Have you ever heard others talk about journaling, and wondered whether there are any benefits of starting to write a journal, recording the events of your day? This blog will explain what journaling is and how it will benefit you. There are a few reasons why people recommend journaling, whether you are a therapist or a school teacher, since the benefits are huge and can do a lot to uplift your emotional wellbeing. 1. Get your creativity flowing For those in specific job positions, you will surely realise the value of your creativity at the workplace. Maintaining a particular level of creativity can be crucial to delivering your best performance at the end of each day. Writing down your thoughts is a great way of getting the creative juices flowing again. This is where the benefits of journaling can be seen in helping to keep up your creative flow. 2. Become better at writing As you keep writing, your ability to put thoughts down will become second nature to you and thoughts will begin flowing with ease. You will get better at writing without fearing grammatical or spelling errors holding you back. In general, your writing skills will improve considerably, allowing you to communicate freely no matter whether the setting is formal or informal. 3. Gaining confidence When you put your thoughts to paper more often, you will become more confident in your writing ability. Developing a habit of writing in your journal allows you to gradually break free of

No matter what kind of situation you are in or the kind of work you do, chances are it involves some level of creativity. We all want to perform our best at work, but what happens when we run out of what we all call ‘creative juices’? We need to have a solid foundation to ensure that you can tackle the tasks thrown your way. So here are a few points to keep in mind next time you feel yourself running out of ideas. 1. Find a source of inspiration You may have heard this from people before, but it still stands as a solid piece of advice. That bit of inspiration is important in setting the mood for further ideas. It is important to remember that taking inspiration is very different from copying. You spend time analysing which elements you want to take away before adding to your work. Inspiration can come from unexpected places so keep looking. 2. It’s alright to take risks Do not be afraid to try new things, even if it means that there is a chance of failure. Every failure will be a learning opportunity and every success will be a victory that also builds your creativity. Risk-taking will help you become more confident in your abilities as you go along. 3. Go on a break Sometimes the simplest solution to a creative block is to take a break from the task you are working on. Giving your mind a small break may be

Whether we realize it or not, life can sometimes fall into a routine that feels stagnant. We tend to get used to how things flow and then one fine day, we find ourselves feeling like we are in a kind of a mental rut with no signs of improvement. However, making some changes to the way you live can help you discover the variety that you needed to bring about a refreshed and renewed feeling. 1. Change your routine It might seem like a small thing to do, but you will be surprised how changing your routine can work wonders for you. From the type of food that you choose, your bathing time, to your bedtime, making these tiny yet powerful shifts in your daily routine can help you enjoy your day and feel happy. Daily routines can get monotonous and breaking them will help you feel more energetic. 2. Take time off As important as it is to work for your living, it is also equally important to ensure that you take a break. Taking a break is a crucial part of maintaining your mental and physical health while ensuring that your productivity levels at work are good. Taking a break will mean something different for each person. So everyone must understand what their idea of relaxation is, for themselves. For some, it could be anything from going on a vacation while some of you love staying at home and yet enjoy their “me” time. 3. Find an activity

There are times in your life when you are just not able to function like you normally do and you need to learn to manage your anxiety better. It happens to the best of us. You may find yourself plagued by worrying thoughts or fears more often than usual. Typically, anxiety is experienced on a physical and mental level. It can have a drastic effect on your daily life, so to control it, there are a few simple things that you can do to help feel better. 1. Get some exercise Exercise has been known to have a positive effect on anxiety. Exercising your body does not have to mean doing repetitive strenuous workouts that stress your muscles, especially because you are looking for something calming. You can try Pilates, Yoga, or even just plain Jogging to get your body moving. The aim here is to do exercises that you enjoy so that your body releases endorphins, the hormone that makes the workout experience so satisfying for people. My personal feel good exercise plan is 4 times Gym and 1 time Cardio with some Yoga. It took me quite a while to figure out what is best for my body – so don’t give up to quickly just keep on trying which kind of exercises are best for you. 2. Regular sleep Our sleep cycles can affect us more than most people realize. Getting the recommended eight hours of sleep each day can boost your mood and your body is

Everybody faces grief at some points in their lives, so it helps to understand how to powerfully and efficiently deal with grief. Let us start off by defining what Grief is. Grief is a universal, natural response to any kind of loss that human beings face. Loss is part of a person’s everyday life. For every good action or deed that a person performs; there is an equal amount of negative emotion such as grief and loss. The word grief has its origin in the Old French word ‘grever’ meaning ‘to burden’. Being a burden on someone is not something we all like to be. It is not ideal for a lot of people, and in a lot of instances. The pain they attach to their grief is overwhelming! Another layer to this thought- process would be with regards to how individuals process situations emotionally. It is important to understand that people are on their designated path, and it becomes essential for us to be patient with people we care about. People adopt different techniques to deal with their emotions-specifically grief. Here is a list of 6 ways that will empower you to handle grief! Six Ways of Dealing with Grief: I. Acknowledge Your Pain This is the first and most important step in the grief management process. People face facts, deal with emotions, and process pain in a specific way. All the other person can do is lend ears, that is, be empathetic listeners. Once you listen to both

