Seeing Is Believing : The Whispering 1 (5 page)

Foster parent Meg Suther’s new foster child
Tony has an odd quirk. He talks to an imaginary friend. However it
turns out the friend is not anything close to pretend. Bruce
exists. Bruce is a friend to Tony and is the father figure Tony
wishes he had.

Meg finds this out very soon when she reads from a
book she finds in the bottom of Tony's bags. The book contains a
rhyme to summon an imaginary friend. Something about the rhyme
catches Meg’s attention.

She reads aloud from the book and finds herself
able to see Bruce. After a misunderstanding and almost harming
Bruce with whatever she has on hand, Tony explains about
Bruce.

Tony created Bruce when he had found the book in
a library and the rhyme caught his own attention. For years Bruce
served as support and a beacon of hope for Tony during his years
under his abusive fathers care.

Meg takes this all rather well and after a talk
over some tea a little more is explained. Not seeing a reason why
he shouldn't, Meg allows Bruce to stay.

Tony sees a possible romance between Meg and
Bruce and plots to set them up together.

Unravel more of this
fascinating book, continue reading Questions And
Whispers...

~ ~ ~
~

How to Beat
Procrastination

Procrastination is the habit of putting off
responsibilities until the very last minute. People have different
reasons for procrastinating, but the end result is almost entirely
the same; work is completed late and of a much lower quality than
it would be if completed on time. Some people will claim that they
work better under pressure and that procrastination is just part of
their genius. This is all well and good if the procrastinator is
writing an epic novel or trying to build a ship in a bottle, but
when others depend on work being done on time and as requested, it
seems unfair to rely on the excuse that genius prevented the work
from being done. If it's a boss in a corporate setting who expects
work to be done at a certain time and in a certain way, failing to
meet expectations could result in professional stagnation,
inability to promote, and feelings of "always being looked over"
for special assignments. If it's a client in a contract setting,
failure to have work completed as requested could result in being
unable to collect payment for work done or, worse, losing the
client to the competition forever.

Fortunately, like other bad habits,
procrastination is a habit that can be broken. It might take a
little time and a little patience, but there is no quick fix for
habits that have been a part of who we are for who knows how
long.

If there's one thing you shouldn't put off, it's
reading this guide on improving productivity by eliminating the
beast of procrastination from your life. The advice offered is
simple to follow and requires minimal effort to implement, even for
the the habitual procrastinator.

Get How to Beat Procrastination now from your
favorite retailer.

First, Still the Mind

One of the main reasons people procrastinate is
because they feel like they have too much on their plate, or too
many responsibilities to manage at once. Even if the person was
able to sit down and get started on one of their tasks, he might
feel an inability to focus or concentrate because of the nagging
feeling that he is neglecting other responsibilities. This kind of
response is often brought on by an overactive brain; a brain that
tries too hard to work and worry about several things at once.

Relaxation techniques like meditation and deep
breathing have been reported by practitioners to be very successful
at helping the brain stay cool, calm, and collected, even in the
face of seemingly endless tasks.

A few minutes of meditation may not make the
workload seem any lighter, but it can keep the person more
motivated to finish their tasks by relieving them of the mental and
emotional worries they were experiencing.

The type of meditation or breathing technique
used doesn't even matter. Any relaxation technique that helps the
person calm down and feel more comfortable with the tasks in front
of them is a good relaxation technique. One of the most popular
techniques is to sit comfortably in a chair, back straight, palms
down on the thighs, feet planted flat on the floor, and eyes
closed. From this position, which can be accomplished in any office
chair, the person will imagine being in front of the ocean, on a
beach, watching the water move in and out from shore. Once they
have this image in their mind, they will begin to focus closely on
their breaths, evenly spacing and drawing out breaths so that each
inhale and exhale is the same length. After focussing on their
breathing for even just a couple of minutes, and after spending a
few minutes in an imagination vacation, the person will notice that
they seem less stressed and probably less "on edge" about their
daily tasks.

When a feeling of calm is reached, the person
can begin chipping away at their tasks one by one. If at any time
the feeling of stress begins to creep back, the person can try
repeating this phrase, an ancient proverb, as they work:

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with
a single step."

This means that, no matter how daunting and long
a list of chores might be, there is no way to ever accomplish them
without first taking them on one by one.

Second, Energize the Body

There are no two ways about it; many
procrastinators just feel
lazy
.
They probably can't explain why, but unless a deadline is looming
overhead, they would rather rest and relax than get down to work.
This kind of attitude can often be attributed to a lack of energy
in the person. Sometimes, a cup of coffee or energy drink is enough
to get a person through their responsibilities, but these are only
short term solutions, and it's just not healthy to rely on sugary
drinks to get through work.

To give the body more energy to make it through
the day and to face the tasks it has to face, a healthy diet should
be incorporated into every person's daily routine. This isn't the
same as going on a diet, but a strategy for long term health and
energy by introducing healthier foods into every meal.

The best source of long lasting energy are raw
fruits and vegetables. Unlike processed foods, which are full of
empty calories and artificial preservatives, raw fruits and
vegetables provide healthy doses of vitamins and minerals that can
energize better than any sugary energy drink. However, many people
don't' even get their full daily recommended servings of fruits and
vegetables, much less enough to give them all day energy. This
might be because they don't like the taste of raw fruits and
vegetables or because they like the tastes of other foods too much.
So, instead of trying to replace entire meals with buckets of
fruits and vegetables, people looking for more energy throughout
the day should infuse raw fruits and vegetables into each of their
regular meals. For example, eating a bowl of fruit before a bowl of
cereal will give the person energy throughout the morning and will
even make them feel more full and less likely to reach for a
mid-morning snack. At lunch and dinner, salads before meals have
the same benefits; they make the person feel full longer and gives
them real energy that they'll feel almost immediately.

Juicing is another way to make sure the body
gets all of the fruits and vegetables it needs to stay energized.
Juicing is a preferred method of getting fruits and vegetables
because it's simple and blends flavors of fruits and vegetables
together into tolerable and tasty concoctions that are easy to
drink.

By eating a bowl of fruit or salad before each
meal, and by drinking home made fruit and/or vegetable juices
throughout the day, people may soon notice that they have enough
energy throughout the day to avoid sugary coffee and energy drinks.
Not only will they feel more energized and have more motivation to
face the tasks they've been putting off, they'll probably even end
up shedding a few pounds in the process.

* * *

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