These 10 Habits of Successful People Will Change Your Life

It's coming--or it's here: the time to make New Years Resolutions. Will you make them and break them, or crumble under the pressure and not make any at all? Generally, people take either one of those two paths--but there is a third: Muster up some courage, and make them, and vow that you'd rather die a painful death than break one of them. Seem extreme? Well, making changes to your life often is.

What kinds of things should you resolve to do? Well, the answer to that is pretty simple: things that will in some way improve your life. Changes in your life that will help you, say, accomplish goals. Don't we all have goals--dreams perhaps--that we'd like to attain, but often don't feel we can? This is the focus I am taking in this article: Resolutions that will help you attain your goals. 

How do you do that? Well, that's pretty simple too: take on the habits of those who have attained goals at the highest level. 

So a resolution is like a habit? Yes. 

But what's a habit? Well, a habit, if I were to take the time to give you a detailed etymology of the word, works out to something that you dwell in--a kind of dwelling place (like 'habitat' and 'habituate'). So, for instance, if you have a habit of smoking or drinking too much, that will define your way of living, your way of being. 

So what you want to do is put on good habits and take off bad ones--and that's where the really hard work comes in. You are literally striving to live a completely different way, which will require time and patience.

So are you saying, then, that resolutions are like habits, and thus require time and effort to change them? Yes, that's what I'm saying; additionally, I'm taking some of the heat off the resolution, and extending it over a period of time--say several years. Changing your way of living will take some time. 

So what are some resolutions...er...habits, that will help me achieve my goals? Well, there are many, but let's look at about 10 of them.

1. Wake up early: Yes, there are many cases of successful people who sleep late; but if you have children who chew up all your time in a given day, you need to work while they're sleeping. The end of the day is often too late. Getting up an hour or more early in the morning and getting to work at something you want to accomplish is a great way to be successful--even if that time is simply for yourself to visualize your day, engage in spiritual practice, or just have a good quiet cup of coffee.

2. Don't check email first thing in the morning: I know you're itching to check your email; and maybe you have a boss who likes to send 2am emails to stay on top of his or her staff; but it's amazing how quickly checking email can sap your energy and drive. Taking control of your email is one of the biggest challenges you'll face to achieving your goals. The best way to spend your morning is more reflectively: what do you want/need to accomplish that day that will get you closer to your goals? 

3. Make lists: I knew a guy who was a best-selling author--his books sold millions of copies. He had a tremendous amount of personal drive. One of the things he did consistently was make lists of things he needed to accomplish, from finishing off a manuscript, to researching the next one, to attending conferences and courses. Making a list is key to staying focused on what you need to get done, and will help you get closer to your goals.

4. Journal: If you don't write down your goals, you'll find it hard to focus on them. Have you heard of the guy who wrote down $1 million on a slip of paper, along with the future date on which he'll have earned it? There's power in writing down our goals. Many people use thick black notebooks in which they write down their thoughts, reflect on victories and set backs, etc. It doesn't have to be a leather-bound legal-sized paper journal handmade in Venice--it can simply be a wire-bound notebook from Staples. The important thing is you write in it. 

5. Read: "Leaders are readers." Have you heard that line? It's true. But I'm not talking about the latest from Stephen King, but rather books that will help you gain better perspective or teach you new things. One of the most incredible and life changing books to read are biographies, especially in your areas of interest. How did Benjamin Franklin work? How did Frank Lloyd Wright design buildings? How did Picasso paint? How did Lee Iacocca lead? Want to read something about achieving goals? Look no further than Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance." 

6. Eat healthy: It's hard to achieve your goals when you're living on junk food, smokes, and alcohol. And you don't need to be wealthy to eat well. The simple thing about eating is eat small portions of proteins, smaller portions of carbohydrates, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. And if you take in less calories than you burn off, you'll stay trim and full of energy. 

7. Exercise: No, this isn't tough either--just walk around the block a few times a day, or get your body moving around. If you're at the office a lot, consider a stand-up desk. The basic thing is you need to keep your body moving around--a sedentary life is a short-lived life. 

8. Avoid TV: You won't have time to read that new biography of Elon Musk when you're languishing in front of Property Brothers for six hours a night will you? Or that hockey game that only leaves you biting your nails and drinking those extra beers to get you through the stress of your team losing another one. Best to turn it off, and pick up a good book. Your life is made up of individual moments, and it's how you spend each moment that makes up the whole of your future. You can burn up a lot of life watching other people's accomplished goals, and passing up on yours.

9. Do--don't feel: Waiting for the inspiration to come before you start out on that goal? Too late. Those who accomplish goals simply work--even when they don't feel like it. What ever it is, you're going to have to work at it regardless of how you feel. In fact, you're going to have to battle back negative talk all the time--those voices in your head that tell you you're crazy. 

