Good Book to Read: What I Know For Sure

Today, we are often caught up in climbing the ladder of success, building immense wealth, and indulging in material pleasures of the world because society has deemed that to be the determining factors of happiness. As a result, we may end up forgetting some basic but important values about life, love and relationships. What should we really be placing value on? And how can we reach so called self actualisation in a way that benefits not just ourselves?

In What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey, the legendary talk show host shares candid and sometimes harsh life lessons she has learned over the years that every reader will be able to identify with at some stage in their life. Most importantly, it is a book that teaches us to be better versions of ourselves.

Organised by theme—joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power—these short writings offer a rare and intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of an extraordinary woman – while providing readers with a realistic guide to becoming better versions of themselves.

Readers will find that they are not alone in whatever the situation they are facing because even a powerful woman like Oprah has been through it. Through her words of comfort and assurance, this book gives fresh perspective on common life struggles like ageing, weight and self esteem, betrayal, failure, work life balance and relationships, thus equipping readers to take action and make changes to their lives.

In Gratitude, Oprah shares about the habit of keeping a gratitude journal where she would list 5 specific things that she was grateful for everyday. This allowed her to see the good out of a bad day or during moments of low.

In Connection, she highlights the importance of communication in relationships and offers a simple word of advice – ask when in doubt and how saying three simple words ‘I hear you’ can improve the relationship significantly.

There will be moments of laughter and tears throughout the book, as readers gain insight into intimate and everyday routines of the world’s first female African American billionaire. Realising that she is not so different after all, the words Oprah shares in What I Know For Sure rings truth that readers will turn to over and over again.

Get the book here

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The Danger of Saying "Be Careful" to Children

Whenever the children leave the house to go out and play, parents feel the need to protect their safety. Instinctively they tell them to be careful. Parents do this to instill a sense of caution in them so that they don’t get hurt. It’s a reflexive reaction to tell the kids to “be careful” when they set out to play. When they join their friends to ride their bikes, parents tell them to “be careful.” When they’re running around the yard, climbing trees, using sharp tools during craft time; parents’ instinct tells them to say, “be careful.”

Parents are protectors. To prevent the kids from hurting themselves, parents attempt to use precautionary language to keep their kids’ guard up. The problem is, “be careful” is so vague and commonly used that children have become immune to this phrase.

Saying “be careful” to kids has become a habit.

Since the children were little babies, it has been parents’ innate obligation to watch over them and keep them safe. But as the children grow, they require a little more freedom. Parents can’t watch their every move anymore. Since supervision becomes less prevalent, parents find other ways to look out for them.

Some parents instill caution in kids by suggesting alternatives. They may tell their children to walk instead of running into the street. Always look both ways. To stand back and allow cars to pass by instead of attempting to jump on them.

Other parents take the shortcut and say “be careful” to their kids.

There’s a reason that parents habitually tell their children to be careful. Ever since we were small, that’s what we were told as well. It just seems like the normal way to warn children. At home, your parents would always tell you to “be careful” when you went swimming in the pool, or out to play red-rover with your friends. Teachers would tell you to “be careful” when you ran out for recess.

There’s seemingly nothing wrong with it. The phrase is always passed on with good intentions. That is why we habitually tell children to be careful when they engage in possibly hazardous activities.

But preventative language like “be careful” is only helpful when it is accurately explained. The simple term “be careful” isn’t going to cut it anymore.

“Be careful” can mean so much that it means nothing.

The phrase holds so much meaning, that it is rendered meaningless. Without any specific details or guidance, the children don’t know what they need to be wary of. They need to be provided with an explanation on what they need to be careful of and why. What will happen if they don’t proceed with caution?

Without accurate explanations, children might begin to perceive everything as a threat. The vague, “be careful” could translate to be careful of everything around you. Everything is a danger. With this value implanted in them from a young age, they may grow up to believe that nothing is safe.

They may become paranoid and meek. They will be less likely to engage in physical activities because of the impending possibility of injury. They won’t step outside of their comfort zone because it’s just too scary.

Playing it safe means watching from the sidelines.

Children need to have the freedom to make some mistakes on their own and learn from them. If you make them believe that nothing is safe, they will believe that the only way to exist and survive is to avoid risk by all means possible.

While safety is important, this avoidance of risk could be detrimental to their development. When they are wrapped up in keeping themselves “safe”, they could be missing out on loads of opportunities.

By always using caution, children will grow up to only engage in activities that they know are completely certain and free of risk. But the reality is that nothing is certain. There is always some level of risk regardless of your level of caution.

In order to get ahead in life, you have to take risks. Opportunities are basically synonymous with risks. There’s a chance that it won’t work out. But there is also a chance that it will. Being “too careful” will cause them to pass up on opportunities. This can hinder them from achieving success. Success never came to those who were too afraid to go after it.

If children are raised to always fear the unknown and never take any risks, they may be doomed to lead a mediocre life. They’ll never have the ambition to strive for greatness. Instead they’ll spend their lives wishing they were more determined, regretting all of the chances that they never took.

Guide, don’t warn.

Let the children know to proceed with caution, but don’t make them be afraid to fall. They need to learn how to get back up, dust themselves off, and move forward.

When reminding them to be careful, be more specific. Explain the situation at hand, and what exactly they need to be careful of. Don’t give them a vague and flawed sense of danger. Tell them why the activity is dangerous, but don’t limit their choices. Still allow them to engage in the activity. Allow them to discover boundaries on their own and develop their own sense of caution.

As you know at this point, “be careful” is just too vague.

There is nothing wrong with the phrase “be careful” when your intentions are pure. But children need more information. They need to know what specifically they need to be careful of and what might happen if they aren’t.

Here’s what you can say to give your children a bit more of an explanation.^[1]

Words with more meaning

1. Stay focused on what you are doing.
2. Watch out for other people and give them lots of space.
3. Check in with each other. Make sure everyone is having fun.
4. Please move slowly and carefully near the ____.
5. That rock looks heavy, can you manage it?
6. Look around you before throwing things!
7. *While climbing* Does that feel safe?
8. Make sure you have space before running with your stick.
9. Keep one end of your stick on the ground.
10. Don’t run near the edge of a pool.
11. Watch your friends, they might not be looking.
12. If your toy goes into the road, call for an adult.
13. Tell your friends if you don’t like how they play.
14. Pay attention while climbing so you don’t slip.
15. Take your time.

Let them fall, for good.

They aren’t always going to listen to you. Some lessons they need to learn for themselves. Give them the freedom to do that. Those who are willing to take risks are the ones who strive for success later on in life.

Featured photo credit: Photo by Josh Willink from Pexels via pexels.com

Reference

[1]

^

Child & Nature Alliance: When you want to save “be careful”

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Willpower Has Been Overrated, This Is What You Need Instead To Succeed

Willpower can be described as the ability to control or reject desires to indulge in harmful and useless habits. It also allows people to arrive at decisions and then follow them through with perseverance until success has been achieved. Additionally, willpower can help us delay gratification, which as humans, we’re hard-wired to want instantly.

To give you a concrete example of willpower, just think of school. Students need willpower to self-control themselves to maintain attention in class, and to avoid breaking school rules in order to be seen as a good student.

In our modern age, willpower has become known as an important element in success. By has it always been this way?

How We Came to Believe That Willpower Leads to Success

In ancient times we didn’t need willpower, instead, we followed our natural instincts to survive.

However, as civilization evolved, humans wanted to put things in order. We started to create rules for people to follow. And only by following these rules could someone get what they want, and survive in a modern society. Because of these rules, we started to make self-discipline a virtue.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a marshmallow experiment proved willpower was the key to success.^[1] The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a series of studies on delayed gratification led by psychologist Walter Mischel, then a professor at Stanford University. The study was simple but revealing. It tested children on a choice between the following rewards:

1. Immediately being able to eat a marshmallow.
2. Waiting 20 minutes and then being able to eat two marshmallows.

The results of the study were fascinating. Children who were able to wait for the double reward, typically fared better in later life than those children who took the instant gratification route.

Because of this famous study, more emphasis began to be put on the benefits of strengthening willpower.

Nowadays, it’s fair to say that willpower controls a lot of what we do – as we see it as something critical to reaching goals and achieving things. And it’s not just about I want power, but also about I will, and I won’t.^[2]

Willpower training has also become big business. There’s countless workshops, online seminars as well as best-selling books such as Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength and The Willpower Instinct.

Try searching for “willpower boost” on Google, and you’ll find thousands of results for articles that purport to show you the ways to do it.

The Limited Power of Willpower

However, most people’s willpower remains weak. Some of the reasons for this are:

• Emotions – which can affect our motivation levels.
• Our physical condition – are you getting enough sleep? (For example.)
• Previous failures – repeating these in our minds kills our willpower.^[3]

On top of the above issues, you may have noticed that even when you have an abundance of willpower, it has its limits. Every day, in one form or another, you exert willpower. For instance, if you resist eating a tasty piece of chocolate cake offered to you, then you’ve had to use emotional and mental power.

Willpower is similar to a muscle. If we overuse it, we get tired. In other words, willpower is a limited resource.^[4]

How to Succeed with Limited Willpower

Once you realize that willpower has its limits, then the key thing to know is that you must follow a system to reach your goals and dreams. Put systems first, and willpower second.

Willpower is close to useless, if you do not allow it to work alongside a personal success system.

What is this system that I refer to? It’s a system that creates the right conditions in your mind and environment that helps make your success a surefire outcome. With this type of system in place, willpower will simply be an extra bonus in helping you to reach success. But to be clear, with the right system, even if your willpower fails, you’ll still keep on the road to success and achievement. These are the essential steps to build your own success system:

1. Create an environment that is conducive to success

Think for a moment about willpower. On its own, it doesn’t place any emphasis on changing your environment, instead, it puts its focus on overcoming your environment. It’s no wonder then, when the limited willpower begins to fail, people succumb to environmental influences – despite their best efforts to resist.

As human beings, we are consciously and unconsciously influenced by what’s around us. These could be the news we read, the stories our friends tell us, and even the influence our home has on us.

The secret is to, where possible, create an environment that helps (not hinders) the reaching of your goals. For example, if you want to spot binge eating snacks, give away all your snacks to others, and make sure you can’t reach any kind of snacks at your workplace or home.

Your environment can also be used to directly support your goals. For instance, if you want to be a professional artist, surround yourself with professional artists.

2. Know what makes you happy

By knowing what makes you happy, you’ll also reveal what motivates you. This is important.

Take a look around at others, or delve into your past, and you will find that willpower falters when people encounter failure or come across negative events. This clearly demonstrates that willpower is affected by external factors, thus making it unreliable.

Knowing what makes you happy is the perfect way to stay motivated to reach your goals – even when your willpower crumbles. This can be through rewarding yourself by watching a great movie (once you’ve achieved a goal milestone), or by simply enjoying the inner bliss you receive when walking on the pathway that keeps you happy, motivated and successful.

Replace Your Old Beliefs – and Find New Success

Willpower is not the be all and end all we’ve been taught to believe. While it’s certainly a component of success, it’s nowhere near as important as all the self-help gurus claim.

As I’ve discussed above, having a system and a goal, are much more powerful factors in success than willpower.

So, now you know the truth about success, take the steps I’ve suggested, and begin achieving more than you ever thought possible. And if you need any further motivation to help you on your way, check out the Lifehack article Make Good Habits Stick Easily With Productive—the Habit Tracker.

Featured photo credit: Vecteezy via vecteezy.com

Reference

[1]	^	The Atlantic: What the Marshmallow Test Really Teaches About Self-Control
[2]	^	Positive Psychology Program: The Psychology of Willpower: Training the Brain for Better Decisions
[3]	^	Go To Things: Importance Of Willpower In Life
[4]	^	American Psychology Association: What You Need to Know about Willpower

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7 Business Card Holders for You To Look Professional at External Meetings

People exchange business cards all the time at business events, from conference, happy hours, seminars, lunch meetings, or product launches. You probably have a few business cards in your wallet already with this in mind.

But having just a few business cards in your wallet won’t cut it. Cards easily crinkle or crumble on the edges, rendering them totally unprofessional-looking. And your wallet any hold so many cards before they start to bulge or fall out. These cards must be stored in a sturdier and more professional holder.

Having a business card holder is incredibly important for those of us who have to attend business meetings outside of our own companies or organizations. So here at Lifehack, we have handpicked seven business card holders so you don’t need to worry about giving out crumpled-up business cards again!

1. NOMĒ Slim Business Credit Card

You will appear smart and polished with this slim card holder. This professional business card holder features a steel interior, soft-touch bicast leather, and a suede finish.

This beautiful design is matched by its performance. The polished stainless steel construction won’t bend or crease your cards. The curved, slim design that sits comfortably in your pocket and also prevents theft.

The Nome slim business card card holder easily fits up to 20 business cards or seven credit cards, and it stays shut with a magnetic clasp that won’t demagnetize your cards. For the price, you can’t beat the premium materials and functionality.

NOMĒ Slim Business Credit Card, $9.99.

2. MaxGear Professional Business Card Holder

The MaxGear professional business card holder can hold approximately 12-18 business cards. It’s also totally suitable for ID cards, credit cards, gift cards and more, depending on your specific business needs. You can fit this sleek ID card into a larger wallet, purse, pocket, or briefcase.

The super-sleek design is polished and protects your cards. The absolutely professional businesslike appearance will leave your clients, associates, and peers a truly great impression.

MaxGear Professional Business Card Holder, $6.85.

3. UBAYMAX Leather Business Name Card Holder Case Wallet

For a polished and self-assured look, leather is the exterior material of choice. The UBAYMAX leather business card holder does not disappoint: it’s stylish and comes in with several different color options, allowing you to personalize your style much more than a stainless steel card holder can.

Keep your cards clean and unbent, with the magnetic shut as well as an interior made with soft lining. These features will all provide more protection to your card as you store them in style.

UBAYMAX Leather Business Name Card Holder Case Wallet, $6.99.

4. SunplusTrade Professional Business Card Holder Case

SunplusTrade professional business card holder case is a slim and barebones style for those of us who prefer a more minimalist feel. The sturdy construction is made with high-quality stainless steel with a brushed satin finish.

Store your business cards, or credit cards, ID cards, etc., in this unassuming but sleek case. You can keep around 13 to 18 business cards in this case at once.

SunplusTrade Professional Business Card Holder Case, $5.99.

5. Partstock(TM) Business Name Card Holder

Partstock’s design holds more than to 25 business cards, credit cards or IDs. Made with a combination of stainless steel and durable leather, this card holder is both stylish and protective.

This sleek design will totally disappear in your pocket or hand: it feels incredibly comfortable with its leather cover, for which you can choose from a variety of different colors and patterns.

Partstock(TM) Business Name Card Holder, $6.99 (different colors patterns available).

6. Partstock PU Leather Wallet Case with Magnetic Shut, Yellow

Partstock makes this slightly different design for people who are love an extra design pop. If you’re not satisfied with the traditional and everyday stainless steel design, this is the business card holder for you.

The product has a fine texture and comfortable tactile impression, able to hold more than 25 business cards. If you’re looking for a higher-capacity business card holder with a variety of colors to choose from, this one is for you.

Partstock PU Leather Wallet Case with Magnetic Shut, Yellow, $8.99 (more colors available).

7. KINGFOM™ Stainless Steel Wallet Business Name Credit ID Card Holder Case

KINGFOM’s unique design makes it super easy to slide out your business cards, credit cards, or ID. Premium Stainless Steel with a combination of high polish and beautiful satin finish leave the impression of a high-powered business executive.

Perfect rounded edges – not sharp – ensure comfort in your pocket, bag, briefcase. For the ultimate business card holder that screams “CEO,” get the KINGFOM for your networking needs.

KINGFOM™ Stainless Steel Wallet Business Name Credit ID Card Holder Case, $5.99.

