Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – How to be wiser

Tags

Brainstorming, Changing Viewpoints, decisions, Disassociate, family, Friends, journal, Learning from the past, wisdom

How to Be Wiser

Today’s Wisdom Wednesday post was inspired by an article I read over the weekend. It discusses how all of us can become wiser. Interestingly, it involves a few mind games you can utilize to invoke your inner wisdom.

The first step is to imagine you are advising a friend. Think about that. It is always easier for us to tell a friend what they should do if they ask us for advice. Why? Because we aren’t directly involved.

Another tactic you can use is imagine you are staring down at yourself from above. At the ground level you are blinded, you can only see what you see in front of you and behind you. You can’t see far enough ahead to see if something will actually deliver the best results when you make a decision. Now, imagine you are on top of a mountain and you can see what lies ahead. In this elevated position you can see what is up ahead.

You can also disassociate from yourself and make believe you are a friend giving you advice. When you are giving a friend advice, it is always easier and you will always provide them with better advice, then they could come up with on their own, because you can see their blind spots.

One technique I use is my journal. If you take the time to document what you are thinking about, including the decisions you make, you will find that you will see where you went wrong in the past. You can see the mistakes you made and avoid them in the future. By keeping a journal, you can review what went wrong and think about other solutions that were available at the time. You can ask questions like, why didn’t I do this instead? Or, you could see the options you were weighing at the time and see a better solution you can use in the future.

When you go back and review your journal, it mimics the suggestions in the article, How to be wiser (Hammond, 2017). When you are reviewing your journal, you can separate from yourself and become more objective.

Finally, you can brainstorm when you are tackling a new problem. You can write down all the potential solutions to a problem you have and weigh each one against the other. You can game out potential results with each solution you come up with. If you’re still stuck, you can take all of your brainstormed ideas and bounce them off a trusted friend or family member. In some cases, they may have already experienced what you have and may have a solution that worked for them.

Wisdom is gained over a lifetime. We can increase our wisdom by separating ourselves from our problems and attempt to view them from a higher vantage point. We can seek out advice from our friends and family. We can review our journal for previous problems we have faced and use the learning gained in our past and apply it to our present difficulties. Each of us has the ability to become wise and make better choices. We just have to become more aware of our circumstances and use all the tools that are available to us to make the best decision we can make with all the information at hand.

I hope all of you have a great Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Hammond, C. (2017). How to be wiser. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170124-how-to-be-wiser

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Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursdays – Family

Tags

family, Good Food, Good times, Grateful, Nephew, Netflix, Sister, Thankful, Wife

Our nephew visited this last week for a few days. It was great having him here. We went out to some restaurants, hung out on our deck, watched some shows on Netflix, and got in a little Xbox gaming. He got plenty of face time with Mom and Dad and we all enjoyed his stay. He headed back yesterday to get ready for his senior year at ASU, which started today. My sister also came up for a few days. While she was here we binge-watched Mindhunter Season 2 on Netflix. If you haven’t watched the Mindhunter series, it is worth your while.

I have been working with my wife to help her get ready for her teacher’s certification. We have been burning the midnight oil every day for the last few weeks for a few hours each night. It’s nice to help her get ready.

I am thankful for all the opportunities to spend time with family. I am blessed that I could be in the situation to spend time with my folks during their senior years. It was great seeing the nephew this week. It is also nice to spend time with my wife, while she pursues her career in Arizona. I am so proud of her.

I am also grateful for the new followers this week. Daily Ramblings is slowly creeping toward the goal of 1000 followers this year. It is nice to see new followers when I check into the Daily Ramblings blog site on WordPress. Thank you to all who have opted to follow my blog.

Over the next few days, I’ll be on a religious retreat, so Friday and Saturday postings will not happen. I’ll be too busy with the retreat and will not have time to get something up on the site. I’ll see you all on Monday!

I hope all of you have a great weekend!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Pets

Tags

Companionship, family, Goldie, Grateful, Gratitude, Love, pets, Thanks, Weezer

Image by Sven Lachmann from Pixabay

As always, thank you to all my new followers this week! It’s always nice to get an email notifying me of a new follower. I appreciate it. It is nice to know that people are reading my content and enjoying it. Thank you very much.

Today, I want to express thanks for the pets that have blessed my life. My family lost two pets in the last month. Goldie was our golden retriever that had to be put down a week ago. The day we made the call, poor Goldie had upwards of 9 seizures. Weezer, my sister’s dog had to be put down a few weeks prior for a brain tumor. The memories of both dogs will be with me and my family forever. Dogs provide so much love to a family. They are good companions, funny, and love to hang out with you. It was not uncommon for Goldie to be in the same room with us, wherever we were. Because Mom, Dad, and I all have different places we like to be, Goldie would always position herself so she was in the middle of us. She had four places she liked. The first was the hallway outside my Mom’s, Dad’s, and my rooms. When we are all on our computers, you could turn around and see Goldie in the hallway, ever vigilant. When Dad and I watch television, Goldie is there watching the shows with us. When my Mom is out on our deck in the morning, Goldie is out there. We’ll miss you Goldie and Weezer. When the family is congregating in our living room in the morning, Goldie was there.

Whether you are a dog lover, cat lover, have birds, or a goldfish, pets are a great addition to any home. Yeah, they are a pain at times, but the love they give makes any home a warm one. They are companions that do not judge. They are just there to keep you company, get a petting, a treat, and are the best listeners in the world.

If you have a pet you’d like to highlight, comment with a picture of your fur baby. They are a treasure that add so much to our lives.

Me and Weezer at my Sister’s House

Goldie in one of her favorite places in our home—the living room floor

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Brother’s Last Day

Tags

Brother, Chernobyl the series, Dead Space, Eating out, family, Game of Thrones, Heading Home, XBOX gaming

Well, today is the last day my brother will be here. I’m taking him to the airport later today. We had a great time while he was here. We went out to eat a few nights; we got caught up on Game of Thrones and watched a show on HBO called Chernobyl, and played some video games, which we both enjoy immensely.

He’ll be heading back to Phoenix today to get back to work. My sister got a new job at GM and started on Monday. This week is predominantly orientations and training. My Mom’s cataract surgery went well. She has some follow-up appointments in the next week.

I’ll be back up to a full blogging schedule starting tomorrow. I wanted to avoid my daily rituals while my brother was here to make sure someone entertains him. Most of my day is writing on my laptop. We did get in a few workouts at the local Planet Fitness. My black membership allows me to bring one guest for free.

It’s always fun when my brother comes out. I’ll head to Phoenix sometime this year, but don’t know when yet. Maybe during Christmas or even around Thanksgiving time.

That’s all I got today, folks. Have a great Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave 

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Vacation

Tags

family, Grateful, Happy, Little Moments, Relaxed, Thankful, vacation

Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay 

It’s always nice to visit my sister in Plymouth, MI. I arrived last night. We caught up, watched a movie, and had some good food. It’s nice to hang out with her. Today is a relaxed day. Sis is working on her upcoming online business and I am working through my daily list of to-dos.

Today, I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for God. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful for my ability to learn new things. I am thankful for my ability to contemplate and plan. I am thankful for my friends and colleagues. I am thankful for our pets. I am grateful for my wife and stepdaughters. I am grateful for the little moments.

Our lives are composed of a string of moments. Moments where we feel something profound. That moment we blow out the candles on our birthday cake. A moment when we kiss someone for the first time. A moment of cuddling with a glass of wine and some cheese, with romantic music playing in the background. The moment you get a promotion. The moment you enjoy the quiet while you read a good book. We store these moments, like photos in an album, or pieces of newspaper clippings in a scrapbook. It’s these little moments that comprise our lives and what we remember when we reminisce about the great moments in our lives.

I don’t remember a lot about my childhood, but I remember the important moments that were meaningful. I moment when I was in the back of the family car waiting for my Dad to get off work. It was my birthday, and I was so happy and loved that I hugged my Mom from the back seat and cried because I was so happy in that moment. It was a moment that still affects me today. I remember these moments because the meaningful ones, filled with emotion, are the ones we hang on to. We never forget them.

While on vacation I neglect most of my to-dos to get a breather. I enjoy taking time off from my day-to-day things and just watch shows or play games or read. It is a nice respite from my daily routines. It keeps things fresh. I’ll be on vacation until Saturday and then I’m back to it. I hope all of you are having a great week. If you haven’t done this before, take a few moments and think about what you are grateful for in your life. It is a nice exercise that puts things into perspective.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Workout Routine – Day Off

Tags

Celebration, Day Off, family, Holiday, Mother's Day, Rest and Recuperation

Considering all of our family’s Mother’s Day Plans, I’m taking the day off from the gym today to celebrate with the family and enjoy Mom’s day. I hope all of you Mothers out there are getting spoiled royally today!

See you at the finish line…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – It’s Great to Learn New Things

Tags

Coursera, family, God, Learning, Life, Reading, Udemy, Writing

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Today I am grateful for the ability to read, write, and learn. Think about some people on the planet that are illiterate or have suffered from a traumatic brain injury or a learning disability that precludes them from learning the same way you and I learn. My wife is a special education teacher, and she works with these kids every day.

I am grateful for my interest in learning new things. I truly enjoy learning something I didn’t know yesterday. I enjoy taking a trip with an author and walking through the mental libraries they have created in their books. “Look here”, they say. “Look there. This is really important.” I am also grateful for the free repositories of books online and my local library. So many books to read and so little time.

Online learning is also a terrific thing. Think about it. You can learn a great deal by reading other people’s blogs, reading books, and attending classes and webinars, most of which are absolutely free. Why learn you ask? It adds to you. It provides you with skills that you can continue to earn a living with. It gives you a wide berth of experiences through other’s eyes that you may not have the ability to do on your own.