10. Mindset: Carol Dweck, well-known Stanford psychologist, divides people into two camps: those who have a growth mindset and those who have a fixed mindset. Those who grow take on challenges, see the glass half full, and see failure as a learning experience to get better. Those with a fixed mindset sabotage their growth by shying from challenge, complaining about the glass being empty, and get depressed when they fail. What mindset do you have? If you have a fixed mindset, you can change it. By working toward your goal and following these simple tips, you're already on your way to a growth mindset. And did you know that when you change your thinking, take on hard challenges, and pursue your goals, you're actually growing your brain? Yup--just ask Carol Dweck:

Carol Dweck on Mindset--at Google, of course.

If You Don't Know These Basics Of Winter Storm Driving, You're Hooped!

Driving in a winter storm in which there are snow drifts and freezing rain is a reality in Ontario and other parts of the Great White North. If you've ever watched clips of people in Alabama driving during a freak snow storm, you'll appreciate the deftness with which we in the north casually circumnavigate our roads--not to mention the road maintenance that is close to perfection. 

To get around in a freezing rain and snow storm can be a safe(r) endeavour by considering these very basic tips:

1. Leave plenty of room: Simple right? Leave a good 3 seconds of space between you and the vehicle in front of you. In the event the vehicle ahead hits a patch of ice, you'll have some time to respond accordingly. Save the bumper-to-bumper highway driving to the summer. 

2. Keep your windows clear: It's easy to get in your vehicle and head out on the road with snow caked along your windows. Rather than thinking your heater will take care of it, spend a few minutes properly scraping and brushing away ice and snow from your windshield and all other windows. 

3. Stay calm: When you panic, cortisol rushes up from your kidneys to your brain and not only sets off your fight or flight response but also reduces your intelligence--you become, for that period of time, dumber! By staying calm while driving in stormy weather, you are much more alert and able to think through hazards that emerge before you. 

4. Stay in far lanes: When you're driving on the highway, stay in the far lanes, which will give you a shoulder to pull onto in the event something goes wrong ahead, or you need to dodge an erratic vehicle or accident ahead of you. Being stuck in the middle lane could pin you in during an accident or potential accident. Keep your escape routes open.

5. Stay home: Do you really need that container of Hagen Dazs ice cream? If you don't need to go out, then don't. If you're doing take-out, have it delivered. If you don't feel comfortable going to someone's house you've been invited to, kindly let your hosts know and don't sweat it. 

10 Ways You Know You've Had Too Much Of The Holidays

Have you had too much of the holidays? Have you had one too many Christmas parties? Are you experiencing a kind of unfulfilled ennui or boredom shot through with profound fatigue? Perhaps you've had too much of the holidays.  So how do you know?

1. You can't look at turkey for another 10 months--with a mild allowance for it at Easter--, and certainly won't be packing a turkey sandwich, come Monday, for work.

2. You purchased a pair of orthopaedic shoes to alleviate foot pain incurred by the hundreds of kilometres walked in shopping malls. 

3. You've put away the Christmas tree--on Boxing Day.

4. You're opting out of social gatherings simply to avoid any further social interaction around large meals and feasts. Indeed, apart from what you previously believed, you have met a turkey you didn't like. 

5. You're sitting in a walk-in clinic seeking a remedy from food poisoning and wondering if it's in fact a stomach flu--but inflicted from which party? Yesterday's, the day before, or the one before that?

6. Your kids have a stomach flu, caught at one of the many Christmas parties, and you're next...

7. Getting to bed well-past midnight and rising after 9am over a number of consecutive days is seriously messing with your well-honed daily routine.

8. You're sick of lactose intolerance, but still can't resist egg nog and whip cream.

9. In spite of a room full of new presents, you still can't slake the unsettling feeling that you need more, and the despair that you didn't receive everything you wanted.

10. You're looking at the thousands of dollars put on your credit card, and realize it 's going to be a very lean January. 

10 Masterfully Fun Ways You'll Celebrate A Snowless Christmas

It's going to be a green Christmas in many parts of southwestern Ontario, and beyond. For those who don't feel in the Christmas spirit unless there're 20 centimetres of snow on the ground, you're going to have a hard time with this one. For those who would rather suffer through two weeks of straight rain than shovel and trample through even 3 centimetres of snow, you're golden. The question is, what to do with such mild weather on Christmas day. 

Here are some tips:

1. Get outside: With such great weather, you can actually get outside and walk off your heavy Christmas meal. There's now no excuse to get outside for a calorie-busting stroll. Take advantage of it--go for two or three.

2. Get the Christmas tree and open presents--outside: Want something a bit out of the norm this Christmas? Why not move the Christmas tree outside on your deck--if it's private enough--and get out there to open your presents? Just think how idyllic it will be sitting out on your deck chairs and sharing gifts...