Featured photo credit: rawpixel.com via unsplash.com

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Ditch Your Banana and Kale! Use "The Blender Girl" To Find Your Fun and Tasty Smoothie Recipes

Imagine that you’re about to make a fresh smoothie to start your day. You open your fridge, and pull out the kale, spinach, and banana. This is what you’ve been doing for weeks now, and it has had a positive effect on your health.

You blend everything and take a sip. Before you can stop yourself, you hear your mind saying, “Boring!” This is the same thing you had yesterday and the day before.

Making healthy choices doesn’t mean that you need to sacrifice variety. One of the quickest ways to derail your wellness plan is to let boredom set in.

It’s time to re-imagine your smoothies

Nobody wants to eat the same thing over and over. “The Blender Girl – Easy, Healthy Smoothie Recipes” is an app designed to help you find fun new smoothie combinations.

The Blender Girl app has over 100 smoothie recipes, and all the guidance you’ll need to make the best smoothie for you. In addition to the recipes, it also has a glossary, blender recommendations, and tips for how to improve the quality of your drinks.

This app goes well beyond what you’d find in a typical recipe book, and it’s way faster to search on this app than look through all the options on the web. One of the coolest features of The Blender Girl is that you can search for the perfect smoothie based on what you feel, need, or crave.

You’ll be well on your way to a delicious new smoothie

The contents of your smoothie can put you on track to feel great and meet your health and wellness goals. The app takes the guess work out of figuring out which smoothies have the nutritional profiles that will get you what you need.

1. Search by how you feel. One way to shake up your smoothie routine is to allow the app to help you find a recipe for you based on a simple fill-in-the-blank screen.

Simply click the arrows to the right of each sentence starter to reveal a list of options. For “I feel…” you can choose from a list of responses such as “happy,” “sluggish,” and “wired.”

Then, you think about what you need. Whether you need to detox, lose weight, or chill out, you can tell the app what you hope to accomplish with your smoothie.

Finally, you can tell that app what you are in the mood for. You can choose to eat something that seems clean and green, light, or exotic. There are plenty of options to suit whatever strikes your fancy.

After you’ve finished those three sentence-starters, click on “find my blend” at the bottom to reveal the best smoothies for you given your current state.

2. Window shop for the smoothie with the health benefits you want.

If you’d rather browse the recipes available, you can look scroll through the images and titles of the smoothies.

When you come to one that sounds appealing, you have the option to click on that smoothie to find out more information about it.

You not only get a list of ingredients and instructions on how to make the drink, but you can also see each smoothie’s health benefits. A series of icons at the top of the text helps you align your smoothie choices with your health and wellness goals.

For example, a smoothie with immune-boosting ingredients will have an immunity icon with a shield at the top. You can tell at a glance whether the smoothie you chose is good for detox, fighting inflammation, weight loss, etc.

3. Search by ingredient

When you’re operating on a tight schedule, you may not always have time to run to the store to get the ingredients for a random smoothie. Narrow your focus to ingredients that you have by searching by ingredients.

[SEARCH BY INGREDIENT IMAGE HERE]

Speaking of ingredients, The Blender Girl will also help you make a shopping list if you choose a smoothie that does require a trip to the store. You can even see how much of each item you need. Email your shopping list, or mark items off in-app as you go through the store.

One of the advantages of using the app while you shop is that you can consult the glossary if you have any questions about what you need to buy.

The high-quality photos allow you to see what the ingredient looks like. If you’re trying something new, it can give you peace of mind to know that you are choosing the correct item. This is especially helpful if you buy your fresh produce from farmer’s markets, where items may not be labeled, or they may go by a different name than you find in the store.

The Blender Girl app is user-friendly

Flipping through a thick recipe book can be time-consuming. Indicating a few key preferences enables to app to quickly identify the best smoothie for you mood or situation.

Inputting dietary information can speed up the process of finding a recipe that will work for you. For those of us with dietary restrictions, it’s helpful to narrow down your search to items that don’t contain known allergens and irritants. If you have a specific goal, such as detoxing your body, you could refine your search to identify all recipes with detoxifying ingredients.

