Happy New Year of the Dragon
Happy Chinese New Year. This is the year of the Dragon. Not sure of what it means for you, or if you believe in horoscopes, but I had to smile when I was sent this (since I was born in the Year of the Monkey):
The Monkey is the sign of the inventor, the improviser and the motivator in the Chinese Zodiac. They are clever, flexible and innovative. They can master anything under the sun and they usually have an aptitude for being good linguists.
No challenge is too great for them and the Monkey will be successful at whatever s/he chooses to do. They like to help and advise people. They can make for successful businessmen, politician and business figures.
They are a bit lazy by nature and sometimes neglect the major issues of life. On the negative side, they have an inborn superiority complex!
Famous people born under the sign: Walter Matthau, Edward Kennedy, Mick Jagger, the Duchess of Windsor, Nelson Rockfeller
2012 for the Monkey: Innovative in spirit, Monkeys get a helping hand in 2012 from the Year of the Dragon. Opportunities for growth are many and doing things for the general good of those around is recommended.
Research/study and taking on activities to push their own personal growth will be on the anvil and prove exciting. With a taste for adventure and their love of partying, Monkeys will be wearing their social hats, throwing many a swanky do or taking trips around the world.
Love for the single Monkeys will be fast, exciting and culminate in relationships towards the year-end. For those in relationships, it might be imperative to keep their channels of communication open as they decide to share personal visions with their mates and re-evaluate long term goals.
In 2012, Monkeys are advised to contain their impatience and their tongues, not interfere with other people or gossip, as they will end up ruining friendships.
Tip of the year: Avoid taking stupid risks as speculation is unwise this year.
Like it or not we all believe
Had a chat with my good friend Garry the other day and our discussion turned to belief. He's writing a book about adjusting belief systems to improve lives and ultimately make the world a better place. Quite a worthy aim, in my view.
But the point of the faith discussion is that we all, ultimately, have some faith in something. We all believe.
So I got to thinking about what level of belief we have and whether we realise it. The strange thing about belief is that many people seem to think that they have no faith or don't believe in anything.
So here's a quick rundown of some beliefs, how many could you tick as applying to you?
- Many people believe in God (I do)
- Others believe there is no God
- Some believe that belief in God is actually a bad thing
- Some folks believe that aliens abducted Elvis
- Too many people believe in the politicians
- Some people believe that everything they read in the newspapers must be true (others don't care as long as the bird on page 3 looks good)
- Far too many people believe they are a victim (and live their lives accordingly)
- Some believe that the world owes them a living
- I actually know people who believe that if you believe in something strongly enough then it will come to pass, no matter what it is
- A few people believe in karma (you get what you give etc)
- Some believe that the world will end in 2012
- An increasing number of people believe that there is no real justice
- Many people believe that you can make your own luck
- Many single people believe that their 'soul mate' or 'the one' is out there waiting them
- A few people believe that the UK is being taken over by immigrants
- I met a guy in the summer who believes that there really is a Jewish world conspiracy
- Many young people believe that to be successful you have to win X Factor or be the next David Beckham
- A lot of folks believe that having more money will bring them more happiness
- A commonly held belief is that getting a better job (or a promotion) will bring better opportunities
- Most people believe that others will keep their promises
- Large chunks of our population believe that bankers are evil and greedy
- That we evolved from primordial soup is a commonly held belief
- "I believe that children are our future, treat them well and let them lead the way..."
- Most people believe that if you work for someone they will be honest enough to pay you
- Some people believe that cosmetic surgery will make them feel happier about who they are
- A lot of people believe that property is the safest investment
- We all believe (in varying degrees) that things can only get better
Whatever your view, we all have to put faith in something and/or someone.
To deny that we, as a species, are ultimately rational and logical and thus have no faith is to deny a fundamental facet of humankind.
We all believe.
So have a think about these few quotes on belief and feel free to add your own at the bottom.
"If you believe in what you are doing, then let nothing hold you up in your work. Much of the best work of the world has been done against seeming impossibilities. The thing is to get the work done."
Dale Carnegie
"There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them."
George Orwell
"Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable."
Oscar Wilde
"To believe in God is impossible not to believe in Him is absurd."
Voltaire
You’ll need this to stand a chance of keeping your New Year resolutions
The turn of the year is when many people decide to make some changes in their lives. But most folks overlook one important element that will make or break your decision(s) to change.
The 'New Year Resolutions' have become something of a cliche with many people (including me) having become a little cynical when folks give off a list of things that they're going to change.
I wrote about making changes here: http://www.craig-west.co.uk/2011/09/you-have-to-make-change-happen-not-just-hope-for-it/ but there is one important thing that most folks overlook when making changes in their lives.
That one thing is 'PERSISTENCE'.
You see, without persistence (or tenacity) you'll start to flag when your commitment to your resolution is tested.
