As someone who works remotely, I have come to value face-to-face conversation. 
The unfolding of a conversation is like unwrapping a present. It sets a vibe and pace to the ritual. While some people have a knack for being really present when conversing, many of us have to work at it. So let’s uncover what it takes to create a real gift of gab.

First, it’s best to share a real space together so you pick up on the full energy of the other person. The nonverbal connection between people has real power. It can cause people to subconsciously adjust their positions, movements, and breathing. When face-to-face, the brain's ‘mirror neurons’ mimic subtleties of the other person. 

While physically showing up is important, the real gift lies in our intention. It not only impacts what is communicated; it also establishes the balance of power. Let’s illustrate with a gift analogy. 

Scenario #1: Envision someone attacking a carefully wrapped giftbox with reckless abandon, snapping off ribbons and shredding paper in pursuit of its contents. No eye contact, no pause to relish the moment. In this scenario, the intent is to self-serve and own the experience.

Scenario #2: Now imagine someone admiring a giftbox, gingerly slipping off the ribbon, massaging the tape loose to preserve the paper. A pause allows for eye contact and a deep breath. Tissue paper is peeled back for the reveal. In this case, the intent is to build rapport and share the experience.

Intent exists in every conversation and it’s often buried deep in our subconscious. It lives in our words, pace, volume, tone, and body language. When we are present, we start to recognize and adjust intent before talking. 

A small-talker is congenial. A great storyteller is compelling. A conversation horder is neither and is likely too wrapped up in his- or herself to notice. We all need to share at length from time to time. However, when taking center stage is habitual, listeners are likely tortured or tuned out. 

Entering conversation to connect is not only about how much talking time you own, but the nature of your speech as well. In the dharma world, there are four common questions suggested to test potential words:

• Is it true?
• Is it kind?
• Is it necessary?
• Is it the right time?

Passing thoughts through these gates before the words leap off your tongue requires slowing down. This gives time to course-correct. 

Of course, the gift of conversation isn’t just about what you say—it’s also about truly being present for the words, emotions, and subtle communications of your conversational partner.

We all want to be heard, really heard. “Listeners” who are distracted (listening but not engaged) or who reroute the conversation back to themselves are not listening. Active listeners approach a conversation (and a person) with curiosity and the goal of deeper understanding.

According to the Korn Ferry Institute’s The Science of Listening:

“Our listening brain is wired to do exactly what active listening discourages: evaluate input, predict outcomes, make judgments and perform triage, all on a moment-to-moment basis. That mode of functioning, according to recent thinking in cognitive neuroscience, evolved as the brain’s strategy to use its finite neural capacity efficiently. As we take in the stimuli of the speaker’s words, the prefrontal cortex, which enables organizing and prioritizing, lights up with activity as we continually vet the incoming information against what we know, our past experiences and our theoretical construct of the future.”

According to our brain, being fully present all the time would waste enormous time and energy. That’s what makes active listening such a gift! It takes dedication and signals to the other person, “You’re worth it!” 

How to Test Your Active Listening Skills

• Notice your urge to speak and see if you can “bite your tongue” until a natural pause is created by the other person.
• Fully engage with your eyes and body.
• Put down your phone or items that may lure you away.
• Try not to connect what the person is saying with your own experiences.
• Try not to anticipate what you are going to say next. 
• Incorporate parts of what the person said in a response back.
• Ask questions to go deeper without the intent to judge or compete.
• Approach with curiosity; find out something new.

As you gather for the holidays, it’s likely you will be catching up with folks you don’t see on a regular basis. Now is the perfect time to practice spreading words of kindness and making connections that go a little deeper. Set an intention as a speaker and a listener, to share the space and enhance the quality of your conversations, a gift to yourself and the world.

Sabrina Walasek is a long-time educator and lover of exploration and learning. She has traveled to more than 50 countries, embracing humanity and nurturing her sense of curiosity. She facilitates a monthly mindful women's circle and is a contributor to Whole Life Challenge's blog. Her website is www.mindfulspaces.org

As compared to the healthcare system in Mexico before and after Seguro Popular, the US government is not subsidizing medical care unequally. To put it more simply, the rich in the US may be receiving much more healthcare, but they are not receiving more government money to do so. Although healthcare subsidies are not favoring people who can more easily afford it, there is still a great need to improve the way healthcare is funded. One of the ways to further increase the equity within health insurance is through value-based insurance design. This does not create all medical treatment coverage as equal, and instead covers the care that produces the best results. The value of care greatly depends on who provides it, who receives it, and where it is received.

Value-Based

In a survey done by the Kaiser Family Foundation, it was shown that a majority of the public believe that it is very important that future healthcare policy includes aspects of the Affordable Care Act that gave protections for people with pre-existing conditions (Kirzinger). However, given that people in the United States spend disproportionately more on healthcare expenditures as compared two other countries, it is clear that the money available needs to be spent more effectively. Healthcare plans in developing countries have become increasingly comprehensive due to the availability of new technologies, now covering a breadth of services ranging from obesity counseling to the morning-after pill. Do all of these healthcare services offer the same amount of benefit to patients? Because healthcare costs are shared amongst everyone in the system, patients do not have to pay the true cost of each medical treatment, creating an incentive to use more of the services available even though they may not be necessary. This has led to many doctors cashing in on the system, favoring volume over value, and offering patients unnecessary treatments and procedures for their own financial gain. An example of a procedure that is commonly overused is the laser ablation of varicose veins. Many times, this is done through embellishing medical records with symptoms that are more extreme in order to justify treatment. A recently published study in the journal Value Health showed that laser ablation for varicose veins showed the third highest cost effectiveness as one of 7 treatments available.

Transparent

In the same survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, four in ten insured adults ages 18-64 say there has been a time in the past 12 months when they received an unexpected medical bill and one in ten say they received a “surprise” medical bill from an out-of-network provider in the past year (Kirzinger). This shows the need for the US healthcare system to be more transparent about the costs of care. Transparency is another way to combat the moral hazard that faces a social insurance system. If patients are not being surprised by the already insurance-subsidized medical bills, they will be less likely to seek medical care when they do not need it.

There are many ways to increase transparency. One of the best methods can be borrowed from our neighbors to the North. In Canada, there are many ways to view the costs of medical care, one of the easiest to use being the Alberta Medical Association Fee Navigator. On the site, it can be seen that varicose vein injections have reached their cap for the year and the amount that physicians are able to bill is not even available. This means that the AMA will not pay for this treatment for the rest of the benefit year… which ends on June 30th, 2019.

The AMA Fee Navigator can also give information on cost-effective treatment options. This tool allows us to very easily see what physicians are being paid and clearly shows what services they are incentivized to perform.

Cost-effective

We are in the midst of election season and it is important that we advocate for legislation that leads to the most cost-effective treatments being delivered to patients. One of the metrics that is commonly used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of medical treatments and help control which procedures are covered by insurance is the cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY). One QALY is the equivalent of one lost year of healthy life. If someone had a disease that put them at 50% of their health for the last 5 years of their life and a drug could remove their symptoms and improve their quality of life for those years, the drug would add 2.5 QALYs. If the treatment cost $100,000 over those 5 years, then the cost per QALY is $40,000. In the United Kingdom, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence sets a limit on average of $25,000, so this treatment would not be available in the UK. In the US, the drug Irinotecan has a cost per QALY of $50,000, yet it is still used for the treatment of metastatic colon cancer (Cohen). In conclusion, our social insurance can be improved and even expanded if the healthcare system moves to value-based care that focused on outcomes as opposed to treatments, transparency to prevent moral hazard and over treatment, and implementation of more strict reimbursement that removes coverage for treatments that are not cost-effective.

References

AMA, “Fee Navigator®.” Alberta Medical Association: Fee Navigator™ | Health Service Code 48.12: Aortocoronary Bypass of One Coronary Artery, 2018, www.albertadoctors.org/fee-navigator/hsc/48.12.

Cohen, J, et al. “Clinical and Economic Challenges Facing Pharmacogenomics.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 10 Jan. 2012, www.nature.com/articles/tpj201163#t1.

Kirzinger, Ashley, et al. “Kaiser Health Tracking Poll – Late Summer 2018: The Election, Pre-Existing Conditions, and Surprises on Medical Bills.” The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 12 Sept. 2018, www.kff.org/health-reform/poll-finding/kaiser-health-tracking-poll-late-summer-2018-the-election-pre-existing-conditions-and-surprises-on-medical-bills/.

David Dallas-Orr, MBA, has a background in wet lab biochemistry research and medical device commercialization experience in the areas of orthopedic surgery and cardiology. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Translational Medicine at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley in order to learn more about bringing drugs and medical devices from the research stage to making an impact in the lives of patients.

In general, people think of energy as something to be preserved, gained or restored. We then speak of high energy when we attend a fun event or socialize with wonderful people. We speak of low energy or about feeling down when we are at a sad event or around people that are not so wonderful. We feel tired when we lack energy – meaning, we have nothing left to function, no extra to give to others. To most, the word energy is something we must have, get, or maintain. In summary:

We give energy,

We get energy,

WE ARE ENERGY!

This is the brilliant idea the metaphysical world has been trying to tell us about. The concept that we are energy is hard for some to accept, as many see themselves as simply physical bodies. But that physical body runs on nourishment, rest, and exercise. That physical body needs a form of fuel that allows it to function — a sort of "electricity" you can say. Energy is the unseen electricity that allows us to function on a daily basis.

The Word Energy is LOADED for Empaths

The empath knows we are energetic beings, and really “gets” the metaphysical concept that everything is energy. Many empaths feel the energetic body; others can see it. Empaths know that in every interaction with another, there is an energy exchange beyond shaking hands or saying “hello”. They are affected by energy seen and unseen, more than the “average” person. This gift allows Empaths to feel and know things about people on a more intimate level. The gift of knowing and feeling goes hand-in-hand with an Empath’s ability to help others heal emotionally.

Emotional healing involves helping a person understand, release, or see his or her life situation from a higher perspective. Often the people being helped don’t truly understand or see what is happening when they speak to an Empath, but enjoy the connection because they walk away with a smile or at least, feeling better. What happens in this exchange with an Empath? There’s a clearing or transmutation from a merging of energy.

An empath also uses the term energy to describe how someone feels to them. The empath is able to determine via intuitive vibe (knowing or feeling) many things about another person. Most notably, empaths connect with the emotional layer — although they also have the capacity to connect to physical ailments and thought patterns. As an empath, I find it interesting that people are often totally uninterested and/or unaware in knowing, acknowledging, or feeling anything that is inside of them. They often fear negative emotions and refuse to visit uncomfortable situations. As such, negative emotions can remain buried and take up permanent residence within them. Emotions that remain buried in the body cause energetic blocks. As these blocks accumulate, they lead to physical, mental, or emotional issues. It is these issues that empaths are uniquely qualified to help with. When we address issues that arise beyond not just physical, but emotional and spiritual as well, we move into a more holistic level of wellness.

Michelle J. Howe is the founder of Empath Evolution. She is also a graduate of Orin & DaBen’s Awakening Light Body Program, and a certified Reiki Master, Integrated Energy Therapist, Soul Detective Practitioner and Metatronic Healer.

The Intended and the Unintended

Wellness programs often have outcomes that were not planned. Unintended outcomes can be positive or negative in nature and take two forms: the unforeseen and the unforeseeable. Consequences that are unforeseen arise from insufficient program planning or failure to fully take advantage of past evaluation or research. These types of unintended outcomes may be preventable with intentional planning and use of social theory as a guide. Alternatively, unforeseeable consequences are not predictable through any social theory or planning because change is by nature uncertain and non-linear. To learn from and adapt to these unintended program outcomes, program decision-makers must understand not just what changed, but how and why it changed. Understanding the unintended outcomes and feedback loops of a program is advantageous for providing insight into how a program works or how to improve a program that doesn’t work. Such outcomes may provide justification for budgetary reallocations, expanded funding, program expansion, or strategic redirection. Additionally, program administrators also have an ethical obligation to do no harm. Evaluation that uncovers negative unintended outcomes can help administrators alter strategies that are found to cause harm. 

