Scott's Thinking - Page 187 of 217

The Big Stuff Is Behind Us

Posted on November 5, 2020

It’s easy to find something to complain about. There are even times that certain people will go as far as outrage. The big stuff is behind us though. Not that the world can’t be an even better place with a little more tinkering. However, we need some balance to ensure the tinkering doesn’t go too far.

What I mean is this. There is a lot more acceptance between people on the big things. In most of the 37 OECD countries there are few, if any, major rights not available to all people. All races and genders are able to freely vote. People have the right to liberty and freedom of expression and religion.

There is an abundance of opportunity for all people. The majority of people in these countries seem to be fine with where things are at. Yes, there will always be small groups or individuals that feel that the laws and norms don’t quite work for them. The good news is that those people can work towards having things improved for them.

Now, we can still tip into an abyss. However, it is ever less likely to happen. As people continue to get comfortable with improving standards of living, fewer will want to wage wars, riot or remove socially agreed basic human rights.

The big stuff is behind us.

Action Gratitude Health & Fitness Think About It

Find Something To Smile About

Posted on November 4, 2020

Depressing thoughts or simply regular, everyday things can send you in the wrong direction. But you can find something to smile about and change the direction of your day!

Think about something that can make you smile. Isolate just that moment in your mind. Transport yourself there and block out all other thoughts. Savour the moment and smile.

For example, I can think of receiving a massive hug from daughter. Other times, I will go back in time to 1979 when the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series. As a fan of baseball, Willie Stargell, underdogs and ‘never give up, come from behind’ wins, that memory always gets a smile.

So find a few of these moments in your memory. You may have to do some searching through the past if you don’t have one easily accessible. You can also create a visualisation of a happy time you expect to have in the future. Though be careful not to create an unnecessary expectation versus reality gap that you’ll have to address later if it doesn’t happen.

Once you have those happy memories you can remember, practice accessing them every hour. This will help you develop a happiness habit that could have you smiling numerous times every day. It’s a nice circuit breaker during days that may not have the opportunity to create new smile-worthy memories.

Find something to smile about.

Observe Think About It

What An Election!

Posted on November 3, 2020

Very tense moments. Emotional roller coaster. So many plot twists and great uncertainty. Who will play the leads in the movie? What an election!

I wrote this early on, before the in person, on-the-day voting started. So I have no idea while writing this, how things turn out. I just foresee it being an exciting night of tension, emotion and high drama. Entertaining!

Did it landslide to the left? Or did it landslide to the right? Are they down to one last voting district that will decide the whole thing? Maybe they are recounting. Oddly, despite lots of pre-election time to vote in person or by mail, some states have allowed people to go past the voting deadline of 3rd November. That seems to be asking for a bit of unnecessary confusion and court involvement.

Neither candidate will want to concede right away if it is super close in some key states. You wouldn’t either after all your effort, money and campaigning.

So unless it is a landslide in the electoral college with no close calls that would change anything, we could have a few weeks of legal battles to get through.

I believe both men will accept the result if it looks fair and convincing or if the Supreme Court needs to rule on it.

Hopefully that won’t be necessary.

What an election!

Gratitude Health & Fitness Observe Reframe your thoughts

Learning To Chill

Posted on November 2, 2020

People can get very wound up and full of angst. It’s not good for them. There are so many reasons for it too. Learning to chill should be a full term course when you are 12 years old with some sort of reminder course at 16, 20 and every five years thereafter.

I can understand the angst and tension for liberal-leaning citizens. For example, in the UK, the Conservatives swept to power, Brexit will be done in two months, Trump won in 2016 and may win a second term and climate change issues are not getting much better. I’m not sure if there is much bothering the right-leaning citizens.

I suppose they both share a dislike of Covid as well.

One of my favourite techniques for relaxing is to sit quietly for a few minutes and remind myself how tough other generations have had it. Remember those that lived through WWI, the 1918 Pandemic, the Great Depression, WWII and the Cold War. They endured decades of uncertainty without the modern conveniences we have today. If they could do that, then we can get through whatever lies ahead for us.

Another way to relax is to turn off the news. Since when do you need to know about a German river bursting its banks? Or an Australian farmer’s cattle challenges? Tragic? Perhaps. Required knowledge? Doubtful.

Learning to chill is an art. Get artistic.

Observe Think About It

Trump Versus Biden

Posted on November 1, 2020

Around the world, many people seem to be interested in the outcome of the upcoming presidential election in the USA. Trump versus Biden. Or as the ticket shows in the voting booths, Trump/Pence and Biden/Harris. So what is the difference and who is going to win?

If this was a boxing match, you might highlight their key attributes, such as:

They seem to both want a free, fair country with a strong economy. In addition, both candidates seem to have good support from many in their respective political parties.

As for time in political office, Trump has had almost 4 years as President. Biden has spent 37 years in the Senate for Delaware and 8 years as Vice President. While Mr. Biden was in politics, the President was a billionaire property developer, investor and television personality.

Donald Trump is 74 years old and Joe Biden will be 78 in three weeks. President Trump graduated from Wharton with a BS in Economics while Joe Biden received a BA from the University of Delaware and a JD from Syracuse University.

If you search for positive hashtags for the candidates on Instagram you will find 28.4 million for #trump and 2.3 million for #biden.

So the crunch is here. Who will people vote for? As in, ”I want him to lead my country”, rather than, ”I don’t want the other guy to lead the country.”

The Trump versus Biden outcome is imminent.

Progress Reframe your thoughts Weight

The Story Of My Life

Posted on October 31, 2020

What do you say about yourself? How do you describe your life in your bio? Make sure the ideas support the best you. The story of my life has got to be put in the best light. Not just for others, but for me! I need to see how well I have done from where I began.

Once you have understood what your story is, you may want to go about improving on it. I don’t mean with just some creative licence though. I mean get a plan together and work towards exciting goals. Write a biography for your life now. Keep it to four sentences or shorter.

Now write a biography of your life in five years from now. What other skills will you have? What exciting achievements will you have accomplished? Now, in order to go from here to there, you will need to make some changes.

You will need to give up the story of your life (the one you have) to create the story of your life (the one you want).

Like old clothes, you need to get rid of them occasionally. Move on from the story of your life. Freshen it up and get ready for new adventures. Focus on the new story you are creating. Visualise. Build it and it will come.

Keep making improvements. That is the story of my life.

Action Observe Think About It

Look In The Comments

Posted on October 30, 2020

Wow! There are a lot of different perspectives in the world. It can be frightening and fascinating. Look in the comments section on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc.

One of the things I am doing these days is reading a lot of comments. Many of them are similar in general thrust though sometimes with different reasons. I do love seeing things with a fresh perspective, whether I agree with it or not. It makes me think more and consider how different everyone’s life experience is.

I often find myself commenting these days too. Sometimes I just go for the like button. Other times I cheer or congratulate. Occasionally I ask for clarification or provide some for people who might not be using the same stats.

You get a very broad view of what people are thinking and what their concerns or prioritise are. I think it can be more informative than a media piece where they interview 3 people. In that 5 minutes I can see what 30 or more actual people think.

For me to like a comment it must be positive and all good points. My comments must be positive, encouraging or best facts I can find. My experience has been that many people, when presented with the best facts I have, are pretty receptive and appreciative.

If you want to learn about the world, look in the comments.

Action Reframe your thoughts Think About It

We’re Going To Win This One!

Posted on October 29, 2020

Sometimes we start on the sidelines and sometimes we dive right in. But once the battle begins you have to think, “We’re going to win this one!”.

This is true in so many circumstances in our life. It could be as big as winning a war or getting your money back from a trip that was cancelled. Sometimes it starts off with a sport and a team we develop an interest in. Soon that can become an obsession.

You start to get emotionally involved. You start to know the details about what is going on. If a situation becomes even remotely questionable, you can fly off the handle. Sports is probably the best example of this playing out. However, it is quite similar for many other situations.

Wherever you are invested mentally over time, you will feel like you are part of the team. When there is something to win or lose, it will become more important to you. This seems to be true whether it is for contesting a £40 parking ticket or trying to win Gold at the Olympics.

It helps if you go into battle with a positive mindset. Go in confident. Set your mind to it. Charge forward and declare, “We’re going to win this one!”.

Gratitude Time

Finding Old Pictures

Posted on October 28, 2020

Pictures can really sum up a moment. They can pack quite a punch and deliver serious impact. Finding old pictures can be a lot of fun, especially if they evoke fabulous memories.

I was speaking with my Mom a couple of days ago when she mentioned she had found some photos in a drawer. Intrigued, I waited as she started showing them to me over FaceTime. They were fabulous photos of all of us being at our villa in Playacar, Mexico.

Back in February 2011, while Roxane was pregnant with our daughter, we decided to head to Playacar for 3 months of sea, sand, sun, heat and swimwear. As a maternity option, it was more comfortable than winter clothes, jackets and gloves.

Well it was a brilliant 3 months and those photos captured it amazingly well. They brought back strong, wonderful memories of both boys‘ birthdays as they turned 4 and 2. Also of family visiting us and friends too. They highlighted trips we took and other days out. And days in too – making nachos and margaritas while the others played Hungry Hippos and laughed hysterically.

There is something powerful about good pictures. They can transport you back in time, like a time machine. You can hear the laughs, the clinking of the glasses, the sounds of the sea and the delight of life.

Finding old pictures can unleash powerful emotions.

Gratitude Health & Fitness Observe Progress Reframe your thoughts

So Much In Common

Posted on October 27, 2020

Divisive is a common word these days. Though I find it a strange word to use. People have so much in common and things will continue to get better.

Most people have the following in common: They would like peace, prosperity, kindness, low or no crime and even good and effective political policies.

Would you like to live in a calm and safe neighbourhood? I think most people would aspire to that. Should children be able to go to school to learn? Hard to imagine too much resistance to that in normal times.

Listening to people on most issues and concerns, they seem to want a similar destination for each topic. There may be some differences as to how best to get there or exactly what the final destination looks like. But there seems to be so much less to argue about. And certainly most of those things are superficial in their nature. Or they require only a minor tweak.

No matter how much some people want to focus on the high drama of negative, angry or inflammatory news reports, I am confident we are in a much better position than any previously seen.

One example of this is that the global average life expectancy in 1900 was 31 and in 2017 it was 72.2. Additionally it is very peaceful and many people’s standards of living are much higher than in 1900.

We have so much in common. Let’s focus on what those things are.