Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about different approaches and methodologies for living especially with the recent publishing of my book, The Common Thread, on what living correctly means in our modern world. These approaches include anything from a belief system to the common proverb. How does one sort through all of these ideas to come up with something truthful? In The Common Thread I detail a methodology of understanding and pursuing what’s important to you, but I want to speak here about the rational approach for absorbing information.

Thinking rationally is not always easy and not always fun, but the results it yields are far greater than any alternative. The proverbs and approaches frequently quoted to me by people I encounter are often blindly adopted without considering what the person was actually saying. Did the person live a few hundred years ago? Have we made advancements since then? Is it necessary to update their thinking for the modern age? Are they even someone you should listen to in the first place? Is it a requirement to buy a product to achieve what they’re talking about? Did the thousands of people who achieved it before the product existed require that product?

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When you decide to find your passion, you’re making an important commitment to yourself. You’re saying that you’re a top priority and you’ll be finding the things in life that you truly enjoy. When you have a true passion for life you never feel like life is a chore. Your whole attitude and personality may even shift for the better.

If you want to love life, you need to pursue your passions. Don’t waste anymore time and get going!

Try some of the items on this list to light your fire:

1. Start with Your Talents. Everyone has a special talent or hobby. You don’t have to be the best at something, just come up with a subject that you enjoy. Pick something that always makes you happy. Pick an activity that always makes you lose track of time. You can then decide to take it one step further to make it your passion. Can you write a book on the subject? Can you become an expert? Can you make a career out of it? Ask yourself these important questions.

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Image Courtesy of Holly Bryan

Since re-igniting PickTheBrain six months ago, I am truly humbled and overwhelmed by the continued support of our loyal, enthusiastic and enlightened community…

My sincerest wishes to all of you – your friends and family – for a very Happy Holidays and a Spiritually prosperous New Year.

In the coming year, PickTheBrain looks forward to bringing you many new features, articles and authors and we are excited for you to be a part of it.

A special thanks to all of our writers, authors, and guest bloggers for providing such great content. PTB wouldn’t be possible without all of your hard work and inspiration.

May your journey for 2010 be one of much Learning and Loving!

All The Best,

Erin

What is your purpose? Your destiny? Have you known for some time what you are meant to do for a career, but you just aren’t sure how to transfer it to real life? Are you still searching for that path you can call your very own? Everyone was blessed with certain gifts, talents and personality traits that can be transferred into a fulfilling, satisfying and financially prosperous line of work. Some people know from the get-go what they want to be when they grow up. Others, like me, find their purpose through an evolvement of life’s experiences and challenges. Either way, you come to find that it is perfectly right for you.

I truly believe that you have the full potential to pinpoint, develop and achieve your dream career. Yes, you! One of the things that really saddens me is when I see someone with such potential for greatness, who is not allowing themselves to step into it and fully own it. I can share with you the important do’s and don’ts and give you valuable tools and support; however, you need to be the one to take that first step.

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At the end of a year, we tend to look back at what we’ve accomplished – and what we want to go on and achieve. I know that in past years, I’ve often wondered where my time went. Do you feel like that, as though you’ve not really managed to do all that much over the past twelve months? Do you feel like you’re constantly busy – but without much to show for it?

We’ve all got twenty-four hours in the day and, like it or not, your time is going somewhere. Here’s how to find out where – and how to make some adjustments to ensure more of your time is being spent on exactly what you want to spend it on.

Time Logging

Known as time logging or time tracking, this is the practice of recording what you do at intervals throughout the day. It might sound like a waste of time – but it’s incredibly good at revealing weaknesses you didn’t know you had. (I know that doesn’t sound terribly enticing!)

There are several ways to do this: find one which is as simple and unobtrusive for you as possible. A couple that work for me are:

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Life’s hard, isn’t it? There are lots of things in life that you shouldn’t have to do, and work is one of them. So don’t waste another second of your time in feeling good about it? With my top ten tips for feeling utterly miserable at work, you’ll soon be walking around with a permanent frown and a head full of misery!

Focus on problems, especially ones that you can’t control This is the most important skill to master. If you can crack this one then all the rest will be easy. Here we go. You should always look for problems in every situation. When one problem appears to have been solved, which does occasionally happen for some reason, look for others. The great thing here is that there are always problems – they are everywhere, so it’s really easy to focus on them. This means you don’t have to spend a lot of time finding problems because they tend to present themselves naturally, and you can focus all your energy on complaining as loudly and as widely as possible. As well as finding problems, it’s absolutely vital that you spend as much time and energy as possible complaining about them. This basic skill of complaining about problems is the foundation to a truly miserable life, and at work you have ample opportunity to practice this skill.

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Image Courtesy of Tom Podolec

Figuring out why people procrastinate is simple, it’s figuring out how to get over it that’s difficult. Overcoming procrastination is at the top of many people’s lists for bettering themselves. If you keep procrastination to a minimum you’ll lead a productive and efficient and likely happy life. Who wouldn’t want this for themselves?

In order to stop procrastinating now, consider the following procrastination tips:

1.    Deal with Your Stress. Many people find themselves procrastinating because they lead stressful lives. You can solve many problems by dealing with your stress in a healthy way. Start getting enough sleep. Take plenty of time to relax. Ask for help when you need it. Find something that works for you.

2.    Set a Schedule. It may help you to get a day planner or other type of scheduling plan. Not having a set schedule is one of the main reasons why people procrastinate. It’s easy to forget to do something, or to avoid doing something if you’re not holding yourself responsible at the end of the day. Look at your schedule throughout the day and make sure that you stick to it.

*   Another tip to remember is to set attainable goals for yourself. If you try to cram too much into one day, your body and mind will fight it with procrastination. Also, make sure you schedule in time for you to relax too.

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Image courtesy of Isadore Weiner/Illinois State Museum

Written by Vincent Kovar

We’ve all had that sensation of reading a selection of text then, only moments later, not remember anything we’ve just read. Sometimes we can read something over and over but never really feel like we “get it.”

Reading comprehension is crucial for every profession and lifestyle. Whether you’re reading a repair manual or the latest business best-seller, comprehension tools add value to the time spent over the page.

Here are 5 quick strategies for increasing your reading comprehension, remembering material and sparking new ideas.

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Who’s in charge of your life?

That might sound like a strange question. But bear with me here. How often have you said something like:

• I’d start my own business if only my partner was more supportive.
• It’s my uncle’s fault that I smoke.
• Well, I wouldn’t drink so much if it wasn’t for my friends.
• My boss really stresses me out.
• I can’t quit my job to travel the world … what would people think?
• I have to lose weight so that I can look more attractive.

In each of these cases, there’s a “should” or a “can’t” that’s been dictated by someone other than you. Perhaps it’s a family member, your peer group, or society as a whole. And many of us are prone to ditching responsibility in this way. I know that I, for one, find it much easier to blame my problems on someone else than to admit that they’re down to me!

Here are three ways to wrest back control:

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Written by Vincent Kovar

The art of memory, or Ars Memorativa in the Latin, has fascinated us since…well, I can’t quite remember. From the ancient Greeks to early Christian monks, scholars have employed a number of mental techniques in training their minds to keep track of the burgeoning field of human knowledge. Nowadays however, there seem to be so many more things to keep track of. Not only is the overall amount of human knowledge growing at an exponential rate but each of us is expected to memorize a dizzying array of minutiae. From what floor our dentist office is on, to an average of seven passwords and PIN numbers per person, we use our memories more than ever before. It should come as no surprise however, that those clever ancients were willing to put their memory where their mouth was.

Here is a fistful of five foods for the memory which are both respected by science and revered by the ancients.

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