10 Things You Can do Right Now to Feel Great

Sometimes we allow bad thoughts or circumstances to get the better of us, often with out even realising it. It can be easy to look ahead and pine for where we hope to be or look back at the way things were. Unfortunately both of these common mistakes take us out of the moment which is all we can truly control.

The NZ Best: Blog team have compiled their top ten list of simple things you can do right now to get out of a funk and back into a healthy, "here and now" frame of mind.

NOTE: Obviously it can be good to look behind and ahead constructively (reflection & goal setting), this is about embracing the moment, here and now.
CONCERNING DEPRESSION: If you are actually depressed and things that normally make you happy don't, see your doctor.

1. Breathe

Breathing keeps us alive, if we stop we die. So why not be a little bit more conscious of it? Taking a few moments to focus on breathing in deeply and exhaling slowly is a great way to recenter yourself, get back in touch with "you" and regain focus on the here and now.

2. Drink water

We are water and any excuse for not drinking more of it, is quite frankly folly epitomized. Drink water everyday, all day and right now to feel great.

3. Smile

When you smile, you send a message to yourself and anyone around you that this moment comes with a little bit of joy. It's no secret that smiling, much like yawning, is contagious. If you're finding it hard to turn that frown upside down, try using your powerful brain to smile at the fact you don't want to smile.

4. Move

Especially good if you're stuck behind a desk eight hours a day. Stand up, stretch, bend, shake, move around, take the stairs. If you feel stuck in a bad mood try moving around, it's good for you.

5. Call a friend

It feels good making other people feel good. Have you ever had an urge to just call someone for no reason other than to chat? Have you ever received a call from someone that seemed a bit weird or pointless but which left you feeling, kind of nice? Txt messages aren't the same as a call. Pick up your phone and call a mate.

6. Say something positive

The mind is constantly bombarded with thought. Thoughts are powerful but words are the business. It's a lot easier to control what comes out of your mouth than it is to control what comes into your head. Speaking positively is 100% more likely to make you feel good than if you don't.

7. Sing

If you can't sing, sing anyway. Whistle a tune, tap your feet, click your fingers and sing! In the shower, in the car, whenever you get a chance. Singing is good for the soul, plain and simple. Do it.

8. Bite less, chew more

Food is amazing, at least it should be. Try your best to take your time when you eat. Measured mastication is better for your digestive system and gives you more time to appreciate each mouthful. Yummy, yummy!

9. Laugh

How good does it feel to have a big laugh? You know, the type where you end up crying and your ribs hurt and you can't stop. You can bet your bottom dollar that what scientists learn about laughter over the next century is going to blow our minds. Always be ready to laugh and actively seek out funny situations.

10. Dance

Contrary to popular New Zealand belief, alcohol, drugs and big bass are not actually required to engage in this ancient form of human expression. If you look closely, you will see that all human children capable of movement will naturally dance. If you want to feel great, dance every chance you get.

10 Celebrities that Look like Animals.

We are all a part of this wonderful world and isn't it amazing how such bizarre synchronicity occurs in nature?

The NZ Best: Blog Team have saved you the trouble of finding all the best synchronizations between some of our favourite human friends and some of our most cherished animal friends. Please enjoy.

1.Michael Cera vs. Sloth

2. Kim Kardashian vs. Orca

3. Mark Zukerberg vs. Sea Lion

4. Vladimir Putin vs. Dog

5. Ron Perlman vs. Boxer

6. Taylor Lautner vs. Alpaca

7. Gordan Ramsay vs. Shar Pei

8. Victoria Beckham vs. Falcor

9. Haley Joel Osment vs. Tabby Pussy

9. Meryl Streep vs. Snowy Owl

17 Beautiful Images You Have to See.

A selection of gorgeous images from around the world.

OWNERSHIP: Please right-click on any image and search in Google to locate the photographer. 

