Research has shown that mindful eating has positive impacts on people, so it’s beneficial to know how to eat more mindfully. Here are some techniques for eating at a healthy pace.

Remove all distractions while you eat. 【小题1】 Make sure your cell phone is face down and you’re not going to be responding to any messages that come through.

Take enough time to finish your meal. Even with all distractions removed, very often you still find yourself eating faster than you should.【小题2】 It takes about that time for your body to get the signal to the brain that you are full.

【小题3】 You might wonder how to spend 20 whole minutes eating a sandwich. One way to slowdown is to engage your senses and think through all the details about your meal. Ask yourself: What’s on my plate? How hungry am I today? Is it too salty? Notice the smell, the taste and whatever other senses that arise as you eat.

Limit the amount of the food you might munch on(大口吃) mindlessly. Put a small amount of snack food, like potato chips, in a separate bowl to help avoid mindless munching.【小题4】 Putting aside some of the food can help you eat less at a healthier pace.

Actually chew. If you’re wolfing down(狼吞虎咽) your food you’re probably not chewing it. And chewing is an important part of digestion. 【小题5】 Look at each bite before putting it into your mouth, acknowledge what you’re eating and chew, chew, chew.

What makes a book a good read? It is a great question, but there's no easy answer!

【小题1】There are so many styles and types of books. This is because people have different likes. For fun, go and read the 1-star Amazon reviews of your favorite popular book. Many people hate it and can't finish it!【小题2】Maybe, it depends on your preferences. Art is highly subjective.

There are certainly many good books on writing and story structure, but they're more general guides than step-by-step guides. Since books have no hidden parts (all the words are there on the page), it's necessary to study the books you and others think are good reads and ask,”【小题3】”

Most serious writers have early readers who read drafts and provide their opinions【小题4】They learn which parts aren't as good as they think. And then they rewrite the drafts. A good read is usually the result of many improvements of a bad one.

One difficulty in writing is that it is hard to find people who can give useful opinions beyond “I like it” or “I hate it.” .【小题5】. And you have to try to be willing to listen to things that you don't want to hear. At the same time, be glad to make changes to a draft based on what you learned.

There’s this famous quote that can spark an interest to challenge yourself within you: “If something that you’re doing doesn’t challenge you, then it doesn’t change you.”

Of course, since every one of us has room for improvement, this can also mean if you don’t change yourself, then you can’t be responsible for changing your situation in life. You can never see any improvement in your life if you stick to your comfort zone. We all need a healthy dose of normal stress in our lives, after all. We can only see what we’re really capable of if we make the effort to go over our pre-conceived limits. Don’t limit the challenges you encounter in life-challenge the limits that your "lizard brain" crafted instead:

Figure out what you’re scared of – and do it for one week consistently.

If you’re in sales, and you’re scared of talking to people personally or over the phone, then you have a problem. You can’t just relate with your clients online, can you? Now, instead of crippling in fear and automatically thinking you’ll fail, spend at least five minutes a day to pick up the phone and make a call to a prospect（前途）. Yes, it’s scary. Yes, you may embarrass yourself. And yes, someone may hang up on you. But don’t stop on the first try just yet! You’ll get the hang of it eventually. After a while, you can look at fear in the eyes and say, “Go on, I’m not scared!”

Take a class for a hobby you’ve been wanting to pursue.

Make sure this hobby is not linked to your career; you have to relax and de-stress while performing this. Some examples might be cooking, sewing, painting and graphic designing online.

Aside from helping you challenge yourself now, taking a class for your hobby can also give you extra income if you learn how to monetize it. (You get plus points if you take the class with a loved one. This way, you combine bonding, boosting your income and challenging yourself.)

Attend one career-related seminar a month.

Don’t settle for your current job position. Aim high in your career. Of course, with that aim, include in your action, too. Book conferences that are relevant to the industry of your profession. There, absorb the lesson. Ask sensible questions. And don’t forget to connect with the attendees and the keynote speakers. Sometimes, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” may be a reality.

Dedicate at least nine minutes a day for physical exercise.

You don’t need to go to the gym, you know. A simple 9-minute run around your neighborhood or an intense dance routine done in your living-room can do wonders for yourself. Aside from the obvious reason that exercise can help you maintain your regular weight or shed those unnecessary pounds, it can also aid in making you feel better about yourself by releasing endorphins(内啡肽).

Travel and allow yourself to be interested in new people.

We’re not talking about the expensive kind of travelling here. Something cost-effective like going to your local museum or visiting the resort in the next city can all count as travelling! Here, don’t just limit yourself to your fellow travelers — try to connect with the service staff, like the lifeguard, or the receptionist, or the tour guide. You never know what kind of people they’re going to be. Get out of your house or go online right now to book your class.

Start now and learn to challenge yourself from time to time. We all need a little push once in a while.