Keeping a journal may be too boring, or too much work for many people. Trust me, I've battled this myself!  But there are a lot of mental benefits in recording your daily life and activities.  Keeping a journal helps you process events.  Allows a safe place to vent out, express and at the same time sharpen your mind through the daily practice of memory recall.  Lastly, it may even help drive creativity, as you are constantly exercising your brain.

The Science

Researchers from the Advances in Psychiatric Treatment found that writing three to five times for 15 minutes a session was enough to help the participants deal with emotional and even traumatic events. However, it's also more about how you write about those feelings.

In another study, researchers told participants to write about one of three things.

• Group A focused on how they felt about a stressful situation.
• Group B wrote about the thoughts and feelings they had when dealing with stress.
• Group C was told to write factually, without emotion, about events in the media.

The participants who wrote about their thoughts and feelings on an event were less likely to focus on the trauma or anxiety.  This is because they were able to process the entire event which allowed the brain to see the positive benefits.

The other group who wrote only about their emotions actually suffered more. This group was focusing more on the negative feelings associated with the event.  By writing these emotions down, it becomes more engrained in the participant's minds.  

Worst case scenario, it's still better to write those negative thoughts out than to keep all those feelings bundled inside, according to these researchers.   Writing about negative thoughts prevent you from avoiding them, which is linked to helping you be able to cope with stress more effectively.

 A researcher from North Carolina State University, Kitty Klein says that “If you’re suffering from a traumatic or stressful event, your ability to pay attention and focus on life’s stressors isn’t what it should be.” 

Don't avoid the issue with trauma as it can really build up!

Journal writing helps identify these issues and which enables you to focus on the problem and figure out a solution in your mind. It's never good to bottle anything inside.  If writing can't help, you need to find a way to release.

How It Helps

Your brain is like a muscle.  The more you train it and exercise it, the sharper you will become.  You don't have to be going through stressful times to pick up regular journal writing.  Having aa notebook around to jot down notes here and there can still be very useful.  Aside from processing emotions and thoughts, recording accomplishments, mistakes, or even just the little things that happen day to day can be a great exercise for the brain.  What is really cool is that you can look back in 10 years and see how you evolved as a person. 

Jotting down words into your notebook journal are private ways you can deal with your daily stress or whatever issues you may have.  When you keep a journal, you’re able to approach and release the anxiety you have. A journal provides a safe and secure environment for you to express yourself, your feelings and thoughts.

It can be a very valuable tool to alleviate any pressure built up that you normally couldn't release or share with others. 

Don't know where to start?

The most important thing about keeping a journal is that it needs to be about you! 

Find whichever method suits you best.  Most importantly is to build the habit of writing until it's become an ease for you. The traditional pen and paper method is a fast way to get started. 

There are several notebooks on the market to choose from.  A popular choice is Moleskine notebooks, the colorful Piccadilly notebooks, Leuchtturm1917 for the more serious.  And of course, MIKOL offers it's own marble notebook journal version if you want something classy.

If you're used to using a computer, word document is always an easy go-to tool.  Or there are plenty of journaling apps to choose from in the app store. Here you can combine your thoughts with photos, videos, and links. You can also use a simple word processor and keep everything stored in the cloud.

Another fun option is to try blogging. Or blogging sites such as Reddit if you are looking for outside feedback. The internet is a great platform to do so.

There are no rules when it comes to keeping a journal. Just have fun! But remember to take the appropriate steps to protect yourself if privacy is a concern.

You don't need to be a terrific writer.  This is YOUR journal and it is a judgment free zone. Instead, keep your writing time all about you and you’ll quickly see the results.

Remember, it usually takes 21 days consistently to build a new habit.  Give it a little time to soak in.

And try to enjoy!

We live in an era where life is wonderful, filled with an abundant supply of fabulous options. Whether it's food, travel, accommodation, fashion, tech accessory options and so on.

However, with so many options, certain products can become a bit of a blur to people. Think about how so many people compare "Coca cola & Pepsi" or "In and out and Shake Shack"?  Which option is better? There isn't a clear-cut winner.  

