INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you are feeling your emotions but don't know or understand how to express them, study TV and movie actors. These are people who are trained to show emotions. They will exaggerate each emotion, which will give you a chance to understand the outward expressions associated with each emotion. The Notebook, Marley and Me, The Shawshank Redemption, Blood Diamond, and The Pursuit of Happiness are good movies with actors expressing a range of emotions. Writing down your emotions can help you become aware of them. Indicate how your body felt and how you outwardly expressed each emotion. For example, "I felt happy today after talking with my wife. To express my happiness, I smiled and gave her a hug". Writing your emotions and outward responses can act as a 'study sheet' that you can review when you are having an especially difficult time expressing your emotions. Think about how you might react to events happening in your future, and brainstorm alternative emotional responses. For example, if you know you are going to a wedding, you might initially feel dread or stressed about meeting new people. But, consider other emotional responses, such as happiness for the couple's new life and the opportunity to meet new people. Predicting how you will feel will help you be prepared to handle each emotion. If you prepare for emotional responses, you become aware of them as they happen. Empathy is critical because it allows you to be sensitive towards other's feelings and emotions. Once you can feel for someone else, you can turn inwards, and express your own emotions. Listen to people, and really try to make a connection with them. Use your imagination to think about what someone else has been through and how they may have felt. Volunteer at a homeless shelter, elderly home, or food bank and talk with people who have been through many struggles in their life. Take note of how they express their emotions, and keep that in mind when the time comes to express your own. Read a book and imagine yourself in someone else's situation. Grab a book you have read before or have been meaning to read. Pick one or two characters that you especially like, and try to put yourself in their shoes. Imagine what each character is going through, and try to imagine how they feel. Stand in front of a mirror with a list of emotions and practice making facial expressions for each one. Learn how the muscles around your face, eyes, and mouth move for each expression. Practice moving your hands in appropriate places for each emotion. For example, when you are practicing surprise, your eyes should widen and place your hand over your open mouth.

SUMMARY: Watch dramatic movies and TV shows and take note of the emotions. Write down your emotional responses. Predict how you will feel in upcoming situations. Develop empathy. Practice showing emotions in a mirror to yourself.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Fill up a glass about halfway with warm water and then add the same amount of a gentle dish detergent. Then drop in about a capful of ordinary household bleach and stir. You can substitute a number of leather-safe solvents for this solution. Some choices include hairspray, rubbing alcohol, and white vinegar. This method works best for removing autographs, scuff marks, and grass stains. Dip the tip of the cotton swab into your bleach solution and squeeze the excess off with a paper towel or old rag. You just want enough to lightly moisten the surface of the ball. You can also use an old tooth brush or any other type of scrubbing tool able to hold water. Rub the end of the cotton swab with bleach on it back and forth over the surface of the ball. Do this a few times until you see the stain lift away. Be careful to avoid contact with the seams or any of the stamps. If the bleach touches the red stitches on the seams, it will discolor them. The solution will also remove any stamps you scrub over. Moisten a towel or a cotton ball with clean tap water. Either wipe down your entire ball or just go over the spot you bleached. Do this a few times. It's important to remove all residual cleaning solution. If you've significantly wetted your baseball, do not allow it to air dry. Air drying can cause leather to warp and crack. Instead, rub the baseball with a clean, dry towel.

SUMMARY: Make a solution of dilute bleach and dish detergent. Dampen a cotton swab with bleach. Wipe the damp cotton swab over the stain. Wipe the bleach off of your ball. Towel your baseball dry.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Send in the donations you received. You've done a great and challenging job for a good charity. If the donations you raise reach a certain threshold, World Vision will present you with a "thank you" gift.

SUMMARY: Find your group leader or (if you signed up on the Internet), go through the World Vision website. Congratulate yourself.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Many martial arts studios and other athletic facilities will offer one free class, which is an excellent way to determine if a style feels right to you. The best styles, especially for beginners, are simply those that feel the most natural to perform. Sometimes all you need to discover your style is another set of eyes. A trainer, who has seen and worked with many styles, is invaluable if you plan on pushing your fighting further than a casual hobby. A good trainer is one you feel comfortable with, but who still pushes you to improve and work harder. If you're intimidated about working one-on-one, join a gym in your chosen discipline (boxing, MMA, karate, etc.). The group setting is a great place to start working with less pressure. The technique is the art of getting the most speed and power out of your body with the least effort. It requires hours of slower, concentrated practice punching, kicking, and dodging so that the motion is completely natural when you need it in a fight. Though sparring is crucial to develop a style, technical exercises are needed to make your style sing. Try out: Speed-bag drills Punching bag workouts Shadow-boxing (acting out a fight, in full speed, by yourself). Target practice (when a coach or friend holds up pads to hit). The type of workout will obviously change depending on the fighting discipline. However, fighting is always a full body sport. A strong physical base is needed to build your style upon; you'll never discover your style if you're too tired or weak to fight effectively. No matter how you're fighting, the following exercises are a great place to start: 3-4 days a week of cardio (running, biking, swimming, etc.) Daily push-ups, pull-ups, and crunches. Daily stretching for flexibility (Yoga and aerobics are good options) Plyometrics and jump rope for agility Interval training for strength and explosiveness. Your style should feel fluid and easy. This isn't to say that you shouldn't practice difficult moves. It means that your body knows itself best. If you struggle every day to get a long, high kick to land, then you're not necessarily a long-range kicker. But if you can hit a speed bag all day and dance in the ring for hours, then you've found a road worth traveling down. If you keep practicing, you'll find ways to make things natural. Remember that, in a fight, you only have a split-second to react. You will, of course, react with what your body finds easiest. Train that instinct to be the best it can be.

SUMMARY:
Take a free class to see what you enjoy. Hire a trainer to point out weaknesses and improve strengths. Focus on technique above all else, no matter what your style. Focus on full-body workouts to be a better all-around fighter. Work on what feels natural, not what looks cool, to discover style.