Month Mar 2022

Adverse effects of staring at your phone too long and possible preventions.

officialmorisblog 1 Comment

If you ask the majority if they can do without their phones for a week, the major answer is a resounding ‘no.’ Almost every one of us is guilty of this because the world has gone digital. 

The majority of the transactions we make are online, and it is done via our phones. However, it’s also expedient to note that some health hazards surround staring/glaring at the phone or laptop screen for too long. 

In a study published in the journal scientific report, Professor Ajith Karunarathne writes: “it’s no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eyes’ retina.” His team further argues that blue light is very hazardous to the overall health of our eyes; this is because the eye’s cornea can neither block nor reflect it. 

Some of the other eyes effects of staring at the phone or system screen for too long are:

1. Eyestrain

I guess the majority of the people whose day begin and ends on their mobile screen must have found themselves with dry eyes, tired eyes, and blurred vision at one time or the other, which translates to the fact that your eye is taking in a lot of strain and it’s also been affected.

Studies have it that straining or focusing your eyes on one thing for too long can cause Myopia. I’m sure the majority of us are familiar with what Myopia is. Myopia is short-sightedness. So, what’s the best way to prevent this since we all can hardly do without our phones? 

The most suitable way to prevent strain is by intermittently taking breaks from your mobile phones/systems. Avoid staring/focusing on your phone screen for too long to avoid eye health issues. Take conscious breaks from your system.

2. Blinking dysfunction

Blinking dysfunction is when you blink excessively without having the ability to control it, which can be pretty irritating. Although many factors can lead to blinking dysfunction, the most glaring cause is when something is on the eyes’ surface, which is, of course, temporary. 

However, some of the other things that can cause blinking dysfunction are eye irritation, e.g., dry eyes; eyestrain can also cause blinking dysfunction, and also vision problems such as Myopia can lead to blinking dysfunction.

3. Impaired vision

There’s no doubt that many have had a type of visual problem at some point in their lives. For some lucky ones, these problems can be easily treated with contact lenses or eyeglasses.

However, part(S) of the eye or brain involved in processing images can become paralyzed or damaged – this is when severe or total loss of vision can occur. Unfortunately, the eyes cannot be fully restored with contact lenses, eyeglasses, or surgery.

Although, according to an ophthalmologist affiliated with sharp community medical group, Dr. Arvind Sini, “there is no clinical evidence that prolonged screen use causes permanent vision loss. Dry eyes and eye strain, yes. But nothing long term.”

4. Eye pain and migraine

Straining your eyes on mobile screens can cause eye pains and migraines.  Asides from the eye pain, it could also cause blurry visions. According to the vision council, “over 27 percent of people have experienced headaches as a result of digital eye strain.”

So, we’ve mentioned a few of the health hazards staring at the mobile phone excessively can have on the overall health of our eyes. There must be possible ways to prevent these issues, especially when we cannot do without our smartphones and digital devices. Look below for the possible protection of the eyes against all these dangers.

Possible ways to protect your eyes health from your mobile screens

1. Adjust the size of your text

Try making the text on your screen bigger to make it easier to read. Try as much as you can to avoid squinting your eyes to read a text.

2. Always remember to blink.

Staring at your mobile screen excessively could cause dry eyes and other eye irritation. By remembering to blink, your eyes repel irritants, retain their moisture, and remain refreshed.

3. Take breaks

Always remember to take breaks intermittently. When you glare at your phone for a few minutes, you can look away from it for a few seconds. Preferably, try to look at things at a distance during these intermittent breaks.

4. Reduce the brightness of your phone

Adjusting your phone’s brightness to regular will make it much easier to use and comfortable for your eyes. Asides from this, you’ll also get to preserve the battery level of your phone.

Final thoughts

Although the phone has become a constant companion of everyone in the 21st century, the majority cannot do with their phones even for an hour. However, when we consider the adverse effects staring at the phone for too long can cause on our eye health, we shouldn’t hesitate to take little breaks from staring at our phones.

Why failure sucks more than anything in this part of the world

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“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm,” Winston Churchill.

The Mantra about failing many times before eventually attaining success is a real fact. Quite a lot of us have witnessed success stories that started from nothing. However, in recent times, Mantra has been debunked and proved irrelevant in this part of the world.

Many dreams have been shattered with ‘what ifs?’ – The fear of the unknown. The fear of not having the stability and emotional strength to handle failure. But who would blame anyone? I couldn’t, and I can’t because we’re all part of the masses who are afraid of failure. We’ve read so many success stories, but so have we read so many failure stories. But would we instead remain stagnant than fail?

Let’s look at these scenarios: 

I have a dream worth a million dollars, but the plan is just sitting at a corner in my heart with cobwebs at its side.  Why don’t I execute this million-dollar dream and be ridiculously rich? ‘fear.’

 We all have a fear of failure running through our veins. The fear isn’t just limited to our thinking; it extends to thinking about those we care about; it extends to thinking about those we can’t afford to let down. That’s why so many people will stick to their #20,000 naira monthly salary rather than take a bold step in starting something more rewarding and financially fulfilling.

