Thursday, March 2, 2017

Just when you thought you saw it all…



Just when you thought you saw it all…

Don't Let The Media Trick You Into Thinking You're A Misery. You're Just Fine

Did you find that the more you scroll on social media, the more unsatisfied you become? This is because what we’re seeing most of the time is just the tip of iceberg…and this tricks us into thinking that we are always not good enough and not happy enough…

Average Is The New Normal For Happiness

Most of us are average but the media only shows the extreme sides. The best of the best. The worst of the worst. This makes us believe that “exceptional” is the new normal. Turns out, average is.

Everyone has the ability to excel at different things. We’re good at some and mediocre at others. This is the natural course of life. The bell curve pictured here represents the extremes the media imposes on our psyche. It conditions to believe that exceptional rules. And anything less is unacceptable.

We’re then pressured into compensating. Our feelings of inadequacy become a quest to fit in. If you fall in the middle of the bell curve, that’s okay. This is where most of us fall anyway, so you’re in good company. You can always strive to further improve yourself, but also remember that you’re good enough. When you’re comfortable in your own skin, you actually excel faster, and needless to say, become even happier.

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RCR Arquitectes - M-Lidia house, Montagut 2004. Via, photos ©...

HYBRID Art Festival Madrid Last week Madrid has exploded into a... crss


Xavier XRAY HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


ANIMALITO LAND HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


ANIMALITO LAND HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


Berta Jeanne Duval HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


Berta Jeanne DUVAL HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


Alba COSZ HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


Alba COSZ HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


PIERRE LOUIS - HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID


PIERRE LOUIS - HYBRID ART FAIR MADRID

HYBRID Art Festival Madrid

 Last week Madrid has exploded into a prolific place for art. From contemporary art, street art and emerging Art, Madrid had something for everyone. Most important there was a place trying to approach the concept of an expo a different way: Artists and galleries could exhibit their creation in a hotel room and then sleep in it at night! So we were visiting such an intimacy when meeting the artists. Among them, here’s a subjective selection of what we were seduced with. In order of appearance: Le Carburateur of Xavier XRAY, the Argentinian street artist Animalito LandBerta Jeanne Duvals mythology, Alba Cosz’ subtle photography and Pierre Louis’ abstract and luminous canvas made of fabric. 

Check our Facebook for more original art.
Posted by Very Private Art

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RCR Arquitectes - Malecaze House, Vieille-Toulouse 2016. Photos...

Burkard Meyer - Allmend Terrace Housing, Baden 2010. Photos ©...

Seeing Isn’t Always Believing - Collage by Lizzie GillFrom the... crss





















Seeing Isn’t Always Believing - Collage by Lizzie Gill

From the website of Lizzie Gill:

Lizzie Gill is a mixed media artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Her work explores themes of retro Americana in a contemporary context… Her work is a nostalgic look at both the American past and innocence with a twist, prompting one to question their sense of time and culture. Not everything is ever quite as it seems. Lizzie is the co-founder of the Brooklyn Collage Collective. The Collectives goal is to bring attention to the medium of collage through an ever growing and dynamic group of artists who display a wide range of materials and styles.

Thanks to theartmag.com.  See more of Lizzie Gill’s work on Instagram.


Cross Connect Magazine has you covered for contemporary art - follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Posted by Lisa.

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Making New Friends Gets A Lot Harder As We Grow Up Because We Are Not As Open As We Were

It kind of makes sense, that as we grow older it is much harder to sustain friendships, let alone make new ones. There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, as careers, relationships and kids become our priorities, there is simply not enough time to chill all day with our besties and talk about everything. Moreover, as we get more mature, we get pickier about who we spend our precious time with. Remember when you were a teenager, you could hardly count all the members of your squad? And now, you can barely have one person to talk to once a month. Yet, this doesn’t have to be the end of your social life. Even better yet, now it is the time to make true and closer friendships that will last for a lifetime. Let’s learn how.

The new old friends

In order to warm up for creating new friendships, you can try reconnecting with the old ones first. This doesn’t mean we have to call each and every person we met, no matter how much we liked them. We all know a couple of great people we used to hang out with, that we simply stopped seeing due to our busy schedules. Make time to make a couple of phone calls and see how they are doing. This could be beneficial in many ways:

  • Firstly, you will be much more comfortable meeting new people once you start in the familiar ground.
  • Secondly, you may make more honest and open friendships with those people now that you have matured and are ready for more meaningful connections.
  • Finally, old friends have probably met some new people that could potentially be your new friends as well.

Now that you have made the first step with the old friends, it is time to make some new ones. Here are some suggestions as how to make genuine connection with people you meet.

