Did You Know?
Asking for a favor can be more powerful than doing one...
If there's someone you'd like to get to know, or be closer to, ask them to do you a favor! A study in the journal Human Relations revealed when someone gives you time, or advice, or does another small favor for you, a connection is made. And it's a more powerful one than if you were to do the favor for them. In most cases, it just feels better to do someone a favor, than to ask for one, and it also opens the door for a return of the favor in the form of lunch or a cup of coffee. Presto, you've got the opportunity to get to know each other a little better.
Having plants in the house can bring several benefits...
You’ve probably heard that houseplants improve air quality in your home – but how many do you need? According to one plant expert – you need 2 for every 100 square feet. Here are some other facts about houseplants you should probably know:
• The biggest killer of houseplants is – over watering.
• To prevent fungus and mildew, brew, cool then pour a little chamomile tea on the plants.
• Often when a ficus plant drops all its leaves, it means that there's an undetected gas leak in the house.
Source: Sharon Lovejoy, author of "Trowel And Error"
There is a difference between pleasure and happiness...
We all want to be happy – but research on the subject shows that it’s not so easy to achieve:
• People often confuse pleasure for happiness. Pleasure is temporary – a massage, a nice dinner, driving home in a new car – those things bring pleasure – and pleasure always fades.
• Unhappy people get a lot of support, sympathy and affection. So for some, it feels good to stay miserable – it’s safer and it’s easier.
• “I’ll be happy when…” is a trap many of us fall in. “I’ll be happy when I retire, when I get more money, when I get married…” In research studies, truly happy people do not postpone their happiness – they do it now.
• Happiness is a decision. It is NOT based on external events. It is simply a decision to be happy.
Source: Greg Hicks author of “How We Choose To Be Happy”
Your refrigerator has a message for you...
Your refrigerator door speaks volumes about you, even if there's nothing on it. Here's what it's saying:
- If there is a lot of stuff stuck to your fridge, such as a calendar and invites, but it's relatively organized, you generally keep your families life in order.
- If the magnets you're not using are lined up neatly, you prefer order and are prone to perfectionism.
- If your refrigerator door is an inconsistent and random collage of photos, receipts, coupons and art work, chances are you're a bit scattered and are prone to missing important stuff. Especially if those magnets are doing double duty.
- If your door is just a door, with nothing on it, this suggests you are image-conscious, and may be overly concerned with how others might view you.
Technology has really upset the work-life balance...
A lot of articles and books have been written about the importance of work-life balance. You see, not long ago, people left their jobs at the end of the day, went home to the family and left the job behind. But now people stay connected to their work even after the work day is over with cell phones, email and texting. But here’s the big surprise - despite all the concern over work-life balance, when people are surveyed, the average person is not upset about staying engaged with their work after hours.
In fact, there is some concern that some people actually start to feel anxiety when they are logged off and disconnected from their gadgets.
Source: James O’Toole author of “The New American Workplace”
You could be drinking too much water...
...and some other interesting health facts:
1) You do not need to drink 8 glass of water every day. Yes, you need to get about 8 ounces of water into your body but a lot of it comes from food. Vegetables are 95% water, steak is 60% water, and white bread is 40% water. So you are getting a lot of water through your food.
2) You can be fit AND fat at the same time. Fitness has to do with your cardiovascular system and aerobic efficiency – it has nothing to do with what you look like. Many overweight people are not fit, but some actually are. So achieving a level of fitness is an admirable goal even if you can’t shed all the pounds.
3) Lip balm can be addictive. When you use lip balm a lot your body’s natural mechanisms for keeping your lips moist get “lazy.” So when you try to kick your lip balm habit, your lips get dry and cracked. It is a very tough habit to break.
Source: Dr. Dean Edell, author of Life, Liberty & The Pursuit Of Healthiness
Two out of three divorces are initiated by women...
Some interesting research has revealed some surprising facts about divorce. The research was conducted by Mavis Hetherington and documented in her book “For Better Or For Worse.” For example:
• 2 out of 3 divorces are initiated by women. The idea that a man runs off with a younger woman is seldom the case.
• Men seem to do okay even in a lousy marriage – but women only thrive in a good marriage. In fact women seem to do better after they get out of a bad marriage. Men tend to do worse after getting out of ANY marriage.
• Contempt, withdrawal and hostile criticism are very likely signs that divorce is not far away. Respect is the glue that seems to hold a marriage together.
We interrupt ourselves every three minutes...
A study of employees at Morgan Stanley showed that their work is interrupted every 3 minutes during the work day. Your work interruptions are probably not much different. Interestingly a lot of the interruptions are “self-interruptions.” That means people stop what they are doing to check email, visit Facebook, go for coffee – you get the idea. So here is some advice:
• Go to Rescuetime.com and download a free program that will tell you how you are wasting time on your computer and allow you to block out certain times of the day where you cannot access email or Facebook or whatever distracts you.
• Batch repetitive tasks. Just as you wouldn’t wash 1 pair of socks you’d wait until you had a lot of laundry. It is much more efficient to answer a lot of emails 2 or 3 times per day rather than 1 here and 1 there all day long. And yes, there’s a program for that – it xobni.com (it’s “inbox” spelled backwards).
Source: Timothy Ferris author of “The 4 Day Work Week”
His shampoo costs less than hers...
Would you want to pay 50% more for shampoo or shaving cream just because it has prettier packaging? If not, I have some important news for you.
A recent survey of drugstore products like shampoo, shaving cream, razor blades and deodorant produced some startling results. In many cases, items that seemed identical had very different prices. The only difference was - one product was for women and the other for men. And almost always the women's products were more expensive - sometimes 50% more. Usually, the only difference was in the packaging.
For example, identical shaving cream from the same manufacturer... the men's shaving cream cost 15 cents an ounce, the women's cost 26 cents an ounce. The reason for the difference in price (according to the manufacturer) is all in the design and manufacturing of the can and because the women's shaving cream has added fragrance. Compare for yourself the next time you are at the store - and you may find yourself buying the men's products regardless of your gender.
UPS trucks turn right about 90% of the time...
Virtually all UPS routes are mapped out to avoid left hand turns. Why? According to UPS spokesperson Steve Holmes, avoiding left turns at intersections reduces idling which saves fuel. Multiply that by 88,000 vehicles making about 15 million deliveries every day and it really adds up. And at stop lights, making right turns tends to be faster, so even if you didn't save fuel, you're going to move more quickly through a route.
Minimizing left turns has been the way of UPS since before anyone now working for the company can remember. It used to mean checking maps and plotting routes, but now modern technology makes it much easier for UPS to drive right. The company says its package flow technology combined with right-turn routes saved three million gallons of fuel in one year.
Brian Rooney, ABC News, Multi Channel Merchant
Some of the great classic toys didn’t start out as toys at all...
For many years people have been buying Play-Doh, Lionel Trains and Mr. Potato Head as fun Christmas gifts. But none of them were originally supposed to be toys:
• Mr. Potato Head was invented to be a premium inside of a breakfast cereal – just a couple of plastic pieces you could stick in to any fruit or vegetable. When the inventor (George Lemer) showed it to Hasbro as part of his toy portfolio they bought it from him. Had he sold it to the cereal company he would’ve made $5,000. By selling it to Hasbro, he became a millionaire.
• Play-Doh was originally invented as wallpaper cleaner. The sister-in-law of the inventor was a nursery school teacher who claimed that the clay the kids used at school was too stiff for their little hands. So she let them use Play-Doh and the product took off.
• Lionel Trains. The guy who came up with the toy train idea originally did it for a store window display to promote another toy. But when people saw the display they were much more interested in the train than the toy it was carrying around the window. Lionel Trains was born.
Source: David Hoffman author of “Kid Stuff”
Most unhappy couples have something in common...
What makes a miserable marriage – miserable? Interestingly, one psychologist asked several unhappy couples – “What do you 2 do for fun?” The #1 answer was… ”Nothing.”
And that turned out to be the key.
With children, job pressures, and stress, couples stop doing the fun things together that they used to do. And every couple USED to do fun things together - that’s one of the reasons they got married. So if couples can start simply having fun and doing things together that they used to do – it is an amazingly powerful prescription to help improve a marriage.
Source: Gary Lundberg author of “Married For Better, Not Worse”
If you are shipping holiday gifts this year, you need to know a few tricks to get them there safely...
If you are packing and shipping holiday gifts this year – here are some expert tips to help get your gifts safely to their destination:
• You are better off spending a few dollars for a new box. Old, used boxes crush easily.
• Use packing peanuts or bubble wrap. Don’t use newspaper to protect fragile items – it does a lousy job and if it is crushed it does not bounce back.
• Use real packing tape. Duct tape or masking tape can lose adhesiveness in extreme cold.
• Put a label inside the box just in case the outer label gets torn off..
• Don’t use a box any bigger than necessary. Shipping costs are determined by the size of the box as well as the weight.
Once everything is packed and sealed – shake the box. Nothing should move.
There are some quick ways to sharpen up that resume and improve your chances of getting hired…
If you are job-hunting here are some ways to make sure potential employers sit up and take notice of your resume…
• ALWAYS include a cover letter – a resume and good cover letter should be inseparable.
• Avoid any personal and unrelated info like your social security number.
• Employers don’t want a series of job descriptions; give your accomplishments and quantifiable facts from your career.
• Proofread it, then proofread it again – remove any typos, spelling or grammatical errors. Many employers will reject you just because of typos.
• Send it to a REAL person in the department hiring – avoid faxing to a nameless, faceless “Hiring Manager” or worse yet a “To Whom It May Concern.”
Holding hands can reduce pain...
Do you hold hands with your significant other? There are some good reasons to. Couples who hold hands may be doing themselves a lot of good. Research shows that physical intimacy of any kind improves any relationship – whether it is a mother and infant or a married couple. But it also turns out that people in stressful or threatening situations remain calmer and cope better when they hold hands with their mate. It also seems to have a beneficial effect on pain and can lower the level of stress hormones that can do damage to your immune system.
Even monkeys know the importance of hand holding. Monkeys have been observed holding hands in reconciliation after a fight.
Source: New York Times
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Your doctor's tie could make you sick...
It’s no secret that people get sick in hospitals because germs get spread around. Now, according to the British Medical Association, there is evidence that your doctor’s necktie could be part of the problem. Here’s why:
• Doctor leans over to examine a patient and his necktie touches the sick patient and picks up “who knows what.”
• Doctor goes to the next patient, leans over; the tie touches that patient and transfers the germs from the earlier patient.
• This goes on all day long transferring germs from patient to patient.
To add to the problem, who washes their neckties? No one! British doctors are now asked to wear bowties for this very reason. So you might want to ask your doctor to remove his necktie before he comes near you.
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