Paradigms and Principles
A-3
I though that the paradigm suggested in the book, “I’m not outgoing” applied to me and sought to change that about myself. A few days ago, my friend called me and introduced me to her cousin who was at her house. We talked over the phone and online that night and, the next day I decided to spend the day with them. When my friend left, I was kind of uneasy about staying with her cousin who I had just met a few hours ago, but I changed the paradigm and I just talked to the cousin a few minutes before writing this.
A-5
When I have nothing to do I usually think about the future. This is not good because this usually comes in the form of worrying. Many times, I worry about things that are in my circle of no control. Other times, I think very deep and profound thoughts. The mediation and Holy Name Prayer featured in Love Never Faileth will help me to be more focused.
A-8
I listen to mostly heavy metal music. Although there are some stereotypes about the genre, like devil worship and themes of death and suicide, they are not entirely true. Some of the songs that I listen to have a clear message that I can stand by.
This
song is about being your own person.
Go!
Stapled shut, inside and ouside would and I'm
Sealed in tight, bizarre but right at home
Claustrophobic, closing in and I'm
Catostrophic, not again
I'm smeared across the page, and doused in gasoline
I wear you like a stain, yet I'm the one who's obscene
Catch me upon all your sordid little insurrections,
I've got no time to lose, and I'm just caught up in all the cattle
Fray the stings
Throw the sheathes
Hold your breath
And listen!
I am a world before I am a man
I was a creature before I could stand
I will remember before I forget
BEFORE I FORGET THAT!
Other songs have political messages.
They're trying to build a prison,
They're trying to build a prison,
Following the rights movements
You clamped on with your iron fists,
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids,
Following the rights movements
You clamped on with your iron fists,
Drugs became conveniently
Available for all the kids,
I buy my crack, my smack, my bitch,
Right
here in
Nearly 2 million Americans are incarcerated
In the prison system,
Prison system of the
They're trying to build a prison,
They're
trying to build a prison,
Most of the songs are angry or
sad in some way. They express some kind of regret, distrust, protest or
unhappiness
Lord, I Question Whether I've had my fill
Lord, I Question whether I can take much more
you may laugh as I lay here bleeding
no more afters or befores
Some day you'll know just how I feel
you left me there twice before
Some day you'll know just how it feels
shattered, cast aside, stripped of your pride
like you were never nothing special
made you feel like another spoke in the wheel
so you say im just another dollar
so you say I'm just another day yeah
once my blood was strong but now its jaded and its thin
unlike you I can still tell right from wrong
Sometimes I can never tell
If I've got something after me
That's why I just beg and plead
For this curse to leave me
Tell me why am I to blame
Aren't we suppose to be the same
That's why I will never tame
This thing that's burning in me
I am the one who chose my path
I am the one who couldn't last
I feel the life pulled from me
I feel the anger changing me
Betrayed
I feel so enslaved
I really Tried
I did my time
I did my time
These kind of songs represent how I feel when I need to listen to them. They do not follow my goals and where I aspire to be however.
A-9
Today when I was cleaning up after dinner, I went the extra mile. I turned up the music and set to the task rather than watching TV and dragging on the job. I got more work done in less time and I really felt good after I finished.
B-1
When I got up at 6:30, I had much more time to eat breakfast and get ready for school than I usually do when I wake up at 7:00.
B-2
I RSVPed for an event. I feel relieved now because I just remembered when I saw this item on the list. Now I know that the event’s organizers will not have to seek me out looking for an answer like they have in the past.
B-3
This morning, I made breakfast for the entire family rather than just myself. I thought that we would be able to sit down and peacefully enjoy breakfast since today is Saturday, but with everybody’s busy schedules, it did not happen and not much of the food got eaten.
B-5
I want to be more organized. All of my papers are a mess and I have no order to my time at all.
1. Find and use planner
2. Use binders and folders to keep track of papers
3. Write down tasks and dates
B-8
This was especially good. I have been feeling especially stressed out and hopeless lately and the optimism really lifted my spirits. I think the key now is to continue this beyond the one day period to ensure that the good feelings to not turn into a retrospective form of despair like they have in the past.
B-12
This task was difficult. When I speak, I sometimes like to exaggerate to extreme proportions. Although this is just figurative speech, it was the only time that I encountered exaggeration recently. I usually use exaggeration damage control. When I realize that something is not true to the degree that I thought or said it was, I might exaggerate about it.
1-1
When I returned the peace sign to a middle finger, I received an incredulous look and another middle finger. I think that the shock of it was simple, yet effective.
1-8
Lately, I have been worrying about getting into college. This worry has been magnified by many of my friends being accepted into college early while I still wait to hear from the schools that I applied to. I sent in my applications and I will now drop the issue until I get the letters in April.
1-10
My most unhealthy habit is nail biting. It damages my nails and teeth. I will be better about carrying and using gum and the special chewing toothpicks that I have in order to break the habit.
2-1
I need to be more confident, better organized and more disciplined.
2-2
I have been reviewing my mission statement lately, and it has really made me think about it although I have not been able to look at it over a thirty day period.
2-7
My goals
1. Be more disciplined
2. Be more
2-8
Over the past four years, I have developed a reputation for being somewhat crazy and somewhat stupid. To change this reputation, I have to stop acting silly and stupid when a more serious demeanor is appropriate.
3-1
I failed miserably at this goal. I want to be more organized, but I never follow through with the plan. I start off ok and I usually keep it going for about a week, but over a few days, I start using the planner less and less. I write things down on sheets of paper that I stuff in my pockets and then I stop writing them down all together.
3-2
My Biggest time wasters
Law and Order reruns are on at least three times
every day and I usually watch at least one
but sometime three or more.
Books like Executive Orders and
Rainbow Six are 600-1000 pages long
and take a lot of time to read.
This game and ones like it can last hours and hours at a time and there is no real purpose to them
3-4
I did this to a certain degree with midterms, but I still left the real bulk of the studying for the night before each exam.
3-5
I have procrastinated a really long time on a particular project that I will finish very soon out of necessity.
C-2
I usually tell my parents that
I will do stuff that they ask me to do just to get them to go away. I have to
do what they say rather that not commit to do anything.
On the other side of that issue, I usually say “I’ll call you eventually” sarcastically because I know that I will forget to call later that day. I have to look at both sides of that issue and try to be better about following through while also providing a reasonable level of commitment.
C-3
There is this homeless man with a “Will work for food” sign who is always sitting across the way from the highway onramp near the mall. On day recently, I brought him some food. It was a new experience because I had always seen him there, but never stopped. It made me realize that he is a real person who needs to eat every day and probably doesn’t.
5-4
I have the biggest problem with self centered listening. I can improve it by . . .
5-5
I was really surprised by the answer that my mom gave me. She shared some of the problems that she had with me that I never knew about. It really helped me to understand her better and judge less. I am really starting to see how important good communication is.
Habit 6
Synergize
6-3
This was a very difficult thing for me to initiate, but the process itself was very simple and valuable. The simple reassurance that I received was very good, but the advice that I got was almost detrimental in a way because it ignored my current position with the theory that it would be over soon enough and it mattered little in the “real world”
6-5
The person that I am thinking of who irritates me is not particularly different except when he chooses to be. Sometimes, he is normal, but other times, he acts like he is better than everyone else. This irritates me more than anything else. I can learn that I should not act like a person who irritates me. If someone else irritates me, if would irritate others by doing the same thing.
6-6
I called some of my friends and decided to meet some friends of theirs that I didn’t know. We went out for pizza, and played pool. Although the experience was not exceptionally fun, I met some new people and did something that was not used to. In some aspects, it was more of a learning experience than a night out.
6-7
I think that I am a celebrator in all of the categories. At first glance, I have no problems with anything there. I think that it is easy to make such an assessment and have problems in an individual situation though.
Habit 7
Sharpen the Saw
7-1
Although I always eat some kind of breakfast, I still get hungry in the morning. I decided to eat a more complete breakfast. I stopped getting hungry in the morning and I was able to eat a smaller, more nutritious lunch from home rather than buy junk food at school.
7-3
For one week, I gave up all sources of caffeine including coffee, tea and soda. It was difficult for the first few days, especially since I used to rely on coffee to properly wake up. Now I only drink coffee on occasion even thought I gave it up over two months ago.
7-4
I read one issue of Money magazine. Most of the content was about investing and
economics. I expected this when I first read the magazine, but I never thought that there would be some down to earth article that I could understand. I found at least three articles that made sense and taught me things that I didn’t know before.
7-5
This task was extremely easy because I read both The New York Times and The Hartford Courant on a daily basis.
7-6
I went to
see the Shakespeare play, The Merry Wives
of
7-7
I went to a football game with my dad. It was great because I never saw the Giants before. It wasn’t just a waste of time where I went somewhere with my dad that I didn’t want to go. I really wanted to be there and that enriched the experience so much.