1. Roller coaster in nature

2. IO in front of it's planet Jupiter

3. Dubai bathed in sunlight

4. Volcano erupts in Chile

5. Kyoto bamboo forest

7. Austrian castle

8. Iguazu Falls

9. Lengkuas Island, Indonesia

10. Space from the Himalayas 

11. Waterfalls at Plitvicka Jezera, Croatia

12. Wildfire

13. Buddhist Monks

14. Tuscan Morning

15. Ancient Armenian Monastery

16. World's largest statue of Ghenghis Kahn, Mongolia 

17. Château de Chillon, Switzerland

18. Kalyazin, Russia

19. Mount Fuji from the village of Saiko.

20. Albion Falls, Canada

21. Jomy's Valley (Lewis Pass) South Island, New Zealand

10 Nostalgic Cartoons from the 90's.

TVNZ, Murica and Milk & Cookies...

Cartoons. Oh the comfort! Every morning with a bowl of cereal or plate of toast, kids across New Zealand knew that they could sit down in front of their television and all of life's troubles would simply evaporate into thin air. Even the ads were amazing; new LEGO, Super soakers, the latest RC car, Barbie - it didn't matter, cartoons were often a child's special time and lucky ol' 90's kids really got the best of the best.

In NZ, shows always arrived a lot later than when they first screened in the US so when we say '90's' we're talking later than Heman, Thundercats and Jem & The Holograms but earlier than Johnny Bravo, Recess and Hey Arnold. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: Some kids grew up without TV and watching cartoons is not necessarily the most healthy thing children could be doing.

1. Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990)

Magic rings, saving the world from pollution and corporate greed and an outro song Freddy Mercury could just about be proud of!! Captain Planet was an institution that will live on in the hearts of 90's kids forever.

"We're the Planeteers, you can be one too, coz saving our planet is the thing to do. Looting and polluting are not the way, here's what Captain Planet has to say: "The Power is Yours!"

2. Samurai Pizza Cats (1991) 

Basically this show represents an analogue internet. Ninjas. Pizza. Cats. Literally launching from their base out of a giant cannon was amazing and what a treat it was whenever they had to call for reinforcements.

3. James Bond Jr. (1991)

There were two stand out features in this show. Firstly, the watch. Bond's watch could get him out of more situations than Macgyver could shake a roll of duct tape at. Secondly, he always 'got the girl', in a cartoon kind of way. 90's brilliance.

4. Doug (1991)

Doug. What a guy. What a delightfully average, run-of-the-mill guy. Even the school bully was cooler than Doug but we loved him anyway. Boy oh boy did we love him, I'm not sure why, but we did.

5. The Adventures of Tin Tin (1991)

Adventure and mystery epitomized (as far as cartoons go). The team behind this production really cared about making a great show. There was such a strong sense of atmosphere and intensity to each episode which always made for one hell of an emotionally fueled prepubescent trip.

6. Conan the Adventurer (1992)

Magic metal sourced from meteors used to forge tools and weapons for the race of man later became a vital tool to slay the evil Serpent Men who sought to free their Deity from the Abyss. Fantasy cartoons were rare during this era and it's fair to assume fans of this show became avid Dungeons & Dragons players.

7. Batman (1992)

Genuinely dark and gritty this series did a phenomenal job at truly capturing the tortured essence of Bruce Wayne and his shadowy alter ego. Gotham City felt like a big, menacing, hopeless place to be without the vengeful presence of our troubled hero.

8. Animaniacs (1993)

This show above all else was just plain funny. Like, it was REALLY funny as a kid. In fact, on reflection, Steve Spielberg was a bit ahead of his time. It's a crying shame that kids these days don't have TV shows like this to watch. Oh the laughs.

9. Rugrats (1991)

This show always had a bizarre appeal, so much so it's hard to wrap one's head around. It was fun but somewhat melancholic. Perhaps it was the confinement and desperation to escape which tapped into the concept of rebellion and adventure... There is however an interesting theory about Rugrats in which all the children are figments of Angelicas imagination. It's dark, harrowing and although it's been "proven false" a fun idea non the less. Check out the conspiracy here.

10. Gargoyles (1994)

This cartoon dabbled with gothic, steam punk, sci fi and contemporary themes in what was actually a very well rounded and exciting story line. Character development was a strong aspect of this show too and viewers who lasted more than a couple of episodes likely turned into emotionally invested lifetime fans.

10. Conclusion

Well wasn't that a fun trip down memory lane. I bet we missed out lots of your favorite cartoons but that's okay because you can comment below or on Facebook.

Lots of love

The NZ Best Team. 

