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 – Go to the Source

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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 – 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 – Seek Novelty

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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.

Photo by VisionPic .net on Pexels.com

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.

Photo by Маша Реймерс on Pexels.com

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

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Learning a New Skill

Tags

Blackbirch, creativity, Developing Wisdom, Great Article, K.M. Allan, Lyle, wisdom, Wisdom Wednesday

I was rummaging around for new ideas for my post for Wisdom Wednesday and came across a work by Lyle (2015) which lists out 5 areas we can improve our wisdom and knowledge. One was in creativity. It reads: Take a pottery, photography, stained glass, sculpture or painting class. (Lyle, 2015). I’ve always wanted to improve my ability to draw new things and figured why not? I found a drawing course online that I’ve got some interest in and will pursue that. This idea fell under Lyle’s (2015) second heading labeled creativity [originality, ingenuity].

How does learning to draw fit in with what I am already pursuing? Well, here it is: Sometimes I have a hard time thinking about a scene in my fiction book and would like to create a drawing of it before I write it out. Make sense? I’ve also enjoyed drawing for several reasons. It is a nice way to use my creativity; it helps with internal visualizations, and it allows me to spend some time on something else during the day. It also presents a challenge. I don’t know how to draw too well now and it’ll be nice flexing the muscles on something I’ve put no time into.

Creativity is a great skill to have, particularly when you are writing fiction, depicting a scene graphically. It’s nice to build something from nothing, literally bringing what is in my mind to the page or canvas. Speaking of creativity, I’m reading a book by a fellow blogger and author, K.M. Allan. I’m about 75% through and it is a wonderful story. Here’s the link: Blackbirch: The Beginning. I highly recommend it.

Well, that’s all I have for today, folks! Have a great Wednesday!

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Lyle, L. (2015). Developing wisdom & knowledge. Retrieved from https://www.thepositivepsychologypeople.com/developing-wisdom-knowledge/

 

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Enjoy What you Have While You’ve Got it

Tags

Gratitude, Grief, Loss, Love, pain, Suffering, Unexpected, wisdom

Life can be tough.

One day you’re hanging out with some friends. One of them dies in a car accident.

One day, you hug your husband, kiss him, and say, “I love you.” He dies on a military deployment.

One day your playing with your dog. Then a vet is called to put them down for seizures.

One day you’re celebrating in your home. The next day, it’s burned to the ground.

All of our loved ones, pets, toys are on loan to us.

The only thing you take with you when it’s your time, is the love in your heart.

Enjoy the people in your life. Serve them. Give them everything you have.

Enjoy your pets. Love them like today is their last day.

Enjoy your toys. They will wear out.

Be grateful for even the smallest thing you possess. You’ll leave it behind when you’re gone.

The love you have for them never leaves.

It is love that you take with you.

The love you felt at your birthday.

The love you felt when your dog woke you up to go outside for a pee.

The love you felt when you kissed your wife, your husband, your Mom, your Dad, your son, your daughter, your brother or sister, your boyfriend or girlfriend.

The love you feel when you’re hanging out and just looking at how great that person makes you feel.

Love is the only thing that will never leave.

Love is forever.

Love endures.

Love stays.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Books

Tags

Adventure, Books, Excitement, Fiction, habits, Learning, Non-Fiction, Reading, Tomes, wisdom

For those of you that follow this blog, you know my love of reading. This week, because of my low energy (I’m still sick), I want to talk about why I love reading and why I set reading goals every year.

I have never been a big fan of fiction books.. I love a good story, but I love learning more. I’m constantly seeking new information with the hope of just finding one or more things I can do or use to make my life easier and more productive. Some books I read are philosophical, while others are more about hard science like physics, astronomy, or history. I also enjoy reading biographies. It is fascinating to see how others overcome great obstacles and win.

Whenever I get sick, I try to determine why or what I do that caused me to get sick. Colds and flus are just a nuisance. During the holidays I eat everything. I eat cakes, cookies, chocolate, junk food, you name it. When we have family visiting, you can also kick the sleep schedule, workout routine, and all the rest to the curb. Yeah, that’s why I’m sick. But there’s a silver lining. My sickness caused me to watch a few films and purchase a book about whole-food, plant-based diets. It really got me thinking, and I will make my transition to this lifestyle in February. I’m reading the Forks over Knives book now and will put that up in a review once I’m done. The book just makes great sense.

I also read a lot of books simultaneously. For example, I am reading 8 non-fiction books now and one fiction book. This is normally the ratio of non-fiction to fiction I read throughout the year. Of the 73 books I read last year, only 12 books were fiction books.

I enjoy reading books because you learn from other people. The people that take time to write a book about a particular topic are normally folks who have dedicated their lives to a specific area. They know the topic inside and out. They also know the pitfalls of trying to adopt the ideas in their book. I never try to adopt everything an author recommends. I look for one or two items that make sense regarding my life. For example, the very first thing I adopted out of the book: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free productivity, by David Allen was his 2-minute rule. This rule recommends that if we run across anything in our life that takes less than two minutes to complete, you do it–right now and be done with it. This was life-changing for me.

When I read The 7 habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, I learned about the 7th habit labeled “Sharpening the Saw”. Again, this was life-changing. Sharpening the Saw is about improving those things in your life that have the greatest impact on everything else, like physical exercise, reading broadly, and planning.

Finally, when I read Mini Habits, by Stephen Guise, the one thing I grasped from my first reading was building habits by establishing extremely small thresholds for each habit I wanted to adopt. Who can’t do one push-up a day? Another huge game changer.

My life improved by reading these books. Each day I look for more of these game changers. One little tweak to my daily life that can bring huge benefits.

