Texan ENT Specialsts - January 2021

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Just this past October, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to what can only be described as one of the world’s goodest boys — a dog named Foxtrot, known also to his Instagram followers (of which there are nearly 7,000) as humanitarian_pup. While Foxtrot wasn’t responsible for improvements to auction theory (like Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, who won the Nobel Prize for economics) or for a standout career in writing poetry (like Louise Glück, who won the Nobel Prize for literature), this incredible canine shared the Nobel Peace Prize with the World Food Programme (WFP) for their work in combating world hunger. As the organization’s official mascot, Foxtrot shared in the win with the thousands of other WFP workers worldwide. Foxtrot lives in Bangladesh (one of the most densely populated countries in the world) at a WFP outpost that works to supply one of the world’s largest refugee camps. According to an NPR article that spotlighted Foxtrot and the efforts made by his WFP humans, they worked not only to get food to refugees but also to flatten hillsides to make room for shelters for Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar. Foxtrot himself became part of the effort to combat world hunger during a WFP beach cleanup in his home country. Workers found him as a 4-week-old pup, and after failing to locate his owners, took him in as one of their own. For the past two years, Foxtrot has helped however he can to further the WFP’s efforts to end hunger in Bangladesh. This usually includes accompanying his humans while they work, wearing an adorable custom-made WFP cape, and taking to Instagram to raise awareness about how anyone can join in the WFP’s mission. After learning that he and his humans had won the Nobel Peace Prize, Foxtrot didn’t waste the opportunity to share his excitement with his followers. “Woweee,” the pup said. “I … think it would be even more amazing if we didn’t need any peace prizes because peace was the status quo in our world.”

Let That Fresh Air Fuel You

4 Tips to Make Getting Outside Easier Hunkering down and waiting for the dark and chilly winter season to pass sounds pretty nice. But the reality is, if we deprive ourselves of time outside, we do ourselves a big disservice both mentally and physically. Staying indoors all day affects your energy and mood, which makes it hard to get anything done, so here are four easy tips to make it easier to get a little fresh air. 1. Make it a priority. Getting outside means making the conscious effort to do so. If you want to reap its benefits, you have to decide to make it a priority in your day-to-day schedule. If you make the act important to you, you have more motivation to actually do it. 2. Use mornings effectively. Waking up and getting the day started can be hard. But studies have shown that natural light helps decrease your melatonin production, which means you feel ready to face the day sooner. So, set yourself a second alarm to head outside and take a quick walk around the block just after waking. Don’t even wash your face or grab coffee. Just get out there. 3. Take your work outside. If you’re working from home, take some work outdoors. Phone and virtual meetings are a great outdoor option, especially if you’ll just be an active listener and aren’t required to do any work simultaneously. Attach a note to your meeting reminders to get yourself set up outside five minutes before you start. 4. Create a schedule. It might feel strange to set reminders throughout the day to step outside, but you easily get wrapped up in activities and overlook breaks, and these reminders are exactly what you need. Start with 10-minute blocks three times a day. If you stick to them, soon you won’t need a schedule to get outside anymore. Winter weather may be cold, but even when you’re bundled up under a jacket and scarf, just 5–10 minutes outside can do wonders for your mood and energy for hours.

If Foxtrot and his humans keep up the good work, it seems like that status quo could be within reach.

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