INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Expect the muscles in your face to affect other neighboring ones whenever they contract or expand. Use this to really feel how your ears move in relation to other facial features. Try to isolate the muscles in and around your ears as you do. As an experiment, raise your hand. Curl your fingers into a fist and squeeze. Most likely you’ll feel the muscles in your forearm tighten without you having to command them to. These may possibly have the strongest and most direct effect on your ears’ muscles. To see how, look to either side of you without turning your head or neck. Concentrate on your ears as you do. Chances are that you will feel one or both pull back. You’ll probably look a little crazy, but go with it and just go nuts with your eyes. Look in all directions, roll them around, or anything else that comes to mind. Feel how each action might tug your ears forward or push them back. If you can raise one eyebrow at a time, do it. If not, raise both. Then furrow your brow like you’re really mad. Alternate between the two and vary speeds. Keep your focus on your ears and how their muscles respond. Grin like you’re the Joker, nice and wide. Lift your cheeks as you do. As before, concentrate on what your ears do in response so you can isolate the muscles there.

SUMMARY: Locate your ears’ muscles by flexing others. Dart your eyes from side to side. Move your brow muscles up and down. Smile.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: When you and your children move in with the new additions to your family, expect them to need some time to adjust to the situation. Common issues kids in this kind of situation may experience include:  The feeling of being isolated or left out. The feeling of being replaced. The feeling of being restricted and given ultimatums. Lacking trust or respect for the new family members. The feeling of being pressured to accept these huge changes before they are ready. The blending of a family is an emotional time for children. Take a moment and put yourself in the child’s shoes—are they mourning the loss of a deceased parent or grieving after a difficult divorce?  Listen to each child’s fears and concerns and make their emotions a central part of your new family bonding plan. Don’t expect each child to adjust or accept the change at the same time, and don’t push them to love their new life right away, but rather let them adjust and heal at their own pace. Recognize that your child is going through a major change and that they might react differently to it — accept that and slowly motivate them to become integrated into their new step-family. Give each of your children — biological and step —  enough time to adjust to each other’s personalities.  Each person has different ways in coping with changes in the family, so give them room and allow the situation to sink in. Respect their feelings and show them that they are important, loved and appreciated. Changes should be made gradually. Don’t force or expect them to accept any changes instantly. That may just put extra strain on your relationship. A common fear of children joining a step family is that their biological parent will love their new stepchildren more than them.  Take time to maintain a strong connection with your biological children and do things with them one on one. Make them feel special and loved by taking the time to listen to them or to do a special activity that they love. If your child loves art, take time to go to an art class together, or take a trip to the arcade if your child loves video games. You may feel the need to establish strong relationships with your new stepchildren, but don’t forget about the kids you already have. A new stepfamily doesn’t become a perfectly blended family overnight. There will definitely be ups and downs for everyone during the adjustment process. Practice patience and keep trying to bring the family together in natural ways.  Don’t pressure your children to be best friends with the members of their new step-family, but do encourage respect and teamwork among family members. Not every family is perfect, and trying to corral everyone into thinking they are instantly one big, happy family can cause major resentment from the children. Take things slow and find natural ways to bond with each member of the new family. Encourage relationships within the step-family, but don’t push anything before children are ready. Try to find similarities between members of the family and encourage them to explore those interests together.  For example, if you have a biological daughter and a stepdaughter who both love soccer, take the entire step-family to a soccer game that the girls will enjoy and that will hopefully foster a new relationship between them. New step siblings naturally feel some competition with each other, so don’t push instant friendships. Pay attention to each child individually and point out their similarities and opportunities for friendship. Allow time for your child to spend one on one with your new spouse.   Some children have a difficult time adjusting to a new parent and may not know how to best handle the situation. Others may worry that they are betraying their biological parent by bonding with their new stepparent. Allow the relationship between child and stepparent to grow at its own pace, but encourage both sides to communicate and spend time together at whatever pace they need. If your child is comfortable, encourage them to go on an outing or do an activity individually with their new stepparent. This can be as simple as a walk to the park or a trip to get ice cream, but can allow a new relationship to grow and for both parties to become more comfortable with each other. Children adjust better if both biological parents are involved. This isn’t always possible, but when it is, make a conscious effort to involve both parents.  Allow your child’s other parent to come to major events, like recitals and graduation, and let them have regular one-on-one time. Make sure your child knows that their new stepparent isn’t there to replace their biological parent, but to be another person you loves them. If you are sharing custody with the other parent, try to have regular check-ins where you share information and updates about the child so that everyone is on the same page.

SUMMARY: Be prepared to experience some bumps along the way. Make yourself available to listen to your child’s concerns. Try to avoid rushing your children to become close with their step family. Spend quality time with your biological children to reaffirm your own relationship. Be patient. Consider trying to find some common ground. Set up a time for your biological children to spend some one-on-one time with your new spouse. Keep your child’s biological parent in the picture if possible.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Find a person who can hold you accountable to do what you say you are planning on doing, despite how you feel or the doubt you have. Accountability can be as simple as just sending a text daily stating that you accomplished your goal for the day. Sometimes, self-doubt creeps in when you feel incompetent in a certain area. As you work to stop self-doubt, it can help to hone your abilities in key areas of your life. You might do this by joining a professional development organization, taking a certification course, or reading books relating to your industry. Having an ongoing conversation with those around you about your talents and abilities can stop self-doubt in its tracks. Frequently, people avoid discussing areas in their lives in which they feel insecure. When you purposely bring these areas into focus, the self-doubt will gradually disappear. Plus, feedback helps you see both the positive and negative aspects of your abilities. The next time you catch yourself caught in a web of self-doubt, reach out to someone for feedback. For instance, you might say to your partner, “I feel like you are avoiding me. Have I done something wrong?” for chronic self-doubt. Whether your self-doubt is a recent issue or it stems from childhood insecurity, you must reach out for help if it's undermining your goals. A professional therapist will be able to help you see your situation from a different perspective and offer practical tips for overcoming negative thought patterns.

SUMMARY:
Find someone to hold you accountable. Enhance your skills. Seek feedback from others.  See a therapist