At MIKOL we strive to be different and stand out. There are so many fantastic fashion accessory companies that produce amazingly designed products. Each having their own strengths and style of course.

Marble and granite has been the base of MIKOL products and we continue to refine this natural stone material to its furthest possible extent.

We have a very special processing technique that cuts the marble to 0.7mm thick (which is about the same thickness of your credit card) and carefully reinforced with a micro fiberglass webbing to reinforce its strength.

As you can see, the marble is not only thin but has some flexibility to it as well, which is mind blowing to many people even in the industry.

Most of you are used to marble like the above photo: heavy, thick, cold, and sturdy.

So a lot of times when people receive our products, they think it's too light and not cold which makes them question whether it's real marble or not. And we love it! Why?! Because it shows that we are able to produce a product that blows people away! This is EXACTLY what we want you to experience! We want you to experience the difference of truly having a unique product.

By creating something unique and unheard of to most means we are doing our job correctly. Think about it this way, anything thick is going to be heavy, whether it's paper, metal or marble. Why is it that people are more willing to accept that a 1" metal plate can be heavy while 1mm metal plate will not be heavy, but when it comes to marble, the concept becomes harder to believe.

Only reason they feel it is not real marble is because they’ve never experienced real marble this way! The reason why marble is typically cold is because it has more mass to absorb temperature. But when you have the marble at 0.7mm thick, that mass is gone! 

And logically, who wants their iPhone 6 or iphone 7 to feel like a brick after putting on a marble case?

We are here to create value through distinction, by taking marble's natural beauty and aesthetic elements, while removing its flaws such as fragility and weight!

Marble has been around for centuries, adding flare and luxury to the rich and famous estates. Nowadays, with advanced processing technology, there has been a lot more replicas of engineered marble trying to replace the real deal. Not only man-made faux marble but also imitation quarries from around the world.

With over 40 years in manufacturing stone, we often see consumers and even experienced industry professionals be fooled by a lower quality product sold as the original.

With the rise and popularity of natural marble products these days, we have seen a lot of scams on the market that wholesalers or new brands may not be aware of when purchasing from China manufacturers. For example, many times we see Chinese white marble being marketed as Italian Carrara white marble.

Italian Carrara Marble Slab

The above marble slab is the famous Italian Carrara marble from Carrara which has been specified from thousands of prominent projects and products around the world.

Chinese Carrara White Marble Slab

This photo above is a white marble slab from China that many Chinese stone factories try to sell off as the Italian Carrara marble. Many consumers, wholesalers, and even smaller brands not in the industry are often fooled by these factories, especially with products as small as a marble iPhone case with an attractively low price. It's like what mama always said, "you pay for what you get".  

Consumers are often fooled by the white stone with grey veins but it's much more than that when it comes to differentiating between Carrara White and "carrara white". Knock offs from China are inevitable.  Even the largest brands in the world face this problem, but our purpose is to educate the mass and help them make a proper decision.

So here are 3 essential steps to identifying where the marble is from: 

Marble Veins

Every marble has it's own distinct pattern and veining. As the example above, the Carrara marble has thinner lightning veins that run through the slab.  Whereas the Chinese Carrara marble has thicker and more compact veins.

Coloration

Most marble stones have a distinction in the tonality of color. When it comes to white and black base colors, it's a little more difficult. There are many shades throughout the slab, and unless you put two pieces to compare, this sometimes maybe more difficult to differentiate. It helps when combining the look of the base color and pattern of the veins. Again like the example above.

Shine and Sheen

One of the most desirable attributes of marble is its polished shine. The glossiness of each marble can vary, which technically depends on how dense/hard the marble is. Unfortunately, with poor processing quality, even a good piece of marble can come out dull. For this article, let's just focus on marble itself for now! Carrara marble is a denser marble which is capable of holding a great shine to it when processed correctly. Some of the white marbles from China have a more "dull" effect and doesn't have that clean look.  

Hope this article can help you determine real marble products from the knock off versions.

