Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Feeling Good About Yourself

A lot of people sell themselves short.  Some people think they're not interesting enough to be worth knowing.  Some people think that because they don't fit a certain body image, they can't have good looking friends.

They're wrong.

However - this isn't an easy hurdle to overcome.  For a lot of people, it's easier to get the confidence they need by changing themself, instead of just accepting their own self worth.

For those interested in changing their body, I recommend P90X.  If you can't cut it, start with the P90 series.  Or just start going to to the gym.  Hell, even just eating right makes a huge difference.

So, in short, if you're worried about your body, here's a list of things you can do to fix it.

1) Cut the soda out of your diet.  That shit, in addition to making you fat, basically kills you.  Diabeetus and all that.
2) Don't eat until you're full.  Eat until you're not hungry.  You'll eat more, which'll keep the metabolism going, and you'll stop overeating.
3) Work out.

I recommend P90X if you want to work out.  It covers all your bases, and pretty much gets you going.  Easy to do in your own home for minimal cost too.

You can find out more at my colleague's blog here:  P90X - BRING IT!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Body Talks Part 1

Time to talk a little more specific.

Let's get down to the thick of things.  We're all wired a little different, but in western society, we've also all got a lot in common.  I'm blogging here from the Great Canadian North.  In particular, how we communicate with each other.  If you're reading this blog, you read english, and likely come from an english speaking community.  But far more important than the language we speak, is how we carry ourselves.  Only so much of communication is spoken - a very large part of it is nonverbal.

Without further ado, here's Part 1 of my Body Language Series: Faces: what you need to know:
(Click for link to full imagesize)

I didn't create this image, but it's the most comprehensive guide to facial expression's I've ever found.  It's technically an art guide, but it's quite applicable.


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Don't worry. Be Happy.

“Who has confidence in himself will gain the confidence of others.”
Leib Lazarow


Today's about feeling good about yourself.  You can't love others if you can't love yourself.

Everyone has problems.  Everyone feels bad about themself for some reason.  Nobody has the perfect life.  Feeling good about yourself is about not letting your issues drag you down; its about working to improve yourself.

Homework:  Write a list of the following:
The ten (10) most important things in your life right now.
The five (5) most important things you want to achieve in your list.

Order those things ranked by importance - and figure out what you need to do to get them or keep them.

Now,  all of you have some things you'd like to improve on yourself.  Things you don't like, that you want to, or feel the need to, change.
How many of those made your lists?  Are those things really important to you?  If so, get started.  It not... well, maybe they're not as important as you sometimes think they are.

Take a step back, and get a little perspective.

And as a closing treat, I have a quote for you, from my good friend God. (His blog  HERE) (No relation to any actual deity acknowledged by any faith on this planet)


Flowering
Being a seed and flowering of one’s true self is perhaps without fail the absolute greatest feat of achievement possible in this universe. Being a millionaire is insignificant. Being adjusted to this society is small and redundant. Being moral and highly seen by others is just cheap window dressing. The only thing that is truly creating a deep freedom within you is your intrinsic beingness, your essential awesome nature.
Om

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The Golden Rule

When it comes to social interaction, there's a new Golden Rule.  While the old fashioned "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" certainly applies, it's not the primary rule.

Now, your Golden Rule is: "Always leave them better than you met them." I adapted from one of the primary rules of Pickup as written by Style - you can read more about Pickup at my colleage's blog found here.

What this means for you is that you should strive to improve the lives of those around you. Be there when you're needed, be honest, and be yourself. In this day and age where we're bombarded with ideas of what we should be, most of us just need someone to appreciate us for who we are.

With everyone you meet, try to brighten their lives a little. It'll come back several times over back to you; Karma's pretty awesome that way.

Go, my disciples, and spread joy unto the world.
-K

Saturday, January 22, 2011

MotD: Never Refuse A Social Invitation

Here's a thought.
How often have you turned down a social invitation to a gathering, a group dinner, a party, or any sort of general activity simply because "you didn't really feel like it" or "you had nobody to go with."  If it's something you're interested in, you'll meet like minded people there.  The only way you'll feel like it is if you do it.

Something interesting happens when you're not getting out and meeting people, or even hanging out with a wide group of people regularly.  You lose passion for it.  Over time, you'll feel lonely, or like something's missing.  You'll look at other groups of people and wonder 'how do they find the time or the energy?'

The only way you'll ever be a social being is by simply being a social being.  So next time someone invites you out to something, throw some nice clothes on, makeup if you'd like, and get out there.  Humans require interaction to have a healthy mindset; staying at home will depress you.  Live life like you mean it.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Online Communities

You spend the better part of your free time in front of a computer?  You're reading this blog, which likely means you've either got a blog of your own, or experimented with one, or are planning to start one at some point.  Now, I can't really speak for my entire readerbase, but I'm willing to bet a lot of you spend more than that 'recommended amount of time' (as per medical professionals) in front of a PC daily.  Heck, my job keeps me at a computer for 7 hours a day, and then I go home to one.

So, you don't get out as much as you like.  Well, that's not a problem, this is the Internet.  It's easier than ever to meet people.  It's not even worth mentioning as news if a couple meets online and gets married, be it on a social networking site, or a computer game.  Heck, one of my best friends plays WoW, and currently he and his sweetie that he met on Warcraft are shopping for a house together.

If you're spending too much time in front of a computer, but are still looking to meet new people, here's where people are interacting on the interwebs or the blogosphere.

So here's a link of some of the biggest online communities.  It's of course, not perfectly to scale (nobody that's got  that kind of data would actually undertake something like this), but it's about as accurate as you're going to find. 


Found at XKCD
(Click on the picture for a link to a massive version).

Offtopic: XKCD is one of my favourite online comics.
As per the creator of XKCD: Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Welcome

Welcome to Social Intelligence.

The point of this blog is to post things I learn about interacting with people, and include references to other blogs and information regarding the same thing.

A lot of what I'll be posting here may be old news to some of you.  The blog isn't going to be so much new information as a repository of info.

I'll be posting pictures, links to other blogs, articles I've read or wrote, just about thing.

To start though, a quote, for those of you who're looking to meet people, make new friends, or just expand your social horizon.


"The absolute best way to meet new people is to have something better to do than meet people."

This applies to both sexes, in all walks of life.  Volunteer, join a team, go out with friends... whatever.  If you're out, relaxed, enjoying yourself or doing something, then you meet people without thinking it.  If you're just going out to try to meet people, you'll probably overthink something and just screw with your head.

-K