Back pains can be agonizing. Apart from the pain you experience, it also interferes with your routines such as work or exercise.
Most runners decide to stop running completely because strenuous work may further damage the back.
If you are a runner who experiences back pain on occasion, you do not have to let it stop you.
A 2014 study claimed running could rid your back of pain.
Below are some of the ways you can run safely with back pain.
4 Ways How to Run Safely with Back Pain:
1. Change your running form.
Running should be something easy to do since children do it all the time in the playground. However, some people do not know how to run.
Once you realize that your back pain increases due to running stance, here are some of the ways of changing your running form:
Adopt short and fast strides. Taking long strides forces your legs to occupy a huge distance, which means you may fall and hurt your back.
Keep your shoulders back. Your shoulders need to be at the back with your chest protruding outwards.
Look ahead when running. Running with your head looking down strains both your back and neck.
Avoid bouncing while running. Bouncing forces the head and back to move so much, which means you will be fatigued faster.
Try to run at a conversational pace. A conversational pace is a pace at which you can talk while running. Unless you are running a short distance rate, it is not necessary to take off.
2. Warm up before running.
Warming up is important for running as well as other exercises.
If you run without warming up, you are more likely to experience severe pains in your already paining back.
For instance, your muscles and bones loosen up and your heart beat steadily goes up when you warm up. Running without warming up is similar to a student doing an exam without studying.
Some of the warm up routines you can do before your run include:
Aerobic exercises such as rope skipping, push ups, cycling and so on.
Build up your speed gradually beginning with a faster walk, jog and finally a run.
Performing arm circles involves standing with your arms apart and rotating them front and back. Arm circles significantly reduce back pain.
3. Sporting the right shoes.
Running is not just about preparing your body for the run, but wearing the right running shoes.
For instance, running with flip flops may cause back pain. If you already have back pain, then wearing flip flops wouldn’t be solving matters.
Flip flops cause the arches in the feet to collapse which leads to an imbalance that puts pressure on your legs, knees and back.
The right shoes to get are the Brooks neutral running shoes.. The neutral shoes allow for equal distribution of impact from each step.
With other shoes, the impact may be concentrated on one area of the foot and result in an unequal balance of your legs and consequently hurting your back further.
4. Developing a running schedule.
Runners want to achieve different results for their bodies.
Some runners however get too eager and push themselves beyond their normal limit just because they desire quick results. Running for long hours without breaks will worsen your back.
For your back pain to ease, you also need rest to enable the back to recover.
For instance, instead of running seven times a week, consider running four times a week instead. Running is not the only exercise you should focus on, so consider incorporating cross training in your workout.
Cross training refers to any other exercises besides running. Running can significantly increase your back pain, so you should let your back rest and do other exercises.
What you should remember?
Your back pain should no longer be the reason you cannot run. All it takes is for you to change your running techniques.
If you still suffer from back pain maybe you should consult with your doctor about whether or not to use some pills like codeine.
Remember even after changing your technique, your back may still ache.
In case running does not ease your back pain, you may be forced to seek medical attention.
The doctor will prescribe some medication and advise you accordingly on which exercises to do at home.
Roxana Radulescu is one of the coaches we found and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her unique approach to business management, or as she likes to call it “It’s all personal!”. Here is what she said.
Meet Life Coach Roxana Radulescu:
Name: Roxana Radulescu Pillar: The Mind Who is this coach for: Anyone who wants to become better leader for their business and learn a whole skillset for business management. How they can help: She offers multiple programs where you can upgrade your skillset on leadership and management.
First of all, how are you and your family doing in these Pandemic times?
Better than I thought this time last year.
How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?
One word: pressure.
Emotional, mental, physical, it’s there!
Pressure to manage yourself, your workload, your team, your boss AND your ‘team home’.
Everyone has been working not from home, but with home, and the effect of that is visible in how exhausted people are, how worried about the next changes they are, how they relate to themselves and to one another.
Add to that the pressure of maintaining a high level of performance, with budgets that have been cut.
The pressure of laying people off your team, while you are keeping others.
The pressure of working in isolation and feeling lost.
The pressure of coming up with solutions and strategies in a world that is changing by the minute.
That’s why I created the “Lead for Legacy League”, to help especially people leading other people first cope, then take time for themselves, vent, take the pressure off, learn more about themselves and their super powers and slowly but surely build strategies that they can implement.
And get the support they need, both from me as their coach and from the community of people who, even if in different countries and continents, share similar challenges and the same amount of pressure.
For me, like for so many others, the pandemic meant turning to the drawing board and seeing what I can do for the people who needed the help I can provide.
It meant seeing how I can meet their needs and how I can make a difference for them, at a time of huge unrest.
What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?
Biggest lessons for me: creativity and science helped us go through this crisis.
We’ve seen such displays of creativity, people singing in the streets, playing all sorts of instruments on balconies, in the street, in parks, social media exploded with personalities reciting poems, organizing free online concerts.
People playing tennis from one rooftop to another, teaching cooking recipes online, offering gym, ballet and all sorts of classes online.
We, as people, tapped into our creativity to find the innovative solutions that we needed right then. And some of these solutions are here to stay, they weren’t here before and might have never been here, hadn’t it been for the crisis.
In times of crisis, creativity blooms! And I loved that!
I also loved how we turned to science and to all those who helped us survive, literally! Hats off to the tremendous efforts we’ve seen! I have no words to express my gratitude fully.
These people areall heroes. Heroes who don’t need capes. Real heroes who tapped into their full super powers and shared them with the world.
The Origin:
Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?
I come from a Learning and Development and HR background, and coaching was part of my professional certification as a “L and D” professional, too.
I designed and delivered soft skills and professional development programs as the Head of “L and D” at the international law firm I was employed, for about 8 years.
After that, I started my own training, coaching and consulting business, which is called “All Personal”.
I believe it’s all personal, nothing is just business! It’s all either intra personal (how we manage ourselves) or inter personal (how we manage our relationships with others).
I now work with corporate managers and small business CEOs and help them become dream bosses and build game changing teams and cultures.
What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?
The biggest obstacle was that I was extremely shy as a kid. The kind that people said ‘doesn’t talk at all’. And it was an obstacle for me, because I had a lot to say!
I felt so much, I wanted to share so much and I couldn’t. When it came to speaking my thoughts, I was petrified.
Funnily enough, I am now a TEDx speaker. Which, by the way, if you are reading this and are super shy, you might also be a TEDx speaker yourself, you just don’t know it yet!
This obstacle made me notice a lot of what others were doing, wondering how they could express themselves so easily, observing how they were talking, body language, voice, everything!
I also belong to what was called ‘the MTV generation’
So I was watching all the VJs on MTV and dreaming that one day I would be one of them. I always dreamt of either being on TV or in entertainment, something along those lines. I always dreamt I’d be a teacher.
It’s those dreams that fueled my fight with my biggest obstacle of not speaking much.
I started to put myself in situations where I had to speak: in high school, at parties, then as part of my job delivering workshops.
Then speaking at TEDx, creating my YouTube channel and doing weekly live streams. The dreams eventually won.
The Coaching Style:
How do you innovate with coaching your clients?
I believe everyone has their own super power!
You don’t need a cape to be a super hero, and I believe, especially with the pandemic, we’ve seen examples of super heroes all around us, as I mentioned above.
I innovate in the way I help the people and teams I work with tap into their super powers:
1. The All Personal online learning platform available to them, so they build their personal skills muscles, with courses from managing time to emotional intelligence.
2. Flexible individual coaching program, where they get access to all my online courses and to the Lead for Legacy League, the monthly membership program for management and leadership transformation.
3. Monthly free live workshops on management and leadership themes that help people who lead people and teams.
The rest is up to each and everyone of the people I work with. I believe that when we learn different, we lead different!
So I love to make learning a habit, instead of an event that people go to. That’s why I love mixing workshops with coaching, and online learning with a coaching membership.
Learning how to be a ‘dream boss’ that people love working with should be available, fun and powerful! That’s what I strongly believe in and what I am building for my clients, be they teams or individuals!
What’s unique about your coaching approach?
I believe that my purpose as a coach is for my clients to not need me anymore.
That’s the goal, to help my clients discover their super powers and use them to the full potential. Help them build learning and leading habits that they can they maintain and grow on their own.
I’ll be there anytime if and when they need me afterwards. But my goal as a coach is for them to claim and use their powers on their own.
What benefits do your clients get after working with you?