Ripple Effects Mapping

Ripple effect mapping (REM) is a participatory method of qualitative data collection that seeks to identify intended and unintended effects (positive and negative) of a program using Appreciative Inquiry (AI). It is useful in situations where the results of programs occur over time within complex settings and can be used to explore outcomes at both the individual and organizational levels. In REM, participants are asked to consider the social, emotional, physical, intellectual, occupational, and spiritual dimensions of their life as they share their experiences in, and after, the program. This framework makes REM suitable for evaluating wellness programs among employees, youth, college-students, and more.

There are five phases to the REM process: interactive interviewing, group mind mapping, stakeholder interviews, data analysis, and member checking. Ripple-effect mapping may be used on its own or integrated into a mixed-method design that includes additional qualitative or quantitative components. For example, an evaluator may use a survey to examine intended outcomes among a large sample and recruit REM participants. Alternatively, the evaluator might follow the REM process with a survey to assess the theory of change that emerges from REM among a larger sample, allowing for additional revision and refinement.

Synergies with Wellness

Wellness is defined by the National Wellness Institute as an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence. It is a process in which the social, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, emotional, and physical dimensions of individuals and groups function in harmony. Wellness promotion is a humanistic practice that leverages methods grounded in salutogenensis, self-determination, authentic relationship, inter-professional collaboration, and an inter-disciplinary knowledge base to cultivate wellness. Like wellness, Ripple Effects Mapping is a holistic, context-responsive, and person-centered evaluation method that can help understand how a program impacts the wellness journey. The Appreciative Inquiry style questioning used in REM is similar in nature to wellness coaching in that it is non-directive, strengths-based, and growth-oriented. Instead of focusing on solving problems, AI seeks to generate new ways of thinking, identify opportunities, and catalyze new patterns of behavior by cultivating "more good" instead of "less bad". Therefore, using REM in evaluation is particularly congruent with the aims of wellness promotion. 

Christina Peterson is a PhD student in Evaluation, Statistics, and Measurement at the University of Tennessee. She is passionate about promoting wellness by catalyzing data-informed decision-making in through program evaluation. Her research interests include mixed-method approaches to economic evaluation and evaluation use. Christina has a MS in Nutrition, a BA in Economics. Prior to starting her PhD, Christina worked for the National Wellness Institute as the Professional Development Manager. In this role, she led program evaluation activities for NWI. Currently, Christina works as a Graduate Research Assistant where she provides statistical consulting for research projects.

What are ways we can help others or ourselves manage this stress?

Help those around you. Spend time with someone who needs it. An inexpensive way to make a huge difference in someone else’s holiday is to invite someone who may not have family into yours. For example, many years ago, a sweet woman named Edith began coming to our family holidays. She’s an elderly woman who emigrated from Hungary and has no family. Every year, she is delighted to see the children at our holidays and to have people to cook for.

Be realistic. The holidays don’t have to be perfect. They should be enjoyable. Not every single holiday and activity may fit in over the span of a week; there will be a next year, families grow and change, and traditions can change too. Choose which traditions to hang on to and what new traditions to begin.

If you feel isolated, reach out. Try getting involved in a community or religious organization or plan or participate in social events. Volunteering is always a great idea during the holiday season to give back to others. See if a local soup kitchens, fun run, or animal shelter is in need of volunteers.

Know that it is okay to not feel the holiday joy or spirit all the time. During the holidays, you are still human and can feel any emotions. Especially if a loved one isn’t there, know it is normal to feel sadness or grief. This can be a good time to start a new or different tradition to have a fresh start.

Save your shopping! Make gift-giving an experience rather than an item. Kids may already have a hundred toys, and teens or significant others can be difficult to shop for. Try getting them something they can do rather than own. This helps make memories! Some examples include tickets or gift cards to a movie, zoo, ski hill, amusement park, show, museum, mini vacation, or other local experience. Classes or lessons for dancing, yoga, instruments, singing, languages, and sports or donating to a charity in the other person’s name are also great ideas.

Budget your money and time. Both of these are valuable resources to keep track of, so plan ahead! Some alternatives are homemade gifts or a family gift exchange. Baked goods are affordable homemade gifts for someone with not a lot of space such as a college student, military personnel, or the elderly. As a college student, I would love is someone made me lasagna! I wouldn’t have to cook for a week! To keep track of your time, list what is important, learn to say no, and plan time for relaxation. Watch out for “FOMO”: the fear of missing out. You can’t do everything!

Save your guilt. Keep your healthy habits continuing into the New Year. Sugar and alcohol are plentiful at this time of year, so make sure to eat nutrient dense foods and to consume the unhealthy ones in moderation. 

Travel safely and wash your hands. Being sick or injured over the holidays is no fun! Prevent this by handling and preparing food safely, using your seatbelt, getting a flu vaccine, and using a designated driver if under the influence. Also, keep an eye on your kids during the hustle and bustle of family gatherings. Beware of choking hazards like coins and hard candy.

For airports and long car rides, make a list and check it twice! Plan to bring reusable water bottles (empty through airport security) and refill them as you travel to save money. Pack plenty of healthy snacks in a backpack or other carryon as well. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. If you have kids, consider a small early gift for them to open that will entertain them when they get bored. This could be snacks, a book, a blanket, etc.

Lastly, if you are undiagnosed and think you may have anxiety or depression, see a doctor. Be aware, accept and seek treatment because your emotional wellness impacts all other aspects of wellness, which is also why using the advice above can help anyone grow in all Six Dimensions of Wellness. Being kind, inviting, and helping others all focus in the social dimension. Being creative with gifts, helping others learn, and traveling all impact the intellectual dimension. Continuing or beginning healthy habits with eating and exercise are in the physical dimension. Being wise with money is part of the occupational dimension. Managing stress and sadness, acceptance, and focusing on positivity are the emotional dimension. And, lastly, the spiritual dimension is enhanced by volunteering, sharing joy, getting involved in the community, religion or environment, and feeling universal harmony and connectedness.

References

A. Greenberg and J. Berktold. American Psychological Association. (2006, December 12). Holiday Stress [Press release].

Mayo Clinic. (2017, September 16). Tips for coping with holiday stress. Retrieved November 6, 2018.

Lindsay Born is a Health Promotion and Wellness major at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Her minor is in psychology. Lindsay is currently an intern at the National Wellness Institute, engaging in marketing, writing, planning, and communication projects.

It is one of our favorite times of the year at Bright Pink — the season of giving and gratitude. There is so much to be thankful for this year–and our incredible community of supporters and advocates (you!) are at the top of the list. 

Believe it or not, we are already planning for 2019. As we reflect on our 2018 accomplishments, we are also thinking ahead to how we can continue to empower women to be proactive about their breast and ovarian health. As more and more of us engage in healthcare digitally, one thing is super clear: gone are the days of one-size-fits-all healthcare. Bright Pink is proud of our improved risk assessment experience and how it plays a role in driving the future of personalized, digital healthcare.

In September and October (AKA our "busy season"), storytelling, partnerships, and innovative digital strategies took center stage. Here's what you might have missed:

• In September, we raised awareness around the importance of listening up to your ovaries in honor of Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. We enlisted five women from our community to share why they prioritize their ovarian health. The result? Over 50,000 people engaged with our educational content and stories on social media. 
• October brought Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the launch of our new and improved Assess Your Risk experience, four new videos around the importance of knowing your risk, and a lineup of amazing partnerships benefitting Bright Pink. Bright Pink and Assess Your Risk were featured in TheSkimm, Well + Good, Prevention.com, The Root, WCIU The Jam, WGN, and by notable influencers such as LaShawn Wiltz, Misty Nelson, and more–driving 18 Million impressions and over 400,000 views of the new video series. 

In September and October alone, 153,144 women assessed their risk for breast and ovarian cancer, contributing to a total of 400,000+ in 2018. This is so much more than a number–it's about strengthening our community of women who have the knowledge they need to manage their risk proactively.

Congratulations to the 2018 Team Bright Pink marathon runners! We had over 170 runners participate in the Chicago and New York City marathons this year, raising a combined $295,343 to fuel our mission. A huge thank you to all of our runners for their incredible support! 

Interested in running with Team Bright Pink in 2019? Registration for the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon is now open! 2019 will bring our largest team ever, and want you to be a part of it. Commit today by creating your fundraising page! Email teambrightpink@brightpink.org for more information.

Do you know your family health history? Ah, Thanksgiving. Time for heated debates over stuffing vs. mashed potatoes and fielding questions about your job and love life. But, did you know? Thanksgiving is also National Family Health History Day! There is no better time to sit down with your loved ones and have an open conversation about your family health history. Learning more about the health of your family tree gives you a better picture of your own health and arms you with information you need to live proactively. Not sure where to start? Feeling a bit awkward about asking pointed questions about health? We've got your back. 

Peer support is evolving. Bright Pink strives to provide all women with access to peer support and community on their journey toward better breast and ovarian health. As such, we’re growing our online support community on Facebook through content, connection, and facilitation in partnership with our Ambassador community. This group is a meeting place for women at elevated risk for breast and ovarian cancer who are seeking support and guidance while managing their risk. We’re welcoming new members on a weekly basis. Please consider joining the group if you are at elevated risk and help us spread the word about this resource!

Bright Pink
670 N. Clark Street
Suite 2
Chicago, IL 60654

Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.

Employee Health & Wellness Manager
City of Mesa 

National Wellness Institute Member since 2016; 
CEO/Founder of Capital Wellness Consulting;
Recipient of the 2018 Wellness Council of Arizona Senior Leadership Award

 Nicole Stec is the Employee Health and Wellness Manager for the City of Mesa, Arizona and a national speaker on employer on-site clinics and wellness programs. For the past ten years, Nicole has worked in community and corporate health settings, designing and implementing population health management strategies for organizations, including healthcare systems, small businesses, the U.S. military, and local government. Nicole is also the CEO/Founder of Capital Wellness Consulting, a health management and wellness consultancy that specializes in population health management, benefit design, wellness coaching, and programming. 

Nicole’s mission is to improve the health of businesses by implementing evidence-based strategies and programs that are customized to a population’s needs. Nicole is passionate about improving the lives of others, which is demonstrated through her enthusiasm, persistence, and innovative ways of addressing health. 

In her current role, Nicole is responsible for the City of Mesa’s Health and Wellness Center and the City’s worksite wellness program. The Wellness Center and Program offer many health resources to City of Mesa employees and families, including chronic disease self-management programs, health coaching, preventative health services, and screenings. In her time at the City of Mesa, Nicole has developed an award-winning health and wellness strategy that has increased healthy behaviors of City employees from 36% to 60%, with a 93% satisfaction rate, and achieved cost savings of $2.1M over three years. The City has been recognized by many national organizations for its innovation and progressive stance on employee health, including the Wellness Council of America (WELCOA), the American Heart Association, and ComPsych. 

Nicole also volunteers her time with community organizations focused on improving the well-being of others. She serves as an Officer and Board Member for a non-profit Future For Kids, which provides after-school mentoring programs concentrated on academics, athletics, and ethics to improve the lives of youth facing adversity in the Phoenix metropolitan area. With one of their values being “Healthy Living,” Nicole has contributed her time and knowledge to assist in program design over the past several years. 

Nicole is a graduate of the University of Southern California (B.S.), the University of Phoenix (MBA) and is currently completing her Master of Public Health (MPH) with concentrations in Public Health Practice and Social Marketing with the University of South Florida. She also holds many certifications, including being a Certified Wellness Practitioner (National Wellness Institute) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (National Strength and Conditioning Association). 

People that know Nicole well recognize her for her abilities to lead cross-organizational teams to success, cultivate trusted relationships with key stakeholders, and deliver captivating speaking engagements. Nicole has also chaired regional committees focused on population health. She recently launched Capital Wellness Consulting to provide her expertise to organizations (businesses, healthcare facilities, communities) seeking to improve the health of their populations.   

To learn more about Nicole and her work contact her at:

Phone:  916.698.1118
E-mail:  nicole@mycapitalwellness.com
LinkedIn:  nicolebozich
Website: MyCapitalWellness.com   

 Is it challenging for you to you to say no to others, to dissent the majority opinion, or declare your own uniqueness? On the flip side, are you more comfortable stating where you stand, what your limits are, and what you need without creating space for hearing those of the people around you? 

If you tend toward the former, you could find yourself yielding to those around you. When it comes to things like where to eat lunch, what show to watch, or how to spend your day off, these compromises might not seem very consequential. Over time, though, these conceded decisions compromise who we are and what we desire. When we don’t have a firm grip of where our boundaries lie, we can start to lose ourselves.

If you tend toward the latter, you may have rigidity around your boundaries. You may find most comfort and safety in stating your boundaries without thoroughly considering those of others which, to you, might run the risk of renegotiating yours, or even defending them. Maybe there was a time in your life when someone else’s rigidity trampled your boundaries, which showed you the way you know how to stay strong in your sense of self. 

All relationships demand establishing similarities and differences over and over. It is the bumping into one another’s boundaries that teaches, not only, those around us who we are, but also teaches ourselves who we are. Declaring our boundaries can be challenging in a culture that prescribes for us what those boundaries should be and how we should go about setting them, depending on things like gender, race, or social class. Declaring our boundaries can also be challenging when you grew up in a family where you either learn to yield unconditionally in order to accommodate those around you, or where you were rarely shown how to consider alternate paths or to collaborate. In addition to these challenges, breaking out of our boundary habits can be scary, sending a rush of uncertainty into our body, and causing our hearts to race or faces to flush. The result though, is almost always the same: becoming more you. How can that not feel good? With balance in boundaries, we can find ourselves in relationships that are more authentic, fulfilling, and, ultimately, have a more fulfilling relationship to the world.

Communicating boundaries starts small in minute-by-minute choices and daily conversations. It is the first step on a path to re-establishing yourself in the world, to gain a clearer sense of self, more fulfilling relationships, and a life that is truly yours.

Krissy Mulpeter is an individual, couples & family therapist, self-care enthusiast, and seeker of stories. She writes to explore topics in wellness, whole-hearted living, and healthy relationships to self and the ones we love. When she is not doing therapy or writing, Krissy enjoys caring for her plants, cooking, getting exercise in the most fun ways possible, and traveling.
krissymulp.wixsite.com/reflectionsonhealing

Part of the reason for this is employers are finally doing the math, which reveals those four or five ten-minute breaks daily add up to a loss of close to two full working days a month. This alarming calculation has led to the caring employer examining more carefully the various options available when initiating a new smoking at work strategy. Out of this are emerging some really creative solutions to offer to smokers to make the prospect of quitting more attractive.  (We must bear in mind that the average smoker is absolutely terrified at the prospect of separation from not only the nicotine but perhaps more importantly, the patterns and triggers smokers have perfected via consistent practice, often up to 20 times a day).

So, which of these approaches are having the desired effect?

A Japanese company routinely awards the non-smokers an extra 6 leave days a year. I like this initiative because the reward spans both general non-smokers as well as the newly liberated smokers. So 6 days off work is actually a great deal for the employer as in actual fact smokers generally waste up to 2 full work days each month, the net benefit being an extra 18 days each year of productivity. The employer noted a marked interest in quitting and a much-improved success rate for those attempting to slay the nicotine dragon. 

An American study by the University of Pennsylvania, using a base of 2500 CVS Caremark employees took the “skin in the game” approach by asking potential quitters to bet $150 of their own money, which they would recoup with a handsome bonus when achieving success. A second model grouped quitters and rewarded this group financially upon success.

Both approaches were declared successful, the former especially in recruiting program attendees, but each model had a much higher success rate than unrewarded programs of a similar nature.

Incentives need not be of high monetary value, and the prestige and recognition for successfully quitting often works very well. A very simple approach I recommended to a banking group was to give successful quitters a free cappuccino voucher each day, partly as a reward and partly to keep the quitting momentum. Quitters used this as an opportunity to gather and support each other, and in ways this seemed to replace the connection previously enjoyed when smokers met up a few times a day. Cost to company was minimal but rewardees felt special and appreciated.

I’ve consulted to an organization who tried discouraging smoking by moving the smoking area further and further from the front entrance, but the result was the breaks just consumed more time as smokers had to walk farther. My recommendation was to have a smoking area much closer and in plain view of the open plan offices. Smokers were very aware they were being observed by co-workers and management and we also asked that smokers be urged to join a quitting program sponsored by the employer. This not as a finger pointing exercise, rather offered as a caring and concerned effort to improve the lives and health of valued employees. The results have been encouraging.

The days of finger-pointing are over, and the forward-looking organization is being more creative about smoking cessation. While the long-term health hazards of smoking have long been understood,  when we do the sums on lost employee productivity, such company support for employee smoking cessation is a no-brainer.

Michael Hook is a herbal and natural medicine manufacturer, transformation and personal development facilitator, and the father of the Beyond Nicotine quit smoking program. Hook trains practitioners to present the Workshop Experience worldwide. 

What is missing? I believe that part of the equation is how we perceive what our body is. How we view, relate, and care for our body, or not, reflects our quality of wellbeing. Our thoughts and feelings dictate our actions and therefore, our results. If we want behavior change, it is critical that we include the point of view of how the body is defined and experienced. There is a plethora of negative body myths that have been programmed into the culture for a very, very, very long time.

Once upon a time, in ancient times, there was a perspective that honored the body as sacred. The rhythms of nature, including the body, were respected and integrated into daily life. This was thousands of years ago.

Then, qualities of domination and control over the natural world rose up and the value of the body went down. As time went on, with suppression of the body and its wisdom well underway, there were attempts to understand how the world really worked. Although well intended, René Descartes (“I think, therefore I am”), developed a conviction that the natural world could be understood in mechanical terms. After all, his take on the body was that it was like a clock. It could be taken apart, studied like pieces of machinery, and then put back together with the assumption that it would work again just fine. Sound familiar?

When the Industrial Revolution began a few hundred years ago, the experience of our body was transformed from a human being to a human doing. The assembly line way of life and push to produce become the status quo. Although this era contributed to the progression of culture, this pace of life caused an increased regression from our natural state of ease and grace. Life got more linear, repetitive, and static; the experience of the body did too. There was a continued loss of connection to our fluid, expansive, and dynamic nature.

We are now in the age of technology, and then some. We are constantly overloaded with information, the onslaught of data is relentless, and try as we might to keep up with it all, we can’t. Why? Because we are not designed to live up to the myth that the body is a machine. Or many of the other myths that have been injected to keep us distanced from our true nature.

One of these myths is body as object. This is a whole other discussion. For now, I’ll share a story of a recent observation by my 10-year old son. We were in a store where I was looking at nail polish colors. My son saw a poster ad of a woman selling make up. He wondered why it looked like she wasn’t wearing any clothes. It was a headshot from the shoulders up with no evidence of an undergarment or a shirt. He was confused. I was awestruck. I asked him why he thought they show ads like this. He said he didn’t know, that they should have clothes on, and just focus on the products they are selling. I gave him a hug.

Other body myths include getting caught up in metrics madness. Measuring the status of our body based on the size of our dress, the shape of a body part, or our blood pressure, BMI, and number on a scale. Or our age. Or our fitness level.

There is another body myth that has also been around since ancient times; bypass. Even though this perspective is coming from a place to connect to something greater, there also can be enormous judgement of our physical existence and denial of our incarnation.

Sometimes this bypass is employed when life gets too much and we numb. We want to feel better, so we make choices to not feel. I get it. My perspective on numbing is that there is a time and place for it. We do the best we can and can only do so much when we have run out of tools or support or both. However, this way of life is not really living, and at some point, we have to come back to Earth.

The presence of these body myths, especially when unconscious, can contribute to the degree of behavior change success. If the body is perceived as a machine, an object, or measured only by numbers, then, although some positive change can occur, it may not be as long-lasting, integrated, or well, easy.

The remedy to expand beyond the ancient presence of warped, limiting beliefs about the body is to remember what it really is: a natural living process.

The body is alive, full of life. The degree of vitality reflects how the inner environment is adapting to the external world. If dis-ease is occurring, the body shape-shifts, evolves, and does its very best to back into balance, center, homeostasis. The body WANTS to feel good, or at least better. It functions optimally when effective communication between the systems takes place. It roots for cooperation. It depends on our listening skills and the positive ways we respond to its needs. It can self-heal (!) when given the opportunity. It thrives when we bring its voice to the table of our life. It celebrates when we go with its flow!

Our body is a sacred vessel, guiding us to choose from the feel-good and live in alignment with our best self. When we reclaim this truth, we raise our body consciousness. This awareness, coupled with positive lifestyle choices that prevent a majority of dis-ease, increases a state of wellbeing that is sustainable. Your body is speaking; it is time to listen. Your life depends on it.

Lisa Medley, MA serves as a Wellbeing and Body Intelligence Expert. She supports her clients to cultivate positive relationships with their body for sustainable inside-out wellbeing. Lisa believes in reintegrating the body and its wisdom to support the evolution of our divine human potential. Learn more at SoulisticArts.com

What is emotional intelligence?

It’s common to confuse emotional intelligence with empathy, but the two are mutually exclusive. You can have empathy and not emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence comes into play when you have enough self-awareness to be able to manage your empathy.

Emotional intelligence is comprised of the following:

1. Self-awareness — a conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, and desires.
2. Social awareness — an understanding of other people’s feelings and motivations (this includes empathy).
3. Self-management — the ability to maintain self-control, remain adaptable and have a positive outlook.
4. Relationship management — the ability to work within a team, resolve conflicts and inspire leadership.

How to Achieve Emotional Intelligence

Think about emotional intelligence in terms of a workout. If you wanted to run a marathon or enter a bodybuilding competition, you’d have to train. You can set goals, but if you’re like most people, you’re always going to strive to be better.

In that way, emotional intelligence is like fitness. But instead of working out your body, you’re working out your mind.

Meditation is one of the best ways to exercise your mind, but you can also start with self-awareness. Step back and take a mental note of how you handle your own emotions. Are you quick to react without thinking things through? If so, you have some room for improvement.

Meditation is such a good mental practice that it’s commonly incorporated into addiction recovery treatment and other counseling methods. But you don’t need to be in recovery to strengthen your mind.

How Meditation Increases Emotional Intelligence

Did you know that meditation can actually change the physical structure of your brain? A Harvard research team came to this conclusion after studying the effects of meditation. When you start to meditate, the changes you’re likely to see can help support your emotional IQ.

• Self-awareness — Improved self-awareness is a major goal of meditation. When you meditate, you’re training your mind to focus in the present moment. Through meditation and mindfulness, you become more aware of your thoughts and physical presence.
• Social awareness — Meditation strengthens connections between two areas of the brain that can help improve a person’s sense of empathy: The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the insula. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex manages your personal perspective while the insula is involved with inferring someone else’s state of mind. As you become more aware of other people’s feelings and motives, you will become more socially aware.
• Self-management — Meditation can help weaken neural connections in the amygdala and strengthen connections in the prefrontal cortex. Fear and anger are triggered in the amygdala while the prefrontal cortex is responsible for rational thought and logic. The combination of reducing fear and boosting logic can help you improve levels of self-control and self-management.
• Relationship management — Meditation can help you become more aware and in-control over your own emotions. It can also help you become more aware of other people's emotions. Through increased empathy and understanding, you can improve things like teamwork, conflict management, and empathy. As you let go of personal bias, you'll find that you're able to have more effective discussions and better relationships.

How to Practice Mindfulness Meditation

If you’ve been avoiding meditation because you think it’s difficult or the thought seems overwhelming, you may be in for a treat. While meditation may be difficult to master, it is simple to practice. You don't need any special tools or expensive equipment. All you need is the willingness and a quiet space to practice.

Sit in a quiet room, preferably facing a blank wall. This will help eliminate any distractions. Next, set a timer for 5 minutes. Your goal within these 5 minutes is to focus on the present moment. Start by noticing your breath. Feel the air as it flows through your nostrils. Don’t try to control your breaths, but just notice them. If you start thinking about anything, it’s okay. Don’t beat yourself up over it. Simply try not to follow the thought. For example, if you remember you have to get milk, try to let it end there. Don’t follow the thought down the path of what else you might need or what you’re going to use the milk for. When the timer buzzes, you have completed your session. As you feel more confident in your practice, you may increase time by 5-minute increments until you reach 30 minutes.

Note: The mindfulness meditation described here is a different practice than transcendental meditation. Both practices are very beneficial. For an article about the difference between these two practices, click here. To download our tool for Transcendental Meditation, click here.

Emotional intelligence is a trait that some of the world’s greatest leaders have in spades, and you can have it too. Strengthen your mind through meditation, and you should notice a difference in your emotional IQ.

