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Self-knowledge is an important key towards making your life good, and the only way to acquire self-knowledge is to practice honesty. It may be easier for you to acknowledge your character strengths, or it may be easier for you to admit your character defects. Either way, it will be essential for you to understand both if you are to live well within yourself. When something is going wrong, look to your part. Avoid shifting the blame to others. Other people won't like it, and you won't learn anything. Talk to people you trust about your situation. Many times, a good friend will have insights into your motives that you yourself cannot discern. What do you want from your life? What are you doing to achieve what you want? Make a list of qualities you would like to emulate in your life. Then, make a list of ways you can practice using these qualities in your daily life. Aristotle wrote, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not a virtue, but a habit."If you want to be a kind person, do kind things. Learning to be honest about what you want is a difficult practice. Many people prevent themselves from having a good life by overemphasizing the things that they want but don't feel they can have because of other life circumstances - such as finances, family obligations, economic pressures, etc. This only perpetuates the myth that the person is a victim, a belief that is corrosive to happiness at all levels. If you don't know the big things of what you want out of life, start with smaller choices. Developing a sense of control and power over what you have in your life is essential to having a good life. Knowing the situations that you're afraid of will allow you to better see how these fears are constraining your life in ways that may not be immediately apparent. For instance, a fear of being called stupid may mean that you're not speaking up for yourself in your workplace, thus not being considered for a promotion. Seeing your fears in writing will sometimes help you realize how useless it is to worry about things that aren't within your control. Sometimes a fear will be based in circumstances that are no longer present. Many people develop fears in childhood, when much was beyond their conscious control. But as an adult, the person has more autonomy and more power over their choices. By becoming more aware of the fears that drive your behavior, you can make more conscious decisions about the actions you take. No one is perfect. We all have short-comings, we all make mistakes and do things we'd rather not do. Mark Twain said, "A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval." A good life isn't a result of making perfect choices, but of accepting the reality of who we are, including our limitations. Self-acceptance is a discipline of honesty. It means that the person isn't denying their actions or inactions, or their consequences. Self-acceptance is a practice of self-care. Much like any other expression of self-care, accepting yourself is a practice that must be consciously learned, and relearned as your characteristics change over time. To focus on the present, a practice sometimes called mindfulness, is a discipline that research studies have proven directly increase one's quality of life. Notice when you are worried about the future, or regretting the past. Turn your attention to your breath. Count 10 breaths. Even as simple an exercise in mindfulness as this one can start to show positive effects in your life, when practiced over time. Cultivate daily habits, rather than setting distant goals. For instance, include exercise every day, rather than deciding to complete a triathlon in a month's time. Rather than deciding to lose 20 pounds, make a decision to eat healthily today. If you do decide to set a goal, break it down into manageable daily decisions.

summary: Practice honesty within yourself. Examine your desires. List your fears. Cultivate self-acceptance. Practice mindfulness.

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When you buy a flat iron, check the label. Only purchase one that reads "100% ceramic." While these products cost more, the ceramic coating won't wear off over time. This coating helps protect your hair against the heat, so you definitely don't want to buy a cheap flat iron with a coating that'll wear out after a few uses. Basic ceramic flat irons shouldn't cost much more than $20-$40 USD. Professional-grade straighteners, however, can cost as much as $80-$100 USD. Purchase a deep conditioner from your local pharmacy or make your own. Deep condition at least once a week if you're flat ironing your hair. If you can do it every 3 or 4 days, that's even better! Heat the conditioner up by placing it in a hot water bath before applying. Then, leave the conditioner in for about 15-30 minutes under a shower cap. Finally, rinse it out in the shower. Homemade deep conditioner recipes usually contain bananas, avocados, honey, and olive or coconut oil. These natural products will work as well as the purchased version, but they can be messy to create and store. To make a hot water bath for your deep conditioner, boil water in a saucepan. Once the water's boiling, remove the saucepan from the heat and place your deep conditioner in the pot. Use tongs to remove the conditioner after 5 to 10 minutes. To amp up your treatment, add steam! Heat up a damp towel for about 2 minutes in the microwave and place it on your head in between 2 layers of shower caps. The heat will help the conditioner really get into your hair and do its great work! If you rush through the straightening process and try to straighten big chunks of hair, you may need to apply the flat iron to the same section of hair multiple times to get your desired look. This increased heat exposure can damage your hair. Make sure to take your time and complete only one pass with the flat iron over each small section of hair. Go for a wavy look instead by flat ironing each section once without trying to make your hair completely straight. Once you're done, run your fingers through your hair. This will give you added volume while also causing less heat damage. If you'd like, you can even put a product in your hair that's designed to make waves. Usually, these serums are meant to be applied right after you finish flat ironing. Use a silk or satin wrap to keep your hair straight overnight. These materials should minimize any nighttime frizziness as well. In the morning, just take off the wrap and shake out your hair. You may even get a little natural wave -- embrace it! Heat will slowly but surely cause your natural hair to dry out and become brittle. It can also ruin your curl pattern, making it difficult to get your curls to bounce back. The most effective way to protect your hair over the long term is to limit your hair's exposure to heat. There are lots of signs you can watch out for to keep tabs on your hair's health. If you're damaging your hair, you may need to adjust your styling habits. It's possible that your hair can only handle being straightened a few times per year (rather than once or twice each month). Look out for the following: Frizzy hair that's become more difficult to untangle. Split ends. Locks that have lost their curl. Strands that feel bumpy to the touch.
summary: Choose a high-quality ceramic flat iron. Deep condition your hair weekly. Don't flat iron the same section multiple times. Avoid going bone straight if you have very curly hair. Wrap your straightened hair at night to avoid morning touch-ups. Don't straighten natural hair more than a few times a month. Cut back on straightening if you see heat damage.