What your sleeping position reveals about your personality

We've found a simple test which can reveal a lot about who you are. It's really straightforward. Examine the picture below and select the position which you think you sleep in most of the time.

If you can't fall asleep without sticking your knees out whilst lying on your side, then you're a calm and reliable person. It's not easy to offend you, and you're not scared of the future. You smile even on the most miserable winter morning, and can adjust without problems to virtually any changes which occur in your life.

If you mainly sleep in the fetal position, then you often feel the need to be protected, understood and sympathised with. By curling up in this way, you try to cut yourself off from the problems you face in the world around you. The perfect outlet for your talents and potential would be to paint pictures, learn to dance, or write a blog.

If you sleep lying on your stomach with your arms and legs sticking out, then you are a leader. You are impulsive and take the initiative, and make sure there is order in both your personal and professional life. You most likely prefer to plan everything in advance and aren't a fan of surprises. You're ability to persevere and sense of responsibility help you to achieve great success.

If you sleep lying on your back, then you are most likely a positive person who loves life, who is used to being at the centre of attention and loves good company. You work stubbornly and persistently, but in a rational way, preferring to always tell the truth. People who sleep in this position often have very strong personalities.

If you sleep like a soldier at attention, lying on your back with your arms at your sides, then you're probably a well-adjusted person, who knows what their goals are in life and single-mindedly strives to achieve them. You can be strict, pedantic and demanding, but you demand most from yourself above all.

If you sleep like a heron, with one leg raised, then chances are you have an unpredictable personality which is often drawn to all kinds of adventures, whilst your mood can change so fast it can be confusing for those around you. Very often, you find it difficult to be decisive and make a choice. On the whole in work and in life in general, you have a preference for stability, peace and quiet, and thoroughness.

And if you sleep in different poses rather than one, then that's a sign that you have a multifaceted personality which has hidden depths not even you yourself fully comprehend yet.

Original article from https://brightside.me/article/what-your-sleeping-position-reveals-about-your-personality-17255/

How Mentally Strong Are You? 27 Questions That Will Help You Find Out

There are many misconceptions about what it means to be mentally strong. At its core, mental strength is about regulating your thoughts, managing your emotions, and behaving productively, despite whatever circumstances you find yourself in.

Building mental strength is similar to building physical strength. You need to develop healthy habits and give up the things that rob you of mental strength.

Assessing mental strength isn't quite as simple as assessing physical strength, however. You can tell a lot about how physically strong someone is likely to be simply by looking at them. A big bicep probably means that person can lift some weight.

But you can't tell if someone is mentally strong based on a quick glance. Much of what determines mental strength happens on the inside.

Honest self-reflection is the key to building mental strength. Knowing your strengths and being willing to work on areas that need improvement can help you become mentally stronger.

How Well Do You Regulate Your Thoughts?

The conversations you have with yourself play a major role in your overall well-being. While everyone uses harsh self-criticism at one time or another, talking to yourself like a trusted friend is the key to building mental strength.

It's important to think realistically. Overly negative thoughts can prevent you from taking productive action. But overly positive thoughts can be harmful too, because you might be unprepared for the realities you face.

Ask yourself these questions to assess your mindset:

1. What inaccurate conclusions do I draw about myself?

2. What types of things do I beat myself up over?

3. What excuses do I let myself make?

4. What's your definition of success?

5. What do I tell myself when I fail?

6. What is my self-worth based on?

7. What do I think when I'm rejected?

8. What type of self-doubt do I experience?

9. When do I become overconfident?

How Well Do You Manage Your Emotions?

Contrary to what some people believe, mentally strong people don't suppress their emotions or ignore their pain. In fact, they are acutely aware of their emotions and they recognize how those emotions impact how they think and how they behave.

They face uncomfortable emotions, like fear or anxiety, when doing so helps them reach their bigger goals. Rather than escape or avoid discomfort, they use healthy coping skills to deal with distress.

Ask yourself these questions to assess your ability to manage your emotions:

10. How do I respond to emotional pain?

11. Which emotions sometimes get the best of me?

12. Which fears prevent me from reaching my greatest potential?

13. Which emotions do I avoid the most?

14. When do I feel happiest?

15. Which emotions lead me to behave out of character?

16. What strategies do I use to boost my mood when I'm down?

17. Can I recognize when my emotions are starting to get out of control?

18. What do I do when I notice I'm starting to feel sorry for myself?

How Well Do You Keep Your Behavior Productive?

Building mental muscle is all about knowing when to change your behavior versus when to change your environment. So while there may be times you can work on self-discipline to help you better resist temptation, there may also be times when you need to change the environment so you can be your best self.

Sometimes, productive behavior involves doing things you don't feel like doing. At other times, it's all about performing a behavioral experiment so you can prove your negative predictions wrong.

Developing mental strength will help you overcome obstacles and respond to hardship in a more effective manner. It will also help you make the best choices for yourself, even when those decisions aren't popular.

Ask yourself these questions to assess your behavior:

19. When do I give up too soon?

20. When do I keep going longer than I should?

21. Do I recognize when my behavior isn't in line with my values?

22. Do I take care of my body well so my mind can be at its strongest?

23. Which mistakes do I make over and over again?

24. When do I seek short-term solutions that lead to long-term problems?

25. What prevents me from taking action toward the goals I want to achieve?

26. Do I devote my time and energy to things I believe are most important?

27. How do I sabotage myself?

Building Mental Strength

Everyone has the power to build mental strength. And no matter how mentally strong you are already, there's always room for improvement. Develop daily habits that make you mentally strong and strive to become a little better today than you were yesterday.

Original article from http://www.inc.com/amy-morin/how-mentally-strong-are-you-27-questions-that-will-assess-your-mental-strength.html

Two Things that Define You

Thinking Trap

Distance Yourself

Positive Thinking

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?” Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”

“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested.

“Yes it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live life.”

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?”

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.”

“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked. Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.”

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply… I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.”

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.


By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz

The Trouble Tree

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet the family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.

After opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His face was wreathed in smiles, and he hugged his two small children and then gave his wife a kiss.



Afterward, he walked me to my car. We passed the tree, and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

“Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t help having troubles on the job, but one thing for sure, troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning, I pick them up again.”

“Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”

What do you think about the way the carpenter chose to deal with his problems? What do you think he accomplished by leaving his troubles outside of his home?

Face Difficulties Positively

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE WOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!

This he did, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!” He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him . . . all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

THAT’S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity.