Is Our ATTENTION SPAN Alarming?

Is Our ATTENTION SPAN Alarming?

Is Our ATTENTION SPAN Alarming?  You may NOT agree with me but me thinks it is indeed ALARMING.  In one diabolical study @ the California State University, psychologists brought heavy and moderate smartphone users into the Lab for a unique experiment, hooking participants to skin conductor monitors measuring levels of arousal and took away their phones.  Then the researchers texted them multiple times💊💊💊

That time, their phones were close enough to hear BUT too far away to check.  When their phones buzzed, the participants' arousal level ALL spiked [and that caused their anxiety].  What's our conclusion here?  Turning off notifications is a good way to reduce distractions [what a CLASSIC TIP!] but it DIDN'T totally solve the problem.  Researchers found that external distractions accounted for only half of the interruptions n focus.  The other half was prompted by an 'INTERNAL MOTIVATION' to switch tasks💎💎💎

Interestingly, when the number of external interruptions waned, the number of self-interruptions rose.  The conclusion was that when we get into that 'pattern' of having short attention spans, when we're NOT interrupted by something external to us, we tend to switch gears and begin to interrupt ourselves📌📌📌

The hypothesis of the researchers was that those 'URGES' are caused by STRESS.  Research shows that heavier smartphone use is correlated with higher levels of 'CORTISOL' and other markers of STRESS.  Rising anxiety could become an internal signal to look at your texts or Twitter, even without that notification chime or vibration.  When there are NO notifications, people tend to 'GET A STRONG INTERNAL SIGN' from their anxiety system💊💊💊

Researches also showed that we grab our phones because we need a break.  Simply put, our brains AREN'T capable of focusing for long periods of time.  Sustaining attention and resisting distractions uses up cognitive resources and we need to replenish them periodically to regain focus.  So, why DON'T we run a check of our own ATTENTION SPAN if it's alarming❓❓❓

So What If We're RESILIENT?

 So What If We're RESILIENT?

So What If We're RESILIENT?  Indeed that has been debated many times.  Even naysayers claim that NO one knew what RESILIENCE is or was in the past [and we all survived]!  Indeed that is TRUE, even before RESILIENCE was added by Mr Webster, RESILIENCE was there existing.  The difference was, that time, we were all unaware that that existed [then].  Voila, today we tend to be self-proclaimed experts, whew⏳⏳⏳

Heard of narratives like, 'AGAINST ALL ODDS, SHE'S STILL ALIVE'?  Yes, they may seem outlier narratives but the truth is, such narratives do happen and it's primarily because of RESILIENCE.  Before anything else, studies did dispel that RESILIENCE is related either gender and/or a combination of age and even culture.  As per studies, NOT TRUE.  Instead, those studies have found out that there were two primary drivers of RESILIENCE which, when taken together, lead to an interesting description💊💊💊

First, this is a shocking finding, that RESILIENCE is a reactive state of mind created by exposure to suffering.  Looking back at the recent pandemic, the studies showed that 'PROXIMITY TO COVID-19 INCREASES RESILIENCE'.  It seems what drove that level of RESILIENCE was how intimately one was exposed.  In short, the more you're exposed, the higher your RESILIENCE level was💎💎💎

This strongly suggests that we tend to discover our RESILIENCE only when we are forced to meet unavoidable suffering full in the face.  It's when we face that reality and see ourselves and how we respond to it, that we tend to find the basis for RESILIENCE.  Frankly, the REAL is almost always less scary that the IMAGINED, and the reality of the disease helps us with knowing that we're capable of, which is strengthening✅✅✅

I can attest to it with humility.  As I have gone through the 'wringer' numerous times, I always credit those gut-breaking challenges to have molded and built my RESILIENCE levels [and I CAN'T ask for more because I would have NOT earned my spurs in any other lesser experience.  So what's our take for today?  Let us leverage on every single difficulty we face because that leads us to stand at the very precipice of RESILIENCE❗❗❗

Ending Up With Lower Priorities?

Ending Up With Lower Priorities?

