Doing Things We Do Not Like

We will all have to do something that we really don't like at one point or another. The first way to get through it is to find some sort of motivation that is bigger than the pain of slogging through the task. Such as having to go through the video conference to get the details worked out of the deal. Or doing something your boss tells you in order to stay in good graces and be next up for promotion. You have to remember that you are doing it to get to a better place. Breaking it up into smaller pieces might help digest the task as well. It will take a bit longer but you won't be doing too much of it at a time. You could even give yourself a treat after each step as a way to bribe yourself. Lastly, Having to do something doesn't mean you have to do it perfectly. Do the absolute least you can do and still be effective. It is called the minimum effective dose and it can be applied to many life situations.

Green Technologies

From big data and cloud services to predictive software, we are well on our way to healing the planet with all the technological advances. The future of modern agriculture could very well be found indoors. Vertical farms grow plants hydroponically in large, multistory buildings under artificial light. These vertical farms can be 100 times more productive than fields which are decreasing in numbers and size. The falling cost of solar power has made it far more affordable for the everyday homeowner to install solar panels on their roofs. The cost of solar has fallen from around $150 per watt in 1970 to less than 60 cents a watt today. There are more green cars on the road as well. Tesla said it is allowing others to access its patents to help boost innovation surrounding green automobiles, and BMW has started to pump out electric vehicles that start at almost $30,000 less than the Model S.

Hi-Tech Humans

If you think that human augmentation by technology is not here yet, think again. The software development and hardware has become so sophisticated that human are better, faster, and stronger. All your sic-fi dreams are more real than you think. Wearables have really taken center stage when it comes to connected and smart devices. Lets start with the Apple Watch. Of course there are many other devices such as rings and bracelets which can do everything from activity tracking to safety alerts. Last summer, Google and Novartis announced a collaboration to develop the world's first smart contacts. The lenses, which will look and feel similar to normal contacts, aren't currently on the market yet, but when they arrive, they'll be used for treating and monitoring a number of ocular and medical conditions. There are also devices that enhance the ability to hear. Who knows what else might be enhanced in the next several years.

Thank You

How much effort does a thank you take? I guess it really depends on the circumstances. The one part of the thank you that should not avoided is the fact that it is said. No matter how hard it can be to let the other person or even yourself know that you are thankful, you better make sure to do it. There has been a lot of talk about gratitude and how it can increase your well being and your overall outlook on life. I think it really has some merit. If you have a hard time using meditation or even mobile applications as stress reducers, consider practicing gratitude on a daily basis. Every time we have a thought, negative or positive, it has a hormonal impact on our body, and the challenge is to sort of corral these thoughts into the direction of positive so that we get these endorphins, we get these feel-good hormones, we support positive behavior, positive outlook, positive outcomes. So get off your duff and call someone that you want to thank and just do it.

The Downside to Technology

There are certain technologies that have run their course. When was the last time you were asked for your fax number? Also, voicemail and landlines are getting phased out by messaging services and internet phones. You can save so much time by just writing a short response instead of that lengthy voicemail. Along with the internet comes horrible people and misinformation. Our technology experience would be so much better if we didn't need Snopes.com to invalidate hoaxes, anti-virus software and secure certificates to protect us from scammers and spammers, software to keep our kids from seeing things they shouldn't, filters to keep us from clicking through annoying click bait links, and campaigns to educate us about the malevolence of cyber bullying. Not everything on the internet can be trusted, as pointed out earlier. Information needs to be verified and validated through several sources. Lastly, we depend so much on our technology that it gets to be hard to put it down. When we wake up in the morning, we check our phones and our FitBits to see how well we slept. We even take our phones out when on dates.

Selfie Shoes

I came across this article and absolutely have no words. It is a funny April Fools ad but on some levels it feels like we are not too far from it consider the selfie stick is an actual product that you can buy. Who spends money on that type of stuff? Since the selfie stick has been banned form certain places, we have come up with a way to still take awesome looking pictures of ourselves. What happened to actually asking someone to take a picture of you? We better get to stretching our legs to see what wonderful poses we can manage since both arms are going to be in the frame. Better yet, there should be a mobile application that can mesh two selfies together so that you end up with both of your hands in the frame. Do you take selfies? Why is that even a word in our language?

You Are Great: Just Need to See It

We all have an inner genius. Every person has a unique set of skills and experiences and ways of approaching problems. The biggest problem is that we have a hard time seeing it and not being able to recognize it can ultimately hold us back in the workplace and beyond. One of the best ways that we can recognize our strengths is by asking the people we work with for feedback on the work that they think that you are best at, whether it would be software development or mobile applications. Ask them to be specific and you might start to see a pattern emerging. Also, did you know that our minds default to the negative and looking at the positive takes a lot of effort? This is due to our inherent biology but we can become conscious of those thoughts and in turn control them. We all have baggage from our experiences in the past but sometimes it becomes too much to carry around and hinders us in becoming the best that we can be. It is important to take a good look at what is holding you back because that baggage can present itself as bad habits. You are unique and awesome, embrace it.