The power of a little practice

We often underestimate the power of a little practice.

We all want to be successful, but sometimes it takes more than just wanting something to happen. Sometimes it takes a little work and dedication to make it happen. A friend of mine wanted to get into shape, so he started doing 10 push-ups. Since he was not in shape, he was tired after doing 10 push-ups and he did not want to do 20 push-ups because he was too tired after doing 10. He thought that if he did 20, he would be even more tired and that there was no point in doing them at all. However, if you do 20 push-ups and then stop, you will be less tired than if you did 10 and then stopped because by doing 20 push-ups your muscles have already been strengthened by 10 reps each so your body can handle the rest easier.

You can apply the same concept in other ways too, such as with writing or any other activity

The key to success is persistence. Practice makes perfect, and that is the only way to get better at anything. It doesn’t matter if you are learning how to play an instrument or how to be a better writer. The more you practice, the better you will become.

Practicing writing skills can help you. It can help with your creative thinking skills and make you a more efficient writer overall. With these benefits, practicing your craft will always have a positive outcome for your career as a writer.

Changes

Incremental Changes

Incremental changes are generally improvements to yourself that go along your natural performance characteristics. A faster walk, more sleep, more focus, etc. that can all be classified as incremental changes. There´s seemingly a tacit assumption that incremental changes, are not where the "real" changes  are.

Radical Changes

Radical changes are new ways of doing things, that are substantially different than the old ways things were done. A new memory, taking on a    personality or a new way of looking at the world, becoming more or less religious, etc. might all be classified as radical changes. Many people talk about radical changes as though they are the (unspoken) goal of change.

Sustaining Changes

Sustaining changes can be either incremental OR radical changes. This is an important point; if a change can be either of the two, it cannot be synonymous with incremental change. Sustaining changes are improvements that improve performance along predetermined measures of performance.

Disruptive Changes

Disruptive changes, however, typically address issues that many of your close friends and family do not currently value.

Why It Matters

Understanding the differences between incremental, radical, sustaining, and disruptive changes has useful applications.

If you want to bring about change in yourself or in others, the differences between the terms can also be used to plan how to approach others who can help you change. Knowing the difference can also guide what you ask for to make the project a success. 

Some ideas to help get rid of stress

1. Read uplifting books. Spend time each day reading a book that encourages and inspires you. It can be biographical, fiction or non fiction. Check the library, they often have an inspirational section.
2. Meditate for 15 minutes a day. This can be prayer, but it does not have to be. Take time to center yourself and meditate on a thought, phrase, or image. This will help you connect to your deeper self.
3. Quite your mind through meditation. Allow your thoughts to flow freely. Not judging them, not holding on to them, just let them flow.
4. Think positive. Positive thinking uplifts the spirit and lightens the soul. It allows your inner person to breathe without the weight and stresses of the world.
5. Be thankful. Spend a few moments each day reciting what you are thankful for. It can be material things or even people. If they are people, take a moment and write them a note letting them know why you are thankful for them.
6. Develop tolerance. Not everything can be the way you like it. Learning to tolerate the tough times allows you to enjoy the good times even more.
7. Be patient. Both with yourself and with others. Spirituality is a journey and will take time. Everyone is on a different path and going at a different speed. Let things come to you.
8. Learn your strengths and amplify them. Find out what you are really good at and do it even more. The more you do it the stronger you will get. Accentuate your best quality, do not down play it!
9. Find your spiritual passion. What is it that your spirit hunger for? Is it peace? Helping others? Contentment? Whatever it is, search for what drives you and seek to fulfill it.
10. Accept your spiritual side. Do not let the world take your spirit away. We are all spiritual beings, accept that part of you and begin to explore it.
11. Journal. Take time every day or every other day to write down your thoughts and dreams. Make the journal your own, you decide how to write and when to do so.
12. Pray. A spiritual connection with a greater spirit can help guide you through the uncertainties of life. It is also a great way of relieving stress and giving things over that you have no control over.

Good News and Bad News

Yo! Ho! Ho! , it's time for more good news and bad news!!!

The bad news, is that there are going to be a few more challenges in 2012.  Ha! You're right, that's the good news, too!

Each challenge will provide you with more proof that you're even greater, cooler, and more lovable than you now realize.

New Years thinking

I still don't get why people are so surprised that the turtle beat the rabbit over the long run.
Consistent effort,  no matter how small, sparks magic, fills sails, butters bread, turns tides, instills faith, summons friends, improves health, burns calories, creates abundance, yields clarity, builds courage, spins planets, and rewrites destinies. No matter how small, so as you look ahead to this wonderful year, remember the idea of consistent effort and keep trying and if you do you will succeed.

Tonight we celebrate the arrival of another year, 2012 and my hope is that the year is all you want it to be. I hope the resolutions, the dreams, the opportunities you seek come your way and that you have a wonderful year with friends, and loved ones

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

More stress relief ideas

Get a Hobby 

Another method of stress relief is through a hobby. This can be model ship building,
stamp collecting, or any number of other means to help you keep your mind off of things.

Likewise, woodworking or even fishing can help you get some stress relief and clear

away the fog of anxiety that can arise from the stresses of everyday life. By focusing on
something other than what is pressing you, you can get rid of those piling stresses that
threaten to take you over. Hobbies give your mind something to concentrate on. And by
concentrating on something completely meaningless, your mind can finally relax and let go of the pressures that build up with every little concern.

Take up a Sport

For those who like to be a little more active, playing a sport is a great way to relieve
stress. Just going outside, kicking a ball around, shooting some hoops or joining a league can give you stress relief through simple physical exertion. These activities will keep your body active and provide some necessary relaxation to your mind.

You’ll also meet up with like minded people and probably widen your social circle in the process. Which means you’ll have more friends on hand to help you out when you feel stress coming along to put pressure on you.

Write a Diary or Journal

You can also get stress relief through writing. By concentrating on what is on your mind and putting it down on paper, it allows the stress to have an outlet. It puts your concerns into words and those words can be either kept or discarded. This is particularly effective for people who don’t have anyone to talk to and need to tell someone about what is going on or even what is going wrong. So keep a diary or a journal and let yourself get rid of your stress by putting ink onto a page.

Find Out What Works Best For You

The single most important method of stress relief is finding the method that works for

you. Many people like to take a nice hot bath to get rid of stress. Some enjoy playing
with a pet. Others find excellent stress relief through meditation. It doesn't matter what
you do, just make sure it works and then make sure that you do it.

Stress relief is hard to find, but it is necessary in the hectic lives that we lead. But many

other people have managed to rid themselves of their concerns for a little while and get
on with their lives. Stress does not need to overcome you and, though it may seem like a monumental task, it can be removed. So find a way to relax and make sure that you do it.

Once you learn how to remove your stress, you will find that you are much happier and

much more productive and much more able to deal with the issues that can cause stress
every single day.

Stressed--try these ideas

Count to 10

It is what your mother always told you to do when you got angry!

 

And it’s surprisingly effective.

The next time you get angry and feel your stress levels start to rise, slowly count to 10.

Out loud or under your breath – it doesn’t matter.

For some simple forms of stress, or when you catch yourself early enough, you may find this is all you need to.

Take some deep breaths

Take a nice, long, slow deep breath in.

Breathe in through your nose until your lungs are completely full.

Then hold your breath for a second or two, before slowly exhaling through your mouth

until your lungs are totally empty.

Repeat this sequence a few times.

As your breathing becomes slower, you’ll find yourself becoming more relaxed.

Like counting to ten, you’re likely to find that this simple exercise is often enough to get rid of your stress in just a few short minutes.

Get Up and Walk About

One of the best ways to help give yourself stress relief is with your feet. That is, if

something is causing you all sorts of stress, you need to simply stand up and walk away
from it. This will give your mind the break it needs to calm down and come to grips with the situation. Simply allowing it to stress you out more and more is just not a productive plan. So get up, walk away, and give yourself a break.

Once you have walked away, there are several things you can do for stress relief. One of the easiest things is simply cleaning the house. That's right, vacuuming, dusting, ironing, scrubbing the floors and cleaning the countertops will actually help you relieve stress.

Simply organizing messes and cleaning away dirt will help you immeasurably. This is

because you will be taking care of messes, much in the manner you want to clean up the

messes in your life. By sweeping away the dust and grime, you will be taking charge of

your own home and, in a way, removing the clutter from your life by removing the clutter from your home.

