Category: motivation

Categories
motivation

How Can I Feel Significant?

Cartoon of son to dad, "How long before I'm old enough to search for significance online?"

Many of us are challenged to find significance in a new environment. When I first posted this cartoon, social media was beginning to make a huge impact. It was a time before the term, “Influencer.” Today, social media continues to grow as we work from home and are keeping in touch electronically. You may ask yourself, “Can I really feel significant if my main interaction with people is online?” According to this New York Times article, We are searching for meaning during this time.

When I posted this on Flickr eleven years ago, I had a comment from a reader that simply said, “Ouchie.” It may have stung because an online-only significance may feel shallow and insubstantial. We are still humans that need to interact with other humans. As we continue to shelter in place for at least another couple of weeks, consider the following:

  • We will get back together with others soon. While it feels like we have been in lockdown forever, this too shall pass
  • Computers and the Internet are still a tool. It’s not the tool, nor is it the only tool we can use to interact
  • Finding a need to fill and helping someone with that need is still very effective offline
  • When interacting with someone online, consider if you would say what you are about to say in the same manner if you were face-to-face
  • Consider if making a phone call, or writing a letter is a better way to keep in touch with a friend or relative

I am thankful for the technology that allows us to keep in touch in so many ways. But there are so many ways to be significant and to make a positive difference in someone’s life.

Cartoon of a boy asking a man at a PC, "How long before old enough to search for significance online?"
Categories
motivation

How can I Improve My Economy?

Cartoon of a boy with a bandage over a dollar bill. he says to his dad, "Now that I fixed the economy, can we talk about something else?"

The current crises with the novel coronavirus may cause you to ask, “How can I improve my financial outlook during the COVID-19 outbreak?”

We’ve been through economic hardship before. When I drew this cartoon, we were going through the last economic crisis thanks to the housing bubble and junk mortgages. Many people found they owed more on their homes than they were worth. It definitely affected the 2008 election.

That felt overwhelming. Now we face a new economic crisis. According to The Wall Street Journal, this may be the worst downturn since the 1940s. Many businesses have been shuttered for over a month. There cautious talk about opening businesses. Yet, the virus that has dominated our thoughts for weeks is far from conquered. While some governments are allowing businesses to open, some business owners have chosen to stay closed because they feel it is too soon.

How can I improve my economy when everything feels so uncertain right now?

There are a few lessons I learned from the last financial crisis.

  • Focus on the things you can control
    • You can control your attitude
    • You can control your outlook
    • You can practice safe distancing and hygiene to prevent this virus from spreading
    • You can control how kind and helpful you are to others
    • You can plan for the future
    • You can change tactics even if it feels uncomfortable
    • You can make a situation worse or better by your actions
    • You can limit your news consumption so you’re not listening to the same doom and gloom for hours on end
    • You can listen to positive, uplifting music, audiobooks or podcasts
  • Let go of the things you can’t control
    • You can’t control nature
      • today’s weather
      • the novel coronavirus
      • that skunk on your biking trail
    • You can’t control another person’s actions or reactions
    • You can’t control governments and politicians (though you can make your voice heard by voting and calling those who represent you)
  • Start brainstorming of what this makes possible today
    • Can you learn a new skill?
    • Can you launch a new business that thrives in the new reality?
    • Can you volunteer in a position you always wanted to do?

Putting a bandage over a dollar isn’t going to fix the economy. Individually, we may not be able to fix the macroeconomy. However, each one of us can affect our microeconomy. Each one of us is an economy unto ourselves. It may be difficult while negative events are still unfolding. However, our attitude, combined with faith, hope, and a plan, can get us through the other side of this crisis. And remember: there will be another side of this. Keep the faith, and keep looking up!

Cartoon of a boy with a bandage over a dollar bill. he says to his dad, "Now that I fixed the economy, can we talk about something else?"
Categories
creativity motivation

Thinking Outside the Cereal Box

Cartoon of a mom and a son at breakfast. The son says, "I want something different for breakfast. What about seven-layer bean dip?"

Across the county, Breakfast has been reclaimed! Until the lockdown, it was an infrequent meal that few of us ate because we thought we were too busy. If we did eat it, we gulped down a quick pastry or breakfast sandwich as we ran out the door. Now, most of us have time for the first meal. In fact, this event has caused breakfast cereal companies to increase their ad spend. Here is one part of the economy that is benefiting from all this fun!

Ads for breakfast foods a ray of sunshine for media amid coronavirus cutbacks.

New York Post

Yes, there are plenty of businesses and people that are suffering financially right now. However, there are probably other examples where businesses are thriving. Perhaps they are seeing an uptick when they were languishing a few months before.

It is easy to get into the mindset that the news portrays. Yes, there are still plenty of people affected by this. I have certainly felt the effects. However, We can also ask ourselves what does this moment make possible? What can you do now that you never would have before we were told to hunker down? What is a new skill or business venture that you can start? How can you show kindness and care to those in your community? What can you do to prepare for the reopening of businesses and travel?

One thing I would not recommend is trying a seven-layer bean dip for breakfast. It will make the rest of the day feel funky. Not that I’ve tried it before…

Cartoon of a mom and a son at breakfast. The son says, "I want something different for breakfast. What about seven-layer bean dip?"
Categories
Business Business Cartoons holiday motivation

Administrative Professionals Day, and Earth Day

Cartoon of a man giving his computer flowers

This year is a different kind of Administrative Professionals Day. Many administrative professionals are working from home thanks to the coronavirus. Some are working the frontlines of essential businesses and keeping visitors from entering a facility without the necessary health precautions.

This year, Earth Day and Administrative Professionals Day fall on the same day. So if you have an administrative professional, this would be an entirely appropriate time to get them some flowers or a hearty plant. We all need a little nature as we stay huddled together in our humble abodes.

So thank you to all the administrators that make things happen behind the scenes. And thank you to a planet that needs some tender loving care. We couldn’t make it without either one of you.

Cartoon of a man giving his computer flowers
Categories
motivation technology cartoons

Are You Getting Tired of Staring at Screens Too?

Cartoon of a man staring at a computer screen

Yes, I am also tired of staring at screens. If it’s not a computer screen, it’s my phone, tablet or television. If you are working from home, odds are, your screen is the window to your workplace. If you are not working right now, a screen may be your entertainment, a diversion or vital information about the outside world.

I am thankful we have this technology. It gives us insight and helps us to be productive. Yet, it can cause our eyes to glaze over. I don’t know about you, but my eyes feel tired by noon. And there are days when the connection is slow and it feels like I spend more time waiting for the network to catch up than doing work. Yes, it can be frustrating.

Yet, this has been good for us. We are all now finding ways to work we didn’t think were possible at the beginning of the year. We were very paper-based in my office. Now we know it is possible to eliminate the paper. And in some cases, it is actually speeding up the workflow.

As we get through this screen-filled era, remember to take some time to look away for a while. Perhaps read that paper book you’ve been meaning to get to. Call a coworker or friend. Or close your eyes on your break and listen to some uplifting music or an informative podcast. Your eyes will thank you. And perhaps your mind will thank you for the break as well.

Cartoon of a man staring at a computer screen