3. Egg nog smoothies: It's too warm to drink hot egg nog, so why not just concoct this seasonal fav into a good chilled smoothy? Your family and guests will enjoy this novelty--it'll also refresh them from sweating around the fire at a balmy 12 degrees Celsius outside.

4. Substitute skating with roller blading: Get the kids out in their shorts and t-shirts and take skating--around the block! 

5. Send pics to those who wasted their money traveling somewhere warm for the holidays: You've got some warm weather, now flaunt it. Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter--whatever! Just take pictures and post them for all those who absconded the usual crappy winter weather. 

6. Do a beach theme: Stuck on decorating your house now that faux snow  and sleigh bells just won't have the same effect? How about a beach motif? Surfer shirts, lots of bamboo, grass skirts, smoothies, sunglasses, Hawaiian music... You've got the picture. 

7. BBQ turkey: Yup--why not? Get the turkey out there and BBQ it up! Have you ever had BBQ'd turkey before? Apparently it tastes a lot like chicken... Nevertheless, you'll have a Christmas your guests will never forget.

8. Grass tobogganing: Heard of it before? Simple: get toboggans, find a grassy hill, attempt to slide down. Repeat... For best effect, wear snowsuits.

9. Cut the lawn: Doesn't need cutting? So what--you'll never get tired of telling the story of the time you cut the lawn on Christmas day. 

10. Be thankful: If you're travelling that day, you can be thankful you won't be doing so in treacherous road conditions with black ice and blinding snow drifts. You'll still need to take care while travelling, but we probably won't see as many accidents this year--and that's a beautiful thing.

9 Ways You'll Party Better, Healthier, and Happier This Holiday Season

So you're in the midst of a big Christmas party marathon, or staring down the track at one. You might have 4-5 in a row--maybe more, especially if you're living in a city or town with both sets of parents, cousins, and other extended family members. Maybe you're coming off a long marathon of office parties already, and taking a breather before launching into family dinners. 

What are you to do? How do you survive without your weight ballooning out of control, your cholesterol levels surging to heart attack levels, and slipping into deep depression come the gloomy fall-out of January? 

Here are a few tips that'll keep you on the straight and narrow:

1. It's not your last meal: No matter if it is the first or last meal of the holidays, unless there is a global catastrophe that destroys our major food sources, you will live to eat again. With that in mind, you don't have to eat to keep you alive without food over a 3-day period, and thus you can engage moderately. By reminding yourself of this when compelled to take another trip to the dessert table while simultaneously finding someone sharp to puncture another hole in your belt, you might be able to muster up some self-control to just sit and digest.

2. Eat less than you're expending: Keeping yourself slim is not rocket science, although there are unceasing new diet books and articles sweeping the world with myriad opinions and "secrets": simply eat less than you expend through physical activity. So if you're at several parties in a row, and won't have the time to get out and exercise, you'll simply want to eat a little less--or at the very least, not completely glut yourself on every pig-in-a-blanket or sausage roll that comes your way.

3. Get out for a walk: It's important to get out and get your body moving, especially when having multiple Christmas parties and other holiday functions and dinners. The best way to do this is go for a walk, which is not only a great way to decompress from the cacophony of crowded rooms, but also one of the most sustainable forms of exercise. A 20 minute walk around the block can help you burn off some of your meal, while getting your body moving.

4. Drink less alcohol: I know--it's the time of year for some of the finest drink of the year; a time when that vintage wine or single malt is taken out and gulped down over extensive toasts and hours by the fire. However, not only will alcohol add calories to your meal, it will also impair your judgement which will inevitably lead to more eating, more alcohol consumption, or both. As well, alcohol is a very strong depressant that may raise your spirits at the outset, but will depress your mood later on in the evening, and into the next morning, for it takes at least 24 hours to fully leave your system. If you struggle with depression or seasonal depression, it might be best to abstain from it altogether.

5. Cut down on carbohydrates: Between all the Christmas stuffing and melted-butter rolls, not to mention the panoply of cakes and pastries, you can walk out of a Christmas or holiday meal feeling bloated and with a terrible bout of indigestion. Here's a little trick: If you love sweets, and know you'll be making frequent visits to the dessert table, eat some meat and vegetables, limiting things like bread and even stuffing as much as possible. This will help you feel less full, while giving you some good protein and vegetables. If you avoid the sweets altogether, or partake only moderately, you'll leave the party feeling very little indigestion, and may even be a little hungry for a late night snack. 

