Do you want to take time to get in touch with yourself, your feelings, your dreams, and a good, healthy life? Here are some tips:

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} Sometimes it seems as if our culture has begun to view the need for sleep as a sign of weakness. But your body was genetically(基因地) programmed to spend a third of its life on sleep, and this affects thinking, memory, growth, your immune(免疫的) system and even your weight.

    Begin the day in thankfulness. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Name each person and hold them in your thoughts. The sense of thankfulness you experience will set a peaceful tone for the entire day, and reduce a day's stress that can lead to sleeplessness that night.

    Strike a balance. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Think about tai chi, prayer, yoga(瑜伽)—any daily activity that allows you to develop a peaceful center and a sense of balance.

    Play with friends. The "tend and be friend studies", as they are called, conducted by UCLA researcher, Shelly Taylor, Ph.D. indicate that when women are stressed, they tend to their children and play with other women. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Use guided imagination. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} The tone of your voice, pacing, music, and pictures will persuade your nervous system that it's time to calm down.

    There is a woman named Tao Porchon-Lynch. She was born in India in 1918. So, if you do the math, she's 99. And at the age of 99, she has been recognized as the oldest yoga teacher in the world. She has been teaching yoga in a gym in her hometown, full-time, since 1967.

    But that's not all she's done. She has also been a model, actress and dancer. She became a model after she graduated from high school. She acted in more than ten fields. She won a lot of medals as a dancer in many competitions. She once said, “If you try your best and never give up, nothing is impossible.” And she is a firm believer in positive thinking. She dreams the impossible dreams, and she is also well known as a thinker.

    Tao Porchon-Lynch is not the person who talks the talk; she is the person who walks the walk. When she makes up her mind to do something, she takes action to do it without delay. At the age of 85, she learned how to dance and even won several dance competitions. She offers this piece of advice to others, “Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Don't delay. Tomorrow never comes.”

    So, what about retirement? At 98, she is well past the age when many people make retirement plans. Retiring, it turns out, is not Tao's style. “A little girl, who is only 6 years old and is now learning yoga with me, once asked me, ‘Dear granny, what are you going to do when you retire?'” Tao Porchon-Lynch told the little girl that she had no plans to retire but instead would continue to teach yoga and dance her way to next planet.

    I do think that dieting does not work. What it does do is to make you uneasy about food. Imagine you are prepared to abandon your belief and imagine yourself like a slim person...how do you get there?

Transform your focus

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#}Focus on what you really want, not what you don't want. Imagine how you would like to be. See a big picture of yourself, looking fantastic in your bathing suit, how good would you be feeling?{#blank#}2{#/blank#}

Understand your hunger

    Slim people eat based on how hungry they are and when lunch time or tea time or dinner time around; they don't just fill up their plate because the food is there. The next time hunger pangs （剧痛） strike, imagine you have a scale in your mind from one to ten. {#blank#}3{#/blank#}Check where you are on that scale before you put something into your mouth. You can also use the scale to judge how full you're getting.

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Hunger is the only good reason for eating. Most overweight people have got into the habit of eating    when they are not hungry. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}Many people have forgotten how to eat when they're hungry and most    diets tell you to ignore pleasure and ignore hunger and they also tell you when/how much and exactly what to eat.

    If you want to make a great first impression—and why wouldn't you—you know there are basic steps you can take: you should smile, make eye contact, talk less than the other person, and ask questions about him or her. Anyone can do those things.

    But what you might not know is that if you think other people are going to like you, they usually will. As research shows, interpersonal warmth explains the scene: study participants who expected to be accepted were sensed as more likable. (when you think other people will like you, you act in a more natural way—which then makes people like you more since we tend to like warm, friendly people.)

    All of which sounds great, but when you're shy or insecure, you might believe that other people will like you. When you're not familiar with the setting or do not feel comfortable, it's a lot easier to believe people don't like you.

    So how can you convince yourself that people will like you? Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and commit to taking a few steps that ensure almost anyone will like you.

    ⒈Give a sincere compliment(称赞).

    Everyone loves praise, especially since no one gets enough praise. Show interest by asking questions. But go past, "What do you do?" Ask what it's like to do what the person does. Ask what's hard about it. Ask what the person loves about it. You'll soon find things to compliment.

