From the Action Calendar created by www.actionforhappiness.org:
My selection for the third week in Aug:
* Notice when someone is down and try to brighten their day.
* Show support for a cause that doesn’t affect you directly.
* Today do something to make life easier for someone else.
* Tell a young person something you wish you would heard at their age.
* If someone annoys you, imagine how it feels to be them.
* Take a friend on a spontaneous adventure.

I received a calendar called Action Calendar created by www.actionforhappiness.org.
There is one suggestion each day for the entire August on the calendar.
I found some of them quite insightful.
My selection for the first 2 weeks in Aug:
* Leave a positive note for someone else to find.
* Treat everyone you interact with as though they are a friend.
* Ask someone how they are and really listen to their reply.
* Contact a friend to let them know you’re thinking of them.
* Spend time wishing for other people to be free from suffering.
* Be thankful for your food and the people who made it possible.
* Take time to forgive someone who hurt you in the past.

The final 4 good advice from Professor Stanislas Dehaene of the College de France is listed below:
7) Nourish your brain: Add daily portion of vegetables in your diet which is important for your health including your brain.
8) Learn a foreign language: Learn a new language helps to reinforce your brain to exercise and develop.
9) Read out loud: The vocalization and repetition help to enhance one’s memory.
10) Challenge our “autopilot”: Try to do our daily routines differently to “activate” our brains; for example, take a different route to the supermarket or to work.

This blog concludes the article from Professor Stanislas Dehaene. However, don’t be disappointed – more related blogs to follow.

Well, there is no better thing to do than writing my blog when one is stuck at the Eurostar without knowing how long the delay will be. Apparently, there is a flaw with the communication system, so no announcement can be made.

My advice is:
1) Avoid getting “worked up” (in particular when other passengers are getting impatient) as there is little that one can influence in a situation related to technical problem.
2) Make the best use of your “down time”. Read a book/magazine/newspaper. Write emails and send texts. How about (online) retail therapy? – Perhaps not the best idea as you may end up losing a fortune on top of losing your time due to the train delay :>
3) Smile :> and consider it an opportunity to exercise your calmness, mindfulness and creativity among other important lessons one can think of.
4) Be grateful (yes, I am not insane) – At least there is air-conditioning on the train (it is 34 degree outside, my friend), it will get cooler when I get home (hopefully tonight).
5) Lastly, there is some sort of (financial) compensation offered by Eurostar depending on the length of delay.

The next 3 sound advice from Professor Stanislas Dehaene of the College de France is listed below:
4) Coding: Not strictly in the sense of computer programming, but with reference to systems and structures. For children, it includes understanding of numbers, categorization and perception of objects.
5) Sleep: It is important for young children to have siesta which helps consolidate their memories during the day while sleep helps adults strengthen their knowledge. 7-9 hours and 10 hours of sleep are recommended for adults and children respectively..
6) Memorization: Good memory is of great value in learning as well building social ties. Train your memorization ability in your daily life such as remembering popular songs and poems.

To continue on learning mini series, I am summarizing an interesting article from Le Point (a weekly French magazine) by Professor Stanislas Dehaene of the College de France. He offered 10 advice on the subject of learning. The first 3 are as follows:
1) Learn by playing games: Making the subject interesting by utilizing games (e.g. word and math games).
2) Do some sport/exercise: It has been reported that doing physical exercise on a regular basis helps delay the decline of memories and offers other cognitive benefits.
3) Sing, listen to music and play a music instrument: Learning a music instrument requires a certain degree of brain and body coordination which simulate the brain.

I visited Marseille last weekend. Marseille does not have a good reputation in particular among the French themselves. Some of my French friends frowned at me or looked slightly in shock when I told them I went there.
Yes and my verdict – as suggested by the title of this blog, I don’t think the general opinion of Marseille has done it justice. I have a few points.
#1) There are regional manners even within a single country. The fact that Marseillais are more direct and abrupt (at times) does not necessarily make them of worse manners than people other parts of France. Their manners are different, but not necessary better or worse. Some people found the Marseillais warm and unpretentious.
#2) Don’t form a firm opinion of a place or a person before you get to know it/him/her. You can have some ideas and findings but stay objective till you are ready to conclude (don’t jump to it)
#3) Petty crimes (pickpockets and such) happen in all big cities. We do need to be prudent and vigilant when we are there.
I would say go to Marseille and find out for yourself :>

Recently I have read a few articles from different sources on a subject close to my heart – learning. Let me provide a quick summary for each other. The first one is taken from the book called “The First 20 Hours – how to learn anything fast” by Josh Kaufman
According to the book, the ten major principles of rapid skill acquisition:
1) Choose a lovable project.
2) Focus your energy on one skill at a time.
3) Define your target performance level.
4) Deconstruct the skill into sub-skills
5) Obtain critical tools.
6) Eliminate barriers to practice.
7) Make dedicated time for practice.
8) Create fast feedback loops
9) Practice by the clock in short bursts
10) Emphasize quantity and speed.

Don’t pay more than the “face value”. Sometimes when an unpleasant incident happens, we let it affect us emotionally and psychologically longer than the mere incident itself. To me (someone from the finance background), in such case, we are paying more than the face value (the price required – essentially overpaid).

For example, if I overslept and ended up running late for work. I got stressed out and it ruined my entire day feeling bad about it. The face value for oversleeping is being late for work. If it affects the rest of my day adversely, I am paying TOO MUCH for the mistake. I think this principle applies in other situations. Don’t let a negative incident/feeling linger on and cause a bigger damage.

Remind yourself that you have ALREADY paid for the mistake and MOVE ON.

Recently I have attended a life coaching seminar and the speaker has strongly recommended an exercise developed in the U.S. This exercise was proven to be very useful and effective to lighten up one’s mood. The exercise is by the end of each day, write down 3 things that you are grateful for. The items (of gratitude) are highly personal and subjective. The key is to record them down on a paper or another media (computer for example). It is an effective way to reflect and reinforce our gratitude which in turn will generate the positive energy and improve our mood as well change our perspective.

Give it a go and tell me if it works :>