It seems hardly anyone is happy with their government these days. In Ireland, voters rejected the Fianna Fail party, denying them a place in government for the first time in 13 years, and a significant place in parliament for the first time since 1932. The rebuke is largely because of Ireland’s financial crisis. Fianna Fail presided over Ireland’s economic boom, and its collapse and subsequent bailout by the European Union. The country currently has an unemployment rate close to 14 percent and 100,000 people are expected to emigrate over the next two years in search of work. Instead of Fail, they chose the center-right Fine Gael and the Labour Party, both of which favor budget cuts and the austerity measures mandated by the European Union as a condition of the country’s bailout.
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Burnout is Beautiful
BY....Melissa Gorzeanczyk
Everyone experiences burnout.
Maybe you feel overworked, sick of your marriage or stressed about money. Maybe you’re living a daily cliché: one step forward, two steps back. Life can be tricky like that.
Believe it or not, burnout can be a beautiful thing. Instead of surrendering to burnout, what if you could use it to transform your life? Just like the story of the Phoenix, what if burnout was a chance for rebirth?
Four years ago I was overworked, stressed and a bit burned out. Now, I’m in a much different place. Here’s what I’ve done since 2007 to help redefine my life.
- Quit smoking for good (after failing more than eight times)
- Eliminated over $42,000 in debt.
- Convinced my employer to let me work from home two days a week.
- Stuck to a budget so we could live on one income which allowed me to …
- Quit my day job.
- Started to eat right and exercise.
- Ended my relationship with stuff.
- Wrote a novel in a month.
- Defined myself as a hybrid homemaker. Now, I am home when my step kids return from school. I’ve also kept my professional identity through freelance writing.
- Showed others how to live the same way in my first ebook, The Hybrid Homemaker.
None of this would have been possible without burnout. If I hadn’t reached a point where I felt exhausted, beaten down, burned out … I never would have come up from the ashes.
I’m here to show you how you can rise from the ashes, too. If your path in life feels crooked, you can turn around and take one step forward. That’s the beauty of this story. If I can do it, so can you.
Burnout is beautiful. It gives you the chance to:
Imagine.
I never thought we could live on one income until I imagined a life without debt. Really? People lived on one income? “What if,” I thought and the rest is history. Burnout led me to imagine a life where I didn’t have to work to support the family. That changed everything. What could your life look like? If you’re unhappy at work, there is another way to make money. Start imagining it. Even a simple internet search can help. If you are crushed by debt, there is a way to change that. Imagine your life without limits. Someone else is already living your dream life – start wondering, “How did they do that?”
Become the artist.
The desire to change starts with you. Once you feel it, use that passion to experiment and try new things. Become the artist – life is the masterpiece. To get healthy, you might challenge yourself to 10 minutes of exercise each morning. Looking to transform your diet? Eat like Leo. Take a stand against debt by cutting up your credit cards. Burnout brings strong emotions like anger, fear, jealousy and sadness. Use those feelings to light your creativity on fire. Keep mixing it up with new ideas and projects.
Set people free.
Don’t expect your employer to relieve stress at work. Don’t expect your lover to make you happy. Your burnout is not their responsibility. Give yourself permission to do all the work. Setting people free from your expectations will put you back in control. You can be burnout’s victim or victor. Find one reason to do something, not a million reasons to quit. Now, no one stands in your way.
Focus on tiny movements.
That’s all it takes to change your life. If you want to quit smoking, you can stop putting a cigarette in your mouth and lighting the end. Once you master the way you move, you can do anything. You can decide to write instead of go out to lunch. You can put away the beer and go to bed early. You can feel your feet on the ground for a run. Movements, no matter how small, shape your entire life. How you go through the motions is up to you. Ask yourself today: Is the way I move beautiful? Or destructive?
Start over.
Change can be slow, but it has to start somewhere. For me, burnout became beautiful when I fed new ideas to my broken spirit. Inspiration was everywhere once I wanted to look. Sites like The Happiness Project and Zen Habits gave me courage to begin a new life.
I know now: Burnout is just the beginning. It might feel awful at times. If it didn’t, how would you know when to try something new? Let your imagination fly. Learn what lights up your world before burnout defines it. Ask yourself for help first. Then, start with tiny movements. Tiny actions. Like building a new foundation, brick by brick, you can create something strong and beautiful.
Read more from Melissa at her blog, Peace & Projects, or follow her on Twitter.
Isn't the Golden Rule Most Important?
---By Billy Graham
Q: As far as I'm concerned the most important thing about religion is following the Golden Rule and treating people kindly. After all, isn't that what Jesus told us to do? We'd have a lot fewer problems in the world if everyone did this, in my opinion. -- W.W.
A: Yes, the world certainly would be a better place if everyone put the Golden Rule (as it's commonly called) into practice. Jesus' words are just as relevant today as they were when He first spoke them: "In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matthew 7:12). But why don't we put it into practice? Why is there so much conflict and evil in the world? The problem isn't ignorance; most people, I suspect, know they ought to treat people with respect and kindness, even if they can't quote Jesus' words exactly. And yet they fail to do it -- and so do we. The problem is far deeper: The problem is within our own hearts and minds. Down inside, we are selfish and demand our own way -- and this brings us into conflict with others (who are just as selfish). Almost every headline bears witness to this truth. Jesus said, "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly" (Mark 7:21-22). This is why we need Christ, for only He can take away our stubborn selfishness and replace it with His love and compassion. And He will, as we confess our sins to Him and submit our lives to His control. Don't trust in your own goodness (which has its roots in pride -- which is a sin). Instead, turn to Jesus and commit your life to Him today.Posted via email from Religion
Myth or Fact
The season is fast approaching of runny noses, stuffy sinuses and all the other misery that accompanies allergy season, so the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology wants to start your season off right by tossing a few popular allergy myths to the pollen-laden winds.
1. Myth:
Over-the-counter (OTC, or nonprescription) oral antihistamines are just as effective as prescription medicines in controlling your stuffy nose.
Fact:
OTC antihistamines can help control some allergy symptoms but they have little effect on relieving a stuffy nose or the inflammation that often occurs with allergies. They also can make you drowsy…
2. Myth:
OTC decongestant nasal sprays are addictive.
Fact:
OTC decongestant nasal sprays are not technically addictive. However, if you overuse them, it may seem as though they are because you may need to use more and more to get relief from the congestion…
3. Myth:
Eating local honey will combat spring allergies.
Fact:
Local honey is made from the pollen of local flowers, so it might seem logical that eating it would increase your allergy tolerance. However, the pollens that cause spring allergies are produced by trees, grasses and weeds, not the showy flowers that bees buzz around. In fact, eating honey can be risky for some people, who could have an allergic reaction…
Friday, February 25, 2011
Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings
Ranking the Countries
| distribution of global economic freedom | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100-80 | 79.9-70 | 69.9-60 | 59.9-50 | 49.9-0 | N/A |
| free | mostly free | moderately free | mostly unfree | repressed | not ranked |
Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings (Click on the country name for more details.)
| world rank |
|---|
| 1Hong Kong89.70.0 | 93Morocco59.6+0.4 |
| 2Singapore87.2+1.1 | 94Mongolia59.5-0.5 |
| 3Australia82.5-0.1 | 95Ghana59.4-0.8 |
| 4New Zealand82.3+0.2 | 96Egypt59.1+0.1 |
| 5Switzerland81.9+0.8 | 97Swaziland59.1 |
Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings
Ranking the Countries
| distribution of global economic freedom | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100-80 | 79.9-70 | 69.9-60 | 59.9-50 | 49.9-0 | N/A |
| free | mostly free | moderately free | mostly unfree | repressed | not ranked |
Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings (Click on the country name for more details.)
| world rank |
|---|
| 1Hong Kong89.70.0 | 93Morocco59.6+0.4 |
| 2Singapore87.2+1.1 | 94Mongolia59.5-0.5 |
| 3Australia82.5-0.1 | 95Ghana59.4-0.8 |
| 4New Zealand82.3+0.2 | 96Egypt59.1+0.1 |
| 5Switzerland81.9+0.8 | 97Swaziland59.1 |
2011 Index of Economic Freedom....Hong Kong, USA, Mexico
- HOME
- RANKINGthe countries
- EXPLOREthe data
- TOP TENof 2011
- VISUALIZEthe scores
- DOWNLOADchapters & more
- FAQS& answers
- ABOUTthe index
Visualize the Scores
Select up up 3 countries to compare:
Overall Score by Year
