How to Find Your Dream Job: 5 Tips You Can Use Right Now

Everyone has a dream job in mind. However, finding and actually getting that job isn’t that easy.

You may need to send out countless resumes and cover letters. You may need to go to interviews that don’t really guarantee any good results. There will be times that you won’t get any response, no matter how persistent you are. You’ll face a lot of competition and rejection that will really affect your confidence.

Listen:

Randomly sending out resumes may get you a few interviews, but you will be wasting a lot of real and good opportunities. For an effective job search, you need a careful and well-planned strategy.

If you aren’t sure how to do that, here’s a quick guide on how to find your dream job.

Define your job search criteria

The first thing that you need to define is the criteria for the job you are looking for. You need to be clear about your job priorities because it will help in focusing your research.

When you know your motivations, it will be easier for you to find opportunities that are perfect for your ambitions and skills. It can be the salary, job position, or company culture.

Although defining the criteria for your job search is essential, you still need to make sure that there is enough room for flexibility. If you are too rigid with your criteria, you can end up sacrificing your dream job for some mundane things.

Create a list

 

Once you have defined the criteria that you are looking for, you need to use them to search for available jobs and make a list. Prioritize them according to their desirability and when you have a list, you’ll find it easier to organize and keep track of the jobs.

Read job descriptions

When you are searching for a job, make sure that you read every job description. It may feel like a time-consuming activity, but it will actually save you more time in the future.

When you read job descriptions, you’ll be able to know which jobs fit your skills, education, and experience. By knowing which jobs you qualify for, you’ll have more time to focus on them and you’ll spend less time on irrelevant jobs.

Create an attractive resume and engaging cover letter

Your resume and cover letter play an important role in getting the attention of potential employers. They are your way of introducing yourself and convincing them that you are the best candidate for the position.

Instead of sending out the same resume and cover letter, create multiple versions. Make sure that you only send out resumes that speak about the requirements for the jobs you are applying for.

See Also: 5 Tips To Making Your Resume Cover Letter Stand Out

Activate referral network

It is important to create a network because it will expose you to a lot of job opportunities.

There are a lot of opportunities that are not advertised and if you do not have a referral network, you won’t even hear about them. You should take some time to attend conferences, events, lectures, and industry-related seminars so that you can build a good network that will keep you informed about the best positions and opportunities.

When you are looking for a job, you should let people know that you are looking for employment. This way, you’ll be one of the first people they’ll think of when the hiring process begins.

Finding a good job that will keep you happy and satisfied requires patience and the right strategies. Sometimes, it can take years before you can find your dream job, so be patient and consistent. With a little work and discipline, you’ll be able to get the job that will make you really happy.

The post How to Find Your Dream Job: 5 Tips You Can Use Right Now appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

from
https://www.dumblittleman.com/how-to-find-your-dream-job/

Why You Should Include Nuts In Your Weight Loss Regimen

Nuts are healthy as they are packed with nutrients and antioxidants. However, a majority of people on a weight loss regimen avoid including them in their diet because they fear their fats and calories.

That is a mere misconception. In reality, nuts can help you lose weight.

How?

We’ll share with you the best nuts for weight loss but first, let’s unravel the truth first.

Studies on How Nuts Aid in Weight Loss

Nuts are rich in calories. A large part of them contains fat which is a concentrated source of energy. 1 gram of fat has up to 9 calories while a gram of protein contains only 4 calories.

This high concentration of fats and calories makes many people on a weight loss diet assume that adding nuts can make them gain weight. To bust this idea, a lot of studies have been conducted over the years.

One particular study involving 8865 men and women over a 28-month period found that those who ate two or more portions of nuts every week increased their chances of losing weight by 31% compared to the placebo group. Another review involving 36 studies reported that taking nuts is not associated with increased body weight, waist size or BMI.

In a controlled study, where the participants adhered to a strict diet, the inclusion of different types of nuts to their diet did not lead to changes in body weight. More importantly, where the nuts were included in a diet of people on an unrestricted diet, nut consumption did not cause weight gain.

A study involving 65 obese patients compared a low-calorie diet which has complex carbs to a low-calorie diet enhanced with nuts. They took equal amounts of cholesterol, calories, protein, and saturated fats.

After a 24-week period, the people on the almond diet had reduced weight by 62%, fat mass by 56% and waist circumference by 50%. The groups also experienced improved cholesterol, including reduced LDL and triglycerides. The other group did not encounter such benefits.

How Nuts Aid in Weight Loss

Nuts have a complex structure, which means that unless they are chewed up completely or ground up, a large proportion only passes the gut without digestion. As such, they are not absorbed and are lost in fecal matter. It explains why nuts are weight loss friendly.

Here are some of the best nuts for weight loss you can add to your diet:

Walnuts

Apart from being heart-healthy, walnuts contain unsaturated fats which help reduce abdominal fat. They come in handy for people on a weight loss regimen as they also improve insulin metabolism. They are unique as they are rich in polyunsaturated fats, unlike other kinds of nuts that have high levels of monounsaturated fats.

Walnuts have Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA). It helps reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Walnuts have 183 calories and 18 grams of fat of which 2.5 grams of fat contain ALA. It makes walnuts a rich source of the essential fatty acid.

A research on 245 women showed that a diet rich in walnuts helped them lose weight, reduced the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL), and improved the levels of good cholesterol (HDL).

You can add these nuts to your salad or mix them with your breakfast oats.

Cashew Nuts

A serving of cashew nuts contains five grams of protein and thirteen grams of fat. Cashew nuts are also an excellent source of magnesium. In fact, a 100-gram serving of cashew nuts provides up to 73% of the daily value of magnesium.

This mineral is essential for regulating the amount of carbohydrates in the body and metabolism of fat, which helps you lose weight.

Apart from taking raw cashew nuts, you can also try spreading cashew butter on whole-wheat toast to up your intake of these healthy nuts.

Pistachios

Their unique color and flavor make them a favorite ingredient in morning green smoothies, morning snacks, and baked recipes.

A serving of pistachios has three grams of dietary fiber which is 12% of the recommended daily intake. Dietary fiber helps the body feel satiated for long, which helps rid of intense food craving. This helps you lose weight fast and burn more calories.

A study involving participants who included an afternoon snack of pistachios achieved lower triglycerides and body weight.

See Also: How to Boost Metabolism: 8 Foods That Can Skyrocket Your Weight Loss

Nut Recipes You Should Try Out

Banana Bread

If you want to avoid gluten products, then this banana bread is the right snack for you. You can eat it for breakfast, dessert or snack.

A snack of gluten-free banana bread made of walnuts allows you to enjoy the benefits of ALA while enjoying the satiety of protein. Plus, walnuts can add a delicious crunch to this snack.

Ingredients

For this recipe you will need:

• A couple of overripe bananas
• Brown rice flour
• Walnuts
• Applesauce
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Honey
• Vanilla extract
• Almond milk
• Gluten-free rolled oats
• Coconut flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Apply oil and flour on the baking pan and set it aside.
3. Whisk the wet ingredients (two eggs, coconut oil, bananas, honey, almond milk, applesauce) in a mixing bowl.
4. Then, fold in the dry ingredients (baking soda, brown rice flour, baking powder, walnuts, gluten-free oats, coconut flour, salt) and combine until the mixture is smooth and thick.
5. Pour the mixture into the baking pan.
6. You can sprinkle some oats over the butter.
7. Allow the batter to bake for 55 minutes until the tester comes out clean.
8. Remove it from the oven and let it sit for twenty minutes in the baking pan.
9. Allow it to cool on a wire rack and cut it into slices for breakfast.

See Also: 5 Healthy and Delicious Juice Recipes for Easier Weight Loss

Conclusion

Clearly, nuts are essential for people who want to shed off a few pounds. The right proportion of the best nuts for weight loss also provide numerous other health benefits.

