I’m a horrible reader. It’s been awhile since I’ve actually read an entire book. But I recently finished one on astrophysics that completely went over my head. Here’s why I chose that book, and how I got through it.
As a freshman in college I was lured into signing up for my first credit card by being offered a free subway sandwich. I knew nothing about debt and interest. But over the next decade, I gradually accumulated credit card debt without knowing anything was wrong.
There’s a lot of stuff I don’t want to do ExerciseRead booksWriteMeditateRead the newsCook healthy mealsPrayRead my BiblePractice foreign languages …
The people who fill it do. As our home for the past 2 years got listed on the market, we …
We have too much stuff. Us personally, and us as a collective society. We hoard junk. We develop emotional attachments. …
My heart felt like it was beating faster and somewhat irregularly. My breath was short and I felt like I was suffocating. I noticed every area of discomfort in my body. The irony is that I was trying to get the exact opposite result.
I was actually trying to meditate and calm myself down.
Anthony Bourdain embodied everything I wanted to become professionally.
He travelled to the most beautiful and unique places in the world. He had fascinating conversations about politics and society with the most interesting people in the world. He feasted on the most exotic and delicious foods in the world. And he got paid to do it all.
It seemed like the dream life that everyone wants, but tragically it wasn’t enough. Or it was too much.
The sad irony is that though his show “Parts Unknown” seemed to put his amazing travel life on display for millions, there were dark and desperate parts of his life that were unknown to everyone.
If you want to make acquaintances, live life as you normally would. But if you want to make meaningful friendships, you have to be intentional.
I’m a fairly shy person. In a crowded setting, I stand by myself wanting to talk to people, but not knowing how. In small groups or one-on-ones, I get awkward about long silences but don’t know what to say.
It’s not easy for me to make friendships. But I know I need them. I need to invest in people and I need people investing in me.
Social media was supposed to be this wonderful platform that improved our lives. It was supposed to rekindle old relationships, keep us updated with friends far away, meet new people around the world over common interests, and create some sense of a global community.
In many ways it has done that.
But it seems to be more commonly known for narcissists and trolls. It’s the place where we compare our lives to each other, seek attention in the form of digital hearts and thumbs, argue for the sake of arguing, share sensational yet false news, and spend the majority of our time just scrolling.
It’s that way because that’s the way we made it. Social media isn’t inherently bad. I believe the platform has enormous positive potential. We just need to use it more intentionally in ways that benefit us and the people around us.
Whether it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or some other platform, here are a few guidelines that will help.
You’ve heard all the news about how Facebook gave your data to Cambridge Analytica who used it to run ads affecting the election. It’s got all the soundbites of a sensationalized story – Facebook, private data, scandal, Russia, Trump, election.
A lot of media outlets don’t really understand it. Based on Mark Zuckerberg’s hearings, Congress certainly doesn’t understand it – or how the internet works for that matter. And most people, probably you included, don’t understand it.
I run Facebook ads. I get it. What happened wasn’t a big deal – at least for the reasons people are freaking out about. But what happened was also serious – for the reasons people aren’t thinking about.