The Roles of Resilience and Empowered Health Consciousness

Resilience is operable in a window of time; it is the “bounce back” from adversity. Health consciousness is an ongoing process. It comes before resilience, is at play during resilience, and continues after the resilience. If you are not conscious of what’s happening during the stress-inducing event, you are not going to be resilient. Being present and aware during an adverse experience enables you to learn from the difficulty, promoting a resilient response.

Resilience and health consciousness work together to create a culture of awareness and learning in which people respond more positively to adversity.

A course in resilience and stress management will not help your staff if they return to a toxic work environment. Empowered Health Consciousness is a route to addressing resiliency work in a conscious, mindful way to stimulate growth and health in the work culture, the work climate, and the work environment. Health consciousness and resilience work together.

The National Wellness Institute offers two facilitator certificate courses in partnership with Organizational Wellness and Learning Systems (OWLS):

• Resilience & Thriving: The Secret Power of Stress
• Empowered Health Consciousness

Individuals who earn a Facilitator Certificate through NWI will be able to use the tools, resources, and techniques provided in the certificate course to train students, employees, and clients in various settings in the topic presented.

Bright Pink is an organization like no other that seeks to advance the conversation around breast and ovarian cancer beyond awareness to action. It is built on a foundation of focusing on health, not cancer.

Today, Bright Pink is launching a new and improved version of their digital quiz, Assess Your Risk, to better empower all women to learn their breast and ovarian cancer risk and manage their health proactively. While Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an excellent time to talk about breast health, Bright Pink is fiercely committed 365 days a year to ensuring women can be their own best health advocates. They have updated their flagship program, Assess Your Risk, to do just that.

Take your health into your own hands

Want to learn more about what's different?

Already assessed your risk? Believe it or not, you should assess your risk annually as your breast and ovarian cancer risk can change over time and the medical community is always learning about new factors that affect our risk.

Bright Pink Copyright © 2018. All rights reserved.

Kristi Leonard EdD, MA, CWP, NBC-HWC

NWI Board of Directors Member

Assistant Dean of Students - Central College, Pella, IA

In 2016, Kristi returned to her alma mater, Central College, as the Assistant Dean of Students, Wellness and Well-Being. Her primary charge is to further Central's Integrated Learning plan through providing focused vision, oversight, and management of wellness-related initiatives, programs, and services for students.  She also oversees Counseling Services, the Maytag Wellness Center, and is the Pella Regional Health Center liaison. 

Prior to her return to Central, Kristi served as a faculty member at Waldorf University from 2005-2016. She was a tenured Associate Professor of Wellness, the Wellness Department Chair, and served as the Faculty Chair for three years, where she represented the faculty in many capacities. She was honored with the Waldorf Board of Trustees Outstanding Faculty Award in 2014. From 2000-2005, Kristi worked at Luther College in the areas of wellness, residence life, and student activities.

Kristi has been and is very active in her local communities. She is currently a member of the Pella Wellness Consortium, the Pella Professional and Business Women’s Forum, the Pella Youth Coalition, and Leadership Red Rock. She co-constructed an outdoor labyrinth in college prairie grass for the community to use, and collaborated to create and facilitate a Healthy Kids program as well as a 3K3 walk/run/wag event, in which all proceeds went to the American Cancer Society. She was the Chair of the Forest City Wellness Coalition, Vice President of the Forest City YMCA Board of Directors, a member of the Forest City Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and a member of the Puckerbrush 5K committee. 

Globally she has created, developed, and implemented a study abroad course and experience titled “Exploring Wellness in Yucatan.” She looks forward to putting this course into action again during Central’s 2019 two-week spring break.
In her free time, Kristi enjoys working out, watching sports, listening to music, reading, and spending time with friends, family, and her husband Terry and their one-year-old cavapoo, Gracie.

Kristi Leonard can be contacted at: 

Central College
812 University
Pella, Iowa   50219

641-628-5633
leonardk@central.edu

CF is not simply feeling tired of work, nor is it burnout. CF is a combination of physical, emotional, and spiritual responses resulting from continued self-sacrifice. When nurses work towards optimizing the health and well-being of others, often their self-care is lacking. CF is noted when clinicians lose the ability to nurture others, as empathic fatigue is another way to think of CF. When nurses lose the desire and ability to care for others, there are personal consequences of inadequate performance which can lead to errors, decreased health physically, as well as psychosocially.

CF affects each person directly by impacting their well-being, familial relationships, and job satisfaction. On occasion, personal distress develops in which the nurse may choose to cope using unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, overeating, and self-medicating with alcohol or recreational drugs. Additionally, withdraw behaviors can occur, such as absenteeism, countertransference of negative reactions with incivility/bullying of peers, and lack of engagement at work, with family, and within their community. CF does not affect just the individual nurse; family, friends, patients, coworkers and institutions will experience negative outcomes and consequences as well. 

CF is a significant issue for patient safety, and there are evidence-based practices that can decrease one’s risk. Personal self-care is necessary for coping and stress management to maintain the ability to care for one’s self, family, community, and patient/populations. Seeking work-life integration by meeting physical, emotional, and personal spiritual needs are not realistic at all times. Self-care in itself is limiting due to prioritizations with work and family. Integration of one's career with self-care along physical, emotional, and spiritual cultivation is necessary to promote one's well-being to facilitate empathic caring of others. As we are all reminded before flying, always put the mask on yourself first to best provide for those surrounding you.

Mindfulness-based practices have been found to be effective for both stress reduction and self-compassion. Prioritizing one’s time to work towards self-care is not being selfish, it is, in fact, foundational for personal growth and resilience. Mindfulness practices noted in nursing literature to improve and combat CF are Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, MBSR, and Mindful Self Compassion, MSC. Both have specific interventions that can be performed within five minutes of any part of one's day. A technique known as a body scan is when one takes a general survey of how one is physically feeling, usually sitting down. Begin at the toes and slowly move/scan up the body with thoughtful observation. Areas in the body are then discovered that are experiencing tension. When one is mindful of tension, relaxation exercises with breathing and gentle stretching can be beneficial. Loving-kindness meditations can be easily learned to extend from those we love and care for to include ourselves. Start with thoughts of those we love; I wish them peace, I wish them health, I wish them to live at ease, I wish them _____________. Then turn those exact thoughts to yourself, without any self-judgment; I wish myself peace, May I know health, May I live at ease, May I _____________. Talk to yourself as you would a dear friend.

Being Mindful can be stressful at first, noticing every time one is critical of one's self or one's negative self-talk can be enlightening. Self-care goes beyond diet and sleep; it includes gifting one's self with time to deep breathe, accepting one's limitations as not negative but with wisdom. Self-compassion, mindfulness, and meditations can be thought of as mental exercise, it takes time and is a skill set to learn. Acknowledging when work-related events/triggers create feelings of stress/distress responses should be encouraged to give nurses the opportunity to seek resources and supportive services. 

The ability for personal timeouts such as quiet rooms/spaces, debriefing opportunities, and mentoring of novice nurses all have been showed to have a positive effect on preventing CF. Seeking support spiritually and emotionally is also recommended. There are many resources available to nurses; employee assistance programs are usually at no cost, meditation and light yoga practices online are too numerous to list, and wellness integration programs for stress reduction are also available including Cranio-Sacral therapy, Acupuncture, and massage. Mindfulness can be learned; please see the below noted references for more information. If we as nurses would only treat ourselves and each other the ways we treat our patients, more nurturing work environments would ensue. Let’s start to work together more proactively to promote this shift in our culture to incorporate self-care, interventions in times of stress/distress, and incorporating skills/resources all nursing staff can use to promote best possible patient care outcomes.  

References

Bazarko, D., Cate, R. A., Azocar, F., & Kreitzer (2013). The impact of an innovative mindfulness-based stress reduction program on the health and well-being of nurses employed in a corporate setting. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 28, 107-133. DOI: 10.1080/15555240.2013.779518

Boyle, D. A. (2015).  Occupational stress in oncology nurse caregiving: Caring for ourselves. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 19(5), 499. doi: 10.1188/15.CJON.499

Figley, C. R. (1995). The transmission of trauma. In C. R. Figley (Ed.), Compassion fatigue: Coping with secondary traumatic stress disorder in those who treat the traumatized (pp. 248 -254). London: Brunner-Routledge.

Harris, C. & Griffin, M.T.Q. (2015).  Nursing on empty: Compassion fatigue signs, symptoms, and system interventions.  Journal of Christian Nursing, 32(2), 80-87. doi: 10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000155

Neff, K. & Germer, C. (2018). The mindful self-compassion workbook: A proven way to accept yourself, build inner strength, and thrive. New York: NY, The Guilford Press.

Potter, P., Deshields, T., Berger, J.A., Clarke, M., Olsen, S., & Chen, L. (2013). Evaluation of a compassion fatigue resiliency program for oncology nurses. Oncology Nursing Forum, 40, 180-187. doi:10.1188/13.ONF.108-187

Regan, K.R. (2012). Basics of compassion fatigue.

Stamm, B.H. (2010). The concise ProQOL manual. (2nd ed.). Pocatello, ID: ProQOL.org

JoAnne Worthington, MSN, RN-BC, OCN is a registered nurse in the state of Ohio for over 20 years. Certified in both medical-surgical and oncology nursing. She is an adjunct faculty for Cincinnati State Technical and Community College for fundamental nursing students (ADN program). She is currently in her senior year of the DNP program at Mount St. Joseph University.

Mindfulness has become such a buzzword that hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear it applied to something new; mindful gardening, mindful flossing... Yet its increasing popularity gives us some insight into the impressive benefits it offers. The way we approach food and eating can have a profound effect on our overall health and happiness. After all, the way we eat is one of the most basic ways we care for ourselves, and we’re confronted with food choices several times a day. Mindful eating — being fully present and non-judgemental around our eating — is a total game changer. It allows us to pause, focus on our body’s unique hunger signals, and ask ourselves what would make our body feel satisfied and energized. It is the ultimate in self-care. And self-care is vitally important for keeping our minds and bodies working well in the second half of life.

Yet we often miss this wonderful opportunity to reboot, rest and recharge. Instead of taking a well-deserved break as we eat, we’re trying to catch up on the latest celebrity gossip, and order shoes online. Even though we know by now that multi-tasking means we do several things poorly because our brain doesn’t like to split attention, this is the way most of us live. But I’m going to make a prediction; if you insert just a few rest stops into your day — and eating is the natural time to do it — you will feel more balanced and well overall. And you will feel healthier, both in body and spirit.

Of course, food and eating are tricky subjects, particularly for women. I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that most women reading this are focused more on losing weight, not using eating as a way to bring some calm and revitalization to their day. Indeed, in my experience as a therapist specializing in food and body issues, it is clear that many of us could benefit from a new relationship with food. Over focus on weight loss is a terrible waste of our limited time and resources. It takes precious energy away from our creative pursuits. Over focus on weight loss also makes us boring and self-focused. And then there’s the little problem that diets have a 95% failure rate. Better to focus on overall health and how we want to spend our time here on earth. Mindful eating does just that.

Imagine how your life would change if you used eating as an opportunity to care for yourself, nourish your body, and take a well-deserved rest? What if it was an opportunity to bring some pleasure into your day? Ask your body what whole foods would make it feel more energized and satisfied? And you don’t need to look at your friend’s plate. Everyone has different bodies and different nutritional needs, as well as different preferences.

Here are 3 simple ways to practice mindful eating on the go:

1. Use snack or mealtime as an opportunity for a little break, sneak in time for satisfaction, and even delight. Look at your food and appreciate the colors, textures and flavors. Get curious about where all of these foods come from.
2. Even sipping your coffee or tea with your full attention makes it more satisfying and more relaxing. It’s a whole different experience preparing your tea with intention and care. Compare this to drinking your drive-through beverage in the car with the radio on.
3. Make sure you are breathing into your abdomen and taking a moment to just be present. Imagine that your only job in that moment is to rest and enjoy your food. Your body loves getting a good dose of oxygen. You will digest your food better, and feel calmer overall.

Even if you can only take one mindful sip of coffee in the morning, and the rest of the day is a blur, give that time to yourself as a gift. 

---

Nicole Christina, LCSW is a psychotherapist, professional blogger, and host of the acclaimed Podcast Zestful Aging. Nicole interviews inspiring woman about their projects, as well as their own metamorphosis as they age. She also presents on topics related to aging well, and has recently taught at Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Syracuse University and OASIS. Her online course, Zestful Aging; Simple and Sustainable Habits for Health and Longevity, can be found at NicoleChristina.com.

However, I pose a very different question...rather than asking what percentage of Americans have a plan for death, why aren’t we asking what percentage of Americans have a plan for living?  

A plan for living is called Retirement Planning...a plan for dying is called Estate Planning...combining them both is called Life and Legacy.

When it comes to investments and retirement planning, there seems to be a very polarizing phenomenon that occurs between far too many financial professionals and the average, hard-working family. The financial professional seems to lose all emotional intelligence and exchanges the role of counselor or advocate for the role of “Know-it-all.” 

Forgive me for just a moment, but this isn’t helpful! It’s like they are rehearsing for their potential 15-minutes of fame on Bloomberg or CNBC. Newsflash…we don’t care that you can use financial industry lingo. We want a coach, not a prima donna!
So, instead of going straight down the financial rabbit hole of focusing on all the tactics, techniques and tools, let’s take a step back and recalibrate to confirm alignment; through the philosophy of Purpose-Planning-Product.

Define your purpose before building your plan, and by all means, before choosing a financial product (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, real estate, etc.). Now, with this mindset you will remove a ton of the stress and anxiety around the actual investment choices you make. If you have a rock-solid purpose defined, then that will drive the design of your financial, retirement and legacy plans because it will be all about your needs and dreams, not the advisor, not the market, and certainly not the financial product du jour.

1. Beware of the Silent Assassins; Taxes and Inflation!

 The three phases of our financial lives are the Accumulation Phase, Spend-down Phase, and Legacy Phase. Think of it as taking on the challenge of climbing Mt Everest. The Accumulation Phase is like the ascent, the Spend-down Phase like the decent, and the stories told about it for years to come is like your Legacy Phase. Two keys to success in all three phases is to have a tax balance approach. Meaning we are paying attention to the tax consequences of our decisions today, and in the future. Where are tax rates today in comparison to where we believe they will be in the future? Additionally, putting the money aside (aka savings) is the beigest hurdle, but once we do set it aside, can we really afford to put it under a rock for the next 5, 10, 30 years? The answer is no, and the longer the time horizon, the more important each percentage rate of growth matters. Don’t forget, use the Purpose – Planning – Product philosophy as your compass.

2. Daydream a bit.

What will that first day of retirement look like? – Let that inner-child out right now and dream out loud for a bit. Day-one of your ideal retirement will look like what? What time does the alarm go off (or does it at all)? Where are you? What scene do you take in while sipping that first cup of retirement coffee? What will you wear that day; flip flops, boat shoes, ski boots, or are you barefoot? Seriously, dream and write. Write down everything. The color of the house, the temperature, who’s with you, how you feel. OK, this is fun and all, but what’s the purpose of all this warm and fuzzy feeling stuff? A budget. A retirement budget. 

Hopefully, we’re already living by our budget now (if not, START today!). It is very difficult (and probably unrealistic) to build a retirement budget out of thin air and expect it to be accurate. Yes, our retirement budget is best built on the foundation of our pre-retirement budget. Some expenses will go away entirely, other expenses my go up (hopefully some fun ones!) and some new expenses that we’ve never had prior may need to be added. Regardless, the budget in retirement is mission critical. It should be aligned with your vision and values and, it becomes your playbook for what is hopefully the most joy-filled years of your life.

3. Start talking.

 Share these dreams, plans and wishes with those most important to you. For whatever behavioral and emotional reasons, we tend to suppress way too many of our feelings, visions and desires around money. Take a few people out for coffee and share your new approach to building the life and legacy of your dreams. At bare minimum this means your spouse, you executor, your beneficiaries, your pastor, your financial planner and your accountability coach. There are many reasons why this makes good sense. Just to name a few…take your executor to an Executor’s Boot Camp (either through the Foundation for Financial Wellness, or run one on your own) and get them in shape. Additionally, it’s great to begin speaking these wishes into reality; your accountability partner will love to know what’s on your heart and help keep you on track. And one last one, would be the old load bearing truth of “If you want to master something, try teaching it.” As you begin putting spoken words to your heart-felt “why”, you’ll begin to find holes in your thinking, gaps in your assumptions, misunderstandings from your loved ones. Wouldn’t you rather work on these things now, rather than leaving it up to interpretation once you’re gone?

The National Wellness Institute has partnered with the Foundation for Financial Wellness (FFW) to develop financial wellness trainings.

Brent Hines, CFWE, CFWC is the founder and Chairman of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives. The Foundation’s curriculum is rooted in the principles of Behavioral Finance which makes every class topic taught by the Foundation unique, innovative and extremely valuable.

Click on the image above to download it as a PDF.

Similarly, health consciousness has processes and levels. When we understand the idea that we can have different levels and that health consciousness is a process, we can start off with a simple definition.

Waking Up. The simplest definition is “Paying attention to what we ingest.” As adults, most of us know we should be aware of what we ingest or put in our bodies. While we usually think of food, many thousands of adults a year experience poisoning due to food, drugs, or alcohol (with pain medications as the most frequent). Paying attention to what we eat is especially important in a culture given to gluttony, fast-food, and major growth in ultra-processed foods and food varieties due to innovation in food flavoring and ingredient technologies. But it isn’t only food or sugar-laced drinks. Many people have health problems when they mindlessly use tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, and prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Since the early 1900s, there have been a number of fads in OTC or non-prescription products for weight loss that have led to disease. This includes Amphetamine, Gelatin diets, Phen/Fen, PPA, and Ephedra. The most recent opioid epidemic is partly due to strong and not always ethical sales strategies in the pharmaceutical industry. So, the first definition is waking up to the fact that we need to pay attention to what we ingest.

Tuning Up. At this next level, process consciousness really kicks in. We come to the realization that leveling up is important but we have to keep leveling up; it’s a continuous process. We keep correcting ourselves in the face of risk. When it comes to lifestyle, the vast majority of us just don’t level up once. Many people cycle through stages when changing a habit: from not doing anything, to taking action, to relapsing, to starting over again. The more we cycle, the more aware (conscious) we are that we need to watch out for—stay attuned to— certain “triggers.” These triggers include cravings, difficult emotions (see NWI's Understanding Emotional Triggers Tool), and certain places (e.g., restaurants or bars). The acronym of HALT (Hungry, Angry/Anxious, Lonely, and Tired) has been used in many 12-Step or addiction recovery programs. It means it is time to pause, to halt, and stay on top of our game. In a way, when we keep waking up to our vulnerability, we are tapping into and strengthening our health consciousness.

Going Meta. “Meta” refers to going beyond the details and seeing the big picture or integrating all the levels at once. All three previous levels really work together. As we grow in health consciousness, we keep waking up, leveling up, and tuning up. At a deeper level, we value our health, we value staying conscious, and we value staying conscious of our health. Essentially, we value self-care. These values: (1) help us to recognize when our behavior puts at risk; (2) lead us to correct our behavior (tuning up); and (3) also find – or prepare ahead of time – resources and alternatives before we get into trouble. We lead a protective lifestyle. We have our shield up. We don’t go it alone. In the figure above, we see examples of different resources: talking to someone (getting support), exercising, getting rest, and taking time alone for contemplation or meditation (spirituality). These are just some examples and there are dozens of others.

Click here to learn more about our Health Consciousness Facilitator Certificate course .

Joel Bennett, PhD, is President of Organizational Wellness & Learning Systems (OWLS), a consulting firm that specializes in evidence-based wellness and e-learning technologies to promote organizational health and employee well-being. Dr. Bennett first delivered stress management programming in 1985 and OWLS programs have since reached close to 50,000 workers across the United States and abroad.

He is primary developer of “Team Awareness” and “Team Resilience,” evidence-based, culture of health programs recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Health as effective in reducing employee behavioral risks. Team Awareness has been adapted by the U.S. National Guard as one of their flagship prevention programs and it has been used by municipalities, hospitals, restaurants, electrician training centers, small businesses, Native American tribal government, and in Italy and South Africa.

This world is full of risk. Some risks are worth taking, while others are not.

Risk comes in many flavors and variations. Just to name a few that first come to mind…risks can be physical, emotional, relational, professional, or financial.

In the financial world, we hear the talking heads associate “risk” with “return”. In essence, if we are 100% risk averse, we will experience very little opportunity for growth. However, we might be willing to take on large amounts of risk with the hope of large upside potential.

Well, not everything is black and white in this world and consumers (or investors) don’t always act rational. 

Distilled down to everyday language…each of us have different goals, preferences, and fears.

Please understand, I’m not here to tell you what specific risks you should mitigate or what insurance policies you should own, but rather, I want you to be well-informed, know the right questions to ask, and be able to put a plan in place that is tailored for you and your family.

John F. Kennedy said “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.”

Regarding financial risk, there are 4 critical questions that we should all have answered:

What if I get sued?

You’re right to be worried. There are over 100 million cases filed each year in American courts and there are only 370 million people in the United States.  So, you do the math…in just 4 years’ time, there are as many court cases filed as there are citizens of the country.

What if I become sick or hurt?

This is an often-underappreciated topic. Take a moment to think through what next month would look like financially if the paycheck stopped. According to Bankrates Financial Security Index, only 39% of us have savings over $1,000. So, even needing to take just a week or two off without pay could lead to devastating financial consequences.  

What if I die younger than expected?

In our youth, we were invincible and would live forever. Now as adults with families we love and care for, it’s not unusual for us to begin contemplating “What if I die before I ever get a chance to grow old?”. So, forgive me for being Mr. Downer here, but over 40,000 Americans died in car crashes last year alone!  Not to mention the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer and so on…So, if you were to die unexpectantly, what would that do to your family financially?

What if I need long-term care at some point?

The Alliance Health Policy research shows that 58% of men and 79% of women aged 65 and older would need long-term care at some point as they grow older; and it’s expensive. According to Genworth, in 10 years from now, the cost of 1 year of care will between $60,000 and $130,000 depending on the level care. If we don’t have a plan for this, the assets we worked so hard to save and build will be wiped out, rather than going to your family.

1. Cover your Assets

An umbrella policy is typically one of the cheapest policies you can purchase and for the broad type of coverage it provides, generally speaking they are worth it.  Especially when you have ‘attractive nuisances’ like a trampoline that neighbor kids play on or you have a job that is prone to lawsuits. The first step is to make a list of your assets and liabilities. We help you with that in the next section…the good news is that you may find that you look a lot wealthier on paper than you feel in real life…but that’s also the bad news because that is exactly what an attorney who wants to sue you will see as well. Umbrella Insurance can be an important protection from someone injuring themselves on your property or even in the course of your professional duties at work.

2. You’d insure a money tree, wouldn’t you?

Even more than dying or being sued, the most substantial risk you face is your inability to earn an income due to an illness or an accident.  But here’s the good news; the risk of being sick or hurt is an “insurable risk”. It’s called disability insurance and often times is a group benefit offered through your employer. So, this week make it a priority to confirm with your HR person if you have long-term disability coverage. If you do, then confirm the eligibility period (the amount of time between the date of disability and when benefits begin), and the percentage of your income it covers. This is not a place to pinch pennies; crank up the percentage as high as they will allow (normally, you’ll be capped around 70%).

3. Build a plan, don’t just buy a policy

Here’s a question you’ll never hear asked in an insurance agent’s office, “Do you need insurance?”. Not everyone does. And, those of us who do need it, don’t always the need the same type. Through the Foundation, we teach a methodology that we call PURPOSE – PLANNING – PRODUCT. If the conversation begins with financial product (features, benefits, bells, whistles, etc.), politely excuse yourself and get out! Begin defining your purpose as it relates to life insurance and long-term care insurance. Start simple. Take three sheets of blank paper. On the first sheet, across the top, write “1-Year Perfect Day”, the second sheet write “5-Year Perfect Day”, and on the third sheet, write “10-Year Perfect Day”. On each sheet, now describe (free flowing, stream of consciousness, no boundaries, no rules) what your perfect day would look like on each of those milestone years. Then, below each of those descriptions, describe what your family members’ lives would look like on those same milestones with out you here and/or if you needed long-term care. This exercise in essence, is a gap analysis. What is the gap between your best-case scenario and your death and/or long-term care scenario? This is how you answer the question that should be asked, “Do you need insurance?”.