The post Why You Should Include Nuts In Your Weight Loss Regimen appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

from
https://www.dumblittleman.com/best-nuts-for-weight-loss/

4 Simple Ways To Increase Your Customer Base

So, you’ve been in business for some time now. Do you know how to increase your customer base?

When you started out, you’re probably not so bothered about having little or no customer. After all, it’s normal for new businesses. But now, you’re probably thinking why you can’t keep your business on a steady ride.

What will be the fate of a business without customers?

I’m no prophet of doom but it’s quite obvious that it’ll be a disaster. And that’s because customers are the sustaining factor of a business.

It’s no exaggeration when they say that customer is king. Their patronage provides the revenue that businesses thrive on. Simply put, they are the reason why you are in business.

So, how do you deal with the problem of little or no customers? Unless you want to go out of business soon, you have to be worried about your lack of customers.

Here are four simple ways to increase your customer base.

Provide excellent customer service

Charity begins at home.

A good way to increase your customer base is to work on putting customers at your disposal. When you don’t give these customers a reason to stay, they’ll run into the open arms of the next available competition. The first contact a customer makes with you is worth more than a million dollars.

You know why?

If such a customer is satisfied with your delivery, he/she could transact businesses worth more than a million dollar with you subsequently. A satisfied customer is likely to tell their friends, family, and associates about your services, referring more clients to you even without you asking.

See Also: Live Chat for Business: The Best Investment?

Understand your target market

Needs can only be met when they are understood.

It’s impossible to provide a solution to a problem you know little or nothing about. You could end up spending so much time and resources doing the wrong things.

Identifying prospective customers’ needs gives you better insights on how to provide products or services that are tailor-made for them. When you have the answers to customers’ problems, they’ll naturally be drawn to you. And if you live up to their expectations, you’re likely to keep them around for a very long time.

At the end of the day, every customer wants to be satisfied. If you tick that box, you’ll have their full attention.

Utilize your network

In this digital age, we are bombarded with different modern marketing strategies with the promise of great results. While some of these techniques are efficient, they are still a far cry from the good old proven word of mouth marketing technique.

You see, your social capital isn’t just there for socializing; it can be of great help in growing your business, too.

Your network consists of people who know you personally. While they may not be able to vouch for you on matters of life and death, they trust you enough to give you the benefit of the doubt in trying out your products or services. Don’t be shy to tell them about what you do.

Remember, you are your best marketer. Talk to people in your network about your business. You’ll be surprised at the number of new customers you’ll get from that.

Explore social media

If everyone is gushing about the benefits of social media in business, there’s a chance that there’s something in it for you as well. It’s okay to be a doubting Thomas but sometimes, you have to give the benefit of the doubt.

Look at it this way:

With social media, you can reach people that you may not be able to reach normally. When you do it right, you are likely to generate leads from your social media marketing strategies.

See Also: 4 Good Reasons For Marketing With Facebook

Technology makes it easier for you to streamline your campaigns to consumers who are in need of what you are selling. You can get your products or services right in front of people who are looking for exactly what you are offering.

There’s no such thing as too many customers; the more the merrier. If you made it a point of duty to increase your customer base on a regular basis, you’d have more revenue in your bank account. You get to meet your business goals and even expand. In the end, you stand to lose nothing. So, wouldn’t you rather give it a try?

The post 4 Simple Ways To Increase Your Customer Base appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

from
https://www.dumblittleman.com/how-to-increase-your-customer-base/

7 Secrets To Help You Make 2018 Super Successful

There are many ways to be successful. As we move into the new year, you are starting to think about how you can make this your most successful year ever.

Well, you’ve come to the right place.