Be interested rather than interesting

When found in a new social group, most of us would focus on being interesting so as to make people like us. This is fine up to a point, but, if we are looking for ways to connect with people on a deeper level, we should prioritize listening instead of entertaining. People like when they feel they are being heard and when others show honest interest in their thoughts, feelings and beliefs about anything. By actively listening to what someone is expressing, we would show that we are not shallow and narcissistic, but respectful and caring. Moreover, once we take an interest in other people’s lives, we would be much more able to find things we have in common and build on that as we move forward.

Put yourself out there

In order to get something, you have to be able to give something too. Don’t be afraid to share some of your personal thoughts, feelings, or struggles with others. Being vulnerable will make you more human and people will respond to that. This doesn’t mean that you have to go around and tell all of your secrets to everyone who says “Hi!” to you. Once you meet people who you feel you can trust and have a lot in common with, feel free to be more vulnerable and share a bit more. This makes a bridge between good friends to very close friends. As we open up, we are letting people to truly get to know us, which makes us go from an acquaintance to a real human being in their eyes. Also, people will be much more willing to share their deepest feelings with us, as they will feel they can trust us and find a kindred spirit and a loyal friend in us.

Featured photo credit: https://unsplash.com/ via unsplash.com

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This Trick Can Make Sure Whether Your Freezed Food Are Safe To Eat After A Long Holiday

Before going on holiday, there are so many things to take care about besides just packing your clothes and other essentials. You must remember to unplug some electrical devices, find someone who will water your plants and take care of your pets. But what may concern you most is the food stored in the freezer and whether it will be safe for consuming upon your return. Since you won’t be present in your home for some time, there might be some unpredictable circumstances such as a power outage which can cause your food to spoil.

If the power is out for more than 4 hours, your food is probably spoiled

According to www.foodsafety.gov, if your fridge o r freezer is not working for more than 4 hours, than it’s not safe to consume the food stored in it. Furthermore, if certain types of food have been exposed to a temperature of around 4 degrees Celsius or more for the time period of 2 hours, you should throw it away. It is not a good practice to taste the food to make sure whether it’s still good to use since it can lead to stomach problems. Then, what is the safest way to determine whether food is spoiled or not after returning from a holiday?

With this simple trick, you can easily determine for how long the power was out and if it caused the food spoilage

If you have been away from your home for some time there is no certain way to determine whether the food in your freezer has gone bad due to the power outage. It’s better to be safe than sorry, and make sure that the food you left is safe to use instead of trying your luck and getting sick. That’s when this simple trick will come in handy.

All you need for this is a cup, some water and a coin. Before you leave to have a good time and unwind during your free days, fill the cup with water and leave it in the freezer. Once it has frozen, take the coin, put it on top of the frozen water and place it back into the freezer.

When you return all relaxed and happy, the last thing you want is to get food poisoning. To be sure you can consume the food, take out the cup you placed in the freezer before leaving. If the coin is still on top that means there was no power outage, and you food is still good. If you find the coin in the middle of the cup, your food is probably still good to use since the power wasn’t out for a long time. However, if the coin reached the bottom, you should throw away the food as this signals that the power outage lasted for a longer period of time.

Before going on holiday, make a plan what food you will buy

To avoid throwing away a significant amount of food, make a careful plan as to what you will buy and leave in the fridge and freezer. Foods such as meat, poultry, most types of dairy products, and eggs can quickly spoil if sitting on a temperature of just around 4 degrees Celsius; thus you should avoid buying them before the holiday. Foods that can be safely used even if the power was out are certain types of hard and processed cheese, dairy products such as butter or margarine, canned fruits, fresh fruits that have not been cut, peanut butter and fresh vegetables that have not been cut or washed.

Yet, even with all these preventive measures, you should be careful and don’t consume something if you are not sure whether it is spoiled.

Featured photo credit: https://unsplash.com/ via unsplash.com

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"There’s no preparation at all. You learn by doing." What We All Need To Learn From Emma Stone

Emma Stone had just took the entertainment world by storm. Winning the Best Actress for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and the BAFTA Award with one single role, making her one of the most acclaimed actress in Hollywood recently, accompanied by all the fame and glory one could possibly imagine. There is no doubt that she is one of the most talented actress in this generation, but most of us might have been oblivion to her hard effort in order to own this status.

Like most of us, we all had that distant and fuzzy dream when we were still a naive little kid. Some thought of being a chef, some wants to be an astronaut. For Emma Stone, it was acting. Born in Arizona, she was attracted to acting since the age of four, and took years of voice classes for theatre. Usually at this point reality hits. A lot of us would have got persuaded by our parents or realise the cruel fact of our society that childhood dreams stands no place before reality. But she is different. She did not give in. Here are some things that we can all learn from her strong character.

Perseverance is the key to success

Similar to her character Mia in La La Land, her path to success was never smooth. After she moved to California, she attempted numerous auditions throughout the years, but it was not until 2007 that she first received recognition from the public with her role in the comedy Superbad. It took her five years to get the first taste of achievement in her acting career, but still she kept going, never once went astray with her goal. This is the mental strength that keep her fighting for the best she could get.

Education does not equal to the value of a person

Emma debut as an actress when she was 11. She decided to drop out of high school and persuaded her parents with a PowerPoint to move to California in order to pursue her career in acting at the age of 15. She enrolled in online high school courses instead and did not attend college. She once said that “Just because I don’t have a college degree doesn’t mean I am not smart! “. This rings particularly true as she reigns as one of the most well-known actress in the world. In a world filled with standardised test it is common that people will judge others according to their education level or even link it to your level of success. Emma Stone proved that to be wrong. Don’t let societal assumptions and stigma be your constraint. A talented person will not need to prove themselves with certificates.

There are no obstacles that you can’t overcome

Emma Stone recently told that suffers from anxiety and panic attacks in her childhood. “When I was about seven, I was convinced the house was burning down. I could sense it. Not a hallucination, just a tightening in my chest, feeling I couldn’t breathe, like the world was going to end. There were some flare-ups like that, but my anxiety was constant.” she said. It was later through therapy and performing that she got over with it. “You have to be present in improv, and that’s the antithesis of anxiety.” Everyone will encounter obstacles in their life, and a lot of people gave up their passion and dreams because of these obstacles. They thought it was unachievable. But the only thing that actually make it unachievable is losing faith in yourself. Most of the issues are just temporary set-backs. Face it, and get the better of it. That is how you become one step closer to success.

In La La Land  Mia sang “Here’s to the ones who dream, Foolish, as they may seem”. Emma Stone herself was this fool. And this fool, holding the little golden man in her hands, prove to the world that there is nothing wrong for being a dreamer.

You live once and life is wonderful, so eat the damn red velvet cupcake. — Emma Stone

Life is short, and the world is your oyster. Live your life and don’t let things bound you from getting the best out of it.

Featured photo credit: Elle UK via elleuk.com

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Always Feel That You Don't Have Enough Time? You Need To Understand Yourself First

Feeling pressed for time is common among many of us. We all get the same amount of time each day to be productive. And it can sometimes feel as if the twenty-four hour day isn’t enough. Mastering the art of time management can be challenging. So we’ll share two proven productivity techniques you can use to do more with the time you have.

Determine Your Peak Hours Of Productivity

The essential principle to productivity is all about how well you blend time with energy. Once you nail down your ideal peak times, you can complete tasks at the energy phase that is right for you.

Managing energy, not time, is the key to high performance and personal renewal, says Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, authors of the bestselling book The Power of Full Engagement. Harness energy and time to reach greatest productivity.

It is important to identify your peak hours. Schedule the most important tasks for those hours. To determine when you feel more productive, perform a self-analysis. Ask yourself: when am I most energized? enthusiastic? creative? Discover when your peak cycle of productivity is at its highest. It could be morning, afternoon, or evening.

Personal activities and work tasks are not created equal. Each requires a different level of energetic output. Some tasks might be mentally draining. Other tasks can energize or excite you. Address demanding tasks during your ideal peak times. Schedule non-critical tasks for times when the peak cycle is low.

Then, create Time Boxes To Manage Tasks

The key to using a time box is to set a deadline to meet a specific goal, stick to it, track progress, and move on to the next task.

So if you plan to complete an activity in an hour, it should stop at the end of the time box. When a project or daily task is too large to complete in the allotted time, break it into smaller tasks. This way you can time box tasks to increase efficiency.

Time boxes encourage us to focus more on time than tasks. Give yourself 15 minutes to return a phone call or clear your email inbox. If you only have 30 minutes to spare, organize something you’ve been meaning to get to. Set a time box and stick to the commitment to complete it within the specified time frame.

Set A Time Box With These Easy Steps:

  • Estimate the length of time it will take to complete the tasks on your to-do list and allocate times for each.
  • Use your smartphone or computer to schedule alerts to help you move from one task to the next.
  • Choose set periods of time that work best for you. Consider the right time of day and limit sources of interruptions or distractions.
  • If you run out of time, stop when the time box does. Assess why you didn’t complete the task and plan to schedule the task in a different way next time.

Time is a limited resource, so is energy. Make use of each in strategic ways. When used in the right way, these resources enable us to be more productive for both work and play.

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