Life isn’t always the sweetest candy. Sometimes, when I feel like the world is just too heavy, I look around and find people who continue to live fascinating and wonderful lives. And then thoughts come popping into my mind like bubbles from nowhere – “How did their life become so adorably sweet? How come they still manage to laugh and play around despite a busy stressful life?” Then I paused and observed for a while… I figured out that maybe, they start to work on a place called ‘self’.

So, how does one become genuinely happy? Step 1 is to love yourself.

My theology professor once said that “loving means accepting.” To 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 content 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, 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 of all these? I’ll tell you… 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, failing on board exams and trying again, life gives you equivalent points for that.

Imagine life as a big score board like those which are used in football. Every time you take a step forward, you score points. Wouldn’t it be nice to look at that board at the end of each game and think to yourself “Whew! I got a point today. I’m glad I gave it a shot.”, instead of looking at it all blank and murmur “Geez, I didn’t even hit a score today. I wish I had the guts to try out. We could have won!” and then walked away.

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, 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 best selling 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 pass step 1 in the project “how to become genuinely 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.

Again, throw me that same question “how to become genuinely happy?”. I’ll refer you to a friend of mine who strongly quoted- “Most of us know that laughter is the best medicine for life's aches and pain. But most of us don’t know that the best kind of laughter is laughter over self. Because then you don’t just become happy… you become free.”

If you have been attempting to lose weight for a while, you know how difficult it can be to maintain motivation. Motivation is extremely important to continue consistent weight reduction.

If your positive attitude has been lagging behind lately, try these motivational tips:

Find a moving quote or inspiring phrase. Choose something that inspires you and guides you towards satisfying lifestyle choices. Print it up on nice paper and post it on your refrigerator. Be sure that it is something that will motivate you each time you reach for a snack. This will enable you to choose healthy options, and keep your body goals at the front of your mind.

Keep a journal from the day you begin your body transformation program. This will help you to see progress each day. Write about your feelings around the changes you want to make, your motivational goals, and any setbacks or plateaus that you are experiencing. Once you reach your desired physique, you'll be pleased to look back at how far you've come.

Setbacks can often occur when life gets busy. Plan for distractions and busy days. Keep workout videos at home for those days when you just don't make it to the gym.

Keep pre-prepared meals or frozen dinners handy for days when you don't have time to cook. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail! Stay on track with preparation for days when life demands you to focus on other things.

Constantly doing the same exercises and eating the same food can get old. Take the time to develop several exercise routines to avoid boredom. Add a new vegetable, fruit, or salad dressing to your food choices. These small changes can make a world of difference.

There is no doubt it can be difficult to maintain motivation throughout your body transformation journey. Take the time to mix up routines and add inspiration to your daily life. Focus on your goals, and your reasons for wanting to transform your body in the first place.

Envision a slimmer, healthier you, and keep working to reach your goals. If motivation becomes an issue, try some of the above tips to get you going again.

Aging is inevitable but still thousands of people every day are looking for ways to stay young forever. Due to the wonders of science there are many methods now available that will help delay the aging process. Some simple steps of changing your lifestyle and daily habits can make a big difference to growing old fast or staying young longer.

Smoking is one factor that can speed up the aging process. Smoking can take many years off your life with the many health risks associated with it. Habits like smoking can contribute to some looking older than they actually are as it damages and dehydrates the skin.

A healthy diet is essential to maintaining youthful looks. Include essential fatty acids and eat fish twice a week to be sure that you are getting enough omega-3, omega-6 and DHA. Your body will stay more permeable and flexible with these essential nutrients. Fish oils are an important part of the blood vessels, nervous system and the skin. They help to keep your skin smooth, hydrated and will reduce wrinkles. Fish is also great brain food and will keep your mind active and alert.

Fruit and vegetables are also vital for a healthy diet. To get a good source of antioxidants to fight free radicals and maintain a healthy immune system, eat vegetables that are yellow and orange. These vegetables support a strong immune system and can help fight and prevent diseases.