You’re going to learn seven practical tips for reaching your goals and improving your life in 2018. Each of these tips will focus on the following aspects of your life:

• Mind
• Body
• Soul
• Relationships
• Business and career
• Personal finances
• Personal limits

One of the most important keys to goal setting and goal achievement is to take a holistic approach. You are not simply composed of a body and a brain. You are a complete person, with a mind, body, and soul.

When you focus on only one aspect of your life, it becomes too easy for it to become unbalanced. Achieving success in one area of life at the expense of the other areas will cause frustration and will eventually make you miserable and unhealthy.

So, learn from these seven tips and discipline yourself to build a balanced life. Choose goals that are in harmony with one another. When your goals are in alignment, your progress will advance at a rapid rate and your life will improve faster than you can imagine.

Feed Your Mind

Everything begins with your thoughts and your mental health. Successful people think positively. They bring a good attitude to everything that they do. They are optimistic and practical and they have hope for the future.

What does your future look like? When you project yourself five or ten years forward, do you like what you see? What do you want your life to look like a few years from now and how will you make that happen?

Your future life will be determined by the actions you take right now. If your present course will not get you where you want to be, then you must change course.

You must learn new things. You must develop new skills. You must expand your education in order to create new opportunities for yourself. The internet has created a revolution in self-education and you must take advantage of this.

Did you know that you can get a free Harvard education?

We’re not just talking about scholarships here. But any average person can audit online college courses for free.

Just think of the possibilities and check out the free courses available today. See which of them align with your goals.

If you don’t see any classes you want to take, you can still expand your knowledge in other ways.

When was the last time you visited your local public library?

Every topic you could possibly want to learn about can be studied in-depth at the library.

It is said that top business executives read one new book every week, on average. If you want to gain new knowledge in your field, you shouldn’t stop yourself from feeding your mind.

Feed Your Body

To achieve higher levels of success in 2018, you will also want to feed and care for your body. Did you know that your physical condition can affect your mental health, your job performance, and your relationships?

See Also: 10 Brain Damaging Activities You Need To Stop Doing Now

Think about it.

Your brain requires a variety of nutrients and proper blood flow to perform at its best. Mental sluggishness goes hand-in-hand with physical sluggishness. So, let your physical condition support your mental, financial, and spiritual goals.

Begin by only putting quality foods into your body. Man-made, processed foods cannot supply all the nutrients you need for optimum health and peak performance. Instead, spend more time shopping in the grocery aisle.

Purge your kitchen and pantry of junk foods and stock up on fresh vegetables and fruits. Whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds should make the most of your grocery list.

If you live a busy lifestyle and are pressed for time, cook your meals in large batches. You can just divide them into individual storage containers so that you can simply grab one from the fridge as you head out the door to work.

Slip in a little physical exercise every day as well. If you don’t have the money for a gym membership or if you have difficulty carving out time to go there every day, then just park a little bit further from the entrance when you go to work or to the store. The added walking distance can accumulate throughout the week.

You can also take the stairs instead of the elevator or try spending half of your lunch break walking around the office building instead of lounging in the break room and watching TV.

Feed Your Soul

There are so many ways to nourish your soul. Here are just a few ideas:

• Religious practice
• Prayer
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Nature walks
• Music
• Art

All of these activities are good for the soul and they can reap great benefits in your life with only a few minutes per day. The secret is to make them a part of your daily routine. Forming new habits may seem difficult at first but with daily practice, you’ll find your soul craving for them.

Nurture Your Relationships

You are not an island. Your life is greatly hindered or enriched by the relationships you build. But despite being surrounded by hundreds and even thousands of people every day, you’ll find that limiting your interactions to a few key people can be greatly rewarding.

You can’t nurture 100 relationships at once. So, take some time to identify those people who matter most to you. Commit to engaging with them a little more each week.

In order to spend more time with these key people, you may have to spend less time with others. Think about the other people in your life and identify any toxic relationships.

Do some people seem to drain your energy and happiness? Do you feel more stressed out after hanging out with certain friends, coworkers or family members?

