Fixing America’s problems (part two)

My second answer to America’s problems also applies to resolving a major planetary plague: Social Media. At first, around 2008, I embraced the concept and used it a lot. Yet, very soon, I realized the extent of its insidious problems. 

Sure, I loved it at first, as a powerful tool for connection and communication with family and friends, but I rapidly discovered its dark sides. One of them is its ability to generate and spread misinformation or “fake news” that too many believe because they’ve never been taught to think critically and verify their sources. 

It’s also known that social media's algorithms are creating echo chambers that confirm what people already tend to believe, speeding up the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories as well as political polarization or extremism.

Then, there are all these beautiful stories, photos and videos of others that seem to lead a perfect life, far away from the daily grind and down-to-earth problems most folks must contend with. This often contributes to feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, and depression. 

There’s also the highly addictive aspect of the platform, encouraging users to spend ever more time scrolling through feeds and engaging with content. Unfortunately, the addictive nature of social media is what will keep it alive for long. Incivility, cyberbullying and harassment are also part and parcel of social media through on-line anonymous nature and lack of accountability. 

Should I mention privacy concerns and data misuse as vast amounts of user data is collected by social media platforms that are then used for targeted advertising, profiling, and even manipulation. While I still use YouTube for storing and sharing my videos and WhatsApp for instant messaging, I have left Facebook/Instagram in 2018 and Twitter (now X) last year. 

These were not easy decisions, but I’m glad I made them!

Fixing America’s problems (part one)

Quite often, when I’m complaining, I’m asked what my personal ideas to fix America’s problems are. Fair enough! 

Since this is a rather open-ended question that calls for a long list of answers, I will begin with a single one, which I think, if applied, would go a very long way in solving most current American’s problems. My answer goes like this: “Let’s spend the time used up in Church, in school, instead!” What does that mean? 

By applying this rational learning precept to the letter, the entire Nation would become less irrational, better educated, people would gradually begin to think for themselves, appreciate scientific evidence and their own ignorance, instead of remaining gullible and falling prey to smooth talking politicians and a universe of conspiracy theories...

Ski harder to become better?

This year for me will be that of quality over quantity. 

That said, I went skiing on Wednesday. The weather was cold, gloomy and just uninviting, plus I had a lot of paperwork to do, yet I forced myself to go out and decided that it would be an excellent opportunity to “Put some quality skiing into my life!” 

The idea sounds good and the goal makes sense, so how do I get to it? 

Here’s my custom-tailored recipe to the way I ski. I pick the most challenging area for me on the mountain, and when conditions are what they have been until now, I’ll focus on skiing as safely as I can, also as smoothly and fluidly as possible, while avoiding the many obstacles (rocks, stumps, trees small and tiny, icy spots, as well as the ugly moguls we currently have). 

Of course, it will require my undivided attention, with no “robotic skiing” allowed as is generally the case on perfectly manicured ski runs. I do that for as long as my body or my allowed time can stand. I even found it fun (obviously, I’m a ski fanatic) and returned home fully satisfied. I slept very well that night. 

Try it, you just need to have the heart for it!

Are we becoming irrelevant at 75?

The holiday season is generally our biggest and more complete get-together of the year, and as we find ourselves in the midst of youth, we can often feel out of place and no longer at the exact same wave-length as the younger generations that surround us. 

Have we gradually become irrelevant, since our age is now perfectly visible and our contribution to the world around us is assumed to have stopped? Whatever the true answer is, this is frequently the impression that we perceive. We know that becoming irrelevant depends of course on what’s meant by "relevant" and our individual circumstances. We also know that what's relevant to one person or area might not be relevant to another.

Is it about contributing to society? maintaining personal connections? finding personal fulfillment? There can be specific answers to each one of these questions. What remains true is that, deep inside, there’s a huge value in our wisdom and experience. We’ve all lived through decades of change and seen numerous challenges, so our insights can be precious to younger generations. 

We also have skills and expertise to contribute, some of us still continue to work, even if it’s less, and pursue their passions and hobbies. We’re still available to our family with our love, our time and our view points to share and we still have plenty of room left to focus on personal growth and fulfillment. Sure, there are challenges and limitations that can get in the way. 

Some of us have to face physical or cognitive limitations that limit their participation in some activities. However, even with these challenges, there’s room for being engaged and connected. Ultimately, it is all about personal choice and adaptation: age is not an absolute signal if an individual keeps the mindset and willingness to adapt. It's a matter of individual choices, perspectives, and how we navigate the opportunities and challenges of aging. 

Our lives have meaning and value at any age. Let’s not allow anyone to tell us otherwise!

As another Holiday Season ends…

The Christmas and New Year period is something we usually look forward to, but that quickly takes its toll on the most resilient of us. When it’s over, I tend to breathe more freely and reconnect with my precious routine and gladly return to our regular way of living. 

I think that when the Holiday Season is over, and when it involves being hosted, hosting and traveling, it gets the best out of us, leaving us exhausted and depleted. It’s now time to rest and recharge by beginning to take a mental vacation at least of the whole whirlwind of events. 

So, over the next few days, I’ll try to do just that by slowly easing back into my daily routine, without being too harsh about it. I’m now looking forward to the new snow in the forecast to resume skiing in good winter conditions, unlike the one we had to face until now with bad snow and huge crowds. 

One thing for sure is that I will eat and drink much less and that’s welcome news. I will also gently integrate my goals for the new year in taking my time to fine-tune them and make sure they fit well in my normal life. I can appreciate that it's normal to feel a bit down after the holidays, and I plan to be patient with myself and allow my body and mind enough time to recover. 

Hopefully this will work and if it doesn’t, I’ll ask you for further help!

When skiing is really bad…

To ring up the new year the right way, I went skiing with my daughter on Monday, the first day of 2024. As much as possible, we chose places that were off of the beaten path, free of crazy, speedy vacationers and definitely not on groomed runs. 

We decided to go in the morning as we figured that a large number of skiers would be far too hungover to ski that early in the day. True assumption, but still quite a large number of devoted skiers who had behaved the night before thought the same way we did! 

On the challenging slopes we usually prefer, it was therefore a game of avoiding ugly moguls, twigs, saplings and rocks and it demanded that we paid super attention and considerably slowed down our normal, fast pace. 

For what little skiing we did that morning we were tired and glad to call it quit around noon. So what was the takeaway of this first run of the new year? 

Those terrible skiing conditions are a fantastic opportunity to improve one’s skiing as long as no one gets hurt. 

Hopefully, the drought should end soon, if the weather forecast is any indication!

Right way to begin the year?

Before we dive head first into a new year, willy-nilly, let’s begin by being grateful to be able to do so! Then, it might be helpful to ask ourselves the question, “how to make it a good year?” or better yet “a very good year…” 

Since I don’t consider myself an expert in this particular field, I’ve done some research in an effort to help us all discover the perfect answer for a magic formula, if there’s one. Experts say to begin by reviewing the past year, including victories, challenges, and lessons learned. in an effort to understand what has worked well for us. 

After doing it, we should be ready to set some meaningful goals after defining what "good" means to us and making sure whichever objective we choose to pursue, they align with our values and aspirations. We should make them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. I could add more advice, but let’s keep this light and simple to just get us thinking, if not going hard and fast into 2024. 

Happy New Year!