by Michelle Anama Abari | Sep 30, 2021 | Personal Growth
You should know that health is wealth and being active and participating in a regular workout program and also trying to find out ways to motivate yourself daily is good for your mind, body, and soul. But sadly there is this internal dialogue we have that tells us to skip our healthy diets and most of all skip our workout sessions or make us work lesser than the allocated to our workout.
There are several ways to motivate yourself to work out daily and this is to advantage because motivating yourself to workout daily is very much beneficial to the mind, body, and soul-making it relevant in the general sense.
Finding out ways to motivate yourself each day can be tedious but it is worth it. Remember, working out daily is one of the habits of highly successful people
Ways to Motivate Yourself to Work Out Daily
1. Have a Workout Playlist
This may seem a bit silly but it does help to motivate you. There is some sort of songs that give vibes to people who want to work out for a certain period. That is why at the gym there are background soundtracks played for people working out to keep doing what they doing.
Honestly, working out isn’t easy, you have to have something to keep you going, and having a playlist just for working out is sure one of the ways to stay motivated to work out more often.
Check out this ultimate workout playlist.
2. Have a Workout Partner
This is very essential if you want to stay motivated and work out more often. I also have a workout partner with who I workout out most of the time. The advantage of having a workout partner is that that partner keeps you going. It’s like the partner is a push when laziness is pulling you in. Your partner helps motivate you and keep you fit.
That is why it is advisable to have a workout instructor as a workout partner so that in that way, you can be more comfortable working more frequently.
3. Change Your Perspective about Working out
It has to be admitted that everything in life begins with your mindset and thought. To be able to be motivated to work out daily, you have to change your mindset about working out from being strenuous to be enjoyable.
Honestly, you cannot enjoy something if your mindset about it is negative. To stay motivated and work out daily and effectively, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR MINDSET!!!
4. Schedule it on Your Calendar
Decide what type of workout you will do, for how long, and where. Then, spend a few minutes planning your activity for the rest of the week. Having a daily routine that incorporates physical activity helps to promote regular exercise.
it has also been said to be one sure essential way to stay motivated to work out daily and it has also proven to be accepted globally.
5. Set Small Goals
When it comes to losing weight, small goals win out every time. Start with daily goals, then weekly goals, monthly goals and finally aim to hit your target.
This way, not only are you losing weight but you are also staying on track, and most importantly, you’re staying motivated to workout frequently.
6. Put Your Money Where Your Sweat is
By putting your money where your sweat is, you have to book a non-refundable workout class. I mean, who would want their money to waste right? So by paying for a non-refundable workout class it will motivate you to work out more frequently and daily. The main purpose of a gym is to work out and get rid of unwanted fats.
Paying for a gym is another sure way to stay motivated daily.
7. Defining Your ‘Why’ Will Help You Stay Motivated
You cannot always rely on external factors, such as a vacation to motivate you. Knowing and defining your ‘why’ for exercise will give you a personal or emotional investment in your goal.
This point may seem very simple, but a lot of people do not have a tangible reason for working out or even anything they do in general, so defining and knowing your ‘why’ will be a sure way to stay motivated to work out daily and keep you fit for as long as you know what and why you’re doing what you’re doing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, motivating yourself to work out daily is not easy but it is worth it. To motivate yourself to work out daily, it has to begin first and foremost with your mindset. You have to believe you deserve every bit of the outcome and also everything good coming out of it.
Honestly, there is no easy way to motivate yourself to work out daily but always set goals and keep up with those goals. Working out is always worth it, especially when you motivate yourself to workout to workout daily. Also, what are those things that motivate you?
by Johnson Temiloluwa | Sep 29, 2021 | Business & Finance, Tech & Innovation
It’s no longer news that fintech is thriving in the country. Numerous startups have had a huge impact on the country’s financial sector. A few years ago, in order to save money, you’d have to go to a bank, stay in long queues, and fill several forms. Sometimes, you save in a wooden box popularly known as “kolo” or “piggy bank” and your money gets eaten by termites if not kept properly or your siblings find a way to take out of your money without you knowing.