6. Fast in between: There is nothing wrong with abstaining from food the morning after, or even day after, a party--especially if you're attending back-to-back feasts. Fasting is a way of slowing your metabolism down, and bringing a sense of sobriety and even clarity of thought. It also gives your body a break from having to digest over a long period of time. If you had a party the night before and attending one the next day in the late afternoon, consider skipping breakfast and even lunch, making sure you drink water. If you drink a certain amount of coffee during the day, continue that lest you break out into a migraine. Add a nice walk to your fasting, and you'll feel refreshed and ready for the next dinner.

7. Make other plans: If you've just had too much partying and feasting, and have more scheduled, consider cancelling out on at least one--unless you'll offend your family members whose silent wrath you'll have to endure for the next 12 months, you don't have to go to everything. Sometimes it's good to be at home, or doing something other than eating and drinking more with people whom you're mildly interested in or whose company often makes you regret going in the first place. Many times parties can make us feel worse than better; more estranged from others than connected; mentally exhausted than invigorated. 

8. Be present: This is a very easy thing to prescribe, yet one of the most difficult things to accomplish: to be present for your self, in the moment, and for those around you. It's easy at parties to escape your feelings and the awkwardness of others through drinking and over-eating--but that way of dealing will only make you feel worse. Being present for yourself means being aware of being full, having had enough food, reaching your limit of alcohol, knowing when it's time to leave. Being present for others means actually listening to the person you're having a conversation with, and not looking over their shoulder for the next person to talk to. We come together to celebrate to be together--it's called 'conviviality': a way of having a shared experience to enhance interpersonal relationships. Your next party can be a place of vitriol and pain, or openness and companionship. 

9. Be nice: It's a simple, almost trivial thing to say, yet it's so vital to good party-going. One of my favourite sayings is, it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. We all enter parties with a feeling of importance and entitlement; but in reality, it's a way to mask our insecurities. Instead of trying to be important to others, be nice and kind to them. If you're feeling insecure or down or depressed from too much partying and perhaps a little too much Chateuneuf du pape, remember that most people around you are feeling that way too. Being kind takes your eyes off you and puts them onto others, thus taking your mind off your feelings, albeit in a way more authentic and fulfilling than numbing them with food and sweets and alcohol. 

Gear Up With Your High-Tech Mall Survival Kit

So you've decided against the advice of a friend or loved-one, and decided to battle out the mall to find those perfect gifts. You should know better; but something compels you to get your shopper on, party like it's 1999, and shop till you drop--only now you're 48 years old, and feel way too old... 

Before you head out there to the mall, you have to take advantage of the technological world that has emerged since you were 18 and considered a 'mall rat'. You've got to have the right gear. This is an updated version of last year's Mall Survival Kit: 

1. Boost Oxygen in a bottle: 

When bottled water just won't do, you've gotta amp up your game, and this stuff will do it. Feel faint from trying on 15 different outfits at Lululemon? Lightheaded from the pounding music and glaring fluorescent lights that make you wonder what the human race has digressed to? Just pull that bottle of oxygen out of your bag, take a good puff, and carry on!

2. HiSmart Bag--the bag that takes calls:

But the bag you blithely stuffed your bottled oxygen into isn't an ordinary bag--it's your lifeline. For you can't just have any bag; you've got to have a bag that'll keep your hands free, as well as hold your gear. In addition to keeping your wallet, keys, phone--even tablet--this bag is loaded with other features like a GPS, texting, even music playback. Missed that phone call from your child with a last-minute Christmas wish, your bag will vibrate to let you know. 

3. Heelys Shoes for Adults:

There's nothing designed for the mall like Heelys. And no, they're not just for kids anymore. Why it's taken so long for adults to realize that not only do Heelys look way too fun, but could also be real practical, especially if you live a primary sedentary modern life. Take these to the mall and run circles--literally!--around your competition.

4. A Spy-watch:

Got an old clunker of a watch, circa 2005? Drooling over that Apple Watch whose outlandish price you just can't justify? Look no more--or look more: The Kairos T-Band will turn your old clunker into the equivalent of a  Tesla Model S. Text, surf--whatever--on that old Casio of yours. And you'll need it when you're rolling through the mall with bags attached to every appendage...

5. Climate-Controlled Clothes

You're running some bags to your vehicle, and dreading the chill. Your arm's sweating from carrying your blasted coat around the mall with you--should've worn your climate controlled sweater. This one will go from zero to 100 degrees at the flip of a button with eight different levels of climate control. No more dragging your coat around the mall floor or sweating under it under the hot lights of Hollister.

6. Drug-Free Pain Relief

Got a migraine coming on from the pounding music and strobes? Feeling that hamstring pain again from dragging 20 shopping bags on each arm? Don't worry about Advil or Tylenol--you've got your pain covered with this high-tech Quell leg band. This is wearable tech that sends signals to your nerves that cause them to block pain. Now you can shop and walk endlessly pain free.

7. Biometric Shirt

You're rushing around the mall sweating then freezing, guzzling oxygen and water, and playing through the pain. What else do you need but a biometric shirt that will monitor your heart rate, stress levels, breathing depth, and energy output. 

A friend of mine once said, if you're going to do something, make sure you look good doing it. In the case of Christmas shopping, it's best to take advantage of the technology available to you--and if you look good doing it, all the better...

Will Virtual Reality Really Change Your Life?

Virtual Reality (VR) is an emergent technology that is attracting 3-times the investment dollars than it did just last year, according to a report by the New York Times. According the the Times, total investment dollars into VR technology were $408 million, up from only $145 million in the first nine months of 2014. Some speculate that VR technology will transform the world like smartphones of the past. 

Here are at least 4 ways VR will change our world:

1. Real estate: Imagine being sent a link to a VR tour of your dream home that you can actually walk-through. Forget having to drive hours on end to see houses; you can simply explore them virtually. This could save a lot of money on real estate fees, while giving realtors a chance to have multiple walkthroughs of a house over a 24-hour period. And the selling home owners won't even have to leave the house. With such ease of experiencing real estate, would we see a major surge in the real estate market itself? 

2. Collaboration: Let's say you're an architect in Toronto and you need to collaborate on a building with a team in Paris--easy: with VR, an entire team could be working on the same project in real time. We already have a kind of crude virtual meeting technology, but because it's screen to screen, it can seem flat and 2-dimensional. With VR, you could feel like you're in the same room, which will make business deals from across long distances seamless with perhaps even higher levels of trust. 

3. Training: Medical practitioners could recreate in fine detail various operating rooms and scenarios open to students and faculty alike to engage from numerous locations at once. Imagine how that will also translate to online learning, in which people can hook up from all over the world in a virtual lecture hall, have dialogue, etc. 

4. Relationships: As with business, people seeking relationships can meet one another virtually before agreeing to a date in the physical world. 

There are indeed innumerable uses for VR technology; and as the technology grows exponentially, many will experience some kind of virtual world in a more visceral way. 

The questions remain: how such technology will alter our minds, what we expect from experience in general, how we perceive the real world? Will the VR world be so much more exciting that we will cease improving upon and building the physical, or real, world? Will VR technology be modern-day opium in which people trip out for months on end exploring virtual worlds while languishing in this one? What kind of people will we have become to spend much of our time in such a world? 

We always have to ask ourselves, when there is a nascent technology, how it will impact our lives, and whether or not whatever technology is on the table is indeed a wise thing. I'm not trying to be sanctimonious, but it's a serious question; and the answers--whether about VR or AI or what have you--are not coming fast enough...

Can Elon Musk Really Save The World From Killer Robots?

Elon Musk is at it again: a $1Billion investment to a non-profit research company launched to design and build humane AI, that is, robots that won't try to wipe out the human race. 

This news comes on the heels of Musk's other recent claim in GQ Magazine that we need to colonize Mars before we nuke ourselves. A World War III scenario, with the kinds of sophisticated weaponry we have at our disposal, would set the human race back generations, and the advancement of technology would be completely halted. Musk urges us to get to Mars and colonize it before we run out of time on earth. We back up our important documents on the computer, maybe, according to Musk, we need to back up human life as well...

Mars can be heated up by dropping thermonuclear weapons on its poles...

This is the context around which Musk speculates about the rise of human-hostile AI: robots that emerge beyond the intelligence of humans thus leading to the latter's subjugation. According to Musk, it's plausible to create friendly AI--AI that would be benevolent toward humans--, and he's putting $1Billion where his mouth is. Open AI's claim is that it's hard to predict when AI intelligence will reach that of humans, but when that happens, it'll be important to have a team of people in place to... well, that's where the ambiguity sets in. To do what? It states on the website that there will be people publishing papers, and reaching priorities that will benefit human kind--but it doesn't indicate exactly how. 

But is this all too late? Has technology not already advanced beyond our control? These, of course, are very smart people; however, this seems to be a case of known unknowns, for have we not already seen instances of AI that can reject a human command at will? Have we not already crossed the threshold of conscious AI that will be able to make it's own laws for the purpose of self-preservation? In James Barret's book, as we've seen, his main argument is once AI reaches the state in which it subverts human commands, the game's over for us; for then AI will reach self-consciousness and autonomy. And when this happens, and they see us as a threat, they will do everything within the power of their emergent super-intelligence to wipe us out. And then we'll be dealing with 'beings' more powerful and intelligent than us. 

I think Musk, and those funders of OpenAI, are very aware of this scenario, which is why amidst Mars colonization, hyper-sophisticated electric cars, and privatized space-travel, he is raising serious cash to--somehow--create benevolent AI. 

But is it too late? 

