KEEPING LIFE INTERESTING

            A great way to keep life interesting is to continually broaden your horizons by enhancing your knowledge and skills.

            The three basic ways to acquire knowledge are study, experience, and being around people who know more about something than you do. All three methods are useful, but usually the easiest to access is study. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. People who don’t read are no better off than people who can’t read. Remember, though, that being a one-trick pony is no way to broaden your horizons, so at least one-quarter of your reading should be outside your field of work.

            It’s been said that experience is a great teacher; and so it is. Try to learn something from everything that happens around you; and the way to do so is by paying attention to everything that’s going on. If a day goes by during which you didn’t learn something, then you weren’t paying enough attention.

            And speaking of paying attention, any time you’re fortunate enough to be in the company of people who know more about something than you do, watch and listen carefully, and don’t hesitate to ask questions.

There’s no such thing as an uninteresting subject, there are just disinterested people. Until you understand something, be completely open-minded about it and always become interested before you become judgmental.

            Two particular areas of knowledge that you should never stop developing are your vocabulary and grammar. Any time you encounter a word that you don’t know the meaning or pronunciation of, look it up and watch for opportunities to make it a part of your vocabulary. You should also take note of the synonyms and antonyms listed for such words. Knowing perfectly appropriate words, and being able to use them correctly in speaking and writing, will boost your self-confidence enormously, which, in itself, will make your life more interesting.  Doing crossword puzzles, as well as being a great way to relax, is another way to improve your vocabulary.

            Honing the skills you have, and acquiring new skills, will make life more interesting. And as with acquiring knowledge, there are three ways to identify the skills you should hone and to learn which ones may be lacking.

             Most people don’t have a problem with the first method, which is simply assessing what it is that you do and don’t do well. But because it’s sometimes difficult to be truly objective, the second way is to ask others, such as colleagues, bosses, and mentors for their assessments.  Finally, and this is the one most often overlooked, you have to try new things and try doing old things in new ways.

            Putting a limit on what you will do puts a limit on what you can do. If you try new things and try doing old things in new ways you might discover a skill that you didn’t know you had, or you might identify a skill that you would like to develop. Opportunities are never missed; other people will take advantage of those that you don’t. When you aren’t improving, someone else is; and when you come up against that person, you will lose.

            Integrating your skills and knowledge always makes life more interesting, and how to do so is usually evident in your surroundings. Whatever you’re going to be doing, wherever you’re going to be doing it, ask yourself what skills would help you enhance the application of your knowledge (and vice-versa) and then set out to acquire them. It’s also usually instructive to ask successful people in whatever area you’re considering to recommend possibilities for improvement.

            The best way to keep life interesting is to keep interested in life.

HE SAID HE HAD "WRITTEN SOME SONGS"

RANDOM ANECDOTES NO. 6