Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Gratitude Journals

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Attitude, Contentment, Grateful, Gratitude Journaling, Gratitutde, Joy, Music, Thanks

“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” – Doris Day

Read more at: Brainy Quotes

Thanks for all the new followers this week! I really appreciate it. I hope all of you new comers enjoy my daily quips of this and that. I strive to motivate, teach, inspire, and engage my audience daily. Am I always successful? No, but I do try my best.

When I first began my blog a few years ago, I had no idea how important this practice is. A blog to me is nothing more than a way to communicate my unique experience of this life. Some use their blogs to offer recipes, document their travels, discuss the news of the day, or even discuss the painful ailments they are suffering from. All these blogs become part of the tapestry that we all enjoy for one reason or another.

It is cold here in Michigan. It is not as cold in other states, like North Dakota or Minnesota but it is cold. We were asked yesterday to reduce our thermostats down to 65 degrees to conserve energy. I am grateful for my warm home and the warm cup of coffee I am enjoying right now. I hope those folks who are homeless have found a warm place to stay.

I purposely use a gratitude journal every morning. In it I express my thanks for all I have, my family, my friends, and whatever else comes to mind. When I began my gratitude journal a few years ago I did not realize how life-changing these few minutes in the morning have become. I think the primary benefit is the practice of focusing on what we are thankful for. It is the focus that counts. The more we are focused on what is right in our lives, the better our lives become. If you catch yourself complaining about things in your life, try to change this around by purposely focusing on what you are grateful for. It could be as simple as being grateful for your warm bed, a family member, or even the benefits you accrue from a job you have. There are so many things to be grateful for. Give gratitude journaling a try. It doesn’t take that long. Start out with writing down 2 or 3 things you are grateful for every morning. Over time you will begin to realize how important this practice is.

I normally accompany my journaling with calming music. I pay for a streaming service called Spotify. I really enjoy this service because it gives me access to so many musicians. Music is a great thing to have in your life. I use different types of music throughout the day. When I journal, I tend to stick with nature sounds and other pleasant instrumentals. When I am programming, I tend to gravitate toward trance or techno. When I read or study, I enjoy classical. When I exercise, heavy metal is my genre of choice. Each type of music feeds the activities I pursue. I tend to shy away from any vocal’s music, especially when I am reading or writing. This type of music tends to disrupt my thinking more than other types. If you have not tried to augment your daily routines with music, I highly recommend it. This is one life hack that has proven beneficial.

I am blessed. I had the ability to retire early and pursue the things I wanted to pursue. I have also been given the privilege of spending time with my folks in their senior years. My Dad has Dementia and at times, it is a sad time, particularly when you truly grasp that the Dad you knew is no longer the Dad you have now. Regardless, my circumstances have granted me the opportunity to enjoy my folks as they wind down their lives on this Earth. It is a great opportunity that I am grateful for every day.

I am also grateful for my Brother and Sister. They are both very different. My brother loves to travel and is my best friend. He and I have a lot of fun together and enjoy pretty much the same things. My sister is also my best friend. She has different interests from mine but brings a lot of things into my life that I would never have experienced had I not returned home. I am also grateful for my wife and stepdaughters. My wife is in Arizona teaching and my stepdaughters are pursuing their lives on their own (finally). My wife knew I had to come home to help my folks and she has been a great team player. Is it tough being away from your loved ones? Sure, but our relationship is strong, and we love each other very much.

Well, this is it for today. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hope you can find all of those things in your life that you are grateful for. Looking at the world through grateful eyes is so much better than seeking out all the things that aren’t going so well. I send good thoughts to all my readers today and hope your life is the adventure mine is.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Socialism: Learning from the Past

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Cold Weather, Confucius, Redistributing Wealth, Socialism, Universal Income, wisdom

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”―Confucius

Today is a cold one. The United States Post Office is not delivering mail until Friday. I don’t remember the last time the USPS cancelled deliveries of mail. If you are in the Mid-West in the middle of what they are calling a polar vortex, stay inside, unless you just can’t avoid it.

Today’s wisdom is provided by Confucius. I find it fascinating that so many of today’s problems are a result of ignoring what so many have already discovered. Look at socialism, for example. If you look at the USSR, North Korea, Communist China, and Vietnam, it would be easy to see how broken a system of government socialism is, yet it appears our younger generations are seeking just that. Why are so many ignoring the experiences of socialism in the 20^th century?

Socialism and communism are attractive sells if you avoid the atrocities these systems caused. In the 20^th century, socialism has easily been responsible for over 1,000,000 deaths. Why would anyone want to bring that system back? I think many crave the beauty of utopia, where we are all equal, we all participate, we all contribute, and we all benefit equally. The main issue with this is the primary tenet of Socialism, which is equality of outcomes. How do you achieve an equality of outcomes? You enforce it.

Socialism destroys production. Say you have a productive worker. This worker comes to the job everyday giving everything they have. Over time this worker realizes that other workers don’t put in the same effort they do but still get the same pay. Then it happens. The productive worker falls in line and lowers his production to meet the bare minimum, along with his colleagues. When you live in a system that does not reward innovation, productivity, and efficiency, you destroy these things.

You hear all this talk by many in politics today. Let’s tax the rich. Let’s take their money. They earned it unfairly, they stole it from the poor, they cheated the system. No one should have that much money, they should give it to others. Charity is one thing. No one has a problem giving their money to charitable causes. Taking the money of a productive person and giving it to someone else without their consent is theft. Does this improve society? Does it motivate someone who is not making any money to make more? No. It perpetuates poverty.

Redistributing wealth does nothing but keep people poor. Imagine a universal income, another platitude of politicians today. What do you think a person would do if you paid them say $1000 dollars a month for doing nothing? They would do what you are paying them to do—nothing. It really is that simple. Are we improving outcomes? Are we lifting people out of poverty? No.

Over taxing the rich will also result in rich people leaving the country. Why should they stay when they can keep their money living somewhere else? Then guess what happens? Those tax revenues are pushed down into the lower tax brackets and now you have people being taxed at exorbitant rates that cannot afford them.

The same thing occurs when you overtax companies. They will move their enterprises overseas, taking advantage of lower tax rates and cheaper labor. Along with these strategies, they will push the taxes down to the consumer. Companies must be profitable in order to attract investors. When the government passes legislation that increases taxes or affects their profit margins, these companies push these increases down to the consumer. You and I pay more money for a product because of these taxes and regulations. These regulations and taxes don’t hurt the company–they hurt us.

Let’s keep in mind the quote from above. We have gained wisdom surrounding socialism. We have seen it fail. We have seen the results of these systems repeatedly—stagnated economies, human atrocities, and the elimination of freedom. Let’s not go down that road again.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Rambling -Ted Talk Tuesday – What Your Posture Communicates

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Amy Cuddy, Body Language, Comfort Level, Mood, Posture, Signaling, Ted Talk

In this Ted Talk, Amy Cuddy explains how posture and our overall body language can improve or degrade our moods and can communicate to others in unconscious ways. Who knew that the phrases “Stop slouching” or “Stand up straight” would actually be helpful for the rest of our lives?

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Monday Motivation – Baby Steps

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Baby Steps, Consistency, Focus, motivation, Peter Marshall, rituals, Simplifying, Small Deeds

“Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.” – Peter Marshall

Read more at: Brainy Quotes

This quote explains the importance of consistent, small actions. Some people have these great plans set for themselves but rarely attain them because they fail to break these big things down into actionable steps. Let’s tackle a simple task like reading a certain number of books in a year.

Let’s say you want to read 24 books this year. You take the 24 books, divide by 12 and discover you only need to read 2 books a month to achieve your goal. You take a look at your books and discover you have 30 chapters to read (15 chapters in each book) in 30 days. Read 1 chapter a day and you’ll hit the 30 chapters (finishing both books) and you’re well on your way to reading your 24 books, provided you stick with reading 1 chapter a day.

How am I doing on my goals? I’m on track. I finished the rough draft of my book over the weekend. Now it’s time to begin the re-write. I’m looking at what I will do daily to complete my first draft in 6 months and will dig into this new process on Feb 4, 2019. I’ll figure out how much writing I need to do, what tools I need, and then dig in daily.

I’m shooting for 12 online courses by year’s end. I have completed two so far and taking another two currently. I am also goaled to read 48 books this year. I am on track with three books completed and one more to go this month to keep on track.

My exercise goals are always about gaining muscle and losing weight. It is hard to do both but keep this as a goal regardless. Right now, I am in a bulking phase, just to get some more muscle on my frame. Then, once I am at a certain point, I’ll cut for a few months, then back to bulk, and so on. I’m going to continue to bulk until April and then cut for a few months to get ready for the Summer. My exercise plan is literally going to the gym daily or, in case of inclement weather, I exercise at home. That’s it. Daily exercise involving both weights and some cardio.

My spiritual goals are to read my Bible daily, meditate daily, journal daily, and continue with my book discussion once per month. All of these are on track. Simple things each day help me achieve big things by year’s end and build strong ritualized habits.

My social goals are slacking somewhat. I tend to interact a bit on social media, but it’s important to interact with other people face-to-face. The challenge currently is the big snow storms we are being hit with in the Midwest. It is not safe to drive if you do not need to, so for now, social media daily and Skyping with my friends will be the best alternative.

How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions? Are you still pushing forward or are you stalling? If you are stalling, look at what you want to do and minimize what you are doing daily to a point you can achieve little pushes each day. You’ll be amazed by what you can accomplish over time.

Little actions steps daily will build healthy habits, rewire your brain for these activities, and help you establish rituals of habits that you knock out each day. It is so easy if you take a chance and try this. I wish all of you well on this year’s goals.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content

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Achievements, Bonus Content, Character Traits, Goals, habits, Thank you

I’ve got a few things to cover today. The first is to offer my thanks for all the new followers this week. Thank you so much for following Daily Ramblings. I really appreciate it. The next thing I want to cover is my new character trait I’ll be adding in February. February is the month I pursue the character trait of detachment. So far, I have the following character traits on my list of pursuit each month: discrimination, tolerance, forgiveness, and contentment. This has been an interesting journey.

I have also been monitoring the habits I’ve been establishing for the last year. My daily journaling and blogging are finally wired in. I literally cannot go a day without getting these done. It is interesting when you think about how our brains work. Initially, the brain resists the addition of a new task or habit. Then it begins to tolerate the habit. Finally, it expects the habit to be accomplished. This is the one surprise I attained over the last year. I have always been looking for some form of a trigger or sign that I have truly mastered a new habit. My realization over the last week was proof to me that these habits are ingrained. Now, I can begin looking at other habits.

We’ve got snow again last night and it is clean, crisp, and white. I love the Winter season. It is nice to feel the cold when you walk outside to shovel the driveway and sweep off the walkways. It is nice to feel the temperature difference when you come back in and pour yourself a nice cup of coffee. I finished the rough draft of my book and will begin the rewriting process on Monday. I have been contemplating the writing process or just the process of creation in general, and writing a book is no different from painting, sculpture or any other type of art form. You always start out rough and slowly transform the creation into a final product. I am glad I began this project last year and stuck with it.

I hope all of you have a terrific Sunday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday: When to help and when to listen.

Tags

Complaining, Empathy, Fixing, Listening, problem-solving, psychology, wisdom

“As we come out of our childhood of spirituality into greater states, we learn to let people be.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul

I have always struggled to empathize with people who complain. I always want to jump in and fix whatever is ailing them. What I have discovered is that people do not want to have their problems fixed for them. They want to be listened to, in most cases.

Today, I still struggle with this. In hindsight, I guess I have discovered that I am uncomfortable with people complaining. Complaining is a very negative and victim-like act, in my opinion. It is very frustrating when you run across someone who continuously complains about the same thing endlessly. It’s like these people are frozen in time, trapped in an endless loop without end.

I was watching a YouTube video a while back. I cannot recall the person’s name or even the YouTube video that I was watching but a conversation came up about one of the things he did to get along better with his wife. He said, “We came up with a way to identify what type of conversation we were in. I simply asked my wife whether this was a listening conversation or a solution conversation.” This was ingenious. The husband literally asks his wife whether he was to listen and empathize or listen and help her solve a problem. What a great way of doing things. If we are aware, we can pick up on these things and use them in our own lives.

Here’s a link to a great article about complaining: Psychology Today Article

If you continuously find yourself complaining about the same things, this article will help you understand the fruitlessness of this act. This article also explains how you relive what you are complaining about each time you complain. Talk about driving something deep into your psyche.

So, what are the lessons for today? Complaining is harmful if you are not using it to affect change in your life. There are two types of conversations: 1) Conversations where a person wants to complain and be listened to and empathized with; 2) Conversations where a person wants to complain in order to seek an answer to a question or find a solution to their problem.

If a person complains and asks for help, help them. If a person complains and does not ask for help, listen and empathize. People evolve and grow in unique ways. We have no right to jump in and advise, judge, or fix something they are totally capable of fixing. Let them be.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday

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Friday, Funny, Giggles, Hilarious, Laughter, Reagan, Smile

“Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.” – Ronald Reagan

Read more at: Brainy Quotes

Have a great Friday everyone! It’s time for a well-deserved weekend!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Thank Your Teachers

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A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Critical Thinking, Dialogue, Grateful, Learning, Stretching, Teachers, Thank you

“Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honour for me.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/a_p_j_abdul_kalam_717997?src=t_teacher

I was thinking about all the teachers that have contributed to my life. One of my best teachers was my fifth-grade teacher. Her name was Mrs. Feick. She made learning fun and she challenged us daily. She knew we could do more than we thought we could. You know what? She was right.

Other memorable teachers came during my college studies. I pursued technical degrees and really enjoy programming, databases, and solving problems. One of my teachers taught databases and it was so interesting interacting with him. He showed us so much. I think the best thing he taught us was how to think. He would always have us think through what would happen when we wrote a query or tried to manipulate some data set. He would have us think through what would happen if we did this or that before we wrote any scripts. It was awesome!

A good teacher will always motivate you to look at things in a different way. A good teacher will show you how important it is to really get out there and investigate things, read things, come up with your own viewpoints. They challenge us to challenge them and their ideas. A good teacher is always looking for students who will argue with them (tactfully and professionally) to hone our own ideas while they will refute and try to convince us of there ideas. It is a terrific exercise. The dialogue is where the learning takes off.

Some of my best teachers have also been in the business climate. I used to be a technical recruiter. Technical recruiting is a challenging career. One of my managers passed on little tidbits of wisdom here and there. One of these things related to competition. He said, “You know, Dave. You don’t have to do too much to beat your competition. You just have to do a little more.” He was right. If you always do just a little more, you’ll beat most of the competition in your field that is unwilling to do a little more.

I am grateful for the many teachers I have come across that really cared about their students. I am grateful for the many mentors I had coming up in technical recruiting. I am also grateful for the many scholars and authors I continually learn from by reading their books. There is so much to learn and so many people you can learn from.

Take some time today to be grateful for all of the people who have taught you something that has served you well throughout your life. You’ll be amazed at all of the people who have had a dramatic effect on your life’s trajectory. I know the teachers I have had impacted my life in so many ways. I will be forever grateful for those teachers that spurred me to think, to continue learning, and to challenge the ideas of others.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Cutting Through Media Bias and Misinformation

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"fake" news, Critical Thinking, Left-wing, Media Bias, Right-wing, tolerance, Truth

“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.” – George Bernard Shaw

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/george_bernard_shaw_141483?src=t_wisdom

If you follow any of the news today, you have to read it with a healthy dose of skepticism. It seems that every day some media outlet makes a claim and then, within hours or days, they must retract, when the real story comes out. In many cases these stories are nothing more than “click bait”.

Our society has become so polarized that each side of the argument now has their own news outlets to listen to or read, only to be further polarized by the now “propaganda-like” stories. I don’t care if you are on the left or the right, both sides are becoming more divided and pursue almost ridiculous lines of inquiry.

So, what are we to do? Think critically. Thinking critically involves considering the source of your information, looking for the reason behind a person’s article or posting, and looking at multiple points of view. Once you have done this, you can make your decision about what you believe.

The challenge we have today is created by the vast amount of information we have access to. The days of three television stations and a few respected newspapers are long gone. Now the news is regurgitated from one source to the next, almost like a gaggle of gossipers who don’t refute a rumor but propagate it.

If you see a news story, read it. Then begin looking at different sources of information. I look at folks like Rush Limbaugh, the Daily Wire, and The Drudge Report. I also look at MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR. Once I have looked at a topic, I make a decision. If I am looking at a true-blue topic, say like climate change, I really dig into all the information and the science. I look at the source of the information I’m consuming. I read books.

I’m retired and have a lot of time on my hands. I get it when people tell me they don’t have that time. The best action you can take in these situations is to remain a skeptic. What purpose does the story have, who is writing it, why did they write it, where did they get their information from? These basic questions can help you out quite a bit when you take the time to really understand the story, behind the story.

I wish I could go to one source and trust it. Unfortunately, in our world, this is not the case. The news we consume is likely a biased, poorly researched, and regurgitated story, altered to fit the line or political bias the news outlet is aligned with. Whether the news we receive is from a left-oriented story or a right-oriented story, we need to take the time to look at alternative points of view and understand the purpose behind a news outlet’s story.

If you can use your common sense, do a little digging around, and make your own judgement call about what you believe is right, you’ll be able to dispense with the blockbuster story that is “gas-lighting” twitter or some other social media channel. We have access to so much information. Take your time doing some analysis before you go off the deep end and follow one of these stories down their respective rabbit hole. You’ll be less stressed, more informed, and you’ll be able to formulate your own opinion about a topic area.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Ted Talk Tuesday

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Balance, Conservative, Improving our World, Jonathan Haidt, Liberal, Stepping out of the Matrix, Ted Talk

If you have not read any of Jonathan Haidt’s work, you should look into this. This Ted Talk discusses the primary differences between Conservative and Liberal thought and demonstrates the need for both ideologies to move our world forward. This is really fascinating stuff.

Have a great Tuesday folks!

Until next time…

Dave