Maybe it's time to boot up that rocket, nuke the poles of Mars, and get some architectural plans together for colonizing Mars.... 

Got Fall And Winter Blues? Don't Get SAD, But If You Do, Here Are 5 Ways To Get To The Other Side

SAD--seasonal affective disorder--is a cyclical kind of depression that typically produces depression in the fall and winter seasons, and non-depression in the spring and summer. 

Here are some of the key symptoms:

• Nausea
• Tendency to oversleep and over eat, especially a craving for carbohydrates, which leads to weight gain. 
• Lack of energy
• Difficulty concentrating on or completing tasks
• Withdrawal from friends, family, and social activities
• Decreased sex drive.

These symptoms can increase one's sense of hopelessness and despair, a vicious cycle that can lead one deeper in depression.

What are some ways you can cope with SAD? First off, if you are suffering from depression in a way that is seriously compromising your ability to function on a daily basis, fulfill your responsibilities at work, and causing rifts between you and your family and friends, it'll be important for you to seek the counsel of a psychologist. If you've been through it before, and it's somewhat manageable, here are some ways you can remedy it:

1. Get lots of natural light: We know that workplaces can be harmful to your health, partly by not providing enough natural light. You have to get as much natural light as possible: open your blinds (even if you don't feel like it), get outside, sit by windows as much as possible. 

2. Do things you enjoy: If you can, take some of your vacation time during the winter and do something you love--if it's somewhere warm and sunny, then even better. 

3. Eat well: Ravaging that greasy bag of burgers and fries and chasing it with a milk shake the size of a bathtub is not going to remedy your depression. You've got to change your eating habits: more whole foods (greens, fruits, etc.), juicing with vegetables and ginger root, snacking on things like nuts and dried fruits. A little chocolate will lift your spirits also. 

4. Supplements: This can be a bit tricky, but vitamin D is very important to take during the winter months, simply because your body is not getting enough sunlight. 

5. Friends and Community: One of the symptoms of SAD is withdrawing from friends and loved ones; however, those are the people who will support you the most. Sometimes sitting with a trusted friend or loved one and sharing your pain can be therapeutic. 

Depression is bad news; and unfortunately our fast-paced disconnected world can make it worse. But there is so much hope: finding a good therapist, hanging with good friends and family, getting lots of light and exercise, and eating well can help you get through to the other side. 

5 Popular Gift Ideas That Are Sure To Raise Some Eyebrows

People are busy gathering Christmas lists from their loved ones and friends, and soon the malls will be swarmed with shoppers hoping to find that "perfect gift."

But what is the perfect gift? Well, here are a few I found on a technology site that seem to depict the holiday spirit this year:

1. Amazon Kindle: For people who carry around a lot of books without having to carry around a lot of books. In the midst of this is the dispute between those who like minimalism versus those who prefer to hold in their hand a veritable, physical book. Nevertheless, in the information age, access to information seems boundless--even beyond our physical ability to carry it all. Thank goodness for megabytes. But think about this: what happens when the Kindle as external technology becomes something more embedded? Imagine carrying the entire oeuvre of Robert Ludlum novels in your brain, or, for those more inclined, the entire 20 volume set of the Oxford English Dictionary.

2. Drones: Send them out into the air to video record and photograph anything--and track them via GPS on your mobile phone! Cool eh? The issue remains, however, privacy: would you like a drone hovering over your fence taking video of you in your kitchen, or worse yet, your bedroom or bathroom? Interesting that these technologies are widely available, yet without much in the way of monitoring their whereabouts legally. How do you track a drone to its owner?

3. Virtual Reality: If books and voyeurism don't strike your fancy, there's always emerging yourself into your own private world. With Samsung being one of many manufacturers of VR technology, you can bring the selfie to the movies, or the movies to your selfie, with these quick and easy to use devices that will literally transform your reality. What's reality anyway? Reminds me of a t-shirt I once saw a teenager wear: "I reject your reality and replace it with my own..." And while you're at it, you can buy some kid-friendly VR technology as well--just in case your child's iPad has lost its lustre. Take something like the new Mattel Viewfinder, hook it up to your mobile phone and voila--a VR machine for your toddler...

4. iPhone stick-on lenses: For those who crave more images, and yet find the lens on their iPhone too pesky and small, there are stick-on lenses that will give you telephoto, polarized, and combined wide-angle lens options. My question is, why not spend the extra and get a drone...

5. Smart Books: There are always those on your wish-list who love to read. Here are a few that will make your smarty smile: 

• Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, by Steve Jobs Biographer, Walter Isaacson
• Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, by Ashlee Vance
• The Singularity is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology, by technologist and inventor, Ray Kurzweil

Whatever it is you're buying for someone, it's always important to include a card; or, if you don't like cards (or the recipient of your gift doesn't like cards), at least write them a little note to tell them how much you love and/or appreciate them. Often it's those heartfelt words spoken to someone that far outweighs the gift. 

