What The Humble Baked Bean Tin Teaches Us About Goal Achievement!

May 19, 2011 by 8 Comments

A recent series I watched on TV followed a young British engineer as he traveled around the country on a longboat, celebrating Britain’s industrial heritage. One episode featured the humble tin of baked beans, and in this article I want to cover what this teaches us about goal achievement…

Guy Martin is an engineer and well known bike racer. Well known in bike racing circles that is, I confess I had never heard of him before watching his TV series.

In ‘The Boat That Guy Built’ on the BBC, he wanted to remind people of a 150 year period when British inventions and engineering helped to change the world, to drive the industrial revolution.

He traveled around on his barge, fitting it out using traditional techniques, and I was drawn in by the whole series. One episode featured him making baked beans on toast, so he went right back to the basics and history of the can, making it by hand. This is where the goal achievement lesson comes in…

The patent for the tin can was given in the early 1800s in Britain, and it wasn’t long before it had been sold on and developed, as a way of storing provisions for the army and navy. This was state of the art stuff at the time, rather like NASA inventing ideas for the space program.

Within a few years though, maybe a decade or so, the baked bean had moved from being a novelty food for the posh to a common ingredient, and the tin can had gone from being experimental to being part of everyday life.

It was taken for granted.

150 Years Later

This is all over 150 years ago now, but the lesson we can take today is still fresh…

While it’s possible that your goal may be groundbreaking, it’s more likely that it has been achieved before. Someone, somewhere, will take it for granted. Someone, somewhere, will have gone through the trial and error process and got to the end result.

Yes, it will be new for *you*, there will be learning and set backs, but you can make the journey far easier if you seek out the knowledge of others who have gone before.

You will also have an easier ride of it mentally if you imagine yourself in the position of those who take your goal for granted.

Developing an assurance that your goal will happen, helps to motivate you when you come to step that are wary or nervous about – you’ll be much more confident to take it when you know others have been there before.

So to sum up, the humble tin of baked beans can teach us about trial and error, and it can teach us about repositioning goals in our mind as taken for granted rather than experimental.

I loved Guy Martin’s show, and the next time you are struggling with a goal, open a cupboard and stare at a baked bean tin for some inspiration!

Gordon Bryan is a writer from the UK, who loves writing about goal achievement. Grab his free 8 Step Goal Achievement Formula at http://thegreatgordino.com/free-8-step-goal-achievement-formula

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: , , ,

Resentment is Poison

May 16, 2011 by 8 Comments

When we hold onto resentment, the only person we are hurting is ourselves. Let go. Let go. Free yourself!

I love this quote by Carrie Fisher: “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

She talks about resentment, but I have pretty much said the same thing about anger and blame and hate.  In fact, any negative feelings you hold toward someone else fits this quote well.

Why?

Because negative feelings hurt the feeler.  In very few cases does the other person even know – and if she knows, doesn’t even care – that you hate her or resent her or blame her.  But as long as you feel these things, you are burning up inside.  These feelings are poison, and they will eat away at you – all the more so out of frustration that the other person isn’t dying from the poison you swallow.

Is there an answer to this problem?  There is, but … you might not want to hear it.

Forgive.

You might not be able to forget, but you can forgive.  Yes, pretty much everything can be forgiven, no matter how odious the crime.  Forgiveness does not make anybody more or less guilty.  Nor does it undo anything that has been done.  But it does let you come to terms with what has happened and move on to live the rest of your life without a huge weight around your neck.

I am not saying that despicable criminals should not be brought to justice.  I am saying that hating and resenting and blaming them won’t bring them to justice – but it will unjustly corrode your own self.

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: , , , , ,

How to inspire your kids to greatness

May 12, 2011 by 2 Comments

To be able to go on to do great things, children need encouragement and inspiration. A child will try his or her best when a parent’s support is behind them. Sometimes it’s not easy to figure out exactly how to help kids with this, but there are some things you can do that are sure to inspire.

Follow Your Child’s Bliss

Pay attention to what your child loves. If he or she loves art, encourage the creation of paintings, sculptures, drawings, or whichever media they have an interest in and keep plenty of art materials on hand. If you notice your child looking at the stars and gravitating toward astronomy topics, make plans for trips to a planetarium. Know what your child is interested in and feed that interest in every way possible.

Give Your Child New Experiences

There is nothing like learning about different cultures and seeing new things to open a child’s mind. It isn’t necessary to take a trip to Japan or Africa to accomplish this. Learning about how things are done in a culture on the other side of the world can show a child that all humans are different and interesting. Going to plays, ballets performances, and museums also fall into this category.

Turn off the Electronics

On at least one night a week, turn off the television, computers, phones, and any other gadget that the family is attached to, and have the family create something together. Any child, regardless of interests, should learn to create. Whether you paint something on a canvas, put together a birdhouse, or build a piece of play equipment for the back yard, make something that your child can see every day and be proud of helping to create.

