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Research Reveals 9th Planet On The Edge of Solar System

January 15, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Evidence shows there is a 9th planet in the far reaches of our solar system.

“(Planet Nine) has a mass about 10 times that of Earth and orbits about 20 times farther from the sun than Neptune. It would take this new planet between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make just one full orbit around the sun. – California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Pluto, once deemed the last planet in our solar system, may indeed have a successor. Astronomers at Caltech, the distinguished research institution, have found new evidence of a “giant icy” planet beyond Pluto’s orbit.

In traditional fashion, brilliant people have come up with a rather bland name: “Planet Nine.”

Anyway…these findings by Caltech astronomers are unique. Here’s why. They haven’t observed the planet, as they have with others in the Solar System. Instead, these folks have inferred its existence from effects “Planet Nine” has on other objects like dwarf planets. Dubbed “a massive perturber,” Planet Nine is supposedly having a powerful impact on the natural movement of these objects.

The discovery

Caltech’s discoveries about this planet have generated immense interest, so much attention that telescopes on at least two different continents are searching for it. If Planet Nine exists, it’d be the first planet discovered since Pluto over 85 years ago.

As Mike Brown, one of the researchers put it:

“This would be a real ninth planet. There have only been two true planets discovered since ancient times, and this would be a third. It’s a pretty substantial chunk of our solar system that still out there to be found, which is pretty exciting.”

Perhaps most intriguing about this discovery is the minuscule probability that a planet such as this could even exist. Planet Nine is potentially the gravitational center of six different objects that all follow orbits in the same direction. This find is one of those most enigmatic discoveries scientists made in the study of our Solar system, as Brown says:

“It’s almost like having six hands on a clock all moving at different rates, and when you happen to look up, they’re all in the same place. On top of that, the orbits of the six objects are also all tilted in the same way, pointing about 30 degrees downward in the same direction relative to the planet of the eight known planets. The probability of that happening is about 0.007 percent. So we thought something else must be shaping these orbits.”

Konstantin Batygin, Brown’s research partner, chimed in: “I had never seen anything like this in celestial mechanics.”

Where’s the evidence?

Of course, the addition of a new planet to the Solar System requires empirical evidence – evidence that the research team does not currently have. Because of its distance – 200 times further from the Sun than the Earth – Planet Nine is not observable by most, if not all, modern technologies.

Still, the prospects of Planet Nine are captivating enough to keep astronomers on the lookout. Adding to this excitement, Brown, and Batygin share another characteristic of this potential planet that makes for a possibly ground-breaking discovery – its ability to restructure the entire concept of our Solar System.

Until the duo’s introduction of Planet Nine, terrestrial systems resembling ours have included planets with masses between that of Earth and Neptune. Obviously, the inclusion on Planet Nine would make an extraordinary impact on schools of thought related to planetary mechanics.

Pluto, downgraded to dwarf planet

Needless to say, the potential discovery of a new planet and its implicit effects on the Solar System has stoked the passion and hope of both astronomers and would-be astronomers alike. Indeed, many scientists are hoping to alleviate some of the furor generated by a contentious decision made back in 1992.

Many argue that we already have (or had) nine planets until the Pluto debacle. If anything, “Planet Nine” should be “Planet Ten,” according to some now-bitter scientists.

The astronomy community revered Pluto as a planet. It held mysterious allure and a history that was sharply distinctive from the other eight planets. The physical characteristics of Pluto – slightly smaller than Earth’s moon, marginally wider than the United States – made an intriguing addition to our Solar System.

Oh, and the planet was named by an 11-year old girl (aww).

In a controversial decision that still raises ire from many in the community, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) downgraded Pluto to a dwarf planet. This decision effectively stripped Pluto of its “9^th planet” title. This decision became even more criticized when NASA’s New Horizon probe flew past Pluto. That’s because researchers discovered an atmosphere, weather, and dynamic terrain. Each of those attributes is vital to a planet.

How does this tie into the Ninth Planet story?

Well, Mike Brown happens to be the instrumental figure responsible for demoting Pluto of its prior status in the solar system. The pride that Brown takes in his work is evident by his humorous Twitter handle “@plutokiller.”

But Brown has a more personal motivation for his work on Planet Nine:

“My daughter – she’s still kind of mad about Pluto being demoted, even though she was barely born at that time – she suggested a few years ago that she’d forgive me if I found a new planet. So I guess I’ve been working on this for her.”

Okay, all together now: “AWW!”

Here’s How Anxiety Works (And How to Beat It)

January 14, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Anxiety is both a neurological and psychological disorder. Furthermore, it is a pervasive condition.

Per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), around 40 million adults in the U.S. suffer from a clinical anxiety disorder. Despite the proliferating numbers, just 37 percent of those with an anxiety disorder seek treatment; despite it being an “extremely treatable” condition.

In this article, we’re going to focus on how anxiety works; specifically, the brain correlates of anxiety. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, we’ll talk about some methods that will help you overcome anxiety.

Let’s get to it.

What is Anxiety?

The first thing to understand is that anxiety is a normal response. Excessive anxiety, however, is not. Moreover, clinicians realize this and separate anxiety as a symptom from anxiety as a mental health disorder.

