Recently, I have a very frustrating incident in which I realized the important of protecting my personal and sensitive information. I have to send my laptop to a local service center for repair. Before I sent my laptop for repair, I ensure that I have all my information lock all and encrypt in a folder, clear away all my saved passwords, caches, browsing history and so on to prevent people from accessing my personal information. Thinking that this was enough, I sent in my laptop.

Imagine my horrors when a week later I called up the service center to collect my laptop, only for me to discover that someone has actually collected mine. I totally freaked out! How could it be possible for someone to collect my laptop without my authorization and the laptop service form to boot?

I spent an agonizing 2 days going to and fro the service center, waiting for updated information and a replacement laptop. During this period time, I have to change all my login passwords to various email accounts, payment accounts and more. I have to do all these as I was worried that my personal information if it falls to the wrong hands will have devastating consequences.

To cut the whole story short, in the end I got back my laptop but the point is I realized that I was too complacent in protecting my personal information and data. The next time round, if I ever have to send in my laptop or computer for repair again, I will just have to do a backup first and wipe off all traces and personal data before sending in for repair. It pays to be more careful especially when it comes to stuff like personal information and data.

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Younger children usually do not understand a lengthy explanation of why it’s important that they be home from their friend’s home at a certain time or why they aren’t allowed to play ball in the house. But the one thing they do strive to do most of the time is to make their parents proud and happy. So when a young child asks “Why?” or “Why not?” when they are told they can’t play with something or someone or why they have to obey a rule you’ve set forth, simply explain to them that “because it makes me happy when you follow the house rules and do what I have asked of you.” You should avoid using the term, “Because I said so,” as that only adds to the child’s frustration and confusion.

Older children, adolescents and teenagers alike will probably require more from your explanation. When they question “Why?” or “Why not?” it’s best to directly, honestly and clearly state your reasoning. “I asked you to be home by 10 p.m. because we have to be at the dentist’s office first thing in the morning for your check-up and we can’t be late.” It is also a great opportunity for you to reiterate the consequences of breaking the rule. “If you are not home by 10 p.m., you’ll be grounded from going to your friend’s house for a week.” Be consistent, be firm, and be clear.

Though your child may challenge you by asking your reasoning why a rule has been put in place, it also shows their growth as an individual thinker. So try not to get angry or frustrated when they do so; realize it’s their way of understanding their world around them.

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Establishing healthy eating patterns is important to avoid problems such as obesity and eating disorders later in life. Various strategies can help your child accept a wider range of foods. It may be necessary to offer a food to your child as many as 10 different times before they choose to eat it. The problem is, many parents get frustrated and give up before the fourth or fifth try.

Try to make foods fun. Colorful foods like carrot sticks, raisins, apples, grapes, cheese sticks and crackers can all be fun and healthy choices for your growing toddler. Explain to them that eating good food is important so they’ll grow big and strong, and how it will help them run faster and play longer.

Children learn behaviors from their parents. If you restrict yourself to a narrow range of foods, your child will take notice and mimic your caution. Don’t limit your child’s food variety to only those foods you prefer. It may be that your child’s tastes are different to yours, and perhaps you are simply serving them foods they don’t happen to like. Try to set a good example and try a variety of foods in front of your child. It could motivate them to do the same.

If your child seems healthy and energetic, then they are eating enough. If you are still concerned, keep an eye on how much food they actually eat over the day. Children tend to graze constantly, rather than restrict their eating to three meals per day like adults. You may be surprised how those little handfuls and snacks add up. For further reassurance, check your child’s growth and weight charts, or check with your child’s pediatrician.

Try not to worry, and remember, that unless a child is ill, they will eat. Children are very good at judging their hunger and fullness signals. Try to stay relaxed about mealtime and offer your child a wide variety of foods, and most importantly, remember to set a good example by trying a wide variety of foods yourself. You may discover you and your toddler share a new found favorite food!

P.S I have no problem with my 2 kids. They will eat up everything we put in front of them.

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So, how does one become genuinely happy? Very simple, just love yourself first. Love oneself means to accept that you are not a perfect being, but behind the imperfections must lie a great ounce of courage to be able to discover ways on how to improve your repertoire to recover from our mistakes.

Genuine happiness also pertains to contentment. When you are contented with the job you have, the way you look, with your family, your friends, the place you live in, your car, and all the things you now have truly, you know the answer to the question “how to be genuinely happy.”

