Unlock secrets about yourself

Can A Drawing Tell You Something About Your Personality?

Everyone loves tests and quizzes and many times, the responses do tell us a little about our personality. Remember, this is just a fun little test and it's results are not guaranteed, except to bring a smile to your face.

Here's what I'd like everyone to do: draw a cruise ship on a piece of paper.

Let's first look at the location on the paper.
1. If the ship is drawn near the top of the page, you are an Optimist. You say things like, "There is no sense in crying over spilt milk."

2. If the ship is drawn near the middle of the page, you are a Realist. You see things as they are without illusion or delusion
3. If the ship is drawn near the bottom of the page, you are a Naysayer. You tend to be a pessimist and see things in a negative viewpoint.

Now, let's look at the details you put in your drawing.
1. If your ship is drawn with few details you are a Risk taker. You can be carefree and freewheeling. Sometimes this gets you into trouble.
2. If you used many details in your drawing you are an Inspector. You prefer to look at ideas carefully and thoroughly before they gain your approval.

Thirdly, let's look at the direction your ship is facing.
1. If your ship is facing right, you are a Wordsmith. You enjoy transmitting your ideas through words verbally or in writing.
2. If your ship is head on, you are a Gatekeeper. You like standing guard and keeping an eye on people who are coming and going.
3. If the ship is facing left, you are a Worldly Person. Your interests are in buying and selling or science. You have very little interest in working with words.

If your ship has smoke stacks...
1. If you drew your ship without a smokestack you are a Hipster. You have a knack for knowing where the action is. You can be creative and innovative.
2. If your ship has a smokestack, you are an Artist. You excel or enjoy the fine arts.

And the size indicates how good of a listener you are !!!

Do you use your time well?

Do You Use Your Time Effectively?

You may delay, but time will not. 

There was a recent study that looked at American's view of their individual priorities & one that was quite shocking to many people.

A few weeks ago, a survey showed that 20 percent of American's surveyed would skip work, vacations and a wedding of a close friend to see their football team's championship game

Football fans around the time of Super Bowl reported that they would be willing to miss a funeral of a loved one or the birth of their own child to see a championship game
Those results are quite surprising, but what else do we know about Americans and their use of time?

Here is what we found
* 40 percent of Americans are in front of their televisions at 9pm and
* Men watch television more hours a week than women
* 80 percent of women are working outside the household and still doing childcare and household chores
* At 2 p.m., 1 out of 15 Americans 65 and older are asleep. * Older Americans spend more time sleeping and
  eating than other age ranges
* Sleeping, working and watching TV takes up 2/3 of our day

So what does this tell from a mental health perspective?

* Priorities: American's may say that they value time with their family and friends, but survey's indicate that those
  choices may not be the ones they are making in a daily way
* Value: American's may value important life events, which create lasting memories, but when faced with
  important life decisions, many American's will choose to de-value these events.
* Time- constraints: American's are limited in their time for leisure, friendships and self-empowering activities.
* Anxiety & depression: American's are not making time for themselves and for decompressing doing
  activities that help them relax or enhance their lives. Without these activities we are prone to enduring levels of
  anxiety and low grade depression

WHAT DOES your face say?

What Does Your Face Say?

You don’t have to say a single word, but your body is sending all sorts of messages about you that you might not realize.  The way you stand, your eyes, and even how close you stand next to a person tells someone a lot about you.  

What are some ways your body indicates that you want to be friends with someone?

·      Smiling is the first key to show you are open to friendship and a welcoming sign

·      Maintaining eye contact (not staring- like a stalker) illustrates that you are interested

·      Slowing your actions such as blinking more, talking calmly, walking slowly also shows you are interested in another person

What are some ways that your body shows that you want people to stay away from you?

·      Closing your arms in front of you indicates to people that you are not interested in closeness

·      Putting in your hands in your pockets, or into your jacket or jeans sends the message that you are distant or uncomfortable

·      Putting something like a drink or an object between you indicates you want distance

What are the secret body language of attracting people sexually?

·      Touching in safe areas like the hands shows interest

·      Watching for dilated eyes ( when people are happy their eyes dilate)

·      Preening signs like playing with your hair or tossing it over your shoulder, or adjusting her
     clothing for women or men playing with their tie or shirt buttons or running their hands through
     their hair shows interest

·      Licking your lips is a subtle way to indicate interest as is moving your body to accentuate your
     curves or muscles

·      Standing closer than the normal “safe” distance  to a person shows you are interested and attracted
     to another person

·      So remember that your body sends lots of message and that 70% of communication is nonverbal!

 Asking For What I Need

Requests. Many people have them, but how many people are comfortable asking for what they want? 

It's not easy to ask, but some people are very good at making requests and so people make it sound more of a demand than a request.

First off, we need to look at what are some of the common things that keep us from asking for what we want.

* Fear: Many people don't ask for what they need or what because it makes them feel vulnerable, exposed, and risk being rejected. Many people say they feel insecure, inadequate and feel a loss of control when they make a request.
* Old patterns: Many people feel uncomfortable asking for their needs because they have been told it is not okay to ask, or perhaps they were told that they were undeserving, or for many they believe there will be negative effects of asking for needs. Some people feel they can't ask for their needs because it is demanding something that they don't deserve.
* Unclear desires: Many people have difficulty asking for what they need because they are unclear on the specifics of what they really want. When you make vague requests people are uncertain what you really want or need.
* Destructive thoughts: Many people don't ask for their needs because they create destructive thought patterns in their heads that limit their ability to ask. Some it is self-centered to ask for your needs, or that people should know what you want without asking. Others assume that someone would say "no" so why even ask, while others don't want to feel needy or appear weak.

Some people may confuse demands with requests. The difference between demands and requests:

Request: There is an understanding that with a request a person has a right to choose to say "Yes" or "No".
· With a request there is the understanding that there is no fear, shame or guilt involved no matter what the answer

Demand: A demand implies there is a threat or that something negative will happen in some form of retribution.
· In fact the key word is FREE… a request is where someone feels free to ask no matter what the answer vs. demand that holds no freedom on ransom.

So what are the elements of an effective request?

* Know what you want before you ask.
* Make sure your want is consistent with what you really say. For instance. If you want someone to help you with a task be certain you know what you want from them and what you need
* Be specific. If you want help with a task, be sure you are specific about the specifics about the task. Break it down and tell them exactly what you'd like and when you would like help.
* Remember if it is a request, the person may say no and it is important that you have a back up plan or strategy.
* You have a right to make a request. Remember that if you receive a NO… the message is about the sender and not about you.

Are you an inspire-ol-ogist?

Are you inspirational?  

Have you created change in someone else?  You can inspire others to be the best they can be, and ways to inspire yourself to dream the dreams and make them all come true.

What is a inspirologist?

 One who encourages and empowers themselves and others to make change

What are some things we can do to inspire ourself?

·      Dream big:  Once you allow yourself to dream, and actually see what you desire, you are half way through an inspiration.  Realize that any step you make towards your dream inspires you to move forward

·      Express yourself.  Without opening up and sharing your thoughts, insights, and feelings, you are limiting your ability to inspire.  Be expressive and passionate and you will find that you will find the inner energy to be inspiring

·      Be positive.  Inspirational people attack challenges with the belief that they can work through past limitations, challenges and have an optimism that they will be able to achieve their dreams

·       

How can we be inspirational to others?

·      Learn to see others assets.  Witness others gifts and be their cheerleader to help them achieve, succeed and prosper.  Encourage and promote their strengths to help them find their inner power

·      Be a collaborator.  Inspirational people help others connect.  Inspirational people do not control and command—the empower others to become leaders and find their inner strength

·      Inspirologists live in trust.  Those who inspire believe in others and do not live in fear—they encourage others to take risks, to innovate, and to create change

·      Be on the offense.  Inspirologists know how to help people vs. being on the defensive.  They help others find their way through encouragement and experimentation and refuse to use criticism, sarcasm, or do harm to others.

·       

Today—take a moment and consider being an inspirologist in your life and to all you encounter

Statistics Show That Gaming Can Be  Good For You?

We have heard people say that playing video or electronic games is a waste of time, but can gaming be good for you?  New research has put a positive look on the gaming industry.


Gaming:

1. - Boosts our creativity. Statistics showed that girls who played electronic games scored higher scores on the Torrance test of creativity.
2. - Boosts motor skills. Research showed that that neurosurgeons who played video games for at least 3 hours a week made 37 percent fewer errors in advanced surgical skill over non-gamers
3. -Increases speed thinking. Skilled players of the strategic game called Starcraft actually could make moves up to four times faster than most players
4. -Enhances decision making. Video players who played fast action games were 25 percent faster at making a correct decision than those who played slower paced games with the same accuracy

Studies also show:
-Women who do gaming increase their abilities to manipulate 3D objects
-Those who game can choices and act on them 4 times faster than those who do not game
-Gamers have been shown to be able to pay attention to six things at once without being confused while non-gamers can only do 4 things at once

When does gaming go over the line?
-When it becomes an addiction and you can't break away from gaming devises
-When gaming gets in the way of relationships and when gaming becomes more important than work, friends or partners
If you or someone you know appears to need assistance with compulsive or addictive gaming, check with a certified and licensed addiction counselor to an evaluation and skills to bring gaming into healthy boundaries.

Are you a cat or a dog?

Are you a dog or a cat?

Last year we looked at a study which was done at the University of Texas identifying if people are cat people or dog people. Our segment looked at some of the characteristics of why people choose their favorite pet. Our segment was one of the highest viewed online and tonight we will look at some other ways to define a cat person and a dog person.

The basic characteristics of dog vs. cat people

· Cat people are seen as more independent

· Cat people are seen as more neurotic, creative, philosophical and non-traditional

· Dog people are seen as more friendly

· Dog people are seen as agreeable, social, and more extraverted

So what else do we know about the differences about pet ownership and pet personalities?

· More people hate cats than those who hate dogs

· Our relationship with dogs throughout history has been different than it has with cats. Cats are seen as more solitary creatures (as are their owners) and Dogs are seen as more pack like and social

· Dogs intrude on people’s activities and feel lonely and want to play while cats are more invisible. Cats will abandon play and leave and dogs typically will engage in play until the owner gives up. This relates to the personality traits of socialization, extraversion, interactions to cat and dog lovers.

· Dog owners tend to be those who also would have a cat as well, but cat owners are more likely to only live with a cat (once again showing the socialization style and friendly nature of dog owners

· Cat people tend to live alone and twice as likely to live in an apartment. In contrast, dog people tend to have children and live in a house. Single women are the most likely to have a cat, and grew up in a house having a cat.

· Cat people score low in dominance personality which relates to those who are forceful, assertive, and self-confident. Dog people score high in dominance. Cat people however are trusting, straight-forward and get along people

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What are some suggestions that relates to pet lovers and our mental health?

· Flexibility is important. You may never choose to have a different pet, but just like with people around you…. Look for their positives and see their strengths.

· Be grateful. Remember what pets offer to us—unconditional love, acceptance and friendship. But, don’t forget that those around us can give us some of the same offerings.

· Health and well-being. Statistics show that those who have pets tend to live longer, take better care of their physical and mental health and have less medical conditions. So consider the benefits and perhaps you’ll be hugging your pet and thanking them for what they give you, or going out and purchasing a pet in 2017.

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