The term ‘anxiety disorder’ encompasses no fewer than five separate conditions. What follows is a brief description of each:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD):

GAD currently affects nearly 7 million U.S. adults. That number equals just over 3 percent of the population. GAD is characterized by “persistent and excessive” worry about realistic and not-so-realistic things.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD):

OCD affects approximately 3 percent of U.S. adults and 1 percent of children. Obsessions in OCD involve repeated and unwanted images, thoughts, or urges that trigger anxiety and distress. Compulsions are those behaviors that an individual with OCD feels they must perform to alleviate any associated stress.

Panic Disorder (PD):

PD affects about 6 million U.S. adults. PD involves the (often repeated) occurrence of panic attacks. Panic attacks are acute episodes of intense fear involving symptoms such as heart palpitations, trembling, shortness of breath, dizziness, derealization or depersonalization, and fear of losing control.

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD):

About 8 million adults are diagnosed with PTSD or just under 4 percent of the U.S. population. As the name indicates, PTSD is triggered by exposure to a traumatic event. While often associated with combat, there are numerous other catalysts of PTSD, including physical or sexual assaults, childhood abuse or neglect, or a life-threatening accident.

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD):

SAD occurs in around 15 million adults or just under 7 percent of the population. SAD is characterized by anxious feelings or fear about “Acting or appearing visibly anxious … or being viewed as stupid, awkward, or boring” in social situations.

How Anxiety Works

Anxiety is a normal part of life. However, we aren’t all anxious to the same degree. People vary widely in their disposition, and anxiety levels are one reason why this is.

Some people are “nervous Nellies” in that they seem to fret about every little thing. Others can get home after a long day’s work and fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow – not a care in the world.

Anxiety seems to trigger the same regions in the brain as fear. Both fear and anxiety cause similar behavioral and physiological reactions as a result. However, fear is more likely to be linked to a specific cause, whereas – in many cases – an anxious person is unable to pinpoint any noticeable trigger.

What accounts for these differences? Scientists say that it’s mostly in the brain. Or, at the very least, there are strong neurological links with anxiety.

Quite simply, an anxious person’s brain looks and works very differently than that of a non-anxious person. Individual experiences shape these neurological differences, but there’s a genetic component to anxiety as well. We’ll discuss both next.

The neuroscience of anxiety

“It was as if the amygdala was the accelerator of defense reactions and the prefrontal cortex the brake upon them. Malfunction of the brakes makes the expression of the reactions hard to control.” ~ Joseph LeDoux (Source)

Steep technological advances in brain imagery have made it possible to study the neurological underpinnings of anxiety.

According to the latest science, anxiety originates along one of two paths. The first is the amygdala pathway. The amygdalas are a pair of small, almond-shaped structures on each side of the brain. Thus, the fight-or-flight response (or “flight, fight, or flee” response) is triggered by the amygdala.

The second pathway from which anxiety originates in the cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex is often called the “grey matter” of the brain. It is the area of the brain linked to higher-order brain functions such as association, memory, movement, perception, sensation, and thought.

Anxiety stemming from the cerebral cortex identifies as “right-brained” or “left-brained” in nature. Left-brained anxiety surfaces as a propensity to worry about what will happen in the future, and to ruminate about possible solutions. On the other hand, right-brained anxiety is less logical, less verbal, and more imaginative. Thus, imagining stressful situations in images is thought to occur in the right hemisphere.

Identifying the brain area responsible for your anxiety is rather straightforward – and there are some benefits to doing so as we’ll discover.

Here are some indications that anxiety is originating from the amygdala.

– Feeling a lot of muscle tension in specific environments.

– Feeling overwhelmed with an inability to think in certain situations.

– Increasing heart rate or noticeable pounding of the chest.

– Unconscious avoidance of locations, experiences, and conditions.

– Constant checking of things or people without needing to do so.

– Inability to relax in a particular situation or location

– Worrying over seemingly insignificant events

– Wanting to fight or otherwise act aggressively for no apparent reason.

– Wanting to escape from certain situations

Here are some indications that the left side of the cerebral cortex is where the anxiety is originating:

– Consideration of a problem from multiple perspectives

– Difficulty in shutting the mind off, especially when thinking about things that cause anxiety

– Dwelling on difficulties often

– Getting stuck in the process of how to say something to someone

– Rumination regarding a constant stream of negative thinking

– Rehearsing future problem situations and imagining things going wrong.

– Thinking about past situations

Here are some indications that the right side of the cerebral cortex is where the anxiety is originating:

– Imagining criticism or rejection from other people

– Imagining multiple scenarios of how a situation can turn out badly

– Picturing ways that one may embarrass themselves

– High attunement to the tone of voice

– Picturing problem scenarios in mind and the reactions from others

– ‘Seeing’ the unfolding of a terrible event

– Reliance on intuition with regards to what someone is thinking and feeling

– Close watchfulness of another’s body language and the picking up of subtle cues.

So if most of your anxiety stems from the cortex, you may find that educating yourself on the mechanisms of stress will help. Also, you may benefit from methods such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

However, anxiety originating from the amygdala is a bit trickier, as the response is more physiological. Supplements such as magnesium (see below) and regular vigorous exercise may help.

How to Beat Anxiety

“If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” ~ Amit Ray

So now, we’ve got a pretty good understanding of our anxiety from a neurological perspective. Next, let’s look at how to take control of it.

1 – Take Magnesium

Some studies show that up to 90 percent of U.S. adults are magnesium-deficient. A meta-analysis review of 18 studies found that magnesium effectively reduces subjective anxiety and in adults. Of all forms of magnesium, l-threonate may be the most effective in treating anxiety symptoms.

Magnesium l-threonate (MgT) is a cognitive enhancer that can potentially augment cognitive-based therapy for anxiety. Per a 2011 study published in the Journal of Neuroscience, MgT may, aside from providing the benefits of magnesium mentioned earlier, increase the efficiency of CBT in treating anxiety disorders.

2 – Relax Your Muscles

Many of us are in a constant state of chronic muscular tension. The amygdala somehow “senses” this muscular contraction and becomes more active. Therefore, merely allowing (not forcing!) your body to relax can reduce subjective feelings of anxiety.

Techniques such as the progressive muscle relaxation technique (PMRT) prove to be particularly effective against anxiety, as well. A study published in the Journal of Exercise & Rehabilitation discovered a “significant” reduction in patients’ anxiety and depression symptoms after practicing PMRT.

Click to read about how 12 people conquered their anxieties.

3 – Practice Acceptance and Self-Compassion

The hard truth is that many of us are far more compassionate to others than we are to ourselves. This discrepancy can create feelings of low self-esteem, depression, and, yes, anxiety.

A helpful and straightforward technique is a three-step process created by Kristin Neff, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Here are the three steps:

Feel the discomfort or painful feeling and allow it to remain.
Admit that the feelings are uncomfortable and recognize that pain and discomfort are unavoidable aspects of the human experience.
Engage in a simple activity, such as slow, deep breathing or stretching, to help alleviate the pain or discomfort. While performing the exercise, keep your attention on the uncomfortable feelings.

6 Ways To Enhance Your Capabilities

January 14, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Your skills need to be enhanced regularly. If you’re chasing success, you need to be continually learning and growing. But if you feel like you’re already at the top of your game, what else can you do with your unique capabilities?

The truth is that no one ever really needs to stop learning. You can always improve your skills, pick up on new information, and maintain positive progress.

Here Are 6 Ways To Enhance Your Capabilities

1. Find Your Skills

You can enhance your capabilities if you’re not 100% sure what they are. Reflect on your life and consider the things you’ve done. Figure out what you’re good at and what needs work:

· First, Seek Your Skills

What are the things you know how to do? There may be some skills you don’t even know you have, like technical skills, administrative skills, or other small things you’ve picked up over the years.

· Next, Find Your Strengths

What are you good at? What are your talents? These are the areas you’ll want to work on the most, so you can be even better at them and stand out from the crowd.

· Finally, Find Your Weaknesses

Determine where your strong points don’t lie. You then have two options: you can work on your weaknesses, or you can enhance other areas to support these weaknesses. Both options are respectable ones!

2. Don’t Stay Idle

When you remain idle, you’re allowing your skills to stagnate. It’s okay to take a short rest when needed, but letting your capabilities remain unused for days or weeks on end is a surefire way to get rusty and even eventually lose much of those skills. Here’s how to avoid staying idle:

· Join Short Classes or Courses

Even if you’re good at something, there’s always more to learn. Take a course, training event, or class that can further broaden your horizons and helps you to improve on your skills. Check out the Course Review to see if it’s the right fit for you.

· Take Part In Relevant Activities

Join activities that will involve the use of your abilities. For example, if you’re a woodworker, build things as gifts or ask charities if there’s anything they need to be upgraded or fixed. If you’re a performer, apply to play at events or go to an open-mic. The possibilities are endless.

· Practice

It sounds boring, but if you can’t do anything big or fancy involving your skills, practice them by yourself at home. Play an instrument? Get an hour of practice daily. Like to write? Write a story or poem just for your own eyes. Again, there are many possibilities.

3. Continue To Learn

You may think your skills are the best that they can be, but they aren’t. Are you really at your best if you’re not continually continuing to improve? If you stop working on improvement, then your journey ends there, and you’ll never see what you get to become.

There’s never any reason to stop learning. If you truly want to hone your capabilities, you’ll have to put effort into continuing to increase your knowledge. You can do this by:

· Being Mentored

Seek out someone who is truly an expert in your field and ask to be mentored by them. You’ll get to watch how they work, learn from their methods, and get insider secrets on success in the craft.

· Keep Yourself Relevant

What you considered impressive five years ago may not be impressive now. So if you graduated 20 years ago, the standards would likely have risen since then. Do what you can to keep yourself and your skills relevant.

· Make Use Of Free Resources

A lack of funds doesn’t have to stop you from learning. There are plenty of free courses available online, and video tutorials are all over YouTube. They’re not the same as paid, taught classes, but many come pretty close!

· Read

Non-fiction books have a lot of valuable knowledge in them. Look for ones authored by experts in the field, or people you look up to. You might pick up some crucial or important knowledge from there!

· Ask For Evaluation

Ask your peers or higher-ups to help evaluate you. They can give you an objective evaluation of your skills and abilities. Try to involve those beyond just your close family or friends, who may be biased.

· Don’t Be Content

Always want more. Always look for ways to grow. Finally, always seek out improvement and knowledge. Know that you are capable of more.

4. Don’t Give So Much Credit To Talent

Many people are talented, but the talent is not an automatic determiner for success. Sure, talent provides a lot of help in your journey to improve yourself and strengthen your abilities, but it is not a guarantee for success, and not having skill isn’t a guarantee for failure.

In fact, if you’re talented at something, you should work even harder at it so that you can be better than others who share your ability, and if you’re not gifted at something, you can always work hard to learn to be better at it. Even talent must be supplemented with skill. Without skill, talent means nothing.

5. Make Goals

Goal-oriented individuals often have more positive thinking than those without goals. Essentially, people with goals in mind have an easier time achieving what they want to, allowing them to be happier. They also feel like they make progress more quickly because they can watch their goals being checked off. Here’s how to make reasonable goals:

· Step 1: Determine Your Biggest Life Goal

What is it that you truly want out of life? It doesn’t have to be specific: “I want to be happy,” “I want to be the best,” or “I want to help others.”

· Step 2: Break Things Down

Find the goals you have in life and the areas you want to improve, then break them down into smaller goals. For example: Want to advance in your career? Make small goals to apply for a new job weekly, or to read a new career-related book weekly.

· Step 3: Write Your Short-Term Goals Down

It’s challenging to ignore goals that are in writing. Hold yourself accountable and write deadlines (of a reasonable variety) next to each target.

· Step 4: Make Your Goals Lead Up

All your small goals should be leading up to your big goals. This way, you’re taking small steps forward that show clear progress towards the significant achievements you’re seeking.

· Step 5: Adjust Your Goals As Needed

As time goes on, you may find that your original goals aren’t quite right. It’s okay to make small alterations as you better understand your capabilities and processes.

You should also make sure that you’re setting goals in the most positive and helpful ways. Here are some tips:

· Make Your Goals Measurable

If your goals aren’t easy to measure, you may have difficulty figuring out what your progress is along with them.

· Prioritize

Not all of your goals are equal. Some need to be prioritized over others. Make sure you have your priorities straight, and you’re going for the right benchmarks first.

· Make Your Goals Specific

Non-specific goals are challenging to follow. Make sure they’re clear, concise, and easy to follow. For example, “Read more” is not specific enough. “Read a new book twice a month” works better.

· Track Progress

Make sure you keep an eye on your progress. A journal can help keep yourself in check. Chronicle your progress and use the information to improve, adjust your action plans, and figure out what works and what doesn’t.

· Continue To Set New Goals

When you succeed in finishing your previous goals and accomplishing them, set new goals. This is how you will continue to learn and grow as time goes on.

· Be Realistic

Don’t set goals that are too difficult to achieve. Yes, you must always challenge yourself and make sure your goals aren’t easy for you to reach. But if you set unrealistic goals, you’ll wind up being demotivated when you burn out trying to reach them.

6. Engage With Others

Engaging with others is one of the best ways to hone your skills. After all, theoretical knowledge can only get you so far if you don’t put it into practice. Other people can challenge you and show you ways of thinking and problems with your style you may have never noticed before.

There are plenty of ways you can learn to engage with others. Here are a few ideas that you can incorporate:

· Leadership

If you’re at a good enough level of skill and capability, you can engage in opportunities to lead others. Take on higher roles with proper levels of responsibility. If there are no apparent opportunities for you, create new programs, set up new events, and take any chances you can to lead.

· Mentoring

When you mentor other people, you’re refreshing your knowledge and learning more things. In fact, multiple studies over the years have found that teaching others has positive impacts on your knowledge. It’s a fantastic way to continue learning.

Besides, sometimes, feeling like others are looking to you or using you as an example can help motivate you to be better.

· Competition

There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly competition. If your peers are at a similar skill level to you, why not compete with them? This is especially useful if you’re all working in a similar environment.

This doesn’t mean you need to stage a competition against them actively. Instead, be inspired by them. If someone you know achieves success, use them as inspiration. Bolster each other, discuss strategies, and help each other.

Of course, you shouldn’t compare yourself to your peers. They’re different people with different capabilities and journeys. You shouldn’t look down on peers who you succeed over, either. Once again, it’s the inspiration and motivation you’re looking for!

Final Thoughts on Enhancing Your Unique Capabilities

There are plenty of ways to improve your capabilities. When you don’t work on them, you wind up getting rusty, losing them, or falling behind on the times. It would be a pity to forget what you’ve worked hard for just because you don’t improve on them!

Continuing to enhance yourself throughout your life can help keep your mind sharp, and it will allow your skills to stay robust and relevant throughout your life. With hard work, an eager mind, a thirst for knowledge, and a good bit of positive thinking, you can easily enhance your capabilities.

Science Reveals: Eggs Aren’t As Bad As Once Cracked Up To Be

January 14, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Eggs are one of nature’s most perfect foods. Each egg provides all of the essential amino acids in the correct ratio. Plus, dietitians now consider eggs to be the “gold standard” when it comes to digestible, bioavailable protein. That’s because they are 100% digestible and bioavailable. And, the food science industry uses them as the reference against which they judge all other protein sources.

In comparison, beef, another good source of all of the essential amino acids in the correct ratio, is only around 80% bioavailable. Soy-derived protein is only 74% bioavailable, and it is somewhat deficient in the essential amino acids methionine and cystine.

Cholesterol

Eggs, however, got a bad rap a few decades ago. That stemmed not from their excellent protein profile but because of their cholesterol content. Doctors and scientists studying heart diseases about fifty years ago noticed that elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood linked to heart attacks and strokes. Ergo, their first erroneous conclusion was that people should avoid eating cholesterol.

That conclusion made sense at the time, but since then, additional research into cholesterol and heart disease has come to a completely different conclusion, namely that for most people, consuming cholesterol does not affect the level of cholesterol in your blood nor does dietary cholesterol increase your risk of developing heart disease.

Essential chemical

Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance that is vital to the inner workings of your body. It is the primary component of every single cell membrane. It creates hormones and vitamin D. Plus. It offers a number of other important roles. Your body requires this substance.

Dietitians don’t consider cholesterol to be a necessary nutrient. That’s because your body is capable of making all of the cholesterol that you need. The liver and intestines produce it from other nutrients that you consume. And, every single cell in your body produces it in lesser amounts.

This is why dietary cholesterol doesn’t play much if any role in the level of cholesterol in your blood. If you don’t consume any dietary cholesterol, your body just makes it. If you consume a lot of dietary cholesterol, your body just makes less of it. In a normal, healthy person, the level of blood cholesterol is very tightly regulated.

Lipoproteins

Cholesterol doesn’t just float around in your blood. It is carried around the body inside special proteins called lipoproteins that are synthesized primarily by the liver. There are many different kinds of lipoproteins. But when it comes to heart disease and cholesterol, LDL and HDL are the lipoproteins in question.

HDL collects excess cholesterol from your body and takes it to the liver to be broken down, recycled into other substances, or excreted in the bile. Having a high HDL level is considered to be protective against heart disease.

LDL makes up around 70% of your blood lipoproteins and is responsible for transporting cholesterol from the liver to the rest of the body. Having an abnormally high level of LDL is considered to be a risk factor for heart disease.

However, it’s not just the level of LDL that is important. LDL comes in small, large, and dense forms. People with abnormally high levels of small LDL particles are at a higher risk of heart disease than people with abnormally high levels of large and dense LDL particles.

Hyperresponders and hypercholesterolemia

Some people have genetic conditions that alter their response to dietary cholesterol. In around 60% of the population, eating large amounts of cholesterol has zero impact on their blood cholesterol levels.

Approximately 40% of the population are what are called hyper responders; they have a genetic tendency to experience increased blood cholesterol levels if they eat a lot of cholesterol, but this increase does not increase their risk of heart disease. Their LDL to HDL ratio does not change in response to dietary cholesterol, and that ratio is considered to be the most important indicator of your risk of heart disease. The ideal LDL to HDL ratio is 3.5, and only a ratio above five is thought to increase the risk of heart disease.

Another subgroup of the population has an inherited condition called hypercholesterolemia. It affects one out of 500 people. In these people, the body doesn’t tightly control cholesterol levels the way it normally does, and instead, it just cranks it out at high levels. People who inherit hypercholesterolemia are at a very high risk of heart attacks and strokes, often suffering from these conditions at quite a young age. They usually need to be placed on statins starting in their 20s.

So what causes high LDL levels?

Doctors aren’t quite sure what triggers LDL levels to rise, but the inflammation hypothesis of heart disease is attracting a lot of attention these days. In a very oversimplified summary of this process, various environmental factors trigger chronic inflammatory processes to occur inside the body, and this triggers all sorts of metabolic malfunctions, including the liver producing too much cholesterol and LDL and not enough HDL. The inflammation also causes damage to the linings of the blood vessels, which is the ultimate cause of heart disease.

In the inflammatory body state, the reduced levels of HDL and increased production of cholesterol causes free cholesterol to stick to the damaged blood vessel linings. In turn, this forms plaques that clog up the blood vessels.

Although statins were originally invented back when people thought dietary cholesterol was the cause of heart disease, and they are intended to reduce blood cholesterol levels, many researchers are beginning to suspect that their powerful anti-inflammatory function is the primary reason why they reduce the risk of heart disease.

Studies about dietary cholesterol

A number of high-quality studies have been conducted over the years showing that for the vast majority of the human population, dietary cholesterol has no impact on their risk of heart disease, even among the hyper responders discussed above.

Eggs have been studied specifically on their own, and eating up to three chicken eggs per day actually reduces the average individual’s risk of heart disease. Not among men with diabetes, though; they should probably consume a lot of fish instead as their primary source of dietary protein.

Some doctors and nutritionists are still pushing patients to avoid saturated fat and high cholesterol foods. However, there is clearly much evidence that there is no need to avoid high cholesterol foods. It’s still unclear if saturated fat is heart-unhealthy, but increasing amounts of evidence are suggesting that consuming a lot of dietary saturated fat doesn’t increase your risk of heart disease.

Back to those delicious poultry products

Products from birds that are allowed to roam free and eat fresh vegetation and insects are dramatically more nutritious than products from birds that are kept confined and fed nothing but grain. The eggs from free-range chickens contain more vitamins and minerals, and also more omega-3 fatty acids and other healthy micronutrients. They also have a yolk that tends to be bright orange, and most people say they taste better.

However, even though a carton in the grocery store indicates the eggs come from cage-free birds, that doesn’t mean they are free-range birds. Free-range animals run around freely and eat insects and fresh vegetation. Additionally, you’ll notice many of those same cartons say the birds ate a “vegetarian diet.” In the industry, that’s code for “totally grain-fed.”

In addition to chickens, you can consider other egg sources, such as duck and quail. Thus, you don’t have just need to rely solely on chicken eggs.

Final thoughts on adding eggs back into your diet

So, it turns out that eggs did, indeed, get a bum rap. Dietary cholesterol from any source does not increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes. The key takeaways from the recent scientific evidence is that:

Consuming eggs regularly may actually reduce your risk of heart disease unless you have diabetes. Diabetics might avoid them and focus on eating fish and plant-based sources of protein instead.
They are an excellent source of highly bioavailable, high-quality protein, and other nutrients.
They can easily be added to a heart-healthy Mediterranean type diet, to vegetarian diets, and even to Keto and Paleo type diets. They’re a very versatile food substance.
Products from truly free-range poultry taste better and are more nutritious than products from grain-fed caged birds. Plus, the birds enjoy a more humane lifestyle.

The best way to find free-range poultry products is to find someone who keeps birds in their back yard. Or reach out to a small farm that raises their own birds. If possible, visit the facility. You’ll confirm that the birds are free-range, happy, and healthy.

Or, consider getting your own birds. Chickens are a great addition to any household; they run around eating insects and weeds and providing free fertilizer for your yard. If you don’t have space for chickens, quail is a smaller option that can be kept in fairly small spaces.

Psychologists Explain How to Focus Your Mind

January 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

Frazzled. Confused. Stressed. Discombobulated. Scatterbrained. These are just a few ways of describing the tendencies of the human mind.

Indeed, it can be difficult to understand ourselves. It’s not altogether uncommon to wonder, “Where’d that thought come from?” It’s a fair question, too! Why do we produce random thoughts – and why are the majority of them self-defeating? To answer this question, we must look at the brain’s two modes: default and focused.

“My mind is like an internet browser. 17 tabs are open, 4 of them are frozen and I don’t know where the music is coming from.” – Unknown (source)

Understanding Your Mind’s Two Modes

By understanding your mind’s two modes, you’ll unlock the secret to better focus.

Mode 1: The Default Mode

“A wandering mind costs you nothing but is very expensive.” – Amit Sood, M.D.

Did you know that “at rest” really isn’t resting much at all? Neurophysiologists state that the focused mind uses just five percent more than a mind doing nothing in particular. The paradox here is that your mind is always doing something – even when you’re doing nothing – and this comes at an energy cost.

It is when we’re bored that the brain enters its default mode. If the brain could talk, it would say something like this: “Is this something interesting that is worth my time? No? Leave me alone to brood.” This brooding always takes place when the brain is in default mode.

Most people will recognize when their brain is in its default state, but not all. Some people feel as if their attention rarely wanders or enters default mode. Unless you are a monk or a long-time meditation or yoga practitioner, this is probably untrue. But here are a few questions to answer if you think this is the case:

Do my family or friends complain that I’m often too distracted?
Do I arrive at home with little memory of the commute?
Have I become more forgetful?
Do I experience mind racing in the shower?
Have I ever read a book with no idea of what I just read?
Do my thoughts wander when someone is talking or giving a presentation?
Do I wake up to a mind whirling with thoughts?

If you’ve answered in the affirmative to any of the above questions, your brain was in its default state. Please remember this about the default mode: the default mode takes away from your enjoyment of life; in fact, it often contributes to the pain and suffering you sometimes feel.

Mode 2: The Focused Mode

“Concentration brings with it a natural job as the mind settles and is absent of distraction.” – Shaila Catherine (source)

The brain’s secondary mode – and unfortunately so – is the focused mode. It’s not a stretch to say that the focused mode is the answer to most of life’s ills. This mode is recognizable when you become absorbed in something and lose track of time. Activities that activate focused mode includes:

Eating a delicious meal
Reading a good book
Watching an enthralling movie
Staring at a newborn baby
Watching the sunset
Solving a meaningful problem

The focused mind is relatively free of distractions, including the inner distractions of anxiety, restlessness, boredom, and so forth. As such, the focused mind is a happy mind. The focused mind becomes activated while you are paying attention to anything interesting and meaningful.

While there aren’t any official statistics on how often a person spends their time in focused mode, it’s probably in the ballpark of 25 percent. But fret not. You can substantially increase the amount of time that you spend in focused mode by committing to do so. This process takes a bit of effort at first but quickly becomes rather effortless. More on this later.

The Human Mind is Beautiful

How powerful is what you just read? Simply by knowing and being mindful of the brain’s two “modes,” you can live a happier, more peaceful, and more meaningful life. Your brain innately understands the differences between the two modes – and the above descriptions should help.

Remember the differences:

– Default mode: anxiety, stress, depression, restlessness; internally-focused, directionless. The majority of people spend most of their time in this state.

– Focused mode: content, happy, peaceful; externally-focused, time seems to fly. Most of us only spend about 25 percent in this state.

“Why can’t I stay in default mode?”

Listen up as this is a critical point: no matter how much you learn about the brain and its processes, you will never be able to remain in a state of complete focus. How often you can stay in focused mode depends upon your initial capacity for attention, as well as your willingness to learn mindful techniques like meditation.

But what are these things even required? Why can‘t you just stay in a focused state? Well, as great as being focused all of the time sounds, it would be counterproductive and even dangerous.

Our brain has evolved an autonomic system that responds to threats – real or perceived. How important is the autonomic nervous system? Have you ever involuntarily taken a breath or moved to avoid a collision with a car or person? Sure, you have – all of us do this. It’s called survival, and our brain and body are finely tuned to survive in even the most challenging scenarios.

The problem is that the brain doesn’t know the difference between real and perceived threats. It is when we are prone to mind-wandering that these threats become more challenging and profuse. Biologically, the human brain in its current state is not designed to allow conscious thought to dominate. Will the brain ever reach that point? That remains to be seen.

Overcoming Resistance in the Mind

“What you resist not only persists but will grow in size.” – Carl Jung (source)

Read and re-read the following statement as often as you’d like: to resist wandering thoughts is futile. Go ahead, reread it.

One of the first things that someone does when trying to get into a more focused state is to suppress wandering thoughts. Not only does this fail, but it actually makes things worse. Think of trying to resist negative or wandering thoughts as tightening a spring – the harder that you try, the more it recoils.

What is the answer, then? To bring the wandering mind back to the task, whatever it happens to be – whether reading a book, writing a paper, having a conversation, etc. – over and over again without denying other mental states. It is this directing and re-directing of focus that allows your attentional muscles to grow.

Remembering to redirect your attention throughout the day can be challenging, but it isn’t the most challenging part. The hardest part is resisting the urge to criticize yourself for losing focus in the first place. You must try and get over this tendency as much as possible. Not only will self-criticism drain your mental energy, but it may very well derail any efforts to become more focused and mindful.

Final Thoughts on the Human Mind: A Blueprint for Focus

“Everyone in your life is vying for your attention.” – Isaiah Hankel, Ph.D. (source)

Here’ s another tidbit that you may want to keep in mind: distractions (i.e. mind wandering) further depletes your brain’s energy levels. In turn, this energy depletion makes it easier to succumb to distractions.

What to do? Here’s a four-point blueprint for maximizing focus.

Point #1 – Monitor your attention.

You must track where your attention is going to make better use of it. When do you feel the most focused and attentive? What things cause you to lose focus on the task at hand? Track these things and prepare a plan of action.

Point #2 – Manage your emotions.

There is a correlation between mental and bodily emotions and energy. If you are feeling happy or content, your brain will be more alert and active than if you’re downtrodden and lethargic. Do the things that make you feel more of the former and less of the things that make you feel more of the latter.

Point #3 – Leverage technology.

While it may sound downright paradoxical to call upon tech for more focus, the right type of technology can indeed help. Try downloading an app that blocks distracting websites. Or maybe one that tracks productivity and emails daily reports. Do whatever works for you.

Point #4 – Don’t give up.

For the vast majority, building up a cognitive reserve of focus is a timely and challenging undertaking. Don’t allow your emotions and negative self-talk (both forms of mind-wandering) to take you off track. If you put in the time and effort, you will be a more focused, happier, and productive individual!

10 Ways Your Goals Can Prevent You From Achieving Success

January 13, 2020 by Power of Positivity

You’ve probably been told a hundred times that making goals is crucial to success. But did you know that goals can also stop you from reaching success at all? In fact, if you’re facing a setback, you just can’t make heads or tails of, it’s likely that your lack of planning to blame.

Yes, it’s a bit of a confusing predicament. The problem with goal-setting is that if you don’t do it right, you’re forever doing much more harm than good to yourself and your progress. Instead of broadening your world and paving your path to your dream life, you may be building more stumbling blocks instead.

When you set goals in the right way, you don’t have much to worry about. But the art of doing so accurately is so complex that some experts even believe that it’s best not to set goals at all! With so much contradictory information, it’s understandable that you’d have difficulty figuring out what’s real.

So, what can we make of this? Is there a point to goal-setting? Should you abandon the practice altogether? Are your goals stopping you from getting where you want to be?

10 Ways Your Goals Can Prevent You From Achieving Success

1. Lack Of Measurable Qualities

All goals need to have measurable indicators. If they don’t, you can’t keep track of them. Your point of view is highly subjective when you’re trying to see how much you’ve advanced in something. If you don’t have a clear and positive way of defining each outcome’s measurements, you will lose your drive to continue.

Here are some examples of measurable versus unmeasurable goals:

Unmeasurable: I’m going to exercise more often!
- Measurable: I will get at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.
Unmeasurable: By this time next year, I’ll be good at badminton.
- Measurable: I will dedicate myself to practicing badminton thrice weekly, so I’ll be improved by this time next year.
Unmeasurable: I will lose 50 lbs.
- Measurable: I will lose 2lbs every week.
Unmeasurable: I want to improve my grades.
- Measurable: I want to get a minimum of a B+ on all my exams.
Unmeasurable: I’m going to get back in touch with old friends.
- Measurable: I’m going to contact an old friend tomorrow night and reconnect.

2. There Is No Schedule

So, you’ve got great goals. Now, when are you going to work on them? If you don’t know the answer, then the chances are that your lack of goal-scheduling is sabotaging your chances of success. Here are some tips for effective scheduling:

Schedule all your goals way before you want them achieved
Create recurring routine schedules for working towards your goals
Pencil in time to work on your goals and do not cancel unless there is an emergency
Make use of a planner or electronic calendar
Limit your time spent on non-crucial things and events

Schedules can also work, in a way, like deadlines. Treat them strictly, as though they are serious rules (because they are) and get into the swing of finishing things by self-imposed deadlines. You can also ask someone you trust to make sure you’re following through.

