Life For Experts

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "How can I boost my energy?" But before that, actually the real question is "Why is it challenging to boost energy?" And that is because, despite the popular belief and logic, energy level is not an exact metric. You can be well rested, eat a lot, and feel like you have saved up a lot of energy, but still feeling tired anyway. And so the formula between people is also different. There are certain levers that are proven to be working well in boosting energy levels, but the equation and the level of impact might be different for each one of us. Therefore, it is great to know about them, and find the ones that can actually work for us.

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "What is the polite way of telling someone to shut up?" Have you ever been in a conversation where you are not sure whether you are even needed in? Or have you ever been in a group conversation and a certain someone just can't seem to keep their mouth shut? Talkative people can penetrate themselves well into a social conversation, but it is actually a double-edged sword. Whether we realize it or not, the more we become close to someone the less is our tolerance for the person's bickering. And that is natural - when we already know someone well, normally we no longer need the small talks and light topics, that we are now expecting higher quality of conversation that is in a state of balanced give and take. A social relationship is doomed when it leans heavier towards either giving or taking, because no matter we like it or not, humans are fundamentally transactional.

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "How to get rid of headaches?" Okay, I will be completely honest with you before we start. I, too, am still struggling with this. I am not that lucky as a person, that I was born with a tendency towards developing headaches from time to time. If you are anything like me, this condition has surely caused you a lot of troubles, repeatedly. And as someone who is particularly weak in the head, we try our best to cope with the situation and work into diminishing the pain and inconvenience. But unfortunately, sometimes there is no one size fits all when it comes to solving headaches. The condition itself is so complex and uncertain, and not to mention the different styles and magnitudes that comes with it.

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "How do I start exercising more?" I believe everyone knows how important exercise is for our health. Social media and news platforms are all about it. And I do believe that people want to start exercising, if it's not that hard to start. Everything, not just exercising, needs extra effort to start at the beginning. But exercise is specifically harder to some people, simply because it deals with your body physically, stretches it and sends it out of its comfort zone. Although researchers have found that exercise can make you happy, due to the presence of "athlete's high" that you get after a release of endorphin post-exercising, it all comes with a price. Now, even after we have encouraged ourselves to start exercising, another challenge comes up. How do we maintain the drive and keep on doing it regularly?

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "Am I productive enough?" Well, what is productivity? Productivity is defined by Oxford as the rate at which a worker, a company, or a country produces goods, and the amount produced, compared with how much time, work, and money is needed to produce them. The use of the term "productivity" started accelerating post 1900s, most likely due to a revolution in industry. But nowadays, productivity has become a universal language. It is no longer applicable to industry only. No matter where you work, or in what sector of expertise, productivity is occasionally held against us, whether by others or by ourselves. This stems from the universal belief that productivity shows how effective we are, and the fast paced world loves highly effective people.

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "Should I be more friendly?" Yes, sometimes we question ourselves whether we can be more friendly or not. That is the fact. It is a simple act of caring about what other people think about us. In a world where kindness and unity are seen as ideal, each one of us is expected to be nice and friendly towards one another. However, as we may have known by now, characters are built and developed from different blocks in life, which are all unique to every single human being. Friendliness is not a single character, but it is rather a sense that other people feel when we demonstrate multiple complementary characters.

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "How can I improve my writing skill?" I know, our topic in this episode deviates a little from the topics we usually talk about. But hey, despite the fact that soft skills are the more glorified one, hard skills are also just as important to help you succeed in life. So does writing skill. There are a lot of things that one needs to learn in theory when we are talking about honing our writing skill. Among those things, a few of them are essential regardless of your field of work and expertise. Now writing, just like other skills in the world, comes with a spectrum of mastery. 

The question I would like to discuss with you today is "Do I talk too much?" Chances are, at this point, you already see some signs within you that may imply the presence of too much talking behavior. However, you wonder whether it is something valid, or just a feeling. Fact is, it can be hard to know for sure. The ideal way to really know is, of course, to hear it right from the source, which is other people's opinion. I know I talked a lot in previous times about not letting other people's opinion dictate your life. But in the case of validating an overly talkative behavior, we can't deny that this situation mostly affects the way people see you and not the way you see yourself. We are now talking about keeping harmony in our social life. And that's why, people's opinion plays an important role in being the source of truth.

The question I would like to discuss with you today is “Do people think I’m childish?" Imagine having someone called you childish right in your face. That must not feel good, right? Some people find this label very annoying, since it is not just an attack to our direct personality but it might also feel degrading at the same time. When someone calls you childish, they are basically saying that you are not at the same level as them. You are lower. Not always true, but at least that is how it makes us feel. But, as we probably have heard several times now, who you are is not defined by other people. So, just because people assume that you’re childish doesn’t mean that you actually have a kid-like personality. Sometimes, it is just the small things or habits that you do.

The question I would like to discuss with you today is “Is it okay if I'm not interested in dating?" A question that haunts the single population of the world. In general, there are two types of single people. The first type consists of people who are single because they haven’t found a good match yet, while the second type consists of people who are single because they are not looking. Now, if you have ever wondered why you don’t have any interest in dating as much as everybody else, then you probably belong to the second group. And while initially it doesn’t seem like a problem for you, doubts start to rise as you get older and your friends are slowly moving to a new phase of life, where they are finally ready for commitment in a long term relationship.