9 Things Successful People Never Do At Office

One thing our generation lacks is emotional intelligence..We might be extremely tech savvy, sarcastic, funny, intellectual and totally cool, but we just don’t know how to behave on most occasions. Particularly, in a professional environment. Because we don’t know how to deal with office politics. And we definitely don’t know when to shut up. To solve all these problems, we bring you a guide on how to be emotionally intelligent at your workplace. It’s simple - just get rid of the following 9 habits. 

1. Don't talk about finding a new job.
 
You just don’t talk about these things. It is a no-no. Whether you’re looking for a job or not, it is entirely your business. We don’t realise it, but talking about this highlights your disinterest in work. Don’t be surprised if this news reaches your boss (because sooner or later it will). He’ll probably stop giving you work and then you won’t know where to go.
 
2. Don't talk about your pay package. 

No matter what your intentions are, you come across as a show-off. On top of that, it gives your colleagues a reason to compare. The outcome of this is that people make direct contrasts between how you work and how much you get paid. And you don’t want that.  

3. Avoid sharing details of your sex life. 

Nobody wants to know what you do in your bedroom. Office is just not the place to discuss these intimate details. It makes people around you uncomfortable. Let’s just say some lines shouldn’t be crossed. 

4. Don't mock your team mates. 

You might not mean any harm, but other people are sensitive and can take your jokes to heart. Especially your juniors. Mocking is a way of bringing them down. So, before you decide to laugh at someone, take a step back and evaluate your intentions. 

5. Give up being curious about other people’s lives. 

There should be only one mantra at work - mind your own business. Being curious can come across as being intrusive. And nobody likes people who poke their noses. Why do you want to know who he’s dating or what she does on the weekend? Don’t ask them and keep your questions to yourself. 

6. Avoid sharing too much on social media. 

The best thing is to not have your co-workers on your Facebook. Have them on Linkedin instead. You cannot predict what other people might conclude from your social media feed and how it will be discussed in office. Besides, your actions on Facebook or Twitter speak volumes about your character and you don’t know what impression it will have on your boss.
  
7. Keep your competitive side in check. 

There’s nothing wrong in being competitive. But going overboard with it is certainly problematic. For instance, if you are targeting someone and saying that you are better than Mr. X and you want to replace them, you’re being highly unprofessional. That just shows how insecure you are. Think about it. 

8. Stop telling the world about your drinking/smoking up habits. 

You might think that people will consider how cool you are, but you’re wrong. Instead, they’ll doubt your credibility and think of you as the person who is ALWAYS high. Sharing all this won’t get you marks for coolness. In fact, you’ll get labelled as the indifferent, laid-back and non-serious employee. 

9. Drop the rant about how much you hate your job. 

Never do that, NEVER! You’re opening exit doors for yourself. It makes you a negative person instead of a team player. The boss will find out that you are the cause of bringing your team’s morale down and it won’t be hard for him to find someone better than you. You need to understand that no one is irreplaceable. There are better candidates out there with a better attitude and resume than yours. Get yourself a reality check next time you crib about being stuck in this job. 

Source:

http://www.indiatimes.com/lifestyle/self/9-things-successful-people-never-do-at-office-233243.html  

Author: 
Surabhi Nijhawan

Benefits of Sitting on the floor and eating

In many Indian households you will find that people sit on the floor and eat their meals. While most of us have embraced the table and chair as a place to eat, there are those of us who prefer to sit in front of the TV and/or sit on the bed and eat. While this might be very comfortable, it might not necessarily be the best thing for your health. Our ancestors definitely had a plan when they made sure we sit on the floor, cross legged and ate our food. 

Here are 10 reasons going back to your roots is the best for your health.

1.Helps improve your digestion:

When you sit on the floor, you usually sit cross legged – an asana known as sukhasana or a half padmasna which are poses that help in digestion (since it is believed that when one sits in this pose in front of food it automatically signals your brain to prepare for digestion). Apart from that when you eat from a plate placed on the floor, you will have to naturally bend forward slightly and go back to your starting position to swallow. This constant back and forth movement causes the muscles of your abdomen to be activated and also leads to increased secretion of stomach acids – making it much easier for you to digest food.

2.Helps you lose weight:

Sitting on the floor and eating has significant weight loss benefits too. When you sit in this position, your brain automatically calms down and is better equipped to focusing on the food you eat. Moreover this position helps you cognate the amount of food you have eaten and helps you feel full faster. How does that work? Well, the main reason people overeat is because they do not know when they are full. This happens because the vagus nerve (the main nerve that transmits signals from the stomach to the brain) sends signals to the brain as you eat, telling it if you are satiated or not. When you sit on the floor this nerve is able to perform better and transmit signals more efficiently. Also, since this position makes you eat slower than you would while sitting on a table, it gives your stomach and brain time to cognate the signals of feeling full, thereby preventing overeating .

