Empowerment Notes: Growth Project

4 Ways I Use Social Networking Websites

If you know anything about the internet and have spent some time on the World Wide Web you would have heard of Social Networking.  Social Networking sites are great places to meet people and as the title says "network".  Is that the only use for popular Social Networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and StumbleUpon?  These websites have many uses and as they continue to exist their users have created their own unique reasons for using them. 

Here are a few of my reasons for using Social Networking sites:

1. Keep in touch with family and friends.  Much of my family is spread out across the the world.  I have relatives in the Caribbean, UK, Canada, and the United States.  Social Networking websites like Facebook allow me to easily and inexpensively keep in touch with them.
2. Maintain a log of what I do everyday.  One of my favorite uses is to keep a detailed log of what I do everyday.  For this I like using Twitter.  I actually have my Facebook updates feeded to Twitter.  I can look under all my Twitter posts to figure out what I was doing or thinking about doing on a specific day as well as questions I asked (very important).
3. Ask questions and find out new information.  As indicated above this is pretty important.  I can pose questions to Twitter's millions of users and get a fairly decent answer pretty quickly.  The answers I get vary from pretty vague to very specific and I can look at the answers at anytime as they are saved under the "replies" tab in my profile.
4. Bookmark great articles from around the web.  I often find websites around the internet that are interesting and bookmark them on StumbleUpon.  It is fun sharing the bookmarks with others and seeing the type of websites and blogs they find interesting.  When websites are bookmarked in StumleUpon they are reviewed and you can get a decent idea of what the site is about and if it is worth visiting.

These are a few of the ways I use Social Networking websites.  They may not be the conventional uses or what the websites were created for, but what matters most is that as a user I find them useful.

How do you make use of Social Networking websites?

Go After Your Passion

Some of us live a stagnant life. We don’t find our passion and go after it, instead we get stagnant and waist away. There are so many things in life that are inevitable.  There are so many things which will happen regardless of what we do.  Some are positive, some are negative.  One thing I wish was inevitable is growth. 

To grow we must find our passion and pursue it.  What motivates you?  What do you enjoy?  What drives you? When you realize these things, pursue them. Go after them. Sure, it may take some time to find out what these things are, but you must search and experiment with different things. Don’t let anyone put a time constraint on this either. This has nothing to do with anyone but you. This is your thing. This is your time to live.

Learning Productivity From Blogs

Focusing on the important things can be hard.  Actually, focusing in general can be hard (for me at least).  Yet, making sure to focus and accomplish the important tasks in your day is a key part of time management and being productive.  There is a great deal we can learn from reading productivity blogs.  Books are useful references as well.  For example, I am sure you have heard of Stephen Covey and his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or First Things First by the same author.  While Steven Covey teaches great lessons in his books, they are not the easiest books to read and not very entertaining (don’t take my word for it, try reading it yourself or buy it on CD).  So, instead of searching out these books, I prefer trying to learn useful and innovative time management tips from blogs I discover searching the web.  I have been fortunate to discover some pretty good blogs on the subject.  Two of my favorites are lifehacker.com and Putthingsoff.com.  They are not new blogs and you have probably come across them already.

Lifehacker.com and Putthingsoff.com are not only informative but entertaining to read.  I find Putthingsoff.com to be quite comical.  The moment the page loads you may want to chuckle at the little kitty on the front page.  There are a lot of cartoon images on the blog, I guess to help readers relax while they soak in productivity tips.  It is described as a “laid back productivity blog”, and there isn’t a more true description.  Lifehacker.com is bit more technology focused than Putthingsoff.com is, but you can still gain from its advice.  If you use gadgets to help you be more productive, lifehacker.com is a great read.

I will be posting articles about productivity and time management in the near future, but until then it may be a good use of time to check out these two blogs for some direction and advice on being focused and using your time wisely.

I welcome your comments – please add your own productivity blog or search results to this list.

How You Can Help A Child Learn

Here is our chance to help a child learn.  I have recently joined a competition at DonorsChoose.org which will help children learn.  There are supplies teachers need in order to make education possible.  There is no specific amount needed.  Donations are also tax deductible.

This is for a good cause as children need to be challenged. They need to be educated. The greatest gift we can give our children is that of an education. Children need to be empowered just as much as anyone else does.

So don't make me look bad.  Head over to DonorsChoose.org and help me help these children learn.

What Is Your Number One Inspiration?

