Two new studies point to increasing boredom in the workplace and declining loyalty. But 41 dogs, and maybe one pig, won’t let that happen at an innovative company in Boulder, Colorado called SparkFun. UPDATE: Head over to their latest blog post (link at end) for some photos of SparkFun canines! SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to make your electronics projects possible. Whether it’s a robot that can cook your breakfast or a GPS cat tracking device, they design their products to be more accessible to the average person. Founder Nathan Seidle is an energetic and enthusiastic entrepreneur and has tapped into the rapidly growing maker and DIY (do-it-yourself) trend. The company is big into the open source philosophy and it influences how he runs the company, to be sure. I think some of his approach is beneficial to those building a new company or trying to infuse a sense of passion, change, and opportunity into an old culture. Here is how SparkFun keeps employees (despite the above statistic) loyal and seriously unbored.
0 Comments
In Japan, soaking in natural hot springs is a treasured pastime that’s steeped in thousands of years of tradition, and during my stay there, I visited a few. The experience opened my eyes (and pores) to a world of good-feeling benefits, many of which (but not all) are backed by a plethora of research. Confession: Before my recent visit to Japan, I never bathed. That’s because I shower. My Japanese friends, on the other hand, grew up viewing their daily bathtime and hot springs (generally referred to as onsen in Japanese) as mandatory, a time to relax and reflect. The rest of us also sort of instinctively feel that baths—and by extension, hot springs—can be good for the mind and body, but to what extent? First, Hot Springs as Medicine Is Still An Area of Research To the Japanese, hot springs are more than just a “hot tub”—they’re precious for relaxation, health, and more. Of course, it’s not just the Japanese. Hot springs, onsens, mineral baths, spa therapy—whatever you want to call them—have a rich history and are cherished in many parts of the world. Dear diarists take heart. Writing about your feelings can help the brain overcome emotional upsets and leave you feeling happier, psychologists have found. Brain scans on volunteers showed that putting feelings down on paper reduces activity in a part of the brain called the amygdala, which is responsible for controlling the intensity of our emotions. Psychologists who discovered the "Bridget Jones effect" said it worked whether people elaborated on their feelings in a diary, penned lines of poetry, or even jotted down song lyrics to express their negative emotions. Matthew Lieberman, a psychologist at the University of California in Los Angeles, said the effect differs from catharsis, which usually involves coming to terms with an emotional problem by seeing it in a different light. When people wrote about their feelings, medical scans showed that their brain activity matched that seen in volunteers who were consciously trying to control their emotions. Whenever I read a quote about love from the author of "Love" Dr. Leo Buscaglia, I feel like shouting it from the rooftops. Here is one of my favorites: "What love we've given, we'll have forever. What love we fail to give, will be lost for all eternity." Leo Buscaglia Quotes 20 Thoughts for Keeping Love Alive 1. Develop a gratitude attitude. Express thanks by finding three qualities that you love about your partner. All day long focus on those positive qualities. No matter what happens, try to ignore all of those little irritating moments or habits that drive you mad. Mainstream American culture wants to kill grief. My mother died last August. I am still grieving, but much more privately now. Even though it’s been barely six months it’s clear that, for the most part, I am supposed to appear bouncy and happy and project that I have “moved on” with my life. Ha. My relationship with my mother was a jumble of gratitude, love and unending struggles toward forgiveness, alternating with colossal annoyance and resentment and more unending struggles toward forgiveness (that went both ways). But the less-than-perfect dynamic of our relationship didn’t make losing her any easier. I still cry every time I reach for the phone to call her before I remember she’s gone. My mother’s absence from this world remains at once constant/overarching and sudden/stunning. My mother’s absence keeps blasting up at me randomly, like I’m forgetting I live on a field of geysers. That is grief. We think of grief* that lasts beyond a very short window (funeral, visitation, a short leave from work if we’re lucky, or maybe six months of “reasonable” sadness if we adhere to some guidelines) as a weakness; a spiritual failing; a mental illness; a temporary, linear process of inconvenient but required steps toward a past state of non-grieving that should be gotten through quickly. We’d better be back at it and ready to produce within a week or two, by God, or something is wrong We all have a superpower, do you know what it is? Privilege. Privilege is the tool by which we can save the world. It’s easy. You don’t have to do much to harness the power because chances are you were born with it or put in the position to receive it. But are you aware of it? By it’s very definition, a privilege is a luxury and in most cases, we are able to take certain luxuries for granted. We talk about white privilege a lot, but do we realize that to some degree, we all have privilege. By the very essence of its name, for it to be classified “white privilege” we would have to infer there are other types right? So are you cognizant of your own? Because there are so many different levels to privilege, and so many groups one may belong to that determines said privilege, often times we go through life not really thinking about it. Not counting our blessings so to speak. Even as an oppressed group we internalize certain prejudices and then oppress another group and to me, its ludicrous. Whether you're trying to shape your lower body, increase muscle tissue, develop core strength or make your hips more flexible, the lunge can help you achieve your goal. This functional, multi-joint exercise can be modified to meet your fitness level. Whether you're doing basic beginner lunges or take on a more advanced variety, such as lunges with your rear foot elevated, the exercise is beneficial in more ways than one. Strengthen Your Buttocks and Legs According to the American Council on Exercise, lunges are one of the most effective lower-body exercises and are right up there with squats, step-ups and quadruped and four-way hip extensions. They effectively work your glutes and quadriceps and also engage your hamstrings. Strengthening these large muscle groups can speed up your metabolism, which is beneficial if you're trying to lose weight. When excess fat is reduced from your lower body, lunges can help you shape, tone and firm up your tush and legs. What Are Superfoods? Blueberries, kale, salmon—you’ve heard countless times about the nutritional benefits of these everyday ingredients, commonly labeled “superfoods.” There’s no official scientific definition of a superfood, but it’s generally accepted that superfoods contain high levels of much-needed vitamins and minerals. They can also be a source of antioxidants, substances that shield our bodies from cell damage and help prevent disease. While there are a number of common foods that provide these nutrients, there is also an array of more exotic and less mainstream superfoods that are worth getting to know. |
The FDF LifestyleThis page includes blogs, healthy articles, inspiring pictures, exercise tutorials, music, etc. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. Archives
January 2024
Visit this section daily to become more healthy and positive.Strengthen your mind by consistently learning new information.
New articles are uploaded throughout the week. |
Live |
Life |
To |
The |
Fullest |