How to look younger ? Naturaly.

Few human attributes signal health and youth like a clear, glowing complexion. We all start out with a similarly clean slate skin-wise, but by the time you reach your 20s and definitely in the decades that follow your skin will start to reveal what type of lifestyle you've lead.
In reality, though, your skin will start to show wear and tear long before that. Some of this may be related to your genes  if your mother was wrinkle-free until she turned 65, you may be too but more so, it's related to how you live.
The Low-Down on Skin Aging: What Happens When we Get Older?

In your teens your skin may battle acne as your hormones run rampant during puberty, but by the time you reach your 20s expression lines from smiling and frowning will begin to surface.

It's around this time that collagen, which contributes to your skin's firmness, and elastin, which helps your skin’s elasticity, begin to break down as well -- a phenomenon that will continue through your 30s and beyond.

In your 30s, wrinkles caused by sun damage may form, although the real evidence of sun damage won’t surface until your 50s. In your 40s, your skin may become dry as it loses its ability to retain moisture, and dead skin cells will not be shed as quickly. Those expression lines that started in your 30s will also be more pronounced by this time.

By your 50s and 60s, age spots, spider veins and wrinkles are often apparent, and fat cells will gradually disappear, which can lead to skin sagging.1 

As you likely already know, these changes can quickly age you on the outside, even if you still feel like a 20-year-old on the inside. This is true not only of the dreaded wrinkle, but also of uneven skin tone and discoloration.

For instance, one study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior found that participants with the most even skin tone were rated as significantly healthier, more attractive and younger than those with uneven, blotchy skin.2

The good news is that there are plenty of steps you can take to get healthier, more even, younger looking skin -- without resorting to plastic surgery or chemical peels. Some of the best solutions for healthy skin come from leading a healthy lifestyle and improving your skin's appearance from the inside out.


What to Eat for Healthy Skin

If eyes are the windows to your soul, your skin may be the window to your stomach! That’s because what you eat has a direct impact on your skin health.

Fruits and vegetables are not the only foods your skin can benefit from; olive oil and legumes are also beneficial. One study even found that a high intake of vegetables, legumes and olive oil could help protect against wrinkles.

Remember, your skin is the largest organ in your body, so any food that is good for your body will also be good for your skin.



Sun Exposure Do's and Don'ts

Sun exposure is a leading cause of wrinkles, age spots, freckles, dry, rough "leathery" skin and premature skin aging. If excessive, sun exposure can also lead to the development of skin cancer.

For these reasons, most public health agencies recommend wearing protective clothing to shield your skin from the sun or sunscreen with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of at least 30 when you'll be out in the sun. Make sure the sunscreen you choose offers protection against both UVA and UVB ultraviolet lights, as both can lead to skin damage. 

You will need to reapply sunscreen often, about every two hours or more frequently if you’re sweating or swimming, to maintain its effectiveness.

It is typically advised to also avoid staying in the sun between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., as this is when the sun’s rays are the strongest. However, there is now emerging evidence that avoiding the sun altogether, including during these peak hours, may put you at risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Your skin produces vitamin D when it is exposed to UVB rays from the sun, and some now advise regular mid-day sun exposure (without sunscreen, as sunscreen will block vitamin D production) during the spring, summer and early fall to ensure adequate levels.7 Adequate vitamin D levels have been linked to lower risks of cancer, including melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, among other health benefits.

No matter when you’re in the sun, however, it's very important to avoid getting burned. This will not only damage your skin, leading to premature aging, but will also increase your risk of skin cancer. On a sunny day, it only takes a short amount of time, 15 minutes or so depending on skin color (darker skin tones need longer exposure) to produce your maximum level of vitamin D, so be careful not to overdo it.

If your skin becomes pink or red, painful or feels hot to the touch, you should get out of the sun immediately, as these are signs of sunburn. Once you've been sunburned, the damage to your skin has already occurred, however the following tip can help to soothe the burn:
Apply a damp, cool washcloth to the area or take a cool bath or shower. Baking soda in your bathwater may help to relieve the burn.

Apply a moisturizer to your skin to alleviate dryness. Aloe vera gel works exceptionally well, especially when you use the salve directly from a live plant.

Drink plenty of water to replace lost fluids and help heal the sunburn

Leave any blisters alone. Breaking blisters will increase the risk of infection and make the healing process take longer.

What to Avoid for Your Skin’s Sake

Eating healthy and being sure to not overdo sun exposure will help protect your skin immensely, but they're only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a healthy, skin-boosting lifestyle. Just as it's important to eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies, it’s important to avoid exposing your skin to lifestyle habits that can cause damage.

Among the top items to avoid for your skin's sake are:
1. Smoking: Smoking damages collagen and elastin while decreasing blood flow to your skin. This makes it difficult for your skin cells to receive enough oxygen and nutrients to stay healthy. The physical act of smoking can also contribute to expression lines around your lips and eyes (from pursing your lips and squinting).8

2. Drinking Alcohol: While an occasional glass of wine is not likely to cause your skin much harm, too much alcohol can damage blood vessels over time, leading to permanently flushed skin or visible blood vessels on your skin's surface.

3. Sugar: Eating too much sugar or refined carbs leads to the production of advanced glycation end products, or AGEs. These molecules damage collagen and elastin, and in so doing contribute to wrinkles and sagging skin.9 

4. Stress: Emotional stress can take a major toll on the appearance of your skin. Not only does stress lessen your skin's ability to function properly, putting it at risk of skin diseases and increasing the length of time wounds take to heal,10 but stress also speeds up the rate of cellular aging, which can make you look older, faster.11 

Healthy Skin Comes From Within

Virtually no salve, cream or treatment can do for your skin what a healthy lifestyle can. If you want a smooth, glowing complexion, the type that makes your friends want to know your "secret," there really is no better way.

By eating right and protecting your skin from damage, you'll have visibly healthier, younger looking skin, no matter what your age. Plus, these same steps that give you a healthy complexion offer benefits that are much more than just skin deep -- they'll help you get healthier overall, too!

How to get smarter ?

What is smart? Some people judge smarts by standard benchmarks like test scores and grade point averages. Others think common sense, problem solving abilities and "street smarts" define intelligence. Standardized testing scores have proven unreliable and biased along racial and socioeconomic lines, and cramming for classes can lead to GPAs that aren't a true indicator of intelligence.
While we can't all agree on a standard for intelligence, we can agree that the human brain is the key to all of them. It has a great capacity to adapt, rewire and grow. Neural networks expand and strengthen through learning experiences. Stimuli make the brain stronger and more vital. This reinforcement of the brain's power affects intelligence across all standards, from street smarts to testing scores. Here are five ways you can increase your brain's capacity to take in and store new data. Or, said more simply, here's how you can get smarter.

Meditate
For thousands of years, we've known the benefits of meditation. The practice of meditation can be different for each person, but it generally involves quiet, focused breathing exercises in which the practitioner is able to achieve a state of mental calm. Regardless of whether you believe that this mental calm is an enlightened state of consciousness, no one can deny the benefits of relaxed, focused breathing. FMRI scans have revealed that regular meditation also affects the actual structure of the brain. Researchers believe that memory, function, attention span and focus all benefit from meditation. One study showed that regular daily meditation can even increase the size of parts of the cerebral cortex. Not surprisingly, some of the world's leading and forward-thinking corporations offer meditation classes for their employees.

Exercise Your Brain
The brain, like many parts of the human body, needs regular exercise in order to maintain strength and vitality. Some more common brain strengthening exercises include fun activities like crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and other word- and number-based brain teasers. There are other more academic ways as well, like completing math word problems and exercises relating to spatial relationships and geometry. Even simply reading this article gives your brain a slight workout. If these ideas are a little too scholarly for you, try simple things like mixing up your routine. Just brushing your teeth with the opposite hand or walking a different way to work forces your brain to work harder than usual, which is ultimately what you want to do.

Ingest Bacteria
In June 2010, researchers at The Sage Colleges presented findings that show certain types of bacteria commonly found in dirt made mice "smarter." The mice given Mycobacterium vaccae performed better in maze tests and showed fewer signs of anxiety and higher levels of serotonin in the forebrain, the area that takes care of higher-order thinking. The bacteria seem to promote the growth of neurons as well. This doesn't mean that we should all go out and start shoveling dirt in our mouths: You can actually ingest it by doing yard work, gardening and even by simply taking a walk through the woods.

Get Some Sleep
Wakeful exercises for the brain are great and necessary to help improve brain function so you can get smarter. But what about sleep? Not a whole lot is known about sleep, but we know now that scientists were wrong for years with the belief that the brain simply shut down during sleep to recharge. Research now indicates that the brain may actually do a little nighttime filing during sleep. The information from the previous day is catalogued and put in the proper mental folders so it can make the journey from short-term memory to long-term. Sleeping problems have been known to exacerbate other brain issues, so it makes sense that a good night's sleep can help increase the brain's function and ability to focus. It varies from person to person, but between six and eight hours of sleep for adults is generally recommended.

Take Care of Your Body
The human body is all connected, so you can't take care of one part of it without benefiting some other part. Physical exercise is important for good health, for both the body and the brain. Simply increasing your blood flow kicks up the oxygen and glucose levels in the brain. The coordination it takes to perform exercises also gives the brain a workout, especially if you're trying something new. Exercise also means you're battling sedentary lifestyle, or one free from mental stimuli.
Food is also important. There are many foods that have been associated with brain health, including fish oil, eggs, protein and dark green vegetables. Green tea, herbal tea and nuts are also good "brain food." Eating right, getting the required amount of sleep and exercises, both mental and physical, are the keys to improving memory and overall brain function.

How to Make Friends

A fairly common social issue people have is that they're not sure how to make friends and put together a social life for themselves. There are quite a few ways someone can find themselves in this situation:

• They've moved to a new city and don't know very many people yet.
• They've been in a long term relationship and have let their social life wither.
• Their old friends have slowly been dropping out of the picture (moving away, busy with work or a new family, etc.) and haven't been replaced by new ones.
• A large chunk of their social circle disappeared overnight, like everyone graduated from university and most of their friends moved out of the city.
• They feel like they've grown apart from their current friends and want to make entirely new ones.
• In the past they were happy being alone a lot of the time, but now they want to be around people more often.
• They never really knew how to make friends and have always wished their social lives were better.
• They've recently made a big lifestyle change such as deciding not to drink anymore, and need to develop a new social circle that's more suited to it.

Below are my thoughts on how to make friends. I'll cover a basic structure first, then go into some attitudes and principles towards the whole thing that I think are important. I've noticed people who are already good at making friends naturally tend to do most of the things I outline below without thinking about it.

Bare bones guide on how to make friends

Here are the basic steps to making friends. It seems simplistic, but there can be a lot to each point. People who struggle with their social lives often stumble on one or more of them as well.

1. Find some potential friends

To make friends you first have to find some possible candidates. There are two main ways to do this:

Draw on your current contacts

This won't apply to people who have just moved to a new area and don't know anyone, but often you'll already have the seeds of a social life around you. You don't necessarily have to go out and meet ten strangers to have one. It's often easier to turn existing contacts into full-fledged friends than it is to meet new ones.

There are probably a handful of people you already know who could end up becoming part of a new social circle. I'm talking about people like:

• Acquaintances you're friendly with when you run into each other, but who you never see otherwise.
• People at work or in your classes who you get along with.
• Friends of people you know who you've gotten along with in the past.
• Someone who has shown an interest in being your friend but you never really took up the offer.
• People you very occasionally hang out with, who you could see more often.
• Friends you've gradually lost contact with who you could get back in touch with.
• For some people, cousins who are close to your age.

Meet some new people

Getting more out of your current relationships can go a long way, but it doesn't always work. Sometimes you're at a point where you need to meet entirely new people. Not having easy access to potential new friends is a big barrier for many people in creating a social circle.

Overall, I'd say the easiest things to do are:

• Being in a situation where lots of potential friends are around, and you naturally have to get to know them through your day-to-day interactions. Work and school are the two big ones.
• Meeting one or two good people and then getting to know all their friends. If you hang out with fifteen people, you shouldn't have to have met them all individually.
• Being into hobbies or communities where you'll naturally meet a lot of people, ones you already have something common with and a built-in activity/conversation opportunity to do with them.

Overall, meeting new people may require making an effort to pull out of your day-to-day routine. If most of your hobbies are solitary you might also need to add some more people-oriented ones to the mix. Also, the easiest way to naturally meet a lot of people is just to live a full, interesting life and run into lots of potential friends as a side effect.

Once you're in a situation with some prospective friends around, you need to strike up conversations and try to get to know them. You won't form a connection with everyone you interact with, but if you chat to enough people you'll find you like and get along pretty well with some of them. Once you've done that you could say you're now at the Friendly Acquaintance stage, or that they're context-specific contacts (e.g., work "friends").

If you have trouble with successfully meeting, chatting to, and getting to know people, you may want to check out the site's sections on shyness, fears, and insecurity and on making conversation.

2. Invite potential friends to do something with you

Once you've met those people you seem to be clicking with with, ask them to hang out and do something outside of the situation you met them in. This is the most important step in my experience. You can meet all the people you want, and they can think you're great, but if you don't take any actions to do something with them in the future, then you won't form many new relationships. People will stay as the guy you talk to in class, or the girl you chat to at work in the break room.

This seems basic, but lonelier people often hit a wall here. There may be someone they joke around with at work, or chat to in one of their classes, but they won't take the step of inviting them out and taking the relationship to the next level, and beyond the acquaintance stage.

If you're on the shyer side, you might be a little hesitant to invite people out. While it is a little scary at first, and there is some risk of rejection, it's fairly easy to get used to. It's not nearly as bad as asking someone out on a date, for example.

Depending on how you met them, you may invite someone to hang out fairly quickly or wait a few weeks. For example, if a friend brings one of their buddies along to have drinks with you one day, and you spent four hours together and hit it off right from the start, you may be totally comfortable asking them to hang out again right away. On the other hand, if you seem to mesh with someone at your job, you may only be able to have short conversations here and there over a month before you feel like they'd be someone worth knowing better.

Make a habit of getting people's contact information

It's a good idea to get into the habit of getting people's contact info fairly early. You may meet someone interesting, but you can never assume you're going to see them around again any time soon. Ask for their phone number or email address, or see if they're on Facebook. That way if an opportunity to get together comes up, they'll be easy to reach. Also, if they have your info, then they can get a hold of you if they want to invite you to something.

Have a basic grasp of how to make plans

To hang out with someone you've got to plan it. Sometimes the process is straight forward. You ask them if they want do something, they agree, and you set a time and place. At other times trying to nail down a plan can be tedious and unpredictable, especially when more than one other person is involved. It helps to accept that this is just an area where there's always going to be an amount of uncertainty, and you can't control everything.

If inviting people out and arranging plans all seems like a big hassle, it also probably feels that way for everyone else at times. They shouldn't always have to step up and organize things for you. Do some of the lifting yourself when you need to.

Do your best to accept every invitation

Of course, making your own plans is important, but if someone asks you to hang out, then that's even better. If someone invites you to do something, then you should go. Why turn down a free chance to get out there with people? When you've got more friends and different options competing for your time you can be more choosy.

If you're more of a shy or solitary person it's easy to mull over the invitation and rationalize that it won't be that fun and that you don't want to go. Ignore those thoughts and go anyways. You never can be sure how fun something will be until you show up and see how it is for yourself.

Sometimes you'll have to inconvenience yourself for the sake of your social life. You may get invited to a movie you don't particularly want to see, or someone might call you up on Friday evening as you're about to go to bed, asking if you want to go out. Whenever you have two or more people in the equation, you're going to have to compromise sometimes. Again, just being out there outweighs these minor annoyances.

Another thing to consider is that many people will stop inviting someone out to things if they decline too often. They may have nothing against the person, but the next time they're planning an event will think, "Paul never comes out when I ask him, so no point in letting him know this time really."

3. Once you've got some budding friendships, keep in touch, keep hanging out, and let the relationship grow

It's one thing to hang out with someone once, or only occasionally. You could consider them a friend of sorts at that point. For that particular person maybe that's all you need in a relationship with them, someone you're casually friendly with and who you see every now and then. However, for someone to became a closer, more regular friend you need hang out fairly often, keep in touch, enjoy good times together, and get to know each other on a deeper level. You won't have the compatibility to do this with everyone, but over time you should be able to build a tighter relationship with some of the people you meet.

Once you know some people, build on this foundation

Once you've made a regular friend or two you've also got a good base to work from. If you're not super social in nature, one or two good buddies may be all you need to be happy. At the very least, if you were feeling lonely and desperate before, having a relationship or two should be enough to take those feelings away.

Sooner or later you'll end up meeting your friend's friends. If you hit it off with them then you can start hanging out with them as well. You could also become a member of the whole group with time. You can also continue to meet entirely new people. Having friends will make this easier as they'll do things like invite you to parties or keep you company in places where there are new people to potentially meet.

4. Repeat the above steps more often to make more friends

If you join one new club, hit it off with three people there, and end up hanging out with two of them long term, then you've made two new friends. If you stop there then that's all you'll have. If week after week you're coming up with new ways to meet people, and then following up and attending lots of get togethers, then you'll have a pile of friends and acquaintances eventually.

It's up to you when you feel like stopping. There's no law that says everyone has to have dozens of people in their social circle either. Many people are perfectly happy only having a few really close relationships. If you only have a couple of friends and decide you want more though, you can always get out there again.

General principles on making friends

Above I outlined a basic structure of Meet People > Hang Out With Them > Keep Hanging Out > Repeat. Now I'll go into some broader concepts that apply to making friends as a whole. I think the points below are just as important as the stuff I've covered already, if not more so.

If you want a social life, you've got to make it happen for yourself

A huge, core principle when it comes to building a social life is: Take Initiative. It's a big mistake to passively wait for other people to do the work of befriending you. It's great if it happens, but don't count on it. If you want to get a group of friends, assume you'll have to put in all the effort. If you want to do something on the weekend, don't sit around and hope someone calls you. Get in touch with various people and put something together yourself, or find out what they're doing and see if you can come along.
Don't worry too much about seeming desperate or needy. Take the attitude that it's about you and you'll do what needs to be done to make some friends. Who cares if a handful of people think you're a bit too eager along the way if it all eventually works out? It's a lot like dating or trying to find a new job. What you get out of these things depends a lot on how much you put into them.

Don't take it personally if people seem indifferent to you

Other people are often harmlessly thoughtless and preoccupied in the sense that they'd be happy if they hung out with you, but they wouldn't think to ask you themselves. Sometimes you have to take an interest in them before you appear on their radar.
Similarly, some people are more lax and laid back than you'd like about returning your emails or calls. They're not consciously trying to reject you, they're just a little more loosey-goosey about that stuff than most.

Don't feel making friends is super tricky

If you're inexperienced with making friends, you may see the process as being more drawn-out and complex than it really is. Often all you have to do to make a friend is meet someone you naturally click with and hang around with them enough. You also don't have to know them for months before applying the 'friend' label to them. One characteristic of more social people is that they'll throw the word friend around pretty loosely when describing their relationships with people. But it almost becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in a way. Sure, if you've just met someone it may not be a deep, intimate relationship, but you can still hang out with them and have a good time.

