Renfrew-Collingwood Community News

News stories from the Renfrew-Collingwood community in East Vancouver

Category Archives: Read On


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Read On: How to focus in an unfocused world

Read-On-Word-Search-May-2019

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BY TONY WANLESS

Distraction, or the inability to focus for more than very short times, has become common in the high speed, technological world of today.

Today, we are bombarded by so much mental stimulation, we find it very difficult to concentrate on anything for very long.

There are noises and other attention-robbing distractions everywhere. Music, traffic, conversations and especially smart phones, which everyone now seems to be constantly holding to their ears, eyes or mouths, routinely rattle our focus.

Today, a growing number of us are becoming worried about what seems to be our loss of attention. With all this stimulation to our brains, our ability to concentrate has been reduced to a few seconds or minutes.

The medical term for this problem is Ego Depletion. But we likely call it something like mental fuzziness or tiredness. Some people may even worry that their brains are damaged.

But there are strategies to counter this problem. Many are old and existed long before technology was everywhere and overwhelmed our thinking processes. But they are now being revived to helping us cope with this new world.

No doubt we will eventually learn how to adapt to this new world. But until then, we might want to think about using the old techniques.

These include:
1. Writing things down so we can refer to them later.
2. Using To-Do and other lists.
3. Doing tasks in bite-sized pieces.
4. Taking many time-outs when learning or working.
5. Focusing on chunks of information instead of a steady stream.
6. Switching to other tasks, which allows the mind to rest.
7. Napping, meditating and other quieting actions.
8. And, of course, using your phone less.

Definitions

bombard: attack (a place or person) continuously with bombs, shells or other missiles.
routinely: as part of a regular procedure rather than for a special reason.
depletion: reduction in the number or quantity of something.
cope: deal effectively with something difficult.


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Read On: There is something in the spring air

Read On Word Search April 2019 – There is something in the spring air

BY TONY WANLESS

When spring arrives, bringing with it better weather and renewed spirits, many of us find our moods lifting. We feel more cheerful, energetic and friendly.

We notice that spending so much time in our houses or apartments during the rainy and cold winter has left us thinking they look a bit worn, shabby or dirty.

So we decide a good scrubbing will help renew the place.

We also start thinking that maybe our lives could also use a good cleaning of a sort.

We believe we should spend more time enjoying and less complaining. Maybe we should get out there and have a little fun. Maybe we should be better human beings.

We think these thoughts because spring is a time of renewal.

In spring, birds that disappeared during the colder months suddenly sing again outside our windows. Thoughts that were gloomy are now more positive and joyful.

For most of us, spring signals a time to start a new life, or change an old one.

So we sort through our closets or lockers for our warmer weather clothes. Sometimes we find them old and inappropriate and decide to buy new ones to celebrate the new feeling.

We also start sorting through our mental closets because we believe that, maybe, our minds also need awakening after dark and cold months.

Signals that winter is over and brighter times are beginning to appear leave us with more bounce in our steps, our heads held a little higher, and a belief that this is the way it will be from now on.

This mental and physical spring cleaning can also revive old plans and desires – for different ways of living or the renewal of plans that had been tucked away in our minds because they seemed too difficult.

Now they seem more possible.

Similarly, we start thinking about reviving relationships with other people that may have withered during the long period of solitude.

Like the flowers, we also look forward to renewing.

Definitions

mood: a temporary state of mind or feeling
shabby: in poor condition through long or hard use or lack of care
sort: to put in a certain place or rank according to kind, class or nature
wither: to lose vitality, force or freshness
renew: to make like new; restore to freshness, vigour or perfection

Copyright 2019 Renfrew-Collingwood Community News


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Read On: Create a new habit

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BY TONY WANLESS

Every new year begins with a period of dreaming that our lives will be different.

We will stop bad behaviours. We will be better people.

However, after a short time, these plans have almost completely faded away.

Why? Because changing a habit is difficult.

Habits, good or bad, are simply patterns of behaviour that have been built over time by repetition. For instance, we often eat at the same time every day.

We create habits to be short-cuts for our busy brains. When triggered, they help us perform repeated actions without our having to think about them and so save energy.

But sometimes, when patterns are very strong they become “ruts.”

Ruts once meant the deep track left by wagon wheels. Now, “being in a rut” means having a behaviour that is difficult to change.

Usually, ruts are created by bad habits. But they can also be used to build good habits.

To do so you must repeatedly perform a new behaviour in a bad behaviour’s place. This imprints the behaviour pattern in your mind.

At first this requires much attention and, and therefore, mental power. You must be constantly on guard to perform the new behaviour.

But, eventually, the new behaviour becomes the new habit.

It is a new “good” rut in place of the old one.