Over the last week I have been living in an airport in Toronto and a hotel that is connected to an airport and working really long days. This situation is a very dangerous one for your health as it seems to take a lot of control out of your hands as far as healthy lifestyle choices are concerned.

Because of the hours and the proximity to the hotel I have no car or even a need for a car and have been handcuffed as far as food choices go so I wanted to give a few tips for travel and eating and exercise for those that have not a lot of these choices.

1. Finding fresh fruit and vegetables – First thing that I did when I got booked into the hotel was ask where the nearest market was to get some fruit and veggies. This is an automatic for me whenever I travel but I got a very vague “Its a long ca ride away” and “The restaurant can make you some vegetables” so I knew there would be no help there. Instead I prowled the airport and found a coffee bar that sells apples and oranges. I get an apple, bran muffin and coffee for breakfast every morning. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

We have all experienced the feeling of failure when something we have attempted has not gone according to plan, and we are all familiar with that sickening feeling of defeat and despair- but it is possible to turn that failure into success. We need to accept that failure will always be a part of our life, and the only way to avoid it would be to stop trying to achieve anything.

We first experience failure as a child- when we try to walk, we fall and stumble, but instead of feeling we have failed and we may as well stop trying to walk, we get back up and keep trying until we eventually master it. The key to changing failure into success is to completely change how we view failure. Read the rest of this entry »

Out of all the habits we may want to have, positive thinking is one of the most difficult to attain. Why? Right from being very young, we are exposed to all kinds of negative influences, either intentional or unintentional. Think of all the times when you were a child that you were told not to do this or that, or else some dire consequence may result.

We receive many damaging blows to our self esteem throughout our lives, and are constantly bombarded by bad news in the media. No wonder people are conditioned to expect events to turn out badly- I had a colleague who used to say that she always expected the worst to happen, as then she was not disappointed! What a limiting way to live your life. Read the rest of this entry »

Having a healthy self esteem is essential if we are to achieve what we want out of life, but knowing how to get or raise self esteem can be difficult, especially if ours is very low. When our self esteem falls below a healthy level, we can feel worthless and will doubt that we could ever achieve anything so we are afraid to even try. No matter how low your self esteem is, it is possible to build and develop it. Here are six ways of raising your self esteem.

Take baby steps. Plan a small challenge each day to build your confidence. If you are shy, resolve to smile at a stranger or start a conversation. Start to learn a new skill or enrol in night school. Make your challenges a little more difficult each day. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are faced with a problem, it can be very easy to feel overwhelmed by it, but by choosing to focus on solutions to the problem rather than the problem itself we can learn to solve it far more effectively.

We have a tendency as humans to try to analyze a problem, understand it and try to work out what caused it. But by focusing on the problem this way, and the effect it is having on your life, you will find it difficult to see a way past it and can become stuck. It is far more effective to take your focus off the problem and start to think of a way to solve it instead. Try to imagine what your life will be like when the problem is solved and is no longer in your way; when you do this your subconscious will start to come up with a variety of solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

Would you like to discover your life purpose? Learn what it really is that you were put on this earth to do? Would you like to discover the real reason for your existence?

It is believed that everyone has a purpose. Many of us do not realise this and some people can live their whole lives and never find their purpose. However, once you have found your life purpose, you will know. You will feel it on a deeper level, and you won’t be able to imagine ever doing anything else. Think about the job you do, and the activities you undertake on a regular basis. Do they fire you with energy and boundless enthusiasm, or do you feel as though something’s missing? If your life does not make you feel fulfilled then you have yet to discover your life purpose.

So how do you discover this life purpose? The first step is to set aside some time to do a little exercise. Don’t worry, this will be quite easy. Choose a time when you won’t feel rushed, or distracted by outside influences. Try to relax, and empty your mind of everyday thoughts; it may help to listen to some calming music. Read the rest of this entry »

Depression is a very serious problem for many people and families and one of the real problems is that as a person starts to fall into depression the change is gradual and even your family does not see it coming until you need help.

You may have been feeling low for some time, or have noticed that someone close to you appears to be out of sorts, and you may be wondering whether this could be depression; here we list the most common symptoms of depression and how it could be affecting you or a loved one.

One of the first signs of depression is that your sleep may be affected. You may have difficulty getting to sleep at night, and may find that you are troubled by negative thoughts. Often people with depression will wake several times during the night, or wake very early. Read the rest of this entry »

If constantly putting tasks off till later is ruining your life, here are five tips to help you to stop procrastination in its tracks once and for all!

1) Do the unpleasant stuff first. One of the reasons we put off certain tasks is because some aspect of them is unpleasant; for example we may need to make a difficult telephone call. Write down the worst tasks which need doing each day and make sure you do them first. Try not to think about it too much, just get stuck in- you find that the most unpleasant tasks often turn out to be a lot easier than you think once you take action. Read the rest of this entry »

Even the most extrovert of us can feel lonely at times, whether we are on our own or surrounded by people; it is a natural emotion, but if it is dominating your life it can be very difficult to know how to overcome loneliness. Our lives can be so hectic that it is often hard to make the time to socialise and maintain friendships and relationships, and it can often feel as though those closest to us do not have any time for us.

There may be certain times when we feel lonely, such as when a relationship has ended or our children have grown up and moved on. It can be very difficult to admit that we are feeling lonely, and this can make us feel even more isolated. In this article we explore seven ways to help you to overcome loneliness. Read the rest of this entry »