How often does it happen to us NOT until we belatedly realize that we're Ending Up [doing] With Lower Priorities?  Yes, I've been guilty of that several times in my life [and my guilt feeling is overflowing when I realized that during the recent pandemic, I ended up watching some NETFLIX movies that did NOT deserve such time I spent for it⌛⌛⌛

Indeed, time is our valuable resource that often slips away unnoticed.  Many of us find ourselves immersed with some activities that contribute little, if at all, to our personal growth or overall well-being.  And this gets mirrored crystal clear these months our daughter is on a school break/vacation.  To nip things in the bud, I required [YES, it was a mandated ORDER] to read at least one blog article before her gadget time during daytime and another one before her gadget time in the evening.  To ensure that it won't be exercises in futility, she had to verbally present to me her synopsis/summary and as 'icing on the cake', I required her to learn at least three new vocabularies/expressions per reading💎💎💎

Truth is, instead of spending hours watching movies we DON'T care about, it just makes sense for us to reconsider utilizing our time for more productive endeavors.  To quote someone incognito, 'WHY NOT LEARN TO MASTER OUR TIME INSTEAD OF IT MASTER US?'  Common culprit here [and I'm guilty of this] here is our habitual tendencies to be so PASSIVE, like twiddling our thumbs📌📌📌

Our days these times of digital environments enveloping our daily lives, it is [damn] easy to fall prey into that trap of PASSIVITY.  Mindlessly scrolling through social media feeds, binge-watching shows can, at times, leave us feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied.  Ooooops, allow me to exempt [but NOT to defend my wife, in this case, because after all the arduous cooking, she deserves those UNLI scrolls through the social media feeds].  BUT seriously, recognizing these seemingly unproductive habits is the first step towards reclaiming our time, redirecting it where it truly matters❗❗❗

Our insight today:  Where possible, before you hit the sack at night, ensure to have your TASK & PRIORITY LIST ready for your next day.  And where possible, DON'T deviate from your TASK LIST unless a higher prioritized task is warranted.  Otherwise, avoid ENDING UP WITH LOWER PRIORITIES✅✅✅

Life Is Like 'ROLLING THE DICE'

Life Is Like 'ROLLING THE DICE'

Neither am I a casino player nor a gambler but please allow me to have this thread for today because I always firmly believed that our Life Is Like 'ROLLING THE DICE'.   Our life kickstarts when we are given our deck of cards [after all the shuffling and wheeling-dealing].  BUT can we all agree that a meaningful life includes gambling for the desired outcome?  We 'gamble' to acquire limited resources for us to achieve more in life💊💊💊

Life itself is a 'gamble' and 'gambling' usually refers to a game of chance, however more generally, and related to mental health, we all gamble, making life decisions that may well never pan out.  In a positive sense, we tend to be compulsive about maintaining mental and biological integrity.  This 'compulsivity' is both innate and learned.  Let's quick go back down memory lane.  After high school, we start to gamble on a life path, from college to finally working.  We know the risks once we chose college📌📌📌

But sometimes, let's admit it.  Hypocrisy creeps in, sometimes.  People say one thing yet they do another.  During the pandemic, quite a big slice of the population resisted taking Covid-19 vaccines, so they were 'gambling' but if you ask them to go to the casino, they'll swear to God that they DON'T 'gamble'.  And as you move on in your life journey, you are facing probabilities, which at times are dwindling, diminishing💎💎💎

Certainly, we DON'T want to hear from someone that the ONLY REGRETS ARE THE ONLY CHANCES WE DIDN'T TAKE.  That's really the last regrets we want to hear because there's just NO way to recoup LOST time, LOST changes, LOST opportunities when all these will slip through your fingers like quicksilver.  Even if your chances is down to the lowest level, TAKE IT, TAKE IT✅✅✅

Yessssirrrs, all these 'gambles' in life bring along with it that element of GOOD LUCK.  Your consolation prize can get boosted to be as big as the grand lotto winner but hold on, this a common pitfall I've seen over and over again.  Many have included that element of GOOD LUCK as a near-assurance that things will most likely flip in their favor.  BUT it DOESN'T happen that way because LIFE IS LIKE ROLLING THE DICE❗❗❗

