HeartBeat

From an early age, technology is placed into the hands of children. Kids are arriving in school at 5 years old lacking the dexterity to hold a pencil. Fine motor skills are troublesome as is the lack of exercise and outdoor experiences. There is a tendency to use screens to soothe and pacify kids, which sets patterned precedence of relying on devices to placate emotions. Plagiarism and cheating are on the rise while critical thinking has declined. Students struggle with using technology as a productivity tool, focusing instead on entertainment, social apps, and gaming. Multi-tasking is learned at a young age and productivity is decreased and performance drops. From a physical health standpoint, obesity is among the most harmful effects of technology addiction as people tend to eat unhealthy snacks and exercise less while engrossed in their devices. Also, take heed of the exhaustive list of other health-related issues: circulation problems, poor posture, headaches, loss of he...

Perception and reality are two different things. We often confuse perception with reality. Metaphorically speaking, a lighthouse is a beacon. It's something people who are lost can look towards for guidance to certainty. It has often been said that your perception is your reality. At a very early age, our brains begin to identify complex patterns of behavior and ingrain our mode of thinking. In these instances, we very quickly formulate a hypothesis and create our perceptions. So here's the thing, once we develop an opinion, the brain works hard at confirming it as a reality. The brain has an ego. It never wants to be wrong and searches for data to validate its predetermined perception, regardless of whether it is, in fact, legitimate data. Undisputed, this perception eventually declares a firm reality. In short, perception equates to the sum of our past conditioning. Google has made information very accessible. We can search for information to back any opinion an...

We all require time alone. Yes, even the most gregarious outgoing people benefit from solitude. I cherish time alone when I crave good art or music, or lose myself in a good book, or delve into a personal project or home improvement plan. When I carve out that time for me, I can intentionally focus on those activities as well as my running, hiking, biking, beach walking, or even prepping healthy meals. Sometimes I need to be alone to just do nothing, maybe float on the water. Our alone time revitalizes and replenishes us, grounding us in our own company. If sitting alone with your thoughts scares you, then that is precisely what you need to do. I need to proceed with caution as I know I must discern between solitude and isolation. When I intend to hide, withdraw, or not deal with my harsh reality, that is a huge red flag for me, a bitter reminder of my past. The easy path is to cower in an insulating, protective bubble. I am not saying this is wrong, but I am advising not to st...

Given all the listening that we do, you would think we'd be good at it! In fact, most of us are not, and research suggests that we only remember between 25 percent and 50 percent of what we hear. Let’s break that down, when you talk to your boss, colleagues, friends, or partner for 10 minutes, they pay attention to less than half of the conversation.  If I had to define my greatest grievance, without hesitation, I would say interrupting. Chronic interruption obstructs the flow of free thought. In my opinion, interrupting springs from the desire to be right, to know more, to be the expert. Often I find personal agendas are injected, and the "one issue on the table at a time" rule is abandoned. Sometimes it’s just a case of the excitement to connect and share. It disturbs me more though when I stand guilty of interrupting others.  There are a few methods I have learned to help combat interrupters. When I am about to give a prolonged presentation or share a long...