Find Happiness In Retirement

Retirement is not the end but is merely the beginning of a new life, a new you. As such, it is nothing that should be dreaded or something that should cause you unnecessary stress. Instead, it should make you happy and can bring you a new sense of pleasure, if only you let it. In this article, well discuss ten ways that you can find happiness in retirement.

1. Be open and receptive Change your attitude and you will change your life. Retirement is simply a new phase of your life one that you can succeed and enjoy if you are open and receptive to doing so. It is a time to pursue your dreams, aspirations and make your dreams come true.

2. Plan physical and mental activities A busy mind is a happy mind. By staying physically and mentally active, you will lift your spirits and will be happier.

3. Laugh and have a fun time. Do not take yourself so seriously. By having fun and not taking life too seriously, you can lift your mood and make yourself and others happy.

4. Do not be too introverted. Share your burdens with those who love and care about you. This is not to say that you should be a worry wart but by revealing your innermost thoughts and feelings, you can positively affect your mental state.

5. Pursue stimulating activities. Figure out the things that you enjoy doing and do more of them. For instance, if you enjoy spending quality time with your grandchildren, plan play dates or other activities with them.

6. Brush up your knowledge An educated mind is a happy mind. By expanding your learning horizons, you can become happier.

7. Spend quality time with loved ones Now that you are retired, you have even more time to spend with those you love. Plan lunch dates or throw a party for family and friends so that you can spend quality time with the people that mean the most to you.

8. Remember the little things mean a lot. Do something nice for someone and you will feel good about yourself. Take some time to write someone a note telling them how much they mean to you. Spend time with a friend or ailing relative or engage in some type of volunteer activity.

9. Fulfill your dreams Consider fulfilling those dreams you had shelved on your way to building a career for yourself. This can be very satisfying.

10. Maintain a positive mental attitude Do not vegetate just because you have retired. This is the fastest way to breakdown. Maintain a youthful attitude. Take up some hobby and remain active, mentally and physically.

In conclusion, retirement is a time when you can be tremendously happy and fulfilled. You can ensure that this is true by maintaining a positive mental attitude, fulfill your dreams, remember that little things mean a lot, spend quality time with others, brush up on your knowledge, pursue stimulating activities, do not be too introverted, laugh and have a great time, plan mentally engaging activities, and be open and receptive to experiencing the good life after retirement.

The Best Way to Clean a Granite Countertop – Inexpensively!

Figuring out the best way to clean a granite countertop that you have sunk a great deal of money into can keep one up nights! Well, put your mind at rest. We know exactly what you need to do to keep that investment in peak condition without costing you an arm and a leg! So read on to learn the best way to clean a granite countertop.

Despite the seemingly hundreds of products claiming to be the best way to clean a granite countertop, the truly best (and cheapest!) way is right in your home! Just grab that bottle of isopropyl rubbing alcohol and you are halfway to the cleanest, shiniest, and, yes, the best way to clean a granite countertop.

Many cleaning supply retailers may claim the best way to clean a granite countertop employs the use of harsh chemicals. Not so! To clean any kind of stone product, it iss smart to use a product with a neutral pH. Cleaners that contain acidic ingredients, including vinegar, can cause scratching and even deep etches.

Alcohol, on the other hand, with a pH of around 7.0, is one of two ingredients needed for the best way to clean a granite countertop. The other? Good, old-fashioned liquid dishwashing detergent. When you add a few drops of say, Dawn dishwashing detergent to a quarter-cup of alcohol, then fill the rest of a quart-size spray bottle with water, you have got yourself the best way to clean a granite countertop for only a few, measly cents. Compare that to the $5 or $6 you will pay for those expensive (and potentially damaging) products that you have mistakenly thought to be the best way to clean a granite countertop.

Other things to keep in mind for the best way to clean a granite countertop include maintenance and prevention. Maintain your beautiful stone by blotting spills immediately and then deep cleaning weekly with your homemade alcohol/dish soap solution. Prevent damaging your stone by avoiding placing anything acidic directly on it, which includes tomatoes, oranges, lemons, limes, or grapefruit. The juices of these food products are particularly damaging.

