Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Give it a Rest.

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Do something else, Give it a rest, Let it be, Problems, Take some time, Unconscious mind, wisdom

It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.

John Steinbeck

Ever run into a problem that you just couldn’t solve? You work your tail off. You brainstorm. You put in place a plan of action. You still fail. It can be very frustrating.

Take a break. Give it a rest. The solution will reveal itself. Sometimes after a good night’s sleep. Sometimes after a good meal. Sometimes after you’ve put it aside for something more pleasurable. The subconscious mind is a powerful tool. It continues to work on the problem, even when you aren’t. That’s why this quote is so important. You can apply it to any problem, goal, or task.

I love Steinbeck. He was a great writer. He also had a pragmatic way of approaching his problems. His goal was writing one good page a day. That was it. If he wrote one good page in 15 minutes, he was done for the day. If it took him 3 hours, that’s was ok too.

I’m at that step in book writing called “scene creation”. It can be difficult. A story reveals itself to you as you work through it. Sometimes you hit a great way for your character to deal with something; other times you’re just drudging through the day, hoping for some inspiration.

I like to chip away at things. I don’t like to grind through 3 hours of misery. I do a little here today. I do a little more tomorrow. It works for me. It also lets me give my story some time to develop in my head, as I think about it throughout the day. My writing time is between 12 am and 3 am. I do my best to get as much done as possible on my blog, journal, letter writing, and working on my book. I do a bunch of other things as well, but the bulk of my 3 hours is writing anything and everything. It’s quiet, because my family is sleeping and when I get up I can socialize, run errands, and all the rest without worrying about what I have to do today because it is already done. The only things I do during the day are my exercise routine and my meditation practice.

Whether you are writing, composing music, writing a computer program, or struggling to come up with a solution to a problem. Give it some time. Go exercise, sleep on it, watch a show, or spend some time on something else that takes your mind off of things. You’ll be amazed at what you come up with when you return to your work.

Stay safe, stay informed, and follow the guidance of your local authorities.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Helping Others.

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Follow Guidance, Helping Others, Little tasks, social media, Stay busy, Stay Informed, Stay Safe

Well, the President extended the guidelines provided by the government out to April 30, 2020. The governor of Michigan has ended the school year. The virus is hitting New York hard, and has cropped up in Louisiana, Michigan (my home state), and a few other places. Idaho experienced an earthquake late this afternoon. This virus is hitting every country and territory on the planet.

How does one maintain their sanity? First, keep yourself busy. Develop a routine and stick with it. Second, if you are working remotely, continue to do a great job for your company, despite the new difficulties presented by remote work. Third, help other people.

How can you help? You can pay it forward at restaurants you’re picking up your food from. You can stay in touch with family, particularly those family members that are elderly and isolated. You can reach out to elderly neighbors to see if they need anything from the market when you go to resupply. You can be courteous to other people and keep your distance when in public. You can abide by the hours stores set for the elderly and other populations at the grocery store, Walmart, and other outlets that are still open. You can post positive, funny, educational, and helpful information to your social media feeds. You can be a good family member by helping to cook, clean, and help with chores you might not otherwise do because you’re at work.

The key to feeling better when you feel helpless, frightened, and overwhelmed is to help other people. This will help you focus on someone else and take your mind off of things. Not to mention how great it feels to help other people out. While I was out today, I took a few extra minutes to bring a few shopping carts back to the entryway of the store, besides mine. It’s a small task, but who knows how that contributed to an employee’s day, who would normally have to go out and get them. Little things build up. Take a few moments to help. It’s worth it.

Well, that’s all I got, folks. I hope you and your family are safe. I hope you are enjoying your time at home with your loved ones.

Stay safe, stay informed, and follow guidelines provided by your local, state, and government authorities.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Get Creative!

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creativity, Family Time, New Habits, New Hobbies, New Movies, New Music, New Recipes, New Things

How are you handling your day? For those of you with kids, I imagine many adjustments are being made in and around the home-schooling schedule. That being said, how are you tackling your day?

Are you exercising? Pursuing your goals?

Why not take the time you have and learn that new skill you’ve been looking to work on? Why not read that book that’s collecting dust? Why not try out some new recipes at home?

If you’re a TV person, take some time to get caught up on the series you haven’t had time to watch, or heck, change genres and spread your wings? Recently I watched an old Cagney film on Amazon. It was terrific!

The primary point of today’s posting is to get creative. Try new things. Get to work on those projects that were impossible when you add in a 3-hour commute to work. Get in some exercise. Everything you did while you were “free” is still possible if you put a little effort in. Exercises at the gym can be replaced with body weight exercises at home. Eating out can be replaced by ordering in. Work at the office can be replaced by Telework.

For those of you who have been laid off or let go because your company is tightening its belt, I’m sorry. It has to be scary to be out of work and locked down in your home. Make sure you are checking local sources for help. There are food banks, and other services that have been made available to hold you over.

If you’re sitting pretty, find out if any elderly neighbors need help with groceries. Offer your services to your local school, who may need some tutors. Take a look around online and make some calls. There are lots of things to do if you put your mind to it. You’ll help other people, and you’ll take your mind off of the craziness.

I hope you are staying safe. I hope you are staying informed. If you’re in the US, the best resources I’ve found are the CDC.gov website and the President’s daily briefings on the news or YouTube. On the CDC website, you’ll see a picture of the United States. If you click on your state in the graphic of the US, it’ll pull up your state’s health department. Your local paper will have your local health department with all the latest information that will apply directly to you.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope each of you are OK. Hang in there. This thing will end.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Go to the Source

Tags

CDC.gov, Coronavirus, Federal government, Local government, Local Radio, State government, Trusted Sources, wisdom

Well, it’s hard to post something to this blog with all the flooding of corona virus this and corona virus that. So today will be about something I consider being important during emergencies like this.

When I was in the Army, unit alerts, lockdowns, and high-stress situations were common. For the average civilian, not so much. So here are some pieces of advice that you can take or ignore.

Use trusted sources of information. For us in the states, the Center for Disease Control is the place to go. If you are in a country other than the U.S., you’ll have to look this up. I assume you know who this is. You’ll also want to tune into a local radio station that you trust. I would avoid CNN, MSNBC, and Fox news. These news channels are entertaining but very slanted one way or another politically and mostly conjecture and opinion.

These trusted news sources will provide you with information specific to your area. I can tell you, particularly in the U.S. that responses to this emergency are dramatically different in each state. My wife, brother, niece, and nephew are in Arizona. Me, my sister, and Mom and Dad are in Michigan. The responses and situations in our two states are different. For example, Michigan shut down all of its K-12 schools a good week ahead of Arizona.

Local news will keep you apprised of any cases in your area and what changes/updates there are in your area. Right now there are no restaurants or gyms open. Drive-thru services are available and so are takeout services, but no restaurants are open for sit in, business.

You’ll also notice changes to business hours for most of your grocery stores, club stores like Costco and Sam’s club, and other businesses. Plan on some shelves being empty. Our local Sam’s club was devoid of toilet paper, but was full for all other items, including meat, fresh vegetables, and other items they typically shelve. Your area may be different.

If you do a lot of shopping online, you’re going to notice that Amazon is very limited on food items and that the typical two-day shipping capability is gone. I did some random searches for food items and it looks like some are out-of-stock and the earliest food items can be delivered is in the first week of April.

Ignore social media items concerning the corona virus. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok are all fun, but ignore the information shared there, even from family members that do not live with you. Social media is a rumor mill or grapevine on crack. You don’t know who the sources are, you don’t know if these sources are fact-checked, and they spread like wildfire across social media networks because that’s what these companies want. They want their information to go viral so they can get clicks, followers, and so on, for advertisement purposes. They ARE NOT TRUSTED resources. Go to government websites, like your local government, state government, or the federal government.

