Tag Archives: life skills

Doctor Has Four Simple Tips For Optimal Living

Have you ever felt like you need an upgrade on your life?

Most of us have – and there’s a way to get it, says veteran physician Sanjay Jain.

“First, I tell people, ‘Don’t be afraid of making your life  clearer.’ but as we have paraphrased from Chinese philosopher Laozi, ‘The journey  of a thousand miles begins with the first step,’ ”. Many argue that life is not simple and, therefore, there are no easy  answers,  says Jain, whose specialties  include integrative medicine. He’s also an international speaker and author of  Optimal Living 360 – (www.sanjayjainmd.com).

“Lives are built from many small components which, when  viewed as an assembled whole, can appear overwhelmingly complex,” Jain says.
“But when we break them down and consider the pieces as we make decisions in our  lives, it’s much easier to see how small adjustments can result in a better  return on all of the investments we make – not only in health, but in  relationships, finances, and all the other essential aspects of our  lives.”

Jain offers four points to keep in mind as you start the  journey.

• Life is short, so live it to its fullest potential. Live it optimally. This is your life, so don’t waste its  most precious resource – time. No matter one’s spiritual leanings, economic and education status, health, intelligence level, etc. – one thing is true for all: Our time on Earth is finite. There will be a time for most of us when, perhaps after a frightening diagnosis from a doctor, we reflect deeply upon our time and consider the most important moments, and all the time that may have been squandered.

• Balance is key. Too much or too little of something, no matter how good, is actually not good. Balance is one of the easiest tenets to understand, but arguably the most difficult to maintain. Obviously, too much alcohol is bad; then again, there are some health benefits to moderately imbibing red wine. What about too much of a good thing; can a mother love her children too much? Yes, if she is an overprotective “helicopter parent.” The best antidote to overkill of anything is awareness; try to be aware of all measures in your life.

• Learn to tap your strengths and improve upon your weaknesses. Engaging your strengths at work and in your personal life is important. When we do what we’re good at and what comes easily, we feel self-confident and satisfied. Some people, however, are not in jobs that utilize their strengths, or they don’t put their talents to work at home because they’re mired in the prosaic work of living. It’s important to identify your strengths and find ways to engage them. It’s equally important to recognize our weaknesses and work on improving them (because we can!) This is essential for achieving balance.

• Life is about making the right choices. Integrative decision-making makes this easier. There are many different types of decision-making, including systematic, hierarchal, impulsive, decisive and flexible. Integrative decision-making can be used for problems large and small, and includes the following process: 1. Define the problem. 2. Frame the problem. 3. Develop all your options. 4. Analyze your options. 5. Make the decision. 6. Execute your decision. 7. Debrief yourself.

"Don’t be afraid of making your life clearer." Dr. Sanjay Jain
“Don’t be afraid of making your life
clearer.” Dr. Sanjay Jain

While experts may be the best consultants for compartmentalized areas of your life, only you know the other aspects that affect your well-being and can determine how a decision in one area will affect another area.  For the Silo, Ginny Grimsley

Supplemental– Who was Laozi?  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/330163/Laozi

The Father of Taoism- http://oregonstate.edu/instruction/phl201/modules/Philosophers/LaoTzu/laotzu.html

These Classes Help Your Kids Explore Their Creative Side

Kids love to make things. Everyone is born creative – if you feel like you don’t have a creative bone in your body, it’s not because you lack some inherent trait. It’s because your natural instinct to imagine was educated out of you by a school system that values standardized testing over creativity. That’s something you can help your kids avoid.

Students in exams

Creativity isn’t a mysterious trait only possessed by artists and entrepreneurs. It’s something that can be encouraged and cultivated, like any skill or body of knowledge. And business today is hungry for innovation. Businesses are looking for leaders who can think outside the box and come up with their industry’s next Big Idea. That takes creativity.

Signing up your kids for classes that foster creativity helps them continue to explore and nurture their imaginative side.

1 Photography

The technology in smartphones and tablets means that kids have more access to cameras than any time in the past. A photography class can give kids skills way beyond your average selfie. Photography classes teach kids about timing, focus, perspective, and framing. They may also learn how to use editing technology and bring their digital photos to new heights.

Photography is an outlet to share their creative perspective and refine their skills.

2 Video Game Coding Classes for Kids

Learning how to make a video game combines creativity with math and problem-solving skills. All creative endeavors come down to problem solving one way or another: how do you use the materials you have to create the effect you want? When it comes to making video games, the solutions lie in the coding language and what you can tell a computer to do.

You can find coding classes at Real Programming 4 Kids for a wide range of ages and ability levels. From age 7 up, coding courses for kids introduce the logic and language of coding. Intermediate and more advanced levels begin teaching kids the coding languages used by professional video game developers today.

Coding is a great way for students who are more mathematically inclined or interested in computers to exercise their imaginative muscles.

3 Painting and Drawing

Visual art requires specialized skills and learning how to use the tools of the medium: paint, brushes, pencils, charcoal. It takes discipline and patience to learn how to use your materials and transform it into the vision you see in your head on the page.

Painting and drawing starts with the imagination, but it becomes about the process of making something come to life.

Behind every creative pursuit is a valuable lesson. Not only are kids being taught skills that help them bring their projects to life, they’re also learning the patience and discipline it takes to master those skills.

An arts education is far more than time to play or imagine. PBS reports that kids who participate in the arts regularly (three hours a day at least three days in a week) are four times more likely to excel at academics and receive some kind of recognition for it.

Arts are an important part of childhood development from a young age to the teenage years. Sign your kids up for creative classes today. For the Silo, Mila Urosevic.