12 Wednesday Aug 2020
Posted in Wisdom Wednesday
Only the educated are free.
The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.
All religions must be tolerated… for every man must get to heaven in his own way.
No man is free who is not master of himself.
He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.
Have a great Wednesday, folks!
Until next time…
Dave
30 Thursday Apr 2020
Posted in Thankful Thursdays
Tags
5-minute journal, Articles, BrainyQuote, Content, Flipboard, Google News, Pocket, Quotes, WordPress
If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you’ve probably figured out I am not a huge fan of the mainstream media. The bulk of it is regurgitated news written by real reporters and twisted to fit a narrative.
Particularly now, you don’t know what is true, what has been fact-checked, and you have no idea who or what they are promoting. The days of just reporting the news are long gone and so am I as a former consumer of news. Now, it’s just one political argument from one side against the other and I just don’t want any part of it. I scan the news, but rarely dig into an actual article.
That’s why I’m thankful for my fellow bloggers who post real, heart-felt content. I’m also a fan of the Pocket and Flipboard apps. You can tailor what you see, save what you like, and both of these sites provide you with new articles that align with your interests and not theirs. They are also free. So it’s quite a bargain. I also enjoy Google News, but again, just to scan the news to gather what’s going on and forget about the details, which are a waste to read, anyway.
I enjoy sharing articles and quotes I enjoy with my social networks. I love Brainyquote and the 5-minute journal, both of which provide me with great quotes without a lot of digging around. So there you go. These are the sources online that I get all of my online content, other than WordPress.
What I do is pick an article from each of these sources and read them. Once I’ve read them, I’ll share them to Facebook. My quotes go to Instagram and Facebook. I enjoy article on outer space, history, writing, comics, video games, productivity, and other self-help topics. I also follow news streams and articles related to Python (programming language), JavaScript, and other languages I’m interested in. It’s great fun!
What’s interesting is the current lockdown has had ZERO impact on the way I live my life. I have always enjoyed relaxing days in my office or living room (when my laptop is up and running). I do my writing, reading, learning, and programming between 12 am and 3 am. This serves two purposes. First, it’s really quiet. Second, it frees up my time during the day to help my wife or around the house, when the folks need it.
So, today I am grateful for online content. It is a real service that provides me with learning, entertainment, and ideas to think about during the day.
Until next time…
Dave
05 Monday Aug 2019
Posted in Motivation Monday
“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” – Carol Burnett
Quote Credit: Brainyquote
Have you ever tried to change someone else? It’s pretty tough right? What about yourself? Also tough, right?
I’ve discussed change quite a bit on my blog, because it is constant. The change I am talking about are the changes you make to yourself. Do you want change or is someone else trying to change you? If you want change, you’ll get it done. If someone else wants you to change, you will resist.
In order to make a change in your life, you must want that change. Whether it is adding exercise to your day, meditation to your day, reading and writing to your day, or any number of things, you must make the change.
So, why is change so hard? It is hard because of the way our brain works. Our brain is terrific at automating things. Do something new and you struggle initially. Over time, the struggle transforms into something you do automatically. This is the very process I am talking about. Your brain records the actions you take. Do something enough and the neural pathways your brain uses to perform these tasks become stronger, much like adding twine to a rope. The more you do something, the stronger the neural pathway is.
So how long does it take? Some pundits say 60 days, others say 120 days. Honestly, I couldn’t care less. If you want to do something, do it. If you want to make a change, do it. If you really want to make the change, the time period that it takes to make it more subconscious shouldn’t matter.
Exercise has always been a challenge for me. I like doing it. I like the benefits that come from exercise, but some days I just don’t want to go. So, there it is. You may have something like this going on with you as well. Maybe your challenge is around a writing project, a yard project, school project, or something else. I struggle, but continue to push to get in an exercise routine in every day. What keeps driving me back to the gym? I want to be as healthy as I can be.
This brings up another discussion point—your why. Change is hard. It is impossible if you do not have a strong why. Why are you making the change? What benefit are you seeking? In order to be successful, your why needs to be stronger than your resistance to change.
What are some techniques you can use to make a change? You can put a daily reminder on your calendar or to-do app. You can have a set time during the day to do something. One of the best ways to get something solidified is to start small. Small changes build over time. These small changes build to big changes. Let’s say you have a goal and you want to begin working toward it. Instead of making a drastic change to your current life, make a small change. Small changes don’t take a lot of time or effort to do. They do, however, start building neural pathway. The stronger the neural pathway, the easier this task will become and the resistance you feel will dissipate.
Here’s my schedule for the week:
I’m also doing a few fun things:
Well, that’s it for now. Have a great week everyone!
Until next time…
Dave