Now, technology has made things easy as there are fintech apps that can help you save money. The sweet thing is that you can operate them on your mobile devices.
In this article, I’ll share with you 5 reliable apps that can help you save money. These apps are based on the safety of your money, the amount of interest you can get, and how flexible the platform is.
5 Apps That Can Help You Save Money
1. PiggyVest
Piggyvest is an effective online saving app that helps you save and invest. It was founded on February 16th, 2016 and it is the first of its kind in West Africa. The flexibility of this app is admirable, it combines discipline with efficiency. It doesn’t only help you save, but also helps you grow your money.
It was formerly known as piggybank but got changed to PiggyVest in 2019. You can save as low as 50 Naira in your PiggyVest account, and there is no maximum amount limit. Save as much Naira as you can.
How does it work?
When you save, you get 10-15% interest and when you invest, you get over 25% returns. In the app, you input your debit card details and with it, you can transfer money to the app. There is even an autosave option too in the app. It has an amazing user interface and it is easy to navigate. It takes about 15minutes to set the account up, after which you earn a thousand Naira after signing up.
There is a safety lock feature, where you lock any amount of money and set a date for withdrawal. It charges a 5% fee for withdrawing before the date set. I call it a “discipline fee” but the money saved on your flex account has no withdrawal fee. Another interesting part about it is that in the Piggyvest flex dollar account – you can save, invest, and transfer money in US dollars with it.
It’s one of the best apps that can help you save money. It helps you “save, invest and grow your money with ease”
You can download it here
Cowrywise says that they are re-imagining and reworking how financial services get delivered to people. This is a financial institution that is well trusted and reliable to help you save and invest money. They are located in Lagos, Nigeria. Their app is reliable, flexible, and just right for your savings and investments. Razaq Ahmed and Edward Popoola founded it in July 2017. In 2019, Cowrywise was recognized and made the list of 50 world-changing startups.
Cowrywise gives an interest of 15% to every savings. There’s a segment in the app where you can lock your funds and set a date where you want to withdraw them. Your funds can be locked for a minimum duration of 90 days and have no maximum duration. You can only withdraw your funds at the set date.
Interestingly, they have a minimum saving amount of N100 and any kind of debit card can be used on the app. The flexibility feature of Cowrywise is applaudable as it has different saving features, tailored to different situations. They include:
- Savings circle
- Regular Plan
- Life Goals
- Halal Savings
- One time savings
This is a fintech company that provides your savings and investment solutions. In Pettysave, you can save either daily, weekly, or monthly and also save for plenty of reasons – like electricity bills, water bills, school fees, car maintenance, etc.
There are 3 saving options in Pettysave namely:
- Autosave: The autosave gives an interest of 10% and money is automatically taken from your bank, be it daily, weekly or monthly. It depends on how you set it.
- Target Save: Just like the name suggests, you save towards a goal. In this option, you earn up to 10%
- Vault: You can save your extra cash here as fixed deposits. The longer you leave your fund fixed, your interest increases and you can have up to and even more than 12% interest.
This is one of my favorite segments.
This is yet another app that can help you save money. They were formerly called “Sumobank” and now, they give you 10-15% on every one of your yearly savings. The minimum limit of cash that you can save is N100. There are categories: InstantSave and the Fix saving. Which by just the name, you know what they mean already.
You should try it if you have money that you won’t need till the next year as the minimum time limit after you fix save is one year. Try the app here for Android users and here for IOS.
“Save and earn while at it” is what you’ll see on the page when you try to download this app, and you sure earn while you save. This is one app that can help you save your money. The interest rate is 8% per year.
There are two saving plans namely: Goal savings and periodic savings.
Conclusion
Conclusively, saving can be stressful but these apps simplify the stress for you. Now that you know the apps that can help you save money, all you have to do is download any of these apps, sign up, and start your saving journey. You will hit your saving target!
by Johnson Temiloluwa | Sep 29, 2021 | Business & Finance
Being a business owner is not a walk in the park, it takes a lot of intentionality, consistency, and information – just to mention a few. Before excelling at anything, it is only right to have enough information about it. Are you thinking of starting a business? Did you recently just start a business of your own? Oh well, you are in the right place because there are many things every new business owner should know. In this article, I’ll be sharing with you 10 tips for new business owners.
