Absorb what is useful

"Absorb what is useful, disregard the rest, Add what is uniquely your own." ~Bruce Lee

This is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever come across. It is important because everyone perceives the world differently. This means that one piece of information may be important to one person and completely useless to another. 

Personally I like to listen to as much information as I can. If the information that is being presented is not making some kind of movement within me, I move on to the next piece of information. If there is something I find interesting I will try to listen to it more than once. I want to listen to or read that information enough to absorb what it is trying to say to me.

That is another point I would like to suggest. The same piece of information could mean two totally different things to two different people. One might be thinking about the person who is talking and be focused on how the information changed the speakers life. The second person could be thinking about how the information could benefit the project he is currently working on.

When Bruce made this statement, he was talking about martial arts. The same techniques of different martial arts may not be as effective for one person as it is for another. He wanted his students to take the techniques that were beneficial for each person and build upon them. There is no point in spending time on a technique you can't do or don't do well when there are other techniques that will get you to your goal faster. Take what works for you and build upon it. That is my suggestion.

Are You Contagious?

"Happiness is contagious. Be a carrier" ~Robert Orben

Have you ever looked at someone and just laughed. Then because you laughed, they start laughing. I do this all the time to my little nieces. They have no idea why they are laughing. They have no idea why I am laughing. All they know is that my laugh is making them laugh. That's kind of funny.

Here is something you can experiment with. When you are out in public, start laughing for no reason. People will start to look at you with curiosity. They will want to know what is making you laugh. They might even start laughing because you are laughing. If anything you will have brought a little humor to other peoples lives.

If you think just laughing is creepy, then pick up your cell phone and pretend you are laughing at someone on the other side of the call. Or wear your earphones and point to them when other people look at you funny. You will have to laugh harder to get a response out of them, but at least you won't seem like a creepy, insane, happy person.

Make Yourself Happy

"Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response." ~ Mildred Barthel

Have you ever thought about this? You may laugh at a joke, you may find things around you, but you choose to laugh. You have a choice to laugh. You may think that you don't, but if you put your mind to it, you can force yourself to keep a strait face instead of laughing.

The exact opposite is true as well. While you are sitting there in your seat in front of your computer or your smartphone or even your tablet reader, just start laughing. You can laugh for no reason. When you start laughing, you will find that funny and that will make you laugh. Try it. I Dare You. The laughing will make you feel good. There is something in your body, a hormone or something that is released when you laugh that makes you happy. So just laugh. Laugh when you are in your car and you just had a rough drive to work. If you laugh yourself into a good mood before you walk into the building, you will have a better day than if you walked in with the sourness from the guy who cut you off.

If you think you are a naturally pessimistic person, I am here to tell you, that is a choice you have made. Change that choice. Whenever you catch yourself being pessimistic, change your thinking. If you need to, start laughing. The people around you will wonder what happened to you.