Regular exercise will also keep you younger longer. Cardio exercise will help to work your heart and make it stronger. Keeping your heart and body healthy can decrease any heart related risks. Regular exercise will lower blood pressure and help to improve circulation which will keep the skin, brain and digestive system strong.

Strength training is also great for maintaining youth and it’s recommended to do some sort of weight training twice a week. Strong muscles will help you build and maintain strong bones. Bones become weaker with age so keeping them as strong as you can, will help you have a stronger, more youthful body.

Your sense of balance can also become affected as you age. Exercises like yoga and dance can help to improve your balance. Neuromuscular exercises help to keep your brain and body in sync as it can often lose that communication with age.

Keeping your brain active will also help you to stay young. You can exercise your brain by doing brain teasers, crossword puzzles and word searches. Stimulating the brain can prevent mental deterioration and memory loss.

Lastly, laughter goes a long way to keeping you young. Your attitude plays a big role in your appearance and if you are happy, positive and laugh a lot then you will feel young and you will stay young.

You may not be able to stay young forever but you can certainly stay young longer.

Muscle building for weight reduction is possible, and adding muscle will, in fact, help your body to burn off fat cells. Adding muscle to your frame helps you to secure a lean, toned appearance. You'll be stronger, and more flexible.

When practicing muscle building for weight reduction, it is key to remember that you may not lose weight as rapidly as with cardio alone. However, you are actually burning more fat with muscle building. This is because muscle has weight too, and you are replacing fat with muscles. In either case, your percentage of body fat can reduce drastically, and you will strengthen your overall appearance.

When you decide to add muscle building exercises to your daily routine, start with a low amount of weight and a high number of repetitions. When you see those big bulky guys in the gym lifting weights - they're doing the opposite. For bulk, you'd want a high amount of weight, lifted a few times. Low weight, high reps will lead to long, lean muscle and an overall toned appearance.

As you practice muscle building techniques, it is still important to eat nutritiously. Working out in the gym and then going home to load up on cookies and chips is unhealthy, and unproductive. Remember, it is much easier to avoid calories in the first place than it is to burn them once you've eaten.

Muscle building will help you to achieve other benefits as well. Your posture will improve, as your core muscles become stronger. You'll have more energy, and be able to do more cardiovascular exercise as your body strength grows. Working out will become easier and easier, as you become stronger and stronger.

When you begin to add muscle building into your workout, you may be sore. If this occurs, be sure to stretch before and after your workout. Remember, your hard work will pay off! You're improving your posture, and building a stronger, healthier body. It's a proven fact - muscle building for weight reduction works!

Thousands of beginners ask themselves this question when they decide to take their health and fitness seriously. It’s tough to make a decision because many commercial gyms offer both Pilates and Yoga classes. Oftentimes, these classes are very popular.

So which is better?

The answer is… neither is better than the other. You need to choose one that is better FOR YOU. That’s what really matters. Comparing the two is akin to comparing karate and kung fu… neither is better and there are people who are experts at each art… and there are those who are beginners at each.

There is no right or wrong answer here because both Yoga and Pilates have their own unique benefits. You can even do both on alternate training sessions and get the best of both worlds. They’re not mutually exclusive.

To the layman, both seem very similar and there is little difference between Pilates and Yoga. However, the truth is that both have very different objectives. To make things more confusing, there are several types of Yoga and Pilates too.

Making a comparison is not an easy task… but this article shall try to highlight the differences between the two.

For starters, Yoga is a much more ancient training style and it originated in India about 50,000 years ago. In comparison, Pilates is a lot more recent even though it was created in the 1920s. Yoga doesn’t really credit any one person as a creator. There are many gurus… but no founder.

Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates to help people rehabilitate from illness and injury. What that means is that Yoga has evolved a lot over time and there are many more variations and styles when it comes to Yoga. Pilates does have variations, just not as many.

If you decide to choose Yoga, you will always have new Yoga techniques to learn. Hot Yoga, Ananda Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga, etc. are some of the many types being taught still today. So, if variety is your thing, perhaps you may wish to try Yoga first.

Secondly, Yoga is more spiritual. It focuses on making a mind, body and spirit connection. On the other hand, since Pilates is more about rehabilitation, it concerns itself with strengthening the body, with special focus given to the powerhouse area.

People who are more spiritual and looking for inner peace and serenity would do well to take up Yoga. Whereas younger people who want to get stronger or wish to get rehabilitation from sports injuries, etc. will benefit from Pilates.

Another difference between the two is that since Yoga has evolved more, it is more fluid in the sense that there are modified poses that can cater to people with different needs. If you need healing, there is one type of Yoga. For strengthening, there’s another type of Yoga. Focus on flexibility, breathing, spirituality, etc. are highlights of the different types of Yoga.

On the other hand, Pilates is more structured and the classes similar to a large extent. While there is some variation, it doesn’t come close to the degree of variation that Yoga has.

Other differences would be that Yoga uses the body’s own weight as a form of resistance whereas Pilates workouts employ both bodyweight training techniques and machines.

Deep breathing known as pranayama is a Yoga trademark. Yoga places a lot of emphasis on correct breathing. There is some core training in Yoga, but the focus is on the breathing to achieve the meditative state that is part of Yoga. Pilates doesn’t have meditation as part of the training.

There are certification and accreditation boards for both Pilates and Yoga. Always check that your instructor is properly certified before joining any class. It’s important that they know what they’re doing if they’re going to guide you. There are many self-taught individuals who are conducting classes for unaware participants.

If you can’t decide on one yet, go ahead and attend 3 classes of each style and see which one you like more. Stick with that. At the end of the day, as long as you choose one and do it consistently, you will see benefits in your life.

More and more people are becoming overweight, not just in the US, but all over the world. The best way to slim down and keep it off is by eating right and exercising regularly. But many people are looking for the quick-fix that will help them shed their pounds right away. One of the biggest buzz words in terms of weight reduction is conjugated linoleic acid, otherwise known as CLA.

CLA is often referred to as the "good fat" that we need in our bodies. It's mostly found in meat and dairy products of those animals that are able to feed on grass. The reason that this is creating a great deal of interest is because the results of clinical studies have shown that CLA can lower fat cells while maintaining muscle tissue.

It has also been discovered that CLA increases metabolism, can decrease belly fat and can improve muscle growth. Conjugated Linoleic Acid can also lower cholesterol and triglycerides and improve the immune system which is something everyone could use. The fact that these acids increase metabolism is a very exciting find, especially for the many who suffer from thyroid problems like hypothyroidism. Thyroid problems can also be the culprit which leads to big bellies. So again, CLA can solve a lot of problems in that area.

CLA is much more common in grass-fed animals than in those who feed on grain. So, to get your dose of CLA, you can make sure you are getting meat from grass fed animals and you can take a look at the various supplements that include the fabricated version of CLA. It's important that, if you do decide to go with the supplements, you find one that is of good quality.

So CLA really is appearing to be a breakthrough for some people. However, you cannot lose weight simply by getting the recommended daily amount of CLA. Using it in conjunction with healthy eating and sleeping habits and regular exercise is the most effective way to lose your "stubborn fat".

Try to drink a lot of water, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (especially the most brightly colored ones), whole grains, and Omega-3 fatty acids (from oily fish, nuts, and flax seeds) every day. Also, do not skip meals and make sure you get enough sleep. Skipping meals can backfire and studies have proven that people who aren't sleeping enough tend to be hungrier and over eat. Regular exercise does not have to be strenuous. If you can make a commitment to walking for 20-30 minutes three to five times per week, then you are doing regular exercise.

The combination of your daily dosage of conjugated linoleic acid, healthy eating habits and physical exercise can help achieve the results you would like.