Remain calm. Is it comfortable working from home if you’ve never done it before? Is it fun to have to get takeout instead of sitting down in your local hangout or coffee shop? Is it stressful to be bombarded by all the news on the coronavirus 24-hours a day without a break? Of course not.

Visit your news sources a few times a day and do whatever else you do with the rest of your day. I exercise in the home, read books, take my online courses, blog, work on my fiction book, and journal. The rest of my day is either watching a show on a streaming service, playing some games on my Xbox, or hanging out with my family. You’ll find that cutting off some of your news will reduce your stress levels dramatically. You’ll also be more relaxed by focusing your efforts on home chores, hobbies, chatting with friends and family, and getting on with your life.

Obviously, this is a unique situation for all of us across the globe. Some situations are really tough, while others are pretty much the same. Be safe, follow the instructions you receive from trusted resources and news outlets, and help others when you can. Our neighbor asked my Mom if she could get anything for us today. We didn’t need anything, but it was a neighborly thing to do. You can do the same for people in your area. Doing nice things for others will also reduce stress.

Well, that’s all I got for today. I hope all of you are safe, and things are going well for you and your families.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Frightful Things

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failure, Feeling, Goal, Henry Ford, Law of Reversed Effort, Mistakes, Obstacles, Visualizations

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

Henry Ford

Have you ever attempted to do something you’ve never done before?

Initially, you’re excited. You are gang busters to get this new thing done. Then, reality hits. You start running into problems. You don’t know how to do this; you don’t know how to do that. Then you make a breakthrough, and you are motivated all over again. The cycle continues over and over until you finish.

Think about how many things you would like to do, but blow off because you are afraid you’ll fail. This is when Henry Ford’s quote comes into play. When you see failure before you begin, you will probably not do that thing. You figure, I’m going to screw it up, so why put in the effort.

Let me fill you in. You will always fail when you try something new. Why? Because it’s new. You can do some research to see where others have failed, but we are all creative. We’ll figure a way to screw up that no one else has figured out.

Here’s a technique you can use to achieve your next goal. Visualize what you want. See yourself complete it. Feel how you will feel when you’ve achieved the goal. The visualizing is more powerful when you can visualize how you will feel.

You see, we are wired to scan our environments for hazards. This is how our mind is built to ensure our survival as an organism. When we see obstacles to our goals, we worry, we get stressed out; we visualize what would happen if we hit one of those things. The negative visualization and the feelings we automatically associate with these visualizations are automatic.

To overcome these negative visions, we have to replace them with a vision of success and combine that vision with the feelings we will have when we complete our goal. This is all associated with the Law of Reversed Effort. When we reverse the way we look at things, we can achieve them. You see?

So here’s what you do. Whenever you get frustrated or stressed out over pursuing one of your goals, take a few minutes to close your eyes, visualize achieving the goal you’ve set for yourself, and add feeling to these visuals. You will immediately change your viewpoint and your body will react in kind, just like it does with the automatic negative feelings you generate without too much thought. This is how you take your mind off of the obstacles in your way and reset your sites on the achievement of your goal. Practice this. At first, you may not reap the benefits you are seeking. Keep at it. Once you develop this skill, you will no longer be plagued by the obstacles that are in your way and achieving goals will become easier and easier, despite the difficulty.

I hope this helps those of you who are struggling with self-defeating thoughts.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Oh, Those Little Surprises

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Actions, Attitude, Blind-sided, Emotions, Execute, Plan, Surprises, Think

You ever wake up, looking forward to your day, and then get a phone call, email, or text that upends everything? Yeah, you know those days, right? The days you wish you would never have gotten out of bed, or called in sick to binge watch Netflix or get on your XBOX and get in some Call of Duty.

The key to getting through these days is to realize how important our attitude is. All of us get these “little surprises”. They are as common as breathing. So what do I mean by attitude?

Our attitude relates to how we deal with these surprises. Do we take them in stride or do we let them blow away our whole day, week, or month?

What I have found to be most effective is to not react so quickly. Take some time to understand what this surprise is asking of you. Do you need to fill out a form, make a phone call, or seek someone’s council? Decide what you need to do with whatever you got blindsided by. It may be as simple as marking a date on a calendar to revisit when you can do something about it. In other circumstances, you may need to sit down and put together a plan of action.

This planning phase takes a lot of “edge” off of the surprise and gets you thinking about how to solve the problem or finish this new task. The less emotion you are, the better. Just start brainstorming for ideas, write them down, decide which action makes the most sense, and plan out a course of action.

The next time you get blind-sided by something, take your time. Let the initial emotional reaction subside. Then think. You’ll find you always have a solution available.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – No regrets

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Adventure, Do What Scares You, Jump In The Cold Water, Lucille Ball, No Regrets Only Lessons, Risk, Taking Your Lumps, wisdom

I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.

Lucille Ball

When I look back at my life, I’m pleased. I’ve taken my knocks like anyone else does in life, but I’m proud of what I’ve done. I have lived a full life and there are so many good things yet to come.

I was reminiscing about my military career and all the places I got to visit and experience. Europe was one of my favorite places. I got to see a good chunk of Europe while I was assigned there and met so many great people. I also got to see some great places, enjoyed great food, and saw so many breath-taking sites.

Celebrating New Year at the Brandenburg gate the same year the wall came down was truly one of my most memorable events I was part of. I remember bumping into to college students from Harvard. I asked them, “Why the hell are you here?” Their reply: “Are you kidding? This is the best New Year’s celebration on the planet!” They were right. We shared some Jack Daniels and relished the moment.

Do I have regrets? You bet. I regret getting divorced twice. What did I learn? I learned to be a better husband. I regret filing bankruptcy twice. What did I learn? To never borrow money to buy a toy I would regret buying in a few months that made ZERO impact on my life.

The moral of this story: Get out there and do things. Experience things. Enjoy what you have while you have it. Make mistakes. Learn. Continue to do the things that scare you. What’s life if not lived on the edge?

I hope all of you have a great Wednesday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Small Deeds

Tags

Action, Artists, Authors, habits, Intention, John Burroughs, Poets, rituals, Small Deeds, Words

The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.

John Burroughs

I’m a huge advocate for building out daily rituals that align with one’s goals. If you want to write a book, you’ve got to read daily, write daily, and learn about writing daily. If you want to be in good shape, exercise daily, eat right daily, meditate daily, drink water daily, and sleep daily.

It’s the little teeny steps you take toward your goals that get you to where you want to go. Writing a book is easy, if you write a little of your book every day. Learning a new language is easy, if you learn a new word or phrase every day. Getting stronger is easy if you build your strength a little each day. Get it?

The small deeds John Burroughs recommends are the little steps you take toward your goals. Taking one small step is so much more effective than planning how you’ll take that step or that you intend to take a step. Just take the step and you’ll be one step closer to your goals and what you want in life.

Don’t rush it. Artists build their paintings in stages. Authors write their stories in layers. You start with an outline; you flesh it out, then you go back and refine, as the picture in your mind becomes more clear.  You can’t or won’t complete all of this in a day or a week. Take your time. Be patient. Be consistent.

Stop talking about what you will do and start doing it. Take small steps. You will get there.

Thanks for visiting.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Practical Learning

Tags

Capability, Complacency, Language, Learning, Life Long, Practical Learning, Programming

“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.”

Anton Chekhov

Photo by Oladimeji Ajegbile on Pexels.com

I enjoy learning. I really do. I enjoy learning because it provides me with more capabilities.

I’ve always wanted to write my computer programs, mainly games, productivity apps for Google Play and the Apple Store, and anything else I can think of. Anything that can prove to be a source of residual income is worth pursuing in my mind.

I like to write. I’m working on my first fiction story. How do I create scenes, meaningful dialogue, and pace my story? It’s all available to you if you take the time to find it. Courses, other authors, blogs, books, magazines. This stuff is available everywhere. You just have to look, try something out, and look again if that source didn’t work out.