Now that you know the best way to clean a granite countertop, relax! So do not let it keep you up nights any longer. You are empowered! You have got the best way to clean a granite countertop under control now. 

                                         

Are You Carrying Emotional Baggage?

We all have them. It has many faces.We carry them around us, We store them in the remotest part of our brain, in the deepest chambers of our hearts.We have them in our extensive database of memories. Some are so close to the heart, it brings out tears at the slightest provocation. Others may feel anger, very deep resentments and may exhibit anti-social or antagonistic behaviours.


Shadows follow and haunt many, in their dreams or waking hours, in unlikely places, unexpected and intimidating. Uncontrollable anger that can lead to violence can explode without warning.

Others will live in denial and spend their lives disconnected with the real world. Some will find blame in everyone except themselves; its always the other persons fault. What about victims and the victimizers?

Many are lost searching for something, they can not identify. Something is missing. A mass of lonely faces line the crowded streets, sit in public places, in schools, agonize through the day in the workplace, gather at churches perhaps to seek solace. Everyday.we see a vast sea of sad , depressed and unfriendly faces. Our roads are open avenues to lash out their frustrations, thus uncontollable road rage. Scary.

Emotional excess baggage demands a high price at times. There are those who succumb to the weight of this burden, it gets too much to bear. They find no further reason to keep up the fight. Life loses its lustre, they find the world cruel, their existence meaningless.To them, the fight over, if there ever was one.

There are many who go through life like a driftwood,l et the current take them wherever, it does not matter anymore. Is our world this cruel?

What causes these emotional suffering?

Broken dreams, broken relationships, failed careers, lost hopes, betrayals, violations, childhood trauma, or other forms of trauma ,add to this health issues. Social disgrace, financial disasters, poverty and addictions cast deep emotional scars to the most vulnerable members of the family and society.

Is our fast-paced society to blame? Add to this the pursuit of material success, endless toys,gadgets and exponential advances in technology. Fragile relationships, weakening family ties, unreasonable expectations of self
and of others add to the already overstuffed emotional baggage.Some carry them for a long, long time.

All is not lost,if we take a moment to listen to our deeper needs, beyond the physical. There is a flood of information, organizations, professionals and other resources most communities offer. Deep emotional suffering is a critical
issue that can no longer be ignored, by society and by those who suffer. There is more to life.



Wisdom of the ages from different cultures and beliefs are revived or revised to suit the present psyche of society. It offers a holistic approach , involving the whole persons mind, body and spirit.

The wonders of medical and scientific research are vast,although pill-popping is not always the best answer.

Take stock of the weight of your emotional baggage .

Pay Adequate Attention to Security When You Bank Online

It would seem that the computer is becoming a bigger and bigger part of our lives each and every day. There’s a good reason for that perception… it’s true. One specific area that is becoming incredibly popular is online banking. Customers love it because it is very convenient and a great time saver. The banks love it because it automates a great many functions for them and cuts down on their overhead.

The number one concern of anyone that deals with online banking should be security. Putting your personal information over the Internet can be risky, there is no denying that. Fraud and identity theft have become huge problems in the modern age. There are any number of hackers and thieves out there in cyberspace just waiting to prey on innocent people. They lurk in the deep spaces of the Internet just waiting for some of your private information that they can steal.

Fortunately for us, the financial institutions of the world are very aware of this problem and are working aggressively to combat it. There was a time when a bank’s chief security concern was whether they would be robbed or not. I think we’ve all seen the old movies about Bonnie & Clyde, John Dillinger and the like…to say nothing of the daring train robberies of the wild west. Now banks face a new and much deadlier challenge than ever before, and instead of wearing a mask and using a gun, the bad guys are now invisible and use keyboards. They can access information from the safety of their homes and apartments. And even at the local coffee shop through wireless connections.

Identity theft has now become so prevalent that thieves are rifling through garbage to attain any information that they can use to steal from their unsuspecting victims. With this said, there are some simple, common sense approaches that will go along way to securing personal bank information.

1. Do not share your passwords with anyone and make sure if you write it done put it in a safe place where only you know where it is.

2. Keep important documents locked in a safe or safety deposit box.

3. Shred documents that you no longer need and use a cross-cut shredder.

4. If you bank online, make sure your bank is using a secure, encrypted site (It’s OK to ask what security features they employ). Make sure they use https in the address and you should see the lock symbol in the lower right-hand corner of your browser.

5. When using an ATM make sure no one can see the codes you enter.

These are just a few of the things that can be done to keep banking information secure and to avoid possible crimes against you. While many of these suggestions seem to be glaringly obvious, all to many times they are taken for granted or just plain ignored. It is at these times when the criminals are at their best. Individuals that grow careless and complacent are exactly what criminals look for. Don’t be counted as one of the careless!

Acceptance Is a Universal Need

When exactly does one start to yearn for acceptance?

Is it when we are born?

Is it when we first feel the pain of non-acceptance?

Is it when we begin to be challenged in sports?

Is it when we fall into the ever talked about `peer pressure`?

Is it when we fall in love?

Is it when we start a new job?

Is it when we become a new member of a family?

Is it when we move to a new city or country?

Is it when we write our very first book?

It is probably all of the above when people feel the need to be accepted and they will do anything to succeed in this quest.

Athletes and bodybuilders will take drugs to win acceptance.

When we fall in love, our entire being wants to feel accepted by our mate.

Authors will spend hours and hours to write the exact words to please their readers and go to great lengths to publish their creation.

Becoming a new member of a family whether it be through marriage or adoption will create a need to be nurtured as one who genuinely belongs.

Starting a new job is a definite acceptance need, we need to fit in so we can relax and apply ourselves 100% to our job.

Moving to a new country or city or even just a new neighborhood is very challenging for us and to be accepted and fit in, is a very important step in our settling in.

Let us not forget` Peer Pressure`, that’s a tough one, children just getting started in high school suffer the most with this one, hormones are swinging and their emotions are so sensitive. The fears that they have struggled with for the year before is all up front and they have a whole lot of reality to deal with. To fit in and be accepted by their peers is more than half the battle.

A baby has a world of a  need to be accepted and see parents smile when they are pleased. 

The pain of non acceptance for the first time cuts like a knife. It wounds us for life, creating a scar that we grow with forever.

All these worries, needs and desires are in all of us that live and breathe. Some of us feel the hunger for acceptance less than others. Some of us cannot live without acceptance, and we become obsessed in our thinking, trying to do anything so that we can fit in.

Do you read the words “self-esteem” in anything written here today? It is in every sentence. The need for acceptance somehow affects our self-esteem which in turns affects our emotional stability where jealousy, worry and anxiety spring from. If you know the feeling of non-acceptance or low self-esteem, then you know how controlled you are by the worry that follows them and how much of your life is imprisoned by that other mind. Low self-esteem and non-acceptance are exactly that, `another mind` and one can actually feel them at war. It is a reminder of the good devil and bad devil scenario. Trust me here it is no fun for the person that is imprisoned by it, not only do they have to balance the two minds, but they also have the guilt that they feel when they see what the result of the battle in their heads is doing to the people around them. The constant questions that one faces are an added pain to the already lonely tortured person.

                                 

So if anyone out there knows a person that suffers from non-acceptance or low self-esteem, HUG them and please try to have more patience and understand that they are not having a picnic and that if just saying, “stop it” or “just don`t think about it” could stop it, they would in a heartbeat. We all need support and acceptance to get us through our lows. Kicking someone when they are down, never ever helps them to get up.

Giving Rein to Your Creatvity

Creativity is a quality that we all have buried inside of us, one way or the other. It involves 

the invention of something new or the re-invention of something already existing to make it 

useful of interesting.

Some peoples creative abilities are closer to the surface and one can easily see the manifestations of them. People say that their creativity is inborn. For others, expressing creativity takes more time and cultivation. The important thing to note is that we can all be creative. You just have to take steps to extract it from within you. Try the following:

1. Change your perspective.

You might have heard the phrase Think outside the box. You should try looking at the situation from a different point of view. Change your perspective. Consider all factors that are affected by your problem or your concern. Try to breakdown the problem into several elements then shuffle them. Think of what would happen if an idea is replaced. This aspect is important in enhancing creativity because it helps you remove possible fixations that may hinder creativity.

2. Mentally move away from your current location.

Imagine how another person would react if subjected in the same situation. Picture how different situations would continue when dealing with the same problem. Application in different settings can be also be done; and then from there, adapt a solution to the current setting.

3. Let your imagination run wild.

Exercise your imagination. Modification can trigger creativity because you see things in a different light. You can also try to exaggerate or think of the extremes, be it magnification or minimization of something. Thinking of the possible differences between these two situations could produce ideas. This is the ultimate brain exercise.



                    
                    



4. Your comfort spot.

The environment has to be right. You should have somewhere you can focus without being unnecessarily disturbed so you can give a problem your full attention. This should extend to the people you are with. You tend to do better at something when you are with like-minded people. To put it simply, hang out with creative people to help enhance your creative abilities.

Most of the time, people tend to be more creative when they are with people who are doing the same thing. It was also found that if you wish to be more creative, you should try hanging out with creative people.

5. Time, time, time.

You cant rush creativity. Hurrying does not help in the outflow of ideas. Your mind tends to go into a state of slight disarray when you are trying to force things. Studies show that results produced in this state are generally lacking. If you are low on time, then keep a list of activities like this one close to you. Go over each of the activities and exercise each one. Give it time.

6. Get helpcommunicate your ideas to others.

A different view of the problem could help. Better yet, many different views! Never be shy to ask. Diversity is very helpful in relation with creativity. Organize a brainstorming session. The spontaneous generation of new ideas helps in formulation of more ideas. The products of brainstorming can be the raw material in the construction of the idea.

Remember that in brainstorming, 4 rules are followed for it to be successful:

– There should be no criticisms. Criticism hinders the free flow of ideas. This can be postponed until the session has ended.
– Combining and/or modifying ideas are encouraged.
– Quantity is preferred over quality in brainstorming.
– Weird or strange ideas are encouraged.

These are just some ideas to get your creative juices going. They can be adapted to suit each individual. A large amount of it is down to you. How inventive can you be? How open are you? Remove the boundaries from your mind and you will find your creativity will increase.

Aquaponics Combines the Growing of Plants and Fish

The growing of soilless plants is called hydroponics, while aquaculture refers to the growing of fish, but when the two are combined, it is called aquaponics. Both these systems work together for mutual benefit.

In aquaponics, no chemicals are used, and the requirement of water itself for growing plants is a tenth of what would be needed if the same plants were in the soil. Similarly, even the need for the water to grow fish is reduced in aquaponics. The fish that grow in these tanks produce waste as a part of their natural growth process, and this waste is converted by naturally occurring bacteria into ammonia, then as nitrite that further makes nitrate. This is the fertilizer needed by plants, and thus fish waste is absorbed by the plants growing in an aquaponics tank. You will require to provide the fish with food. Aquaculture and hydroponics complement each other, but only if they are combined in the same tank.

When you start this process of growing both fish and plants in a single aquaponics tank, it may require some time for the system to achieve a state of equilibrium, and for the water in the tank to have a balanced pH value, and for the water to become clear. Water needs to be periodically added to the tank to make up for any evaporation losses, but this quantity will depend on the environment in which the tank is. 

Aquaponics can produce both fish and vegetables for consumption or commercial sale. It does not require you to dig up the soil for a garden, and then constant watering of plants. The soilless growth process completely eliminates the formation of weeds, the removal of which requires constant vigilance and back-breaking work. You do not have to provide your plants with any fertilizers or nutrients, as the fish waste provides all that is necessary.

You may not be able to grow root vegetables in aquaponics, but this method of plant growth is suitable for other salads and vegetables, like tomatoes, peas, and chilies. Tilapia is the fish normally used in aquaponics, as they also eat plants and reduce the need for fish feed. Mass production of this fish in farms has led to it becoming relatively inexpensive.