Peak Pathway Magazine's Blog : career development forum

1. When you’re busy, you aren’t present. Life is made up of hundreds of thousands of moments. Some that move us, others that change us, and some that provoke us to action. Being busy takes us away from those moments. Millennial expert Jullien Gordon has a remedy for this: know the difference between being a workaholic vs. a high performer . The former wants to look more important, but the latter seeks out important work. Knowing the difference can help you do more in each moment of your day. 2.When you’re busy, you confuse motion for progress. We all want to do more with what we have. Unfortunately, we think being busy means we are making strides. The  Pareto Principle presents another hypothesis which deserves some attention. It states that 80% of your results come from 20% of your time. If you are able to figure out what that 20% looks like (and the actions you take to get there), you can create immeasurable leverage. That means you’ll spend more time d...

1– Take Your Ego Out Of The Equation No matter what you do, swallow your pride. Rarely will it get you anywhere. Confidence is one thing, but pride is a nasty element to the human condition. Do everything you can to take your ego out of the equation. We’re talking about work here, the place where you come to do a job, earn a paycheck and go home. Is it really worth all the emotional effort that will come with including your feelings? Let your work speak for you. Let your silence be a sign of your maturity. Get back to work and let the gossips do the gossiping. In the Army, part of our evaluations include statements about our character. Allow yours to be “character is above reproach” and you won’t have many problems. Keep your mouth shut, be nice and establish a reputation for walking away from gossip and other office drama 2 - Mind Your Business   One of the most effective methods of getting ahead at work is to simply mind your own business. I want you to thi...

You know exercise is good for you, but do you know how good? From boosting your mood to improving your sex life, find out how exercise can improve your life. Want to feel better, have more energy and even add years to your life? Just exercise. The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise, regardless of age, sex or physical ability. Need more convincing to get moving? Check out these seven ways exercise can lead to a happier, healthier you. 1. Exercise controls weight Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn. Regular trips to the gym are great, but don't worry if you can't find a large chunk of time to exercise every day. To reap the benefits of exercise, just get more active throughout your day — take the stairs instead of the elevator...

Why do we live for live music? On the molecular level, research shows that listening to music improves our mental well-being and physical health. How Music Can Be Used To Influence Different Mood Goals Enjoyment goes far beyond the present moment, as it directly influences the outcome of our hormones and cognitive functioning. While research has suggested that  people who play instruments are smarter , there are also plenty of benefits for the music enthusiasts. Here is a list of 10 benefits to listening to music:   1. Music Increases Happiness This might seem obvious, but the natural chemical reasoning is pretty incredible to think about. If you are ever in need of an emotional boost, let it be known that it only takes 15 minutes of listening to your favorite tunes to get a natural high. This is because your  brain releases dopamine , a neurotransmitter that leads to increased feelings of happiness, excitement, and joy, when you liste...

You might be at risk even if your weight is fine and you don't have heart disease in your family. Here's why. Eating a lousy diet and spending too much time in couch-potato mode are surefire ways to raise your risk of having a heart attack. But there are other less obvious factors that may be contributing to the 1.5 million heart attacks —and 500,000 deaths—that occur each year. Here are five you’re probably not familiar with, along with easy ways to sidestep their risk and keep your ticker ticking.   1. Your skin is scaly. The effects of psoriasis may be more than skin deep:  Studies  show the risk of developing heart disease is two to three times greater in people with this skin problem. The common denominator is inflammation, says Mona Gohara, MD, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine. “The same chronic inflammation that’s in the skin [of people with psoriasis] can also damage arteries, leading to an increased ris...

Chances are you already know that eating too much sugar isn’t good for you. Yet you’re probably still overdoing it: Americans average about 20 teaspoons of added sugars per day, compared to the recommended 6 teaspoons for women and 9 teaspoons for men. (That doesn't include sugar found naturally in foods like fruits and milk.) Sugary drinks, candy, baked goods, and sweetened dairy are the main sources of added sugar. But even savory foods, like breads, tomato sauce, and protein bars, can have sugar, making it all too easy to end up with a surplus of the sweet stuff. To complicate it further, added sugars can be hard to spot on nutrition labels since they can be listed under a number of names, such as corn syrup, agave nectar, palm sugar, cane juice, or sucrose. (See more names for sugar on the graphic below.) No matter what it’s called, sugar is sugar, and it can negatively affect your body in many ways. Here’s a closer loo...

We all have something to regret in life. No matter how successful you are, you will always have something to worry and stress about. If only I had a bigger house, if only I had a better job, if only I was successful or had a peaceful relationship – it’s never ending. There will always be something to drain you of your positive energy, thereby making it difficult to achieve inner peace. Only when you are at peace with yourself, can you be at peace with the world outside. Face your problems and put a stop to your inner turmoil. Know that there are certain things in life that are out of your control. Set yourself free from your inner turmoil and make peace with yourself. When we face what torments us, we put a stop to our inner turmoil. Give yourself permission to be imperfect. Come to terms with your feelings of regret and don’t beat yourself up over situations you can’t control. Be at peace with yourself and set yourself free from the past .  The first step towar...

There are days when you wake up and feel like doing nothing. The energy and enthusiasm to take action seem to be low. Your thought process stops mid-way. You know you have a lot of do’s, yet something just stops you from getting started. But most of the time you are left with no option. It’s a must. Overcoming that hurdle to get things done when you have the itch to just sit back and relax isn’t easy. It’s quite easy to set goals but equally hard to actually get them done. It all boils down to motivation. Without motivation, you feel hopeless, lost and stuck. But you don’t have to always feel hopeless. There are a number of ways to feel inspired when you lack the motivation to work. Here are a few tips and tricks that you can employ to motivate yourself. 1. Pre-commit when you sense procrastination. Sometimes, before even starting a task, you can tell whether you will put it off for later. When you think of doing the task, if you feel any kind of resistance toward it,...

