UA&P I AM STRONG- Just your LUCK!

Krystle shares some good stuff...

Luck is often regarded as a force that works for good and bad in a person’s like. Naturally, we all want the good. That’s why we go to some extremes to make sure that we become lucky and we stay that way—using a lucky pencil for a test, wearing lucky socks for a badminton tournament, or even keeping a lucky penny in our wallets! However, there are some people who seem to think that they are followed by bad luck wherever they go. To those people, take heart. Here’s an article by Angel Constantino which presents 7 strategies on how you can change your fate.


BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE LUCKY.

You create your own luck based on how you think and see things. If you believe that you will always be unlucky in love for example, you might just end up attracting the wrong kind of person. Train your mind to be more optimistic. If you begin the day on a positive note, you draw yourself to more potential lucky situations. Once you change your mindset, you’ll be surprised at how much your luck will change!

BE OPEN TO ALL POSSIBILITIES.

Lucky people are lucky because they know a good opportunity when they see one. If you want to create your own good luck, it’s important to have an open mind. Don’t disregard those things that seem coincidental. For instance, if you need to earn extra cash and your friend asks your help to start and online business, explore the idea—it might just be the break you are looking for.

TURN YOUR BAD LUCK INTO GOOD LUCK.

If you got a low grade on a paper, focus on what went right instead of berating yourself for what went wrong. Evaluate what you did and think about what you can do to make it better. This allows you to look at the positive side of any situation and will bring you good luck the next time around.

KNOW THE MOST GOOD LUCK COMES FROM OTHER PEOPLE.

Lucky breaks are often brought to you by other people. Say, you hear a classmate complaining about how this teacher is Malabo and how difficult it is to understand the lessons. Instead of griping along with them, a light bulb clicks in your head and you think of a peer tutoring project to help them. It even impresses your teachers that they give you a leadership award! Your classmates will be amazed at how lucky you are but the truth is, the idea came from them!

BE READY FOR LUCK.

Good luck favors those who are prepared for it. Imagine you’ve always dreamed of being an actress in your favorite telenovela. One day, a talent scout watches you in a school play, and is impressed by your performance, and invites you to an audition. Are you prepared for this big break? Or are you just going o fake your way though it? Opportunities like this come only once in a lifetime. Though it was handed to you on a silver platter, you still have to work hard to turn your dream into reality.

BE MORE GENEROUS.

As the saying goes, “The more you give, the more you receive.” The orectice of generousity—becoming more understanding, learning to be more cheerful, and being a better friend—are surefire ways to attract luck. Improving your attitude will also enhance your overall wellbeing—and you cant get any luckier than that!

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHATEVER HAPPENS IN YOUR LIFE.

The Universal Law of Attraction states that “like attracts like.” If you are focused enough on your goals, you will attract exactly what you want, and vice versa. When things go wrong in our lives we tend to deny any responsibility and blame others. But if there’s anything in your life you want to change, nobody can do it but yourself.

Do you consider yourself lucky? Why? What do you do or have to keep that luck stuck to you? Tick the comment link and share 'em with us!


*we support UA&P I AM STRONG

UA&P I am STRONG- Prepping for the Finals

Krystle thinks you should read this

Do you sweat, chew your pencil, and feel butterflies in your stomach as your teacher hands out a test? A lot of people (adults included) get freaked out when it's time to take a test.

It's natural to feel some stress about taking tests. In fact, sometimes a little adrenaline (a hormone made by your body during times of excitement or stress) is a good thing to jump-start you.

Finals is just around the corner so here some tips for taking tests that I found:

• First, be sure you've studied properly. It sounds like a no-brainer, but if you're sure of the information, you'll have less reason to be worried.
• Get enough sleep the night before the test. Your memory recall will be much better if you've had enough rest. In a scientific study, people who got enough sleep before taking a math test did better than those who stayed up all night studying.
• Listen closely to any instructions. As the teacher hands out the test, be sure you know what's expected of you.
• Read the test through first. Once you have the test paper in front of you, read over the entire test, checking out how long it is and all the parts that you are expected to complete. This will allow you to estimate how much time you have for each section and ask the teacher any questions. If something seems unclear before you start, don't panic: ask.
• Focus on addressing each question individually. As you take the test, if you don't know an answer, don't obsess over it. Instead, answer the best way you can or skip over the question and come back to it after you've answered other questions.
• Relax. If you're so nervous that you blank out, you might need a mini-break. Of course you can't get up and move around in the middle of a test, but you can wiggle your fingers and toes, take four or five deep breaths, or picture yourself on a beach or some other calm place. As we all know, it can be easy to forget things we know well - like a locker combination. The difference is we know we'll remember our locker combination because we've used it hundreds of times, so we don't panic and the combination number eventually comes back. During a test, if you blank out on something and start to get tense, it suddenly becomes much more difficult to remember.
• Finished already? Although most teachers will let you hand a test in early, it's usually a good idea to spend any extra time checking over your work. You also can add details that you may not have thought you'd have time for. On the other hand, if you have 5 minutes until the bell rings and you're still writing, wind up whatever you're working on without panicking.

These tips should help most people, but some can get serious test-taking terror. If you're one of them, you may need to talk to a parent, teacher, or counselor for help.

Good luck!

Do you have any tips to share? Stuff that worked for you in the past? Tick the comment box and start typing! Cheerio!


*brought to you by UA&P I AM STRONG

UA&P - I AM S.T.R.O.N.G: The Defective Teen

Krystle tells you

You have heard of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Persons and Sean Covey’s 7 Habits to Highly Effective Teens. Now here comes The 7 Habits of Highly Defective Teens. According to Sean covey, the key understanding the 7 habits of Highly Effective Teens is to understand what they are not. So before we share to you the 7 Effective Teen Habits, we first present the 7 Defective Teen Habits. Enjoy. =)

Habit 1: React
Blame all of your problems on your parents, your stupid teachers or professors, your lousy neighborhood, your boy- or girlfriend, the government, or something or somebody else. Be a victim. Take no responsibility for your life. Act like an animal. If you're hungry, eat. If someone yells at you, yell back. If you feel like doing something you know is wrong, just do it.

Habit 2: Begin with No End in Mind
Don't have a plan. Avoid goals at all costs. And never think about tomorrow. Why worry about the consequences of your actions? Live for the moment. Sleep around, get wasted, and party on, for tomorrow we die.

Habit 3: Put First Things Last
Whatever is most important in your life, don't do it until you have spent sufficient time watching reruns, talking endlessly on the phone, surfing the Net, and lounging around. Always put off your homework until tomorrow. Make sure that things that don't matter always come before things that do.

Habit 4: Think Win-Lose
See life as a vicious competition. Your classmate is out to get you, so you'd better get him or her first. Don't let anyone else succeed at anything because, remember, if they win, you lose. If it looks like you're going to lose, however, make sure you drag that sucker down with you.

Habit 5: Seek First to Talk, Then Pretend to Listen
You were born with a mouth, so use it. Make sure you talk a lot. Always express your side of the story first. Once you're sure everyone understands your views, then pretend to listen by nodding and saying "uh-huh." Or, if you really want their opinion, give it to them.

Habit 6: Don't Cooperate
Let's face it, other people are weird because they're different from you. So why try to get along with them? Teamwork is for the dogs. Since you always have the best ideas, you are better off doing everything by yourself. Be your own island.

Habit 7: Wear Yourself Out
Be so busy with life that you never take time to renew or improve yourself. Never study. Don't learn anything new. Avoid exercise like the plague. And, for heaven's sake, stay away from good books, nature, or anything else that may inspire you.

As you can see, the habits listed above are recipes for disaster. Yet many of us indulge in them regularly (yes, you and me included). And, given this, it's no wonder that life can really stink at times.

What defective teen habits do you have and what do you intend to do with it? Click on the comment button and share them to us!

Brought to you in Support of the I AM STRONG organization of UA&P

UA&P I AM S.T.R.O.N.G.: High School is No Joke

Krystle has more tips to share!

Being a high school student is no joke. Amid the study schedules, you still have to manage different tasks and deal with different people-- be it at home or in school. You almost always feel like you are always running out of time for your friends and family because ll you do is study (or vice-versa). That is why it is important for you to get ORGANIZED.

apparently, i am very tip-happy this week. so here is another set of tips shared for you to learn from =P it is about TIME MANAGEMENT--High School Style!

1. Set the target everyday

Before you go to bed, list down all the matters you want to accomplish on the next day. A "to do" list will help you to know what you are going to do and avoid doing unimportant tasks, of which will get everything done more efficiently and faster.

2. Prioritize your list of targets

Once the ?to do? list completed, try to prioritize the goals you want to achieve. Set your most important goal in life on top of your priority and your least important goals to down below on the list.

Be realistic on your list. It is better to list on what you need to achieve and not on what you want to achieve. If you have a long-term priority, it is probably best that you put it on the bottom of your list; you can always work on that tomorrow.

3. Utilize your spare time

As a high school student, sometimes you may not notice you have lots of spare time. Try to add up the minutes of the school bus ride to school and the school bus ride back home.

Use these times to create strategy of how to finish your homework effectively. By doing this, you will get an idea on what you need to do on your homework when you get home. This allows you to finish your homework faster and have extra time for other things.

4. Finding the right time

Sometime, students have specific time to study more efficiently. For instance, you can solve your math problems well on the afternoons; then do not wait until nighttime to do it. Mood is important here since mood can shifts immediately.

5. Taking notes

An effective way to study is to write down important notes. It is proven much better than just plain reading. Writing down notes has an effect on your mind. You can understand the topic more effectively and memorize it more effectively than by just reading.

Review your notes as your teacher might give a pop quiz on the next day. Reviewing your notes will help you be more prepared for the pop quizzes that your teacher may suddenly give.

6. Get adequate sleep

It is unhealthy trying to stress yourself out studying when you are supposed to be sleeping. It can bring ineffective results and unwelcome health problems.

If you need to sleep you have to sleep, do not force yourself to study if you cannot effectively study. If you try to study in this situation, you will most likely waste your time.

7. Keep your goals realistic

Trying to accomplish unrealistic goals can often result in failure and frustration. Setting realistic goals that is difficult and achieving it can give you self-worth and be proud on your achievements.

Just remember, everything you need to accomplish in one day is possible if you are organized and plan everything you do in a day.

How do you manage to get through your day? Let us know and maybe, it can help others too!

Good luck!

*we support the I AM S.T.R.O.N.G. organization of UA&P

UA&P I AM S.T.R.O.N.G. : the eleven "shoulds" to effective studying

look what Krystle dug up

weekends are meant for resting and preparing for the school week ahead. however, tendency for most is to just rest. so to help you the "preparation-for-the-week" part, here's something we've dug up in hopes to get you out of that computer chair and into your books after reading this. read on!

1 Study in Short, Frequent Sessions.

It has been proven that short bursts of concentration repeated frequently are much more effective than one long session. So, even if you only have 10 minutes, DO IT. Take a break. Then study another 10 minutes. This “distributed learning” approach is highly efficient because it honors the way the brain likes to work. The brain needs recovery and recharging time for “protein synthesis.” The rest periods are when your brain assimilates your effort. They are a powerful tool which many teachers do not acknowledge. To sit and study for hours and hours is not only boring, it creates fatigue, stress, and distraction. You cannot learn if you are fatigued, stressed, and distracted!

2 Take Guilt-Free Days of Rest.

This follows the same principle as above, but on a longer, daily time cycle. The reason for resting is to refresh oneself. However, if you feel guilty (“I really should be studying”) then your precious rest period has been used to create more stress. The brain will not absorb new data if it is stressed. On days off from studying, really enjoy yourself and do not feel bad about not studying.

3 Honor Your Emotional State.

Do not study if you are tired, angry, distracted, or in a hurry. When the brain is relaxed, it is like a sponge and it naturally absorbs data without effort. If you are emotionally stressed, your brain literally repels data. Forcing yourself to sit and study when your mind is on other things is a complete waste of time!

4 Review the Same Day.

When you learn something new, try to go over the points the same day. If you wait a few days and then make efforts to review the material, it will seem much less familiar. However, a quick review later in the day will tend to cement the information into your brain so that the next “official” study session, you will recognize it and it will seem easy.

5 Observe the Natural Learning Sequence.

Think of the activities you did when you were in nursery school. Using your whole arm, you probably performed the song that goes: “Put your right hand in, Put your right hand out.” Then, in kindergarten, using your hand, you might have been asked to draw lines or circles with crayons. Later, in first grade, now holding the pencil with your fingers, you drew smaller lines and circles to create letters. Believe it or not, this natural learning sequence, moving from large to small, coarse to fine, still remains effective even though we are now older. When you study, if you try first to grasp the big picture and then fill in the details, you often have a more likely chance of success.

6 Use Exaggeration.

Why does a baseball batter warm up by swinging two or three bats? Why do runners sometimes strap lead weights to their legs? In both cases, exaggeration during practice makes the final result seem easy. This concept can be applied to studying anything. For example, if you are studying spelling, exaggerate the sound of the letters to help to remember them. So for studying purposes, “naive” would be pronounced “NAY-IVY.” By getting used to this exaggerated pronunciation, the correct spelling seems obvious.

7 Prepare Your Study Environment.

If you require certain elements in your environment to help you study, try to always make these a priority. For example, do you need special lighting, silence, music, privacy, available snacks, etc.? Pay attention to what works for you and repeat it each time you study for best success.

8 Respect “Brain Fade".

It is normal for the brain to have an attrition rate and to forget things. This does not mean that you are stupid! Instead of getting mad about this fact, you should expect it and deal with it accordingly. See your brain as depositing layers of knowledge. As you place more information on top, the lower levels become older and less available to your immediate recall. The trick here is simply to review. Since we can anticipate the eventual fading of our memory, creating a review aspect to our study session will solve the problem. Once every two or three study sessions, simply review older material that you will be still needing to remember. Often, a quick overview is sufficient. Sometimes, a complete detailed study session of the older material is required. “Brain fade” is completely normal. (Unless you are gifted with a photographic memory, which is extremely rare.)

9 Create a Study Routine.

Generally, if you schedule certain times of the day to study, you will get into a routine and accomplish more. If you just “fit it in” during your day, chances are that there will never be any time. An effective way to do this is to literally mark it down in your datebook calendar as if you have an appointment, like going to the doctor. For example: “Tuesday 3-4:30 P.M. — Study.”

10 Set Reasonable Goals.

One of the main reasons people do not reach their goals is because they set them too high. If you set goals that are manageable, even if they seem too simple, you get in the habit of accomplishing them and gradually you can set higher goals. Also, recognize the difference between long-term and short-term goals. Set your vision on the long-term dream, but your day-to-day activity should be focused exclusively on the short-term, enabling steps.

11 Avoid the Frustration Enemy.

Ironically, the quicker the person’s nervous system, the faster they learn. Yet, this fast nervous system also works overtime in being self-critical. So they are the ones who always think they aren’t going fast enough! In contrast, the “Type B,” less intense person who learns slower yet is more self-accepting, ends up ultimately learning the material in a shorter period of time. This is because he/she doesn’t waste energy blocking, getting upset, and thinking that they’re not good enough — they simply keep moving forward at a slower (but un-blocked) pace.

so here it is! hope you learned from it...what studying methods work for you? share them with us and maybe it will work for others too!

cheerio!

brought to you in support of the I AM S.T.R.O.N.G. organization of UA&P