Stressed Out Entrepreneurs Are Still Happier than Other Workers

Stress and worry may be a part of the job for entrepreneurs, but new research has found that entrepreneurs also say they have many other positive experiences at work.

In particular, entrepreneurs say they are more likely than other workers to report that they learned or did something new in the past day.? Entrepreneurs were also more likely than other workers to say they experienced enjoyment at work. ??

"The same intellectual curiosity and energy needed to start and run a business?may also drive entrepreneurs to seek out and take advantage of opportunities to learn or do something interesting or exciting on a regular basis," said Dan Witters, Sangeeta Agrawal and Alyssa Brown of Gallup, which conducted the research. "Entrepreneurs also have creative and strategic control of their business and manage their own schedule to execute on their business plan. Thus, they may have more flexibility to pursue interesting and exciting learning opportunities and activities than other workers."

Those benefits, however, did not stop entrepreneurs from experiencing some challenges as well. In particular, the researchers found that entrepreneurs experienced more worry and stress than other workers.

"One possible explanation for these differences may be that the personal and financial risks involved in starting and running a business may lead to additional worry and stress," the Gallup researchers said. "For example, entrepreneurs are significantly more likely than other workers to be?uninsured and to struggle to afford necessary health care and medicine, which may cause them to have higher levels of stress and worry."

Despite that increased stress, entrepreneurs are still more optimistic than other workers. Thirty percent of entrepreneurs say they are optimistic about their futures while just 25 percent of workers share their sentiment.?

"This elevated optimism,?combined with communities that foster an entrepreneurial culture, may lead entrepreneurs to take business risks,?create jobs, launch new products, and innovate," the researchers said.

The research was based on the responses of 273,175 interviews as a part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. ?

This story was provided by BusinessNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow David Mielach on Twitter @D_M89 or BusinessNewsDaily @bndarticles. We're also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stressed-entrepreneurs-still-happier-other-workers-101804155.html

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Women's Track and Field Opens Season at Iowa State Holiday ...

Courtesy: Drake Athletics
Release: 12/07/2012

AMES, Iowa - The Drake women's track and field team opened its indoor season with impressive finishes at the Iowa State Holiday Preview on Friday afternoon.

Head coach Natasha Brown was very complimentary of her team's performance in the season-opening meet.

"I think this has been our best first meet showing since I have been coaching at Drake." Brown said. "I think we are off to a good start for the indoor season."

Seniors led the charge for the Bulldogs as Whitney Westrum (Waukee, Iowa) and Marissa Smith (Ajax, Ontario) finished second in their respective events.

Westrum finished second him the 300 meters in 40.58. She was followed by teammate and fellow senior Sarah Yeager (Ottumwa, Iowa) who finished fourth in 41.01 and junior Danyelle Cole (Kansas City, Kan.) who finished sixth 42.01.

"I like what I saw tonight in the sprints," Brown said. "Whitney closed well in the last 50 meters of the 300."

Drake's distance runners also had strong performances in the 3,000-meter run. Freshman Laura Gann (Wheaton, Ill.) crossed the finish line in .01 seconds behind the winner in 11:10.81. Sophomore Stephanie Parks (Norfolk, Neb.) finished right behind Gann in third at 11:12.89. Both times were personal bests for the athletes.

Smith ran an impressive time of ?8.71 in the 60-meter hurdles. Yeager was .02 seconds and one spot behind. Freshman Destani Welch (Des Moines, Iowa) finished seventh in the event. It was the former Roosevelt star's first collegiate competition.

Jaclyn Aremka (Plainfield, Ill.) also starred in her first collegiate event. The freshman finished second in the high jump with a jump of ?5-3.25 (1.61m)

Brianna Isom-Brummer (St. Louis, Mo.) teamed up with Yeager, Smith and Westrum to finish fourth in the 4x300-meter relay.

Drake will get a month off from competition before heading back to Ames on Jan. 18 for the Iowa State Open.

Source: http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&ATCLID=205822112

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Court to rule on same-sex marriage: What?s at stake

In a historic step that rivals other Supreme Court moves into the center of America?s cultural character, the justices on Friday agreed to consider the constitutionality of federal and state laws that deny marriage rights or marital benefits to same-sex couples.? But the move carried with it the potential for stopping short of settling the core constitutional issue.

