Q: Negative thoughts do nothing to improve your self-image. Spend a day or two actively reflecting upon how often you think about your body. How often do you think or say something negative about your body? How often do you have positive thoughts? Chances are, you are far more critical than positive. Consider keeping a tally in a journal, note-pad, or on your phone for this task. Carry a notebook with you when possible and quickly jot down each negative thought that comes up. Include whether or not the negative thought was related to the way you might have looked. At the end of the day, you will likely be amazed at how much more negative you are throughout at single day than you realized. While this may be difficult in the beginning, it's an important part of accepting your body. As soon as you notice yourself starting to have a negative thought, replace it with something positive about yourself. Give yourself time to get into the habit of thinking positively. Try starting each day by thinking a few positive thoughts. Remind yourself of these thoughts throughout the day when you start feeling critical of yourself. For example, you might say, "I really like the way this new haircut makes me feel." Try to cut back or stop engaging with television shows, movies, magazines, or blogs that present an unrealistic or negative depiction of the body. Remind yourself that a majority of photos circulating the internet and magazine subscriptions have been altered to make the models pictured appear more in line with standard notions of beauty and sexuality. Psychologists are worried that with this trend's increase over the last 20 years, such images are creating unrealistic ideals regarding what a body should look like. Don't allow yourself to be sucked in by these empty caricatures with no reference in the real world. Many CBT techniques used by psychologists focus on the present and short-term using goals as therapy. While it's best to see a therapist for CBT, you can begin to practice it on your own. When you notice a negative thought about yourself surface, stop yourself, take a deep breath, and try to locate the evidence for your belief. Has anyone actually told you this aspect of your body was flawed? If so, was the person just trying to hurt you, or maybe making a joke? Psychologists believe that, in many cases, if you have an unrealistic expectation of how you should look, you'll have a distorted body image. It's important to notice when these unrealistic expectations show up in your thought processes, so that you can hopefully challenge these ideals with concrete information. You are already working on being kinder to yourself and focusing on the positive aspects of yourself, but you also need to assess the other people in your life. Do you get criticism from your friends and family? Do they tell you that you need to lose weight, dress differently, or change your hair? If so, it's important that you find ways to address these negative influences. Keep in mind that you probably won't be able to cut out your close friends and family in the same way that you can stop buying Vogue or watching America's Next Top Model. Even so, if they body-shame you or are overly harsh and critical, you need to be willing to have a respectful, yet firm discussion with them about how their words or behaviors hurt you. As you try out new activities, talk to people you might typically ignore or shy away from. Talking to strangers might feel uncomfortable at first, but the more you do it the easier and better it will get. No matter how uncomfortable you might feel at first, keep in mind that isolating yourself from other people can be even worse, with some research suggesting it can be just as deadly in the long run as obesity. It is important to become more comfortable engaging with new people, especially if the people you are currently around aren't supportive of your body-image or aren't positive influences. Brain research suggests that who people love is highly influenced by their brain chemistry, which means you might not always fall in love with the kind of person you imagined for yourself. This can also be true for building close friendships. It's important to surround yourself with people who support you and encourage your self-discovery. Simply put, it will be much easier to accept your body and challenge any unrealistic ideals you might have if you're surrounded by people that accept you and your discoveries.
A: Realize how much time you devote to negative thoughts. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones. Limit your exposure to negative media images. Find a therapist who uses Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Handle the negative people in your life. Mix in different social groups.

Q: While the vehicle is still on the ground, look underneath the car, on the bottom of the steering knuckle attached to the wheel. The most common indicator is a grease fitting that doubles as a wear indicator. That fitting, or boss, will stick out of the bottom of the joint's housing by about half an inch (1.25 centimeters). As it wears the boss will recede into the housing. As long as the boss protrudes out, the joint should be fine. Once the boss is flush with the housing or has receded even further, you'll need to replace the ball joint. This applies to older cars. Most new cars do not have wear indicators, or a grease fitting. If you can't find a wear indicator, or if the indicator doesn't give you a clear enough sign, raise up the car to inspect the joint more thoroughly. To check a loaded lower ball joint, the manufacturer will recommend that you place a jack under the lower control arm of the front wheel, as close to the ball joint as you can, then raise the vehicle until the wheel leaves the ground. If you don't do this, tension will still be on the ball joint when you jack up the car, making it difficult to move and look for play on the joint. Make sure there is no compression in the suspension when you check the ball joint. If you have control arms of unequal lengths, make sure the upper bump stop doesn't touch the control arm. Make sure your car is jacked securely. The vehicle must be on frame stands when jacked up and you are working on the vehicle. Move dial indicator to the side of the nut or to the side of the spindle and move the wheel in and out to check radial wear. For vertical play, place the dial indicator against the steering knuckle stud nut or the ball joint housing, depending on the manufacturer. Grab the wheel at the top and bottom (12 and 6 o'clock) to lift up and pull down. Move the dial gauge to the side of the nut and grab the tire at the bottom and move it in and out to check radial play of the joint. Read the dial indicator and check against the manufacturer's specifications. If the movement is beyond specifications, replace the ball joint. Experienced mechanics will also just check play by the feel, listening closely for any clicking or easy motion that suggests the ball joint is worn out. Alternatively, you could have a helper look closely at the joint itself to see if it appears loose as you move it.
A:
Look for a wear indicator. Raise the front end of the car. Rock the wheels and check for play.