Manic Mondays - Some General Life Lessons to Enjoy Life and Do Less!

Manic Mondays are all about slowing down and enjoying your life. This week I found some words of wisdom from another chain letter. I hate the crap that proliferates my email in-box, but every now and then, I find some of it holds some good reminders of how to live better. This gem arrived from a new-old friend rediscovered thanks to Facebook, Veronica. Here are some good life suggestions that arrived in my inbox today direct from her:

1 . Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to the angels/god/goddesses/buddha/allah/the sky, about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. Time heals everything - but you may have to ask a power greater than yourself to help.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.


May you be blessed in every way.

2009 Blog Improvement Project - Week #5 Social Media Carnival

March is the Social Media Carnival for the 2009 Blog Improvement Project, and the first task is to write about how you use a social media tool to improve your blog.

I think this project will be very helpful. I have to admit that my experience with social media is very uneven. Some of the topics mentioned I have never really heard of or if I have heard of them, I certainly haven't understood them, except to see little buttons or links on various websites.

I know we have had a few bloggers posting their reports on Facebook or Twitter, but upon reflection, those are the only social media that I use regularly to give any true opinion on. I do use both and I do feel both have merit and are not the same in their uses or merits. I will try to give some insight on each one, perhaps in a two-part blog post. So let's start with Facebook.

I have already posted a bit on Facebook and basically Facebook is a virtual social experience. Once you sign up for an account, you begin to develop your space there by entering various information in your profile, uploading pictures (if you want), posting links and notes about things of interest to you, and the ability to play games and trade virtual gifts. It is probably even more complex than that, but let's keep it simple. I have said before that Facebook is what you make of it. You can keep your profile as public or private as you want. Mine is set fairly private with only people I actually "friend" having access to my profile and anything on it. Even though my profile is set that way, I also keep my contact information down to a minimum, just my blog address and my email address. If you are very security conscious, you can even remove yourself from being found by searching. I do think being that restrictive will seriously restrict the social media aspects.

I think the thing Facebook does best is to allow you to connect with others in an easy-to-use format. I did read Jack's instructions on ways to promote your blog via Facebook. You can find her post here on her Slightly Off-Center Blog. That is a great use for Facebook. It may be a way to provide more of a Brand or presence on the internet. However, I am still undecided on having my own page. I guess to me it seems a bit narcissistic to create a page for fans to seek me when it feels like few people even know my blog exists. This may be my own therapy issue, but for now I don't intend to pursue this at the moment.

The main ways my blog and my Facebook page interact is to provide (1) another place for people to find my blog; and (2) another way for readers to easily read my content. Number one is done simply by having my blog address listed in my profile. Number two is done by automatically importing my blog posts as they are published to my blog. This is done via the Notes application on Facebook itself.

If you want to be able to automatically import in your blog posts as you post them to your blog, here are some instructions:

(1) Head to the "My Notes" page once you have logged in to Facebook from the home page.

(2) Cllick on "Import a Blog" in the Notes Setting box.

(3) Enter the URL or RSS feed of your blog in the form provided. Be sure to select the box confirming your ownership rights and click the "Start Importing" link.

(4) Confirm that Facebook found the correct blog and choose to "Continue" or "Cancel" depending on the results.

(5) Facebook will now automatically add your new blog posts as notes on your profile.

You can also set the privacy level of your notes by doing the following:

(1) Log in to Facebook and go to the "My Privacy" page (see Resources below).

(2) Edit the settings for the "Friends, Notes, and Facebook Development Platform" section.

(3) In the Notes section, use the drop-down box to select the level of privacy you want your notes to have. The default setting is that everyone on Facebook can see your notes. Be sure to 'Save' your changes.

(4) Go to the "My Notes" page and "Edit Notes Privacy." Since you are importing your blog to Facebook, you will need to change the privacy levels of the notes if you don't want everyone to read them.

