@Oikawa

@Oikawa 13 November 2021

Thank you @BCH_LOVER for your continous support, I appreciate it. Much blessing in your life💕💕Have an amazing day.

@Oikawa 13 November 2021

Living your best life When it comes down to living your favorite life, it can mean different things to different people. What gives you happiness may not be what makes me happy and vice versa.  When you think about what your best life is, what comes to your mind? The truth is your idea of a good life/happiness changes over time, and as humans, our wants are unlimited, and we always want more. Do you have a firm knowledge of what you want out of your life and find it hard to achieve it in the face of your everyday stresses and responsibilities? To achieve the best life, you must figure out what living your best life means to you. To figure this, you need to ask yourself some questions such as: How am I experiencing love? Your ability to share and receive love to/from others matters more than anything else. **How often am I sharing my Unique Gift?** We all have our unique gifts- the unique essence and energy that makes us. Each individual has a unique gift to offer that no one else can. Living your best life means finding creative methods to share your best self with others, whether in your workplace, hobbies, or how we live in general. **What are you grateful for?** As humans, we focus on the painful areas in our lives, but that is not how things should be.  You wake up every day; you can walk, talk, and do everything an ordinary person can do, which alone should make you happy. **What is distracting you from your best life?** Well, I was looking at my daily life, which involves waking up and seeing tons of notifications, including friend requests on social media and the never-ending bad news on the Tv. This dilemma is one most of us go through daily, and we have to ask ourselves this question, how do you manage your time, so your life reflects what matters most? If you want to live for a greater purpose, boost your happiness, and share your unique gifts with others even with all the hustle and bustle of life, then there are some things you could do. You must always identify what matters the most to you, and it doesn't have to take a life-or-death experience for you to identify this. It can take a series of tough questionnaires to find out what it is. What matters the most to you in your life? Let us say you had a limited time to live; what would you do with the time you had left? Trust me; you will find out what genuinely matters to you in life when you answer that question. Another way to achieve your best life is to always live in the present; you will be way happier and feel more fulfilled if you learn to experience every moment in your life fully. Mindfulness increases your mental health, which also helps you physically. It has proven to reduce exhaustion, stress and increase job satisfaction. To live your best life, you have to find your miraculous scenarios/moments. To find your miraculous scenario, you can look around and notice what is happening, find something you are grateful for; this could be the way the sun feels on your body/face, music in the background, or rain sounds. When you combine mindfulness and savoring the moment, you can get powerful reactions, which could improve your mental health and life satisfaction. Living your best life has a lot to do with your level of empathy, trust, and intimacy, especially in your relationship with those you love. Learning to hear others out with presence and empathy can significantly transform your relationships. Being a good listener will help people feel like you genuinely care for them, and this helps you have more understanding of what they want and need from you. Observation without evaluation is the highest form of human intelligence. Life throws curveballs at us, and we aren't prepared for them. You need to know how to reset and go back to the center- who you are and your goals and priorities. If you ever see yourself being negative and sad, imagine your hand hitting a reset button even if it isn't there. It will only take a minute to re-focus on what your priorities are, and you could stretch, take a deep breath, set what you want to achieve, and start again. It all comes down to your resolve. Knowing how to reset yourself is crucial for controlling minor distractions and significant changes in your life. Let me live an easy one here before I finish, **"Spend more time with Nature."** Knowing what matters the most is crucial when living your best life, but this isn't easy due to all the daily distractions we have.  But it would be best if you didn't let this discourage you; with focus and intention, small changes can make a difference. Now let me ask you a question? **What does living the best life mean to you? And how do you want to achieve it?** Thank you for reading, friends.

@Oikawa 12 November 2021

Habits define you Do you know your habits define who you are? Habits are those small decisions you make and actions you perform daily. Habits account for half of your behavioral pattern on any given day. Today, your life is basically the total of all your habits, whether you are out of shape or in shape? A result of your habits. How unhappy or happy you are? Result of your habits. How unsuccessful or successful you are? Result of your habits. The actions you repeatedly do, what you spend time thinking and doing daily, form the individual you are, what you believe in, and the personality you portray.  Whether it is procrastination, strength, nutrition, productivity, it all comes down to your habits. The moment you transform your habits, you essentially transform your life. A great habit one can build is eating healthy and exercising daily because this could help you avoid excess weight gain and maintain good health/weight. Being active physically is beneficial when it comes to reaching your weight-loss goals. It doesn't have to be losing weight; exercising and eating healthy are the best habits because they help you live better. The truth is habits are tough to break, especially when they are wrong, but if you adopt healthy habits, you won't regret the decision. Healthy habits reduce your stress levels, improve your appearance and mental health. Bad habits may seem reasonable to you, maybe it is lying, stealing, or holding grudges against others, but the truth is you are only hurting yourself. If you lie or steal, you will eventually get caught; if you hold grudges against others, you are only hurting your health because all the negative emotions stored in you will affect you. Bad habits can be attributed to two things, boredom and stress; think about it, it is only when you are bored/stressed that you tend to overbuy, drink without care, or spend so much time on the internet. Things don't have to be that way; we can always teach ourselves healthy and new ways to deal with boredom and stress, and new habits will help you replace the bad habits. Recognizing what causes you to lean on bad habits will be effective if you want to overcome it. You don't eliminate your bad habits; you replace them with good ones.  Lying is a bad habit, but there is no way you can eliminate it; we will lie once or several times a day, depending on how social we are. Instead of eliminating lies, find a way to reduce or prevent the scenarios that cause you to lie. All your habits are in your life for a reason, and in some ways, they benefit us even if sometimes they are wrong. Simply, bad habits are our body's way of coping with stress and problems; people smoke and drink when they are confused or sad, people lie so they don't hurt others. Bad habits provide some benefits to our lives, which is why it is sometimes hard to get rid of them, and that is why it is recommendable to replace them with newer habits that have similar benefits. If smoking is your habit, it is not an intelligent plan to "just stop smoking" entirely, instead find other ways to deal with your stress without using a cigarette. To effectively break bad habits, you should always choose a substitute for it and plan ahead of time on how you will respond when you face boredom and stress.  **What should you do to stop smoking/drinking?** Well, you could start doing some breathing exercises. **What should you do to avoid procrastination on Facebook.** Turn off your notifications, and set a timetable. Whatever it is you are dealing with, you always need to plan what you would do. If you smoke or drink, don't go to a bar or carry cigarettes; if you overeat, don't have so much food in your house. If the first thing you do on the couch is look for the remote, then hide it somewhere you can't find it. Make it easier to break bad habits by avoiding the things that would lead you to do them; it is that simple. Change your environment, and you change your habits. Now let me ask you a question? **What is a bad habit you have? And how do you think you will replace it?** Thank you for reading!

@Oikawa 11 November 2021

Regret it-and-Move on Some of us have had good things happen to us this year; we have been able to go out more, spend time with our loved ones, get back to our hobbies, and learn new things. But for some, they may have lost so much- in life, work, and social capital. Many of us feel regret once in a while. Regret is neither fundamentally good nor bad, but it is an emotion we are all familiar with, and we tend to regret the actions we failed to do, especially in our youth days(Past actions). The pandemic has affected so many people's lives, and I am sure everyone agrees with this; during the lockdown, I usually sit by myself and feel sad, and it was mostly thinking of all the time I have lost.  I had made so many plans and resolutions at the beginning of 2020, but all of it was shattered due to the pandemic; I may have managed to achieve some goals I had set, but I still wish things would have gone as planned, maybe I could have complete all my goals. Most days, I am okay, and I am not in deep thought regretting the past, but somedays I get into a deadly negative spiral that never let's go until it ruins my mood completely- "If it wasn't for the pandemic"- "It is the pandemic's fault"- "What would have happened if".  These thoughts go on and on in my mind like a never-ending spiral, making me feel so sad and bad about myself, but what can I do? You may be able to control what you do with your time, but you will never be able to control time itself. Why do I feel upset about something that has passed? Why does my heartache when I think about it?  Why is it so painful to move on? The pandemic brought so many things, and it was out of control, and no one would have predicted it would stay this long.  Good things may have happened for some of us, maybe spending more time with our loved ones, but for others, who lost their jobs, life, income, and family, what do they have left but regret? Time lost will never come back, so how long can I keep regretting the past, dealing with the trauma and memories of that horrible year that destroyed any sense of optimism. Most of us regret missing out on something in our life, and it may have been a contract, a trip, a relationship, and so on.  **How do I deal with regret?** Regret happens when we feel like we may have had something more positive if we didn't miss an opportunity or made a different decision at the moment in our lives. We regret things we didn't do in the past(missed opportunities) or our decisions. Like last year, what we didn't do will forever be in our hearts, and you will feel like you missed an opportunity and end up regretting it. In a way, it is crucial you feel regret so we can process it; when you oppress your emotions, it may hurt you negatively, making you less productive.  The more you contemplate things you don't control, the harder it will be to forget and work through those painful emotions. What makes regret terrible is when you don't use the lessons it shows us to benefit or improve your life/future, you may not be able to rewind time, going back to fix things is impossible, so beating yourself over it won't do you any good. Instead of thinking about what would have happened if you did this or that, focus more on what you can do now; the present is all you have. Put more effort so the lost time won't count in the future. **"Your future you is looking at present you always remember that"** Let me ask you a question now; you can choose to answer it or not. What is something that you still regret to this day, no matter how many years have passed? And have you gotten over it? Put your replies in the comment box; I would appreciate it. Thank you for coming; I will see you in the next one, Readers. Bye for now Previous Article: https://read.cash/@Oikawa/we-are-strugglers-64cfae19

@Oikawa 10 November 2021

We are Strugglers Let me start with these quotes, if I may. **"We are human and weak. But even if we are wounded or tortured, we'll fight to survive."- Kento Miura**. Life sometimes can be so hard that you would think whoever is in charge hates you and never wants to see you win; we are all strugglers who, since birth, have pursued a dream called happiness. The word happiness has ruined so many lives, people struggle and keep on struggling to live the way they believe life should be, but the truth is humans may never have happiness. **"Why does man struggle for happiness when he doesn't even know what it is."** Every day we wake up with the mindset that if we work hard enough, maybe one day we will be rewarded for all our hard work, and things will finally be looking good.  This mindset has been set in us since childhood; that is why our mind is framed with this thinking. No matter how bad things get for us, some still hope that things will get better for us, which makes us keep grinding daily. I am not trying to say struggling for happiness and chasing our dreams is terrible, after all: A dream could make a man feel alive, or it can kill him instead. This world is a **"dog eat dog world",** which can bring up an attitude of negativity, affecting the way you're thinking. Without struggle in your life, there would be no reward and joy when we achieve something; some people see their struggle as a reward. We struggle through life sacrificing our time, body, health, mind and falling on our bed exhausted after so many activities, and we justify this by saying, **"Such is Life".**  So many people are thriving today, and you may be thinking they are happy, but in truth, these people are miserable. You may not see it, but they loathe what their lives have become, and this should be expected because when you chase a mirage(Happiness), you will end up being down. Struggling for the rest of our life sucks, but what can you do? Ever since we were born, we struggled to keep our life, and as we grow, this feature stays with us. I don't think anyone in this world wakes up and says, **"Golly, I hope I struggle and suffer today,"** while crossing their fingers.  Struggling may be challenging and unwanted, but we create a way to fend for ourselves and handle situations alone because of all the struggles of life. We learn when we struggle, and I know you hate it as much as I do, but that is how life is. Whether you are in a leadership post or working in a new industry, there will always be a huge learning curve, which may cause substantial initial frustration.  Even if you fail at the first attempt, it doesn't matter because it makes us humans. We try, fail, cry, and try again until we succeed. When everything you have done doesn't seem to be working, struggling helps you reinvent yourself and find new ways to solve a problem. Even if you don't want to struggle in life, you will eventually enter scenarios that will make you stressed out and require you to go beyond your limit; Life will not always be fair, and we are not born with equal opportunities. Our struggle isn't always against life but against the obstacles we face in life. Even though these obstacles may seem like hindrances, they are stepping stones to greater heights when we overcome them. Struggles aren't meant to mar us but make us. Even if things look futile, keep on doing your best and never give up.

