Tag: happiness

Actually Being Happy During the Holidays…..and Beyond

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

I thought I would depart from my usual application citation as I have just read a great article by author Jeff Haden, who writes for Inc. Magazine. I follow Jeff’s writing on LinkedIn. Instead of just Tweeting about his article, I was inspired to write about the content a bit and also offer his article up for your enjoyment as well.

The name of the article is, “10 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Incredibly Happy”.

I’ll give a quick run-down of the list here. Jeff goes into great detail on each point and provides a ton of links to further his case for each point.

  1. Exercise
  2. Get good and more sleep
  3. Spend more time with friends and family
  4. Get outside, preferably in a rural setting
  5. Help others
  6. Smile
  7. Plan a trip
  8. Meditate
  9. Move closer to work
  10. Practice Gratitude

He also offers an 11th point, getting older; which I’m sure we will all have to do sooner or later so not much choice on that one.

Strangely, eating more vegetables was not on the list. Sorry mom, you must have been wrong.

What struck me about his list was that there are at least 4 or 5 of these things that I keep meaning to do, but never seem to take the time to explore myself. They are all great ideas that, when practiced, not only have the result of making you a happier person, but also bring you back to your “center” and give you a sense that you have many important, intangible things in this world that money cannot buy.

It is a given that this time of year is full of top ten lists, mostly about pop culture garbage. It is ideas as expressed in Jeff’s article that convey the real and heartfelt things that really matter in this life. Practice being grateful for the things you have instead of wanting the things you don’t have. And SMILE!  My wife reminds me of this all the time. You can’t help but have a better feeling if you truly put some effort into it.

It is easy to dismiss such things as psycho-babel and not invest in yourself in such ways. But since these methods were scientifically proven, surely they must be given some rational credit. If you need an excuse, just say you read it on the internet so it must be true!

In all seriousness, I wish all our readers a Happy Holiday Season and hope that all of you can find true happiness in your life.

Neal Raker, Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com

So many hobbies…. So little time

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

In case you haven’t read my previous blog posts I tend to blog quite a bit about my hobbies.  I tend to consider myself a jack of all trades, as I like to think I know enough about most subjects to at least get me in trouble.  My hobbies include, motorcycles, marksmanship, anything with an engine, spending time with family, video games, juggling, working on electronics, wood working, car stereos, designing gadgets, and even photography.  Some of my hobbies are projects that I have around my home that are all in some stage of being done.  I tend to float from one to the other when I start to hit a wall on one I will simply walk to another and work on it to help get a fresh mind with the first.  Slowly but surely they all get completed in a timely manner and I’m always pleased with the outcome.

One of the projects I currently have is a 1970’s pinball machine my parents had in their basement.  While it halfway works it is a true wiring nightmare.  This is one project that may get terminated due to the cost of repairs needed.   However, I do love the hum all the electro-mechanical switches make when you kick it on.  It’s not like all the new computerized units where you don’t hear the relays arching and the levers kicking.  I am normally tinkering on this during the winter months when it is too cold to be out in the garage.

                                                     

The two hobbies that I feel help me to relax and bring the most enjoyment are photography and motorcycles.  That’s why whenever I am out on a ride as soon as we stop the camera comes out.  Or in most cases now, the GoPro gets slapped on the bike before we leave with a full battery and empty memory card.  When at Deal’s Gap last week I was running three cameras, one on my bike, one on the bike my brother in-law was one, and one on my father in-laws Honda Pilot.  Since I was in the lead and I am a little more advanced in riding than the others I was only in their video until we got to the start of Deal’s Gap.

When I was going through “The Gap” there are all kinds of overlooks and views that you can pull off an overlook the Smokeys.  For this trip I was more focused on letting my knee pucks touch that lovely Tennessee asphalt.  Now for the rest of the trip I was the guy behind the camera the entire time.  I was constantly snapping pictures of Madelyn and my wife, Beth, along with all of the in-laws.  I took hundreds of pictures through the week and well over 30 GB of video on the GoPros.

The problem then comes to time to process all of these.  As I type this blog in one window I’m converting the video from my father in-laws trip through Deal’s Gap in another so I can post it to Youtube.  Time seems to be getting less and less available for these hobbies and life doesn’t seem to slow down at all.  I find that most nights I will be sitting on the couch much like Lee Evans was in his blog yesterday, and have a laptop on trying to either weed through pictures or process and edit video.  While this does get stressful because I feel that I am behind on getting videos out and pictures sent to family, it is still relaxing because as I am looking through the pictures or clipping videos I get to relive those moments.  The reason I am always doing this at night after Madelyn has gone to sleep and Beth and I have discussed the days events and what the next day holds, is there is no time like the present for family or friends.  You never know when that time will end.  So whether you’re in the middle of a sentence in your blog, or making that final cut for that furniture project make sure you take a minute to just be together with the ones you love, turn off the phones, TV, and all the other technology.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer / Jack of All Trades
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF