Excerpts from "How to be Perfect" by Ron Padgett Wednesday May 30, 2012 Listen Download E-mail Share Excerpts from "How to be Perfect" by Ron Padgett Get some sleep. Excerpts from "How to be Perfect" by Ron Padgett, from How to be Perfect. © Coffee House Press, 2007. It was on this day in 1849 that Henry David Thoreau (books by this author) self-published A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, his first book. Thoreau had always been the introverted and studious one, while John was gregarious and fun-loving. Thoreau said: "To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts. And, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." It's the birthday of Harlem poet Countee Cullen (books by this author) , mostly likely born in New York City or Lexington, Kentucky, in 1903. Cullen was popular in the late '20s, and married the daughter of W.E.B.
30 Challenges for 30 Days Did you know that it takes 30 days to form a new habit? The first few days are similar as to how you would imagine the birth of a new river. Full of enthusiasm it gushes forth, only to be met by strong obstacles. The path is not clear yet, and your surroundings don’t agree. Old habits urge you to stay the same. But you need to stay determined. So, take a moment to reflect on the question ‘Who do I want to be in 5 years?’ Check out this short TED talk first to get inspired: Now pick one or more challenges and stick with them! However, be cautioned, picking too many challenges at the same time can easily result in a failure of all of them. #1 Write a I-Like-This-About-You note/text/email each day for someone (Easy) This is the perfect way to let someone else know you care. #2 Talk to one stranger each day (Hard) This is a great one to cure approaching anxiety. #3 Take one picture each day (Hard) #4 Re-evaluate one long-held belief each day (Intermediate) Do you love yourself? We recommend:
» 8 Great Anti-Hacks to Fundamentally Change Your Life Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Clay Collins of Project Liberation and The Growing Life. Albert Einstein stated that “problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” Einstein, of course, was right. Sometimes our problems require more than life hacks, tips, tweaks, etc. So What are Anti-Hacks? “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil for every one striking at the root.” – Henry David Thoreau Anti-hacks attempt to solve problems by approaching them at a higher level of thinking (the prefix “anti,” by the way, can mean “instead of” as in “anti-drug,” or “anti-folk”). A hack might help you optimize your car’s engine so you get better gas mileage, whereas an anti-hack might involve moving near your place of employment to so you can walk or bike to work. (By the way, creating a new word for an old idea can be a pretty pretentious thing. Here are some of my more offensive thoughts, packaged as … 8 Random Anti-Hacks For Living 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
6 Small Things You Can Do When You Lack Discipline Post written by Leo Babauta. Follow me on Twitter. One of the biggest problems people face is the lack of discipline — they have goals or habits they want to achieve, but lack that discipline needed to stick with it. Then we beat ourselves up about it. We feel crappy because we can’t stick with it. And that leads to more failure, because we’re forming a mindset that we don’t have the necessary discipline. Here’s what to do when you face a situation like this: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. —If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg.
Shane Koyczan