Tag: #beforebreakfast

Thoughtful Thursday posts, Uncategorized

Thoughtful Thursday – November 21, 2024

amybenoit

My intention is to post a Thoughtful Thursday column each week and share some of the insights I have learned in the past week. Here are some of the things I’ve learned this week:

Mary’s Cup of Tea – 5 Mantras to Get You Through Tough Times

  • Be here now.
  • This too shall pass.
  • Everything happens for me, not to me.
  • Emotions need motion. We can’t sit with our feelings for too long. You need to do positive and productive things to get the feelings out.
  •  Lead with love.

Life Kit – How to slow down when you eat

  • Signs you are eating too fast: hiccups, heartburn, feeling hungry right after eating
  • Mindful eating asks us to slow down and notice our food.
  • Most nutritionists urge us to take 20 minutes to eat a meal. It takes that long for your body to get the signal to the brain that you are full. If you eat fast, your brain is not getting that signal that you are full, causing you to eat too much.
  • Tips:
    • Allocate time to eat and only eat. Don’t use your phone while eating.
    • Engage your senses. Be with the food and notice the colors, scents, taste, texture, etc.
    • Pre-portion food. Take smaller portions to the table. Ex: put chips in a bowl ahead of time to keep you from overeating.
    • Chewing is important. Chew several times to ease digestion.
    • If you have limited time for meals, save some food to eat as a snack later.

5 contemplations of mindful eating

Before Breakfast – Make space for friendship

  • Studies show that people think they’d be happier with more friends, but what actually makes us happier is being considered someone’s best friend.
  • A better strategy is to be a dynamite teammate to 3-5 people.
  • Friendships start out with shared activities.
  • Choice theory says that we all have five inherent genetic needs: survival, power, love and belonging, freedom (self-expression), and fun. Friendships should have these elements.
  • The biggest mistake is that people don’t think about how their invitation lands in someone else’s inbox. Give specific times and locations.
  • Ask friends questions like “How can I help you? What are your pain points? Tell me what’s going on. How’s your job? How has your social life been?” Be an excellent teammate and be careful not to dominate conversations.
  • Make silence meaningful. Try to make a plan with someone very busy and say something like “If I don’t hear from you by ___, I’ll assume you can’t go.” By saying how you will interpret the silence, you are taking power and giving a kindness to the other person of “I understand you may not get back to me. Here’s how I will interpret a non-answer.”
  • Pick your elite tiers of people and commit to prioritizing them, being in contact with them, and seeing them regularly. Other connections are a bonus, but it’s not as overwhelming when you prioritize the top tier friends.

Law School Toolbox Podcast – Quick Tips – LinkedIn Best Practices for Law Students

Although I’m not in law school, I finally caved and signed up for LinkedIn after months of my professors and paralegal program classmates emphasizing its importance. I still have a lot to learn, but this podcast was helpful!

  • LinkedIn is the go-to professional networking platform
  • Your profile is often the first impression you make on potential employers for connection.
  • Use an up-to-date professional photo. Pay attention to your background.
  • Headline – title should be specific, not generic.
  • If an employer searches for terms you used in your title, your profile will likely appear closer to the top in their search results.
  • About section – summarize who you are, what your goals are, and how you achieved them. Who you are now, who you were before (what did you do/where did you work), who you aspire to be (what type of law, etc.) Try to add your personality into the mix.
  • Experience section – list all relevant experiences. Instead of using bullet points, write a full paragraph telling the story of your accomplishments, activities, and roles in each position. Be specific about your duties and outcomes.
  • Education – all higher education. Include activities and extracurriculars. Be specific about your roles. Include awards you received.
  • Licenses and certifications – NSLT, Lexis Nexis legal research certification course, etc.
  • Publications
  • Start by connecting with people you know – classmates, family members, friends, old coworkers, and professors
  • Use LinkedIn to connect with alumni from your school who work in the area of law you are interested in. Reach out to attorneys who work in areas you are interested in.
  • Like and comment on posts from your connections. Share your own updates, too.
  • Always maintain professionalism in every aspect of your profile. Proofread everything. Keep your profile updated and current. Quality over quantity for connections.

I enjoyed this post from Gabe the Bass Player this week:

https://www.gabethebassplayer.com/blog/what-time-do-you-open

“What Time Do You Open?

November 14, 2024

You get to pick. But whatever time you post on the door we expect you to be fully open. Not a limited menu. Not partially attentive. Not just half the vibe.

Whatever it’s like when we walk in, we assume that’s the way it always is…so for whatever way you want to known, it starts from the time you open.”

I look forward to reading, learning, and sharing more with you soon!

Thoughtful Thursday posts

Thoughtful Thursday – October 24, 2024

amybenoit

My intention is to post a Thoughtful Thursday column each week and share some of the insights I have learned in the past week. Here are some of the things I’ve learned this week:

Stuff You Should Know – The Story of Spirit Halloween

  • Spirit Halloween in the United States is well-known for being a giant Halloween pop-up store that sprouts up in old malls, strip malls, and old big-box stores that are 7,000-10,000 square feet. 
  • There are more than 1,400 stores in the U.S. between August and November. Some are within miles of one another.
  • Spirit Halloween hires 25,000 temporary employees August-November. Stores close on November 2. Spirit Halloween’s online store is open year-round. 
  • 30-40% of stock carries over from year to year 
  • Keys to their growth plan:
    • presence
    • ads
    • 10,000 foot storefront close to another big-box store such as Target/Walmart/shopping center
    • expand beyond just costumes (include décor)  

Life Kit: Health – How to cut ultra-processed foods from your diet 

  • Packaged foods – high levels of salt and fat, added sugars, added colorings, added flavorings, hydrolyzed protein isolate, high fructose corn syrup, bulking agents like maltodextrin – tend to have a lot of additives  
  • Foods that are made with ingredients derived from foods and reassembled to create a product 
  • There is a lot of research linking overconsumption of ultra-processed foods to poor health outcomes, like type two diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, etc.  
  • Look at the ingredient list. Ignore the health claims on the packaging. If there are ingredients you don’t recognize and wouldn’t have in your home kitchen, it’s an ultra-processed food. 
  • Even if it’s ultra-processed, look for things lower in sugar or no added sugars that have some fiber and protein. 
  • Craving salt? Think about eating nuts. If you love breakfast cereals, look for something with protein and fiber. Yogurt – look for something with low or no added sugar and use some fresh berries to sweeten it. Look for a high protein option. 
  • Canned items like vegetables and beans often have added sodium. You can rinse them in a colander to cut out some salt. 
  • Focus more on eating things you know you should be eating more of, such as fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. 
  • Cooking more from scratch at home is always a better option.
  • Aim for the 80/20 rule – eat 80% clean, whole foods, and splurge on up to 20% of your diet. 
  • Truefood.tech – tells you how processed food items are – look up your brand and product – suggests less processed alternatives 
    • This website is fascinating!

You can type in a brand and product and it will show you a processing score, ingredients (and additives), and alternatives and their processing scores!

Before Breakfast – Make it worth the commute 

  • If you are going to go into the office, make it worth the commute. Use your in-office time for relationship building and collaboration. 
  • You don’t want to spend your time and energy going somewhere just to e-mail and call people in other places because you can do that from home. 
  • When you’re just getting to know a new colleague, in-person conversations can be valuable. Schedule lunch, conversations, or coffee with a colleague during your in-office days. 

The Big Flop – The Truth About D.A.R.E. 

  • Some studies show a higher rate of drug use among D.A.R.E. participants than those who didn’t participate.
  • Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) is best remembered due to the ads and PSAs that were intended to promote “Just say no.”
  • Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act – D.A.R.E. is the only program that is eligible for funding from this law, so they got federal money to go nationwide
  • There was an 80-hour course for D.A.R.E. officers
  • ¾ of all school districts in the United States used the program. Over 5.5 million kids were exposed to the program, and over 11,000 police officers were involved. Each year, between $600-750 million of taxpayer money was spent on D.A.R.E.
  • Nancy Reagan – honorary D.A.R.E. graduate – backed D.A.R.E.
  • D.A.R.E. curriculum:
    • Alternatives to doing drugs: deep breathing
    • Strategies to keep yourself safe at parks, shows, and the mall
    • Ways to say no were all extremely obvious: just walk away, just ignore the person, change the subject, etc.
    • Puts all drugs on the same level – alcohol, pot, cocaine equally serious
    • According to one D.A.R.E. workbook, you can tell when a bunch of people are up to no good if they have tattoos (!)
  • Merchandise
    • Clothing with D.A.R.E. logo, pencils that said “too cool to do drugs” – depending on how much you sharpened it, it would bring the wrong message – eventually to just “do drugs” or “drugs”
  • Criticisms of the program:
    • Person who came up with D.A.R.E. testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee that people who use drugs, even casually, should be taken out and shot.
    • Recognize, resist, report – the report part attracts criticism because some people believe it’s turning kids into police informants
    • Kids calling on parents and sending them to prison
    • After multiple studies, the program was found to not work. The effectiveness of D.A.R.E. has yet to be established.
    • Marijuana use by teens increased. D.A.R.E. makes certain kids want to try drugs- “you can’t tell me what to do”
    • Ineffective primary prevention program
  • The program stuck around until 2009 when it was finally phased out.
  • U.S. spent over 1 trillion dollars on D.A.R.E.
  • A new version of D.A.R.E. was introduced in 2009, keeping it R.E.A.L. Refuse, explain, avoid, and leave. Some initial research indicates that this program MAY be more effective, although it’s been criticized for a lack of focus on harm reduction.
  • Misuse of funds and time

This post from Seth’s blog resonated with me this week:

Confused about good

“Confused about good

How often do we assume that popular things are good, and that good things become popular?

If your work doesn’t catch on, does that mean it wasn’t good?

In almost every field, people with insight, taste and experience admire and emulate good things that aren’t popular, and are surprised by popular things that aren’t good.

Perhaps we need to broaden our definition (or narrow it) so we can be clear about what we mean.”

I look forward to reading, learning, and sharing more with you soon!