I just love how thoughts sometimes piggyback off of something I'm reading. The current book I am trying to conquer is "The Happiness Project". This books is about author Gretchin Rubin's year of exploration into what would make her more happy. She comes up with some COMMANDMENTS.... They seem to 12 things she either knows she needs to work on or doesn't want to lose in the process of becoming happy. I think it would be beneficial for everyone once in a while to do a self analysis. A few things on my list (some coincide with hers) Be myself - I have never been big on being anyone else. I like to falsely think I am original. Rubin put down on her list to #9 lighten up. Mine would read most like Don't be a complete jerk. But knowing that is something I need to work on doesn't make it any easier. Yes I think I would be more happy if I wasn't a jerk to my wife and boys. I think their life would be more happy also.
Later on in the book she mentions a business school mantra one which I was unfamiliar with. "You Manage what you measure". This has taken me a few days to really absorb the depth of this statement. Not that I don't understand it but I want to see how I can apply it to my life. So I want to lose weight (there's something to measure) If I want to not be a jerk to my family, maybe I can measure the amount of days in a row that I succeed in not being a jerk.
But is there a way to measure everything in life? And if I started to use this technique would I become a better happier person or would I just run through life as a game? This is a balancing act. Does life change come from doing the right thing even if it is not what you truly want to do? Can you create a habit of doing the right thing?
Monday, May 19, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
Don't judge a book by its cover?
One should judge a man mainly from his depravities. Virtues can be faked. Depravities are real – Klaus Kinski
This was the opening quote from I Wear the Black Hat. This really got me thinking how much would people like me if they knew my depravities? Would people even want to be in the same room, same town as me? If people knew the worst of me would they still like me? If i was honest with myself would I even like myself?
But if we don't take the time to dive into the absolute worst of ourselves then how can we see who we really are? Because our human nature often times is to bypass the bad in ourselves (mainly because we are highly focused on what everyone else does wrong) and pretend that we are all in all pretty good people. I mean we haven't killed anyone right.... But depravity doesn't mean murderer. Being depraved mean being morally corrupt or wicked. I like to think that I am not wicked all the time. But I would think that about myself. We don't talk bad about the dead or ourselves...
How many times a day do I have morally corrupt thoughts? I may not act them out but they are there. Does that make me any less depraved since I am not acting them out? Or does it just make me lazy?
This was the opening quote from I Wear the Black Hat. This really got me thinking how much would people like me if they knew my depravities? Would people even want to be in the same room, same town as me? If people knew the worst of me would they still like me? If i was honest with myself would I even like myself?
But if we don't take the time to dive into the absolute worst of ourselves then how can we see who we really are? Because our human nature often times is to bypass the bad in ourselves (mainly because we are highly focused on what everyone else does wrong) and pretend that we are all in all pretty good people. I mean we haven't killed anyone right.... But depravity doesn't mean murderer. Being depraved mean being morally corrupt or wicked. I like to think that I am not wicked all the time. But I would think that about myself. We don't talk bad about the dead or ourselves...
How many times a day do I have morally corrupt thoughts? I may not act them out but they are there. Does that make me any less depraved since I am not acting them out? Or does it just make me lazy?
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Thinking Allowed
What if we could make money for doing things we do for fun? Like my personal examples would be cracking jokes no one else seems to enjoy, reading books most my friends will never read, and listening to music until it gets too popular.
But I can't seem to find a way to market that into a serious moneymaking venture. But say I could somehow make money off the things I love. How would I not allow it to become trite? How could I keep it fresh every day? How could I keep the authentic realness and the innocence of it intact?
These aren't just questions I am having about if I could make money on things I do for fun. These are questions I have for pretty much all aspects of my life.
How can I serve my family and not get burned out?
How can I go to work every day with a positive attitude even on days I really don't feel like being there?
How can I love my wife in a new and fresh way everyday?
All of these things seem like they should be pretty easy to do. But keeping my chin up and a smile on my face has never been an easy thing for me. I say I'm a realist but err on side of negative. I can't just fake it until I make it. I want these things to come easy. I want these things to be fresh, I want these feelings to be authentic.
In all the books I have read, and all the time I have tried to process this I still have not come across an easy solution. Maybe there isn't supposed to be an Easy way. Maybe this is just a fact of life. Maybe without the bad days of going through the motions you can't fully appreciate the good days where it just flows out like a spring.
But I can't seem to find a way to market that into a serious moneymaking venture. But say I could somehow make money off the things I love. How would I not allow it to become trite? How could I keep it fresh every day? How could I keep the authentic realness and the innocence of it intact?
These aren't just questions I am having about if I could make money on things I do for fun. These are questions I have for pretty much all aspects of my life.
How can I serve my family and not get burned out?
How can I go to work every day with a positive attitude even on days I really don't feel like being there?
How can I love my wife in a new and fresh way everyday?
All of these things seem like they should be pretty easy to do. But keeping my chin up and a smile on my face has never been an easy thing for me. I say I'm a realist but err on side of negative. I can't just fake it until I make it. I want these things to come easy. I want these things to be fresh, I want these feelings to be authentic.
In all the books I have read, and all the time I have tried to process this I still have not come across an easy solution. Maybe there isn't supposed to be an Easy way. Maybe this is just a fact of life. Maybe without the bad days of going through the motions you can't fully appreciate the good days where it just flows out like a spring.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Reading Recap
So each year I try to read a few books. In 2012 I read 43 books. So I decided this year I would shoot for 45. Then I thought well why not try for 52 being as that would be one book a week. I thought one book a week was a lot until I saw on goodreads that some people are reading over 100 books a year. I must say that setting a challenge was a good thing because I pushed through some books that normally I would have taken months to read. I also read some books that I thought were horrible but wanted to finish so I could reach my challenge goal. So all that being said here is the list of the best books I read in 2013 in no particular order.
Skeletons on the Zahara : This was the story of James Riley and his crew that were shipwrecked on the coast of Africa and were picked up by traders and taken across the Sahara to be sold. The will to live of some me is so great that they are able to force that will onto others and as a group survive something that most would have gave up on from the beginning.
Born To Run : This book was recommended by my cardiologist who is a few mile a day runner. I am far from a runner. I've never even enjoyed running, if you ever see me running you may want to start running also because I am most likely running from something catastrophic. But back to the book. This book is about an epic race between some of the worlds elite super-runners and the Tarahumara. The Tarahumara are a tribe in Mexico that are known to be some of the best distant runners the world has ever known.
Fault in our stars : This book took me by surprise. I was overwhelmed with the story of Hazel who experiences life as a teenage girl dying of cancer. She tries her best to not burden anyone and has quite the cynical view on life that is until she meets Augustus who give her a little motivation to truly live as if she were dying.
The Sociopath next door : Well this book goes in depth on what makes a sociopath. She discusses traits they will have and keys to look for. By the end of the book I was examining all my neighbors.
Washington: Well going into this book I knew very little about George. After this very comprehensive biography I feel i know a great deal. I tried to slip in little facts during random times of conversation because Washington was a great man who actually tried his best to be a "Good" Person. He was a little temperamental over his ego before he became part of the United States which helped him define who he knew he was supposed to be.
Issac's Storm : This book was all about the hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. This book written as a historical fiction walks you through the events and what was happening before and after the hurricane. It helps you feel as if you were there.
Fat Chance : In this book Dr. Lustig talks of how the food we eat, the life style we live has a great deal to do with the weight we carry. He also goes into great detail how for some not all, or even most there are and can be chemical imbalances that we need to research more to figure out if there is a way to help isolate the problem.
So how many books will I end up reading by the end of the year, I'm not sure. but I have start to compile quite the stack that I will start come 2014.
Skeletons on the Zahara : This was the story of James Riley and his crew that were shipwrecked on the coast of Africa and were picked up by traders and taken across the Sahara to be sold. The will to live of some me is so great that they are able to force that will onto others and as a group survive something that most would have gave up on from the beginning.
Born To Run : This book was recommended by my cardiologist who is a few mile a day runner. I am far from a runner. I've never even enjoyed running, if you ever see me running you may want to start running also because I am most likely running from something catastrophic. But back to the book. This book is about an epic race between some of the worlds elite super-runners and the Tarahumara. The Tarahumara are a tribe in Mexico that are known to be some of the best distant runners the world has ever known.
Fault in our stars : This book took me by surprise. I was overwhelmed with the story of Hazel who experiences life as a teenage girl dying of cancer. She tries her best to not burden anyone and has quite the cynical view on life that is until she meets Augustus who give her a little motivation to truly live as if she were dying.
The Sociopath next door : Well this book goes in depth on what makes a sociopath. She discusses traits they will have and keys to look for. By the end of the book I was examining all my neighbors.
Washington: Well going into this book I knew very little about George. After this very comprehensive biography I feel i know a great deal. I tried to slip in little facts during random times of conversation because Washington was a great man who actually tried his best to be a "Good" Person. He was a little temperamental over his ego before he became part of the United States which helped him define who he knew he was supposed to be.
Issac's Storm : This book was all about the hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. This book written as a historical fiction walks you through the events and what was happening before and after the hurricane. It helps you feel as if you were there.
Fat Chance : In this book Dr. Lustig talks of how the food we eat, the life style we live has a great deal to do with the weight we carry. He also goes into great detail how for some not all, or even most there are and can be chemical imbalances that we need to research more to figure out if there is a way to help isolate the problem.
So how many books will I end up reading by the end of the year, I'm not sure. but I have start to compile quite the stack that I will start come 2014.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Same problem different year
So i am reading this book, and it has really been eye opening. Written in the mid 1600's I thought it would be another cool if I read book. But what I didn't realize is I would be taking notes and highlighting every other page.
This is what I read last night:
"Satan's devices to keep Saints in a sad, doubting, questioning and uncomfortable condition
1- By causing saints to remember their sins more than their Savior, yes even forget and neglect their Savior: for remedies, consider that
A) though Jesus Christ has not freed believers form sin's presence, He has freed them from its damnatory power."
As I was reading this I forgot for a moment it was written over 350 years ago. This could very easily have been a sermon you heard on any given Sunday. How often do we focus on the things we have done wrong? How often do we think the things we have done wrong define us. As believers in Christ it is him who defines us. But so often we never get to that point. We are so self consumed that we never ever make it past the things we have done wrong to the things that Christ has planned for us. The one comforting thing is, this book has shown me, not much has changed. I struggle with the same thing that people 350+ years ago struggled with. There are no new problems, just the same problems in nice new shiny packages.
This is what I read last night:
"Satan's devices to keep Saints in a sad, doubting, questioning and uncomfortable condition
1- By causing saints to remember their sins more than their Savior, yes even forget and neglect their Savior: for remedies, consider that
A) though Jesus Christ has not freed believers form sin's presence, He has freed them from its damnatory power."
As I was reading this I forgot for a moment it was written over 350 years ago. This could very easily have been a sermon you heard on any given Sunday. How often do we focus on the things we have done wrong? How often do we think the things we have done wrong define us. As believers in Christ it is him who defines us. But so often we never get to that point. We are so self consumed that we never ever make it past the things we have done wrong to the things that Christ has planned for us. The one comforting thing is, this book has shown me, not much has changed. I struggle with the same thing that people 350+ years ago struggled with. There are no new problems, just the same problems in nice new shiny packages.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Long time no see
Wow so i havent posted in almost a year. But i have really read a few good books since then. My Favorites for the year are as follows:
1) Destiny of a Republic - This book was about President Garfield whom i knew nothing of. What a crazy concept to know you shot a man and didn't kill him, but was locked away as if you did kill him.
2) Cabinet of curiosities - This the 3rd novel the Agent Pendergast series. This was the best so far. Even Agent Pendergast didnt know what was going on
3) 14 - Ok im not a big SCi-Fi person but this book laces my fascination with history into an old apartment building that is almost as quirky as its tenants.
4) Lost city of Z - This book explores the search for the ancient amazon city and how the lure of the adventure captures the imagination, and the need to know.
5) abraham lincoln vampire hunter - This was quite a fun read. I love when authors lace real life into a fictional story. Not only was Lincoln fighting for the country he was killing vampires along the way.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Time to think outside of the box
So i am currently reading 1491, which was highly recommended by Josh Clark of SYSK podcast. Well it was recommended many episodes ago and i have finally gotten around to read it. So Mann the author is discussing the Native Indian tribes of the america's Pre-Columbus. Well thinking about this deeper, how quickly we believe things, how often information is passed as truth and can be completely false. We seem to believe things are only as we perceive them as if nothing exist below the surface. Another book that might help me rethink a little of our history is Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong” by James W. Loewen which was also recommended.
But i really think it goes beyond what in history do we believe that is not really correct. What do we believe about ourselves, and the things around us that are fully true? Say are current government situation, if "We The people" "in order to form a more perfect union " would actually examine what we truly believe in(if we actually know what we believe) we might be able to form a more perfect union... If we would examine ourselves and get rid of the junk in us that doesn't fully match our character. I think it would lead to better marriages, better relationships, better friends, better employees, oh yeah and a more perfect union!
Enough of a ramble...
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