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7 Ways to Build Your Confidence and Reduce Your Anxiety

This article is a guest post by Stan Popovich.

Many people struggle with their confidence throughout their life. It can be challenging to find the courage to be yourself in today’s society.

As a result, here are 7 suggestions on how to increase your self-esteem and reduce your anxiety in your life.

1. Know your weaknesses and strengths: It is important to know what skills you have in your life. Taking a skills assessment test is a great way to determine your strengths and weaknesses. Once you realize your skill sets, the next step is to focus on your talents.

2. Accept who you are: Do not get into the habit of comparing yourself to others. You are unique in this world and it is important that you realize that you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.

3. Remember your successes: Some people downplay their successes and focus on those things they struggle with. Always remind yourself of your past accomplishments no matter how small they may be.  Stop focusing on the negative parts of your life and remember your past achievements.

4. Think about your future: Take time to think about what you really want out of life. Do not live your life for others. Once you determine what you want to accomplish, the next step is to develop a strategy that will help you to accomplish your goals.

5. Create goals: Set achievable goals on a regular basis and then take small steps to accomplish them. Make sure your goals are measurable and monitor your progress. Don’t get upset if you don’t accomplish all of your goals. You can always change your goals so that you can be more successful.

6. Talk to others: It is important that you talk to other successful people in order to get a better perspective of your life. Listening to other people’s challenges and accomplishments can go a long way in feeling better about yourself. You can also learn how to overcome the obstacles in your life.

7. Be persistent: Do not give up in achieving your goals in your life. Learn from your mistakes and try to improve on your situation. Do not make excuses on why you should quit or give up. Sometimes it takes a lot of effort to be successful. The key is to keep at it until you get what you want.

Guest Post Author Bio

Stan Popovich is the author of the popular managing fear book, “A Layman’s Guide To Managing Fear”. For more information about Stan’s book and to get some free mental health advice, please visit Stan’s website at http://www.managingfear.com.

Akron Today does not endorse or recommend guest post authors, interviewees, or other people appearing in the site. Our information is general and does not represent professional advice or opinions.

Study Tips for College – Learned The Hard Way

By time classes start, we are expected to know how to study, who knew right? We are expected to work, study and play, and do everything splendidly. We are adults now.  We make good decisions, and we are responsible (you may laugh now). So, how are you doing?  Have you applied for freshman forgiveness yet?  Second year, and don’t have the credits to show for?  Do not worry, you are not alone. There is a reason why every university offers freshman forgiveness to their students, and why thousands of them do it. Many freshmen have to do an all over the second year, and that means good business for the school. Plus, everybody deserves a second chance, right?

So, if you are just heading out, or this is your second year, here is a list of five things you should try to do this time around.

  1. Ideally don’t drink. Really.
  2. If you do, schedule your drinking for the week-end only.  And I mean Friday and Saturday. By Sunday you should try to recover a bit, so you can do your homework, study and get ready for Monday.  If you cannot control yourself at least this much, you are going to have issues.
  3. Going to classes with a hangover won’t help your studies.  According to The National Center for Biotechnology, if you are suffering from sleep deprivation-If you have a hangover you probably are-It can influence attention and vigilance.  In other words, your attention to the material covered that day in your classes will  go unnoticed.
  4. Tell your best buddy “Procrastination” you can’t be exclusive.  Maybe break up the relationship for good.  It is in your best interest.
  5. An all-nighter is not a good thing.  That means your best buddy Procrastination and you were hanging out too much.  Preparation is the key to get good grades.  You may pull an all-nighter, but you probably won’t retain much.
  6. Diet matters. If you are eating too many Ramen Noodles because you are spending your money buying alcohol, that might explain why you are getting the grades you’re getting. Eat something that will help your body, and your mind. Fruits and vegetables will start your body in the right direction.

College is supposed to be fun, it is supposed to enable you to form long lasting relationships. But the reason to go to college is for you to prepare for life. Passing classes then is an important part of the college experience.

