No #TBT today

The pickings were very sparse for this date and there was nothing relevant.

Interesting days

Today - Cuddle Up Day, Bean Day, Apple Tree Day, Shortbread Day and Three Kings Day

Tomorrow - Tempura Day, Bobblehead Day, Harlem Globetrotter’s Day, I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day and Old Rock Day

Next Thursday - National Sticker Day, National Rubber Duckie Day, Public Radio Broadcasting Day, Make Your Dream Come True Day, World Skeptics Day and National Peach Melba Day

February 6 - National Yorkshire Pudding Day, Dump Your Significant Jerk Day, National Frozen Yogurt Day and Lame Duck Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Patient Recognition Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

Feb 6 - Feb 12: National Secondhand Wardrobe Week 

Feb 6 - Feb 12: Boy Scouts Anniversary Week

 

The Rationality of Emotions

Another one from The Art of Manliness. The plan is to tie yesterday's blog post and the next few together. Today's post is kind of a stepping stone.

Emotions have gotten a bad rap these days. We’re frequently told we should mistrust them, ignore them, even f**k them. It may seem that humanity, especially the male segment of it, has always evinced this level of skepticism towards our feelings, viewing them as unreliable guides — womanly disrupters of our happiness and tranquility.

But the role of emotions in the lives of men and women alike has not always been viewed so dubiously by everyone, in every time; instead, distrust in feelings waxes and wanes according to the level of uncertainty in society. When life is unpredictable, chaotic, and troubling, people retreat inwardly, batten down the hatches, seek to turn themselves into stone. It seems too risky to expose one’s true feelings, to let anything but cold hard logic dictate one’s decisions. Because, the thinking goes, emotions are essentially irrational.

Yet there have been periods and philosophies that have seen emotions and reason not as contradictory but complementary. Thinkers as different in outlook and era as Aristotle, Nietzsche, and C.S. Lewis all argued that feelings have their own intelligence and wisdom, are necessary in order to participate in the human experience at its most dynamic and incandescent, and must be intertwined with our rational faculties in order to achieve the good life.

Today we’ll unpack the premises of this perspective, and how emotions can be rational, in that they have rationality in themselves, can align with rationality, and can be harnessed towards rational purposes.

From other articles that I've read, the ideas of emotions and feelings are distinct. Emotions are physical responses to stimuli, either internal or external, while feelings are the attributes that we assign to those emotions. Here's an excerpt from Six Seconds;

Emotions come first, then feelings come after as the emotion chemicals go to work in our bodies. Then moods develop from a combination of feelings.

Emotions are chemicals released in response to our interpretation of a specific trigger. It takes our brains about 1/4 second to identify the trigger, and about another 1/4 second to produce the chemicals. By the way, emotion chemicals are released throughout our bodies, not just in our brains, and they form a kind of feedback loop between our brains & bodies. They last for about six seconds – hence the name of our organization.

Feelings happen as we begin to integrate the emotion, to think about it, to “let it soak in.” In English, we use “feel” for both physical and emotional sensation — we can say we physically feel cold, but we can also emotionally feel cold. This is a clue to the meaning of “feeling,” it’s something we sense. Feelings are more “cognitively saturated” as the emotion chemicals are processed in our brains & bodies. Feelings are often fueled by a mix of emotions, and last for longer than emotions.

Moods are more generalized. They’re not tied to a specific incident, but a collection of inputs. Mood is heavily influenced by several factors: the environment(weather, lighting, people around us), physiology (what we’ve been eating, how we’ve been exercising, how healthy we are), and finally our mental state (where we’re focusing attention and our current emotions). Moods can last minutes, hours, probably even days. 

The AoM article is too long to present the entire thing o I'll list the subsections. You can read the article if you'd like to learn more.

Emotions Are Meaningful Judgements

Emotions Discern Value

Emotions Are Trainable

Emotions Are the Engines of Action

I've read that emotion can be thought of as energy in motion.

Emotions Are Strategic

Emotions Create Meaning

If emotions are rational to the extent that they further our ultimate ends, and nearly everyone desires a life of great meaning, then choosing to embrace your emotions — even, ironically, those of an intensity that leans to the “irrational” — can be the most rational decision you could possibly make.

Next week I'll talk about the chemistry of emotions, and the roles that dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine play in emotions and motivation and how they tie back into habits.

Interesting days

Today - Whipped Cream Day and Bird Day

Tomorrow - Cuddle Up Day, Bean Day, Apple Tree Day, Shortbread Day and Three Kings Day

Next Wednesday - Kiss a Ginger Day, National Marzipan Day and National Pharmacist Day

February 5 - World Nutella Day, Ice Cream For Breakfast Day, Take Your Child To The Library Day, National Weatherperson’s Day, Western Monarch Day, National Chocolate Fondue Day and National Lace Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 29 - Feb 5: Cordova Iceworm Festival Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Patient Recognition Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

The Tiny Habits That Change Everything

This is always a good time of year to talk about habits...whether creating new ones or eliminating old ones! Today's blog post is based on a podcast from The Art of Manliness:

We’re a month into the new year now. How are you doing on your resolutions? Have you already fallen off the wagon? Maybe the goal you set for yourself was just too big to successfully tackle. You need to think smaller. Tiny, even.

That’s the argument my guest makes. His name is Dr. BJ Fogg, and he’s the founder and director of Stanford’s Behavior Design Lab, as well as the author of the new book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Today on the show, BJ walks us through the three components that drive our behavior, including the simple yet overlooked relationship between motivation and ability. He then explains how to build habits that feel easier and require lower levels of motivation by picking behaviors that are good matches for you and breaking them down into smaller parts. We also talk about the need to tie your habits to turnkey prompts, the importance of celebrating your successes, no matter how small, and the way tiny habits can lead to bigger changes. We end our conversation with why you should think about the process of getting rid of your bad habits as untangling them rather than breaking them.

I've talked about habits before and also about motivation and ability.

No wonder this podcast seemed familiar! I actually wrote about it before...you can access it at the link for motivation and ability above. I go into more detail in that post, so why don't you go ahead and check it out.

Interesting days

Today - Trivia Day, World Braille Day, Spaghetti Day, Pop Music Chart Day and Hypnotism Day

Tomorrow - Whipped Cream Day and Bird Day

Next Tuesday - National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day, Heritage Treasures Day, World Sketchnote Day, Poetry at Work Day, National Milk Day, National Learn Your Name In Morse Code Day and National Hot Toddy Day

February 4 - National Thank A Mail Carrier Day, World Cancer Day, National Sweater Day, National Stuffed Mushroom Day, National Wear Red Day, National Working Naked Day, National Homemade Soup Day and National Bubble Gum Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 29 - Feb 5: Cordova Iceworm Festival Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Patient Recognition Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

All the ways to win - updated

The original version of this post was published last week:

You may have caught my Facebook Live yesterday where I talked about the new $25 and $100 American Express gift card giveaways. If not, now you will.

But first I'm going to talk about all the ways you can get entries into the brownie giveaway:

The first way, and most of you have already done this is to watch an 11 minute video, what you may not have noticed was an invitation to join a Facebook group. Both of those activities are worth 1 entry each. Plus, if you share the video (which I know some of you have done), the person who you shared with gets an entry for watching the video and another for joining the FB group. And you get an additional entry to match each of theirs!

The next way is a biggie...you get 5 entries for watching a live IM Academy presentation. These presentations last about 20 - 30 minutes. There are 3 opportunities a day - at noon, 5:00 and 8:00 PST every Monday - Friday. And everybody who watches gets 5 entries (and so do you). So, make some popcorn and sit down with your spouse...you'll get 5 entries for watching, your spouse will get 5 entries and you'll get 5 more entries because your spouse watched. Be sure to share with your parents, siblings, adult kids, friends and neighbors. Here's the link...the password is IM. It may just ask for your email address. Don't worry...they won't spam you. These presentations will be going on for the foreseeable future.

If you can't make one of the live presentations (or even if you can), you can watch a recorded version of a presentation. This is worth 3 entries in the drawing. And yes, you can watch both a live presentation and the recorded version. 

So, by yourself you can get up to 10 entries in the drawing, plus you can double, triple or quadruple the number of entries. You're saying to yourself that the brownies are good, but they're really not worth that much effort. That' where the gift cards come in. On the first Saturday of every month, starting this Saturday, I'll be putting the names of all of the brownie winners into a bowl and drawing at least one name to win a $25 AmEx gift card. And on the first Saturday of a new quarter (starting in April), the winners of the $25 gift cards will be placed in a bowl and at least one person will win a $100 gift card.

But wait! What if I don't win brownies? Does that mean I'm out of luck for the gift card drawings? Absolutely not! There are ways to get entries directly into the gift card drawings.

First, to get entered into the $25 monthly drawing, you can do a 3 way Zoom with me and my mentor, Darla DiGrandi-Aguilera. She's much better at explaining all of this than I am! But please, only do this if you're willing to learn more about the academy. Darla's time, and your time, is too valuable to waste if you're not the least bit curious. You'll get one entry into the $25 AmEx gift card drawing when you do this. Again, if your friends and family are interested they can get an entry and you can get additional ones. But again, only if they're interested in learning more.

