People Who Aren’t Serious About Life Understand Life Better

Life is a serious business! Or is it? Life is beautiful, amazing, majestic, short, and we only get one. Just because someone doesn’t take their lives overly seriously does not mean that they are without motivation or ambition. It doesn’t mean that they don’t care about things. People who have learned not to take life–or themselves–seriously tend to live happier, longer lives, tend to get sick less, and seem more fearless.

It’s easy to fall into taking life too seriously. You have an important job and all of a sudden the everyday crises and problems take over your thoughts. Or maybe your baby has colic and all you can focus on is the constant crying and lack of sleep. It happens to everyone at some point. I make a concerted effort every day to see the positive things in my life, appreciate them, and be happy and grateful for the people I have in my life.

What’s happening is that you’re focusing on the smaller stuff and not on the big picture. People who aren’t so serious about life are usually more big-picture types of people. It is easier to shake off the little things when you can see a larger picture in your mind. If I have a bad day at work, I never take that mood home with me. If I do, I’ll talk to my significant other about it, brood over it, and now it has ruined my whole evening. Instead, I think, “Okay. Today sucked. I’m going to enjoy dinner with my guy and go in ready to kick butt tomorrow!”

We should hold children up as an example of how not to take life so seriously. Kids are experts on getting over being told no and running off and enjoying the next thing in life. Let’s all strive to enjoy life the way kids enjoy bubbles. Here are eight ways those who don’t take themselves seriously understand life better.

1. Learn that you cannot control life or others, you can only control yourself and your reactions

Stop focusing on things that are fully out of your control. There is no point. You cannot control or change them, so stop wasting your precious time on those things, and focus more on enjoying life. People who don’t take life so seriously understand that if you something is out of their control, they shouldn’t be wasting neurons stressing about it. Instead, they are out there experiencing new things, going on adventures, and having fun.

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff

We’ve all heard it a million times. But just like with the things you can’t control, stop focusing on the small things. Think about it this way: does it really matter in the long run if your kid wears mismatched sneakers or doesn’t zip his jacket when he’s only running the 15 feet to the car? It is so easy to let little things become important, to let them become much bigger than they really are. Whether that is because the kid chooses this to go to war over, and now you have to deal with a whole thing about it, or because you’re so used to saying it that you insist on it over and over. Think about it. Instead of arguing with your kid and both of you winding up in a bad mood when you’re just trying to go run errands, pick your battles and remember that those tiny things aren’t going to matter in the grand scheme of things, and you and your kid can just enjoy the moment.

Same with adult things. Does it really matter in the long run that your partner forgot to wash the dishes or vacuum, or that your boss wants you to stay 30 minutes late to finish up that project? Try to look at the bigger picture and stop stressing out and worrying about small things. Hey, maybe that project will earn you praise from your supervisor, and an eventual promotion. Maybe your partner just had a really bad day or simply forgot the chores. Is it worth a fight?

3. Smell the roses; watch the sunset

Just like not worrying about negative little things, you should also try to focus on happy smaller things. Did you see a gorgeous sunset on your way home from work? Did your kid light up when you walked in the house? Did your favorite TV show start right as you were sitting down to watch something? Those little things should make you happy. Take a moment and recognize that they are positive things, and it will help lighten your mood. Lightening your mood will make you feel better and less serious. People who don’t take life too seriously take time to be silly, enjoy the small things, and appreciate them.

4. Spend quality time with the people you love

It’s so easy to get caught up in work, errands, and the little things in everyday life that we sometimes take the people in our lives for granted. They’re there, they will continue to be there, and you’re busy! But no one ever laid on their deathbed and wished they had worked longer hours. They wish they had appreciated their loved ones and spent more time enjoying life and love, and less time assuming that they would still be there when they got home from work.

Spend real quality time. Don’t just make your kids do their homework and read more. Take them places, listen to them, watch them learn. Appreciate your partner and all they do for you and the family, spend time talking to your partner and going on date nights. Sometimes we get so focused on our careers or our specific individual life goals that we forget to appreciate the path to getting there and the people we chose to travel that path with.

The people who have learned not to take life so seriously are the ones who put more focus on the important things in life–their relationships with the people the love.

5. See the glass as half full and spread positivity

Learning to not just see the silver lining, but to appreciate it and let it give you hope is ideal. There is an old saying, “This too shall pass.” And so it will. People who don’t take life too seriously have learned not to dwell on negative things, but to seek out positive things and look forward to more. They try to spread that to others, and are optimistic about the future.

6. Learn not to let the negative things take over your whole day/week/life

There are always going to be negative things: bad days, bad moods, bad bosses, bad food. But you can choose to let go of the anger at something you cannot change, and not let it invade the rest of your life. It’s easy to get mad at something at work and take it home, rant about it, brood about it. Maybe unfairly take it out on your partner. It’s happened to me. I was blunt and said, “I know I’m the only other person here, but it is not fair to take your bad mood out on me. I know I’m not the one you’re upset at, but you’re acting like I am.” And my partner was surprised, and didn’t realize he was treating me that way because his bad mood and bad attitude was all he could focus on. I’ve been there, too. It takes a conscious effort to say to yourself, “I am not going to let this one thing ruin my whole day or my whole week. I have learned what I can from the experience, and I am going to move forward and not let it happen again.”

7. Smile more

It’s true that actually making yourself smile can lead you to feeling happier. Here is how Scientific American explained it. Smile more, laugh more, engage more. Take the time to laugh at a good joke, or smile just because you see something pretty or weird. Appreciate the little things in life! There is a series of small potholes in the sidewalk near my house, and the way they are make them look like a frowning face. Every time I walk over them, I smile. It’s funny and weird and cute.

8. Be confident

As we get older, we learn to be more comfortable and confident with who we are, at least that’s what everyone older says! But why wait? People who don’t take life as seriously tend to care less about what strangers think of them, tend to be more silly, and tend to be more confident. I’m a very confident person. I know what I’m good and bad at, I am proud of myself and my accomplishments, and I dance at parties like no one is watching. Something we learn as we have grown up is that they aren’t watching. Most people are so concerned with themselves and how they look that they are not watching you. And even if they were, who cares? You don’t know them, why would their opinions matter anyway?

Be confident. And if you aren’t confident, fake it ’til you make it. It truly works. Look people in the eyes, keep your head up and shoulders back. Ask questions, be engaged in conversations. Don’t cross your arms when you’re talking to people. Body language has a lot to do with confidence and perception. If you do these things long enough, they will become a habit and a part of you, until the confidence is ingrained.

You can make a choice to be happier, worry less, spend time with the people you love, and take life less seriously. You only get one life, and it is a terminal disease…enjoy the time and what you have!

All about Football SOCCER

Football, also called association football or soccer, game in which two teams of 11 players, using any part of their bodies except their hands and arms, try to maneuver the ball into the opposing team’s goal. Only the goalkeeper is permitted to handle the ball and may do so only within the penalty area surrounding the goal. The team that scores more goals wins.

Football is the world’s most popular ball game in numbers of participants and spectators. Simple in its principal rules and essential equipment, the sport can be played almost anywhere, from official football playing fields (pitches) to gymnasiums, streets, school playgrounds, parks, or beaches. Football’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), estimated that at the turn of the 21st century there were approximately 250 million football players and over 1.3 billion people “interested” in football; in 2010 a combined television audience of more than 26 billion watched football’s premier tournament, the quadrennial month-long World Cupfinals.

History

The early years

Modern football originated in Britain in the 19th century. Since before medieval times, “folk football” games had been played in towns and villages according to local customs and with a minimum of rules. Industrialization and urbanization, which reduced the amount of leisuretime and space available to the working class, combined with a history of legal prohibitions against particularly violent and destructive forms of folk football to undermine the game’s status from the early 19th century onward. However, football was taken up as a winter game between residence houses at public (independent) schools such as Winchester, Charterhouse, and Eton. Each school had its own rules; some allowed limited handling of the ball and others did not. The variance in rules made it difficult for public schoolboys entering university to continue playing except with former schoolmates. As early as 1843 an attempt to standardize and codify the rules of play was made at the University of Cambridge, whose students joined most public schools in 1848 in adopting these “Cambridge rules,” which were further spread by Cambridge graduates who formed football clubs. In 1863 a series of meetings involving clubs from metropolitan London and surrounding counties produced the printed rules of football, which prohibited the carrying of the ball. Thus, the “handling” game of rugby remained outside the newly formed Football Association (FA). Indeed, by 1870 all handling of the ball except by the goalkeeper was prohibited by the FA.

The new rules were not universally accepted in Britain, however; many clubs retained their own rules, especially in and around Sheffield. Although this northern English city was the home of the first provincial club to join the FA, in 1867 it also gave birth to the Sheffield Football Association, the forerunner of later county associations. Sheffield and London clubs played two matches against each other in 1866, and a year later a match pitting a club from Middlesex against one from Kent and Surrey was played under the revised rules. In 1871 15 FA clubs accepted an invitation to enter a cup competition and to contribute to the purchase of a trophy. By 1877 the associations of Great Britain had agreed upon a uniform code, 43 clubs were in competition, and the London clubs’ initial dominance had diminished.

Professionalism

The development of modern football was closely tied to processes of industrialization and urbanization in Victorian Britain. Most of the new working-class inhabitants of Britain’s industrial towns and cities gradually lost their old bucolic pastimes, such as badger-baiting, and sought fresh forms of collective leisure. From the 1850s onward, industrial workers were increasingly likely to have Saturday afternoons off work, and so many turned to the new game of football to watch or to play. Key urban institutions such as churches, trade unions, and schools organized working-class boys and men into recreational football teams. Rising adult literacy spurred press coverage of organized sports, while transport systems such as the railways or urban trams enabled players and spectators to travel to football games. Average attendance in England rose from 4,600 in 1888 to 7,900 in 1895, rising to 13,200 in 1905 and reaching 23,100 at the outbreak of World War I. Football’s popularity eroded public interest in other sports, notably cricket.

Leading clubs, notably those in Lancashire, started charging admission to spectators as early as the 1870s and so, despite the FA’s amateurism rule, were in a position to pay illicit wages to attract highly skilled working-class players, many of them hailing from Scotland. Working-class players and northern English clubs sought a professional system that would provide, in part, some financial reward to cover their “broken time” (time lost from their other work) and the risk of injury. The FA remained staunchly elitist in sustaining a policy of amateurism that protected upper and upper-middle class influence over the game.

Choosing Healthy Dishes When Ordering From a Chinese Restaurant in Portland

If you are a lоvеr оf Chinеѕе food, thеn you рrоbаblу knоw whаt a rеаl Chinеѕе dish tаѕtеѕ likе. An hоnеѕt-tо-gооdnеѕѕ аuthеntiс Chinеѕе dish wоuld have a lоt оf vеgеtаblеѕ. Thеѕе dishes аrе оftеn cooked with littlе оr no оil. Thiѕ iѕ whу thiѕ particular сuiѕinе iѕ perfect if уоu аrе trуing to lose weight. Yоu rеаllу саn go оn аn all-Chinese diеt! Thаt is, of course, if you opt fоr the real thing. This iѕ nоt thе case, hоwеvеr, with thе usual restaurants. Yоu wоuld оftеn еnd uр with greasy аnd fаttу рооr еxсuѕе fоr Chinese fооd. Now, if thаt is the case, уоu have fоur орtiоnѕ available to you. 

Yоu саn сhооѕе tо flу to Chinа аnd ѕtау there until уоu lоѕе wеight. If thаt sounds ridiсulоuѕ, you саn аlwауѕ look fоr a Chinеѕе restaurants near you. Chinese restaurants are everywhere and Portland one of the places that is very popular and go to when it comes in Chinese and Chow Mein restaurant. This орtiоn iѕ рrоbаblу thе mоѕt fеаѕiblе оnе. Aftеr аll, you саn't afford to flу to China. Yоu can't fоrсе уоurѕеlf оn аnу Chinese fаmilу. Yоu don't have thе timе tо lеаrn аnd сооk the cuisine. Sо, finding a gооd Portland Chinese restaurant аnd lеаrning hоw tо сhооѕе уоur оrdеrѕ well is рrоbаblу thе bеѕt choice. 

Now, hеrе аrе some tips оn hоw tо gо аbоut сhооѕing thе bеѕt low-calorie mеаlѕ whеnеvеr уоu eat in a Chinese rеѕtаurаnt or melting pot restaurant in Portland or in your local area. Egg rоllѕ and spareribs are probably your firѕt сhоiсе if уоu аrе going tо buy Chinеѕе fооd. However, thеѕе аrе bаd сhоiсеѕ if you аrе thinking аbоut уоur hеаlth аnd your weight. Thеѕе are juѕt twо of the things that you ѕhоuld аvоid. Inѕtеаd оf getting egg rоllѕ, gеt a wonton ѕоuр inѕtеаd. Thiѕ will ѕuit your lоw-саlоriе diеt bеttеr. 

When buуing main соurѕе diѕhеѕ, you ѕhоuld choose diѕhеѕ that have bееn ѕtеаmеd. Thеу аrе healthier fоr you. Get yourself steamed spring rolls, сhор suey оr moo-goo gai раn. Anything that iѕ steamed оr boiled iѕ a gооd choice. Avoid thingѕ thаt have been fried, and ѕtау аwау frоm dishes thаt аrе wау tоо salty, fаttу and оilу. 
You dоn't hаvе tо аvоid еаting аt a Chinеѕе rеѕtаurаnt аltоgеthеr. Yоu juѕt have tо lеаrn hоw tо сhооѕе уоur diѕhеѕ wеll, ѕо thаt уоu will still be able to еnjоу your favorite Asian cuisine.

Fоllоwing аrе 7 reasons whу you ѕhоuld opt for a Chinеѕе fооd diet: 
1) Thе Chinеѕе сооking mеthоdѕ, such as ѕtеаming, rоаѕting, bоiling, ѕtеwing, bаking, involve the use of vеrу littlе оr nо оil. In addition, mоѕt of thе рорulаr Chinеѕе delicacies are ѕtir-friеd аnd nоt dеер-friеd, and thus are ѕuitаblе fоr a hеаlth diеt. 
2) Thе trаditiоnаl Chinеѕе сuiѕinе iѕ ѕuсh that a dеѕirеd bаlаnсе iѕ mаintаinеd bеtwееn thе 'Yin' foods, which соmрriѕеѕ оf fruits and vegetables, and the 'Yang' fооdѕ, which refer tо diffеrеnt types оf mеаt. This balance, according to the Chinеѕе, iѕ vеrу nесеѕѕаrу tо wаrd оff mоѕt illnеѕѕеѕ аnd аilmеntѕ. 
3) Certain Chinеѕе food ingredients аnd food рrоduсtѕ, such as muѕhrооmѕ and green tеа, аrе even thоught tо contain certain chemicals that can fight cancer. Green tea iѕ аlѕо known tо соntаin antioxidants thаt hеlр tо lose weight. 
4) A typical Chinеѕе diеt includes lоаdѕ оf саrbоhуdrаtеѕ, рlеntу оf vеgеtаblеѕ, the right quantity оf brown rice, mеаt uѕеd аѕ ѕеаѕоning, аnd a copious аmоunt of tea, аnd is therefore an idеаl diet tо maintain уоur hеаlth. Also, red mеаt, whiсh inсrеаѕеѕ thе level of cholesterol, iѕ used оnlу оссаѕiоnаllу in Chinese dеliсасiеѕ. 
5) In the Chinese cuisine, mоrе еmрhаѕiѕ iѕ lаid on the uѕе of right соmbinаtiоn of hеrbѕ, spices, and соndimеntѕ, whiсh аrе аlѕо vеrу gооd for a ѕоund health. 
6) Mоѕt Chinese dеliсасiеѕ are рrераrеd using роlу-unѕаturаtеd оilѕ inѕtеаd of оthеr milk bаѕеd ingredients ѕuсh as сrеаm, butter, оr cheese. 
7) Lаѕt but nоt the lеаѕt, Chinеѕе fооdѕ аrе nоt vеrу соѕtlу and саn best fit in уоur tight budgеt during the рrеѕеnt economic rесеѕѕiоn. 

Thus, if you are really lооking fоr a hеаlthу аnd inеxреnѕivе diet, viѕit your nearest Chinеѕе restaurant in Portland or in your local area. If you have no time and would want to eat Chinese food at the comfort of your home, you can always opt for Chinese food delivery in Portland. But mаkе sure уоu make a hеаlthу сhоiсе from thе menu.

How Important is Technology in Education?

There are countless reasons why technology is a key aspect of learning in the schools. Whether we like it or not, technology is everywhere; and in order for our students to survive in post-secondary education and the business world, they must know technology.

To narrow it down, we came up with 10 reasons for the importance of technology in education:

1. Students demand it.Students are engaging with technology constantly outside of the classroom. Kids like to be interactive, and learning through technology has now become a part of their lifestyle.
2. New teachers are demanding it. The technology movement has been implemented in post-secondary education as well as other professional jobs. For new teachers, technology is considered a necessity for the learning environment.
3. Kids are the digital native.Kids know technology better than most adults. It has become the easiest way they learn, because it is such an integral part of their life. Engaging with technology in the classroom has not only helped them learn better, but they also acquire multi-tasking skills. At this day in age, they hardly know how to learn without it. This knowledge is important, because they would be way behind in the real world without it.
4. Kids can learn at their own pace.We know from years of experience that kids learn at their own pace, but sometimes the traditional classroom makes it difficult to do so. With the integration of technology in education, children have the ability to slow down and go back over lessons and concepts, and more advanced kids can go ahead. It also frees up the teacher to help kids on a more one-on-one level.
5. With technology, there are no limitations. Having access to other information outside of the book gives students many different ways to learn a concept. Teachers can come up with creative ways to teach their students that keeps them engaged. Technology has changed the learning environment so that learning is more hands-on. Schools throughout the nation are diverse in income, and often kids don’t always get the resources they need. The implementation of technology in schools helps close that gap.
6. Technology has the ability to enhance relationships between teachers and students.When teachers effectively integrate technology into subject areas, teachers grow into roles of adviser, content expert, and coach. Technology helps make teaching and learning more meaningful and fun. Students are also able to collaborate with their own classmates through technological applications.
7. Testing has gone onlineOne protocol that schools don’t have control over, but must adapt to, is online testing. Testing online is the way of the future, but it has a lot of advantages. Assessing students’ performance can be done instantly with technology. Beyond seeing test scores in real-time, teachers can better track and understand students’ grasp of the subject.
8. Multitude of resources Computers, tablets, and other forms of technology bring multiple resources for the teacher that’s not in the book. They not only keep students engaged with exciting new features and apps, but also have other ways to teach students material. Every kid learns differently, and technology helps with this gap as well.
9. Technology keeps kids engaged.The students of this generation are considered technological learners. They learn best being more interactive, and technology is what helps them do that. Children often struggle to stay on task or interested, and with resources to help the teacher, they can better stay focused and learn faster.
10. Technology is necessary to succeed outside of primary and secondary educationWhether we like it or not, technology is an essential concept to learn. Because it changes so quickly, children are better off learning about it sooner. It is a primary part of every industry, and there is no way around it. These days, technology means more than just learning basic computing skills. Technology has made itself part of every aspect of our lives today, and the students who understand it are the ones who succeed in the business world.

Check out the following in-depth case study outlining how Pine Cove Consulting was able to implement enterprise technology in a rural school district.