 1990s.

Stereograms

Magic Eye Beyond 3D: Improve Your Vision, Reduce Computer Eye Strain, Stress & More focuses on all those benefits of Stereograms and includes great images. It examines the medical benefits and scientific possibilities related to viewing the images. It also gives clear explanations for use of the Magic Eye Stereograms and the benefits.
Magic Eye Beyond 3D

 

Seven Magic Eye Books have been published, starting in the 1990s. They are available here: 7 Magic Eye Books

 

The other prolific and highly regarded series of Stereogram books are Eye Tricks books by Gary W. Priester and Gene Levin, available here: Eye Tricks Books

There are also Stereogram Posters that you might like to look at and consider as wall décor.  Stereogram Posters

I hope you will enjoy the exploration and will find Stereograms to enhance your vision and relive stress!

 

I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. 

 I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.

Follow me on Twitter!   Follow me on Instagram!      Follow me on Pinterest!

Follow me on Facebook!         Visit my Etsy Shop!