10 Tips for New Business Owners
1. Be Organized
It is easy to get frustrated at the beginning of a business as you have a lot of things to do. Being organized involves creating a to-do list. It greatly takes the pressure off and helps you see to the completion of your task for the day in their order of importance. Once you finish a task, tick it off the list and move to the next one.
Being organized is a cool thing to be as a new business owner.
2. Be an Informed Risk Taker
In every kind of business, it is inherent to take risks. It is important in business to take calculated risks in other to grow the business. However, it is wise to be informed about risk before jumping right into it as it can make or mar your business.
Being an informed risk taker is one of the many other tips that new business owners should know. “How large is the downside of this risk?”, “How does this risk impact growth to my business?”, “Would my business be greatly affected if this risk doesn’t favour me? These are the kind of questions you should ask yourself before taking a risk as a new business owner.
3. Always Be on Your Creative “A” Game
Things change. Time and circumstances change, but how would you change your business to fit the changes happening around you? Be creative.
Take the pandemic, for instance, it was a huge change for the world and it birthed new business owners. People put on their creative suits and came up with different ways of making the nose mask, the face shield, and every other protective material needed for the pandemic.
Always think of new ways to improve your business. Make it stand out, make a mark, and revel in creativity.
4. Be Dedicated
In the qualities every entrepreneur should have, I talked about how Rome wasn’t built in a day and how commitment is an essential quality for every entrepreneur. I am reminded of a phrase I got from my Secondary Computer class – “Garbage in, Garbage out” which translates to what you put in is what you have.
Being dedicated is an important tip for new business owners. Having a business is not a walk in the park. Frustration might set in but your dedication will give you the result you want. Be dedicated to making your business a success and watch it be that success you want it to be.
The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.
5. Passion
I should ask first, are you passionate about your business? Do you love it? Is it a business that you are proud of? Is it a business that excites you while at it? If the answer to these is yes, then you are doing well. Passion is an intense drive and emotion. If you have this as a business owner, your business is set to be a success. The passion will show in every aspect of your business and it would interest people to want to patronize you.
On days when you hit the “business bottom”, the passion you have will drive you to not stay at that bottom but invent ways to make the business better. Remember, passion breeds productivity.
6. Provide Value and Solution
People would always patronize solution providers and value givers. It has been that way and it will continue to be. So how about a few checks and balances on your business? What solution does it provide? What value does your business give off?
If your service is better than A’s, people will be excited to get your service. In addition, if your service is a solution to people’s needs, they’ll get it from you. In the long run, your productivity level as a new business owner skyrockets.
7. Be a Record Keeper
Record keeping is a key tip for new business owners. Record keeping has its part to play in managing the business; accounts, finance, interests, and growth. It also documents the success of the business and helps note places that should be fixed.
Who knows, in the long run, you can go back to those strategies you recorded that worked for your business and teach new business owners for a fee.
8. Make Good Customer Service a Culture in Your Business
Imbibe good customer service as a way of life for your business. How you respond to your customers says a lot about your business and it can affect the success of your business.
Be receptive to your customers and treat them well. Everyone loves to be treated well and with respect. Make your business stand out as the kind that has good customer service.
9. Have a Network
Be it a support network, building network, or even customer network. Have a network, meet new people and tell them about your business.
10. Manage Your Time Effectively
Saved the best for the last. As a new business owner, you should manage your time well and value time management. It is a skill that every business person should have. Talk more of a new business owner.
Effective time management will include prioritizing and setting measurable goals.
Conclusion
All of these are tips for new business owners and you should know. I am rooting for you and your business. Cheers.
by Happiness Hassan | Sep 27, 2021 | Family & Parenting
First off, marriage is a necessity and not a compulsory role to fulfil. However, for those getting married, it’s an honorable act that demands a great deal of courage and advice to scale through. Perhaps, if you have a daughter intending to get married, don’t hesitate to sit her down and offer her marriage advice to daughters who are intending to get married. This advice is important because marriage is a lifetime commitment and not a child’s play.
However, the father’s advice to daughters getting married is quite similar to the mother’s advice to daughters getting married, although they occupy two different positions in a marriage, it certainly takes two individuals who are heading in the same direction to make a marriage successful and blossoming.
15 Things You Should Tell Your Daughter Intending to Get Married
1. Genuine Love as a Crucial Advice to a Daughter Getting Married
When it comes to marriage, love is the foundation that keeps every other aspect of marriage together. That’s why one must get married to someone they truly love, not under the influence of external factors like money, family name, coercion among others.
As parents offering marriage advice to daughters ensure to tell them that marriage is all about sacrifice, oftentimes choosing one’s partner’s choice over theirs and this is only possible when there is genuine love—not determined by what one’s partner does right or wrong.
2. Let Her Know That Patience and Tolerance are Keys to a Happy Marriage
The pathway of marriage isn’t all rosy, there will always come a time of ups and downs. However, learning how to be patient with one’s partner will avert misunderstanding. Similarly, tolerating your partner’s flaws will help your marriage grow.
Perhaps, you feel your partner’s decisions aren’t right or his behaviors are inappropriate. Don’t make the mistake of trying to change him by nagging, or forcing your will on him, or depriving him of certain marital benefits. Rather, choose to advise him calmly, stating your reason and allow him to decide for himself.
3. Learn the Attitude of Understanding to Build Your Marriage
Understanding one’s partner is one of the mother’s advice to daughters getting married since mothers are capable of influencing their husband’s decisions either positively or negatively. In other words, a good wife must have an understanding attitude.
This is reflected in her level of compliance and cooperation with her husband’s decisions in terms of planning and utilizing the family budget. Also, how skillful she is at managing the available resources provided by her husband?
4. Respect is a Pivotal Advice to a Daughter Getting Married
Amongst a father’s advice to daughters getting married, respect should be given higher priority. It’s fruitless trying to contend for authority in a home with one’s husband, you only succeed at destroying your marriage. That’s why respect for husbands remains an important piece of marriage advice to daughters getting married. They must realize that submission does not show weakness rather respect—this was designed by God who initiated marriage from the beginning.
In addition, respect is revealed in your speech and actions towards your husband. Hence, you must learn the 7c’s of communication and effective listening skills.
5. Father’s Advice to Daughters Getting Married Includes Having Trust for Her Husband
The absence of trust breeds curiosity in a marriage which further breaks the love bond between couples. Hence, daughters getting married must learn to trust their partners. Instead of unnecessarily monitoring your partner, ask questions about their movement and activities you are unsure about. Furthermore, avoid keeping secrets and telling lies to your partners.
6. Faithfulness and Commitment Propels the Growth of a Marriage
It was earlier established that marriage is a lifetime commitment. Therefore, one must be wise at choosing the one you will spend the rest of your life with. In other words, you must be content with your partner in every aspect, this includes physically, financially, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and otherwise. Faithfulness and commitment are marriage advice to daughters getting married which entails sticking with their partner through the thick and thin of life without betrayal.
7. Be Willing to Grow as You Get Married
Growth is a gradual process that requires the patient to achieve. Therefore, be willing to learn from your partner and be quick to discard ideologies that may hinder your marriage progress. Most importantly, maturity insists that you embrace the roles that are meant for you as the wife and do it effectively with complaints and grumbling.
8. Inculcate the Act Of Forgiveness to Build Your Marriage
Forgiveness can’t be excluded from marriage advice to daughters getting married. This is because misunderstanding is inevitable in a relationship. However, what keeps that relationship blossoming is the ability for each partner to humble themselves and seek forgiveness when wrong or be quick to forgive the other when offended. This should be done before the day goes out for peace and love to reign—remember a prolonged misunderstanding can destroy a happy home, instead be the first to seek for settlement.
9. Become a Supportive Wife to Your Husband
Mother’s advice to daughters getting married also entails having a supportive spirit. It takes two to make a relationship work out. Therefore, as a woman, you must become your husband’s biggest fan and encourage him to become the best version of himself even when he doesn’t believe in himself.
