Category: A Better You

Posted in A Better You

It’s All About CTRL

Posted on by melissaburgess

One of the keys to happiness is this simple: taking control of your life and your path in life, to the best of your abilities. Know that you have power over your own life, and know that you can control what happens in your life. With this, you must also know that you can’t control others; you can only control yourself and how you react to situations.

If you’re not happy, figure out why. Figure out some small ways to change that, even if it’s something as simple as getting a haircut to make you feel better about your appearance, working out more often to blow off steam, or taking up a hobby like painting or writing. Not happy at your job? Look for a new one. Not happy in your relationship? You can’t control the other person, but you can control yourself. Either decide to make an effort to fix things, or decide to walk away.

In fact, adapt that attitude in all aspects of your life. If something is making you unhappy — or not making you happy — figure out why, and either decide to do what you can to change that, or walk away from it. Don’t let things hold you down in life.

Recognize your boundaries, and recognize what you can and cannot control. You can’t control other people or how they may act towards you, but you can control how you react to them. You can’t control whether or not you get the job, but you can control how you appear in an interview and how your resume and application materials look to the manager. You can’t control the traffic lights or the line at the coffee shop, but you can control what time you leave the house in the morning.

Life is all about having control over your life, and your life only. Once you start to adopt that style of thinking, you may find that you end up a lot happier.

Posted in A Better You, Food, Health & Fitness

19 Links to Celebrate Mental Health Month

Posted on by melissaburgess
(Flickr/Hey Paul Studios)
(Flickr/Hey Paul Studios)

Did you know that May is Mental Health Month? It’s okay if you didn’t… I wasn’t aware of it until yesterday. But I think it’s a great cause and it’s important that we dedicate not just a month to mental health, but keep it in mind (no pun intended) all year round. Mental Health Month has been celebrated in May dating all the way back to 1949! Mental health isn’t something we should only be concerned about when it gets bad. It’s something that we should always focus on. Please note, as always, that these links aren’t meant to take the place of a doctor or mental health provider. If you’re feeling suicidal or need help RIGHT NOW, please call your doctor, go to the hospital, call Crisis Services or 911. To help kick off Mental Health Month, here’s a hoard of links I’ve gathered in regards to resources, reading materials and more.

  • 25 Actions to Boost Self Confidence – although there’s no shortcut to self-esteem, here’s a list of 25 suggested things you can do to help improve your self-confidence.
  • 7 Cups of Tea, an online emotional support service. It’ll connect you with an active listener for free, but please note: this isn’t meant to take the place of a doctor or counselor, and if you are feeling suicidal, please call your local Crisis Services.
  • Alternatives to Self-Harm – all sorts of things you can do rather than self-harm.
  • Bell Let’s Talk, a Canadian initiative which aims to end the stigma surrounding mental health& encourages those who need help to seek it without fear of judgment.
  • Calendar from Mental Health America for May 2014. Print it out – every day has a new tip on how to keep your mental health in tip-top shape! (PDF)
  • Exercise’s other benefits – a piece from the American Psychological Association on the mental health benefits of exercise.
  • Going to Therapy for the First Time? A Huffington Post guide on getting set up for counseling and what to expect at your first appointment.
  • How to Protect Your Mental Health: some handy tips on protecting your emotional and mental health as well as some tips you can use to keep yourself in shape mentally.
  • Meditation Tips for Beginners – one great tool to help relieve stress and keep your mind in check can be meditation. Why not give it a try and check out some of these tips?
  • MentalHealth.gov, a site run by the United States Department of Health & Human Services.
  • Mind Check, a Canadian organization designed to help young adults in British Columbia connect to mental health resources. Even if you’re not Canadian (or in BC), you may still find some of the resources here useful.
  • NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness, a grassroots organization dedicated to building better lives for Americans with mental illnesses.
  • NIMH, the National Institute of Mental Health, a government organization designed to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure.
  • Screening tools from Mental Health America. Please note that these are not meant to be substitutions for physicians or healthcare providers and are not diagnostic instruments.
  • Suicide Prevention Resource Center, the US’ only federally-supported resource center devoted to advancing the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention.
  • Ten Things You Can Do for Your Mental Health, a guide from the University of Michigan.
  • The Body Positive, an organization working since 1996 to encourage youth and adults alike to experience self-love.
  • Top Ten Mental Health Apps – from PsychCentral, here’s some apps you can download for your devices to do everything from keeping track of your moods to providing calming tools and relaxation techniques.
  • ULifeLine, an online resource designed largely for college students to aid them in finding mental health resources.
Posted in A Better You

The Challenge: 100 Things That Make Me Happy

Posted on by melissaburgess

One of the projects I’m currently working on is compiling a list of 100 Things that Make Me Happy. The task is a bit more arduous than I had expected it to be, but in the long run, I think it’ll be worth it. I hope it will help me to appreciate my life a little more, appreciate both the bigger things and smaller aspects, and allow me to take a good look at my life, my choices and my journey, and it’ll be something I’ll be able to look at whenever I’m feeling down.

My challenge to anyone reading this is to do the same. Be forewarned, it may take a while. I’ve been working on my list for weeks and I’m not even 1/3 of the way done. But I think it will be worth it in the end.

Think of things that make you happy. People, places, vacations, experiences, books, things you do or things people say or places you go… anything that makes you happy. My list as it is so far includes everything from “the way the leaves change colors in autumn” to “getting paid from work” to “dying my hair a new color when I get bored with the old one.”

I’m not sure how long it will take me to get to 100, but it’s all about the positivity. Thinking about these things has already made me a happier person, bit by bit. Who knows, maybe I’ll end up going past 100, but that’s my starting point.

So go for it, readers. Make a list of 100 things that make you happy, and allow yourself to reflect on those things during the good times and the bad times. Get happy — you deserve it.

Posted in A Better You, Food, Health & Fitness

Meditation & What It Can Do For You

Posted on by melissaburgess

There are several things in life that I always swear I’m going to do more of. I’m going to do more healthy eating; I’m going to walk/run more; I’m going to get up earlier more often, etc. Another thing: meditation.

Meditation is something I learned in probably 8th grade. Our religion teacher would have us all sit in any sort of comfortable position in the classroom, she’d put on a gentle musical track behind us, and she’d be our guide, reading off what I can only assume was a book, taking us into this magical world of meditation. Despite that, meditation does not have to be a religious experience. Anyone can meditate, and it won’t cost you a dime. It’s a small, simple way to take a few minutes of your day, clear your mind and relax.

Continue reading “Meditation & What It Can Do For You” →

Posted in A Better You

What’s the Hurry?

Posted on by melissaburgess

One thing I’ve noticed lately is that everyone always seems to be in such a hurry all the time. Rush to do this, hurry through that, this, that, etc. I typically get out of work, rush to pick up my personal belongings and then hurry to go catch my bus home – as if there isn’t another bus in 15 minutes that could get me home, too.

Yesterday, I had to stick around work while I waited for a friend to pick me up so we could head out to Rochester for a concert. I said “Okay, I’ll just take my time getting out of work.” And boy, let me tell you….. it was hard! I realized I’ve become so used to hurrying through things, getting everything done quickly, etc., that it’s almost difficult for me to take my time and slow down.

It was actually hard. I took my time closing down my computer and tidying up my workspace. I took my time gathering my belongings, changing into concert-appropriate attire, and making myself look socially presentable. Still, I had too much time, so I ended up taking a slow walk around the outside blocks of my building. And it was interesting to actually have to push myself to slow down…. but at the same time, it was a nice change from the usual non-stop, constant busy, hurry, go, go, go.

Now, I’m not saying you should move at a snail’s pace. Sometimes, there are time-sensitive tasks that require you to put in the extra effort to be productive in a quick manner. Sometimes, you DO have to hurry to catch that bus or else you won’t be getting home at all that night. But it might be nice sometimes to just slowwwww things down, take your time and don’t hurry yourself through everything.

Life is short as it is…. why are we hurrying to make it even shorter?