The court?s orders Friday afternoon said the justices would hear claims that states do not violate the Constitution when they allow marriage only for one man and one woman, and that the federal government does violate the Constitution when it denies benefits to same-sex couples who are already legally married under state laws.? Those are the key questions on gays and lesbians right to marry.

At the same time, however, the court gave itself the option of postponing answers to those key questions.? It raised a series of procedural issues that could mean that neither of the cases it granted would provide a definitive outcome.? Which way it ultimately would choose to move is not predictable at this point.? (Constitution Daily on Monday will provide a fuller analysis of what the Court has said it would do.)

Last summer, as cases on same-sex marriage were reaching the Supreme Court, the justices were told that what was at stake was ?the defining civil rights issue of our time.?? That was a comment from two lawyers whose own fame ? and past differences in court ? have added to the high visibility of those cases: Theodore B. Olson and David Boies.

Once the opposing lawyers in the court?s celebrated decision in Bush v. Gore, settling a presidential election, Olson and Boies have joined forces to help speed up an already unfolding timetable of court rulings on whether gays and lesbians will be able to marry.? They won one of the most sweeping rulings ever issued by a court, when a federal judge in San Francisco two years ago struck down California?s ban on such marriages, ?Proposition 8.?

But, years before those titans of the bar joined the fight, lawyers in gay rights organizations had been pressing the marriage issue in their own lawsuits.?? They, too, saw it as a defining issue of the day.?? They actually had two parallel campaigns going in the courts: open marriage to homosexual partners, and open the military to gays and lesbians, who could serve without hiding their sexual identities.

As the court now moves into the marriage issue, the fight over gays in the military already has been won.? Congress repealed that ban, and the services are now welcoming gays and lesbians without trying to regulate their private lives.

There is virtually no chance that Congress ? at least Congress as presently constituted ? would pass legislation to open marriage to homosexuals on a nationwide basis.? That is simply not politically possible and, besides, there is a question about whether Congress could impose such a requirement upon states, which traditionally have defined who can marry.

And, since the politics of gay rights do not suggest that a constitutional amendment to permit same-sex marriages will even be attempted, the path to such marriages remains either in state legislatures, with the voters of the states, or with the courts.

Recent Constitution Daily Stories

What?s the court doing with same-sex marriage cases?
Constitution Check: Would an Obama victory turn the Supreme Court sharply to the left?
Constitution Check: Will the politics of 2012 influence the constitutionality of gay marriage?

The campaign to pursue same-sex marriage through the courts has been marked, at times, by disagreements about what was the best strategy, and what was the best time to try to advance the cause.? While supporters of same-sex marriage have had some control over the process, it has not been entirely a matter of their choice.? Rigorous efforts challenging same-sex marriage have been made, in politics and in the courts, and have succeeded most of the time with the voters.

Still, it has been widely assumed that, sooner or later, the issue probably would be resolved as a constitutional matter by the Supreme Court.?? It has had rulings on gay rights in recent years, but it has never issued a full-scale ruling on the issue of marriage for homosexual couples..

Whether the review that is now beginning will lead to a sweeping new ruling, or only one that is limited in scope, will only become clear as the time for decision approaches.

Since the same-sex marriage cases began arriving at the court last summer, a total of 11 have now been placed on the docket.?? At a Conference Friday morning, the court had before it 10 of those petitions, and the justices were examining them to decide which issues they were ready to confront.

Lyle Denniston is the National Constitution Center?s Adviser on Constitutional Literacy. He has reported on the Supreme Court for 54 years, currently covering it for SCOTUSblog, an online clearinghouse of information about the Supreme Court?s work.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-rule-same-sex-marriage-231811296.html

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All The World Is Staged In Westchester Real Estate | The Bronxville ...

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Interior designer and home stager Birgit Anich, who works in homes throughout Westchester County, offers a simple question: ?If you walk into a bakery and see several cakes displayed, which one will you choose: the beautifully frosted one that catches your eye and makes you want to take a bite out of it right there or the plain one in the corner??

If the cake with the best frosting wins, the same reasoning, she said, can apply to buying a home. Home-staging ? the art of preparing a home for sale by literally staging an appealing setting ? has become an integral part of the real estate business.