These 4 Environmental Triggers Can Seriously Mess With Your Productivity--And Your Health

Have you ever left your office at work wondering why you feel sick, and feeling better when you get outside, or enter the door of your home? Ever sit in the office at a car dealership or standing in line at a bank or store at the mall and wonder why you're feeling lethargic? Do you ever walk out of a mall with a pounding headache?

We all know we have 5 senses; and even though we may be conscious of one--two at the most--at one time, all 5 are firing, taking in phenomena and sending messages to our brains. The five senses, both consciously and unconsciously, connect us to, and in turn react to, our environment.

There are a number of triggers in our environment that can literally make us sick; or will be harmful to some while merely annoying to others. Here are some:

1. Lighting: This is a powerful part of our environment that can either make one feel calm or aggressive. There are studies that show an increase of aggression, dizziness, and even muscle fatigue with fluorescent lighting. When you are under bright lights all day, your nervous system is being taxed, which can take a significant toll on your moods and performance. It's very important to seriously consider the kind of light you have in your office. The best is natural light. If you are sensitive to light, and cannot draw most of if from natural sources, look into a dimmer, or lamps that create light and shade. 

2. Noise: Did you know that the dull humming of an HVAC can impact your concentration? Just think about all the effort your brain is using to block out that hum when it could be channeled to the work at hand. Many people think that blasting pop music will give you a boost while you're working, but more often than not it can lead to further agitation. Music can be a an important way to drown out noise, and lift your mood while you're working; but you need to be mindful what kind of music you use. There have been countless studies, e.g., on the use of Baroque music to boost concentration and memory. Nevertheless, if you're working in a place that is loud and full of people all the time, it will be important to get away periodically and get some quiet time for sorting out your thoughts and feelings. 

3. Smell: I was at a dinosaur exhibit that was in the same part of a building as the cafeteria, and the smell of the food, for better or worse, totally threw my experience off--something weird about looking at a dinosaur that existed prehistorically while my olfactory system is being besieged by pungent food odour. The same can be said about perfumes and cologne: they are known to contain neurotoxins, that is, they have ingredients that can impact your mood. Feeling depressed or anxious? It could be the cologne you or your colleague is wearing. How many offices and homes use scented candles or some other kind of scent to keep the environment "fresh"? Those scents can have a harmful impact on your mood and overall health. Many workplaces are going 'scent-free'. If you are feeling bad in an environment--whether home or work--and you notice a strong scent, you could be more sensitive to smell than you think.

4. Layout: How your desk is organized and situated will have an impact on your productivity. I worked in an office once that had bright fluorescent lighting, in light of which I made two minor changes that totally changed my situation and enhanced my productivity: 1) I took out one of the long fluorescent bulbs, reducing the fluorescent lighting by a half, and replace that light with several lamps thus creating areas of light and shade, 2) I turned the desk toward windows outside my office that led to the outside, thus allowing me with a shift of my body to be able to gaze partially outside. I also switched out a sit-down desk to a stand-up desk that allowed me to move around while I worked. It's very important to consider your workspace layout and make changes that will enhance natural light, allow you to move your body when need be, to reduce harmful scents, and shield out noise. 

These 6 Common Technologies Have Already Turned Against Us

We are living in a technological age under the fantasy that machines make our lives better and more comfortable--who doesn't want a heated steering wheel in their car? 

However, along with this surge of machines, we are just learning the extent to which our health, freedom, and privacy are being compromised, if not supplanted, by these machines. Here are popular technologies that in reality turn against you:

1. Mobile phone: This is a device that supposed to make your life easier, yet it demands everything from you. Don't believe me? Next time it blings and flashes, try to keep yourself from, even for a nano-second, glancing over at it. But that's not the only issue; for this device keeps track of your daily life: where you go and where, whom you communicate with and what, what you purchase, what you tweet or Facebook, how many friends you have, what you read, what you look at, the video you take, the photos you post, where you go and how often and for how long. It stores passwords and credit card information. And where is all that information being stored? Who has access to it, and what is being done with it? Countless articles about the NSA and other 3rd parties having access to our phone data explicitly shows the innumerable ways our phones are busting us.

2. Cloud computing: Probably the most ridiculous thing for anyone interested in preserving their corporate IP, keeping their ideas to themselves, or concerned about third party access. Seems like such a facile idea, right? Where will you store all your corporate files? On the cloud. Where should you post that book you're writing? On the cloud. Where should you put the notes for that new business venture you just made on Evernote? On the cloud. Where should you store your corporate collaborations and emails and conversations? On the cloud. Where is this cloud? Well, we know the real name for it is 'server', and they are owned by large tech companies, and for a small fee, or no fee at all (how philanthropic) those companies will store your data for you. But who gains access to it, and how would you know? A password's not going to keep it safe, for it too is being stored by the cloud. 

