Life is a journey

Life, we are told is a journey that starts at birth and ends at death. How do you define the journey you are on at this point in your life? 

Some of us view life as a book, with many characters, chapters and struggles. In this view, we are the heroes or heroines of our own story. In this view of the journey when a new person enters our story the focus changes, but the only constant in the journey is you as the writer. If you hold to this view that life is a book and you are the writer of the book you may believe that the story has already been created and you just have to search for it throughout your journey and craft it in the book that you like.

Others hold the view that life is a journey but life depends on how you choose to travel. These people believe that life is an experience and that life is best if we can find wonder at every step, see the small things that make a difference, touch people's lives as our paths cross. They see the point of the journey is not the destination, but to experience the joy of every day.  In their view, as we travel through our journey we experience good and happy things. We experience bad and sad things. We experience them and then move on to other experiences. We are playing the game of life.

  

For others, life is a journey that is full of educational opportunities. Life is filled with lessons, hardships, heartaches, joys, celebrations and special moments. If we understand the lessons these experiences teach us, we will be led us to our destination, our purpose in life.  Those who hold this view understand and tell us that the road will not always be smooth; in fact, throughout our travels, we will encounter many challenges that will test our courage, strengths, weaknesses, and faith.

Another group believes that as we travel along our journey, the people we meet, are people that we are destined to meet. They believe that everybody comes into our lives for a reason. Some stay in our life for a lifetime; others may only stay for a short while.

Throughout this adventure, people will give us advice and insights on how to live our life but when it all comes down to it, we must always do what we believe is right. Always follow our heart. Don't hold anything back. Say what you want to say, and do what you want to do, because sometimes we don't get a second chance to say or do what we should have the first time around.

In life’s journey, it's the final moments, that define you and the first ones that make it possible. Both, you have total control over.

Runners High

When I was young, I was a middle-distance runner, half-mile and mile and I was good at it, but I trained hard. Every day and every weekend I would go out and run. When I was training and running on the weekends I would run a marathon and I enjoyed it and it was fun. At the time we did not know about the runners high. 

"'Runner's high' is a phrase that we use to describe the feelings of psychological well-being that are associated quite often with long-duration, rhythmic-type exercise, and marathon running certainly falls into that category," says Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise.

Why runners high make an athlete feel good, and what's happening in the body when those positive feelings wash over a person, however, it is anyone's guess.

"For a long time, people believed the answer lay within the whole endorphin argument -- with the long-duration exercise you release endorphins, which have a morphine-like effect on the body and therefore may be responsible for the feelings of well-being," Bryant suggested,

Why runners high make an athlete feel good, and what's happening in the body when those positive feelings wash over a person, however, is anyone's guess.

"For a long time, people believed the answer lay within the whole endorphin argument -- with the long-duration exercise you release endorphins, which have a morphine-like effect on the body and therefore may be responsible for the feelings of well-being," Bryant suggested.

While it's a good theory, Bryant explains it doesn't necessarily hold water.

"While our circular levels of endorphins might be up, whether that impacts a person's psychological outlook output directly is probably not that likely," says Bryant. "In some studies, when the effects of endorphins have been blocked chemically, people have still experienced this high, so the whole endorphin argument has been called into question."

With endorphins largely out of the picture, researchers have looked at other types of neurotransmitters that might have a role in affecting a person's mood. 

At this point there are a number of theories about what gives athletes the “runners high” but my point is that a “runner's high” doesn't come from just thinking about running. Same thing for a manifester's high. If you want the experience, and thrill of a runners high start running: on your mark, get set GO!

Financial Stress: Impacts on Health & Relationships

In spite of the trade wars and the volitility in the American political system, virtually every economic indicator shows the economy moving in the right direction. Consumer sentiment is still on a steady rise and corporate profits just hit a new all-time high. Foreclosures and credit card delinquencies are way down. 

You would think all this positive news would mean people are feeling good. Well, good is a relative term. The single biggest source of stress is still personal finances, as cited by 71% of adults. This is a slight improvement from 2010 when 76% reported finances were their biggest source of stress. Financial stress has a big impact on all aspects of life and at all age groups.
The American Psychological Association’s annual report: Stress in America (pdf file)  points out some interesting facts.

Since APA began conducting this survey, women, on average, have reported higher stress levels than men, though generally, the changes in stress levels have moved in the same direction each year. In 2017, results showed a slight but not significant shift, as women experienced an increase in their stress levels (from an average of 5.0 in 2016 to 5.1 in 2017) and men’s stress levels dropped (from 4.6 to 4.4).

Not only do stress levels vary between men and women, but the reported stressors themselves differ as well. Though one in four men (25 percent) feel stress related to hate crimes, wars and conflicts with other countries, and terrorist attacks in the United States, women are significantly more likely to report experiencing stress related to these issues.

Women say that hate crimes (37 percent), wars and conflicts with other countries (36 percent), and terrorist attacks in the United States (35 percent) cause them stress when thinking about our nation.

Men also may experience different stress levels depending on their race. Though White men report an average stress level of 4.2, Black and Hispanic men reported experiencing significantly higher stress, with both groups reporting an average stress level of 4.8.

Which demographic groups are the most stressed
Older adults (72+ years of age in 2017), on average, have had the lowest stress levels among the generations since the survey began. The stress levels of older adults (classified as “Matures” in the Stress in America survey) this year remains the lowest (3.3 on a scale of 1 to 10) among the generations, but their stress levels increased slightly from last year (2.7 in 2016). This increase was greater than the change in stress levels for the other generations. As they have since 2014, Millennials continue to have the highest
reported stress levels, with this year’s survey finding an average stress level of 5.7, a slight increase from 2016 (5.6). For Boomers and Gen Xers, stress levels decreased slightly since 2016, to 3.9 (from 4.1) and 5.3 (from 5.4), respectively.

Sources of stress vary by generation. When asked to think about the nation, the economy was most likely to be cited as a cause of stress for nearly two in five Millennials (38 percent). However, health care is most likely to be a source of stress for Gen Xers (47 percent) and Boomers (49 percent). Older adults were most likely to report that trust in government (45 percent) is a stressor when thinking about our nation.

Similar percentages of each generation believe this is the lowest point in our nation’s history that they can remember, with around three in five Millennials (59 percent) and Gen Xers (61 percent) and more than half of Boomers (57 percent) and older adults (56 percent) agreeing with this sentiment.

This year, Americans expressed feelings of uncertainty —and resulting stress — due to concerns about a variety of high-profile issues. When asked specifically about the issue of safety for either themselves, their loved ones or in general, two-thirds of adults (63 percent) say they are stressed about crime, with terrorism (60 percent), gun violence (55 percent) and hate crimes (52 percent) being most commonly reported.

When identifying specific health-related stressors, two in three adults (66 percent) say the cost of health insurance causes them stress. Health care policy changes and having good health insurance cause stress for 60 percent of Americans.

When asked about stressors related to money, about one-third of adults (34 percent) worry about unexpected expenses, while three in 10 (30 percent) experience stress when thinking about saving for retirement. For one in four Americans (25 percent), the ability to pay for life’s essentials proves stressful.

Thinking about the economy, one in three Americans (33 percent) revealed stress about tax increases, while 30 percent feel uncertain about the economy in general, and 26 percent are stressed by a feeling that they are unable to get ahead financially in the current economy.

Half of those surveyed (51 percent) express that the state of our nation has compelled them to volunteer or otherwise support causes they value, and 59 percent have taken some form of action in 
the past year to address the issues of concern to them, including signing a petition (28 percent) and boycotting a company or product due to its social or political views or actions (15 percent).

Stress creates numerous psychological and physical reactions that are generally bad for your health. In addition to affecting your health, financial stress among couples is the number one cause of divorce.
So how do you reduce your stress? The best way to manage stress is exercise, followed by listening to music. Always remember that money is a tool that can be used to create a life you love. Studies have shown that material things such as big houses and fancy cars don’t make people happy. Living beneath your means provides financial security, which creates happiness. 
 

Are you ready to retire?

The Government of Canada took a look at this question and came up with some interesting facts in a study published here. Below are some interesting points raised but for the entire study follow the link.

In 2014, two-thirds of individuals aged 25 to 34 reported that they were financially preparing for retirement. This proportion was higher among those aged 35 and over (81% to 84%). Younger individuals were also less likely to know how much they needed to save. These results are expected given that retirement may be a distant notion for individuals in that age group.

Retirement preparation varies by level of education. About 61% of individuals who did not have a high school diploma reported preparing for retirement. This compared with 86% among those with a university degree. The comparable proportions for those with a high school diploma/some postsecondary education and a postsecondary certificate or diploma were 71% and 81%, respectively. Also, 54% of university degree holders knew how much to save compared with 43% of those who never completed high school.

The level of household income is also associated with retirement preparation. About 57% of individuals in the lowest household income quintile stated that they were financially preparing for retirement. This compared with 94% among those in the top income quintile. Furthermore, 63% of individuals in the top income quintile knew how much to save compared with 37% in the bottom quintile. One reason for these results could be that the incentive to save might not be as strong for those in the lowest income quintile given the fact that the public pension system helps individuals in this quintile to maintain a similar living standard in their retirement years.

Recent immigrants (those who arrived in Canada during the period 10 years prior to the survey) were less likely to be preparing for retirement (65%) compared with established immigrants (75%) and the Canadian-born (79%). They were also less likely to know how much to save. Other groups that were more likely to be preparing for retirement included couples with dependent children (82%) and couples without dependent children (81%) compared with unattached individuals (74%), lone parents (69%) and individuals belonging to “other” family types (57%); paid employees (81%) compared with the self-employed (72%) and the unemployed (63%); and homeowners without a mortgage (86%) compared with owners with a mortgage (81%) and renters (67%). Residents of the Prairies were also more likely than other Canadians to be preparing for retirement.

Respondents who stated that they were financially preparing for retirement were asked to list the sources of revenue that were included in their financial plan for retirement. The two most common sources were government pensions and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs). In 2014, around 80% of labour force participants expected both to be a source of revenue in retirement (Chart 1), while 60% listed workplace pensions.

There is a small number of people (about 20%) who expect to fund retirement from inheritance. There are risks to incorporating an expected inheritance into a retirement plan without considering all possible scenarios (e.g., a smaller inheritance than expected). In 2006, a study showed that about 1.5 million Canadians were relying on their inheritance as the primary source of capital to fund their retirement. The report stated that, on average, Canadians expected to receive a total of $150,600 in cash or cash equivalents, and $151,200 in non-cash inheritance. But in reality, inheritance sums received were significantly less – the average inheritance received that year was $56,000