7 Cringe-worthy Facebook Behaviors

Social media is an incredible tool. It unites people from all walks of life.
Unfortunately there are a whole lot of dummies who contribute nothing but rubbish.

The NZ Best: Blog team have compiled these for your benefit. (We're all guilty)

1. Sharing Clickbait

'Clickbait' refers to those catchy looking video links with dramatic headlines like: "Fat kid eats too much cake, you'll never believe what happens next!" It can be funny but really it's just modern spam.

If the content is worth sharing go direct to YouTube and copy & paste the link. This kind of behaviour makes you better at computers and keeps cyberspace tidy.

2. Allowing Games to SPAM your Contacts.

This one is really simple. If you play games on Facebook don't let anyone else know about it. Set your applications to private and NEVER let an app post on your behalf.



Just change the permission settings of your apps. This kind of behaviour is not clever or tricky, it's BHS (basic human stuff).

3. Starting a conversation on somebody's new profile pic.

When somebody changes their profile picture just let them have their moment.
If you want to chat, then send them a private message.



If you're really that keen to catch up with someone, call them, don't wait to be reminded they exist because they popped up on your screen.

5. Sharing an article without confirming the source.

Along with the sum of all human knowledge, the internet also holds the sum of all human BS. Before you post an article, read it, cross reference it and Google the title.

6. Gloating about your own travels on other people's travel pics.

This isn't just Facebook etiquette, it's real life etiquette. Let people have there moment. You may have been to Paris too but now it's your friends turn.

Do yourself and the rest of the planet a favor, never, ever be this person.

7. Multiple selfies at the same time/location .

Selfies are a fun way to ensure you are looking your best while updating your friends on where you're at.
Don't ruin the illusion by posting multiple attempts of the same selfie.

Be careful not to get addicted to selfies like this guy either.

A smart Internet is a good Internet.

The Internet is meant to be crazy and outlandish, full of absolute nutbars creating ridiculous nonsense. That chaos is part of it's beauty. Being a cringe-worthy dummy on the other hand slows the whole team down. Let's work together to ensure a greater internet together.

Overview

Some of my earliest memories are of waking up from dreams. It was always a bizarre and overwhelming experience in that I would literally see my dream-self re-entering my physical self from a third person perspective. It was as if my conscious awareness would observe this scene from outside and above my home, tracking my dream-self as it levitated down through the roof of my house into my bedroom to reunite with my body. Simultaneously my consciousness recognized that I was in fact in bed waking up. In those reoccurring moments of my early childhood I experienced myself compartmentalized into three distinct facets on a fairly regular basis.

This is the debut post on this blog and also marks the first time in twenty eight years that I have properly begun to explore my story, belief systems and attitudes in a measured manner.

As a boy I dreamed of flying aircraft. Planes, helicopters, hot air balloons, spaceships, if it could fly I would dream about it. Nowadays, whenever I'm traveling long distances on the road I daydream about how liberating it would be if I could simply fly to my destination.  

I was also a big fan of climbing trees. I lived across the road from a high-school where the boundary was dotted with thick, tall evergreens that had wonderfully low hanging branches which made them a joy to scramble up. From the top of those trees I could see right across the town of Motueka, all the way to the river and foothills below Brown Acres and then around to the beach and out across Tasman Bay.

As a child the Cross Section picture books were the last visual series I held onto before moving into young adult fiction and short novels. The details on a big castle or huge ship enthralled me and the Star Wars one is fantastic!

There's always been something about a birds-eye-view that has struck a chord with me. It is very common for me to imagine looking down at myself from a floating vantage point, especially while I'm stationary, perhaps waiting in the car or when I'm early for a meeting. There's something in this big-picture perspective that I found fascinating and in a sense, grounding and comforting.

I can only imagine what the view must do to the mind from space. Below is a trailer for an upcoming film that I think is going to be very important. The team that are working on this production have also created a short film in preparation for the feature called Overview. The short looks specifically at the life changing experience that Astronauts report on after seeing the planet from above. Along with the wisdom of many indigenous elders and other thought leaders Planetary will examine the way in which we are all connected.



Everyday I learn more about just how much I don't know and everyday I am blown away by the beauty and productivity of the people pushing their own storytelling limits.

Welcome to my new storytelling corner.