I know we did not have an assignment to blog about this article, but since I took the time to read it, I thought I would respond. Alot of common sense advice, not that 'advise' was the goal. I especially like the part about keeping life simple and marrying well. I have realized that my wife is alot smarter than I will ever be and when I am wise enough to ask her before I open my mouth, it usually goes alot better for me! She has a sense that I simple do not possess. I also believe we need to choose our friends carefully. I have alot of people that are in my life, teaching tends to expand your influence a bit, but only 3 or 4 people that I would call 'friends'. I have told them that on more than one occasion. I appreciate their influence in my life. They are kind of guys that you can not hear from for a while and then you get together with them and it's like you saw them yesterday. Friends are comfortable, I can be me without fear of judgment. They can give and receive advice without sounding like they are better than me. I love my friends and am thankful for them.
I also agreed with the author about information overload. Wow, in this era of having information at your fingertips, it is easy to gather a mountain of data and get lost in it. I am the king of this ailment. I need to research every decision to death, get all the information I can and then make an informed decision. What often happens is that I get all the information, get confused, forget the original decision and give up!
The other part of this article that I found interesting was the keeping a journal. I am involved in a writing class at CCSU now and I have to admit that writing for the simple pleasure of writing has NEVER occured to me. I have a rather guarded personality and am a little wary of opening myself up for others to see. But I am going to start keeping a journal, not for the world to see, but to start taking some risks, as Dr. Valerie puts it. I often encourage my students to have no regrets, don't come to the end of a segment of your life and say 'I wish I...(fill in the blank)'. Writing for fun is that part of me that I have always been apprehensive about trying. Until now!
Thank you, Dr. Sponder, for posting this article.
Glenn,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with your reflection on how the article discussed choosing your friends carefully. I look at the few close, close friends I have and 3 of them go all the way back to when we were in school together. As a child, I think the friends you choose have a very significant impact on the path in which your life can take. Parenting can only go so far, and at some point your friends will help mold us into the people we are and the life-changing decisions we make along the way. It was such a simple message, but as I said in my post, such a strong one at the same time.
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