Women of Rubies
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10 Reasons Why Should You Travel

There are plenty of things one can gain from exploring different places. The list includes gaining new friends, new experiences, and new stories.

When you start exploring new places, you get a better understanding of the people living there, including their culture, history and background.

Studies show that travelling can improve your overall health and enhance your creativity. Therefore, you need to take time out from your daily tasks, office responsibilities, hectic schedule, and everyday pressures at least once in a year. Plan a tour to a new city with an open schedule and let life present you with the numerous opportunities.

If you need more convincing, here is a list of all the benefits of travelling.

1. Improves Social and Communication Skills.

One of the main benefits of travelling, especially to areas where your native language is not widely used, is that you learn how to communicate better with other people. Brushing up your knowledge on the most commonly used phrases or questions tourists ask can help you reach out to and relate better with the locals.

2. Ensures Peace of Mind.

We all have stress and tension in our lives. Travelling forces us to temporarily disconnect from our normal routine, helping us appreciate the people and things we have around. As per a famous saying “we never know what we have until we lose it.”

3. Helps You Get Original and Creative Thoughts.

It is believed that if someone gets out of their comfort zone, the mind gets more creative. To develop new neural connections that trigger original and creative thoughts, you must explore new places and break out of your daily routine.

4. Broadens Your Horizons.

Travelling helps you connect with different people from different cultures. This gives you the opportunity to see issues and daily life challenges from a different angle.

5. Enhances Your Tolerance for Uncertainty.

While travelling, you will find yourself stuck in situations where things don’t always go as planned. Such situations will help you learn to cope with the uncertainties in life.

6. Boosts Up your Confidence.

Being in a place where you do not know anyone will assist you to gain confidence and presence of mind. You will develop the ability to cope with obstacles, which will make you a confident person.

7. Gets You Real-life Education.

Meeting different people from vast cultures and societies provides an education that is impossible to get in a traditional school, college or a university. There is no substitute for the real thing.

8. Creates Memories for a Lifetime.

If you travel with friends and family members, traveling helps you build stronger bonds and make memories. You can also save memories of a lifetime by creating photo albums or sharing photos in social media.

9. Helps You Have Fun.

No matter how young or old you are, there is always a time when the child in you wants to have some fun. When you travel, you do not care what you do at all and you can just break free from the norm.

10. Aids you Get to Know Yourself.

While travelling, you might find yourself stuck in situations you won’t normally experience in your daily life. This can help you understand yourself and how you react to such circumstances, preparing you for future similar situations.

Although travelling offers many benefits, it also has some disadvantages if not planned carefully. If you are a patient and taking medication for a disease, do not forget to carry your medication. Keeping jet lag pills handy saves you from unnecessary discomfort.

Those susceptible to allergies should carry allergy medication. Plan your tour in advance, prepare a checklist to keep yourself healthy while traveling, and pack important items before you travel.

Travelling is good for the health so decide a place now and pack your bags. Remember, you only live once, so start travelling to different places and get some life-altering experiences.

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Two Steps To Building Resilience

When life is shaking us up and we’re feeling stressed … it can be tough to feel resilient.

Resilience helps us to deal with the chaos and overwhelm … but how to we create it when we feel like we’re underwater?

The first step is to remove things that are adding unnecessary stress. The second step is to do things that help us feel replenished.

Those two steps won’t get us all the way to full resilience, but they’re a huge huge start.

Remove Extra Stress…

Some stress is inevitable — wishing for a life where we feel zero stress is just going to add more stress.

But if we are flooded with stress, removing some of it can help us to clear the space to create even more resilience. If we don’t remove the extra stress, we’ll never do the things we need to take care of ourselves, or to train our minds to be more resilient.

So removing unnecessary stress is the first step.

