Category: Self-Help

covid 19, knowledge, Mental- Health, Personal Development, Self-Help, self-improvement, Wellness

Every Ending Has A New Beginning.

dianangelika0607

01/01/21

The past year was a tough year and humanity lived an exceptional period with challenges, obstacles and barriers. Watching on the news all dramatic cases, statistics growing and many human and financial losses without doubt was a hopeless year. I saw different behaviors and the ways how people faced the pandemic situation and I noticed people who followed the rules and indications and on the other hand disobedient and skeptical people. Now, we have the results of all of that where there are more people dying, UCI collapsing and businesses going bankrupt leaving a huge social and economic imbalance.

It’s incredible to acknowledge that everything is real and actually it’s happening and isn’t a fiction movie. However, there are people who believe that all started in a laboratory and it’s a conspiracy. There are a diversity of theories and ways which try to explain all of this but the reality is that we have a massive issue of public health.

I don’t know why people don’t get aware yet, many underestimate this virus and its consequences, I know we just lived Christmas time which it’s a period where people have gatherings with their love ones or they just travel and change of environment after a long year with a lot of labor, academic and personal responsibilities and the best way it’s to get away from the routine of everyday life. However, our reality is different and we need to wait, I know each person has their personal issues and priorities but do you believe that is the best time to travel or have massive gatherings? I’ve watched on the news many people enjoying this period in public places but I believe it’s somehow to throw everything overboard and our effort that we had during 2020 and contribute to the increase in the number of new cases.

For example, Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips has resigned from his position in cabinet after returning home from a personal trip to the Caribbean during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Premier Doug Ford released a statement Thursday, just hours after Phillips arrived back in Canada, saying he had accepted the minister’s resignation.

“At a time when the people of Ontario have sacrificed so much, today’s resignation is a demonstration that our government takes seriously our obligation to hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Ford said (https://globalnews.ca/news/7548706/coronavirus-rod-phillips-returns-canada/)

Why do people go against rules and guidelines? This case is one example of many, I’m really disappointed and upset by all of this. How many more victims? Until when?

Today is the first day of the year and we start this 2021 with expectations and goals for sure, but at the same time with the challenge to face all the remaining problems of 2020. I just wish you happiness, wellness and hope during 2021 and especially good health. I’m completely sure that every ending has a new beginning.

Happy New Year guys!

DARR.

knowledge, Mental- Health, Personal Development, Self-Help, self-improvement, Success, Wellness

Do You Believe That Hope Is The Last Thing To Be Lost?

dianangelika0607

17/12/20

Today’s post title is an idiom which people use in my country, Colombia which in Spanish language is: “La esperanza es lo último que se pierde” and its meaning is like a consolation when somebody faces a difficult and distressing situation.

The idiom’s origin has relation with this myth: According to Hesiod, when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, Zeus, the king of the gods, took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Prometheus’ brother Epimetheus. Pandora opened a jar left in her care containing sickness, death and many other unspecified evils which were then released into the world. Though she hastened to close the container, only one thing was left behind – usually translated as Hope, though it could also have the pessimistic meaning of “deceptive expectation”.

From this story has grown the idiom “to open a Pandora’s box”, meaning to do or start something that will cause many unforeseen problems.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora%27s_box) Also, there is another meaning with this story which is: Hope is the last thing to be lost.

Do you believe that hope is the last thing to be lost? Many times, people can have pessimist and negative thoughts which are the result of different situations. People try to have an accomplishment or reach dreams or goals and they can find some obstacles to achieve them. When this happens is when people need to have resources to face those barriers and these elements can be own as skills and experiences and also, we can have external resources like social networks, financial, physical and cultural resources.

For example, in this time all the world is struggling to fight against Covid- 19. As a result of this pandemic a lot of people have died or we have had to face other types of losses (financial, labor or in relationships) but in recent days the outlook has been different in regard to this problem because fortunately some countries started to vaccinate some population. Obviously, the process is really slow but months ago we had no vaccines and at present the vaccination campaign started. Therefore, the situation generates hope and after a long time of continuous struggle, studies and tests there is a light at the end of the tunnel or in other words “every cloud has a silver lining”, hasn’t it?

The learning is to find solutions, take actions and don’t get carried away by emotions but make the most out of ideas and knowledge. Perhaps all of this in theory is easy to read but when somebody has many problems, frustrations, trials and tribulations it’s complex to apply it.

My suggestion is to find all the resources that you have, using communication and if necessary, seek help but never live with a sorrow, an anguish or a pain alone, asking for help won´t make you weaker and remember after the storm comes the calm or as Martin Luther King said “We must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope”.

Do you agree or disagree? Leave your comments below.

DARR.

Community, covid 19, Cultures, Hobbies, Mental- Health, Personal Development, Self-Help, self-improvement, Success

Tis The Season

dianangelika0607

27/11/20

It’s November and we’re close to the end of the year. This year has been something special with a lot of challenges, changes and learnings.

I was thinking that time flies and I remember the celebrations when I was child and I was with my cousins surrounding the Christmas tree and waiting for the gifts at midnight. Also, it was a pleasure to see the fireworks and to play with the sparkles and other pyrotechnic games. Enjoying the Christmas carols and eating buñuelos and natilla, traditional Colombian food during this season. It’s really remarkable how those celebrations strengthen family ties and show the value of having special people close to us. However, the circumstances can change and at the present with pandemic time those gatherings and encounters face to face are difficult. In my case, I have a family far away from me and I have to think that our Christmas will be virtual and it’s strange, isn’t it? This period of time is teaching us to be creative, resilient and with a tough mental capacity to face those situations. There are people who don’t care about this reality but to others it is important to be close to their beloveds due to their traditions or culture. Nonetheless, sometimes it is complicated to have what we want for example: the last iPhone, the beautiful dress from the store or the trip to that stunning beach, there are cases where we need to wait.

Sometimes I believe this is a period of reflection and some people say that is a message from nature or the environment, where we need to change our selfish, violent and give a damn attitude. I know there are people who don’t care about anything and they have the most incredible and odd behaviors. From time to time I watch the news and I believe that I’ve seen everything when suddenly I watch another incredible headline with weird histories and I say to myself “That’s why this is happening to us”. I know! Human behavior is really complex but our environment and reality can help to trigger mental diseases. By the way, I invite you to read my post called Mental Health in Pandemic time that has relation to this topic: https://dianix.news.blog/2020/10/31/mental-health-in-pandemic-time/?

Anyway, Christmas is a time of peace, love and reflection. This year we need to make the most out of it, 2020 has been a year which invites us to reflect a lot. It’s possible that some projects and goals that we had this year will need to wait but I’m sure that we developed other skills and achieved new targets.

I believe that everything has an explanation and if this is not the case then it has a lesson and this year is a period of teachings, adaptation, reinvent and meditation for sure.

Finally, I want to dedicate this post to the special people who I know: my dad, husband, relatives, friends and global citizens. I wish you the best today and always. Take care of yourself in this last season.   

DARR.

Community, information, Mental- Health, Self-Help, Success, Wellness

The Value Of A Promise

dianangelika0607

19/11/20

I was thinking about how it’s important to keep our promises with ourselves and with other people.  It’s very important to have discipline, perseverance and dedication. For example, if I want to start a new project like studying a career, starting a diet or losing weight, reading a book or doing exercise, you need to focus on that goal and work hard on it. However, to have the mindset and dedicate yourself to that goal it’s not always easy. There are some factors around the environment which can be distractors or obstacles in that process as some traits or habits in our personality. Some of them can be procrastination, sloth, lack of time and money as well as the excuses: “Tomorrow I’ll start”, “I don’t have time” “I have a ton of work” “I’m busy with my husband/kids” etc. At the same time unfulfilled promises toward the family, friends, couples, colleagues, etc., such as: “I’ll call you tomorrow” “You’re the love of my life” “I’m going to buy you that” “See you tomorrow” etc.

From my point of view, generating false expectations isn’t right but nowadays the informality in our communications is typical where in a communication on WhatsApp, Telegram or another Social Media we leave incomplete conversations or we don’t say goodbye and we just assume something and that can be an agent to misunderstand a message. The same way can happen with an unfulfilled promise. There’s an assumption and each person interprets something according to their experiences, thoughts and beliefs.

In the construction of relationships there is an interchange of knowledge and behavior, at the same time the personality plays an important role. Our behavior can affect other people, our pledges too and for that reason it’s very important to be tactful with our words and expressions. If I promise something it´s better to keep it because we don’t know if the other person is waiting with expectations, emotion or anxiety. For example, telling a child that you are going to give him/her something, that promise must be fulfilled because there is nothing sadder than breaking a child’s heart with lies and false commitments.

Adults are more resilient; however, we can’t play with people’s emotions. My mom said that the words have power and I can’t agree more with that. We need to be careful with our words and our actions because we don’t know what’s inside each individual. We need to be respectful, kind and empathetic with others. At the same time, take care for ourself and search for happiness, achieve our goals and create new ones. Each promise has a value and can be meaningful to people.    

Finally, I would like to finish with this quote: “Keep your word. When you say you will do something and don’t do it, you teach others (including yourself) that you cannot be trusted”. Do you agree with that?

DARR.

Mental- Health, Personal Development, Self-Help, self-improvement, Success, Wellness

Is It Possible That Dreams Come True?

dianangelika0607

05/11/20

Starting a new project isn’t easy and mostly because that implies commitment and discipline. Many people are afraid to leave the comfort zone and change their mindset, the daily routines and activities.

The new project can be personal, labor, academic or in another sphere. That is the case to start a new diet, a career, a new book, a physical training or on the other hand, there are projects more ambitious like to create entrepreneurship, a business or a company. In fact, today I watched an inspiring video about the beginning of a Colombian courier company called “Servientrega” whose owner started his project cultivating coriander and raising rabbits on a farm. Nowadays his company is a multinational which its key to success are: Vision, Strategic Alliances, Marketing, Understand Customers and Determination.

This is just one case about successful people but there are other visionaries who started with a dream or a brief idea like the creators of: Amazon, Tesla, Apple, Facebook or Microsoft to mention some of them.

I have always admired people who start a big project without having financial, human, physical or other resources but they have the desire and the idea to create something that can generate impact on humanity. The most important thing is their passion, confidence and belief about their dream.

Taking the decision to start is the most difficult, sometimes there are pretexts, excuses or people tend to procrastinate. From my experience it is like swimming. Before jumping into the pool, you touch the water with your toes and test if it’s cold and finally you take the risk to jump inside it. And so, to start something new, no matter what, requires on the one hand commitment and on the other hand taking risks, the water can be cold initially but after some time the temperature changes and you could swim without problem.

The key is believing in yourself, taking advantage of your skills, keeping your dream firm, having discipline and determination and don’t be afraid to ask for help from other people when necessary. 

DARR.

Community, covid 19, information, knowledge, Mental- Health, Self-Help, Wellness

Mental Health In Pandemic Time

dianangelika0607

31/10/20

People are surrounded by an amount of emotions due to the fact that we are emotional and rational human beings. Each individual has their own identity which is like a stamp and those character traits facilitate the construction of interpersonal relationships.

However, from my perspective there are people whom their emotions overflow and many times show the worst side of humanity. For example, nowadays we’re in pandemic time and I’ve seen on the news and social media people attacking others because they ask them to wear face masks or using other measures of social distance and some of those people answering with hits, spits or swearing, being aggression and violence a reaction of them.

