[Thrive Global]

Quitting is wildly underrated. For most of our lives, we’re told that grit, determination, and stick-with-it-ness are the qualities that will bring us success. While this can be true, giving up on something can be the smartest decision you’ll ever make.

[Yoga Journal]

For eight years, Karl LaRowe worked in the emergency room at an inner-city hospital in Portland, Oregon. As a crisis intervention counselor, he helped hundreds of people each month cope with everything from domestic violence and depression to psychosis and suicide attempts. Eventually, the constant adrenaline rushes and biweekly 48-hour shifts took their toll.

[Runner’s World]

Dan Houston, 49, occasionally suffered from hay fever, yet his allergies never affected his ability to run. That changed in July 2004 when he began having trouble breathing during a routine six-miler. "My lungs felt like I was inhaling very cold air in the middle of winter," says Houston, a department manager for a machinery manufacturer in York County, South Carolina.

[Self]

One Monday morning I woke up to find that my voice had disappeared. This was no minor hoarseness, but a full-blown absence of sound. I felt like a goldfish, mouth opening and closing in an ineffectual “O”. My doctor told me that a viral infection had left my vocal cords red, ravaged, and angry. The treatment? Several days without speaking. “No exceptions,” he stressed.

[Runner’s World]

It's the time of year when runners tolerate more than just cold temperatures, biting winds, and slick roads. When we venture out for our daily ritual, we face the tsk-tsking of nonrunning spouses, coworkers, and snowplow drivers who think we're nutcases just asking for bronchitis or the flu.

[Zest]

We all know what it’s like to be wronged. Maybe someone you trust hurt you recently — perhaps your boyfriend lied to you or a visiting relative made a cutting comment about your shape. Or it could be that the pain runs deeper — beginning when you were a child and rippling out, like rings in a pond, into your adult life.

[Women’s Health, Special Report]

Kathy McCabe, 31, had already seen two doctors about the stabbing pain in her stomach. But when it worsened, she headed to the ER near her home in Washington, D.C. After lying on the hospital floor in anguish for more than 2 hours, McCabe was given a CAT scan so doctors could see 3-D images of her organs.

[Red Magazine]

With working hours on the increase, everything we do with our jobs - from the way we sit at our desks to what we snack on - has a direct effect on our physical and emotional wellbeing.