@Oikawa 9 November 2021

Money is Key! **"I don't care about money", "I don't need money",** I am sure you have heard these phrases once or twice from people around you, or you may have said to yourself. Even if it sounds good saying it, the reality is that you genuinely care about money and lie to yourself. We all know money can't buy happiness, but what it can buy is safety and security for both you and your loved ones.  Even if you hate money, you have to admit that you won't be able to buy anything or live a healthy/good life, including food, shelter, good education, and healthcare. You don't have to be Bill Gates or Elon Musk to pay for your needs, but you will need some money to keep yourself alive until you die. Money is necessary to obtain quality goods and services you need to survive with, and it is crucial you learn personal finance because it is essential in life.  Even if you make a ton of money, if you are not responsible, you will lose everything, and what I mean by this is you should build up a habit of saving and investing for the future so that when you are older/retired, you won't have to worry about expenses. You should start saving money right now because there will be a time when you would need it, and you wouldn't want to have financial stress or lack of money. If you invest wisely and save enough, you will reach financial independence, and you will be able to live the way you want- financial independence happens when you have sufficient money to live on for the rest of your life. People profess not to care about money so much because society has labeled money as the **"Root of all evil."** This statement can be accurate, but only when the individual is worldly and has an obsession with money which drives them to do immoral actions that will increase their pockets. Money makes trading so much easier, and can you imagine if we still used trade by barter? That system was so frustrating and archaic, but with currencies, you can exchange goods and services for a certain amount, and the range of goods you can buy is unlimited. Without money/currencies, if you wanted to find food, you would have to search for someone willing to exchange for a service you could provide and produce. We all know money has value, and you can trade it anywhere and everywhere for whatever goods or services you desire. Because of this, the market increases liquidity, which refers to efficient assets that can be sold and purchased. There are many benefits when we talk about money, and if I list all of them, we will never leave this place, but for now, let me say some. The best asset for money is that it gives you freedom, and when you have enough money, you can take care of your needs and indulge in your hobbies.  When you attain financial freedom, you will have enough financial resources and may not even work again, giving you time to enjoy your life and engage in activities you love. When you have enough money, you will pursue any dream you have set to achieve. Whether starting a business, traveling worldwide, or building your dream home, all these dreams can be accomplished when you have attained financial freedom. You don't worry about having a roof over your head, working with an empty stomach, or seeing a doctor when you have enough money in your account. You may not be able to afford everything in the world, but you will be able to enjoy a stable, moderate life. Money can't buy happiness, but if you look at what it could buy, freedom, power, and security, you will acquire what makes you happy. It may have its downsides, but never hate or despise money; after all, you still use it daily. Thank you for reading!

@Oikawa 8 November 2021

Good Decisions=Bright Future An essential thing we do in life is "decision-making", and sometimes we have to make the right choices to grow. Every decision you make in your life is what has gotten you to the point you are in now, and that shows how much of an impact decisions have over us; whether you make a good or bad one, you will end up where your decisions take you, and this is how others identify us. Choices are so vital that one choice/decision can change your life forever because at a point, you will be faced with options, and what you choose can set a destination in your life and change it positively/negatively. The decisions you make will decide what your future will look like, and whatever choices you make in the present day can impact how your life will play out in the future. Even with all that said, life is a series of decisions that we make daily, and these decisions have consequences that may affect us directly or indirectly(those around us). Some decisions can be simple: you aren't aware you are making them, while others are complex, time-consuming, and intense, leaving you stressed out. How do you make good decisions? How do you improve your decision-making skills, especially when confronted with so many choices each day? If you are looking for a way, then the easiest is to weigh out your options; make sure to choose something that will show you the right direction and give you purpose in life. You can visualize it if you need to, and this would help you imagine different schemes that may happen sometime in the future, which will help you make good decisions. The best possible decision is the one that will help you envision a good outcome because sometimes there is no wrong or right decisions, and sometimes these choices can teach you profound lessons, and what you choose is a matter of view. After all, it is your life, and you have the power to choose and decide what you think would be the best for your lifestyle. It would be best if you never made decisions in a hurry because you are making significant and tough decisions, whether in life or career. It is crucial you think and contemplates all the choices you have before you; this is better than making quick decisions that you will regret later on. If you think you are an indecisive individual, then you must take your time and gather all information needed to make these choices, you may have overlooked some information, and your view may change from time to time. Rushing into a colossal decision may also put you under a lot of pressure, and when you take time to review these choices that are set in front of you, the chances of being stressed out and fatigued are reduced. When you make decisions, make it a habit to use your imagination to visualize how many options you have. Do this until you come up with a positive outcome in your mind; this will make it easier to choose the best option and show you the right decision. Most people always make choices they will regret in the future; even when they know it isn't the right decision, they still make it. You should know that you will always regret some choices you make, but instead of being sad and regretting them, change the choices you make and never make decisions that you will regret later. For example, when you spend too much money on things you don't necessarily need, you will regret these choices when you don't have money to buy essential goods. Decisions are commitments, and you have to decide if you will be able to stick with the choices that you made regardless of the circumstances and challenges that come with it. Every choice has a consequence, whether good or bad and if the choice you made was not good, you don't need to regret it, instead learn from those mistakes and build yourself back again. Thank you for reading!

@Oikawa 8 November 2021

I want to thank @Yhanne for her renewal, I appreciate it so much dear💖💖 Many blessings/BCH to your pocket. Have a great day.

@Oikawa 7 November 2021

Pains of Loneliness The moment loneliness grabs hold of you, it will never let go. Loneliness can be like physical pain sometimes, and it may hurt you so bad you will feel like dying. It is like anxiety in your stomach, a tight feeling in your chest, and weariness in your bones. Walking around, you can feel your body and mind slowly becoming fatigued; your supply of energy is depleted by incurable loneliness that doesn't seem to go away. Have you ever felt deep chronic loneliness? It can be like a persistent ailment that doesn't want to get better or won't go away.  When you think you have gotten the upper hand against loneliness, it comes back like a nagging cold that keeps going on and on; loneliness goes deep into us and refuses to let go once it gets in. In the past, older people were said to be the only victims of loneliness, and this may be a little bit true, but let us look at the facts, everyone will be lonely once or twice in their lifetime. We all ought to experience loneliness at least once or twice in our lifetime.  You have to experience it.  You have no choice but to learn about loneliness. I'm sure you wouldn't experience some things without it. A video I watched further explained what loneliness means; you can watch it if you want more insight on the topic. The channel is genuinely impressive, and it explains a lot of things; check it out. Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3Xv_g3g-mA One thing that got me when watching the video was how much loneliness hurts an individual, and we are not only talking about emotional and social pain. It sometimes manifests into physical pain, affecting habits and our bodies. Loneliness is a severe health danger, which is why we should all work harder to understand how it could enter into our lives and hurt us. The question now is, why does loneliness hurt us so much? Loneliness isn't only a social problem; it also affects our health significantly, and once it does that, every part of our life is linked. Once it links into our lives, it can become chronic loneliness which starts to take a toll on our minds and bodies. In the past, health experts did not treat loneliness seriously, but recently we found out how dangerous loneliness could be for our health. You may think loneliness is not severe as smoking or drinking, but let me tell you the truth: it can be worse. It would harm your life/health as being overweight and smoking. Isolation impairs your body's immune response causing the stress hormone cortisol to rise, making poor eating choices and high blood pressure.  Remember the last time you were lonely? That piece of meat/chicken or pint of ice cream in the freezer starts to look more attractive and yummy than a healthy-cooked meal. Human beings are social, and we need to support each other for our food, shelter, and various life essentials. Material support may be necessary, but sometimes emotional support can go a long way, especially when we receive it from our family, friends, and romantic partners. The advantages of these social relationships are hard to compute, but the effect of weak relationships and conflicting social support can be seen daily. Human beings need each other in so many different ways, but we often fail to give ourselves this support that is so vital to our well-being. Loneliness hurts because of our inbuilt social needs, and being ignored or rejected by our loved ones may cause us to feel cut off and isolated from others.  The pain of rejection from the person we love can cause us to worsen our lonely condition. Loneliness doesn't only happen when alone; even people surrounded by tons of friends can be affected. Loneliness is more of internal pain, and it doesn't matter if you are connected with others. Childhood experiences may cause it when feelings of neglect and attachments have been burned into our brains. That feeling of being rejected and abandoned can echo throughout our lives, causing us to feel disconnected from other people even when they are near us. The reasons we feel lonely can be complicated, and since it is such an internal experience, it can be hard to predict what contributes to loneliness. Loneliness is a compound and unique experience for every individual. Even if two people have the same experiences, maybe a break-up or work problems, they won't always have the same reactions. Loneliness can be tied to deep beliefs that we hold ourselves to. If a person has low-self esteem, they are more likely to experience loneliness because they don't think they are worthy of being close to anyone. We are ashamed of being lonely because we believe others may judge us and tell us we are weak, making us feel more disconnected from them. The shame loneliness makes us reject people who are suffering from it. You have to recognize that there is no shame in making your situation better, and it isn't shameful to be alone. Changing your view of life may not be easy, but over time you will transform yourself and break free from loneliness, finding a fresh new exciting way to connect with others. As I wrote before, we all go through loneliness in our lifetime, so don't be ashamed because everyone has gone through it.

@Oikawa 6 November 2021

Wow, I woke up and saw an amazing surprise from @foryoubtc09, Thank you for the renewal, it means a lot💖, More blessings to you this month, and forever more.

@Oikawa 6 November 2021

Do you want it now or later? November 6th, 2021 Have you heard of the marshmallow test? If you haven't, then let me tell you about it! The marshmallow test involves putting a marshmallow in front of a child and giving them an option to either eat the marshmallow or wait till the end and eat two marshmallows. The test showed that we humans hate one thing in particular: waiting for things; we hate waiting. I am sure it is not only me but do you ever feel like you are being tortured when your patience is being tested, you feel like time is slow, and you will never receive what you want. Whether it is a video that won't download or a piece of fried chicken sitting in front of me begging to eat it, I often lose my patience when things don't seem to be going my way, and my desires aren't granted. This generation is affected worse due to how fast everything is now, except my country's internet speed which seems to hate me for some reason. But in other countries with high-speed internet and unlimited data plans, technological advances have made life tasks faster and lessened our patience meters, which reduces our ability to wait. We always expect things to be done fast because we are used to things being like this. Since we know this, it is essential to think about the implications of such culture, and while it would be difficult to let go of this practice, there will be value in confronting and overcoming it. The proneness towards instant gratification won't always come from a place of selfishness or ignorant greed. Instead, it often appears in the most boring moments of our day, from surfing online to shopping. We seek it out and are granted it without realizing it is creeping in on us, and when we are denied immediate results, we become irritated and depressed. When our patience is being tested, we respond with anger and hatred because we feel cheated. Some people may roll their eyes but- Like me, that slams my laptop shut and throws my phone away when my favorite series isn't downloading due to the internet speed. It is as if I reverted to my toddler days, throwing things away and crying, lol. We have all come to expect things a certain way, and because of this, it would be difficult to fight off the waves of frustration and disappointment that come up when we face obstacles. Instant gratification penetrates our everyday behavior and shapes the way we make decisions- and it won't always be for the best. Learning to resist instant gratification may be difficult, but you have to manage your desires before they take over you. It is all about self-control and knowing your priorities. The solution may take more than taking a few deep breaths, like waiting in a slow line for your meal. Confronting instant gratification requires us to challenge ourselves to withstand harmful habits, such as the temptation to carry our phones when we are not busy. By practicing patience, you allow yourself the opportunity to access the benefits of delayed gratification. People who know how to manage their desires will always thrive more in relationships, careers, finances, health than people who give in to their desires. Delayed gratification will improve your self-control, increasing your chances of fulfilling long-term goals because you will be more patient and have less burnout. When you expand your focus from beyond the moment, you create more opportunities for your future self. As you know, the *Now* will always affect the *Later*; use that knowledge to plan your life and set your priorities rather than letting your desires blind you. It is normal to crave ease and immediacy because technology allows the two to co-exist without hurting the other. And because of this, it will be hard to shift your focus to the long-term, but what you gain from it will be more beneficial than what you lose from resisting the temptation of instant pleasure. You may even find better things when you delay gratification, and just like the marshmallow test, it is better to get two marshmallows than only getting one.

@Oikawa 5 November 2021

Children=Happiness! Children are a gift given to parents by God, and every couple wishes for them, and when they are given the gift of a child, they give them their unconditional love. Having children is not easy and that is why I understand when parents are over-protective of their children and never want to let them go. Mothers especially never want to let their children go, because giving birth to a child is not an easy task and giving all their love to that child is their number one priority. A friend of mine once asked what make parents have this unconditional love for children? It was a weird question, because I am not a parent, but it made me think a little bit on why my parents loved me even when I didn’t do anything for them. The truth is every parent loves their child, and they are the apple of their eyes with a cherry on top. Parenting may be tough at times, and extremely tiring, but no parent would change it for the world, even if you have more free time without kids. Having kids is the most important thing humans will ever do. Children are beautiful and when they enter our lives, they make everything colorful, and pretty. I have never seen a person look happier than when they see their newborn child, you can spend hours looking at your newborn child and not be satisfied. Having kids will make you delighted and incredibly happy in such a way that no one else can or ever could. For the rest of life, our kids will occupy our mind, and every step in their lives we will be holding their hands and guiding them. To me there is nothing better than getting kisses and cuddles from kids, because to them we are the most important people in the world, and they never shy away from showcasing their love and affection. You should always try your best to accept their feelings because by the time they are four or five children start moving away from us and it can be so sad sometimes. But it is better for them to be independent and start thinking for themselves. Having children means you will never get bored as they will always keep you entertained even during ungodly hours in the morning when you are trying to sleep, but who cares! The feeling you get when your child achieves something is so incredible and difficult to describe, and when boasting to your friends only fills up your pride so it’s a win-win. I have written this in one of my articles before but, when you look into a child’s eyes there is always a sparkle, and this sparkle is their creativity and imagination. A child’s creativeness and imagination is something only an author/writer can dream about, children can play with any object for hours and still have fun. In a minute they can become astronauts walking on the moon, or exploring space, while another minute they are princesses at a tea party. For me it is amazing to see how wide their imaginations are, and how fast they are able to create such wild and crazy worlds, but the sad fact is sooner or later they will have to deal with reality, and their imagination will fade away slowly. We all know that every child is different and children have their own talents and abilities, to put it simply they are one in a million. No two children can ever be the same even twins are different, and this is what makes each child special or we would only have one if they all turned out the same. Learn to appreciate every single moment with your children, remember they will only be small for a little while. Instead of ignoring them, or spending time away from them, get closer with them and build your relationship. Lack of parental warmth and love can make a child more stressed, and since parents put so much pressure on them to succeed, we fail to balance it with affection, creating health risks in them. When a child has love from their parental figures, the child will be more protected from both psychological and emotional problems, a child without love is more likely to engage in bad activities and this is a fact. Your love and affection will help your child feel secure regardless of their accomplishments, loving them will build their self-esteem and confidence.

@Oikawa 4 November 2021

Giving in to Temptation! There is one thing humans have in common, and it is the fact that we all have been tempted and will be tempted one way or the other. The question I think we should ask ourselves is, why do we give in to temptation? And when you ask ourselves this question, what usually comes to mind are pornography, substance use, masturbation, and overeating. There are some ways to answer this question, especially if you look at the biblical view. If I were to pick one reason we give in to temptation, I would say it is because we get tired of fighting the battle. What battle, you ask? The battle we fight against our flesh feels so hard spiritually, physically, and emotionally and it is not something we can win easily. Perseverance is a genuinely complex trait, and sometimes it can be uncomfortable, especially when you have given in to temptation so many times. So many times, temptations seem to have more power over us than we do to fight it, and the thought of another day, even another minute, wrestling with our persistent and insistent desire is too much to handle.  Our mind always tells us it is easier to give in and move on rather than continue to resist, and I am sure we all have gone through this scenario before. When you stand at the cusp of capitulating to the satanic lie, **"Futility of** **Resistance",** then what else can we do? and who can guide us to abstaining from temptations. You should always look towards God's word because that is where all his teachings and ideas are. James 1:14 tells us this, But every man is tempted when drawn away of his lust and enticed. From this scripture, we can tell that what causes temptation is our lust, and the moment we give in to our lust, we will ultimately fall into temptation.  The first step towards overcoming temptation is recognizing our human tendency to be seduced by our fleshly carvings. The temptation to sin is already a given, and no one can escape from it, and you shouldn't be surprised by it; we should all expect to be tempted in our lifetime, and you should be prepared for it. 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, is walking about, seeking who he will devour:." The devil is always looking for his next victim; that is why the Bible tells us always to be alert of his tricks and schemes and try to defeat him anytime he comes to us. There is no temptation on earth that we can't overcome because God has already prepared a way for us to escape, and he will never give us a trial above us.  When you come face to face with temptation, instead of giving in to it, look for a way out because God has already promised us a way out, like when a stranger talks to you, run as fast as you can when tempted. The greatest weapon we have is the word of God, and with it, we can overcome all principalities, trials, and temptations that come our way.  Even Jesus, when he was on earth, was tempted, which shows that the devil is not afraid of anyone; he was even willing to tempt Jesus, seeing he was fasting and in a vulnerable state. When reading the Bible, you notice that God always shows us people who have gone through so many tribulations, and he always uses them to teach us something. When Jesus was tempted, he didn't give in to it. Instead, he used the scriptures to fight the devil, and ultimately he won the battle. Ephesians 6:12 For you do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, Kings/Queens of the darkness of the age, against spiritual *hosts* of wickedness in the heavenly *places.* We should all understand that we are not fighting a physical battle where we need swords and clubs; instead, we are fighting a spiritual one, and the only way we can win is by using the word of God. Jesus was able to overcome the devil and his temptation because he had the word of God, and if it was able to work for him, what makes you think it won't work for you.  He was a human just like you and me, so he understands the troubles we go through, and that is why we should always learn from him. While using God's word to overcome temptation is helpful, it may not always be practical. Instead of reading God's word only when you are overcoming temptation, I recommend reading it every day, so you understand it more, and it becomes one with you.  When you become one with God's word, you will always be ready for anything the devil throws at you. I appreciate you reading my article, and I will see you in the next one!

@Oikawa 3 November 2021

Believe, and you will grow!  **To be a champ, you need to believe in yourself even if no one will- Sugar Ray Robinson**. If you ask any successful person, they will tell you that believing in yourself is essential in achieving your goals and overall lifestyle. You have no idea how much a change you will see in your life when you think and converse about what you want and plan how you will get there; it makes you happy, makes your life easier, and gives you total control. Some people don't know how to believe in their abilities, and so many things may cause this, but one thing I noticed caused this is schools. In school, we are taught that if we aren't in the top 1% of students, then we are garbage, and so many children have gotten used to this, and their minds are set that they are completely useless and there is no point in having confidence in their abilities. These teachings are not the kind of thing we should be putting into children's minds; instead, we should build their self-confidence to believe in their ability to create their future. If you destroy a child's self-confidence, you are ultimately ruining the future of both the child and society as we know it because children are the future, and we should never hurt them. Believing in yourself is not a complicated process. It would be best to focus on positive thoughts and emotions that will enlighten you on how to believe in yourself, and the best way to think positively is by having an optimistic mindset. In every situation, instead of sulking and losing confidence in yourself every time things don't go as planned, look at things as experiences that happened because you needed to learn something from them, and use them to make your life better. An optimistic mindset will always build self-confidence because you will always find good opportunities even when others see insufficient opportunities. A pessimistic mindset will only tear down your confidence and esteem, which will prevent you from pursuing any dream you set to achieve due to lack of faith, fear, or your unwillingness to take risks.  I am sure that a negative mindset is the most influential enemy that any human has, and it is vital to defeating it anytime it surfaces. To defeat a negative mindset and emotions, you need to take responsibility for your life, including your actions, choices, reactions, and situations, accomplished by having good values. Good values in life will determine your beliefs about the world around you and also yourself. When you have positive values such as compassion, love, and generosity, you will find it easier to believe that people of this world genuinely deserve these values, and you will treat them accordingly. Believing in yourself and choosing to be a good person will make your life more positive, and ultimately you will be more successful. Let us try something first; who in your life do you perceive as a solid and confident person? It would help if you now took note of what they do and say their choices and the company they keep. The principle of causality is based on cause and effect, which means that if you act in the same way as these healthy, confident people with positive attitudes, you will soon feel the way, see the same results, and enjoy the same experiences they do. One of the hardest things to do is believe that you are an extraordinary individual and not the same as the person next to you. Learn to believe in yourself, and incorporate your awareness into your attitude and personality; no one like you has unique contributions that we need to share with the world. We all have our various skills, talents, and abilities, which makes us unique, and even if two people have a good voice, it doesn't mean they can sing the same way. One significant key to having confidence is saying it, which means repeating it repeatedly to yourself until you start believing it; you can say it every morning or every night; what matters is that you say it. You should have the courage to accept yourself for who you are even if you don't like how you are, or if you think you want to be someone else, consider everything, and you will find out you are worthy of having the kind of life you want. Your beliefs determine your expectations. When you have positive values, you will believe in yourself and become a good person. If you believe yourself to be a good person, indeed, good things will happen to you. Learn to believe in your abilities because you are the only person who needs to validate yourself; when you fail to do this, you will have no confidence. Thank you for reading!

@Oikawa 2 November 2021

Dealing with breakups! Breakups may be the most painful and emotional experiences in our lives; even if it is not our fault- whether we want to break up or not- it can deal a lot of damage to both our physical and emotional health.  A breakup can turn your world upside-down, and if you are not careful, it may ruin you completely without even knowing what happened, and you are left with nothing but pain and regret. Even though a relationship isn't good, you still feel pain when you separate from your significant other. It represents a loss in your relationship and all the dreams and commitments you and your partner shared. Romance sometimes begins with excitement and hopes for the future, so where do you go when a relationship fails? You are left with nothing but a void in your heart; only disappointment, grief, and stress remain. A breakup launches you into an unknown territory where you are isolated; nothing seems to be going well with you. Your relationship with others, your home, and your work is disrupted because your mind is not stable enough to manage things. Your mind is uncertain of the future; what will your life be like from now on? Was it your fault? Are you enough/worth it? These questions will be in your mind for a long time, and you will find yourself constantly repeating the same questions over and over. You are trapped in a never-ending circle, and you don't know what to do anymore. Recovering from a breakup may take some time, and it may not be easy, but you must remind yourself that you can and will get through that experience because staying in it will only hurt you more, learn to move on with a new sense of hope and optimism for the future.  When coping with breakups, you must recognize that it is ok to have different feelings; it is normal to feel sad, exhausted, angry, frustrated, and confused- even if these feelings are tense.  Sometimes you will feel anxious about the future, but you should accept the reactions will lessen over time as you heal.  Learn to give yourself a break, permit yourself to function, and feel at a less optimal level than you usually do, but only for a short period. After a breakup/divorce, you will not be able to function as expected, and you will be less productive in your work; we are all human, and what makes us human is the fact that we have feelings; we all need time to heal, regroup and find energy. Instead of staying alone, being depressed, share your feelings with your family and friends because this will help you get out of this period. You could also join a support group to share your feelings with people who have had the same experiences as you had. Isolating yourself won't do you any good; it will only raise your stress levels, reduce your concentration level, and get in the way of your work, relationships, health, and life. It would help if you never were afraid to seek help from others, especially when you are not in your best situation. Grief is natural to all humans, and it is our minds telling us that we have lost something, and breakups involve the loss of so many things. . The loss of your companion and the person you shared all your experiences, dreams, and goals with. . Loss of the person who supported you when you were not in your best times, even when you were in a financial, social, or emotional crisis, they supported you. Your partner was always there for you, so who do you go to now that they are gone. Permitting yourself to feel the pain may be scary sometimes, and you will fear your emotions will be too intense or that you will be stuck in a dark place forever. Remember that grieving is essential in healing yourself; the pain of grief helps you recover from breakups and problems, and no matter how intense your grief may be, it will never last forever. Remind yourself that you still have a future; even if all your hopes and dreams with your partner are over, remember that you can still fulfill any dream you set out to accomplish even if your partner is no longer with you. Encourage yourself with the hope that new dreams and goals with replace the new ones.' It can be challenging to come to terms with a divorce/breakup, and don't expect to bounce back to your usual self immediately. Ask anyone who has gone through a breakup, and they will tell you that even if there are bad days, good days will eventually come in the end. **"It may be easy to say it is over, but it may take years to understand it."** Thank you for reading!

@Oikawa 1 November 2021

Another blessing from @HappyBoy, You are an amazing person, and I owe a lot to you. Thank you for everything that you have done for me from my beginning till now. This renewal means a lot to me! Happy New Month, many blessings to you!

@Oikawa 1 November 2021

Happy New Month Everyone! What a way to start of the new month, an amazing new sponsor @Aasii, thank you for your sponsorship, I know this new month will show you blessings in abundance. ❤️ I know this is a little bit late but I want also thank @Khing14 and @FarmGirl for their sponsorship, I am sorry for posting this now, but I appreciate both of you so much, Thank you. ❤️❤️

@Oikawa 1 November 2021

Goodbye October! Welcome, November! Happy New month, readers! We are finally in November, your month of success. Who would have imagined we would be one month away from 2022, and we would be saying hello to a new year filled with so many new people, adventures, and blessings.  I know this November will be a great month for everyone, and it signifies a reset from last month, don't dwell too much on what you couldn't do before; you can always exceed them this month. October was not free from troubles; at the beginning of the month, we saw the absence of Rusty and the decrease in the money being given to us. During that time, many people left readcash because they thought it was going down, and they lost all hope in it. We were worried, but we didn't care because even without the money, some of us would still keep on writing; we are writers, after all. October may have had its problems, but all in all, it was an excellent month for me, and I know it was also good for you. This article will be a review of my October, including all my articles and earnings. I would like to appreciate everyone that has helped me in my journey on this platform, either by interacting, upvoting, or commenting, and I am grateful for all you are doing for me. I finally achieved my goal of 31 articles in a month, and I am so happy that I could finally do it, it may not have been easy releasing articles every day, but it was truly worth it. Pushing your mind to create articles and stories daily genuinely helps you become more creative, and it is so exciting creating all these articles from scratch. Looking at the blank white page may be scary sometimes, but the moment you start typing/writing, a whole new world of imagination/stories starts coming into your mind, and you may even find it hard to stop yourself sometimes. I am glad that I didn't give up and continued writing on this platform; I am so happy reading all the fantastic content from all the exceptional writers here. At the beginning of my journey on this platform, I had set my monthly earnings to 40 dollars a month; I was satisfied with this. I didn't expect much as a beginner. I didn't have much hope for my first article because I didn't think Rusty would notice me since I had just started, but to my amazement, he noticed me and gave me some tips. I thought maybe he was being nice, so I didn't have hopes for the second article. But he kept visiting my articles, and I am so grateful for all Rusty has done for me. Without further ado, let me list my articles for October with their earnings! **Articles and Earnings for September****- $7.78** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/articles-and-earnings-for-september-2eaab800 **Don't Procrastinate! "Do it now"****- $5.61** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/dont-procrastinate-do-it-now-36c2e9e2 **Corruption and Injustice in our society!****- $0.45** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/corruption-and-injustice-in-our-society-446cd2b4 **What is holding you back?****- $4.25** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/what-is-holding-you-back-83330fd7 **Discrimination: Humanity's Problem****- $6.06** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/discrimination-humanitys-problem-5312a685 **Issues and Future of Crypto (Bch and Shib Bullish Trend)****- $8.13** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/issues-and-future-of-crypto-bch-and-shib-bullish-trend-0907b0fd **Rest****- $7.24** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/rest-612fd679 **Don't follow! Be Different****-$4.82** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/dont-follow-be-different-69b467cb **Go Beyond! Plus Ultra****- $7.95** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/go-beyond-plus-ultra-dde22411 **If the world were to end, what would you do?** **-$5.66** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/if-the-world-were-to-end-what-would-you-do-e5ed54d0 **Happiness?** **- $8.02** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/happiness-2e7b4251 **Graduation****- $6.36** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/graduation-be53d9d9 **Lies, Fraud, and Scams!****- $2.58** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/lies-fraud-and-scams-c9d38855 **Take charge of Burnout****!- 7.76** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/take-charge-of-burnouts-8e86feb3 **Practice makes Perfect? True or False****- $6.23** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/practice-makes-perfect-true-or-false-8f1b8c3b **Why you should be Lazy!****- $8.41** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/why-you-should-be-lazy-6fde84d3 **Look at the Bigger Picture!!****- $6.52** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/look-at-the-bigger-picture-8fdadb08 **Learn to Forgive!****- $5.90** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/learn-to-forgive-a91c63e2 **Say your Prayers!****- $5.38** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/say-your-prayers-c3e37151 **Are you losing your inspiration? How do you get it back!****- $6.07** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/are-you-losing-your-inspiration-how-do-you-get-it-back-b6510b23 **What do you know about Health?****- $5.38** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/what-do-you-know-about-health-bbd66dd5 **What is Financial Health?****-$4.09** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/what-is-financial-health-170cb2a4 **Music: A gift to humanity****- $6.86** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/music-a-gift-to-humanity-19655269 **Consequences of Lockdown****- $5.79** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/consequences-of-lockdown-583beb7c **The future starts today****!- $4.84** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/the-future-starts-today-f342bd86 **What are you willing to sacrifice****- $4.66** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/what-are-you-willing-to-sacrifice-a0b92d13 **Why loved ones are important!****- $4.75** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/why-loved-ones-are-important-637a573a **Why "I love you" is so essential!****- $20.77** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/why-i-love-you-is-so-important-1a47d85f **Even when unnoticed! Persevere****- $4.57** https://read.cash/@Oikawa#:~:text=Even%20when%20unnoticed!%20Persevere **Benefits of Introvert Life!****- $5.62** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/benefits-of-introvert-life-efcb74dd **Pains of Unrequited Love****- $1.69** https://read.cash/@Oikawa/pains-of-unrequited-love-8a845726 **Total= 195.10** Some of it was spent on medical bills, so that brings the total = $125 October was a great month, but I know November will be better, a new journey starts today, and I pray November will favor us even more than October. Thank you for reading!

@Oikawa 31 October 2021

Pains of Unrequited Love Have you ever felt connected with someone you know, but you never do no matter how much you try to reach that person? Even when you push yourself and go all out, they never seem to notice you, making you sad; you feel like giving up, but you don't. I wanted to try writing some lines today, I was working on them yesterday, and I wanted to check if they are good. Even if I am not very good at it, but I hope you enjoy reading it. **"Nights when I can't sleep,** **I heave a sigh to myself,** **I feel kind of lonely,**       **Wondering what you are doing, I picked up an orange, and it reminded me of a poem.**  **A seed in a vast landscape sprouted roots,**  **It bore a fruit that wants to turn orange as soon as possible, by basking in your light,**  **My ideas and dreams keep on flourishing; why can't you notice it already,** **Today, I ate an orange, But I cried because it was still sour,** **It reminds me of myself so I couldn't throw it away, So I ate it all,** **I love you; it makes me cry."** Of all the emotions that I have felt, love is the most complicated and exciting one. Sometimes we don't choose who we have feelings for in our lives, so we sometimes get hurt when things don't go as planned. Irrespective of our class, education, social standing, ambitions, we sometimes find ourselves falling for someone, even when they don't feel the same way about us. Humans are social beings, so we constantly search for someone compatible with us.  It is not easy to find our second half in this fast-paced world, and when we find that person, we may have feelings for a person that are not reciprocated. Numerous reasons cause this, such as lack of chemistry, will, or different socioeconomic preferences. I am sure we all have read stories on unrequited love, those stories that leave you sad and thinking for hours because you thought they would end up together, but they didn't. Even if it is important not to shy away from relationships, you must know when you are not appreciated. Loving yourself is far more critical than having a love of so many people. Unrequited love can affect your self-esteem and hinder your ability to live your life. When you realize your feelings aren't being reciprocated, it can be very hurtful. You may feel like killing yourself sometimes, but always remember you are the most important person to yourself. It is essential to learn from unrequited love and move on to find someone who will love you the way you deserve. It is not worth beating yourself up and always thinking of someone who won't love you the way you love them. As we all know, unrequited love is a situation where you love someone without them loving you back, and I am sure most of us may have experienced this growing up, maybe in high school where our youth was starting. Unrequited love comes in two ways: . You are in a relationship with the person, but they stop appreciating you over time, and their feelings for you start waning.  This type may be the worst because the person you love the most stops loving you, and it mostly happens in marriages.  A marriage of 20 years could stop because one partner stops loving the other, which would be the worst situation in the world. . The other type of unrequited love is a situation where your interest in someone isn't reciprocated the way you want it to. You think you are alright, but slowly but surely, you start feeling the pain, and you may not know what is causing it.  All you know is you were rejected, and you constantly question yourself as to what caused it. You start finding faults in your body, lifestyle and start losing confidence in yourself. You are in significant pain, but you can't tell anyone about it because you are insecure and think they would make fun of you.  You pretend you are alright in front of them when you are dying inside.  Seeing your crush walk by makes you sad, but you try putting up a smile to lie to yourself; you were rejected, and there is nothing you can do about it. Some signs show when you are caught in this situation, such as: . You get jealous when your crush spends time with others, even when they are not yours. . You are giving everything, but you receive nothing. . You constantly feel underappreciated. . There is no physical contact. It is not easy overcoming this trial, but you should always try to come out of it because it is not good to dwell on something that won't work out. Acceptance is the first stage to overcoming it; learn to accept that the person would never love you as you love them, recognize the grief, let it go, and move on with your life.  Repressing your emotions will not heal the wounds; it will only deepen them, instead some time out to grieve and slowly accept what happened and look onto the future.  **There is always pain behind every "I am fine."** Don't fool yourself that you are doing ok when you are not. Always remember this when you are sad. **"Why should you cry, you lost someone who didn't love you, but the person lost someone who truly loved them."** **One day you will find someone that will cherish you, someone you can share your pain with, but the most crucial part is not rejecting them.** Thank you for reading!!

@Oikawa 30 October 2021

Benefits of Introvert life! Hey, Readers! I know you all are having a fantastic day? We are finally on the weekends again, and I am so happy because I have time to rest a bit. Even if I am spending it indoors without going anywhere, that little bit of me-time is what I live for.  Sometimes people call me an introvert; I wonder why; maybe it is because I stay at home any chance I get and never interact with them. People think introverts have the worst life because they never interact with other people and always stay inside, but the life of an introvert is exciting, even if things get boring sometimes. Introverts are individuals who gain energy from spending time alone, just like recharging your battery; when introverts are fully charged, they go out into the world and connect beautifully with people. It is said that introverts take more time to understand things than extroverts because they tend to process things more thoughtfully than extroverts. To be successful, people usually say that you need to speak up and stand out from others, but introverts achieve even more when they hone their inner, natural strengths. There are a lot of good traits that introverts have, such as  **Good Listeners:**  When it comes to listening, introverts are the go-to people because they are adept at listening actively. Introverts tend to be the friend or companion you call when you are sad, depressed, or have good news to share because you know we will listen to all your needs and chats without turning it around and making it about us. Extroverts usually make things about themselves and jump into conversations before processing what it is about; it is not for their selfish reasons but because they process information interactively. Extroverts process interactively, and introverts process internally; that may be the most significant difference between the two if you ask me. Introverts think before they speak: Introverts know the power of their words, and that is why they tend to think more about a subject before getting into a conversation or argument. Introverts only speak when they have something to say, and that is why there is a higher chance we would have an impact when we speak because when you process things more, you fully understand what it means.  Thinking before you speak also has disadvantages, especially in this fast-paced world, where everyone has their own opinions. That is why I always prepare what I say before getting into a conversation because if I don't, I would never have time to speak. The skill of choosing your words before you talk is beneficial online, just as it is in person; I am sure we have all seen memes of how introverts change when they are online. Introverts are more successful on social media because it is not likely they have knee-jerk reactions like extroverts. **Introverts are Observant:** Introverts' listening skills may be top-notch, but their observation skills are even better; you would think it was a superpower. Introverts notice things others might not notice, even if it seems like we don't know what we are sometimes doing; we are soaking in the information presented and thinking critically on how to use it. We know how to read the room more. That is why you rarely catch us talking even when the time to talk is available; we notice people's body language and facial expressions, making us better at interpersonal communication. Introverts can tell when others are thinking, processing, and observing; then, we give them space, making them feel more comfortable and ready to speak. This trait is why we connect with people easily. **Introverts make Quality Friends:** Introverts' energy is drained when people surround them; that is why introverts choose their friends wisely; they would rather have a few close friends than an army of friends that would cause them trouble. This quality makes introverts loyal, trustworthy, attentive, and committed friends in relationships. **Introverts are loving romantic partners:** Introverts love their personal space, which is why they understand when their partners also need space; we have this need for privacy, and we give it to others. When the day is over, we listen and support our partners without making a conversation about ourselves. We don't just get intimate with everyone. Instead, we like getting to know the person before sharing any intimate details with them, and sometimes it can be very appealing, especially in the early stages of a relationship. **We are compassionate leaders:** Some people have said that introverts make the best leaders, this may sound weird, but it is the truth. When we hone our natural strengths, we don't feel the need to step into the spotlight and take all the credit for our group success. Instead of doing that, we highlight the strength of our team, which makes the team stronger. An extrovert leader may be exceptional, but you usually notice the leader before you notice the team, which could be a problem in team building. Introverts process more information, think more than others and tend to learn more about their subordinates. We have focused conversations with our team to know their skills, passions, and strengths, which is a significant step in team building. Once we have gathered the information, we can use what we have learned to help each team member reach their full potential and become more efficient and happier at their various activities. Introverts are not dull or living a lousy life because they rather stay indoors and have limited life.  Instead, those characteristics make them unique, and if you are ever looking for a good friend that will always be there for you, I suggest you seek an introvert.  Introverts sometimes don't look for friends. Extroverts adopt them. Thank you for reading.

@Oikawa 29 October 2021

Even when unnoticed! Persevere Every day we work hard to earn our money, so you deserve the right to be treated the right way. But things won't always go as expected, and life doesn't work that way, and sometimes you find yourself taking on huge burdens that someone else is taking credit for.  It may be happening to you in your workplace, a situation where another co-worker is getting celebrated for the work you do. You should know that no one likes it when their work is not recognized.  But something you should know is that even if your work isn't recognized, there will come a time where everyone will celebrate you the way you deserve, but before that time, don't give up, instead learn to persevere and keep ongoing. Perseverance is a significant trait for a person who wants to succeed in life, and without it, you will never finish whatever you started, leaving all your goals and dreams halfway. Let us take a look at the meaning of perseverance. Perseverance is persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.  Perseverance means that even when things don't seem to be going your way, you still try your best to keep on moving forward so you can achieve whatever you want, no matter the circumstances. We all want to succeed in what we pursue, but we always forget that achieving something will never be easy; even the most straightforward goals still require effort. Even if you set targets that you want to achieve, you may eventually fall short of those goals. What you should learn from your failure is not giving up but embracing it, so you learn and move forward; failure may lead to frustration, which leads to loss of self-confidence in your work; you might even lose your motivation when you feel like you won't succeed. I have said this in a previous article, but let me repeat it, success isn't a straight line or a one-way path.  Success comes in various methods, and you should navigate it with proper care; even if you lose your way in your pursuit, keep going, and you will eventually reach your destination. Sometimes I wonder how prominent individuals achieved great heights of success; what exactly separates these people from the average individual? How did they stay focused in the face of adversity and reach where they were today? I think successful people have their secret ingredient to achieving success, and this secret must have helped them through their journey. The question here is, how do we acquire this secret ingredient from them? When asked if he loved his training, Muhammed Ali replied this: ***"I hate every minute of my training, but I said this to myself, 'Don't quit, suffer now, and live the rest of your life as a champion."*** As you can see from the statement, not even the most successful people love hard work, it is painful and exhausting, but he still pushed his limit by refusing to quit when things got hard for him. This key trait is what made him the legendary boxer we know today. Here is another quote from one of my favorite writers; you may know her because she created one of the greatest stories in fiction/magic. The Harry Potter series author, J.K Rowling, is another excellent example of perseverance and success. Did you know the manuscript of Harry Potter was rejected by 12 publishers before Bloomsbury took it?  She said this in an interview:  ***"Failure meant stripping myself away of all the inessentials.***  ***I stopped pretending that I was anything other than myself and began directing all my energy into finishing the work that genuinely mattered.*** ***If I had succeeded in anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged."*** I noticed from these two people that they both persevered in their worst times, which was why they eventually reached the peak of the mountain or their goals. Perseverance is an essential element if you want to achieve a high level of success in any field. The significant part is that it does not require any college degree or formal education to learn. It is a natural action because it is our will, and it comes naturally. It may not matter what or how long your goal will take; the chances of your success depend primarily on your willingness to keep pushing forward and persevering no matter the situation. Perseverance has some other perks that could be learned other than patience, you can also become more trustworthy, and there will be an increase in your self-confidence. **Trustworthiness:** People who practice perseverance are more likely to be trusted by others who quit halfway; no matter how hard the situation they find themselves in, they will always stand their ground. That is why they are significant when it comes to completing a task. **Boost Self-confidence:** Perseverance increases an individual's confidence and sense of self-worth. You take full ownership of your life, responsibilities, and goals you have set to achieve. You start believing in yourself and controlling your fate. When you can control your life, you begin to have more confidence in your capabilities, and you can do anything. Perseverance is vital in finding the motivation to continue working and achieving; if you give up when you hit a wall, you will never find the inspiration/motivation to keep ongoing.  Instead of quitting, be persistent and keep doing what you are doing; even if it doesn't seem to be working at the beginning, it will eventually work out, and you will find the motivation to continue pursuing your goals. **"If you stopped at the beginning, then you will never know the end of the story."** Perseverance is a significant key to living a successful life, and success is not achieved overnight; that is why we should always try our best to learn how to persevere even in the face of adversity. Always remember that you can do anything you set your mind to, it may take your blood, sweat, and tears but if you look at it.  **"What goal in this world won't take effort.?"**  **Why not keep going forward?**