We all live busy lives and have many goals. I am certain our goals aren't accomplished with little effort.  It may be difficult and consist of hard work.  In order to accomplish our goals it would be unwise to approach them without the right inspiration. We all have to have at least one thing or person that inspires us and helps to keep us moving forward.

What is that one thing for you?

People are inspired by different things. I am inspired by my son. He gives me reason to fight everyday. It is because of him I do what I do. He is inspires my wife and I in a unique way.

Without inspiration we are merely hoping that we have what it takes to meet our goals and accomplish our dreams. Don't live life by chance.  Be inspired. Find the source of your inspiration.

How to Handle Conflict

The following article is by Rick Warren from his website Purpose Driven Life.

How to Handle Conflict by Rick Warren

My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19 (NLT)

*** *** *** ***

I'll tell you how to deal with conflict quickly, but you're not going to like it. The solution to conflict resolution is one word: confrontation.

If you're going to resolve conflict, you must confront. But, you don't have to confront in anger. In fact, you should try not to confront in anger. Lovingly go to the person and, then speaking the truth in love, deal with the problem immediately.

Very few of us enjoy confrontation. The only people who really do are troublemakers who seem to delight in confrontation. They love to go to people and say, "You're blowing it!" That's their thrill.

Because it's risky and uncomfortable, most people don't like confrontation, but it's the only way to resolve conflict.

What's the best way to confront? James 1:19 teaches three rules for confrontation. Everyone should be:

* Quick to listen

* Slow to speak, and

* Slow to become angry

If you're quick to listen and if you're slow to speak, you'll automatically be slow to anger.

What are you listening for? You are listening for the hurt in that person. Hurting people always hurt other people. When someone is being a jerk, more than likely it's because that person is hurting. When you understand their hurt a bit, you have a better understanding of why they do what they do, and you're a little more patient with them.

Understanding always brings patience. When we don't understand things, we're impatient. When we understand them, we're much more patient.

I thoroughly enjoyed this article, however, I wanted to expound on Rick Warren's three points gained from James 1:19. They are a great guide in resolving conflict and should be focused on.

Quick to listen - In the midst of a disagreement, in the heat of the moment, it is most difficult to listen. We decide that what the other party has to say is of little importance. We fail to understand that conflict, though good, can only be resolved if this first step is taken. Without the patience to listen we fall short of understanding.

Slow to speak - Instead of listening we try to think of our argument and how we will retaliate. We are also quick to interrupt the other party, eager to make our point known and understood. If we slow down we will be able to reason and come to faster conflict resolution which benefits each side.

Slow to become angry - When we are losing an argument, feel that the other party does not see our point, or have no argument at all, it is easy to become angry. All patience is lost. This is an urge that must be prevented as conflict is not resolved through anger. It is escalated and becomes worst.

If there were only three rules of conflict resolution, these are those three rules. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

You Have the Power to Choose the Right Response

“It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets, 1999
British fantasy author

More often than we would like, we encounter disappointments.  I define disappointments as an occurrence contrary to our desire.  It is an occurrence contrary to what we would have hoped for.  Are these real disappointments or our imagination?  Are they emotional figments? Are we the ones transforming these events into disappointments?

We have the opportunity to prevent events from becoming disappointments in our minds eye.  We are the ones that make disappointments a reality.  Regardless of the situation we can choose how we view the situation and how we respond. 

·         If your finances take a turn for the worst: choose your response wisely. 

·         If you experience an illness in the family: choose your response wisely.

·         If your boss decides to abruptly put an end to your tenure: choose your response wisely.

We have the power, the ability, and the right to choose your response.  Taking advantage of this right displays strength of character.  Surely, many of the people you admire and edify are those who consistently choose the right responses in difficult times.

Get in the Habit

We don’t just get up on day and start making the right choices.  It may take a bit of practice in order to make it a habit.  Here are a few of my thoughts on what we can do to make choosing the right responses a habit:

Pause 

Take a moment to gain composure.  Calm down.   Many bad decisions are made in haste.  The result of a hasty decision can mean disaster.

Question 

What is really taking place?  Do not assume anything.  Investigate the situation and make sure you have a good understanding of what is occurring.

Conclude

Come to a conclusion on what needs to be done.  How will this issue be resolved?  What kind of effect will it have?

Practice

Now practice.  If this is to be a habit it must be practiced.  Habits are not formed by accident.

You will have more control of your emotions when you decide to make the right choices.  Enjoy a happier and less stressful life. 

Do you have any ideas on how to make making the choices a habit?  Please contribute.