I recently read a book about finding out what you love to do. Think about how many people are in jobs they hate. Can you imagine going to a job that stressed you out and made you unhappy? We all have to make a living one way or another. People who are trapped in a job they hate is a really bad place to be in. Yet, many do not take advantage of the learning opportunities that are available to them. I am grateful that I am not one of these people.

I am always looking to improve. I want to improve my physical body; I want to improve my spiritual practice; I want to improve my skill set, and I want to build my knowledge. I am grateful I have that drive to do these things, day in and day out. Recently, I started listening to albums on Spotify, starting with various jazz artists. I also enjoy the classics, but wanted to start with Jazz. I listened to albums by Miles Davis and Bill Brubeck. Wow! What a treat. I am going to listen to Dizzy Gillespie next. It will be a nice treat. When I listen I put in my earphones, close my eyes, and picture myself in some speakeasy, listening and watching the band and the people there. It is terrific how music takes you places when it is really good.

I hope each of you can find things in your lives you are grateful for. It is a great feeling to sit back and think about all the things that contribute to your life and how nice it is to have them. Gratitude for God, for family, for your life, with all of its difficulties, and the rich experiences each of our lives contain, if we only look and appreciate them. Life is too short to be pissed off or afraid all the time. Take some time each day to express your gratitude for even the smallest thing. It will change the way you engage with the world and interestingly, when you have cultivated the gratitude habit, the world will give you more things to be grateful for.

Life is grand.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday

Tags

Birthday, family, Friday, Fun times, Funny, Giggle, Joke, Laugh, Laughter, Psycho, Pun, Sister

“How do crazy people go through the forest? They take the psycho path.”

Courtesy of Pun.me

Have a great Friday! It’s my sister’s birthday today! She’s coming down tomorrow to hang out with us. It’ll be a good time.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday

Tags

Bible, Blog Schedule, family, Friends, God, New Followers, technology, Thank you

Thank you! It was nice to see some new followers this week. I really appreciate folks who take a chance on spending some time with my blog. I try to mix things up from time-to-time, but tend to stick with a pretty static schedule. Here it is for those of you who are new:

• Motivation Monday
• Ted Talk Tuesday
• Wisdom Wednesday
• Thankful Thursday/Thinking Thursday
• Funny Friday
• Spiritual Saturday
• Series/Story/Sunday (Once in a while)

Bonus content can be any day of the week, when I am inspired to write about something other than the above-scheduled topics

I also post my Workout Routines, when I do one. These are pretty boring, but if anyone needs good ideas for working out, a diet they can try, or any other information I believe will help someone start or continue an exercise program, it will be on these posts.

Today, I am grateful for technology. It is so nice to be able to get 100% of my work done on a laptop, anywhere I want. Sometimes I’ll be posting from my favorite coffee shop, a restaurant, or even the beach. Today, I’m working in my living room. The weather in Michigan is quite rainy and cold, so going outside is not realistic at this point.

I also enjoy technology because I can listen to music wherever I am and take online courses with the same flexibility. It truly is a blessing to be able to find a course to learn about something I want to know about and have access to universities across the globe to get at that information.

I am grateful for the ability to communicate with the world through this blog and other mediums. It is awesome. Some folks make good money running their blog. I run mine as a way to express myself and use this as a means of communicating my thoughts on a whole host of topics. It is a lot of fun!

I am also grateful for social media. I don’t spend a lot of time in these areas because they tend to eat up a lot of time if you let them, but it is really nice to interact with people all over the world–instantly. I think the more we can interact in these areas, the more closely we will come together as a planet. At least that’s my hope. There are some websites, like Twitter, which are an absolute war zone politically.

Finally, I am grateful for WordPress. WordPress makes things so easy and being able to run a blog for free is really nice. At some point, I’ll move to a paid sight, but that’s a bit off in the future, once I’ve achieved a higher follower count. I’m still tweaking my message and learning about blogging so I can build up a following that will provide me a larger platform. I have a great deal to say and enjoy the infrequent interactions with my followers.

Well, that’s what I’m grateful for this week. As always, I am grateful for my family, my friends, God, my Bible, my health, and our pets. It is a real privilege to be alive and have the opportunity to experience everything life has to offer. I wish all of you a terrific Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday

Tags

Easter weekend, family, Family get together, Friends, Grateful, Gratitude, Thank you, Thankful Thursday

First, thank you to all of my new followers this week! I really enjoy new followers and always interested in what attracts new followers to my blog. For those of you who are new, here’s my posting schedule:

 

• Motivation Monday
• Ted Talk Tuesday
• Wisdom Wednesday
• Thankful Thursday
• Funny Friday
• Spiritual Saturday
• Series Sunday (infrequent)
• Workout Routine on days I workout (pretty much every day)

Today, I’m thankful for my family, my health, and my friends. I really enjoy hanging out with friends and family. This last weekend for Easter, my sister came over. It was great fun, going out to eat, hanging out, and watching some shows.

I hope all of you had a terrific time over the Easter weekend.

Until next time…

Dave