Look into Extracurricular

Whether it’s a day camp for a particular interest, Scouts youth organization, or sports team, get your child into some extracurricular activity. This gives kids the opportunity to work with other kids outside of a school atmosphere. It is important that your child be interested, though. Some children won’t mesh well with all activities.

Expect Good Things, but Don’t Go Too Far

Letting your child know what you expect in terms of school and activities is a good thing. But be careful not to apply too much pressure. Becoming angry when one of their activities doesn’t work out the way you expected it to will only discourage your child. Celebrate over your child’s efforts toward something, rather than only rewarding a perfect result. Also realize that not all children will be good at everything. It may take a few tries before you and your child figure out the best activities and interests for him or her.

In conclusion, do not underestimate the importance of building your own inspiration as a parent. Read parenting books, discover inspiring family quotes, exchange with other parents and do not hesitate to try new activities.

And do not forget, the key is to spend quality time with your child. This is something your child will remember forever.

About the author: David is the manager of FamousQuotesIndex.com, an interactive database containing close to 30,000 quotes and citations from famous people and popular movies. This post has been featured in the Spring Homeschool Carnival and the Garden of Learning homeschooling carnival.

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: , , , ,

How To Find Happiness in Five Minutes

May 10, 2011 by 4 Comments

Life is crazy isn’t it? And sometimes being happy and content just seems impossible. Life is hard, long, and at times painful. But the good news is that it is possible to find joy and be happy. It really is. Here are a few tips that can change your dreary day into sunshine and smiles. And you can make that happen.

• Realize that rain falls. When you accept that life will and does get tough and sometimes for entire season you can smile. Sure ,what you are experiencing may be really painful and even difficult, but those very things can help you grow. Know that this life will be filled with hard things but strive to overcome them and look for the light on the other side. You really can smile even in a thunder storm. Remember that things don’t stay the same and seek to learn all you can about yourself and other people when life hurts and feels unfair.

• Smile at a stranger. Take the time to care about other people. Even people you don’t know. It really is true that even small things like smiling are not only helpful. They are contagious. Be kind to the grumpy salesperson, let the rude driver pass you and buy a coffee for the person you don’t even know. Why? Just because you can. Make the world a better place.

• Forgive and move on. Most of us carry around hurts from the past. Some are huge and some go way back into our childhood. But guess what? You gotta move on. Don’t dwell on the past. You don’t have to forget or give up boundaries to protect yourself from an unhealthy relationship but letting go and forgiving can do wonders to your heart. Realize all the wrong and hurt you have caused, yes maybe even back in elementary school. Give grace to people and let yourself heal and grow by forgiving.

• Slow down. We all move way too fast in life. Sure there is a lot to see and many responsibilities but busyness steals away from the simple joys of life. Take time to visit that grandparent, pick up the phone and call a friend you miss. Pause and see the new flowers budding in the middle of the city. Open a door for someone or simply slow down when walking to your next destination. Cancel meetings that don’t need to happen, hug that little one that is changing by the minute, sip your coffee and quit making your schedule so full. Enjoy the time you have been given. Life moves fast. Don’t miss it. You know there are no dress rehearsals so get it right the first time.

• Be grateful for where you are at. Even if you are in a terrible divorce, have been wronged by a boss, or are grieving a major loss, seek to find the good. It may feel impossible and against what you want to do but you can choose to focus on the positive. Even in the worst of situations there are things to be grateful for. How about a healthy child? Food to eat? A family or even one person who loves you? Be happy and thankful for the big and small things you have in life. If you focus on what isn’t or what you don’t have you will only make life exasperating and no fun. Each day seek to focus on what you have to be grateful for. In fact, why not make a journal. You can do that right now. List all you can rejoice about. It may be as simple as a new bloom on a flower, or a hot shower, but even these little things will help your heart enjoy the life you have been given.
Try these things and see that happiness is right in front of you!

This is a guest post by Diane Johnson, who primarily writes about online classes and anything else that interests her. She enjoys traveling, reading, and sports.

Filed Under: Happiness

Opportunity Knocks

May 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Have you heard this one before?

“Knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Opportunity”

“Opportunity who?”

*silence*

Yes, silence.  When opportunity knocks, so often we respond with silence.  Perhaps it is the silence of fear.  Or perhaps it is the silence of inertia.  Or perhaps it is the silence of uncertainty – what to do next.

When opportunity knocks, you have to answer it.  If you wait around asking questions, opportunity will wander off somewhere else, knocking on someone else’s door by the time you answer.

Worse than hesitating and questioning opportunity, is ignoring it altogether.  Perhaps we don’t want to hear the knocking.  Perhaps we are too busy or careless or introspective or afraid to pay attention.

I am convinced that the biggest difference between people who are successful in life – however you choose to define “success” – and those who are not, is how they respond when opportunity knocks.  Successful people…

  • Remain constantly alert, so they hear the knocking.
  • Answer right away. with open arms.
  • Welcome opportunity in with open arms.

