Problem: Article: In order to be more confident, you will have to address some of your negative thoughts and beliefs. Keep a journal handy so that you can write down any negative thoughts and beliefs that enter your head throughout the day. Then, look over what you have written and try to determine where the thought or belief is coming from. What situations or people might be causing you to have these types of thoughts and beliefs? Many people have triggers that affect their confidence in negative ways. Try to identify the situations and places that seem to have a negative effect on how you feel about yourself. Being aware of these situations may help you to better address the way that they make you feel. For example, you may notice your confidence takes a blow when you go to the gym. Try to think about what it is about this situation that makes you self-conscious and make adjustments to help improve your self-confidence. Would you feel better if you wore different clothes? Used a different machine? Or went to the gym during a time when it is less crowded? Criticism from a friend or family member can also have a negative effect on your confidence. If you think that a friend or family member may be affecting your ability to be confident, you will need to find a way to deal with that person. Exercising, eating well, and getting plenty of rest can all have an impact on how you feel about yourself. If you do not take good care of yourself, your mind may be getting the idea that you do not value yourself. Send positive signals to your mind by taking care of your physical needs and staying healthy. Having a pleasing environment can help to make people feel more confident. If your home is not clean and inviting, it may be affecting the way that you feel about yourself. Do your best to keep your home (or at least your room) clean and inviting. Place meaningful objects around to help make it feel special and inviting.
Summary: Build awareness of your negative thoughts and beliefs. Identify situations that affect your confidence. Determine if other people may be contributing to your confidence levels. Consider your lifestyle. Consider your environment.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: A formal letter sent in the mail from an organization to an individual is often formal and distant because of the mode of communication. However, an email, like a blog, is less formal in its tone. Use second person "you" when addressing the reader. Use familiar expressions to help the reader relate to you, like "It cost an arm and a leg," or "He was knee-high to a grasshopper." Use direct, honest, open language when addressing the reader so that they feel connected and see you as authentic. Use basic fonts and streamline the visual appeal of the email. Don't try to use a fancy, cursive fontjust a basic serif font will do. And don't use two different fonts for the headings and text. Simply bolding or making some text larger than others will emphasize points just fine. Your email should also be easy to read from a language standpoint your writing should be at an 8th-grade reading level. Don't get too wordy or complicated. Your writing should be clear, mistake-free (no grammar or spelling mistakes), and easy to read. If you want to make sure that your emails are being opened, or determine what kind of people read your emails more than others, you don't have to wait for replies or donations. If you sign up for an email service like MailChimp, you can measure a whole list of different metrics each time you send an email in order to tailor your emails to your actual readers. You can review metrics like click-through rates, open rates, and read reports. Open rates are especially helpful for determining what subject lines are popular, increasing how many people read your emails. Another reason an email service is helpful is if you regularly send mass emails asking for donations, your email provider may become suspicious, even cutting you off as a suspected spammer. It also takes a lot of time to compile lists, break down your send-to list to fit the requirements of your email account (most email providers set a limit of around 50 recipients per email), responding to individuals, and dealing with emails that come back from inactive email addresses. Regularly review your email list to make sure you are sending it to people who are more likely to read it, especially ensuring that people who have expressed interest are on it. Your metrics will improve this way, and you will waste less time. Use a different tone with different groups of donors. For example, if you have a group of people who regularly respond to your emails, send them an email with a personal tone. Compile another list of readers you know don't usually open your emails with a less formal tone. And have an email with an explanatory tone for first-time emails. With an email service provider, you can also customize individual emails with the names of your addressees, like "Dear Henry." To keep your audience engaged, you may want to provide them with encouraging data showing them how their money worked or is going to work. This information can go in the opening paragraph or the call to action, or both. People like to give when they know they are already doing good things. Don't forget to send personal thank-yous to donors after you receive a donation. This is a simple act that can guarantee a repeat donation in the future. You want to send this email as promptly as possible; look at it as a type of receipt. If you get a large amount of donors each month, you may want to consider creating a template so that you can paste it into an email draft and quickly customize it.

SUMMARY: Keep the tone more casual than a letter. Make words easy to read. Sign up for an email service. Make sure your list cares about your cause. Personalize by segmenting. Include data that supports your fundraising. Say thank you after receiving a donation.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: If you're hunting on a small body of water where it's not too windy, choose a duck call that isn't too loud, or you'll scare the ducks. A double-reeded wooden call is perfect for the job. On large bodies of water or when it's windy, you need a loud duck call. An acrylic call would be more appropriate. If you only have one call, vary your calls to compensate. Remember: accuracy is the most important thing. Watch the ducks for reactions to your calls. Calls are to be employed when you've spotted a group of ducks flying overhead and you want to attract them to land as close as possible to your position. Calls are most effective when they're used sparingly, and they must be done correctly if you hope to fool the ducks. Watch the ducks for their reaction to your calls. If you see them flying over-head and change their direction to your position, don't keep skronking away at full-tilt and risk ruining your cover. Wait for them and see what they do. If you're calling more than once in 30 seconds, you're probably calling too much. If you're listening to Waylon on the portable radio super-loud, your whistles will make poor accompaniment. If you're hunting with decoys and the ducks are clearly attracted to them, don't risk ruining a good opportunity by blowing your lungs out. Ducks will often swoop around, dive, leave, come back and land several times before they decide to jump in front of your sights. Be consistent, avoid frustration, and wait. Listen to commercial CDs of duck calls. Listen and practice at home or in the car. Also spend time listening to real ducks in the wild. While you're calling, you should be actively listening to the sounds the real ducks are making so you can imitate them in response. Wooden duck calls especially will need drying out and wiping down after use, so the wood finish won't wear and crack. Unscrew the reeds and check to make sure they haven't broken or chipped, which will affect the sound of your calls. If they have, replace them. Before you remove the reeds, use a felt-tip pen to mark how far down the reeds are screwed into the call so you can replace them at the same depth. Misaligning the reeds will result in a changed tone and make it difficult to reproduce your calls.
Summary:
Use the appropriate call for the occasion. Call sparingly. Eliminate other distracting sounds while you're hunting. Don't call if the ducks seem attracted to your decoys. Be patient. Practice. Clean and tune your duck call after using it.