Category: lifestyle

It’s difficult to acknowledge what we have. One of the explanations people give for why they’ve stopped showing appreciation (or even feeling it) is that they’ve simply stopped paying attention, as their lives have become more sped up or routine. Part of the reason we start to take things (including relationships) for granted in this way is because it’s actually hard to recognize and have feelings for what we have. Slowing down and living in a state in which we feel more present and aware of what makes us happy and gives our lives meaning naturally allows us to feel more joy, but it’s also a gateway to sadness.

As much as we all would say we want love, acknowledgment, happiness, kindness and generosity, it can be very hard to accept each of these for a variety of unexpected reasons. To love means we are vulnerable and wanting, which puts us in a position where we have something to lose. To be in touch with what matters to us brings us closer to our feelings, with happiness and sadness becoming more prominent. Generosity, both offering it and having it offered to us, often arouses sadness. This emotion can make us uncomfortable or anxious, but it can also have a simultaneously calming and invigorating effect, making us feel more vital and exuberant. Feeling sadness centers us in ourselves.

Psychologist Jack Kornfield recently said in an interview, “The cultivation of mindfulness  really allows us to become present for our own body, for the person in front of us, for the life we’ve been given. Out of that grows, quite naturally, the spirit of gratitude.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness rather nicely as “paying attention on purpose in the present moment, non-judgmentally…as if your life depended on it.” He recommends it as “a way of connecting with your life… that doesn’t involve a lot of energy” but rather “a kind of cultivating attention in a particular way.” When we practice mindfulness, we allow our thoughts and feelings to move through us without taking over and getting us lost.

Mindfulness enables us to stay more connected to the people around us and awaken to what we’ve been missing, while plugging along in our daily existence. Practicing mindfulness is an ongoing, organic and effective way to tap into our feelings of gratitude.

Most people look up to investment options such as mutual funds, stocks or bonds when planning to invest for their retirement. There are various investment schemes that can help you save for your old age and enjoy your retirement. Listed below are some of the best options that you can invest in to keep swinging even after your 60’s.

1. Senior Citizen Saving Scheme

Once you’ve reached the age of 60, you can open a SCSS or Senior Citizen Saving Scheme. Unlike the regular savings account, the SCSS provides interest benefits upto 9.20%, with pay out every quarter of the year. A senior citizen account also provides several tax benefits as well. Additionally, if you also have a recurring deposit account (RD), you could also transfer interest from the SCSS account for benefits upto 10.5%.

2. Fixed Deposit

One of the oldest schemes for saving is the fixed deposit or a term deposit account that can be opened with any bank. You can deposit your money for a fixed amount of time (15 days to 5 years) on a much higher rate of interest than regular savings bank account. Upon maturity, you can withdraw the principal amount plus the interest and reopen a new fixed deposit account. Automatic renewal of term deposit accounts is also offered by various banks upto any amount of money.

3. Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS)

Postal Saving Schemes not only help you save your valuable assets for the future but is also one of the safest. It works like a regular savings bank account that you open with the post office and get interest and tax benefits with yearly payouts. Several countries treat post office savings in a similar manner as the fixed deposit or term deposit accounts, with added tax exemptions provided with opening an account with the post office.

4. Mutual Funds

Investing in mutual funds is yet another popular retirement scheme that gives a hefty payout upon maturity. They can include various types of securities such as stocks, bonds and assets from several investors that are managed by professionals. One can invest in mutual funds offered by various small and large banking or financial corporations to receive a regular promised income and additional funds through the collective capital gains. If you have little experience in stock trading, then you know how hard it is for an individual to manage his stocks and bonds without any professional help. Mutual funds provide you with that edge that eliminates the fear of financial losses as your money is pooled with several other investors.

5. Reverse Mortgage

Most people at least have a self-owned house by the time they retire from their jobs. While saving money that is enough for you to last your lifetime isn’t possible for many, one can also apply for a reverse mortgage that would allow you to liquidate the value of your house and still enjoy its ownership during your old age. Nevertheless, one must also make sure that there is no outstanding loan or mortgage on the house before applying for reverse mortgage.

We all do it sometimes. We undermine ourselves by using less-effective language. That means there’s always room for improvement to help your messages get through effectively.

We can all also use a little reminder now and then, so here are 10 of the worst offenses.

(Got a few I forgot? Let us know in the comments or contact me directly.)

1. “No problem” (when you really mean “you’re welcome”)
Admittedly, I’m on a crusade against this one. When you say “no problem” in response to “thank you,” you’re actually devaluing the person who offers thanks by suggesting that whatever you did for him or her was of so little value to you that it hardly required effort.

2. “Sorry” (when you mean “excuse me”)
Everyone appreciates a sincere apology, but using “sorry” when you really mean “excuse me” (or perhaps simply “get out of my way”) undermines your professionalism–and can make you sound a little like a bully.

3. “Just … ”
There’s not enough justice in this world, but when you use the word just in the wrong context, you minimize your impact. “I just want to bring up one point,” for example, telegraphs that whatever you’re about to say is of little importance.

4. Speaking Canadian
Fun fact: I’m technically half-Canadian, so I can say this: Canadian accents often include an uptick at the end of a sentence, which suggests that any statement you make is actually a question. Do you know what I mean?

5. “Know what I mean?”
I’m aware that I just ended the last paragraph with this phrase, but it’s another bad habit. While it’s smart to ensure that people you’re speaking with are on the same page, it’s pretty annoying–and unprofessional–to be so unaware of your verbal tics that you keep repeating the same phrases.

6. Syllogisms
We live in a time of syllogisms: “It is what it is” and “It’s all good,” for example. These are harmless phrases in the abstract, and they were probably even witty once upon a time. But if you pepper your speech with them, you undermine the sense that you’re a serious person.

7. “You guys … ”
I admit, I fall prey to this one myself sometimes. Using “you guys” as an all-purpose substitute for the second-person plural is a bad habit that can undermine your message by making assumptions about how familiar your audience really wants to be.

8. Apologetic (nervous) laughter
Unapologetic laughter is great, and often contagious. Apologetic, nervous laughter is at best undermining, and at worst, unnerving.

9. Wandering eyes
Rule number 1: Try to maintain eye contact. Rule number 2: If you can’t maintain eye contact, at least try not to stare at the person’s other body parts. It drowns out anything you might try to say.

10. “I do apologize … ”
I once knew a federal judge who said that when lawyers began their argument by saying, “With all due respect,” what he heard instead was “Eff you.” This is the same kind of phrase–an apology that in many contexts (imagine, say, a cable company customer service representative using it) means you’re really not sorry about anything at all.