Friends vs. wellness, happiness and more.

Hello everybody, E ku deede iwoyio!

Remember the first message of the year (Jolly should be all the time). It stated that it is important to take time to nurture your relationships and have some fun. Take it a bit further, we all need a good friend in our lives—someone that isn’t family, that isn’t a lover, that we simply truly enjoy being around and who enjoys being around us, because who that person is can have more of an effect on your health, happiness, success etc. than you probably know. It’s well documented that a good friend truly improves your life. A good friend with an active lifestyle can encourage you to step out of laziness and complacency and try something physically challenging. Those with strong, positive social relationships have been shown to have lower blood pressure, better hormone function, stronger immune systems and even reduced inflammation. Nothing can replace the one-on-one connection between two good friends chatting about coding, astronomy, horticulture, filmmaking, or whatever is on the menu that day. Take a moment to consider how your association has improved or could improve your life, whether it’s intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, or physically. Good friends as a group or as an individual are a true gift that nothing else can beat.

It is a fact that some friends can bring you down, both energetically and emotionally, but what about the one that has helped you through the tough times? One that encourages you to be the person you’ve always dreamed to be? Our friends are hugely important to our wellness and success in life. When you surround yourself with good vibes and good people all the time, you`ll definitely be smart, healthy, successful and happy.

 We celebrate with you if you were born in August. Wishing you and everyone an Augustus visitation in this month!

Olusegun,

President,

YAJ 

The Effect of Social comparison

Hello everybody, E ku deede iwoyio!

Social comparison is a common human dynamic that first rears its head when children are very small, in the days of toddlers wanting whatever toy is in the hands of the kid next to them. It gains momentum in elementary school when kids follow fads, and it’s noticed when someone isn’t watching the same shows or playing the same games as everyone else. High school, the world of brand names, popular music, cliques and “fear of missing out” is when social comparison really takes hold, and it never quite goes away as people focus on getting into the better colleges, landing the better jobs, marrying someone their friends might envy, and building a picture-perfect life with them. Once we have kids, we rejoin the cycle through them. As adults, we face many of the same social comparison pressures as teens to one degree or another: comparing our looks, our social status, our material items, even our relationships. This is natural human behavior, and it’s designed to help us live together as a cohesive group, to help us learn from one another, and to keep us from falling too far behind our potential. It also helps us to define ourselves, to gauge how we’re doing in various areas of life based on what appears to be possible, and can even seem to help us feel better about ourselves in many cases. Hence, belonging to an association or more will in most cases have a positive influence in every aspect of your life and should be used to your advantage and to helping others in turn.

We celebrate with you if you were born in July! Wishing you and all a Jubilant JULY!

Olusegun

YAJ President 

Happiness, health, serenity and meaning in life.

Hello everyone or E ku deede iwoyio!

Sometimes life is brutally challenging, and there is no easy way to get over, under, or around it. This notwithstanding, we always have choices. We can focus our conscious attention more on our problems or on potential solutions. We can learn and practice how to become more aware of our thoughts and attitudes and use this awareness to shift our experience toward higher levels of satisfaction and happiness. The all-important space between what life presents to us and how we respond to it is ours alone. We can seek to avoid our emotional and physical pain or learn how to accept what we can’t change while building the skills to change what we can. If you want to be happier in ways that are more likely to endure, the most effective approach is to participate in activities that have meaning and value beyond your own self-interests. Such as being of service to families, friends, neighborhood and community, organizations, social causes, etc. The intriguing paradox of service is that through the act of giving, we receive. Research has shown that having purpose and meaning in life increase overall well-being, life satisfaction, and, yes, happiness.

We celebrate with you if you were born in June! Wishing you and everyone a Joyous JUNE!

Olusegun

President of YAJ

Learn to Enjoy Life with Your Experiences

 Hello everyone or E ku deede iwoyio!

It is known that those who appreciate their past experiences are better able to attach meaning to them, recognize the silver linings among the dark clouds, and enjoy these silver linings to the fullest. By healing the past and savoring your positive memories, you can maximize your past to enjoy life more in the present. The following tips can help you to enjoy life more daily and use your past as a springboard:

Remember And Relive: Remembering your fondest memories can help to bring the best of the past into the present.

Share Memories: You can bring your positive memories to life by discussing them with others.

Re-read Old Journals: If you were someone who has kept journals in the past, you may really enjoy re-reading them now, particularly if they are gratitude journals.

Let Go Of Past Resentments: As you are exploring your past, you may take opportunities to forgive those toward whom you may have anger or unresolved issues.  Holding onto past hurts can be a heavy burden, and working through them can be freeing happy and healthy life.

We celebrate with you if you were born in May. Our wish for you is that May all the desires of your heart be granted.

May this month bring peace, satisfaction, and joy to us all.

YAJ President

Olusegun.

Learn to Enjoy Life with Your Experiences

Be Happy!

It`s already April everybody!

Happiness is an age-old and sometimes elusive goal. Virtually all people want to be happy which is good, because happy people are better off, for reasons both obvious and subtle. Obviously, it feels good to be happy. But, looking deeper, happy people tend to enjoy benefits that unhappy people don’t, and, thanks to researchers, we know more about some of these subtle differences. For one thing, they tend to enjoy more successes in life. You may be thinking that happiness and success go hand-in-hand because success causes happiness, not the other way around. Researchers thought about this, too. Seeing that happy people tended to earn more money, display a superior performance, and help others more often,  they found happiness is indeed associated with (and precedes) several successful outcomes including higher earnings and greater performance, as well as behaviors that go along with success, like helping others. Their research found that the relationship goes both ways: Success brings happiness, but happiness actually does bring success, too.Another benefit that happy people share is good health. Studies have found that happy people experience lower blood pressure, lower ambulatory heart rate in men, and reduced neuroendocrine, inflammatory, and cardiovascular activity.Very happy people are found to be very social and have stronger social relationships with others than less-happy people.All this leads to greater health, which is definitely something to be happy about.

We celebrate with you and wish you an awesome birthday if you were born in April.Have a jolly April everyone!

Olusegun

Aare YAJ 

Anger Is Unhealthy

Good day everyone! Did you know that every time you get angry, your body rages with you so your pulses race, your mind scrambles, your blood boils, and your shoulders tense? Obviously, something is negatively impacting your health and wellbeing. To get a handle on your rage and taste the power of being in control, you need to fully understand the consequences of unchecked anger and where it may lead you. Headaches can be a result of tension and stress. The longer you sit alone with your angry brain remembering all that raged you, the more your sleep decreases. Unsolved fights can lead to a high blood pressure which can cause a heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and many more. Anger and depression are strongly linked, particularly in men. When the anger is suppressed, depression kicks in. To sum it up, we often hear “happy people live longer”. Get rid of depression by associating and socializing. When you associate, try to adjust to team-working on a goal. Try to forgive that person that messed up with you some 100 years ago. You can understand and identify your anger. If you do, you`ll live a happy, jolly, healthier and longer life. 

We celebrate with you if you were born in March! Wishing you a Marvelous MARCH everybody!

YAJ President.