Some examples:

  • If you’re drinking a lot, reduce down to 1-2 glasses of wine a night. Zero might be even better for some, but it’s useless to ask someone to quit alcohol when they’re flooded with stress.
  • Similarly, reducing smoking or other narcotics or drugs would be a big help.
  • If you’re working late into the night, creating a stopping point earlier would be a big help, if possible.
  • Cut back on your workload a bit, if you’re able to. Delegate the ones you can. Create a to-do list and prioritize the ones you can’t delegate.
  • Stop saying yes to everything, and take fewer meetings. Don’t be afraid to turn down excess workload as well.
  • If you’re fighting a lot with someone, refrain for a bit. Take a breather and let yourself settle.
  • If you’re watching things or playing games late into the night and getting little sleep, cut back on that.
  • If you’re watching news or reading things online that really get you angry, stop that for awhile.
  • Cut out social media if that gets you anxious.

And so on.

Removing these stressors will help you catch your breath.

…Then replenish yourself.

I don’t mean that you have to take a spa weekend (though that would be great!) … I mean doing little things that help you feel more recharged and settled.

These things fill you up, so that you can better take on the world.

For example:

  • Go for walks out in nature.
  • Create space for reading, having tea, taking a bath, journaling.
  • Talk with someone regularly, in person or over the phone.
  • Take naps.
  • Get better sleep.
  • Take a weekend off.
  • Get some sunshine, if there’s any where you are.
  • Take moments of stillness and deep breathing during your day.

These little things can make a huge difference.

You won’t get all the way to resilience with these two steps — but you’ll have given yourself what you need to take the further steps of shifting your thinking patterns and practicing resilience.

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A New Month Is A Fresh Start

At the beginning of every month, it’s like a blank slate: the month can be whatever you want it to be.

This is freeing, exhilarating, magical.

Take advantage of it.

Of course, we always have the magic of a fresh start available to us — in any day, any hour, any moment. Every morning is a beautiful fresh start! In fact, right this moment, you have the opportunity of a fresh start.

We should take advantage of these opportunities to see the freshness of the moment in front of us.

Start at One — this is one of my mantras this year. You can make it yours, even as you begin a new month.

Let’s look at how to practice with this during each day, and a couple ways you can take advantage of Starting at One as we look at this beautiful year in front of us.

Practicing a Fresh Start in Each Day

Every morning, you get to ask yourself:

  • What would I like to do with this incredible day?
  • What would make today incredible for me?
  • What am I feeling called to do today? What’s most important?

You can wipe the slate clean of whatever happened the day before (no matter what it was), and just start anew.

And then you get a couple hours into it, and maybe you find yourself off course. You’ve gotten distracted, or caught up in busywork.

Start again.

Take a breath, and imagine this next moment is a blank slate. What is most important right now? What would you like to do with this incredible hour in front of you?

Start again. And find gratitude that you get to start again, over and over.

Practicing with the Blank Slate of the New Month

We’re about a couple of hours into the new month, and you might have already started to lose the freshness of this month. But we’re just starting out! We’re at the very beginning, and we can do whatever we like with this month.

  • What would make this an amazing month for you?
  • What is possible for you this month?
  • Who would you like to be?

Take a notebook and pen, and spend 30 minutes thinking about this fresh space, and writing out some notes.

Is this the month you finally write your book, launch something, create something? Grow your business to a new level, launch a new mission, help others in a big way? Tackle something hard and scary and meaningful?

Are there new habits you want to create?

This is your month, to use however you like. What magic can you create?

Putting It Into Action

Once you have an idea of what you’d like to do or create … it’s time to make it actually happen.

Write it down and commit to it. Tell others and promise to report to them weekly. Adjust your plan each week, with the blank slate of the new week. Do a review each week and get yourself back on track with each fresh week.

One small step at a time, make it happen. One fresh start at a time.

Cheers to an amazing month ahead.

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Why You Should Fast from Social media

Take a minute to think about how much information you process every day. If you’re like me and a lot of other people, you get a lot of your news on the Internet, and you also read a lot of blogs. You might also read books and magazines and newspapers. You probably also watch a lot of TV, where you get entertainment and news. You might watch a lot of movies and listen to the radio on your way to work.

At work, you might get memos and emails and a billion other pieces of information coming at you. You might be a part of an online forum, or social site, or newsgroup, or mailing list (or several!).

It’s information overload.

Our brains are not made to process this much information. We can do it, but it gives us a lot of stress, and we cannot think about any of the information long enough for it to give us real value. We are in the middle of a vast river of information, and it just flows by us constantly.

And then there’s all the time we spend on all this media.

Take a minute to think about how much time you spend online (typically a few hours), watching TV (typically a few more hours), and reading all the other stuff mentioned above (another hour or two). Now think about how many goals you could accomplish if you cut those activities out of your life. The time you would gain would be tremendous.

So what do you do about it? Sometimes it’s good to get drastic. Try a media fast. But is it even possible?

Yes, it is. Here are some ideas:

  • If you’re feeling bold, cut out everything for a week. Well, everything that isn’t completely essential — you might need things like email for work, but can you really say that reading your blogs is essential? Is TV essential? Most likely not. Cut it out and see if you can make it a week.
  • Fast for a day. Can’t hack a week? Try one day. Cutting all Internet, TV, radio, and reading (other than fiction) for a day would be pretty drastic for most of us. See if you can last.
  • Fast on specific media, and take turns. Instead of cutting out everything, try cutting out only TV for a week. Then try cutting out newspapers and magazines. Then … if you dare … try cutting out your blogs. Then your favorite websites.
  • When you fast, work on specific goals. Don’t replace one media with another, or with another time-waster. Have a goal that you’d like to accomplish for that day, or week. See if you can use the time you’d normally spend on media to accomplish actions that further your goals.
  • If you’re not sold, track your time. Try logging your time spent on media for one day, without actually cutting back. Add it up in a spreadsheet at the end of the day. See how many minutes you devote to each type of media. It might be an eye-opener.
  • Once your fast is over, re-think your media intake. You may discover that cutting out TV, for example, wasn’t as hard as you thought, and that you were able to get a lot done. Maybe you want to stay off TV for good, or at least cut back on it drastically. Instead of launching right back into your old media habits, use your media more thoughtfully from now on. See if you can live with less, and work on your personal goals more.

Imagine the peace of mind that could come from shutting off the river of information that comes at you daily. Imagine the focus you could find without all the distractions.

Imagine that your life can be changed for the better with this one little edit. It may seem difficult to quit an addition, but don’t you think it might be worth it? At least give it a try.

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15 Fun Things You Can Try This Weekend

It can be easy to lapse into a predictable routine at the weekend, especially if you’re on a strict budget.

However, there are plenty of fun things to do on weekends! Here are examples of activities to liven up your free time. They are cheap, fun, and entertaining, so give them a go!

1. Go For a Walk: brisk walk is healthy and can be a fascinating pursuit.

2. Dance: Turn on the music, or stick on your earphones, and dance away to your favourite songs.

3. Join a Film or Book Club: Most film or literature fans will be able to find a weekly club. Here you’ll be able to meet like-minded people and discuss your hobby.

4. Visit Friends: Organize to meet with friends and spend the day talking and having fun.

5. Volunteer Work: Consider doing some volunteer work for a charity. As experience it can go on your CV, can introduce you to new people, and provide a welcome feel-good factor.

6. Bake some bread or cake using online recipes from YouTube or food channels on TV.

7. Netflix and chill: Netflix.com is a very cheap online streaming video service. Sign up to watch amazing shows such as Breaking Bad and Arrested Development.

8. As an alternative to Netflix, you can watch Free Films on YouTube: Typing “Full Movie” into a YouTube search brings up dozens of free films to watch. Check Rotten Tomatoes to gauge if they’re any good.

9. Go On a YouTube Marathon: It’s an amazing resource for fun and creative videos; go on a wild search for the funniest videos you can find.

10. Blog: If you want to write digitally you can start a blog (free on sites like WordPress) and connect with the world.

11. Have a Board Game Day: Want a break from the internet? Try these classics: Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble, Chess, Risk, Cluedo, Checkers, Battleship, or Snakes and Ladders.

12. Listen to Podcasts: Podcasts can be entertaining and informative at the same time. It is a free and accessible form of entertainment as it can be accessed anywhere using just your device.

13. Read: Reading is a great accompaniment to your life. Head to your local library for classics. You can search the internet for free books or ask your friends to recommend books to you.

14. Learn a Foreign Language: Nothing is stopping you from taking up French, Japanese, Italian etc. A foreign language can come handy, you just an never tell when.

15. Take an Online Course: You can learn anything you like at Coursera and Teachable. Just explore all the skills or interesting things you’d like to learn more about and take one of those courses.

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#RubyGirl|”I Don’t Take Up A Responsibility When I Know I Won’t Be Able To Deliver “- Oluwabukola Ogunwale

Oluwabukola Ogunwale is the fourth child in a family of six and a native of Oyo state. She is a believer.
She’s 21 years old and she loves to relate well with everyone. She’s also a 500 level law undergraduate at Bowen University Iwo Osun State. She’s the Chamber Governor for Acquitters Chamber, Bowen University. She is also the Head of Academic Committee Diverse Law.

She is the Founder of Glime’s Beauty, a business centered around health and beauty needs. She’s a baker, decorator, a makeup artist and a cosmetics dealer.
Her hobbies include cooking and reading.

She shares her “Ruby Girl” story with the team .

1. Let’s meet you. Who is Oluwabukola…?

My full name is OGUNWALE Oluwabukola Victoria. Sometimes, I call myself
Oluwalobukunolatemi.

I’m a believer in Jesus Christ.
I relate well with everyone regardless of their gender, race, colour, belief, background or whatever.

I’m from a family of 6 and I’m the last child.
I’m from Oyo State, Nigeria.
I’m a 500 level law undergraduate at the Prestigious Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State.

I’m a cake Baker, decorator, a makeup artist and a cosmetics dealer. I also love to train people to do these things as I have special interest in the beauty and fashion Industry generally.

I love to cook, play games, shop and go on adventures.
I’m an extrovert and I love to have meaningful conversations with older people.

I’m in a relationship and I’m always grateful for the supportive and loving man I have.

2. One accessory you can’t leave home without?

My earrings.

3. Is Law your dream course of study? If not, what prompted you to study Law?

Law was never my dream course. My dad encouraged me to study law and he insisted that all his children must study a professional course.

4. You’re the Chamber Governor for Acquitters Chamber, Bowen University and also the Head of Academic Committee, Diverse Law Organisation. How have you been able to handle both tasking roles effectively? And what influence did occupying both positions have on you as a Law student?

First of all I don’t bite more than I can chew. I don’t take up a responsibility when I know that I wouldn’t be able to deliver appropriately and give it my best.
However, God has been the major helping factor.

Then I’ve also built multitasking skills. Overtime by being responsible for different things both at home and in school. I’ve also learnt the importance of setting priorities and being disciplined and these has helped alot in striking a balance.

5. ‎What is the inspiration behind your beauty outfit, Glime’s Beauty? And which services does Glime’s Beauty offer to the general public?

Well, Glime’s Beauty is a brand that acknowledges the greatness inside every woman.
The word GLIME itself is an acronym that stands for *Greatness Lives Inside ME*

Women love to look beautiful and that’s why we offer services that would reflect the true beauty of every individual and alter every imperfection of the face.


Also, it’s our aim that every woman who represents or patronises our brand would not just look beautiful and elegant but also carry the consciousness that they’re born great and they have the responsibility of making Greatness break forth from inside them in all spheres of their life.

We also deal in:
-Personal makeover. Services for events and outings.
-Skin care and beauty treatments.
-Cosmetics.

 

What is the significance of the EndSars Campaign to you as a Nigerian Youth

The significance of the campaign to me as a young Nigerian youth is that People, old or young have a right to life and such right shouldn’t be taken away from them in any unlawful manner. Also, the Youths have a voice in influencing Government’s decisions, regulations and policies.

However, it’s very unfortunate that the Government doesn’t lend an ear to our voices and that proves the fact that alot of things are wrong about today’s government.

7. What has been your greatest challenge so far as a beauty preneur and what other challenges do you feel other young Nigerians in your niche encounter as well?

Well…the greatest challenge for me is inadequate finance and lack of parental support.
Another challenge is academic demands.Its important to be consistent in business and it’s also necessary to maintain good grades. This takes a lot of extra efforts to scale through.

8. What are the possible solutions to the challenges raised in question seven?

1. Acknowledge who you are and who God has purposed you to be.
2. Know that you have your life to live and you owe yourself a lot of hard-work to secure a great future.
3. Take savings and investments seriously, it’s helps alot in future endeavours.
4. Trust God with all your heart and always remember that he has your back.
5. Recognise and appreciate the people who support your dreams and goals and also leverage on them till your dreams come true. Then, if the people who don’t support you later acknowledge their wrong then so be it and if they don’t, keep pushing until you make it. There’s no Limit to greatness; just spread your wings and fly.

9. Your favourite quote?

“You’re too amazing to be anyone else; just be you.”

 

10. If you were the President of Nigeria for a day, what would you change?

If I’m to be the President of Nigeria for a day, I’ll change the system of Electricity supply. I know how important that is to my fellow Nigerians.

 

11. Mention 3 women who inspire you and why.

Marcia Kilgore
Coco Chanel
Foluke Felix Adejumo.

These women are classy, beautiful and they’ve been able to do extraordinary things in their respective positions.

12. Where do you see yourself and your brand in the next 5 years?

I see myself managing a beauty industry that offers quality beauty services to both genders and also doing well in my legal practice.

 

13. Did your upbringing in anyway contribute to who you are today and all you do now?

Yes, my upbringing shaped my core values which are Greatness, Decency, Integrity and Self-respect.

14) If you were given the opportunity to address a group of girls five years younger than you, what will be your advice to them?

Try to develop a high self esteem right from now and it’s not too early to start having dreams and aspirations and to start pursuing them; because any opportunity that doesn’t meet preparation will turn out to be a failure.

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8 Signs You Need A Break

As humans, occasional retreats are necessary because that is how we get rest, reignite our fire and bounce back with energy to continue on the journey to efficiency and productivity.

However, we sometimes get so engrossed with life and work and personal issues that we refuse to pay attention to our own need to take a break and do nothing but rest and allow your body and mind heal.

So instead, our body and mind revolts and breaks down, screaming and letting us know they need a break.

How do you know you should take a break?

Simple.

When you begin to experience any of the 8 signs below, you should take a break.

1. You’re watching hours and hours of pet videos at the office during work hours.

Seriously. Maybe it’s cats. Maybe it’s reruns of Bridgerton . Maybe it’s random YouTube videos. The point is, you are no longer focused on your work. What you do seem to care about though, is how to pass the time.

2. You make careless mistakes that shouldn’t have happened.

When you stop caring, you tend to make careless mistakes. You accidentally drop your purse into the trash can at a restaurant. Your emails suddenly contain embarrassing typos. You look like a confused deer when you’re asked for your opinion in a meeting because you weren’t paying attention the whole time. You call a coworker by the wrong name because your brain cannot process their real name.

3. You’re emotionally overwhelmed and sometimes, you cry for no reason.

You’re upset, irritated, angry, frustrated, or sad over what would normally be a small issue. This happens to almost everyone. If you find yourself breaking down emotionally, that might be a good time to consider a break. Maybe it means walking outside for 30 minutes. Maybe it means buying a one-way ticket to Hawaii to lay on the beach and bask in the sun. Maybe it means driving to a resort nearby for a weekend. Take a deep breath, collect yourself, and consider taking a break.

4. You’re always exhausted.

Feeling tired for a day? That’s absolutely normal. Feeling tired for an entire month? That’s definitely not normal. Remember to get enough sleep and to take care of yourself. While it’s great to be hyper productive for a short period of time, it’s usually not worth it in the long term. Pace yourself.

5. You hate waking up for work

The alarm goes off and the first thing you think is “I really don’t want to go to work.” You no longer feel inspired by the company mission. You feel like you can’t make an impact anymore. You feel like you’re going through the motions. It’s time for you to step away. Take a moment for yourself. When you remove yourself from the situation, you allow yourself to think more clearly and to get a fresh perspective on what the next step should be.

6. You’re having trouble falling asleep

You have too much on your mind — that next project, that big deadline, that promotion you’ve always wanted, that coworker who seems like they can’t stand you. If you’re starting to lose sleep over work, it’s time to take a break. If you don’t take the break, the lack of sleep will start to hurt your health and your passion, energy, and focus will start to fade.

7. You’re getting physically sick a lot.

If you’re under a lot of stress, not sleeping well, and working crazy amounts of hours, your immune system is probably under a lot of duress and you’ll likely get sick quite often. Don’t let your physical health go sideways — take some time off and go on a break!

8. You’re dreaming of quitting work with no plan in place

You’ve romanticized the idea of quitting in your head. You have no back-up plan or next steps in place. It’s a clear sign that you’re simply trying to get away. Instead of making a quick decision with huge implications, it may be best to take a short break to see if that’s what you truly want.

If you’re seeing these signs, take a moment, take a step back, and take a break — you’ll be better for it.

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6 Practical Ways To Help You Wake Up Early

Even though many assign a portion of their success to waking up early, many find it difficult to make the switch. While most people know what needs to happen to change their life, they find then difficult to implement consistently. To understand how to wake up early, you need to tap into the wisdom of those already doing it.

Here are the 6 things early risers do:

1. Stop Procrastinating

The first thing you need to do when you want to learn how to wake up early is to go to sleep earlier. You will find it much easier to wake up when you are getting the proper amount of sleep. Set a bedtime that allows you to get 8-hours of sleep and hold yourself accountable.

The problem most of you will have at first is how tired you will feel. If you are someone who goes to sleep after midnight, waking up by 6 a.m. will not be easy. The reason you need to push through that initial difficulty is that you are going to be very tired at the end of the day. Realistically, you probably would fall asleep at your desk or doze off on your lunch break. Either way, waking up early no matter how you feel will motivate you to go sleep at the proper time that night.

Force yourself to wake up early no matter what time you went to sleep. You are going to promise yourself you will go to bed at the right time.

2. Pace Yourself

If you want to start waking up a couple of hours earlier each day, you may not be able to make that change all at once. It stands to reason the more drastic the shift, the more difficult it will be.

So, instead of trying to adjust your sleep pattern by several hours, start in 15-minute or 30-minute intervals. If you wake up 30 minutes earlier each week, you will be a morning person by the end of the month. This may feel like you are drawing out your goal but in reality, you are accomplishing it much quicker than most. Most people who are naturally night owls find it difficult to completely change their sleep habits overnight.

3. Watch Your Lighting Before Bedtime

Light reduces your body’s production of the sleep-inducing melatonin hormone. In practical terms, your body naturally wants to be awake when the sun is up and go to sleep when the sun is down. This is called your circadian rhythm.

In the technology-driven world we currently live in, you likely look at a screen or two before bed. Studies show television and phone screens trick your body into thinking the sun is up. As a result, your body starts producing less melatonin. To help you fall asleep, you should stop looking at screens at least an hour before bed.

This can also mean that if you want to wake up before the sun, looking at your screen when you wake up can help you to stay awake.

4. Make It Worth Your Time

Have you ever woken up early but went back to sleep because you didn’t have a reason to stay up? To put it another way, have you ever fallen asleep because you didn’t have anything better to do?

If you want to be excited about going to sleep and waking up early, then you need to give yourself a reason to be excited. You can accomplish this by listing the three things you want to accomplish the next morning. Notice I said “want” and not “need” to accomplish. You don’t want to be dragging yourself into the next morning kicking and screaming.

Your list should not only include what you want to accomplish but also why you want to accomplish it.

5. Avoid Binging

There is a difference between sleeping and getting a good night’s sleep. Sure, you can drink alcohol and fall asleep, but you will not be getting quality rest. You will wake up feeling as though you slept for only a couple hours.

It is best to stop drinking at least 4 hours before bedtime. Binge drinking is known to impact your sleep-inducing melatonin hormone levels for up to a week. The same holds true with eating a large meal right before bed. It is not that your body can’t process food and sleep at the same time. The main concern has more to do with the possibility of indigestion or heartburn than anything else.

If you find yourself dealing with either of these symptoms, then you may want to stop eating at least two hours before bed.

6. Get the Blood Flowing

Your first movement is to get out of bed. To help you get out of bed, have your alarm far enough away that you need to get up and turn it off. Before you allow yourself to contemplate going back to sleep, take a moment, and do 10 push-ups or 10 jumping jacks. Think of each exercise as you taking one step further from being able to go back to sleep.

You decide for yourself how you want to get your blood flowing. Whether you want to go on a walk, workout at the gym, or do something at home, make sure you are scheduling time to exercise.

Final Thoughts

The key to understanding how to wake up early is to recognize that it is heavily driven by the actions you take the night before. You will wake up early if you go to bed at a good time and get the proper amount of sleep.

By taking the time to prepare yourself both mentally and physically each night, you can ensure you are positioned for success the next morning. Once you have taken the proper actions the night before, make sure you use that momentum to start your day, on time.

The goal is to make the actions you want to take as easy as possible. The key to changing your life is to discover a way to have the wind at your back, going in the direction you want.

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5 Natural Ways To Get Rid of dark elbows and knees

Everybody wants to have an even skin tone, especially when it comes to the knuckles, elbows and knees.

But this is not always the case…and even if, sometimes, it does happen with the body, the knuckles, elbows, and knees are usually left out.

The reason for this is because the skin around the elbows and knees are usually thicker than the skin surrounding it. Additionally, it has more folds (because of the joints) and tends to be much drier because those parts do not produce oil.

Owing to these, lack of proper hygiene can result in having darker elbows and knees. But be that has it may, studies have shown that there are natural ways to lighten dark elbows and knees.

So, if you want to get rid of your dark elbows and knees, read on to find out the best possible ways to go about it.

Here are five natural ways to lighten dark elbows and knees

1. Lemon

Lemon has bleaching and exfoliating properties, and these properties can help even skin tone. It also contains a very high amount vitamin C which can help to remove dead cells and promote the regeneration of healthy skin cell as well.

Simply apply lemon juice on elbow, knees, and knuckles; massage gently, leave it for ten minutes and rinse with warm water. Do this for a couple of weeks to get result.

2. Coconut oil

Coconut oil is a wonderful moisturizing agent. The vitamin E which is contained in it helps lighten skin tone and also prevent skin hydration.

And for an effective result, gently massage your elbows and knees with coconut oil for three minutes, before shower. You can also mix one teaspoon of coconut oil and a half teaspoon of lemon juice, rub on your dark elbows and knees every day and wipe off with paper towels after 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Aloe vera

Known for its numerous health benefits, aloe vera is also known to be a natural skin lightener, which does not only keep the skin hydrated and moisturized, but help make the skin supple as well.

Aloe vera is also believed to promote the repair of skin cells damaged by sun exposure.

If you’re using aloe vera, simply apply the gel extracted from a fleshy aloe vera leaf on the elbows and knees. And after letting it sit for about twenty minutes, you can wash it off with warm water.

It is advisable to do this twice a day in two weeks for an effective result.

4. Sugar

I bet you’re surprised, right? Well, it is what it is: Homemade sugar scrub is excellent for lightening the skin tone of knees and elbow because sugar help exfoliates dead skin cells and soften the skin.

When using sugar to lighten dark elbows and knees, simply mix sugar and olive oil equally and massage your knees and elbows circularly for five minutes, before shower. Continue to this until you see result.

5. Baking soda

Baking soda is another agent of skin lightener and it is also effective for rid of dark elbows and knees.

Simply mix baking soda with milk to get a thick paste, if you’re using baking soda, and apply the paste on your elbows and knees and rinse after five minutes.

You can do this once a week for two months to get the desired result.

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Ohio Woman Arrested For Leaving Children In Motel Room While She Worked Receives More Than $160,000 Financial Support

You may have recently come across the story of Shaina Bell, the 24-year old mother of three who was arrested in Liberty Township, Ohio, and charged with two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment after she left two of her children alone in a motel room while she worked her job at Little Caesars.

This was one of those stories where it behooves compassionate people to steer clear of social media comment sections regarding Bell’s situation unless they want to bear witness to the dumpster fire of misogynoir and poverty-shaming that happened on a lot of threads. Fortunately, this story has a happier ending than many like it as people who are naturally empathetic to the struggles of a fellow human being were able and willing to say “I’m here for you” with their wallets.

NBC 10 reports that a GoFundMe page set up by Bell to help her find permanent housing and other financial support—with a goal of raising only $5,000—has raised more than $150,000 in funds.

From NBC:

Her top donations include Music label co-founder, Pierre “Pee” Thomas donating $10,000 and a Cleveland Cavalier, Javale Mcgee, donating $5,000 dollars.

Thomas wrote on Instagram, “My mom used to have to do the same thing when we were young, not cause of abandonment issues, it’s because people can’t afford child care working at a pizza shop. She wasn’t hanging out at a club. She was at work.”

Bell’s story also hit the political sphere. An Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego tweeted, “Women are dammed if they do or damned if they don’t. Stay at home with your kids and receive government assistance and you are a leach, go to work for poverty wages and can’t get consistent sitters and go to jail.”

In an interview with WKBN 27, Bell—whose children are age nine, seven and three—said simply that she “had to go to work.”

“My daughter decided that she wanted to stay here,” she said. “My daughter told me that this is where she wants to be, and I felt that she was old enough to be able to stay here with her sister for a few hours because my job is right down the street.”

At the time of her arrest, Bell told police officers that she usually has someone check on her children whenever she needs to leave them while she works.

Listen: People are going to think what they will about a young mother leaving her children home alone, but no one does this for shits and giggles. Any questions about whether or not this woman is a capable mother who loves her children are questions that miss the mark by miles in addressing what’s really going on here: Poverty makes you choose between being with your children at all times and working to keep them fed cared for.

“My kids bring me joy. They make me laugh. They’re my world,” Bell told WKBN. “I would never do anything to harm my kids. My kids are everything to me. That’s all I do is go to work and take care of my kids. That’s all I do.”

Of course, the holier than thou will beat their chests and exclaim that “no one is to blame for her situation but her”—which in and of itself is assuming a lot as none of us knows this woman’s life—but she doesn’t seek to blame anyone so the point is moot.

“I never set blame on anybody for anything because, at the end of the day, nobody left my kids in the hotel but me,” she said. “I’ve cried a couple of times since this situation started. I’m just trying to keep a level head and trying to stay strong because that’s all I can do.”

Bell appears to be taking the attention her story has gotten her in stride and allowing the outpouring of support to outshine the comments of projecting-ass haters who live to condemn strangers.

“A lot of people are saying hurtful things, but a lot of people are also being there for me and showing great support,” she said. “I have over $100,000 in a GoFundMe account right now. I didn’t ask for that, but people gave it to me, and I’m just over appreciative to what’s going on.”

Source: Theroot
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