For further information on identifying genuine marble vs. faux marble, we have a section at the link below:

http://www.mikolmarmi.com/blogs/news/77425857-how-to-identify-genuine-marble

Apple has officially launched the new iPhone 7 and ready to redefine the smartphone market yet again. Here’s a peek into the San Francisco launch yesterday.

The upgraded version (11th generation) of Apple iPhone is very similar to the iPhone 6s and 6s plus. In fact, they are the same size but lighter! There are some noteworthy differences that set the bar higher than ever.

• The camera has been significantly enhanced. It's been upgraded for sharper pictures and low-light capabilities. 
• The dual lens camera will have a wide-angle as well as a telephoto lens with 12 MP sensors.
• There is a pressure-sensitive home button with ‘3D Touch’ display so users won’t need to actually press the button. It would make use of haptic feedback and respond.
• The 3.5mm headphone jack is completely removed. It is to be replaced with wireless headphones called Lightning EarPods or AirPods, featuring Bluetooth connectivity.
• The upcoming phone has a better battery that will last much longer than the previous iPhone 6s.
• The phones will be available with 32 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB storage options.
• This generation is water-resistant, much like Apple’s arch rival Samsung.
• The speed of the phone, wireless network have also been drastically improved.
• Lastly, the iPhone 7 can also be a stereo now!

For those enthusiasts, you can pre-order the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus on Apple's Website.  It's officially available September 16th, 2016.

As for the new iPhone 7 casing. Even though the size of the phone is exactly the same as the iPhone 6s, the camera lens is slightly higher than the previous phones.  

So for Apple accessories, there still needs to be some slight modifications.  

Above is a sneak preview of the new iPhone 7 marble case that we will be introducing. Instead of a rubber TPU as the previous generation, we have gone with full PU casing that is stronger and sleek.

We have started an early bird pre-order special till end of September, so pre-order your new MIKOL case today! MIKOL should be shipping it's cases by middle of October.

This week MIKOL was featured in Luxury Launches for our Marmi Business Cards Collection! Check out the article below:

"Marble has been taking over the design world for a while now. You’ve seen the marble inspired phone cases, the laptops, the journals, and even the surfboards, but with a few notable exceptions these are mostly marble prints and designs. A San Francisco based design company called Mikol, is changing the game by introducing business cards created from real marble rock.

It’s a pretty wild idea, and at first it makes you picture something outlandish, heavy and overall inconvenient. But in reality, the marble business cards are actually quite sleek and compact. Presumably, they will be much heavier than the average cardstock business card, but they’re also unique and pretty memorable.

Like any business card, they advertise your name and contact details, and a logo if you have one. For VIP clients, the company is even willing to seek out particular colors or designs to create custom business cards. Although, even if you decide to opt for one of their stock colors of black (Nero Marquina), white (Carrara White) and beige (Light Emperador), rest assured each card is as good as a custom piece as no two cards will have the same marbling design.

Mikol offers twenty marble business cards (in any color) for $125, but the more you buy the cheaper they are with 200 cards priced at $950. Mikol also incorporates marble into other items including notebooks, phone cases, cufflinks and bow ties. If marble is not to your taste though, check out other unorthodox options including carbon fibre and even an ultra-luxe custom design studded with diamonds."

To view the full article, click the link below:

http://luxurylaunches.com/other_stuff/these-are-the-worlds-very-first-real-marble-business-cards.php

Follow them for more news on the latest luxury trends!

Spending Time In Nature increases Mental Health, Kindness And Generosity 

Research has been shown in Japan, Finland, and Texas that people who took walks or were shown images of nature were found to have a natural decline in heart rate.  

We all know that exercise improves health and releases endorphins which allows us to be happier.  And nature has the calming effect that helps reduce stress levels as well.  

If nature has the ability to relieve some of the stress we carry, then generosity and kindness should be right behind that.  

Think about the times you were stressed and agitated.  You might recall it being difficult to be calm and collected.  On top of that, whether it was friends or family, you may have been ver snappy about something they said without even realizing it.  

You don't need to do huge philanthropic work like Bill Gates to do good in the world.  It can start with the people around you.  Change the world one person at a time, and at the same time change yourself.

How many times have you heard:

“People are naturally selfish and everyone just looks out for themselves.”

Recent studies have shown that humans ARE NOT naturally selfish!  In the study, researchers discovered that even if the brain that controlled generosity was interpreted, the participants still acted generously out of impulse.  It showed selflessness being a natural response, rather than a conscious effort.

Great news for people who want to build a habit of gift giving, since it is a natural impulse to be generous. If you have ever experienced a phase of just receiving and never giving, you will know that it wears on you after awhile.

Constantly taking and never giving back can actually prevent happiness, the one thing that people around the world are looking for.

Psychologists say that giving without expectation of receiving anything in return, and purely just doing it in the kindness of your heart will definitely improve your mental health.  

It's more than just feeling that you are a good person, but also seeing the emotional response and gratitude from the receiver that warms up your heart.  Which is why rarely do you see a sad face during Christmas or birthdays!  But this doesn't have to be a holiday or special occasion to provide and receive happiness!

Here are some tips that will help accomplish your goal of building good habits in gift-giving to improve your mental health:

1. Gifts can be for any occasion!

Don't think that gift giving is only for Christmas, birthdays and special occasions.  People are generally expected to provide gifts during those times, so when we give gifts randomly, others are even more flattered and surprised.  The kind of happiness that selfless giving bestows upon the giver.

Gift giving doesn't have to be expensive, it's more the thought and gesture that matters. The best way to start this little habit is by creating a list of people in your life that you want to bless and give them something without an occasion.

These people will be surprised and pleased at your generosity.  Find something that shows you do pay attention to these people and the details of their lives.

If you have the means to help the people around you, go ahead and do it!  By doing so, you are taking action and at the same time building mental habits.  The action you take will send endorphins to your brain which is a reward that you will feel.  Slowly, this will build into a habit, which will change your life from caring of your own needs to others as well.  Although this is not the purpose of helping others, but you will notice the people you help will want to reciprocate.  The feeling of mutually helping one another is absolutely amazing!

2. Be Selfless

Selfless is a great trait.  But also have common sense! You don't want to overextend beyond what you are capable of, whether emotionally, physically or financially.

As mentioned above, it's not expected, but every here and there, receiving a gift is always nice as well.  There is a fine balance in treating yourself and others that go hand in hand in obtaining happiness.  Many people often are confused about their self-worth by associating it with the value of the gift.  You are who you are, and it should not be associated with the gifts you give or receive.

Treat yourself once in awhile! Plus, who knows you better than you? (Mayba mama)

3. How Much Should You Spend?

We live in a consumeristic culture today, especially with gift -giving.  Take a moment and think.  We all fall prey to associating the cost of our gift to the value of the person.  If I pay for a more expensive gift, does it mean I care about this person more? Maybe I just earn more money than the average working class.  Big brands do a fantastic job brainwashing consumers this.  We have all heard the saying “It’s the thought that counts,” but is it true?  But it seems that we all want something fancy, Hermes, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc.  

I'm glad about the millennial shift, they are noticing more of the boutique brands that create products of value and not just overprice a product due to a brand name.

And if you truly care about someone, you will know what he/she likes.  There are so many great companies creating beautiful handcrafted goods that are well designed.  These smaller brands really focus on finding their core group of customers.  Customers that truly love what these companies are doing.  

Gifts don’t have to be elaborate or expensive.  Details in knowing that person is far more important. Knowing what their favorite cooky is, buying them lunch at their favorite restaurant, or planning ahead for them a gift they've been waiting for.

The point is to think about what the person needs or wants, and then provide it by observing details. The recipient will recognize that you are paying attention them, caring for them, noticing details about them, which comes to show how much you truly care. Seeing the thought behind your gift-giving will then have a far greater impact. And seeing that big genuine smile from the other person will help you discover appreciation and happiness that comes from selfless giving.

Gift Give today!

As you start this new habit and improve your mental health, remember that it's not the value of the gifts, but the act of giving that brings happiness.  Don't be turned away by the skeptics, just be true to yourself and eventually people will recognize that kind heart.

As you continue this healthy journey in gift giving and spreading your love to others, you will find more goodness in people and make this world a better place for everyone.

It has been well documented across a broad body of research that friendships have a psychological and physical influence on health.  

Here are a few benefits of having friends:

1. Having friends help lower stress levels. Always a good idea to share the burden with someone close. Even if it's the idea someone will be there for you.
2. Lowers depression.  Friends typically make us happy
3. Lower anxiety by building a comfort of people
4. Lower blood pressure with the mental constraint, and allowing us to relax more.
5. Lower mortality rates. This one should be obvious? ;)
6. Improved behavioral pathways (such as getting more sleep)
7. Sharper mind and knowledge. 

We, humans, are social creatures with a pack mentality, therefore require social relationships to be healthy.  Not having these healthy relationships can be compared to having 15 cigarettes a day, obesity or having more alcoholic beverages.  It's just not in our DNA to be alone, and many of these bad habits are contributed through stress..or...simply being lonely.

An area that has received less attention is the correlation between number of friends and the effects it may have on our health.  There really isn't a magic number, because having too little may still leave you feeling lonely, and having too many may also leave you feeling lonely because your friendship isn't tightly bonded.

There are several factors that are involved, and it really comes down to bonding with the right people and not just bonding for the sake of bonding.  

How many friends is healthy?

There is no magic number of friends to keep. This really depends on the individual.  Having friends is important, but finding the right people and balance of them.

Quality friends are much more important than "quantity".  It's ver important to find friends that meet your need for emotional, spiritual, physical and any other support that helps you grow.

Introverts may feel content with far fewer friends than extroverts, with no negative effect on their health. On the other hand, the extrovert personality may experience a more difficult time with fewer friends, and in result affect their health negatively.

They may experience loneliness if their friendship circles are not wide enough, which results in mental strain.  Trust me, as an extrovert, being lonely sucks!

Importance in find true Connection 

With social media these days, it's not hard to "connect" with people.  But what will bring true happiness is not about the actual number of friends, but the sincerity of your bond.  Quality over quantity holds to be much more important here for your health.  An introvert with three really close friends may be just as happy, if not happier, than an extrovert with a large circle of friends.

As your mama always said, "make good friends" holds really true.  Connecting with bad friends could lead to negative effects in your health through stress, anxiety, along with bad habits such as alcohol and drug abuse due to peer pressure.

Some people have a hard time saying no to friends, which becomes stress as well when having too many friends.  They feel a sense of obligatory social presence which may cause frustration, pressure on time and energy to fulfill this social role.  And inability to fulfill this role also may cause stress.  So you see? Having a larger social circle may not always be a great outcome unless it truly brings you joy as a person.

There have been research that shows  people were a lot happier in life if they were satisfied with the friends they had, regardless of the number of friends they had.

Everything is about balance

Even without research, I'm sure you can see the positive effects of good friendships can bring for us mentally and physically.  

As this is just a general article for people to understand the importance of friendship.  The details really depend specifically on each individual's needs.  Everyone should always find a balance in life, whether food, wine, exercise, shopping, FRIENDS!

Here is another blog about how to improve your brain chemistry with a simple habit.

5 Trending Marble Accessories that You Can’t Afford to Miss

Marble has been popular for its versatility and calming effects for years. The roots of this veiny stone rolls back all the way beyond the ancient Rome, where it was effectively used in beautiful construction work. With the passage of time, marble has established its mark all over the world.  These days, marble has its unrivaled presence in the day-to-day life in luxury building along with home decor. Now MIKOL has furthered its advancement into the fashion realm.

Here are 5 stunning marble fashion accessories that are very popular right now:

We were all introduced to writing at an early age due to our educational system.  Teachers would force us to keep a journal whether it's English class, PE, Science, etc.  And as much as we disliked keeping a journal back then, the truth is that it built a strong and beneficial habit in all of us.  

Let's jump into the 8 amazing improvements that happen to our brain with habitual writing!