  Workplace stress and unhappiness can profoundly affect your business. Many business owners (including yours truly) care deeply about our businesses. Caring so much means you may have very high standards of excellence. And you may tend to compound the demands during periods of high growth. Yet staff can typically be limited in a small business, and trying to accomplish so much can mean putting stress on your employees. Managers trying to please you and meet goals may in turn place heavy demands on employees. Your policies and culture may lead to employees being overworked to the point of burnout. You may not even realize the stress employees are under and the resulting problems it can cause.   Here are 15 early warning signs of an unhealthy workplace atmosphere and some common culprits that might indicate you may have a culture of overworked employees, along with ways to help remedy the situation.   1. Heightened Emotional Displays You migh...

Navigating any sort of office romance can be tricky. You'd better figure out whether the other party is just a work spouse — or something more. You've got to make sure you say all the right things . And, perhaps most importantly, you need to be prepared to have things blow up in your face . However, what if the romance in question involves someone having a crush on you ? And what happens if that someone is your boss? Needless to say, things can get complicated. First and foremost, it's important to determine whether your boss really has a crush on you.  Here are 17 red flags: 1. You have a gut feeling Most people will give their managers the benefit of the doubt at first, but sometimes there's an inner voice telling you that something between you two feels awkward, says Lynn Taylor, a national-workplace expert and leadership coach and the author of " Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant ." She says: "Gut instincts aren't whims. They'...

Failed marriages are, unfortunately, ordinary occurrences these days. But can they be avoided?    No matter how much a couple loves each other,  marriages fail for a number of reasons. Even though it is considered a sacred and special bond, it doesn’t take much to tear it apart if it has anything to do with the common reasons mentioned below. Find out what it takes to throw away a perfectly good marriage. Marriages fail because of these reasons: 1. Extramarital Affairs If you are married, one of the worst things that you can do is cheat on your spouse. Cheating encompasses not only having sex, but also includes having intimate relations with a person that is not your spouse. However, you should know that having feelings or lewd thoughts (even if it isn’t acted upon) for another person can be considered as cheating too and can be the reason why marriages fail. Having extramarital affairs is the number one reason why marriages fail.  If you g...

Ultimately, we are alone in this world. Having support and love from friends and family around is great, but we are all eventually on our own to make our way and find happiness and satisfaction. Many people spend their whole lives searching for satisfaction in external places – money, fame, and status are all common examples. Most of the people who reach those aspirations realize that was not what they needed to find satisfaction at all. In the end, true happiness has to come from within. This article aims to provide you with six ways that you can look inside yourself and find the happiness you have long desired. – Let Yourself Laugh. Sometimes people get so wrapped up in the seriousness of their careers and life goals that they forget what it’s like to laugh. Make sure you take time each day to laugh. It doesn’t matter what you laugh at – maybe find a funny book, watch a comedy you enjoy, or simply laugh at yourself...

1. Acceptance does not mean liking, wanting, choosing, or supporting. No one is suggesting you like, want, or support whatever it is that you're accepting (in the case of the formula, the "pains"). But, by struggling against the pain — by resisting and rejecting it — we create undue suffering. It doesn't mean that you've chosen or endorse what you're accepting. It doesn't mean you like your anxiety, want your chronic pain, would choose your body, or support an injustice that's happened to you or someone else. Rather, you're choosing to allow it to be there when you can't change it in that moment. To make space for it. To give yourself permission to be as you are, feel what you feel, or have experienced what you've experienced without creating unproductive shame or anxiety. The pain might still be there, but some of the suffering will be alleviated. 2. Acceptance is an active process. It must be practiced. Remember that "...

I know the words “peace of mind” can mean different things to different people. For some, peace of mind comes from receiving other’s approval. These people believe that if everyone loves and thinks highly of them, they will be happy. Others equate peace of mind with possessing material things such as cars, expensive clothes, or a fabulous house. While some are convinced that landing a high-power job, earning a college degree, finding one’s soul mate, having healthy children, or… as you know, the list can go on forever. The one common thread that weaves all of the above examples together is they rely on external circumstances. In other words, peace of mind in these instances comes from the outside. But if that were the case, why are there countless stories, past and present, of people who have reached whatever external goal they’ve set for themselves but still find themselves miserable. Think of the celebrities who seem to have reached the peak of their success, yet th...

“Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.” — Thomas à Kempis Simplicity brings balance, freedom, and joy. When we begin to live simply and experience these benefits, we begin to ask the next question, “Where else in my life can i remove distraction and simply focus on the essential?” Based on our personal journey, our conversations, and our observations, here is a list of the 10 most important things to simplify in your life today to begin living a more balanced, joyful lifestyle:   1. Your Possessions – Too many material possessions complicate our lives to a greater degree than we ever give them credit. They drain our bank account, our energy, and our attention. They keep us from the ones we love and from living a life based on our values. If you will invest the time to remove nonessential possessions from your life, you will never regret it. For more i...

You have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, something is not right but you can't quite figure out what that feeling is about. Your spouse has become distant, he/she is working late on a regular basis or, maybe your spouse has moved out of the house with no explanation. You  suspect your spouse is cheating  but every time you bring it up with your spouse, he/she denies the possibility. All the signs are there but you don't have any proof. So, pay attention to the signs and your instinct but, be careful not to confuse signs with proof. "I love you but I'm not in love with you." If you hear these words, a big warning bell should go off. This is one of the most consistent things a  cheating spouse  will say. Your spouse may have a deep, loving bond with you but, intense feelings of passion can override the bond with you and cause your spouse to lose sight of his/her true feelings. The cheating spouse will develop what is called hormone - induc...