The National Wellness Institute has partnered with the Foundation for Financial Wellness (FFW) to develop financial wellness trainings.

Brent Hines, CFWE, CFWC is the founder and Chairman of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives. The Foundation’s curriculum is rooted in the principles of Behavioral Finance which makes every class topic taught by the Foundation unique, innovative and extremely valuable.

One of the most significant environmental problems in the United States is indoor air pollutants, according to federal scientists. Believe it or not, your indoor air quality has just as much of an effect on you as the outdoor air quality does. The effects of the pollutants we find indoors can range from short term effects to long term effects. Your symptoms can range from mild-eye and throat irritation, to severe-cancer and respiratory disease. If you are exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide, there’s the risk of death.

Fortunately, rather than spending thousands of dollars on fancy machines and home improvements to try to keep your indoor air quality up to par, there’s an even simpler solution-a houseplant! You read that right. A houseplant can help improve your indoor air quality to give you a healthier living environment. Check out this list!

1. Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is one of the best plants you could keep in your bedroom. It’s one of the most powerful plant air purifiers that exist. It’s highly effective when it comes to clearing the air from benzene and formaldehyde. Not only that, but it’s also great for absorbing CO2 levels that the darkness creates. You need to keep it in direct sunlight in order for it to perform the best. It’s also ideal for soothing scars, burns, and inflammation.

2. Snake Plant

Also known as “Mother-in-Law’s Tongue, this houseplant provides quite a bit of oxygen to indoor environments, especially at night. It can help to reduce eye irritation, headaches, respiratory symptoms, and the need for ventilation. These plants are also very resilient, so you can leave them for long periods of time without care.

3. Eucalyptus

The Eucalyptus plant has been used for centuries to cure many kinds of ailments. They are a tad hard to find for a houseplant, but if you do, the leaves of it can raise healthy fluids in the air passages of your body. The leaves are filled with tannins, which is what helps with this process. Just by breathing in the scent from this plant, it can help to lower congestion issues and keep colds at bay.

4. Areca Palm

The Areca palm is another common household plant. It helps filter the air around you and it can add moisture to the surrounding atmosphere. It also has the amazing ability to purify trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde. You can also substitute it as an air humidifier if you don’t have a regular dehumidifier. These plants like bright sunlight, but not too much as it can scorch the leaves. You should also not overwater them and they live better in moderate temperatures.

5. Dracena

The Dracaena comes in an outstanding 40 different varieties, unfortunately, if you have cats or dogs, you cannot have this plant because it’s toxic to them if eaten. On the plus side, if you don’t have cats or dogs, this plant is ideal for removing benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and trichloroethylene. The Corn Plant version of this is great for removing cigarette smoke from your home.

6. Boston Fern

This pretty fern is ideal for removing formaldehyde and xylene. It’s best when used in a room that’s relatively cool with high humidity and indirect light. It needs to stay moist to survive as well. Check it daily to see if it needs a drink and you should soak it once a month.

7. Peace Lily

These plants are much smaller than many of the other plants on the list, but don’t let that fool you. These beautiful plants are great for cleaning the air and they’re easy to grow. This plant removes ammonia, formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene. They do let off some pollen and a floral scent, so you may want to avoid having too many of them in one room.

8. Ficus

The Ficus is quite the large plant. If grown indoors, they can reach 10 feet tall. This plant is very low maintenance, but it packs a punch when it comes to its air-cleaning abilities. It can remove trichloroethylene, formaldehyde, and benzene. These plants love the bright, indirect sunlight.

9. Garden Mum

NASA spent quite a bit of time researching the ability of these plants. These colorful flowers are very common in gardens and can be seen at almost every garden store in the world. They are great for clearing the air of benzene, formaldehyde, xylene, and ammonia. Once they reach full bloom, you can transport them outside if you would like.

10. English Ivy

The English Ivy is the number one best air purifying houseplant, according to NASA. In a 2005 experiment, the English Ivy removed 94% of airborne feces and a whopping 78% of mold in the air in just 12 hours. It also has the ability to improve allergy and asthma symptoms and it absorbs formaldehyde. These plants are easy to grow in moderate temperatures and medium sun exposure. These can be toxic if eaten by kids or pets.

11. Chrysanthemum

This colorful plant can help filter benzene, which is commonly found in detergents, plastic, paint, and glues. These plants are also great for treating high blood pressure, headache, dizziness, swelling, fever, cold, type 2 diabetes, and even chest pain. These plants need a lot of sunlight to grow indoors, so make sure you place them in an area where there’s sun in the winter. Keep the soil damp at all times.

12. African Violets

These purple flowers have an array of benefits. Just looking at these plants can help stimulate adrenaline release and can increase the flow of oxygen to your brain. In turn, this helps you relax. These are very easy to care for and they like indirect sunlight.

13. Heart Leaf Philodendron

This climbing vine is excellent when it comes to removing formaldehyde from the home. These are very easy to care for although toxic to kids and pets. If you plan to keep this in your home, keep it out of reach of them.

14. Lady Palm Plant

This unique plant has the ability to get rid of all indoor air toxins in your home. It has also been very effective in getting rid of cancer causing chemicals in the house, such as formaldehyde. This is a very toxic chemical and this plant can rid your home of it and help your lungs.

15. Bamboo Palm

Also known as the reed palm, this plant is rather small and loves shady indoor spaces. It also has the ability to grown small flowers and red berries. This plant filters out trichloroethylene and benzene. It’s great for using around furniture that may offgas formaldehyde. It grows to about 5-7 feet tall and loves humidity with bright, indirect light.

Conclusion

And there you have it, a list of 15 of the most effective plants for ridding your home of indoor air pollutants. These plants and flowers have the amazing ability to keep your home fresh and smelling great. You would not believe how many dangerous toxins are floating around the house. Just one of these plants can keep those toxins away and your lungs clean and clear. If you enjoyed this list, feel free to share it with your friends and family.

Gavin Wilson is the director of content over at goodairgeeks.com. He lives with his wife, his dog (Mr. Peanut Butter), and his "attack cat" (Bojack!). He is a nature lover and cares deeply about the environment. He hopes to help make a cleaner and greener Earth with this website.

Budgeting, debt elimination, and emergency cash are all foundational. However, it seems everything we’ve heard from the talking heads on this topic falls in the “How” and “What” categories and runs right past the “Why” (thank you Simon Sinek for this vernacular). The alignment of our thoughts and behaviors with our values is the nearly magical place where lives are carried out with purpose and intentionality. Once we find this untapped power source, the budget, debt elimination and emergency cash will happen. And get this…you’re going to like it. You’re going to demand it! It’s no longer a best practice or principle, it’s a way of being that comes from your most meaningful reasons. Way back when, gold old Zig Ziglar said it beautifully when he said, “You can tell a lot about a man’s heart by looking at his calendar and his checkbook.” Where does your heart live? Where is it aimed? Zig also taught us that if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.

There are endless budget templates, software and ideas on how it should be built. We have our favorites at the Foundation for Financial Wellness, but whichever you decide to use, it must be a zero-sum budget. Meaning, you must “spend” every dollar on paper before the money hits your account. Dave Ramsey tells his readers to “Tell every dollar where to go, rather than wondering where it went”.

Debt elimination is a really interesting, (and unfortunately all too common) topic. We teach two types of approaches; 1) Mathematical approach, and 2) Behavioral approach. The mathematical approach would have you pay off your debt in order of highest interest rate (most expensive) to lowest. This is logical. The behavioral approach has you pay off your debt in order of smallest balance to largest balance. This is emotional. The emotional brain gets the chemical release quickly by knocking out the smallest first, then builds momentum by rolling those payments into the next debt item, and so on.

The vast percentage of people we have taught through the years prefer the behavioral approach, and for good reason. The best approach is the one you complete! Not to mention, it was emotion, not logic that got you into the consumer debt, so likely, it will be the power of the emotional brain that gets you out.

Finally, the third component of the financial trifecta, emergency cash. Nothing sexy about it. But then again, there’s nothing sexy about an Ambien either, and it’s debatable which one helps you sleep better at night.

1. Busting budget myths!

 Make a point this week to get real, call out and write down your own personal self-limiting scripts. Then, write down an empowering belief to replace each one. Be sure to share these with someone who cares about you. Here are just a few examples to get the juices flowing…

• “Budgeting means being deprived and uncomfortable.”
• “I make enough money to pay my expenses so I don’t need a budget.”
• “This will take too much of my time to maintain. I have better things to do.”
• “I’m comfortable with my current spending habits.”
• “I’ve tried this and never stick to it anyway so why bother.”

2. Gate check your pride

 This flight is bound for freedom! Gate check your pride and take care of business. Start selling “stuff”! Seriously, sell all that junk!! Apply it to your debt elimination plan. Stop pretending and get real. If that makes you uncomfortable, then you’re really not going to like this one. Get a second, or third, job! I know you already work hard. So what? Are you going to choose to be, a “Victim” or “Owner” of your current situation? Sorry, nothing but tough love here my friend. If you want sugar cookies and tea, call your grandma. I know…I know, it’s probably a bit much, but this is serious. This is your future, your life, your financial freedom. Why am I more fired up about your life than you are?!

3. Define and commit to your new “zero”

 Define it. Calculate it. Protect it. It’s that simple.

• Define what an emergency is before it happens. Meaning, it looks a lot more like a hot water heater going out than it does a new flat screen the week prior to the Super Bowl. You decide.
• Calculate your minimum emergency cash reserve balance. There is a really simple rule of thumb for this. Go to your budget and determine which of the line items are “non-negotiable”. They must get paid even if your income went away. Then, multiply that number by at least 3. The reason for this is because most long-term disability policies have an “eligibility period” of 3 months (more on this later, so just trust me for now).
• Protect it means not putting it at risk. Market risk, liquidity risk, default risk…no risk! So, basically this means putting it in a checking, savings or money market account that is preferably just out of arms reach from your sweaty little fingers! Pulling money from your emergency cash reserves should feel terrible, agonizing, and cause loss of sleep. This dollar amount of emergency cash is your new “$0.”
  

The National Wellness Institute has partnered with the Foundation for Financial Wellness (FFW) to develop financial wellness trainings.

Brent Hines, CFWE, CFWC is the founder and Chairman of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives. The Foundation’s curriculum is rooted in the principles of Behavioral Finance which makes every class topic taught by the Foundation unique, innovative and extremely valuable.

Financial wellness and financial education are two very different things. Financial wellness is based in behavioral science, adult learning theory and even in the neuroscience of improving our odds of higher performance in the financial component of this game called life.

We all want to have the tools, tactics and techniques to obtain financial well-being. But first, we need to take a step back and acknowledge that it is the doing, or better known as the behavior, that is the engine that drives our success. And, if we want to understand what fuels those behaviors, we must take one more step back and unpack our thoughts, beliefs and assumptions around money; in other words, how we are being.

This is partially why financial wellness is different than just financial education. The formula for success is more than only having the head knowledge, facts and figures. It must include the healthiest behaviors along with the empowering beliefs.

And, it’s this powerful concept of aiming how we are being that makes the financial wellness so special., and rarely understood, much less harnessed. The behavioral scientists refer to these beliefs as “scripts, tapes, or records” and the crazy part is that the vast majority were given to us by authoritative figures from the earliest years in our lives. That’s right, it’s not our fault! We were taught all of this head trash!

So, let’s make a deal. For the remainder of the time you spend with me in these writings, we agree that you’re going to leave Mom in the car…crack the windows, give her a bottle of water; she’ll be fine.

Poor Mom! OK, just kidding about Mom, but serious about the self-limiting beliefs from the authoritative figures from our youth!

1. Could our most powerful strength also be our biggest barrier?

 Let's take a look at how we think each and every day. Scientists estimate that the average person has 50,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day. The brain essentially wants to be as efficient as possible, so it repeats many of the same thinking processes again and again, rather than taking the effort and energy to carve out new types of thought pathways. About 90% of the thought pathways we have built, we use again. These are very efficient and repetitive. 

What science has learned is that unfortunately 70% to 85% of these repetitive thoughts are negative or have a negative connotation. If we're repeating the same thoughts many, many times a day and many of those thoughts have a negative bias, you can see how our thinking may in fact be tripping us up.

