Tag Archives: focus

Overcome Travel Anxiety Ahead Of This Years Season

A whopping 1.3 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded in 2023.

Undoubtedly, travel has become an integral part of many people’s lives. And while it can bring many joys, it can also cause stress.

With travel season fast approaching, the experts and our friends at HAYPP wanted to help those struggling with travel anxiety by providing helpful tips on how to best overcome it.

Five healthy ways to overcome travel anxiety

1. Understand your anxiety 

To be able to best cope with your travel anxiety, you need to have a good understanding of the things that actually cause it. Pinpoint specifically what is making you feel anxious about your trip – is it that you’ll be on the road for hours, that there would be things out of your control, that you would have to be surrounded by a lot of people at an airport? Once you understand what triggers your anxiety, you can ensure to plan ahead for the best ways to handle those triggers.

2. Create a detailed plan for your trip

One of the reasons for experiencing anxiety when travelling is that you’re being taken out of your comfort zone and won’t have full control over everything. To help ease that anxious feeling, try to plan out your trip in as much detail as possible. Write down an itinerary, either on paper, or you can make use of a trip planner app like TripIt, Wanderlog, or Sygic Travel, for every day that you can follow, which will give you a sense of control, but it’s equally as important to think of alternative plans of action for anything that could potentially not go as planned, so that you’re prepared.

3. Learn to use relaxation techniques  

Deep breathing by taking long breaths through the nose and then exhaling slowly through the mouth is a technique proven to help reduce any feelings of stress. Another useful way to calm your mind is by meditating, which can take many different forms from listening to music to focusing on your breath. To make sure you find the mindfulness technique that works best for you, try out a few different ones before your trip, so when the time for travelling comes you can use the most efficient one to set your mind at ease.

4. Ensure you have things that bring you joy  

Having things with you that generally bring you joy can be extremely useful in distracting you from your negative feelings. These can include physical items like a journal in which to write your thoughts, a book to read, or a game to occupy your attention. Alternatively, you can create a playlist of songs you love or make sure you have your favourite TV show (or movie) with you, as these will keep your mind occupied, decreasing your feelings of anxiety.

5. Take care of your physical health  

Being physically active is a great way to reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. Even if it’s just a long walk, make sure to incorporate physical activity in your days, especially the days leading up to your trip and if possible, during the trip as well. Spending some time outside and connecting with nature, be it only by visiting a park, can have a positive effect on your physical and mental being, which in turn will help reduce your anxious thoughts. 

For the Silo, Caitlin Purvis.

Eight Ways To Make Time For Important Things

Dr. Alok Trividi

One of the most common lines that people love to use: “I wish I had more time.” Maybe it’s more time to spend with family or friends; more time to exercise and eat healthy; or more time to go back to school. Whatever it is, how do you make more time for those truly important things in your life?

Dr. Alok Trivedi, author of Chasing Success, says the reality is we all have the same 24 hours. The difference is some people know how to better manage it than others.  When it comes to making time for the important things, Dr. Trivedi recommends:

1. Minimize, minimize and minimize some more. There was a reason Marie Kondo’s novel about tidying up your space to become happy was so successful. There is truth in her message of eliminating the unnecessary and finding what you love in the process. Get rid of what does not bring you joy. This can be old items or even toxic relationships that no longer serve you. Less is really more.

2. Being busy does not bring you value. In North American culture, it can be all too easy to be running around completing task after task. Many people view this form of productivity as determining their worth in society. It’s wise to assess what in your life is bringing you value and maximize that rather than trying to do things that just don’t feel right and make you feel unworthy on the inside. Business is an excuse and distraction to overlook the things in which you may be afraid to focus your energy on.

3. Differentiate between efficiency and effectiveness. Your time is precious and needs to be allocated to the most important things. Utilize your time to be both effective and efficient. Being only effective can be a time-consuming action. While complementary, being only efficient can lead to sloppy results. When you are doing any task, approach it within a concept of both maximum efficiency and total effectiveness to reap the best results. In your personal life, this is achieved through being present and genuine in your interactions.

4. Single task and hold your focus. Many people find themselves casually checking a single email, and before long they snap into full-fledged work mode. Develop a schedule and follow it religiously. It may be hard to find your groove initially, but if you stick to it, little by little it will become a habit.

gif by- cami5x5 deviantart.com

5. Know what you hold important. It is a challenge to know how to dedicate your free time if you haven’t discovered what you love. Find the activities where your creativity flows and your heart sings. Only in these states are you going to find yourself in the states of joy that make you feel life is worth living.

6. Address problems at the root. When you have the time to dedicate to the important things, you don’t want work problems to keep popping up. If there is a problem at work, address it from the start. Don’t keep putting it off, because it will fester at inopportune times. This goes both ways. If you have a personal dilemma with a family member, don’t run from it by adopting workaholic ways. Confront your problems head on to solve them with best results. Shying away will only allow the problem to become worse in the shadows.

7. Getting and staying organized. When it is time to be with friends and family the last thing you want to do is housework. Dedicate an initial cleaning and mass organization of your space. After this initial step, take a little time each day to clear your space and organize everything into its given area. The clarity of your physical space lends to clarity of mind. Then, there is mental space to focus on what matters, and not be distracted by the mess around you.

8. Block out time just for you. You must become your top priority. Declare certain times of the day and week that are just for you. This time can be for you to indulge in your favorite pastimes, meditate, or even to do nothing. This time is yours to center yourself and think about what you are presently encountering in life.

Live in every moment, and focus on the present. For the Silo, Alex Smith.

Life Lessons Everyone Can Learn From Olympic Athletes

All eyes were on Rio for two weeks when the world’s greatest athletes competed in the 2016 Summer Games. Next years Summer Olympics look to be no different. While it’s great to enjoy the games, there are actually some very important lessons that everyone can learn from watching Olympic athletes.

Steve Siebold
Steve Siebold

Steve Siebold, a former professional athlete, psychological performance coach and author of 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of The World Class, says there are 10 important lessons we can all learn about success from Olympic athletes:

  1. They never stop learning: Olympic athletes are at the top of their games because they spend so much time practicing, watching replays of their performance and strategizing with their coaches. If you want to be the best at something, you must commit yourself to being a student for life.

2. They overcome obstacles: When most people run into an obstacle, they seek escape.  Olympic athletes have a plan to push forward when this happens and learn all they can from the challenge.  They know facing adversity is part of being successful.

You can beat adversity! The no1 ranked player lost to skill and mental toughness.
Click me! You can beat adversity! The 2016 #1 ranked player lost to skill and mental toughness.

  1. They think big: Ask most people what they’re thinking at any given time, and you might be surprised to learn how many think about just getting by.  That’s called selling yourself short.  If you ask every athlete in Rio if they think they are going to win the gold, they would all tell you ‘yes.’ They fully believe in themselves and their abilities, and nothing you could say will talk them out of it. They think big and therefore get big results.
  1. They know consciousness is contagious. Olympic athletes live together and spend so much time together because consciousness is contagious. Your level of success in any area of your life is most likely the same as the people you spend the most time with.  If you want to be better at something, get around people who push you to greatness.
  1. They are consistently great.  The reason Olympians are so consistent is because their actions are congruent with their thought processes.  They have a very clear mental picture of what they want, why they want it and how to move closer to their target objective.  Do you?
  1. They compartmentalize their emotions.  In other words, Olympic athletes have the ability to put aside anything else going on at that very moment, and focus only on the task in front of them: winning the gold.
  1. They know very good is bad.  For the average person, to be classified as very good is something to be proud of.  For the great ones like Olympians, it’s an insult. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Why just be happy with the bronze or silver when you can go for the gold?
  1. They are held accountable: Olympic athletes are held accountable on so many levels.  One of the biggest problems is that most people have no means of accountability or a support system in place when it comes to what they’re trying to accomplish. Whether it’s losing weight, making more money or anything else, being held accountable changes everything.
  1. They know it’s their desire that counts. Olympic athletes know winning isn’t everything.  It’s wanting to win that counts.  Olympians have a “whatever it takes” attitude.  They’ve made the decision to pay any price and bear any burden in the name of victory.
  1. They are comeback artists: While most people are demoralized by setbacks and defeat, Olympians know that large scale success is based on a series of comebacks. Emotionally speaking, they don’t understand the concept of giving up. On the physical plane, they have perseverance. On the mental plane, they have toughness.  On the spiritual plane, we call it artistry. For the Silo, Jack Allen.

Supplemental- Top Ten All Time Sporting Upsets

Play Golf Better Faster

Play Golf Better Faster is out and unless you’re Arnold Palmer or Tiger Woods you’ll want to read this to get the best tips, strategies and more good-to-know content to improve your golf fame. Barlis’ book is organized into three sections: Using Your Brain, Practicing Your Game and Playing Your Game. You’ll feel your golf game improving with every page you turn. So in lieu of spoiling the need-to-know material in Play Golf Better Faster, here are some tips you can read until you get your hands on Barlis’ new book.

Kalliope Barlis New book: Don’t Chop Wood, Drive the Spike

PGA advises “If you put a log on the ground and asked someone to take out a chunk of wood from the log they would most likely swing the ax into the log at an angle and create sliced out section from the log. This action is done with an abrupt angle of attack into the wood log.”

For more of their tips visit:

http://www.pga.com/topic/golf-instruction/golf-tip-day

Know Your Wind

Calculating the wind before you swing may sound like a no-brainer but it’s a necessary reminder and can take years to really get down pact. Don’t be afraid to make a few waist-high practice swings to get the feel and stricter for your hit. Then pick your target area and move it according to the wind. Once you become a more seasoned golfer you will learn the wind strengths and you may even be able to detect the pattern the wind is blowing in. Just remember that practice makes perfect.

Mind Power

Like most sports, golf can be as much mentally challenging as it is physically.  It’s important to keep a clear mind so you don’t end up getting in your own way. Simple exercises you might have learned back in elementary school can be perfect for this scenario. If you’re stressing out about your score or your next shot take a deep breath in, hold it for 10 seconds and exhale -this strategy has been proven to help quell stress and panic. Another method is to wear a rubber band around your wrist and every time you start feeling anxious you snap the band. You’re not punishing yourself for stressing out -you’re actually training your brain! The small unpleasant feeling will eventually be linked to negative thoughts and soon without even thinking, your subconscious will start to repress those negative thoughts.

Art Of Painting With Camera Focus At Hurban Vortex Exhibit In Cannes

hurban-vortex-boris-wilenskyIf you could choose just one photo exhibit to see all year, it would have to be Hurban Vortex in Cannes.
Often, photography is the visual equivalent of telling a one-word story, expressed through an immediately comprehensible image. In contrast, Parisian photographer Boris Wilensky takes you on a journey through time, space, and humanity. His photos are true documentaries which require time to contemplate, and listen to. Yes, listen to, not just look at. Because all of his work tells a powerful, juxtaposing story. A story of humans in cruel, all-consuming urban environments… facing challenges beyond their control… surviving in harsh conditions… A story that is already written but that is reinvented every time you look at the image.

hurban-vortex-boris-wilensky4
Boris Wilensky’s current exhibition Hurban Vortex at the Suquet des Art(iste)s in Cannes opened on December 9 last year, featuring a selection of 30 of his works. Much has been said and written about it, and him, since, so no further biographical introduction is needed. And what really shaped his life, are locations rather than dates – Israel and Palestine, Tokyo, Fukushima, and Cambodia.
An emotional trip to Israel and Palestine in 2005 left a big impression on the idealistic young man, and he started keeping and publishing travel journals to share his impressions. At some point he began illustrating those with photos. Meanwhile he kept working as a photographer in entertainment and sports.
In 2008, a café in Paris offered him space to display his photos. Thinking to himself, “This is a great opportunity… probably the only one I’ll ever have to exhibit”, he went for it. It was a success, and the impetus to turn his passion into a profession.

hurban-vortex-boris-wilensky3
A visit to Tokyo in 2009 would prove to be the pathway into that professional career as an art photographer. The swirling, frenzied city of dazzling lights around the clock inspired him to find a way to capture the craziness of the megalopolis and the loneliness of its citizens … and he found a way to do so by superimposing two photos taken in the Tokyo subway, of the train and its travelers. It turned out so well that this type of photography would soon become his signature.

On his next visit to Japan – and in fact to Fukushima, just one month after the 2011 reactor catastrophe there – he found a country that had profoundly changed. The Japanese were beginning to awaken to the consequences of boundless, unchecked use of nuclear energy. As a consequence, the garish lights all over town were dimmed, and the mood had become much more somber and sober.

hurban-vortex-boris-wilensky10
This was when the Hurban Vortex project started taking shape in the artist’s mind. “Hurban Vortex is an urban adventure with a big H”, he explains, the constant game between the concepts of humanity and urbanity, extending into notions of modernity and identity, future, sustainable development, ecology and economy. The City, symbolizing Progress and Modernity, in constant growth, now become a “megalopolis”, or a “City-world”, a space built by humans to live in but one that eats them up in return.

For this project, and forever drawn to Asia, Boris Wilensky returns to Tokyo, Shanghai and Bangkok to take as many “photographic backgrounds” as possible. Then he tours Cambodia for two months, the stark contrast to the other cities’ modernity. Here he immerses himself fully in the ancient Khmer culture, taking portraits of men, women and children. Many of those faces bear silent witness to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime, and yet retain pride and dignity that speaks of inner strength.

originsOver 15,000 photos later, Hurban Vortex sees the light of day. The ensemble of artistic, esthetic and human adventure are at the core of the triptych that represents his works: Origins corresponds to 2009 (present), the period of an oblivious, profligate, consumerism-driven world. Collapse takes us into 2011 (future)…Fukushima, with its worldwide impact. The glasses and gas masks worn by the humans represent the man-made destruction of a world as we had known it before and which will never be the same. And in Post we find ourselves in an urban landscape filled with waste and shattered ruins. But people are no longer wearing their blinders… Maybe there is hope after all that cities may disappear but humans are still around? Or does the urban jungle always win in the end? You decide, because it is your personal interpretation, after an intense dialogue with the image… exactly what Boris Wilensky wants.

origins2What the viewer sees, is how this artist sees the world – not in the literal but figurative sense. But he does not dictate, he suggests. He considers himself a storytelling portraitist first and foremost, and an urban photographer second. As you look at his large-size pictures (180 x 120 cm), the image in front of you transforms from a flat canvas to a three-dimensional scenography. You are drawn in, pulled onto a stage, you become part of the performance, an actor engaged in a dialogue. You are the person across from the man in the photo, but you also become him, turning outward to the viewer.

origins3The continuous movement – the vortex – pushes and pulls you as the borders between Human and Urban blur and become Hurban. There are violently cold and anonymous city landscapes, consisting of monochromatic and starkly geometric patterns, entirely unlike anything you find in nature. But the human element, superimposed, invariably bestows them with a strangely appealing aesthetic. For the Silo, Natja Igney. This article originates at Riviera-buzz. Banner diptych image Boris Wilensky- concept by Jarrod Barker.

hurban-vortex-boris-wilensky6