Monday, June 28, 2010

Everything's amazing & Nobody's happy

I love this video of Louis C.K. on the Conan O'Brien show. Somewhat reminds me of my "It's amazing what all works in our society" post a couple of months ago...

Saturday, June 26, 2010

The importance of boredom in our lives, OR, "Why I returned my iPad" - by Peter Bregman

For several weeks now, I've been meaning to write a post here about the important role that boredom plays in our lives, but couldn't find the right way to express the ideas I wanted to say. Then yesterday a friend of mine posted a blog post from the Harvard Business Review on Facebook, and voila, everything was expressed absolutely perfectly right in the article called "Why I returned my iPad". Here's a little snippet:

Being bored is a precious thing, a state of mind we should pursue. Once boredom sets in, our minds begin to wander, looking for something exciting, something interesting to land on. And that's where creativity arises.

My best ideas come to me when I am unproductive. When I am running but not listening to my iPod. When I am sitting, doing nothing, waiting for someone. When I am lying in bed as my mind wanders before falling to sleep. These "wasted" moments, moments not filled with anything in particular, are vital.

They are the moments in which we, often unconsciously, organize our minds, make sense of our lives, and connect the dots. They're the moments in which we talk to ourselves. And listen.

To lose those moments, to replace them with tasks and efficiency, is a mistake. What's worse is that we don't just lose them. We actively throw them away


To read the full article by Peter Bregman, click here.

And in the meantime I wish everyone a little bit of boredom in their lives too!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Secret Powers of Time - a very interesting 10 minute presentation

I thoroughly enjoyed this video presentation by Professor Philip Zombardo on how different perspectives of time influence our work, health and well-being. And I would add happiness as well. Enjoy: