10 Ways Exercise Boosts Your Self Confidence

By Josee Smith

All of us want to feel good about ourselves. When we are confident, we feel better emotionally and mentally and this reflects in a very positive way in our behaviours, and improves our quality of life, everything from personal relationships to our professional endeavours.

Therefore, anything, which can help boost our self-confidence, is good for us. One of the best ways to boost your self-confidence is by exercising regularly. This is not only good for self-assurance but has great health benefits.

So how can exercise boost self-confidence?

Here Are 10 Ways How Exercising Boosts Your Confidence

1. Weight control. Exercising along with healthy eating is the best way to control weight or lose weight. This is all about energy intake and energy burning. Obviously, if you burn more energy than you take in, then the more you will lose weight. Being overweight is a confidence destroyer. Therefore the better shape you are, the better you will feel.

2. Improves mood. There's nothing better emotionally than a good workout. Before you think that this requires a trip to the gym, think again. A good workout could be a brisk walk, or a jog. In fact, anything that makes your bodywork physically harder can be a workout. What this does is to stimulate brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, which promote a general feeling of well-being. The results are a reduction in stress and anxiety.

3. It's good for the heart. Regular exercising lowers the risk of various heart-related conditions. Exercising has been proven to lower blood pressure, reduce problems associated with diabetes and can even help in fighting heart disease. This is quite logical - if exercising reduces weight, then this means that the heart has to work less and in turn, the heart is much healthier. There is also less pressure on joints and other areas of the body. 

4. Keeps the body in shape. This is slightly different from weight control. Being is shape involves having a well-toned body and better posture - all aspects connected with self-confidence. When a person feels good about themselves, it's easier to make friends and more connections in life means more confidence.

5. More energy. If we don't have the energy to do things, then everything becomes a chore. That can lead to feelings of feeling bad about oneself. Regular exercise helps the whole bodywork more effectively. The result is that chores become responsibilities and the more responsibility we are coping with, the better we feel.

6. Better sleep. Regular exercise promotes good sleep. It is proven that sleep is necessary for general feelings of well-being. Sleep is also necessary for how we look. Just imagine preparing for an important meeting and looking in the mirror and seeing dark circles under bloodshot eyes - how confident will you feel? Therefore, exercising will improve sleep. One word of warning - just don't exercise too near bedtime.

7. Improves productivity. One of the best ways to clear the mind is to exercise regularly. Exercise gives you a chance to wipe the slate clean and start from new. In addition, if you push yourself exercising you can realize new potentials and this in turn boosts self-confidence. Very often, what you thought was a major problem before exercising disappears after.

8. Give you something to look forward to. Once you have a reasonable schedule for exercising, you will start to look forward to it. This in itself is a confidence booster. Once you start seeing the benefits of exercising, you will have the desire to continue and in the end, you feel better and look better.

9. Improves concentration. In general exercising helps us to develop the necessary skills to concentrate on the task in hand. This then trains us better when we have tasks or responsibilities to concentrate better, resulting in more praise and benefits.

10. Feelings of control and achievement. In general, exercising has so many benefits to health and mind that we can't help having a feeling of control and achievement. Working out takes work, dedication, commitment, and care for oneself, and all this facilitates enormous feelings of confidence.

Don't Wait! Get Started Today!

Incorporate regular exercising into your routine and you'll experience the many benefits to your self-confidence that regular exercising gives.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9662793

Five Secrets to Unlimited Motivation

By Joseph W Scott

Motiv-Hate or Motivate

5 secrets for unlimited Motivation

In life we need energy to live, to exist and to do things with our life and with others. Yet sometimes we can miss life through talking ourselves out of it. Just like this:

• I just can't be bothered
• It's just too much effort, I'm tired
• It's not worth it, who cares
• Sure, one of these days...
• Yes, I know that I should, but...

Sound familiar? If this is you, and you are saying this to yourself and or to others, you are lacking one of the key ingredients in the recipe of life, MOTIVATION:
MOTIVATION; the psychological feature that arouses an individual to action toward a wanted goal; the reason for the action

So, we can define motivation but does that help? Usually not enough! What is this thing called 'motivation'? Where do you find it? How can we get motivated?

The first secret to share here is Secret No.1 'motivation is not a thing' it is not a noun. You will never trip over motivation that someone has left in the bathroom, nor will you find a chunk of it in the fridge! Has anyone ever bought a kilo of motivation from the shop? I think not!

If that is the case, then what is motivation, how can we be motivated and more importantly how can we motivate ourselves? Would you like unlimited motivation, does this interest you? If so, read on because that is the design of this article.

Motivation is a set of thinking strategies or processes that we run for ourselves... Did you notice what you just read? '...That we run ourselves! What does this mean? It means that we are responsible for how motivated or not we are! It means there is no point looking to another to provide motivation for us; in fact it is impossible for another person to motivate us, only we can decide what is or is not motivational to us. So Secret No.2 to motivation is 'we are responsible for the amount of motivation we have'. Can you start to sense the power you have over yourself when you take responsibility for you?

What is it that drives us to feel motivated? What drives motivation? Further, how does motivation drive us toward what we want, need or believe? What is this fuel? The answer brings us to secret No. 3, 'emotions are the fuel of motivation' and ultimately are what drive us! Let us take a look at how emotions 'drive or move us to action, the best place to start may be with the word 'emotion'.

E-motion, as we look more closely at this word we can see its structure. 

'E-nergy in motion';(e motion). Our emotions are our energy. Typically we can put emotions' into three distinctive categories:

• Positive
• Neutral
• Negative

As we can define our emotions into these three simple types, then what does that also say about our energy? Well, we can make the same distinctions for our types of energy; positive, neutral and negative energy. This leads us to Secret No.4 'People are motivated and can motivate themselves using these 3 different types of energy' so can you!

The affect of positive emotion often gives us the energy to move toward what we want or need, we somehow feel pulled or drawn (motivated). As we experience neutral emotions we can 'take it or leave it' and with negative emotions we experience discomfort, a form of pain and we (are motivated) try to get or move away from the cause of such. We can represent this with a diagram:

The Axis of Motivation

Whether we move away from the pain and consequences or toward the good feelings or outcomes in our life, both create energy that we put into motion to do something. This is motivation. Now what this gives us is a strategy for developing unlimited motivation for anything we want to do or have in life.

Typically, human beings have a preference to which end of the motivational axis they motivate or get motivated by. We can ask ourselves some questions to identify our own preference for getting motivated. Ask yourself the following questions and notice if you are motivated toward what you want or away from what you don't want:

I get out of bed in the morning;
1. Because I have to (away from)
2. Because I want to start the day (toward)

I take my medicine regularly;
1. Because I want to be well and live life as fully as I can (toward)
2. Because if I don't I will become ill or possibly die (away from)

When asked I will go out and socialise with others;
1. Because I like to meet and be with other people (toward)
2. Because it is rude not too and I don't want to upset anyone (away from)

I keep my home tidy;
1. Because I like it like that (toward)
2. Because I get moaned at if I don't, or someone unexpected may come round (away from)

I understand that regular exercise is healthy for you;
1. And I exercise because I want to get the health benefits from it (toward)
2. And I exercise because if I don't my health may get worse (away from)

I do things;
1. Because I can
2. Because I have to

How many 'towards' or 'away from' did you identify with? Most people will find themselves using motivation at just one end of the axis, either mainly toward or mainly away from.

Now that you have this understanding on how YOU are typically motivated, we can move to Secret No.5.

This secret is the one that brings all the other secrets together and will show you how to get unlimited amounts of motivation for the rest of your life! Secret No.5 says 'Combine both away from and toward energies at the same time and you will create a personal motivation that propels you into action'! By becoming aware of the other energy available to you, at the other end of the motivation axis you can ramp up the emotional motivation to get you to take action, to feel motivated and finally in control of you!

Either now or later, take 5 minutes to take yourself through the unlimited motivation pattern below. These x simple questions can be applied to anything that you need more motivation for, any time, anywhere. After you have used this pattern a couple of times you will be motivating yourself and possibly other like an expert!

The Unlimited Amounts of Motivation Pattern

1. Identify something in your life you want to have or be more motivated about (This can be anything, getting out more, going to the gym, or doing the housework, anything...)
2. Once you have identified something, write it down so you don't forget what you are working on
3. Notice your current motivation style associated with this activity, are you motivated away from or toward? If you are away from read and ask yourself part A, if you are toward, read and ask yourself part B

Part A, You are moving away from the pain or consequences, but you can put up with it for awhile. First notice how real the discomfort is, what else could be a problem or even more painful if you don't take action on this.

To add even more energy to your motivation notice what you will get that is good or pleasurable once you have taken the action or started the activity. Notice how good it feels and how good it will feel when you have completed this activity... So as you experience all of this about that activity, notice just how much energy you have for taking the step to be doing it... Go do it then!

Part B, You are moving toward the activity, but it doesn't pull on you enough to take any action. First notice just what attracts or pulls you toward it in the first place, that's right, now as you think about that, ask yourself, what is important to me about this...

What does the importance of this mean to you, how do you feel about it now, knowing this? Just imagine what it would mean if you never did this, you would never realise this meaning and its importance. It could be the start of procrastinating on other important and meaningful things in life, you wouldn't want that to be true would you? Be with this awareness, notice the heightened pleasure and possible pain if you don't act on this as soon as you can... Just now, notice HOW much energy and motivation you know have for this... Get on with it then!

Congratulate yourself on doing or starting the activity, notice how well you can motivate you to take the actions that are important to you. Notice the sense of independence and pride you have for yourself as you read this and start to take the first steps to becoming expert at developing your own motivation, imagine the possibilities you now have for your life...now.

Joseph W. Scott Managing partner @ TheCoachingRoom Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia
For more great insights join our fortnightly newsletter; EvolvingIntent email to joseph.scott@thecoachingroom.com.au http://www.thecoachingroom.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Joseph_W_Scott/1202638

Detox Cleanse - 5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Cleanse

By Patricia Sand

Cleanses seem to be all the rage these days. Just what is a detox cleanse and why should you be interested?

