OUR GOAL

 Hello all:

Our goal with the Working Daze blog is to create a fun, free, helpful environment for readers. We will have polls and as much interaction as possible.

John will share some writing tips plus John will share weekly positive psychology / happiness tips, columns and exercises as John is a chief Happiness Practitioner and Wellness Coach and all that jazz.

Hopefully Scott will share some art and other fun stuff. 

We hope this will be fun and informative! We want to make this a place for positivity.

We are always interested in your feedback and questions.

Happiness Post

 This week in my column I talk about all the things I'm not so good at.... Here is a sample...

PV0513: Embracing what you are bad at

 

I mentioned this before, but it can be very soothing and placating to admit and maybe even embrace the things you have trouble with. This can be especially therapeutic if you own up to them and try to find the humor in them. What could be a better way to own up to my own “weaknesses” by listing them and then admitting them to the world both in this column and on my blog. This also flows well with last week’s column on failure.

 

1) This is weird, but I am very bad at making ice cubes. To be clear I know the recipe. I just have a heck of a time making evenly distributed ice cubes in the tray. (I will post some photos to my blog and or fb if you wish to see proof.) I either make them really small and disproportionate or I overfill them and make one giant cube or many cubes. As an addon I am very bad at getting the cubes out of the tray. I either pop out 0 or all of them. It’s so frustrating I’m tempted to have our automatic ice cube maker hooked up.

 

2) Talking quietly and whispering. I just have a loud voice. I guess it's because of my love of life. Or I just like hearing my voice -- no that can’t be it. When I listen to myself talk, I sound like a weird low pitched yet squeaky toy. 

 

3) Using punctuation especially on my social media posts. I’m a big believer in not believing in commas when I write informal material. I figure I’m a writer not an editor. Besides a lot of commas and colons and stuff are optional. 

 

4) Driving in reverse. Thanks to the technology and backup cameras and orange line guides I’ve gotten much better at backing into parking spaces, but without the tech I find it impossible. Which I rationalize as, “why do I ever need to back into a spot?”

 

5) Remember why I opened the refrigerator. At least a couple of times a week I open up the frig and have no idea why. Maybe I want to check the little light? Maybe I wanted to cool off? Maybe I just love looking at iced tea and cucumbers? I have no idea. Sidenote, according to my wife, I’m also not great at properly closing the frig door.

 

My lack of skill at making ice! :)

I proudly embrace those things I'm not good at!

Positive Vibes:Positive Winter Thoughts

One of my early Positive Vibe stories: 

I was born in central NY. I went to undergrad in northern NY. Outside of a few years in Costa Rica and the Central Valley of California I’ve lived most of my life in areas that call five inches of snow “just another tuesday”. Yet despite all that there are times during the winter I think, “Dang this really stinks!” I actually replace “Dang” and “Stinks” with other words but I want to keep this a G-rated column. 

I decided that this winter being positive type of guy I would look for the good things about winter in central NY.  After all, we humans do have a lot of control over our thoughts and therefore how we feel.  First off, if you like winter sports this place is like a winter wonder land. Of course I only went skiing once with ski club and that was after I missed the first four weeks with chicken pox (thanks to my little sister). There I foolishly decided I could ski down the intermediate slope with no lessons. Sadly I had no idea the chairlift didn’t stop to let you off at the intermediate slope. I ended up all the way to the top of the mountain. Where I figured, “how hard can it be to ski down rocket run?” I promptly fell, then watched one of my skis release and ski easily down the hill. I then endured one of the longest and most heckled filled walks of my life as I treked down the hill. I’m not a skiing fan I did learn whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and at least a bit wiser. 

Continuing my list of good things about winter:

Cold air can be really exhilarating. There are some studies that show cold weather can increase brain activity. Which for most people is a good thing.

Our dog loves the snow! 

We get a change of seasons! Not boring old good weather all the time! 

The cold makes our homes more affordable! 

The cold also gets rid or cuts down on mositquitos and flies and spiders and stuff. Not many bee stings in the winter! 

Shoveling when done carefully is good exercise. 

I started to think, “Yeah winter isn’t that bad at all! Especially this winter.” But then Febuary came. Despite being the shortest month of the year, February seems like the longest three months of the year. December has the holidays and January has the new year with all its hope and dreams and vaccines. Winter still seems fresh and we have football playoffs. By the time Feburary rolls around I am ready for winter to be done with. Yes, I love living in central NY. But once I wife retires, I wouldn’t mind if we spent Feburary in Costa Rica or Pasadina. But that’s still a few years away so I needed a coping mechanism for now. I started looking for good things about Feburary, the dankest part of winter.

Febuary needs to be appreciated because even though it seems long its actually the shortest month. Plus it’s the only month that doesn’t always have the same amount of days! Okay grasping at straws there a bit. But still a fun fact. Now adays we have the Super Bowl in Febuary which is kind of like a holiday for sports and betting fans. Additionally this year we even have the Austrilian Tennis Open which is nice plus. Oh and the days are getting lighter. No more 4:40 PM dark, which is only good for vampires. And spring training starts (hopefully). Plus best of all, Febuary means spring is right around the corner. We made it this far and have grown stronger!

A Positive New Direction

 Hello!

We're trying this blog thing again. A lot has changed over the years! We have more material to share with the world, and this should be a great place to do it!  

We hope to have fun interviews, polls, memes, and to promote other positive things. You can learn more about John and Scott and what else they’re up to! There will be behind the scenes peeks,  writing and drawing tips, art and concepts and such. Maybe even a contest or two?

This will be a blog about humor, art, and all kinds of good, positive stuff.--