Posts Tagged ‘Self-Improvement’

Eureka, that’s it! That’s it!

They’ve finally found the cure for the common cold!

Okay, well, not exactly. But researchers have figured out how you can get fewer than the two to four colds the average American adult catches each year, and how you can ensure those colds are less severe: exercise.

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Holidays bring families together … and to hear some tell it, the more is not the merrier. Many times I’ve listened silent and bug-eyed as friends have discussed the horrors of trying to plan gatherings for their parents and in-laws. It’s amazing how the offspring of such divergent clans managed to mate. These people have nothing in common beyond the marriage of their children and the fact that they share—and compete for the affection of—common grandchildren. No wonder my friends approach the holiday dinner as though they’re planning a summit meeting between the United States and North Korea.

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The American holiday of Thanksgiving is known for the three fs: family, football, and feasts—with special emphasis on the feasts.

Unfortunately, not every family is equally blessed with members skilled in the culinary arts. One of my friends used to dread her mom’s home-cooked meals. When the poor woman prepared ground beef, she thought the excess grease was gravy. Helen Hayes, an Oscar-winner in the 1930s and longtime grande dame of the stage must have been similarly challenged in the kitchen.

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 We’ve got PCs, netbooks, iPhones, iPods, and iPads; Wiis, Miis, and MP3s; Segways, GPS, and TiVo. But we still can’t tell the laundry to pick itself up off the floor, toss itself into the washer, and bring along one of those handy all-in-one detergent packs. No matter how much technology does for us, we still have chores—those tedious daily and weekly tasks that not even the Roomba robot vacuum can eliminate.

So how do we make these mundane tasks less mundane? Try turning them into a daily obstacle course.

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As we head into the year-end holidays, we look forward to our family traditions. We eat the same dishes, hang the same decorations, see the same people, listen to the same music, engage in the same activities we’ve enjoyed for years or even generations. Humans find comfort in familiarity, and resist change.

At least we resist change suggested by others. If it’s our idea, we can’t figure out why everyone makes such a fuss about trying something new.

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For many people in the world, this has been another disappointing year. No matter how the economists measure it, in practical terms, the global recession continues. Unemployment, war, poverty, disease, hunger, and homelessness remain universal issues. Divisiveness continues to impede solutions. It gives pause as we head toward America’s annual season of thanks.

If we’re not careful, we can get so caught up in our worries and woes that we forget our blessings. Lately life’s stresses have been weighing me down, but the other day a wise friend reminded me the constant through all my difficulties is that I’ve been loved. And that’s defnitely a reason to be thankful.

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These are treacherous times in the United States … for those trying to watch their weight. For a week they’ve been scraping themselves off the ceiling—either from the sugar high of sneaking into the Halloween stash, or from the frustration of trying to back away from the candy. And now that the jelly beans are finally gone, it’s time to start planning the annual Thanksgiving gluttony-fest.

So how can we enjoy the holiday food season without reaching January in the shape of a Butterball?

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We’d make life easier for ourselves—and more pleasant for everyone else—if we could learn to behave like respectful adults, even with the people whose ideology we abhor. But if you think American politics is nastier than ever, maybe you can take small comfort in knowing there’s nothing new under the sun.

Take, for instance, the 1910 elections in Maine. The state’s political machine had long been controlled by popular Sen. Eugene Hale, whose son Col. Frederick Hale was running for Congress. In a blistering editorial in his rural weekly, the Six Town Times, Charles Thornton Libby didn’t stop at criticizing the Hale politicians—he also took aim at the senator’s wife:

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We’re about to go dark.

That means Daylight Savings Time is ending for most of the United States. And you must be thrilled with the money you saved this summer … after all, that’s what DST is all about: saving money. Did you save enough on your energy bills to pay for your holiday shopping? No? A week’s worth of groceries? A tank of gas? Lunch at McDonald’s?

A gumball?

What’s that? You didn’t save any money on your electric bills by having that extra hour of daylight? Well, at least you broke even and the kids had an extra hour to play outside …

Say again? You didn’t break even? Your power bill increased? No, that can’t be right!

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Ah yes, motherly advice. Some mothers tell their daughters to guard their virtue. Some tell their daughters to marry good providers. Some tell their daughters to vigorously pursue their dreams and become good providers.

My mother told me not to be too surprised if the gentlest person on earth suddenly pops me in the mouth.

Now … before anyone misreads that, my mother has always taught me to stand up for myself and not let anyone be abusive toward me. On that occasion, however, she was referring to my talent for flippancy. I’ve learned since then to bridle my inherent ability to throw out well-timed, sarcastic replies. But my internal censor hasn’t always worked as well as it should have.

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