This article written by a college student and based on learning things the hard way.

Hidden Signs Your Dog Is Sick

There are obvious times your dog may be sick.  It is vomiting repeatedly.  It is not eating at all.  It is sleeping a lot more.  It is whimpering when you touch them or they get up.  But often times there are more subtle signs your dog needs to be taken to the veterinarian’s office.  Remember they cannot talk to you so you need to keep an eye on them for obvious, and less obvious signs of problems.

We talked to Dr. Steve Hicks of Akron Medina Veterinary Hospital, located in the Medina, Montrose, Fairlwawn area to find out 10 hidden signs your dog may need to go to the veterinarian.

    1. Eating Less – If your dog is eating less than usual for more than a day or two it could be a sign of something more serious.
    2. Eye / Vision Change – If you notice the eyes changing or notice your dog is having trouble finding treats or food, it is time to see a vet.
    3. Change in Exercise – If your dog is not interested in the same level of exercise it is time to go to a vets.
    4. Signs of Aging – Just because a dog is getting older and exhibiting signs of aging does not mean the dog cannot bounce back with some medical care or treatment.  Often people think this is not treatable but at the very least dogs can be made more comfortable.
    5. More Frequent Urination – Dogs that start urinating more could have a kidney problem and should be looked at by a veterinarian to check for kidney disease.
    6. Low Grade Cough – One sign that is often overlooked is a low grade cough.  It does not have to be a loud cough.  Even an infrequent cough can be a sign of heart disease and should be checked out.
    7. Not liking hard food anymore – If your dog seems to no longer like harder food and treats this is often a sign of gum disease.  Poor dental health can lead to losing teeth and other issues and should be treated by a vet.
    8. Slower Movement – If your dog is moving more slowly it could be a sign of arthritis.  There are over the counter and prescribed treatments for this and you should not let your dog suffer when there is a treatment that can relieve the pain.

Dr. Steve Hicks - Akron Medina Veterinary HospitalDogs can have thyroid problems just like people do. Any weight gain or loss without change in diet should be checked.

Dr. Steve Hicks - Akron Medina Veterinary Hospital

  1. Panting More – A dog that is panting more but otherwise still looks happy might be in pain.  This is one of the ways dogs exhibit pain or stress.
  2. Any Change In Habit – Ultimately, being on the look out for any change in habit is important.  Losing weight could be serious.  Gaining Weight could be serious.  Not responding to sounds like before could be serious.  Changes should always be taken seriously and discussed with a veterinarian.

If you are not sure, you can always give your veterinarian a call and ask about worrying symptoms and see if they think your dog needs to be seen.  Catching a problem early can save you and your dog more serious problems later on.  And saves you the uncertainty and worry when you notice something just not right but at the same time not an obvious sign of distress.

Transitioning From Outdoor Fit to Indoor Fit

With the cooler weather coming soon, it is time for Ohio residents to start planning their transition from outdoor fitness activities to indoor. Northeast Ohio has a wealth of bike trails, hiking, beaches, swimming, outdoor sports and other ways to stay outside (for free) in the Summer.  But once it dips below 50 degrees, those outdoor activities seem a bit less appealing and eventually only are options for hard core outdoorsy people.

So what are some of your options this Winter to stay in shape?

Join  a Gym.  This is obvious, but one nice thing that has changed in the last few years is you can join gyms month to month and only use them in the Winter months.

Buy limited fitness equipment to stay fit at home.  A tread mill and some kettle bells might be all you need to stay beach body ready in your home.  Look for used kettle bells to save some money.

Join Indoor Sports.  We recently covered options of Indoor Tennis and Indoor Soccer.  Basketball would be another obvious one.  Maybe you can even find adult dodge ball.  There are plenty of indoor sporting opportunities for kids and adults.

Do Winter sports.  Cross country and downhill skiing are great workouts.  Snow shoe hiking?  Sure.  You can also simply hike snow trails with some extra preparation.

Watch what you eat.  There is the issue of paying close attention to your Winter diet.  Do not start eating more at night because you are spending more time in front of the television.  Do not cut back on fresh fruits and vegetables just because they cost a little bit more.  Do not stop grilling healthy lean meats just because you have to push some snow off the grill cover first.

With some advanced planning and careful attention being paid to how your habits change, you can stay fit and firm no matter how long the ground is covered in permafrost.

 

Akron Hiking Trails

Spring and summer are possibly the best seasons to start exercising, or exploring new places with your family. Fall in Ohio, with its beauty, makes it almost impossible not to wander about, or finding new places to enjoy. Trails in the Northeast Ohio area are wonderful places to spend the day with your family, while exercising, and breathing clean air. Here then is a list of trails
you will certainly enjoy in the Akron area.

1.Cascade Valley Metro Park / North
1690 Cuyahoga St,
Akron, OH 44313
(330) 867-5511

2.Cascade Valley Metro Park / South
Akron, OH 44310
Phone:(330) 867-5511

3.Sand Run Metro Park
1750 Sand Run Pkwy
Akron, OH 44313
Phone:(330) 865-8065

4. Botzum Trailhead Park
2928 Riverview Rd, Akron, OH 44313

5. Summit Metro Parks
975 Treaty Line Rd, Akron, OH 44313
Phone:(330) 867-5511

6. F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm
1828 Smith Rd, Akron, OH 44313
Phone:(330) 865-8065

7.Gorge Metro Park
160 Front St, Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223
Phone:(330) 867-5511

These are a few of the many parks and trails you will find around Akron. Pick one and re-discover nature with your family.

5 Reasons To Cook More At Home

I get a little concerned when I hear that Americans do not cook. I get it if you both have professional jobs working 50+ hours a week and long commutes. I also get it if you live alone and it is easier and sometimes cheaper to go out to eat.  But if you have two or more people and you are not making a bunch of money working crazy hours, going out to eat should be more of a treat and not a twice a day occurrence.

From what is reported in the media, it seems like many people did not learn cooking growing up and decide this means it is too late to learn.  In fact, it is just a matter of building up your comfort level with different ways to cook and different ingredients.  You can do trial and error, starting with easier stuff and building up your competence over time.  You can watch cooking channels and try things you see.  You can take cooking classes.  You could offer to buy ingredients and cook with a friend who is a better cook than you but let them know you want to cook with them and learn.

Here are five very good reasons to cook at home – even if it is going to take you a while to get good at it.

  1. Healthier Food – The top reason is that you know what is going in your food and you can make it healthier.  The reality is that it might not taste as good as that unhealthy stuff, but it can be very good and be much better for you.  For example, I make Chipotle burritos at home and they are not as good because I put 25% of the cheese and no sour cream.  I just can’t bring myself to glob on huge portions like they do in the restaurant (even though it is delicious.)
  2. Less Fried Foods – You can also cut back on fried foods when you eat at home.  It is easy to order a side of fries but a pain in the but to heat up the fryer and fry things just for an unhealthy side.
  3. Show Off a Skill – As good cooks get more rare, it is even more impressive when you meet one.  The only way you become a good cook is by cooking regularly and experimenting with new recipes.  Once you get there you can amaze your friends and family, impress a date and act like a snob know it all in restaurants.  So much fun.
  4. Save Money – Sometimes you might spend MORE on a meal than you would have getting the same thing in a restaurant.  But what you might not factor in is that you have a lot more food than you would have by going out.  So you may get 3 meals for roughly the same spend.  Alcohol is one big bonus when it comes to saving money as you buy your bottle of wine or case of beer for what two glasses would have cost in that dinner out.
  5. Get Sick Less – I am not anti-restaurant, but we do notice we get sick more when we eat out more.  When you have a restaurant kitchen full of people cooking and prepping your food, it only takes one person with a cold to get the whole family sick.  Restaurants do not want employees to come sick, but since the employees most likely do not get sick pay, they need to work when they are feeling under the weather.  This results in people working while sick more then you would like to think.

