Here are four principles (行为准则) I live by. Whenever I follow these guidelines, I am at my very best, feeling productive and happy.

Devote time.

No matter how talented we may be, it’s wrong to think we can do it all. 【小题1】 The value of our achievements is greatly decided by what we spend our time on. We need to realize that every day we should devote the time to what matters and have the courage to let the unimportant things go.

Focus your attention.

Very often it seems that we just can’t focus our attention, even though we know what we should be doing, right? Resistance (阻力) makes us get disturbed by distractions.【小题2】 Developing a plan for overcoming resistance is important for maximum productivity.

【小题3】

We need to make a balance between work and play, between creation and pleasure.【小题4】 Even if we feel energetic to work long hours, the most effective long-term way is to hold ourselves back when we feel crazy and follow a proper pace instead.

Keep moving on.

More important than setting big goals is to just keep going. I know this goes against most of the “ set great goals for yourself” advice, but it’s what works for me.【小题5】 And it always made me more worried than it helped. Now, what does work for me is to think about how to improve my life and take small steps to make it happen.

How teens can stay fit

Any type of regular physical activity can improve your fitness and your health.【小题1】

Exercise should be a regular part of your day, like brushing your teeth, eating and sleeping. It can be in a gym class, joining a sports team, or working out on your own. Keep the following tips in mind:

【小题2】A good attitude is important. Find an activity that you think is fun. You are more likely to stick with it if you choose something you like. A lot of people find it's more fun to exercise with someone else,so seek a friend or family member to be active with you.

Take it one step at a time.【小题3】For example, walk or ride your bike to school. Get on or off the bus several blocks away and walk the rest of the way. Use the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Get your heart pumping. Whatever you choose ,make sure it includes aerobic （有氧的) activities that make you breathe harder and increase your heart rate. This is the best type of exercise because it increases your fitness level and makes your heart work better.【小题4】Examples of aerobic activities are basketball, running, or swimming.

Don't forget to warm up. Do  some  easy exercise or stretch （伸展) before you do any physical activity.【小题5】It is also important to stretch out after you exercise to cool down your muscles.

   Searching for airfares often seems like a game that passengers are bound to lose.

Prices change from day to day, even minute to minute. Looking through various websites for the best deal can be a big challenge. Even when you do book, there’s no guarantee that you are going to get the best price.

“You just don’t know when to pull the trigger. It’s not like buying anything else I can think of,” said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog. com.

Harriet Levy paid $ 179 for a recent round-trip flight on American Airlines between New York and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sitting just one row behind her, Shirley Harrison paid $ 215. A few rows back, Ellis and Dianne Traub paid $ 317 each. There were at least 12 fares on the flight, ranging from $ 169 to $ 360.

“There’s no reason for it,” Harrison said.

Fares can vary significantly in just a few hours. One Delta flight from New York to Los Angeles jumped from $ 755 to $ 1,143 from a Friday to Saturday in late April, and then fell to $ 718 on Sunday.

The flight was one of a dozen the Associated Press（美国联合通讯社）followed over three months for a vacation between July 16 and 22. The number one finding: avoid booking tickets on weekends. It’s the most expensive time to buy.

There’s no way to guarantee the best fare. But before booking, travelers should pay attention to this additional advice:

● Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when airlines most often offer sales.

● Buy in advance, but not too early. The best time is four to six weeks before traveling. In general, prices for any given flight are the highest when tickets are booked eight to ten weeks and two to three weeks in advance.

● Make use of social media. Airlines are giving more benefits like exclusive（专有的）sales to travelers who interact（交流）with them on Twitter and Facebook. Those specials are often gone within hours.

● The so-called discount airlines — JetBlue, Air-Tran, Southwest and Frontier — adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident that the price will stay the same. But their prices aren’t always the lowest. Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal.

   November is the month when many people offer thanks. 【小题1】 Use these tips to help develop a sense of gratitude (感激) in each of your children, no matter what their age.

【小题2】 While sitting at the dinner table, ask each member of the family to think about their day and share something that they are thankful for. Meanwhile, use this same time to ask everyone if there is something that they could improve upon or do better tomorrow.

Make yourself be the model. Children learn what they see, not what you say. Keep a gratitude journal. 【小题3】 Let their first entry (日记的一则) be the ABC’s of gratitude, naming one thing for each letter that they are grateful for.

Write thank-you notes. We live in a time when we communicate through text messages, Twitter, and Facebook. Show children the value of writing a thank- you note by hand. 【小题4】

Put together a “care package” of donations (捐赠物) for an orphanage nearby. In the season of giving, teaching your child to share his blessings with those less fortunate can be a valuable lesson in gratitude. Use the activity as a jump-off point.

Gratitude isn’t “taught” overnight, and it is certainly not something that children of a young age can grasp at the start. 【小题5】 Being grateful is something our kids begin to understand when we act as the model. Grateful kids come from grateful parents.