Being a parent is both wonderful and exhausting. This challenging, but worthwhile full-time job means giving up on many of the routines you may have had before. The pleasure of living soon turns into the pleasure of nurturing, and while this is rewarding, it is also very demanding.

At the end of the day, every parent will feel drained from all the energy they managed to gather for the day, and collapsing in bed with a list of worries for tomorrow is inevitable. However, this could be changed.

Of course, every reward requires a little sacrifice. This sacrifice means waking up a bit earlier. Two hours before you usually wake up will suffice to finish these activities that will make you feel like a million bucks.

The results from this new routine you will soon learn to adopt will not only change your outlook on life. It will also change those around you. Really, once you change the outlook on life, you will see that life will change for you too.

1. Brew your favorite drink

Waking up and laying around to get over the sleep hangover will only lead to feeling groggy and stiff. Instead, get up and put on some comfortable clothes. Your pajamas may feel comfortable, but changing the attitude for the morning means changing the clothes appropriately.

Get up, and after the bathroom, head to the kitchen to brew your favorite drink. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea and sit next to a window to truly experience the morning. Give yourself some time to sober up from all that sleep and head for the next activity.

2. Prayer and/or meditation

Once you have calmed down, it’s time to use that calmness for some prayer or meditation, whatever you prefer. Sit comfortably and have your conversation with God, or with your Self. Sit in complete silence or drift off in your inner spirituality.

Whatever suits your mindset works perfectly, as long as you do it. So, invoke that inner peace and be ready to carry it with yourself for the rest of the day. Meditate for as long or as little as you please. A favorable timeframe is usually 5-15 minutes, but you can lengthen it.

3. Read or listen to uplifting/instructional content

Once you have achieved the clarity of mind and you have evoked your inner peace, it’s time to use that concentration to read or listen to some uplifting or instructional content. If you are keen on reading, fetch some of your favorite books, or plug in your headphones and play your favorite audio book.

It’s best if you choose some uplifting or instructional content for your daily dose of wisdom. Don’t replace this time for simple entertainment that you will soon forget. Instead, devote it to the best of thoughts and ideas which will help you find your way through life.

Give some 40-60 minutes to this activity, if you don’t happen to drift away even further.

4. Write everything down in a journal

It’s not enough to just get the insights from your meditation, prayer, and quality content. You need to write it down. If you don’t, it will get muddled and lost. If you do, you are far more likely to get further insight and to take action.

Pay attention to these questions and try to answer them:

• Clarity: What do you need to do for the day? What are your big picture goals?
• Gratitude: Have you counted your blessings? Are you open for abundance?
• Inspiration: What new ideas have come to your mind while you were sleeping, praying, reflecting, and getting rich with new information?
• Relationships: What are your relationships like with the most important people in your world? How can you better nourish and improve these relationships further?
• Is there anything else on your mind?

No, this is not the ‘dear diary’ journal. It’s far more effective and it will give you greater insight of where you are at in your life and where you are heading.

5. Exercise

In the end, do some light exercise. 10-20 minutes is quite enough to start the day with the revitalizing oxygen you will introduce to your body. Doing exercise in the morning helps you to get rid of the toxins that may be lingering in your body and will definitely give you more energy.

Whatever is your thing, jogging, doing yoga, cycling… you name it – do it after all these previous things and take a shower after you have finished.

SEIZE THE DAY

You have already seized the day by doing these things above. Now it’s time to march on and do whatever you need to do for the day that is ahead. This routine is a game changer and will help you to endure and overcome the challenges that are waiting for you.

Via Huffpost

Socks – the necessity that many take for granted. We put them on, wear them through the day and take them off, just to change another pair the next day. However, even they come with certain preference.

If you wear them for the necessity of wearing them, perhaps you would never look twice when it comes to color. Simple colors such as black, gray, blue, or white will suffice. Then again, there are some who are picky when it comes to socks – the color that is.

For these people, plain colors won’t serve much of a purpose. Instead, they would choose the wackiest colors they can put their finger on – and will prefer as many colors as possible on that often-hidden item of clothing.

What if we told you that it is exactly these people that jump out of the crowd? You probably guessed that, of course. However, a new study shows that this tiny preference tells a lot more about these people.

In times when conformity is often a norm we need to follow, the most creative and brilliant ones will not easily stand for it.

There are those that are perceived as outlandish with their lack of conformity and are often perceived as crazy. Then, there are some who choose to follow the norm, but retain their originality in a very subtle way. Their last front is their socks.

Indeed, most people’s perception doesn’t really appreciate obvious differences, and these people will never appreciate someone who jumps out of the crowd with their unusual looks.

However, noticing the crazy colors of the unassuming and secretive socks that happen to lurk just below the trousers from time to time – this is a game changer in the perception of many.

As the study states, “nonconforming behaviors, as costly and visible signals, can act as a particular form of conspicuous consumption and lead to positive inferences of status and competence in the eyes of others.”

Think about it – if you don’t have the courage to put on these wacky colored socks, you will at least find it very intriguing and interesting to see a person who seems completely regular, but has this brave, colorful personality that reveals itself from time to time.

This style shows that the person will not conform completely, and will remain original, brave, and proud about it.

What Do These Wacky Socks Say About You?

People who pick crazy-colored socks are definitely more creative and brilliant. Success comes as a result of how people perceive you, should they notice the bright colors that peep below your trousers.

These people are not only seen as the creative and brilliant minds they are, but they are also perceived as having a higher status and competency than those who blend in. This flash of individuality is highly respected by those who happen to notice it.

The non-conformity of the choice shows the boldness and bravery the person possesses in expressing themselves. It points to a rebellious and creative approach to life that holds the potential to always find the way to achieving whatever these people set their minds to.

A study done by Dr. Adam Galinsky, a social psychologist from the Northwestern University, reveals that what we wear affects the way we feel, think, and act. Galinsky says that besides thinking with our brains, we also think with our body.

This embodied cognition includes the clothes we wear. So, wearing wacky socks really does affect the way these people perceive and act in this world. They stand for a carefree attitude and the ability to step bravely into new challenges and ideas.

Wearing wacky socks allows these people to feel more comfortable in their shoes (mentally speaking), and thus more confident in whatever they set their minds on. They walk a carefree pace, that is not conditioned by what others think of them.

So, if you are one of those who appreciate fun and unusual socks, then walk on and be proud of your non-conforming, unique personality. People will appreciate your originality and boldness.

Fake people. No matter how much you try to avoid them, they always seem to find their way into your life now and then. Perhaps you are dealing with a bunch of fake people even now. So how to tell a genuine from a fake person?

Here are 8 signs that can reveal if a person is fake and at the same time, the same tests can be used to see how genuine that person is:

1. Respect

A genuine person will respect everyone deserving of respect. You will see them greeting the cleaning lady and the most powerful person they know with equal kindness. This is because a genuine person will recognize the true values a person can possess.

A fake person will respect only those with power. This is not really an ability that can be called respect, but rather their weakness and at the same time wish to climb upwards by latching on those that have already climbed up. Get away from these people.

2. Getting along with people

A genuine person will never try to make people like them. If they get along, they are getting along because they like the other person. If they don’t get along, they won’t often try to do so, just to be liked by everyone.

A fake person will always try to have people like them, no matter what. They will always be nice to everyone and will always shower them with compliments and whatever they want to hear. This is not because they like them in the genuine sense, but because they want to be liked by everyone.

3. Attention

Genuine people don’t try to gain attention by any means. They act naturally, just the way they are, and they can definitely attract attention with that, but never with the purpose to do that.

Fake people are attention seekers. They will do everything to be in the center of attention, if not by everyone, at least by those they deem worthy of noticing them.

They do this to show just how ‘good’ they are at doing things, or how ‘superior’ they are compared the rest. This is of course not always the case.

4. Bragging

Genuine people don’t feel the need to brag. If they are good at something, they are – simple as that. Whatever they receive as a reward for being good at something comes as a response to what they have tried hard to achieve.

Fake people will brag as much as they can – for things they have managed to do, and things they haven’t. If they haven’t succeeded much at anything, they will invent a success they have heard of, compare it to what they have presented about themselves so far, and they will brag that they have done it.

5. Opinion

Genuine people will speak out when they have something on their mind. They aren’t afraid of saying what needs to be said and they will never keep it inside. They express their opinions openly and they don’t really see a reason not to. They don’t always have to be right, but it’s their opinion.

Fake people will never have the courage to do this, especially if it’s about a person. They will turn to gossip and spread rumors and dirt about a person. Especially if that person is more capable and more powerful than them. Either that, or they will humiliate those that are more allowing – especially people pleasers.