On the other hand, the isolation has changed our lifestyle and many people are working, studying and eating at home. Also, other people have faced the illness of a beloved or perhaps a loss represented in unemployment, death and instability. Therefore, there are some studies that show that the number of mental illnesses has increased due to Covid 19. “Studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression and insomnia in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Social isolation, anxiety, fear of contagion, uncertainty, chronic stress and economic difficulties may lead to the development or exacerbation of depressive, anxiety, substance use and other psychiatric disorders in vulnerable populations including individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders and people who reside in high COVID-19 prevalence areas. Stress-related psychiatric conditions including mood and substance use disorders are associated with suicidal behavior” (https://academic.oup.com)

At the same time the statistics of suicides has increased too as well as the number of crimes and violence which makes the issue of COVID 19 not the only one we have to face.

Another problem is that the number of homeless in certain countries has grown quickly, such is the case of California in the U.S.; searching for some causes of that situation: job loss, drugs or alcohol use, divorce or separation, argument with a family member, domestic violence, eviction, mental health or release from jail.    

So, our environment can be hostile and it triggers a series of socially maladaptive behaviors. Then, how can people be facing all of those changes? People need actions to assume a new adaptation and reorganize their routines. Also, it’s very important to have emotional intelligence and impulse control. This is a complex time where people should have healthy behaviors. Sometimes it’s preferable to avoid negative news and information in social media that tends to show tabloid news. My advice is reading a nice book, doing meditation or exercise. A friend told me that there is an interesting activity like virtual marathons where people who stay at home run a treadmill connected on line in competition with other runners. Besides, taking advantage of social networks for interacting with family, friends or participating in webinars, meetings or virtual courses. Creating something new or perhaps developing a new habit or abilities. I’ve seen interesting entrepreneurships in this time. Besides, speaking with someone and if required searching for professional help.

I confess that I have reached my breaking point and sometimes I’ve felt frustrated and tired of all this situation and mostly because I couldn’t go to my country to visit my dad and loved ones but I think that it’s a trial period and it’s our decision to show our better face.

Humans are moved by emotions and our trial is to try to use the positives and left to one side the negatives one. From my experience I feel renovated when I cry or scream because it works as catharsis but on the other hand I try to search other ways to face this hard situation with the best attitude, I say to myself it’s just a period and is temporary, after that I take a deep breath and I go my way. 

Success is in reinvention and resilience, being assertive and socially responsible.

Finally I want to share some tips from The World Health Organization about Mental Health as complement to this post: https://www.who.int

DARR.

Community, Mental- Health, Personal Development, Self-Help, self-improvement, Wellness

Its Cool To Be Kind

dianangelika0607

13/08/2020

This week I listened to a podcast which heading was “Its cool to be kind”. The essence of that podcast is there are people who enjoy to help others without receiving anything in return.

In this world where there are a lot of social differences and those generate poverty and needs in some communities and social groups and at the same time foundations, organizations or merely persons who want to help that vulnerable population.

When I lived in Colombia I worked at University where the slogan is “Education available to everyone”. That means to offer education to all people no matter race, gender, age, ethnic group or beliefs, the most important thing is to have good quality education for a low price. It’s important to clarify that Colombian education isn´t free as in other countries.

My experience there was really gratifying because it was to help ­­­people, with my profession and at the same time I learned with them. Students taught me about goodness and humility.

Doing humanitarian labor feeds the spirit and the reward is to see happy people. Here in Canada I’m done volunteering and it’s fulfilling too. In Colombia there is the following proverb: Today for you tomorrow for me. That means if you help someone sometime, it’s possible that at the time you need help you can find a kind person who helps you too. It’s like the movie Pay it Forward where the principal idea is “a charitable program based on the networking of good deeds. The main character calls his plan, which means the recipient of a favor does a favor for three others rather than paying the favor back”.

Definitely they are people with big feelings and with the vocation to help others, that reminds me of the concept of philanthropy which “…is an idea, event, or action that is done to better humanity and usually involves some sacrifice as opposed to being done for a profit motive. Acts of philanthropy include donating money to a charity, volunteering at a local shelter, or raising money to donate to cancer research”.

On the podcast there’s a story about a guy who travels around the world and hopes the generosity of people will keep him going. He says “Giving is better than receiving”. This is a link that shows part of his journeys in his program telling “The kindness Diaries”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN51oWwwbqg.

In summary, I hope you have enjoyed this writing about generosity, fulfilling and kindness. I want to conclude with this quote of Princess Diana “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.”

DARR.

information, knowledge, Mental- Health, Personal Development, Self-Help, self-improvement, Wellness

Capacity Of Reinventing During Pandemic Time

dianangelika0607

29/06/20

At present our life has been changing drastically with the presence of Covid 19 and certainly that virus has generated devastating consequences like human casualties, unemployment, financial problems, changes in emotional, social and familiar life. However, in pandemic time, people have had to reinvent and change their life habits. For example, virtual work has increased. Some platforms like Zoom, Skype, Google Duo, Meet or Hangouts provide the best choices to have meetings, besides to see our relatives who are far away.

On the other hand, families are together all day because job, school, restaurant, gym and entertainment are in the same place. That situation has its cons and pros due to people need their spaces to do their activities separately. For that reason, some couple relationships have had problems as a result of those changes.

Some companies and productive sectors have grown their businesses due to the pandemic such as Amazon, Netflix, Virtual Schools and Universities, Supermarkets, Pharmacies and Home delivery services. On the opposite side, businesses in tourism, transportation and entertainment have been totally affected. 

Finally, mental and emotional problems are a consequence of this event. Is totally understandable if people are unemployed or their life is reduced to living into four walls, doing and seeing the same day after day they are going to feel depression or sadness. At this point is very important the resilience and the capacity of reinventing.

Certainly, our life has been changed with this eventuality, some of our projects and goals have had to wait. In my case the process to get the permanent residence is on hold. Sometimes I feel frustrated, other times disappointed, but I know that someday this chaos and historic moment of our life will just be in our memories.

DARR.

Cultures, information, knowledge, Mental- Health, Personal Development, Self-Help, self-improvement, Travel, Wellness

Taking Decisions

dianangelika0607

22/06/2020

Today I want to tell you about my experience living in a different country, due to nowadays I live in Canada but I’m from Colombia.

The determination to change of life wasn’t easy because I was starting again in a new place, far away from my family, friends, culture and customs. When my husband and I communicated our decision some friends and close people told me they wanted to change their lives too and they wanted to search for a better quality of life. However, some of them were afraid to get out of their comfort zones and it was understable considering that they had a stability in their jobs, social life, education and finances but at the same time they told me about their frustrations, emotions and needs in their lives.

My case was similar in the sense that I had my life in Colombia but I wanted a change and better life. However, to be an immigrant is not easy and if you don’t speak the language fluently, for example, in Canada it is important to speak English and French (Depends on the province). If you aspire to a good job you should speak good English (In my case it is English language because I’m living in Toronto). It’s true that Canadians are friendly and kind with newcomers but certainly there is a lot of competition in the labor market and for that it is important to have certain skills or abilities.

On the other hand, Toronto is a multicultural city and for me has been a nice experience to know about the variety in gastronomy, cultures, religions and other forms of life. Nevertheless, in this pandemic time the possibility to continue knowing about Toronto is limited and for that reason we have to wait.

Living in another country makes you feel alone, the emotions and feelings change but it’s important to have a social network, in our case we are introverted people but there are several ways to meet other persons like events at parks, libraries, workshops or conferences about different topics.

In summary, moving to another country is not easy but not impossible either, the success depends on each person and its behavior. Fortunately, there are opportunities and the most important is to take advantage of them. 

DARR.