Category: Lifestyle

Tips For Being A Truly Great (and Better) Friend – The Little Things That Really Make Friendships Work

Friendships are not always easy. Like any other type of relationship, it takes effort, time, compromise and commitment to make it work. Sometimes it is also hard to be a good friend for many reasons. Things might be going absolutely crazy in your life, or in your friend’s life, or the two of you might be having problems or never get the chance to see each other. What I’m trying to say is that if you think that friendships aren’t always easy and that it is sometimes hard to be a good friend, you are absolutely right and I agree with you. I have been there, and I’m sure we all have been there. Today though, I would like to move on from just saying these things about friendships and share a few tips. Because, as hard as it can be to be a friend and maintain a healthy friendship, there is almost nothing more satisfying or happy-inducing than having and being a good friend. I’ve had some bad luck with friends over the years, but through every failed friendship, I learnt more about what it truly means to be a good friend and how to become a better friend. Through the things that went wrong, I realised the little things that really make friendships work, and today I would like to share those tips with you.

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My Top Ten Healthy, Hunger-stopping Snacks

I guess that most of us eat at least one meal a day, usually between two and three meals a day but I’m sure that between those meals we all get stabs of hunger that are just so hard to ignore. Some delicious smell teases our nostrils, and suddenly we can’t wait for dinner in four hours. Or, we see others eating and all of a sudden, our stomach doesn’t want to be left out and starts rumbling to get our attention. I am sure we have all been there when hunger strikes between meals and we don’t have the willpower to ignore it. The only problem with giving in to those pangs of hunger is that we don’t always reach for the healthiest snack. Sometimes that may not be our fault, as a healthy snack isn’t readily available, but sometimes the unhealthy counterpart just sounds so much more appealing. Well, today I am going to tell you that those pangs of hunger can be silenced and not only by the nearest unhealthy snack you can find. Sometimes I also just need a snack to get me through the morning, but I don’t want that snack to wreak havoc on my healthy lifestyle. So, I have, through a lot of testing and tasting, found ten great hunger-stopping snacks. If you too find yourself unable to make it from one meal to the next and are looking for healthy snacks to silence the tummy rumbles, then this is the blog post for you.

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Tips for Exercising and Staying Healthy on Holiday

Whenever we go on holiday, all we are usually thinking about is how relaxing it is going to be. Our thoughts are often around all the great activities we can do, the great sites we might see and in general how fantastic it will be to escape from all thoughts of work and the mundane to have a fun and relaxing holiday. What I’m sure a lot of us usually don’t do though (if you do though, kudos to you and ignore this assumption I am making) is think about exercising on holiday or being healthy. Why on earth should we be healthy on holiday? Being health conscience in terms of food can be so restrictive, especially while travelling and you want to try all of the delicious meals available to you. Exercise can also seem so dull and unfun when compared to the other activities you would rather spend your time doing. I’ve been in that spot – where thinking about doing exercise and being healthy on holiday is the last thing on my mind – but over the years I have realised that it is incredibly important to do so. While it may not seem like the fun option, it is still the right option to continue to think about the importance of our health while we are on holiday, but before you cry about all the problems it will cause, give me one second. There are ways to exercise and stay healthy on holiday without losing out on all of the fun, it just takes a few tips to do it all right. You are on holiday, of course – you want to be doing fun and relaxing things you don’t usually get to do at home. So, if you would like some tips for exercising and staying healthy on holiday, then here you go. I hope you enjoy it.

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Why Friendships Change and How to Deal with those Changes

Sometimes when we make friendships, we think they will stay the same forever. Now some friendships do stay the same, but most of the time, friendships change. They change for many reasons, but at the base of all these reasons is that people change as life happens, no one stays the same for their whole life. Now some really strong friendships make it through this because the people change and the friendship is strong enough to adapt and grow as the people do. Other times though, this isn’t the case, and friendships end up changing. Now friendships changing can either be a blessing or a really tough experience to go through. It all depends on how and why they change. But either way, as sad as it can sometimes be to see a friendship changing, there are a few ways to deal with these changes so that they don’t completely take over your life and make things horrible. Today, because I’ve had many different kinds of friendships over the years that have changed, especially this year, and have recently made a great friend, I will be talking about why friendships change and how you can deal with those changes. I hope (if you are struggling with a friendship change) that this post gives you good advice and helps you through it. I hope you enjoy it.

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My Summer at Stanford

So, as I might have mentioned in previous posts, I am currently taking a gap year to try and figure out what I’d like to study at university. This summer, I was lucky enough to spend eight weeks at Stanford doing one of their programmes. While it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows the whole time (because hey what is ? Apart from Disney world …), it was an incredible experience. I learnt so much this summer, from inside my different lectures to the experiences I had outside the classroom and today, I would like to share that experience with all of you. Now I know this isn’t like my other blog posts, as I usually stick to giving advice, but I thought it would still be fun to chat about. Life is all about learning from experience, and that is what happened to me. So, I thought perhaps you could all still get some advice through reading about my experiences. Maybe it will inspire you to try out a short course, or reflect on a learning experience you had. Or, perhaps this post will just read like a (hopefully) good diary entry where you laugh at all of my experiences. Either way, I hope that you enjoy this blog post and can get something good out of it, even if it isn’t my typical advice-filled blog.