If so, recognize that your happiness matters. Start weaning yourself off of those people to free up more time for those who actually enrich your life.

See Also: 8 Types of Toxic Friends That Are Holding Your Happiness Hostage

Build Your Business

Your business or your career takes up a huge part of your life, so it only makes sense that you set goals for achieving higher levels of success there. Your career can affect other areas of your life, too. Before you spend another decade climbing the corporate ladder, you need to make sure that this ladder is leaning up against the right building first.

If you are unhappy with your job, change it. If you can’t stand your boss, fire him. This is not the 2018 BCE. You have freedom and you have choices. Use your freedom to choose the life you want and that starts with your job.

And if you seem to hate every job you’ve ever had, then maybe it’s time to create your own job by starting a business. With the internet, it’s now easier and cheaper to start a business from scratch.

Protect Your Finances

You work hard for your money but does your money bring you more freedom?

It can and it should.

The problem many people face is that they are stuck in the work-spend-work cycle. They work harder to make more money. Then, they spend all the money they make and more, thanks to credit cards. Once they spent all their money, they work even harder to keep up with the credit card bills.

It’s an unending cycle.

This year, you don’t have to live that way.

Begin setting aside a little money every week into a savings account and don’t touch it. If you need to cut back on your spending, then do that. Remember, nobody is stopping you.

If you cannot discipline yourself to save money from every paycheck, then you will never reach your financial goals.

Push Your Limits

This is the year that everything will change for you, but the changes cannot take place if you are continuing to live your life the same way you’ve been living it for the past few years. To get different results, you have to do things differently.

If you want to achieve more, you must become a new person. The old you is stuck in a comfort zone, and that is what is holding you back. To achieve the life you want, you will need to push out of your comfort zone.

This will not be easy, but it will be totally worth it.

As you attempt to make changes in your work life, your body, your relationships and your spiritual life, you will encounter discomfort. Pay attention when this happens! This is good! This is your opportunity!

To achieve the breakthroughs in the life that you desire, you must learn to love the discomfort. You must embrace the uncertainty that comes with trying new things. Everything you want is on the other side of that discomfort, so do not give up and do not give in.

Push through your limitations to create the new life that you envision. Those are the best ways to be successful.

The post 7 Secrets To Help You Make 2018 Super Successful appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

from
https://www.dumblittleman.com/ways-to-be-successful/

Live Chat for Business: The Best Investment?

If you are like most entrepreneurs, you’re probably aiming to increase engagement, conversion, sales, and traffic to your site.

That’s actually not a problem.

Getting traffic has become relatively easy these days with the plethora of advertising opportunities available. Using Google or Facebook and spending a few bucks on targeted ads, for example, can instantly deliver traffic to your website.

Conversion and engagement, however, are a completely different thing. You need a well-planned and structured website to get the best results. Boosting sales also requires a well-formulated campaign to ensure that you convert new viewers and keep the existing ones happy.

Customer service, therefore, is an absolute must if you want your website and customer base to grow more.

Customer service is a primary key to online success and using live chat for business is a great way of building rapport with your audience. Live chat statistics demonstrate that adding a quality live chat solution to your site can have an immense impact on the success of your website and business.

Here are some good reasons why you need to consider investing in a live chat for business.

Live Chat Boosts Your Site’s Credibility & Reputation

The internet is full of scam artists looking to exploit naïve visitors. Because of that, it has become increasingly hard to determine which sites are not credible and which ones are trustworthy.

Adding a live chat feature to your website can instantly boost your site’s credibility. It lets your customers know you are ready to address any issues or concerns they may have.

Studies suggest 29% of consumers prefer to interact with retailers through online chat. Also, 41% of shoppers trust a brand when they see that live chat is available on its website.

Hence, adding a live chat function to your site is a great way to invest in your brand’s image and credibility.

Live Chat Boosts Your Sales, Engagement & Conversion

Adding a live chat feature also increases the sales and conversion rates of a website drastically.

