Inspiration Tuesday - Alfred Hitchcock

Alfred Hitchcock produced some of his greatest films at the ripe age of 55 to 64. They include Rear Window, Vertigo, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds.

In 1996, he was voted the Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

Rituals and our Environment

I'm in the process of fine tuning my daily rituals.  The book Managing Your Day to Day by Jocelyn Glei, made me think about the power and consequences of daily rituals.  This book is comprised of a wonderful collection of essays by successful entrepreneurs on how to reduce distractions and become more focused.

My favorite tip in the book is to have a specific place or ritual for different activities.  They suggest having a specific room for studying and another for relaxing.  By doing so, different environments can become associated with various activities and trigger specific behaviors.  It reminded me of Robert Zajonc's theory that thoughts and feelings are automatic companions to visual sensations and thereby influence our behavior.  We don't just see a house, we see a "pretty" house or a "big" house.  Whenever I see Tiffany, I think about the good times we've had, I feel happy, and smile. Athletic fields manifest feelings of excitement within me, leading me to want to workout.  I've heard of other people craving coffee when they first wake up. Others are triggered to smoke when they drink alcohol. When I see cake, it triggers thoughts of happiness and celebration. Cultivating these environments/rituals can drastically effect how we: work, eat, relax and sleep.

Some rituals may be helpful whereas others have negative consequences.  Currently I am working on minimizing distractions and staying focused as I study for my licensure exam.  I often find myself checking email, Facebook, ESPN, or working on small projects around the house instead of studying.  After reading Managing Your Day to Day, I've decided to study in a specific room and set aside specific times each day for work and pleasure.  When I enter a room, I'm telling my brain it's time to work or relax.

So far it's been a work in progress.  I started out too aggressive with my time blocks and without much flexibility.  Now I have a block of time dedicated for work/study with options for more before and after that block.  I've also set a firm cut off at night for unwinding without work or email.  Having specific rooms for various activities has work well and kept me focused.

Managing one's environment has been used with nutrition as well.  Eating in front of the TV leads to overeating.  In contrast, individuals who ate at a table consumed 30% less food.  The TV distracts people from recognizing when they are full.  Whereas eating at a table, while keeping pots and serving dishes in the kitchen, also leads to less consumption.  It follows the Out of Sight Out of Mind theory.  A year ago, I asked Tiffany to keep her "treats" in the pantry and it has helped with my cravings for sugar.

Using smaller plates can also change our visual perceptions and dining environment, helping people eat less food.  When individuals were given larger plates they ate more and drastically underestimated their total consumption.  Researchers found that people typically fill their plate 3/4 full regardless of the plate size.  I used to do the same thing.  If the plate wasn't full, I didn't think it would satisfy me.  All too often I would end up feeling stuffed after eating so much.

Sleep is another area that experts suggest a designated room.   If you have trouble sleeping, like I do, limit the activities you do in the bedroom to sex and sleep.  Doing so will trigger your body to start unwinding when you enter the bedroom.  I recently stopped reading stimulating books while in bed.  The books would generate ideas and I wouldn't be able to sleep.  Now I typically fall asleep within 5 minutes.

If a room in your house doesn't help with triggering a desired affect, try going to a specific park, trail, library, coffee shop, etc.  Joel Oascoigne describes walking on a local trail every day to relax and reflect.  He has come to know the trail so well, that he can simply let go and reflect.

Developing creative rituals has made it easier for me to work, eat, relax, sleep, and accomplish my goals.  Enjoy

Inspiration Tuesday - Miyoko Shida

The incredible power of concentration.
What are your dreams?

Inspiration Tuesday - Colonel Sanders

KFC's Colonel Harland Sanders was fired from a dozen jobs during his life before finalizing his "secret recipe" fried chicken in 1940 at the age of 50.

During the 1950s, I-75 was built and by-passed his restaurant a few miles to the west. The restaurant failed and he was broke at the age of 65.

With his monthly $105 social security check as his sole source of income, he drove around persuading owners of local diners to use his recipe and give him a nickel commission on each chicken.

In a few years Sanders was making $1000 a day.

Winning the Lottery

Recently the Powerball lottery was over $600 million.  For several days, I allowed myself to dream about winning the the money.  I was going to buy my dad a new car, donate some to charity, and buy a house/office space for myself.  Inevitably I lost and was glum.  