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Ideas for Having a Relaxing Day (and why it is important)

Relaxing can often sound like a long-forgotten fantasy, especially when life gets in the way. Sometimes we get so busy working, completing things and running around to make sure we stay on top of things that we forget to breathe sometimes let alone make the time to relax. Well, today I’d like to talk about this ‘relaxing’ thing that we all forget to do because as much as it can sound like a waste of time when your to-do list is building up, it is absolutely essential. We all deserve to take some time out every now and then to relax because we are not robots. We cannot work all day every day for eternity – if you can that is both terrifying and impressive, please share your secrets. So, for all of you who work too hard and have forgotten what relaxing feels like, this blog post is for you. Today I will be sharing ten ideas for having a relaxing day but also why it is essential to have one. I hope you enjoy it and by the end of it, are inspired to treat yourself to a day of peace and relaxation.

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Tips and Tricks for Cooking for One

I absolutely love cooking. I get to destress and focus on something else, and by the time I’m done, I have something delicious to eat. However, I know that not everyone else has this same loving feeling towards cooking, and sometimes that can be because you are just cooking for yourself. When you are cooking for yourself, and have no one else to worry about feeding, you can often get quite tired of it or think about reasons not to. It takes too much time, it is far easier to just go out or order takeaways, or simply you don’t feel like it. Well, today I am putting a stop to those feelings because cooking for one doesn’t have to be something cumbersome. In fact, cooking for one can actually be a lot easier, cheaper and more fun when you do it the right way. Today, I will be sharing a few tips and tricks for cooking for one so if you happen to be living on your own or fending for yourself this weekend, the thought of putting on an apron doesn’t make you break out in a cold sweat. If you implement one or two of these tips and tricks, you may soon find that you actually enjoy cooking for yourself, it is saving you money because you don’t aren’t ordering takeouts six times a week, and it is no longer a hardship you have to force yourself to do. Here are my nine tips and tricks for cooking for one

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12 Tips and Tricks for Starting and Sticking with an Exercise Program

We all have big dreams to start exercise programs, stick with them and come out the other side with perfectly toned bodies that are ready for the beach, runway or both. In the beginning, we are so filled up with motivation that nothing can dampen our spirit. However, a day or two goes by, and we realise that our goals seem too far out of reach, or we are feeling sore and can’t keep up with the high benchmark we set. There are many reasons as to why we can fall off the bandwagon a long way short of the finish line when it comes to exercise programs, and this only leads us to feel less motivated to start one in the future. However, don’t let these past experiences stop you from starting an exercise program and sticking with it. Usually, adjusting one or two small things or changing your starting approach to these programs can make all the difference in ensuring you finish them, and that is what I’d like to share with you today. No more starting exercise programs and then bailing because you set your sights too high or got tired and bored. No – today, I would like to share with you twelve tips and tricks to starting and sticking with an exercise program. I hope that once you discover these tricks, you will no longer think that your summer body is an impossible dream, and with a few adjustments to your approach, you’ll see it’s actually a lot closer than you might think.

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A Fail Doesn’t Equal Failure – How to Deal with and Bounce Back from Failing Something

This is probably one of the most revolting words in the dictionary, especially when this word gets handed out to us. We all fail tests or exams of all sorts, and it is usually the worst feeling in the world. However, the problem with failing something is that it can start a very negative spiral of thinking. You might think that because you failed something, that means you are a failure, but today I am going to tell you that that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because you have failed something, that doesn’t equal failure. All you have to be able to do is learn how to deal with a fail and bounce back from it because while failing is horrible, it can lead to a change in attitude and strategy that starts your path towards success. We’ve all failed at something – you, me, even JK Rowling, but the trick is not letting failing define you and being able to turn that dreadfully negative experience into something positive. From all the times I’ve failed at something, here are ten tips for how to deal with and bounce back from failing something.

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Sweet Gifts for your Significant Other

There are many opportunities to give gifts to your significant other throughout the year. There are more obvious occasions like Christmas, Birthdays and Valentines Day. But, there are also anniversary dates, and these could be monthly anniversaries or yearly anniversaries (whichever ones you celebrate together). The only problem with all these chances to give gifts is you can sometimes struggle to think of something to give, or you might even be out of ideas because you’ve already been together for a while. Or sometimes your partner is just difficult to buy gifts for (I know how this feels believe me). So today I’d like to give you all, who might need an idea or two for your next gift, a few suggestions of sweet gifts to give your significant other. For all of you who are struggling to think of a gift idea for your next gift-giving occasion, no need to panic! Here are ten ideas you can use the next time you want to spoil your partner. Just a heads up though, most of these gifts do take some amount of time to prepare and are personal or homemade because I think that those kinds of gifts have the most meaning to them.

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