SAIL

Differences are often the first thing we notice about others, whether at first glance, preconceived notions, or even through general stereotypes. Granted, each of us as individuals do carry with us different religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds, paired with a myriad of different experiences that have shaped each of us into who we are and who we are becoming. However, I think it’s a fair challenge to make the claim that we’re all really not that different when put into perspective.

The Dalai Lama wrote a book called The Art of Happiness where we discusses an idea that attempts to convey the importance of cultivating both compassion and happiness in a body he refers to as ‘the human family’. The Dalai Lama conveys a lot of truth through these ideals. In reality, each of us do desire to be happy. I find this as being one of the very few fundamental traits shared by the human race as an entity. He goes on to emphasize the cultivation of both our inner happiness and compassion for others as a means through which to fix our eyes to a greater perspective of life through the eyes of others and away from being so diligently focused on ourselves.

I think by shifting our perspectives to focus on what we can share with others, what we can learn from others, and how we can help others can serve to be one of the easiest ways to be a lead. Each of us desire friendship, companionship, compassion, and perhaps most of all, happiness. By focusing on cultivating the traits we share with others in our own hearts and minds, we can grow to be a more compassionate and happier culture and generation as a whole.

does one manage managing change? Can too much change not be change at all? (See blog about pushing change too fast). These are the questions that one has to ask themselves before attacking a problem and turning it radically around. I believe that too much change is not change at all because it leads you back to were you started off; in chaos. A leader has to tackle change step by step to avoid chaos. Personally I have a five step process to manage change in a changing environment to let change last as a long term achievement rather than temporary. The five steps are:

1. Identify the problem

2. Analyse what needs to be done or not to be done

3. Take one problem and fix only that problem

4. See if the change that you created can stand on itself without you being there

5. Then tackle the next problem

If you try to tackle all problems at the same times and make too much change, then you divide your time and energy into little parts and cannot possibly give your 100% into it. Whether it is homework, bringing up your grades, ending world hunger or poverty, one has to take one step at a time  to make an effective and long lasting change. Small changes lead to a bigger picture and eventually add up to big change or a movement. Try seeing your daily struggles, problems and changes this way and you will see a more positive and beneficial process.

First off, let me say that there’s no book in the world that can tell you the right and proper way to carry on life. But sometimes it’s nice to learn about tips and techniques that do work well.

There’s a book called Speed Secrets: Professional Race Driving Techniques and even though it’s a book about speed racing, that surprisingly has a lot of great tips that work both in the car race track, and in the race track that is real life.

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Sometimes when you’re going through school, whether it’s college or kindergarten in elementary school, you wonder, “Is getting good grades important?” Or even more specifically, is getting straight A’s important?

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Posted by Emily Barnhill

            Of course I am going to talk about the topic everyone has on their minds on November 7^th, the election. This election was an eye opener for me it was the first one in which I could vote and I must say that it was a daunting task. I didn’t like either of the major party candidates all that much. The one person I did like, Gary Johnson, ended up getting only 1% of the vote which granted is quite high for someone with virtually no media coverage and on a third party ticket.

What bothered me was my reaction to the situation. Up until the last week of the campaign I had firmly decided that I would vote for Johnson because he almost identically matches my policy preferences with a few minor exceptions. However when I got into the in-person absentee voting booth out in the boonies of Spotsylvania County I couldn’t bring myself to vote for the third party. Just because as strongly as I supported Johnson I couldn’t bring myself to vote for someone who I know had no real chance at winning when I actively couldn’t stand one of the main party candidates. It was a real “the enemy of the enemy is my friend” sort of scenario. So went ahead and voted within the major parties right on down the ballot

Then when I was driving home the thought occurred to me: if I can’t vote outside of the two party system, which I actively loathe as an overall concept, then what chance does a third party have at breaking in among the average American voters? I’m a political junkie, pre-law, government major so I’m surrounded by the theories and exposed to more schools of thought than the average person ever will be but I still wasn’t able to break out of the box. This makes me worry that the United States really never will be able to break out of the stranglehold that the Democratic and Republican parties have on the nation.