Don't be overly picky about who you hang out with at first

Your initial goal should just be to get some sort of social life going. So hang out with whoever you get along with and who seems interested in doing things with you. The first people you meet may not be your 100% ideal friends. The benefits of just being out there as opposed to moping around at home outweigh this. At the very least, it's easier to make further friends when you've already got a few. Also, if you're forming your first-ever group of friends, you probably don't totally know what you like or want in other people. You have to see what different types of people are like in a friend capacity firsthand.
As a general rule, if you more-or-less get along with someone, actually become friends with them first, and then decide if want to be friends. If you're picky, you can come up with reasons not to befriend just about anyone ahead of time. But when you're already hanging out with someone, and you've skipped over your pickiness, you often find you like their company, even if they wouldn't have been good 'on paper' in your mind beforehand.
I also give this advice because studies show lonely people tend to be more negative about others in general. Less naturally outgoing types can also be more picky about who they choose to spend their time with. If you naturally tend to be down on everyone you meet, you need to make an effort to consciously override these feelings. Plus, don't have an unrealistic self-image that demands you can only hang out with a certain caliber of people. Be realistic about yourself and your circumstances.
If you don't totally like yourself, you may also be averse to hanging around people who you see as too similar to you, as it can act as a mirror that reflects your shortcomings back at you. This may be justified if you have some irksome traits and understandably want to avoid others who have them, but often you may be turning away legitimately good people who just happen to have some characteristics that hurt your pride a little.

Be persistent and try not to get discouraged by setbacks too easily

Sometimes you'll join a club or be introduced to your friend's friends and hope to meet a bunch of great new people. Then you get there and the experience is disappointing. You may feel like you don't click with anyone, or like they're ignoring you in favor of making in-jokes with each other. Give these groups a few more tries, often you're limited in how much you'll connect with others on the first meeting. You may warm up to each other before long.
If someone refuses your invitation because they're busy or not sure if they can make it out then don't give up. Try again another time. Don't automatically jump to the conclusion that they hate you and you're fundamentally unlikable. Assume the best. Also, even the act of making an invitation sends the message that you like someone and want to hang out with them. They may be unable to meet that one time, but now see you as someone they could possibly have fun with in the future.
When you meet potential friends be realistic about your importance in their lives and how long it may take to become buddies with them. They probably already have a social circle and their world won't end if it doesn't work out with you. As such, don't get too discouraged if they're not knocking down the door to hang out with you a day after you met them. They may be busy and your plans may not pan out for another few weeks.
Sometimes it just won't work out with someone. You'll get along at the time, and they may express an interest in hanging out in the future, but for whatever reason things don't materialize. They may be too busy, already have enough friends, or they don't think you're a good enough match for them. It happens to everyone and is nothing to get too down about. Keep the bigger picture in mind and continue meeting people.
The whole 'taking initiative and don't give up too easily' thing can be a missing piece of the puzzle for people, but sometimes it still seems that no one is interested in you.

Be patient

In the right situations you can build a new social life really quickly, like if you've just moved to a new city to go to college, or if you join the right club or team and instantly click with everyone there.
At other times it takes longer for things to develop, but stick with it. It may take a while before you get a chance to meet some people you're compatible with. After that, it may be a few months before you're consistently hanging around with each other. It may be a year or more before you feel like you're really, really friends with them. It often takes time to go from having no plans, to having plans with the same person every third weekend, to having plans with a variety of people three times a week.

10 Tips on how to be happy in a single life

Being single at any age can be challenging in a world that seems to place so much importance on finding the love of your life and becoming a couple. The whole world seems to be geared up to support you in this quest. There is very little support given to those who are consciously choosing to be spend time alone, learning to enjoy their own company and the creativity it sparks. There is almost a sense of failure or that there is something wrong with un partnered people which is really quite ridiculous, especially since more and more people are realizing that the partnerships they formed early in life, have failed to pass the tests of time and they themselves are now living the single life. So you are single for whatever reason -here are ten tips for making the most of being single...

Number 1 most important thing to do is relax. Your singledom will not last a lifetime. Well it will if it is meant to but this is a very rare karma. The worst thing you can do is panic and think you have to find someone immediately or your life is over. This air of desperation is by far the most debilitating energy to bring into a new relationship with yourself or with anyone new for that matter. It makes you blind to obvious red flags and puts you in all kinds of compromising situations. So once again - take a breath, be happy to have been given this special opportunity to get to know yourself. Look at it this way - if you are uncomfortable spending time alone with you what makes you think anyone else will feel comfortable spending time with you ? This can be quite a challenge to someone that has continuously filled up their lives with someone elses only to discover they really don't know or like themselves at all. Having a relationship with yourself is exactly like having a relationship with someone else. You have to be supportive, caring, understanding, and yes you have to learn to listen and communicate with yourself and your inner guidance. Sometimes the only way to get you to listen to yourself is to force this "time alone" upon you.

Number 2 - Stay clean.Forget about coming home or staying home plastered, stoned or disconnected - not a good recipe for a successful relationship with yourself or anyone else for that matter. No sorry folks this is a sobering experience but trust me it will start to grow on you if you just give it a chance. Why not take this time alone to get the help and support you need to beat your addictions once and for all. If you can't do it for yourself - you won't do it for anyone else. You know the drill...the time is now!

Number 3 - Give yourself a chance - being happy alone does not happen overnight especially if you are a recovering codependent ( please google it if you are new to this term) There will be times that you feel you are invisible, no one will ever love you, you are wasting your life, your life is passing you by... and a whole lot of other negative self talk. Best thing to do - take yourself for a walk or even better on a date. Learn how to cheer yourself up. The better you get at being alone, the better you will be at being in relationship. For some it is extremely difficult to cater to your own needs. Are you one of these people that will happily cook if someone is over but if it is just you - crackers and peanut butter will suffice? Make the effort to cook for yourself - seriously. This is one of the most self loving things you can do for yourself.

Cook yourself something new each week, each day even. You deserve it!

Number 4 - Study something new. Wow what a perfect time in your life to go to night school or study online or completely change career tracks. Figure out what you are passionate about and go for it. There is no one to hold you back but yourself. Not sure what you are passionate about - spend more time alone - it will come to you. Give yourself a chance to listen to your inner voice. This process can take time and you really have to be patient with yourself.

Number 5 - Meet new people. Not necessarily for romantic reasons just to expand your support community. If you are consciously attempting to stay out of relationship for a designated time period you will still need people to share your life with. Friendships are paramount, where would we be without our friends - truly alone... No friends? Are you friendly, do you make an effort to say hello and meet new people? Perhaps you need some help with overcoming shyness. It is always ourselves that separate ourselves from others. Take responsibility for what you are or are not attracting into your life and make the necessary changes to attract some solid friends.

Number 6- Exercise. What a great way to get to know yourself again - start with reconnecting with your body. Its the only one you have this lifetime and we often look after our cars ( which we can trade in) better than our bodies. Singledom is the perfect time to get yourself in shape and the endorphins released when you work out keep your spirits flying high. Why not pick up an old team sport you used to play in high school - great way to socialize and stay in shape.

Number 7 - Rediscover your creativity. It's in there - I promise you. We all have the ability to create magnificence. You may have temporarily forgotten what you came here to create but if you spend enough time alone you will rediscover your creative self. What a perfect opportunity to play when no one is watching! So get out those pencils, paints, clay, inventions, designs and let loose.

Number 8 - Focus your attention on your thoughts. In case you have missed the last ten years of evolution it is now widely accepted that yes your thoughts do create your reality. Where are you putting your attention? What is your most dominant thought? Won't be hard to figure out just take a good look at your life and your reality will be living example of what is going on in your head. Take this time alone to become extraordinarily of your thoughts. Monitor them, erase and rewrite, spend at least 30 consistent days changing negative thought patterns ( takes at least that long to form new neural pathways in the brain)

Number 9 - Be grateful for what you already have. Each night before you go to sleep, concentrate on what you are grateful for in your life. Every tiny little thing can help create the spirit of gratitude. If you are so inclined start to write a journal about everything you are grateful for and watch the list get bigger and bigger each day as you gratitude attracts more things to be grateful for. This is probably the most important lesson of all, finding happiness in contentment in what already exists in your life. The fact that you have one is a really good place to start!

Number 10 - Step out of your comfort zone. Each week plan to go somewhere new, or do something different. Don't wait till Mr or Mrs Right is in your life to follow your dreams - do it now.

You have more chance of meeting your special someone if you are living your life to the fullest. Even if you don't want to meet anyone you still will have a blast following your hearts desires.

Being alone can be a positive force, turning you towards greater creativity and greater personal development. In this "space" that you call your own, you can grow to know and love yourself as a separate individual. One who is not dependent on another human being for your identity and does not fixate or keep moving around seeking pleasure, seeking comfort, and satisfaction from the energy of another being. You can learn to find contentment in and with yourself -- just be there alone, calm, cool and collected with the person you love.YOU!

The Six Best Ways to Get Rich

Worried about your income ? Here are some tips.













1.Start your own business and eventually sell it.This is the most effective and proven way to become rich. If you can find a new approach to a customer need and build a profitable business that addresses that need then you have created real value. It could be a cleaning business, a hairdresser’s, a consultancy or an investment bank. It will probably take years of very hard work to build up the enterprise. Most new businesses fail so the risks are high. You need all the skills, dynamism, perseverance and diligence of an entrepreneur. But if you can pull it off the potential rewards are huge. This is how many of the seriously wealthy people did it.
2.Join a start-up and get stock. If you can accumulate equity positions in one or more start-up companies then there is an opportunity for a serious capital gain if the company thrives and either floats or is sold to a larger enterprise. Only a small minority of start-ups succeed in realising large capital gains so the odds are not good. However, you can use your judgement to see which business idea and which management team are likely to succeed. Early employees in Apple, Google and Microsoft became millionaires on this basis.
3.Exploit your skill as a self-employed expert. If you can develop a marketable skill and retain your independence then you can reap considerable rewards. This is how sports stars, authors and entertainers become rich. In general the self-employed expert has greater earnings opportunities than one who works for a company. There are risks and you have to have something special. Your success is in your own hands so this is a popular route for people who have developed a skill and want to strike out on their own.
4.Develop property. Buying, developing and selling property is a well-established way to build a significant capital position. One of the key elements is that by borrowing money you can gain leverage on your investment. Say you borrow $200,000 and put in $50,000 of your own to buy a property for $250,000. Then you develop the property and sell it for $400,000. The property has increased in value by 60% but your $50,000 has now grown fourfold to $200,000. You have to select the right properties in the right areas and develop them wisely. You are at risk from booms and busts in the property market. However, in the long term this remains a proven way to accumulate wealth.
5.Build a portfolio of stocks and shares. If you can make steady investments in stocks over a long period, choose wisely and reinvest the dividends then you can build a large store of wealth. Of course stocks can go down as well as up and many small investors lose heart when their portfolio plunges. But over the long-term equities are as good an investment as property and much more liquid. Stock market crashes represent great buying opportunities for those with cash and strong nerves.
6.Inherit wealth. It helps if you were born to successful or wealthy parents but failing that, you could marry fortuitously!



