Reflections on the book of wisdom...

So this weekend I finished reading the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Well, technically I read Los 7 hábitos de la gente altamente efectiva, with the English version as an occasional (okay, pretty much at least one word or phrase every page) reference.

It was the second “big book” I’d read all the way through in Spanish, and I must say, it does feel like quite an accomplishment. I wish it hadn’t taken me an entire year to complete, but that’s mostly because there were more than a few distractions along the way.

I had read the book before (in English) about 12 years ago, but this time it meant so much more. Well, I feel like (at least recently) I’ve been able to see the ideas in a less perfectionistic light, and they seem to be a lot more user friendly that way. Now, rather than “rules to be obeyed” I see them more as observations and tools that present opportunities for a happier life.

A caution I have regarding the seven habits (mostly for myself but also for others) is to remember that we are not gods and we never will be. There can only be one all powerful being…and that being is NOT me. We are capable of many great things, but achievement is only a small part of living…acceptance of our very human limitations…and allowing ourselves to take the time to relax and enjoy life…is just as important.

Okay, I’ll get off my soap box and say a bit about the habits. I sincerely do believe they are incredibly profound ideas, and yeah, I want to share them:

1) Be Proactive-Sea proactivo. This habit is about accepting responsibility for our own lives and recognizing that whatever happens in life, an element of choice ALWAYS remains. A huge responsibility, to think that whether or not I’m happy or sad is under no one's control but my own…but also an incredible opportunity and reason to hope.
2) Begin with the End in Mind-Empiece con un fin en mente. If we don’t know where we want to go, the odds of getting there are pretty slim. This one also has a lot to do with values, and answering the question for ourselves…who do I really want to be?...and what would I really like to do with the time I have for living?
3) Put First Things First-Ponerlo primero primero. This habit is about organizing our lives so that we are living according to our values. Doing the things we need to do to not only get by, but also to make our dreams a reality.
4) Think Win/Win-Piense en ganar/ganar. Too often in life we go for win/lose, or lose/win. Selfishness vs. self-sacrifice. We all have needs, as Covey states, the needs to live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy. In pursing fulfillment of those needs, it is very worthwhile to strive to meet the needs of others along the way. If win/win is not an option, “no deal” is often better than lose/win…and rarely means lose/lose.
5) Seek first to understand, then to be understood-Procure primero comprender-y depsués ser comprendido. In the epilogue to recent editions of the book, Stephen admits that this is the most difficult habit for him to live. It is perhaps the most difficult habit for me to live too. How many times in life have I said to myself “wow, I really misunderstood?” How much confusion and stress could be avoided if we took the time to truly listen to one another. We can be fast with things…but with people…we must be slow.
6) Sinergy. Sinérgia. I struggle with this one a bit too. I remember 12 years ago reading this section, and perhaps mostly because I was so incredibly shy thinking “fat chance.” The idea here is that working together, by appreciating and valuing each others differences, we can accomplish not only more…but much more.
7) Sharpen the Saw. Afile la sierra. This habit is about continually maintaining (and inevitably growing) ourselves. Getting regular exercise and eating appropriately to have a healthy body…which in turn contributes to a healthy mind. Reading regularly to benefit from the ideas of others. Building relationships by continually making deposits into each others emotional bank accounts. Gaining a broad perspective on life…and figuring out what it is one should truly value.

Okay, I spent a bit longer on this project than I anticipated. Have a fairly busy day ahead of me at work and should probably head to bed. Great ideas…that in the proper context…can bring about great things…and make life just that much better.

Me gusta mucho...

So this afternoon I’ve been studying about what is called Human Performance Improvement, or a philosophy that attempts to understand all safety incidents in the context of the culture that created the problem (rather than blame the individual). In the section on communication, they ask what these headlines REALLY mean to say. I like numbers 3 and 8. Sorry, no spanish translations available.

1) Delinquent Teen gets Nine Months in Violin Case
2) Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
3) Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
4) New Vaccine May Contain Rabies
5) New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
6) Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
7) Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
8) Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half

Adventures in the Great White North

So I spent New Year’s weekend in Idaho Falls at my little bro’s place. It was a fun trip. With all the “end of year push” stuff going on at work this past week, it was a good break too. Wish I could say I was coming back to a more relaxing week at work but now we have the “beginning of the year push” stuff to deal with which usually ends up being even more demanding of me. Ah well.

Let’s see, highlights from the trip. New Year’s Eve was fun. Nick took me to a party at the Shiloh Inn where we met up with Megan. Couldn’t really hear anything anybody said over the music, so since I didn’t know anybody, just mostly sat around drinking beer (I only drank one) and smiling at the drunk people. I did have an interesting experience with my baby sister. Megan was pretty well wasted when I got there, and after telling me how much she loved me (about a million times) decided she wanted to teach me to dance. Well, after we started dancing I realized she had “dirty dancing” in mind. I was game for a bit, but eventually it did get just “way too weird” and with a bright red face and a grin from ear to ear I told Megan that was probably enough. Nick had a good time watching us and laughing. I mostly just recognized that one beer was nowhere near drunk enough…

The following morning, after meeting up with Megan for breakfast at Smitty's, we picked up Talon and hung out at Terri’s house for a while. Talon is definitely getting bigger and talks really well now. Didn’t give him any shoulder rides or anything though cause he’s pretty much exclusively a grandma’s boy.