The main reason to do a detox cleanse is to rid your body of the toxins that have accumulated over the years. These toxins come from the environment, prescription medicines, stress and physical trauma, and poor eating habits. When your body is overloaded with more toxins then it can effectively eliminate on its own, they deposit in your tissues as acid waste. Medical science has demonstrated that it is this acid waste that is the root cause of a variety of illnesses and disease. So, the more acid waste you have in your body, the more likely you are to be unhealthy and overweight.

Modern Fad or Ancient Health Secret

Detoxifying cleanses have been around for thousands of years. References to colon cleansing have been found in ancient Egyptian and Greek medical documents going as far back as 3,000 years. References can also be found on ancient Babylonian and Assyrian tablets, in Hindu medical texts and ancient Roman books. The use of an enema was also popular to rid the colon and intestinal tract of poisons and intestinal worms.

Whereas the ancient Chinese were masters of the use of therapeutic juices and juice fasts. They understood how certain fruits and vegetables could be used to cleanse and support specific organ functions.

Today, the value of a good house cleaning is starting to become understood by the modern Western Medical Community. The practice is employed by many alternative health practitioners. While not the primary purpose of a Colonoscopy, one of the results is a good clean out.

Detox Cleanse - 5 Health Benefits

Detox cleanses come in many forms. Whether it be a 7 day juice fast, 3 day herbal tonic detox, 10 day green smoothie cleanse, or 6 week whole food cleanse, they all share the same goals - to cleanse the body of toxins and improve health and vitality. 

While there are many health benefits of doing a detox cleanse, I am going to focus on 5 of the major ones.

1. Neutralize Acid - Our physical health and vitality is dependent on maintaining the body's delicate pH balance. This is the ratio between the acid and alkaline content of our blood and tissues. Ideally, that ratio should be between 7.35 and 7.45, which is neutral on the pH scale. Today, a lot of our health problems stem from our poor Standard American Diet, which is highly acid-forming. This means that the food we are eating is causing an acid waste buildup in our bodies that is making us sick and fat. A detox cleanse is a great way to flush these excess toxins and make your body more alkaline.


2. Strengthen Your Immune System - The more toxic you are, the harder your immune system has to work. As acid waste builds, your immune system becomes more suppressed until it can no longer fight off the toxic invasion. You get sick as a result. You become more susceptible to colds, flu and allergies. If the acid buildup continues, you are more likely to experience more serious diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis, digestive issues, and cancer. Once the acid waste is neutralized, your immune system can regain the strength it needs to keep you healthy.


3. Rest and Heal Digestive System - Most of the Standard American Diet is based on bad food combinations. Did you know that the enzymes needed to digest protein are secreted in the stomach? And that the enzymes necessary to digest carbohydrates are secreted in the mouth? Or that once the carb enzymes from your mouth reach your stomach they prevent the secretion of the protein enzymes? So while the carbs are digesting, what do think happens to that protein? Leave meat in a dark, damp, warm place and what happens? It rots creating toxic gas. Think cheeseburger, pizza, turkey club or those popular breakfast sandwiches. While your system is working hard to digest this impossible combination, your organs are battling all of the resulting acid waste. Your digestive system will thank you for even 1 day off.


4. Increased Energy and Vitality - Being overloaded with toxins puts a lot of stress on your body. When your body is in an acute state of stress it secretes the hormones cortisol and adrenaline to protect itself. If this condition lasts long enough, your energy reserves become depleted making you sick and tired. If you are tired all of the time, this could be the reason why. Once all of the excess acid waste is cleansed, your body will return to a natural state of health and vitality. The energy your body normally dedicates to digestion will also be available.


5. Stimulate Weight Loss - Losing weight is almost impossible if your body is overloaded with toxins. In order to protect its vital organs, your body stores excess toxins in fat cells. The more toxic or acidic you are, the more fat you need. So in order to burn fat, you need to cleanse your body of toxins. A detox cleanse does just that. Once the toxins are gone, all of that storage fat becomes unnecessary making it easier for you to lose weight.

Conclusion

Doing a cleanse is a great way to begin a new diet or health regime. Once you rid your body of its toxin accumulation, it's easier to take stock of where you are at and what you need to focus on to improve your health and wellness. Of course, the lifestyle choices you make once the cleanse is over will be the determining factor. Now that you feel energized and rejuvenated, you will want to pursue eating regimes that help you maintain your body's optimal pH balance.

My name is Patricia Sand. I experienced a lot of health problems in my early years and discovered that I was somewhat "allergic' to modern Western medicine. My body does not tolerate most pharmaceutical preparations, including pain killers and antibiotics. As a result, I began a lifelong journey to discover alternate ways to heal myself. I became a Reiki Master and a Signature Cell Healing Practitioner and studied many alternative healing practices. What I have discovered is that we have a lot more control over our physical circumstances than many health practitioners would have us believe. We are not a slave to our genes and family history. Now my purpose is to help others by sharing what I have learned. I write about how to improve health and vitality by maintaining an alkaline lifestyle at http://www.healthyalkalinediet.com and about how to improve and maintain good health through diet and exercise at http://www.exerciseprogramreviews.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Patricia_Sand/895845