Tag Archives: choosing influences

Reality Check: That Fresh New Year Fragrance

Have you ever bought one of those air fresheners called “new car smell”? For a few bucks, you can bask in the scent of rich leather. Or maybe it’s rich vinyl. Either way, you can experience a luxurious new car … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: That Fresh New Year Fragrance

Reality Check: Stocking the Toolkit

If you wanted to equip a young person with the tools they need to have a satisfying life, what would you choose? My long-standing answer contains only three items: we need to be able to read, to write, and to … Continue reading

Posted in Develop Understanding | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Stocking the Toolkit

Reality Check: That First Impulse

“Follow your heart.” This phrase is on T-shirts, plaques, coffee mugs. People quote it and presumably rely on it as a guiding principle. Let’s take a look at what that might mean.

Posted in Develop Understanding | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: That First Impulse

Reality Check: The Benefit of Small Inspirations

While cleaning my desk, I happened to bump the mouse, causing a video to begin playing on my computer. This video is not a professional production. It’s a little wobbly; the product of somebody who happened to have their phone … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: The Benefit of Small Inspirations

Reality Check: Does Optimism Make a Difference?

Does optimism make a difference? That is, a positive difference? Or is optimism only for the naive and easily-led, those folks who aren’t wise enough to understand how really bad and awful and disastrous everything is? If you’ve been reading … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Does Optimism Make a Difference?

Reality Check: The Blue Zones

If you were making a list of what you want most of all, you might include “a long, healthy life” on that list. You wouldn’t be alone. Considering that attempts to find the “fountain of youth” date back centuries, we … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: The Blue Zones

Reality Check: The Many Ways to Serve

Knowing that one has found their purpose in life is important for many people, including, or perhaps especially, for young people. Many of those who wish to live a life of purpose focus on service. If you look at service … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Behaviour | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: The Many Ways to Serve

Reality Check: What Comes In; What Goes Out

“Garbage in; garbage out” is a phrase I first heard during my early computer programming days. It’s a common-sense idea; if you put poor information into a system, poor results come out. Intuitively, we know it’s true. This doesn’t just … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: What Comes In; What Goes Out

Reality Check: Choosing Your Surroundings

It’s the dead of winter. Snow is falling, cold winds are blowing; there is ice wherever you want to walk. In the midst of this dull and often non-productive time, an amaryllis bulb that I’ve had for years is starting … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Perspective | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Choosing Your Surroundings

Reality Check: Positive Peer Pressure

I’ve organized my desk! Well, technically, that’s not true. I haven’t organized it. Yet. However, my friend Emma has organized her desk, and is delighted with the result. She can now find her stamps, labels, scissors, stapler and that hole-punch … Continue reading

Posted in Choosing Behaviour | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Reality Check: Positive Peer Pressure