For this photo challenge, publish an image that conveys serenity.
Last month we enjoyed the serenity and pristine beauty of Pourvoirie Du Lac Beauport, Quebec. It was so different to life in Australia. An amazing experience.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/serenity/
When was the last time you wrote something substantive — a letter, a story, a journal entry, etc. — by hand? Could you ever imagine returning to a pre-keyboard era?
I hand write my first draft of just about everything. I find it helps my flow and connects better with my thinking. When I was editing my book, I would rewrite sections from scratch to help my clarity. From this exercise, I discovered I would often write the same information twice—without realising it. I would use the same words, in the same order and in the same place in the paragraph. This confirmed to me they were correct. I have attempted this same exercise typing it instead of writing the second time and I get stuck. I didn’t know what I want to say. For me there definitely is a hand brain connect.
As a Toastmaster, I hand write my speeches—both initially and as a way to learn them. Once again this helps with my flow, but I think in this case it also helps me—write like I speak. Once I am happy with my hand written first draft, I type my speech and make any necessary changes. After I have my completed my speech, I learn it by writing it out by hand several times. It works for me. This process helps me to remember the main points in the correct order.
Today I learnt why this is so. In our brain is a collection of cells called the Reticular Activating System (RAS). They act as a link between our sub conscious and conscious mind. The RAS’s job is to filter all the information the world has to give us on a second by second basis, only drawing our attention to what we want to focus on. By writing things down we trigger the RAS into action. It begins to focus on the topic we are writing about. This definitely helps to explain why for me hand writing before I type gets the job done much quicker than staring at the computer screen.
Personally, I would never want to go back to a pre-keyboard era. Today with the keyboard comes many new options like the internet and self-publishing. But I am not voting hand writing off the island any time soon either. Variety is the spice of life—I’m using both to get the best result.
Thanks to Priceless Joy for the idea to run a fun quiz to see where everyone is at in the left brain/ right brain mix. These are the qualities/skills I posted on Using My Brain this morning. I always knew I was more right brain than left although I was still surprised when I had 30% left brain skills in my tool box. I had 19 right brain and 7 left brain. I would love to know everyone else mix as I think it gives great insight into the person. The more we understand each other the easier, it is to connect and work together. So just for fun—leave a comment below indicating your left brain /right brain mix and if you were surprised by the results.
| Left Side Brain | Right Side Brain |
| Analytical | Believes |
| Classic Music | Big Picture |
| Control | Can Be Absentminded |
| Critical Thinking | Cat Lovers |
| Details Oriented | Colour |
| Dog Lovers | Creative Storyteller |
| Facts | Creativity |
| Language | Dreamer |
| Logic | Emotions |
| Mathematics | Fantasy & Mystery |
| Order | Good at Arts |
| Organised | Good at Sports |
| Past & Present | Images |
| Patterns | Imagination |
| Perception | Intuition |
| Practical | Listen to Music /TV While Studying |
| Prefers Verbal Instructions | Passion |
| Rarely Absentminded | Prefers Visual Instructions |
| Rational | Present & Future |
| Reason | Recognises Faces |
| Safe | Risk Taking |
| Science | Rock Music |
| Study In Silence | Spatial Awareness |
| Structure | Spontaneous & Unpredictable |
| Write Non-Fiction | Thinks Better Lying Down |
| Write Fiction |
Let’s assume we do, in fact, use only 10% of our brain. If you could unlock the remaining 90%, what would you do with it?
I am unsure I could cope with using 100% of my brain, although I do believe I use more than 10%. I have images of it constantly going and not giving me time to catch up. My brain sometimes seems full now, so how would using more of it change my life. Irrespective, I am up for the challenge and would like to further develop skills using the left and right sides of my brain as they are responsible for different things.
| Left Side Brain | Right Side Brain |
| Analytical | Believes |
| Classic Music | Big Picture |
| Control | Can Be Absentminded |
| Critical Thinking | Cat Lovers |
| Details Oriented | Colour |
| Dog Lovers | Creative Storyteller |
| Facts | Creativity |
| Language | Dreamer |
| Logic | Emotions |
| Mathematics | Fantasy & Mystery |
| Order | Good at Arts |
| Organised | Good at Sports |
| Past & Present | Images |
| Patterns | Imagination |
| Perception | Intuition |
| Practical | Listen to Music /TV While Studying |
| Prefers Verbal Instructions | Passion |
| Rarely Absentminded | Prefers Visual Instructions |
| Rational | Present & Future |
| Reason | Recognises Faces |
| Safe | Risk Taking |
| Science | Rock Music |
| Study In Silence | Spatial Awareness |
| Structure | Spontaneous & Unpredictable |
| Write Non-Fiction | Thinks Better Lying Down |
| Write Fiction |
Going through these lists, makes me realise I do use both sides of my brain. I am mostly a right brain person however, I use more of my left than I first thought. My goal is to develop my current skills further and see where they takes me. Afterall,
“Who knows, but you have to be in it to win it.”