If you are not a huge fan of reading, I challenge you to fix that–NOW! We can all learn so much from those that have struggled with the same things we do and have found solutions to these problems. All it takes is a few bucks and your time. Start small. Dedicate 10 minutes of your day to read a few pages (say 5 or 10). It doesn’t matter the amount you read, just make it a daily habit. Before long you’ll be knocking out a lot of books and will reap the benefits of doing so. Think about it. If you could learn one thing you could add to your life that would change it dramatically, wouldn’t that 10 minutes a day be worth it? I think so.

Well, that’s it for today. I’m heading back to my herbal tea and a nap, so I can be done with this stupid cold. Have a great day folks!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – Keep it Interesting

Tags

Consistency, Do Something, Exercise, healthy living, Interest, Showing up, Variety, wisdom, workout

We’ve all tried to bunk our gym session or dance class. A single routine can get monotonous. That’s why I have decided to make my fitness regime fun by incorporating different workouts into my schedule. From dancing to yoga, I plan to keep it as interesting as possible so I’m never bored of working out.

Disha Patani

I’ve read a few books recently that are about habits. The first was Atomic Habits by James Clear; the other was Elastic Habits by Stephen Guise.

I enjoy synthesizing information and coming up with uncommon connections between this data. In Atomic Habits a lot of attention is given to setting the prime conditions for habit formation. Elastic habits look to form a variety of lateral and vertical targets for daily habits. Both of these align well with today’s quote.

If you follow my workout routine every week, you can see the amount of variety that I apply to my workout routines each week. I do this because the variety is what keeps it interesting. My efforts in the gym are not about having a perfect body; my efforts are about feeling good and staying healthy. Some weeks are really intense and others are just going to the gym and knocking out the day’s workout.

The benefits we glean from exercise come with consistency. You won’t get any benefit from working out once a month. You’ve got to get in your exercise every day.

Besides consistency, we also have to keep in mind that we have lives outside of the gym. Some days you’ll be so busy that all you can do is get in a 10-minute walk. Some days you’ll be motivated to do your workout. On other days you’ll go through the motions.

The key to all of this is consistency. Let’s say you go to the gym every day for a month. Some of those days will be great workouts; others not so much. What would happen if you missed a few days? I would argue that you may miss one of those magical gym days when you are energized, focused, and just feel great. If you miss these days, you not only miss a workout, you miss a great workout. So keep going.

The gym is not the only route you can take. You can work out at home. You can take a long walk around a park or your housing area. You can lift weights. You can do cardio. You can do Yoga or Pilates. You can use dumbbells, barbells, machines, or cables. You can do supersets, compound sets, rest-pause sets, pyramids, or tri-sets. You can vary the body parts you exercise, you can vary the reps you push for, and you can vary the amount of rest you use. You can use a pre-designed workout routine, or even wing it. The point I’m making here is a workout done is better than nothing done, even if you only show up and do the minimal amount. Your consistency will build and slowly but surely, you’ll have a habit of exercising. Check that off your list!

Well, it’s time to say goodbye for now. I hope you have a great Wednesday.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesday – We Know So Little

Tags

Attitudes, Beliefs, Cars, change, Detachment, Homes, Loved ones, Property, wisdom

“True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” – Socrates

Each of us has an inner voice. Some call it conscience. It is that part of us that truly knows the difference between right and wrong. We all have access to it, but many refuse to listen. It’s that voice that guides us. The more you listen to that voice, the louder it becomes. When you ignore the voice, it dwindles until you can barely hear it.

I believe our conscience is necessary because it comes from a source unaffected by the change that occurs around us. We have adapted to the world we live in using the senses we have. These sense inputs create a map we need to survive. How accurate are they? Not so much. Our internal maps are only as good as the input we have received, which may have changed. People change. Environments change. We change. The internal maps inside us remain the same until we receive new inputs and those inputs cause our brains to adjust the map we use. When things change to quickly or without our knowledge, we are thrown into chaos.

The wisdom we gain over time, accepts that our internal maps are not reality, but a pseudo-reality that we need to make sense of the world. Wisdom tells us that what we think we know, we really don’t. It tells us that change occurs and we must expect it. It tells us that the map we have is inaccurate. This wisdom is comforting because it helps us realize that nothing is permanent in this world and if we are unattached to it, life becomes easier. We no longer fear losing something or losing someone because losing only applies when we are attached to something. Attachment in this case means we have an unhealthy relationship with physical things that will leave us. Attachment only causes suffering. Detachment frees us from wanting or needing. We are happy with what we have at the moment and will be just as happy if something changes in the next moment.

Wisdom tells us that the only things we can keep are those things we have earned inwardly. The love you have in your heart is yours forever. No one can take away your love for God, love for your significant other, love for your pet, love for your family, or love for yourself. The love you have is yours to keep forever.

Your car, your home, your loved ones, your pets, your job, your toys, and your life will all end. When your life ends, none of these things will go with you. The only things you will take with you are the experiences you have and the love you have in your heart.

Detachment is not an easy thing to achieve. Some consider it a heartless state. How can I not care about my husband or wife dying? How can I not care about losing my home in a tornado? The state of detachment is not a state of “not caring”. It is a state of balance. Losses and disappointments will cause the detached person to mourn. It is natural to mourn a negative situation. Detachment allows us to mourn a loss and then move on, without being stuck. It allows us to heal more quickly because the people, things, and experiences we “lost” were never really ours. If we never own something, can we truly be unhappy or sad when they leave us?

 

No. Detachment means we enjoy what we have to the fullest, while we have it. Then, when it comes time for something to leave our lives, we let it go. We move on. We move in a new direction. Detachment is the wisest state to be in when you are dealing with a physical reality in perpetual change.

I hope each of you has a terrific Wednesday! Thank you for reading this today!

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

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