1. Natural Writing Habits

Building good habits are very important.  And once you get in the groove of writing every day, it slowly becomes more and more comfortable just like working out at the gym. Your body, your mind, the muscle memory becomes adaptive really quickly.  If you miss a day writing for any reason, you feel an emptiness and will take steps to ensure that it doesn't happen again.  Or...atleast not too often.

You will slowly find more areas to try and write more, such as daily calendars, little notes, or maybe begin a blog.

2. Builds Organization Skills 

Once your habit takes place in writing in your journal everyday or taking more notes in your meetings routinely.  Writing is an art, a way to deliver a message and by doing so the writer needs to be clear expressing their ideas.

When you're writing, your brain automatically needs to organize your thoughts and deliver them in an organized manner into the journal.

This organizational skill reflects on daily activities as well, training the brain to be organized and be more efficient.

3. No More Writers Block!

You must be thinking that you have nothing to write about.  And most writers experience this awful feeling sitting down and staring at the blank pages thinking of what to write. As we know it, it's called writer's block.  This happens because we are worried of bad writing or simply just unfamiliar with this skill.  

Again, it's as if you haven't been to the gym in a long time and suddenly just came back.  You will feel a little empty in uncertainties where to start and what to do.  But over time as you "practice" regularly, you slowly ease back in and it comes natural what to do.

Same with writing as working out at the gym, practice, practice, and more practice.

Words may not flow to you at first, but just go ahead and find any topic to write.  Initially is just to get your mind and body comfortable to writing.  As this slowly becomes a habit, that writer's block will slowly fade away. Don't worry about that awkward feeling of not knowing what to write!  You will then start to clear away those cobwebs very quickly.  

Writing is much easier than getting back in physical shape ;)

4. You Will Read More.

Most writers are voracious readers, to begin with, but once you picked up these daily habits, you will crave to read more to help improve your skills or get inspiration from elsewhere.  Whether it's books, articles, blogs, magazines and so on to expand your knowledge and vocabulary to new story ideas.

Even if you don't realize it, you will probably be googling alot more on your iphone for information.

5. Your Vocabulary Will Grow.

As you continue writing and reading, this will indirectly help with your vocabulary growth as my mother always mentioned to me.

Also, when you write every day, you inevitably read more, gain more knowledge and learn much more in life.

6. You Will Become a More Eloquent Speaker

This will be an effect in thanks to your increased vocabulary along with constant immersion in the language.  All the practice of editing and restructuring of sentence will train your brain to organize them faster when speaking. 

Your basic grasp of grammar will have improved as well, which allows you speak much more proper as well.

The end result will be that through this process, you will have gained more confidence speaking.  Your audience will be much more in-tune with what you have to say as you have gradually become a good story teller.

7. You Will Build More Confidence.

Overtime as these habits are established, and as mentioned above, writing builds the "muscle of the brain" by opening your creativity flow along with organizational skills.  The thirst for knowledge becomes insatiable where you keep feeding your brain more and more information.  Then lastly, improving your speech and story telling skills when in public.

Combination of this increases confidence drastically.  When you have more knowledge than most of your peers in the room, and they are drawn into the information you deliver to them.  You will feed off this energy and not only feel confident, but continue to improve.  

Just as working out your body, the more you see results, the more you will want to see even more results and workout harder!

8. You Will Meet More People

This is where the fun begins!!

Once you start writing regularly, you will naturally want to learn more about all the skills involved to improve your writing. 

Thanks to Google, you have all the information you need at one click away and almost anywhere.  You can gather information on the subway, car ride, restaurant on your iPhone or iPad.

And with the internet you will find forums, blogs, chatrooms with people of similar interest to share stories, thoughts, ideas, etc. 

Beyond the web, there are communities, book clubs, meet up groups, which may interest you to join and meet other like minded people. Maybe you will even start one for yourself!!

You may think you are an introvert, but with the built up confidence and the results you see people being interested in what you have to say will change that.  In group settings, meeting and attracting new people will become easier and easier.

And if you need a notebook to start your writing path, we would love for you to take a look at our Marble Notebooks. A notebook that stands out, so you will know it's time to write!  Enjoy!