A customer is 51% more likely to purchase from a site that has live chat available than from one that does not. Additionally, with live chat, support is nearly instant and that is exactly what customers are looking for. It is a fact that 53% of online shoppers will abandon a purchase if support is not quick.

If you fail to satisfy their needs or answer their questions as fast as possible, your customers will likely leave your site.

When it comes to conversion, customers who chat before buying can be more easily pushed towards a purchase and are 40% more likely to convert. Also, these same customers that chat prior to purchase spend on average 10% more per order.

As a general industry standard, a chatting customer is highly engaged and is usually worth 4.5 times as much as a non-chatting visitor.

In essence, an investment in live chat integration is an investment that converts more customers who spend more per checkout and will return in the future to increase further growth and returns.

See Also: How to Improve Sales with Online Chat Software

Live Chat Pays for Itself

Live chat is also very cheap and easy to implement, considering its benefits.

From an ROI (Return on Investment) perspective, the average live chat software has a return of around 300%. This is because a customer who chats before purchasing poses a 48% increase in revenue per chat hour.

Live chat is also highly cost-effective compared to other forms of customer support. It is generally cheaper to implement than phone support. Also, when it comes to effectiveness, the average chat agent can do the work of 15 email support employees.

Considering all these factors, the cost savings alone mean live chat is an investment that not only delivers but also essentially pays for itself.

Live chat is a tool that all businesses should incorporate into their websites and online sales funnels. Live chat on your site can immediately boost your credibility and perceived support reputation.

With how it can boost sales and conversion and lower the costs of customer service delivery and ROI, it becomes obvious that live chat is very likely the best investment you can make right now to strengthen your brand.

See Also: 5 Effective Ways To Sound More Human Over A Customer Support Live Chat

The post Live Chat for Business: The Best Investment? appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

from
https://www.dumblittleman.com/live-chat-for-business/

Your New Year’s Resolution: Better Recycling Practices

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s an old classic saying, but is it true?

How about garbage? Is garbage beautiful?

Maybe, if you know how to make it “un-garbage”.

Take this year as an opportunity to do the planet a great favor by avoiding the landfill in favor of recycling.

Science Weighs In

In a closed system, like the Earth, where very, very little mass ever exits orbit to enter outer space, the total amount of energy can change from one form to another, but cannot ever be destroyed.

The things we make out of any material, whether simple or complex, natural or synthetic, organic or inorganic, are going to stay right here in our neighborhood garbage dump or even in the ocean when we are done using them.

So, challenge yourself and assess your recycling practices.

Glance around your room for about 30 to 60 seconds. Try to imagine the length of time the items you see will remain in a useful condition. This length of time is called ‘the useful life of an asset’ by the United States Internal Revenue Service.

If you see a lot of things that can be used for a long time, then that’s great! However, if you see more things with lower useful life, then that’s going to be a problem.

For example, gadgets and other products of technology are great when they are new. They are useful and enjoyable to use. Once newer and more innovative devices are introduced, your gadgets become less and less useful.

Removing the old technology, sometimes called e-waste, is a huge problem in both personal and business settings.

Getting Practical

Practice makes perfect. Now, that’s not quite correct as only perfect practice makes perfect. Imperfect practice makes imperfection and that is the recycling system of today. We are, as a whole, still uneducated on the correct recycling procedures.

For example, what is the negative result that comes from single-stream (unsorted) recycling?

The answer is often unsorted trash put in the recycle bin that doesn’t end up getting properly recycled at all.

How and Why to Recycle the Weird Stuff

If you’re not sure where to start with recycling, here are a few tips you can use:

Aerosol Cans– Valuable for their steel, they may go in a bin or taken to a recycling center.
Car Batteries– Valuable for their lead, you can turn them in for money at a scrap yard.
Pet Fur– Valuable for its ability to absorb oil, you can donate them to proper institutions. Pantyhose– Valuable for its nylon, they can be repurposed as well as recycled because they are stretchy and strong.
Vegetable Peels– Valuable for making dirt, you can turn them into fertilizers.