    ⒉Focus on letting people talk about themselves.

    People love to talk about themselves.

    Research shows approximately 40 percent of everyday speech is spent telling other people what we think or feel—basically, talking about our subjective experiences.

    By helping people talk about themselves, you're seen as a great conversationalist. In fact, you say very little. Even if you haven't succeeded in making people fully understand you, it is OK. And in the process, you also make other people feel better about themselves, and that makes them like you.

    That's another win-win.

    ⒊Change one word.

    Think about the difference in these statements:

    I had to go to a meeting.

    I got to meet with some great people.

    I have to interview some candidates for a job.

    I get to select a great person to join our team.

    No big deal, right? Wrong. We like to be around the people who have enthusiasm and motivation.

    Keep in mind choosing the right words also affects how you feel. Don't say, "I have to go to the gym." Say, "I want to go to the gym."

    ⒋Show a little weakness.

    Great teams are often led by people willing to admit weaknesses and failings.

    Want to make a great first impression? Don't try to impress. Instead, be humble. Admit your mistakes. Laugh at yourself.

    When you do, other people won't laugh at you. They'll laugh with you.

    And they'll immediately like you, and want to be around you more.

What Teenagers Can Do To Earn More Respect

    As teenagers continue to grow and develop into young adults, the transition(过渡) into adulthood has begun. With so many physical and emotional changes going on, certain manners are often forgotten and other adult traits(特点) are not yet accepted as a way of life. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}By doing the following things, you will earn more respect.

    Contribute to the household(家庭)

    At the very least, clean up after yourself. As a teenager, you are old enough to clean up after yourself. When you make a mess, clean it up. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} All chores(家务) that you do help to reduce the load of the person who did them before. Now that you're old enough and capable, why shouldn't you contribute to the household? {#blank#}3{#/blank#}

    Be responsible

    {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Whether they are basic things, like brushing your teeth or doing your homework, or more involved chores that contribute to the household, simply fulfill (履行) your responsibilities on time. When adults know that they can rely on you, their trust and respect for you will increase.

    Solve more of your own problem without asking for help

    Instead of taking the easy approach and asking for help, make an effort to solve your problems on your own first. The "easy way" is only easy for you, but it is an extra task for the person from whom you are seeking help. Seek help only after you have make an honest effort to solve your own problems. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} When you become a good problem solver, you increase your valve to the community.

A. Everyone has certain responsibilities.

B. By being aware of these manners and traits, you can manage them sooner.

C. The people doing the chores before will greatly appreciate the help.

D. This includes, but is not limited to, your dishes and your room.

E. It will make your life more pleasant.

F. Depending on the problem, 15 minutes of effort is usually a good guideline.

G. When speaking to a group, speak loud enough.

    Every summer, hundreds of thousands of students travel to other countries looking for work and adventure. Most of the opportunities are in seasonal work, mainly connected with tourism and agriculture. The pay is usually poor, but most people work abroad for the thrill of travel. You can pick grapes in France, work on a family campsite, entertain kids on American summer camps, and of course, there are always jobs in hotels and restaurants.

    But it is not as easy as it used to be to find work. "Unless you speak the language of the country will, there will be very few openings." Says Anthea Ellis, an adviser on vacation work for students. "If you work as a nanny with a family in Italy, then of course you'll have to speak Italian. When you arrive to wash dishes in a restaurant in Paris, the owner will expect you to speak French."

    Not everyone enjoys the experience. Sarah James was an assistant responsible for a summer camp group of forty America children in Europe. One child lost his passport; another became seriously ill and was flown home; four children were lost in Madrid for a whole day; the whole group was thrown out of one hotel because of the noise they made. "I did visit a lot of new places," she says, "but it wasn't worth it. The pay was awful and really was a 24-hour-a-day job. The kids never slept!"

    "The trouble is, students expect to have an easy time of it," Anthea Ellis points out. "After all, they see it as a holiday. In practice, though, you have to work hard. At the same time, all vacation work is casual work. You'll have a job when the hotel, the restaurant, or the campsite is busy and you have few employment rights. As soon as the holiday season finished, they'll get rid of you. If you don't work hard, or if your employer doesn't like you, you'll get fired."