If are you out on the street by yourself, you will probably get the feeling that people driving by in cars think you are somewhat weird. On the other hand, if you are walking down the street with someone else, you suddenly don’t have those thoughts. The power of partnering up with others to do almost anything is something that you want to keep in mind.
Parkinson’s Law, proposed by Cyril Parkinson in a 1955 humorous essay for The Economist, states: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” While the author might have been using humor to make a point, his observation underscores the basic truth that we tend to find ways to fill up our free time with more work. Charles Hummel touched on the same issue in his small book Tyranny of the Urgent, which deals with our problem of over commitment. Making the right decisions and keeping yourself from being spread to thin takes some work, but it’s worth it in the long run. Here are some strategies to remember:
photo credit: Jacob Bøtter
If you are a businessperson, when you worry that your business will fail, it is that much more likely to occur. The man or woman you like is likely to not be interested in you if you are afraid they will leave or reject you at any minute. Your own dreams are less likely to materialize if you tend to fear that they may not be reached.
Hi everyone. I have hit another milestone here, or “landmark” as someone I know called it, and I’ve got various items to point out. First of all, this is the 200th post/article here on Timeless Information. It is cool to take notice of stepping-stones along the way, like my 100th post. I made a list of things I wanted to mention in this post too.
photo credit: dotbenjamin
Are you thinking “if only person A did this, and person B did this, and person C helped me with this, I would be able to really succeed”? If so, you have to toss away that thinking. Things don’t work out that way. First off, people don’t know what you desire until you tell them, and second, even if you tell them, that doesn’t mean they are up for taking part as you have envisioned.
Song lyrics have more relevance than we give them credit for. Music is ubiquitous, and most of it has lyrics. Apple went into the music industry with the iPod because the market for music is basically everyone. One of Twitter’s top trending topics is #nowplaying, which is what people use to list what they are currently listening to. In this short interview video with President Obama, the interviewer was asking him about if there was potential to use hip hop for betterment of society. This is done through insightful lyrics that lift listeners. The following are some lyrics that are meaningful to me, and some commentary regarding them:
Activities are said to take up the period of time you provide for them. You can potentially take certain activities that normally take you an hour to do, and do them in 15 minutes. This is well within your capacity. You would then be able to spend the other 45 minutes doing whatever you feel like, as you have then created time for yourself which was not previously there.
One great source of understanding comes from experience. Gail Brenner, who writes at A Flourishing Life, presents very coherent concepts in her articles. There is much accuracy in her discussion of topics like memories, habits, and anxiety. Some of these articles are also accompanied with audio messages that extend the main topic, or explain a part of the article in detail. I certainly recommend these audio messages for obtaining greater understanding or inner peace.
Gail has 16 years of psychotherapy experience as a Ph. D. psychologist, as is easily evident through her writings. Also, this experiential knowledge comes into play in her Questions and Answers articles, where she has elaborately answered some questions others have provided for her. One relevant example involves help with depression, where many points regarding depression are brought up, such as labeling, awareness, attention, and negative thinking. Analysis of the many interconnected components of an issue is a key to clearing it up or being able to work through it, and that is one item that Gail brings to her material. The following is an interview I have done with Gail, and then some commentary and a summary of the points brought up: