Vital Information for Western Civilization

Vital Information

for Western Civilization

A compendium of information that is vital for those in the western civilization to know.

You may already know most of the information contained. It includes matters both practical and helpful during daily life.

All information contained is unverified and subjective. It is here in the hopes of being helpful.

This is a living document, and will be revised as new information presents itself.

Please help make this as comprehensive as possible. Contact me about anything.

Created, curated, and revised by Harry Wolff.

Last revised: 09/17/10

Table of Contents
Morning Routine
General Living
Health
Mental Health
Love
Meditation
Philosophy
Music

Sources

Morning Routine

Place your alarm clock across the room from your bed so when it goes off you have to get up to turn it off.

Tea is better than coffee.

Create an iTunes playlist that is exactly as long as you have in your morning. The playlist should go from relaxed to energetic, increasing intensity as your time remaining decreases. You will always know how much time you have left based on what song is currently playing.

Create multiple morning alarms that are staggered. For example: if you have to be out the door by 9am set one alarm for 6:30am, one for 7:30am, and one for 8am.

General Living

Always carry something with you to take down notes. Be it pen and paper, smartphone, or send a text message to yourself. You will never forget anything.

Don’t mind what people think. Related: Nothing is awkward unless you make it look that way, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbBHXMJ5Cv0

Celebrate your successes.

When giving a Hi-Five look at the person’s elbow to never miss.

Backup your computer.

Measure your hand from your fingertips to palm and memorize it. With this measurement you will be able to estimate and judge the size of anything – no ruler necessary. Also: pick a finger that is close to 1cm or a joint close to 1 inch.

Never lock a door unless the keys are in your hand. Do not assume they are in your pocket.

Make a habit of leaving your keys, wallet, and cell-phone in the same place. This avoids time spent finding them.

Learn from your mistakes.

Never grocery shop when you’re hungry

Learn to cook.

Upon receipt of your paycheck, automatically deduct big recurring obligations (rent, car payment, savings). This will insure you always have enough to pay your bills.

Set up automatic bill payment for everything. You will never be late on your payments.

Find inexpensive hobbies.

Health

Exercise and go outside. Sun and fresh air keeps you happy and energized.

Keep your body moving. Sitting in your chair staring at a screen for 8 straight hours is stressful. Get up and take a short walk while you’re thinking through a problem. Pick up a hobby like biking, swimming, or martial arts.

If you have chest congestion, drum on your chest lightly but rapidly. Same thing goes for a dry or gooey throat: drum lightly but rapidly on your windpipe. Drum for around 30 seconds or however long to achieve the desired effect. Your congestion will be temporarily broken up, lasting from 5-10 minutes. Repeat until you feel better.

Explanation : If you perturb the cells lining your airways, they will release ATP. ATP is rapidly broken down into adenosine in the airways. There is a receptor on the cells lining your airways that will start a cascade that pumps water into the airway when hit with adenosine. This water will be pumped up under thick mucus and help break it up.

1 tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar cures the hiccups.

If you don’t have an exercise routine merely do 10-20 pushups and 20-40 bicycle kicks a day. It will help put you in shape and make you feel healthier.

Drink water. Even slight dehydration causes fatigue, emotional discomfort, and loss of focus. (There’s an easy way to tell if you’re hydrated: your urine will be nearly clear.)

Get enough sleep.

Eat a balanced diet: lots of veggies and fruit, some lean meat and dairy, and the right amount of carbs to keep your blood sugar consistent without adding too many empty calories.

Stay away from fast food. Even their “healthy” choices are designed to maximize profit margins.

Quit drinking soda.

Always wash your hands. It is one of the most fundamental and well-proven ways to reduce disease.

Use a paper-towel or piece of toilet paper to open the inside handles of public bathroom doors.

Mental Health

Learn to say no to things you don’t want to do.

Cut negative people out of your life.

Keep a positive angle on everything. For example: If you dislike a type of food, try to understand what other people may enjoy, focus on that part, and you may start enjoying it. This applies to most things.

Emotions are how your subconscious talks to you. If you understand the emotions meaning it will dissipate.

To stay focused, concentrate on the goal instead of the process.

Acknowledge the possibility that you can be wrong.

Acknowledge constructive criticism.

Nobody is perfect. There are many things you do or think that can be improved. This applies to everybody.

Challenge your views. You will learn more by exposing yourself to counter-arguments.

Don’t take life too seriously.

Write down everything you need to do, from emergencies to trivialities. This will keep your mind spinning from recall issues. It will unburden your mind, allowing you to think creatively and more efficiently.

Love

Make sure your significant other knows how much they mean to you.

Metaphors for an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend, on why remaining friends is near impossible:

“It’d be like if you had a dog, and it died, but your mom said you can still keep it.”

Imagine if you went to McDonalds a lot and ordered a Big Mac Combo meal. A Big Mac, Large Fries and a Coke. You really like this meal. One day, you pull up to the drive-through and order the Big Mac Combo meal and you’re told, “I’m sorry – you can have the Big Mac and the Coke, but you can’t get fries with that anymore.”

You think about this for a moment, and sure – the Big Mac is the centerpiece of the meal, but McDonalds has some really good fries and you like their fries with your meal. So you say, “I’ve been able to get fries with that before, why can’t I have fries with my Big Mac combo anymore?”

You’re told, “Well, I just think it is better if you only have the Big Mac Coke from here on out.”

At this point, you may go to Wendy’s or Burger King and see if they give fries with their combo meals. But you may REALLY like McDonalds Big Macs and think, “If I keep coming here and ordering the Big Mac and Coke, maybe they will change their mind and give me fries later.”

So you continue to get the combo without fries until the deal breaker happens: One day you order the Big Mac and Coke, and as you’re pulling forward to pay, you see someone else pull up to the drive-through speaker and order the “Big Mac Combo”. And then you hear, “Would you like fries with that?”

That is why it is hard to remain friends with your ex. ~fin

The key to a happy relationship is nothing more than the ability to get along – the same way you get along with your family, coworkers, and friends. The base act of being able to get along with the person you live with is the difference between a happy life and a life of misery. It’s not that passion and romance don’t exist in peaceful relationships, but just that the people in those relationships have learned that the dramatic moments are not the base of the relationship, the every day moments are.

On the topic of: “If he/she loves me, he/she won’t hurt me”: People do things that are hurtful – even to the ones they love. It is easier to be hurt by someone you love.

“My mother told me to never marry anyone until I had fallen out of love with the person at least once. When I met my husband, I thought I could never fall out of love with him. Then, I did. And I realized I still wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Now, we are in love, but we know that if we should ever fall out of love again, we’ll be okay.”

Meditation

Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. Available for free online: http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english.php and http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html

Sit still and focus on your breath entering and leaving you.

Be still. Be quiet. Be present.

Meditation is what you make it, it need not be a strict discipline.

http://lifehacker.com/5591576/a-guide-to-meditation-for-the-rest-of-us

to be expanded

Philosophy

http://www.iep.utm.edu/

http://plato.stanford.edu/ Another great resource.

Logic: http://personal.bgsu.edu/~mbelzer/insidelogicspr07.html

to be expanded