Houses that have been professionally staged sell on average 73 percent faster than un-staged houses, according to a study by the Real Estate Staging Association. New York real estate guru Barbara Corcoran said staged houses sell for an average of 5 to 10 percent higher than un-staged ones.

?Vacant houses are even harder to sell and staging is as critical even if they are new construction,? Anich said.

A trained interior designer and certified home stager, Anich recently won a Home Builders Association of Connecticut award for best interior design for her designs in a Fairfield County, Conn. home.

Her experience in both staging and interior design places Anich strategically in the real estate theater.

?While interior design is about the homeowner's lifestyle and tastes, staging is lifestyle merchandising and marketing the property to appeal to target buyers," she said.

Staging and interior design are similar fields, she said, but they demand different approaches in design, reasoning and decisions.

Anich said she has had an interest in home design since she was a child, when she began drawing floor plans of spaces she found appealing. When she was a teenager, she re-worked her parents? architect?s floor plans for a house they were building, and her parents implemented her suggestions, augmenting those of the architect.

Her formidable artistic and spatial skills, however, translate into something more basic for home buyers.

?First and foremost, people purchase a home based on emotion and then justify their decisions rationally,? she said.

Staging, she said, creates those emotional connections.

And that?s how a home gets sold. It?s a piece of (frosted) cake.

Source: http://bronxville.dailyvoice.com/real-estate/all-world-staged-westchester-real-estate

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Henderson dominates Diaz for UFC lightweight title

SEATTLE (AP) ? Benson Henderson came home and impressively retained the UFC lightweight championship Saturday night during UFC on Fox, unanimously outpointing a flustered Nate Diaz.

Henderson controlled the main event from the start, just a few miles from where he grew up in Federal Way. With the partisan crowd chanting Henderson's name throughout the fight, he took a decisive 50-43, 50-45 and 50-45 decision, his second successful title defense.

Prior to the main event, rising Canadian star Rory MacDonald took apart former champion B.J. Penn in a decisive unanimous decision that left Penn's face blooded and his body throbbing from body shots.

In the light heavyweight division, Sweden's Alexander Gustafsson won a unanimous decision over former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, likely earning himself a shot at the light heavyweight title next year.

Henderson had a shaky first defense of his lightweight title when he took a decision in a rematch with Frankie Edgar in August. Henderson was showered with boos after the split decision in his favor was announced during UFC 150 in Denver, a fight the crowd believed Edgar had won.

There was no debate this time. Henderson left Diaz's face bruised and bloodied, while it was tough to tell if he'd even been in a fight. Henderson regularly got Diaz on the mat and retained control from the top, unloading punches and elbows at will. At one point, Henderson was on top just far enough away that Diaz's flailing punches couldn't land. Diaz got frustrated to the point of making an obscene gesture that forced Fox to cut away from its television coverage.

The only moment of concern for Henderson came in the third round when both grappled on the mat trying for ankle submission holds. Henderson eventually wiggled free and retained control.

Henderson improved to 6-0 with the UFC and 18-2 in his MMA career. Diaz fell to 16-8 after winning his last three fights.

The two fights before the main event saw youth get the better of experienced former champions.

Penn (16-9-2) could not break down the faster, younger, longer MacDonald (14-1) despite having huge fan support. Instead it was the Canadians who made the short drive across the border who were left cheering the unanimous decision in favor of the rising star.

MacDonald's jabs and combination punches, combined with snapping kicks left Penn's face bloodied and swollen and his ribs aching, especially in the second round. MacDonald caught Penn with a left-kick midway through the round that nearly doubled Penn over in pain. Penn was left protecting his ribs the rest of the fight, while MacDonald showed off for parts of the third round dancing and failing his arms, mocking the former champion.

MacDonald won 30-26, 30-26 and 30-27, then immediately asked for a rematch against Carlos Condit following the victory. Condit is the only fighter to beat MacDonald back in June 2010.

Penn, a former champion in both lightweight and welterweight classes, was fighting for the first time in 13 months. Despite some barbs tossed before the fight, MacDonald was respectful of Penn in victory.

"With all the things we said to each other hyping the fight I just want to say that it has been a huge honor fighting B.J.," MacDonald said. "I'm happy with my performance and the new techniques I used successfully out there."

Both Gustafsson (15-1) and Rua (21-7) did not expect the fight to go the distance. Yet it did despite the pair exchanging huge lefts and rights throughout. The difference was Gustafsson's ability with his legs, which staggered Rua at times with kicks and knees. The second round was especially fruitful for the 6-foot-5 Gustafsson, including a knee to the face followed by a right-hand midway through the round that staggered Rua.

It was the second straight time that Gustafsson went the distance and likely sets up a title chance for the Swede against either current champion Jon Jones or Chael Sonnen. Jones and Sonnen are expected to meet for the title in late April.

Gustafsson won decisively on the judge's scorecards 30-27, 30-27, 30-26.

The opener of the main card saw welterweight Matt Brown (18-11) win his fourth straight fight with a devastating 1-2 combo midway through the second round that flattened Mike Swick (15-5).

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/henderson-dominates-diaz-ufc-lightweight-title-035121829--spt.html

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Guest post: 5 tips for dating when you've both got kids

Getting back into dating is challenging enough at the best of times. However, when you bring children into the equation it can start to resemble a minefield. The good news is that starting a new relationship when you?re already a parent doesn?t need to feel like such a struggle. Here are five easy tips on how to maintain a happy and healthy relationship when you both already have children.

image source: http://pixabay.com/en/mother-son-people-family-hug-58987/

1. You?re ready, but are they?

The decision to take the plunge and get back into dating is one that affects not just your life, but also your children?s. You need to consider whether introducing a new male or female role model into their life is the right thing to do.

If you?re newly single following a divorce or bereavement, it?s important to consider the sense of confusion or loss your kids might feel about no longer having their other parent around.

2. Use discretion

Timing is extremely important when getting back into dating and, if you?re concerned your children will take it badly, it?s often worthwhile showing some discretion.

A big reservation many parents have about looking for love again is that the usual dating scene of late nights and babysitters doesn?t work well when caring for young children. One way of finding local singles without disrupting your family?s routine is to try online dating.

Relationship sites like eHarmony Australia specialise in bringing together people who share the same passions and values, not to mention are sympathetic and understanding of your role as a parent.

3. Introducing your partner

If you?ve started a new relationship and you both have children from former relationships, communication is essential. It?s important to see how you each feel about meeting the family and at what stage you think it?s appropriate.

The first stage is to introduce your new partner to your kids. Avoid having a mass introduction of each family as it creates a lot of pressure and expectation about the future. Choose a low key and relaxed location for your first introduction, like a walk in the park or a trip to a bowling alley.

Consider the language you use during your introduction and be sure to clearly communicate the fact that your new partner isn?t a replacement parental figure, rather a new friend for them to get to know.

4. Introducing the children

image source: http://pixabay.com/en/friends-children-sit-friendship-52662/

When you decide to introduce your children to one another, again try and choose a non-threatening and non-competitive environment, like a trip to the cinema. Make sure your families understand the new experience as an opportunity for friendship, and reassure your children that they?re loved and supported throughout.

5. Be patient

This is always going to be a tricky process during the initial weeks and even months. Children of all ages will have gripes about meeting a potentially new step-father/mother, whether they?re confused kids or moody teenagers. The important thing is to remain patient and understanding of your children in this new phase of their lives. Relationship advice and statistics tell us that step-families can and do work all over the world, so hang on in there because things will get better.

Source: http://happyhomeandfamily.com/guest-post-5-tips-for-dating-when-youve-both-got-kids/

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Top 10 Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Annoyances You Can Fix Right Now

Facebook: can't live with it, can't live without it. Between spam, privacy issues, and trash in your news feed, Facebook can get pretty annoying, and other networks like Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn can be just as bad. As long as you're wasting all your time on social sites, why not fix them up so they work like you want them to? Here are ten ways to do just that.

10. Dig Yourself Out From Under Your Hoard of Notifications

Staying up to date on what your friends are doing is great...until your networks of choice start bombarding you with notifications. "Johnny commented on your status! Stacy tagged you in a photo! Billy bit you and now you're a vampire!" The best way to deal with this is to edit your notification settings directly, which you can easily do in Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. You can also turn your Facebook notifications into a daily digest, prune your phone's notifications so they don't bug you, and even make a smarter notification system for more fine-grained customization. Of course, you could just turn them off completely, too?there's nothing wrong with that.

9. Stop Spam in Its Tracks

The other kind of spam you get on social networks?besides the notification spam?is the spam caused by malicious links and other fake stories. The easiest way to avoid them? Don't click on anything that says any variation of "You won't believe this!" or "Win a free iPad!" or anything vaguely pornographic (and spread the message to your friends while you're at it). If you're following (or being followed by) any spam accounts on Twitter, you can also use a tool like Nest Unclutterer to clean them up.

8. Clean Up All Those Unnecessary Apps

Your social networks aren't the only ones scrambling to grab your data and attention?the third-party apps connected to them are, too. Heck, Facebook even tricks you into ignoring app permissions. The best way to clean up those app permissions (and delete the apps you don't need) is to use a service like MyPermissions, which will lead you to the necessary settings for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, Dropbox, Instagram, and more. It'll even remind you once a month to check your permissions and clean them up, which is pretty awesome in our book.

7. Regularly Unfriend People for a Cleaner Feed

Having a ton of Facebook friends isn't necessarily a good thing. Not only can it create a lot of clutter, but it's even a characteristic of unhappy people. For a cleaner social feed, regularly unfriend and unfollow people to keep things trim. For the really bad offenders (like your horrible ex), go a step further and block them completely. Only follow people that you're actually friends with or are otherwise useful, and you'll be much better off?though we won't blame you if you want to track who unfriends you, too.

6. Divide Your Friends Into Lists

For those that you don't want to unfriend, keep them around but divide them into lists. Not only will it keep certain people from seeing all your info, but it makes your feeds smaller and more organized. You can do it on Facebook, Twitter, and on Google+, and even use other services like Facebook's Smart Lists or Formulists for Twitter to automate the process. If you want a good list to start off with, you can always follow us and our writers on Facebook and Twitter with one click.

5. Improve Your Experience With Apps and Extensions

The default experience on Facebook and Twitter isn't made for users, it's made for the companies?so why not use something better for you? Twitter clients are always better than the default site, and we've got favorites for Windows, OS X, Android, and the iPhone to try out. You can also make Facebook infinitely better with one simple browser extension, not to mention combine multiple networks with apps like Flipboard.

4. Post to Multiple Networks at Once

Maybe you try to keep a presence on all networks, or maybe you've combined them into a piecemeal social network for yourself. Either way, you probably want to post some of your updates or photos to multiple networks at the same time, and luckily, that's pretty easy to do?most of the time. Posting from one network to another doesn't always work perfectly, but it can make your life a lot easier when using Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. And, if you want to include any other networks, IFTTT probably has you covered.

3. Stop Wasting Time and Get More Done

Let's be honest: no matter how much you love them, you probably spend a little too much time on social networking sites like Facebook. You can fix this problem by limiting your visits to time-wasting sites, and using tools like Facebook Nanny to help you get back to work. It's also worth looking into the worthwhile uses of these networks?for example, use LinkedIn to increase your hirability, or use Twitter for instant customer support and up-to-the minute updates on stuff that matters.

2. Avoid Politics, Personal Revelations, and Other Obnoxious Updates

Keeping in touch with your friends is awesome...until they decide to start preaching their political beliefs, or start pouring their heart and soul out on their Facebook page. You guys have shared your favorite ways to deal with uncomfortable Facebook discussions before, but it ever gets to be too much, you can go all out and hide those updates altogether. Extensions like Unpolitic.me will replace those political updates with cat pictures, and Social Fixer will let you hide any kind of update you want. Our tips on hiding tech rumors and movie spoilers can also translate to just about anything, too, so you should have your bases covered on every social network.

1. Keep Your Info Truly Private

It's no secret that the biggest social annoyance is actually keeping your data (and your updates) private. Everyone's trying to track you on the web, and they're constantly adding new ways to do it. Check out our always up-to-date guide on managing your Facebook privacy to figure out how to stop it, or use a site like AdjustYourPrivacy.com to keep up with your privacy settings on all your networks. Alternatively, you can ditch those privacy-invading sites for something better (or at least tone down your Facebook usage to just personal communication).

