IMPORTANCE OF SELF-HELP AND WAYS TO DO SO

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Self-help is the art of focusing on betterment of oneself. Sticking to a daily routine can be overwhelming and take a toll on your mental well-being. It is absolutely normal to feel worn out, exhausted, and at times incompetent even while carrying out your daily duties. Eventually, everyone reaches a point in their lives where they need to step back and just be with themselves, analyze, reflect and try to find peace. Each of us should leave ourselves some space for self-improvement and self-help without being too hard on oneself. Self-help, self-improvement and self-love go hand in hand. Once you recognize a difficulty, examine it and find the will to improve that aspect of your life, it is called at self-help. Taking an action that would aid in fixing the problem is known as self-improvement. A few ways which may help in your journey of self-improvement are:

  1. Surround yourself with right people-

Positivity and happiness are contagious. A person’s company matters a lot as it statistically influences the person’s success or failure. Having people who inspire you, motivate you, and guide you is a blessing. Thus, one should always make a conscious effort surround themselves with positive people. A supportive and uplifting environment will instill empowering beliefs in you. This will, in turn, induce a positive mindset and a positive mindset manifests success faster.  

  • Turn off social media-

Your environment has an incredible ability to shape your behaviour. Today, social media is full of “influencers” and other personalities who showcase their life a certain way. There are some who set extremely unrealistic and aberrant expectations that are difficult to live up to for a common man. Subjecting oneself to such a culture can be harmful. Hence, one should make a mindful effort to stay away from such posts if it is proving to affect them in a negative way. One may instead follow people or accounts that inspire them or simply make them feel better. Having a healthy and uplifting social media environment is as important as surrounding yourself with positive people.

  • Have a healthy lifestyle-

The famous saying “You are what you eat” has been around for centuries. What it implies is that everything you eat becomes a part of your inner being. Today junk food and fast foods have been carving their ways into our lives.it is far more convenient for a working person to grab a burger and rush to work than take out time to cook a healthy breakfast. These fast foods have little to no nutritional value and only make us obese and lethargic. This sequentially affects our mindset and we feel less productive. The health of the gut affects the overall health of the body. A healthy gut contains healthy bacteria and immune cells that ward off infectious agents like bacteria, viruses and fungi. A healthy gut also communicates with the brain through nerves and hormones, which helps maintain general health and well-being. Thus, it is important to have a nutritious meal to keep your brain and soul healthy and young.

Apart from eating healthy, it is equally important for your body to keep moving. Exercising stimulates brain chemicals called endorphins that leave you feeling happier and more relaxed, providing an emotional lift and reducing stress. Physical activity also stimulates the release of dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin that trigger a positive feeling in the body, and can be especially helpful in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety.

  • Meditation-

Along with eating healthy and exercising, another advocate for mental and physical well being is meditation. Meditation helps you introspect and find inner peace.  It is in meditation that you can do the most self-discovery and get direction from your own inner self or soul. Biochemical studies also show that meditation can significantly affect hormones and neurotransmitters such as cortisol, dehydroepi- androstrone, serotonin, melatonin, and epinephrine which help elevate one’s mood. A simple habit of meditating for 10 minutes every day can change your life drastically. You can sit or lie comfortably and close your eyes. You can put on an audio for guided meditation to help you go through with it or just focus your attention on your breath and on how the body moves with each inhalation and exhalation; making no effort to control the breath; simply breathe naturally. Just 10 minutes are enough to overcome stress, anxiety, and give you other mental and physical benefits.

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MUST READ BOOKS .

Books are a great way to learn about new and valuable things that can be very helpful in life. Also ,reading at least 30 minutes a day is a good habit that can broaden your perspective and help you become more open minded.Books can benefit you in plethora of ways if you read them , here are of a few books that you must add to your reading list ,

RICH DAD POOR DAD – This a book written by Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter in the year 1997 . Rich Dad Poor Dad is one of the most commonly recommended financial book . It teaches you the fact that you always have a choice in life , no matter what and teaches you the importance of financial literacy . This book teaches you many life lessons and is a must read for everyone who yearns to be financially independent and successful.

THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL – Also known as the diary of Anne Frank is a collection of writings by Anne Frank while she was hiding from the Nazis for 2 years with her family . Despite being in a confinement and in constant danger , Anne did not lose her sense of hope . This book will surely inspire you keep hoping for the best .

WUTHERING HEIGHTS – This classic literature novel was written by Emily Brontë in 1847.It’s about love , revenge and betrayal with a bit of supernatural element, with a really intricate plot . If you love classic literature , you will surely find this book interesting .

FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY – This books was written by Susan Jeffers , originally published in 1987. It is a great self help book for those who are struggling to overcome their fears and move forward in life . After reading this book you will feel empowered and will surely master the art of overcoming your fears .

Email Etiquettes For Students

Simple rules to send a respectful email that won’t get you on your professor’s bad side. 

Rule 1 – Answer swiftly

 Anyone who sends you an email they’ll want quick responses. The golden rule for email is to reply within 24 hours, and preferably within the same day itself. If your response email is complicated, just send an email confirming receipt and letting them know that you will get back to them. This will ease the senders mind! 

Rule 2 – Use a meaningful subject line

 When filling the subject line, make sure that you mention what the email is for or in regards to. You don’t want it to seem like a randomly generated subject and end up in your professor’s spam folder. It also makes it easier to search for old emails when the subject line is relevant and specific to the content of the email. 

Rule 3 – Read your email before you send it 

Prior to sending your email, be sure that you proofread your message. You shouldn’t write your email as though you are texting your friend. Make sure it’s got full sentences, proper grammar, and real spelling. Look out for potential misunderstandings, the tone, and inappropriate comments. 

Rule 4 – Abbreviations & emoticons 

Be careful using email abbreviations such as BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud) in formal emails. Even today, some people still don’t know what they mean, so it’s better to drop them. 

Rule 5 – Be concise

 Be succinct and keep your message short and to the point. Your professor is going to have probably hundreds of email messages to wade through each day. Just get to the point and politely, respectfully, ask your request.  If it has to be long, consider including a synopsis at the top of the email. Make sure you are as clear as possible about what it is you need to ask of your professor without writing a novel. 

Rule 6 – Do not write in CAPITALS 

IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING!! Therefore, try not to send email text in capitals. 

Rule 7 – Use a professional email address

 This marks the message as legitimate and not spam. You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the professor an idea of who’s sending the message. Never use email addresses, perhaps remnants of your grade-school days, that are not appropriate for use in a formal setting, such as “supergirlrocks@…” or “pizzalover@…”.

Rule 8 – Use professional salutations 

Don’t use laid-back, colloquial expressions like, ‘Hi’ or ‘Yo’. Address your professor directly; don’t just launch straight into a request. Examples: ‘Respected Dr. Kapoor’, ‘Dear, Ms. Gupta’, ‘Dr. Sharma, I hope this email finds you well…’. 

Rule 9 – Be polite

Don’t make demands, don’t accuse, remember to write please and thank you. Close your email with something polite like ‘Thanks’, ‘Thanks for your time’, ‘See you in class Wednesday’, ‘regards’, etc. Then re-type your first name