Our cat, Yoda’s favourite place to spend the day was supervising all the comings and goings of the street from the shadows of the Wattle tree.
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/shadowed/
“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” — Gertrude Stein
Do you agree?
From my experience never a truer statement has been said. I am pretty good at processing information and controlling my chaos however, occasionally it takes over. During these times it is usually obvious to everyone by the mess around me. My desk reflects the state of my brain. And suddenly, I don’t make sense. I say and do stupid things. My natural calm disposition has melted away along with my common sense—I don’t think I am alone here either.
So, what do I do?
When I am suffering from information overload, I recognise it quickly. I don’t feel in control. I take myself to a quiet place—even the toilet ill do, stand tall and make big circles with my hands. This centres me and works well. I attribute it to the science behind Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk—Your body language shapes who you are. I love that fact that our mind gives us ways to control information overload—if we let it. Next time you find yourself suffering from information overload —give it a try.
https://www.inspiringmax.com/change-your-body-position-change-your-life/
Take the first sentence from your favorite book and make it the first sentence of your post.
“What are you supposed to be doing with your life?”
And the answer is?
It’s your choice. Nobody can tell us what we should be doing with our life. I also believe that the goal posts are constantly changes—there is no right or wrong answer.
Decide what you want and make a plan for your life. Think of it as a jigsaw puzzle—a blank canvas that slowly and with consideration comes together.
Start by focusing on one or two areas. Every positive change makes a difference. Over time you can look back on your journey and notice how far you have come. At times, you may choose the wrong pieces to go together. Don’t beat yourself up. Take out the wrong piece, make another choice and keep going. Every choice empowers you.
Completing a jigsaw puzzle, like planning your life can be frustrating. There is no quick fix and even the simple ones take time. The more complicated the puzzle or life plan, the more time it takes. Your options when completing your puzzle are:
Photo Credit: Google Images
Tell us about the time you rescued someone else (person or animal) from a dangerous situation. What happened? How did you prevail?
When someone or something needs to be rescued, deal with stress or is in a dangerous situation, everyone has 3 alternatives. Depending on the choices made, our body responds differently allowing us to do what we required them to do.
Fortunately, in my personal life I have never employed any of these options. In my professional life, as a mental health nurse, I have often triggered my fight response. Each time having a positive outcome. I love that by trusting our bodies they give us the ability to do what we need, without us thinking about it.
Tell us about your first day at something — your first day of school, first day of work, first day living on your own, first day blogging, first day as a parent, whatever.
There is always a first time to do something. The problem is, often none of these are as simple as they seem. Starting a new job, having a baby or beginning blogging, they all need a strategy.
To help us with this mission, I have made an acronym of FIRST.
F: Fear
I: Inspiration
R: Resolve
S: Stategy
T: Test
All new things have a fear attached to them. Use this fear to develop inspiration as to why you want to overcome this fear. Then resolve to make a strategy to ensure your success and finally test it out.
Don’t let fear get the better of you. Make a plan to overcome it and make lots of firsts. They keep your life exciting.
Possibility. Opportunity. Potential. As another year gets underway, let’s celebrate the new.
Today we had our serious day of winter weather. The first day of real snow in our 5 weeks in Canada. Whilst on the odd occasion it has snowed before never was it like this. When we left our motel this morning the streets were clear. By the time we returned home there was 15 cm of snow. It was awesome. Fine powdery snow that was fun to walk in, although I am sure I found muscles I didn’t know I had. I have never not seen the streets not cleared before, so it was difficult at times to tell where the footpath ended and the road started.
Winter Fun in Ottawa
I am hoping it continues to snow tomorrow as the prospect of freezing rain, another new experience actually doesn’t excitement me. But que sera sera, whatever will be will be. It’s all part of understanding what it is like to live in Canada, which is why we traveled from Australia in the first place.