Five Ways to Control Your Anxiety

    How can you find some enjoyment and keep your anxiety in control? Try the following five steps for a less anxious you.

    Stop comparing yourself to others. When you compare your life to others', you are giving up your power. People have success or failures at different points in their lives. You might think others have better lives, but you don't have the full story. Next time you begin to compare yourself to someone else, tell yourself this, “I only compare me to me.” {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

    Be grateful. Gratitude is the secret to a happier, less anxious you. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} When you practice gratitude, you start training your brain to pay attention to all the wonderful things about your life and doing so improves your mood little by little.

    Forget perfect. Going after perfection sets you up to feel defeated. Accept that you will have days that are far from perfect and learn to laugh at the funny things that go wrong at the wrong time. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} 

    Move your body. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} I'm sure you'll feel better--especially if you exercise regularly. Doing exercise will give you a sense of achievement that you can use to deal with other difficulties in your life.

    Connection with other people. If you struggle with anxiety, you may not feel like putting yourself into social situations, but isolating(使孤立)yourself socially is the worst thing you can do. Connecting with others can help you realize everyone has struggles and that people are there for you.

   {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Connection can help you improve your mood.

A. Life is so much more enjoyable when you expect less of it.

B. Make sure you aren't going around trying to please everyone.

C. It is scientifically proved that exercise can improve your mood.

D. See a friend, call a family member or just smile at strangers passing by.

E. Pen and paper can provide you with a special place to express your feelings.

F. When you take time to enjoy all the good things, you can't help but feel good.

G. Only by competing with yourself to be a better you can you get where you want to be.

    We all wish we had just a bit more time. Just think what you could do with an extra hour or two each day: you could finally stick to an exercise routine, or spring-clean the house, or write your novel, or learn the guitar and so on. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} But I can help you find more hours in your day for the things that really matter.

1）. Get Out of Bed Earlier

If you normally get up at 7: 30 a. m. , try getting up at 7: 00 a. m. That half-hour might not sound like much, but it could be time that you use to exercise, to read that book you've been meaning to finish. {#blank#}2{#/blank#}

2）. Do the Important Tasks First

    Once you get to work, get the important ones done first (not the easy ones, or even the urgent ones). You can afford to spend at least an hour working on big, important tasks rather than on all those little urgent ones. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}The urgent tasks will still get done, and you won't miss the important ones.

3）. Reduce Interruptions

    If colleagues have a habit of hanging around your desk to chat, or if the phone is constantly ringing, you might find that it takes you half the day to finish a simple task like writing a letter. Constant interruptions don't just eat up time, they also break your concentration.

    When you've got a big task to focus on, let your calls go to voicemail. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Wearing headphones makes it less likely that people will try to strike up a conversation.

4）. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

    A few minutes chatting, browsing the web, and so on, can easily turn into hours of wasted time over the course of a day. When you're working, work. If your concentration is slipping, take a proper break: go and get a glass of water, or stretch your legs a bit. And if you're facing a difficult task, try breaking it into small steps or stages so that it's easier to deal with.

A. Or simply to get your day off to a calm and organized start.

B. I can't magically make all your days 25 hours long.

C. Would you want me to make your day longer?

D. Take Breaks When Necessary

E. If you have an office door, close it.

F. If you work like this, you'll usually save time.

G. Stay Focused on Your Work

Question: Why is it so hard for some people to apologize after they've done something wrong? I have made efforts to persuade my uncle to be nice to people that he's hurt. {#blank#}1{#/blank#} How I wish things would be better if he'd just say he's sorry and ask them to forgive him.

Answer: {#blank#}2{#/blank#} It's just easier for him to pretend nothing happened than to face the embarrassment (尴尬) of admitting he was wrong. You've probably done the same thing yourself at some time. In fact, most of us have. Furthermore, what if others won't forgive him even if he apologizes?

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Pride blinds us to our mistakes or faults. Or at least it makes us pay less attention to their seriousness.

    Pride also makes us unwilling to admit to others that we were wrong. Perhaps we're afraid they will look down on us if we admit it. {#blank#}4{#/blank#} 

    But others see through our pride. And things would be far better if we admitted our faults and asked for forgiveness. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} 

    Now you know why your uncle refuses to apologize, talk to him again. Help him to learn how to apologize and ask for forgiveness from others.

A. But a deeper reason is pride.

B. But he just refuses to do that.

C. We may even hope that somehow they will overlook it.

D. As a result, you would offend others and hurt their feelings.

E. There are a variety of reasons for your uncle's refusal to apologize.

F. Otherwise our pride would only hurt us and cause conflict with others.

G. One reason your uncle finds it hard to apologize could be embarrassment.

    If you are hungry, what do you do? Grab a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet after that?{#blank#}1{#/blank#}But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover or favorite star. So it silently serves your needs and never lets itself grow. When mind loses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}  Now why reading and not watching TV? Because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from the childhood. Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to get help from reading.

    Once you read a book, you just don't run your eyes through the lines, but even your mind decodes it and explains it to you. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas. The same seed if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, of which you would have never thought in your wildest dreams!

    This is nothing but creativity. More the number of books you read, your mind will open up like never before. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}Within no time you start speaking English or any language fluently with your friends or other people and you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time.

    So guys do join me and give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Go, grab a book, and let me know!

A. Just like your stomach, even your mind is hungry.

B. Why not do some reading while you are hungry?

C. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed.

D. Now what are you waiting for?

E. Also this makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary.

F. Reading can help you make more friends, too.

G. Hunger of the mind can be actually satisfied through wide reading.

    I have seen how having an animal in your life can make things much better for all concerned. Here are some reasons.

    A pet's love never stops.

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}. Even if you cannot return that unconditional love, just knowing that it is there will make your life better.

    Caring for something other than yourself is emotionally healthy.

    Giving and getting a little love, even if you have to say "sit down" 270 times a day, can take your mind off your troubles and help you to see what really matters.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#}.

    If you have a dog, you need to take it (and yourself) on walks. Dogs are happiest when they are walking. And it's common knowledge that taking regular walks is also good for your heart and brain health.

    Just the act of petting a creature lowers your blood pressure and helps you relax.

    The next time you are feeling uncomfortable, I suggest going to your local shelter and giving some love to an animal there. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}, but notice how you feel when the two of you are exchanging emotional energy. And don't be surprised if you do adopt!

    Saving a life will make yours better.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}, but what about the used ones? All my animals have been rescued, and they are as sweet as can be.

    Maybe you think you don't have enough room in your heart.

    You may already have a family to love, and that is totally wonderful. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}. I know not everybody is an animal lover, but if you think you might be, don't lose this chance.

A. You won't have to take it home

B. Some people want lovely pets

C. Having a pet is also physically healthy

D. If you want more love in your life, consider a pet

E. Taking your dog for a walk can make your dog happy

F. Some people prefer their new puppy to be from a pet store

G. No matter what, your pet will always love you and remember you

The secrets of successful listening

"When people talk, listen completely." Those words of Ernest Hemingway might be a pretty good guiding principle for many managers, as might the saying by Zeno of Citium, a Greek philosopher, "We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say." {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Some firms use a technique known as a "listening circle". {#blank#}2{#/blank#} In such a circle, only one person can talk about the issues they face at a time and there is no interruption. A study cited in the Harvard Business Review found that employees who had taken part in a listening circle then suffered less social anxiety and had fewer worries about work-related matters than those who did not.

Listening has been critical to the career of Richard Mullender, who was a hostage (人质) negotiator, dealing with everything from suicide (自杀) prevention to international crimes. He defines listening as "the identification, selection and comprehension of the key words". {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Plenty of people think that good listening is about nodding your head or keeping eye contact. But that is not really listening, Mr Mullender argues.

A good listener is always looking for facts, emotions and indications of the speaker's values. Another important point to bear in mind is that, when you talk, you are not listening. The listener's focus should be on analysis.

{#blank#}4{#/blank#} One approach is to make an assessment of what the other person is telling you and then check it with them ("It seems to me that what you want is X"). {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The fundamental aim is to build up a relationship so the other person likes you and trusts you, Mr Mullender says.

A. It is vital to all effective communication.

B. However, a listener needs to speak occasionally.

C. For people like listening to others.

D. That gives the other party a sense that they are being understood.

E. Therefore, a listener shouldn't just listen.

F. In it participants are encouraged to talk openly and honestly.

G. For people like being listened to.