Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – How to be wiser

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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 – Wisdom Wednesday – Treatment of Others

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Abigail Van Buren, Actions, Character, Friends, Listening, Seeing, Watching

Image by Mircea Iancu from Pixabay 

“The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.” ― Abigail Van Buren

Have you ever been in a restaurant and watched someone treats a waiter or waitress with disrespect? Have you seen someone taunt a homeless person?

I have learned that the adage ‘actions speak louder than words’ is true. I’ve learned that people say a lot of things. They say them to make themselves feel better about themselves. Then you watch them act and in some cases it is exactly opposite. This is wisdom. It will help you negotiate who your friends are, who you do business with, and protect you from the people who lie to you and themselves all the time.

Wondering if you should go out with that guy or gal? Wondering if you should be friends with this person or that person? Watch them. Listen to them. If they walk their talk consistently, you’ve probably made a good choice. If not—run!

Let’s say you like a guy or gal. You set a date with them to go out. At the last minute, they bail. Then you set another date with them to go out and they do it again. This is probably someone you should avoid going forward. You can be friends or acquaintances, but they have shown you they don’t care about your time or you. Cross them off your list.

Let’s say your “friend” starts talking about another one of your friends behind their back. Again, another character issue. If they talk about your friends behind their back, what do they talk about behind your back? Cross them off your list.

Let’s say your friend commits to helping you out on one of your projects. They commit to doing something that is crucial to your project’s completion. They drop the ball and avoid you for weeks. Cross them off your list.

Actions speak louder than words. You want to know someone? Stop listening to what they say and begin watching what they do. You’ll soon learn who your true friends are.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

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

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Happy Easter!

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Easter, family, Friends, Holiday, Relaxation, Religious, vacation, Worship

Today is Easter! For those of you who celebrate, I wish you a terrific Easter Sunday! I love holidays because it’s the one time during the year we can celebrate together with family and friends. My sister is visiting and Dad and I are having a great time with her. My Mom is in Minneapolis this weekend for ECKANKAR’s Springtime Seminar. She enjoys going to the major seminars to reconnect with friends she has made on Facebook and to pitch in on discussion round tables that are held at these events.

I wish all of you a terrific day wherever you are in the world. If you have any Easter memories to share, please do so in the comments below.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Thankful Thursday – Being Grateful for the Little Things

Tags

Appreciative, family, Friends, Grateful, health, Life, Little Things, pets, Tecumseh, Thankful

“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” – Tecumseh

Read more at: BrainyQuote

I want to start today’s post with a “Thank You!” to my new followers this week. I appreciate you following my blog and hope my content helps or inspires you to do great things in your life. Today is Thankful Thursday and I want to talk about the things we take for granted in our lives.

Each morning I journal. The first thing I do is write in my dream journal, recording whatever I remember about the dreams I had the night before. The second thing I do is write in my gratitude and affirmations journal. The third thing I do is work through my morning pages to empty my mind and think about the day ahead. All these journals are important in different ways. The most important journal is my Gratitude and Affirmations Journal.

I am grateful for this life. I am grateful for God’s love. I am grateful for my family and friends. I am grateful for my pets. I am grateful for the little things. Little things, like a warm cup of coffee as I stare out my office window and look at the snow. A nice meal. A good book and a cup of tea. I am grateful for my health. I am grateful for the intellect I am blessed with. I am grateful for the insights that come into my mind.

The beauty of practicing gratefulness is the way it focuses my mind on the good rather than the bad. It is so easy to be unconscious. It is so easy to develop bad habits. It is so easy to blame everything outside of us for our problems. It is so easy to get upset and pissed off. I started my gratitude practice by writing three things I was grateful for. Initially, it was hard. It was hard because it takes a conscious effort. It requires you to act and recognize how great your life is.

Despite your current circumstances, you have lots to be grateful for. You are alive. This life is yours to live. Be grateful for what you have. Look at all the things that make your life great. Maybe it’s your warm bed. Maybe it is one of your friends. Maybe it is taking a hot bath or shower. Find things to be grateful for. You will notice a feeling enter you. This feeling will be one of comfort, joy, and contentment. It may take a while to recognize it because we are so focused on what’s wrong with our lives. Flip the switch. Look for what’s right. Focus on that.

Each of you who are reading this posting has things to be grateful for. What are they? When you think about them, how do you feel? Try this out for a month. Each morning take time to write three things you are grateful for. Constantly look for new things to express your thanks for. When you concentrate on what’s good, more things will rise to your attention. Before long you will have hundreds of things you are grateful for. This is one habit that can change your life. It will change your life because it will focus your attention on the good rather than the bad. It is a great way to live.

Well folks, that’s it for today. I hope each of you begins a daily gratitude practice. It will make a huge difference—promise.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – The GOYA Principle

Tags

Albert Schweitzer, Analysis Paralysis, Friends, Heroes, inspiration, Slumps, The GOYA Principle

“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” – Albert Schweitzer

We all experience a slump. Nothing seems to work well. We lose our motivation or desire to do what we set out to do. We begin to doubt what we are doing is worth doing.

How can you get yourself out of a slump? Use the GOYA principle. If you are unfamiliar with the GOYA principle, you can thank Tom Hopkins. Tom is the author of How to Master the Art of Selling. In this book he describes a slump in his life. He was a fledgling real estate salesman and was having a tough time of it. The story about how he got himself out of his slump involved his boss taking him on a ride to cool off. Once they had driven around for a bit, his boss told him to get out of the car. He then told Tom to knock on every door of every house on his way back to the office. By the time he got back to the office he had a few leads and some potential homes to sell. The moral of the story: Use the GOYA principle. What is the GOYA principle you ask?

G-Get

O-Off

Y-Your

A-Ass

When you let your mind and emotions get in your way and over-analyze what you are doing, you will begin doing more analysis than work. Slumps come when you stop doing the work that works in your field of endeavor. We all do this from time-to-time. We sabotage our own efforts when we stop doing what we already know works.

In this example, Tom’s boss was the catalyst that rekindled Tom’s faith in the process of selling homes. Who is your go to when you are in a slump? Is it a boss? Is it your wife or significant other? Is it a good friend who knows you better than yourself? For me, my catalyst has always been the many great authors of the world.

I discovered this this morning as I worked through my morning journaling. I obtain inspiration from the books I read. I obtain inspiration from the stories of heroes taking on challenges and overcoming them. I read about others who have struggled with their inner demons and conquered them. My heroes are the scientists, philosophers, explorers, generals, writers, artists, musicians, and poets. I am also inspired by quotes. I pass along the quotes I find to my followers with the hope they will do for you what they do for me. Quotes inspire, motivate, and awaken us to the wisdom of the ages.

Slumps come and go. Work through them. Get back to basics. Stop analyzing. GET OFF YOUR ASS.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Post Christmas

Tags

Christmas, Contentment, Enjoyment, family, Friends, Joy, Love, Planning, reflection

Well, the family has gone home! It was a great two days, hanging out with my sister and her boyfriend. It was nice opening presents. It was awesome watching some movie favorites, like Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I enjoyed the holiday season this year because it was so great to revisit Phoenix and reconnect with friends and family there. It was also nice to come home and enjoy family, my Mom’s roast duck and all of the goodies I enjoy eating during the holidays.

Now it’s time to continue the celebration as we approach the New Year. This week, like the previous week will result in altered postings because I want to focus on the holidays and worry about the schedule again at the commencement of 2019.

I hope all of you had a great time with your families and friends and are looking to create the best year yet in 2019. I hope all of you have a safe and joyous New Year’s celebration.

All the best to you and your families during this precious time of the year.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Merry Christmas!

Tags

Board Games, Christmas, Christmas Eve, family, Friends, Good Food, Laughter, Relaxation

I’ll forego my typical Motivation Monday posting to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! My sister and her boyfriend are on the way, Mom is in the kitchen preparing the meal, and Dad is reading the paper in his favorite rocking chair.

The family dog is where she always is, relaxing at the foot of my desk as I compose this posting.

As a retired veteran, I would be remiss if I forgot to wish all the men and women of our Armed Forces a Merry Christmas too! I was separated from family many times throughout my career and it was nice to hear from folks back home, wishing me well. One year, a judge from my hometown wrote me a letter, explaining that he had served in the Korean War and missed quite a few Christmas holidays with his family. His letter meant a lot to me, particularly since I was reading it from a guard post on Christmas Eve at the now-disassembled Spandau Prison in W. Berlin, guarding Rudolph Hess, one of the last minions of Hitler’s inner circle.

I also want to wish our first-responders a Merry Christmas. Many of them will be working tonight, while we are sleeping, to keep us safe. I hope all of you have a quiet night and get home safe and sound to celebrate the day with your families.

I hope all of you have the time to think about 2018 and all of the great things you’ve accomplished. I also hope you take some time to begin thinking about all of the great things that lay ahead for you in 2019.

Use this time to enjoy your families, your pets, and your friends. Recharge your batteries and get ready for a great year!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Final Day

Tags

family, Friends, Games, Good Food, Happiness, Joy, Movies, Phoenix Trip

I’m writing this early because I’ll be busy cleaning up my brother’s house and getting packed up for my flight on Thursday the 13th. This trip was a terrific time. It started with my niece’s wedding. It was a wonderful ceremony and went off without a hitch.

Then it was a full week of reconnecting with friends, good food, and lots of laughs. It was also a great time to hang out with my brother, play some games, and binge watch some shows on Amazon and Netflix. I also got in some writing, reading, and some much-needed quite time to think about things and reflect.

I like my reflection time. I think about all kinds of things, like what my life would be like if I did this or that in my past or what I could change today and what effect that would have on my future. I like thinking about my family, my friends, books I have read. I even like to think about thinking sometimes.

I hope all of you enjoyed my Phoenix trip! I did. Friday, I’ll be back to my posting schedule. I really appreciate all of the new followers and the time you took to investigate and learn about my blog.

Until next time…

Dave