See Also: How To Recycle Copper Scrap

Disasters Spell Disaster for Recycling

When destructive natural causes wreak havoc in a certain area, caring for survivors, preventing diseases, and restoring health and safety services as soon as possible are top priorities. The most vulnerable segments of society suffer deeply in times of natural disaster and unfortunately, there’s a disparity in the fair distribution of resources and aid. Removing damaged and dangerous remnants, even when help arrives swiftly, can still take all too long to accomplish.

Because there are so many things we have to deal with during a natural disaster, recycling isn’t given much priority. There’s not enough room to add a recycling mandate on the clean-up crews’ list of responsibilities and this can spell bad news. There’s the risk of exposure to black mold, sewage contamination or storm residues.

When times are okay and we’re not dealing with any disaster, we hardly think about access to clean water and air. We enjoy uninterrupted services and access to the goods we want to buy and use. The only time we think about and appreciate those things is during a natural disaster.

This year, don’t wait for a disaster to strike. Start doing better recycling practices to avoid regrets later on.

See Also: 10 Ways to Enjoy a Zero-Waste Lifestyle

The Future is Now

We said progress and progress we shall have.

Waste can become a resource and a path for revenue. Since the concept of recycling has improved over the years, it’s now making more of a difference than ever before.

That’s the good news.

Ecologists, environmentalists, and ordinary people who participate in increasing society’s awareness on recycling continually work hard to improve the quality of the recycling process. They put an effort to let in more types of products, process more substances, and form new goods out of old materials.

Students in college programs majoring in ecology and environmental studies in the U.S. and abroad are working hard before and after graduation to contribute to our sustainable future.

Garbage is beautiful when it is the topic of a positive problem-solving conversation. The infographic below has a number of salient talking points to get us speaking (and listening!) together about caring for our big blue and green planet.

Let’s recycle and be smart!

Source: It’s Not Trash

The post Your New Year’s Resolution: Better Recycling Practices appeared first on Dumb Little Man.

from
https://www.dumblittleman.com/recycling-practices/

How to Move Through Feelings of Body Shame

“Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” ~Brené Brown

My husband’s legs are smaller than mine.

I wish I could tell you that when I first realized this (when we were dating) I wasn’t emotionally triggered. And that I didn’t care.

But, I can’t.

Instead, I can tell you that I walked right up next to him, planted my thigh next to his, and awkwardly declared, “Ha! My legs are bigger than yours!”

I can still see him looking right back at me, saying, “So? I love your legs.”

I didn’t know what to say.

I thought—even though it wasn’t true—he’d say my legs weren’t bigger.

But, he didn’t. He told the truth. And that truth was that my legs were (and are) bigger.

I said nothing to him in return, except a mumbled “thank you” and changed the conversation topic. All while my body insecurities and feelings of shame and embarrassment jumbled up inside of me.

I had some thinking to do.

What was that?

This stuff was supposed to be behind me. But here it was, staring me in the face.

So I rolled up my sleeves.

I needed to move through these feelings of body shame.

Below are the five steps I used and that you can use too to move through body insecurities when you’re emotionally triggered.

Step 1: Name your shame.

By naming your shame you’re shining light on something that feels dark. And something that you’re embarrassed about.

For example, in this experience, I named my shame with the following: “I’m feeling shameful because my legs are bigger than a man’s, and culturally, I feel it should be the opposite. I’m used to seeing images of the woman being smaller than the man.”

By naming my shame not only was I lifting up a rock to let light in, I was allowing myself to get really clear on what my feelings of shame actually are and where they stem from.

When you get triggered about your body size, name your shame. Write it out in a journal or if you need more time, allow yourself the time to digest your experience and come back to it. By recognizing that you want to name your shame, it’ll come to you when you’re ready.

Step 2: Observe (instead of judge) your experience.

