Study Finds Sarcastic Comments Boost Creativity

Sarcasm is best known as the lowest form of wit, often by those who are frequently burned by it. Most people encourage you to avoid using it in daily speech. This is especially true when talking to people you do not know.

Sarcasm gets a bad rap and not without just cause. Too much sarcasm can lead to contempt, hurt and the inability to get anyone to take you seriously. Yet, sarcasm is not all bad. In fact, there is some evidence that from greater sarcasm comes greater creativity.

According to recent research, people who use sarcasm tend to be more creative. Those who have sarcasm directed at them are also more creative by extension. Thus, instead of disowning sarcasm altogether, it can be used to spark creativity in certain scenarios.

What Is Sarcasm?

Sarcasm is a form of speech known as irony. It is the most common form of irony. It is often used as a humorous way to show thinly veiled disapproval or contempt.

Sarcasm is like mockery. Unlike mockery, sarcasm is most often detected in a person’s tone and vocal inflections. This is part of the reason why some people struggle to understand sarcasm between two cultures.

Sarcasm Is Often Misinterpreted

Some people interpret sarcasm as being rude. Others distinguish it as a valuable way to express your discontent without sounding like a complete jerk. Only one thing is certain: it is often misinterpreted.

In a recent study, two people were asked to read different scenarios. In the scenarios, one person was doing something deemed as negative and a second person was commenting on the action. The second person would either comment saying something with a literal meaning or something sarcastic.

Not surprisingly, people saw the sarcastic statements as being more negative than the literal statements.

In another study, researchers noted that sarcasm is often misunderstood. This is particularly true when sarcasm is in writing. This is not a surprise considering that sarcasm relies on intonation and inflections.

What is surprising was that people who deemed written sarcasm as being negative, thought they correctly interpreted the message 90 percent of the time. Yet, their confidence waned when it was time to interpret voice messages.

Sarcastic People = Creative People?

Sarcasm is a difficult tool to use correctly. However, this is what makes it force people to be creative when using and interpreting speech.

Because sarcasm relies on inflections and is so often misunderstood, it requires people to think more creatively to be able to understand the comment. If the comment does not resonate with the person right away, such as trying to sell them payday loans, they have to spend more time analyzing the comment to figure out what it is about.

This process is an abstract one which relies on and promotes creative thinking. With so many meanings possible, the listener has to switch on their brain to process the information if they want to understand the real meaning.

Of course, sarcasm does not always require creative thought. Used in the wrong situation, it can shut down a conversation or a relationship. Thus, sarcasm is best used in relationships where the two people know each other well and have a strong relationship built on trust.

The need for a solid foundation is why you are able to respond in a creative and sarcastic manner to your best friend. However, if your boss makes a sarcastic comment, you are more likely to take it seriously and have a difficult time interpreting it. It’s hard to know if your boss means that you did a good job or if they mean that you actually did a terrible job when they used a sarcastic tone.

The word sarcasm comes from the Greek and Latin words “to tear flesh.” Even if it is tempting to use your more creative side, you should always think before unleashing that humorous hostility on another person.

Featured photo credit: Nirvana Melo via flickr.com

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Science Says Eating More Fat Can Be Good for Our Health

Because of the current fitness industry trend of setting unrealistic body image expectations for drug-free men and women, many different myths about nutrition are recognized as healthy truths that help our organs function more efficiently. One of those notorious myths is that fat is unhealthy for you.

Sadly, this is a great lie and people who adapt their diets to this misconception are leading an unhealthy lifestyle—which is exactly the opposite of what they want to achieve. When people hear the word “fat,” they have the wrong idea about what this word actually means—they imagine things like obesity and deep fried foods. However, that’s just what advertising has planted in our minds, and you deserve to know what fat really is.

There Is Not Just One Type Of Fat: The Good and the Bad

First of all, there’s not just one type of fat. Actually, there are four of them: saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and trans fats. Each of these types can be found in a separate group of foods. If you want to avoid bad cholesterol, you should limit your intake of saturated fats that are found in dairy products and meats, and trans fats which are produced artificially and added to a large number of products, and can sometimes be found under the designation “partially hydrogenated oils” or “hydrogenated vegetable oil.”

Polyunsaturated fats are actually oils such as sunflower, corn and walnut, all of which are typically used when cooking. Unfortunately, when exposed to high temperatures, e.g. in a frying pan, these vegetables oils turn to trans fat, and it is this group that increases the risk of getting cancer and many other diseases.

Monounsaturated fats have a completely different effect—they help lower your weight in a healthy way and they can also prolong a person’s life. These fats are highly concentrated in avocado, nuts and olives, and you should add them to your diet and do so on a daily basis. So, these oils are best used as salad dressing, or better yet, you can simply consume olives and different seeds instead of just their oils.

You have probably heard of Omega-3 fatty acids, because there is plenty of information about their benefits all over the Internet—they help your organs fight off various diseases and they help build a strong immune system. They can be found in oily fish like trout, salmon and herring, as well as flaxseed oil.

Our society is practically obsessed with weight issues, and more often than not, people can’t cope with the fact that the functionality of their body decreases with age—which is only natural. This happens because the production of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) significantly decreases when we hit our late twenties, and you can’t expect your body to deal with everything you throw at it as effectively as it did when you were young. So, it’s quite necessary to change your habits if you want to keep your youthful look as long as possible.

It’s Necessary for Your Brain

Considering the fact that your brain is about sixty percent fat, having a low fat diet actually prevents your mind from functioning properly. Basically, when you eat less fats in order to look good, you’re only sacrificing your brain—sounds terrible when you put it this way, doesn’t it?

Vitamins A, D, E and K can’t be transported into your body by water, and they need fats so that your body can absorb them. You should know that these vitamins are quite necessary for your body, if you want to decrease the risk of developing diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

It’s Healthy for Your Skin

The largest organ in the human body that protects all the other organs—skin—is made out of a huge number of cells that have regenerative abilities. As we get older, the power of those abilities significantly decreases. In order to prolong their lifespan (and yours, as a matter of fact), it’s quite necessary to intake healthy fats that fight against dry skin and various other skin diseases.

It Boosts Your Immune System

Preventing your body from feeding on fats directly affects the strength of your immune system. For it to be able to fight off various invaders that attack your organs on a daily basis, you need access to saturated fats, so that you won’t have any troubles with bacteria, fungi and viruses.

I really hope that you now have a different image in your mind when you hear the f-word. Fats are something your organs desperately need in order to function properly. Obviously, your looks are directly connected to your health, so if you take in moderate amounts of healthy fats each day, you’ll look good, as well.

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10 Job Search Tools Every Jobseekers Need To Know About

When it comes to job searches, you rarely hear of job search tools,

On the other hand, there are dozens, if not hundreds of productivity tools.

But that doesn’t mean job search tools don’t exist.

There are, in fact, many available in the online marketplace, specially designed to give you an edge over your competition in the job market.

Here are 10 powerful tools that will help accelerate your job search efforts:

1. Sokanu

Not sure what career paths to focus on? Sokanu can help.

Think of it as a career discovery platform to help you know more about yourself and, thus, what would be the most suitable vocational profile for you.

They do this by having the user undergo an RIASEC tests and match that against the huge career database they have (over 3000 careers).

You definitely can find a career in there that fits your profile.

2. branded.me

Beyond a standardresume, it is also important to have a good online presence. Think of branded.me as a WordPress, but they only do personal websites with which users brand themselves effectively.

To make it really simple, the platform automatically extracts data from your LinkedIN and uses that to populate your personal website.

There are different designs you could choose from to best reflect your personal branding and each of them would look equally beautiful on mobile devices.

It’s the best platform to showcase your work experience, personality, skills and, importantly, your portfolio.

3. Resume Genius

Writing a resume can be ridiculously hard. Enter Resume Genius to make it as simple as putting together a childrens jigsaw puzzle.

On the back end, they have a team of Certified Professional Resume Writers who ensures the information provided are updated and effective with HRs and recruiters.

It begins with their easy-to-use resume builder that walks you through the resume writing process. All you have to do is follow the simple steps to begin professionally creating/formatting your new resume.

Ever have writer’s block on what to write under the Work Experience heading? Resume Genius carries a list of over 30,000 pre-written bullet points which you could simply pick-and-paste into your new resume.

4. Jobscan

Many companies are using the applicant tracking system to filter out job seekers that don’t meet their criteria.

Given that your resume is the only item up for digital review, what you write on it will make it or break it.

Using the same technology that resume screeners are built on, Jobscan analyzes any job description keywords against your resume and tells you what is missing.

It even breaks them up into hard and soft skills, matching not just the existence of a keyword but also the number of occurrences for each of them.

Knowing these keywords allows you to optimize your resume with the right number and type of keywords and ensures you rank high in any applicant tracking system.

5. Jobma

What if you wish or need to go beyond a resume to highlight your qualities? You could check out JobMa, a simple platform that allows you to build and view video resumes online.

Videos make it really easy for hiring managers and recruiters to gauge if you are the right fit for the job. Not only will you be able to articulate your skills and work experience, your personality and creativity will shine through as well.

For inspiration on what makes good video resumes, check out this collection of video resumes reference.

6. JobHero

Job boards have made it so easy to apply for multiple jobs with a single click. And it is even easier to lose track of what you have applied for.

JobHero solves this problem by provding you with both a mobile and web based dashboard so you can track and optimize your job search.

Think of it as your personal Salesforce.com but meant purely for job searching.

Just like a CRM, you can easily save job opportunities from your browser, track your application progress and set reminders and due dates so you know when to follow-up on certain applications.

7. Sidekick

Not sure if your application was received or opened? Sidekick adds a pixel to every outgoing email.

The pixel allows you to know when someone opens your emails and when they opened it.

It keeps tracking as long as the email remains in the recipients inbox.

It’s like having a CCTV behind their workstation.

Scary but effective(for you)!

8. Rapportive

Most interviewers are not professionally trained. If you know what they have in common with you, you have an advantage. Rapportive will show you everything about your contacts.

This is achieved by pulling their social media data from all around the web and presenting it in a simple easy-to-read column. From there, you can see how what they look like and what they do (or like to do).

Review their profiles to see what they have been posting about and impress them with your knowledge of these topics during the interview.

9. Big Interview

So, what if actually you get invited for the interview? Many people screw that up.

Big Interview takes a different approach to interview training. With their software, it actually allows users to practice their interview right in front of the computer.

Your answers are recorded and you can review it to see how to improve them.

The questions and structure were developed by top interview coach Pamela Skillings.

This will help put you at ease and be more confident when tackling the actual interview.

10. Salary Fairy

Salary negotiation is always a tough one. But know that the interview can be best time to ask for more money. Once you are with the company, they will give you 100 reasons they can’t pay you more.

Salary Fairy can help you find out how much you should be making.

This isn’t your typical data collected from a survey.

It is done by creating an anonymous profile of you and reaching out to fellow Salary Fairy members who would be asked to predict your salary.

The reviewers are people in the same field and function as you, so you can be assured of the accuracy of the numbers given.

Well, that raps up the list. We hope these job search tools help you launch a successful career or land that job you have always wanted. Best of luck!

Featured photo credit: kate hiscock via flic.kr

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This Is How You Can Make Your Own Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches

This is the day we have all been waiting for – the day that we could make churro ice cream sandwiches from the comfort of our own home. We use the lovely dough of churros to make cookies and put our favorite ice cream in between. Nothing has ever tasted this sweet! You can only imagine the soft, sweet dough of the churros combined with the fresh, rich flavor of the ice cream. If that does not make you want them yet, this will do the trick.

Lucky for you, it is quiet easy to make these beauties. The recipe is clear and easy to follow. So… what do you need to make the best desert ever? Here is a list of ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• Oil, for frying
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 9 scoops dulce de leche ice cream (or your own favorite)

And here are the steps:

1. Sift together the flour and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon into a medium mixing bowl.
2. Add water, brown sugar, vegetable oil, and salt to a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add in the flour mixture, and stir quickly. The mixture will be thick, but continue to stir it until the flour is incorporated and it forms a rough, shaggy ball of dough.
3. Place the dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed and add eggs one at a time until the dough is combined and smooth.
4. Line two baking sheets with baking paper. Fit a pastry bag with a reasonably small piping tip, and fill the bag with churro dough. Pipe the dough into circles to create cookies. Start at the center of the circle and work outward in a spiral pattern. Place the baking sheets in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to set and chill the dough.
5. Add oil to a large skillet or deep fryer so that it’s at least 2 inches deep. Heat the oil to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with several layers of paper towels. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the granulated sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
6. Fry 2-3 churros at a time, turning them over occasionally so they brown evenly. Transfer them to the paper-towel-lined baking sheet using a slotted spoon or spatula to let the oil drain. Toss them in the cinnamon sugar mixture while they are still warm.
7. Take one churro, top it with a scoop of ice cream, and place another churro on top. Gently press them together and there you have it: homemade churro ice cream sandwiches!

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An Open Letter To Every Person Who Has Lost A Loved One

What a life changing, terrible, excruciating experience it is to lose a loved one. It is a journey we all find ourselves on. One we would never choose.

