Social Media Sites Like Facebook, You Tube, Flickr, Twitter Have Exponentially Exploded Information Sharing

Social Media Feeds On The Unedited Real Life, In Real Time

Social media sites like Facebook, You Tube, Flickr, Twitter have exponentially exploded information sharing. What was once a scared cow is simply another boring cow. There’s so much information, society is even becoming numb to what was once shocking.

We no longer critique the content, the quality, or even the spelling of r txt.

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Midlife Authenticity Is A Scary Proposition For Most Baby Boomers

Professional development class from April 2010

 

Who we are at work and who we are at home are often two souls in the same Baby Boomer body. Why? For starters, Boomers have been conditioned to believe they must act a certain way at work. For all intents and purposes, they’re right. They are professionally representing their organization. No disagreement here.

What many Boomers haven’t kept up with is the drastically changing social norms brought on by social media. What was once restricted to our closest friends and family is now public knowledge accessible by anyone in the world, anytime.

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Rise Above It, By Guest Blogger, Lorie Sheffer

Photo: Ian Sheffer, Switzerland
Photo: Ian Sheffer, Switzerland

“Quarreling is like cutting water with a sword”.

We add to our own stress by acting out in anger or getting into pointless arguments just to try to win at a situation that has no meaning. If we practice using restraint, it will eventually become automatic. It really does take greater strength to show restraint than it does to show aggression.

Just this past week, I had to show restraint. I was sitting under a portico at 8AM, waiting in the car with my dad while Mom went inside to get a wheelchair to transport him. We were chatting and I didn’t see a car pull up behind us. What got my attention was a woman pounding the trunk of my parents’ car with her fist while screaming a tirade of obscenities. I calmly got out and apologized to her, even though her behavior was inexcusable. I told her that had her driver asked us to move, or even tapped his horn to signal me, I would have been more than happy to get out of their way. Then I asked her if she needed me to help her get inside. She was rather confused by my reaction, and it was very obvious she was embarrassed by her own outburst. Her driver used this time to head for the parking lot, and the look on his faced told me that he was mortified. She apologized profusely. I smiled and told her that I hoped she would be feeling better soon. My calmness put me in control of the situation and actually gave me the upper hand.

When I got back into the car and told my dad what had happened he shook his head and laughed. My mother, however, was furious. I had to explain to her that we have been stressed by my dad’s illness and that I was not going to allow someone we didn’t even know to add to that stress. Sure, I would have been justified in giving that woman a piece of my mind, but to what end? She was the one who acted out, and she was the one who walked away feeling remorseful for her outburst. Why should I allow her to make me feel bad? My anger would surely have affected both of my parents as well as myself. In most cases, it really is better to rise above it. Not so much for the sake of the person who has offended you as for yourself and for the people who really do matter.

Happy 40th Birthday Walt Disney World!

jeff noel in training

First of all for October, a Happy Birthday shout out to all the Cast Members at Walt Disney World. Today is Walt Disney World’s 40th birthday, 1971 -2011. Congratulations Mickey Mouse (and Minnie Mouse, and all the other beloved Disney Characters).

Boomers, can you remember your 40th birthday? Forty is the new 30. Fifty is the new 40. Whatever, right? Authenticity is the new currency, um, well, it’s nothing new – yet – because people are afraid of it. That’s where jeff noel comes in. He’s not.

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If Midlife Responsibility Matters, Does Random and Ridiculous?

Random, ridiculous and beeresponsible?

The thing that excites jeff noel most about Mid Life Celebration’s next month is that there are unlimited possibilities, because so much has been done to lay the foundation for prolific blogging. Like a physical building, the foundation has been laid, the walls are up, but the outside exterior walls can be made with any texture and painted (if necessary) with any color.

PS. If you’re new to Midlife Celebration, today’s post may not initially make sense. Trust that I’m always going somewhere with every message. Always. And does that website really translate into: “be eresponsible”?

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