20 things to stop doing to people

Copy-pasting without any further comments.

There is one key factor that can either damage your relationships or deepen them. That factor is your attitude. If you’re hoping to grow and maintain positive relationships in your life, read on. Below you will find a 20 step attitude adjustment guaranteed to help you do just that.

1) Stop holding grudges. – Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness.
2) Stop complaining. – Instead, use your time and energy to do something about it.
3) Stop meaning what you don’t say. – People can’t read minds. Communicate regularly and effectively.
4) Stop making it all about you. – The world revolves around the sun, not you. Take a moment to acknowledge this truth on a regular basis.
5) Stop lying. – In the long-run the truth always reveals itself. Either you own up to your actions or your actions will ultimately own you.
6) Stop blaming. – Blaming others accomplishes nothing. Either you own your problems, or they will own you. Your choice. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give-up your power over that part of your life, and you annoy everyone around you in the process.
7) Stop doubting. – If you think that you can’t achieve something, I have some news for you, you’re probably right. But don’t let your self-doubt interfere with other people’s dreams. Remember, the one who says it can’t be done should never interrupt the one doing it. (Read Unstoppable.)
8) Stop interrupting. – Correcting someone when they’re blatantly wrong is one thing, but always interjecting your opinions out of turn gets old fast.
9) Stop being selfish. – You get what you put into a relationship. Nothing less, nothing more.
10) Stop judging. – Everyone is fighting their own unique war. You have no clue what they are going through, just like they have no clue what you’re going through.
11) Stop gossiping. – Gossiping about others is a lose/lose situation. It hurts them, and then it hurts your reputation.
12) Stop making promises you can’t keep. – Don’t over-promise. Over-deliver on everything you do.
13) Stop being defensive. – Just because someone sees something differently than you doesn’t mean either one of you is wrong. Keep an open mind. Open minds discover great things.
14) Stop comparing people to others. – No two people are alike. Everyone has their own strengths. We are only competing against our own selves.
15) Stop expecting people to be perfect. – ‘Perfect’ is the enemy of ‘good.’ And genuine ‘goodness’ is hard to find in this world. Don’t overlook it.
16) Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – It’s impossible. But making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
17) Stop screwing people over just because you can get away with it. – Just because you can get away with something doesn’t mean you should do it. Think bigger. Do what you know in your heart is right. (Read Life’s Greatest Lessons.)
18) Stop making mountains out of molehills. – People make mistakes. Crap happens. There’s no reason to stress out yourself and everyone around you because of it. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
19) Stop being dramatic. – Stay out of other people’s drama and don’t needlessly create your own.
20) Stop giving out advice, and just listen. – Less advice is often the best advice. People don’t need lots of advice, they need a listening ear and some positive reinforcement. What they want to know is already somewhere inside of them. They just need time to think, be and breathe, and continue to explore the undirected journeys that will eventually help them find their direction.

And remember, your relationship with yourself is the closest and most important relationship you will ever have. So pay attention to it, develop it, nurture it, and never, ever stop.

Source: http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/07/24/20-things-to-stop-doing-to-others/

Nash equilibrium in economy?

Imagine a world whose economy is at a Nash equilibrium.

Cheap factories in third-world countries (and not only) would have no reason to make too cheap products... because they'd simply earn less than they could.

Expensive factories in "developed" countries (and not only) would have no reason to inflate their product to 1000%... because nobody would actually buy these products.

This small percentage of the world's population that holds 90% of the worldwide wealth would have no reason to gather it... because they'd immediately notice the lack of liquidity in the market and it would turn against them.

This system would naturally lead to a situation where everyone can lead a decent life. No luxuries - housing, clothing, food and water, health care, education, and some leisure. If there's too much of the product you're providing, nobody will buy it, and you'll switch to another job where there's actually a need.

So far from our reality.... and yet so close! We can even imagine the laws that would make it work, and even observe them occasionally at our current system.

Whoever solves this will probably get a Nobel prize (or two?) and the eternal gratitude of a few billions of people.

Are animals selfish?

Some people think that animals are selfish beings. In fact, if you're kind to them, they'll be grateful to you and they'll try to repay the favor. Not always, but more often than humans will.

I recently found out a few examples of animals (fellow felines) adopting babies that could be their prey:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpfvkeo0KBc
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-470764/Moggy-purrfect-mother-feathery-family.html

Then I decided to adopt two ducklings. Every day, they're becoming more loving and forgiving, and they're starting to look at me as if to say "thank you" after e.g. a nice walk. They've already learned to not escape their box when they're indoors and they've even almost stopped waking me up in the wee hours of the morning when they have to be fed - they just wait patiently until someone wakes up. And the first thing I do every morning is to say hello to two cute little creatures, who start making happy sounds as soon as they notice I'm awake.

When I first brought them home, they were making too much noise for public transport and I had to keep their box shut. One week later, during a much longer bus trip, their box was open all along and they were being quiet and well-behaved, although they were obviously not at ease.

Two days after I bought them, I had very high fever and my room was noisy all night long, because of my family taking care of me. They were in my room, obviously unable to sleep, but being very quiet. A human would have said "shut up, I'm trying to sleep!". And they were just baby animals.

And then, full of duckish affection, I start noticing that humans often feel attacked and start retaliating only by thinking that someone else is superior. If this "superior" person is peacefully questioning what they want to believe as "right", even if they know it's wrong deep inside, they reply with insults. If this "superior" person has been friendly to them and has done them good, they can become the worst enemies.

This might explain why I'm a feline by choice...

Artemis

This is the story of a young female Mallard duck. It took place several years ago.

This duck was migrating far away with her friends, when, for some reason, she hurt her wing and realized that, unfortunately, she couldn't make it. She looked around and found a garden with several chickens, as well as three non-migratory white Pekin ducks. They seemed happy, well-fed and friendly, so she decided that she would stay there. She landed on the wrong side of the fence, but a young girl saw her, chased her and put her inside the fence, together with her other ducks. She proceeded to name the new duck Artemis.

Artemis stayed there and was getting along very well with her three friends, especially with the youngest one of them. She was friendly to her human hosts, eating twice a day together with the other ducks and chickens, and obediently walking into the coop at dusk. However happy she seemed, though, she could not forget her previous friends and often used to face north and cry - these long sequences of quacks, with their decreasing pitch and volume, definitely sounded like mourning.

One day, while taking a walk on the snow, some wild animal decided to attack. Her wing wasn't completely healed yet, but she still decided to ignore the pain and fly to safety. Her human hosts have lost traces of her since that incident. Unfortunately, her three friends were from a race that could not fly...

It was so nice being with you for a few months, Artemis. Sorry I couldn't protect you...

Stomach flu survival guide

So, your stomach is upset and you're wondering whether it's something you ate or a virus (or a virus that came through something you ate). It's fairly easy to tell whether it's a virus: just wait until whatever you ate finds its way out. If your symptoms stop there, you're good to go, otherwise it's a virus.

The following instructions assume a worst-case scenario, where your stomach and bowel absolutely cannot handle any incoming food. Feel free to modify them if you are feeling better. You most probably won't even need to go to the doctor.

The first thing to do is to give your stomach and bowel some time to process what they are already trying to process. This means that you shouldn't eat at all for 24 hours. You're most probably not hungry at all anyway, so don't force-feed yourself, just listen to your body. You are also likely to get very thirsty, but try to avoid water if you're not going to handle it anyway.

Try to avoid any kind of medication, as it's likely to be worse than food for your stomach. There are some pills against diarrhea, and they work, but the feeling is so unpleasant that you'd rather try to avoid them. If you have high fever, you can try some paracetamol, but you should better ask your pharmacist just in case.

Next step : Yay, you can finally eat! Your best choice is a banana, or some rice. Make sure you use only water to cook your rice, not even oil or anything else. You can also safely add some lemon or oregano, and drink some black tea or some cola mixed with water. You can boil oregano and drink it like tea, it is definitely one of the worst things you've ever tasted, but it will work wonders against diarrhea.

When you feel significantly better, you can start eating solid foods. Avoid watery/creamy stuff, as well as fried or spicy stuff that's likely difficult for your stomach to process.

One day, you'll wake up and feel great, and start eating normally. Be careful: You must still avoid milk and beer for about a week afterwards!

I hope you won't get sick at all at the first place :), but I also hope these instructions will reach anyone who needs them.