There are amazing people doing amazing things all around us. Social media platforms have helped bring to light some of the incredible things that have been happening all along, just under the radar of society. One of our favorite examples of this is the special education teacher from Florida who posted a video of how he begins every day in his classroom.

In a recent Might article by Peggy Gilpatric, she tells the story of her non-verbal son, who finally learns to speak. In the car, they recount the days when her son could not speak, but has now overcome that obstacle. As her son reveals to her much later on after speech therapy, the stress of speaking for the benefit of others caused him to throw up in the back seat when he was younger.

It seems counter intuitive, but in order to help others, writer Jim Rohn at Success recommends that you need to help yourself first. Of course, he means that giving yourself the gift of self-improvement can go a long way in helping others who seek advice from you. Self-development--whether it's making yourself more knowledgeable, wiser, caring, and compassionate--reflects in your person and in your work, which goes on to support and help others.

When you say you need to work on your mental health, it sounds a bit daunting and almost unattractive. But the truth is, mental health is a critical aspect of your overall well-being since it affects everything else that goes on in your body. You don't have to see a therapist every week or even go to seminars every month to work on your mental health, the little things will always make a big difference.

When it comes to gift-giving for children, going to a trusted occupational therapist is a great way to get feedback on toys that will improve a child's fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and sensory development. With their work in occupational therapy, they know exactly how to get the most out of play time.

Building a successful career involves a lot of work and decisions, which leaves many to believe that procrastinating is the bane to getting ahead. However, history proves otherwise: successful people like Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mariah Carey are highly successful, but are also famous procrastinators. So what allows them to procrastinate and still maintain a healthy, successful career?

We all know the feeling. Your palms start to sweat, your mouth gets dry. You obsess about the clothes you should wear and whether or not your hair looks right. A first date is nerve-wracking. Dating is difficult, for everyone.

Anyone who has ever said that video games are "just a waste of time" may be in for a big surprise when they learn about all the creative uses of video game technology in the world of healthcare. 

Building a stronger and fuller career is a top goal for those who want to get ahead, but it takes a lot of dedication and work to get there.

Alycia Zimmerman, who teaches 3rd-grade in New York, uses the familiar Lego toy as an aid for teaching math to her students. She explains: “In the classroom, the tiny bricks are now my favorite possibility-packed math manipulative.”

The beginning of 2016 is a great time to be reflective about last year, especially for Occupational Therapists that want to understand their field or provide valuable resources to their patients. Successful occupational therapy bloggers were reading the four finds below and more in OT Connection's roundup.

Productivity: we all want more of it, but many of us aren't sure how to maintain a productive flow long-term. Really, it's all in the mind: but if you excercise these mental hacks, you will find yourself picking up speed and focus on your work projects.

Do you ever have those moments in which you are fully aware of a laundry list of things you need to do and yet find yourself paralyzed and unable to get anything accomplished? Do you find it difficult to focus on a task due to other stressors lying beneath the surface eating away at your emotional and mental energy? If these scenarios resonate with you, it may be time to invest in a coloring book and some crayons.