3 Strikes, Third Book Done

So after a break from Generation WTF we are back to wrap it up. My Personal Mission Statement:

I will strive to be open-minded to other peoples opinions.

I will stand up for my Religious Beliefs

I will attempt to impact the views and standards of American Culture

I will be remembered for my enthusiasm, high-energy and hard-work

I will be accepting of daily challenges with the disposition of CARPE DIEM

Upon reflecting on this i realized that i need to get back to my roots. So often i feel that i find myself shifting from one extreme to the other and back and forth, but what i need is that homeostasis. I want to add to my statement:

 I will stop talking about doing something, or saying that i can do something and just DO it.

 I have been thinking about that line a lot lately and i think its a good one to keep me focused and help me stop thinking about things so much. I want to follow my mission statement because everything up there matters to me, and everything up there identifies a person that i want to be now, and in the future. I feel like i need to not grasp things so tight and let them loose.  What is written up there is how i want to define myself and with some effort and a bit of patience, there will be no doubt in my mind i can consistently  do of those things. One specific way that i want to focus on this is through consistency. Consistently doing nice things, consistently having the same opinion about topics, consistently thinking of others and i think that will shape some solid habits

Its really amazing the amount of "Kindness" blogs that are out there, especially each one being slightly unique.  I searched for a couple and found inspirations from them all.  One blog worked with other blogs to form this powerhouse group of individuals who do random acts of kindness projects everywhere. Another blog solely inspires with pictures and graphic design, from quotes to personal stories about acts of kindness and ideas that i could put into action.  All of these facts made me realize that i know barely anything about the people i am surrounded by. I know practically nothing about any person that walks by me. And that should not stop me from trying to brighten their day. Honestly how many days have you suffered through just hoping for something to cross your path to make it a tiny bit more bearable? That is what random acts of kindness do for people, and they can be found anywhere and are easy to start.  i think i will start some acts of my own, but i dont want to spill the details in case you need them some random day on the BV campus.

Favors really bring people together

I strongly agree with Ben Franklin, i mean if you have read my blog before,  i think he is a very Kool guy with a capitol K. He really is all that and a bag of chips. But he gives some advice that says ask someone for a favor in person and you could have the potential to make a new acquaintance  This doesn't mean running around being a free loader but actually taking an interest in the person. Asking a favor is pretty much an undercover compliment i think. Saying hey you have something that i don't have and you seem to be better than me in this particular situation so out of the goodness of your heart will you help sea scum like me? Yes that is dramatic but when it really comes down to it, its is flattering.  i love being asked to do favors, i don't mind, and i'm not afraid to ask favors. I did ask some one for a favor, and it was to borrow their physics book. This person was very kind and lent me the book until mine arrived in the mail. I see him on campus, and i know its a friendly face. Who walks around trying to be mean? if you find a grouch on campus,  let me know.

2nd book on its way out

In the afterword of Thrive i loved seeing charts about how much time or amount of certain things can make a person experience happiness. The one chart that i found most intriguing was the amount of sleep. Obviously getting 2 hours of sleep a night will produce an unhappy person, and you would think someone who gets 10 hours of sleep would be riding around on the happy train but that is false. What intrigued me was the fact that getting 7-8 hours a night with a little extra one night and a little less another night proved to produce happier people. I can see this, for example, i slept 14-15 hours in one night. I would think that i feel more rested and such but i feel its harder to get started on things and start projects.and now ALL I THINK ABOUT is getting more sleep, even though i don't need it.  I think that not getting enough sleep is a problem and i also believe getting too much sleep is a problem. I never thought i would say that but i think its true. I want to shoot for 8 hours when i'm really tired and 7 for when i know i should probably get to bed. I think when a persons sleep time becomes routine they adjust and their mood isn't affected by it.

In my Place

One place i can see myself living in would be Anchorage, Alaska. I love the outdoors and that town seems to be where its at. I love the winter and i believe i could adapt to it, but at the same time it would be a really gigantic change. I looked up the possible salary right out of college for the career i am leaning towards and it would be around 49,000 a year. And i found that after bills, student loans, gas, food and such i would have an excess of around 400 dollars. But looking at this information up made me realize i don't actually want to do that for a career. Not because of the money, but i guess i never researched it before and the description didn't make me excited. I guess this is a good thing. But i feel i could be happy in Alaska because of the possibilities and the fact that the state government is in some control, and it kinda is often forgotten. Maybe its the hipster tendencies kicking in. Thinking about Alaska makes me think of just living my life forever exploring, forever just taking 6 month trips a a time do what i love. Just like every baseball player wants to play D1 and go pro, i just want to be sponsored by a company and  be payed to explore and wear/test out their clothes. But realistically i want to be in a place where individuals care about their surroundings and have similar values as me.

A simple change that i would do to improve my hometown would be spreading more information about local events. I would love to have everyone who lives in Lincoln enjoy the free local things that i used to enjoy. I have noticed only a select amount of people really experience Lincoln for its benefits and its local joys. The downtown area is wonderful, and i have met individuals who love it as well, but also individuals who haven't even stepped foot into my favorite ice cream parlor. Knowledge is power and i believe the people of the town should be informed more, and actually get out  their homes and go out to see what they are missing out on.

Oprah herself has a happiness quiz

Upon taking the quiz I received "getting there" and I concurr with this response. I am currently going through a big change in my life and I am still figuring out what makes me happy here in Storm Lake. I think that happiness should be constantly worked on and I believe that I need to almost still into the fact that at certain moments I am very happy. I also need to realize I don't have to be happy all the time. Ways I want to improve are by looking at situations from different prospectives and understanding that I do need to have some alone time to myself.