3. A Fixed Mindset

Many people view their objective as a fixed, immovable, be-all-and-end-all dream. But goals are malleable, and they aren’t meant to stay static.

Think about it. You’re learning and growing every single day. The chances are that you’re far from the person you were just a few months ago. That’s why fixed goals don’t work. You’re going to change as you grow, and eventually, some of your objectives just might not work for you anymore.

You should not go around changing your goals at every mild inconvenience, of course. But you should learn that there is just as much strength and wisdom in knowing when to walk away as there is in sticking with something through thick and thin. Learn the difference!

4. Too Many At The Same Time

It’s best for you to focus on one big goal at a time. When you have a lot of different areas pulling at your focus, you have to multitask and divide your concentration. That can work for small or minor tasks, but for huge goals, it’s typically not feasible.

There is only so much energy that your body and mind can devote to self-improvement. If your entire life becomes focused on how you need to be better in literally every aspect of it, you’ll wind up feeling discouraged and inadequate.

5. Bad Strategies

Good goals can be ruined by bad strategies. And when those bad strategies cause you to lose your progress and slip up, your positive thinking and motivation will go tumbling out the window with it.

For example, if you plan to read more books involves getting an extra job so you can afford more books, as opposed to checking out your local library, you’re going about goal-setting and planning very incorrectly. You’ll just wind up getting even further away from your desired outcome.

6. Too Big of Goals

It’s admirable to have big goals, but that makes them seem and feel very lofty and far away, which makes it difficult to work towards. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t dream big! Instead, take your large goals and break them down into smaller chunks.

Cutting down big tasks into small ones has been found to have a positive effect on productivity for years by countless different areas of research. Complex goals that feel overwhelming can hugely benefit from a better method of reducing them down to smaller ones.

When you are confronted with small steps, you can feel more confident working towards them, as they feel more “real” and current. The satisfaction of checking off multiple small goals can also help keep you motivated, as opposed to the years of delayed payoff for one single big goal.

7. Unrealistic Goals and Expectations

There’s nothing wrong with positive thinking, but there’s such a thing as unintelligent optimism – or unrealistic optimism. If your goals are too lofty and unrealistic, you’re simply not going to achieve them. And when you realize you’re not getting closer to your dreams, you’ll be upset and give up on your goals altogether.

Remember, goals should be challenging, not impossible. They should push you to do your very best without expecting you to do the impossible. If you’ve set a too-high or too-low goal, you can always change it and adjust as you discover what really works for you; as we’ve already discussed, goals are malleable, not fixed! That is the key to success.

8. Lack Of Planning

Anyone can write down their goals and dream or muse about them. But knowing your goals isn’t enough. You need to plan them out. To come up with a positive plan for success, you can:

Make a list of your goals in order of priority, for both long-term and short-term goals
Impose an individual deadline for each
Determine how can achieve success and write that down in your plan
Commit to your plan!

Here’s an example of how you might plan for a goal to achieve a goal of losing 2 lbs per week for a total loss of 50 lbs:

I will sign up for a gym membership next Monday.
I will go to the gym before work four days a week.
I’ll go for a hike in a nearby park every Sunday.
I will look up healthy recipes online this weekend.
I will use those recipes to make a healthy shopping list.
I’ll go shopping for the ingredients for healthy meals every Saturday.

9. Neglecting Preparation For Tough Times

Goals seem fun and fine when everything goes well. But this is life. Progress isn’t going to be linear. You will encounter setbacks and hard times, and if you aren’t prepared for them, it will completely mess up your goal-setting and lead to discouragement.

Research indicates that mental preparation can have significant effects on positive thinking, often improving performance by an impressive amount. All it really takes for your goals not to sabotage you is for you to factor in potential mishaps and bad times, too.

10. An Obsession With The End Result

Yes, we all know that we want to reach our goals. But when you become obsessed with the potential end result, you focus so much on the future that you forget to live in the present.

A lot of the process of working towards goals lies in focusing on what you can do now. Ask yourself:

Is what I’m doing currently in line with my success?
What can I do now that will help me later on?
Am I keeping my future in mind right now?
But more importantly, you should also ask yourself:
Does everything I do have to be in line with my goals?
Why am I not allowing myself to live in the present moment?
Can I accept that life is unpredictable, and the best strategy is to take things one step at a time?
In dreaming about my future, am I neglecting life now?

Not everything you do must be a definite step towards your goals. It’s okay to accept that you don’t know everything and that the universe may throw curveballs at you. Being able to live in the present can stop you from being derailed when things don’t go exactly to plan!

Read more about setting goals with the SMART method.

Final Thoughts On Some Ways Your Goals Can Prevent You From Achieving Success

So, what’s the take away from all of this? Should you never set goals again? No! Goals are still important, and they’re a great way to keep yourself motivated, on task, and heading in the right direction. Knowing where you’re going is often very helpful for those seeking to better themselves and their lives.

But how can you know for sure that you’re setting goals in the right way? What if your goals are dragging you down? Well, all you have to do is be aware of the factors we’ve talked about here while accepting that goals are not fixed, permanent objects. You can make changes and switch things around as needed.

If something about your goals isn’t working, then stop, figure out what the problem is, and change them for the better. Your goals were never meant to be rules. They were always meant to be guidelines. Think of them that way, and you’ll have no problem climbing the ladders to success!

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