2. Who exactly are you trying to convince?

 Larry Burkett famously said, “We buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t like.”. Fear and pride are real things and play into our behavioral decision making each and every. What are some ideas that you might implement to counter some of your most common financial soothing mechanisms?

3. Take the helm; this is your ship.

 You’re worried about some things, and we get it…you’re not alone.  We have all faced financial distress…no matter how much money we have, our career choice or what stage of life we happen to be in. To give just a few examples which reflect American workers: The American Psychological Association’s survey on stress determined that 72% of American adults are stressed about money, at least some of the time and 26% are stressed about money most or all of the time. And factors like being female or being a parent increases the likelihood that you feel stress around money. 

In a separate report, it was found that 60% of American workers distress over financial issues impacts their ability to focus at work and has caused 1 in 3 of us to miss or be late for work because of their financial situation.

Money impacts every single area of our lives, with our work, our families and that stress certainly isn’t doing our health any favors.  So, how do we fix it?  Well it starts with our thinking.  So much so, that much of our lives are pre-occupied with negative thoughts about money.  And by allowing those thoughts to exist, we allow no space for creating solutions.  

Please don’t misunderstand, financial wellness is not some mumbo-jumbo, positive self-talk solution…instead it’s about real life, practical application that you can implement right away.  

Remember, financial wellness isn’t just about education, it’s about taking action…and sometimes that action is simply making a decision. Oftentimes, the first decision is what we chose to think or believe about money, which will then create healthier financial behaviors.

The National Wellness Institute has partnered with the Foundation for Financial Wellness (FFW) to develop financial wellness trainings.

Brent Hines, CFWE, CFWC is the founder and Chairman of the educational non-profit, Foundation for Financial Wellness. The Foundation’s mission is to improve people’s lives by empowering them with the knowledge and the motivation to take control of their financial lives. The Foundation’s curriculum is rooted in the principles of Behavioral Finance which makes every class topic taught by the Foundation unique, innovative and extremely valuable.

• shortness of breath
• persistent cough, clearing lungs
• increased work of breathing 
• the reduced ability to exercise or do daily activities caused due to diseases like asthma, bronchitis, COPD, lung fibrosis, lung injuries, before and after lung and heart surgeries, etc…
• improves Quality of Life

Chest physiotherapy helps patients to get back to their daily and occupational activities. It is an integral part of the medical team for the patients admitted in the ICU on ventilators with various diseases. These physiotherapists help the patients from when they arrive in the ICU to when they get back to their normal activities and occupation. Chest physiotherapists have dispelled the myth that patients with heart diseases, asthma, or any other lung disorders cannot live a normal life, play sports, or pursue general activities. 

You may be surprised to learn that you can strengthen your lungs and heart in much the same way you strengthen the various of the body. It’s amazing to know that you can do “weight and resistance” training for your lungs and heart muscles also — safely under the continuous monitoring and supervision of a Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapist. They not only help you to improve your condition, but also assess your daily activities and help you to modify your lifestyle to maintain progress. In addition to patients with major diseases, patients with breathing difficulties from unknown causes can also be benefited with chest rehabilitation. 

What if you don’t have any disease and still you feel breathless?

Many times, bad posture can pressurize or compress your lungs. Sometimes a person’s job pattern and daily activity may lead to weakness of your breathing muscles. A physiotherapist has expertise in assessing these types of issues, commonly found in school kids, housewives, computer users, those with scoliosis. etc. Correcting and strengthening posture with targeted exercises, stretches, and strength training of respiratory muscles can help patients to overcome this and reduce breathing issues.  

Nowadays there is a misconception in people that breathing exercises in Yoga and physiotherapy serve the same purpose. Basic breathing patterns taught in yoga are beneficial for a person to keep the lungs healthy, but if a person is suffering from lung problems such as bronchitis, COPD, fibrosis, etc. then the wrong breathing exercises can add on to your problem. Your entire treatment protocol is planned by your chest physiotherapist according to your condition, age, lifestyle, etc.

As with all other medical branches of physiotherapy (i.e. sports injuries, neurology, and orthopedic conditions) cardiopulmonary physiotherapists are doing wonders with their patients in all age groups, from infants to seniors. They help to improve people’s quality of life and enable them to continue with their daily activities and occupations. 

Dr. Samana Sayed is a renowned Physiotherapist working in Mumbai who has been serving patients for over five years. She is a Master in Physiotherapy (cardiopulmonary), Member of the Indian Association of Physiotherapy, Certified Manual therapist (spine and periphery), antenatal and postnatal trainer, acupuncturist, ergonomist, and a fitness advisor. She has eight years of experience as a senior consultant and department head in three renowned medical institutes in Mumbai. Dr. Sayed speaks internationally and nationally on physiotherapy and has contributed to several newspaper health columns. She has been awarded the National Youth Promising (Best Clinician) award. Visit her Facebook page or website at drsamana.com

A course in resilience and stress management will not help your staff if they return to a toxic work environment. Empowered Health Consciousness is a route to addressing resiliency work in a conscious, mindful way to stimulate growth and health in the work culture, the work climate, and the work environment. Health consciousness and resilience work together.

The Roles of Resilience and Empowered Health Consciousness

Resilience is operable in a window of time; it is the “bounce back” from adversity. Health consciousness is an ongoing process. It comes before resilience, is at play during resilience, and continues after the resilience. If you are not conscious of what’s happening during the stress-inducing event, you are not going to be resilient. Being present and aware during an adverse experience enables you to learn from the difficulty, promoting a resilient response. Resilience and health consciousness work together to create a culture of awareness and learning in which people respond more positively to adversity.

Resilience is about preparing for and learning from adversity.

Most of life’s problems are not sudden and overt. They are small daily irritations, or triggers, that over time cause strain and exhaustion. Most adverse incidents that occur are proceeded by these triggers.

Health Consciousness enables us to be proactively empowered to recognize the triggers before they accumulate.

Health consciousness helps us to be alert to our tolerance for the problems that arise in life, as well as when we “relapse” into unhealthy behaviors that may cause adversity, or in response to adverse circumstances. Having health consciousness skills enables us to create an environment that fosters resilience, making it far more likely that we’ll be resilient when difficulties arise.

Training for both areas reinforces the skills we can acquire for each, which supports ongoing learning, consciousness and a culture of learning and growing together. 

You can empower people in their own health consciousness, so they can make healthier choices for themselves!

Empower health consciousness in others. Register by October 24 for the next online course. Learn More at NationalWellness.org/WellnessAlternative

There are many factors at play when considering this question, but experts believe that the main reasons why we’re seeing more suicides in our country is because of increased stress, a stigma surrounding mental health disorders, increased drug and alcohol addiction, and various life crises.

Increased Stress

We are living with more stress today than ever before. The Great Recession that happened 10 years ago caused hundreds of thousands of people to lose their homes, their businesses, and their income. This caused increased stress and a marginal increase in the suicide rate at the time. But in addition, we need to look at everyday stress. We put ourselves through stressful situations both in our professional and personal relationships, which can really take a toll on our well-being.

If you feel overworked or anxious, seek help from a professional therapist, or figure out the stressors in your life and, if possible, rid yourself of them. For example, if your job has you working 60 hour weeks with work you hate, you might want to find a new job. No pay is worth your well-being and, potentially, your life. Below are also some ways to de-stress after a long day:

• Do some at-home yoga to get moving and stretch out
• Do a simple breathing exercise
• Practice mindfulness and meditation

Stay in tune with your mind and know your limit with stress, anxiety, and responsibilities. Don’t be afraid to speak up and get help if needed.

Mental Health Disorder Stigma

It’s unclear how many reported suicide victims suffer from mental illness, but the number is likely high. It’s hard to determine this information because many people are afraid to get help or they have an undiagnosed mental health disorder, which can then exacerbate suicidal thoughts.

Although mental health is being more recognized in our society, there is still a stigma surrounding things like depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and many others. Some people think that if they have a mental health disorder, there’s “something wrong with them” or that it can be changed. For example, someone with depression might just be seen as sad and may even be told things like “just get over it.” But instead of this view, we should approach mental illness as any other physical illness. If you break your arm, you go to the doctor. No one will say “just get over it.” We know where to get the help we need for our physical ailments. But what about our mental health? Therapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists are professionally trained to help address these mental health concerns. By changing this stigma surrounding mental health, we may be able to slow suicide rates and share the message that it’s okay to get help when you need it, and it’s okay to put your mental health first.

Increased Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Addiction and suicide have a very scary link. Many people who struggle with addiction also have a dual diagnosis of a mental health condition, and as we discussed above, people with mental health conditions may be more likely to commit suicide. The three are intertwined, and the stats prove it. For example, the National Alliance on Mental Health shares that “substance abuse increases the likelihood that a person will commit suicide and drugs and alcohol are the common means for committing the act of suicide.”

There are key signs to look for if you suspect that you or someone you love is struggling with a mental illness, substance abuse, or both. Below are some red flags:

• Distancing themselves from others or hobbies that they enjoy
• Lack of ability to complete everyday tasks
• Constant alcohol or drug use
• Statements like “I don’t want to do this anymore”
• Sudden aggressive behavior
• Prolonged stress
• A history of abuse

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and takes way too many lives with it. But if we understand the factors that may increase suicide rates, we can do everything possible to prevent it. We can start by removing the stigma surrounding mental illness, limiting our stress or stressful situations, and getting ourselves or our loved ones help if they are facing substance abuse.

Romy Antoine

Millennial Engagement Expert, CEO/Founder “Ones Stop Wellness, Inc
University of the Sciences Philadelphia PA

I have had a dream of helping people achieve optimal wellness from an early age. During college, I majored in biology with hopes of becoming a doctor. I was passionate about fitness as well, and became a certified personal trainer to earn extra money during school. I learned about fitness research, and began exploring the Wellness Minor at my school, taking courses in exercise science and wellness management.

My first project was starting my first company, RippedNFit, where I originally wanted to create a blog to become a trusted source of health articles online. I gained international recognition and published articles in many fitness magazines, including Men's Health. I did online health coaching with clients all over the world, gaining perspective on behavior change, motivation, and adherence.

Through RippedNFit, I hosted wellness networking events where I built a community of wellness professionals and health enthusiasts on a monthly basis. The focus of this was to engage younger professionals into a wellness network, something that had yet to exist. I volunteered at a nonprofit, working with overweight toddlers and children to get them to move more, as well as engaging with their parents on healthy eating on a budget. Working with unhealthy families in a low-income community was a new and rewarding experience, as I was able to improve community wellness as well as personal wellness for these families.  

I took on a new client who has having trouble with work-life balance — staying in shape while being productive at her new company. After working together for a few months and getting her back on track, she asked me to do a lunch and learn at her company, an experience that introduced me to corporate wellness.  

I began booking workshops at other companies and attending conferences to learn about the industry. Volunteering as a workplace health educator for the American Heart Association allowed me to network and learn what other companies were doing. 

After realizing that I could package what I was already doing with personal and community wellbeing and apply that to organizations, I started One Stop Wellness and made sure that the offerings were multi-dimensional and relevant to the current employees. I did organizational wellbeing consulting for a wide range of companies in different industries. 

I wanted to find my niche, and realized that millennials have redefined wellness to focus on multidimensional wellbeing. I eventually published my book on millennial engagement, and started doing presentations on the topic, including my talk at the 2017 NWI Conference. I was able to do a different style of workshop where I incorporated group activities into my session. What was great about my workshop was that it not only helped managers understand millennials, but gave millennials a new way to look at the workplace and better fit in. I also had the chance to network with the millennials at the conference while keeping in touch with and sharing the value of NWI to my colleagues working in HR, education, and healthcare. 

Currently, my team is building an employee engagement technology platform that caters to the personal and professional values of millennials. Instead of focusing only on physical health, we focus on engagement, recognition, professional development, community, financial, and mental health. This is a one stop shop for workplace wellness. The platform is built with the latest research and methods in employee engagement, organizational psychology, and behavior change strategy.

My efforts in the wellness field were noticed and I made the 2017 Black Enterprise BE Modern Man 100 list. With this recognition of my wellness industry and business contributions, I was becoming an influence, and was nominated for the Top 10 Healthcare CEOS of 2018 by Smart Health. 

I believe my journey over the last seven years has allowed me to work in various aspects of wellness and then fuse all that experience together to create an effective workplace wellness company. Had I just gone to medical school, this experience would never have been achievable.  

Awards:

• 2018: National Wellness Institute Board Internship
• 2018: Young Wellness Professional - National Wellness Institute: Providing effective leadership to engage young generations in the healthcare and wellness industry via NWI. Show proven leadership on a project that impacts personal, community, organizational or corporate wellness.
• 2017: BE Modern Man 100 - Black Enterprise Magazine - BE Modern Man 100 Features: showcasing 100 diverse men of color (African American, Afro Latino, African, West Indian, Indian, Indian-Asian, etc.) who have done or are doing exceptional work within their communities, within their respective industries and/or globally.

We should also consider the content we are tagged in, as these posts still appear on our social media and show employers what our friends think about us. Additionally, proofread before you post; a spelling or grammar error in a 50 character tweet may look sloppy or uneducated to a future employer. All this information in your web presence combines to allow your future employer to evaluate your judgement, maturity, filtering ability, attitudes, and lifestyle during the hiring process.

Here are some tips and tricks for maintaining a great online presence:

• Remove anything that doesn’t present you in a mature or positive manor.
• Post positively and avoid negativity.
• When in doubt, don’t post it.
• Proofread! And proofread again!
• Profile photos and appearance make huge first impressions, choose them carefully. It is best to look clean and polished.
• Avoid drama and offensive posts.
• Consider your profile from an outsider’s view. If you were a stranger looking at your profile, does it look like you are responsible? Like you spend many of your nights out partying? Like you use appropriate language? An employer doesn’t know that a carefree post about a night out on the town only happened one time. They may assume it is one of your regular activities. 

Lastly, while it is important to edit and clean up your online presence, you can also enhance it to stand out and shine. Use a photo or post to boost the most impressive points on your resume. Sharing posts about community involvement or service may score points with employers. 

What you post is not private. Employers can and will use your social media as a factor in the hiring process. Let your social media help you positively stand out from the pool of applicants.  

Remember to think before you post! It can reward you with a job — or save your career.

Source: Permission granted by Garver, P., Ed.D. (2016). Fit for Hire (3rd ed.). Garver Publishing.

Lindsay Born is a Health Promotion and Wellness major at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Her minor is in psychology. Lindsay is currently an intern at the National Wellness Institute, engaging in marketing, writing, planning, and communication projects.

Yet despite hundreds of articles, the growth of mindfulness apps and increasing numbers of corporate meditation programs, there are probably more meditation techniques out there than most people realize. Mindfulness is perhaps the most well known, but for people interested in meditation there’s lots of others to try —  it’s knowing where to start which can be the challenge. 

This short introduction to the major meditation techniques is here to help you pick what meditation technique most resonates with you, and give (a very short!) overview of each practice. 

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is arguably the most famous technique.  By teaching students to pay attention to the present moment through simple breathing and meditation practices, Mindfulness increases our awareness of our thoughts and feelings. This is usually achieved through an attempt to notice the things around us, such as the feeling of a breeze in our hair, sounds of distant traffic and shades of green in the trees - all acknowledged without judgement. This is known as “open monitoring” meditation. 

As a simple concept, Mindfulness can be a great way to introduce people to meditation before they move on to a more structured and guided practice. It is a particularly freeform technique with an abundance of different ideas and advice on how best to go about it, so finding a teacher is important for those who want to advance. 

Mindfulness is also a great “gateway” meditation because there’s so many brilliant apps, such as Headspace and Calm, which can help you easily bring meditation into your life. Once they are introduced to the concept, many people embrace mindfulness as a new way of looking at the world, trying to exist more in the present moment and appreciating the small pleasures in life. 

Transcendental Meditation 

Transcendental meditation (TM) is best known in its branded form. TM was popularized in the 1970s, with famous practitioners including The Beatles, David Lynch and other enthusiasts bringing this millennium-old practice into the modern world. However, TM does not sum up transcendental meditation in its entirety; it’s simply a consumable version of the technique which was created by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Transcendental meditation is part of the ancient Vedic culture of Northern India, and is a form of “focused attention” meditation. Focused attention requires it’s participants to focus on a particular thing, such as their breath, part of their body or external object. In the case of Transcendental meditation, people focus on a personalized mantra that’s been allocated to them by an experienced guide. This helps act as a vehicle into a physiologically restful and neurologically powerful state, that the ancient sages of India called turiya.

Transcendental (or Vedic) meditation is perhaps most suited to people looking for simplicity. Focused attention meditation techniques are arguably easier than mindfulness, because there is something clear to direct your thoughts to. This technique can also be effortlessly integrated into everyday life, and practiced in all sorts of environments - even the noisy setting of a cafe or commuter train. 

Loving Kindness Meditation 

While transcendental meditation has its roots in India and Hinduism, Loving Kindness Meditation is a Buddhist practice that can be sourced to Theravada (which is sometimes known as “Southern Buddhism” and strongest in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Burma) and Tibetan traditions. As is suggested by its name, this is a meditation technique which revolves around developing compassion and cultivating love. 

A person who wants to pursue Loving Kindness Meditation would sit quietly and attempt to generate feelings of kindness and benevolence. You start by focusing on yourself, establishing self-directed altruism, before extending this out to family, friends, strangers , and eventually all of humanity.

For people who want to cultivate their sense of empathy, and nurture positive feelings, Loving Kindness Meditation could be perfect. This meditation technique increases your compassion, both for other people, and for yourself - quieting that inner critic which can be a huge source of low self-esteem and anxiety. 

Zen Meditation 

Zen meditation has a long history, originating with Indian monk Bodhidharma in the 6th century CE and becoming established in China and Japan. It’s a simple but strict meditation, where maintaining the correct posture is vital - unlike mindfulness and transcendental meditation, which can be practiced in whatever position is most comfortable. You sit on a “zafu” (a kind of cushion) in the half lotus position, with your knees pushing into the floor, and your head pushing into the sky, with your back as straight as possible. 

This is pretty uncomfortable for beginners, but it is meant to get easier as you become more flexible. Practiced with your eyes open, the meditative state of mind is achieved through the deep concentration required to maintain your posture and focus on your breathing. The Zen master, Taisen Deshimaru said: “By simply sitting, without looking for any goal or any personal benefit, if your posture, your breathing and your state of mind are in harmony, you will understand the true Zen; you will understand the Buddha's nature.”

Rather than offering temporary solutions to life’s problems, Zen and other forms of Buddhist meditation look to address core issues - and delve far deeper than mindfulness apps. This is a good form of meditation for people who are committed to following a spiritual journey, one that goes beyond simply searching for a way to relieve stress. 

Yoga

The tradition of yoga is extremely old, going back to at least 1700 BC by most estimations, and has many different lineages and forms. The yoga we recognize in the West can be as spiritual and meditative as you like, or just a form of helpful exercise - it completely depends on your preferences and which teacher you choose. 

Yoga is a way to combine a meditation technique with a form of physical exercise. While meditation in all its forms has health benefits - usually related to reducing stress - yoga can be a way to ease problems like low back pain, and has the additional benefits of building strength, balance and flexibility. 

However, yoga may be a little less immediately accessible than other, less active, forms of meditation (especially for anyone with physical impairments). People facing particular health issues will need to access the services of a yoga therapist in order to ensure the practice is tailored to their needs, and doesn’t exacerbate any problems. 

These are just a few of the many kinds of meditation out there, and with some experimentation you should be able to find the technique (or combination of techniques) which suits you best. 

Will Williams is one of Europe’s leading Vedic meditation experts, and a wellbeing advisor to the OECD working group on Education. He has worked with the BBC, American Express, Spotify, Uber and many others in implementing corporate wellbeing programs, and his first book, The Effortless Mind, is available on Amazon.
You can contact him at willwilliamsmeditation.co.uk.

This infographic from Maximillions hows the official government statistics that discloses the impact the employees’ mental health has on productivity and the loss that the companies are suffering because of this. These statistics will help you gain knowledge about the importance of proactive team building is for a better workforce mental health. The infographic also provides some important recommendations for managing mental health in the workplace.

Click to view the full inforgraphic.

Toby Dean works on behalf of Maximillion in content creation and marketing. He creates engaging graphics and content that help businesses stand out from the crowd. Over the past 7 years has worked with dozens of SME's in both an agency and freelance capacity.

With 25 years of event management experience, Maximillion has delivered over 5000 corporate events and hosted more than a quarter of a million guests across the spectrum of Team Building, Event Management, Learning & Development and Challenge Events.

We’ve been orienting our new and returning colleagues over the last ten days. The mood is optimistic and energetic, as it always is at this time of year, and we’ve been thinking about tackling some issues that just seemed too hard towards the end of last term. It’s going to be a great year ahead! Nothing remarkable there really; we’re all fresher after a break, of course.

But I’ve been wondering how we can maintain not just the positivity, but also the increased capacity that we have now; and not just for staff but for students too. How can we all maintain functioning at our most capable, and be managing to do our best work we are tired?

This is a big issue – if a rather obvious one – because the difference in schools between the start and end of term is vast. And it’s difficult because we also want to excel; to somehow maximize the experiences and learning that we can have in any given term – so we cannot just ever take it easy; we need to squeeze the juice from each minute. For teachers, the pressure is managing 100 students each week, being alive to each individual, responsive to all parents, remaining caring and inspirational, in and out of the classroom. For students it means managing many difficult subjects, each with their own methods, courseworks, pressures as well as College applications, sports, drama, music, dance, and adolescent social life. Small wonder there is weariness, and even burnout as the term goes on.

So what can we do? How do we approach this mid-term, when the break is a long way off and folk are tired? This is not a question unique to schools - all organizations face it, as we increasingly find that working/studying lives are complex and intense - so much so that stress has been called the health epidemic of the 21st century by the World Health Organization.

There’s some truth in the old work smarter not harder mantra – but the trouble is, if we knew how to work smarter, we would surely do it! And even then, this approach seems to me to be a potential band-aid at best; for teachers teaching, and for students learning, there is always more that can be done – so working smarter can simply mean seeking to get more done in a given amount of time, which does not avoid the overload issue (I think that’s what IT has generally done – we are far, far more productive than we ever have been, but we do far, far more with the time - that is to say, we work so much faster, with consequent overload.  Additionally, IT has opened up so many new possibilities that we are in fact even more aware of all the things we could be doing, and feel even worse that we are not doing them).

So with all this in mind it was fascinating to read the World Economic Forum article about a NZ businesses that experimented with a four day week for employees, with no change of pay. It turns out that each employee got through just as much work, with an extra day of leisure each week, and was much happier.  An unmitigated success, no less.  The article notes that it may be a case of Parkinson’s law which states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Or to put that a slightly different way, workers will become more efficient if there is less time to complete a task.

There seem to be many competing and sometimes contradictory answers here; involving balance, boundaries, storytelling.

So can we free up extra time in schools, with no loss of productivity (learning)? I am not sure.   The idea of getting through more material fits a factory metaphor but the factory metaphors may not be the best one: if we think of education as flowering (which seems right for students, at least some of the time), then we know that sometimes, things have to happen at their own pace.  But it is certainly worth looking at simply using less time; could we shorten the deadlines for some assessments with no loss whatsoever?  The notion that giving students less time to complete some tasks would relieve pressure is counter-intuitive, but worth considering. Of course, if we did this, we would need to avoid the temptation to simply fill the space created with other things!

Ultimately, contrary to what I wrote earlier, perhaps we do not need to squeeze the juice from each minute.   And there, perhaps, is the real root of the issue: Are we prepared to be satisfied with less? Are we prepared to forego some experiences and opportunities to enhance the ones we do have? Do we have the courage to do that when others are filling their times with a greater variety of experiences?  When I put it like that, it sounds a bit like the decision to get married (!)  - and I mean that in two ways; firstly, sometimes you have to give up some things to gain others.   Secondly, and more importantly for any organization, there may be a lot of individual variation here - there may be  maybe no universal answer.  So we'll start the year as we always do - seeking to work with individuals; to meet them where they are, and to support them as best we can.  And we will not lose sight of the fact that we may need to ask some hard questions about what we do if we are serious about wellbeing for the community.

Nicholas Alchin is a Sino-Celt who has been working in K-12 International Education for too long to remember. Father of three and wife of one; currently Deputy Head at UWCSEA in Singapore. Avid reader and traveller; keen and competent breadmaker; keen and incompetent uni-cycler. 
https://nickalchinuwcsea.blogspot.com