However, I am not talking about your body being comfortable when you sit or lay down.  What I am talking about is more of an inner feeling of comfortable which is related to staying within your “comfort zone,” and not venturing outside the comfort zone.  Believe me, that is not a good thing.  So, yes, there are times when being comfortable is a bad thing indeed.

If you don’t venture outside your comfort zone, you cannot grow.  You cannot learn about things that are foreign to you.  Doing things that make you nervous brings understanding  and learning.  If you do things that are uncomfortable enough, they become part of your comfort zone.

Resting in Comfort

Back in 2000, I decided to move to the Philippines.  I am an American, but my wife is Filipino.  Starting in the late 90′s, I had a desire to move to the Philippines and experience life here, which was something that would be totally foreign to me.  When I had finally put everything in place for the move, though, and was getting close to the time when I’d get on that airplane and fly to my new home, I got quite nervous.  Was I doing the right thing.  Was a move to a foreigner country the right thing for myself, my wife and my kids?  Frankly, it suddenly scared me to death.  But, because I had the desire to move, and I had worked hard to put everything in place for such a move, I went ahead with my dream.  Yes, things were scary, and it took time for myself and my family to adjust to our new home, but we came to love living in the Philippines, and we are still in the Philippines after all of these years.  My feeling of being uncomfortable worked out great for me.

A Philippine Jeepney

Just last year, I took another leap into the discomfort and it worked out well.  What did I do?  I decided to start riding jeepneys.  A jeepney is basically the most widely used public transportation vehicle in the Philippines, where I live.  When I moved here, I bought a car, we Americans are so used to having our cars, so that is what I wanted.  All these years, I drive around wherever I want to go.  But, I have always been somewhat curious and also enamored with jeepneys, so last year I decided to give it a try.  I was very nervous about doing it, because it was something so unfamiliar to me, and so far outside my comfort zone.  But, that was about 6 months ago when I tried it, and to this day I still ride jeepneys almost daily!  I drive too, but I take the jeepney much more often than driving, and I enjoy my time riding jeepneys.

So, I would say, based on my experience, that going outside your comfort zone is almost always a good thing.  It almost always works out for the best, and is productive.  Even if you try something and don’t like it, you have still learned and grown from the experience.  Learning is always a good thing to do, and one great way to do that is by making yourself a bit uncomfortable from time to time!

If you don’t have goals, you might end up just wandering aimlessly.  With goals you have a constant reminder of where to focus so that you can achieve your goals.

Many people make a mistake, though, when it comes to goals.  They set their goals way too high.

For example, if you set the following goal, what are you going to do to achieve it?

I want to be a millionaire.

Is that a realistic goal?  Not really.  I mean, I am not saying that it can’t be achieved.  In fact, it is not hard to achieve at all these days.  Truth is in this age, a million dollars is not a huge amount of money.  But, if you do want to become a millionaire, you need to set some smaller goals first, because you cannot become a millionaire overnight, or even by the end of the year.  At least most of us cannot.  Instead you need to start out making more money than you are now.  You need to earn enough money that you can start setting some money aside.  Maybe you will invest that money, either in something like a stock, or perhaps use that nest egg to start your own business.  Starting from such an investment will allow your money to keep growing.  Once you achieve that goal of earning extra money, it’s time to move on to another small goal that will propel you on the way toward your ultimate goal of becoming a millionaire.

Hitting the Target

What are the problems with setting such a lofty goal from the beginning? Well, I can think of at least a couple of problems with that:

• Setting a huge goal may become a burden.  It may discourage you since you cannot meet your goal in a short time frame.
• You may set such a large goal and not be able to figure out how to do it.  If you set smaller goals you can more easily get it done and work your way toward your larger objective.
• Because achieving your large goal may take so long, you may lose focus and eventually just consider it impossible.

One way you might work is to figure out what you ultimate goal is, and then set smaller goals that would be like steps toward your big goal.  Setting a goal that will not be completed, though, for 10 years or even 5 years is somewhat unrealistic, though, because you will lose interest and abandon the goal before you reach it.

Goal setting is a good thing.  It’s a smart thing to do. Just remember to also be smart about the way you approach goal setting.

So, because I am a sinner, I am not really in a position to pass judgment on others.  But, there is a friend that I have on Facebook who’s actions really bother me.  I wonder if he has stopped to consider his words.

You see, this fellow that I am friends with on Facebook, at first, came across to me as a very religious person.  Every day on Facebook he posted things about his Christianity and religious type messages.  I always thought he was a very nice guy.  In fact, a week or so before the New Year, he posted a message saying:

My goal for 2012 is to be more like Jesus.

Is his attitude really Christian?

Nothing at all wrong with that, it’s commendable.  If we were all more like Jesus, the world would probably be a better place.

A couple of days after he posted this, he started posting what I would consider hate filled messages on Facebook.  In fact, the other day, he posted a message talking about US President Barack Obama.  He said that Obama is the biggest crook in the world.  He then went on to say that he is planning to vote for Obama to get reelected, so that Obama may get arrested for some crime.  He went so far as to say that he hopes that the American people will hang Obama just like the Iraqis did to Saddam Hussein.

Huh?

Is that really a Christian attitude?  I think not.  In fact, even if this person had not shown himself previously to be a devout Christian, I would still have a problem with his statement about hanging the President.  I am not an Obama supporter, in fact I am a life long Republican.  But, this is not about Politics.  I would never hope for a President to be killed by the people.  The US has had a number of Presidents who have been assassinated, and that just never has helped the country in any way.  In fact, it is a sick thing to say, in my opinion.

After reading over this statement and really pondering it for a while, I found myself even questioning my Christianity, which I know is not the correct reaction.  But, I felt like, if this guy is a devout Christian, is that what I want to be associated with?  As I continued to think, I realized that this kind of action or statement is not what Jesus would have condoned, so his statement is not consistent with the religion or belief system that he espouses.

Hatred is never a good habit.  Listening to such hatred is a bad habit too, something that I should not have done, and certainly should not have allowed to influence me.  But, then again, judging him, which I did is also a bad habit for me.  It’s all very confusing, but also has really impacted me for a couple of days now.

Last week, I was watching an American TV news network.  They had a story about some organization who had come out with a list of 10 things our children will never have to worry about.  Many of the things on the list I agreed with, they were simply things that technology had allowed us to pass by when it comes to education.  But, the number one thing listed as being unimportant for kids to learn these days was something I was in big disagreement with.

Typing

The organization had said that the number one thing that kids no longer need to learn is typing.  What?  Personally, I would argue that technology has made it even more important for kids to learn how to type.  I mean, with computers today, we use keyboards constantly to input data to our PCs.  Typing skills are critical today in my mind.

I am a pretty good typist.  I took two years of typing in High School, and have been using my typing skills ever since.  Today, I am nearing 50 years old and I type more now than I ever have.  With my work being computer based, it is critical.  I can type about 100 words per minute, which I think is pretty good.  Because I can type accurately and fast, I can get my work done pretty quickly.  For a person who doesn’t know how to type, but has to hunt for the key he wants to use, well, his working speed can come nowhere near somebody who is an accomplished typist.

Now, there can be a legitimate argument on this, though.  Voice recognition technology is coming.  Actually it’s already here, but it is not good enough yet to replace typing, in my opinion.  Over the past few years I have had some trouble with arthritis in my hands, and have thus tried voice recognition and using a microphone to enter data into my computer as opposed to a keyboard.  It works.  But, it’s not as good or as fast as a keyboard is for somebody who knows how to type.  Maybe in 5 or 10 years we will enter data into our computers with a microphone and the keyboard will be a thing of the past.  Or, maybe in 50 years we will still be using keyboards.

For now, though, I think that learning to type is critical for a school kid.  Of everything I learned in my years of schooling, typing has been the most valuable in my profession.

What do you think?

Even if you are doing things that you enjoy and love doing, if you overextend yourself and take on too much, it becomes burdensome.

For example, I enjoy publishing on the Internet, it is a passion of mine.  Of course, all of my websites are focused on topics that I am passionate about and enjoy writing about.  But, it is inevitable that I take on too much.  I put up too many websites, to the point where I get behind in writing on many of my sites.  Once I get behind, then I sort of get depressed that I am not keeping up to the schedule that I expect from myself.  Once I get depressed, then it discourages me from writing further, thus putting me further behind schedule.  It’s a vicious circle, frankly.

Are you overextended financially or otherwise?

What about you?  Does this sort of “over extension” happen in your life?  Maybe it’s your work, as it is for me.  Maybe it’s  a hobby or something else in your life.  I enjoy helping people and could easily over extend myself on that.  In terms of assisting people, I like helping poor people by giving them things.  I recently went and bought a basketball to give to a poor child that I know.  With this kind of assistance, if you do too much of it, you are not going to get behind schedule, but you may leave yourself in financial trouble.  So far, I have been able to no allow that to happen, but I only use it as an example.  When it comes to this kind of assistance, I always enjoy it and get a smile on my face when I am able to assist somebody, but if I were to let myself go into financial disaster, it certainly would not be pleasant.

Ever heard the saying that too much of a good thing can be bad?  The things I am talking about are all good things.  Things that I enjoy.  But, if you take on too much you will become burned out, behind schedule, and stressed.  Overextending yourself is certainly not a good habit.  A smart person will do what is necessary in order not to become overextended.

Following a schedule is very important, and it’s a good habit, don’t you think?

Personally, I think not.

Yes, you read that right.  I don’t think that following a schedule very closely is a good habit.  In fact, I would argue the opposite.  It may well be that throwing your schedule out is much more productive in the long run.

How can that be?  Well, let me share my thoughts.

Schedule

You see, I do believe we should keep a “to-do” list, a list of the things that we need to get done.  Once you make your to-do list, though, I believe it is more productive to do the things on the list that you want to do.  Yes, there may be important things that you need to get done, but if you force yourself to do things you don’t want to do, well, you likely will not be very productive during the time that you are forcing yourself to do something that you don’t want to do.

Instead, I would advocate that we all know what things on our to-do list are important to get done.  We will have to do those things, without a doubt, but what is best to do, in my opinion, is to do those things when we are “in the mood” and feeling productive about doing them.  In fact, when you are feeling a spurt of energy about something on your list, I would say that you should get to it, and work on that activity.  Keep doing it as long as you are productive and feeling compelled to do it.  Those are the times when you will be most productive, and you will most certainly get the most done on the project.  During other times, do something else, hopefully something else that is productive – another project, or some self-improvement item.

So, while we all need to get all of our work done, don’t try to schedule yourself in advance.  Just make yourself aware of what you need to get done, and be mature enough to get it done before the deadline, at the times when you feel a passion for that particular project.  You’ll find yourself getting more and more done that way, without feeling that you are constantly working.

Have you ever tried Pomegranate Juice?

I enjoy drinking juice.  I particularly like mixing various juices with iced tea to give the tea a bit of a flavor boost, and a different taste than normal.  Until about 6 months ago, I had never tasted pomegranate juice before.  I had eaten pomegranate, although not for a long, long time, but had never had the juice.

Enjoying a glass of pomegranate juice

At some point, about 6 months or so ago, when I went to the grocery store to buy some juice, I was looking over the various flavors and saw pomegranate juice on the shelf, so I decided to give it a try.  All I can say is that when I tried it, I found out how great it really is.  The flavor is wonderful, and even just a small amount mixed in with my iced tea gives off a super flavor that is quite unique.

Pomegranate Fruit makes for a delicious juice

After enjoying pomegranate juice for a while, I started learning about the health benefits of the juice.  I saw a report on the news about this, and have since learned more.  Probably the number one benefit is that it appears that pomegranate juice is a major cancer fighter.  Studies are still preliminary, but many studies are pointing to pomegranate juice as a major plus for health.  In addition to fighting cancer, they are also finding that pomegranate juice also helps fight off heart attacks and even high blood pressure too.  One of the reasons that pomegranate juice helps fight off heart attacks is because it contains a fairly large amount of resveratrol, the same thing that is found in red wine, which has long been known to fight off heart attacks.

Isn’t it great when you can find a product that you love for the flavor, and then you find out that it also helps keep you healthy?   I know that I think it’s great!

So, give pomegranate juice a try if you have not already.  You might not know what you’re missing!

Pomegranate juice, a great habit to get into for good health.

Come on, we have all done stupid things many times, even if we are smart.

How about doing something stupid at the exact time when everybody is watching you?  It can certainly be embarrassing to do something like that.

But, it happens.  No matter how hard we try, we will fail sometimes, and we can’t stop that.  The key, though, is to minimize it.  Use your brand and your intelligence to do smart things.

Speaking of doing something stupid when people are watching… can you imagine being in the stands at a televised baseball game, and the cameras focus in on you just when you do something that is, well, let’s say, not very smart?

Ha ha… not smart!

Of course, there are millions of ways to earn money.  Maybe you are a painter.  Maybe you work construction.  Perhaps you are a taxi driver.  Or, like me, maybe you work on a computer day in and day out.  These days, it is likely that you spend at least some time working on a computer, regardless of what your job is.  I mean, if you are a painter, you probably spend some time on the computer to track your customers.  Really almost any job these days has some element of computer use.

Logitech Wave Keyboard

Today, what I want to address is your tools that you use for your work.  If you are a construction worker, maybe your tools are things that we would more traditionally consider to be tools – a hammer, screwdrivers, saws, etc.  But, every profession relies on some type of tools that are needed to get the job done.

