Mobile Phones

If you happen to go to work by bus, you often see sleepy people who are reading their magazines or books, or who are trying to memorize words… Twenty years ago, the situation was almost the same. However, there is a huge difference: today, at least twenty percent of these people are holding their mobile phones, and they are talking to someone. The most frequent questions are: “Where are you?”, “What’s up?” It would be interesting to analyze these conversations and the topics themselves. People tend to talk about their personal feelings and emotions, they are telling their secrets, and so on. We may often feel uncomfortable when we are sitting in front of this person, but this is not enough. It may also happen that the person asks, “Why are you listening to me?” Well, you are just trying to get to your workplace, and he was the one who was shouring. I wonder how people could survive without mobile phones…

Extreme Sports

Extreme sports are becoming more and more popular today. Viewpoints differ, as different people regard different things extreme. There are some people who believe that even running can be an extreme sport, but some may believe that bungee jumping is a simple everyday activity.

Extreme sports are certain activities with a high level of inherent danger. The keyword is danger here. It is always the person who decides if he or she wants to jeopardize his or her life, but it is crucial to consider other people, as well. In my opinion, a family man or a mother cannot do such things on his or her responsibility. Extreme sports might be really enjoyable, but only within the pale of reason.

Sleep!

Sleeping is a crucial problem in our lives. It can lead to serious consequences if one does not sleep well. However, many people do not get the right amount of sleep, as in our society, sleep seems like a luxury, not a need. But this is simply not true.

Many of us want to sleep as little as possible; university students are mainly affected by this problem… They tend to think that it is more important to have a party instead of having a rest, and they believe night is the appropriate time for learning. To be honest, this is what I do… Nevertheless, it has to be emphasized that sleep is not a waste of time.

There are many negative effects (such as depression, feeling moody or irritated), and most of them are very well-known. The problem is that these harmful effects can not only be connected to the nervous system (which is a big trouble in itself). If we do not sleep enough, our immune system becomes weak, and we are more likely to get an infection or a disease. In addition, many hormones are released during sleep. Furthermore, people are more likely to put on fat if they do not get the right amount of sleep.

Well, try the Sheep Dash test…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sleep/sheep

Walk your Dog, Meet other People

There are numerous ways of getting to know other people. Walking your dog is just one simple way of them. However, it is a kind of funny one…

First of all, at fist, you do not even know the other person’s name, but you know the dog’s, you know what the dog eats, how the dog behaves, and what the dog’s favorite activity is. After a while, you know how the owner is called, but it can also happen that you meet every day, talk to each other for two at least hours, but you are still not familiar with the owner’s name. You are talking about several topics, but these topics are quite different from the ones you are talking about with your colleague. The only common thing can be the weather. However, you enjoy this informality, and you realize that you are more direct, even though, you do not know how the other person is called.

Nevertheless, this strange process may have various advantages. Firstly, it is a good way of looking for a boyfriend or a girlfriend, even if you are a shy person. The reason for this is that it is not a problem if you accost the owner of the dog your puppy is playing with. You cannot just stand in front of each other; you have to chat. So many similar situations have resulted in marriages… (Just consider 101 Dalmatians…) In addition, it is possible to become friends with somebody. Many people often realize that they are sharing their secrets with the owner of “XY.” Furthermore, you may get to know your future business partner this way.

Thus, walking your dog is not only good because it is a good way of loosing weight, but it can also be “the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

Money, the Basis of Healthy Lifestyle

The term healthy lifestyle cannot be defined easily. From one point of view, healthy lifestyle is a way of living everybody is out for. According to many websites, however, a healthy person does not smoke, is at healthy weight, eats healthy, and exercises. These websites offer various ideas, and talk about easy steps one has to take. Thus, people usually know what they should do, and they can advise many beneficial things to their friends or relatives.

One of the biggest problems is said to be the lack of activity. It is true that many people do not have money to go to the gym, but they can walk their dogs, which is also very advantageous. Eating a healthy diet is another part of healthy lifestyle. The difficulties start here. The first step is to count calories, but people are usually not able to do that because it takes a lot of time and energy. It is also important to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. It has to be emphasized, however, that not all of them are satisfactory for our current purpose… Usually, only the more expensive ones are good enough. Furthermore, one should not eat pasta or bread, and so on… The problem is that many people, especially in Hungary, just simply cannot afford it. The way I see it, many people would pay more attention to healthy things if they did not have pay more money. It would be interesting to see how these experts would cook a fitness dinner from the money average Hungarian people have.

In conclusion, healthy lifestyle has another definition: it is something that represents one’s status and shows how trendy the person is…

Is Stress a Lifestyle?

People have always had to face serious difficulties in their lives. Thus, stress has always been an important factor. However, stress is said to be a kind of lifestyle today.

One of the reasons for this is that roles in society are changing: many women consider career almost as important as family is. They try to be recognized on various fields of life, and this ambition can become a great challenge for them. In addition, some people want to meet too many requirements. Nevertheless, there are several other issues which determine one’s attitude and can be the causes of stress. Today, the economic crisis is just one of these stressors. The problem is that many people are not aware of the harmful effects of stress, as stress does not always happen in response to things that are over quickly. In fact, stress is a chronic syndrome. Some of the harmful effects are anxiety or panic attacks, irritability, moodiness, and even physical symptoms, such as stomach problems, headaches, chest pain, or problems with blood pressure. These symptoms can easily change one’s personality, and one may feel depressed because of them.

