How to boost your mood in the morning

    How do you feel when you wake up in the morning? Lazy, tired, or cranky?  Sometime we wake up each day feeling very moody due to not having enough sleep or due to tiredness and stress. But there are a few tips you can do to improve your mood in the morning.

1)      When you wake up, think of something nice to do for yourself that day, and try to achieve it. Looking forward to that activity tend to lighten your mood.

2)      Focus on feeling good: Take deep breadths and make the decision to feel good for the day, when you are stressed remember to take deep breadths.

3)      Don’t jump out of bed as soon as you open your eyes, take some moment to access yourself and do some light exercise.

4)      Try as much as possible to eat breakfast no matter how little.

5)      Get as more fresh air as you can.

6)      Be thankful for what you have. Thinking about your past and how far you have gone to get to where you are in life is a good way to improve your mood in the morning.

7)      Keep smiling. When you smile, you get smile in return and this helps to change your mood.

15 simple principles of life

   The following are a compilation of some very important principles of life I have come across in the course of various studies. There are meant to encourage.

1) Learn to admit your mistakes before someone exaggerates the story.
2) Remember that Ego is just a three letter word, which can destroy a big twelve letter word like relationship.
3) If everyone is happy with you then, surely you have made many compromises in your life.
4) Never think you are nothing, Never think you are everything, but always think you are something and you can achieve anything.
5) Words can hurt your feelings  but silence will break your heart. Learn to speak up
6) Life is a game of TIME. A correct decision is wrong when it is late. Act fast
7) In life if you don't know, ASK. If you don't agree, ARGUE. If you don't like it, SAY IT. But don't start judging silently
8) Life is meaningful when you realize the simple fact that you cant get the same moment twice.
9) Life is not a rehearsal, each day is a new show, so give your best in all you do
10) We will definitely succeed in life if only we follow all the advises we give to others
11) Every story has an end but, in life every ending is just a new beginning. Never give up.
12) There is always another chance for everything in life. But the fact is there is no chance of another life. So dream it, mean it, live it, love it and enjoy it.
13) Confidence helps to set some aim, but self confidence helps to achieve that aim. Never loose your self confidence
14) In the journey of life, we pass through pleasure and pain, there will be sunshine and rain, there will be loss and gain but, we must learn to smile again and again.
15) Life is happier and stress-free if we remember that we cant have all that we desire but God will give us all that we deserve.

High blood pressure: Causes and treatment.

    High blood pressure is one very serious ailment which if not controlled can lead to various heart related diseases as well as other problems in the body. An estimated 1 in 3 adult has high blood pressure, and the condition is dangerous because it often has no symptoms.

   High Blood pressure is the increase in the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries as the heart pumps blood. If the force of the blood flow keeps getting high, the tissue that makes up the walls of the arteries gets stretched beyond its healthy limit which will then create problems in several ways. It is a condition that has no symptoms, you can have it and not know you have it , so it is advisable to check your blood pressure regularly. Blood pressure fluctuates depending on the activity you are engaged in, it reduces while you are asleep and rises as you wake up, and actively doing something.

   A normal blood pressure reading ought to be 120/80mmHg or less; anyone with a reading above 120 should see their health care provider. Blood pressure tends to rise with age; this is because your blood vessels become stiffer as you age. However, a healthy diet may help maintain a regular normal blood pressure.

Causes of High blood pressure

1)      Increased amount of salt intake.

2)      Obesity: Over weight leads to an increase in blood pressure.

3)      Stress or anxiety

4)      Too much alcohol consumption

5)      Smoking, smoking damages your blood vessels.

6)      Diabetes

Treatment of High blood pressure

1)      Follow a healthy diet.

2)      Be physically active. Exercise regularly.

3)      Quit smoking.

4)      Reduce alcohol intake.

5)      Reduce the amount of salt you take.

6)      Try to manage stress, relaxing and coping with problems can improve your emotional and physical health.

7)      Medicines .In severe cases medications are prescribed by a physician.

 

    High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a disease. Even though it usually has no symptoms, it can have deadly health consequences if not treated. 