I am not suggesting not eating out anymore.  Far from it.  But also you do not want to get into the habit of eating out all the time and eating prepackaged stuff at home that you only need to microwave.  It is so much healthier, cheaper and more rewarding to learn how to cook nice meals.  Start slow and build up your skills until you are an Iron Chef of Akron.

10 Ways To Free Up Your Time

Let’s talk about how to free up a bunch of your time.  Most people feel overwhelmed and busy most of the time and there are ways to put more minutes back into your day and they do not take too much effort.

There are a lot of reasons you should want to free up your time.  Even if you just want to have more fun and enjoy life more, freeing up time is a noble en-devour.  Another reason you might want to free up time is to do more side gigs and make some extra money to pay down bills.  Either way, well worth doing.  Here are 10 ways to grab back those minutes.

  1. Live close to work – Have as small of a commute as possible.  If you are living in Hudson and working in Fairlawn, why?  You can change your job or your home.  Cutting your drive can add an hour or more a day to your free time.
  2. Work from home – Better yet, make your commute a short walk to your home office.  You may be able to work from home all the time or only some days a week, but cutting down on drive time can free up your day.  Also, less office chit chat might make you more productive.
  3. Plan your meals – Do you go to the store every day or two?  Plan out your meals for the week and shop once.
  4. Get up early – Get up earlier and go to sleep earlier.  Chances are you are more productive in the morning and even if your sleep hours remain the same, the morning hours will probably be more productive and free up time later in the day.
  5. Time your errands – Do your errands, such as going to the post office, the bank and shopping during times when other people are working.  This cuts down on lines and waiting.
  6. Prep outfits – Know what you are going to wear for the week and prep them all at once.  The less you need to think about your clothes the better.  There is a reason that many great leaders have worn the same outfit most of the time.  They save their time and energy for more important things.
  7. Declutter your home – In our article on decluttering your home, we talk about how having less stuff saves time and money.
  8. Automate finances – One of the best things I ever did was automate most monthly financial transactions.  I know how much money I need to have in my account and everything happens automatically, saving me time and avoiding late fees.
  9. Hire help – If you are not an expert on something, don’t try to do it yourself (unless you truly enjoy figuring it out.)  You can find people to do thing much more affordably than before with sites for people doing gigs like tutoring, handyman, lawn care, etc.  Know what your time is worth and don’t waste it when you could hire out more cheaply.
  10. Limit Non-work Screen Time – Whether it is binge watching Netflix or reading fake (or real) news, limit your time in front of screens and get back hours a day.

All of these things individually are fairly minor habit changes or location changes that can vastly free up your time and improve your life.

Decluttering Your Ohio Home

A common expression is that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.  It is safe to say that the opposite is true as well.  Have you seen when someone leaves a home and leaves many of their belongings in it?  Or how about going to a tag sale and seeing all the knickknacks which are on sale for a buck?  We should turn that expression around and say “One man’s treasure is many people’s trash.”

Unless you are very disciplined, you most likely have a lot of stuff in your home that you do not use.  The longer you have been there the worse it has no doubt gotten.

Decluttering your home will make it more enjoyable.  When you go on vacation one of the nicest elements is the lack of clutter in a nice, spacious hotel.

Decluttering will save you money.  You can sell valuable things on ebay or amazon and you can just throw away a lot of stuff.  This will save you money because the more you throw away, the more thoughtful you are before you buy new things.

Decluttering will help you stay more organized.  By only keeping things you really need and keeping things picked up and put away, your life will be simpler and more organized.

Decluttering will make it easier to sell your home or move.  The less you have the more show-ready your home is if you decide to put it on the market.  Everyone knows the more cluttered a house is the less desirable it is to potential buyers.  By keeping it decluttered, you can be ready to move without months of cleaning.

