No Work No Problem?

A friend of mine was injured back in 2014 and has been on disability ever since. She admitted to me that not working was boring for her and she didn't wish it on anybody. My retired dad has been telling me the same.

Try me...

While I can certainly understand that we can run out of "shows" to watch or "video games to play" I still believe that getting bored wouldn't happen to me because I have plenty of things to occupy myself outside of the mindless entertainment.

Feeling useful is what my dad misses the most about working but that's because he hasn't really found  ways, outside of work, to get that feeling. I not only have, through such things as writing, I've also found ways to do it outside of my full time work.

In the workplace, some people can't do anything unless they're told what to do. I suspect that those are people that would miss work the most as they can't seem to function without someone else telling them what to do. 

That's never been my problem because I've approach every project with the "how can I add value to this" mindset. I need very little guidance before I find ways to contribute and this attribute has spilled out in my personal life as well.

For now, however, I can only speculate how I'll be during my own retirement.

A Dictatorship in America? Really?

I never thought I would see the day when voting for a President was choosing between a Democracy and Dictatorship. I always thought that dictatorship was something that was forced unto a conquered country... not something voted in or that people wished for.

Americans, under the Trump cult, seems to be wanting democracy to be overthrown in favor of a dictatorship. If we look at China, Russia, North Korea... can we really say that dictatorship is better than a democracy? 

The only people benefiting from dictatorships are the elites. Only Trump, and his closets of allies, would reap the rewards of America becoming a dictatorship.

A democracy, which gives the power to the people, isn't a perfect form of government but its definitely an evolution over dictatorship. America would loose, on all fronts, by this downgrade and perhaps serves as a reminder that good things don't last and if it can happen to America then it can happen to any country.

Be better, America, not only for your sake but for the world.

How To Develop Critical Thinking

"Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action."

-louisville.edu

In short, critical thinking is the ability to question the information presented to you.

Reinforce your critical thinking abilities with reading...

If you read non-fiction books of similar subjects you will encounter situations where there's contradictions either amongst the authors or with your own experience. You, the reader, will need to think about who's right/wrong and that exercise is what ultimately develops your critical thinking abilities. 

Critical thinking is a lost art because not enough people are reading or being exposed to situations that requires them to think critically. Society suffers when there's not enough critical thinkers.

The Torch of Knowledge

We must learn from our ancestors, sprinkle in some of our own knowledge, and pass it on to the next generation hoping that they’ll do the same. Shame is having to relearn a lesson from the history of our civilization. We must keep pushing our understanding, perfect it, make it easier to learn, for the benefit of students that will follow in our footsteps.

Life is short - we are but carriers of the torch of knowledge. We’re but messengers in the canvas of our civilization.

Read, learn every day, become all that you’re supposed to be, share your lessons with the hopes that someone will learn from your mistakes. Make tomorrow better from your contribution.

Growing Up Is A Choice

As a kid, I would look at adults with awe because I believed that they had everything figured out. Now that I'm an adult I realize that not only do most people don't have everything figured out they're basically thinking the same way as they did when they were kids.

“Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.” 

-Walt Disney (or Charles Theodore Davis)

While you'll never have everything figured out, you must live your life in such a way that if you were to look back 5 years ago you can see how much progress you've made since. Gray hair, by itself, isn't a good enough indicator of how "grown up" someone is.

How do I "grow up"?

You need to plan for it as it won't happen naturally. You need constantly challenge your philosophies for life, read and associate with people that are better than you so that some of their experiences can rub off on you.