It got me thinking about "waiting for the world to change" vs being proactive and making do with what I have.  In Malcolm Gladwell's latest book, David and Goliath, he challenges our concepts of advantages and disadvantages.  He examined topics such as wealth, civil rights leaders, & dyslexia to show how "underdogs" used the status to their advantage.

If I had more money, I would probably rely on it to build my career vs building my career through being a great psychologist.  It's much easier to work hard when you are forced to than when you have a comfy life.  It's also much easier to say "we can't afford that" than to say "no" to things that may have negative consequences.

That's not to say a challenging life is a bed of roses, but if we are fortunate enough to have at least one support source, we can overcome any perceived obstacle.

When I think about it, I don't need millions of dollars to be happy.  Even small wins such as successfully cooking a souffle or receiving a compliment or learning something new makes me feel good.  It brightens the rest of my day and makes irritating people less annoying.  Small wins are something I can generate for myself each day.

Learning to love what I have.
Bryan

The Space Between

                 The space between our ears is radically effected by what we take via our auditory and optical nerves. I can't say that I do a great job at managing what my brain is exposed to, but I do my best.

My first love, outside of music, is reading.  In high school I would ask my English teachers for book suggestions outside of our required reading.  It was at that time I found myself stumbling down the rabbit hole of reading great literary works and I have never looked back. I remember reading books like: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, The Cather in the Rye by J.D Salinger and The Blue Eye by Toni Morrison. Unfortunately this combination lead my young mind to a very dark place, which took some time to recover from. The book I loved the most from this era of my life was One Hundred Years of  Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The book encapsulates everything I love: history, Latin America, love, and poetic writing.




Although I can't say I have read any great literary works this past year. I did read a couple of self improvement books that I would recommend.  Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat- Zinn.

I love that this book is a quick, easy read that reiterates the importance and value of living in the present moment. The book explores the inordinate amount of stress we bring upon ourselves by over analyzing what has yet to come or what has come to pass. I also love how he offers beneficial examples throughout the book for how to live a more peaceful life.









The other book I really enjoyed was Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown.  I was inspired to read this book after watching her TED Talk (see below).  Although I have always embraced my imperfections, I really enjoyed reading and gaining a better understanding of those that do struggle with being comfortable in their own skin.

This year, inspired partly by my husband's recent reading quest, I have reignited my own love of read.  I started the year with Seeing, a great book by the noble prize winner Jose Saramargo. 

In an effort to continue my reading streak I have created a list of what I hope to read in 2014. It's a mix
of great literary works, books on self improvement, historical lit., and spiritual growth. Below is my list:

• Present Perfect by Gregory Boyd “Don’t try to feel his presence. In fact, don’t try to do anything at all. Simply be mindful of the fact that you are, in this present moment, submerged in the ocean of God’s perfect love… Stop reading for a second and just breathe in God’s presence as you take your next couple breaths. Then, as you continue to read, see how often you can remind yourself of that fact.” Greg Boyd is one of my favorite Christian authors.  I have never had a strong prayer life but the services below have inspired me to recommit myself to a active prayer life. God needs Prayer , Honest to God and Imagining Prayer. This final service is what lead me to want to read "Perfect Present". If you're wondering how I find time to listen to all these podcast. The majority of my listening occurs will I am exercising on the biking.

• A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines by Janna Levin
• The Practicing Mind; Developing Focus and Discipline in Your Life by Thomas M. Sterner
• The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory by Jorge Luis Borges
• Those Angry Days: Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America's fight over World War II, 1939- 1941 by Lynne Olson
• Resilience: Why Thing's Bounce Back by Andrew Zolli
• The Language of Mathematics: Making the Invisible Visible by Keith Devlin   
• Mr. Worry By Rodger Hargreaves (A Christmas gift form my husband. Fun, quick, & thought provoking.)
• Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (Inspired by my husband who has repeated referenced this book in various conversations.)

Wishing you all the best in the New Year!

Onwards and Upwards, T

Inspiration Tuesday - Walt Disney

In 1919, Walt Disney was fired from the Kansas City Star newspaper for his "lack of creativity."  His editor said he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas."

However, that was not the last of his failures. Walt Disney then acquired Laugh-O-Gram, an animation studio, which he drove into bankruptcy.