Tips for Decluttering your Akron Home

  1. If you have not used something for more than a year, either put it up for sale or throw it away.
  2. Keep a minimal amount of holiday / seasonal items for decorating.  Only keep what you enjoy the most.  This stuff has a habit of building up.
  3. Take care of papers, mail and deliveries right away.  Do not let stacks grow.  Whenever possible, store documents electronically and dispose of papers quickly.
  4. Know where your local recycling center is and have older documents you no longer need shredded.  This is often free if you know where to go.
  5. Don’t assign emotions to items.  Unless something truly gives you joy see it for the item it is and get rid of it if you do not need it.
  6. Don’t keep clothes you do not wear.  Donating them can give you a tax break while helping someone out.

This is a big start to living a fresher, cleaner and more clutter-free life.  Enjoy the empty space.

 

 

Bullying In Schools

Every school has some level of bullying.  Akron area schools are no different.  The responsibility of dealing with bullying is not just a teacher or principal, but everyone’s responsibility because you do not know who will see the warning signs first.

Parents should look for signs not only that their child may be being bullied, but also that they are bullying others.  Consequences can be devastating for either party in the end.

One thing your school should do is use Outstanda to do surveys for students and detect bullying and issues before they get worse.

Even when these issues do not end in violence, the long term negative consequences can last a lifetime.  Someone who has been bullied can lack self confidence and someone who is a bully can have trouble working with others and might lack empathy and care when entering adult life.  In many cases, this will hurt their ability for advancement and leadership positions in working situations.  While some parents may think their kids are “strong,” the lack of compassion for others is not a good thing and can lead to many negative consequences.

How do you spot if your child is being bullied?

  • Making excuses not to go to school, such as faking illnesses
  • Unexplained loss or damage of money or items
  • Lack of appetite
  • Suspicious injuries
  • Decrease in self-esteem
  • More withdrawn, possibly self-destructive behavior

And how do you know if your child is bullying others?

  • Going to the principal’s office
  • Getting into physical and verbal fights
  • More aggressive
  • Speaks demeaning of others
  • Blames others for their problems
  • Worries about reputation and popularity

These are just some signs.  Teachers, parents, and other students should all be aware of the signs and report concerns.  Silence lets the problem escalate.  Schools have professionals to help with these issues and you should report any concern to the school as soon as possible.  For more information, read the government stop bullying site.  This has a more comprehensive list and more information if you have any concerns.

Middlebury Academy Charter School Akron

The Middlebury Movement – Molding Students Into Leaders

Middlebury Academy is under new management, and there are exciting initiatives on the horizon. The future is very bright for this kindergarten through eighth grade school located in East Akron, OH. The school recently partnered with the Educational Empowerment Group, and dynamic upgrades are underway. Middlebury Academy will have additional curricular resources to enhance classroom instruction, 21st Century technology, such as new, interactive SMART boards in each classroom, wrap-around services to support students and families, and energetic school programs to provide a fun, well-rounded experience for the students.

The students of Middlebury Academy will engage in an elevated experience through positive motivation, encouragement and high expectations. Since its partnership with the Educational Empowerment Group, the school has increased community partnerships to include Beech Brook Counseling Services, Families First Health Services and the Minority Behavioral Support Group. These additions are fostering a positive school culture which can promote an increase in overall student achievement. The school endeavors to continue to increase community programs and partnerships to support the social and emotional needs of the students.

The new principal, Michael Zografos, has a mission for the school which will raise the standard of excellence among the students and staff. Principal Zografos is actively working to cultivate leadership, scholarship and citizenship among students. Middlebury Academy is taking the shape of a distinctive school that will positively change the lives of its students and become a beacon in the Akron community. Middlebury Academy is molding leaders!

For more information, call 330-752-2766 or click here to submit a request for more information.  Middlebury Academy is currently accepting applications for enrollment. Reserve a place for your student today.

To learn more or to get registered, visit MiddleburyAcademyedu.org.

About Middlebury Academy: Middlebury Academy is a tuition-free charter school serving kindergarten through eighth-grade families in Akron, Ohio.