When we discover a small start somewhere from within, that small start will eventually lead to something else, and to something else. But if you keep questioning life lit it has never done you any good, you will never be able to find genuine happiness.

I believe that life is about finding out about right and wrong, trying and failing, winning and losing. These are things that happen as often as you inhale and exhale. Failure, in a person’s life has become as abundant and necessary as air. But this should not hinder us from becoming happy.

How to be genuinely happy in spite all these? Every time you exert effort to improve the quality of life and your being, whether it is cleaning up your room, helping a friend, taking care of your sick dog, fail on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.

Genuine happiness isn’t about driving the hottest Formula 1 car, nor getting the employee of the year award, earning the highest 13th month pay, or beating the sales quota. Sometimes, the most sought after prizes in life doesn’t always go to the fastest, the strongest, and the bravest or not even the best. So, how do you become genuinely happy?

Everyone has his own definition of “happiness”. Happiness for a writer may mean launching as much bestselling books as possible. Happiness for a basketball rookie may mean getting the rookie of the year award. Happiness for a beggar may mean a lot of money. Happiness for a business man may mean success. So, really now, how do we become genuinely happy?

Simple! You don’t have to have the best things in this world. It’s about doing and making the best out of every single thing. When you find yourself smiling at your own mistake and telling yourself “Oh, I’ll do better next time”, you carry with you a flame of strong will power to persevere that may spread out like a brush fire. You possess a willingness to stand up again and try that will make you a genuinely happy person.

When you learn to accept yourself and your own faults, you are well on your well to being happy. For as long as you know how to accept others, you will also be accepted. For as long as you love and know how to love, you will receive love ten folds back. Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine to life’s aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self.

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Did it feel like you had exhausted all possible options and yet are still before the mountain large, unconquerable, and impregnable? When encountering such enormous problems, you may feel like you’re hammering against a steel mountain. The pressure of having to solve such a problem may be overwhelming.

But rejoice! There might be some hope yet!

With some creative problem-solving techniques you may be able to look at your problem in a different light. And that light might just be the end of the tunnel that leads to possible solutions.

First of all, in the light of creative problem-solving, you must be open-minded to the fact that there may be more than just one solution to the problem. And, you must be open to the fact that there may be solutions to problems you thought were unsolvable.

Now, with this optimistic mindset, we can try to be a little bit more creative in solving our problems.

Number one; maybe the reason we cannot solve our problems is that we have not really taken a hard look at what the problem is. Here, trying to understanding the problem and having a concrete understanding of its workings is integral solving the problem. If you know how it works, what the problem is, then you have a better foundation towards solving the problem.

Not trying to make the simple statement of what problem is. Try to identify the participating entities and what their relationships with one another are. Take note of the things you stand to gain any stand to lose from the current problem. Now you have a simple statement of what the problem is.

Number two; try to take note of all of the constraints and assumptions you have the words of problem. Sometimes it is these assumptions that obstruct our view of possible solutions. You have to identify which assumptions are valid, in which assumptions need to be addressed.

Number three; try to solve the problem by parts. Solve it going from general view towards the more detailed parts of the problem. This is called the top-down approach. Write down the question, and then come up with a one-sentence solution to that from them. The solution should be a general statement of what will solve the problem. From here you can develop the solution further, and increase its complexity little by little.

Number four; although it helps to have critical thinking aboard as you solve a problem, you must also keep a creative, analytical voice at the back of your head. When someone comes up with a prospective solution, tried to think how you could make that solution work. Try to be creative. At the same time, look for chinks in the armor of that solution.

Number five; it pays to remember that there may be more than just one solution being developed at one time. Try to keep track of all the solutions and their developments. Remember, there may be more than just one solution to the problem.

Number six; remember that old adage,” Two heads are better than one.” That one is truer than it sounds. Always be open to new ideas. You can only benefit from listening to all the ideas each person has. This is especially true when the person you’re talking to has had experience solving problems similar to yours.

You don’t have to be a gung-ho, solo hero to solve the problem. If you can organize collective thought on the subject, it would be much better.

Number seven; be patient. As long as you persevere, there is always a chance that a solution will present itself. Remember that no one was able to create an invention the first time around.

Creative thinking exercises can also help you in your quest be a more creative problems solver.

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Young children often make up stories and tell tall tales. This is normal activity because they enjoy hearing stories and making up stories for fun. These young children may blur the distinction between reality and fantasy. This is probably more a result of an active imagination than an attempt to deliberately lie about something.

