Self Awareness

I purchased this book from the store yesterday because this book covers a topic that I know that I want to gain more knowledge of; emotional intelligence. It offers an "emotional intelligence appraisal" online and after taking it, I was told that the 2 areas that I really needed to concern myself with are self awareness and social awareness. I readily agreed that I needed to work on my self awareness (what twenty something doesn't?) but was kind of surprised at the conclusion about my social awareness. Either way, I have decided to work on my self awareness first and the book has given me strategies that I can use to develop my self awareness. I must say, in reading the chapter on self awareness, I am noticing myself already reexamine situations, some recently even, and note how I could have handled them better. Case in point, I'm one of those people that tend to feel some anger when someone disagrees with me. As much as I try to manage it internally, I know that the people I am disagreeing with sense my resentment towards them. I need to do a better job of recognizing that anger when it first builds in order to better manage that emotion. Also, today at work, I became frustrated at one of my coworkers and disrespected him in front of some other coworkers. That is never acceptable and I could tell that it hurt his feelings but at the time I didn't care. I need to be a man and apologize to him tomorrow and have some constructive conversation so it doesn't turn into a festering problem within the team. Plus, for the most part I'm a nice guy, just sometimes that a$$hole can come out.

I'll blog in the future about how my self development is going. Honestly, just taking the time out to examine my feelings and my reactions to them is a great improvement in itself. Already going in the right direction!

Horoscope for 2010

Found this online today...I don't really do this horoscope stuff...but this is deep...


Year 2010 Overview

Whew! Feel that enormous burden sliding off of your shoulders, like you've been carrying around an overstuffed backpack for the last couple of years? That would be Saturn, planet of structures and limitation, moving out of your sign. Congratulations, first of all, on having simply made it through more or less in one piece. You passed through the fire and made it out the other side.

Now, what to do with that spiritual Medal of Honor you've earned? Well, for one thing, establish who it is you really are with both yourself and those around you. Your ability to quietly endure both the big and little outrages of life have served you well in the last couple of years, and many of those around you may have come to assume that either it wasn't as rough on you as it was, or that you are somehow made of steel. In fact, you may have come to the same conclusion yourself. Virgo has a reputation for being able to take care of others with the best of them -- but can you turn that same care and attention on yourself? That's the big question you'll be facing in 2010.

The good news (beyond simply less bad news) is that there will be all kinds of opportunities opening up for you in new directions as far as fun, recreation and romance. So take advantage of those whenever you can. You've earned it!




....crazy right?

Life Is Precious

I didn't talk about this a couple days ago, but the tragic death of Bengals WR Chris Henry moved me to blog...

Earlier this week, I met an elderly white lady at work. I made the sale, and during the course of our small talk, she revealed to me that she had a terminal illness. She had tumors in BOTH lungs and had cancer in her liver. My first response was to say I'm sorry to hear that, but she quickly told me not to feel sorry because everything happens for a reason. I told her that I feel the same way, but I wouldn't know how to react if the doctor told me something as disheartening as that. She said she was hurt at first, but her faith is what got her through the initial shock. She even said she had went on to get married (this lady couldn't have been less than 55 btw) recently to a man she met online. She then went on to tell me how she was on her way to visit family in Florida for the holidays and how excited she was. I never had met anyone who really knew that they were going to die soon, so I asked her if knowing that her life wouldn't be much longer made everyday more special and she said yes. She said that everyday is a blessing and healthy young people like me should feel the same way. We had a few more words before she got on the plane...

What stuck with me was first and foremost her positivity. She literally was looking death in the face and didn't allow it to defeat her. I admired her courage. I wondered how I could/would operate in the same situation and I have no idea. That is one of those scenarios that you couldn't really imagine it until you're in it.

The sudden death of Chris Henry struck a chord with me because we were both the same age. He, like I, had made some mistakes in his life but was doing the best he could to become a better man for it. The only difference is that his journey has been cut short before he could actualize the person that he knew he could be.

I thank God that he has given me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, and I hope that he sees fit to grant me the opportunity to be that person that I see in my mind's eye. As I mature, I am learning to appreciate the journey as much as the destination. I thank God for that as well...




"This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind...let it be something good."
- Author Unknown

Options

“Choice of aim is clearly a matter of clarification of values, especially on the choice between possible options.”
- W. Edwards Deming

I would like to think that I was blessed enough to be a little taller, more handsome, and smarter than your average bear, thus being the reason I've always felt like I've had options. When I say options, I mean that I've always had an inner conviction that no one is the determiner of my fate but me. In any given situation, good or bad, I feel like I am the one that put myself there.

Currently, I am struggling internally with what I feel are my options. Behind door number 1 I have my new job. Like I've mentioned before, I can make some great money in a relatively short period of time. This would allow me to do some things I've always wanted to do, like spoil my mom, sister, and brothers, build a stronger financial foundation for myself, and to be honest, spoil myself a little bit. Also, my manager has taken a liking to me, and has made it known that he wants to put me on the fast track to management within the company (and another level of income). I fear becoming so in love with the money, that I lose myself and who I want to be. Behind door number 2 is law school. A law degree has been a goal of mine and I know that I have a gift and passion for the law. I want to enroll in a JD/MBA program next year. My struggle is would I want to do it part-time or full-time. I don't want to be in school for another decade trying to finish part-time, but I also don't want to cut off everything else in my life(something that I hear you must do to be successful in law school) to finish. Behind door number 3 is my current position within the music industry. Being in the industry, you know you're life can change overnight. No one wants to be left outside looking in at something they sacrificed so much for. Also, I and the people I live with have become almost family and a part of me feels like when/if I do take my life in another direction, I will be letting them down and burning that bridge.

In the little down time (lately) that I've been getting, I try to figure out what I want to do, and have bounced my thoughts off of a few other people. I'm trying to listen to what God wants me to do with my life, but I feel like I'm getting different signals each day/minute/moment...

Thinking Man's Moment

How is every show on CBS TV's #1 show?




just asking...

Thinking Man's Moment

My sister sent me this...

"Choose your crowd wisely! Mediocrity seems like excellence when you're around a bunch of mediocre people."

- Rev Run



...She doesn't even know how much I needed to be reminded of that...God works in mysterious ways...

Thinking Man's Moment

“The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.”

- Benjamin Franklin


See...THAT'S why this guy is a legend!

Great Songs You Probably Haven't Heard

Thinking Man's Moment

Meditate on this...

“Men fail much oftener from want of perseverance than from want of talent”

- William Cobbett

Quote

"It takes a whole lot of not having what you want to get what you want the most."

Jess B. Simple



Damn...Truth really is timeless ain't it?