West Virginia
photo via adventures
Los Angeles – California – USA (by Gilad Rom)
Newcastle, Northern Ireland
photo via hannes
A man of many successes and struggles, Alexander Graham Bell is the perfect example of a man who knows the importance of connecting to the future. He invented the metal detector and helped relaunch the National Geographic Magazine. He gave his wife Mabel, who was deaf, 1497 shares of his 1507 total shares in the Bell Telephone Company.
When talking about missed opportunities, he was quoted as saying, “When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the door that is closed that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” Losing sight of the future keeps you mired in the past, unable to see your possibilities.
During your successes and struggles here are four ways to connect to your future without being mired in the past:
Do you want to be friendly, helpful, or kind? Choose adjectives related to behavior. The main thing you can control is your behavior, so behavior is a useful place to start. The words you pick help you keep focused so that when challenges or change occur, you work to keep your adjectives in mind as you choose actions to support the chosen adjectives.
Make a checklist of things to do that week. Clean out a closet. Read a book. Exercise. Take a class. Write out goals for the year.
Take actions that support your plans and goals. Remember to stay aware and intentional about the behaviors you chose. Connecting to the future sometimes involves an intentional and authentic plan of behaviors and actions.
See Also: 5 Barriers That You Need To Cross To Achieve Success This Year
You may not agree with how others act or see the world, but these events and individuals do not have the power to change your behavior. When you take away good or bad, or wrong or right from your dialogue, you disconnect from the need to prove yourself in past situations.
Since people see the world differently, expand understanding of internal (you) and external (other individuals) with observation, not labels. You can say, “I did not care for his behavior.” It is a subtle wording difference to saying, “That guy is wrong.”
Take up a hobby you enjoy. Snuggle in a chair with a blanket and a book. Go for a walk. Golf. What makes you feel healthy and relaxed? Think of activities you do where time disappears. Sometimes your life feels nice when connected wholly to the present.
See Also: 5 Habits to Make The New Year Your Best Year Yet
The past plays a role in today, but it does not have to define your future. The next time an individual or a situation frustrates you, think of your adjectives, choose actions that support your words, then change your dialogue to observations, not labels. Find ways to connect with the future possibilities of life.
This cycle of living keeps your energy focused on opportunities in the future instead of the mire of the past. During work or at home you have the potential to create a style of living that offers you a stronger connection to the future.
The post Finding a Connection to Your Future appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
Have you always been a fan of ultra modern and minimalist designs when it comes to home decor? We have too, but we’re extra intrigued by homes and buildings that take those concepts further and incorporate them into the actual design of the structure. That’s what caught out eye most about Villa 131, a private residence designed by Bracket Design Studio in 2016. Located in Isfahan, Isfahan Province, Iran, Villa..
The post Bracket Design Studio Creates a Contemporary Villa in the Garden City of Isfahan, in Iran appeared first on HomeDSGN.
Icy water reflects the sunset at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey. More than 80 percent of the refuge’s 47,000 acres is wetlands. The quiet tidal waters serve as nurseries, spawning and feeding grounds for fish and shellfish, which are important in the diets of many wildlife species – particularly the migratory birds who live and visit here. Photo by Kris Orr (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).
Millennials have been done a great disservice. They are told that if they go to college and earn a degree, they will make a million dollars more over their lifetime than someone without a college degree. While this statistic is true in some cases, many Millennials are under the mistaken impression it is the college degree itself that will get them where they need to go. It turns out there is a whole other set of skills- soft skills- that Millennials are lacking, and that is holding them back.
Being able to get to work on time, eating nutritious foods, and getting enough exercise are all soft skills that can impact your job performance. But the soft skills employers are most looking for are:
Soft skills are generally things that aren’t taught, though they can be. Most people are supposed to learn these things through experience, but when you are just starting out in the job market you don’t really have time to learn on the job. In this job market, you need to show up prepared.
Some places to hone your adulting skills are:
Whenever you work on bettering yourself, you are bringing yourself one step closer to being a responsible adult. If you are under the mistaken impression you are good enough just as you are, take a long hard look in the mirror. Everyone, literally everyone, has room for improvement. It’s not that you’re a bad person; you need to focus on being the best version of yourself you possibly can be.
See Also: 5 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer
Millennials can have the best degree from the best university, but there are some things they might not be learning. Getting the job done efficiently is as important as getting it done well. Learning to prioritize tasks and set goals and deadlines is certainly something that Millennials should be learning in school, but it doesn’t always shake out that way.
Things that are emphasized in school:
Things that are not emphasized in school but should be:
With the shift toward teaching to a test, the school is results-driven rather than comprehensive. Education is shifted to one extreme- the one that is going to produce the most career-ready students. Unfortunately, the need for arts, humanities, and the like gets lost in the shuffle. Empathy is not measurable, neither is the drive to succeed. As long as you can memorize and regurgitate the material, you get rubber stamped to move on to the next level.
Once school is over, where are Millennials supposed to learn these soft skills? That is the true challenge. Knowing you need to brush up on your soft skills is one thing, but knowing how to do that is something else entirely. Perseverance is the key to all lifelong learning. There will be setbacks and challenges, but learning to press on is where Millennials have the opportunity to transform into the next generation of business leaders.
See Also: How Millennials Measure Success At Work
Learning how to take care of yourself outside of the workplace will go a long way toward success in the workplace. Millennials also often don’t learn how to eat a proper diet, get enough sleep and exercise, and the value of unplugging in school, but these skills can have a huge impact on career readiness.
Soft skills set apart between being able to replicate your job as it was taught to you and being able to innovate a new way to do your job that is more efficient. Soft skills are the difference between keeping your business small and local and being able to scale up because you have the ability to communicate with people from other cultures.
Developing yourself both personally and professionally is something you have to do on your own time. You will have to be willing to engage in lifelong learning. If you don’t want to ever learn anything new ever again, your career is going to be stuck for the rest of your life. But if you can recognize there is a problem and set about trying to solve it, congratulations- you’ve just mastered adulting.
The post Adulting Isn’t Just Instagramming Your Dinner – Soft Skills For Millennials appeared first on Dumb Little Man.
As enthusiasts of innovative home design, we’re always intrigued to see how architects account for climate when they design modern homes for maximum comfort and style combined. That’s why we were so enthralled by the photos when we found out about Tiwanon House, a residential project designed by Archimontage Design Fields Sophisticated in 2015. Located in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Tiwanon house is the perfect getaway on a very hot day, but..
The post Archimontage Design Fields Sophisticated Design a Private Residence in Nonthaburi, Thailand appeared first on HomeDSGN.
New York City – New York – USA (by Stefano Ravalli)
Sig Nordal 