Or you could go for a walk. Ideally a walk in a park or somewhere else that you find

peaceful and tranquil. But even a walk around the local streets will work. As much as

anything, you’re giving your mind something else to think about. And chances are, it will leap at the chance to allow itself to be distracted and calm down.

vive la diffrence

As a Director of SHARE Family Services I was attending a celebration of Volunteers for the SHARE Family Services and I was sitting at  table with two older men who worked at the Thrift Store. As the luncheon progressed we started talking and the conversation moved around a number of topics. I asked about how they came to be volunteers  and they talked their commitment to the organization. We also talked about grandchildren, travel, retirement plans and genealogy, as well as many other interesting topics, not once did we talk sports.

At the end of the meal, two of the woman volunteers came around with home made desserts and the woman seemed to know the two men very well, and the woman asked what we were talking about, our conversation was not loud, but we were all enjoyng the discussion--at the time we were talking about joys of travelling so I was surprised when one of the men said, "Oh you know us, we were just talking guy stuff." The ladies laughed and said, "Oh ya, sports and cars, we know you guys." then moved on to the next table. I didn't say anything as I did not want to contradict the man and we continued our conversation about travelling and about children.

I thought about this for a few days and wondered why had the women assumed we were just talking sports and cars, and why did we agree with that thought.  Have men and women of my generation been  conditioned to belief the stereotypes that advertisers create for us? I hope not, but I suspect that it may be safer for some to hold onto the stereotypes, so we don't have to question our own beliefs.

The Myth of innovation

You probably know the myth of innovation as a sudden flash of insight that comes from nowhere. We read about that "aha" moment, or that light bulb turning on in the mind of some inventor or innovator, and this is true to an extent. Einstein really did get flashes of insight while shaving in the morning. However, he was of course working on the particular problems he had insight into, and he didn't suddenly have ideas for new kitchen gadgets or movie plots.

Einsteins innovations, in other words, no matter how "sudden" the original ideas were, came from past and present mental work. It is like a singer who works at his craft for ten years and then becomes an "overnight success." Innovative people only have "sudden" new ideas because they have habitually worked and thought in certain ways for some time. If you want to become an innovative thinker, then, why not start cultivating those mental habits?

Mental Habits Lead To Innovation

Problems can be opportunities. "Problem" may have a negative connotations, such as being a hassle or stressful, but any problem can lead to an innovation that improves our lives. Not knowing the time lead to clocks small enough to put on our wrists. Nasty diseases lead to sanitary sewer systems. Start looking for opportunity in every problem. Even a mundane problem like not having enough storage space could lead to a new innovation. You may just build a plywood floor in the attic, but you could invent a new type of outdoor storage unit.

Innovation begins with understanding the key elements. Metal, wood or glass are not key elements of a door to an innovator. A way to get in, a way to keep others out - these are key elements. Begin with these, and soon you're imagining new ways to make a door. You could design a door that is opened by your voice (nice when your hands are full), or one that shuts and locks itself when anyone else approaches. Think of the key elements in things.

Attitude helps innovation. The creative problem-solving technique of concept-combination involves combining two ideas to see what new idea or product results. The crucial point is that you assume there will be a useful new idea. Starting with that assumption, your mind will work overtime to produce something. A shoe and a i pod have nothing to do with each other, but it took just a minute to imagine a i pod that only plays the music correctly if a jogger maintains his ideal pace. When you assume there is something there you'll often find something.

Playfulness helps innovation. A playful mind is a creative mind, and while high IQ doesn't correlate with creativity, put it together with playfulness, and you have an Einstein. Remember, he imagined himself riding on a beam of light in order to arrive at his theory of relativity. Why not start playing with ideas and things, in your mind and in your surroundings. Innovation should be fun.

Canons for life

I was reading the works of Thomas Jefferson, and was struck by a letter he wrote in 1825 to a son of an old friend. In the letter he wrote the following:

A Decalogue of Canons for Observations in Practical Life

1.   Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today
2.   Never trouble another for what you can do yourself
3.   Never spend your money before you have it
4.   Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap; it will be dear to you
5.   Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold
6.   We never repent of having eaten too little
7.   Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly
8.   How much pain have cost us the evils which have never happened
9.   Take things always by their smooth handle
10. When angry count ten before you speak; if very angry , a hundred.

Advice to help us live even today.