@Oikawa 28 October 2021

Why "I love you" is so important! **"I love you"** is probably the sweetest word in this world, and there is no doubt about that. Sometimes we forget to tell our partners this, and it can be terrible in a relationship. First of all, what is **"Love"**? This question is one we consistently fail to ask ourselves, some people don't even know what it is, and that is why some relationships never seem to succeed. You may not believe it, but some people are even scared to say it because they don't know what it means to love, which may not be their fault. Some families never show their children love, which may cause problems for the children in the future. Love is not something as simple as warm affection that we feel towards another person; for example, Romantic love is not the same love we feel for our parents and sibling, and Parental love is not the kind of love we feel for friends and lovers. Perhaps love does not need to contain emotion or a sense of warm affection; for a word that has deep meaning, there is never a correct answer. So how do you understand love? There may never be an answer to it, but I understand that there is not only one way to express your love to others; if you don't understand what it means, you can always come up with your phrases to express your love. What matters is the emotions you put into what you want to say to them. If you have never said I love you to your partner, but you feel it, there would never be a better time to say it than now. Don't wait for the right time because that time will never come to you, which is the problem most people have. When you fail to tell someone how you feel about them, they will never know, we sometimes don't tell them due to our fear of being rejected, but it is better to try than never try at all. Sometimes love is like a mirror that reflects your wrong sides, and when it is unrequited, you get jealous, envious, and resentful. It would help if you faced all sorts of emotions, but there is no reason to find that shameful. I have never seen a drug more potent than love, and it has the power to change a person positively or negatively; I have seen people who have changed who they are to pursue someone they had emotions for, and I ask myself, why is love so strong. I love high school because it was usually the first place you would experience this feeling; some of us had our first relationships in high school, and it was so beautiful to us, and there was nothing as nerve-wracking as a confession. Sometimes those confessions become rejections, which gets us depressed, but sooner or later, we get back on our feet and return to our old selves.  You can never underestimate the saying **"I LOVE YOU,"** because these three little words imply acceptance, care, and the willingness to place someone's needs above your own. The term "love" is not just a selfish passing moment, but it has a genuine and deeper understanding of who someone is and knowledge that they are good enough even with all the imperfections they have. Without acceptance and love, what do we give each other? No matter how much money, fame, power a person has, it can never buy the same feelings your heart got the first time the love of your life confessed their feelings to you. The butterflies you get in your tummy is something you could never replace, and it lets you know you are alive. When you love someone, never be afraid to tell them, because telling them is a gift, and it does not only make them happy, but it also makes you happy.   When you truly love someone, dare to express how you feel, do it well, and do it often because you give more of a gift to yourself than anyone. Know that you are claiming your will to live fully and completely cover yourself in life's joys as quickly as you are able and willing to hurt from life's predicaments. We are all social creatures, and we are on this planet to nurture each other. Living a solitary life will only be painful; it is even more painful than living with love and losing it. Remember this: A heart that hasn't been broken may never enlarge.  A heart that has never loved will grow cold.  And a heart that lives in fear shrinks with time. You should never underestimate the power of "I love you", say it with a deep breath, closed eyes, a leap of faith, and a whisper, and you can be sure that the moment you open your eyes again, your life will have changed for the better, I promise you. Thank you for reading; leave a comment if you have any. I will see you at the next one; bye!!

@Oikawa 27 October 2021

Why loved ones are important! Hey Readers! How are you all doing today? I hope you are all keeping yourself hydrated and happy. Four days remain till we enter another month, and soon we will be counting down to the new year; I can't wait for the party that night, well not a party, a small gathering. Last year, it was impossible to celebrate with the ones we love; birthdays, weddings, and funerals were all celebrated indoors or online. During these times, we must get closer to our loved ones instead of pushing them away. Most of us hardly spend time with our family and loved ones, which can cause problems. Some research has found out that lack of relationships may pose a significant problem to our physical and mental health; this can cause depression. That is why people suffering from depression hardly have any relationships or bonds. When you are closer to the people you love, you feel way happier and more satisfied with your life. Haven't you ever felt like those moments of connection and shared enjoyment with your loved ones are essential experiences in your life. It doesn't have to be your family and friends, and maybe it is just a more expansive group or a community you are in; even those can create wholesome moments in your life. Forming bonds, connections, and a sense of belonging with your colleagues, neighbors, and different groups can help make up your identity as a person and promote your well-being.  When you follow people with the same ideology and mindset, it can create a sense of personal meaning. Relationships are beneficial because the people we are tied to are always there when we are down, help us draw strength, and give us the capacity to deal with whatever challenges the world throws at us. Creating relationships may be one of the most challenging tasks for an individual, except you are very social.  Even if things may be going great with someone we are in a relationship with, there are still chances the relationship will go wrong due to inattention, neglect, and stressful life experiences creating a relationship breakdown and conflict. If you are ever in a bad or unhealthy relationship that only causes you stress and dissatisfaction, you should leave it before it puts a toll on your life. Your loved ones are essential in our life besides yourself, and we should always take care of them the same way we take care of ourselves; even if giving the best to them may feel tiring, it will all be worth it. Here are some reasons I have found that will show you why it is essential to give your loved ones the best at all times. **Time is limited; you never know how much time you have left with your loved ones:**  There is no better moment now; you are never sure there will be a future, so why do you still want to prolong your connection with them. When you see your loved ones happy, that should be a priceless moment in your life. True happiness is in the process and not just the result; through our life's journey, your loved ones will always be there to support you no matter the problem. As I said before, you never know how much time you have left with them, and that is why it is essential to spend time with them, even if you are busy. Their happiness is your happiness too: When your loved ones are happy, I am pretty sure you will also have a sense of joy because you always want the best for them. When you make a grand or straightforward gesture for them, it will not only make your days brighter but all your efforts and hassle to make them happy will feel extraordinary and worth it. **Treat your loved ones like yourself:** This action should be the most important one of all, when you give the best to your loved ones, then sooner or later they will also treat you the same way.  Giving your best to your loved ones will help create a better and healthier relationship. Learn to give your best whenever you can, and you will never have regret in your life. You can begin with a simple **"I love you"** or prepare breakfast; even a hug will help. Showing emotion will always help deepen a relationship, making it easier to give your best to your loved ones. If you can, after reading this article, you can go over to your parent, friend, partner, or sibling and give them the biggest hug or kiss you have ever given them before.  Show them a little love, any way you can, because they are the ones that are more closer to us, and they may be in our life forever. Showing them love will not only make them feel happy, but you will also feel warm, happy, and content.

@Oikawa 26 October 2021

What are you willing to Sacrifice? **Date: 26th, October 2021** There are only five days till we enter November; I am happy we are all healthy and still here; entering a new month is something you should be grateful for because it is not easy. People die every day, but I am glad I still live and have the strength to keep posting here. Some of us on this platform have a lot of stuff we are doing outside this platform, but you still try our best to post every day; you even sacrifice your time, sleep, and leisure hours to post and interact here.  Even if you are receiving money for it, I know what you are doing isn't easy.  You all comment, upvote, and help other users even when you could be doing other things outside of this platform, and that is why you usually do very well here. Rusty notices people who do this much more than others because he knows they are helping the platform, which is his way of appreciating them. When you learn to sacrifice things, you will always reap the rewards at the end, and it could be your time, your strength, or even your body.  Our teacher gave us an essay on what we would sacrifice for our dreams if we were ever given an option. She was surprised to see the answers because some students wrote they would sacrifice their parents, friends, and even themselves. It was such a crazy day for our teacher as she read our insane essays, lol. Let me ask you a question, **"What and who are you willing to sacrifice for your dream?**  This question may be weird, but you need to ask yourself this question sometimes because you never know when you have to make these choices in your life. You must be willing to make sacrifices if you ever want to achieve something that is a given, but most of us never want to sacrifice. We keep holding onto and doing things that won't help us reach where we want to be in the future; we forget that time is one of our precious assets, and it waits for no one. You would need to sacrifice some things to achieve success in life; here are some of them. **. Time:** As I have said before, time is precious, and we shouldn't use our time to do things that won't benefit us later. We need to do so many things every day, but we never have enough time. It is crucial to make the best use of your time so you can achieve what is essential.  Procrastination is a significant problem, and everyone has fallen victim to it, but you must never allow it to halt your progress. **. Personal Life:** You must sacrifice a lot of your personal life and relationships if you ever want to move forward; the problem is most people keep staying in toxic relationships that won't do them any good.  You need to make significant changes to your personal life; you are not neglecting anyone, you are just focused on your goals, and that is all. **. Sleep:** Most of us sacrifice this even when we don't need to; for one, I have an awful sleep schedule; that's if I even have one.  There are nights that I would have to keep on writing and deprive myself of sleep because I know I have to make four articles for this week in one night.   It may not be easy, but that is the best way to utilize your sleep; instead of using it for something that won't benefit you, you use it to make your tomorrow easier. **. Immediate desires:** We have so many desires, and it is impossible to satisfy them unless you want to waste your life.  There are so many things that can lead to distractions, but we shouldn't let them make us procrastinate; it might be checking your social media or watching a movie.  Never lose focus on what is essential in your life; it is up to you to make these decisions; you must learn to sacrifice your immediate desires if you want to make good use of your time.  It is not wrong to have immediate desires, and it is normal to feel that way, but when you sacrifice what you want now, you are saving a lot of time and energy for something more essential. Sacrifice for the future because time won't wait for you. Now I want to give you a couple of scenarios that I just thought of. Comment your answer below; I can't wait to read it. **"If you are allowed to have everything you have ever wanted and fulfill all your dreams, but at the cost of your loved ones, would you sacrifice them, or would you leave the deal?** **Second Question:** **"Would you sacrifice your co-workers lives for your benefit?"** Those are the two questions I wanted to ask you; if you are willing to answer them, you can comment on your answers below. It may not be easy to make sacrifices, but you should be able to do anything for your dreams. Here are some quotes that I wanted to leave here before I finish. **"A dream... It's something you do for yourself, not for others."** **"In order to accomplish something, sacrifices must be made."** **"There's no such thing as a pain-free lesson; they don't exist. Sacrifices are necessary; you can't gain something without losing something. If you can endure the suffering and walk away from it, you'll find out that you now have a strong heart to overcome any obstacle."** Thank you for reading; leave a comment if you have any; I will see you later! Bye!!