3.Makes you more flexible:

When you squat or sit in padmasana, the muscles in your lower back, pelvis, around your stomach and those of the upper and lower abdomen stretch – reducing pain and discomfort. This, in turn helps your digestive system relax and stay in a normal position. Moreover, this position does not compress your stomach in anyway helping you eat and digest better. Moreover, the regular stretching of these essential muscles also helps make you more flexible and healthy.

4.Aids in mindful eating:

When you sit on the floor and eat as a family it aids in mindful eating. Not only does it help you focus on your food, but it also helps you make better choices when you eat. Since your mind is calm and your body is ready to accept nutrition, sitting on the floor is the best way to eat the right amount and kinds of food. According to leading nutritionist, Rujuta Diwekar, eating food while concentrating on every aspect of the food – its smell, taste, texture and how much you are eating is the key to losing weight – which is what sitting on the floor and eating gives you.

5.Helps you bond with your family:

Usually the practice of sitting on the floor and eating is a family activity. This time is great for you to bond. One of the reasons sitting on the floor is better at helping you bond is because it leads to a calm and happy mind – helping you listen more intently and peacefully.

6.Improves your posture:

Posture is very important when it comes to staying healthy. Good posture not only helps prevent injuries but it also reduces the chances of excessive strain on certain muscles and joints, which can lead to fatigue and quicker than normal wear and tear. When you sit on the floor your posture is automatically corrected, making your back straight, lengthening your spine and pushes back your shoulders – beating all the common aches and pains that come with bad posture.

7.Can make you live longer:

Sounds a bit unbelievable right? Well, it’s true, sitting on the floor and eating can actually help you live longer. A study published in the Journal European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that people who sat on the floor in padmasana and were able to get up without any support were more likely to live longer. This is because being able to get up from that position takes a considerable amount of flexibility and lower body strength. The study found that those who were not able to get up without support were at the risk of being 6.5 times more likely to die in the next six years.

8.Lubricates and keeps your knees and hip joint healthy:

According to PS Venkateshwara, author of the book Yoga for Healing, padmasana and sukhasana is one pose that has health benefits for your entire body. Not only does it help your digestive system function better, but it also helps keep your joints supple, flexible and less prone to injuries and degenerative diseases like arthritis and osteoporosis. That is because the constant bending of the knees, ankles and hip joint helps keep them flexible and free of diseases. And with flexibility comes better lubrication between the joints making it much easier to sit on the floor.

9.Relaxes the mind and calms the nerves:

Sukhasana and padmasana or the cross legged way one sits on the floor while eating has a number of benefits, and one of its most significant ones is that it calms the mind and relaxes frazzled nerves. A very handy tool, it is believed in Ayurveda that eating with a calm mind helps better digestion and in some cases has even helped people relish food better.

10.Strengthens the heart by improving circulation:

Have you ever noticed that when you eat, you tend to feel warmer and in some cases even sweat? Well, that is because when we eat our stomach needs all the energy it can use to digest food. One of digestion’s most important element is a sound blood circulation. To keep up with this process, your heart tends to work overtime to help out your digestive system. Here is where sitting on the floor and eating can help you out. When you sit on the floor your heart gets the benefits of circulation as the blood is easily pumped through the heart to all the organs needed for digestion. This is in contrast to the pattern of circulation when you sit on a dining table and chair, wherein the blood flows to the legs as they are lower than the heart. Therefore sitting on the floor and eating, affords you a healthy heart with strong muscles to help it cope with the pressures of daily life.

Source:http://www.thehealthsite.com/diseases-conditions/why-you-should-sit-on-the-floor-while-eating/

15 Easy Tips that Will Improve Your Life in 60 Seconds

The modern rat race can cause us great stress and leave us with little to no time to take care of our health and bodies. However, there are quick and easy ways to improve our lifestyle, improve our mood and improve our health, and they only take about 60 seconds each. Even if you only make some of these into habits, you’ll still enjoy a happy and healthier life with little effort and time.

1. Take a deep breath We all get nervous and stressed, be it because of work, traffic or even house chores. In our most stressful moments, it’s vital to remember that we have an innate relaxation mechanism. Taking deep, controlled breaths for 60 seconds when feeling stressed or tired can completely alter your state of mind. Deep breaths lower your blood pressure, slows down the production of stress hormones and helps to ease anxiety and internal disquiet. 2. Hug someone you love Hugging feels great on its own, but it also has scientifically-proven health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and stabilizing the heart rate. Hugging releases dopamine - a natural painkiller and can reduce cortisol levels (a stress hormone). A hug can give you more mental energy, and help you handle most obstacles. 3. Laugh and smile There’s a reason laughter has a reputation for being the best medicine. It’s one of the body’s natural painkillers and shares several physiological functions with exercising. William Fry, one of the pioneers in laughter research, claims that using a rowing machine for ten minutes exercises the heart as one minute of laughter. Laughter also improves your memory and burns calories. If you’re feeling down or even somewhat depressed, a little smile (even a fake one) can change your mood. 4. Eat some dark chocolate Isn’t it great to know that some delicious treats are actually good for us (in moderation)? Dark chocolate is beneficial for your health, it lowers blood pressure, raises the levels of “good cholesterol” (HDL) and reduces the levels of “bad cholesterol” (LDL). Dark chocolate is also known to be beneficial to the cardiovascular system, and some evidence indicates that it can prevent diabetes and even keep your skin healthier.

5. Stand up whenever you can Most of us spend our days sitting down: Working, driving and watching TV are just a few of these things. A recent research found that prolonged sessions of sitting can induce psychological distress. Another study has found that women who sit for 10 hours a day or more are in a risk group for heart and cardiovascular diseases when compared to those sitting for only 5 hours a day. Even standing up for a few seconds will improve your circulation significantly. 6. Wash your hands You may think it’s obvious, but this simple and quick action can protect your health more than you can fathom. Most people wash their hands before eating or after visiting the restroom, but washing your hands with soap more times a day will reduce your chances of getting sick by 20-30%. Remember to moisturize your hands from time to time. 7. Wear a seatbelt As trivial as it may seem, this easy action takes about five seconds saves thousands of lives every year. Think about it: You’re not climbing the Everest or running a marathon. You’re simply reaching back, and pulling on a belt. This is particularly important when you have children in the car. So don’t be lazy and think about comfort first, it’s better to “waste” ten seconds than risk your life. 8. Add cinnamon to your breakfast Cinnamon has a variety of medicinal properties, including helping with diabetes by reducing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon is also beneficial in fighting obesity, lowering bad cholesterol levels, and it even warms up the body on cold days. You can add cinnamon to your breakfast by mixing it in your yogurt, oats, cereals and even your coffee.

9. Wear sunscreen lotion It doesn’t matter if you live in a sunny place or not, UV light is still there, and it’s still harmful. Avoiding the #1 cause of skin cancer takes no effort and very little time – simply put on sunscreen lotion before you leave the house. 10. Use the stairs It doesn’t matter if we’re late, busy or even just lazy, most of us don’t’ engage in physical exercise in our free time. The modern world doesn’t give us many chances to walk: we get in the car or on the bus, use the elevator and sit at our desks. This is why it is vital that we take every opportunity to exercise. Instead of waiting for the elevator, take the stairs and burn some extra calories, and help you avoid stiff muscles and joint pain. 11. Take a break from staring at the screen If you have a desk job or are just an avid technology lover, it’s safe to say you spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Staring at the screen for so many hours is bad for your eyes, so it is crucial to take frequent breaks. The best method is the “20-60-20”: every 20 minutes look away from the screen at an object 60 feet away for 20 seconds. If you can, take a moment to walk around the office. 12. Add lemon to your water Adding a slice of lemon to your water is not only refreshing, but also has many health benefits. Lemons are a superfood and are considered to be one of the most efficient detox agents, making them a great addition to your diet.

13. Clean up your desk It doesn’t matter how tidy you keep your desk, it still gets covered with germs. Take a minute to wipe down leftovers and crumbs, which are the main of bacterial contamination in your workplace. Use an antibacterial wipe on your keyboard and mouse, they are the most used items on your desk that come in contact with your hands regularly. 14. Elevate your feet 60 seconds of lying down with your legs raised up and leaning against a wall energizes the body as much as a half-hour nap. Rest your arms at the sides of your body and remain that while taking slow, deep breaths. Studies have shown that this position helps the blood in your legs to flow back to your chest and head.

15. Chew some gum

Researchers from the University of Swinburne, Australia found that chewing gum improves your levels of alertness and reduces stress. Behavioral specialists recommend chewing gum before an important meeting, a job interview, and while driving. The reason is that chewing gum tricks the body into thinking it’s eating, meaning we’re safe and have nothing to fear.