Go to your junk drawer. Take out the pair of scissors and the one pen that actually works. Now, take everything else and toss it in the trash. Finally, put the scissors and pen back in the drawer.

Right there, in a nutshell, is what constitutes “getting organized” on every organization television show I have seen. For the most part, these “professional organizers” are nothing more than glorified garbagemen. Clutter? Just throw it away. Instant organization!

While they correctly identify a major disorganizational problem of having too much stuff, their solution is largely to get rid of the stuff. While “stuff reduction” may be in order, simply getting rid of stuff is not a solution. Imagine if public libraries were to organize by dumping shelves of books in the trash. Scarcity may lead to better organization, but better organization does not require less stuff–it requires better organization!

In my opinion, if you have a “professional organizer” come in and say, “well, you just need to throw all that away,” fire them and find someone else. Unless you’re a chronic hoarder, you don’t need someone telling you to throw stuff out. You probably already know that. What you want is someone to show you how to better organize the stuff you have and want!

Let’s say you collect records. You enjoy listening to them. Or maybe you just collect them because you like the cover art. Whatever the reason, it’s something that you value and enjoy.

But, you have a problem organizing them. You have an assorted mess because organization is not one of your better skills. What you need is someone to help you organize them. You need someone that will come in and show you a way to organize your collection in a way that makes individual records easily accessible and that makes sense to you so that you will be able to maintain it.

Now, if they come in and suggest getting rid of half your collection, that’s not organization, is it? Mind you, if you have duplicates in your collection, you may want to get rid of those, but you need to be organized first in order to find those duplicates, right? In my opinion, a professional organizer should show you how to organize what you have. They should be able to work in whatever margins you have set, including having what they view as “too much stuff.” That’s their opinion, and they’re entitled to their opinion, but if you’re paying them, it’s your opinion that matters.

The only person that should determine if you have “too much stuff” is you!

That being said, lots of us have difficulties determining what we should o shouldn’t keep. In some cases, we can and should consult professionals. For example, for what financial records you need to keep and for how long, you should defer to your accountant or some financial professional. The same for medical records, payment records, etc. that you have.

But, for most people, those kinds of things aren’t the problem. It’s the “stuff” we accumulate over the years. In that case, this is where “Dream Organization” can fit in. And, this is also a great mental exercise, which is my excuse for categorizing this post under “Brain Power.”

What is Dream Organization?

If you have a lot of clutter, excepting the aforementioned documents for which you should consult a professional and also excepting useful and necessary things like scissors and tools, an easier way to sort through it is by referencing your dreams and goals. When determining whether to keep a particular item, ask yourself these questions:

1) Will this help me achieve my dreams or goals?

2) Is this part of my dreams or goals?

If having a large record collection is part of your dream or goal, you would answer “yes” to one or both of those questions. If your goal is a large collection of jazz records, then you might consider getting rid of non-jazz records, as they don’t meet your goal.

Now, there may be a non-jazz record that you enjoy. Maybe there’s a seasonal album your family enjoys listening to at Christmas-time. Hopefully, spending time with your family is also one of your goals, and if your family enjoys listening to it, then obviously you want to keep that record. Even though it may not fit in your jazz record collection, it’s still something that’s a part of another dream or goal.

On the other hand, if it’s something only your son enjoys, maybe you might want to give him that record (or, if he’s young, save it for when he’s older and mature enough to take care of it himself) instead of keeping it in your own collection.

Maybe you have an old record player that needs to be restored. If that’s part of your dream, if that fits in with your jazz record collection–collecting and listening–you might want to keep it. On the other hand, if you don’t play guitar anymore (or well) or plan to, you might want to get rid of it.

Do you follow? I’m not just talking about what may be your primary goal, but any of your goals and dreams that you are pursuing. That could mean a career in a particular field plus spending more time with your family plus having a nice jazz record collection.

If you sort through your stuff this way, you’ll probably be able to clear out a lot of stuff that just doesn’t fit your life or intended lifestyle anymore. And, you may find that you don’t need to hire a “professional organizer” to get the job done! But, even if you do, you would enter into it knowing what you do and don’t want to keep!

As always,
Believe. Act. Achieve!

Yesterday, before leaving work, I checked the back doors to make sure they were locked.

Four times.

OCD? you ask.

No. After the first three times, I couldn’t remember if the doors were locked or not. I could have assumed that, had they been unlocked, I would certainly have locked them. But, as I could not remember, I couldn’t be sure that I hadn’t missed noticing they were unlocked.

They were locked, by the way.

I couldn’t remember whether or not the doors were locked because I wasn’t paying attention the first three times. I made sure to pay close attention the fourth time!

When you have a task that is easy and/or repetitive, you tend to put yourself in autopilot. Sure, I looked at the doors the first three times, but I was running on autopilot. I wasn’t focusing on whether the doors were locked, I was focusing on my last blog post!*

When we are faced with easy or repetitive tasks, we think we are being more efficient by multitasking. We neglect to focus on the task at hand, believing such myths as “I could do this in my sleep,” and instead focus on other things.

As you can tell by my four trips to check the locks, performing simple tasks on autopilot does not increase efficiency!

When you’re not focused on the task at hand, you may miss things. You may overlook things. You may even forget things.

It may provide an illusion of efficiency, but it will not provide true efficiency.

Imagine an inspector checking machine parts before they are installed in equipment. (Yes, a lot of that is computerized these days, but bear with me.) If he’s running on autopilot, he might check the parts faster, which may seem efficient. But, if a defective part slips his attention, eventually that will mean the equipment will have to be returned for repair or replacement. Not efficient!

Sometimes, he may run into a situation where he’s realized he cannot remember if he thoroughly checked the previous piece. He examined it, yes, but his mind was elsewhere. So, he goes back and checks, slowing the line down.

With concentration on the task at hand, you can better ensure you get the job done right the first time. You will also better remember that you did the job and not second-guess yourself, forcing a re-check of what you just did.

Efficiency comes from a willful concentration on the task you are currently performing.

Autopilot may make you feel more efficient, but the odds are it is hurting your efficiency more than you realize.

If you want to learn to increase your brain power, be sure to watch for the eBook I’m editing, How to Train Your Mind.

*True story.

In many stories of the early days of mankind, people onced lived in an earthly paradise. Yet, this paradise was lost to us. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and were cast out of Eden. Lao Tse said that paradise lasted until “Tao ceased to be observed.” In these, and other cases, paradise was lost to our ancestors by their own choices.

Nowadays, people get so wrapped up in the creationism versus evolution debate that they overlook one of the messages of the story: The world that we live in is determined by our own choices.

Some may scoff at that idea, arguing that one cannot choose to live in the world we want. You cannot simply choose to live in a world where John Kerry is President. You cannot choose to live in a world where there is no crime. You cannot choose to live in a world where unicorns roam free in the woods behind your home.

And, that’s true. You cannot do away with the free will of others to choose, just as they cannot do away with yours. You cannot undo the physical laws of the universe simply because you wish it to be so.

But, think on a smaller, more personal scale. Can you choose whether to be rich or poor? Yes!

That is not to say that, simply by choosing to be rich, that you will suddenly receive a big check in the mail or win the lottery. Nor is it a guarantee. There may be circumstances that just don’t make it possible, or make it extremely difficult at the very least, for you to become rich.

For the large part, we can choose our destinies. But, we have two problems in making that choice.

The first is that we may not recognize we have a choice. We blame God for our misfortune. We blame others for our misfortune. But, very rarely do we blame ourselves. And, very often, it is us that is keeping us down–not God, not the universe, not the people around us. It is almost always our own choices that put us where we are today. Did we spend money when we should have saved it? Did we “invest” in get rich quick schemes instead of long term growth opportunities?

Which brings us to our second problem which is that we have been largely conditioned to look for short term goals, rather than long term goals. Take one day at a time, we are told. That is good advice, but not for all circumstances! It is certainly not the best advice for financial planning. Some things need a long term focus, but all too often we apply all our focus to the short term and very little for the long term, sometimes conceding that’s something for “future me” to deal with. So, the future you can squarely blame current you for really bungling you over, eh?

It is the long term most of us need to spend more time dealing with. Is having the right attitude important? Is having a positive outlook important? Of course they are. Lots of us try, for a while. But, then we allow ourselves to get off track. If positive thinking doesn’t produce overnight results, we give up. If something bad happens, we give up.

Here’s the thing. Positive thinking is not going to make you rich today. It is not going to make you rich tomorrow. And, perhaps it will never make you rich. (Remember, thought must be followed by action!) Positive thinking is not going to prevent all accidents. Positive thinking is not going to stop death and disease. Positive thinking is not going to change the laws of the universe.

But, it can make your life more enjoyable. Certainly, it is better to be upbeat and poor than to be depressed and poor, is it not? Maybe you cannot change your financial status overnight, but you can change your attitude. It takes time and practice to maintain a new attitude, but you can start right now.

And there is our little piece of paradise. There is the beginning of fulfilling our own dreams. Change your mind, and the rest can follow. And, even if the rest does not follow, at least you can live more contentedly.

To sum things up for those that want a quick read:

Start with the right attitude. Claim your own little piece of paradise within your inner mind.

Recognize that you do have a choice. Even if you have to work hard to find it or overcome obstacles in your way, you do have choices.

Plan for the future. The world didn’t end in 2000, despite many people living (and planning!) as though it would (just look at our current “credit crisis!”). It probably won’t end tomorrow either. People in almost every time had experiences that made them think the end was near. But, we’re still around. Live for today, but plan for the future!!!

Believe. Act. Achieve!

Back from his trip to Hong Kong and China, Terence Chang has sexy on his mind. Joanne of The Laidback Buddhist, a.k.a. the Super High Resolution Buddhist, has, ahem, sex on her mind. And, it’s never too far away in Doug’s mind.

With all this hanky-panky in the blogosphere, maybe it’s time to sex things up. And, what is sexier than a beautiful mind?

The terms “open mind” and “closed mind” have become political fodder these days. Someone is agreeable to your ideas, well, they’re open-minded. Someone disagrees, and they’re closed-minded. Closed-minded has become the more negative accusation, being hurled at anyone that isn’t entirely open to every nut-brained idea under the sun.

But, let’s cast away those notions. Forget politics and politicians and political bloggers and all that hullabaloo! Let’s talk about genuine ideas and not the latest fad or wacky behavior.

Imagine an old woman who’s lived her whole life in the city. Never seen a wild animal other than pigeons or rats; hardly seen any animals except for cats and dogs and what ever pets friends may have had through the years. Her school years are far behind her, and she’s never seen anything more exotic than a snake, a cow or a horse.

Imagine showing her a photograph of a platypus. Would she even believe such a creature exists? You can easily imagine her arguing there was no such creature, that it was nothing more than a wolperdinger or a jackalope, that it was some fake creature cobbled together with bits and parts of other animals. You may never be able to convince her it was real.

The old woman has a closed mind.

We are all presented with ideas throughout our lives. When we think, we associate ideas with other ideas. How many times have you seen some new gadget or technology and said to yourself, Why didn’t I think of that? Often, there are old ideas put to use in a new way. Once we see them in action, it is so obvious and deviously simple that we kick ourselves for not associating the ideas first, and cashing in!

Minds that continue to freely associate ideas are open minds.

Some ideas pair off better than others. Because of that, we sometimes miss out on creating those aforementioned ideas because the pairing in our minds wasn’t so strong. We never seriously thought that these two (or more) particular ideas belonged together. But, someone else did!

Sometimes the bond between two ideas may be so strong that they are virtually inseparable. But, in an open mind, you must allow the ideas to separate so that they may more easily attach to other ideas. That doesn’t mean the original bonding isn’t still a good idea, only that the original bond should not be held at the exclusion of all others.

The old woman can’t imagine a mammal with a duck’s bill. She associates fur and hair with cats and dogs and rats and other furry animals. A beak or bill belongs on a duck or a pigeon or a goose and other feathered animals. She cannot imagine something that “belongs” on a duck being on a mammal. Therefore, her mind tells her that an animal like that cannot exist. It must be fake.

While this may be an extreme case–the platypus is certainly an unusual animal!–you can imagine it happening to lesser degrees. Sometimes we get used to things being as they have always been that we cannot imagine them otherwise. Who would want a computer in their home? What would you do with it? Computers belong in big companies. Why would a person need or want one of their own? Such was the attitude just a few decades ago. People couldn’t break the associations they had with computers. Fortunately, some people could and now you’re reading this today because of them!

Paired ideas in our minds should have open marriages. They may freely commit adultery, while still remaining committed to their idea-mate. Sexy, eh?

Let your ideas, married or not, get out there and mingle!

But, while doing so, be reminded that it’s also okay to maintain a closed mind. As I said before, forget the political mumbo-jumbo. Having a closed mind isn’t a bad thing.

Some idea-marriages are best left alone. Some ideas should not cheat on each other. They should stick with their idea-mate! For example, it would probably be a bad idea to have a TV screen in the middle of a car’s steering wheel. A truly open mind would say, Why not? A closed mind would recognize this pairing of ideas as a bad marriage that no amount of counseling would ever be able to fix.

You have to have the right balance between an open mind and a closed mind! Too open, and you come up with wacky ideas that are patently stupid. Too closed, and you’ll never make those associations between ideas that generate new ideas.

So, forget about those silly notions that a closed mind is bad and an open mind is good. The truth is that a balanced mind is best!

Assuming that you are sitting at your computer reading this, stand up. Seriously. Stand up, right now.

Okay, now, walk around the room. Go ahead. I’ll wait…

You found your way back, eh? Wait… Don’t sit down yet.

Now, do it again, but with your eyes closed (don’t do this if this might be dangerous to your particular situation–like if your on a rooftop with your laptop). How far can you get before you bump into something?

If you were blind, you could probably find your way around your room, no problem. The only difference between you (assuming you are not blind) and a blind person is the absence of one–just one–sense, the sense of sight.

How is it that a blind person, not able to see the room, can find his way through, but you cannot, though you have the same other senses that he has?

Familiarity with the room? you argue.

But, don’t you have that same familiarity with your room?

The answer is, of course, that the blind person has refined his other senses in order to compensate for his lack of sight.

However, you do not need to lose a sense in order to strengthen the others!

All it takes is some practice.

Most people have already practiced such refinement with their hearing. Many people are adept at shutting out the noise and conversations around them in order to eavesdrop on a particular conversation.

Mechanics and other people that work with machinery can tune out different sounds in order to identify and troubleshoot a particular sound. To the average person, the machine makes noise. But, to the skilled operator, the machine makes a certain series of sounds when it is running properly and a different series of sounds when it is not.

Whether you want to refine your sense of sight, smell, hearing, taste, or touch, you can do so with practice.

Spend just five minutes a day practicing, and you’ll soon see how much you can improve your senses!

For your sight, look around you. What things are you looking at everyday, but not seeing? I have seen people come to a place of business, pull on the locked door, and walk away in bewilderment, while never seeing the sign on the door that says the concern moved a couple doors down.

For your hearing, you can sit in your home or office, or even outside if you wish. Listen to the sounds around you and practice honing in on particular sounds. Maybe you hear the clock ticking. Focus on it. Despite the fact that the ticking does not growing louder, it will seem so as your focus turns to it and away from the other sounds in the room. People talk of tunnel vision, but few realize that this type of narrow-focus can be applied to the other senses as well.

For your sense of taste, try different foods. Try to determine the ingredient or the spices that seasoned the meal. Try to pick out individual flavors. Start with ones that are bold and noticeable, then work your way up to identifying the more subtle taste sensations.

For your sense of smell, notice the smells around you in the room. You can smell foods in the kitchen. Maybe the perfumes and colognes of your last guests in the living room. Try to separate the different smells, and focus on one in particular. Then, move to the next.

For your sense of touch, examine different textures. Feel paper. Notice the smoothness or maybe the texture of the sheet. Feel the different textures of your clothing. Close your eyes and try to identify things simply by touching them. The aid of a trusted partner can be helpful in this instance.

With practice and focus, you can improve all of your senses. There is a boundless world of discovery around you that you probably never even notice. Explore it!

Are you a nerd? Are you a nerd and proud of it?

Let’s see how nerdy you are. Using Weird Al’s “White & Nerdy” as a general guide to nerdiness, I’ve developed this list of questions:

Are/were you first in your class at school? +5
Are/were you first in a class at school? +3

Ever played D&D? +3

Own any M.C. Escher art or books? +3

Do you drink hot tea? +3
Do you drink Earl Grey tea? +2

Still have your action figures in their original packaging? +3
On display? +3

Own a book by Stephen Hawking? +3

Have a page on MySpace? +2

Know pi to ten places? +3
A hundred places? +3
A thousand places? +3

Play Minesweeper instead of Solitaire? +3

Download and run the latest new software? +3

Do you know Pascal? +3

Do you do Calculus or any math for fun? +3

Ever used a soldering gun (or iron)? +3

Can you beat your friends and family in trivia games? +3

Are you fluent in JavaScript? +3

Are you fluent in Klingon? +5

Do you own a Segway? +5

Do you collect X-Men comics? +5
Do you collect any comics? +3

Have you ever worn a pocket protector? +5

Do you edit Wikipedia? +5

Can you quote any lines from Monty Python’s The Holy Grail? +3

Do you know HTML? +3

Do you have a webpage for your pet? +3

Do you own a fanny pack? +3
Do you wear it? +3

Were you in the AV Club? +1
Were you in the Glee Club? +2
Were you on the Chess Team? +3
Were you in the Math League? +3
Were you a member of any honor society? +2

Do you prefer Picard over Kirk? +5
Or, can’t decide between Kirk and Picard? +3

Do you own a copy of the Star Wars Christmas Special? +5
Do you wish you did? +3

Have you ever been bowling? +3
Did you go willingly? +3

Scoring

Highest possible score: 124.

What’s your score?

Mine is 43. That makes me about 35% nerdy.

I haven’t determined what different percentages should mean, but I welcome your ideas in the comments!

How many digits of pi do you remember? Do you know pi to a thousand places? Whatever you know, write it down right now, before reading any further. I’ll wait…

Still waiting…

Can’t you write faster?

Done? Okay.

This will be our first memory challenge for all who want to participate!

Now, since this is for personal growth, and no prizes will be awarded, please don’t cheat!!!

Here is how much of pi I can remember: 3.14159265358. I’ve only recently been able to count the last 8, as for a long time, I ended at 5. I used to remember it to more places.

Here it is to 25 decimal places:
3.1415926535897932384626433

If you want to go further, here is pi to a billion digits.

In the comments, enter pi as you wrote it down earlier.

For the next ten days, use the techniques mentioned in my Improving Your Memory in Just Minutes a Day post and see to how many digits you can memorize pi.

We’ll check back again in ten days and see how everyone is doing!

Spanish Proverb

“The pleasures of the senses pass quickly; those of the heart become sorrows, but those of the mind are ever with us, even to the end of our journey.”

Some people don’t see the need to improve themselves or, more especially, to improve their brains or their thinking. With regards to their mental capacity, some mistakenly believe that it is what it is.

But, we can all improve our minds. We can learn to read with more comprehension and retention. We can learn to improve our memory. We can conquer our fears.

We can achieve whatever we desire, if we put our minds to it.

As you know, there are techniques out there, such as the Law of Attraction or the Science of Getting Rich, that require a certain way of thinking.

But, to get there, you may need to train your mind to improve your focus, so you are better able to participate in those kinds of programs.

And, even if you don’t believe in those programs or ideas, it is still extremely beneficial to improve the workings of your mind.

So, if you have not done so already, please follow the links in this post and try some of the exercises described therein.

I would love to hear back about your results!

Apple
Banana
Carrot
Doughnuts
Eggplant
Fig
Green Pepper
Habañero Pepper
Iceberg Lettuce
Jalapeño Pepper

In the morning, take a few minutes and write down a list of ten items, using the first ten letters of the alphabet as shown above. You can use a theme (such as food) or not. When starting out, it may be easier to use a theme though.

Once you’ve written them down, read them over a few times and memorize them. Keep the paper in a safe place at home–don’t take it with you to work or school.

At lunch time, try to remember the ten items, writing them down if you wish.

When you get home, try to recall the items again, writing them down if you want. Then, check against the actual list and see how well you did. You can do this right when you get home, or after dinner or at bedtime.

Do this daily, changing the items each day. Once you are able to recall the ten items daily with regularity, start increasing the difficulty. If you have been using groups of items in a theme (such as food, animals, kitchen items, etc.), use a group of random items instead.

Once you have mastered that, begin adding more items to the list each day. Once you can get through all the letters of the alphabet, that will be great!

And, once you are able to recall 26 items with frequent success, stop using the alphabet method. Just choose 26 items, no matter what letter with which they begin.

This exercise takes only minutes per day, but you will be amazed at the results, especially if you don’t think you’re good at remembering things.

After a time, you will be able to go to the grocery store, and you won’t have to check your list because you’ll remember everything you need to buy!

Do you find clowns scary? Maybe you are afraid of heights or of water? Perhaps you are afraid of cats or chihuahuas? Are you more than a little claustrophobic? Or, perhaps you suffer only from liticaphobia?

It’s natural to have fears. Some even seem to think an occasional fright can be good for you. Boosts the adrenaline, you know. Many people even enjoy it; just look at the popularity of roller coasters and haunted houses.

Worry not!

With the exception of some disorders which may prevent you from otherwise living an ordinary life, fear is not a problem for most people. What is more troublesome and damaging is worry.

Do you worry that you will lose your job? Do you worry that something bad will happen to someone you love? Do you worry about being a victim of crime? Do you worry that you’ll be eaten by a mutated woodland octopus while hiking through the woods?

Worry does no one any good.

Concern, Not Worry

It is okay to be concerned about things, and to act upon that concern by taking preventative measures. Identify a problem, then plan a solution or multiple options. If you are concerned about losing your job, for example, have your resume prepared, start a home business, or just start a list of options. Do what action you can to be prepared. Once you’ve done that, why worry? What good will it do you to occupy your thoughts with things that may or may not happen? If you have a plan developed, what good will worry do you?

Face Your Worries

You should not attempt to repress your worries. Instead, examine them, scrutinize them, learn the cause of them. Then, face the situation. Examine the facts and your options. Whatever reason you may have for worry, face it in a calm and deliberate manner. Decide what you can do about the situation. Then, let that be the end of your worry.

If new concerns arise, modify your plans. Worrying about it more will achieve nothing. Don’t let worry cause you to make rash decisions or jump to incorrect conclusions. Address your concerns, as I’ve mentioned, and then let go of your worries.

Do not let worry be your master. Once you have examined all the facts, explored your options and developed a plan of action, what more can you do?

Why Worry?

If you are confident in yourself, why worry? Worrying occupies the mind and distracts you from more productive use of your mental abilities.

If you are a person of faith, and say you have trust in God, why worry? Worrying can be a sign of a weakness of faith. If you believe in God, if you trust in God, you should have no worries.

Address your concerns, face your fears and worry no more!