When you find a smoothie that you love, add it to your favorites so that you can find it again. There’s even a Share-a-smoothie feature, which allows you to share recipes on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

Shake up your smoothie routine

Drinking the same smoothie repeatedly can be monotonous. Give your taste buds a thrill by trying out new smoothie flavors and combinations. The Blender Girl Smoothies – Easy, Healthy Smoothie Recipes app is essential for people who want to make smoothies a regular part of their diet.

The app costs $4.99 and is compatible with iOS devices. That modest fee gets you a lifetime of access to this handy tool. For the sheer variety of recipes, unique search features, and convenient list-making and recipe-sharing capabilities, it is well worth the cost.

Download The Blender Girl Smoothies – Easy, Healthy Smoothie Recipes from the App Store.

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The Invisible Violence in Relationships That Destroys People

Everyone feels mistreated by someone at some point in their lives. It can be a time being neglected or intimidated, or a time you were threatened by someone you cared about. It could also be being discouraged or criticized in a negative way. Maybe someone was indifference to you when you turned to them for help in a difficult situation. Perhaps you have experienced some, or even all of this.

Having any of the above negative experiences is not a minor thing. In fact, it reflects a deeper issue.

Not every type of violence is visible, and therefore some people may try to justify the way they have been treated. But make no mistake: just because it doesn’t leave a scar or blood, it does cause an intangible violence on a person’s psychology. Such violence is called Cold Violence.

The Cycle of Violence

An abuser won’t risk becoming abusive until they are confident that the other person won’t leave. Sadly, this is why cold violence is popular in a family, marriage, or romantic relationship. The feeling of being depended on can make the abuser more confident and therefore more cruel.

The first step an abuser does is to win the target’s heart

To win the heart of the target, an abuser will do things that seem like the only good person. Meanwhile, they will make the target’s friends and family seem like the enemy. Maybe they will emphasize how great they are while criticizing the target’s family. Or maybe they will make things up about the target’s loved ones to turn you against them.

Then, the abuser will test the target’s limit

They may shame the other person by neglecting, criticizing or intimidating them frequently, or telling the other person that they’re lucky to have him/her. This forces the target to depend more on the abuser, enhancing the belief that they have no one else but the abuser to rely on.

Every time they accept the abuser breaking their boundaries, the abuser breaks further. The abuser knows how to keep them hooked so they won’t leave so easily. It’s always a cycle of building up tension, attack, then comes the apology and a honeymoon period of loving gestures. The honeymoon period is like a short break for the target to forget about their bad, and for the abuser to prepare for another round of attack on the target’s boundaries.

The false sense of kindness drives the target to stay in the relationship

Once the abused person has accepted the abuser’s false kindness, they will begin to rationalize what their loved one does: maybe it’s just the way they handle anger, maybe they should accept their true personality like that, or perhaps they should change, or maybe one day their loved one will change.

When the abused person accepts the abusers’ behaviors, this starts the cycle over while pushing further into their boundaries. For this reason, violence doesn’t tend to start until the abuser is confident of their control. The false sense of dependency drives the abused individual to stay in the relationship while becoming oblivious to what is happening. This only encourages the other person to continue with the abusive behaviors and become more controlling.

After being with the abuser for some time, the abused person has lower self-esteem and confidence. They feel that they can no longer find anyone else to care about them but the abuser. The fear of being abandoned makes them hold on to the relationship.

The Invisible Wound

While people may begin to feel that the relationship will eventually improve, it will only continue to be painful and chaotic. It’s always an imbalanced relationship. One person accepts all the negative behaviors from the other, while the abuser ensures the abused is on their best behaviors. While the abused person will hurt, their pain will be physically invisible.

It can be worse than physical wounds which can be seen because when you see someone who is physically wounded, you’ll ask how they’re doing or may suggest ways to heal the wounds. But when the wound is invisible, others will never know how painful it is. The wound may keep bleeding without getting a fix.

A wound that can’t be seen can last for so long that it damages a person’s life. The abused person will lose confidence in themselves. And they will never be happy staying in such relationship.

Breaking the Cycle of Violence

If you aren’t sure whether you, or someone you know has fallen victim of cold violence. Check for these behaviors of an abuser:

• Insists on having his or her way and won’t compromise
• Has outbursts of anger
• Criticizes you or people close to you
• Is possessive
• Threatens you in different ways

Anyone who has done one or all of these things to you or someone you know is possibly a cold violence abuser. To end the cycle of violence, take the following steps.

Stop engaging in those damaging behaviors

Abusers want your attention. When you stop engaging or responding to that behavior, they fail to control you.

Even if this results in them sending you hundreds of texts or phone calls, know you don’t have to respond to everything they say or do – this is not rude, but one way to protect yourself from being hurt again.

Cease all communication with the abuser

Getting rid of these people doesn’t mean you’re too weak to face them, it only means you’re brave enough to stand for yourself and let them go.

It’s not easy to end a relationship, many choose to stay even though the relationship is sad and unfulfilling. But it’s necessary to leave an unhappy relationship. Read my other article to find out how to end a bad relationship: Why Trying Hard to Stay in an Unhappy Relationship Is Not Love, but Fear

Don’t fight alone

You need someone to help you that is not the person you’re dealing with (the abuser). Be open to share your feelings with someone close to you, maybe a friend who you’ve known for long time, or a close family member. Even if the person you turn to is someone your abuser turned you against, they will understand and forgive you once they understand what’s happened.

Find someone who truly thinks from your perspective and will help you organize your thoughts and help you rebuild your own boundaries so you know how to deal with the issue.

Tolerate No Violence

No one should waste their time and energy on someone who only wants to break them down to lift themselves up. If you recognized yourself or someone close to you in this article, please reach out to someone for help. Even though it can be hard to recognize cold violence when you’ve been in a bad relationship for so long, there is hope and happiness to be found.

No matter what you have been told. No matter what you have been made to believe about yourself and the people you once loved, you matter. Cold or not, no violence should be tolerated.

Featured photo credit: Stocksnap via stocksnap.io

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Dash! The Convenient Way to Grocery Shop Without Going to the Store

Have you ever come home from grocery shopping and start to put the items away only to realize that you forgot a few vital things?

It might not seem like a big deal, but sometimes those items were the whole reason that you decided to go shopping in the first place. Things like toilet paper, dish detergent, or coffee. Now you have to go back out to get them which can not only be frustrating, but time consuming as well. Now you have to interrupt your entire schedule to retrieve one single item.

With Amazon Dash, You will never need to worry about running low of your favourite items

Amazon Dash is here to alleviate that issue. This feature makes grocery shopping a sinch! And it all can be done from the comfort of your home.

The buttons are Wifi connected devices that you can place anywhere in your home. When you begin to run low, you just press the button, and your Amazon Prime account will be alerted to reorder the item.

Virtual Dash buttons are also available. They can be accessed through your mobile device. And since these are free you can add as many as you like.

Easy as the push of a button

You can get your Amazon Dash buttons from Amazon Prime for just $4.99 a button. You instantly get $4.99 credit for that buttons item automatically, so you are already seeing a return on your investment.

Set up the button in accordance to the app, so you will receive notifications when the order has shipped, or if they button has been hit by accident resulting in a double order.

Place the button near the appropriate item for easy access when you realize it is running low. This way you can quickly order before the item runs out.

What happened if someone accidentally press the button?

If you live with little kids, they may press the buttons for fun, not realizing what they are doing. You may also accidentally press the button to reorder something, forgetting that you have already placed the order.

You can set the buttons somewhere that are hard to reach to avoid this issue, but that may end up taking away from the convenience of the product.

Amazon has designed some damage control for just these occasions. No matter how much one button has been pressed, the next order will not be sent until the previous one has been delivered.

If you have set up the notification feature, you will be alerted every time a button is pressed. This makes it easy to cancel accidental orders instantly.

There are Dashes for nearly everything you can think of!

There are Dash buttons for just about everything! From cosmetics, toiletries, paper items, condoms, snacks, beverages, pet food, you name it, there’s a dash button for it.

The top 5 dash buttons at the moment are:

Prime Surprise Sweets

Tide

Bounty

Charmin

Cascade

Get a button for your favorite items now!

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