@Oikawa 25 October 2021

The Future starts today! Today is the 25th, and only six days remain till the end of October; it is amusing when you think about it because, in just two months, we will be entering 2022. Can you imagine? When I remember that, a smile comes to my face because I know how hard it is to survive a year, some of us may be thinking it is because we are exceptional, but the thing is, no one is special if you think about it.  The people that died this year were just like you and me; they had plans for the future, and they were expecting to fulfill their goals this year, but they couldn't. If you are alive today, know that it isn't by your power. Don't take your life for granted because so many people would love to have their life again, but they can't anymore. Living recklessly without any plans seems to be the norm for young people nowadays; on social media, I see a lot of youths doing so many things that are just so irrelevant when you think about it.  Spending time on social media all day won't help you when you are old; it will only give you instant pleasure, and when that is gone, what do you have? Nothing to show for yourself. When you fail to plan for the future, you are not only hurting yourself, but you are hurting so many generations to come, and you don't even know this. I think all young people should think about this before wasting their life because even if you feel free now doesn't mean you are not carrying a ton of responsibilities. There are so many generations that could be affected by your decisions today. If you keep avoiding your responsibilities, you are only creating a dire future for your offspring if you want to have any. In the end, they blame it on the situations they find themselves in, but the problem isn't the situation you found yourself in; it is the decision you made. **"You didn't find yourself in bad situations, you made bad choices."** This quote puts the truth out there; you may be saying it is not the truth, but when you look at it, even if it may not be affecting you now, your offspring may be the ones that will find themselves in bad situations. Even if it may cause me problems, I still try my best to think of my future because my future is not only for me; it consists of many people I haven't seen yet.  I want them to have a good life because of the decisions I made today.  If I can make the right choices today, I know that they will end up in good situations; even if I don't see them, I want them to be proud of me.  Remember that you are not working hard for yourself alone; many people depend on your decisions today. This thinking may be too much when you think about it, and it may sound crazy. Like why should you plan for offspring that you haven't even seen yet? But look at all the rich people today; some are rich because their ancestors made plans for the future. Some people don't even have to work for three generations because their ancestors did everything for them. When I think of this, I am amazed. I also want my generation to be rich, healthy, and live in good situations because of my decisions today. They may not know me because I would be long dead, but at least I did my best for them. If you have not been doing what I said, you can start today to invest for your future; even if it is a small investment that gives you returns every year, try your best to invest into your future. You will not live on earth forever, and you won't go with anything you have acquired, but your family will have something you left behind, which will make their lives much more manageable.  It may be tough to think of a plan, but if you want your offspring to live an ideal life tomorrow, you must decide what steps to take to reach the goals you want to achieve. You must ask yourself this question **"What do I want my future to look like."** When you ask yourself this, it opens your mind to so many things that you won't see because your mind won't think outside the box. What exactly do you want for your future? Do you want to live a life where you aren't happy and you are blaming your past mistakes, or do you want to live a life full of regrets? These are the things you should be asking yourself anytime you want to decide because that decision you want to make may affect not only you but your entire generation. When it comes to the future and choices, there may be no "right" choice or decision because you would not know what the future holds, but I am sure you will know when you are making a good decision over a bad one. It would be best if you never had a victim-mentality because the moment you have this, you start blaming everyone for the problems you are in, even though you are well aware no one forced you.  Your decisions are your decisions because it was you who made them. Learn to suck it up when things don't go as planned; no one will care when things go wrong. It is up to you to take responsibility for your life today. Are you willing to start? I am sorry if this article felt a bit weird; I have just been thinking a lot about the future, as you can see from the article.  I hope you enjoyed and understand what I said in this article. Maybe you got something from it. I would be glad if you did. Thank you for reading; leave a comment if you have any; I will see you on the next one! Bye!

@Oikawa 24 October 2021

Consequences of Lockdown We are counting down to the new month, and it is only a week away; looking back, this year has gone pretty fast, considering we were all in our homes on lockdown last year. I vividly remembered this time last year; we finally got out of lockdown, and people were so happy because they could finally live their everyday lives again. This time last year, I didn't know about this platform, and I didn't have any source of income at all; the lockdown truly opened my eyes to how vulnerable and futile my life was, making me feel insecure about myself. I am sure it wasn't only me that felt this way because most people found out how bad their lives were; during those times, people got laid off in their workplace, they didn't have any source of income, and for some insane reason, more people were giving birth to children. During the lockdown, I was shocked at the number of pregnant women I saw in my community; I am not saying it is wrong or anything but is that the right time to give birth to a child during a pandemic.  It is their lives and all, but the baby may suffer it because, based on the reports I heard, most people lost their jobs, and most weren't able to live the way they used to.  I remember a neighbor who lost his job and got high blood pressure due to the impact, he had been working at the company for 20 years, and they immediately laid him off the moment the lockdown started. He was devastated, and this made him bed-ridden. His wife and kids took him to all the hospitals, but they couldn't do anything for him; the medical system in my country is not that great, and it is so bad they didn't even have oxygen for him when he got the Corona Virus.  They could have saved him if they had oxygen, but for some reason, they kept on rejecting him and putting him in different hospitals.  He eventually died, and I felt terrible for him and his family because he was a nice and humble man; he didn't deserve to die like that. Hearing his story further increased my insecurities and fears because the same thing could happen if I didn't plan my life right now and wait for no one.  If he had more money, he could have traveled to a better country to get the needed treatment, but he couldn't afford it because the family didn't have enough. This year is coming to an end, and this makes me wonder to myself,  **"Have I even achieved anything yet?".** **"Have I made my future any better"?** I know I am not the only one who reminds myself of this question, and I know that some of us remind ourselves every day, which lowers our self-esteem and confidence in ourselves.  Low self-esteem affects you more than you can imagine because when your self-esteem is hurt, you will find it harder to believe in yourself and achieve what you set out to do.  When you fail to believe in yourself, you are less likely to do what you want, especially when it comes to planning; you tend to stop halfway in whatever you do and never seem to finish it. Low self-esteem is a significant sign of insecurity, and if not correctly taken care of, you will only go deeper into the problem. Some of the significant signs of insecurities are as follows: ***Self-Isolation*** ***Perfectionism*** ***Low or superficial self-esteem*** ***Anxiousness*** ***Poor Job performance*** ***Depression*** Please don't be scared if you have seen these signs in yourself; even if you have, there are some ways you can use to deal with your insecurities. You can always change the way you think of yourself, and this will go a long way. There are some methods you could use, such as: ***Affirming your Value: When I say this I mean, taking time to look at all the positive sides of yourself instead of the negative.*** ***Take care of your needs first: Never forget to look after yourself first because you need it more; adding self-care to your daily routine will go long.*** ***Embrace the awkward side of yourself: Even when you fumble or make mistakes, never forget that it is normal to do this. When you see yourself in an embarrassing situation, laugh it off; it helps.*** ***Challenge your negative thoughts: Beating yourself up can only do so much; instead of doing this, try forgiving yourself when you make mistakes, and consider what you have learned from those mistakes.***  ***Spend more time with loved ones: There is no better solution than spending time with the ones close to you; this truly helps because they support and build you up when you are at your lowest.*** ***Do activities that bring you joy: Instead of spending time on things that won't make you happy; you should find something that puts a smile on your face.*** Insecurities are usual in everyone's life; sometimes, they are even beneficial because they help us find our problems, and you should work on them when you do.  Learn to build your self-esteem even when you feel like you are not worth it; even though it will take some time to build it up, you will reap the benefits when you are done with the process. Plan for the future because it won't wait for you; unlike the man in the story, don't let your lack of resources put an end to your life.  Thank you for reading; I hope you have a fantastic week ahead of you. Leave a comment if you have any, and I will see you in the next one. Bye!!

@Oikawa 23 October 2021

Music: A gift to humanity Hello everyone, how is everyone doing today? I genuinely hope you are all doing great. The weekend may be coming to an end, and the new week seems to be fast approaching; even with this, don't forget to stay healthy and relax.  Don't worry about next week; instead, think about how you will make it better; worrying gets you nowhere, but thinking helps. With all that said, let's get right into today's topic. Back when I was little, I always loved listening to the radio, and it was because they always played these fantastic sounds that always made me happy. At the age of three, I didn't know what music was, and I just knew that it seemed to make my body dance and move around. I think that was the golden age of music because so many artists were booming, especially my favorite, Michael Jackson. I loved hearing Michael's songs so much that I always tuned in to the radio anytime they played it; I was even happier when I could finally watch him on the Tv.  My favorite song was Thriller; I loved it so much because it had a fantastic story, and the acting was terrific, and the choreography was just perfect.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA I think Michael Jackson was the **"King of Dance"** because his dance steps were always extraordinary. The moonwalk is said to be one of the most incredible dance steps of all time, and I remember watching that fantastic moment where he did it. It was terrifying then because I thought the wolves and zombies were real. It was so funny, and they just started dancing all of a sudden. His music made me happy, and I know it was not only me because so many people enjoyed it. I am trying to tell you that **"music"** truly brings happiness to a person's life. Even though people were still discriminating against black people, they came to Michael's concert because they loved his music. Music is a gift to humanity because it brings people together, and sometimes music even heals us from all our problems and insecurities. They say listening to the right music at the right time has healing powers; maybe this is true. So many occasions where I was sad and alone, but the moment I put on some good music, I usually returned to my happy mood or found healing.  Instead of going to drugs, alcohol, and all that stuff, I genuinely recommend music to others because it has healing power, and there is no disadvantage to it.  Unlike drugs and alcohol, where you would get badly hurt, later on, music is just like air; it helps even if you can't see it. Sometimes it makes us emotional and cry; other times, it makes us happy. Music has a way of changing how we feel, especially when we listen to the right one; it improves our mood, decreases anxiety and pain, and eases our emotional expression. I have been writing on health for the last two days, and music is an excellent method to maintain good health because it helps relieve our stress and pains.  Haven't you ever felt like a burden has been removed when you relax and listen to your favorite artist? Music may be an illusion, but it is very relaxing. Research has been done that tells us the importance of music in our lives; you may be thinking it isn't, but it is. **It eases pain:** Music is shown to reduce the pain we feel; when you are having a stressful day, listening to music reduces stress levels, and this is why music is used as therapy for pain management sessions. **Increases endurance:** Most bodybuilders say that listening to their favorite workout tracks helps boost their morale, performance and increases their physical endurance, especially in tough workout sessions. **Restoring Memories:** I am sure it is not only me that has this, but music has been shown to restore memories; even though it can't cure people with memory diseases, it helps them, which is why it is essential in therapy. **Reduces stress:** I have written this before, but some research has been done, and it showed us that music helps relieve stress and makes us relaxed. **Boost our mood:** As I said before, listening to the right song at the right time can help a lot; if you are ever feeling down or confused, try listening to some songs because it helps lighten your mood.  When I write, I usually listen to raindrops, which is a background song. It helps me focus and feel more relaxed, and I love the sound of the rain. Background music is genuinely my best genre right now, and I don't know if that's the name, but that is what I call it. When it is sunny, I listen to some afternoon sounds, like the sun, waterfall, forest, and so many others.  It may sound weird, but it works and makes me more focused.  You can try it if you want, but it may not work for you because we may not like the same thing, but if you end up enjoying it, I am glad I could help. I am sure music has helped you one way or the other, and even if it hasn't helped you the way it has done for me, I am sure it has benefited your life one way or the other. Maybe someone close to you has been saved by it. I genuinely hope you enjoyed this article; thank you for reading; leave a comment. I hope to see you at the next one. Bye!!

