Power in not Procrastinating

I usually tend to put off things until I absolutely have to do them.  It probably sounds familiar to anyone who has ever had homework.  This week I have been pounded with end of term projects and assignments, most of them are due on Monday.  Knowing myself, I started to dread Sunday night when I would be up late trying to get everything done.  I made a goal to have my Sunday completely free and get all my project done before that day so I could spend time with my wife and family.

On Tuesday I decided to take on my information systems 303 final project.  I finished 4 hours later feeling accomplished and relieved.  I focused big time during those 4 hours, no Facebook, no Instagram, and no TV.  I just did it and it was awesome!  Now I just have to tackle the MCOM 320 final project and I will be free.  I realized that not procrastinating and following a plan makes you free in the future.  If I can get everything done today I will be free on Friday and Saturday to do other things that I enjoy, instead of doing those things now and dreading my final projects.

Buy Experiences, Not Things

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/10/buy-experiences/381132/


I read an interesting article this week that explained how buying experiences can make us happier than buying things.  The article also talks about how a wandering mind is not a happy one, if the mind has experiences it can think back on it is happier.  Now money is not essential for happiness, and not all experiences have to be bought.  I do agree with the article though.  Going and maybe paying for an activity with friends or family can be more satisfying than buying something.  Buying things can bring temporary happiness, but I feel like experiences bring happiness for the rest of our lives.

My wife often talk and remember our honeymoon, and other vacations and activities we have done.  Thinking back on past experiences and talking about them with others brings back memories and happiness.  I do however like to buy new things, and I am very happy with my purchase of a new phone, that happiness fades away soon though.  So let us seek out activities and experiences we can have with others, it will make us happier for years to come.


Have a great week everyone!

Google Hangouts (Remote Meeting)

So this last week my group and I had the great opportunity to have a remote meeting.  We had to start the meeting pretty late around 10 pm since not everyone was available until that time.  There was one member in our group that could not connect for about 10 minutes so we then started the meeting even later than planned.  Once we were all connected we were able to communicate pretty well without many difficulties.  The connection was good and we were able to plan out the rest of our group project we had due this week.

It was very cool to be able to video chat on Google hangouts.  We were able to video chat while working on Google Docs and see exactly what everyone else was doing.  It was as if we were all in the same room.  We were able to complete everything we had wanted to complete that night.  It is still easier to work together when we are physically in the same room, but it was very convenient to have a remote meeting from our own homes.

Music and Hobbies

This last weekend I was able to attend my little brother's concert at the Velour on Saturday night.  While i was watching him and his band I realized how much I miss playing guitar and bass.  I taught guitar and bass lessons for quite awhile and recently I quit to pursue other jobs.  I miss playing and making music and I forgot how happy it makes me.

I feel like many of us forget about our old hobbies we had while growing up and we feel like we have out grown them.  I used to love to yo-yo of all things and I haven't touched a yo-yo for the longest time.  We should all reflect on older hobbies and consider rekindling those activities.  The chances are that they will make us happy.

So this week I'm gonna pick up my guitar and look for my old yo-yo just be a kid again.  Happiness can be found in the simplest things.  If it made us happy then it'll probably bring joy to us now and bring back memories of when all we had to worry about was getting to school on time.

Have a great week everyone!!!  

When life hits you hard you've got to "Goat" back up

This week I stumbled upon this video of this crazy goat who knocks down his other little goat friend.  This video may be humorous and the little goats make some cute noises, but there are lessons to be learned.  In the video you can notice that the black goat that is knocked down immediately gets back up as if nothing had happened.

Many times in life we get knocked down by our own little crazy baby goats.  Maybe we didn't get the score we had wanted on a test, the job that we wanted, the major we applied for, and the list goes on.  Maybe life just doesn't seem fair.  In any circumstance we can, and our better off, if we can just get back up as fast as possible and not let life get the best of us.  If we lay down and think about how awful everything is, it will be harder to get back up and make things better.

May we all follow the example of the little black goat and get up as fast as possible.  Maybe even laugh at ourselves a little and brush it off.  We will be happier if we can do this.

Have a great week everyone!

Rolls and Life Lessons

This week my wife and I made a goal to make dinner at home more often.   So last night we decided to make barbecued chicken with rolls.  We let the rolls rise for a lot longer than we were supposed to (as you can probably tell by the picture).  I put the rolls in and hoped that they would turn out well.  Twenty minutes later we took out the giant rolls and they were so delicious.  They were super big but so moist and cooked to perfection.

Sometimes we expect the worst to happen if we feel like we didn't do everything perfectly.  The attitude of expecting the worst can happen and having a bad attitude about things can be detrimental.  The outcomes at times can be the worst possible option that could've happened, but that does not mean we should always be negative down if something doesn't go our way.

My goal this week is to have a better outlook at life and be positive even if I'm in a situation where I don't think the outcome will be positive.  Having a negative outlook will never help the situation.  It is easier to have a negative expectation, but if we can have a positive outlook we will truly be happier.

Tests....

This week I had a test for my history of creativity class.  This class will cover my civilization credit for my generals.  It is an interesting class and I enjoy the lectures.  This week the test covered about 8 different chapters and 8 powerpoints all with 40 to 50 slides each.  What did I do?  I sat down at the library and memorized for hours on end.

While taking the test I was excited that I had prepared well.  I knew everything on the test and I'm confident I will receive a good score (the tests are graded later).  While walking out of the testing center back to my car, I didn't feel too accomplished.  I really didn't learn the material I had just memorized a lot of facts and then brain dumped.  In the end I will do well in the class, but I don't know if I will be able to say if I've learned much.

I realize that this general education class offers good information.  I just want a desire to actually learn the material and not just memorize it.  My goal is to find how the content in this class can apply to me.  If I am able to do that I will be able to have a greater desire to learn the material.  If anyone has an idea to foster a desire to learn a subject that one has no desire to learn please let me know!