And how about the $100 drawing? Become an IM Academy student. For every month that you're a student, you'll get an entry into the drawing. And between now and the end of the year, you can get a $50 rebate! You DO NOT get additional entries when other people sign up but there are other benefits offered directly form the academy. Want to learn more? Book a Zoom with Darla and me...just reach out to me and I'll set it up.

And I did a FB Live yesterday discussing a way to earn up to 5 more entries:

You get one entry for each session you watch at www.CryptoFreeTrial.com, there is no need to pre-register,

Remember, I have no way of knowing when you did any of these activities, so be sure to let me know when you have completed them.

Also, the $50 rebate mentioned above has expired,

Interesting days

Today - Weigh-In Day, Festival Of Sleep Day, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day and Drinking Straw Day

Tomorrow - Trivia Day, World Braille Day, Spaghetti Day, Pop Music Chart Day and Hypnotism Day

Next Monday - Cut Your Energy Costs Day, Houseplant Appreciation Day, Bittersweet Chocolate Day and Peculiar People Day

February 3 - Optimist Day, World Read Aloud Day, Carrot Cake Day and Golden Retriever Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 29 - Feb 5: Cordova Iceworm Festival Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Patient Recognition Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

 

Your weekend guide to interesting days - January 1, 2022

 

This week

Sunday - Candy Cane Day and Thank You Note Day

Monday - Make Cut-out Snowflakes Day, Fruitcake Day and Visit The Zoo Day

Tuesday - Card Playing Day

Wednesday - Tick Tock Day and Pepper Pot Day

Thursday - Bacon Day and Bicarbonate of Soda Day

Yesterday - New Year's Eve, No Interruptions Day, Champagne Day and Make Up Your Mind Day

January will be Veganuary Month, Hobby Month, Get A Balanced Life Month, Clean Up Your Computer Month, Get Organized Month, Creativity Month, Celebration Of Life Month, Brainteaser Month, Oatmeal Month, Be Kind To Food Servers Month, Hot Tea Month, Soup Month and Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Today - New Year's Day, Ring a Bell Day, Copyright Law Day, Euro Day, Commitment Day, Polar Bear Swim Day, Bloody Mary Day and Z Day

Month long celebrations:

Nov 26 - Dec 31: A Blue Christmas

Next week

Tomorrow - Science Fiction Day, World Introvert Day, Creampuff Day, 55 mph Speed Limit Day, Fruitcake Toss Day, Happy Mew Year Day For Cats, Personal Trainer Awareness Day, Motivation and Inspiration Day and Buffet Day

Monday - Weigh-In Day, Festival Of Sleep Day, Chocolate-Covered Cherry Day and Drinking Straw Day

Tuesday - Trivia Day, World Braille Day, Spaghetti Day, Pop Music Chart Day and Hypnotism Day

Wednesday - Whipped Cream Day and Bird Day

Thursday - Cuddle Up Day, Bean Day, Apple Tree Day, Shortbread Day and Three Kings Day

Friday - Tempura Day, Bobblehead Day, Harlem Globetrotter’s Day, I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day and Old Rock Day

Saturday - Bubble Bath Day, Joy Germ Day, Show & Tell At Work Day, Argyle Day and Earth’s Rotation Day

Next month

January 26 - Spouse’s Day, Peanut Brittle Day, Seed Swap Day, Visit Your Local Quilt Shop Day and Australia Day

January 27 - Chocolate Cake Day, World Breast Pumping Day and National Geographic Day

January 28 - International Lego Day, Data Privacy Day, Blueberry Pancake Day, Kazoo Day and Global Community Engagement Day

January 29 - Fun At Work Day, Puzzle Day, Curmudgeons Day, Cornchip Day and Freethinkers Day

January 30 - Inane Answering Message Day, Seed Swap Day and Croissant Day

January 31 - Backward Day, Gorilla Suit Day and Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

February will be February will be Black History Month, Vegan Cuisine Month, North American Inclusion Month, Cherry Month, Bake For Family Fun Month, Bird-Feeding Month, Hot Breakfast Month and Library Lovers’ Month

February 1 - Baked Alaska Day, World Read Aloud Day, Serpent Day, Decorating With Candy Day, Car Insurance Day and Ice Cream For Breakfast Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 30 - Feb 6: Cordova Iceworm Festival Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Patient Recognition Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Pride in Food Service Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

All the ways to win

You may have caught my Facebook Live yesterday where I talked about the new $25 and $100 American Express gift card giveaways. If not, now you will.

But first I'm going to talk about all the ways you can get entries into the brownie giveaway:

The first way, and most of you have already done this is to watch an 11 minute video, what you may not have noticed was an invitation to join a Facebook group. Both of those activities are worth 1 entry each. Plus, if you share the video (which I know some of you have done), the person who you shared with gets an entry for watching the video and another for joining the FB group. And you get an additional entry to match each of theirs!

The next way is a biggie...you get 5 entries for watching a live IM Academy presentation. These presentations last about 20 - 30 minutes. There are 3 opportunities a day - at noon, 5:00 and 8:00 PST every Monday - Friday. And everybody who watches gets 5 entries (and so do you). So, make some popcorn and sit down with your spouse...you'll get 5 entries for watching, your spouse will get 5 entries and you'll get 5 more entries because your spouse watched. Be sure to share with your parents, siblings, adult kids, friends and neighbors. Here's the link...the password is IM. It may just ask for your email address. Don't worry...they won't spam you. These presentations will be going on for the foreseeable future.

If you can't make one of the live presentations (or even if you can), you can watch a recorded version of a presentation. This is worth 3 entries in the drawing. And yes, you can watch both a live presentation and the recorded version. 

So, by yourself you can get up to 10 entries in the drawing, plus you can double, triple or quadruple the number of entries. You're saying to yourself that the brownies are good, but they're really not worth that much effort. That' where the gift cards come in. On the first Saturday of every month, starting this Saturday, I'll be putting the names of all of the brownie winners into a bowl and drawing at least one name to win a $25 AmEx gift card. And on the first Saturday of a new quarter (starting in April), the winners of the $25 gift cards will be placed in a bowl and at least one person will win a $100 gift card.

But wait! What if I don't win brownies? Does that mean I'm out of luck for the gift card drawings? Absolutely not! There are ways to get entries directly into the gift card drawings.

First, to get entered into the $25 monthly drawing, you can do a 3 way Zoom with me and my mentor, Darla DiGrandi-Aguilera. She's much better at explaining all of this than I am! But please, only do this if you're willing to learn more about the academy. Darla's time, and your time, is too valuable to waste if you're not the least bit curious. You'll get one entry into the $25 AmEx gift card drawing when you do this. Again, if your friends and family are interested they can get an entry and you can get affectional ones. But again, only if they're interested in learning more.

And how about the $100 drawing? Become an IM Academy student. For every month that you're a student, you'll get an entry into the drawing. And between now and the end of the year, you can get a $50 rebate! You DO NOT get additional entries when other people sign up but there are other benefits offered directly form the academy. Want to learn more? Book a Zoom with Darla and me...just reach out to me and I'll set it up.

What is the Vitality Movement?

The Vitality Movement is a program offered by Blue 42 for Life and consists of 3 parts:

1. Listen to your body! What does it need?
2. Use our four pillar assessment to determine what your body needs.
3. Review the package that your assessment built just for you.

1. What is your body telling you it needs so you can feel your healthiest?

You might be looking for more energy or to have a more active lifestyle.

• Or maybe you want deeper sleep and better rest so you can perform at a higher level daily.
• Or perhaps you want to work on your body and metabolism so you can feel better.
• You might want to boost your immune system so you can fight off illnesses.
• Or maybe you‘re looking for all of the above and want to feel better overall?

2. Take The Assessment

Use our four pillar system to take a quick assessment. Through the prompts below, we guide you through determining what your body needs, just click on the section that best suits what your body needs.

3. Review the package that your assessment built just for you.

After you take the assessment you will be taken to the shopping page to purchase the products you selected during the assessment where you can add or remove items before purchase. On this page you can download the daily tracker, which is featured in the video below.

You can access the daily tracker here.

It's almost time for New Year's resolutions and if yours include getting healthier then check out the Vitality Movement.

Interesting days

Today - Black Cat Day, Cranky Co-Workers Day and Navy Day

Tomorrow - Plush Animal Lover’s Day and Animation Day

Next Wednesday - Smart Home Day, Sandwich Day. Housewife’s Day, Cliché Day, Jellyfish Day, Stress Awareness Day and Wobbly Wednesday

Week long celebrations:

Nov 1 - Nov 7: Marzipan Week

November 27 - Bavarian Cream Pie Day, Pins And Needles Day, Craft Jerky Day and Small Business Saturday (US)

Month long celebrations:

Nov 26 - Dec 31: A Blue Christmas