1 . Feel like you’re trying to keep pace with your friends? Envious of the classmates who have got progress in math?     1    . Comparison has been hardwired in our DNA for thousands of years.

When used in a positive way, comparison can actually help us become better.     2    . We may wonder why we are unable to do the same as those who appear to have it all, which will lead to anxiety and low self-esteem. But we have ways to help prevent unhealthy comparisons.

You may start with staying in your lane. Focus on your own goals and work on achieving them in your own time.     3    , as this can be demotivating and you’ll be less likely to achieve your targets.

    4    . People often only share positive highlights, which are what you may be comparing yourself to. So, if you’re feeling discouraged by the fantastic lives of others, remember that you’re not seeing the full picture. Everybody has a “behind the scenes” version of their life, complete with good and bad days.

Do you often dig for information on social media about your old school friends to see how they are going?     5    . Therefore, unfollow unhelpful social media accounts, and question your motivation when being curious about others.

2 . Water and Education

In every society on earth, water and education are closely inter-related. The relationship between water and education can be seen in two ways: We need to be educated on water-related issues and on water management but we also need to have access to water to receive education. On this web page, you will find information on the double relationship, illustrated by examples of already existing plans complemented by links to useful and related websites and pages.

Part One: Educating on Water-related Issues

Water-related problems need to be discussed and reflected upon in order for everyone to take action. Everyone can contribute, whether it is by not letting the tap run while brushing one’s teeth, or campaigning against poor sewage (污水) systems in developing countries. There are already several important plans implemented (实施) with educational objectives. Some organizations have developed water education tools that enable groups, such as teachers, school children, students and communities to gain knowledge of water resources and management. Click on the title of this section to read more about these projects as well as their results.

Part Two: Access to Water to Receive Education

The second part of the relationship between water and education is to provide water to communities where there is water scarcity (缺乏). An implementation of water systems will often result in a better access to education for children. Firstly, they will not have to walk far every day to fetch water; secondly, if water systems are implemented in schools that lack water facilities, children have an even greater chance to receive education. Many important projects have been, or are in the process of being accomplished. Please click on the title to discover some of the organizations that achieve these results as well as precise examples of the impacts a water source can have on education.

3 . Surveys have found that public speaking has long been one of the things Americans fear most.     1     Here’s what you can do in advance to make the actual speaking part as smooth as possible.

It’s as important to understand your audience as it is to understand the subject you’ll be discussing in front of them. Josephine Lee, third place winner in the 2016 Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking, emphasizes that even if she’s giving the same speech to two different audiences, she’ll take time to customize it. She always asks herself, “    2    ”

    3     But if your words and structure are all over the place then people are not going to remember what you said. It is 100% about simplicity. If you have multiple points and if you go off at a tangent and if you don’t stay on one simple path then people won’t remember what you were speaking about.

    4     But you also don’t want to sound like a robot regurgitating (照搬) a pile of words you wrote down. If you memorize everything word for word, it’s not going to sound very natural. Instead, try to memorize the opening sentence and the closing sentence. The goal is to insure you start and end strong while still giving yourself the room to speak naturally in between.

    5    

Finally, remember that everyone gets nervous. Those executives many levels above you whose presence is making you sweat probably get nervous when they speak, too, Goodfellow points out. “Give yourself a little bit of grace,” she says, “and do the best that you can.”

5 . Autonomy-supportive parenting is an approach that focuses on building a child’s sense of agency in the world as well as a strong sense of self.     1     We should recognize that children have a different perspective or experience than adults. Therefore, instead of pushing adults’ way of thinking on children, adults should let kids do their own critical thinking and solve problems themselves, which will help them trust their abilities.

Guide kids to find their own solution

As any parent with more than one child can tell you, kids develop differently.     2     While one child may find it easy to start their homework independently, the other might not be a self-starter. So we push our kids to the next level by knowing their skill level and meeting them there.

Let kids find their own fun

    3     It really is harm to them. It also sets us up to be their cruise (航行) directors at all times. That’s a huge burden on us! Letting children find their own thing to do when boredom strikes allows them to become self-sufficient and use their imagination to find fun on their own.

Being sympathetic doesn’t mean giving in

Another characteristic of autonomy-supportive parenting is being open, curious, and flexible. Trusting children to be accountable to themselves (or acting like it) is the only way you will know if your child will be a responsible, independent adult. For example, if you ask your child when they think is the best time to do their homework, and they tell you it’s in the morning before school begins, support them and let them try it, no matter how strange it sounds.     4    

Don’t forget to support yourself

Once you grasp autonomy-supportive parenting, you’ll see opportunities to put it into practice. No matter how old your kid is, adopting this style will not be easy.     5     If you get hard on yourself because you’re not measuring up, you’re more likely to return to the controlling practices.

6 . The secret to truly enjoying life lies in making small changes to everyday lives. Taking care of yourself and connecting with others are just some of the ways you can live a happy life. We’ve made an extensive list of practical tips.     1    

Put yourself and your happiness first. While making a decision, choose the things that will make you the most pleased.    2     When you focus on your passions and interests, you’ll feel more optimistic and energized. And allow yourself to be involved in the small things that can keep your spirits up, such as going for a short walk each day.

Reward yourself for making progress and continuing to grow. Make sure to celebrate even the smallest signs of progress and growth rather than only praising yourself for the successes. Give yourself an encouraging gesture or word occasionally.    3     Or, be sure to reward yourself with small breaks throughout the workday.

    4     Rather than bottling up all of your thoughts and keeping them to yourself, let others know when you need something. Doing so can help you become more confident and feel like you have control over your life. When you speak your mind and live life on your own terms, you’ll be more content.

Turn off the news every now and then. Consuming too much negative news can lead to stress. While it’s great to keep up with current events, the news can have a bad effect on your happiness levels if lots of negative things have happened recently.    5     If you still want to read, avoid potentially stressful topics.

8 . One of the first things people tend to lose when cutting personal budgets is their hobbies.     1     Actually, there are a bunch of suggestions for hobbies that will help you keep your spirits up without using up your money.

There are a lot of puzzles (智力游戏) in this world. You can find tons of puzzle books for free at libraries, and you can also turn to used books. So you can be addicted to this hobby for a very small budget.     2    

When you think of photography as a hobby, you might think you need an expensive camera and lots of education.     3     And there are plenty of free online tools you can use to edit and improve the photos. Without spending a penny, you can get some impressive photos that you can post online.

If you’re looking for a free hobby, why not combine that restless energy with improved health and fitness?     4     You can start hiking any time. Running is another choice. You don’t necessarily need an expensive pair of shoes to take it up. And you can do yoga in your own home for free using a variety of online resources.

    5     That is reading. With a library card or an e-reader, you can read tens of thousands of books without spending much. And best of all, you can use books to learn about other hobbies. Making reading your hobby can have a social aspect to it as well, as you can join or form a book club to read and discuss books with others.

9 . Work from Anywhere Movement

For a lot of us, working from wherever we wanted was a bit of a dream. It would mean we’d be able to visit family and not take holiday days. But suddenly that “dream” of not working in the office became a reality for many. Working from home over the last years has proven that it isn’t always necessary for teams to physically be together and there is more flexibility.     1    

An obvious benefit for many employers is reduced costs. With a widespread workforce, there’s no need to have an office big enough for everyone. They also save on travel costs, as meetings that once “needed” to be done face-to-face can now be done online.     2     With the work from anywhere movement, employers can hire global talents. They’re not restricted to people living nearby.

    3     In an ever changing and developing working world, offering benefits like this could be what makes a company stand out from another for a specific candidate.

For many employees, working from anywhere supports mental health.     4     Imagine ending a particularly stressful meeting. Rather than going back to your office desk, you step out your door and have a coffee in the sun or walk along a beach. In Addition, working from anywhere allows you to have a better work-life balance. It lets you travel to see family, watch your daughter’s soccer game, and go to the little bakery—all while being paid.     5    

10 . Ways to improve Innovation Skills

In your professional life, innovation skills play a vital role. Here are steps and tips to improve them.

Improve reasoning (推理) skills. Reasoning skills form the ability to think about a particular way to work in a sensible and result-oriented manner. You can implement reasoning for innovative ideas and enhance them further.     1     You will also be able to come up with the ideas that have higher chances to become result-driven.

Be a good listener. You should listen to others and try to think about their ideas and concepts.     2     Also, adaptability increases innovation. It would help if you tried adopting newer versions of solutions for the betterment of your company.

Actively participate in team activities. A team is a body that functions the best in togetherness. Team activities like brainstorming sessions are conducted to enhance the team spirit and develop the thinking skills of the team members.     3     Such activities will improve the innovation skills.

Make decisions based on judgments. From the inferences of team activities or other tasks, you can make judgments about the current situations.     4     These will help with innovation. Innovative ideas must be useful, and decisions based on judgments help in ensuring this.

    5     Problems are faced at every point, and every problem has a solution. So, if you develop the desire to solve every problem by a strategic plan, you will aim to find a best solution that is new and innovative. With problem-solving skills, you will always long for new and effective ways to solve a problem in lesser time.