What do I mean? Well, let's work through an example:
Imagine that you've decided to get fitter in 2012 by going for a run several times a week (this is very common).
So, on January 2nd (when the hangover has subsided) you go out for a short run. A great start. Yesterday was a nice day, was a bit cold but it was nice and dry and somewhat sunny (at least here in Leicester).
But how about today (January 3rd 2012) when it's cold and windy and raining? Would you go out running today? I have to admit that the idea doesn't appeal to me.
But what are you going to do if the weather outside is bad for the next two weeks? Will you invest in some waterproof running gear and go out anyway? Or will you wait until it clears up and then consider it?
Also, imagine that you normally go for a run in the evening after work. But one day, on your scheduled running day, you come home exhausted from a stressful day in the office. The last thing you feel like doing is putting on the trainers and going for a run.
What will you do, go out anyway or just veg in front of the telly?
You can probably understand that the above scenario is very common. We make resolutions with the best will in the world and then question (or even ignore) that resolution when things aren't so favourable.
So, what can you do about it to improve your chances of success?
Well, in my view, the best thing you can do is to make the effort anyway.
And the reason for this is because if you get into the habit of persisting with your commitment to change, even if it's only a small change, the psychological and emotional benefits are huge. This is when you prove to yourself that you can do it.
The key is to make regular decisions to stick with it, to the point that this new way of thinking becomes the norm. And if you do this often enough then change becomes that much easier in the long term.
So, hang in there, stick with it and ultimately you will make your New Year resolutions so much easier to achieve.
I’ve fallen off the blogging wagon but no need to panic
At the beginning of November I made a decision to write at least one blog post each week. All went well for the first five weeks and then things seemed to get a little hectic and I've missed a few.
The thing about it is that I'd got into the habit of doing it on Wednesday evening and, even though this will sound a little nerdy, I've even put it into my calendar as a recurring event at 8pm. So every Wednesday, at 7pm, I'd get a text and an email reminding me that I'm scheduled to write.
Now this may sound a little excessive but scheduling things that need to be done, even though they could be done at almost any time, gives you a much better chance if getting stuff done.
If it wasn't in my calendar and if I hadn't received the reminders then it's quite likely that I would have forgotten about writing on a weekly basis. Now that I'm in the habit of writing (and I still get the regular reminders) it means that I don't forget and even start to get a little frustrated if I've not written anything for that week.
Even better is that, because I know that I've scheduled the time to write weekly, it makes me start to think more about writing and I have begun to think about different stuff I can write about.
So if you want to get regular stuff done, why not use a calendar or reminder system to give you a better chance of not only remembering but also actually getting it done?
Diane Abbott is a racist and that makes me sad
Well this last week has certainly been one for the racists. With Diane Abbott MP making racist comments on Twitter and (yet another) sensitive millionaire footballer alleging racist taunts and abuse.
In all honesty this comes as little surprise to many people since racism is still endemic in our society and, in my opinion, it'll never go away as long as we have different skin colours and speak different languages. Ideally racism would be a non-concept. But, like it or not, racism is here to stay. I don't like it or want it, but that's the way it is here in the real world. It's naive to think it'll ever be completely eradicated.
But the most galling thing about racism is not that it happens but the reaction to it in the media and some sections of society.
But the Diane Abbott situation is worthy of note. Ms Abbott, who has a degree in history from Cambridge, wrote a sweeping generalisation that white people like to divide and rule. And I take offence at that because I don't divide or rule.
On the day that the 'Diane Abbott is a racist' Twitter scandal broke there was a black guy from a black representative group being interviewed on Sky News (can't remember who he was now). And he quite specifically said that black people can't be racist. I couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing. It made me wonder what planet he was living on because it certainly didn't seem like this one.
Thankfully , other black commentators were a little more level-headed in saying that what Diane Abbott wrote was stupid and that she should have known better considering her position and her obvious intelligence.
Even more maddening is the fact that she only apologised for offence caused, not for being a racist or making making racist comments. And I wonder whether she would have apologised had she not been told to.
She did her best to make out that she was referring to British rule during the Empire and that the comment had been taken out of context. But she hadn't actually put the tweet into such context during the Twitter discussion. A poor attempt at covering up her own racist attitude.
Even worse is that she kept her job. And that is simply because she is black. If a white front bench politician had made similar remarks he or she would have been fired within the hour.
Constance Briscoe, a highly respected black female barrister and judge, went further on BBC's Any Questions by saying that she is also a hypocrite in that she has one rule for Diane Abbot and something else for others.
Now I'm not condoning racism at all. Racism may still be rife but it's still wrong and shouldn't be acceptable to anyone. Least of all of from someone who sits on the Shadow Cabinet. Diane Abbott has an excellent track record of supporting and promoting race relations. And that's why it saddens me that one of the most intelligent people in the Parliamentary Labour Party has shown herself to be something of a racist herself.