An older child or adolescent may tell a lie to be self-serving, such as denying responsibility or to try and get out of a chore or task. Parents should respond to isolated instances of lying by talking with the youngster about the importance of truthfulness, honesty and trust.

Some adolescents discover that lying may be considered acceptable in certain situations such as not telling a boyfriend or girlfriend the real reasons for breaking up because they don’t want to hurt their feelings. Other adolescents may lie to protect their privacy or to help them feel psychologically separate and independent from their parents.

Parents are the most important role models for their children. When a child or adolescent lies, parents should take some time to have a serious talk and discuss the difference between make believe and reality, and lying and telling the truth. They should open an honest line of communication to find out exactly why the child chose to tell a lie, and to discuss alternatives to lying. A parent should lead by example and never lie, and when they are caught in a lie, express remorse and regret for making a conscious decision to tell a lie. Clear, understandable consequences for lying should be discussed with the child early on.

However, some forms of lying are cause for concern, and might indicate an underlying emotional problem. Some children, who know the difference between truthfulness and lying, tell elaborate stories which appear believable. Children or adolescents usually relate these stories with enthusiasm because they receive a lot of attention as they tell the lie.

Other children or adolescents, who otherwise seem responsible, fall into a pattern of repetitive lying. They often feel that lying is the easiest way to deal with the demands of parents, teachers and friends. These children are usually not trying to be bad or malicious but the repetitive pattern of lying becomes a bad habit. A serious repetitive pattern of lying should be cause for concern. Consult a professional adolescent or child psychologist to find out whether help is needed.

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There are many things at work that can bother you. You may have to deal with other mean employees or people that are not very nice to you. When you have to deal with this, you may find that you become stressed out easily. You need to remember that you have to keep your calm and move on. You need to think about what this can do to your personal life and not let it bother you.

Keep your cool when you are dealing with hard to handle clients. When you are faced with this type of situation, you have to think about what you need to do so that you can get through this problem. You cannot be rude or temperamental when you are dealing with customers for any type of business. There is a professional way to deal with this type of stressful situation.

One thing that you need to do is make sure that you relax. When you are in a stressful situation, you need to remember to breath. This is going to help you through the problem. Inhale and exhale as deep as you can so that you are letting the good in and the bad out. This will relieve your stress and put you back to thinking more clearly. You will feel better after a few of the deeper breaths that you take.

If you have to, you may want to go to your quiet place at work. You may have to return to your office or go into the bathroom, but if you need to have some quiet time, you need to have time to yourself and relax. The best way to do this is to retreat to a place and think thing over before you lose control. You will feel better once you have this time to go over in your mind what you have to do to let the stress out.

The worst thing that you can do is getting worked up over stress at work. You need to remember that your health is more important than any type of job. You have to find ways to relieve your stress and move past it. Find what works best for you and use it. There is going to be something different for everyone. Think about what you enjoy and use that. You should not do anything that is going to cause more stress however because this will only add to your tension.

On your way home after you leave work, you should let out all the anxiety and stress by listening to your favorite radio station and singing along. If you only live as short distance, you may want to make the ride a little longer to make sure all of the stress is gone before you get home. Never stop for a beer or a drink because this may only make the stress worse for you in the long run.

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I have always felt that the appointment of McClaren as England’s manager is a mistake. While he may have some top flight experience managing teams in the English Premiere League, he does not have the necessary European experience to manage England. Maybe not now but some years down the road if he had shown he’s capable of leading teams to European competitions such as the Champions League or UEFA Cup.

I can only crossed my fingers now and see whether England can produce some miracles to reach Euro 2008. After all, it’s not the first time they have missed out on a major event.

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Just like any road, there are corners, detours, and crossroads in life. Perhaps the most perplexing road that you would encounter is a crossroad. With four roads to choose from and with limited knowledge on where they would go, which road will you take? What is the guarantee that we would choose the right one along the way? Would you take any road, or just stay where you are: in front of a crossroad?

There are no guarantees.

You do not really know where a road will lead you until you take it. There are no guarantees. This is one of the most important things you need to realize about life. Nobody said that choosing to do the right thing all the time would always lead you to happiness. Loving someone with all your heart does not guarantee that it would be returned. Gaining fame and fortune does not guarantee happiness. Accepting a good word from an influential superior to cut your trip short up the career ladder is not always bad, especially if you are highly qualified and competent. There are too many possible outcomes, which your really cannot control. The only thing you have power over is the decisions that you will make, and how you would act and react to different situations.

Wrong decisions are always at hindsight.

Had you known that you were making a wrong decision, would you have gone along with it? Perhaps not, why would you choose a certain path when you know it would get you lost? Why make a certain decision if you knew from the very beginning that it is not the right one. It is only after you have made a decision and reflected on it that you realize its soundness. If the consequences or outcomes are good for you, then you have decided correctly. Otherwise, your decision was wrong.

Take the risk: decide.

Since life offers no guarantee and you would never know that your decision would be wrong until you have made it, then you might as well take the risk and decide. It is definitely better than keeping yourself in limbo. Although it is true that one wrong turn could get you lost, it could also be that such a turn could be an opportunity for an adventure, moreover open more roads. It is all a matter of perspective. You have the choice between being a lost traveller or an accidental tourist of life. But take caution that you do not make decisions haphazardly. Taking risks is not about being careless and stupid. Here are some pointers that could help you choose the best option in the face of life’s crossroads:

· Get as many information as you can about your situation.

You cannot find the confidence to decide when you know so little about what you are faced with. Just like any news reporter, ask the 5 W’s: what, who, when, where, and why. What is the situation? Who are the people involved? When did this happen? Where is this leading? Why are you in this situation? These are just some of the possible questions to ask to know more about your situation. This is important. Oftentimes, the reason for indecision is the lack of information about a situation.

· Identify and create options.

What options do the situation give you? Sometimes the options are few, but sometimes they are numerous. But what do you do when you think that the situation offers no options? This is the time that you create your own. Make your creative mind work. From the most simplistic to the most complicated, entertain all ideas. Do not shoot anything down when an idea comes to your head. Sometimes the most outrageous idea could prove to be the right one in the end. You can ask a friend to help you identify options and even make more options if you encounter some difficulty, but make sure that you make the decision yourself in the end.

· Weigh the pros and cons of every option.

Assess each option by looking at the advantages and disadvantages it offers you. In this way, you get more insights about the consequences of such an option.

· Trust yourself and make that decision.

Now that you have assessed your options, it is now time to trust yourself. Remember that there are no guarantees and wrong decisions are always at hindsight. So choose, decide, believe that you are choosing the best option at this point in time.

Now that you have made a decision, be ready to face its consequences: good and bad. It may take you to a place of promise or to a land of problems. But the important thing is that you have chosen to live your life instead of remaining a bystander or a passive audience to your own life. Whether it is the right decision or not, only time can tell. But do not regret it whatever the outcome. Instead, learn from it and remember that you always have the chance to make better decisions in the future.

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Ethics play an important role in building self-reliance. Your beliefs play an important role in how you feel about yourself and how you react to the world around your. The things that you believe in can help guide you along the path to self-reliance. Through positive thinking your ideas, principles, and ethical beliefs can guide you toward making the positive constructive changes that come from increased self-reliance.

Meditation and subliminal training can help you achieve your goal of accomplishing self-reliance and implementing constructive changes in your life. The key to successful meditation is to focus your thoughts and energy on the most pressing matters you are facing, so that you can deal better with the environmental stressors in your daily life.

For example, if your job is a source of stress for you, contemplate on what would need to change for you to experience less job-related stress. Think through the causes of your workplace stress, and allow ideas for positive change to come through meditation. Do not act rashly, for you may cause more harm than benefit to your situation by doing so. Instead, slow down and meditate until you come up with a beneficial solution.

Maybe your meditation will reveal that your career is not the right one for you. If this is the case, start working on discovering what options might be better for you. Start directing energy toward discovering where your talents lie, and cultivating new skills that will enable you to choose a different career path. In other words, accept the negative truths about your situation and come up with positive steps you can take toward reaching a workable, long-lasting solution to your problem. New skills and talents you may need to interchange your field entirely. Perhaps you can take an online course to help you develop new skills so that you can get a winning job. This is an example of implementing positive constructive change through becoming self-reliant.

In addition to meditating, you may also find subliminal learning to be beneficial. Many online resources can help guide you toward joining both your subconscious and conscious mind so they are working in harmony. One way of exploring your subconscious mind is write your thoughts and feelings down on paper. This will help you become more self-aware, as well as increase your ability to track the progress you are making toward becoming more self-reliant and positive.

It is also important to take time out for yourself. Meditation can help you relax and deal with stress. Learning to cope with stress is an important aspect of introducing constructive change into your daily life. You owe it to yourself by focusing on the things you need to do to achieve success. Continuous change and improvement will help you achieve balance and happiness throughout all aspects of your life.

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