Give yourself a break and stop judging yourself (or your body). Allow yourself to get curious about the experience and observe what happened. A helpful tactic to do this is pretending that you were a fly on the wall, witnessing your experience.

What would that fly say happened in your experience?

This allows you to stop beating yourself up and to get out of your head.

For example, my judgmental experience with the “leg incident” would be, “I acted like a three-year-old and got super awkward and weird and started telling my now husband how much bigger my legs are than his. I’m a loser and so over dramatic.”

My observational, “fly on the wall” experience would be, “I was feeling insecure and got triggered when I realized my legs were bigger than my husband’s legs.”

See the difference?

By making your triggering experience observational, you remove yourself from the experience. You allow yourself a different perspective. And it’s in this space that you can really move through something and learn from it, instead of stay stuck in it.

Step 3: Own your experience.

When we can own our experiences, we step back into our power. And we realize that we have more power than we think. Because we’re creating part of the experience, especially our reaction.

Take my incident. When I own my part in the experience, I see that I chose my reaction.

I can choose to feel bad about my body. Or, I can choose to be grateful for what my body allows me to do and that I have a partner who is accepting of me for me.

Whether you had a “horrible food day,” got called a mean name, or feel insecure after scrolling through social media, own those feelings. Because once you name your shame and look at your experience objectively, you’ll realize that you’re the creator of your own reality and that somewhere in here there is something more for you to learn about yourself.

I needed to learn that in relation to a man, a bigger body size doesn’t mean you’re any less feminine. And that there was still a part of me that was living based off of what society says is normal (i.e. the man should be bigger than the woman).

When in fact, there is no such thing as normal. This is the same thinking that has us feeling that we need to shrink ourselves to worthiness. In reality, this just isn’t true. Our size does not equate our worth.

You see, it’s not about shrinking ourselves into happiness. It’s about caring for ourselves into health and happiness.

You can do this when you begin to own your experiences and your part in them.

Step 4: Move through (not around) your emotions.

When you get to this step, you’ve already done a ton of work. This step is simply a reminder that working through triggers and funky emotions, especially surrounding our bodies and insecurities is hard work. We’re not taught this stuff in school.

And in all honesty, it’s easier to just get angry when triggers come up and then pretend they never happened. But, what generally happens here is that the thing you need to work through will present itself again and again until you work through it.

So make time to dissect what came up. You don’t need to do it all in one swoop. But plant the seed and allow the answers to come up. They will once you allow yourself and your mind to relax. Then, you can heal the wound, move through the trigger (or the belief) holding you back, and grow. Ultimately, you’ll feel more at peace with yourself and your body.

Step 5: Choose a story that serves you.

This is by far the most fun step. And will allow your wound to become a scar. Plus, it’s simple.

Choose a new story that serves you.

For example, my old story was, “Women should always be smaller than men. Especially, the ones they’re romantically involved with.”

My new story, “The size of my physical body doesn’t determine if or how I’m loved. Especially, by the right romantic partner who sees me for who I am on a deeper level.”

You see, we humans love to make up stories. They’re how we connect with one another. But, they’re also how we heal.

So in your healing process, choose a story that serves you, heals you, and honors the direction you want to go.

It’s not always easy, but I promise it’s worth it.

About Corinne Dobbas

Corinne Dobbas, MS, RD is a Registered Dietitian and Life Coach with a Masters in Nutrition. Corinne helps kind, caring, compassionate women develop a healthy positive relationship with food, their body, and themselves. More specifically, Corinne helps women get MORE. More life. More laughter. More friendships. More health. More happiness. More self-love. More self-acceptance. Visit her at www.CorinneDobbas.com

Web | More Posts

Get in the conversation! Click here to leave a comment on the site.

The post How to Move Through Feelings of Body Shame appeared first on Tiny Buddha.

from
https://tinybuddha.com/blog/how-to-move-through-feelings-of-body-shame/