6. Commitments

Genuine people will always try to live up to their promises and will openly admit if they have gone astray. They are usually aware of their capabilities and try to make commitments they think they can live up to.

Fake people will make commitments more easily than genuine people. The difference is, they will seldom keep them. They will offer themselves to do whatever comes as a topic, just to be noticed and thought of as capable and reliable. However, they don’t live up to this idea.

7. Admiration

Genuine people don’t have a problem admiring others for their abilities. They will praise others for things they have done, and will admire them for that.

Fake people will not admit if someone has done something good. Instead, they will try to find the little faults and use them to criticize others, just to make themselves look great. Because they don’t try to do much, they would rather make others seem less capable.

8. Helpfulness

Genuine people are nice and helpful most of the time. They will try their best to give a helping hand to whoever needs one. Of course, they are ready to deny help to those who want to use them, should they notice that this is the case.

Fake people will help out only if there is something they can gain out of it. They work with hidden agendas and they don’t really find ‘selfless help’ as a concept that should exist.

So, if a fake person is helping you, you should know that they are getting something from it, even if you can’t put your finger on it.Put the people you know through these 8 tests and see how many they will fail. Now that you think of it, how many fake people do you know?

Empathy is a gift, there’s no discussion there. It’s a gift that allows you to look through the other person’s eyes and walk a mile in their shoes. This ability allows you to understand the emotional motives behind every of their actions and empathize with the state they are in.

In other words, it means that you will always be able to understand what is happening to the other person and accept their behavior for what it is. It’s because you know that many of the things people do, they do them because of some underlying emotions they can’t control.

Your gentle heart that detects every vibration around you makes you more aware and more compassionate. It tells you when someone is trying to take advantage of you and warns you to stay away when things get rough.

But here’s the thing: how many times do you stay away? What do you do when you notice that someone is trying to take advantage of you and your goodness?

There is a red line in every empathic experience, which if crossed, you go to the dark side of empathy. The line is easily distinguishable, and all you need to know is when not to cross it.

I will put this in simple terms: will you go another step further into understanding why someone is trying to hurt you, and allow them because you understand them? Many empaths get overwhelmed by the emotions they are not supposed to get involved in and allow this.

They go beyond the understanding that this person is trying to use them, or have them do something for their selfish aims and advantages. It’s because they tend to look deeper into what has created such person and they feel compassion for the disturbed soul.

I know this because I am an empath too – and I’ve often allowed people to have it their way because I understand them. However, this has caused me a lot of trouble in the long run, and I have gained nothing but that constant question in my head yelling: “What did I do to deserve this?”

Empaths are healers, that goes beyond doubt. That’s why they can dive deeper into the underlying causes for the emotions that are present in the other person. And that’s when the red line can be crossed.

Understanding why a person functions like that is in no way a justification to allow that person achieve their small purpose of using you as their tool to some kind of trivial success. Why?

It is often the case that an empath will get mixed up in the process of distinguishing between their own emotions and that of the other person. In fact, when an empath senses something from the depths of the other person’s soul, they immediately empathize with that.

The empath will start feeling the other person’s pain and will overlook their actual behavior in favor of that feeling. This is the dark side of empathy – not knowing when to stay away.

That’s like a psychologist allowing the arsonist set the hospital on fire because they understand their underlying causes and empathize with them.

This kind of wrong approach is the cause of many cases of domestic violence, toxic relationships, and failure in your profession. And it all comes to the fact that you allow the other person to play out their negative moves because you understand them.

To be able to heal, you need not mingle too much in their world, but just enough to understand. However, you should remind yourself that you are a complete person and you require care and protection too.

Remaining sober when sensing other people’s emotions, especially the emotional struggles they go through, is difficult. Empaths are magnets for negative emotions, and while experiencing the positive emotions is beautiful, getting in the loop of negative emotions eventually leads to emotional draining and fatigue.

Nobody asked you to get into that whirlpool, you went in yourself. That’s why, if you want to go there, your job is to know how to get out. If you have difficulty getting out, then stay away and remind yourself of the facts on the surface.

The fact on the surface in these cases is that people who are deeply disturbed on the inside will not always make the best moves. It’s obvious to understand that they can’t – so it’s better that you prevent them from doing that, and dive in when you have enough energy for it – and if you feel that you really should.

Empathy is both a gift and a curse if you don’t know how to use it and control it properly. Don’t jump over the red line if you’re not ready. Follow your intuition and never be vain about your gift.

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