What do you do when opportunity knocks?  Do you answer?  Do you stand near the door and hesitate? Do you even hear the knocking?

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With:

Knowledge versus Understanding versus Wisdom

April 30, 2011 by 4 Comments

Knowledge.  Understanding.  Wisdom.

Which is best to have?  What is the difference between them, anyway?

Knowledge is simple.  It is about facts and information, just observing what they are.

Understanding is a little deeper – it is about realizing what the information (the knowledge) means.

Wisdom is deeper still.  It is like understanding the understanding – how you should react to or feel about the information, now that you understand it.

EXAMPLE:

Knowledge: The government is creating seven new programs this year.

Understanding: Either the government will dip into my pockets now to pay for these new programs, or it will add to the national debt so that many years from now it won’t bother dipping into my pockets – it will just take my pants away.

Wisdom: I should fight the new government programs.  Or, I should live it up while I can, while I still have my pants. Or, I should seek how I can milk these programs to get my money back and earn interest so that one day (when my pants are taken away) I can buy them back.

Which brings me to what inspired this blog post…a quote from Malcolm Gladwell.

Since my brain really only works in the morning, I try to keep that time free for writing and thinking and don’t read any media at all until lunchtime, when I treat myself to The New York Times–the paper edition. At this point, I realize, I am almost a full 24 hours behind the news cycle. Is this is a problem? I have no idea. My brother, who is a teacher, always says that we place too much emphasis on the speed of knowledge acquistion, and not the quality of knowledge acquistion: I guess that means that the fact that I am still on Monday, when everyone else is on Tuesday, is okay.

These days, people rush to get the latest information.  They grab the knowledge.  But do they take the time to understand?  Or even more time to gain wisdom from it?  No, they are on to the next piece of information.

Once upon a time we revered our elders for their wisdom.  Now we tend to mock them for being behind the times.  My parents can’t use computers or any of the new-fangled gadgets.  They don’t have the information-overload that so impresses us in today’s “whiz kids”.

But is knowledge alone worth very much?  I think most people will agree that there is a hierarchy where wisdom is at the top, then understanding and finally knowledge (OK, finally would be ignorance).  But how important is it to seek wisdom, or is knowledge “good enough”?

What do you think?

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: , , ,

European Fraggles and American Doozers

April 28, 2011 by 1 Comment

Happiness Is Hard Work…at least in America.

A new study published in the April issue of the Journal Of Happiness Studies reveals that Americans who work harder tend to be happier. The “Protestant work ethic” is alive and well – and making people happy – in America.

Americans tend to be like Doozers:

Work you cares away,
Dancing’s for another day.
Let the Fraggles play,
Down at Fraggle Rock.

In Europe, the story is completely different. Europeans are happiest working shorter hours.

Europeans tend to be like faggles:

Dance your cares away,
Worry’s for another day.
Let the music play,
Down at Fraggle Rock.

“Those who work longer hours in Europe are less happy than those who work shorter hours, but in the U.S. it’s the other way around,” study author Adam Okulicz-Kozaryn says. It seems that Americans are happiest working and building

The researchers speculate that happiness has less to do with actual hours spent working on each continent than about how people on either side of the ocean view success. The “American Dream” is about how anybody can make it big if they just work hard enough. Europeans seem to focus more on “quality of life”.

Not surprisingly, Europeans are surprised by the results of this study. The UK’s Daily Mail says it all in it’s headline: “America’s bizarre secret to happiness: More work”.

So what contributes to your happiness more – work or off-time?

This post was featured in the Working at Home Blog Carnival.

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: , , , ,

Do What You Are Good At

April 26, 2011 by 3 Comments

Here is some good advice for young Aspergians (people with the Asperger’s syndrome) that really is just as good for any of us.  Related to Autism, Aspergians find social interaction difficult and might also have motor difficulties and tend to get lost in themselves sometimes.  That often makes it tough for an Asbergian to fit into society; but it doesn’t mean he can’t.

In his book Be Different: The Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian, John Elder Robison says:

“Find out what you’re good at and stick with it. In school, a lot of emphasis is put on identifying your weaknesses and then improving them. That’s important if your weaknesses are holding you back, but it’s not the path to greatness.Greatness happens when you find your unique strengths and build upon them. Building up a weakness just makes you less disabled. Building a strength can take you to the top of the world.”

Not everything requires ideal social interaction to be successful. Not everyone has those skills. But everyone has some skills, and those skills can be honed for success.. Find out what you are good at, train yourself to be even better, find ways to optimize your opportunities with those skills, and just keep riding forward.

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: , , , , ,

Eleven Life Lessons

April 21, 2011 by 4 Comments

This was passed on to me by my sister-in-law.  So much of it is just so true, great life lessons even for those of us who remember our school days as ancient history.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about eleven (11) things they did not and will not learn in school.

 

Rule 1 : Life is not fair – get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: They called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were
So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your own room..

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. *This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. *Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one..

 

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »