14Mar 2020 by CJ
Better than average is a skewed personal perception

Better than average is a skewed personal perception

Generosity & Kindness, Life & Living
Throughout our personal and professional lives, we continually encounter individuals who believe they’re better than we are. One would think such a competition would cease once we all graduated from high school. But the game continues – though the rules adjust accordingly – known in the psychological community as the “better-than-average-effect” or BTAE. In short, the better-than-average-effect is the tendency for individuals to perceive that their abilities, behaviors, physical attributes and personality traits are far superior when compared to those who are deemed simply “average” among them. I think it’s important to define what it means to be average, though that in and of itself is challenging. Why? Because the internet has labeled “average” people as something bad. According to several misguided posts, average people are lazy, unaccomplished, irresponsible time…
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11Mar 2020 by CJ
Proud of yourself for all that you accomplish

Proud of yourself for all that you accomplish

Life & Living
“I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said "yes," when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to someone else.” ― Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember To be “proud of yourself” is not always easily applied as we journey through life searching for validation for our accomplishments. But I’m beginning to understand just how important it is to be proud of yourself at the end of the day - especially given the competitive business climate many of us are accustomed to, where the agendas of others (and their egos) leave little room for accolades. Over the last three months, I’ve been diligently working on launching a new website for a group of colleagues from another division…
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16Feb 2020 by CJ
Validation in life should not be needed by anyone but yourself

Validation in life should not be needed by anyone but yourself

Life & Living
“The only permission, the only validation, and the only opinion that matters in our quest for greatness is our own.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience We all seek some sort of validation for the things we do in life. Linda Sapadin, Ph.D on validation, “It’s getting feedback from others that what I do and what I say matters to you. You hear me. You see me. You think of me. You thank me. You acknowledge my accomplishments. You appreciate my efforts.” It typically stems from our childhood, as we often look to our parents for validation when we accomplish something we’re proud of. But as we grow older, the cycle seems to persist throughout our adult lives – in our relationships and even in our…
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09Feb 2020 by CJ
Money doesn’t grow on trees – though the government thinks it does

Money doesn’t grow on trees – though the government thinks it does

Life & Living
“The phrase money doesn’t grow on trees is a proverb that stresses the importance and value of hard work and encourages people to make wise spending decisions.” – WritingExplained.org We’re all familiar with the phrase, “money doesn’t grow on trees,” but did you ever wonder where it came from or what it stands for? Its first usage, though not credited to any one person, appeared back in 1891 in a newspaper called the Statesville Landmark where it stated, “money doesn’t grow on trees here yet”. From WritingExplained.org, “This phrase relates to the fact that trees often produce fruit for people to enjoy—regardless of whether or not the people cultivate these trees. This contrasts the idea that money must be worked for with effort and is never given without a reason.” I have…
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30Jan 2020 by CJ
A battery charge issue reveals the problem with preserving things

A battery charge issue reveals the problem with preserving things

Life & Living
I recently had my car serviced by my local dealership and was surprised to learn that my battery charge was at a meager 20%. I was somewhat perplexed by this revelation as the battery itself was not old enough to warrant any concern.   Stay with me, I promise there’s a valuable lesson I learned from this. I spent the majority of my teenage years pumping gas and fixing cars at my father’s service station (yes, the state of New Jersey still pays people to pump gas). Shame on me for not figuring out what the problem was sooner. I won’t get into the boring and somewhat scientific details of how your car battery operates. But suffice it to say that if a car sits idle long enough, especially one…
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