Why Are Board Games Important?

One of the most entertaining activities that can be enjoyed by a group of friends or family is settling down to a good board game. There is a wide variety of choices, from the very popular ones like Scrabble and Monopoly, to more unique ones like DAKON. If you have young children, there is nothing they desire more than an opportunity to sit and play with you. It builds stronger bonds, helps them learn new things and helps strengthen their competitive needs growing up.

It may not be directly educational but other necessary life skills like not giving up, effective communication, learning to play in an orderly fashion with others, being fair, spelling, counting and improved ability for mental calculations can all be side effects of playing board games. The time spent playing with your children is also quality time which may be scarce due to busy work schedules. There are restrictions and rules to be followed, very much like everyday life as it involves interactions with others, they will subconsciously learn these skills with a board game session. For young kids, it can be quite a big event, they will take it very seriously so it may be ok to adopt special rules (which you will decide as the adult) to help them cope better with the likely frustration of losing, or you may even let them win from time to time, after all the time spent together is really the most important factor.

Playing board games with young children will be beneficial as they get older because they would have learnt from an early age the importance of playing fair, recognizing boundaries/rules, self-confidence and better social skills. It is absolutely fine to put away the computer games console some days and spend time having a laugh and helping your child develop important life skills through playing a board game.

FENG-SHUI

After a long day, you want to retreat into an environment that is entirely relaxing. Ideally it is not an expensive hotel but your own personal space, your home. It is incredibly important to put a lot of thought into the set up of where you will most likely spend most of your down time, a place of reflection, serenity, entertainment and rest.

A good starting point is to ask yourself this question ''Is there a favorite room or spot in your home to which everyone seems to gravitate?''. How have you cultivated the full potential of this particular area? If there isn't such a space in your home, create one, it is of the utmost importance to your health.

One fascinating discovery I made was exploring how personal taste, functionality and aesthetics can be merged effortlessly using the art and science of ancient Chinese Feng-Shui principles (pronounced fung shway). Feng-shui teaches us how to create harmony and balance around us. By taking a hard look around and opening up our environment to healthy energy (Chi), we can make changes in our work and living space that will create corresponding changes in our life.

Feng-shui, which translates to "the wind and the water," is the Chinese art of correct placement. Experts believe that by arranging our furnishings and decor in a way that aligns with nature, we draw harmony and good health into our lives.

The very basis of this ancient philosophy suggests, small details often overlooked literally, from the placement of everything from the front door to the toilet plays an important part in our overall well being. The Chinese actually employ a Feng-shui master before building or buying a home.

Most Feng-shui experts stress the use of aesthetics and common sense in achieving the desired results and many new home builders seem to be incorporating elements of feng-shui into homes.

How To Make Your Home Brand New.

You can make your home look brand new with a few affordable, but highly effective methods which will be mentioned here. A fresh coat of paint on walls is a definite way to change the look and feel of the rooms in your home. Neutral colors like beige or peach will deliver the needed revitalizing effect desired. 

A benefit of neutral colors is their ability to be well suited to a wide variety of furniture. If you are feeling more adventurous, why not paint one of the walls in the room a bright color like Burgundy as an area to be decorated with wall paintings or other forms of art.

Another tip is to change your old curtains or even buy some new, colorful cushion covers. This will change the entire look of the room. You can either create a uniform look, if you prefer an orderly arrangement or spice things up with abstract designs which compliment the neutral walls. An additional way to compliment the look is to get plants, apart from instantly brightening up your living space, it has the added health benefit of significantly improving the air in the room (depending on the size of the plant). A look at your local store will inspire some ideas. A few small flower pots can be placed on your window sill as well, if there is enough room.

Whether you decided to allocate a differently painted wall for displays or not, wall art is a must for every well decorated home. You will be spoil't for choice regarding the various beautiful framed painting on the market. Be it rolling hills on an oil painted landscape, an abstract painting or even an iconic, framed poster of your favorite musician, the effect is always magnificent. If you have a shelf that isn't put to much use, you can use it as a display for your personal framed pictures or favorite collectible items. It will be perfect if there is a small light fixture putting this area in the spotlight, literally. This will create a small conversation point for visitors.

With all these tips put in place, you will have a completely different, totally rejuvenated home. Remember to keep the rooms tidy though, because any effort will be least appreciated if not well maintained, no matter how expensive it may have been to put it all together.

Why do you need Cushions?

Stating that cushions are important may seem fairly obvious, however most people might believe that their only use is to add some sort of aesthetic value to home decorations. Cushions do have very practical uses particularly when it comes to comfort. While sitting for instance, after a period of time, maintaining an unnatural posture can become quite painful, putting pressure on the psoas muscle (this is pronounced so-as) which is arguably the core muscle of your body.

Most sofas are designed mainly to look good, and do not necessarily ensure perfect posture is maintained while sitting on them, even if they start out with a firm seat, constant use may eventually create a hollow space, and yes I know everybody loves how their favorite position on the sofa has been cemented but how good is it for your back? This is where a top quality cushion could come in handy. It would help take away some of the tension caused by the uneven sitting area depending on where you place it. This should also be a great idea for people that sit in front of computers for lengths of time.

With one physical well-being benefit highlighted for cushions above, I think we can all also agree that sometimes there is a certain comfort attained when hugging a soft cushion encased in a lush, beautiful cover. Check out some ideas here. 

Fear

Fear is not the enemy, infact fear can be a great survival mechanism, without it, we will take some really stupid risks with our lives (sometimes alcohol and other substances help dull that sense, usually with catastrophic results). However, fear can become rather crippling and stop you taking risks, hindering any chances of progression in life.

First we must recognise which aspect of our life is hindered by fear, could it be a fear of rejection? Or taking on new challenges due to a fear of failure? Once it is recognised, then it must be tackled. Most times, fear is due to certain flaws that we have and feel overwhelmed by. Unless it is due to a complete loss of a limb, for example not being able to be a Formula 1 driver because you are an amputee, then most flaws are really down to certain instances in our lives that may have had a negative impact psychologically, and put you off that particular activity. Once we can accept that flaw and work on improving it, we regain confidence and are able to try again. We can't let the fear of failing completely truncate the possibility of success, we really only require a close analysis of where a little extra work needs to be done.

Remember, with better preparation, an overhaul of your own perception of your abilities and an open mind, you can overcome your fear. If it can be done, you can probably do it, as long as you do not let fear work against you.

A Successful Life

I believe the one thing we all owe ourselves as we navigate our way through life is happiness, it is the ultimate goal. Think about it, absolutely everything we do is geared towards either an instant, or protracted elevation of our mood. Sometimes, the pressures of life do throw a monkey wrench in our gears of bliss however, and we do require a few tricks up our sleeves to ensure we don't spend too much time marinating in these pesky moments.

One thing that would elevate your mood is reflection on the good things in your life, no matter how bad things get, there is always something we take for granted and forget to be grateful for, take stock of these things and smile about it, while giving yourself the required boost to tackle whatever it is that may be getting you down. Attract some good karma while you are out and about, spare some change for those that need it, or grab an extra cup of tea for that person living on the streets, your act of kindness and compassion will have an effect on your mood as well as the recipient's.

Learn and regularly practise breathing exercises, these have been proven to help reduce stress and anxiety. A quick online search will provide some very effective methods that can be useful when you find a few moments of quiet to gather your thoughts and clear your mind of clutter. Listening to some soothing music can also help elevate mood. I believe the definition of a truly successful life is one where very little time is spent being sad or allowing negative energy to have more than a fleeting moment in it. Think about it.

Element of surprise

Giving a gift is always a pleasant occassion for the parties involved, I like to believe, the giver feels elated that they have contributed somehow to elevating the recipient's mood, and ofcourse the gift receiver has a cool new toy or accessory to enjoy. Deciding what the perfect gift is takes knowing the recipient quite well, or going about your selection of appropriate gift by asking exactly what they would like. The trouble is, as effective as this method is, it can get rather boring when you already know what you're getting. A key part in the presentation of a great gift is the amount of thought that has gone into it's selection and the element of pleasant surprise involved when the idea is spot on.

One tip is to go with an unusual, unique gift. Be creative, with a tiny bit of effort, you will find a perfect gift not just picked off the shelf of your local retail chain, and it does not have to be impractical either. It may be a beautifully designed Cushion cover, a trinket box or a necklace made out of Coconut shells (I have seen quite a few really cool ones). The idea is to present something that is one of a kind, when most of the other folks are probably giving the same old generic gifts, meaning you get to stand out, which in turn means your gift WILL be remembered and that gesture will very likely be reciprocated at some point.