Have you ever wondered why a person misunderstood what you were saying, or why someone did not quite react the way you expected? Sometimes we can misread certain cues while communicating with people. This has a lot to do with the way we communicate and more specifically, how we follow the communication process. We all know that communication is about giving and taking, so it is important to take a look at what messages you send when you interact with others. We all know that relationships are built on trust and honesty, to create a healthy environment. However, non-verbal cues seem to be an oft-ignored part of maintaining these relationships. You need to build strong non-verbal communication skills, to boost your personal and professional life. The first step towards understanding communication is to grasp the concept of two types of communication, namely, verbal and non-verbal. These simply mean that we communicate through spoken sounds, as well as in a visual and non-audible way too. Taking a look at these types of non-verbal communication will help you to improve your style and make changes. So here’s what we mean by “non-verbal communication”. Non-verbal communication most often includes the use of body language, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures and voice tone. On the other hand, verbal communication refers to text, signs or speech when expressing yourself. However, non-verbal communication tells a lot about your style of interacting with others. Once you have learned how to use these non-verbal cues, you will be

In a world with a thousand different influences like media, culture, religion etc., opinions spewing from left and right, it becomes easy to disconnect with our inner voice. People get caught up in the collective consciousness and misunderstand these beliefs as their own. Set-aside all these belief-systems the question of ‘who am I arises?’ Knowing oneself is a fairly ambiguous statement. So what does it mean? It means understanding your values and dedicating time to things that matter to you. It means saying no when an opportunity doesn’t align with what you want. It means being transparent with yourself about the good and the bad. If you’re feeling confused, consider the tips below to get back on track and in tune with your authentic self. 1. Understand your values Society often tells us what we should value or want. You should have a full-time job by ‘x’ age, or you can only be happy if have ‘x’. This often steers us away from what genuinely matters to us as individuals. Take a moment and ask yourself what truly brings you joy. When was the last time you felt fulfillment? After some reflection, you’ll begin to understand your values and your passions. With clarity on what these are, you’ll have an easier time making decisions that are authentic to you. 2. Look at the people who surround you While we can’t control the family we were born into, we control the people we allow in our lives. A large part of

What is confidence? Confidence is the ability to feel beautiful, awesome, enough and great without needing someone to tell you. Mastering confidence will lead to healthier relationships, openness in trying new things, better performance, and overall resilience. The word itself is derived from ‘fidere’ in Latin which means ‘to trust’ and encourages others to trust what we are putting out there in the world but really comes down to trusting one’s own self. Having self-confidence not only impacts how you feel about yourself, but it helps create personal boundaries, make better life decisions, and forms a guide on how to love others. From the start, we begin building our self-esteem from cues our parents and our home environment. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we can stumble and lose the ability to trust in ourselves the way we would like. The good news is that there are things you can do to boost your self-confidence. Whether you lack confidence in one specific area or you struggle to feel confident about anything, these 5 strategies can help! I. Words are Powerful: Speak words of empowerment and kindness to yourself. Your pep talk with yourself is the most important one you can ever give. Set aside a time to do this every day and speak it until you believe! It is incredibly powerful to speak something into existence much like how when you smile, you start to feel more positive right away. II. Make a List of Strengths. Achievements, & Goals: This may

As much as we all strive for a life filled with happiness and excitement, life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Hearts get broken, unpleasant events occur, and disappointments happen. We’ve all felt pain, shame, and sadness – it’s a fundamental part of being alive. But as adults and professionals, we’ve engrained the notion that we must suppress these negative emotions. On the other hand, trapping emotions may have been taught at an early age. The Problem with Trapping Your Emotions Initially, you might seem fine on the surface when you bury your feelings. Then over time those negative emotions, such as betrayal, anger, and fear bottle up and affect us in various ways. Trapping our emotions can lead to: Sabotaging Relationships If you’ve suppressed the trauma from a previous relationship, you may carry the same doubt and fear to your next partner. Anxiety and stress Trapped emotions lead to constant fear and anxiousness even when there might not be anything alarming. A common trait of emotional repression is sometimes being unable to understand why you’re stressed. Unable to move on Burying our emotions means we can never truly come to terms with them. As a result, our minds cling to our past. The Benefits of Emotional Release The ability to validate and express our negative emotions in a healthy way, allows us to handle challenges better. Everyone experiences highs and lows. But how we process and navigate through those negative experiences and emotions, is what ultimately matters. When we can