In My Opinion

An article I found stated that most of our life is spent battling against ourself.  We begin to forget who we really are.  Some start to think they need to look like their admired celebrity.  In other words, a role model in which to live by their stadards.  I didn’t have much of a role model by it still had a big impact on who I am today.  It was a cartoon character of al things.  At the time it solved many of my problems but eventually I had to grow out of it.  I felt that living as you saw someone else was not only mentally, but physically impossible as well.  I’m glad I didn’t take it as far as to come up with these conclusions:

‘If I could look like them, my life would be perfect’
‘If I had their money, I wouldn’t have any worries’
‘If I could buy the most fashionable clothes I would feel great about myself’
‘If only I change my personality I would find the perfect partner’

Nowadays, anyone who knows me well, knows I’m not quick to ever thing of changing the person I am today.  “When we go searching for our ideal self we are [wasting] energy on a needless war; the war between our perceived self (the way we see ourselves) and our ideal self (the way we would like to be)”, says the article.  At this point, you can say I went throught that at an early age.  Obviously, a cartoon character wouldn’t effect the way I ate at such an early age like the article stated.  I’ll just bring up how I reacted to what others thought of the way I looked.

At some point in my life I got many compliments I wasn’t looking for considering I wasn’t trying to impress anyone.  I’d rather not go into detail for some readers may feel sorry for the way I would react when I did get a compliment or sorry for the person who didn’t get the response they had hoped for.  Most of the time I would ignore any compliment that came my way.  I felt there was no need for it considering I don’t compliment others myself.  Sure, I use to exersize every day, but because of what others said about it, I eventually stopped.  I felt they were misinterpreting why I exersized in the first place.  I was trying to become my ideal self but I didn’t think about how others would react. (In short words, I didn’t like the attention)

This article stated, “Your perceived self is the self that needs most loving yet a lot of people disregard themselves every day, instead choosing to love their ideal self”.  In my opinion, it’s trying to become your ideal self as I did.  After that, it shows an example of where you should put your effort.  Some times I try to be the opposite of what others think of me, but most of the time there right.  “So it is with your perceived self. You should look for ways to work better with your perceived self and accept yourself for who [you] are at the moment, knowing that change will come through gentle coaxing and encouragement and not forever declaring war with yourself.”

5 Steps to accepting your perceived self:

1. “Acknowledge it”
   If there’s something you don’t like about yourself, acknowledge it. For example, I acknowledge the fact that I’m a bit anti-social.
2. “Accept it”
   Weather you like it or not, accept the fact for the moment, that you have something you dislike about yourself.  I feel that small talk is pointless or a waste of time.
3. “Thank yourself”
   To acknowledge and accept something about yourself which you are not happy with takes guts and honesty. Thank yourself for that.  Considering I know, I’m now capable of change.
4. “Know why you want change”
   If you want change to happen, know exactly why you want the change.  Get right down to the core of ‘why’. For example: I want to talk to others when I have time to spare – Why? So I can learn a thing or 2 about & maybe make a new friend – Why? So I can always have a friend by my side - Why? So I don’t waste time play video games or watching TV – Why?, You should get the picture by now, just get deep down to the root of why you want to change.
5. “Gentle change as opposed to drastic change”
   Gently coaxing yourself to change helps you to feel less stressed.  You will find by doing this change will happen more naturally and the momentum will build up into the change you want.  In class, I stated on a Journal Entry that I made a dramatic change causing friends & family to worried.  It was almost as if they couldn’t recognize me.  “Slow & steady wins the race”, may not be the right advice but it has the same concept like, “don’t jump the gun”.

Considering I can’t tell if I’ve finish the “cycle of any change” as the article puts it after these 5 steps, I’ll leave it to the articles example.

“The way others see you”
Your perceived self is not necessarily the way others see you.  You may stress over what they think or become over confident based on what they think of you.  “No matter how many times someone tells you that you are good at something…nothing anybody says will change you”.  You are the only person capable of changing youself.

“Don’t be too hard on yourself”
Most people want to change something about themselves even celebrities themselves, we’re all on the same boat. You want what they have and they want what you have. Accept yourself for who you are but acknowledge that you want to change, if you really do, and gently coax yourself.  Then there will be peace between the perceived self and the ideal self.

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2009/08/how-to-stop-raging-war-inside-yourself.html

When I first started looking for pictures, I was going to pick a painting.  Then when I saw this web site, I thought, “why not an image we all pass by every now & then without thinking about”.  The first image I saw was the statue of a face with a cube shaped head.  I clicked it because it was something I’d never seen before.  It ended up being a slide show of 62 photos.  It could’ve been more or it could’ve been less.  They are only so many hours in a day & only so much room a camera can hold, but the photographer picked out the best 62.  How long do you think it would take to pick out the best 10 out of 100 pictures you took?  Same applies to choosing what music you  to put on a MP3 player (ipod to be exact).

The images reminded me of a thought I had recently.  It was that just about all the pictures taken in the world are different even if you take it in the same place.  There are many factors that may have changed it: the angle, zoom, time of day, season, way the image comes out (b&w or color), people, camera itself (something stuck on the lense), & more.  The same thing applies to drawing or painting an image.  Sure, you can set a camera still or copy the image more than once, but taking it one day and going back to it is like looking at the sky.  The weather is always changing as the clouds float by.

I didn’t just look at the images though.  I was also able to click on them & read some information on each individual image.  I found out that the images were taken in a massive, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026.  A portion of the building’s interior is scheduled to open for public worship and tours by September of 2010.  Next year from now, right.

Considered the master-work of know to be renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the project’s vast scale and idiosyncratic design have made it one of Barcelona’s (and Spain’s) top tourist attractions for many years.  If I knew how much he got paid, I’d considered doing it too.  Nowadays, there’s alot of better ways to make money, but I’ll still put it on my list of things to consider.  Do you think Antoni planned for his creation to become a tourist attraction?  In my opinion, a church doesn’t really need to be decorated, especially for so long.  I’m guess Spain must have a lot of patient Catholics to be waiting for over 100 years to see (most of which have died).

Most of these issues are not thought of & there are a lot more where that came from.  These can inculed: how much will the end result will cost, why the particular statue was made (such as the snails), where did the pattern ideas come from, why was it built so high, is it considered safe, why was it give the it has, etc..?  If you’ve  seen all the images, you wouldn’t be surprised  that it took over 100 years to make.  Last question: if you had a life time job, what would it be?  It would seem architect Antoni Gaudi found his & must’ve enjoyed doing it even if the pay was low in my opinion, not that I would suspect that to be the case.

By the way, the full name of the temple is Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia meaning ”Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family” in English.

http://www.fotopedia.com/en/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia

Born in July 30, 1863, Henry Ford grew up on a family farm, which is today known as Dearborn, Michigan.  He spended days in a one-room school unlike todays 6 separate periods for classes.  I don’t know if you are given chores but he sure was, farm work to be exact, not that he liked it of course.  He took interest in mechanical things at an early age.  I became interested in drawing at an early enough age, taking classes that made me as good as I am today.

At the age of 16, Ford had to leave home to work as an apprentice machinist, for the nearby city of Detroit.  Today, we don’t have to leave our parents at such an early age to gain knowledge in something we like to do, although he did occasionally return to help on the farm.  Nowadays we use a much faster method of transportation thanks to him.  He originally supported himself & his wife by running a sawmill at about the age of 25.  He became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit in 1891.  Where do you think you’ll be doing in your twenties?

After 2 unsuccessful attemts to esablish a company manufacture automobile, the Ford Motor Company was finally incorporated in 1903 with Henry Ford as vice-preident & chief engineer.  You can see he didn’t give up at one.  He didn’t even give up at two.  How many times would it take you until you gave up?  They weren’t machine made, they were man made with a total of 2 to 3 working on each car.  Image that!  It certainly didn’t make things any easier.

Henry Ford realized his dream of producing an automobile that was reasonably priced, reliable, & efficient.  Remind you of the post before this one.  Josh Silver pritty much had the same goal with his adjustable glasses.  When your still in school, you never know what will happen.  You can get a job that’s high in pay & dislike it, or a job with reasonable pay & love it.  In my opinion, only then can you make a difference.  Ford made a living out of something he loved & made the difference you see today.

Dependent upon what you like to do, how do you go about getting better at it?  As an artist, I go to art class, but I understand somethings don’t have classes.  It could be your state of mind, like helping others, competing, cooperation, etc…  Think about what your doing every day to better yourself.  Henry Ford got started as an apprentice & became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit.  I started in an art class, outside of school just the same & now it’s  in school.  What are you doing to accomplish your dream(s)?

http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/hf/

How many words do you speak each day?  For me, it’s very little, but most speak about 16,000 on average.  Yet, most of what’s said is meaningless, or as I use to say at some point in my life, pointless.  Mainly when it comes to angry arguements, it’s out of control and out of your hands.  It may be just someone’s pride taking hold of thier instincts with out a second thought.  There is a simpler and wizer way to use those words.

