The gift of vulnerability

And we do it not to obtain some sort of advantage over someone, but because we deeply fear the annoyance and dissatisfaction of the people around us.

To survive, we decide to be responsive to what others expect us to do and be, leaving aside what we really want.

Most of us want to be popular and resort to tactics like showing of and gossiping. The long term affects of being a gossip monger (losing trust and respect) outweigh any short term popularity you get.

Most of our judgments towards our friends are wrong, and doing so leads to you being judged wrongly too.

Do not form opinions and pass judgments (not even mentally) and be happy to see your friendships blossom.

When you see a friend regularly, you develop a collection of shared memories. You will also have an intimate understanding of what they're up to generally. If you're separated long-term, those experiences will shrink.

It's important to create something you share with the other individual, not just exchanging information about past experiences. The more opportunities you give yourself to connect, the more organically you'll get to know your friend's new life.

The idea that you can sustain a friendship and pick up right where you left off after long stretches of silence is a myth. A relationship grows stronger through nurturing.
Although long-distance hacks can work for a time, there's no replacement for in-person interaction. It's more expensive and more of a hassle, but it's the best way to recharge a long-distance friendship.

We have to put our fears aside that someone might not like us or may have too many friends already.

If you like someone you meet, ask to swap numbers and follow through with an invitation to socialize.

Suggest an activity that you can do together. It will anchor your time together and give you something to focus on or talk about.

Always remember that your job, writing to a friend, is to entertain. That can mean revelling in the odd pratfall. So, don’t just write about the mundane and pleasant things, try to give them the whole picture and make them feel something.

• You are extending respect and friendship. Write quickly, and preferably by hand.
• You’ll want to calibrate what you write to your relationship both with the recipient and with the deceased. Make it personal.
• If you knew the deceased well, sharing a couple of warm memories will let the recipient feel there’s a shared bond.
• If you didn’t know the deceased, you can make respectful reference to what you knew of them.
• Use tact. Don’t tell the recipient how they should be feeling.
• If you’re finding it hard to know what to say, you can acknowledge that; but don’t harp on it.
• Avoid operatic, or competitive, expressions of grief.
• Acknowledge, but don’t belabour, the grief and pain they feel.
• Focus on the individual excellence of the deceased rather than the consequences of the loss itself.
• Be tactful of their religion even if you don’t believe in it. 

You can sense this happening when people rush to talk over one another.

• Gift your family with some small experiences, such as caroling, baking, watching It’s a Wonderful Life;
  
• Volunteer as a family at a homeless shelter.
  
• Make meaningful gifts. A video of memories. A scrapbook.
  
• Bake gifts.
  
• Have an experience instead of giving material goods: do something fun together, go to the beach or a lake.
  
• Give the gift of your expertise. Are you good at fixing cars? Teaching music? Teaching cooking? Magic tricks? Help or teach someone something you’re good at.
  

1. Choose your top 6-8 values from a wide-ranging list of values.

2. Think of three to six people you most admire or love. Consider why they are so important to you. 

3. See a career counsellor as they are able to help match their clients to a compatible career area.

4. Use an online values inventory. 
5. Observe yourself and learn. If you experience a lot of dissatisfaction with your choices, you may not be living up to your values or you may need to re-evaluate what is most important to you.
6. Focus on the bitter and the sweet in your life. These moments could direct you to what you care about most.

At times two cherished values will be in conflict.  

Knowing why you are choosing Value 1 instead of Value 2 in that instance can be helpful in resolving any inner conflict you may feel.  

People get busy and life has dramatic ups and downs, but if you watch Drag Race every Friday together or bake Betty Crocker cookies every month, you have something to anchor you through the chaos of life.

Friendship is not a monogamous relationship; there is room for more than one. When you’ve known someone for years, try to be confident in the bond you’ve got. 

Among the most known telehealth services:

• patient portal: you have the possibility to keep track of your health record while being able to communicate securely with your
  doctor
• virtual doctor appointments: extremely useful for persons who do not need an in-person physical examination
• store and forward: this kind of service enables the electronic transmission of medical documents
• remote patient monitoring: it allows your doctor to monitor your health from the comfort of your home by using wearable devices
• mobile health: through mobile health applications, you can keep better track of your health.

Among the benefits of the telehealth:

• better access to medical care: especially for individuals with mobility issues or living far from a doctor
• improves care quality
• reduces care cost: you do not need to travel anymore
• increases patient's satisfaction: especially by saving time.