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/cx_H1HQjSc4/top-10-facebook-twitter-and-other-social-annoyances-you-can-fix-right-now

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Agency says it's ready to start reviews of offshore oil and gas safety systems

wwltv.com

Posted on December 7, 2012 at 10:07 PM

Updated today at 10:53 PM

David Hammer / Eyewitness News
Email: dhammer@wwltv.com | Twitter: @davidhammerWWL

NEW?ORLEANS?- In the wake of Eyewitness Investigation?s exclusive report Thursday that federal regulators had not conducted a single audit of offshore oil and gas companies? safety systems, an industry agency says it?s ready to ramp up its own safety reviews.

Charlie Williams, the head of the industry-run Center for Offshore Safety in Houston, says audits by independent third parties are about to accelerate considerably, now that COS has certified people to perform the new audits.

?We wanted to make sure we had a process for accrediting those audit service providers that were going to do them,? Williams said. ?So we set out to do accreditation requirements and training requirements for those auditors, and that's the work we just completed.?

The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement told us they haven't done any of their own audits because they wanted oil companies to do their own checks ? to get them to "buy in" to the new safety rules imposed after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy and catastrophic oil spill.

But two years after those new rules took effect, and a year after all offshore operators were supposed to have a safety system in place, the industry hasn't exactly rushed to do their own audits. Of 120 oil and gas companies in the gulf, only four have completed independent audits.

The oil companies have less than a year to complete their own safety audits under the new SEMS Rule. Don Boesch, a former member of President Obama's 2010 Oil Spill Commission and head of the environmental studies center at the University of Maryland, is wary of giving too much control to an industry that has stood against independent safety controls in the past.

?The Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS) that the Department of Interior has put in place is something that was long delayed by industry resistance before the oil spill in 2010,? Boesch said. ?So they acted quickly and put the process as a rule and implementation, but it's now been two years and of course we'd like to see more progress as far as these audits being completed.?

But Williams said his group has not stood in the way of the government conducting any of its own audits. On the contrary, he encouraged the government to follow through on its initial plan to do SEMS audits to weed out the unsafe operators.

?Their intention around SEMS was really to do it on that basis, so if they saw a need they could either cause the operator to do a SEMS audit or could do the audit themselves based on the need,? Williams said. ?And one of the assessments of need would be based on the safety performance or the INCs (Incidents of Non-Compliance) that any particular operator got. So, yeah, they fully intended to do that.? Fully intended ? but didn't, according to the BSEE records Eyewitness Investigations uncovered recently. Those records made reference to lists of operators with poorer safety records and data for measuring how different companies stack up on safety, but the agency refused to provide the information we requested.

It also declined to provide on-the-record responses to questions about its failure to perform any safety audits.

Links:

Department of Interior letter to Black Elk

Slide show presented to an industry safety group last month by Jason Mathews, one of BSEE?s accident investigators for the Deepwater Horizon incident.

Source: http://www.wwltv.com/news/Agency-says-its-ready-to-start-reviews-of-offshore-oil-and-gas-safety-systems-182627601.html

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Letters from Lin: Article #224 Affirmations and Compliments

Article #224 Affirmations and Compliments

??????????? I have a hard time with self-help books or classes that want you to make affirmations or state a goal you wish to achieve as already happening. Example:? I'm a success at losing weight. Repeating this positive phrase is suppose to help you believe that you can accomplish it. What I find lacking in affirmations is honesty or a plan. I can?t affirm that I?m thinner, unless I am. Affirmations only add to the confusing self-talk (both positive and negative) that can go on inside your head or mind. We are all good at self-criticizing. Maybe it's time to substitute true positive compliments to yourself instead of fake positive statements. (Although, if affirmations work for you, don?t let me stop you.)


??????????? Here?s some examples of self-talk from my life:???????????? 1. BOOKS: I could say as an affirmation: I am successful at selling my books or Negative self talk: well, you've certainly failed at trying to sell your own self published books or I could compliment my efforts: I have to say you have really tried to sell your books and YOU HAVE WRITTEN FOUR OF THEM! plus helped other friends to self publish their own. Compliments or positive self talk build and encourage you rather than tear you down, while affirmation can lead to more disappointments.??????????? 2. RELATIONSHIPS: Affirmation: I will motivate my extended family to gather for the holidays or Negative self talk: Well for all your efforts, the rewards have been few in trying to get your whole family together for a reunion versus a compliment for my efforts: You had a wonderful time with those family members who were able to come and celebrate the new baby's blessing. Keep trying.??????????? 3. SELF IMAGE and WEIGHT LOSS: Affirmation: I feel good with all the weight I?m losing or Negative self talk: You've gained back most of the weight you lost in the past few years and struggle with your eating habits versus complimenting my efforts: You are trying again to loose weight and exercise more??good for you.??????????? I hope you get the idea. We each need to be our own best CHEERLEADER. Although it helps to have friends, family or spouse who do that also. The only person we can control is OURSELVES!!! Focus on eliminating affirmation-type and negative self-talk by adding a compliment or two to restore HOPE to your life. What are some COMPLIMENTS you need to give yourself? Write them in your journal now. NEXT TIME-Personal Battles.

Source: http://lettersfromlin.blogspot.com/2012/12/article-224-affirmations-and-compliments.html

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New Voices: Jessica Thompson - Wog Magazine

By Trillia Newbell

Jessica Thompson once considered herself a good girl, but God intervened and revealed her true nature. Now the ex-good girl spends her time teaching others through writing and speaking about the gospel and practical application of God?s word.

Thompson, of Poway, California?a suburb of San Diego, has been writing for the past three years. When she isn?t writing, she is homeschooling her three children (ages 14, 12, and 9), speaking occasionally at conferences, and assisting her mother and author, Elyse Fitzpatrick. Thompson has been married to her high school sweetheart, Cody, for 17 years.

Learn more about Thompson, her upcoming projects, and thoughts for other writers in this Q&A:

Q: When did you discover you enjoyed writing?

Thompson: I enjoy writing when I know that I have something important to say. The enjoyment comes from knowing I am being used by God.

Q: ?Why do you write?

Thompson: ?I write because I want families to know the joy and freedom that comes from the gospel. I want the message of free grace to be pushed into every area of our lives.

Q: ?People always want to know how moms write. When do you find time?

Thompson: ?I get up pretty early in the morning. God has given me an internal alarm clock that goes off before the sun comes up. I use the time in the morning, before my kids wake up to study and write.

Q: ?If you were to sit down with a blogger who desires to write a book, what is one piece of advice you?d give them?

Thompson: I would tell them not to try and make a name for themselves, be about Jesus. If you have a book in you that God wants to get published it will get published. There are practical things you can do. I haven?t had to go about getting published in the conventional way. I have had opportunities given to me that are pretty uncommon. I would just warn though that it is easy to get caught up in having a popular blog and being on the cutting edge. Make yourself nothing and make Jesus everything. Social media is a great tool, but it can also be consuming. Don?t let your happiness live and die with each ?retweet? or ?like? find your reputation in Christ alone.

Q: ?What project are you currently working on?

Thompson: I am currently finishing up a devotional for kids ages 5-10. I am taking every day situation that a child that age might encounter and I am showing them how the Jesus Christ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and on-going reign might be applied to it.

Q: ?Why is this topic important to you?

Thompson: I want kids and parents to have concrete help in working through difficult issues. I want parents to know how to give their kids real hope in a real gospel. I want children to know how to connect the truth of the gospel to their lives. Crossway is my publisher and I believe it is coming out sometime in 2014.

Q: ?Briefly tell us your testimony.

Thompson: I grew up in a very strong Christian home. I have a long lineage of devout believers in my family. I knew I wasn?t a true believer but I lived a life of good deeds. I went on missions trips in high school, and was the Jr. High youth leader in our church. After graduating I immediately enrolled in Bible College. I did this so that I would receive accolades from my family and other church members. I was so content with my reputation before others I didn?t care about any sort of relationship with God. Part of Bible College was having to go to prayer before our classes. I would commonly use this time to nap or day-dream, I would never pray. One day in prayer the Holy Spirit came crashing through my benign thoughts and brought me to my knees. I saw that I was a sinner and needed a savior. I saw that my reliance on reputation was nothing before a Holy God. He chased me down in my self-righteous-good-deed-doing-sweet-Christian-girl-being and showed me my foolishness. He broke my hard heart and gave me a healing balm all within a few minutes. I don?t have a bad girl gone good story, I have a ?good? girl seen she was actually a bad girl story. I am grateful for it.

Q:? When you aren?t writing, what is your favorite leisure activity?

Thompson: ?I love watching baseball, specifically my San Diego Padres. They are a constant reminder that my hope is not in anything here on this earth. Since we have such beautiful weather, I love doing anything outside (hiking, going to the beach, lying in the sun)

Q: ?When you get discouraged (by sin, life, whatever it may be) is there a favorite Scripture you turn to? Or what is your favorite passage in the Bible?

Thompson: ?Romans 8, Romans 8 and Romans 8. I have been studying the book Romans for the entire year and have found such hope and encouragement, it has changed me. Romans 8 fills me with joy and awe and I pray that it does so for the rest of my life. Martin Luther said that ?The 8^th chapter of Romans is the masterpiece of the New Testament.?

Q: ?Where can we find your writing?

Thompson: I blog occasionally for Faithlife Women, Crossway, and Liberate. I also have done a series of blogs on parenting on my own website www.givethemgrace.com

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Thompson is the co-author along with her mother, Elyse Fitzpatrick, of the book Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids With the Love of Jesus (Crossway, May 2011).

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Source: http://www.wogmagazine.com/2012/12/new-voices-jessica-thompson/

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Obama salutes entertainers taking a Washington bow

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Music legend Led Zeppelin was recognized on Sunday alongside entertainers from stage and screen for their contributions to the arts and American culture at the Kennedy Center Honors, lifetime achievement awards for performing artists.

The eclectic tribute in Washington, alternated between solemn veneration and lighthearted roasting of honorees Academy Award-winning actor Dustin Hoffman, wisecracking late-night talk show host David Letterman, blues guitar icon Buddy Guy, ballerina Natalia Makarova and Led Zeppelin.

"I worked with the speechwriters - there is no smooth transition from ballet to Led Zeppelin," President Barack Obama deadpanned while introducing the honorees in a ceremony in the White House East Room.

Friends, contemporaries and a new generation of artists influenced by the honorees took the stage in tribute.

"Dustin Hoffman is a pain the ass," actor Robert DeNiro said in introducing Hoffman, the infamously perfectionist star of such celebrated films as "The Graduate" and "Tootsie."

"And he inspired me to be a bit of a pain in the ass too," DeNiro said with a big smile.

At a weekend dinner for the winners at the State Department, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that the performing arts often requires a touch of diplomacy as she toasted Makarova, a dance icon in the former Soviet Union when she defected in 1970.

Tiler Peck of the New York City Ballet, who performed in "Other Dances," one of Makarova's signature roles, said she has studied her idol's technique for years.

"This is a role she created," Peck said.

Despite the president's misgivings about his own speech, the performance at the Kennedy Center navigated the transition from refined ballet to gritty blues music when the spotlight turned to Guy, a sharecropper's son who made his first instrument with wire scrounged from around his family's home in rural Louisiana.

"He's one of the most idiosyncratic and passionate blues greats, and there are not many left of that original generation...," said Bonnie Raitt, who as an 18-year-old blues songstress was often the warm-up act for Guy.

George "Buddy" Guy, 76, was a pioneer in the Chicago blues style that pushed the sound of electrically amped guitar to the forefront of the music.

"You mastered the soul of gut bucket," actor Morgan Freeman told the Kennedy Center audience. "You made a bridge from roots to rock 'n roll."

In a toast on Saturday night, former President Bill Clinton talked of Guy's impoverished upbringing and how he improvised a guitar from the strands of a porch screen, paint can and his mother's hair pins.

"In Buddy's immortal phrase, the blues is 'Something you play because you have it. And when you play it, you lose it.'"

It was a version of the blues that drifted over the Atlantic to Britain and came back in the finger-rattling rock sound of Led Zeppelin.

Jimmy Page, 68, was the guitar impresario who anchored the compositions with vocalist Robert Plant, 64, howling and screeching out the soul. Bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, 66, rounded out the band with drummer John Bonham, who died in 1980.

The incongruity of the famously hard-partying rock stars sitting in black tie under chandeliers at a White House ceremony was not lost on Obama.

"Of course, these guys also redefined the rock and roll lifestyle," the president said, to laughter and sheepish looks from the band members.

"So it's fitting that we're doing this in a room with windows that are about three inches thick - and Secret Service all around," Obama said. "So, guys, just settle down."

The gala will be aired on CBS television on December 26.

(Reporting By Patrick Rucker and Mark Felsenthal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-salutes-entertainers-taking-washington-bow-022723490.html

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