What I decided to do was have a week of silence, but that was too drast and worried many friends, family, as well as strangers that just so happen to pass by.  I was completely fine considering I didn’t get into any conflics, but I soon forgot how to just have a good time.  To this day, I find my self unable to laugh as hard as I use to.  I can always give a smile at least.  Now I know I could’ve taken smaller steps to a better life style.

Now that my backspace(past) is rewriten, here are 10 things we could all live with saying more often:

1. “Hello”: In my opinion, a great time to say this is to not just to a friend, but to someone you see on more than one occasion.  It might be on a bus, train, waiting room, or even a long line.  Just sitting or standing there isn’t going to brighten the atmosphere.

2. “Thank you”: In my opinion these 2 words can give both the speaker & the listener a better mood.  Though I am some what confused when a cashier says it when they give you your meal at a restaurant.  It’s because you bought it, right?

3. ”Please”: In my opinion, this word turns a demand into a request and makes people more willing to fulfilling it.  Just adding this word can do alot.  It’s sure better than being told to do it by a parent or being forced by the person your telling.

4. ”Here, have my seat”: In my opinion, offering a seat to someone less able to stand is reasonable enought to get up and say these exact words.  Just like that saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.  Consider that you have been sitting longer than they have or you were going to get up shortlythat is when it comes to a bus.  Your not only getting up for there sake, but for your sake as well.  Of course, I’m just stating the obvious

5. ”This ones on me”: Well, this points toward couples or friends that go out.  Mainly, to buy lunch or dinner for the other.  I can’t say anything about this phrase for I don’t have a job, but I do have money.  So, I’ll just say allow family & friends to barrow money when they need if you don’t.  Sadly, it’s a problem I haven’t solve myself yet.

6. “Let me help you with that”: In my opinion, you should always help those in need, especially when your not busy.  It shows that your not lazy & that your not someone to sit there & watch as well as talking on the phone, listening to music, playing a portable game, etc…  Watch your surroundings & make your self useful.  Considering I’m a boy scout, I’d know.  I also know when everyones doing fine on their one.  It can also be put as a question, “Do you need any help with that?”  I case they look like they don’t need it, at least you took the time to ask. 

7. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m…”: In my opinion, this is a great way to invite someone into a conversation.  I’m sure it would make them more comfortable speaking to you if you started the conversation your name.  You may even become friends, but not giving a name indicates your just trying to pass time.  I depends on where & when you met, short period or long.

8. “What I’m really passionate about is…”: In my opinion this is when you want to get to know someone better.  You could tell them about yourself first or ask them to tell you about themself if you’ve already gained there trust.  This is past the point of small talk to trying to find a connection.  I guess it’s a way to make a friend you can talk to rather  than just play around.  In other words, someone who will listen to you.  I think I’m going to deep here.  I’m thinking about problems when it could be your success.  In my opinion, you should be able to talk about both.

9. “Have a great day”: In my opinion, great is more enthusiastic than good or nice.  I personally use great when ever I’m asked how I’m doing, so I know first hand.  I think this phrase is used often enought to tell you the truth.  It just needs the great, because I’m always left saying “you too” in the end.  I might as well start adding “thanks” to it now.  To think I’ve some how thought of the same idea as the writer of this aticle.  It’s true, I didn’t always say “you too”.  Anywho, say it before leaving anyone you talk to.  Just that phrase might’ve changed there day.  I even say good night at times no ones going to sleep yet.

10. “I love you”:  In my opinion, these words are the most important when it comes to family.  Some thing they not need to say it because they thing they already know, but sometimes they don’t.  Whether you show it or not isn’t always enough.  Hearing those words confirms it.

Anybody could do it once gotten use to.  I believe my mom is a perfect example.  I could even bring up a, “just the other day”,  if I wasn’t drifting from the topic.  At any rate, I could mention that she brought up a topic they had in common and still went their separate ways.  No need to make another friend, just a descent conversation.  Parents should constantly tell their child to use these phrases, as well as use them themselves just as my mom has.  These 10 things, out of all the meaningless chit-chat we use everyday, can make a big difference.

In this article’s comments, it had to other phrases that caught my eye:

1. “I’m Sorry”: An arguement can turn into a fight if a conclusion isn’t met.  This mostly starts when a misunderstanding isn’t discused and is instead taken to action.  Even if you weren’t the one who started it, saying sorry will set a good example to the one your telling.

2. ”I forgive you”: In my opinion, this should be said after sorry, simlpe because they might not say it again.  I’m most defenently not going into sarcasm when it comes to sorrymainly because I don’t use it on as often as most people.

What phrases do you think we should be saying more often? What would you say to bring a smile to someone’s face?

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/12/ten-simple-things-we-should-all-say.html