Furthermore, It’s detrimental to your marriage to expose your husband’s flaws to others, in contrast, learn to be proud of him.
10. Advice to Daughter Getting Married Includes Prioritizing Your Sex Life
Sex in itself goes beyond physical intercourse, rather is a medium where souls are joined together as one—a point of intimacy. The value of sex in a marriage can’t be overemphasized.
Therefore, what matters most is the quality and not quantity. Most importantly, study your partner’s sex life to get it right. In addition, it’s wrong to punish your husband for offending you by denying him sex.
11. Reduce Third-Party Advice to the Minimum Level to Achieve a Happy Marriage
Excluding you and your partner, every other person is a third party. These sets of people are those who believe they can offer you marriage advice and insist you keep them updated about the happenings in your marriage. That’s inappropriate! Besides, I’m not saying that receiving advice from others is completely wrong, rather establishing the fact that whatever is discussed between you and your partner should remain between the both of you.
Also, your decisions shouldn’t be influenced by what others are saying. However, the only time a third party is needed is when there is a misunderstanding beyond your control— this must be a trustworthy person.
12. Learn to do Things Together
A home where the husband and wife are on two separate pages will soon break apart. Hence, spice your marriage up by making time for each other—a time away from work, that’s why you need to learn how to balance your work and family. In addition, create time to pray together, eat together and do household chores together. Oftentimes, most mother’s advice to daughters getting married always emphasizes praying for one’s partner and praying together as couples.
13. Never Ignore Your Partner’s Needs When Kids Arrive
Parenting is a unit under a marriage that must be carefully carried out to prevent committing parenting mistakes that should be avoided which are detrimental. Therefore, don’t choose your kid’s needs over your husband’s needs. Instead, get your partner to assist you with the kids. Don’t forget he is also their father.
Furthermore, kids become creative thinkers under the atmosphere of a loving home, this further boosts their academic performance.
14. Learn About Your Partner’s Love Language
Father’s advice to daughters getting married requires orienting them on how little act of love counts and goes a long way in securing the future of your marriage. In essence, be skilful at examining your partner’s likes and dislikes—discarding the dislikes and doing more of his likes.
This study enables you to speak your partner’s love languages and prevents you from guessing your way through marriage.
15. Divorce Should Be the Last Option on Your List to Build a Perfect Marriage
There will be a time when you feel like walking out of your marriage because it seems things aren’t going as expected. That’s why a mother’s advice to daughters getting married always encourages daughters to seek other routes of problem-solving excluding divorce.
Reason being that the effect of divorce is destructive and doesn’t portray you as a role model for your children to imitate.
Conclusion
Marriage advise to daughters getting married can’t be exhausted. However, what matters most is your ability to practice the advice given when you get to your husband’s house. Although, it will take some time to adapt, don’t give up, choose to keep giving in your best.
Do you have more advice to daughter getting married or have learned a thing or two from this article? If yes, join the chat by sharing in the comment section below.
by Michelle Anama Abari | Sep 26, 2021 | Personal Growth
How do you take criticism? A lot of people do not know how to answer this question, most don’t even know if they can handle criticism at all. Criticism can come at any time and most of the time it happens in school, on news, in a cooking contest, and most especially in the workplace. Most people do not know how to handle criticism in the workplace and this can be detrimental to them and also their job.
While criticism can be taken as hurtful and demoralizing, it can also be viewed positively. Knowing how to handle criticism in the workplace is very important. Another thing is that people do not know how to handle criticism from the boss and this is not good. Your boss has certain expectations you have to meet in the company. So you not handling criticism well can be to both you and the company’s disadvantage.
Criticisms are sometimes honesty and can help us do better. To know how to handle criticism at the workplace and also handle criticism from your boss, you should read this article.
10 Ways You Can Gracefully Handle Criticism In The Workplace
1. Stop Your First Reaction
Before you lash back or have a comeback talk with someone who is criticizing you, take a minute before reacting at all. Sometimes it’s best to lay back and listen. If you need to respond, take a deep breath, and give it a little thought.
