10 Things

[bluechromis]

Earlier today I watched an inspiring TED talk by Sarah Kay, a 22 year old who is, among other things, a spoken-word-poet. Am I the only one who views watching TED talks as a religion? TED speakers remind me of the good and the bad in the world, the divine and the base, the thought-provoking and the the boring. Unless I'm mistaken, that's basically

Comments

Thanks. :) I will await your list with bated breath.

[bluechromis]

So basically you reframe it as wanting to do it by considering the benefit to yourself. :) I realize my phrasing was ambiguous (somewhat intentionally, since I wanted a list and not a post), but my thought was that for me the word "should" carries a connotation of externally imposed requirements. The second I start thinking of things that way I feel rebellious and lose interest, so it's best if I always try to mentally phrase things as "here's my choice, leading to consequences a and b. Which consequence do I prefer?" Which I assume is what you do as well.

Much of what sparked that comment was my experience of being back in school. I have a new appreciation for how unpleasant school was for me as a kid due to having a very different learning style, one which benefits most from independent or very small group work. Sitting through a typical class is very difficult from an attention/patience standpoint, and getting progressively more irritated about being forced to be there does not help. I used to beat myself up about that, because I'd been told that good students adhere to expectations in terms of class attendance and note taking. Now I've gradually made peace with the decision to sometimes sacrifice my grade slightly (when attendance is factored into the grade) in the name of sanity and time management.

And re: zits...lol, yeah, if you want a scar. ;-P We can choose to hide our flaws or capitalize on our strengths. Sometimes we can do both, but capitalizing on strengths is definitely a better use of ones energy.

Re: Thanks. :) I will await your list with bated breath.

[flexagon]

Man, this took me forever! If your breath has been bated all this time, can I recommend some mouthwash? :)

http://flexagon.livejournal.com/475935.html

I do, indeed, phrase things in terms of consequences a and b... or, more simply, "how will I feel after I've done A? or after I've done B?" I fear I'm a true-blue introvert and usually care more about how I'll feel (virtuous? guilty? endorphin-buzzed?) than the real-world consequences.