Well I haven't kept up with the blog too well lately; I guess I haven't been too inspired to write. I did read something on another site/blog that did pique my interest and encourage me to try to write more often. "Why Talking to Yourself Might be the Highest Form of Intelligence" is an article that discusses talking/writing. I don't think I ever actually talk to myself, but the writing aspect of it was pretty neat. My interpretation is that when you write, it allows your brain to interpret the writing as a thought coming from a different individual. This is beneficial, because it allows you to breakthrough the 'loops' that typically occur in your thoughts.
I wish I could come up w/ a specific occurrence of this happening to me, but unfortunately I can't recall one (yet they do happen). I can't count the number of times I have heard someone mention that writing 'cleanses the soul' or that writing acts as a 'release'. I think these views fall in the same vein as what the article is discussing. Anyway, I didn't put a whole lot of thought into this post, but I'm trying to build my habit of posting SOMEthing at least every other day. Maybe this article will help act as motivation.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Childhood Memory
If you were to ask me about some of my earliest childhood memories, I could probably name two. One was watching a recorded X-Men cartoon. I remember this because my older brother Pat had helped me record it, and we had recorded over my mom's soaps. I can't recall much specific about this one other then the room in which it occurred.
My other, much more specific memory, involves the WWF. Similar to the first situation, I had recorded this pay-per-view event called Survivor Series on a VHS tape - but fortunately for my mom, this was a blank tape. Well had you asked me this morning about it, I could have told you everything that happened during this match. My two favorite wrestlers, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, survived the odds and beat the other, much larger team, led by Omaha native The Million Dollar Man.
Anyway, for some crazy reason this memory hit me as I was sitting at my computer. I decided to search for the video on youtube, and lo-and-behold, I found a copy:
I'm pretty sure I had an ear-to-ear smile the entire time I watched the match (and yes, I sat and watched the entire thing). It also happened exactly as I remember it. The biggest memory I associate with this video is my friend Ryan and I acting it out. I would be The Ultimate Warrior, and he would be Hulk Hogan. We would then wrestle couch cushions and do exactly what they did on TV.
Now this Survivor Series was released in 1990. I was born in 1987. In my memories I'm watching a recording of it, so I more then likely was older than 3 years old, but I'm sure not by much. I just thought this was a pretty crazy thing, that after all these years I was able to locate the source of that memory in about 20 seconds, and it easily made my night.
My other, much more specific memory, involves the WWF. Similar to the first situation, I had recorded this pay-per-view event called Survivor Series on a VHS tape - but fortunately for my mom, this was a blank tape. Well had you asked me this morning about it, I could have told you everything that happened during this match. My two favorite wrestlers, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior, survived the odds and beat the other, much larger team, led by Omaha native The Million Dollar Man.
Anyway, for some crazy reason this memory hit me as I was sitting at my computer. I decided to search for the video on youtube, and lo-and-behold, I found a copy:
I'm pretty sure I had an ear-to-ear smile the entire time I watched the match (and yes, I sat and watched the entire thing). It also happened exactly as I remember it. The biggest memory I associate with this video is my friend Ryan and I acting it out. I would be The Ultimate Warrior, and he would be Hulk Hogan. We would then wrestle couch cushions and do exactly what they did on TV.
Now this Survivor Series was released in 1990. I was born in 1987. In my memories I'm watching a recording of it, so I more then likely was older than 3 years old, but I'm sure not by much. I just thought this was a pretty crazy thing, that after all these years I was able to locate the source of that memory in about 20 seconds, and it easily made my night.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Motivations
After I finished writing my first post, and all through the next day, I kept thinking about what I wanted to do with this blog. While I still aim to shape this blog to be some of those things I mentioned, I've found another direction I want to take. I've recently discovered TED Talks , and I have found myself really enjoying much of what I find on there. Typically the talks are very interesting, and I very much enjoy the fact that on most occasions they're only ~20mins.
I've been trying to find ways to motivate myself to use my free time in a constructive way, and I may have found a way to accomplish that - as well as finding some direction with this blog. I'm going to try to watch a TED video on a topic that I find interesting, and then write a reaction to the video here in my blog. I'm not sure how often I will get to doing this, as I can see myself going crazy and doing them daily or procrastinating and putting it off. Hopefully its the former.
So now, what video to use for my first post? Well, fittingly, I found a video on Motivation by Dan Pink. In this talk, Pink essentially suggests that using monetary rewards/incentives isn't necessarily the most ideal way to motivate people. In situations where creative thought is needed to solve problems, monetary rewards can actually have a negative impact, retarding creativity.
When I think about my own actions and what has motivated me to do things in the past, I see a blending of two primary motivators:
Anywho, when I think of my most creative moments, they never involve money as a motivation. I feel like I'm taking a very unscientific approach to this, as it's tough to list my 'most creative moments', so you're just going to have to take my word for it. I just generally find myself being relatively uncreative at work. It should be noted though that I have yet to find a job that I truly enjoy, and this probably makes a very large difference. And yet, if I were to find a job that I truly loved, I believe more than likely my motivations are going to be self created incentives - wanting to be the one that figures out the problem, wanting to be the most creative, wanting to be the most original, etc..
Well, it's an interesting idea. Monetary incentives will continue to be used, and as Pink suggests, is very useful in certain situations; yet the development of other incentives is something I hope businesses will expand upon, and it's something I may try to keep in mind when attempting to motivate others into doing something.
I've been trying to find ways to motivate myself to use my free time in a constructive way, and I may have found a way to accomplish that - as well as finding some direction with this blog. I'm going to try to watch a TED video on a topic that I find interesting, and then write a reaction to the video here in my blog. I'm not sure how often I will get to doing this, as I can see myself going crazy and doing them daily or procrastinating and putting it off. Hopefully its the former.
So now, what video to use for my first post? Well, fittingly, I found a video on Motivation by Dan Pink. In this talk, Pink essentially suggests that using monetary rewards/incentives isn't necessarily the most ideal way to motivate people. In situations where creative thought is needed to solve problems, monetary rewards can actually have a negative impact, retarding creativity.
When I think about my own actions and what has motivated me to do things in the past, I see a blending of two primary motivators:
- money
- internal pleasure
Anywho, when I think of my most creative moments, they never involve money as a motivation. I feel like I'm taking a very unscientific approach to this, as it's tough to list my 'most creative moments', so you're just going to have to take my word for it. I just generally find myself being relatively uncreative at work. It should be noted though that I have yet to find a job that I truly enjoy, and this probably makes a very large difference. And yet, if I were to find a job that I truly loved, I believe more than likely my motivations are going to be self created incentives - wanting to be the one that figures out the problem, wanting to be the most creative, wanting to be the most original, etc..
Well, it's an interesting idea. Monetary incentives will continue to be used, and as Pink suggests, is very useful in certain situations; yet the development of other incentives is something I hope businesses will expand upon, and it's something I may try to keep in mind when attempting to motivate others into doing something.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
First Post!
Well, as the title indicates, this is my first post. I have never kept a blog/journal and thus I feel somewhat awkward deciding how to proceed. I have a number of thoughts on what I want this blog to be. Originally I felt it would be a good way to document my time in Korea. I felt it could be a good place for family to see what I'm doing on the far side of the globe, as well as providing a place for them to see pictures and post some of their thoughts.
In addition, I think that by creating this blog, I may increase my technical know-how with creating websites. I think that this is an essential skill in today's world. I am however using a template style format from blogger.com , so I am not exactly relying only on my talents. Nevertheless, I think I can learn a thing or two.
Finally, when thinking of the long term, I want something written by me during my youth. I think it will be something I personally can reflect on and look back at fondly. I also want something to give my future children/grandchildren. They may be able to look at how I dealt with failures/successes I encountered in my life and let that provide guidance to their own decisions. Or perhaps just to know my personality as a young man - before I become old, crabby, and jaded.
Anyway, I don't want my first post to be a novel, but those are some of the thoughts swirling in my head while beginning this blog!
In addition, I think that by creating this blog, I may increase my technical know-how with creating websites. I think that this is an essential skill in today's world. I am however using a template style format from blogger.com , so I am not exactly relying only on my talents. Nevertheless, I think I can learn a thing or two.
Finally, when thinking of the long term, I want something written by me during my youth. I think it will be something I personally can reflect on and look back at fondly. I also want something to give my future children/grandchildren. They may be able to look at how I dealt with failures/successes I encountered in my life and let that provide guidance to their own decisions. Or perhaps just to know my personality as a young man - before I become old, crabby, and jaded.
Anyway, I don't want my first post to be a novel, but those are some of the thoughts swirling in my head while beginning this blog!
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