Leadership, communication and management tools in their toolbox that they can confidently use anytime! I will let them speak for themselves, by sharing a few thoughts from some of the clients I worked with:
‘Roxana helped us to better understand the aim of our own company culture. She aided us in helping to find the right personalities for our business, assisted in fully integrating the new hires, and further has helped us to become stronger managers. If you are looking for someone to assist in helping to build or further develop your company’s culture, and how to work to get the most out of your teams (especially in a supportive and team-oriented approach), I highly recommend engaging the services of Roxana and All Personal.’ (Joncarlo Bairos, Managing Partner, Forge Legal Recruitment)
‘Roxana is very professional at helping people improve their interpersonal skills. With her help, you can become more confident, by better understanding yourself and different kinds of personality. If you have ever been troubled by not being able to express yourself freely, either at work or in daily life, having a one on one session with Roxana would be a great choice to make.’ (Nathan Wang, Web Developer)
‘Roxana worked to learn all personalities of our team, and helped to educate our group on the most sensible and efficient way to structure our working time together. She created a team dynamic like no other, and helped to grow my leadership skills as a manager. She created a social team culture for our business, which we originally thought would be very difficult to achieve, as we are a fully remote team. I highly recommend Roxana to any business looking to further grow and develop their company and staff, into a more collaborative organization!’ (Brittany Melo, Managing Partner Forge Recruitment)
‘Roxana is a born teacher and mentor. I have never met anyone in my career so passionate about helping others learn new skills and grow into the best version of themselves. Her passion allowed her, shortly after she moved to Canada, to fund and lead “All Personal”, a thriving coaching business and partner of many other learning organizations across the globe. Her unshakeable enthusiasm, devotion to anything related to professional development and outstanding coaching abilities, make her the perfect guide and mentor for any professional willing to improve their effectiveness, find their groove and“super powers”, as she likes to call them.’ (Valeria Ponis, Deloitte Canada)
Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?
This is the only assessment tool on the market that measures how people make their best impact in their team and organization.
I use it with individuals and teams, and, no surprise, they make a similar impact in personal environments, too.
I also use different kinds of assessment tools for my clients, that reveal what their communication styles are, their Learning Style preferences, how well they listen, where they are in their emotional intelligence journey, etc.
In my Membership group for people who lead people and teams, we make it a priority to discuss tools and strategies that help my clients in their work on themselves, and also in how they manage and lead their teams.
The Impact:
If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?
It’s All Personal, nothing is just business!
What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?
It started from Einstein’s quote: ‘Imagination rules the world.’
I loved it the minute I saw it, but didn’t get the full grasp of it until one day when it was clear to me: what we imagine, we can create.
It all starts there, in our mind, with a thought. It’s all up to us to imagine, believe and become.
Your final thoughts?
‘Whether you think you can, or can’t, you’re right.’ Henry Ford’s quote that goes hand in hand with Einstein’s ‘imagination rules the world.’
I’m going to leave you with that.
Where Can You Find Roxana Radulescu?
If you want to dive deeper into her work you can visit her website https://personalskillscoach.com/. Also, make sure to check her YouTube channel. She shares valuable videos there, and she publishes often.
If you loved this interview you can contact Roxana Radulescu at [email protected]. It was an honor having this interview with her.
James Davis is one of the coaches we found and we did a little interview with him. He impressed us with his wisdom and insight for the connection between body and mind. Here is what he said.
Meet Life Coach James Davis:
Name: James Davis Pillar: The Body Who is this coach for: Anyone who wants to get in better physical shape and boost their confidence. How they can help: Physical training exercises, right nutrition and identity level change combined with emotional wellbeing.
First of all, how are you and your family doing in these Pandemic times?
We’re doing great thank you.
I run our two businesses with my wife Claire, and our dog Lola… so the start of the pandemic was tough: our main business was luxury fitness holidays in Marbella and Ibiza, so we had the double whammy of losing our revenues pretty much overnight and having to refund a pretty well booked season.
How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?
There’s no doubt that a lot of people have struggled with the uncertainty of the situation, a feeling that their life choices were largely out of their hands.
A sense of isolation also has been a big thing for a lot of people. Of course we’re not immune to that either.
It’s a case of reaching out when you need support, of finding like minded virtual communities to be part of, and establishing a perception of control in your life to sooth those feelings of uncertainty.
What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?
That the human race is durable, and that necessity is the mother of invention.
The Origin:
Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?
From a young age I was fascinated by human behavior and what motivated it, so it was perhaps no surprise that I did my first degree in Social Psychology before completing a Masters in Applied Psychology, I guess this was my intro to coaching!
I actually worked for a short time with a boutique psychology consultancy but my other passion was writing and when an opportunity came up to join the legendary Ministry of Sound nightclub to be part of the launch team for a new magazine… It was a big leap of faith, but I believe in following your passions.
After various corporate roles I reminded myself of this, moving to Ibiza in 2011 to set up a new format of retreats: luxury hotel accommodation and food, addressing the mind as well as the body, and setting people up with the tools and knowledge for long term success.
Along that journey I’ve collected a whole load of experience and qualifications which make me uniquely placed to look at the holistic whole when working with clients.
Psychology, physical training, nutrition, hormones, emotional wellbeing and the interplay of all these elements.
What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?
I’ve had to overcome a lot of limiting beliefs to grow to the place where I am today.
You cannot be comfortable and grow, but often when I was younger I was both uncomfortable and unable to grow.
Realizing and accepting your limitations allows you to work on them.
I’ve been fortunate to have been put in situations where I’ve been outside my comfort zone and been forced to grow, for which I’m thankful.
Now it’s a positive choice for me and I’m always seeking to improve.
The Coaching Style:
How do you innovate with coaching your clients?
I’m a massive believer in healthy mind, healthy body and vice versa.
So often in the coaching world we see an emphasis on what I call the “external” factors: like workouts and diets.. or on the “internal”: mindset, emotions.. but rarely do approaches consider the individual as a whole with all these aspects.
This is what we do.
Here’s a really simple example, weight loss isn’t just about moving more and eating less. It’s about uncovering beliefs, self identity and aligning those with the client’s goals.
It’s about understanding their habits, their triggers, and working on those to build a model for a total lifestyle shift and sustainable success.
What’s unique about your coaching approach?
That we’re so much more than coaches!
People will have maybe a personal trainer or a gym membership, maybe follow a diet plan from a book, have a coach for confidence, see a hormone specialist for menopause… We blend all of this in one approach.
We have the knowledge of the body drawn from being personal trainers and working with thousands of clients, with a solid no fad nutritional approach, we’re hormone specialists, we understand the interplay of all these factors.
Then you add in the psychology, the coaching, the stress management tools, the NLP…
We have a huge tool box to draw on, and importantly it’s a tool box where we not only have vast experience but where we know how all the parts work together and impact each other.
I think that makes us pretty unique.
What benefits do your clients get after working with you?
Most clients come to us for physical transformation.
They’re looking to look or feel better, have more energy, lose some body fat, and we absolutely get amazing results for them.
However, what they all say is that biggest change for them is in their mindset and outlook.
They learn to overcome their own limiting beliefs, to foster a positive outlook on life, to become more confident, and confident too that they can sustain this for life, which is what we want.
We’ve had people change careers, get big promotions, do big things they’ve been waiting their whole life to do, because they now feel it’s possible, and that’s what we love.
Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?
We have our own app that schedules a full programme for our clients.
This means that they have accountability AND they don’t have to think too much… Every day they just need to check out what we’ve got set up for them, plus everything in there is on demand so they can do it when it suits them, which removes the “no time” excuse.
It’s a game changer, the feedback from clients is like they’re having us in their pockets.
The Impact:
If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?
Age is just a number, follow your dreams.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?
That you cannot out perform your self identity.
As Henry Ford said, “whether you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”
Your final thoughts?
Thank you for the opportunity of this interview, and if you’re reading this and it resonates with you, please get in touch.
Where You Can Find James Davis?
If you resonated with what James Davis shared in this interview you can find more about him and his work on his website themidlifementors.com. Or you can directly book a call here with him.
Make sure to check out his podcast where he goes in depth and shares his secrets on becoming a better self.
Feel free to go on their YouTube channel where you can listen to value nuggets and free lessons from their coaching, also you can find the testimonials from his clients. It was an honor to have this interview with this wonderful human being.
Out of all the advances in technology that have been developed over the last decade, virtual health seems to be the most outstanding one.
The opportunity to consult with health professionals from the comfort of your home has become the main reason why many people from all over the world choose this type of healthcare assistance.
In general terms, virtual healthcare can be defined as virtual visits that take place between patients and medical persons via communication technology.
These meetings occur in real time from virtually any location using various platforms that offer such videoconference features.
For example, XRHealth is a virtual clinic that offers medical assistance to patients using VR headsets to optimize treatments in real time.
So, whether you are social distancing or simply need a quick consultation, a licensed therapist is just a call away.
To learn more about virtual healthcare, here is everything you need to know about it and how it can help you improve your health and wellness remotely.
4 Things You Need to Know About Virtual Care:
1. What’s the difference between Telemedicine and Virtual Care?
Before we move on to the services virtual healthcare offers its patients, it is important to explain the difference between telemedicine and virtual care.
To start off, telemedicine mainly refers to the long distance treatment of various medical conditions and issues without seeing the patient in person.
Healthcare providers use telehealth platforms such as live video, audio or instant messaging to give medical advice to patients and grant them access to care right from their phones or tablets.
On the other hand, virtual care refers to all the ways healthcare providers remotely interact with their patients in real time.
Besides treating them via telemedicine, providers also offer the services of checking in after an in person visit and monitoring vitals after surgery.
2. Which conditions can you treat?
The main purpose of virtual healthcare is to improve patients’ health and overall wellness.
That’s why almost every medical VR company consists of different clinical sectors including PTSD, stress management and relaxation, pain management, exercise, addiction, mood disorders, preventative health, elderly care and others. There are many things that a VR doctor can diagnose.
For example, if the current pandemic has taken its toll on your mental health, you can reach out to a licensed therapist to help you in the process and offer you the best treatment you need depending on the condition.
In fact, you’d be surprised how enthusiastic these virtual doctors actually are for providing high quality compassionate care to their patients and helping them get through some hard times in their life.
3. How much does it cost?
Another aspect of virtual healthcare that concerns patients is how much it costs. As in real hospitals, the price you pay for a certain service mainly depends on the care and treatment you receive.
The same applies for virtual healthcare except you are excluding the expenses of actually traveling to a hospital.
This is especially helpful for those people who live in rural communities, have limited movement, time or transportation and need immediate medical care while away from home.
In addition to this, many medical VR companies are in network providers with most insurance companies so they are the ones that deal with your insurance provider directly while you are focusing on your recovery.
4. How does it work?
To make it work, you will need to sign up for your virtual healthcare provider by making an account.
After doing so, you are required to state your symptoms in order to choose your virtual therapist or doctor.
Then, you meet with your healthcare provider on a live, online video appointment and discuss your condition in more detail.
Your doctor or therapist performs a clinical evaluation of your health condition and establishes a plan of care.
Once you have discussed the basics of your meeting, you will receive ongoing guidance from your virtual doctor and meet up as your condition progresses.
What you should remember?
Just like every other aspect of technology advances, so does the healthcare industry.
Virtual care has recently become the most convenient way to interact with patients remotely and provide them with proper medical care from the comfort of their home.
So, whether you live far away from a healthcare facility or need immediate medical attention, jumping on the virtual care wagon is the best way to go about it.
You can talk to a licensed doctor or therapist at any time from anywhere and instantly improve your health and wellness.
First, make sure you learn all about virtual care from our post and get yourself acquainted with the future of the healthcare industry.
Sometimes, life seems to get in the way of us achieving our true potential.
In these instances, third party assistance may be necessary.
While it might seem as if some of us are headstrong about our lives, everyone can use a helping hand.
Once in a while, you may try to seek out advice from individuals who are uniquely qualified.
Therapy is a great way for you to disclose all of your personal and professional issues in an ethical manner. However, therapy can also come in different methods, such as life coaching.
Having a life coach can be extremely beneficial to your mental health and your personal journey. Here are the seven benefits of meeting a life coach on a regular basis.
7 Benefits of Life Coach:
1. Gain clarity.
Life can be extremely confusing at times, to the point where we don’t have any clear direction.
Not only can this exacerbate present day problems in your routine, but other challenges may arise.
No matter if you are younger or older, having clarity in your life can be the one way ticket out of this conundrum.
Life coaches are extremely beneficial to have around in this light.
Since they are experienced in dealing with similar problems, they provide you with insight on how to approach these issues.
You may not have a full proof plan after your session, but you will feel much better at the end of the day.
2. Get through big problems.
Some challenges in our lives may be more difficult to work through than others.
Deciding what to have for lunch may not have much of on an impact on our life’s journey. Some problems, such as getting to the root of your anxiety, definitely will necessitate extra help.
Having a life coach around will help you work through these larger challenges.
The best part about having a life coach is that your relationship with them is unique. They may be working with other clients, but the rapport they establish with you is distinct.
You can bring to them all your present day issues, and they will work through them one step at a time. As a result, solutions are bound to be found.
3. Goal setting.
As mentioned previously, life coaches can provide significant assistance when trying to solve your life’s problems.
One of the best ways they work with you on this is by helping you set goals. Some of these goals may be short term, while others may require a long term approach.
The main point to drive home is that each accomplished goal will provide you with greater clarity.
Setting these goals is not an immediate action, as it can be quite tricky to establish at the onset.
You’ll want to have a few sessions first with your life coach, before navigating what needs to be done.
Helping you understand where you are in the moment is something that a life coach does in the beginning. That way, goals can be visualized much better.
4. Productivity system.
When life decides to throw a wrench in your plans, things can quickly become chaotic.
A life coach can help you straighten out your priorities, by setting up a system of productivity. Although it isn’t the final answer, it goes a long way in keeping you present.
Some systems may be different than others, depending on the client.
For instance, your system can be built around keeping your mind occupied on a day to day basis.
This ensures that your routine is not impeded by external or internal circumstances.
The more you follow this system, the more efficient you can become.
“Look into your past to find out what to do in the present so you can create the future that you want!”
Our family history plays a big part in who we are as an individual, so understandably, there are a lot of different benefits of discovering it.
Alongside giving you a sense of purpose, it allows you to connect with long lost relatives.
You may even be able to find out information that is helpful towards your medical knowledge and find solutions for unresolved family issues.
However, knowing where to get started can be challenging, especially if you’ve moved around a lot.
Below we are going to discuss ten ways that you can research your ancestry.
Sound interesting? Then keep on reading.
10 Best Ways to Research Your Ancestry:
1. Relatives and Family.
The first place to start when researching your family history is with those closest to you.
Contact your relatives and see how far you can all trace back together.
Even just gathering some names and a general idea of where they lived can help you get started. If you’re lucky enough, you may have some old records lying around your parents’ home.
Just remember that in order to do this effectively, you’ll need a place to record your data.
They’ll help you keep track of everything so that you can further your research later on.
2. Social Media.
While browsing social media too much can be considered a bad habit, it can come in handy for researching your ancestry.
Alongside helping you reach out to relatives from all over the world, there are lots of different accounts and pages that may offer you need leads.
Just remember that you need to be extremely careful.
You should always protect your identity online and never give out your personal information.
3. DNA Testing Kits.
Another way to track your ancestry that is becoming extremely popular is to use a DNA testing kit.
By sending a sample of your DNA, you can find out a wide range of information, including your geographic origin.
Some services will even compare your data to other test users so that you can find long lost relatives from across the globe.
Just make sure that that the saliva collection device you use is of good quality and is kept sterile.
This will help you get the most accurate results possible.
You also want to avoid using companies with a lack of security. All of your information should be kept private.
4. Public Libraries.
If you know that most of your family have grown up locally, one of the best places to get started is at your local public library.
Most have a vast database that you can search to find information and images from a select time period.
While it might take a little bit of digging, you would be amazed at what you can find once you put your mind to it. Sometimes the best information is the stuff that is discovered offline.
5. Online Books.
Not all published material can be found at your local library, especially if your family has immigrated, so it’s worth checking out some online book sources too.
Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, and Google Books are a few places you can check out with plenty of digitized data.
Just type in a few terms and phrases, and you’re good to go.
You may find nothing but you could also find a diamond in the rough. You won’t know until you try.
6. National Archives.
Without a doubt, one of the best places to fill in missing information on your family tree is to look at The National Archives and Records Administration.
This contains a wide range of data from military service records to censuses, immigrant, and naturalization records.
You’ll certainly want to check it out.
7. Online Newspaper Archives.
Did you know that most old newspapers are now uploaded onto the internet?
If you’re aware of a particular event that occurred which may have been put into the local paper, you might be able to look it up on the digital archives.
For instance, weddings and births were often published and can help you track down specific dates even further.
Also, it can be very interesting to see how different life was back then.
Just check out some of these vintage ads, for example.
8. Family Tree Websites.
Nowadays, one of the most popular ways to start a family tree is through an online website such as MyHeritage, FamilySearch, or Ancestry.
Not only can you do everything digitally, but most of them have access to a wide range of records, automatically filling in information for you.
They really can save you a lot of time researching. However, you should remember to be careful as sometimes suggestions are inaccurate. Back in the day, many individuals were given the same name.
There’s also a great website called Find a Grave that helps you locate gravesites. This can help you fill in birth and death dates, and you may even want to visit to pay your respects.
However, you will need to have some information to generate the search first.
9. Paid Researchers.
Want to find out information but don’t have time to do the research yourself?
There are actually many different people out there that are happy to do the job for you.
While there are some services that you can pay for online, there are also freelancers that you can contact as well. Have a look at Fiverr to get started. Some will even create a beautiful family tree that you can display in your home.
10. Discussion Forums.
Finally, the last way to research your family history is to try reaching out on various discussion forums.
You would be surprised at how many people are out there trying to track down information as well.
Try and narrow things down to a specific location and time frame.
You may be able to swap photos, stories, and other information to help each other with your search.
However, much like social media, you still need to remember to be careful.
It’s always best to be cautious when you’re online.
What you should remember?
Knowing your roots is one of the biggest steps toward understanding your real self.
It might be out of individual interest or a health related purpose, but finding your ancestral line is getting more and more famous.
With new technology and the internet it’s also getting easier.
There are many ways you can do that, in this article we sorted out the 10 best ways for you.
If you follow your past you might find out something important about your present.
Are you struggling to find out who you are and what your true purpose in life is? Than try this exercise!
Let’s be honest… it is a natural human desire to succeed and feel accomplished.
While there is nothing wrong with this, (in fact, it’s what gets us motivated and to act in our lives), I’ve recently seen a trend in those around me, and even in myself. There’s a strong desire to avoid failure– this is the perfectionism belief.
My daughter, Jordania, has always been a very driven and motivated person. However, as she grew into adulthood, I noticed her anxiety (and even panic attacks) increase as she started to succeed in her career, finances, and making a great life for herself.
The taste of success can inhibit us at times. When we know the feeling of accomplishment, it makes failures feel much worse, therefore instilling a perfectionism belief.
What we aren’t grasping quite fully is this: Acceptance and even appreciation of failures. The ability to manage our happiness expectations and say, “that’s ok, I’ll know better next time, or now I know what NOT to do” is really a good tool to have in our mental health toolbox.
Many times perfectionim comes from the programming of our upbringing and/or surroundings. If you had parents that were very strict or demanding, this inserted a “failure is not an option” mindset. Or if those you cared about were disappointing and hurtful to you, it may have lent itself to the “I’ll show them” mentality.
5 Steps to Overcome Perfectionism:
Here are some identifiers and steps to overcoming the perfectionism beliefs you may have:
1. Identify the behavior and self-talk.
Notice the way you tackle your tasks. List areas in your life that you feel perfection is necessary.
Then determine if it is possible to have perfectionism in those areas, (hint, it isn’t).
2. Realistic Thinking.
Replace overly self-critical thoughts with realistic ones, such as “I’m doing the best I can”, “No One is perfect”, or “I’m figuring it all out.”
3. Set Realistic Goals.
Write down your goals, set an attainable timeline, and don’t procrastinate. Procrastination is common in perfectionism thoughts because we only want to do (and have control) over things we KNOW we will succeed at.
This is unrealistic as there are no guarantees in life and disappointment, along with unexpected hurdles, leads to frustration and anxiety.
4. Evaluate your perspective.
Try to see yourself from a 3rd person view. What would you say to a friend who made the same mistake? Is the mistake irreparable or is this a lesson on how to do it differently? Show yourself mercy and kindness like you would a child, family member or friend.
In today’s society, comparison is becoming an epidemic due to social media. We are judging ourselves so harshly based on what we see others succeeding at.
It’s a mirage, you are only seeing the best side and not the same struggles you experience. Put blinders on and stay in your lane, in your own race!
5. See it as a process.
All of life’s experiences are a learning process and mistakes are a part of it. They HELP us, not hinder us.
Be more at ease in your undertakings, approach with this thought, “I’m excited to see what happens and will accept all that comes with it.”
What you should remember?
We are all human beings, not human doings. Your job is to BE and learn. The point of this life is to learn from every single moment, person, and situation.
How you view those is up to you-whether it’s with acceptance and ease, or anxiety and expectation.
What will you do differently today to gain a better appreciation for “failure?”
The energy you have in your day is like the battery life on your phone. When it gets empty you need to recharge. To increase your energy, therefore, means to have more potential in your day, for productivity, doing things, or just living and feeling incredible.
We can all agree that when you feel energized all is good. Even your mood is improved. You feel strong, healthy, vital.
So, how to increase your energy?
Well, there are two logical paths when it comes to increasing your energy. But first we need to understand what physical energy really is.
Think of it like this, you burn certain amount of calories during each day. Burning these calories releases the energy that you use. So, the first logical way to increase your energy is to input more calories, right?
Well, yes and no.
Taking more calories doesn’t mean that you will use those calories. You risk storing these calories, or in other words getting more mass. This is not optimally healthy. Not a smart strategy, at least not for what we try to achieve.
The second path to increase your energy is a better strategy.
It’s to optimize your system so it uses the energy that it has in a smarter way.
Think of it like optimizing the energy usage of your phone, or unleashing secret reservoirs of energy that you didn’t know you have.
There are 3 secret ways that you can do this.
3 Secrets How to Increase Your Physical Energy:
1. Breathing Techniques.
If you are familiar with the Wim Hof breathing method than you know what I am talking about here.
There are many breathing techniques that help you unleash more energy from your body, but the one that personally helped me the most is the one I will share with you here.
Try to inhale fully, the exhale fully, keep a faster tempo. Do this for 30 times.
Then, at the last breath exhale fully and stop breathing. Keep your breath for as long as you can. At first you might be able to do this for couple of seconds to a minute. Then you will increase your breath holding time but for beginners it’s completely normal to do it for 30 to 45 seconds.
The moment you cannot hold your breath any longer inhale fully and hold your breath again as long as you can. You will feel the energy right here. You will feel how unexplored reservoirs of energy are being released in your body by the cocktail of processes happening.
Do this cycle for 3 times and you will feel your whole body tingling. This is literally like pushing a secret button to get more energy, focus and improved mood. You increase blood flow and oxygenation throughout your whole body. At the same time you are activating your parasympathetic nervous system that stimulates the production of stress release hormones. All of it results in a high boost of energy.
2. Cold Showers.
Taking a cold shower is not something that any human feels comfortable doing.
However, just 10 to 15 minutes under the cold water will give you a supercharge of energy.
The cold water stimulates your nerves on the skin and your brain to increase alertness. They basically tell your brain that there might be danger and immediate action might be required.
For this reason your brain activates processes that release hidden potentials of energy from within you, because you might be in danger and you might need to act fast. It activates your primal instinct.
This stimulates your system to increase alertness, clarity, and energy levels. Endorphins, which are sometimes called happiness hormones, are also released. This effect leads to improved feelings, clarity, more energy and presence.
3. Intermittent Fasting.
What is intermittent fasting?
Not eating or drinking any calories longer than 14 hours and shorter than a day.
This means that you have a timeframe of 16, 18 or even 20 ours when you shouldn’t take any calories, just tea or water.
The easiest strategy to do this is to eat your last meal of the day at 8pm and not eat your breakfast before 12pm the next day. This gives you a timeframe of 16 hours of fasting.
But how does intermittent fasting give you more energy?
Yeah, not eating and getting energy sounds counterintuitive, but that’s exactly what intermittent fasting does. Let’s explore how.
Your body has 2 main modes of using energy.
The first and default mode is using the food you give it when you eat. When your body senses the calories coming in, it spikes the insulin levels to signal itself that fuel is coming and this fuel should be prioritized for energy.
It’s usually glucose that your body uses for energy on this mode.
However, there is another, more efficient way that your body can burn energy, and that’s by using the stored fat in your organism. In fact, that’s the reason why your body stores fat, to later use it for energy.
So when you are not eating for longer than 14 hours you are telling your body to switch modes and burn your fat. This signals your body to send the fat to your liver, make ketones, and instead of glucose use ketones for energy.
This process happens steadily and consistently with no ups and downs like the first mode, meaning we have more energy, feel better and our concentration levels and cognitive function is also higher.
Ketones also are much more efficient and healthier molecules for energy.
What you should remember?
You should aim to increase your daily energy.
The more energy you have in your day the more productive you can be, the happier and healthier you will feel.
