Stridi

  We all have some poor habits, whether it's: Eating junk. Having one too many lemonades on a school night. Playing that game on our phone at times when we shouldn't. It can become an unpleasant cycle of Cue, Craving, Response and Reward.   But.... did you know that we can use these stages to our advantage?  Habits aren’t just a part of your life – an annoying tendency that you can’t seem to shake. Or a surprising trait that you developed out of nowhere. Habits are developed – often accidentally, but we can also create habits. Creating a habit is very much like learning a new skill. We keep practicing until it becomes natural, or until we reach our desired level of competence. With a new skill, perhaps you just want to be able to perform the activity successfully in one take? Or maybe you want to be able to do it naturally, with barely any awareness that it’s happening.   Developing a habit is similar. The activity in question may be a skill or activity t...

  Hello, and welcome. If you’re reading this, congratulations – it was Blue Monday yesterday, and we got through it. According to psychology experts, Blue Monday is the most depressing day of the year. The weather is cold, the skies are grey and it’s around the time when our new year resolutions are showing early signs of wear and tear. So we get towards the end of January and we’re all feeling a bit gloomy. How did you feel yesterday?  Part of my reason for writing this piece was because I had a gloomy day. I’m not even sure why. But this time of year can be hard anyway.  I remember an old housemate, who suffered from depression, saying he always found January and February to be the hardest time, because it was so dark, chilly and the weather was terrible.  Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels So I’m writing this piece to give some tips on overcoming those gloomy days, when you’re at work, or away from your coping methods. Even if you love your job, b...

I'll give you a bit of insight into my life. The thing is, I’ve just started a new job in a busy supermarket. I'm sure that sounds tricky to many of you. Of course it’s tough, when you’re not really a “people person” and you’re suddenly working in a place full of….. well, people. The reason I’m sharing this is because I know that lots of you will be getting jobs while you're at uni, whether that's to top up your student loan or simply so that you can get a bit of real world experience. Either way, it’s a great idea and it will help to keep you busy – and to top things off, it's a great way to meet new people and make friends. I had my induction a couple of weeks ago and it took a while to complete it. There was loads of important information, and I was encouraged to take plenty of time to take it all in. When I reached the end, I could feel the butterflies dancing in my stomach. It was nearly time. I had been told that I would be trained on the checkouts ...