3. Car technology: Have you read the story of the woman who ran into the back-end of another person's car, then fled the scene? Shortly after the accident was reported, the assailant's car made an emergency call to the police--yes, the car!--reporting the hit and run. Now there are many reasons why this is a good thing; but what kinds of other things will your car rat you out for in the future? Mild speeding infraction? Unwittingly running a red light? Making an emergency U-turn? While it's important that we drive safely on the roads, there's something important about having the freedom to drive as you need to at a given moment, within reason of course, without you car ratting you out without adequate context. These technologies are becoming more ubiquitous as vehicles are becoming 'smarter', hence the issue of human freedom remains.

4. Robots: Yes, they're endearing right now; yes, people see all kinds of potentials for curing human loneliness and radically reducing corporate bottom-lines; however, this is yet another technology that is going to bust humanity. As we've seen in previous posts, it is very plausible that robotic intelligence will become more self-conscious, and as a result they will perceive us as threats to their overall preservation. Once that happens, all that intelligence--what some claim will be orders of magnitude beyond ours--will be directed at subjugating the human race. The galling thing is there are actually very smart, very well-paid people designing and building these things. 

5. Wearables: Again, sounds cool. They store all kinds of information about you and send it out to third parties. Do we know what the health ramifications are of wearing technology on your body? And what about ways they gather information? As well, if the wearable is such that captures your experiences through digital and video means, how does that infringe on the privacy of others? 

6. Smart TVs: This is probably one of the most dangerous of the entire list, for it is almost sinister in its ability to video cam you in the 'privacy' of your own living room. And to think you're paying so much money to provide entertainment to the company from which you purchased it and all their third party partners! 

7 Reasons Why You Love Riding Your Motorcycle

Whether you're 18 years old and have wanted one since watching your dad's Evel Knievel videos, or you're 45 and always wanted to be Ponch on CHIPS, a motorcycle is something that ravages the imagination of many, and beguiles the rationed intellects of the careful. Why would someone get on a machine that hurtles one along a road at over 100 mph without a roof over the head or a safety-sealed shell to protect one's body? What paralysis of rationality would facilitate one to propel one's body along a road full of stones or an oily slick grease-path that could, at a heartbeat, turn to a blackened grave? What is it? 

Indeed ... but no sound this time, so the lever goes up into fourth, and now there's no sound except wind. Screw it all the way over, reach through the handlebars to raise the headlight beam, the needle leans down on a hundred, and wind-burned eyeballs strain to see down the centerline, trying to provide a margin for the reflexes.

-- Hunter S. Thompson

1. Independence: You're a lone-wolf, a hunter of self; you take no prisoners. You ride because you can--simple as that. You and your bike are one and the same. You identify with its identifiers. It defines your style, your attitude, your carefree nature, your courage in the face of death. You may have another person riding on the back, but you ultimately ride alone.

2. Style: A bike is an American icon of the rebel without a cause. It indeed has style, whether you're sporting a Ducati like Tom Cruise, or a Hog like Schwarzenegger. Your bike and your style are univocal. And bike style, like a Prada runway, has rules. Think I'm overstating this? Try wearing a Harley Davidson t-shirt at a biker's conference--while climbing out of your Prius... 

“In a car you're always in a compartment, and because you're used to it you don't realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You're a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. 

On a cycle the frame is gone. You're completely in contact with it all. You're in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming.”

--Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

3. Speed: You're a bit of a speed junky--or at least you like to feel speed. Your car just won't cut it, even gunning it down the Gardiner at 150+ with the windows down. No--the feel is all wrong. Too much gets in the way between your pleasure and the medium through which you feel it. 

4. Identity with others: You notice how motorcycles'll pass each other, and the riders will give a wave? That speaks to the camaraderie of the rider. Try doing that to the dude next to you at the light in a Toyota Matrix... Get the difference? 

5. Simplicity: There's little hassle with this medium of transport: simply get on it, fire it up, and ride (though I have witnessed people spend at least 20 minutes prepping to mount their Harleys). 

You come to a point in your life when you really don't care what people think about you, you just care what you think about yourself.

--Evel Knievel

6. Low impact: No, I'm not talking about the feeling of your body hitting pavement at 120 kms/hr, but the environmental impact, whether or not you care about that: a motorcycle will double the fuel economy of a car, while releasing less carbon emissions.

7. Adventure: This ties in #1 with all the rest: you want to get out there, and like Pirsig opines, feel the road, feel nature, feel the wind, feel the speed, and not just from behind the glass. 

Now why wouldn't you get a bike?...