My profession is mostly writing, but also includes other things that I do on the computer.  I suppose that the computer makes up probably 98% or more of the work that I do, and the money that I earn.  So, one of my tools is the computer.

I have other tools too

High Quality Mouse

Working on the computer, what tools could I possibly have?  Well, think about it.  I have lots of tools:

• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Digital Camera
• Cellular Phone
• Printer
• Blank CD’s
• My Desk
• My Chair
• I could go on and on…

Yes, each of these things is a tool that I use to do my job.  I don’t swing a hammer, but I do type with my keyboard and use my mouse to navigate around my computer.  Without these important tools, I could not do my job.

Because these tools are very important to me, I spend money to buy quality tools.

Let’s look at my keyboard as an example.  I use a Logitech Wireless “Wave” keyboard, which is a high quality ergonomic keyboard.  I have been using this Wave keyboard for about 5 years now, as I recall.  Before I had this keyboard, I used a cheaper keyboard which was not an ergonomic model.  I began developing problems with my wrists being painful, and I could not do my job as I wanted to due to the pain.  Now that I have an ergonomic keyboard, and some other tools, my wrist problems have been greatly alleviated.  Now, I can do the work that I need to do in order to earn an income, and also to make me happy with my life.

This keyboard was expensive.  It cost me about $150 back in the day when I bought it.  That’s an expensive keyboard, although certainly not the most expensive around.  But, is it really worth spending $150 on a keyboard?  Yes, it is.  You see, as I explained earlier, when I used a cheaper keyboard I developed problems with my wrists, and could not work as much as I needed to.  In fact, even 10 minutes or so of typing, and I had to quit for a few hours to let my wrists rest.  Now, $150 for a keyboard, which I have used for 5 years?  That means that the keyboard has cost about 8 cents per day.  And, the keyboard does not need to be replaced yet.  Maybe I’ll get another 5 years out of the keyboard, making it only 4 cents per day.  But, even if I went out and replaced the keyboard today, the $150 investment was really worth it.  Having a quality tool made it easier to do my job, provided a better quality of work, and offered great reliability.

Use the right hammer for the job

Same thing with the mouse.  Having a good quality mouse is very important, especially in ergonomic ways.  You see, using a mouse that properly keeps your hand in the right position and such helps keep you from developing an injury like carpal tunnel syndrome or something similar.  I routinely spend $100 or more on a mouse, even though there are models available for as little as $2 or so.  But, I am a writer, and do other things on the computer.  This is my profession.  Sometimes I spend many hours every day using these tools – the tools of my trade.  Spending the necessary money is not a worry, in fact, if I did not spend for quality tools for my profession, that would be a worry for me.

Now, in other areas, I don’t necessarily buy the best quality of tools.  For example, I have a cheap hammer.  But, I don’t use a hammer often, nor is it part of my profession.  The quality of my hammer does not affect the work that I do to earn money.  I think that if I used a hammer twice in the same year, that could be considered as a year when I gave my hammer heave use.  Because of these factors, I really don’t need a high quality hammer.  Just like Bubba the builder, he doesn’t really need a $100 mouse, since he uses the computer only rarely.

So, what about you?  What is your profession?  Do you have the right tools for the job?  If not, maybe it’s something to consider.

There is a fellow whom I know, although we have never met in person.  I know him only through the Internet.  For some reason, I’m not even sure why, I never liked the guy.  Somehow, on the Internet, he rubbed me the wrong way.  I don’t remember what it was, but I suppose that probably on the first time we had any dialogue on the net, he said something that I didn’t like.  I don’t know how he felt about me.  Maybe he didn’t like me, maybe he liked me, I can’t say for sure.  But, I didn’t like him.

Shaking Hands

Yesterday, I found out some new things about the fellow.  To be honest, I saw him on a TV show yesterday.  He said some things while being interviewed on the show that made me realize that I had judged him prematurely, and that my judgement of him was wrong.  In fact, after seeing him interviewed on the show, I kind of like the guy.

In fact, there is a third person whom I trust very much, and he also knows this fellow whom I had misjudged.  I mentioned this to that third person, and he said “oh yeah, he is a real good guy!”  Made me feel kind of bad for having judged the man when I really didn’t have enough information to do so accurately.

So, I am going to do my best to remember that making a judgment, unless it is based on hard evidence, is not a good thing to do.  Judgment should be reserved until it is deserved, and is accurate.  It’s a good habit to handle it that way, and I’m going to do my best.