Be Ridiculously Good at Life

The meaning of beauty and the usage of beauty has been muddled with other desirable character traits. Often, people are so used to calling each other "beautiful" that we feel entitled to being seen as beautiful, and that we are being treated wrongly or perceived wrongly when other can not see our own brand of personal beauty. In writing this article, I would like to help you free yourself from the constraints of beauty and the prevalence it has taken over our modern culture. Freeing yourself from the illusory entitlement to beauty is a vital step. Not Everyone Is Beautiful Physical beauty can be measured. The ancient Greeks found phi, the golden ratio to beauty (which I highly recommend you read about... here .) We have the BMI, the waist to hip ratio, the lines of symmetry, the angles of one's facial features, the condition of one's skin. These features all provide us with information- from a biological standpoint, beauty is a highly coveted trait which means that th

Self respect is essential to true self love. In order to fully love and care for yourself, you must become aware of your boundaries and values and you must commit to them and thus commit to yourself. Self respect is about preserving your values and acting in a way that promotes self growth whilst fulfilling certain standards regarding how you want to be treated. What are your values? In order to define your personal boundaries, you must look within and gain insight through introspecting and honesty. How do you think you deserve to be treated? How do you think you should treat yourself? Do you let people walk all over you, or do you walk all over other people? Do you not trust other people, do you act in an untrustworthy manner? In order to understand how you would truly like to be treated, you must also consider how you treat others. There is no separation between the two when true self respect and self love is reached. What you value, you must exercise. If you do not exercise your val

The minimalist lifestyle has really boomed over the past years. With  Time  naming  Zenhabits  the best blog of the year, and countless search results under the term "minimalist blog", the minimalist lifestyle has really gotten a hold of the general internet-centric public. Minimalism's appeal is direct and straightforward. Wanting less and appreciating more makes your life more abundant. You have less needs and desires to fulfill, and you have more freedom because you do not invest your time and resources into too many endeavors. You have more space to be happy. Minimalism's success is mainly due to mindfulness- being conscious of why you are doing what you are doing.Without mindfulness, minimalism is just a bible you consult without truly knowing why and without truly reaping the benefits. There are so many minimalism blogs and so many subscribers. Really, though. Do you need to constantly read up on something so simple as being mindful? Do you constantly need to re

Losing weight can be a very frustrating endeavor, but with the right attitude, you can lose weight whilst maintaining a positive, accepting attitude. Using a few simple strategies, you can lose weight without ever obsessing about it. Before such strategies are covered, we must explore a few perspective shifts that will allow for an easier transition between suffering to lose weight and allowing yourself to shed off those pounds. Stop Setting Yourself Up for Disappointment Upon deciding to lose weight, many people are hit with a huge wave of enthusiasm and motivation. They feel extremely dedicated to their weight loss goals and they adopt an extreme shift in their lifestyle. They spend an hour and a half at the gym and follow a very strict eating plan....for a few days. Once the initial wave of motivation dies down, many people find that they can not sustain such an extreme lifestyle, especially one that promotes habits and routines that seem alien to their previous lifestyles. This oft

Being in a serious relationship leads to developing a very close bond with your partner. No matter how tight, close, and totally open with each other you'd like to be, there will always be a need for some extent of distance between you and your partner. This space is scary for some people. When some people give their partner space, or at least their idea of what space should be, they start to feel negative feelings and regret. They feel paranoid, at a loss of control, and suspicious. These negative emotions actually create distance, but of a very different kind. This distance encourages the lack of empathy, love, and kindness that genuine closeness facilitates. In order to create the right kind of distance and maintain true closeness, partners must be able to give each other space. What Is Space? Different partners require different levels of space and freedom. This freedom does not mean that your partner will cheat on you or do anything to threaten your relationship. Instead, thi

Stress is the tension and pressure caused by expectations in life. We stress because we worry about deadlines. We stress because we fret about solutions. We stress because we are unsure of the outcome of our words and actions. We stress because we can not control every aspect in our life, and we stress because we doubt our authority  regarding the aspects we can control. Stress is the product of expectation, worry, and doubt. In order to deal with stress, we must understand why we are creating it. Expectation When we project expectations onto a situation, we are taken out of the moment. We worry and anticipate what is to come instead of focusing on what we can experience and interact with in the present moment. We fail to see opportunities for action, inaction, and insight because we are too preoccupied with what we should  be doing or what we situations we  should be producing. Imagine someone in possession of a lit fire on a cold winter night. If they are too busy anticipating and bu

Life is full of opportunities to make decisions- these decisions vary in significance, in duration, and in intention. Decisions are always a product of intention, regardless of whether they are made consciously or subconsciously.  Decisions reflect purpose. Why do we decide upon or against various prospects? We choose certain goals/situations/actions in order to get what we want. Decisions are very powerful in life- but the intentions behind them are even stronger. Attitude and Intentions A single decision affects the factors assigned to and controlled by that choice. Intention and attitude affect all decisions. When one holds a certain attitude and intention, they make choices that resonate with and reinforce that attitude and intention. Although attitude and intention are impermanent and can be instantly changed, most individuals hold onto and get stuck with a few select tendencies. Until one becomes aware of their attitude and intentions, one will live life according to their unexam

Labeling one's surroundings is a strongly rooted habit- we subconsciously organize our environment into categories which help us "survive." From a survivalist viewpoint, this tendency is extremely helpful- we must label that area of the forest as dangerous, the members of a neighboring tribe as friendly or lethal, and that body of water as impure. Arriving at quick conclusions when facing crucial survival situations is useful and promotes our well-being, but when that same tendency is practiced in a totally nonthreatening environment (e.g. our social lives), we actually hinder the flow of our happiness. How We Organize the People Around Us Most of us constantly form observations about others within the first few seconds of meeting them. Their appearance, body language, and general "vibe" seem to communicate to us their personalities. This alone, in its "pure" act, is a very harmless exercise. There is nothing wrong with deducing a person's emotions

Everyone possesses a different set of values. Judging others based on conflicting value systems does not result in any positive progress, connection, or sustainable enjoyment. Yet common ground exists between most people living within society. One of the most controversial themes existing throughout social boundaries is the subject of objectifying people into mere sexual or visual objects. Although the individual does not possess control over how others react and perceive them, individuals have the power to send conscious and subconscious messages as to how they would like to be treated. Behavior and choices all contribute to how an individual suggests others treat him or her. If You've Got It, Flaunt It A person with a healthy self esteem will feel comfortable with their body. They accept and take care of their body and take pride in keeping up their health and appearances. Some individuals perceive a certain wardrobe as immodest, whilst others may think it acceptable and attracti