The truth is that a lot of people are in this group. People get defensive and make excuses about things that don’t need too much talk on. Do not get defensive and start making excuses, sometimes it’s best just to listen and think of your next words before saying anything.
To do this, you need to learn how to effectively control your emotions.
2. Thanking The Critic Is A Good Way to Handle Criticism at The Workplace
You might think that this point does not make sense and I get why, but you need to know that even if someone is harsh and rude, thank them. Your attitude of gratitude will probably catch them off-guard.
You also need to understand that being thankful does not make you look silly or a laughing stock. In the actual sense, it makes you the bigger person and mature! This act shows that you are immune to negative talks and you do know how to handle criticism well. Most of the time it could even be your boss who gives the harsh criticism and saying a ‘thank you will catch them off-guard.
3. Give The Person A Chance to Talk Without Interrupting
When trying to handle criticism, you should let the person criticizing you have the time to talk to you. You don’t have to interrupt them or try to defend yourself. Ask the person to explain further and expatiate on their feedback.
If you do this, you are not only giving the person a chance to talk but you are also understanding where you would have gone wrong.
Also, you will be noticing your flaws which you would have to work on later.
4. Remain Calm And Don’t Take It Personal
People tend to take criticisms to heart a lot. This can be a problem for people at work because they won’t be effective as they should if they take things personally.
To not take criticisms personally, you should let yourself know that, not all criticisms are meant to be helpful and also hurtful. You should always try to look for the positive in every criticism because it lightens up your mood and makes you effective at work.
5. Take It as A Way To Become Less Sensitive
This point is similar to that of the first point. Here, you have to challenge yourself to control your emotions and avoid overreacting.
By challenging yourself not to overreact, you get to realize that it is not everything you should blow up for. By being too sensitive, you easily get triggered and this act won’t help you last at your workplace.
So taking criticisms in the workplace will help you handle it more gracefully and also will help you tolerate and be more effective at your workplace.
6. Give Yourself Some Grace
You need to understand that everyone makes mistakes, and no one knows everything. No matter how good you are at your job and how much experience you have, there is always more to learn.
Learn to give yourself some credit by giving a pat on your shoulder, even if no one else does. You deserve it. You need to understand that criticisms do happen and you need to give yourself some positive inspiration.
7. Remember The Benefits Of Getting Feedback
When taking criticism, you have a few seconds to realize that there are benefits to what your criticizer is telling you. There are benefits of taking constructive criticism at work. Some of them include improving your skills, your relationship with your colleagues, increasing your productivity and helping you meet the expectations of your boss at work.
8. Listening Carefully Is A Good Way To Handle Criticism At The Workplace
When receiving criticism at work, you should listen to understand and not wait to lash out at the person. You may feel like shutting down and not taking into consideration what the other person is saying, but should not be so.
When facing criticism it is relevant to listen and comprehend what the person is trying to say. Try to remain objective and open to their comments and opinions.
9. Avoiding Criticizing Others Back Is Another Way To Handle Criticism At The Workplace
This is also somewhat similar to the first point. You don’t have to criticize just because you were criticized. There was every possibility that the person was just trying to be a good colleague and have your back.
As I stated earlier, you don’t have to take everything you’re told to heart. Don’t take things personally and try to sieve out the good from every criticism.
10. Differentiate Constructive Criticism From Destructive Criticism
Like I’ve mentioned before in the article, sieve out the good comments and ideas from the bad. In every workplace, some managers and colleagues want to see their workers fail. The idea on this point is to know the difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism.
The main point here is to know when someone is just being plain rude and arrogant and just trying to get under your skin. Just toughen up and know which constructive critic to go meet that will help you enhance your skills at work.
Bottom Line
The truth is that no one is above criticism and so it is advised to learn how to handle it most especially in the workplace. If it makes you feel better, Kobe Bryant(RIP) holds the record for missed shots in the NBA.
The famous basketball coach John Wooden called it a mistake to get too caught up in either praise or negative criticism. If you learn to handle and filter all criticisms, you’ll live a happier life and get closer to your goals.
Check out these quotes that will help you find your purpose in life
