Weight loss used to be easy. Skip a meal here, maybe not go out for a night on the beer there and that was near enough it. Worst case scenario, exercise a bit more. Your weight stayed roughly the same.

But that changed a while ago. For most of us, somewhere around our 30′s. Then weight loss becomes a bit harder but still manageable. But during our late 30′s and most of our 40′s, that belly paunch (or beer gut or however else you want to refer to it) grows. And it seems to stay there.

Even if your mind thinks you’re a reasonably thin 20-something, the mirror reminds you otherwise. Always assuming you look in the mirror on a regular basis given that it also reminds you that you’re getting older in other ways as well.

Not to mention getting books about pregnant men for your birthday.

Grr!

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Being more persuasive is as much an art as a science. If you come on too strong, you’ll likely repel your prospect or actively dissuade them. But you’ll also attract people who are perfectly aligned with whatever it is you’re trying to persuade them to do.

So there’s a fine line to be trodden and it could easily be argued that if you’re thick skinned enough, 999 rejections to get 1 very committed person is acceptable.

But most people would prefer a higher success rate than that, especially when they’re trying to be more persuasive over the phone where it seems it’s easier to set aside normal human values and just be plain rude and offensive. And there’s only so much rejection most people can take.

So how can you be more persuasive over the phone?

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If you’ve ever struggled to learn things – maybe at school or at work – then the idea that we can learn fast is probably alien to you.

But actually it’s built into us…

If you’ve ever almost fallen down a cliff or steep slope, you learned near enough instantly not to do that action again.

It’s hard wired into us.

But most of us have forgotten how to learn fast…

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Some people have a habit of finishing other people’s sentences for their and generally interrupting conversations. If that’s you, maybe you need to work on your skills and stop interrupting people quite as often.

You’ll find that people avoid you less and start to enjoy your company more.

And you won’t get your head bitten off quite as often in the process, so it’s pretty much win-win.

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Many people think that natural childbirth is the best possible way to bring a newborn baby into the world. But there is a flip side which is the pain associated with childbirth. Not helped by television shows and movies with scenes of women screaming in agony as they give birth.

Everyone is different and everyone experiences pain differently.

But regardless of your pain threshold, it’s definitely worth considering using self hypnosis to help reduce the pain you’re likely to experience during natural childbirth.

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Overcoming procrastination is something most of us encounter at some stage or another in our life. Sure, there’s the phrase “never put off until tomorrow that which you can do today” but often the temptation is to do the exact opposite of that and put some things off at least until tomorrow and ideally forever.

These strategies for overcoming procrastination can help you stop procrastinating as much…

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Sometimes we have a habit to blame ourselves, even when we’re not necessarily at fault. And the world of parenting is definitely somewhere that we blame ourselves and end up feeling like a failure, regardless of whether we’re actually to blame or not.

Children can be difficult at times. That’s pretty much a given as they find out new things and test boundaries. And once the teenage years strike, things can get worse: they mix with a “bad” bunch, experiment with how much they can challenge authority and generally rebel. Same as we did when we were younger – except that it’s different now we’re on the receiving end of things.

So how can you stop feeling like a failure as a parent?

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Playing chess means lots of things to different people but almost anyone can improve their chess game with these 10 simple tips to improve your chess:

1. Study openings

There are a number of common openings to chess games and even if you don’t use one in your next game, there’s a good chance your opponent will.

Study common openings and how they can affect the way the rest of the game develops.

2. Study tactics

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Forex trading can be nerve wracking at the best of times. It’s easy to question your own judgement and start to be afraid of losing money.

Which often means you’re cutting winning trades short and letting losing trades run until they pip you out. Which then further dents your confidence and starts to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

What can you do to reduce your fear of losing money when trading?

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Having a fear of loud noises is quite normal, especially if those noises are unexpected – it’s part of our natural survival instinct.

But when you start to become almost perpetually in fear of loud noises then it’s time to do something about it, otherwise your phobia could severely limit you.

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