Nick, Megan and I saw two movies at Edward’s Theatre. Nick had wanted to see Sherlock Holmes, but since I’d seen it the week before we decided on Avatar instead. Well, since the earlier showing of Avatar was sold out, we saw Invictus while waiting for Avatar. Both movies were great. The special effects on Avatar were pretty mind-blowing. I was a bit disappointed we opted against the 3D version (Nick was worried he’d get a headache), so I think I’ll have to see Avatar again.

On Saturday, went to the local gym (cost me 10 bucks, but I’m still sore in my chest and shoulders) and then did some studying about developing safety goals (for work) while Nick played video games with his roommate. Later that night Terri treated us to dinner at this great Italian restaurant. Sad to say, but first time I’d ever had gorgonzola sauce. Definitely a fan!

Later that evening Nick, his roommate and I all sat in Nick’s bed (he doesn’t yet own a couch) and drank beer while watching the blu-ray version of the latest Star Trek movie on John’s plasma TV. John (who spent the holiday in Vegas) was kind enough to lend Nick the TV while he has been stuck at home recuperating from the surgery.

I had some problems with my cooling system on the Durango on the trip, but Nick was more than helpful with that, and I’m very glad I brought it. They had like 8 inches of snow! I discovered that in Idaho Falls they don’t mess around with snow plows too much either. They pull out the heavy duty construction equipment (graders, front-end loaders, this machine that picks up snow from the middle of the road and deposits it in one of several lined up dump trucks, etc.).

Nick is doing pretty well, though he still has quite a bit of back pain. The area that bothered him before the surgery no longer hurts at all, but now he has new pain that’s even worse in his lower back. He pretty much limps wherever he goes, but he seems pretty optimistic things will get better soon. He also seems to be getting by okay financially too. I was a little worried since he just bought his house last August and what not. It will likely turn out as a really nice place, though I can understand why he’s been so busy doing repairs. As far as covering the bills, he’s got really great insurance (provided he doesn’t start smoking again). Before this surgery, I had no idea nicotine was so damaging to bone growth. Nick and I had some really good talks about the situation with Dad and the estate and what not as well, and I did get the impression those were talks Nick and I needed to have, but definitely a lot more relaxed Idaho visit than those earlier this year. I know they say that when people grow together they grow together, but kind of glad there wasn’t a whole lot of growing to be done this time around. We mostly just had a good time chilling.

Oh, of course, as on the way up, I stopped at Mom and John’s on the way home for free dinner. Randy and Jenna were there for the free meal too.

Definitely a people filled weekend, and definitely a very good change of pace.

Hopefully that about covers it. Apryl, do you have any remaining questions?

:)

Now That's the Holiday Spirit!

The above photo was sent to me by a friend at work. Rather than forward another e-mail full of internet banality...figured I'd just post it on my blog. Oh, and I had fun translating the story too if any of you want to brush up on your spanish:)

"Good news is that I truly out did myself this year with my Christmas decorations. The bad news is that I had to take him down after 2 days. I had more people come screaming up to my house than ever. Great stories. But two things made me take it down.

First, the cops advised me that it would cause traffic accidents as they almost wrecked when they drove by.

Second, a 55 year old lady grabbed the 75 pound ladder almost killed herself putting it against my house and didn't realize it was fake until she climbed to the top (she was not happy). By the way, she was one of many people who attempted to do that. My yard couldn't take it either. I have more than a few tire tracks where people literally drove up my yard."

La buena noticia es que realmente hice algo muy grande este año con mis decoraciones de Navidad. La mala noticia es que tenía que retirarlos hace 2 días. Había más gente venga a gritar a mi casa que nunca. Buenas cuentas. Pero dos cosas me hizo tomarlo abajo.

En primer lugar, los policías me aconsejaron que podría causar accidentes de tráfico, ya que casi lo hizo.

En segundo lugar, una señora de 55 años cogió la escalera de 75 libras, casi se mató ponerla en contra de mi casa y no se dio cuenta que era falso hasta que se subió a la parte superior (y ella no era feliz). Por cierto, ella fue una de muchas personas que trataron de hacer eso. Mi jardín no podía apoyarlo tampoco. Tengo más de un neumático de algunas pistas de un neumático donde la gente literalmente llevó hasta mi jardín.

Merry Christmas to All

Believe it or not, this is a actually a tumbleweed. But, even tumbleweeds can capture the holiday spirit when covered with frost. I love this holiday! Okay, technically not yet the holiday, but I have the day off work...so works for me:)

yep...still there

Kind of strange how often the music we really like needs some time to grow on us. Well, yesterday at the gym I reached the “from good to great” transition with a new album I’ve been listening to.

It’s called Shewolf by Shakira. Shakira is an incredibly talented Hispanic artist (definite plus in my book) who has also released albums in English. BTW, her English is pretty much perfect, so if it wasn’t for the Spanish tracks on the album…you might never know.

So yeah, to the point now where her singing pretty much blows me away. My only complaint…is that her songs are a little TOO catchy. The title track (which appears on the album 3 times if you count the Spanish version) has been stuck in my head pretty much non-stop for the past 24 hours. Ah well…

Waoooooooo…

:)

kinda cool...

So, tonight I learned what I had been doing wrong that made it so only some of my pictures could be viewed full size. Played with the html on this post for quite some time until I figured out the code. Those flowers look a lot better now, eh? Then I learned I just needed to upload all my photos at once and problem solved. So deciphered the code for nothing?

Well, click on the photo below. I think it's cool.