The part of the world we live in doesn’t create a cushioned space when we fall. That’s why many entrepreneurs aren’t bringing something new to the market; that’s why we are so comfortable living below standards.

Why? Are people tired of hearing things that don’t work in this country? But what works in a country that has provided minimal comfort for the development of her people? Maybe success. But isn’t success pushing it too far? For some, it isn’t. Can we accept that we are programmed differently, and so are our stories and life.

I think there are more than enough reasons I could go on proving why failure sucks in this part of our world. So, I’d instead stop there and focus on the bright side of life.

The bright side

” My last two business ventures have failed. Three years and probably $50,000 later, I am left with nothing but more excitement, experience, and clarity than ever before.” Kevin Swan.

That piece of the quote is probably what we need to scrap out of our weird thoughts of not wanting to fail. The quote’s author doesn’t say anything about winning a lottery in the end, but he tells us how excited he is about the future. And would you care to know that this man is disabled? He is disabled, as in paralyzed; he couldn’t move any part of his body but his eyes and toes. Not even his mouth; he can’t feed. Yet, he’s hopeful. It’s not easy, but where’s our hope?

If this happens in Nigeria, I bet the person will be crumbled to nothing feeling like a complete failure. But the point is, would it solve the issue? Or would remaining stagnant lead to success?

I guess it’s about time we changed the orientation if we genuinely want to progress. 

The other side: We can’t rule out failure in the bid to succeed. However, we can succeed if we strive hard enough.

Three tips to avoid failure breakdown

Start small

Many of us don’t have the wholesome capital to start a huge business. My advice? Start small. Don’t borrow to avoid a heart attack. You can’t build an empire in a day, not even a year, go slow and be consistent. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

It is often advisable to start a very sure business – more preferably, a hand skill you’re confident about. Don’t follow a trend.

Have other side hustles.

The way we should be programmed in this country is to have other side hustles. I have a friend who has up to 4 legit side hustles, and he doesn’t get tired. I have another one who quit his job to focus on his startup business.

Both ideas aren’t bad, but the country’s situation will make a man who depends on one means of income regretful.

The situation of the country warrants having other things we can fall back on when one fails.

Change your orientation.

I’ve heard quite a lot of ‘That’s why I don’t listen to Motivational speakers.’ You don’t have to listen to Motivational speakers’, but what exactly keeps you motivated to be better? Do you know that your wife advising you to try your hands at other businesses is encouraging you? Wouldn’t she be called a motivational speaker in broad terms?

Here’s another dimension to changing your orientation – accept that failure is part of your progress story. While we may not wish to encounter failure, we should channel our thinking towards life and its ups and downs. Once we accept that things will not always go the way we want them, we’ll begin to see opportunities where we ordinarily wouldn’t have thought.

Final thoughts

The thoughts of failure plague so many minds, hitherto hindering their success. While we cannot afford to fail, we shouldn’t be comfortable at being stagnant – we should probably fall to raise another day.

Some youths say ‘the motivational speaker forgot to add “fail early.” Let’s redefine failure – You fail to succeed another day. Fail early so that you can do what your future self will be proud of.’

NB: not everyone will fail. Some are lucky enough to succeed at the first trial. Be bold to take a step!

The rubrics to personal development

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Personal development is an essential quality for every person that wants to be better.

Personal development is a consciously imbibed lifelong process to achieve set goals, improve quality of life, and maximize your potential.

Anyone who wants to improve their living standards spiritually, physically, mentally, and in all other aspects has to strive for it to attain it.

There’s no trick to developing yourself except you put in the work. I’ve seen people who want to upgrade themselves financially – manipulate everything, get rich, and eventually get jailed for their frivolities.

Why? They manipulated things to get rich quickly; they didn’t put in the effort at the right places.

I have also seen those who want to upgrade financially put in the extra efforts and eventually become successful. It took them some time and effort, yet they made it eventually.

There are stories around us – stories of people who fought to be better versions of themselves. Stories of those who fought to break loose from a habit; stories of those who fought spiritual battles and conquered through personal development.

This article will briefly relate an authentic story of how a young man conquered battle through self-improvement. 

Also, the article will further explore the aspects of personal development, some awesome tips to attain personal development, and the benefits of personal development.

The story of Alli’s personal development.

There are different sides to personal development. It could be spiritual development, physical or emotional self-development, or we could even strive to be better in every sphere of our lives.

Ali’s story is, however, that of personal spiritual development, which further helped him in other parts of his life.

There’s a wide belief in spiritual manifestations, especially in African society. Alli’s case was considered one of those spiritual cases – his case was depicted as not normal, and, truly, he also knew it wasn’t a normal occurrence.

At the age of 15, Alli hadn’t stopped bedwetting. His younger siblings were far ahead of him in that aspect. His parents were worried, and his elder siblings knowingly would soak his school uniform in his urine – so that he’d smell of piss.

They intended that if he smelled that way amongst his friends, he’d be ashamed and feel inclined to stop the disdainful act. However, it only worsened.

At some point, he’d have a dream of mating with a female species in his dream and wake up to confirm it’s true he did. It was different from a wet dream. 

It was then he believed his situation wasn’t ordinary.

His parents equally got perturbed; they tried their hands at different traditional drugs used different things, all to no avail.

It wasn’t until all their efforts failed that they decided to seek help elsewhere. 

There’s an Islamic cleric who is believed to be very religious. Alli’s parents weren’t practicing Muslims, but they believed their child’s spiritual problem could be sorted through prayers.

The Islamic cleric prayed for him and took him in, taught him the art of praying and believing in the Oneness of God.

Alli not only got better, but he also improved his spiritual life – he got total healing through his conscious efforts to become closer to God, and now, he has upgraded to the extent that he prays for other people battling life issues, and God cures them because of his faith.

Alli’s story is one of spiritual development. What’s your story? What personal development stories have you heard?

Aspects of personal development.

The different aspects of personal development will be highlighted below.

Spiritual development

This kind of development often entails religiosity. However, some argue that having a deep connection with the world is spiritual development – they do not equate being spiritual to religion.

In the case of Alli, however, his level of religiousness brought him to a height of spiritual/personal development he couldn’t have achieved if he remained the same without progressing.

Spiritual development is essential to guiding you to other aspects of personal development.

Mental development

This kind of development plays a huge impact on our relationships, career, family, education, and the like.

Mental development is also vital to the other aspects of personal development. Mental development aids fast learning and interpersonal relationships.

It would help if you consciously relax and exercise your brain to strengthen your mental development.

Emotional development

It is essential to be emotionally strong – learning to handle your emotions will help you through many life struggles.

Life throws so many blows at us – one of the aspects of development that can help us handle those blows is emotional development.

Emotional development can be a bit tedious to achieve because of the complexity of humans. However, one should strive for it.

Physical development.

Another aspect that influences our growth is physical development. Physical development enhances our chances of attaining the other aspects of development.

Endeavor to eat well, exercise, work, practice a good skincare routine and relax to achieve an awesome physical development.

Tips on how to attain personal development.

Highlighted below are some best practices to help you attain personal development.

  • Read on/make research on things you’d love to improve on

To improve on a particular aspect of your life, most times, you need to seek knowledge – just like Alli did.

You need to read on/research the area you’d love to improve on to become refined and more knowledgeable.

Reading and upgrading your memory gland is an awesome way of impacting your personal development positively.

  • Develop a practice routine.

You could easily ruin your mindset and set goals with the wrong routine regimen. 

Develop a healthy practice regimen that will positively impact your personal goals. 

Try to avoid things that are contradictory to your set goals. One of the best ways to achieve a best practice regimen is through a reward/punishment routine.

  • The reward/punishment routine works this way –

if you work towards achieving your goals, you could reward yourself with something you love or have always wanted.

However, if you flop on your personal goals, you could punish yourself with something that will touch you deeply.

To achieve this, you need to be true to yourself.

  • Stay honest with yourself.

It’s not easy denying yourself some life pleasures. However, one of the doctrines of personal development is to deny yourself little things to achieve greater heights of fulfillment.

You have to stay true/honest to yourself to maximize your potential. 

The bitter truth is, it’s easier said than done; it’s easier to read books on your goals but difficult to work towards implementing your goals. Put in the actions and be your judge.

  • Get yourself a mentor/role model.

One practice that shouldn’t be undermined in personal development is getting yourself a mentor or a role model.

Alli’s father saw this when he chose the Islamic cleric as Alli’s mentor.

That was the turning point of Alli’s life – he not only became healed but become learned about religion and spiritually improved; that’s a form of personal development.

Also, having role models you look up to will keep you motivated and help you become better.

  • Take time to reflect.

Reflection is an essential aspect of personal development. 

It is vital to sit back and reflect on your progress or lapses – this will help you become better.

Asking yourselves questions equates to finding answers to the questions through conscious efforts.

Work with / stay with people willing to push the extra mile.

It’s not surprising when you see that highly successful people mingle amongst themselves – this is essential because the kind of people you move with have a telltale of it in your life.

Do you want to achieve some set goals? Move with people who share the same visions as you. Move with people who are willing to push you to success.

Sometimes, personal development isn’t a journey to embark on alone. You need people to ride with you to get to the shore.

  • Stay consistent.

Consistency is key in every action. To achieve a personal goal, you must be consistent.

Self-development is a lifelong process; it doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, effort, and patience. However, in the long run, it pays.

  • Keep tabs on your progress.

Gauging your progress is an awesome personal development tip. 

This tip helps you know if you’re doing the right things or not. And you’ll also know the necessary steps to take towards actualizing your goals.

Benefits of personal development.

Personal development comes with a lot of added advantages. Some of the benefits of personal developments are listed below.

  • Fulfilling your set goals.
  • Enhanced self-esteem and self-identification.
  • Having the courage to face life challenges
  • Improves your interpersonal relationships with others.
  • Conforms a quality lifestyle.
  • Develops self-discovery and helps people propel towards utilizing their talents.
  • Strength development, amongst others.

Conclusion.

The impact of personal development or lack of it in many lives could not be undermined.

Taking conscious efforts in improving our lives will go a long way in helping us live a fulfilled life.

The article is quite detailed on personal development; study the tips and implement them in your lives to live a fulfilling life.