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Determine Your Priorities To Maximize Time Use

What you may consider a priority might not be to another person. Conversely, other people’s priorities might not be a priority to you. It doesn’t mean though that you can’t have similar priorities.

What are the most common priorities of the majority of people? Here is a list of the most chosen priorities most people pursue, with a suggestion or two on how to actively materialize them. Yours might not be in the list but the idea remains the same – to pursue them in the most convenient way in order to maximize time use. Oh, a word of caution: too many priorities are not all priorities. So define which ones are and focus only on them, not on all of them.

Most people value family as their first priority. If the president’s family is called the first family; for most, the family is first. Spending (rather investing) time with your family will strengthen bondage between members. But quantity time is not as important as quality time. Well, if you can inject quantity to quality, so much the better. To be in front of a television set may or may not be quality time. Quality is lost if concentration of each member is glued on the feature in the television set. Some discussion or reaction between family members regarding the feature could lend some quality on time. An intellectual board game may be better. A day trip as a family gets together on a weekend once or twice a month is ideal. Thoughtfulness shown by sending cards or flowers during occasions (better yet when there are no occasions) lifts the relationship between spouses.

Health is wealth, as we all know. Your wealth is useless if you have poor health. It is more difficult (although not impossible) to get good health without wealth (even a modest one), so the two are somewhat intertwined. Just follow good eating habits, exercise regularly, and take things in moderation. Not only do you get good health if you exercise with your family (say biking or swimming together with your kids), you develop good family relationship too. Who knows, your kid might be a future professional athlete. Hidden talents are usually discovered by accident.

A lot of people consider gathering wealth as part of their priority list, but not to the extent of sacrificing family relationship. While you keep an eye on creating wealth, keep the other eye on your family relationships. Herds of stories about broken families are due to money matters; don’t be a part of it.

To create wealth, foremost is to live within your means. No matter how small savings are, it is never too small. Savings go to investing. Investing leads to security, financially speaking. We’re not talking about hasty investing, but intelligent, calculated investing. Remember that wealth does not come instantly (except the lotto or anything similar). It takes a life long goal to be financially secured. If you’ll check the historical background of known wealthy people, most of them got wealthy gradually and slowly. It’s like building an edifice; it doesn’t rise overnight. It is also common knowledge that hard-earned money stays. Wealth that comes easy, goes easy. Going back to investing, you can invest your hard-earned savings into bonds or trust funds that yield higher interest. Shop and ask around. There are financial planners that can help you get started and going. Just be prudent, alert, and open-minded.

If your priority is in career building, specialization is a key factor. To excel in your chosen career means to gather as much knowledge as possible to sustain growth. This ultimately makes you an expert or specialist. To remain as one, you must always be updated of the latest trends and developments. Your world may be narrow, but well-defined. You may need to attend conferences and seminars of your chosen field of expertise. You may also need to read current publications to stay in touch with what’s going on out there, even to the point that you have to go back to school for post graduate studies.

For some, intellectual growth amazes and interests them. Somehow, this kind of priority can be transferred to future generations. It’s like wealth that does not get lost no matter what. One good source of growing intellectually is by traveling. Getting to know cultures you’re not familiar with is made familiar by going to where the action is and experiencing it first hand. Read books, especially those related to historical backgrounds so you’ll know how things evolve in time.

Many people also prioritize spiritual growth. To start with, let your emotions be filled with your belief that a Higher Being is responsible for your existence on earth. Give praise, embrace, and acknowledge that you exist to be of service, not to yourself but to Him by means of helping those in need.

Whatever your priorities are, you can have them as long as you focus your time on them.

Depression: Taking The Bull By The Horns

There is a phase in everybody’s life when one does not feel nice about many things or anything, and for no particular reason. If it is a short period, there is nothing to worry about, but if it stretches too long it could be depression. This kind of depression is some times disabling. When the patient is considered as a disabled person, s/he is also eligible for social security benefits.

But, how to treat depression?

This condition can be diagnosed by a psychiatrist. He can help you overcome the condition. However, in this case no help is better than self-help. Besides, no amount of help from anyone can actually work without your own effort.

Depression is found to be very common among Americans, as around 9.5 percent of the population in the United States suffers from the problem. The worst part is that people suffering from depression normally do not get themselves treated, which, in turn, makes this disease worse. For a layman, cheering up someone may look like a very easy task, but when it comes to someone suffering from depression, it is an uphill task.

For one who is suffering from chronic depression, it is necessary to visit a cognitive behavioral therapist and to take the medicines as and when prescribed by him. No doubt the treatment for depression often comes with a heavy expense but that is nothing compared to the pain borne by the patient.

Often considered as a mild problem, depression can sometimes even lead to suicide. It also affects the normal day-to-day activities of a person and the person starts loosing his self-confidence and begins keeping himself or herself secluded.

There are different symptoms of depression which include gradual loss of interest in something that the patient used to enjoy a lot, getting sleep disorders, becoming unfriendly, preferring isolation or talking about deaths. The list of symptoms is endless. And if such symptoms are noticed in someone, it is important that the person is rushed to the psychiatrist at the earliest so that the progression of depression could be checked in time.

Depression not only affects the patient but also the near and dear ones of him, as they feel helpless in doing anything for the patient. After spending some time with the patient, even the relatives start feeling completely out of sync with the patient.

The best way to deal with depression is to face it full and square. Normally, cognitive negative reinforcement therapists prefer cognitive behavioral talk or interpersonal talk with the patient as they are considered to be among the best methods. Efforts have to be made to make the patient realize that depression is nothing but a state of mind and he or she can get rid of it by trying to be happy.

Medications do help but nothing helps better than the patient’s determination to fight depression. The moment he or she realizes that the cure lies in believing and fighting back, half the battle is won.

Depression Treatment The B12 Way

Depression. It’s not just a word. It’s not just “the blues.” It’s a serious medical condition that affects countless individuals around the globe. In fact, some statistics put the figure of people who suffer the symptoms of depression in the millions. Regardless of your age, gender, social status, or location, you or someone you love could become a victim in need of depression treatment.

However, many people experiencing the rollercoaster aren’t happy about taking medications to control their the symptoms of depression. Rather than turning to Prozac or Paxil, they actively seek a natural depression treatment and keep the symptoms of depression such as lethargy, anger, “foggy” minds, and mood swings at bay. For those individuals, a diet rich in Vitamin B12 may help in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.

About B12: More than a Depression Treatment

Vitamin B12, one of the “B” vitamins, promotes health by helping to maintain a decent red blood cell count and strong nerve connections. One of the reasons that B12 may assist depression treatment is that it has been shown to regulate synaptic receptors, thereby providing a conduit for emotional experiences to be transmitted throughout the body and brain. (Many believe that depression is entirely or partially caused by a breakdown of these receptors; thus, B12 could help pave the way for normal synaptic responses and relief from the symptoms of depression.)

Where to Find B12

Fortunately for people suffering the symptoms of depression seeking an organic alternative to traditional prescription medications, B12 is relatively easy to find, even if you’re on a limited, vegan, or vegetarian diet, as many foods are now fortified with the vitamin, including hot and cold cereals, crackers, soups, and breads.

B12 is also found in many types of fish, meat, dairy products, and eggs; try to eat around 6.0 micrograms of B12 per day, in accordance with FDA recommendations and based on a 2,000 calorie diet. (Obviously, this figure will need to be “tweaked” depending on patient’s age, weight, and the symptoms of depression.)

How Long will B12 Take to Have an Effect as a Depression Treatment?

Because every individual will suffer depression symptoms unique to them, he or she will respond to B12 in a unique way. Therefore, one person may respond to an increase in B12 rather quickly, while another will not respond for weeks or months. The bottom line is to be patient when using B12 as a depression treatment because natural remedies often take a bit longer (but are vastly less taxing on the body) than their prescription counterparts.

It’s also critical to ask your physician or mental health specialist about your decision to use B12 to as a depression treatment, as he may have extra hints on how to improve its effectiveness without medications. He might also be able to provide you with more Remember – depression is a controllable disease. Yes, it is difficult and sometimes overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to define who you are as a person. You can overcome your depression naturally… and B12 may be the first step in depression treatment.