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Did you know there are everyday products you are highly familiar with, that came about by mistake? These are products that came about in trying to invent something completely different.

The Slinky

While working on a tension spring, Richard James accidentally let one slip off the table. When it hit the ground, it kept ongoing. This gave him the idea to make it into a product. The product was developed in the 1940s but is still available today. James’ wife sold the product in 1998.

Post-It Notes

3M was looking for a strong adhesive and set the research and development department to come up with it. They instead made a very weak adhesive, and one of the developers saw that it would stick to a surface but wouldn’t stay stuck. This gave them the idea to attach it to paper for notes. Hence, the Post-It note was born.

Velcro

In the 1940s, a man and his dog were in the woods hunting. Burrs stuck to his pants and the fur of his dog. This motivated him to studied how these burrs worked under a microscope. He then developed it into a product we all know as Velcro. It is still a viable product to this day.

Silly Putty

The United States government needed rubber during World War II, and it was in short supply. General Electric engineers tried to come up with a rubber substitute and instead came up with goo, which they felt they did not need. An inspiring business person paid them for the rights to the invention and named it Silly Putty. Plastic egg packaging was used since the release of the product was near Easter time.

Viagra

This product was meant to help people with heart conditions. Instead, they observed in clinical studies that men who took the pill became aroused. As you can well imagine, this product didn’t take much to market and became a success practically overnight.

Play-Doh

Play-Doh got its start as a cleaning product for wallpaper. When it didn’t do as well for that purpose, the inventors knew a teacher who complained about the clay her students were using in class. It was not pliable. The inventors suggested she try the Play-Doh, and the kids went crazy for it. An entire industry has been built around this product since then.

If you have been beating yourself up over making mistakes, it’s time to cut yourself a break. Who knows, you may even discover the next multimillion-dollar product in the process.

My book "Prove Your Inner Critic Wrong" will help you stop beating yourself up. Use the link below to purchase your copy now.

Not having optimal mental health could be worsened by not enjoying life. If your life has turned into something that you dread, that’s a signal that you’ve forgotten what’s important. 

It would help if you looked forward to your life. You need to have fun and to laugh. If you think about it, try to recall when you last laughed like a child. Kids laugh without restraint, and they live each day to the fullest. 

Maybe you get up, and you immediately jump into whatever weighs on you. It might be seeing what’s new in your email that you have to deal with or handling bills or other stressors. 

Instead of starting the day off with peace and fun, you hit yourself with whatever steals your serenity and laughter. Remember how, when you were a kid, you’d run just to run? Or you’d meet up with your friends spontaneously and stay out playing until night fell? 

As an adult, you probably can’t recall the last time you did something that wasn’t already on your schedule. At some point in your life, fun took a backseat, and life became something to endure rather than to enjoy.

That happens when you pick up burdens and carry them around - when you get laden down with responsibilities. But that doesn’t mean that life has to become a chore or that you can’t enjoy your days.

Part of the issue can be because something is weighing you down. It might be a struggle with your job or finances, or relationships. But it would help if you got to the root of whatever is causing you not to enjoy your life.

You don’t have to live your days just getting through them. You can have the moments when you laugh with all the freedom and merriment of a child. You can decide to go out for spontaneous fun. 

Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean that you should forget what fun feels like. You don’t have to live every single day trying to juggle a hundred and one things to do. You don’t have to put up with emotions that leave you feeling sad and anxious. 

You don’t have to strive to hold everything together. You can free yourself and live your life with joy. Even on the days that are full of responsibilities that you can’t put off, you can still have fun. 

Discover what it is that’s holding you back. Dig deep and uproot the erroneous beliefs you might have or the burdens that grew because of a lack of emotional self-care. Remember again how to enjoy life in its simplest terms. Find healing if you need to. Embrace all the good you have today. Your happiness is not in your past or future. It is hidden in today.

Worry can derail an entire day if you let it. But did you know you had the power to stop it in just 30 minutes of your time, freeing up the rest of the day to live your life? The answer is more straightforward than you think.

When you become accustomed to worrying, you gain a constant stream of negative feedback and information in your brain. It’s like leaving the TV on to a channel designed to inform you of every worst-case scenario, only personalized to make all those dire predictions all about you.

Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? 

But by designating 30 minutes every day for worrying and allowing yourself to worry only during those 30 minutes, you gain back your day and your life simultaneously. 

You start by setting a ‘worry time.’ Once you have this half-hour firmly in place (put it on your calendar if you need to), you can start kicking every worrying thought to the curb. You tell it, ‘later.” and then refuse to let it near you again until it’s your designated worry break.

How do you do this? Try these quick steps:

Pick a Time

Grab a half hour when you’re not going to be busy. Be careful not to pick one too near bedtime, though, as it might interfere with your ability to sleep. 

Become Conscious of Your Thoughts

Every time you have a worrying thought, tell it to go away until later. If it helps, jot the worry down somewhere, so you have a list to look at during your break. 

Use a Timer

Worries can very quickly take over as much time as you give to them. By setting your timer to 30 minutes, you’re keeping control of just how much time you’re going to spend worrying.

Record Your Thoughts

Either write down your worries as you think about them, or if you like, journal about your thoughts during this time. Be as detailed as you like. This might also be an excellent time to examine your worries, to figure out if there’s a recurring pattern or theme. Dig down into the heart of what’s troubling you.

Stop When the Timer Goes Off

At the end of 30 minutes, you’re done. Any new worries now have to wait until tomorrow. Close the journal, throw away the paper, do what you need to close off the worrying for the day. 

Repeat

Do every one of these steps every single day for at least a month. Why? Because it takes time to form a habit, which is what you’re trying to do here.

In the end, you’ll be amazed at how much freer you feel when you realize you don’t have to worry all day long. You’ll sleep better at night and be much more productive during the day. Not bad for an investment of only half an hour.

It doesn’t matter how many steps you take to relieve stress if you aren’t taking care of yourself. Self-care is a practice that eludes many people, especially in the fast-paced and hectic world in which we live.

Meditation is harder to do if you’re not getting enough sleep. You’re more likely to find yourself cat napping during your allotted meditation time because your body just can’t keep up, just like exercising at the gym once a week isn’t going to do much against the tide of junk food you gorge on nightly.

Before you can take stress relief seriously, you must first meet your basic needs. Self-care is acting in a way that will promote your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Self-care is a necessary building block when laying your life’s foundations. To overcome life’s stressors, we have to build resilience, and you can’t have resilience without self-care. You are much better equipped to deal with life when you take steps to care for yourself.

Unfortunately, many of us look at self-care as an elusive luxury. It’s for other people. It’s not a priority because you’re not one of those people that has the time and money to invest in self-care. As a result, you feel tired, overwhelmed, and unable to deal with the challenges and changes that life throws at you.

There are acts of self-care to cover every area of your life.

• Physical

To operate efficiently, you have to look after your body. Don’t forget the link between your mind and body. So, acting in your body’s best interests will naturally enhance your mental health as well. Physical self-care isn’t just about exercise. It has to do with the fuel you choose, the sleep you get, and looking after yourself medically as well.

When dealing with physical self-care, ask yourself if you’re getting enough sleep, if you’re eating the right fuel, if you’re truly in charge of your physical health, and whether you’re exercising enough.

• Mental

How you think, the thoughts that you fill your mind with, these are the things that influence your mental well-being. You can keep your mind sharp by completing puzzles, reading books, watching content that inspires and sparks creativity. It’s also choosing things that will help you stay healthy mentally, which means acceptance of self and self-compassion.

When you address mental self-care, consider whether you’re making enough time for the activities that stimulate you mentally and if you’re being proactive about staying healthy mentally.

• Socialization

Your social health requires self-care, too. Yet, it’s often one of the easiest aspects of our lives to ignore. Life gets busy. It’s hard to keep up. It’s crucial to your overall health and well-being that you maintain close connections and act in the best interests of your social life.

As you address your social self-care needs, consider whether you spend enough time with your friends (face to face) or whether you do enough to nurture the friendships and relationships in your life.

• Spiritual

Don’t neglect the spiritual side of yourself, whether you involve religion in your life or not. Donating some of your time and money to a cause that interests you will enlarge your spiritual life greatly. Reading a daily meditation and taking walks, especially nature walks are powerful spiritual activities.

• Emotional

We all need to have coping skills to address negative emotions. Sadness, anxiety, and anger are natural parts of life, but they will eat you up if you don’t know how to cope. You can practice emotional self-care by doing activities that address your emotions. Reading articles like this one are helpful. It could be a trip to visit your therapist or a long chat with a friend.

When considering emotional self-care; journaling and thinking about how you process your emotions, is extremely powerful. Find activities you can incorporate to recharge. You will be glad you did.

Self-care is becoming more popular than ever before. In fact, according to Apple, the most popular trend in apps in 2018 was around the subject of self-care (https://apps.apple.com/us/story/id1438571562). It isn’t just a trend, though. Sure, there will be people who show a keen interest in it now and then dismiss it further down the line. In reality, though, self-care is something that has always existed. We just didn’t coin the phrase and start talking about it until more recently. The reason for this is our inability to accept that self-care is not selfish.

There has been a shift in focus these days. We are now openly discussing mental health, addressing well-being, and talking about how we can do and be better. Once upon a time, neglecting your own needs to put others first was just expected. You can live in anxiety. You can deal with anger. You can take the blows to your self-esteem, you can do all of that because you’re busy looking after everyone’s needs. That’s just not the case. As you expose yourself to stress regularly, you are wearing your physical and mental health down. This doesn’t just increase your risk of anxiety, depression, and sleepless nights. It also influences the health of your heart. 