I lost my father to cancer when he was 45 years old. I had just finished my freshman year of college. It has been almost 5 years since he passed. I cannot imagine how I have gone 5 years without talking to my father. I cannot imagine spending the rest of my life not talking to him. It has not been an easy road since losing him. I have grieved well and not so well. I have at times stuffed it down and tried to be strong. I have also cried and cried and cried. It was messy. It still is. I do not know how to grieve well, as I have made many mistakes, but I do know some important points to know about grief that help during the first few weeks, months and years.

Here are some ways to support yourself during those initial weeks, months and years.

1. Give Yourself Grace

“Grief is a process, not a state.” – Anne Grant

“The thing about grief is that it’s a roller coaster – it’s up, it’s down. The emotions sometimes take over.” – Brent Sexton

Grief is a maze and often it appears the lights are out. To find our way through is a miracle. When you find yourself pulled into this journey, let your first rule be to give yourself grace. Don’t check off the “steps of grief” list or compare your story to another’s. Don’t fret about the fickleness of your emotions. Allow yourself to be. Allow yourself to feel the way you feel. Grief has a mind of its own.

There will be days when you don’t want to do anything. Some days you can just allow yourself to do nothing. Some days you need to force yourself to get out of bed. There is no formula to grief. But the best thing you can do for yourself is to be on your own team. Support yourself by allowing grief to take the reigns and letting go of guilt that comes with not being “okay”.

2. Listen To Advice

“Deep grief sometimes is almost like a specific location, a coordinate on a map of time. When you are standing in that forest of sorrow, you cannot imagine that you could ever find your way to a better place. But if someone can assure you that they themselves have stood in that same place, and now have moved on, sometimes this will bring hope”
― Elizabeth Gilbert

Some of the most wonderful support I had after losing my dad were friends who had also lost a young parent. I lost him during college years, a time when most of my peers were focused on lighter and more positive things. To have a few people who knew this experience, this foreign world I was thrown into, was the most comforting support I needed at that time. The wisdom they passed on to me and the way they knew to love me was just what I needed. When those people come your way, allow them to speak to your grief.

3. Don’t Listen To Advice

“But there is a discomfort that surrounds grief. It makes even the most well-intentioned people unsure of what to say. And so many of the freshly bereaved end up feeling even more alone.” – Meghan O’Rourke

Everyone told me that the holidays would be the hardest. The holidays came and went and I noticed that the pain of loss was no greater and no less than any other day. For many people the first holidays, birthdays and anniversaries without the loved one are incredibly painful, but for me I found other moments without my dad to be more painful than Christmas or my birthday.

Those of us who have lost loved ones will likely have hilarious stories about comments that were made to us during the first few weeks and months. We remind ourselves that the people who have said some shocking statements to us were “well meaning.” Maybe, but they still hurt and surprise. Though our grief may be different, letting some ignorant and ridiculous comments from onlookers roll off our shoulders is something we all have in common.

We are all so uniquely different right? We will grieve that way. Let your grief be your own. Let it be your own story. The advice from others is incredibly helpful at times, but other times it can make you feel as if you are on their agenda. Take what you need and leave the rest behind.

4. Remember Your Person

“Grief and memory go together. After someone dies, that’s what you’re left with. And the memories are so slippery yet so rich.” – Mike Mills

Don’t be afraid to remember your loved one. Spend time talking about them with the people who will cherish those memories with you. The memories you have will be precious to you for the rest of your life. The beautiful thing about memory is that is sustains us. It is never as good as having our loved one right next to us, but it is much better than no trace of our loved one having ever existed. It is good to remember. One day those memories may bring smiles without tears.

5. Befriend Grief

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” – Washington Irving

Grief is a response to the power of love. Grief is the price we pay for deep, wonderful love. And when grief arrives at our doorstep, we must let it in. Unaddressed pain will not heal. While grief can feel excruciating, unbearable, it is imperative that you one day show up and choose to feel it. The only way to the other side is through the pain. One day there will come release and peace. Let your tears and your emotions free. Part of giving ourselves permission and grace to grieve is allowing ourselves to feel what we feel without judging ourselves for the erraticism. It is good to cry.

6. Hold On To Hope

“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.”
― Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

The loss of the loved one will be like a tattoo on your heart. Permanent. Forever. Grief, however, is not forever. Through time and tears, your heart will mend and heal. Do not feel pressure to “move on”, but in time you can and will move forward, forever carrying their memories along with you.

Yes it gets better, and no it doesn’t. My grief is infinitely less painful, hopeless, devastating and breathtaking than at the beginning. It is better because now I have learned how to live without my dad. The pain of his absence is no longer surprising or shocking. When I think of him I smile and laugh. I can do so without crying, and when I do cry my soul is filled with love and joy at those memories. Peace has taken over my heart in the place where grief reigned upon his death. Peace is a fresh wave of relief in the sea of grief. In the same way that grief gets better, it also does not. I will never forget my dad. My heart will always and forever have a bruise, in the sense that if you press on it I will feel pain. I will carry my dad’s life and tragic death with me in my heart. I will forever mourn that my dad will not get to meet his grandchildren. He would have been such a wonderful grandfather. I am so sad for the things he won’t be able to teach them, things he taught me like singing the alphabet backwards or other silly dad things. I wish he could watch hockey with my husband, as both of them are Canadians and could have used a hockey buddy. I mourn his absence, but I would rather carry his memories with me forever no matter what they cost me.

Allow your grief to flow through you. Choose to cry hard and laugh hard, remember hard and love hard. Grief will awaken every part of you, if you allow it. It will be painful, excruciating is the word I use. It will feel like you could die from the pain. Sometimes I was surprised that my ribs didn’t crack. Keep showing up. And eventually, healing will make its way into your heart. Grief is not without hope. Hold on to hope.

Featured photo credit: Thomas8047 via flickr.com

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An Open Letter To My Old Friend: You May Have Forgotten Me, But I Have Not

“I hope you know that no matter what, you have impacted my life in ways you can’t imagine.”

To My Old Friend,

I know that you must be wondering what happened to me after all of these years. Or, maybe I became one of your more far-distant memories, the kind of memory you can’t recall on your own because you don’t want to. The kind of memory that sneaks up on you in the middle of the day when you are at the mall or when you’re trying to decide if you should dump the guy your with and have no one to call. I hope you have new friends that are better able to take my place. I made mistakes with you that I will regret forever.

While I can’t unwind time and correct those choices, I can send you this letter as a way of completing the circle, a circle that represents a friendship that, to this day, serves as a template for every single one of my friendships I’ve had since you.

No once since you can compare. No one since you has been as committed as you were to me and to my plans for the future. Instead of embracing your help and your advice, I battled you and feared you. I couldn’t accept your advice because I didn’t really believe in myself. You believed in me when I couldn’t. I abandoned you that one summer. I turned my back on you because I couldn’t face the hard work I would need to do in order to get my life back together. Up until then, you encouraged me to fight the good fight and offered to be my partner on my journey toward self-awareness. I wasn’t ready. I felt I had to go that path alone and it has been a lonely one.

Today, I have fought tooth and nail to make progress in what I now know is my purpose. I couldn’t have done that without the seed you planted with me very early on. I will forever be grateful for the compass you let me borrow so long ago. Without you really knowing, I have taken you along with me every step of the way. I miss you. I miss your laughter and the nights where it was just you, me, and the trees. I will never forget the time you came to me for advice. The night when you had nowhere to go. I didn’t either. I remember feeling like I didn’t want to burden you and those gorgeous wings of yours. I set you free from me.

Please know that I would give anything to correct my damage with you and that I am genuinely in a better place to appreciate all that you have to offer a girl like me. I can do that because I believe in myself now and I finally believe that I am worthy of a friendship like the one we had once upon a time. My door is always open to you, for you, in whatever way you might ever need me.

Love, Cherry Tigris

To Everyone Else I Might Have Fallen Out of Touch With Over the Years

I hope this letter touches you in much the same way I hope it will touch my dearest friend. No matter what, we all impact each other’s lives in a vast myriad of ways. We all own our own part of responsibility in the holding on and letting go necessary in our complicated lives. Sometimes, there is no identifiable reason for why we let go. I have spent a lifetime learning to not take these things too personally.

When Writing a Love Letter to Your Long-Lost Friend:

Don’t take their lack of communication over the years with you personally, and be willing to make amends should you have something you feel you need to apologize for.

The quality of our character is dependent on our ability to come back to the table when an apology needs to be made. Or, maybe we just miss someone, and that special someone isn’t feeling so special about themselves anymore. When we summon the courage to reach out and make amends, only positive things can be gained out of the exchange. It is my sincere hope that a few of you will touch someone else’s lives today by writing your own unique love letter to a long-lost friend.

Featured photo credit: Paranamir via flickr.com

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