(5) Choose exactly who you want to comment on or subscribe to your blog. The default is that anyone who can see your blog can post comments. You may want to turn comments off entirely, so people head to your external blog to add their comments.

I do enjoy Facebook in general, but admit I haven't utilized it to truly maximize my blog promotion. I think that this may be due to the fact that I do like to use Facebook as a forum to connect with my friends rather than develop a business. Although then again, I see my blog as a tool for self expression rather than a business. In closing, I wanted to make sure I answered all of Kim's questions regarding Facebook and my blog. She asked the following:

How do you use this particular tool to improve your blog or relationship with other bloggers? I don't think I have used Facebook for this and that may be a mistake. I am not sure how easy it is to find bloggers you have never heard about directly on Facebook. However, it is a cool place to gather with a group of friends you already know.

How do you balance time between blogging and using social media? This is tough, but I think it is no different than balancing time between blogging and living. You allocate time to each and stay within your limits!

What are some specific things you wish you'd known before you started your chosen your new tool? For me, I wish I could have know how addictive Facebook is but even so I probably would still have jumped in.

The Facebook Generation

I have found myself being sucked into Facebook. Every day I make attempts to avoid going there, only to find I can't avoid it. Initially, I joined and then visited it rarely for more than a year. Then I discovered the Facebook application for my Treo and it slowly began to suck me in. Soon, I checked in at least once a day via my phone to see what my friends were saying in their status comments, to post pictures and see what my friends were posting, or just to share my own experiences. The tipping point for me appears to be the death of the dryer. The week I spent without the ability to do much laundry seemed to free up a lot of my evenings after the girls were in bed. I rediscovered my notebook computer and taking a lesson from my husband, began to play on my computer again right in front of the television. During this time, I realized that the real Facebook site is actually much more fun than my minimized phone version! My Facebook time severely increased and I find myself drawn to checking it multiple times per day.

Much of it is the social networking, but then there is that addictive game Mafia Wars. I need my fix daily and find myself returning again and again to do some criminal jobs, acquire dirty money, and fight other mafia families. Who knew the mafia life could be so fun or addictive? Well The Soprano's were a bit addictive too, but not quite as much fun with all the realistic violence and sex!

I find myself wondering how healthy my Facebook usage is. I have always had difficulty setting limits with my hobbies. I tend to obsessively pursue them and then finding myself quitting "cold turkey" to be able to attend back to "real life." I can read to obsession. I can watch television to obsession. I can play video games to obsession. Or I know I could and that is why I make sure that does not happen. Where does Facebook fit in this? Is it an escape to avoid the real world? Or is it truly a way to connect? I guess it really can be both. As with everything, it depends on how you use it. Do you use it to avoid having real relationships with people? Do you invest a lot of time and effort into people you are really not that close to?

I am not sure of my answers to these questions, although my gut feeling at the moment is that Facebook is kind of wonderful and is allowing me to grow in many ways. In a world where everyone is so busy and spread out, Facebook allows me to connect more with friends I truly miss but have no way to achieve face-to-face friendship due to geographical distance. It also allows me to connect more with friends who do live close by but are caught up in this day-to-day crazy experience of an over-scheduled life. It also allows me to explore the past a bit in many different ways. I can reconnect with friends from the past I lost touch with, or mere acquaintances from the past that I never took the time to explore, or even to approach people I may have made judgements about in high school and assumed would never have any interest in me.

Facebook is a social experience if you let it be. It is not easy and I still have to set my limits and continue to enjoy and live my non-virtual life. However, my goal is to truly connect with everyone I be-friend on Facebook. I vow not to friend someone blindly, but to make an effort to really connect with everyone. To post on their "wall," to comment on what they choose to share with the world, to learn more about everyone and to let them know who I really am. I vow not to be the person I have been for much of my life, afraid of being judged and therefore judging of others. Perhaps Facebook is one path towards my own self-discovery. We shall see.

What do you think about Facebook? Is it your friend or foe? Share a comment and let's discuss.