So Joe…

Ate a bit conservitively yesterday cause it’s Survivor night, and I’d be having a few beers. Choose the lowest cal soup I had for lunch, applesauce for afternoon snack, and leftover fish from Wednesday’s chinese lunch for dinner.

It was raining out again, but rain can’t stop me, I went walking anyway. Walked for 45 minutes, little over 3 miles, passed all four of the lights that I’ve ‘affected’ before, three were already off, and one was on and didn’t go off when I passed it. No magic today.

Had three Lite beers watching Survivor and CSI, and then we watched parts of last Saturday’s SNL, which Mike hadn’t seen. Natalie Portman was looking good, and that rap skit she was in ruled!

In bed at 12, up at 7, interval row, breakfast, and out the door.

On the topic of what you would do if you were guaranteed to succeed, hopefully you’ve given some thought to why it is you haven’t tried to pursue your ‘dream’. I would venture that it’s most likely something that can be overcome. If it relates to money, time, or skill, then it can if you simply break the task down into small enough pieces. You can accomplish almost anything if you break the big task down into much smaller, easily attainable tasks. Keep plugging away at those small things and pretty soon you’ve made a huge dent in the big one. So, try thinking about how you could take what’s stopping you and break it down into pieces small enough that you could accomplish them. Write them all down in a list, and then start trying to cross them off, get it done! I think you’ll find that it’s not as hard as you think.

Personally, I’m gonna try and make some money off the internet. I’ve always enjoyed posting web stuff (see my old ‘Clobberbots’ website as an example at http://fiebers.com/clobberbots), mostly for the enjoyment of sharing with others, but now their are ways to make money off it through Googles AdSense, and other programs like it. You put their ads on your website, and they pay you for every ‘click’ they get. So, if I can just get some content on the web that will interest people, I may be able to make some money off it. Some people have succeeded at this and even quit their full time jobs! I’m not aspiring to go to that level (at least not yet), I’d like to get some suplimental funds this way if I can. I’ll also be giving thought to other ways I can expand my funding sources, with the preference for something that I do once, and then passively benefit from.

Just saw something interesting that I’d never heard of :

What’s a habit? Most people don’t know that the behavior patterns we call habits are “hard-wired” in the cerebral cortex of the brain. If you do the same things over and over, dendrites from neurons related to the behavior will grow towards other specific neurons to make the connections needed to execute the behavior. This creates a neuronal pathway that makes the satisfying behavior automatica pattern. You no longer have to try to make it happen. It just feels right and you do it.

Habits, then, have a physical basis in the brain. This explains why they are so hard to break.

But people do change habits. They’re successful because they substitute an alternative behavior pattern that also satisfies the need, hopefully without the negative side effects. Repeating this pattern creates a new neuronal pathway. Once the new habit is ingrained, the new behavior pattern also becomes easy and automatic. If you don’t return to your old ways, over time the old pathway, like an unused highway, will eventually deteriorate from lack of use.¹

I Googled around and it looks to be true. Interesting information if you are trying to ‘break’ a habit, or form a new one.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

“The golf balls are the important things — your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions — things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

“The sand is everything else — the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.”

“The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

• Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
  
• Play with your children.
  
• Take time to get medical checkups.
  
• Take your partner out to dinner.
  
• Play another 18.
  

“There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter.

“Set your priorities… The rest is just sand.

” One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”