By Nina Zipkin
If you’ve been having restless nights and can’t turn your brain off long enough to get some sleep, there is an unexpected remedy for your insomnia: finding your purpose.
It may seem a bit abstract, but a recent study from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that having purpose in your daily life leads to fewer sleep disturbances and an improved quality of sleep.
The study looked at a group of older adults — 823 participants ranging in age from 60 to 100 who had full command of their mental faculties. The researchers had the participants fill out two surveys, one with 10 questions about purpose in life — i.e. “I feel good when I think of what I’ve done in the past and what I hope to do in the future” — and another with 32 questions about sleep.
In particular, the researchers found that people who felt their lives had meaning were 63 percent less likely to have sleep apnea — when you have pauses in your breathing during sleep –and 52 percent less likely to have restless leg syndrome. They also saw better sleep quality in those who answered the purpose questions affirmatively.
So the next time you find yourself up in the middle of the night, instead of counting sheep, think about what will make you excited to get up in the morning and figure out the steps you need to take in order to achieve that goal.
via Entrepreneur
We are taught to “never burn bridges”, which is true given the context. However, there is a reverse to this and there are bridges that need to burn, not only with toxic people but with ideals and beliefs that no longer serve to improve or aid in our growth/development. There are people who have made or still make us believe the worst about ourselves, and unfortunately we buy into it. Those are bridges that need to burn. Our oppressors, suppressors, abusers, enemies to our well being; those are bridges that need to burn. Our past or painful experiences from our past; those are bridges that deserve to burn. May those bridges burn and light the way to who and what we were born to be.
Originally published 5.9.10
By Nicole Momperousse, Guest Blogger
If you are reading this blog post, then it may be safe for me to assume that you also have a twitter account. (smile) Like many, I tend to use twitter as a release, a venting tool, or sounding board for my thoughts, ideas, and way too often a wasteland for my emotions. You too? LOL
Just the other day I tweeted about a statement my daughter made to me…and my emotional reaction to “Mommy I want to be just like youâ€â€¦just typing those words again brings “IT†all back…Yes I said “ITâ€â€¦ “IT†being that constant state of uncertainty that we as mothers live with either in silence or sometimes out loud like I did on twitter, where I stated that I will write a letter to my daughter expressing to her why ideally I wish for her NOT to be “just like†me.
I felt inclined to share this letter considering the responses I received from my tweets and Mother’s Day being observed today. Please read.
Dear Cheyenne,
From the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that there was no way I could love another living being as I do you. I want you to know that every day that I watch you grow, I pray for you to be brave enough to face your fears; to fail and have the will to recover and to maintain the esteem and confidence you now have throughout your adolescence and adult life.
It makes me so proud to know that you want to be just like me. Are you sure? Especially considering the amount of time you’ve spent punished in recent weeks (smile). I know that it may not always seem like I’m being fair, or that I understand. But I was once your age, so I’m still young enough to remember what it’s like to be a tweenager!
I want you to know that my wish for you is to be the best possible CHEYENNE you can be! That means that I want you to follow your dreams and work toward making them a reality. Something that I wish I’d done when I was much younger. I am here to help you be the BEST possible ANYTHING your heart desires, just as long as you remember that this life you have is YOURS to live. When you stumble, and you will, I will be right here to help you back up, always!! Promise me that you will do more than try to be the best possible YOU, you can be. (smile)
You, my first born have taught me so much about my own capabilities and have inspired me to continue on my own dream path. It’s never too late to improve your life and do what it is that makes you happy, so I thank God & YOU for choosing ME to be your Mom!!Love you till infinity,
Mommy
Many of you know little about me. However, if you’ve read my previous piece written for Brother Jesse’s Blog then you know quite a bit about me!
Becoming a mother has been the most bittersweet experience of my life. My own mother passed away almost 16 years ago, my father and all of my grandparents are also deceased. I have only one male sibling. For years I convinced myself that the life my mother led and her loss would not impede on my life…and it didn’t until I too became a mother.
I can’t ask anyone what I was like when I was baby or what I used to do at the stages both of my girls are currently at in their lives now. To say that my mothering experience has been trial and error would be an understatement. I remember bringing Cheyenne home from the hospital alone because my husband at the time had to work. She was born prematurely & spent an extra week in the hospital to reach the 5lb requirement to be released. Before I could remove her snowsuit she started to hiccup violently. Scared the living daylights out of me!!
I called the neonatal unit at the hospital to find out if I needed to bring her back, I was sooo terrified. They suggested that I give her a pacifier if I had one, to solve the problem. I did exactly as they advised…it worked… and that one piece of advice took 3.5 years for me and Cheyenne to recover from! LOL (I used to match her outfits to those things, always hanging from her face).I’m sure my mom or grandma would have had a better solution! Nevertheless, I am fortunate to have a few chosen examples and resources for the moments I NEED more guidance on this whole Mommy thing. In spite of my shortcomings, nothing is more gratifying than being a mother. I feel so blessed and privileged to have the mommy title and as one of my beloved twitter friends pointed out to me… how cool it is to even have the word “mom†built into my last name “Momperousseâ€.
The absolute most difficult and rewarding JOB in the world is to be a mother… I beg you to differ. (smile)
Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms everywhere who graciously accept the challenge and responsibility!!PS. This idea to write my daughter a letter was not an epiphany I fancied all on my own… I happened to follow a brilliant teacher of truth (@bilalsankofa) on twitter who once tweeted/shared/dropped one of many jewels into the Twitterverse on how to be BETTER and communicate with the ones that mean the most to you…. Write them a letter… now how could something so simple be so effective? Well since I’ve put this suggestion into practice my level of communication with my daughter has improved immensely. I first wrote her a letter about how she had disappointed me in a way that I didn’t expect considering how I am TRYING to raise her…that piece of writing resonated with her more than my usual whomp, whomp, whomp Peanuts (Charlie Brown) sounding rant. I would definitely recommend taking a pen to your frustrations, joys, blessings… writing it out to the person that needs to HEAR you! It happens to be working very well for me!
Peace & Blessings!
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Originally published 11.24.09
by Jesse Muhammad
It’s Tuesday morning.
Another day has presented itself for you to do something extraordinary.
Another day to do something unique. Another day to not wait for a miracle, but to be the miracle.You have mentally rehearsed your agenda for the day. Maybe you have a huge million dollar deal to close. Maybe there is a deadline you have to meet by the close of business. Or you procrastinated all last week until now your workload has piled up. But you’re ready to tackle the tasks at hand. You’re on the verge of releasing a new book or unveiling a new initiative in your company.
You look in the mirror and say “Man, I am great”.
No matter how large the problems may seem, you’re focused. You’re confident. You know it can be done today.
Then it happens.
A naysayer from inside or outside of you creeps in to impact your excitement. From within, the naysayer comes in the form of fear, doubt and even low self-esteem. Outside it could be a negative text message, a draining email, gossiping conversation or a phone call with so-called constructive criticism. All of a sudden you become stagnate. Your energy is diminished. Your fire has went out and you haven’t even left your house yet.
What happened? The naysayers got the best of you.
But today you choose to ignore the naysayers because you’re operating on another level. You’re playing chess while the naysayer is still playing checkers. Your thoughts are not the same. Your moves are not the same. Your objectives are not the same. The boards may look the same but tactics and strategies are different. It’s chess not checkers to some of us.
The great ones know how to use the naysayers as fuel and feed off the obstacles in the road ahead. So we would like to dedicate this blog to all of the naysayers. We can’t hear you because we’re too busy achieving greatness. Make history….Become a L.E.G.E.N.D. (Let Every Goal Evolve Not Die)
Will you join us naysayers?You can’t make chess-like moves with a checkers-like mind.
Originally published 2.14.09
Some of you may have clicked this blog entry because after reading the TITLE you may have had the crazy thought that I was about to start a beef with Russell….come on now, be honest. Just joking. (smile)
But seriously this response to Russell is about his present blog titled “What Inspires You?”. Since he set a theme, I wanted to respond by sharing my thoughts on INSPIRATION, DESIRE AND TRUE LOVE.
To read the Full article Click: Brother Jesse’s Global Grind Blog