My Morning Motivation Theory and the Most Important Decision of the Day

It's been a while since I've written about something that isn't about my relationship status or alcohol and therefore something needs to change. I've also not given a lot of thought to my last 4 or 5 posts for whatever reason - I'm going to say that they 'came from the heart'. Today's post has required thought though and it is something that I'm looking forward to sharing with you this evening. I hope that I've whetted your appetite with the title; although it doesn't roll off the tongue, it should get the punters in over the next few days. It has also been a while since I've used the word 'theory' in my blogging escapades and so it excites me to be able to bring you my 'Morning Motivation Theory' tonight! The rest will be explained in due course...

The Commercialised Day of the Love Giving Obligation

After successfully securing my solitude for another year I feel, more than ever, to be qualified to deliver this post to you tonight. For the purposes of the this article you should strive to think of me as a half-eaten Kit-Kat or an odd sock because it will help you put it in some kind of context. This time last year (less one day) I wrote a similar post lambasting the commercialised day of the love giving obligation that is Valentine's day. Here I am again, a year on, still with a bee in my bonnet about it. The only issue is that I'm tired of digging my heels into things all of the time so the master-plan for this week is to give both sides of this story. Tonight's post is going to be all about the heel pressure and then Wednesday's post should ease it off somewhat - it's only fair. The only caveat that I serve to you about this whole thing is that this post promises to be much like a red rose: beautiful to some but prickly to others. Look away now if you think you're in love.

I'm a Local...Get Me Out of Here!

Facebook is a marvel don't you think? Without it we would not be able to get our grievances off of our chests or read about those of other people that seem to haunt their lives so. It seems that every time I click onto Facebook I see at least one 'friend' moan about where they live and the fact that they have to 'git oot ae this place'. Firstly I would like to point out that I detest people writing like that. I was once a person of such literally laziness but I've since shaken my bones to become the very person that you read today. The only time that you'll catch me writing anything like that would be out of mockery of people that are the same age as me but act as if they are 12. Anyway, back to my main point. People don't ever seem to be happy with where they come from. They always seem to feel that the grass is much greener somewhere else but my view is that the place you live is what you make of it, not what it says on the tin.

The 2011 Reality

I love to listen to adults talking about the past and what the good (and bad) things were from their time as a young adult. In many respects the 'now generation' is living the high life because we've not lived through a war that's affected the home front; we've not had to do mandatory service in the army; and as young people nowadays we have more rights than ever. We live in a modern era where the internet provides the basis for almost everything we do and when we can access just about anything we want (from the past and the present) at the click of a button. We have access to brilliant education and we are encouraged to thrive by our elders instead of being ignored. The question I then ask is this: why do some people think we've got it bad?

Embrace Debt for an Easier Life

Apologies for not posting yesterday but last night was my flat-warming party and I couldn't find the time to post. But anyway here I am, slightly worse for wear from last night and ready to post again. Today's post is about something that I noticed today (yes, that means that I didn't even have an idea for a post yesterday!) when I was walking through the university campus. It's freshers week at the moment and so the central area of the campus is very busy with students of all ages. What that then means is that you catch small chunks of a lot of conversations as you walk past people. It's usually quite funny when you catch little parts of other people's conversations because you don't have any context as to what they are talking about and the words therefore take on potentially wide ranging meanings. The thing about today was that I noticed one word come up at least twice in conversations that I passed that can't really be misconstrued - debt. It appears to be the word on every student's lips at this time of the year because this is when we start taking it on, safe in the knowledge that one day it will all have to be paid back. 

Euphoria by Night

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now - well over a year actually - but it only ever seems to pop into my head just after I've done my blogging for the week, stays there until the weekend and then I forget about it by Monday. It's actually a little strange that it ever slips my mind because it's something that I do think about quite a lot and it also fascinates me as well - the memory moves in mysterious ways. Picture the scene: you go around to a friends house armed with a 4 pack of beer with the intention of slowly sipping through them. You don't of course because when you are talking and having a good time you're drinking arm often slips into over time and before you know it you've got 4 empty cans and a slight gassy feeling. This has happened to me on a fair few occasions (although, let's be honest, I don't often only take 4 poxy beers to someone's house) but there have been a couple of times in my life when it's turned out to be a good thing and it is those times that today's post is based around.

Thought Provoking

With only being able to post once last week I've been thinking about something new that I could do for this week that will quench to almost palpable thirst for posts that I can sense from my readers. The thing that I've come up with almost seems like a contradiction to that because my plan is to write a shorter post with a single line that is sure to get you thinking. So today's post is going to be less than long and might fail to inspire many people but I hope that it hits home with at least a handful of people.

I heard this line a long time ago on a (very) early morning jazz radio program when I was heading on holiday - the reason I was up at that time listening to the radio. I can't quite remember what they were talking about apart from the fact that it was something to do with jazz but it was something that really hit a chord with me and it had me thinking for most of my journey: to feel completely free you must first fully restrict yourself. It was something to do with jazz in the context of the program but I felt that it could apply to life in general. The message I took was that to truly feel the freedom of a holiday or just time off you have to fully commit yourself to the complete opposite, be it university, school or work. Yes everyone enjoys time off from things but it is my feeling that you have to earn that time off by fully restricting yourself first.

Thanks for reading my short but hopefully thought provoking post today!

Martin

The Importance of Remembering

Notebooks. I live and swear by them for everything from university lecture notes to writing in my spare time and I've got a fair few floating around the place filled with just about everything you could think about writing down. In the last couple of days I've found myself searching out some of my older ones and having a thumb through them to see what they hold. Most of the stuff in them is lists, little bits of maths from my time at high school and lots and lots of poetry but, no matter what the content is, everything holds a memory for me. It is one of my habits that I'm most happy about because through these multiple notebooks I've managed (inadvertently) to paint a picture of myself from about 3 or 4 years ago which otherwise would have been lost and fleeting flashbacks in my head would be all that I have left. I find that it's important to remember who you were as well as who you are. The person that you are now owes a lot to the person that stood in your shoes in the past and having things to remind you of how you once were is one of the most invaluable tools at your disposal as we all seek to better ourselves.

A Dreaming Psycho

How often do you remember your dreams? I think that I'm lucky if I can remember (even parts of) mine twice in the space of about two weeks. I know people that can trot theirs off from start to finish and it makes me slightly jealous - until recently anyway. I had a dream a couple of weeks back that really creeped me out and put me off wanting to remember my dreams so much. Below I'll give a brief description as to what happened and how I felt when I woke up and then, if you haven't closed your browser by that point, I'm going to see if this reflection has helped. I've heard that you should write your dreams down when they are still fresh in your memory because over time it builds up a picture of your subconscious. I think that my notebook would be a very slim volume with a few less than savory reminders of my night-time wonderings.

My Passion for the Blog

Standing on the brink of another break from writing this blog, I've suddenly got a greater passion for it than ever - so much so that it's going to be hard not being able to post for the 3 weeks that I'm on the continent. That said though, I'm going to be traveling for 3 weeks which will take the edge off this disappointment somewhat. It'll also give me a chance to think about new things to write and might make the things that I write about more interesting. I feel that the best way to make your writing interesting is by being able to include personal experiences in it - something that I should have in abundance come the end of June.

Human Sculptors

If I've never used the phrase 'learn from your mistakes' in at least one of my blog posts in the past then I'll be shocked. I feel that the sentiment behind saying such a thing can also be applied to good things in your life: 'learn from your successes' so to speak. It is through the things that we do, and the things we don't do for that matter, that we become who we are. If we were all to sit indoors all day not doing anything or testing ourselves against anyone then we would remain the same until the day we decide to get up and move. It is through physical and mental acts that we create who we are and, as the title of this post suggests, sculpt ourselves in the way that we want.

A Life Without the Monarchy

You know you have problems when even your habits (good or bad) are over taken by exam preparation. I've been writing two blog posts a week for quite a while and I was starting to find it something of a habit on Monday and Wednesday nights to sit down, write a post and then see what people thought - this did not happen on Monday. For those of you that have found themselves looking out for my posts (and I know that there are at least a few) you will have been scouring your Facebook feed, looking in desperation for what I promised a few people would be an interesting post. It wasn't there, as I imagine you will have noticed by now, and for this I apologise. It wasn't until I was settling into bed for a well deserved sleep that I realised I had forgotten something. I had a strong taste of mint in my mouth so I realised that it can't have been my teeth and so I quickly realised that I was without a blog post - that and I could hear the sound of crying coming from some of you die hard readers as you refreshed your feed over and over again. I'll try and not do it again without prior warning but my head is fairly mushed up with other stuff just now so no promises! Today's, I can happily inform you, will be on your feed. In fact that's probably how you got here so of course it was. I've been looking forward to writing this post for a multitude of reasons, some of which I am going to cover in this, my (recently changed) views on the British Monarchy. 

A Life Without Newspapers

I suppose I was being a little ambitious when I asked for some form of debate on my first 'Life Without...' post last week. In fact I am perfectly aware that people don't really like to comment on the sort of stuff that I'm writing about because it's there to be read, not ripped to shreds. I'm happy that people take time to read my posts; it might be a little to much to ask them to take even more time to write about them as well. So with that I'll move on to the second of my 'life without...' musings - newspapers. It strikes me that I am becoming a part of a rare breed that actually do read the papers. Of course there are people that have been doing it for many years and will continue to do it for as long as newspapers are available, but how long will that actually be? With the growth in the use of the internet and, in particular, portable devices that can access the internet anywhere and any time, where does that leave the good old broadsheet? How long will it be before the only thing that newspapers are used for are as a novelty lining for a bag of chips? In many ways it scares me. 

A Life Without Celebrities

Aren't you all just so excited by this new series of posts that I'm going to do? Well it's yet to be seen whether or not they are going to be any good but I'll have a stab at them and see where it takes me - or us (profound huh?). The first is a constant subject of conversation amongst just about every group of people - celebrities. How different would our lives be without constant speculation and news about the same people, about the same stuff? When you watch 'celebrity' versions of game shows and see the people that the production teams have chosen, you really have to wonder if one person's idea of a celebrity is the same as the next's. The stock lines that I hear when a program comes on is 'who are they' or 'what have they done to make them a 'celebrity'? It often makes me laugh (as I'm sure it does you as well) when you compare yourself to those famous people. What have they got that we don't have? What do they bring to the world that is so much better than we can? I certainly believe that we could live without them in our own lives but still I think I might be in the minority with this, my first 'life without...' post.

We're Brought up to Tell the Truth - It's all a Lie

I still remember writing a post this time last year when I was away on holiday. The difference between now and then, amongst other things (or inter alia - damn I've been wanting to use that for a while!) is that I have an internet connection where I am - this is fresh off the press today people! What this leaves me with is the ability to write a post without having to: a) predict the future; and b) without having to adjust my writing style thereof. It also means that you lovely people won't go to bed this evening without that little taste of a ramble still in your mouths - something I'm sure will make you all very grateful of our quickly expanding technology network. The topic for today's post struck me as I was walking along the dunes. I passed some people on the path and I happened to catch a little bit of conversation: something about telling lies (or telling the truth, my memory fails me). In the rest of the time I spent out in the fresh air that day, I pondered the idea of lying. Is it as bad as people make it out to be? Where would some of the most successful people in the world be without lies? How often do people (even the ones we trust) lie to us? We just don't know.

The Voice in our Heads

Today's entry promises to be something of a short post since I am pretty tired from playing football for a large chunk of the day. It's nice to have good weather (if a little bit unpredictable) for stuff like that - lifts your mood somewhat. Today's post is about the things that go on inside our heads that make us go stir crazy - I'll try and keep this as cheery as possible, I promise! People say that talking to yourself is one of the first signs of madness but we all do it. Does this make us all crazy or is this the norm? I'm not really talking about vocalising with yourself but more the stuff that goes on inside your head. I'm talking to myself inside my head as I type this post and you'll talk inside your head to yourself when you have finished reading - it's perfectly natural. But what of those things that we spend hours thinking about (the opposite sex, exams etc)? Those are the kind of things that can really eat a person up something proper and I think we all need to learn how to deal with it before we can ever call ourselves happy.