Here’s a few more ideas that are not necessarily bad but are somewhat riskier if your goal is wealth:


1.Work in a steady job, cut back expenditures and save in the bank. This is prudent practice and reduces your financial risk but is not an effective method of becoming rich. You should keep your expense within your income but if you want to make serious money then you must significantly boost your income or find ways to multiply your capital. Revisit some of the ideas above.
2.Be an inventor. Invent a something that everyone needs and patent your invention. Then licence out your invention and watch the royalties roll in. This is another very difficult route to wealth. Some inventors do get rich this way but securing the patent is arduous and signing a good licensing deal is not easy. However more big companies are looking outside for innovations they can market so it is not impossible.
3.Gamble.We hear about lottery winners and poker stars so this approach can sometimes work but the numbers are so unfavourable that it represents a lousy plan for becoming rich. You are strongly advised to avoid this method and use one of the first six above.

10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight

Way #1

Always Eat a Man's Breakfast
No more Lucky Charms—you want some protein and fat. Scrambled eggs and a few sausage links will keep you fuller longer than an airy doughnut will.

Way #2

Eat More!
We're talking three good snacks and three healthful meals. But what do you serve during the bowl game if you can't have chips and dip? Mixed nuts—especially almonds—will satisfy your craving for something crunchy while helping to build muscle.

Way #3

Just Say No to Starches
Foods like pasta, white bread, and potatoes make you fat. If you must have pasta, make yours whole-wheat. Same goes for bread, and swap white potatoes for sweet potatoes. Just don't eat too much!

Way #4

Lift Weights
Yes, you have to hit the gym, and no, lifting beer cans during happy hour doesn't count. The muscles you build will not only improve your performance, they'll stoke your metabolism so you burn calories long after your workout is over.

Way #5

Think Before You Eat
Don't just stuff your face with the stale cookies left over from the holidays, eat what tastes good and what's good for you. Take your time eating; you'll stay fuller longer.

Way #6

But Have Fun Once in a While—or Once a Week
Stifle those cravings for too long, and you'll be miserable and might fall off your new plan forever. Just splurge reasonably—two slices of pizza, not the whole thing.

Way #7

Go Low-Carb
It's the easiest way to drop weight fast. The cravings are hard at first, but it gets easier—especially when you see the results.

Way #8

Run Intervals
It's easier to alternate between hard and easy running instead of going for a long run—especially if you don't like running. Plus, you'll be done faster and burn more fat.

Break your speed limits by boosting your speed with intervals. You'll not only get faster, but your gut with flatten in no-time.

Way #9

Never, Ever Drink Sweetened Soda
But go ahead, have a glass of wine now and then. Low-carb beer is fine, too, in moderation.

Way #10

Don't Fear Fat
It makes you feel full, helps control your appetite, and your body needs it.

Of course, some fat is good while others are bad

Top 10 Worst Diseases

One of the worst ways for the human population to be thinned is to die from disease. Millions of people each year have perished as a result of one of any number of seemingly unstoppable diseases. Throughout history mankind has suffered the crippling and mortal effects of a ravaging disease brought on by any number of target factors ranging from animals to one single human host. Here are but ten, in no particular order, that have decimated humankind since the earliest recordings.



10. The Black Death - 75 million Deaths

The Black Death, or The Black Plague, was one of the most deadly pandemics in human history. It probably began in Central Asia and spread to Europe by the late 1340s. The total number of deaths worldwide from the pandemic is estimated at 75 million people; there were an estimated 20 to 30 million deaths in Europe alone. The Black Death is estimated to have killed between one-third and two-thirds of Europe’s population.

9. Polio - 10,000 Deaths since 1916

Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route. The term derives from the Greek polio (??????), meaning “grey”, myelon (µ?????), “spinal cord”, and -itis, which denotes inflammation. Although roughly 90% of polio infections are asymptomatic, affected individuals can exhibit a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream. In less than 1% of polio cases the virus enters the central nervous system, preferentially infecting and destroying motor neurons, leading to muscle weakness and acute flaccid paralysis.

8. Smallpox Native Americans suffer a population drop from 12 Mil. to 235,000

Smallpox (also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera) is a contagious disease unique to humans. Smallpox is caused by either of two virus variants named Variola major and Variola minor. The deadlier form, V. major, has a mortality rate of 30–35%, while V. minor causes a milder form of disease called alastrim and kills ~1% of its victims. Long-term side-effects for survivors include the characteristic skin scars. Occasional side effects include blindness due to corneal ulcerations and infertility in male survivors. Smallpox killed an estimated 60 million Europeans, including five reigning European monarchs, in the 18th century alone. Up to 30% of those infected, including 80% of the children under 5 years of age, died from the disease, and one third of the survivors became blind. To this day, smallpox is the only human infectious disease to have been completely eradicated from nature.

7. Cholera - 12,000 Deaths since 1991

Cholera (or Asiatic cholera or epidemic cholera) is an extreme diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans is by ingesting contaminated water or food. The major reservoir for cholera was long assumed to be humans, but some evidence suggests that it is the aquatic environment. In its most severe forms, cholera is one of the most rapidly fatal illnesses known—a healthy person may become hypotensive within an hour of the onset of symptoms and may die within 2-3 hours if no treatment is provided. More commonly, the disease progresses from the first liquid stool to shock in 4-12 hours, with death following in 18 hours to several days without rehydration treatment.

6. Ebola - 160,000 Deaths since 2000

The Ebola virus first emerged in 1976 in simultaneous outbreaks in Sudan and Zaire. It is known to be a zoonotic virus as it is currently devastating the populations of lowland gorillas in Central Africa. Despite considerable effort by the World Health Organization, no animal reservoir capable of sustaining the virus between outbreaks has been identified. However, it has been hypothesized that the most likely candidate is the fruit bat. Ebola hemorrhagic fever is potentially lethal and encompasses a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise, and sometimes internal and external bleeding. Mortality rates are generally very high, in the region of 80% – 90%, with the cause of death usually due to hypovolemic shock or organ failure.

5. Malaria - 2.7 Million Deaths per year-2800 children per day

Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Each year, it causes disease in approximately 515 million people and kills between one and three million, most of them young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is commonly associated with poverty, but is also a cause of poverty and a major hindrance to economic development. Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases and an enormous public-health problem. The disease is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium. The most serious forms of the disease are caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, but other related species can also infect humans. Although some are under development, no vaccine is currently available for malaria; preventative drugs must be taken continuously to reduce the risk of infection.

4. Bubonic Plague - 250 Million Europeans Dead (1/3 population)

Bubonic plague is mainly a disease in rodents and fleas (Xenopsylla cheopsis). Infection in a human occurs when a person is bitten by a flea that has been infected by biting a rodent that itself has been infected by the bite of a flea carrying the disease. The bacteria multiply inside the flea, sticking together to form a plug that blocks its stomach and causes it to begin to starve. The flea then voraciously bites a host and continues to feed, even though it can not quell its hunger, and consequently the flea vomits blood tainted with the bacteria back into the bite wound. The bubonic plague bacterium then infects a new victim, and the flea eventually dies from starvation. Any serious outbreak of plague is usually started by other disease outbreaks in rodents, or a rise in the rodent population.

3. Spanish Flu - Between 1918-19: 50-100 Million dead

The 1918 flu pandemic (commonly referred to as the Spanish flu) was a category 5 influenza pandemic caused by an unusually severe and deadly Influenza A virus strain of subtype H1N1. Many of its victims were healthy young adults, in contrast to most influenza outbreaks which predominantly affect juvenile, elderly, or otherwise weakened patients. The Spanish flu pandemic lasted from 1918 to 1919, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. While older estimates put the number of killed at 40–50 million people, current estimates are that 50 million to 100 million people worldwide died, possibly more than that taken by the Black Death. This extraordinary toll resulted from the extremely high infection rate of up to 50% and the extreme severity of the symptoms, suspected to be caused by cytokine storms. Between 2 and 20% of those infected by Spanish flu died, as opposed to the normal flu epidemic mortality rate of 0.1%. In some remote Inuit villages, mortality rates of nearly 100% were recorded.

2. Influenza - 36,000 Deaths per year

Influenza, commonly known as flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). In humans, common symptoms of influenza infection are fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort. In more serious cases, influenza causes pneumonia, which can be fatal, particularly in young children and the elderly. Sometimes confused with the common cold, influenza is a much more severe disease and is caused by a different type of virus. Although nausea and vomiting can be produced, especially in children, these symptoms are more characteristic of the unrelated gastroenteritis, which is sometimes called “stomach flu” or “24-hour flu.” Typically, influenza is transmitted from infected mammals through the air by coughs or sneezes, creating aerosols containing the virus, and from infected birds through their droppings. Influenza can also be transmitted by saliva, nasal secretions, feces and blood. Infections also occur through contact with these body fluids or with contaminated surfaces.

1. AIDS - 25 Million since 1981

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in humans, and similar viruses in other species (SIV, FIV, etc.). The late stage of the condition leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. Although treatments for AIDS and HIV exist to decelerate the virus’ progression, there is currently no known cure. HIV, et al., are transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk. This transmission can come in the form of anal, vaginal or oral sex, blood transfusion, contaminated hypodermic needles, exchange between mother and baby during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding, or other exposure to one of the above bodily fluids. Most researchers believe that HIV originated in sub-Saharan Africa during the twentieth century; it is now a pandemic, with an estimated 38.6 million people now living with the disease worldwide.


This post uses material from Wikipedia articles cited above.