When you step back and look at the landscape of your life, what drives you? What shapes what you do, not in terms of priorities—the things you focus on—but the engine that pushes your life along?

What Is The Engine That Pushes Your Life Along?

Seeing our lives as being driven is not new to psychology. Freud mapped out his 5 stages of development, that not only propel a child’s development but can shape the adult’s. And Maslow became famous for his Hierarchy of Needs, which moves up from the biological to self-actualizing. As these authors point out, there are good and bad drivers, but each sets the pace, the tone of our lives. We can choose what drives us, but the challenge is that we don’t choose. Instead, we accept what we get, or get used to, and call it life. We can change that, but first, we need to know where we stand.

We Can Choose What Drives Us. But We Don’t. 

Here are some of the most common drivers, ranked from those with the most significant positive impact (passions) to those providing the most negative impact (addictions). The line separates what we might consider adverse mental health from the positive.<ul><li>Passions / Purpose</li><li>Goals</li><li>Routines </li></ul> ______________<ul><li>Emotionally Driven / “Shoulds” Driven / Self-Criticism</li><li>Anxiety / Depression </li><li>Addictions</li></ul>

The Most Common Drivers: The Passions And The Addictions

Here we think of alcoholism, drugs, sex, workaholism. What makes them addictive is that they kidnap our brain. Rational thinking goes offline, our midbrain pleasure center takes over and we just do what we do because we do it. We’re the passenger, and our addiction is running our lives.

Addictions

Unfortunately, this is the driver for too many of us. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, anxiety is the number one mental health problem in the U.S. affecting 18% of the population. It can take many forms—panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, phobias. But regardless of the form, the impact is the same—our life is derailed. We worry, we avoid, we feel compelled to do things that we know are irrational, occupying too much of our time and mind.

Anxiety / Depression

Depression is the cousin of anxiety. Often, they go hand-in-hand. Worry leads to feeling overwhelmed, which can lead to feeling stuck or trapped, leading to feeling hopeless. When one or both of these take over, we are either always thinking about the what-ifs of the future or we a regretful and trapped by the past. The present dissolves into a blur.

While these are not formally diagnosable conditions, each has a negative impact on our life. Folks who are emotionally driven tend to run their lives based on how they feel. If they “feel” like cleaning up the house, they do; if they don’t, they don’t. While there’s an apparent spontaneity in their lives, they also struggle with the discipline needed to get things done that are difficult or necessary. They miss deadlines, problems get swept under the rug, they can seem to be unreliable to others.

Emotionally Driven / “Shoulds” Driven / Self-criticism

Those driven by too many “shoulds” can go too far in the other direction. Rules run their lives. They can seem rigid with their black and white thinking and may feel guilty for breaking the rules. Because the rules are usually inherited from others, running our life this way often keeps us out of touch with our deeper needs and wants.Finally, self-criticism is the bully who beats us up when we break the rules. Rather than enjoying our life, we spend much of our time trying to stay out of trouble with ourselves.

Routines are useful. Without them, our anxiety goes up and we are essentially forced to invent each day from scratch. But if our days become too routinized, we’re running on autopilot; there’s too little spontaneity, few opportunities for joy. Life is safe, but bland.

Routines

Setting goals and working towards them are good antidotes to routine’s downsides. We are proactive rather than reactive, creative rather than staid. But we can undermine our goals if we are also emotionally driven. When the going gets tough and the goals are not our own, we lose enthusiasm, or our expectations are unrealistic. When that happens, it’s easy for anxiety, self-criticism, and depression to take over.

Goals

Passion and purpose are at the top of the ladder because they arise from that core of who we are and want to be and carry none of the baggage of the others. When driven by passion and purpose, we are honest with ourselves and others. There is a natural integrity as our inner and outer lives reflect each other. We have the discipline to do what we want and need to do, yet can change our minds and be spontaneous without guilt or self-criticism.

Passions / Purpose

So, when you step back and look at your life, what are your drivers? What keeps you from moving up that ladder? What do you need to do to reach greater fulfillment? How can you start today?Find Your Drivers So You Can Climb Up The Ladder.

Up The Ladder To The Sky

Straight roads do not make skillful drivers.

Some drivers in our lives are destructive or keep us from reaching our potential. By acknowledging them, we have the opportunity to focus on them and change them. Are we the drivers, anywhere? Or are we driven by drivers, everywhere?

Maybe it's time to step back and change what is really running your life.

What Drives Us?

A productive day means achieving all the work you set out to do. This is the essence of any work productivity. While some people may be naturally productive, others may be struggling to stay productive. There are some simple things that can boost your productivity. Productivity is for everyone. In fact, being productive is essential for you to be successful in all that you do. Productivity is the ability to effectively get tasks done. Any day that you don’t complete a task that you set out to do, is a day that you’re not productive. B

Tips On How To Stay Productive 

Checklist is one of the best ways that can help you in arranging your work that you are going to do throughout your whole day. Creating a checklist makes you <a href="https://inspirationalblogs45.blogspot.com/2022/04/best-ways-to-stay-focused.html">focused towards your work </a> as you know what you have to do next.  A morning checklist is one of the most valuable tools you can have when it comes to getting organised and making the most of your mornings.  By planning out your morning the night before, you avoid having to rush around getting ready for work in the morning.

1. Create a morning checklist

Multitasking is the biggest enemy when it comes to productivity while doing something important. You must keep in mind that your focus must be on a single thing. Working on two things at the same time makes you confused and chances of mistakes increases as it may cause you a lot of damage. Multitasking makes your brain focus on two things at a single time. As a result, your focus gets divided into two things and you become less productive. So try to avoid multitasking but you can go for multitasking while doing something boring.

2. Work only on one project

One would think that getting a good night’s sleep is easy; after all, you are expected to go to bed, sleep all night, then wake up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. But the truth is, some find it hard to fall asleep, while others spend a majority of the night tossing and turning. A good sleep can make your mind much more relaxed. Having a good sleep helps your mind in reorganising all that complex stuff that you have acquired throughout your whole day.

3. Get into a good sleep  routine

Reading nourishes your mind and soul. It makes you activate your all senses together, you learn new things and you implement them in life. Reading can bring a great change if you implement the values of reading in your life, you can go for books Reading or listening to podcasts and speeches. The time you use in scrolling Instagram reels try to use that time in learning something new. Those were the 4 tips on how you can stay productive in your life. Here's a bonus tip for you.

4. Begin each day with reading

In conclusion, Lastly, some researchers have found that by doing simple things, such as taking breaks or not being afraid to walk away for five minutes to clear your head, can help you focus. So try some of these tips and see if they improve your productivity.  So take a break, refresh yourself and start once again.  That's all  Good day

Conclusion

Staying productive is a good thing. If you're not productive, you're distracted, unproductive and behind. Here are great tips 

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Tips on how to Stay Productive

<ul><li>For good health, we need more than 40 different nutrients, and no single food can supply them all. It is not about a single meal, it is about a balanced food choice over time that will make a difference!</li><li>A high-fat lunch could be followed by a low-fat dinner</li></ul>

1. Eat a variety of foods

<ul><li class="ql-align-justify">About half the calories in our diet should come from foods rich in carbohydrates, such as cereals, rice, pasta, potatoes, and bread. </li><li class="ql-align-justify">It is a good idea to include at least one of these at every meal. Wholegrain foods, like wholegrain bread, pasta, and cereals, will increase our fibre intake.</li></ul>

2. Base your diet on plenty of foods rich in carbohydrates

<ul><li>Fats are important for good health and proper functioning of the body. However, too much of it can negatively affect our weight and cardiovascular health.</li><li>We should limit the consumption of total and saturated fats (often coming from foods of animal origin), and completely avoid trans fats.</li><li>Eating fish 2-3 times a week, with at least one serving of oily fish, will contribute to our right intake of unsaturated fats.</li></ul>

3. Replace saturated with unsaturated fat

Fruits and vegetables are among the most important foods for giving us enough vitamins, minerals and fibre. We should try to eat at least 5 servings a day. For example, a glass of fresh fruit juice at breakfast, perhaps an apple and a piece of watermelon as snacks, and a good portion of different vegetables at each meal.

4. Enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables

<ul><li>A high salt intake can result in high blood pressure, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. There are different ways to reduce salt in the diet:</li><li>When shopping, we could choose products with lower sodium content.</li><li>When cooking, salt can be substituted with spices, increasing the variety of flavours and tastes.</li><li>When eating, it helps not to have salt at the table, or at least not to add salt before tasting.</li></ul>

5. Reduce salt and sugar intake

Adults need to drink at least 1.5 litres of fluid a day! Or more if it's very hot or they are physically active. Water is the best source, of course, and we can use tap or mineral water, sparkling or non-sparkling, plain or flavoured. Fruit juices, tea, soft drinks, milk and other drinks, can all be okay - from time to time.

 Drink plenty of fluids

<ul><li>The right weight for each us depends on factors like our gender, height, age, and genes. Being affected by obesity and overweight increases the risks of a wide range of diseases, including diabetes, heart diseases, and cancer.</li><li>Excess body fat comes from eating more than we need. The extra calories can come from any caloric nutrient - protein, fat, carbohydrate, or alcohol, but fat is the most concentrated source of energy. Physical activity helps us spend the energy, and makes us feel good. </li></ul>

7. Maintain a healthy body weight

<ul><li>Gradual changes in our lifestyle are easier to maintain than major changes introduced all at once. For three days, we could write down the foods and drinks we consume throughout the day, and make a note of the amount of movement we made. It won’t be difficult to spot where we could improve:</li><li>Skipping breakfast? A small bowl of muesli, a piece of bread or fruit, could help slowly introduce it into our routine</li><li>Too few fruits and vegetables? To start with, we can introduce one extra piece a day.</li></ul>

8. Start now! And keep changing gradually.

Never sleep on your stomach, on the couch or in the recliner. No pretzel sleeping! Your body needs a neutral position to rest properly.

9. Your Position Matters

Warm up or Stretch before exercising or other physical activity could help you practice your daily exercises easier.

10. Warm Up

Helpful fitness lifestyle should be followed not only by adults but also kids too!

Discover the secrets to a healthy lifestyle and 10 easy tips that will help you follow a healthier diet as well as a more active daily life.

10 Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Adults

To measure blood pressure, your doctor uses an instrument called a "sphygmomanometer," more often referred to as a blood pressure cuff. The cuff is wrapped around your upper arm and inflated to stop the flow of blood in your artery.

What is the instrument used to measure blood pressure called?

Daily Facts

Well

The nervous system of the starfish is very simple...there is no brain and there are not even any ganglia to coordinate movement. The nervous system is characterized by a nerve ring that surrounds the mouth. A radial nerve branches off of the nerve ring and extends to each arm.

What Drives Us?

Tips on how to Stay Productive

10 Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Adults

Well

Neuroscience for Kids - Invertebrate Nervous System

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