The Emergence of Me

Mondays are back. After last week's lapse in posting, the day that is dedicated to what's going on in my life has returned - don't close the window yet! The funny thing about missing last week's post is that I find myself having two things to write about for today's post which is a very rare thing indeed. The fact that I didn't have anything to write about last week anyway also suggests that last week was a little bit more stimulating for me that my last week of university - how very weird indeed. I'm not going to get into the thing that I'm not going to write about today simply because it's a little bit of a touchy subject at the moment and in some ways I might be able to incorporate it into today's musings. My post today is about me pulling myself out of my shell in the last year or so. The fact that I had a week of doing almost nothing last week gave me a little time to think about the whole thing and this is what I've come up with...

Natural Selection

To open today's post with anything but an apology (or a least an explanation) for the absence of Monday's post would be nothing but rude. My body seems to think that it's in holiday mode and to a certain extent it is. I've had my last classes of the academic year and I've got a whole 6 weeks to play with before my exams come around - who can blame me for missing a 'Me on Mondays' post? Well if anyone can then it would be myself and I do and to be perfectly (and selfishly) honest, the only person I have to answer to is me so if anyone missed out on Monday then it was yours truly. On top of that, a Monday post requires something interesting to have happened in my recent life or at least for something interesting to have occurred to me about myself and nothing really has since last week. Silence is golden and short of blowing my own trumpet (again) I didn't really have anything to write about anyway. But anyway, moving on to today's post which will hopefully make up for a quiet week. As I reached for my 5th or 6th cup of coffee yesterday I wondered to myself if there might be a more natural way to wake myself up. That, in turn, got me thinking about what is actually 'natural' - it turns out that it was a bigger question than I originally thought.

The Two Views of Life

I sometimes wonder if I come a little bit too close to talking about myself all the time in this blog. The idea was to talk about myself on Mondays and then the rest of the world on Wednesdays but I sometimes wonder if I cross the two over a little bit too much. Today's post dances nicely along the line between the two as well but then again I'm going to (try to) avoid talking about myself too much! Monday's post wasn't one of my best because I actually felt a little bit drained after the weekend. Not that it was particularly taxing but I certainly think that having a good time can tire you out. Call me stupid but when you're having a good time you're inevitably going to be using more energy than when you aren't - it follows a fairly coherent line of thought if you ask me. After what was an awesome weekend I felt lethargic and to a certain extent I still do. I think I'll go back to being unenthusiastic for a few days to see if I can get my mojo back - or maybe I'll just start going to my bed earlier! Today's post is all about the two ways that you can look at everything we do in life. In one of last week's posts I talked about the difference between policy and operational decisions and today I'm going to talk about another two-sided thing - who needs tripartite concepts when all you need is 2?

Policy and Operational Decisions

Yes, it was only a matter of time before I started to use analogies relating to the stuff that I'm learning at university. It's a habit that I've developed and I'm not surprised that its managed to worm its way into my blog - for better or worse, I'm yet to see. I don't actually think that this can be a bad thing however as it makes me feel like I'm challenging myself intellectually and that never hurts anyone. As the title of this post suggests, I am going to talk about the decisions that we all make and the effect that they have on us. Firstly I should probably just provide a little bit of background as to where this analogy comes from before I just fire into metaphors and the like. In public authorities you have what are called policy decisions and other things that are called operational decisions. The policy ones are the high level decisions that are made which affect everything, meaning that they have a long term and wide effect on things. Operational decisions on the other hand are the ones that are made 'on the ground' and apply only to the situation in hand and the best way to deal with that situation. The analogy I'm going to draw from this is that the decisions we make in life fall very much under these 2 categories. Firstly you make huge choices that affect your future and then you make those day-to-day choices that only really apply to that day or at the very most, your short-term future. Let me explain further...