What is practical learning? Practical learning is learning with a purpose—a necessity. If you own an iPhone, learn how to use it. If you have a computer, learn how to use email, basic office programs like a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software, and even a database if you track a lot of stuff.

Photo by Nana Dua on Pexels.com

If you want to write a book, take a course on it, interact with other authors and get their advice. Read some books. Take some courses.

I would like to learn a new language. I want to learn Spanish. My wife is from Mexico and it would be great to speak to her in her native language. I am also looking to retire in Panama at some point and it would be nice to speak the language with the people that live there.

Photo by Victoria Borodinova on Pexels.com

When you set out to learn something, don’t just learn to learn. It’s a waste of time. Learn something that adds to you. Learn something that helps make your life easier. Learn something that keeps you relevant. New technology? Learn it. New hobby? Learn it. Health problem? Research it and learn about it from your doctor. Weight lifting? Learn how to do it. There are tons of topics you can learn that will give you more capability to produce more, create more, and continue to interact in this highly technical world.

Don’t fall behind. Embrace change. Embrace new technologies. Embrace learning. All of us should continue to learn new things daily. You have time, turn off the television. You have time; you commute to work. You have time, because learning new things will save you time in the long run. Take one course on Udemy that will provide you with more capability. Typically, you can find a course on sale for about $12 U.S. You can take one lesson in that course a day and it will only require 3-20 minutes of your time.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope all of you have a terrific Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

 

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Seek Novelty

Tags

Experiencing, How the Brain Learns, Learning, Novelty, Reading, Sousa, Variety, wisdom

In Sousa’s (2017) book, novelty is something the brain loves. It is stimulated by new things. In fact, it is monumentally more receptive to novelty than the mundane. Why? Because the brain is wired for survival. New things could prove fatal, right?

Assuming we are pursuing novelty in our environment that is safe, it will stimulate us. So, it would be wise to seek out new things to do to attain this maximized stimulation and increased potential for retention.

Experience New Things

Remember the last time you went to a new store, restaurant, or location? You feel more alive. You are anxious to see the menu, products, or sites. You sense new smells, new color combinations, new visuals. It is an amazing experience to visit a new place and enjoy all of it.

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Do New Things

Have you ever gotten into a rut? It’s boring, time drags, and exhausting. Go places you don’t typically go to. Maybe a museum? Maybe a flea market? Maybe a farmer’s market? What about a great bookstore? How about catching a show with your local amateur acting group? A new hiking trail? Maybe you could take a new route to work?

Photo by Nina Uhlíková on Pexels.com

Learn New Things

I enjoy learning new things. I’m learning MS Publisher. I’m taking a beginning Algebra course. I’m taking a Neuro-Linguistic-Programming (NLP) course. All of these courses introduce novel information. This information can be used for all sorts of things as your brain internalizes the information and integrates it with the knowledge you already possess.

You want to learn to draw, pick up a new language, or take great pictures with your iPhone? Take a course, find a local workshop or class, or find a meetup where you can interact with new people and learn a skill at the same time.

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Read New Things

I like to read articles from numerous sources like the Atlantic, Inc, and Forbes. I enjoy articles by Scientific American. I try to read as much as I can during the week and stretch my mind by reading other’s work and understanding their point of view.

In today’s polarized climate, it is so easy to fall into an ideological bucket and lose one’s ability to really think through an issue. I try to avoid the extremes of an argument by reading articles from both sides of an issue and finding what I believe the real solution is: somewhere in the middle.

If you enjoy Science Fiction and Thrillers, read Literary Fiction, read a classic, or read a mystery or romance novel. The change is stimulating, particularly if you find a great author.

Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com

Novel experiences make for an enjoyable life. A life lived fully. So get out there. Do something different, even if it involves trying something new at a favorite restaurant. Your brain will thank you.

If you would like to learn more about how the brain learns, read Sousa’s (2017) book below under reference. It is a fascinating and informative read.

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Sousa, D. A. (2017). How the brain learns. (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. ISBN-13: 9781506346304