WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A PERSON?

We are judged based on intelligence somewhat, also on looks and wealth or status. But these are superficial impressions that gain or fall depending on completely different criteria. We are all evaluated and judged in social and work settings all the time and usually in a brief instant. We are not judged on education. We are not judged on grades. We are not judged on style. At least not in a lasting way.

We are judged on skills, pretty much solely. People prefer the company of those who are physically handy and socially adept. Competence counts. In fact, people with high IQ or lots of schooling but low skill levels can be judged quite negatively. Ditto for looks and money.

• Can you change a flat tire or swap out a dead car battery?
• Can you pick up a guitar and entertain a room?
• Are you handy at crafts?

Even more important are the social skills, particularly...

• Are you an excellent listener?
• Can you instantly make people at ease in your presence?
• Can you control the atmosphere in a room, making it light or serious as appropriate?
• Do you have moral courage? Are you willing to say and do the necessary in any circumstance rather than shrink back?

Other social skills are important...

• Can you speak from the heart?
• Are you free from glib, gratuitous, offensive and non-productive remarks?
• Can you compete when necessary, collaborate when necessary?

The social graces are also important...

• Can you dance? play the piano? sing? tell rousing stories? etc.

There are bonus points for gender cross-over skills. When a woman can...

• Use common tools competently.
• Not shrink in the company of males.
• Roll up her sleeves and do hard physical work when necessary.

Or a man can...

• Comfort an upset child.
• Cook, sew, do laundry.
• Feel at home in the company of women and have them readily accept his presence.

Such cross-over skills indicate androgyny, or high skills across the masculine and feminine range. The highest slots in society are usually home to the androgynous.

Whether it's co-workers, teammates, community, neighbors, your lasting impression will be what do you have to offer that makes us better? Looks, money, smarts... all good, but the true lasting value of each person is what can you be counted on for? That will include all of the contributions you are able to make.


Credits: Charles Tips

Too much Internet use 'can damage the brain'

Excessive internet use may cause parts of teenagers’ brains to waste away, a study reveals.
Scientists discovered signs of atrophy of grey matter in the brains of heavy internet users that grew worse over time.

This could affect their concentration and memory, as well as their ability to make decisions and set goals. It could also reduce their inhibitions and lead to ‘inappropriate’ behaviour. 
Researchers took MRI brain scans from 18 university students, aged 19, who spent eight to 13 hours a day playing games online, six days a week.

The students were classified as internet addicts after answering eight questions, including whether they had tried to give up using computers and whether they had lied to family members about the amount of time they spent online.

The researchers compared them with a control group of 18 students who spent fewer than two hours a day on the internet.

One set of MRI images focused on grey matter at the brain’s wrinkled surface, or cortex, where the processing of memory, emotions, speech, sight, hearing and motor control occurs.

Comparing grey matter between the two groups revealed atrophy within several small regions of all the online addicts’ brains.

Source: Dailymail

Begin Again

Today is the day that you become the person that you were always meant to be. That can’t happen if you have baggage. Leave the past. You have a chance to restart, and all you have to do is forget all the bad things from your past, all the things that has happened to you, forgive yourself, and just move forward.