AbeerSama

1. Recycle old papers that are filling drawers in your house.
2. Mentally prepare yourself for change by visualizing your ideal self. 
3. Realize that unexpected events can be a good thing.
4. Ask people you admire how they got where they are today.
5. Cut back on alcohol, cigarettes and other vices.
6. Remove elements of negativity from your life, be they people or a job you don’t want to do. 
7. Start each day with a clear to-do list along with your cup of morning coffee.
8. Clean your house from top to bottom and throw away anything outdated. 
9. Institute a clear filing system for your personal records.
10. Do your grocery shopping for the week on the day it’s most convenient. 
11. Take a career test that will help you identify your strengths.
12. Meet with a professional counselor if there are issues you need to discuss. 
13. Go through cabinets and throw out expired medications or food items. 
14. Make a clear diet plan with an emphasis on whole grains, fruits and vegetables. 
15. Add vitamin pills to your daily diet. 
16. Work out a clear exercise plan with an activity that you enjoy such as dancing or biking.
17. Set appointments you’ve been putting off.
18. Take up a mental exercise. Crossword puzzles, Sudoku etc
19. Publish your own book. 
20. Make a reading list and join a book club. 
21. Spend time with yourself each day.
22. Practice breathing exercises or meditation.
23. Speak and act with honesty. 
24. Learn from past mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. .
25. Volunteer to help others in your community.
26. Take up a new language or hobby.
27. Read inspirational biographies.
28. Talk to a stranger.
29. Reconnect with friends and relatives who live far away. 
30. Change your toothbrush.
31. Take more naps.
32. Drink at least 6 cups of water per day.
33. Organize your photo collection.
34. Take an interest in art in your community.
35. Join a hobbyist club.
36. Keep a calendar with commitments. 
37. Don’t put off difficult conversations. 
38. Make a list of priorities and do what makes you happy.
39. Spend more time outdoors.
40. Attend lectures. 
41. Take the time to stretch muscles. 
42. Make laughter a priority. 
43. Clear some time each day to do nothing. 
44. Schedule a much-needed vacation.
45. Learn new tips for entertaining. 
46. Throw out old clothing that doesn’t fit.
47. Live in the present, not the past. The past is over.
48. Learn from past mistakes and move forward with your life.
49. Get your car checked up.
50. Budget for possible home repairs.

Bad language could be good for you, a new study shows. For the first time, psychologists have found that swearing may serve an important function in relieving pain.

The study, published today in the journal NeuroReport, measured how long college students could keep their hands immersed in cold water. During the chilly exercise, they could repeat an expletive of their choice or chant a neutral word. When swearing, the 67 student volunteers reported less pain and on average endured about 40 seconds longer.

Although cursing is notoriously decried in the public debate, researchers are now beginning to question the idea that the phenomenon is all bad. “Swearing is such a common response to pain that there has to be an underlying reason why we do it,” says psychologist Richard Stephens of Keele University in England, who led the study. And indeed, the findings point to one possible benefit: “I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear,” he adds.

How swearing achieves its physical effects is unclear, but the researchers speculate that brain circuitry linked to emotion is involved. Earlier studies have shown that unlike normal language, which relies on the outer few millimeters in the left hemisphere of the brain, expletives hinge on evolutionarily ancient structures buried deep inside the right half.

One such structure is the amygdala, an almond-shaped group of neurons that can trigger a fight-or-flight response in which our heart rate climbs and we become less sensitive to pain. Indeed, the students’ heart rates rose when they swore, a fact the researchers say suggests that the amygdala was activated.

That explanation is backed by other experts in the field. Psychologist Steven Pinker of Harvard University, whose book The Stuff of Thought (Viking Adult, 2007) includes a detailed analysis of swearing, compared the situation with what happens in the brain of a cat that somebody accidentally sits on. “I suspect that swearing taps into a defensive reflex in which an animal that is suddenly injured or confined erupts in a furious struggle, accompanied by an angry vocalization, to startle and intimidate an attacker,” he says.

But cursing is more than just aggression, explains Timothy Jay, a psychologist at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts who has studied our use of profanities for the past 35 years. “It allows us to vent or express anger, joy, surprise, happiness,” he remarks. “It’s like the horn on your car, you can do a lot of things with that, it’s built into you.”

In extreme cases, the hotline to the brain’s emotional system can make swearing harmful, as when road rage escalates into physical violence. But when the hammer slips, some well-chosen swearwords might help dull the pain.

There is a catch, though: The more we swear, the less emotionally potent the words become, Stephens cautions. And without emotion, all that is left of a swearword is the word itself, unlikely to soothe anyone’s pain.

Source

Have you guessed the riddle yet?” the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
“No, I give it up,” Alice replied. “What’s the answer?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” said the Hatter.
“Nor I,” said the March Hare.
Alice sighed wearily. “I think you might do something better with the time,” she said, “than wasting it in asking riddles that have no answers.”