Consequently, it is crucial to decide whether we want to be important parts of the big machine or we want to remain individuals...

The Role of Sports

The role of sports is changing. Decades ago, sports used to be popular free time activities. People did not only visit events but they also wanted to participate because they found pleasure in playing basketball or football. However, this is not what we experience today. The main difference is that most sportsmen are not sportsmen anymore; they became celebrities, very talented celebrities. Fans usually go to football matches because they want to see their favorites or because they would like to express their opinions somehow. To mention an example, many women who call themselves fans are not keen on the particular sport but they admire one person who happens to be handsome and successful. Thus, big companies, who are aware of this fact, usually try to take advantage of this. Accordingly, David Beckham sells various products with the purpose of making money. The problem is that not everybody realizes this. As a result, sports and the events connected to them (such as world championships) are about consumption. The next difference is that sportsmen and sportswomen are not individuals anymore. Many of them, who became celebrities, have personalities, of course, but these are mainly created by big companies. In addition, sportsmen and sportswomen themselves are goods, so they take a backseat. Isn’t it strange?

An Alternative Way of Healthy Lifestyle

Today, sport plays an important role in our lives; thus, it is part of our lifestyle. Many people believe that this means that they have to go to the gym on a regular basis; however, there are several other ways of living a healthy lifestyle and entertaining ourselves. Agility is one of them. Agility is a very popular dog sport in which a person directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. The person’s controls are limited to voice and body signals, so the handler cannot touch the dog; therefore, the sport demands intelligence, speed, and teamwork.

The way I see it, agility is not about winning a competition. The most important thing is that the owner has a perfect time with his or her dog. Besides, agility fosters a special bond between the handler and the dog. In addition, the handler and the dog have to run a lot, so it is a good outlet for one’s energy. Moreover, it may be an excellent way of losing weight (which is a lifestyle in itself today) as well. It is a great advantage that the person does not feel that he has to suffer in a crowded gym. Well, it is your choice!

If you are interested in agility:

http://www.wou.edu/las/physci/arc/articles/agility1.htm

http://www.agility.hu/

(These dogs are interested in fitness! J)

Fashion and Lifestyle

Lifestyle and fashion used to be two completely different terms with different meanings. However, the situation has changed a lot in the last few decades. People usually believe that they do have a particular lifestyle just because they do something fashionable. They go to the gym on a regular basis; they try to eat healthy foods, and they think that they live a healthy lifestyle.

A particular lifestyle is often proceeded by or based on a choice; a person has to decide that he wants to live this or that way. However, it is important to be aware of the fact that this decision might not be a personal one. People tend to forget the huge effect of media in this case. Media shape our ways of thinking and also manipulate us. This way, the essence of our OWN decisions can be questioned. It is not obvious whether we live according to our own rules, or we are controlled by someone else. As a result, fashion (as part or counterpart of the media) may become our governor.

I love dogs! :)

Long Term

Most people are able to develop several long-term relationships in their lives. Long-term relationships have many types, such as friendship, love, and so on; however, there are no exact rules for developing and maintaining them.

First impressions are always very significant, but these are only the first steps. Long-term relationships always have a secret. This secret differs from one person to the other because people usually have several values: trustfulness, reliance, esteem, and adoration; nevertheless, these standards can be realized in various ways. They all have one common feature: they all depend on two people. The problem is that people tend to think that the basis of their relationships is their own most important value; they often forget that this value does not have to be their own value but the whole couple’s. Thus, the keyword is just a number: TWO. Relationships are not only about us (individuals); there are at least two people.

Snap Judgments

Relationships play a crucial role in our lives. While searching on the Internet, one can find several advertisements, such as “Better Relationships”, tests, and different advices. Most magazines deal with this topic, so do television shows. Some people consider relationships as useful devices to their welfare, while others would not be able to live without personal contacts and interactions.

Relationships determine our ways of thinking, regardless of what kind of people we are. This way, building relationships can become an essential part of one’s lifestyle. Thus, the topic itself is broad; however, we usually do not scrutinize the way our relationships evolve. When we get to know other people, we evaluate them. This quick process is the basis of our opinion of the given person. Then, we have two options (in an ideal case): we want to see the person again, or we want to forget him.

Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink, deals with the unconscious process which helps us in the evaluation of other people. According to his “theory”, we usually make snap judgments. Snap judgments are unconscious, and they rely on the thinnest slice of experience. As a result, rapid cognitions take place behind a locked door. In addition, we tend to look for patterns in these situations because we want to make the whole process easier. Many people just get away from this tiny segment of relationships. However, there is a huge problem: the whole process takes just a few seconds, and we still DO NOT want to think. We always try to choose the simplest way. Patterns again, and again… But why don’t we make an effort to open the doors?

Two Different Terms

Lifestyle and relationships are different terms which do not have concrete definitions. However, the two terms hang together, since our lifestyle is determined by our relationships, and our relationships are determined by our lifestyle. These notions have a great significance in the 21st century. Big companies are aware of this fact, and they try to take advantage of it. Nevertheless, it is not always easy to decide whether “interesting” magazine topics (such as 'Losing Weight without Effort') have a real basis. Sometimes, these articles try to manipulate us, and playing with people’s emotion can be an efficient device. Thus, critical thinking is indispensable in this case, too. Thinking is a keyword, as many people simply do not know how they want to live (because they are not able to think about it). As a result, they read stupid articles which tell them what to do. This is a kind of new lifestyle. The question is: “Who wants to live this way?”