#FF Wonderful Weekend Review: #Psychology, #Education, #Banksy, #EnriqueIglecias, & #Comics

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Thought for the Day: Here a mix of great articles on why Exercise fights Depression, What to subject to avoid in your next job interview, How giving can lead to success. There's music from Enrique Iglecias and somc funny comics and GIF's like the cover. Hope you enjoy this weekend reading!

Tuesday's Psychology Research: Note 2 Younger Self Part !V: Are You a Social Learner an Action Taker or Both?

Thought for Today: Somehow the fall has been exceptionally busy for me. I will be spending time again on a critical incident today, so that my writing time is minimal. Therefore, I decided to write about two of the typical groups of responses to people's notes to their younger self. (If you have not read the previous segments, you may want to take a look. Part I: Results From Advice To Your Younger Selves: What Makes Us Regret Our Youth?, Part II: What Makes One Person Survive And Thrive & Another Bend & Surrender? & Part 3: Mind Games Or How Do We Learn To Trust Ourselves?). These two groups, "Social Learners" and "Action Takers" raise multiple questions. If you see yourself In either of these groups, I would love to hear from you. What or who taught you these life lessons?

The 1st group are "Social Learners." They were a relatively small segment of the responders. Only 4 of the 72 responses mentioned improving social relationships as their advice to their younger selves. Their advice included: Be Kind, Love More, Love only Who Treats You Right, Be More Social. Unfortunately, these responders did not elaborate on their choices. I can only guess that they were more socially isolated or awkward and learned over time that friendships and relationships were important for their emotional well being. Perhaps they had a few broken hearts in the process.

The second much larger group, included a little under 1/3 of the responses to the question of what 2 word advice you would give to your younger self.. In the "Action Takers" group, action is the key to finding the path to health and happiness. Their advice sounds like a cheer leading squad encouraging their younger selves to take action, "Focus Deeply, Chill Out, Take Action,  Eat Healthy, Keep Writing. Keep Active, Love Yourself, Be Love, Leave Home, Take Risks, Set Goals (2), Dream, Let Go, Be Brave, Be Real, Lighten Up, Pay Attention, Enjoy Today, Go On, & Think Ahead." These responders did not share what led to their 2 word conclusions. Therefore, they leave me with multiple questions. Were the people in this group always risk takers? Their advice does not connote the kind of painful learning processes that the "Survivors" or "Mind Gamers" seemed to have gone through to reach their conclusions. Did these people grow up in families that encouraged them to take risks, dream and be brave, making it easier for them to mature and accomplish things in their lives? If you are inclined to confront challenges in this way, I would love to hear more about how you became an "Action Taker."

I hope to complete this series this week, but your comments will help me develop additional topics that interest you. Thanks in advance for any comments and suggestions. 

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom: Three Ways Grudges Are Like Malignant Tumors

Thought for the Day: In light of the Days of Awe which I discussed on Tuesday, accounting for misdeeds towards others is on my mind. Today's quote came to me from years of work with individuals and couples in therapy.

"Grudges are like malignant tumors, left untreated, they will destroy any relationship."

Unlike tumors, there are no benign grudges. When people hold grudges, it always causes harm. A grudge is one way of expressing anger. We don't tend to hold grudges against strangers. We reserve the "honor" for friends and family members. What many people don't realize is that holding grudges can be harmful to your health. Here's three ways that grudges are like malignant tumors...

Tuesday's Psychology Tips: Are Smart Phones and Computers Turning Us Into Vulcans Like Dr Spock on Star Trek

Thought for the Day: It is amazing how dependent we become on our computers. Yesterday, while anxiously awaiting to pick up my new computer with all my programs loaded into it, I felt somewhat handicapped when I tried to work on my cell phone. Although I was able to upload a photo, when I tried to post it to my blog it would only capture a video that was not related to the post. Late last night, I was thrilled to get my new computer. It is faster, lighter and far more powerful than my 7 or 8 year old Mac. I was planning to write about the days of awe between the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement, but something else which seems related arose in light of my new acquisition. It's a longer "tip" than usual, but I hope you will take the time to read it and let me know what you think about these important issues.

While talking to a colleague about the benefits of new technology, we wandered into the down sides, dangers and challenges it represents for parents, children and people of all ages. On the one hand, technology has opened new avenues of communication with people worldwide. The opportunities to communicate with people are endless. It's easy and quick to just write a text, tweet or send an email to anyone, anywhere in the universe. Skype makes it possible to talk and even see the person in real time, whether they are around the corner or on the other side of the world. There is no doubt in my mind that these communication techniques as well as the wealth of internet support groups and chat rooms can be invaluable resources.

However, there are dangers and challenges that worry me both professionally and personally, as well. Could all the technological advances be jeopardizing our ability to connect face to face and maintain real relationships? Could smart phones and computers turn us into dumber human beings with limited, robotic interpersonal skills? Are immediate gratification and shorter attention spans produced by the speed of technology actually impeding our ability to delve deeper into both concepts and relationships? Will we become like the fictional character, Dr Spock, on Star Trek who was incapable of understanding or expressing human emotions? 

Read on to see some of the questions it is raising for me...