That Mix-up Of Empathy & Sympathy

That Mix-up Of Empathy & Sympathy

Many times in the past, I've heard and did witness some folks with That Mix-up Of Empathy & Sympathy.  But no sirrrrrrs, I DON'T profess to be an English grammar SME as I am just another dude but I will NOT claim near-expertise in grammar and vocabularies.  Having said this, I just want to inject my 2-cents with regard frequent mix-ups of EMPATHY and SYMPATHY because both have been used over and over again interchangeably but factually, they have different meanings✅✅✅

EMPATHY is understanding and sharing another person's feelings while SYMPATHY is feeling sorry for someone's situation.  
While EMPATHY involves putting yourself in someone else's shoes and feeling their emotions, it goes more than that as it requires a deep level of understanding and connection with the other person.  Once we show EMPATHY for someone, we can validate their feeling and even provide emotional support💎💎💎

On the other hand, SYMPATHY is more about feeling sorry for someone's situation.  And while SYMPATHY can be helpful, it does NOT provide the same emotional connection as EMPATHY.  Once we manifest SYMPATHY, we tend to acknowledge someone's struggle but you may NOT fully understand their feelings.  It is noteworthy that both EMPATHY and SYMPATHY are indeed valuable in various unique circumstances,  If someone is going through a difficult time, that person would need both EMPATHY and SYMPATHY📌📌📌

There is a tricky part on all these though.  If you'll say "I'M SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS", be careful and cautious because stating a common expression may have lost its importance.  In that sense, it may NOT be able to convey the depth of emotions that the person is feeling.  And this is when and where EMPATHY comes in💊💊💊

In contrast, showing EMPATHY can help bring stronger relationships and create a more supportive and understanding situation.  To conclude, we will thread a fine line in handling situations and manifesting either EMPATHY, SYMPATHY or a combination thereof❗❗❗

Greatness Is Way Beyond What's On Paper

Greatness Is Way Beyond What's On Paper

I admit that Greatness is NOT a 'hot topic' whether we're info face-to-face interactions or we take things virtually.  Regardless, unknown to most of us, people may NOT admit it but many of us [oooops so, sorry I DON'T have anything to admit because I am NOT one] sometimes even unconsciously feel and believe that he/she has reached that level of GREATNESS.  But hey, we got to realize that GREATNESS Is Way Beyond What's On Paper⏳⏳⏳

A debate that seems ongoing way below the surface is the question whether GREATNESS is born OR made?  OR is GREATNESS the result of talent OR practice?  Few other questions caused such intense debate, controversy and such a diversity of opinions as GREATNESS has.  But here's a basic fact we got to align with, that striving for GREATNESS is a fundamental human drive and without it, we would be bereft of some of our most valuable parts of our culture.  How we conceptualize GREATNESS and its trajectory has important implications to us, which makes it all the more important that we make an effort to understand all the many complex factors✅✅✅

In real life, you are either a LEADER or FOLLOWER.  So, you may be the type of person who takes that inspiration and runs with it.  OR you may be the type of person who looks on admiringly, assuming you'll never be like that.  So, we can frankly ask ourselves.  Are YOU a leader?  OR are you a follower?  BUT here's the thing.  You do NOT have to be a leader to be great as greatness is essential regardless if you are a leader OR follower📌📌📌

BTW there's nothing wrong to be overly ambitious.  Most experts agree that creating a VISION.  Think about what you want to create in your life and how you want to live, AS IF anything is possible.  Without a crystal clear vision of what you are going to accomplish, you won't know where to start💊💊💊

And if there is one thing I can humbly admit as I really did it to the letter, it is TURNING ADVERSITY TO ADVANTAGE and I did it more than once, twice, thrice.  Like when my back was against the wall, I went back to the drawing board and plotted things anew.  But DON'T get stuck with that drawing board because GREATNESS IS WAY BEYOND WHAT'S ON PAPER❗❗❗

Stay The Course, If You Have To

Stay The Course, If You Have To

Our journey in life is no different from the planned course of a ship going out to the high seas or even that flight plan of any aircraft.  And the rule of thumb has always been to Stay The Course, If You Have To.  To reinforce these words, what this tells us is that, by default, stick it out to your planned course or flight plan UNLESS it is really warranted💎💎💎

And tracksters may not be seafarers or pilots BUT they are as disciplined as they can be.   Throughout their rigid regimen of trainings, to STAY THE COURSE is nothing short of their mantra because even that slightest misstep will disqualify them from that elbow-to-elbow race.  In life, nothing is worth keeping is ever going to be so easily attained.  In fact, the moment you step out in faith to take the steps required towards the achievement of a worthwhile goal, things are going to hit the fan📌📌📌

The obvious reason for this is because it is the universe's way of testing our level of commitment AS IF the universe wants to ascertain precisely how much are we willing to endure before that SELF-DOUBT  creeps in.  BTW, HOW much rejection will we face off boldly without losing momentum?  HOW many times will we sit at home alone and frustrated when all our best laid plans come crashing down❓❓❓

BTW, what is our threshold for suffering?  I hope everyone agrees that we must be willing to peel back that facade of INDESTRUCTIBILITY and authentically surrender himself to the successful manifestation in life [at all costs].  As life is tough, we got to be precise, laser-focused and single-minded in our planning prior to even kickstarting the attempt to commence a 'journey'.  If there is a given, RISK it is but that's when mitigation kicks in❗❗❗

Once we have done our 'PREP WORK', the next step is for us to take a PULSE CHECK, a READINESS CHECK akin to that tough task of an air traffic controller whose instructons to incoming and outgoing aircraft can MAKE or BREAK things.  Once we're ready to give it a GO, we got to ask ourselves if we are EMOTIONALLY READY as well for the possibility of failure, regardless of its remoteness?  An ounce of SELF-AWARENESS can prevent a ton of problems and likely, that will egg you to STAY THE COURSE, IF YOU HAVE TO✅✅✅

The Seeds of Life

The Seeds of Life

Before I cause eyebrows to raise, I DON'T have a green thumb nor did I get into an agricultural foray because our thread today will be focused on The Seeds of Life.  Before I get doubted with plagiarism, allow me to borrow these poetic lines [from an anonymous literary piece]:  SOME SEEDS WERE SCATTERED ON THE SIDE OF THE PATH BUT WERE TRAMPLED AND EATEN BY THE BIRDS.  SOME SEEDS FELL ON ROCKY GROUND AND THEY SPROUTED BUT THE SUN CAME UP AND WITHERED THE SEEDS WHILE OTHER SEEDS FELL AMONG THE THORN BUSHES BUT THESE WERE CHOKED BY THORNS.

And the poem ended like, THE SEEDS ON GOOD SOIL, SPROUTED AND PRODUCED A RICH ABUNDANT CROP.  That was a mouthful but it is reflective of what life really is.  We are all akin to all these seeds.  We were seeds once in our life.  We got scattered across the wide expanses of fields, to each his own

Even siblings within a family, it's a rarity to hear and see all siblings of a family follow the same road towards a common destiny?  Indeed there are stories along those lines but they are few and far in between.  What is very common to see is each of the siblings explore and thread their own unique paths, some would stumble, some would get lost in the maze and some would eventually end up with the ultimate success story.  But if you had five siblings, very likely we could hear five unique stories, NOT a common one💎💎💎

EVen FAITH itself can't be left far behind.  As this poster says, FAITH IS LIKE A SEED THAT IS PLANTED TO GROW.  But hold on, for us to discuss FAITH could take us forever.   Seriously though, even when it comes to religion, sometimes it seemed to have triggered or exacerbated problems across communities and cultures rather than calming the minds and souls around this planet.  BUT simply to draw the analogy here between SEEDS and FAITH itself, lots and lots of SEEDS [of FAITH were scattered all over the planet but it seems each FAITH was fated to take its own course📌📌📌

Now, whether we are the fortunate SEEDS that get planted and nurtured day-in or day-out or we are those SEEDS that get scattered across and left to take its own course, whichever SEED you are, our insight today is WHEN and WHERE you can influence to shape up your fate, DON'T LEAVE A SINGLE STONE UNTURNED❗❗❗

Curiosity, Anyone?

Curiosity, Anyone?

One obscured fallacy that has been lingering around is that CURIOSITY is the exclusive domain of babies, toddlers and kids.  But today, while I was attending an L&D session, lo and behold, one of the TOP SKILLS for 2023 is CURIOSITY. Yet, the mother of all ironies is that, of all the SKILLS at hand, CURIOSITY is something we DON'T need to be schooled and trained.  It's for us to ENABLE and ACTIVATE it

So, WHAT's the fuss about CURIOSITY?  It's NOT because of CURIOSITY per se BUT it's because CURIOSITY is the ultimate pre-requisite for us to get into LEARNING.  LEARNING?  Yes folks, LEARNING is it because LEARNING is a lifelong process.  Throw away CURIOSITY out in the window, and you're like throwing away LEARNING as your opportunity.  BTW, let us NOT equate LEARNING with our years in school because LEARNING is a lifelong process.  I can attest to having bump with people I know first hand.  Lo and behold, they seemed to have either gotten stalled OR stagnated

As our global village constantly shifts, the speed of CHANGE creates all the constant innovations, requiring us to learn and adapt.  The person WHO knows and tells BUT lacks the humility to be CURIOUS, learn and grow will likely find themselves irrelevant and lacking critical skills and perspectives needed to thrive in this era

If there is a windows screen we're most familiar with, it is this SHUTDOWN screen but can we agree that after that SHUTDOWN occurs, everything freezes, NOTHING happens?  We'd like to compare this when our CURIOSITY shuts down, the key factors are THINKING we know everything and having that UNCHECKED EGO

So, these are the very culprits when our CURIOSITY shuts down.  WHEN we think we know all the answers and look upon ourselves as an expert.  Instead of fostering CURIOSITY, we tend to foster competition with experts we can't match at all.  Throw in a bloated EGO, we [wrongly] think we're safe and powerful enough to be CURIOUS and learn more.  Blunt question:  DOES IT MEAN this CURIOUS cat is better off than you❓❓❓

That RANDOMNESS of LIFE

That RANDOMNESS of LIFE

All scientists claim that the universe we live in, is largely governed by RANDOMNESS [and I WON'T argue on that].  However, if there is one thing we have trouble accepting, it is the UNEXPECTED.  So, in the midst of the RANDOMNESS of  LIFE, we must NEVER lose sight of our PURPOSE and learn to accept the UNEXPECTED because That RANDOMNESS of LIFE is something that will be here to stay with in our lives💎💎💎

Indeed, our life is governed by multifarious variables and factors [and one of them is, voila..... RANDOMNESS].  Despite the fact that we seem to take for granted that we have a firm hold on our REALITY, we're actually mostly in the grip of chance.  But here's our dilemma over and over again:  It seems VERY difficult for us to ACCEPT the UNEXPECTED📌📌📌

Even psychologists are all in unison to conclude that much as we live in a world that ISN'T ruled by order and predictability, we're obliged to know how to handle chaos ourselves.  BUT, of course, we need to do this without letting that chaos into our worlds.  However, even though this feeling that fate is often capricious and puts us in situations we couldn't never have foreseen, it ISNT something we often experience⏳⏳⏳

Factually, many people live pretty much without a care in the world for years, with the feeling that everything seems to be in the rightful place.  We lead normal lives, go to work, socialize [thanks GOD that pandemic is now behind us], spend time with family and friends, then chaos seems to be a long way away.  Then SUDDENLY, something happens or changes and we're suddenly face to face with change and expect the unexpected✅✅✅

These are the times when we need capacities, abilities and mental approaches that we've never used before.  Strangely, there are those who seem to be able respond perfectly.  It's AS IF they've got some sort of subroutine or code written into their genetic code or in some hidden corner of their brain, ready to be activated in the FACE OF ADVERSITY.  And they always seem to be able to respond n the best way.  If at all. more than just embracing the RANDOMNESS of LIFE, let us tweak our daily lives for our advantage, our UPSIDE❗❗❗