Category: In The News

Slowing Down

tlc4women2 Comments
http://www.flickr.com/ photos/ 23073236@N02/ 3395155961/

Recently while listening to talk radio, a speaker made two statements that multi-tasking, actually first of all, makes things take longer, and second, destroys brain cells in the frontal lobe of the brain. Not one to just hear something and accept it, I looked for articles on the Internet. Which then led me to research because not everything you read on the Internet is true. So here is what I found out.

The ability to multi-task is done by the executive part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex. When we stress that part of the brain out by overload, it causes damage to the cells in the hippocampus which is where new memories are formed. So being stressed from overload causes forgetfulness, stress, and depression. Actually the articles I read said excessive multi-tasking is causing more problems than it’s solving AND it goes on to say that it actually takes us longer to get things done because we keep stopping what we are doing to do something else. Multi-tasking has also shown in studies to cause a person’s creativity to slow way down. So workers get into a “mode” of just doing what they have to do to get by. This means, free thinking goes away as we try to hurry through our tasks.

I learned two things that weren’t good for my lifestyle, actually three things. Here they are:

1. That I have a part in my body that has a name like hippocampus, which brings a visual of hippos communing and for any woman that is a freaky thought.

2. That all this time I thought multi-tasking was actually saving time and instead it was only serving to stress me out. I had this idea that I was so efficient and now I find that it’s no wonder that I was feeling frustrated.

3. That my forgetfulness isn’t because I’m 45 and a woman, but rather that I am on work overload.

That being said I am going to have to change some things in my life. I am going to have to take one project at a time and not get side-tracked. It seems like a daunting task. Multi-tasking is such a way of life.

My biggest question is we’ve raised our children on this mode of operation so how are we going to change this? Kids can listen to an ipod, text on the phone, chew gum, do their homework and ignore you all at the same time. Now we are going to have to tell them to slow down. Can you imagine this? We could actually a change a culture and slow down a pace that would bring us back to a more relaxing time in America. What could it be like to only do one thing at a time? One can only dream!

Peter Buffet

tlc4womenLeave a comment
news.yahoo.com/s/

Here is a book that is going to the top of my reading list. Peter Buffet the son of Warren Buffet has written a book called Life is What You Make It: Finding Your Own Path to Fulfillment. I will write a review when I read the book but for now, read the Reuters article written by Christine Kearney by clicking here.

There was a quote that grabbed me,

“Economic prosperity may come and go; that’s just how it is,” he writes in the book. “But values are the steady currency that earn us the all-important rewards.”

Peter Buffet sounds like a very wise man who understands money is a tool and not the excuse for not living your purpose and dreams!

Mancession

tlc4women1 Comment
godsgiftmylife.com/ ?p=109

There is even a word for it. Entrepreneur Magazine in it’s March issue claims that this recession has hit men the hardest and for the first time in history unemployment rates are higher for men 10.2% than for women 8.2%. For the complete story click here.

I’m still processing what this means overall. I’m grateful that people are working and that the article itself was positive, stating women have made big strides in the marketplace, are creating jobs as they begin companies, and are contributing powerfully to the economy and the world. Still, I can’t help but wonder why more women are going to college than men these days, why there are so many absent fathers, and what the men are doing, what are their roles in society these days? What does this say overall about our culture, and where is our country heading over the next several years? As a woman there is so much pressure between her desires for family and her career that I can’t help but wonder if there is a breaking point where the pressure just becomes too much?

The Secret To Ending Poverty

tlc4womenLeave a comment
http://www.flickr.com/photos/monroesdragonfly/2616202936/

Nicholas D. Kristof wrote this excellent article in the New York Times that we can’t ignore. We’ve always known it, we speak about it but now what are we going to do about it?

Bottom line, get an education, get a better job. It’s that simple and yet the process seems so complicated. I wish my Latino culture would get this on a bigger scale. I wish they’d learn English and break poverty barriers that have hindered us for far too long. I’m praying, I’m speaking out, the church is starting a story hour for children weekly and handing out vouchers to choose a book in the thrift store, and there is so much more that needs to be done!

Baby Food Giveaway A Big Success

tlc4womenLeave a comment

I was so busy during the Baby Food Giveaway that I didn’t get pictures with my camera so the pictures shown are of the volunteers posing. We had lots of volunteers and that made the giveaway go smoothly. It really was a privilege to be able to give food away to families who could really use it! I’m sure more pics are to come. We have video as well. Here’s a tiny glimpse at the crew.