Friday, February 27, 2015

Leaping over Life’s Hurdles




We all must handle tests—academic and otherwise—and make timely decisions. From a very early age, I learned to make fast decisions because of the uneasy living conditions in which I was raised during the Lebanese civil war. 

One such test I recall is when I had an oral exam in Mathematics at the university. All was quiet and normal that day. One after another, my fellow students solved their exercises, passed and went on their merry way. But suddenly and just before my turn arrived, heavy shelling started. It was not very close to the university campus, but I knew that it would reach us soon.

The instructor handed me my exercise and said I had 10 minutes to solve it. I looked at it and in the splash of a moment I found the solution, to his surprise and mine. I didn't know how I managed to solve it that quickly but I was sure of one thing: I wanted to leave that place and get back home as soon as possible. Our house in the Beirut suburbs was scarcely safer than the university campus, but being surrounded by my parents and other loved ones gave a sense of security and safety. 

Each one of us goes through different tests in life which are unique and challenging. But such tests have certain things in common. I have learned from the experience of others and would like to humbly offer some tips of my own. In order to be able to deal with crucial tests it is useful if you can: 
  • Remain calm when put under sheer pressure. Face the problem and never run away. 
  • Practice and be ready for whatever may happen. Avoid negative thinking and visualize yourself conquering your problems and fears. 
  • When confronting a fork in the road, it does not matter whether you go right or left. What matters is never to look back and to keep going. Let “forward” ever be your watchword. 
  • Never despair and remain confident that things will work out one way or another. 
  • Stay focused and pay attention to what really matters, and ignore any background noise. 
  • Believe in yourself and know that you are up to the task—whatever it may be. 
  • Seek advice and surround yourself with people you trust. This is far better than sitting alone with your thoughts, fears and worries.
"An expert is someone who has succeeded in making decisions and judgments simpler through knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore." ― Edward de Bono

Thank You RAP for your valuable Comments!
Image: Standing in the Rain – by Ana Livingston

Friday, February 20, 2015

Trade off between Connectivity and Privacy



While some people consider that the internet is a threat to human civilization and refuse to use social media due to their fear that their privacy would be violated, many others take benefits of its wealth.


I have always enjoyed connecting with people whether in real life or “virtually.” At work, I enjoy my advising part of my job and use social media to connect with my advisees and friends. Of course the Internet is like a glass house where everything is transparent and there is no place to hide. The multitude ways we give away information about ourselves has not only increased our social visibility and made it easier for us to find each other, but also to be examined in public.


Remaining disconnected can bring blessed privacy and comfort to some. Conversely, it can be a sad and loss of many wonderfully joyous moments and important opportunities. We want nothing more than to connect, and the companies that are connecting us electronically want to know about us especially that we are handing in an enormous amount of data about our daily life, much of which we might not trust our friends with. So what am I really gaining from being part of this giant new world? 


Social media for me is just like a meditation session, it allows me, after a long day of work, to reflect on my day and the world. Maybe all of us like to have our personal moments, a little private corner created over the Ether where we could go off alone without fears. To day-dream and speak out our mind. To realize who we are and the extents of the good we are capable of. 
“Using the Internet as a vehicle to work with people is fascinating. It's sort of a Pandora's box of energy for me.”―Jon Anderson
We are all aware that the advances of social media applications constitute a greater danger to our privacy as individuals. Privacy by definition is that there are things that belong solely to us and should not be open to the scrutiny of others because the root of privacy is that not everything belongs to everyone.


However, social networking survives on connectivity and sharing of information. Indeed, social media is dependent on the disclosure of our personal information and if this is valued more highly than privacy, then the protection of our individual data over the Internet might become unconfirmed.


“To be left alone is the most precious thing one can ask of the modern world.” ― Anthony Burgess


On the one hand, many of us fear what others read and know about us. And on the other hand, we fear that what people miss about us (after reading), could be filled with assumptions. We might assume that they care so much about us, by what they do or don’t read about us. Then, the mixture of our own worries and egos overshadows that what other people think of us is their problem not ours, to worry about.


Finding a balance between privacy and connectivity is complicated, and there is a trade-off between more security and the benefit of being active on the net. Furthermore, gaining trust in social media is essential and needs time to be built up:

  • Know your strengths and weaknesses, and be open about them. Being vulnerable shows that you are human.
  • Tell the truth. Don’t lie. “When in doubt, tell the truth.” – Mark Twain
  • Distinguish facts from personal opinions. Using our imagination to fill in the missing bits could distort the reality of things.
  • Do now what you say you would do. Procrastination could kill your credibility.