Easy steps to loosing weight

      Weight loss is a very sensitive issue that makes people affected by weight gains loose their self-confidence. Controlling one’s weight is all about self-control, will power and finding an appropriate diet that fits .Guilt is the number one enemy of losing weight. Science has proven that we inherit factors that will determine how easy or hard it will be for each of us to gain or loose weight. Our genes are not our destiny, but we can’t pretend there don’t exist, be smart and keep fit.

Always eat when you are hungry: Try to eat when you are hungry, don’t wait till you are completely starved before eating, because research has found out that when you allow yourself to eat when starved, there is a panic attack from the brain at the prospect of starvation and, the cues that tells you that you have had enough are drowned out. So you end up eating more than you ought to.

Deal With stress: Eating is not an anti-dot to stress. Everyone has one stress or the other to deal with, don’t hide behind food, deal with the stress full situation.

Be smart and fit so exercise: There is no way Exercising would be left out in trying to keep fit. Exercise for your heart. You don’t always have to go to a gym. Learn to dance, take a walk, try to skip, try to use the stairs more often instead of the elevator.

Drink a lot of water.

The Dangers of excessive alcohol

    ‘’A little alcohol they say makes the heart merry’’. A popular quote used mostly by people who consume a lot of alcohol as an excuse for their drinking. A little alcohol is ok but when it becomes excessive it causes much harm to the body.

    Alcohol is one of the slowest and deadliest killers of our time. It is absorbed directly into  the blood streams through the stomach. However, researchers have been able to prove that a  moderate or mild amounts of alcohol can reduce the risk of developing some types of cardiovascular disease in elderly people.

Here are the dangers of excessive drinking:

1)      Drinking excessive alcohol over a long period of time damages the heart causing high blood pressure and if not managed properly might lead to stroke.

2)      Excessive alcohol causes various liver problems including swelling of the liver and hepatitis.

3)      It increases your risk of having cancer. E.g breast cancer, liver cancer, cancer of the throat  etc

4)      It affects the working of the brain and causes a change in moods  , loss of memory, and hallucinations

5)      weakness and loss of muscle tissue

6)      It causes stomach ulcers

7)      loss of sensation in hands and feet

8)      It causes impotency in men.

 

    Most alcoholics drink to get away from various problems in their lives, but the funny thing is that when you are sober the problems are still there. So the next time you want to indulge in excessive alcohol consumption think of the risk involved.

Banana – Be a monkey and eat your way to health

    When it comes to bananas, am the best human monkey in the world(laughs), oh yes, giving me bananas to keep is like giving a fish to a cat to watch over. Bananas are not just for monkeys , they contain a lot of vitamins required by our bodies for good health.

1.       Banana Improves mood and reduce PMS symptoms, which regulates blood sugar and produces stress-relieving relaxation. It also helps overcome depression due to high levels of tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin (the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter).

2.       Bananas reduce swelling, protect against type II diabetes, aid weight loss, strengthen the nervous system, and help with the production of white blood cells, all due to high levels of vitamin B-6.

3.       It strengthens your blood and relieve anemia with its iron content.

4.       Eating bananas aids digestion

5.       Bananas are the only raw fruit that can be consumed without distress to relieve stomach ulcers by coating the lining of the stomach against corrosive acids.

6.       Bananas make you smarter and help with learning by making you more alert.

7.       Eating a banana can lower the body temperature and cool you during a fever or on a hot day.

8.       Bananas are high in antioxidants, providing free radicals and protection from chronic disease.

 

  

The Male Child Syndrome and girl education.

    I used to think that the issue of a male child was peculiar only to Africa , but how wrong I was. A few days ago in a chat room, an Indian girl was very sad and complained about an issue , but everyone laughed at her because she is such a drama queen. Later I talked with her in the midst of the laughter  and this was her issue ‘’she said she would love to be educated  in a university located in another city and she told her father her plans but all her father talks to her about is how to be a good wife, how to respect her in-laws, how to please her husband. When she complains  her father replies her that she is not a boy so she cant be educated . This makes her feel sad and gives her the impression that she is just like an animal been reared for marriage’’

   This young lady is just an example of what so many girls go through in different countries. Every human being is equal. Yes we know the man is the head of the house, a little educating of the woman will not change the fact that the man is the head of the home.