@Oikawa 22 October 2021

What is Financial Health? Hey Readers! How are you all doing? I hope you had a fantastic day and staying hydrated? If you are, then well done. Today, I was reading some crypto news. I saw one that made me smile; the article described how Russian oil companies planned to mine cryptocurrencies in their wells.  https://news.bitcoin.com/russian-oil-companies-propose-to-mine-cryptocurrencies-at-their-wells/ At first, I was confused about how they would do this, but when I read further, I found out how they would do this. It is very innovative; I wonder who brought up the idea. I have already put the link to the article, so you can go ahead if you want to read it.  For today's article, I will be continuing from yesterday's topic, "Health."  https://read.cash/@Oikawa/what-do-you-know-about-health-bbd66dd5 But I will be focusing more on one form I listed yesterday, "**Financial Health".** I was inspired to write this because of @Greatwolfman comment on my previous post; he said **"I believe that worrying is independent of your financial status. I think the rich worry more about trying to maintain their wealth than the less wealthy people. He that is down fears no fall."** I completely agree with him because you still have your insecurities and fear, no matter how rich you are. There will be the fear of losing all the money, and not meeting your needs will always be at the back of your head. You may think rich people don't have their fears, but they have more insecurities than the average person; as he said at the end, **"He that down fears no fall."** This quote means that a more affluent person has much more to lose than someone who has nothing. But that doesn't mean that regular people have fewer insecurities than affluent people. Poor financial health can affect you both physically and mentally. It puts both you and those you love at risk because you have little or no money to provide for your day-to-day expenses. There is no proven method to measure your financial health, but various areas make up your overall financial health; let us check them out. **Insurance** **Debt** **Credit** **Retirement** **Credit** We will look at each of them to further understand what they stand for in financial health. I am sure you may have already figured out what the list means, but let me explain it further. **Insurance:** When you hear insurance, what comes to your mind? I am guessing you thought a financial backup from risk.  Insurance is essential in financial health because it helps keep your mind at rest from major medical expenses and accidents. After all, the insurance company will handle them. Without insurance, you would go bankrupt because of some unplanned event that will probably cost you a fortune. **Savings:** If you look at someone with sound financial health, you will notice that most of them always have money kept somewhere to be safe. This is called thinking for the future or saving in standard terms.  Most individuals keep the money for essential goals they are pushing to achieve; sometimes, they keep emergency savings or long-term savings depending on what they want to use them for. **Retirement:** If you don't have or keep the money for your retirement, you will regret it later; most people never leave money for their retirement or older years.  An adequate retirement plan will give you a target date to stop working, so you can live the retirement life you wanted. If you plan to have a fantastic retirement one day, I recommend you start putting money towards it because time won't wait for you. **Debt:** Most people focus so much on buying goods on credit, forgetting they would have to pay for it in the future.  I remember watching a movie/documentary where a man said, **"He spends more than he earns."** I was wondering how this was even possible. I found out he actually had tons of credit cards to pay, which made him commit suicide later. Don't swim in debt; I don't know where I saw this quote, but it said, **"The more you owe people, the poorer you are, but the more people owe you, the richer you are.** There is truth in this quote. **Credit:** People with peak financial health always maintain their credit balances because they know the consequences they would face if they don't. They only borrow when they have good credit and know they have the means to pay it back. **How to spot Bad Financial Health** If you seem to be having financial stress, then there is a high probability you are suffering from poor financial health. This could affect your mental and physical health, so you must solve the problem before it escalates. Here are some signs you would begin to see when you have poor financial health. You don't have a budget, so you don't know how much you spend. You worry about money several times a week. You have a high credit balance. You don't have savings. If you have any of them listed, you should not worry, but instead, focus more on how you will change it and come out of the problem. It is never too late. Instead of gambling your future, invest more in things that would improve your financial health, and one day you will surely achieve financial stability and freedom. Thank you for reading; if you like the content, leave a comment if you have any, I will catch you in the next one but for now. Bye!

@Oikawa 21 October 2021

What do you know about Health? Hello readers, how are you all doing? Are you staying hydrated and having a great day? Bitcoin seems to be having a great week because it has finally reached an all-time high, even surpassing the previous 65k bar it had set in May this year. This feature is the scariest one of Bitcoin and crypto in general; the volatility of crypto is sometimes impossible; Bitcoin was previously down in the dumps now we see it break the record it set before. With the way things are now, Bitcoin may reach 100k by the end of August next year. That will cause an explosion in the crypto society, but let us see, I guess. I usually start my articles with some crypto talk, and I just noticed that now; I hope you like it. Today, I am writing on **"Health and why we should maintain it"** I hope you understand and get something out of it because after all is said and done, **"Health is Wealth."** **"Health refers to the state of complete or absolute emotional and physical well-being."** Health is the resource that supports individuals' function in society, and without it, there will be no society in the first place. But the funny part here is this. Health may be an essential factor that helps us function, but we neglect or fail to look after ourselves most of the time, and I am sure almost all of us are guilty of doing this. If you are guilty of this, please keep reading this because it is especially for you. There are two significant types of health: **Physical and Mental** health. There are others such as **Spiritual, Financial, and Emotional** health, and I may focus on them. Individuals with better financial health tend to worry less about their finances and have the means to buy almost everything they want. Individuals with better spiritual health have more sense of calm and purpose that power their mental health/ Physical and Mental health are the two most essential factors in an individual's life, and when you fail to balance or maintain them, you will face many problems both in mind and body. **Physical Health** Physical health helps individuals have more bodily functions and processes working at their peak; that is why most athletes focus more on exercise. Regular exercise, balanced nutrition, and adequate rest all contribute to good health; that is why it is recommended to maintain balance when necessary. Good physical well-being requires you to pursue a healthy lifestyle that will likely decrease your chances of falling ill. Maintaining your health would help you to develop and protect the endurance of your breathing, heart function, flexibility, muscular strength, and body composition. When you maintain your health, you reduce the risk of injuries and health issues. Before, I wrote that balancing physical and mental health can help you, and this is because good physical health also boosts your mental health, which improves your general quality of life. **Mental Health** Mental health deals with the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of an individual.  Just like physical health, mental health is just as important to us. We must approach health as a whole instead of treating it as a series of different factors. All forms of health are linked no matter how you look at it, and I believe we should all work to balance our overall well-being and health. Good health comes from one factor, but some factors come up when discussing good health. They can are: **Environmental Factors** **Genetics** When we talk about environmental factors, I mean: Where a person resides Level of education Income or Finance Career and Employment status Surroundings and Environment Your environment can determine the state of your health. That is why it is recommended that we always keep our surroundings clean and habitable at all times; this will lessen the possibilities of diseases you could catch. Genes ultimately determine who they are, so they are crucial in health; different people have different genes, and we all agree with this. When you have an unusual gene pattern, it may cause a less-than-optimum level of health. Genes are inherited from parents, which may increase health problems because these problems are passed down from parent to offspring. For me, the best way to maintain your health is to preserve it with a healthful lifestyle rather than waiting for sickness to address your health problems. Never neglect your health because health will be crucial if you ever want to achieve success if you look at things in the long term. So why not maintain it so you can live a happy and fulfilled life. It may be impossible to avoid all diseases, but you should do as much as possible to develop good immunity and prepare your mind and body to fight any disease that will danger your health and future.

@Oikawa 20 October 2021

Are you losing your inspiration? How do you get it back! Hey everyone, how are you all doing? Are you staying hydrated? If you are well done. It seems the market has finally heard our prayers, and it has started going up once more; the bearish movement last week was scary. I hope we never see it again, lol. But it is still possible for it to go downwards again but let us keep hoping it doesn't. With that, let us start the article. Ever felt like you didn't have the strength or will to keep on going? You don't seem to be coming up with new ideas, and you no longer have joy for what you are doing? People are often obsessed with talent and ability, making us forget the most crucial factor, **"Inspiration."** Inspiration is the key to opening new possibilities and ideas by transcending our ordinary experiences and obstacles. Inspiration helps us move from apathy to a mindset of possibility, which helps us perceive more capabilities in every situation we find ourselves in. Some of us may think inspiration is a spiritual power that we get through the intervention of a divine being, but that is not the case here because inspiration is a general power given to all humans. Inspiration is a human power that can be triggered, captured, and controlled, and it plays a significant role in the life of everyone. Without inspiration, we would all be facing the same challenges daily because we would have no way to face them. Inspiration gives us the strength and motivation to be creative, rise above, grow closer to our goal, learn from others and achieve enhanced well-being. **Importance of Inspiration** **. Increased creative capabilities:** People are more likely to be more creative when inspired; most creators or inventors say they are more inspired, which is why they can create more items.  Artists and writers also tend to need inspiration to become creative. If you take a lot at some of the best artists and writers, you will notice they tend to be more inspired than the others in their line of work; this makes them more efficient, productive and spends less time taking breaks and more time writing or working. . **Inspiration is not positive affect:** Unlike average experiences in our daily lives, inspiration requires an elevated quantity of positive affect and task involvement and lower levels of negative affect. Inspiration is not similar to positive affect. In contrast to being in an enthusiastic and excited state, inspired individuals tend to show greater levels of spirituality, controllability, and self-responsibility for their inspiration.  Unlike inspiration, positive affect is activated only when making progress towards your conscious and immediate goals.  Inspiration is more of an awakening to better or new opportunities, transcending previous concerns. If you are wondering how you can find your inspiration, then look no further because below, I will be listing some proven methods on how other individuals have gotten theirs; I hope it helps you. **How to find your inspiration** **. Limit your choices:** Open-mindedness may be necessary when finding aspiration, but too many choices can cause problems. To boost your motivation, you have to narrow down your options, making finding what you are looking for easier.  If you ever feel stuck in a position, try writing down all your alternatives and pick the most excited ones in order. Then find time to work on your top choices. . **Expand your Social Network:** If you keep on spending time with the same people, doing the same activities over and over again, then there is a high chance you will lose your inspiration. Sometimes you need to get out of your comfort zone to become more creative. When you spend time with new people and do new things, you grow closer to learning new things. . **Keep on learning:** People tend to stop learning new things when they have reached a certain point in life, and this is wrong. Just because you have become an expert doesn't mean you should stop learning new things; this only leads to a closed-minded outlook on things. Instead of closing your mind to modern methods of doing things, commit yourself to learn more skills. You don't have to return to school to learn new things; it only takes a book to teach you how to do stuff. Technology made things easier for us. We can learn new skills quickly because we can surf online and read articles from various newsletters and blogs and watch videos and webinars. . **Make a Move:** This should be the most critical factor in finding your inspiration/motivation; there is no point in waiting for something to inspire you; the truth is it may never come. Inaction is your worst enemy, especially when you are unproductive. Instead of waiting for inspiration, learn to change yourself as an individual because when you embrace change and do different things, then sooner or later, you will find what you are looking for. Doing different things will make you feel different things. Sometimes it may not be easy writing articles daily, and you may lose your inspiration; if this happens to you, you need to relax a little bit. Do different things and maybe pay less attention to writing because you will eventually hate it if you keep on writing. In my previous article, I stated that **"Practice makes Perfect."**  https://read.cash/@Oikawa/practice-makes-perfect-true-or-false-8f1b8c3b The same can be said on inspiration, don't sit around waiting; instead, cultivate your inspiration; the more you practice, the simpler it gets to grab it with your hands. I hope you enjoyed it; drop a comment if you have any. Thank you for reading!! See you in the next one!