No wonder we are growing more accustomed to weighing the benefits of ignoring care versus practicing self-care. Unfortunately, self-care isn’t easy, and here are some of the obstacles you will likely face in your journey. 

Self-care can be especially tricky if you are just now getting aboard the train. It’s easier to forget about yourself than you care to admit. Your mind will start to tell you things like you’re low on energy, you’re short on time, and you have a lot on your plate. Even though these things are true, it is not the whole truth. You are low on energy and time with a long list of things to do because you do not practice self-care. You choose others, and you suffer as a result. It’s okay if it’s a one-time event, but the problem is it isn’t. This is a pattern of behavior, and it’s difficult to overcome. The hardest part of practicing self-care is making the time for it. You have to commit to it just as you do family life, just as you do work responsibilities. 

You have been neglecting yourself for years. You’d think you’re so hungry for it that anything would do. The problem is that a lot of us hold unrealistic expectations for our self-care journeys. This isn’t a magic pill that will solve all of your problems. However, if you are determined, you can influence your life for the better. Eating one healthy meal isn’t going to result in immediate weight loss. Studying briefly for a test isn’t going to ensure you pass the test. Applying for a job is not a guarantee you’ll secure the job. One music class won’t make you a classical pianist. You get the picture – self-care just isn’t a quick fix. 

You can’t jump to any conclusions where self-care is concerned. More importantly, what works for you might not work for someone else, and vice versa. You may find a hot bath relaxing, but the thought of a bath is hell for others. We have our interests, we have our own needs, and how we meet them will depend on our personality. There isn’t a single act of self-care either. There are endless possibilities.

One reason self-care isn’t easy is that we often don’t know ourselves well enough to get it right. It is impossible to meet your needs if you have no idea what your needs are. So, start by getting to know yourself a bit deeper. You can experiment with various self-care acts and find out what works for you. If it doesn’t work, don’t force it. Just keep searching until you find your self-care.

Anxiety is one of the toughest things to go through. It can turn your world upside down. Anxiety creeps up out of nowhere, and before you know it, it feels as though you’re being smothered. As time moves on, it gets so bad that you put yourself to bed, convinced you might not wake up. It’s debilitating. Anxiety can make you feel weak, it makes you feel embarrassed, and it doesn’t matter how hard you try to overcome it, your chest is heavy. The first step you need to take in your journey to manage anxiety is to accept it. You’re not weak. It isn’t embarrassing. So many of us suffer from anxiety. You’re not alone.

Through self-care, you can manage your anxiety to get yourself back to a point where you enjoy life. You’ll still have anxiety, your palms may still get sweaty, but you’ll have a better handle on it.

• Breathing is calming. It helps you feel as though you’re in control. To people with anxiety, that’s a powerful thing. If you’re at home, then you can lie somewhere quiet to do this. Now lie down and place one of your hands above your stomach and the other on your heart. Now, slowly breathe in through your nose, counting to seven. Now, breathe out through your mouth while counting to seven. You can repeat this exercise until you feel calmer. It’s good to practice this breathing exercise in a quiet place until you get the hang of it. Once you do get the hang of it, you can practice deep breathing anywhere.
• A journal is an excellent way to get a load off your mind. Write it all out.
• Find a positive affirmation or mantra that you can recite each morning. Your affirmation should be something that encourages a calm mindset. You can write out your mantra or affirmation and stick it up around the house or in your car. Wherever you will see it and feel inspired by it.
• It would be nice if you could disengage from every activity or situation that piques your anxiety. Unfortunately, that’s impossible. What you can do, though, is find helpful ways to manage situations you know trigger your feelings of anxiety. Pay attention to your physical response and find ways to avoid these situations. For the unavoidable situations, be aware of your breathing and navigate the situation as best you can. With practice, your anxiety will lessen.

The most influential act of self-care for people with anxiety is kindness. Be kind to yourself. Shield yourself from negative thought patterns, and when you have a terrible day – remember tomorrow is a brand new day. Create a daily routine that provides you with structure and purpose. Go out of your way to do things for yourself. You may enjoy walking through the woods. It might be reading a great mystery book or just soaking in a hot tub. It doesn’t matter what acts of self-care work for you. The point is that you complete acts that do work for you. You might not feel like getting up and going out for a walk, but once you do, you will feel much better.

• Lastly, visit your doctor. If your doctor recommends that you take prescription medication to manage your anxiety, then consider it. A holistic approach may require the use of some medication. Remember that medication is a tool like the tools mentioned in this article. No one but you can tell you if you need medication but you. Your doctor is there to guide you.

Your priority is to find self-care acts that work for you. So, you might say the greatest act of self-care is knowing yourself well enough to know precisely how to meet your unique needs.