Here is your justification to celebrate your eccentricities. The more "out there," the more fake Internet points you win!!
No parents adhere to the status quo in all areas as they are raising children. How have you chosen to push back on what society says is proper, and taken your own path?
One of my favorite contrarian moments occurred on a Saturday morning in the Washington DC suburbs. The kids were in their early teens and...
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I trust Harry and Zinnia Wormwood didn't establish your parenting standards. The 1996 film Matilda, based on Roald Dahl's book, followed a young Matilda Wormwood through her troublesome life as a youth with special powers. Her parents, played by Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman, apparently didn't do much reading to prepare for parenthood.
You would think that as long as parenting has been around, humanity would have the details of this monumental task figured out. The book What To Expect When You Are Expecting has the market cornered during pregnancy. But after the birth...
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Parents can quickly explain parenting failures and desires to have parented differently. But that is not the question; what is one thing you did right?
The moment of holding your first newborn and realizing you will be taking the bundle home is an explosion of relief, joy, and terror. Thankfully, you and I were not the first riders at this rodeo.
We depend on multiple resources to help guide and shape our care of our children. Everyone tries to be helpful, although some advice misses the mark. A shot of whiskey...
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Science and mathematics have never been my strong suit, but I am convinced the reason the Earth doesn't fall out of orbit is that you and I each spend our days carrying it on our shoulders. We each lug around one quadrillion, seven hundred fifty-six trillion pounds on our back. It is no surprise we have lower back problems. God forbid someone trips.
Think I am wrong? Tell me how you feel on those days when nothing is working for you.
What does your sense of humor look like on these hard days compared to your best days?
The absence of laughter and jokes are the first indication...
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I have been looking forward to writing this post for a long time. One of the greatest gifts I have encountered has been on the receiving end of mockery by good friends.
First, a bit of clarification. I have always called it mockery until I did research for this post and found a better collection of terms, thanks, Merriam-Webster!
The definition of raillery is "good-natured ridicule." Whereas mockery...
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spit across the room? or
blew your drink out your nose? or
peed yourself? or
hurt your abs? or
fell off the furniture? or
cried?
The side effects of laughter, I mean the magnificent kind, can be dramatic.
The last live show I attended was fantastic, and I left
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The graduation reunion is intended to relive the good old days. No longer a homogeneous group that follows the same leader, the status quo is disrupted, and disagreements surface. Accusations fly "you have changed," and "you are not the same since you left."
Isn't that the point?
We are born to continue to develop and grow, becoming more than we were before. Just as our palate and musical taste become diverse, what tickles the funny bone, is bound to evolve.
I asked the gentleman next to me in the sandwich line, about the inquiry and he thought of his...
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Humor is everywhere; if you are looking. Even in the mundane.
My dog's urgency to pee is tied to the weather. When it is warm and sunny, it is a quick trip. The more miserable, the more often she needs to go outside and prance around until the deed is done.
Getting angry solves nothing, but only prevents the job getting done. Anger will only deliver me back out to the bitter weather 23.5 minutes later, for another attempt. Perhaps the dog's bladder has a Bluetooth connection to someone either developing my character or...
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Humor can tear down walls when properly wielded and build walls and destroy relationships when improperly handled.
A cashier dug up some coupons to give me a deep discount after bantering some funny comments back and forth. In another case, after presenting a briefing and cracking a joke, the General winced, and the joke fell flat. In the end, it worked out for the best, retelling the story was far better than the joke.
How do you use humor throughout your day? Are you able to handle...
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"From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere." Dr. Seuss
What is it that makes you laugh? What is your comedy type? Do you enjoy the physical, satirical, dark, observational, or one of the other many comedy genres?
I love the dry British humor of Monty Python, but my wife has placed the genre firmly in the stupid category. Other movies, she enjoys, and I would rather be found happily organizing the basement, than trying to justify watching the film. Granted, this may be part of her strategy.
The diversity of humor is fantastic. Just as the complexities...
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I started 2016 with plans to do something special, but my enthusiasm didn't yet have a direction. Mid-February I started posting a daily question, and by April 12th, IOTD365 was born.
I have gained a new level of respect for those that write every day. Out of the remaining 263 days of the year, I missed six days.
84,325 words published and 1,838 questions asked, over the course of the last 8.5 months. The one-year anniversary should cross the 119K word count and 2.5K questions.
This project has forced fantastic growth. You the readers have suffered...
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Regardless of your station in life, someone is doing worse. Opportunities to connect and make a difference abound. These missions call us out of our little bubbles to a cause greater than ourselves.
A business mentor mentioned, "Everyone expects you to do your job well. Your legacy is based on the sideline projects and causes where you made an impact." Since retiring, this mentor is regularly asked to speak about the causes he championed. His primary job is part of the intro, but he speaks for the causes.
This counsel challenged my view of how to invest in parallel efforts...
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When study subjects encountered themselves through age-progressed renderings, they were more willing to change their behavior and increase their savings. The study found that someone who has engaged with their older self will forego the near-term satisfaction to benefit their older self.
Technologies ability to generate our future self will only become more lifelike. Imagine standing at the Burger King counter and your future-self pops up on the screen and asks you to reconsider the BK triple meat, bacon, and cheeseburger, for the salad. The future-self can morph into how you would look if the trend continues. The extra pounds riding in your mid-section, a few more gray hairs, and your Life Expectancy Indicator drops...
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I was detailing the benefits of a mobility practice to a co-worker and mentioned the material Dr. Kelly Starrett has produced. His response was, "I can always find a doctor that will promote anything." Evidently, my sales pitch needs work, sorry Kelly.
The latest scientific evidence says... only to be overturned a few short months or years later. The average human body is 57-60% water and that we can agree. However, debates will rage about how to feed it, exercise it, and care for it.
Then Seth Godin recalibrates reality again when he says, "when everyone is in favor...
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First, we need to clear the air. Nope, not here to pile on guilt and tell you you're doing it all wrong or deliver 187 quick and easy steps to make everything perfect.
Every parent is aware of shortcomings. I was confident I was going to be the one exception, and I was wrong. I think it will only take each of them one lifetime to get over my shortcomings. Not bad, it could have worse and required two lifetimes.
There will be no trophies or fake Internet points...
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