    Two-thirds of the world's uneducated children are girls, and two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults are women. Around the world, girls and women continue to suffer from a lack of economic opportunity, inadequate health care and education, early marriage, sexual violence, and discrimination. Numerous studies have demonstrated that educating women and girls is the single most effective strategy to ensure the well-being and health of children, and the long-term success of developing economies.

BENEFITS OF EDUCATING A GIRL

1)      Education leads to greater self-esteem and self-confidence, and opens up new horizons for girls, enabling them to discover their own potential, to develop themselves fully and increase their resistance to gender discrimination

2)      Education helps girls and women to have a positive impact on their families: better childcare (vaccination, schooling, etc.), better nutrition, decrease in child mortality, better communication with the children and other family members

3)      Education heightens women’s awareness of the important role they can play in the community and society to find solutions to problems that impede development and social stability. Survival rates, schooling and community productivity increase as a result of women’s education, with a corresponding decrease in mother and infant mortality rates. The community and society thus become more prosperous.

4)      With the awareness of her role as citizen, an educated woman can play a more dynamic role in addressing the economic challenges faced by her country, in the areas of agricultural production, food self-sufficiency, the fight against environmental degradation, the use and conservation of water and energy.

Love Yourself

   This one thing majority of us are guilty of. We don't have self love. Let me begin today's blog with a short, funny but educative story I read on Facebook yesterday.

  ''There was an elderly lady sitting at the corner of a road probably begging for alms, and there was this room close-by. She noticed a smiling dog walk into the room and few minutes later the dog came out very happy. After some time a growling dog entered the same room and came out few minutes later with the worse kind of growling she has ever heard. Curiously she wondered within herself, what could be in that room that made one dog so happy and the other so angry. She got up from where she sat and went to the room, but to her surprise no one was in the room just a lot of mirrors hanging on the walls of the room. Then she smiled because now she knew what happened to the dogs. The happy dog saw a reflection of more happy dogs and left the room more happy, while the growling dog saw more bitter and angry dogs staring at him from the mirror and left the room more angry''

   So  it is in life What you are within attracts same to you. If you complain all the time and don't love yourself, how do you expect other people to love you? Everything that happens to us in life is a reflection of who we really are within. Here are a few guide to help you love yourself

1) You are not perfect and you never will , so stop trying to be perfect. Be yourself.

2) You were born alone so stop comparing yourself to others. Always be grateful for what you have.

3)Live in the reality of now. Don't be a wishful thinker. Love yourself the way you are now.

4)Take time to build yourself, remember that popular saying that there is no hurry in life. We will all get to our destination, don't be so much in a hurry.

5)Stop torturing yourself for past mistakes. Learn to forgive yourself and start again remember life is short.

6) Always speak positive things to yourself. Remember that our words are who we are.

7)Always do what you love not what others love.

Motivating Your Employees

I read human resources for my second degree, so my blog definitely won’t be complete without a little employee related issues (laughs).There is a general believe that human beings have the natural tendency to be lazy with regards to work and is being forced by circumstances to work.

   Motivation by definition refers to what activates, directs human behavior and how this behavior is sustained to achieve a particular goal. It is also the process of supplying an incentive, adequate to induce deliberate and purposeful action.

     Employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, and creativity that a company’s workers apply to their jobs. In the increasingly competitive business environment of recent years, finding ways to motivate employees has become a pressing concern for many managers.

What motivates Employees?

WAGES /SALARIES: Money can motivate, that is, it can influence action and encourage extra effort, extra creativity or any other kind of non-routine performance. But, money can only motivate workers if it is substantial and comes regularly.

JOB SECURITY: Until recently, university graduates preferred the securing of jobs which the civil service provides to the white collar jobs in the industry. This is to say then that the more a job is secured, the more one is able to work harder since the ultimate is known. However, to allay fears of workers, procedures for promotion, grievance, discipline and termination must be spelt out within the work place.

PROMOTION: Promotion is given as recognition of the individual’s performance on the job. However, to justify this recognition, the employee promoted puts in more effort in his work. Promotion puts new life in the individual and activates his knowledge and skills. However, the motivating effect of promotion is high.

JOB ENRICHMENT : Job enrichment means that additional motivators are added to the job so that it is more rewarding , although the term has come to apply to any efforts to humanize jobs. It is an improvement on job enlargement that sought to give workers a wide variety of duties to build their roles. However, the two terms are used interchangeably. In fact, the result of job enrichment is really a role that encourages growth and self-actualization. The job is built in such a way that natural activation is encouraged. Because motivation is increased, work performance should also improve, thus providing both a more human job and a more productive job. In this manner, both the worker and society benefit. The worker performs better, has more job satisfaction, and is more self-actualized, thus being able to participate in all life roles more effectively. Society benefits from the more effectively functioning person as well as the more effective job performance

FEAR MOTIVATION: Fear as a motivator is one of the oldest and perhaps the most widely used form of motivating workers. This type of motivation plants fear in the minds of employees and employee get things done in the platform of threat or punishment, loss of job or dismissal, loss of facilities to the workers who does not conform to laid down rules and regulations and loss of status.

The Importance of Motivation

Motivation can have an effect on the output of your business and concerns both quantity and quality. See it this way: your business relies heavily on the efficiency of your production staff to make sure that products are manufactured in numbers that meet demand for the week. If these employees lack the motivation to produce completed products to meet the demand, then you face a problem leading to disastrous consequences. The number of scenarios is extreme but you get the general picture.

Your employees are your greatest asset and no matter how efficient your technology and equipment may be, it is no match for the effectiveness and efficiency of your staff so motivate your staff.

 

 

The Power of Corruption

   ''Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria's call obey. To serve our fatherland. With love and strength and faith'' listening to the national anthem on a radio station earlier today and was wondering how many of us are really obeying that clarion call.

First and foremost what is corruption?

   Corruption is any abuse of a position of trust to gain an unfair advantage. This includes both corrupting someone else and being corrupted oneself. It is also the abuse of public resources to enrich or give unfair advantage to individuals, their family or their friends. Corruption summarily is a dishonest actions.

  We blame everything on the government, but deep down in our minds majority of us are more corrupt than the government. How you may ask?

What would you call a parent who pays a teacher to make his child pass an exam?
What about a student who writes an exam in a special Centre so he/she can cheat to pass?
What would you call a person who bribes to be promoted in a job?
Or the person who pays to beat a queue?

   I can go on and on but the bottom line is that we are all corrupt one way or the other no man is a saint so instead of pointing accusing fingers to the government, why not we all try to make an effort to be honest in everything we do and gradually our country would change for the better.

Have Some Fun

   I often wonder how people wake up so early to go to work, and return home late at night week in  and week out, without creating some time to have a little fun and relax. The human body is not a machine that can work all year round without getting tired. Our bodies need time to rest and reboot our energy levels.

  We work to make money , that would enable us live well, but I ask what is the point of working if you cant even spare a day to relax and enjoy all that wealth you are acquiring? Who then are you acquiring the wealth for? Your corpse?

   Life is short, Enjoy it while you still can, Live Freely and be happy.

Rumours

    Rumours are stories that we tell tale about without evidence. It is known in Nigeria as ''amebo'' or ''tatafo' 'and it is very common here. People manufacturing stories about people they don't like in order to cause confusion and hatred in the person's life or destabilize the person.

   Today take a few minutes and think. Think about the stories you told about someone you despised and try to make amends. Life is too short. If someone hurts you report them to God in prayer he is a better judge and rewarder of good and evil.

Stress Therapy

       Living in a metropolitan city like Lagos where the hustle and bustling for daily activities  is way beyond normal, the stress levels here are also very high. So much traffic, cost of living is high, accommodation is expensive, even the cost of transportation is expensive.

    People get so stressed that they get angry at every little provocation, and pour their frustrations on anyone available.

   Here is a little tip on how to reduce stress:

*  Try to eat healthy: Eat meals that are balanced with all the nutrients needed in the body. Eat fruits especially fruits that are in season. Try as much as you can never to skip breakfast because that is the most important meal of the day. Avoid foods with so much cholesterol.

*  Drink a lot of water : it keeps your system running as desired, and it gives your skin an awesome glow

*  Exercise: it strengthens your heart and muscles

*  Sleep well

*  Have some fun: Spend time with family and loved ones, watch a comedy because laughter is the best medicine.